Effects of Cellulosic and Basic Flux on the Structure, Composition and Hardness of SMAW Welds on Steel X42

Abstract

This paper studied the effects of cellulosic and basic flux on the chemical composition, microstructure, formation of inclusions and micro hardness of X42 steel SMAW welds. The commercialized chemical compositions of flux used are: E6010, E8010-P1 and E8018-G, with electrodes of low carbon content. Welding conditions are not constant. The microstructure of the fusion zone for each flux consists mainly of acicular ferrite. It is found that manganese increases in the fusion zones (C, B and A) respectively .The change in mass concentration of manganese is homogeneous through the three points with all the used flux. Regardless of the flux used, the non-metallic inclusions observed are of two types: white and black. The micro-hardness decreasing values were obtained in the fusion zones (C, B and A).