Welding Guide

Welding Guide
Image courtesy of Kemppi.

Ovako develops high-tech steel solutions for, Our production is based on recycled scrap and
and in cooperation with, its customers in the includes steel in the form of bar, tube, ring and
bearing, transport and manufacturing indu- pre-components. Ovako has around 3,000
stries. Our steel makes our customers’ end employees in more than 30 countries and sales
products more resilient and extends their use- of approximately EUR 1 billion. In June 2018
ful life, ultimately resulting in smarter, more Ovako became a subsidiary within the Japan-
energy-efficient and more environmentally ese Nippon Steel Corporation group, one of
friendly products. the world’s largest steel producers. For more
information, please visit us at www.ovako.com
and www.nipponsteel.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 4 8.5 Case hardening steels 43

8.6 Boron steels 45
2 WELD REGIONS 5 8.7 Spring steels 47
3 HEAT AFFECTED ZONE 7 9 REPAIR WELDING OF

3.1 Cooling rate 7 PROBLEM STEELS 50
3.2 Plate thickness and joint type 9
3.3 Arc energy and effective heat input 10 10 JOINT WELDING OF NON-ALLOYED
3.4 Working temperature 11 AND STAINLESS STEEL 52
3.5 Hardenability 12 10.1 Example of use 53
3.6 Microstructural changes 13
11 HARDFACING 54
4 WELDABILITY 15
4.1 Cold cracking 15 12 EXAMPLES OF WELDING
4.1.1 Microstructure 15 THE OVAKO STEELS 56
4.1.2 Hydrogen content 16 12.1 Flange axle 57
4.1.3 Stresses 17 12.2 Torsion bar 59
4.1.4 Temperature 17 12.3 Repair welding of an axle 60
4.1.5 Preventing cold cracking 17 12.4 Gear 61
4.2 Hot cracking 18 12.5 Lifting pin for vessel’s plate 62
4.3 Lamellar tearing 19 12.6 Piston rod 63
12.7 Piston 64
5 WELD DEFECTS 20 12.8 Valve head 65
5.1 Pores 20 12.9 Welding a stainless spindle
5.2 Slag inclusions 20 to lever arm 66
5.3 Lack of fusion 21 12.10 Steering joint 68
5.4 Incomplete penetration 21 12.11 Joint 69
5.5 Spatter and poor arc starts 22 12.12 Track link A 70
5.6 Shrinkage cavity (or pipe) 22 12.13 Track link B 71
5.7 Undercut 22 12.14 Welded beam 72
12.15 Welding a crane rail to beam 74
6 FEATURES OF A WELD JOINT 23 12.16 Support wheels, rolls 76
6.1 Static strength 23 12.17 Corrector lever’s surfacing 78
6.2 Fatigue strength 23 12.18 Shovel loader’s wear plate 79
6.3 Impact toughness 24 12.19 Axles’s temporary repair weld 80
12.20 Gear tooth’s temporary repair weld 81
7 WELD DISTORTIONS 25 12.21 Example of friction welding 82
7.1 Longitudinal and transverse
distortions 25 13 WELDING STANDARDS 83
7.2 Tack welding and welding sequence 26
7.3 Flame straightening 26 14 GOOD WORKING ENVIRONMENT
ENHANCES PRODUCTIVITY 85
8 WELDING OF DIFFERENT 14.1 Industrial safety in welding 85
STEEL GRADES 27 14.2 Welding fumes 85
8.1 General structural steels 28 14.3 Radiation and noise 85
8.2 Machine steels 29 14.4 Minimizing the risk of accidents 85
8.3 High strength structural steels 31
8.4 Quenching and tempering steels 35
8.4.1 Welding of quenching and
tempering steels 36
8.4.2 Welding of the IMACRO 37
3
1 – INTRODUCTION
Welding is the most common way of joining Ovako focuses on bar products and therefore
steels together. It is a metallurgic event where this brochure covers mainly the welding of
steel is melted, mixed, solidified and heat flat and round bars. The main focus is on wel-
treated. dability and metallurgical features of different
steels.
Usually the welding becomes more challeng-
ing as the steel’s strength and/or carbon and The brochure also includes some practical
other alloy contents increase. To achieve high examples of different welded products. These
quality welds, it is important to know and instructions are aimed to produce as high
control different effects that welding causes. quality and suitable weld as possible.
These need to be taken into account before,
during and after the welding procedure itself. The given instructions and recommendations
alone do not necessarily guarantee good re-
sults. Ultimately the planner, welder and su-
pervisor are responsible for the final quality.
Image courtesy of ESAB.
4 Back to Table of Contents

2 – WELD REGIONS
Welding causes changes in steel’s metallur- structural changes. On non- and low-alloy
gical properties. Heat melts some of the base steels, this region typically has a normalized
material and on some parts, the temperature microstructure.
rises without exceeding the melting point. A
melting filler metal forms a weld pool to- On an intercritical HAZ (5), the structure is
gether with a molten base material. As the partially austenitized and the temperature
temperature drops, the weld pool solidifies has been between the material’s A3- and A1
into a final weld. The heat effect causes a –limits.
distinct region to form on the base material
next to the weld. The region is better known The outermost part of the HAZ is known as
as a heat-affected zone, also known as a HAZ. a subcritical HAZ (6). On this region where
The different regions of weld can be seen on the temperature has been more than 500 °C,
figure 1. carbides begin to spheroidize and the grain
structure starts to recrystallize. Between
The weld metal (1), also known as a fusion the heat affected zone and unaffected base
zone, has first melted and then solidified. material is a zone which may have aged or in
It typically solidifies in an elongated form. tempered steels, annealed.
Between the fusion and heat-affected zone
(3-6), is a fusion boundary (2). As the weld cools so do the different regions
of the heat affected zone. The temperature
The heat-affected zone has been exposed to changes and the rates at which they change
temperatures that cause the base material’s are based on the surrounding environment
crystalline form to change. The closer the and can be considered as miniature heat
area is to the weld, the higher the temperatu- treatments. Different structural changes in
re is that it has been exposed to. The heat-af- the HAZ impact the qualities of the steel and
fected zone can be separated into four diffe- therefore the weld itself.
rent regions based on these temperatures.
The microstructure of the HAZ, influences
The region closest to the weld is known as particularly the likelihood of cold cracking. It
a coarse-grained HAZ (3). This region has is important to control changes in this region
been exposed to temperatures over 1100 °C, as they have a major effect on mechanical
which has caused austenite grain growth. qualities, especially in welds of high strength
On a fine grained HAZ (4), the temperature steels and steels for low temperature condi-
has exceeded the material’s A3 limit, causing tions.
Back to Table of Contents 5

Figure 1 – Weld regions in a steel with
carbon content of 0.15%. The grain size is
significantly enlarged in the figure.
The curve T represents the maximum temp-

erature the corresponding area of the steel
has been in. On the right side of the figure is
a part of iron-carbon phase diagram, from
which a microstructure for the each tempera-
ture can be seen. The vertical dashed line re-
presents a steel with carbon content of 0.15%.

3 – HEAT AFFECTED ZONE
The microstructures of the heat affected zone or graphically from the cooling time curves.
depend on a steel’s hardenability and cooling The 2-dimensional (1) and 3-dimensional (2)
environment. Hardenability depends on ste- t8/5 cooling time formulas are shown below.
el’s chemical composition.
The joint type factors used in the formulas
3.1 Cooling rate are shown in Table 1. The formulas for calcu-
The cooling rate is given in t8/5 time, which lating the effective heat input are introduced
measures the time it takes the steel to cool later in Chapter 3.3 Arc energy and effective
from 800 °C to 500 °C. The most crucial heat input.
changes in the steel’s microstructure take
place during this interval, while the austenite More of the different effects of the cooling
transforms into different microstructures. rate are introduced later on in Chapter 3.6
Microstructural changes. The cooling rate is
On CMn- and low alloy steels, the t8/5 coo- an important part in determining the final
ling time can be calculated either with the qualities of the HAZ. The main factors affec-
formulas given in EN 1011-2 (2001) standard ting the cooling rate are the following:
Table 1 – Joint type factors for 2- and 3-dimensional objects
Type of joint 2-dimensional (F2) 3-dimensional (F3)

Run on plate 1 1
Between runs in butt welds 0.9 0.9
Single run fillet weld on a corner-joint 0.67 to 0.9 0.67
Single run fillet weld on a T-joint 0.45 to 0.67 0.67

t8/5 = (4300-4.3*T0)*105*Q2/d2* (1/(500-T0)2-1/(800-T0)2)*F2 (1)
t8/5 = (6700-5*T0)*Q* (1/(500-T0)-1/(800-T0))*F3 (2)
where
T0 = Working temperature (°C)

Q = Heat input (kJ/mm)
d = Material thickness (mm)
F = Joint type factor (F2 or F3)
Image courtesy of ESAB.

3.2 Plate thickness and joint type of the bar (d/2) is equal to the wall thickness
The thicker the welded material is, the faster of a plate bar, sheet or tube regarding the way
the heat conducts away from the weld and the it cools.
cooling rate increases. The cooling rate also
depends on the joint geometry, or in other After the certain material thickness is ex-
words, on how many different directions the ceeded, the change in thickness does not
heat can conduct. The plate thickness and affect the heat conduction anymore, and
joint geometry are taken into account as one thickness can be treated as 3-dimensional
combined factor with examples shown in instead of 2-dimensional.
Figure 2. On round bars, half of the diameter
Figure 2 – Examples of calculating the ma-

terial thickness ty: t = wall thickness of a flat
bar, sheet or tube, d = diameter of a round
tube

3.3 Arc energy and effective heat input The effective heat input depends, for ex-
Energy used in arc welding is usually given ample, on welding process, welding speed,
per unit of length and can be calculated with welding current, arc voltage, base material,
the formula plate thickness and welding position. Typical
effective heat inputs for different processes
are roughly the following:
AE = I*U (3)
v MMA 1-4 kJ/mm
MIG/MAG 0.5-3 kJ/mm
or TIG 0.5-2.5 kJ/mm
SAW 2-6 kJ/mm
E = I*U*60 (kJ/mm) (4) The higher the effective heat input is, more
v*1000
thermal energy is transferred to the weld and
the cooling rate decreases.
where If the steel does not have a strongly harde-

I = welding current (A) ning structure, using a large heat input can
U = arc voltage (V)T prevent hardening in the HAZ in certain
v = arc travel speed (mm/min) welds. However, using an excessive heat in-
This energy is called either arc energy (AE) or put reduces the steel’s impact toughness.
welding energy. Sometimes it is called heat
input, despite the fact that it is technically
wrong term. The effective heat input defines
the part of the arc energy which is transfor-
med to the weld as a thermal energy. The
relation between the effective heat input and
the arc energy is the following:
Q = η*E (5)
The efficiency factor (η) varies on each wel-

ding process. Efficiency factors of the most
common processes are the following:
MMA and MIG/MAG 0.8

TIG and plasma 0.6
SAW 1

3.4 Working temperature The carbon equivalent is calculated with
The object’s temperature during the welding the CET formula, rather than the IIW’s CEV
(working temperature) has a major effect formula, since CET is better suited for steels
on its cooling rate. The higher the working with a higher carbon content.
temperature is, the slower the cool down. As
an example, using preheating and interpass In multi-pass welding, the recommended
temperatures for preventing hardening is interpass temperature is the same as the pre-
based on this fact. heating temperature.
The need for preheating can be determined

either graphically from the curves or mathe-
matically with the ormula in EN 1011-2
(2001) standard shown below.
Tp = 697*CET+ 160*tanh(d/35)+62*HD0,35 + (53*CET-32)*Q-328 (6)
where
Tp = Preheating temperature (°C)

CET = Carbon equivalent = C + (Mn+Mo)/10 + (Cr+Cu)/20 + Ni/40 (%)
tanh = Hyperbolic tangent
d = Plate thickness (mm) (thickness of a single plate, not the combined thickness)
HD = Diffusible hydrogen (ml/100g deposited weld metal)
Q = Heat input (kJ/mm)

3.5 Hardenability Weldability can be evaluated with a so called
Hardenability describes steel’s ability to form equivalent carbon content (carbon equiva-
martensite in quenching. The ability is highly lent, CEV or CET) which takes steel’s harden-
dependent upon the steel’s chemical compo- ability into account.
sition.
Steel is considered highly weldable if its CEV
The main factor affecting hardenability is the value is less than 0.41.Weldability is still
carbon content. On highly weldable steels, considered good up until the limit of 0.45.
the carbon content is generally limited to Steels with a carbon equivalent, CEV, over
0.25%. When the carbon content exceeds the 0.45 are still weldable but with certain limita-
0.25% limit, special measures are required tions. Values are only estimates and they do
for welding even normal material thicknesses. not solely guarantee weldability since it also
Required extra procedures may include, for depends on a base material’s thickness.
example, preheating and increased working
temperature. Ovako always provides a material certificate
with each delivery from which the carbon
In addition to carbon, most of the other alloys equivalent may be easily calculated.
like manganese, chromium, nickel, molybde-
num and boron increase the steel’s hardena- There are several formulas for carbon equiva-
bility. lent, the most common being IIW’s CEV, seen
below.
CEV = C + Mn/6 + (Cr + Mo + V)/5 + (Ni+ Cu)/15 (%) (7)

3.6 Microstructural changes carbon content increases, so does the hard-
Steels with different hardening abilities ness of the formed martensite.
behave differently as the cooling rate varies.
The changes can be seen by taking a look at Increasing the heat input or preheating the
the so called transformation diagrams, like object to increase the working temperatu-
the continuous cooling transformation and re leads to a lower cooling rate causing the
time-temperature transformation diagrams. austenite to transforms at least partially into
More information on transformation diagrams softer and tougher structures (curves 2 and
and their use can be found from the literature. 3). An excessive heat input can cause weld
defects and might lead to decreased impact
A continuous cooling transformation (CCT) toughness due to large grain size. To prevent
diagram is a well suited for welding purposes. the forming of hard and brittle microstructu-
An example of the diagram is shown in Figure res, it is recommended to use preheating and
3. The diagram represents changes in high increased working temperature instead of
strength structural steel’s HAZ with different raising the heat input.
cooling rates.
Curve 4 represents the cooling rate after
If the effective heat input is low in relation to rolling or normalization which usually leads
material thickness and hardenability, then to a tough ferritic-pearlitic structure even on
cooling that occurs quickly can cause the mi- high strength structural steels. However,
crostructure to become completely marten- a completely ferritic-pearlitic structure can
sitic. Curve 1 goes from the austenite region be achieved in welding usually by using
to the martensite region and goes through it, S355J0 grade or softer, for example S275JR
forming a 100% martensitic structure. As the or S235JR.

Curve 1:
• low effective heat input Q; e.g. ø2.5 mm

rod. Q = ca. 0.6 kJ/mm
• martensitic microstructure
• high risk of cracking
Curve 2:
• higher effective heat input Q; e.g. ø4 mm

rod. Q = ca. 1.5 kJ/mm
• in addition to ferrite and perlite, the
microstructure has martensite
• significantly lower risk of cracking
Figure 3. Continuous cooling transformation Curve 3:

(CCT) diagram
• high effective heat input Q or increased
working temperature; e.g. ø5 mm rod,
A = austenite Q = ca. 2.5 kJ/mm or 200 °C working
F = ferrite temperature, ø4 mm rod
P = pearlite • microstructure has parts of ferrite, pearlite
B = bainite and bainite
M = martensite • very low risk of cracking
Ms = martensite transformation starts
Mf = martensite transformation finishes
A3 = A3 –temperature (850 °C) Curve 4:
A1 = A1 –temperature (723 °C)
HV = Vickers hardness • cooling path after rolling or normalizing
• ferritic-pearlitic microstructure
• no risk of cracking

4 – WELDABILITY
The term weldability defines how suitable the

material is for welding. Steel is considered
to be highly weldable when a required filling
weld can be done without extra measures. If
the steel’s weldability is poor or restricted and
the weld is done without necessary arrange-
ments, different problems may occur during
the welding process or later in the use. The
most significant of these welding metallurgi-
cal problems are:
• cold cracking
• hot cracking Figure 4. Different cold cracking types
• lamellar tearing
• deterioration of impact toughness.
The most common one of these is a cold

crack, which can occur in welding of harde- Cold crack appearance
ning low- and high alloy steels. A In HAZ
1. Underbead crack
The next chapter talks about the defects men- 2. Root crack
tioned above, what causes them and how to 3. Toe crack
prevent them. B. Weld metal
4. Root crack
4.1 Cold cracking 5. Transverse crack (usually requires alloyed
The risk of cold cracking is present in the filler metal)
welding of high strength and other low alloy
steels in particular. The following factors are 4.1.1 Microstructure
preconditions for cold cracking to occur: When steel hardens, the microstructure
transforms into martensite. Hardening re-
• brittle microstructure in the HAZ, mainly quires a fast enough cooling rate and certain
martensitic alloying.
• too much hydrogen in weld
• mechanical stresses in weld The hardness and toughness of the martensi-
te depend on the carbon content. The mar-
Cold cracks can occur as a result of all the tensite
above after the weld has cooled to under 150
°C. Removing any of these preconditions is
usually enough to prevent cold cracking from
happening. Different cold cracking types are
shown in Figure 4. Usually cold cracks occur
on the HAZ, but on high strength steels they
may also appear on the weld metal itself. Cold
cracking is also known as hydrogen cracking,
delayed cracking or underbead cracking.

becomes harder and more brittle as the car- With different welding processes, diffusible
bon content increases. For example, a carbon hydrogen (HDM) varies. Typical HDM values
content of 0.2% has a hardness of about 470 with each process are s hown below.
HV and a 0.4% has about 640 HV.
Martensite softens and its toughness increa- Welding process Diffusible hydrogen
and filler metal HDM (ml/100g
ses when it is annealed. deposited weld metal)
MMA
The transformation of martensite and its
Rutile rods 20-30
final content on the HAZ depend on steel’s
hardenability and cooling rate. Higher carbon Basic rods 3-15
content and other alloys cause martensite to MIG/MAG
form easier. Solid wire 1-5
FCAW
In addition to a possible martensite structure,
Rutile filler 3-5
the HAZ can also include other less dang-
erous structures. Martensite may appear Basic filler 2-5
locally or on very narrow areas which ma- Metallic 3-5
kes it more difficult to recognize the mi- filler
crostructure. SAW 3-15
4.1.2 Hydrogen content

Hydrogen can dissolve into the weld in se- The cellulose and rutile covered rods have a
veral ways. It dissolves into the weld pool as high hydrogen content, which is why they are
ions, but as the weld cools and steel solidifies, recommended only for welding of the S235JR
it turns atomic. and S275JR –grade steels.
Significantly less hydrogen can dissolve into Basic rods are also known as low hydrogen
solid microstructures than molten ones. From rods. As the base concentration in the rod
the weld metal, hydrogen diffuses to the HAZ. increases, the hydrogen content in the weld
decreases. Basic electrodes are prone to
During the cooling, hydrogen atoms attempt absorb moisture. To prevent this, they should
to unite to form hydrogen gas. Some of the be stored correctly and if necessary, dried
gas leaves the steel and some of it segrega- following the manufacturer’s instructions.
tes at small openings the steel’s crystalline Moisture resistant rods are also available.
structure has, particularly in the welds and its They are much less likely to absorb moisture
surroundings. The pressure of the hydrogen from the surrounding air than ordinary basic
gas can get very high, sometimes to several rods. Flux used in submerged arc welding
thousand bars. Hydrogen’s pressure causes must be stored and dried following the manu-
openings to grow, which build up into cold facturer’s instructions.
cracks.
Solid wires have a lower tendency to absorb
Hydrogen can get into the weld fro m rod moisture, but it may cause rust damage to
coatings, flux and flux core, impurities of the them. The optimal processes to achieve low
welding wire, rust, snow, ice, paint, grease, hydrogen content are MIG/MAG and TIG
dirt or simply from humidity in the air. Usu- welding. Using a lower working temperatu-
ally the filler material is the main source of re, these processes make the welding of high
the hydrogen. strength steels possible.

4.1.3 Stresses lowest strength filler metal as possible, cold
Stresses are one of the factors contributing to cracking can be prevented as early as the
the forming of cracks. Most of the stresses are planning phase. In repair welding, the pre-
caused by the welding itself. Locally heated viously mentioned factors cannot usually be
areas try to expand but the surrounding cold exploited.
material prevents this, causing the hot areas
to upset. The most effective way to prevent cold cracks
is to use low hydrogen fillers, correct welding
In contrast, cooling causes the steel to shrink, parameters and if necessary, preheating and
leading to tensile stresses sometimes as high interpass temperature. As the steel’s strength
as the yield point. The problem is emphasized and thickness increase, more attention needs
on rigid structures. to be paid to the welding processes and
consumables.
Stresses can be reduced by using a conside-
rably lower strength filler metal or an increa- The procedures to prevent cold cracking and
sed working temperature. After the welding, ensure an adequate weld are listed below:
stresses can also be reduced with a stress
relieving heat treatment. However, if the weld Clean the groove of any ice, moisture, rust,
has cooled down before the stress relieving, grease, dirt or paint.
it does not affect the cold cracking tendency
(see next chapter 4.1.4 Temperature). Use low diffusible hydrogen fillers, store the
fillers correctly and dry them if necessary.
On rigid structures, the problem can possibly More information about the filler metals and
be amended with minor structural changes their storing is available through their manu-
and by using the correct welding sequence facturers.
(see chapter 7 “Weld distortions”).
As the material thickness increases, more
4.1.4 Temperature heat must be delivered to the weld. In other
Cold cracks develop after the temperature words, arc energy (AE) must be increased,
drops to about 150 °C. Cold cracking requires which can be achieved by lowering the wel-
hydrogen to diffuse, which happens at tempe- ding speed.
ratures as low as room temperature. Cracks
may develop as late as 1-2 days after the Hydrogen leaves the weld quickly if the tem-
welding. For this reason, the inspections are perature is raised. By preheating the object,
usually done 24 hours after the welding. the working temperature increases which
prevents hydrogen induced cracking (HIC).
Cold cracking can be prevented by main- The suitable working temperature is usually
taining the increased working temperature 100-300 °C, depending on a steel’s grade.
of 150 °C long enough after the welding (so
called dehydrogenation heat treatment, or Microstructures susceptible to hydrogen em-
DHT). The temperature needs to be main- brittlement can be detected, for example with
tained long enough, sometimes for several a hardness test. Usually a hardness under
hours, for the hydrogen to travel away from 350 HV does not cause problems. If very low
the weld. An alternative s olution is to per- hydrogen fillers are used, even 400 HV may
form a stress relieving without letting the be acceptable. If the welding is done using an
weld cool to under 100 °C. increased working temperature, even 450 HV
can be acceptable.
4.1.5 Preventing cold cracking
By choosing a highly weldable steel (low Stresses make the weld more susceptible to
carbon equivalent), suitable joint type and hydrogen embrittlement. The risk is extra

high in the welding of thick materials and Filler metals usually contain very few impuri-
rigid structures, which is why filler metal that ties. However, impurities from the base mate-
are too strong should not be used. A general rial can mix into the weld metal. Sulphur and
rule is that the filler metal’s strength should phosphorus are particularly problematic, as
not be more than 5-10 % higher than the base they form liquid films. These films, which so-
material’s. lidify in low temperatures, are located on the
Use of an austenitic or undermatching filler center of the weld, which is last to solidify. A
metal is also possible if the properties of the narrow and deep weld bead increases the risk
weld allow it. of hot cracking, as it causes the solidification
front to advance horizontally and perpendicu-
4.2 Hot cracking larly from the fusion boundary to the weld’s
Hot cracks, also known as solidification centerline, where the impurities and com-
cracks, develop in high temperatures (over pounds with low melting points gather up.
1200 °C) as the weld solidifies or right after.
The most common type is a longitudinal Hot cracking appears particularly in proces-
crack on the centerline of the weld. It can ses with a deep penetration such as a MIG/
appear on the weld’s surface or just below, MAG and SAW. The welds of the free machi-
either as a separate crack or starting from a ning steels are also susceptible to hot crack-
crater crack, Figure 5. Because of the oxida- ing due to their high sulphur content.
tion, the fracture surface is bluish.
For estimating the susceptibility of the hot
cracking on ferritic steels, a formula based
on chemical composition has been develo-
ped. The Units of Cracking Susceptibility
(UCS) was originally developed for the SAW
process, but it can also be applied to other
processes. The following guidelines lower the
risk hot cracking:
• The depth of the bead needs to be smaller
Figure 5 – Hot cracks. 1: crater crack and 2: than the width.
longitudinal crack. Narrow and deep bead • A high manganese filler metal binds the
increases the risk of hot cracking. harmful sulphur into a harmless
manganese sulfite.
• Low arc energy results into a small
The main factors behind hot cracking are the penetration, reducing the dilution.
shrinking of the weld as it cools and solidi- • By lowering the welding speed.
fies, along with a gathering of the alloys and • With pulsating, the weld can be “mixed”,
impurities at the weld’s centerline. A narrow which prevents impurities from gathering
and deep bead, high transversal stresses and at the centerline of the weld.
certain impurities increase the hot cracking risk. • Improve the fitting so the root gap is smaller.
UCS = 230 C + 190 S +75 P + 45 Nb – 12.3 Si – 5.4 Mn – 1 (8)
UCS < 10 no risk of hot cracking

UCS = 10 to 30 low risk, which increases as the depth/width ratio increases, welding speed
is high or root gap is wide
UCS > 30 high risk of hot cracking

4.3 Lamellar tearing
Lamellar tearing is related to rolled steel’s
features in the thickness direction. If the weld
joint is shaped in a way which causes high
tension through-thickness, the chance for
lamellar tearing exists. Typical spots for the
lamellar tearing and tearing mechanism are
shown in Figure 6.
Steel’s toughness through-thickness depends

on a number of inclusions and their shape.
Elongated inclusions decrease the toughness
in direction of thickness.
Lamellar tearing risk can be reduced with the

following ways:
• Using high power (by welding through the

whole plate, if possible)
• Increasing the groove’s area
• Using the right bead sequence
• Welding a buttering weld with a tough,
low-strength filler metal
Figure 6 – Typical locations for lamellar

tearing and tearing mechanisms

5 – WELD DEFECTS
The previously covered weld defects, cold and On a gas-shielded arc welding, wind or a draft
hot cracking, and lamellar tearing are rela- may weaken the gas shielding. In that case,
ted to a steel’s limited weldability. The flaws the gas flow should be increased, the nozzle
actually related to the welding performance distance shortened and an adequate form of
are the following: protection arranged.
• pores In MMA welding, pores can be caused by the

• slag inclusions moisture or eccentricity of the rod’s covering;
• lack of fusion by using an arc that is too long, which results
• incomplete penetration in an inadequate shielding from the rod’s
• spatter and poor arc starts covering; or by a welding current that is too
• shrinkage cavity (also known as pipe) low, which caus es the rod to ignite and burn
• undercut poorly.
The most common defect is a lack of fusion, Moisture in rods, especially when using low
followed by the pores and incomplete pe- welding currents, causes pores. Basic rods, in
netration. particular, are susceptible to moisture.
5.1 Pores Impurities on groove surfaces are a common

Pores are caused by gases that got trapped cause for pores. Rust, mill scale, grease, dirt,
in the weld, as they did not escape before moisture and paint are harmful in welding
the molten pool solidified. Pores can appear and increase the chances of developing pores.
either alone or in larger groups. They are
usually round or elongated, from which an 5.2 Slag inclusions
example can be seen in Figure 7. The reasons In multipass MMA welding, sometimes the
behind the pores are: previous run’s slag does not melt proper-
ly, leaving slag trapped between the layers.
• an inadequate gas or slag shielding However, normally the arc melts the slag
• moist filler metal completely. An example of slag inclusions is
• impurities on the groove surface (dirt, on Figure 8.
paint, grease, rust, moisture, etc.)
base material’s segregations and high
sulphur content
• solidification that happens too quick
• use of welding current that is too low
• using arc that is too long
Figure 8 – An elongated pore

(or a wormhole)
Slag inclusions develop when slag gets caught

on sharp and narrow cavities. An incorrect
weaving motion causes an undercut to the
Figure 7 – An elongated pore groove’s sidewalls, on which the slag sticks
(or a wormhole) and can be seen as slag lines on radiography.

Sharp notches between weld layers may also Lack of fusion can be prevented by using high
cause slag inclusions. The root’s and passes’ enough power, positioning the arc correctly
cross section should be concave. Slag removal so it melts the weld area, and making sure
is also easier from a smooth and concave that the molten pool does not get in front of
surface. the arc.
When welding thick steel objects with rods Lack of fusion is a hazardous defect for the
that are too thin, slag lines form easily. The weld’s strength and fatigue life, and it is not
problem can be solved by using a rod with accepted in the welding classes B or C.
the correct diameter so the weaving motion
doesn’t grow too wide. Slag inclusions can 5.4 Incomplete penetration
also be avoided with a correctly aligned and A typical root defect is an incomplete pe-
shorter arc. netration at the weld’s root. This is caused
by a root gap that is too small, a rod with a
Slag inclusions may also occur if the next diameter that is too large, an arc that is too
pass is done with a current that is too low or long or by a fault in the welding performan-
a traveling speed that is too high, which does ce. The penetration might be incomplete,
not produce enough heat to melt the previous like in Figure 10, or the root fusion might be
run’s slag. Rutile rods have a higher tendency incomplete, like in Figure 11. A defect can be
to cause slag inclusions than basic rods be- avoided by placing the rod deep enough in
cause of their slag’s higher melting point. the groove at the start point or by grinding
the joint part.
Thorough slag removal is a cornerstone of a
high quality multi-pass weld. Gas arc weld
processes are known to form little slag, which
is why slag removal is not always necessary
after each weld layer. Nonetheless, careful
slag removal guarantees a high quality weld.
5.3 Lack of fusion

Lack of fusion is a result of poor mixing of
the weld and base material. It may occur if
the heat input is insufficient for melting the
base material and the molten filler gets on the
Figure 10 – Incomplete penetration
cold groove surface, preventing the arc from
penetrating into the base material, Figure 9.
Figure 9 – Lack of fusion Figure 11 – Incomplete root fusion

In large structures, the groove fittings are Defects can be avoided by reducing the wel-
often poor and achieving complete penetra- ding current before turning off the arc or by
tion from only one side is difficult. The root moving the arc onto an area that is already
needs to be opened deep enough to remove welded before turning it off. The pipe needs
all possible defects. to be removed, for example, by grinding or
chiseling the weld before continuing the wel-
5.5 Spatter and poor arc starts ding. In SAW welding, the arc can be stopped
Spatter weakens the structure’s appearance. over special tabs to prevent pipes from deve-
If a flawless surface is pursued, it should be loping to the actual work object.
protected. Spatter can be caused, for ex-
ample, by the wrong welding parameters, 5.7 Undercut
an arc that is too long, magnetic arc blow or An undercut is a crater or groove on the weld
moist welding rods. groove’s sidewall or on the weld’s toe, see Fi-
gure 13. They develop when the base material
At the spot where the arc is started, a small melted by the arc drifts away and the filler
porous section usually develops, along with metal does not fill the cut.
a small hardened area that has small cracks.
Ignition scars also weaken the appearance,
which is why the start should always take pla-
ce in a groove. The arc is ignited ahead of the
actual starting point, and the porous ignition
area gets welded over, removing the faulty
starting point. Alternatively, ignition scars
can be removed by grinding the surface.
5.6 Shrinkage cavity (or pipe)

Shrinkage cavity, which is shown in Figure 12,
usually develops in the welding of a root run Figure 13 – Undercut
on the bead’s end. The molten pool solidifies
starting from the groove’s sidewalls, causing
Typically, undercutting is a result of excessive
a shrinkage cavity that reaches the surface. A
current or voltage, an arc that is too long or
pipe is often united with a crater crack on the
poor welding technique. Too short of a stop
bead’s end.
on the weld groove’s sidewall or moving the
arc out from the weld groove can easily cause
undercutting.
In fillet welds, if the rod is aligned too upright

or the current or voltage are too high, the un-
dercut develops on the junction of the vertical
plate and weld.
If the weld groove angle is narrow when using

a large diameter rod, it may cause undercut-
ting on the V-groove’s sidewalls. Alongside
the undercut develops a slag inclusion, which
can be seen as two uniform slag lines in ra-
diography.
Figure 12 – Shrinkage cavity
Undercut decreases, in particular, the weld
joint’s fatigue strength.

6 – FEATURES OF A WELD JOINT
The features of a weld joint depend on me- than the base material to develop in the HAZ.
tallurgical factors along with a joint’s posi- The area’s width increases as the working
tion and shape related factors. For fatigue temperature and the heat input increase.
strength, the joint position and shape are
usually the decisive factors. Other features The soft area’s influence on the joint’s st-
depend more on the welding metallurgical rength depends on the area’s geometrical
factors. factors. Stronger material surrounding the
area generates triaxial stress on it, which
Stress concentrations form on the welded increases the yield strength. Because of this,
structure, which need special attention when the strength does not necessarily decrease
analyzing the fatigue strength (Figure 14). despite the soft area, unless the area’s width
is high compared to material thickness.
Ultimately, the joint’s reliability depends on
all the factors, each with their own weight. 6.2 Fatigue strength
For example, in a brittle fracture analysis, the Stresses’ maximum amplitude and number of
toughness of the base material and weld, weld cycles determine if fatigue strength is a criti-
defects, and notch effect caused by the joint cal factor in the design of the welded structu-
shape need to be taken into account. re. The limits for the stress range are given
in standard EN 1993-1-9 (2005). Structures
exposed to a number of cycles greater than
the limit need to be designed by using the
fatigue strength.
Steel’s notch sensitivity increases as the

strength increases. The fact that a fatigue
crack’s growth rate does not depend on ste-
el’s strength or microstructure should to be
noticed. The fatigue strength in weld joints
without post-treatment is roughly the same
with all steels after the number of cycles
exceeds 106. The weld bead’s and especially
weld defects’ notch effect and residual stress
Figure 14 – Stress concentrations on a weld have a decisive effect on the joint’s fatigue
joint strength. The fatigue crack’s starting point in
welded stiffening is shown in Figure 15.
6.1 Static strength

Static strength is usually not a problem in
the weld joints of general structural steels or
those that are similar. Usually, the joint is at
least as strong and tough as the base material.
In the weld joints of hardened, quenched

and tempered, and cold worked steels, the
strength properties need to be taken into
account more precisely.
Welding heat lowers the strength of the steels Figure 15 – Fatigue crack on a longitudinal
mentioned above. It causes an area softer joint

Different methods can be applied to increase The required impact toughness depends on
the joint’s fatigue strength: the structure’s use. When the application is
more challenging and the operating tempera-
• Grinding, machining, TIG remelting or ture is lower, usually in even lower tempera-
ultrasonic impact treating the weld’s edges tures, a certain impact strength is required.
lowers the notch effect. Usually increasing arc energy lowers impact
• Sand blasting or shot- or hammer- toughness by causing a grain growth, by deve-
peening forms compression stress on the loping brittle microstructures such as bainite
surface, which is beneficial for the fatigue and grain boundary ferrite, and by increasing
strength. impurity concentrations on grain bounda-
• Stress relieving, spot heating, or local ries.
compression and initial overload change
the residual stresses, improving the fatigue Impact toughness can be improved by increa-
strength. sing the number of passes. In multi-pass wel-
ding, the next pass heat treats, or normalizes,
Structures under fatiguing loads, particularly the previous runs, therefore decreasing the
made of high strength steels, need special at- grain size in the heat treated area (Figure 16).
tention on the joint’s shape and position, wel- This leads into an improvement of toughness
ding performance, and post-treatment so that characteristics.
the basic features get optimally exploited.
6.3 Impact toughness

Microstructures developed by welding have
impact toughnesses that vary on a large scale.
Usually the most brittle spot is located on
the fusion boundary, overheated zone or in
weld metal. The simplest and most common
method to measure a joint’s brittle cracking
susceptibility is the Charpy V -impact tough-
ness test.
Figure 16 – Macroscopic specimen of multi-

pass weld

7 – WELD DISTORTIONS
Welding’s high temperatures cause materi- Transverse shrinkage:

als to expand. The heated material cannot • Decreasing the heat input
expand freely, causing it to upset instead. • Avoiding excessively large fillet welds
The steel is attempting to shrink as it cools, • Using clamps and fixtures
developing tensile stress into the weld and its • Correct groove shape, referably X-groove
surroundings. Residual stresses can rise, even and double-sided welding
as high as the yield point of the steel, which • Short tack welds
decreases the fatigue strength. • Reducing the root gap
• Backstep welding
7.1 Longitudinal and transverse • Skip welding
distortions
Residual stresses cause both longitudinal and Twisting
transverse distortions (Figure 17). The size • Sufficient tack welding, or welding tacks to
of the shrinkage depends on the heat input, a larger area than the weld
number of passes, structure’s rigidity and • Using clamps and fixtures
groove shape. Along with shrinking, other
distortions such as twisting, angular distor- Angular distortion
tion, bowing and buckling can develop. • Decreasing the heat input
• Correct groove shape
Distortions can be prevented with the fol- • Reducing the number of passes and
lowing actions: reducing fillet weld’s throat thickness by
increasing the penetration
Longitudinal shrinkage: • Reducing the root gap
• Decreasing the heat input • Using pre-angling or pre-bending
• Multi-pass welding
• Intermittent welding
• Tack welding sequence from the edges to
the center
• Placing the welds symmetrically on the
neutral axis
Figure 17 – Weld distortions

7.2 Tack welding and welding sequence 7.3 Flame straightening
The purpose of tack welding is to ensure Flame straightening is also known as flame
correct dimensions in the final structure. or heat shrinking. In addition to mechanical
Possible distortions and necessary measures methods, steel can be straightened by using
need to be taken into account in the tack wel- heat. The temperature must be raised usu-
ding phase. Tack welding is recommended to ally to about 650-800 °C to make the plastic
be done usually with the skip welding tech- deformations permanent. The heated area
nique; by welding tacks sparsely and then re- cannot expand due to the cold surroundings,
turning back between them to weld another. causing it to upset. As the material cools, it
However, placing a tack weld on the actual shrinks, forming a tension which straightens
weld’s ending is not recommended. Welding the structure.
can be done without using tack welds, if using
suitable clams, jigs or fittings is possible. When measuring the steel’s temperature,
either different tactile temperature sensors or
The basis of welding sequence planning is temperature indicating crayons or paints can
the distribution of stresses and heat, so they be used. Alternatively, the temperature can
spread as equally as possible in longitudinal be estimated by using the table below.
direction, allowing the object to expand and
shrink freely from the object’s center to the
edges.
Steel’s surface color Temperature °C
By using the skipping technique, the whole Brown red 600

structure stiffens and distortions are smaller. Dark red 650
The butt welds should preferably be welded Cherry 750
first. Dark orange 900
Yellow 1000
Due to tack welding’s low heat input, pos-
Light yellow 1100
sible preheating needs should be taken into
account to prevent cold cracking. White 1200

8 – WELDING OF DIFFERENT STEEL GRADES
Generally, the welding of steel gets more ferent steel groups are given in the following
challenging as the strength and carbon and pages.
alloy contents increase. Varying heating con-
ditions and cooling rates cause microstructu- From a large selection of filler metals, pro-
ral changes in the weld’s HAZ. This may re- ducts from ESAB and Lincoln are used in this
sult in brittle phases, such as coarse-grained manual. By using filler metal comparison
martensite and bainite. Hydrogen’s influence charts, fillers from other manufacturers can
on the HAZ’s properties gets more harmful as be chosen.
the steel’s strength increases.
In MAG-welding, EN ISO 14175 standardized
Often in repairs and maintenance, however, gas grouping is used, so the correct gases can
welding of challenging steels cannot be av- be chosen from the products of the desired
oided. Also, constructive requirements may supplier.
demand welding of high strength, heat-trea-
ted steels. If the weld joint or welding performance has
special requirements, filler metals that are
Careful planning and preparation as well as different than mentioned can be used. In such
proper heat treatment possibilities in close special cases, it is recommended to consult
proximity, are vital in successful welding of the filler metal or steel provider.
such steels. Welding instructions for the dif-
Gas group AGA Woikoski Composition

M12 MISON® 2* SK-2 Ar + 2 % CO2
MISON® 2 He* Ar + 2 % CO2 + 30 % He
M13 CRONIGON® S2 S0-2 Ar + 2 % O2
CRONIGON® He Awolight Ar + 30 % He + 1 % O2
M20 MISON® 8* Awomix Ar + 8 % CO2
SK-12 Ar + 12 % CO2
M21 MISON® 18* SK-18 Ar + 18 % CO2
MISON® 25* SK-25 Ar + 25 % CO2
*Contains also 0.03% NO

8.1 General structural steels Weldability of the general structural steels
is high with all welding processes. However,
S235JR in welding of high material thicknesses, the
S355J0 risk of cold cracking needs to be taken into
account.
General structural steels are low carbon-,
non-alloyed- or low manganese steels. An increased working temperature is recom-
mended in some of tables’ cases.
To ensure the fine-grained structure of the
S355J0 grade steel, small amounts of niobi-
um or vanadium can be alloyed to it.
Recommended consumables for general structural steels
MMA
Steel grade Filler metal
OK 48.00
S235JR OK Femax 33.80

Conarc 48
Ferrod 160T
OK 48.00
S355J0 OK Femax 38.65

Conarc 48
Conarc V 180
MAG welding
Steel grade Filler metal Shielding gas
OK Aristorod 12.50 M21/M20 or CO2
S235JR OK Aristorod 12.63 M21/M20 or CO2

OK Tubrod 15.14 M21 or CO2
S355J0
LNM 26 M21/M20 or CO2
Outershield T55-H M21/M20 or CO2

Working temperatures for general structural steels
Steel grade and welding Combined thickness of Working temperature, °C Postweld heat treatment
process the joint, mm
S235JR
MMA -120 not increased Stress relieving, if necessary
120- 150-200
MAG not increased
S355J0
60- 150-200
MAG -90 not increased
90- 100-200
Heat treatments for general structural steels
Treatment Temperature, °C Soaking time, hours Cooling

Stress relieving 550-600 0.5-2 Slowly to 450 °C, after
which cooling in air
Normalizing 900-930 0.5 In air
8.2 Machine steels S355J0. For the mechanical properties, the

Ovako 520 meets the requirements for the
Ovako 520 S355J2. The steel grade Ovako 520 is compa-
16Mn5 rable to the S355J0 in welding, so it is highly
22Mn5 weldable.
Ovako 550
Welding of the 16Mn5 has proven to be
The Ovako’s machine steels are further deve- trouble-free, despite the high sulphur con-
loped from general structural steels. They are tent. To prevent hot cracking in challenging
available as round or square bars. welding constructions, welding is recommen-
ded to be done with low arc energy and a high
The Imatra machine steels are low carbon manganese filler metal. Welding without a
and low manganese alloyed steels (max. 1.5 % filler metal and with a narrow groove should
Mn). To ensure a fine-grained structure, be avoided.
small amounts of vanadium or niobium might
be alloyed to the machine steels. Carbon equi-
valent CEV ≤ 0.43.
From their basic analysis and mechani-

cal properties, they are equal to the grade

The 22Mn5 sulphur content is the highest The Ovako 550 is similar to the Ovako 520
of machine steels and its susceptibility to from its basic composition. However, the 550
hot cracking is good to keep in mind as early is cold drawn until Ø 55 mm, which need to
as in the designing phase. High heat input, be taken into account in the planning of the
narrow grooves and stiff structures should be weld and welding itself. The thicker Ø 60-120
avoided, in the welding of 22Mn5. The filler mm bars are equivalent to the Ovako 520.
metal’s dilution with the base material should The improved strength achieved with cold
be paid attention to, so the weld does not working decreases locally due to the welding’s
enrich in sulphur. thermal effect. Nevertheless, the yield point is
always over 350 N/mm2.
Recommended consumables for machine steels
Steel grade Rod MAG Shielding gas

OK 48.00 OK Aristorod 12.50 M21/M20 or CO2
OK Femax 38.65 OK Aristorod 12.63 M21/M20 or CO2
Ovako 520 Conarc 48 OK Tubrod 15.14 M21 or CO2
Conarc V 180 LNM 26 M21/M20 or CO2
Outershield T55-H M21/M20 or CO2
OK 55.00 OK Autrod 12.51 M21/M20 or CO2
OK Femax 38.65 OK Autrod 12.64 M21/M20
16Mn5 Conarc 49 OK Tubrod 15.14 M21
22Mn5 Conarc V 180 LNM 26 M21/M20 or CO2
LNM 27 M21/M20
Outershield T55-H M21/M20
OK 48.00 OK Aristorod 12.63 M21/M20 or CO2
OK Femax 38.65 OK Tubrod 15.14 M21 or CO2
Ovako 550 Conarc 48 LNM 27 M21/M20 or CO2
Conarc V 180 Outershield T55-H M21/M20 or CO2

Working temperatures for machine steels
Welding process Combined thickness of Working temperature, °C Postweld heat treatment

the joint, mm
60- 150-200
MAG -90 not increased Stress relieving, if necessary
90- 150-200
Heat treatments for machine steels

Stress relieving 550-600 0.5-2 Slowly to 450 °C, after
Normalizing 900-930 0.5 In air
8.3 High strength structural steels With using the S400, cost savings along with
lighter and smaller structures can be achieved
S400 in comparison to ordinary structural steels.
S500/19MnV5
4CrMn16-4* The S500 is manufactured as a customer pro-
duct. The strength and impact toughness are
High strength structural steels are weldable, fitted to meet each case’s requirements.
and they are available as flat bars.
The 4CrMn16-4* is a low carbon, chromium
The S400 has the guaranteed minimum yield alloyed steel, which gets its lath martensitic
point of 410 N/mm2 and impact toughness structure in cooling after the rolling. The
of KV 27 J at -20 °C. Its weldability is com- yield point is at least 650 N/mm2. In many
parable to the grade S355J2 and its carbon cases, the 4CrMn16-4* is weldable without
equivalent (CEV) is 0.37 on average. increasing the working temperature or per-
forming postweld heat treatment.
As a strong but highly weldable steel, the
S400 is well suited for structures and machi-
ne components as a supporting and stiffe-
ning part. Normally, the S400 is weldable
without an increased working temperature or
postweld heat treatment.

Additional instructions for welding of the For the high strength steels, recommended
4CrMn16-4* are given in pages 42-43. In cooling time t8/5 is 5-25 s. In effective heat
welding of the high strength steels, the risk of input, it equals ca. 1-2 kJ/mm. The exact coo-
cold cracking needs to be taken into account, ling time depends on the material’s thickness,
see page. 16. and it can be defined by using formulas in EN
1011-2 (2001) standard or by using graphs. If
the cooling time is too short, the risk of cold
cracking increases, and if the cooling time is
too long, the impact toughness decreases.
Recommended consumables for high strength structural steels
Steel grade Rod Notes

OK 48.00
S400 OK Femax 38.65

OK 55.00
Conarc 48
Conarc V 180
Conarc 49
OK 48.00 and Conarc 48 are non-
OK 48.00, undermatching alloyed filler rods. Using them results
OK 74.78 in a weld with a lower strength than
S500/19MnV5 the base material
Conarc 48
Conarc 60G
OK 48.00, undermatching
4CrMn16-4* OK 75.75
Conarc 48
Conarc 80

Steel grade MAG Shielding gas Notes
S400 OK Aristorod 12.63 M21/M20 or CO2

OK Tubrod 15.14 M21 or CO2 Flux-cored wire
Outershield T55-H M21/M20 or CO2 Flux-cored wire
OK Autrod 12.64 M21/M20 Undermatching
S500 OK Tubrod 14.12 M21 Flux-cored wire, under-

matching
LNM 27 M21/M20
Outershield T55-H M21/M20 Flux-cored wire
OK Autrod 12.51 M21/M20 Non-alloyed filler wire,
undermatching
4CrMn16-4*
OK Autrod 12.64 M21/M20 Non-alloyed filler wire,
undermatching
OK Aristorod 13.12 M21/M20
OK Aristorod 13.29 M21/M20
LNM 26 M21/M20 Non-alloyed filler wire,
undermatching
LNM 27 M21/M20 Non-alloyed filler wire,
undermatching
LNM 19 M21/M20
LNM MoNiVa M21/M20

Working temperatures for high strength structural steels
Steel grade and Combined Working Postweld heat Notes

welding process thickness of the temperature, °C treatment
joint, mm
S400
MMA -60 Not increased
60- 100-200 Stress relieving, if
necessary
MAG -90 Not increased Stress relieving, if
necessary
90- 100-200
S500
20- 100-200 Stress relieving, if
necessary
MAG -30 Not increased Stress relieving, if
necessary
30- 100-200
4CrMn16-4*
40- 100-200 Stress relieving, if In stress relieving,
necessary the steel’s strength
MAG -60 Not increased Stress relieving, if slightly decreases
necessary
60- 100-200

Heat treatments for high strength structural steels
Treatment Temperature, °C Soaking time, hours Cooling Notes

S400, S500
Normalizing 900-930 0.5-1 Slowly to 450 °C,
after which cooling
Stress relieving 550-600 1-2 in air
Quenching and
tempering
-hardening 920-950 0.5-1 Quenching in water
-tempering 400-460 0.5-1 In air Tempering is not
mandatory
Normalizing 930-960 0.5-1 In air
Stress relieving 400-600 2 In air In stress relieving,
the steel’s strength
slightly decreases
8.4 Quenching and tempering steels The 4CrMn16-4 is exception. Due to its low
carbon content, ca. 0.05 %, the 4CrMn16-4’s
C45 microstructure is lath martensitic.. Unlike
25CrMo4 a conventional plate martensite, the lath
42CrMo4 martensite is comparatively soft and tough,
34CrNiMo6 making it highly weldable. The Ovako’s qu-
4CrMn16-4 enching and tempering steels are M-treated
to ensure a machinability that is as high as
Quenching and tempering steels are made for possible. The M-treatment does not affect
heat treating, or quenching and tempering. steel’s weldability.
Therefore, they have a higher carbon content
than weldable structural and machine steels,
between 0.22 and 0.50 %. To improve harde-
ning abilities, the quenching and tempering
steels are alloyed with manganese, chromi-
um, nickel, and molybdenum. Basically, they
all affect welding negatively.
Using the IIW’s formula, the quenching and

tempering steels’ carbon equivalent varies
between CEV = 0.5-1.1 (even though the for-
mula is not meant for estimating the welda-
bility of such steels).

8.4.1 Welding of quenching ral wool) and it must be protected from
and tempering steels draughts.
The use of quenching and tempering steels in
welded structures should usually be avoided. Welding is always safer to perform on a soft
Its comparatively high carbon content and annealed base material than on a quenched
alloying may cause hardening and cracking and tempered base material. The filler me-
in the welding. In some cases welding can- tal needs to be selected so that the weld gets
not be avoided, like in the repair of a broken the desired strength after the quenching and
structure or when there are constructional tempering. Nowadays, selecting the filler me-
requirements. The welding’s success often tal for steels that are already quenched and
depends on how well the following can be fit tempered and receive only stress relief after
together: steel’s behavior, structure’s rigidity the welding, is not difficult anymore.
and postweld heat treatment.
Filler metal manufacturers have developed
Almost always, the welding of quenching rods suited especially for quenching and
and tempering steels requires an increased tempering steels, such as OK 75.75, Conarc
working temperature, usually 150-400 °C. 80 and OK 78.16. Also, rods for heat resistant
The recommended practice (particularly if steels, for example OK 76.18, can be used for
the carbon content is more than 0.35 %) is to quenching and tempering steels.
choose the working temperature above the
Ms –temperature, or slightly over 350 °C, and To prevent cold cracking, the rods need to
then maintain the temperature at least for an be dried before welding. The recommended
hour after the welding. drying temperature is 350 °C and the drying
time should be at least two hours.
Then austenite decomposition in the weld
leads to softer microstructures, lowering the If the joint’s strength does not have special
cracking risk without significantly lowering requirements, it is often more beneficial to
the strength. weld quenched and tempered base materials
with austenitic stainless steel rods, or over-al-
Usually the weld needs to be heat treated. loyed rods. Such rods are, for example, OK
Quenching and tempering is the most recom- 67.45, Arosta 307, OK 67.70, Arosta 309Mo,
mended treatment. The treatment is most OK 68.82 and Wearshield BU-30. Equiva-
profitable to do right after the welding before lent wires are, for example, OK Autrod 16.95,
it cools down. If quenching and tempering af- LNM 307, 309LSi, LNM 309LSi and 312. In
ter the welding is not possible, a stress relief these cases, welding of the 25CrMo4 can be
needs to be done. done even without increasing the working
temperature.
The stress relieving temperature needs to be
chosen slightly under the material’s original The upside of austenitic filler metals is their
tempering temperature (usually 550-650 °C) lower susceptibility to cold cracking. Hydro-
so the strength does not decrease. Annealing gen is more likely to dissolve in austenite
needs to be done as soon as the weld cools than in ferrite, making the hydrogen stay in
down to 100 °C, so the austenite decompo- the austenitic weld and prevent cold cracking
sition is complete. Sometimes, annealing is in the HAZ. The yield point of the austenitic
not possible right after, and the workpiece welds varies between 400 N/mm2 and 600
is often sitting at room temperature for long N/mm2.
periods of time before the annealing.
One way to ease the joining of quenching
The weld’s cooling needs to be slowed down and tempering steels, or other low welda-
(for example, by covering it with mine- bility steels, to high weldability steels is to

use buttering weld. Before the actual weld, An increased working temperature is usually
a deposition is welded to the junction with a not necessary, but in challenging welds, it is
non-alloyed filler metal. The deposition weld recommended.
can also be heat treated, if necessary. After
the deposition weld, the actual welding is per- 4CrMn16-4 does not require postweld heat
formed. The joint’s reliability can be further treatments.
increased by stress relieving the structure.
Low penetration is typical for the 4CrMn16-
Welding of the quenching and tempering 4. When the 4CrMn16-4 is welded to a lower
steels always requires special attention. A strength steel, the penetration difference
correct weld placement to reduce the structu- needs to be taken into account. Due to the
re’s rigidity is important, as well as adequate 4CrMn16-4’s high chromium content, it has a
heat treatment equipment near the work chromium oxide layer on its surface, reducing
area. Usually, the weld’s quality should be the penetration.
verified with tests.
Equal penetration can be achieved by direc-
8.4.2 Welding of the 4CrMn16-4 ting the rod so that more thermal effect goes
Unlike conventional quenching and tempe- to the 4CrMn16-4 (Figure 18). A high enough
ring steels, the 4CrMn16-4 is highly weldable, heat input must be used to ensure adequate
even after it is quenched and tempered. It penetration. The simplest way to get a high
can be welded with the conventional welding enough heat input is to select the highest
processes and consumables. In MMA wel- values for current from electrode recommen-
ding, both non-alloyed and alloyed rods can dations table.
be used, for example, non-alloyed OK 48.00
or Conarc 48 and alloyed OK 75.75 or Conarc Of course there are other factors that affect
80. The rods must be dried thoroughly before the penetration, such as correct travel speeds,
welding. root gaps, and rod sizes in relation to a groove
angle.
Using non-alloyed fillers results in a lower
strength, but the joint’s toughness is better
than with alloyed fillers.
Figure 18 – To achieve equal penetration

in welding of the 4CrMn16-4 (Imacro) to a
non-alloyed steel, the rod is directed more
towards the 4CrMn16-4 (Imacro).

Recommended consumables for quenching and tempering steels

OK 48.00 Non-alloyed rod (soft)
C45 OK 74.78
Conarc 48 Non-alloyed rod (soft)
Conarc 60G
25CrMo4 OK 75.75
OK 78.16
42CrMo4
OK 67.45 Austenitic stainless rod
34CrNiMo6
OK 67.70
OK 68.82
Conarc 80
Arosta 307
Arosta 309Mo
Limarosta 312
4CrMn16-4 (Imacro M) OK 75.75

Conarc 48

Recommended consumables for quenching and tempering steels
Steel grade MAG Shielding gas Notes

OK Aristorod 12.63 M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)
C45 OK Tubrod 15.14 M21 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)

LNM 27 M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)
Outershield 70-H M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)
OK Aristorod 12.50 M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)
25CrMo4 OK Aristorod 13.12 M21/M20 or CO2

42CrMo4
OK Tubrod 14.03 M21 Flux-cored wire
34CrNiMo6
OK Autrod 309LSi M12/M13 Austenitic stainless wire
OK Autrod 16.95 M12/M13 Austenitic stainless wire
LNM MoNiVa M21/M20 or CO2
Outershield 690-H M21 Flux-cored wire
LNM 309LSi M12/M13
LNM 307 M12/M13
OK Autrod 12.51 M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)
4CrMn16-4 (Imacro M) OK Aristorod 13.12 M21/M20 or CO2

OK Tubrod 14.03 M21 Flux-cored wire
LNM 26 M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire (soft)
Outershield 690-H M21 Flux-cored wire

Working temperatures for quenching and tempering steels
Steel grade and Combined Working Postweld heat Postweld heat

welding process thickness of the temperature, °C treatment treatment
joint, mm
C45
MMA -20 50-100
Stress relieving
20- 150-200 Quenching and
tempering
Normalizing
MAG -20 Not increased
Stress relieving
20- 150-200 Quenching and
tempering
Normalizing
25CrMo4
MMA 150-200 Stress relieving
Quenching and
tempering The weld is softer
than the base ma-
Austenitic stainless -20 50-100 terial
filler metal
20- 150-200
MAG -20 50-100 Stress relieving
Quenching and
20- 150-200 tempering

25CrMo4, 42CrMo4, 34CrNiMo6
MMA The working
temperature has to
be maintained 1-2
Stress relieving hours after the
Quenching and welding, unless
MAG 370-420 tempering the workpiece is
quenched and
tempered
Austenitic stainless 370-420 The weld is softer
filler metal than the base
material
4CrMn16-4 (Imacro)
MMA -40 Not increased Stress relieving, if
necessary In stress relieving,
40- 100-200 the steel’s strength
MAG -60 Not increased Stress relieving, if slightly decreases
necessary
-60 150-200

Heat treatments for quenching and tempering steels
Treatment Temperature, °C Soaking time, hours Cooling Notes

C45
Normalizing 840-870 0.5-1 In air
Quenching and tempering
or oil
-tempering 550-660 1-2.5 In air
Stress relieving 450-650 2 Slowly to 450 °C,
after which cooling
in air
25CrMo4
-hardening 840-880 0.5-1 Quenching in oil
after which cooling
in air
42CrMo4, 34CrNiMo6
-hardening 820-850 0.5-1 Quenching in oil
after which cooling
in air
4CrMn16-4
-tempering 400-460 1-2.5 In air Tempering is not
mandatory
Stress relieving 450-600 2 In air In stress relieving,
the steel’s strength
slightly decreases

8.5 Case hardening steels The carbon content of a case hardened surfa-
ce is about 0.7%. Due to this the risk of cold
20NiCrMo2-2 cracking in the welding of such an object is
16MnCr5 very high, and it is best that the welding is
20MnCr5 performed before the case hardening.
17NiCrMo6-4
18NiCrMo7-6 If the welding is done after the case harde-
ning, the weld area must be protected from
Alloyed case hardening steels are similar to carbonization or the carbonized layer must be
quenching and tempering steels but their removed from the weld area.
carbon content is lower, 0.15-0.25 %. Their
weldability in mill state or after soft annea- If the welding is done before the case har-
ling is comparable to the 25CrMo4. dening and the weld also needs to be case
hardened, the filler metal needs to be selected
Just like the welding of quenching and tem- so it is suitable for case hardening. Such filler
pering steels, welding of the case hardening metals are, for example, OK 78.16 or Kryo 3.
steels requires caution.
Recommended consumables for case hardening steels

OK 74.78
OK 75.75
OK 78.16 Suitable for case hardening
OK 67.45 Austenitic stainless filler rod
All grades
Conarc 60G
Conarc 80
Kryo 3 Suitable for case hardening

Arosta 307 Austenitic stainless filler rod
Arosta 309Mo Austenitic stainless filler rod
Limarosta 312 Austenitic stainless filler rod

OK Tubrod 14.03 M21
OK Autrod 309LSi M12/M13 Austenitic stainless
All grades OK Autrod 16.95 M12/M13 Austenitic stainless
Outershield 690-H M21
LNM 309LSi M12/M13
LNM 307 M12/M13
Working temperatures for case hardening steels
Welding process (for all Combined thickness of Working temperature, °C Notes

case hardening steels) the joint, mm
MMA 150-200
Austenitic stainless filler -20 50-100 The weld is softer than the
metal base material
20- 150-200
MAG -20 50-100
-20 150-200

8.6 Boron steels (in mill state) boron steels are rather soft,
which is beneficial for welding stresses.
20MnB4
27MnCrB5-2 The structures welded in an unhardened state
30MnB5 are either hardened or quenched and tempe-
38MnB5 red after the welding.
Boron is an alloy which strongly increases In the welding of boron steels, the same gene-
steels hardenability. It is alloyed in small ral factors as in the welding of high strength
amounts – 0.003 % on average. Other alloys steels need to be taken into account.
can be replaced with boron, and with it, the
steel’s carbon content can be lowered without The given consumable recommendations lead
decreasing the hardening abilities. to a weld that is slightly softer than the base
material.
Boron steels’ composition is profitable for
welding. Ovako boron steels have relatively If the boron steels are used for rather simple
high weldability with their carbon content objects or structures, the working temperatu-
being around 0.2-0.3%. On the other hand, res can be selected from table’s lower end.
the 38MnB5´s carbon content is 0.4%, and it
is significantly harder to weld. In challenging and rigid structures, the wor-
king temperature needs to be higher.
Boron steels can be welded in either an un-
hardened or hardened state. The unhardened

Condition and welding process MMA & MAG Shielding gas
Hot rolled/Unhardened OK 55.00
MMA Conarc 49
MAG OK Aristorod 12.63 M21/M20 or CO2
Hardened OK 74.78
MMA Conarc 60G
Working temperatures for boron steels
Steel grade and Combined Working Working Capacity after

welding process thickness of the temperature for temperature in processing
joint, mm simple objects, °C challenging cases
and rigid structures,
°C
20MnB4
-15 Not increased Not increased
MMA
15-30 Not increased 150-200
30- 50-100 150-200
MAG -20 Not increased Not increased
20- Not increased 150-200
27MnCrB5-2
MMA -20 Not increased 150-200
-20 50-100 150-200
MAG -30 Not increased 150-200
30- 50-100 150-200
30MnB5
MMA -15 Not increased Not increased
15- 100-200 150-200
MAG -30 Not increased 150-200
30- 50-100 150-200
38MnB5
The hardness of the
MMA and MAG 370-420* 370-420* hardening steel drops
to around 47 HRC
* Working temperature is maintained 2 hours after the welding

8.7 Spring steels The grades 55Si7 and 51CrV4 have such a
high hardenability, that their welding is not
40Si7 recommended.
55Si7
51CrV4 The 40Si7’s carbon content is about 0.4%,
and it is not very highly alloyed, making it
As given by their name, spring steels are weldable within certain limits.
designed to be material for springs. They are
often used in other applications as well, for Sometimes, for example in repairs, it might
example, in wear and structural parts of farm be necessary to weld the easily hardening
machinery. spring steels 55Si7 or 51CrV4. If the joint’s st-
rength is not a substantial factor, for example
Often in repairs and maintenance work, in the welding of a fitting, the welding can be
problems in the welding of spring steels are done using an austenitic filler metal. Cooling
faced. Nevertheless, spring steels must not be needs to be done slowly.
used in supporting structures.
In welded structures that require high
The Ovako spring steel grades 40Si7 and strength or high abrasion resistance, it is
55Si7 are silicon-manganese alloyed. The recommended to use high strength structural
51CrV4 is chromium-vanadium alloyed. Har- steels or boron steels.
denability of the steels increases in the order
mentioned above.

Recommended consumables for spring steels
Steel grade and weld- MMA and MAG Shielding gas Notes
ing process
40Si7
OK 55.00 Non-alloyed filler rod
MMA OK 75.75
Conarc 49 Non-alloyed filler rod
Conarc 80
OK Autrod 12.64 M21/M20 or CO2 Non-alloyed filler wire

55Si7, 51CrV4
MMA OK 67.70 Austenitic stainless filler rod

OK 75.75
Arosta 307 Austenitic stainless filler rod
Arosta 309Mo Austenitic stainless filler rod
Limarosta 312 Austenitic stainless filler rod
Conarc 80
OK Autrod 309L M12/M13 Austenitic stainless filler rod
MAG OK Autrod 16.95 M12/M13 Austenitic stainless filler rod

LNM 309LSi M12/M13 Austenitic stainless filler wire
LNM 307 M12/M13 Austenitic stainless filler wire

Working temperatures for spring steels
Steel grade Working temperature, Postweld heat treatment Notes

°C
40Si7 100-200 Stress relieving, if necessary
55Si7 600-650 Quenching and tempering, Slow cooling from the
51CrV4 if possible working temperature
Heat treatments for spring steels

40Si7, 55Si7
-hardening 850-870 0.5 Quenching in water
-tempering 450-650 0.5-1 In air
Stress relieving 400-600 1-2 Slowly to 450 °C, after
51CrV4
-hardening 830-890 0.5 Quenching in water
-tempering 450-650 0.5-1 In air
Stress relieving 400-600 1-2 Slowly to 450 °C, after

9 – REPAIR WELDING OF PROBLEM STEELS
In repairs and maintenance works, it is so- With using dried non-alloyed base rods, a
metimes necessary to weld steels that are not rather tough and soft weld can be achieved.
meant for it. They might have low weldability With non-alloyed rods, an increased working
because of their composition or strength, or temperature should be used when possible.
sometimes even their origin might be unclear.
Conditions are often unfavorable for welding. For several years in repair welding of these
Objects and structures might be so large that steels, welding has been done with austenitic
heat treating them is not possible. stainless filler metals, which has been found
to be an excellent method. Heat treatments
Such weldable objects can be, for example, are usually not necessary due to a lower risk
machine parts such as gears and axles, wear of cold cracking and tougher weld metal. As
parts, or tools. for such repairing filler metals, many diffe-
rent austenitic or austenitic-ferritic alloys
In this brochure, the term “problem steel” re- have been used.
fers, for example, to high carbon, quenching
and tempering, spring, case hardening, and The biggest benefit of an austenitic filler is
abrasion resistant steels. In the chapter its ability to dissolve most of the hydrogen
“Examples of welding the Ovako steels” some in the filler-base material mix while avoiding
cases like these are covered. diffusion into the HAZ where martensite
has formed. The filler metal’s composition is
The first thing to do in the welding of a pro- designed so that a high amount of ferrite can
blem steel is to sort out its weldability. It is be alloyed to the weld metal without forming
simple to do if information about the structu- a microstructure that is prone to cracking.
re’s composition or strength is available,
for example, through a drawing or material The most common type of filler metal in
certificate. The composition and strength of repair welding is 29 % Cr -9 % Ni, and its
an unknown material can try to be clarified composition leads to an austenitic-ferri-
through tests such as a spark- or hardness tic structure. The weld metal’s yield point
test. In critical cases, the analysis should be is about 600 N/mm2, ultimate strength is
done, for example, from a sample piece. about 700 N/mm2 and hardness is about 250
HB. Such filler metals are, for example, OK
If the object’s composition is such that its 68.81, OK 68.82 and Limarosta 312 (see table
welding is covered earlier in steel grade speci- below).
fic instructions, those instructions should be
followed when possible. Naturally, using an austenitic or austeni-
tic-ferritic filler metal does not prevent the
The filler metal should be selected so that it possibility of the base material’s HAZ from
contains the least amount of diffusible hydro- hardening. An increased working temperatu-
gen as possible and is tougher than the base re reduces the risk of it happening but it wor-
material, which reduces stresses in the base sens the weld material’s properties. Usually
material’s HAZ. the welding is done cold.

The most commonly used filler metals in repair welding
OK 67.45, OK Autrod 16.95, Tubrodur 200 O D

18Cr/8Ni/6Mo
Arosta 307, LNM 307
OK 67.60, OK Autrod 309LSi, Shield-Bright 309L X-tra

23Cr/13Ni
Limarosta 309S, LNM 309LSi, Cor-A-Rosta 309L
OK 67.60, OK Autrod 309MoL, Shield-Bright 309LMo X-tra

3Cr/13Ni/3Mo
Arosta 309Mo, Cor-A-Rosta 309MoL
OK 68.81 and 68.82, OK Autrod 312

29Cr/9Ni
Limarosta 312
OK 92.26, OK Autrod 19.85

65Ni/15Cr-Fe-Mn
NiCro 70/15Mn, NiCro 70/19

10 – JOINT WELDING OF NON-ALLOYED AND STAINLESS STEEL
The joint between a non-alloyed and stain- The given values are approximations since
less steel is usually welded with a so cal- pre-heating, groove shape, material thick-
led over-alloyed stainless filler metal. The ness, filler material diameter, welding cur-
over-alloyed filler has a higher chromium and rent, polarity, arc voltage, travel speed and
nickel content, so it can dilute to a non-al- arc alignment along with the weld process
loyed steel without ruining the weld metal’s affect the dilution ratio.
qualities.
The forming microstructure can be found on
The filler metal is selected so the following the line that is connecting the midpoint of
harmful effects won’t develop: cold cracking, the base materials’ connecting line and the
ferrite grain growth, sigma brittleness or hot location of the filler metal, when the dilution
cracking. ratio is known.
In the selection of a filler metal, the Schaeffler Non-alloyed and stainless steel can be wel-
diagram shown in Figure 20 can be used as ded together by using an over-alloyed filler
an aid. It presents the steel’s microstructure’s for the whole groove, or by using buttering
dependence on its Cr- and Ni-equivalents. welding. By welding a buttering layer, using
an over-alloyed filler metal, onto the non-al-
The previously mentioned harmful effects loyed groove surface, the rest of the weld can
can be avoided by selecting the filler so that be done using a filler metal matching the base
the weld material’s microstructure is on the material, Figure 19.
bolded area of Figure 20. In addition to the
base material’s composition, the filler me-
tal’s composition and dilution ratio affect the
selection. The dilution ratio tells how much
of the base material is mixed into the weld
metal. Typical dilution ratios for the different
processes are:
Pulsed-MIG/MAG 10-20%
MIG/MAG 20-30%
MMA 20-35%
TIG 20-60%
SAW 40-70%
Figure 19 – The joint of non-alloyed and
stainless steel using buttering weld
The most commonly used filler metals are so called over-alloyed type:
23Cr/13Ni/3Mo OK 67.70 Arosta 309Mo

23Cr/13Ni OK 67.75 Limarosta 309S
18Cr/8Ni/6Mo OK 67.45 Arosta 307
29Cr/9Ni OK 68.82 Limarosta 312

10.1 Example of use When the line’s (1,2) midpoint is connected
A high strength structural steel, S400, and to points 3, 4 and 5, it can be seen that the
an acid resistant steel 18/12/3 (AISI 316) are filler OK 48.00 does not hit the triangle in the
welded together. Let us take a closer look middle of diagram. This results in a marten-
at the filler metals OK 48.00, OK 63.30 and sitic microstructure that is hard, brittle and
67.70. The first one’s composition is similar susceptible to cracking.
to a structural steel, the second one is similar
to an acid resistant steel, and the third one is Using the filler metal OK 63.30, the dilution
a so called over-alloyed filler metal. ratios 0-25 % hit the triangle, and with the
filler metal OK 67.70, the dilution ratio is
Even though this example is about a “basic” 15-40 %.
high strength structural steel, S400, the
same approach and results also apply to most It can be seen that with the rod OK 67.70,
non-alloyed and low-alloyed steels. the harmful microstructures can be avoided.
Using the rod OK 63.30 might lead to harm-
In the Schaeffler diagram, points 1 and 2 ful microstructures, and the result is not
represent the base materials’ Cr- and Ni- reliable.
equivalents, and points 3, 4 and 5 represent
the equivalents to the filler metals mentioned
previously mentioned, respectfully.
Figure 20 – Schaeffler’s diagram

11 – HARDFACING
Hardfacing is a process where worn surfaces During the welding, it is usually recommen-
or surfaces under high wear are surfaced with ded to keep the weld object’s temperature,
a filler metal, resulting in a surface that is as working temperature, between 200 °C and
or more durable than the structure’s original 500 °C to prevent cracking in the weld metal.
material. The method is used both to repair Instructions for selecting the working tem-
old structures and make new ones. The pur- perature can be found from catalogs provided
poses of hardfacing are: by the filler metal supplier.
• Return the original dimensions to a worn In welding over non-alloyed steels, dilution
object so that the renewed object’s service needs to be kept in mind. The desired hard-
life may be as long as the original’s. ness cannot be achieved on the weld’s first
• To ease manufacturing of complex objects. layer.
Structures that are difficult to make
entirely from a wear-resistant alloy can be In repair welding of tools and some machine
made from a steel that is easier to handle, components, problems may occur. Structu-
and then parts requiring the special ral materials are usually hardened and often
qualities can be hardfaced. harden easily. First it is always safer to sort
out the material’s composition, hardness and
There are several types of hardfacing rods possible heat treatment before the welding.
and wires with varying features. The selection Then define the welding circumstances:
is usually made based on the prevailing wear, correct working temperature, suitable anne-
weld metal’s hardness and wear resistance. aling method to make the structure weldable,
possible postweld heat treatment, or welding
In addition, the weld metal’s tempering, cor- technique, for example, skip welding.
rosion, and flaking resistance, etc. need to be
taken into account. The weld object’s size is an important factor
in defining the working temperature. Small
Often, the same object is exposed to several objects heat up enough from the arc energy,
wear mechanisms which set contradictory sometimes even turning red hot. In this case,
requirements for the material. For example, the object should be left to cool down before
high abrasion resistance is difficult to com- continuing the welding because welding when
bine with high toughness and good thermal the workpiece is too hot may lead to a decrea-
and corrosion resistance. This is why there sed hardness and impact toughness.
are numerous different hardfacing materials
on the market and why some properties have
to be compromised in order to achieve others.
Some of the hardfacing materials are combi-
nations of several feature requirements.
Table 2 gives a general image of the proper-

ties of some hardfacing filler metals. In the
standard EN 14700 (2014), different filler
metals and their suitability for different wear
situations are covered more precisely.

Table 2. Filler metals for hardfacing

12 – EXAMPLES OF WELDING THE OVAKO STEELS
In the selection of the following examples, • In the welding of hardened steels,

the goal was to represent different welding exceeding the working temperature of 200
problems and their solutions on a wide scale. °C causes the structure to soften, and
All of the examples have been implemented temperatures from 200 °C to 350 °C
in real life, but the best result is not neces- decrease toughness.
sarily the one shown in these examples. One
purpose of these examples is to give ideas • In critical cases, the working temperature
and stimulate the development of even more should be maintained for 1-2 hours after
functional weld joints. the welding to make sure the hydrogen
has enough time to leave the weld and base
Some of the examples are purely maintenan- material’s HAZ.
ce cases, where the base material selection
might be poor for welding. Although estima- • Particularly in rigid structures, it is
ting the weldability is a part of the material recommended to perform a stress relief. A
selection process, these examples should be correctly done stress relief reduces residual
viewed critically and they should not be used stresses, improves the weld’s fatigue
to guide the material selection. strength and toughness, and ensures
permanency of the dimensions in
The steels’ properties and their use are cove- machining and use.
red more precisely on Ovako’s Material Data
Sheets, found in the Steel Navigator. • Normalization, quenching and tempering,
or some other suitable heat treatment can
The design and a stress analysis of the weld also be used as a postweld heat treatment.
joints are covered in several books and ar- The normalization particularly improves
ticles. The welding of pressure vessels must the impact toughness Sin ce the quality of
be performed following the rules and regula- the weld is always a sum of several factors,
tions given by the authorities and standards. the responsibility of the weld’s success lies
Steel’s most common groove shapes and their on all: designer, welder and supervisor.
design are introduced in standard EN ISO
9692-1 (2013).
In addition to instructions for each steel gra-

de, the following general welding rules should
be taken into account:
• Particularly in welding of high strength

steels and rigid structures, the selected
filler metal should be slightly softer than
the base material, or as hard at the most.
• Usually, in welding of two different grades

of steel together, the filler metal should be
selected to match the base material with
the lower strength.
• In the welding of different steel grades

together, the working temperature is based
on the combined material thickness with
the assumption that the whole structure is
made of the more hardening steel.

12.1 Flange axle
Structural materials
Flange Axle
A Machine steel Ovako 520 Machine steel Ovako 520 or cold drawn machine
steel Ovako 550
B Machine steel Ovako 520 Quenching and tempering steel 25CrMo4
C Case-hardening steel 20NiCrMo2-2 Quenching and tempering steel 25CrMo4
Consumables Working temperature Heat

treatments
OK 48.00 A flange axle dimensioned like Axle can be case
Rod above, can be welded without in- hardened.
Conarc 48 creasing the working temperature.
Wire OK Autrod 12.51 With higher material thicknesses,
A the need for an increased working
LNM 26 temperature is determined by the
Shielding gas combined thickness of the joint.
M21/M20 or CO2
Rod OK 74.78 Stress relieving
Conarc 60G 550-600 °C
B Wire OK Aristorod 13.12 150-200 °C
LNM 19
Shielding gas
M21/M20 or CO2

OK 74.78
Rod
Conarc 60G Case hardening
C Wire OK Aristorod 13.12 200-250 °C of the flange
before the
LNM 19 welding
Shielding gas M21/M20 or CO2
Grooves are made by turning. The dimension Fine turning and possible grinding are done
is based on a strength requirement, in other after the welding.
words, torque τ. The axle’s end can be fillet
welded, unless the strength requirement de- In alternative A, the cold drawn machine steel
mands a single bevel groove. Ovako 550 softens due to the welding’s ther-
mal effect. The yield point drops to around
The cooling after the welding can be slowed 350 N/mm2. The quenched and tempered
down with a thermal insulation. If the axle is 25CrMo4 tempers if the axle’s heat treatment
machined into a gear wheel, it is case harde- temperature exceeds the original quenching
ned before the welding. Weld areas must be and tempering temperature. The case har-
protected from carbonization. dened gear teeth soften if their temperature
exceeds 250 °C.

12.2 Torsion bar
Arm High strength structural steel S400
A
Hubs Cold drawn machine steel Ovako 550
Arm High strength structural steel S400
B
Hubs Quenching and tempering steel 4CrMn16-4
For strength, the K-groove is the most optimal. The yield point drops to around 350 N/mm2
in the heated zone.
The cold drawn machine steel Ovako 550 sof-
tens due to the welding’s thermal effect. The weld must be placed so that the structu-
re’s strength is not affected. Other structure
weakening features, such as keyways, must be
placed outside of the weld’s thermal effect.
Consumables Working temperature

OK 48.00
Rod OK Femax 38.65
Conarc 48
Conarc V 180
A
Wire OK Autrod 12.51 A torsion bar dimensioned like above, can be welded
LNM 26 without increasing the working temperature. With
M21/M20 or CO2 higher material thicknesses, the need for increased
Shielding gas working temperature is determined by the combined
Rod OK 74.78 thickness of the joint.
Conarc 60G
B Wire OK Aristorod 13.12
LNM 19

12.3 Repair welding of an axle
A Quenching and tempering steel 25CrMo4
B Quenching and tempering steel 42CrM04
C Machine steel Ovako 520
D ICold drawn machine steel Ovako 550
Consumables Working temperature Heat treatments

OK 48.00
Root passes Stress relieving in 500-
A Conarc 48 150-200 °C 600 °C or maintaining
OK 74.78 the working temperature
Filling layers 2 hours after the welding
Conarc 60G
OK 48.00
Root passes Stress relieving in 540-
B Conarc 48 400-450 °C 600 °C. Soaking time 2
OK 75.75 hours
Filling layers
Conarc 80
OK 48.00
C Root passes Heat treating is not
Conarc 48 150-200 °C necessary
OK 48.00
D Filling layers
Conarc 48
The destroyed part is removed from the axle. Runs are welded alternately to each side. The
An X-groove provides a good support for the first sealing run must be opened before wel-
weld’s start. If the groove is made by flame ding the first run on the second side.
cutting, slag and scale must be removed from
the surface by grinding. A turned conical With axles smaller than in the example,
shaped groove or an X-groove with an ang- alternatives C and D do not require increased
le under 60° may cause root defects or hot working temperature.
cracks.

12.4 Gear
Rim High strength structural steel S400
Web General structural steel S355J2
Hub Machine steel Ovako 520
Structural materials Heat treatments

Rod OK 48.00
Conarc 48 Stress relieving in 500-600 °C
Wire OK Autrod 12.51 Soaking time 2 hours
LNM 26
The X-groove for the rims’s butt weld is In gas arc welding, a reduced groove angle of
machined. The root pass is welded with a Ø 2 50 ° is used.
mm rod. The first root passes must be opened
and slag must be removed thoroughly. Stag- Throat thicknesses of the web’s welds are
gered welding is recommended. determined by the strength requirements.

12.5 Lifting pin for vessel’s shell
Lifting pin Machine steel Ovako 520
Plate General structural steel S355J2

Rod OK 48.00
Conarc 48
Wire OK Autrod 12.51 150-200 °C
LNM 26
The groove can be flame cut, in which case The penetration can be improved by directing
scale must be removed from the surface. the arc more towards the pin.
Groove angles smaller than in the instruc-
tions may cause root defects even when using Cooling can take place in air. If the lifting pin
smaller diameter rods or wires. is smaller, for example Ø 100-150 mm, the
cooling should be slowed down with insula-
An increased working temperature is neces- tion.
sary since the cold, massive lifting pin would
cool down the weld too quickly, which could
cause cracking.

12.6 Piston rod
Arm Machine steel Ovako 520
End Machine steel Ovako 520 or General structural steel S355J2

OK 48.00
Rod OK Femax 38.65

Conarc 48
150-200 °C, if d ≥ 80 mm
Wire OK Autrod 12.64
LNM 27
The root passes are welded with a Ø 2.5mm For diameters d ≥ 45 mm, the groove shape A
rod. Before welding the other side, the root is used. A sharp angled groove made by tur-
must be opened. The slag must be thoroughly ning is not recommended, since it might lead
removed from the root pass. Welding advan- to an incomplete root and increase the risk of
ces as staggered welding. hot cracks and pores. In gas arc welding, the
groove alternative C, in a shape of truncated
In runs closer to the surface, larger diameter cone, can be used.
rods can be used to speed up the process.
If the piston rod’s diameter, d, is under 45

mm, the groove is made in a shape resem-
bling a slotted screwdriver (groove B in the
figure).

12.7 Piston
Piston Machine steel 16Mn5
Arm Machine steel Ovako 520
Consumables Heat treatments

OK 55.00
Rod
Conarc 49
Wire OK Autrod 12.64 150-200 °C, if d ≥ 80 mm
LNM 27
Shielding gas M20 or Argon
Depth of the chamfer, a, on the piston’s head Due to the increased sulphur content in
is determined by the strength requirements. 16Mn5, a high manganese filler metal and
low arc energy should be used. Additionally,
The groove’s shape on the rod’s end depends in gas arc welding, either argon or M20 gas
on the piston’s type of action. mixture should also be used.

12.8 Valve head
Head Stainless steel 18/12/3 (AISI 316)
A
Stem Stainless steel 18/12/3 (AISI 316)
Head Stainless steel 18/12/3 (AISI 316)
B
Stem Machine steel Ovako 520

OK 63.30
Rod
Limarosta 316L
A Wire OK Autrod 316LSi Working temperature not
increased.
LNM 316LSi
Shielding gas M12
OK 67.70*
Rod
Arosta 309Mo*
B Wire OK Autrod 309Lsi* Excessive heating of the weld must
be avoided.
LNM 309LSi
Shielding gas M12/M13
*Especially with higher material thicknesses, The root passes are welded with thin rods.
only the surface of the non-stainless steel is The root is opened and slag is removed
beneficial to weld with an over-alloyed filler thoroughly. The welding continues as stagge-
metal. After this, the welding can be continu- red welding.
ed with the case A’s filler metals.
The object must be kept as cold as possible
The groove is worked into the shape of a during the welding. If necessary, the object
slotted screwdriver. Use of a turned conical must be left to cool down during the process.
shaped groove is not recommended since it
may lead to an incomplete root, lowering the
strength.

12.9 Welding a stainless spindle to lever arm
Spindle Stainless steel 18/8 (AISI 304)
A
Lever arm High strength structural steel S400
Spindle Stainless steel 18/12/3 (AISI 316)
B
Lever arm High strength structural steel S400
Spindle Stainless steel 18/12/3 (AISI 316)
C
Lever arm Stainless steel 18/8 (AISI 304)
Consumables Number of sites

OK 67.70
Rod
Arosta 309Mo
A Wire OK Autrod 309LSi
LNM 309LSi
Shielding gas M12/M13 or Argon Working temperature not increased.
OK 67.70 Excessive heating of the weld must be avoided.
Rod
Arosta 309Mo
B Wire OK Autrod 316Lsi
LNM 309 LSi
Shielding gas M12

OK 63.30
Rod
Limarosta 316L
C Wire OK Autrod 316Lsi
LNM 309 LSi
Shielding gas M12
The groove can be either a fillet (in the figure, A prerequisite for good corrosion resistance
on top of the spindle) or K-groove (undersi- is thorough slag removal, pickling and passi-
de), depending on the strength requirement. vation. If a wire brush is used, the wires need
to be stainless steel. A grinding wheel cannot
The working temperature is kept as low as contain iron.
possible. In multi-pass welding, the weld
must be left to cool down to room temperatu-
re between the passes.

12.10 Steering joint
Arm High strength structural steel 4CrMn16-4*
Pin Boron steel 20MnB4

OK 74.78
Rod
Conarc 60G
Wire OK Aristorod 13.12 50-100 °C. Increased working temperature is not
needed.
Shielding gas LNM 19
M21/M20
For the groove, either a fillet or V-groove roughly the same as for 4CrMn16-4. The heat
can be selected, depending on the strength from the welding does not conduct further to
requirement. The groove’s throat thickness the pin, so the pin’s hardness stays unchang-
depends on the strength requirement. After eable.
working the groove, the pin is hardened.
See the more detailed instructions for wel-
The filler metal’s yield point 650 N/mm2 is ding the 4CrMn16-4* steels from pages 42-
43.

12.11 Joint
Flat bars High strength structural steel S400
A
Axle pin Machine steel Ovako 520, case hardened
Flat bars High strength structural steel S400
B
Axle pin Boron steel 20MnB4, hardened
The welding area on the case hardened pin

must be protected from carbonization.
The weld’s throat thickness, a, is based on the

strength requirement.
Consumables
OK 48.00
Rod
Conarc
A Wire OK Autrod 12.51
OK Tubrod 14.12
LNM 26, Outershield T55-H
Shielding gas M21 or CO2
OK 74.78
Rod
Conarc 60G
B Wire OK Aristorod 13.12
LNM 19

12.12 Track link A
Chain Boron steel 20MnB4, hardened
Shoe High strength structural steel S400

OK 74.78
Rod 50-100 °C in joint 1
Conarc 60G
Wire OK Aristorod 13.12
Increased working temperature is not
LNM 19 needed in gas arc welding.
In the weld joint 1, the fillet weld’s throat

thickness = 4-5 mm.
The weld joint 2 has an X-groove.

12.13 Track link B
Chain Boron steel 27MnCrB5-2, hardened
Shoe Boron steel 27MnCrB5-2, hardened
Anti-skid Concrete steel, reinforcing bar A 400 HW

OK 74.78
Rod
Conarc 60G
Wire OK Aristorod 13.12 50-100 °C
LNM 19
In the weld joint 1, the fillet weld’s throat increased working temperature is not neces-
thickness = 3-4 mm. Alternatively, a fully sary.
penetrating K-groove can be used, which is
made on the chain. Boron steel 30MnB5 is weldable following the
instructions on pages 50-51. In this case, the
The anti-skid (weld joint 2) can be welded working temperature is 150-200 °C.
before or after hardening the shoe part. An

12.14 Welded beam
Flanges High strength structural steel S400
Web plate General structural steel S355J2
Consumables
OK 48.00
Rod
Conarc 48
OK Autrod 12.51
Wire OK Tubrod 14.12
LNM 26
Outershield T55-H
Shielding gas
M21 or CO2

In the fillet weld (1), penetration in MMA A K-groove on weld joint 3 leads to a strong
welding can easily be lacking; in which case and whole weld which has the most beneficial
the web plate is not continuously attached to state of strain, but is the most expensive.
the flanges. As the weld cools down, stresses
develop on such points, which may lead to The high strength structural steel S400 is
cracking in the weld’s root. well suited for welded beams in which the
strength is used as the design criterion. The
With web plate thicknesses d ≤ 5 mm, the groove selection must be based on approved
groove shape 2 can be used. For full penetra- design instructions. As the strength requi-
tion, a 55 ° bevel angle is the most advanta- rements increase (Fv, τv, τt), the groove is
geous. The joint’s asymmetry causes distor- selected in order 1, 2, 3
tion α to develop as the weld cools down and
shrinks. This can be avoided with a correct
pre-angling of the plates before the welding.
To prevent root defects, penetration and pos-
sible burn through must be observed and the
defects must be fixed.

12.15 Welding a crane rail to beam
Rail High strength structural steel S400
A
Beam General structural steel S235J0
High strength structural steel S400
Rail High strength structural steel 4CrMn16-4*
B
Beam General structural steel S235J0
A Ø 5 mm rod is used in the welding. In

welding of the 4CrMn16-4* rail, the surface
passes are welded with hardfacing rods so
that the hardness and abrasion resistance are
equal to the base material. Support molds in
the welding are not needed.
The joint can be gas arc welded, if wind and

other circumstances allow it.

Joint 1
Consumables
OK 48.00
A Rod
Conarc 48
OK 48.00
Rod
Conarc 48
B OK Weartrode 30
Surface passes OK Weartrode 30 HD
Wearshield BU-30
Joint 2
Consumables
OK 48.00
A Rod OK Femax 38.65

Conarc 48
Conarc V 180
Wire OK Autrod 12.51
OK Tubrod 14.12
B LNM 26
Outershield T55-H
Shielding gas M21 or CO2

12.16 Support wheels, rolls
Machine steel Ovako 520
Consumables Working temperature Heat treatments

Rod OK Weartrode 30
Wearshield BU-30 150-200 °C, if the wheel’s Stress relieving in
Wire OK Tubrodur 35 S M diameter Ø > 200mm 450–500 °C
Lincore 40-O
Shielding gas CO2

Often it is profitable to make the support The need for an increased working tempera-
wheel or roll that is under high wear from ture and stress relief needs to be determined
highly weldable and machinable steel, for case by case. The decisive factors are the whe-
example the Ovako 520. The wear-resistant el’s size and operating environment. Smaller
surfacing is then welded on the surface of the wheels, with a diameter of less than 200 mm,
base material. A hot rolled bar can be used as do not require an increased working tem-
a blank, until the limit of Ø 200 mm. perature. Surfacing always develops tensile
stresses on the surface, which are unprofita-
With recommended consumables, the wear ble for fatigue life. With an increased working
surface gets a good combination of hardness temperature and stress relieving, such ten-
and toughness, as well as a well spread, even sions can be reduced.
and highly machinable finish.
In future repair welds, the surface is turned
Because the weld metal’s hardness decreases bare until reaching the base material, to pre-
as the temperature exceeds 500 °C, excessive vent dilution of the material
heating must be avoided, particularly in the
welding of small rolls.

12.17 Corrector lever’s surfacing
Machine steel Ovako 520
The hardness of the surfacing layer after tem-

pering in 550 °C is 53-57 HRC.
The layer has good tempering resistance until

500 °C.

OK Tooltrode 50
Rod 300-500 °C
Wearshield ME (e)
OK Weartrode 50
Rod 300-400 °C*
Wearshield MM
*If the weld should be whole, an increased the welding can be done without increasing
working temperature is necessary. If minor the working temperature.
cracking on the weld’s surface is accepted,

12.18 Shovel loader’s wear plate

OK Weartrode 60 T
Rod 300-500 °C
Wearshield 60 (e)
OK Weartrode 55 HD
Rod 300-400 °C*
Wearshield MI (e)
*If the weld should be whole, an increased

working temperature is necessary. If minor
cracking on the weld’s surface is accepted, the
welding can be done without increasing the
working temperature.

12.19 Axles’s temporary repair weld
A Quenching and tempering steel 42CrMo4
B Quenching and tempering steel 25CrMo4
C Machine steel Ovako 520
D Cold drawn machine steel Ovako 550
Consumables Number of sites

OK 68.82
A Rod
Limarosta 312
OK 68.82
B Rod
Limarosta 312 Working temperature not increased.
Excessive heating of the weld must be avoided.
OK 48.00
C Rod
Conarc 48
OK 48.00
D Rod
Conarc 48
The welding area is cleaned of dirt and the The cold drawn machine steel Ovako 550’s
destroyed, flaked or cracked layer must be strength properties do not change significant-
cleaned. ly if the instructed practice is followed.
The welding is started with a Ø 3.2 mm rod. The damaged axle can be repaired by surfa-
An alternating three-pass welding is used. cing and then turning and milling it to the
The second and subsequent layers can be original dimensions. With a correct filler me-
welded using larger diameter rods. tal and welding process, the axles’s strength
and toughness remain almost unchanged
To prevent distortions, the workpice should
be kept as cool as possible during the wel-
ding. After the welding, the object can cool
freely in air or covered.

12.20 Gear tooth’s temporary repair weld
Case hardening steel 20NiCrMo2-2
Consumables
OK 68.82
Rod
Limarosta 312
The repaired tooth’s strength and wear resi- The weld is practically machinable. In use,
stance should be as high as possible, and the the hardness increases to about 45 HRC.
shape must be possible to mill.
The passes are welded with Ø 2.5-3.2 mm
The damaged tooth’s root is cleaned by grin- rods. The weld has to be maintained as cool
ding it. Caution is needed so that damaging as possible. The adjacent teeth must be pro-
the adjacent teeth is avoided. tected from spatter.
The filler metal is 29 Cr/9 Ni. The resulting The tooth’s root’s yield point is about 600 N/
weld has an austenitic-ferritic microstructure, mm2 and hardness is roughly 240 HB.
which strain hardens.

12.21 Example of friction welding
Test piece A Quenching and tempering steel C45
Test piece B Stainless steel 18/8 (AISI 304)
Test pieces A and B were joined together by The joint’s strength can be as high as that of
friction welding. The welding was done with stainless steel, about 870MPa.
a continuous drive friction welding machi-
ne. With the correct parameters, both high
strength and ductility can be achieved.

13 – WELDING STANDARDS
EN ISO 9606-1:2013 Qualification testing of welders. Fusion welding. Steels
EN ISO 17637:2011 Non-destructive testing of welds. Visual testing of fusion-welded joints
EN 1011-1:2009 Welding. Recommendations for welding of metallic materials. General

guidance for arc welding
EN 1011-2:2001 Welding. Recommendations for welding of metallic materials. Arc welding
of ferritic steels
EN 1011-3:2000 Welding. Recommendations for welding of metallic materials. Arc welding
of stainless steels
EN ISO 17636-1:2013 Non-destructive testing of welds. Radiographic testing. X- and gamma-ray
techniques with film
EN ISO 17636-2:2013 Non-destructive testing of welds. Radiographic testing. X- and gamma-ray
techniques with digital detectors
EN 1708-1:2010 Welding. Basic welded joint details in steel. Pressurized components
EN 1708-2:2000 Welding. Basic weld joint details in steel. Non-internal pressurized

components
EN ISO 17640:2010 Non-destructive testing of welds. Ultrasonic testing. Techniques, testing levels,
and assessment
EN 1993-1-9:2005 Eurocode 3. Design of steel structures. Fatigue
EN 14700:2014 Welding consumables. Welding consumables for hard-facing
EN ISO 2560:2009 Welding consumables. Covered electrodes for manual metal arc welding of
non-alloy and fine grain steels. Classification
EN ISO 3834-1:2005 Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials. Criteria for the
selection of the appropriate level of quality requirements
EN ISO 3834-2:2005 Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials. Comprehensive
quality requirements
EN ISO 3834-3:2005 Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials. Standard quality
requirements
EN ISO 3834-4:2005 Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials. Elementary
quality requirements

EN ISO 3834-5:2015 Documents with which it is necessary to conform to claim conformity to the
quality requirements of ISO 3834-2, ISO 3834-3 or ISO 3834-4
EN ISO 5817:2014 Welding. Fusion-welded joints in steel, nickel, titanium and their alloys (beam
welding excluded). Quality levels for imperfections
EN ISO 6947:2011 Welding and allied processes. Welding positions
EN ISO 9692-1:2013 Welding and allied processes. Types of joint preparation. Manual metal arc
welding, gas-shielded metal arc welding, gas welding, TIG welding and beam
welding of steels
EN ISO 13916:1997 Welding. Guidance on the measurement of preheating temperature, interpass
temperature and preheat maintenance temperature
EN ISO 13920:1997 Welding. General tolerances for welded constructions. Dimensions for lengths
and angles. Shape and position
EN ISO 14175:2008 Welding consumables. Gases and gas mixtures for fusion welding and allied
processes
EN ISO 14341:2011 Welding consumables. Wire electrodes and weld deposits for gas shielded
metal arc welding of non-alloy and fine grain steels. Classification
EN ISO 15607:2003 Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials.
General rules
EN ISO 15609-1:2004 Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials.
Welding procedure specification. Arc welding
EN ISO 15609-2:2001 Specification and qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials.
Welding procedure specification. Gas welding
EN ISO 17632:2008 Welding consumables. Tubular cored electrodes for gas shielded and non-gas
shielded metal arc welding of non-alloy and fine grain steels. Classification
EN ISO 17638:2009 Non-destructive testing of welds. Magnetic particle testing
EN ISO 17663:2009 Welding. Quality requirements for heat treatment in connection with welding
and allied processes

14 – GOOD WORKING ENVIRONMENT ENHANCES PRODUCTIVITY
Investing in industrial safety is profitable! Ac- lowered by using gases with a low CO2 con-
cidents and sickness absences, as a result of tent, lowering the welding current, optimi-
accident, are expensive to companies. In ad- zing the arc voltage, and decreasing the filler
dition to the direct costs, there are also other metal’s diameter.
expenses such as: time wasted in solving the
situation, delayed deliveries, and overtime Ventilation at the workstation must be ar-
costs to catch up with the schedule. ranged in a way so that the welder’s exposure
to welding fumes is minimal. The workshop’s
An absent worker needs to be replaced with general ventilation is not sufficient enough
another one. The new worker needs to be for eliminating the welding fumes. Usually
hired and trained, which may cause tempora- the best solution is a local exhaust ventilation
ry negative effects on work performance and which filters the air and then releases it to the
product quality. Bad working conditions may atmosphere. Modern units are both powerful
have the same negative effects. Investing in and easy to move.
industrial safety and working environment
motivates employees and thus improves work In the welding of high alloy steels and alu-
results. minum, it is recommended to use a personal
respirator as well.
14.1 Industrial safety in welding
Due to welding’s certain characteristics, wel- An efficient local exhaust ventilation clears
ding has its own challenges and priorities for 30-80% of the welding vapors, and with a
safety. In a well-organized workstation, the respirator, the volume of the vapors can be
welder is not exposed to welding fumes, dust, lowered 80-95% in MIG/MAG welding.
radiation or noise, and the risk of an accident
is low. 14.3 Radiation and noise
Welding generates invisible, yet harmful ul-
14.2 Welding fumes traviolet and infrared radiation and so called
Welding and cutting always produces fumes. visible blue light. The welder must use perso-
The harmful fumes contain different vapors nal protection against the harmful radiation.
and gases, with the vapors being more pro-
blematic. Slag-producing processes usually An auto-darkening welding mask is a safe and
create more vapors, and gas arc processes comfortable solution, and it speeds up the
create more gases. work, as constant mask lifting is not needed.
The vapor is formed from particles that In addition to the welder, other employees
develop in high temperatures as the metals must be protected from the welding’s radi-
vaporize. The majority of the vapors, about ation and noise. Each workstation should
90-95%, come from the filler metal. The be separated from its surroundings by using
vapors from highly alloyed steels and alumi- safety curtains or screens.
num are the most problematic. The vapors
from stainless steel contain harmful chromi- 14.4 Minimizing the risk of accidents
um and nickel compounds, of which some are Good order in a workshop improves safety.
categorized as carcinogenic. The UV radiation Accident risk is lower when tools, hoses, ca-
and heat originating from the arc generate bles, etc. are well organized.
harmful ozone and nitrogen oxides. They
develop close to the arc and dilute quickly to A neat workstation is also more pleasant to
the surrounding air. work at, improving workers’ motivation and
leading to enhanced productivity and quality.
In addition to the selected welding process,
the volume of the developing vapors can be

Local exhaust ventilations Efficient local exhaust ventilation and lighting for the workstation
Filters With filtering air cleaners, the air can be cleared of fumes and dust
Protective equipment Personal protective equipment protects the welder from UV- and IR
radiation
Welding curtains With curtains, radiation and spatter can be prevented from spreading
to surrounding areas
Noise screens Screens prevent noise and radiation from spreading to surrounding
areas
Hose reels Hoses and cables on reels lower accident risk, improve work per-
formance, lower maintenance costs, and make the cleaning of the
workstation easier

87
CO-92 GB 19:11 © Ovako 2019
Disclaimer
The information in this document is for illustrative purposes only. The data and examples are
only general recommendations and not a warranty or a guarantee. The suitability of a product
for a specific application can be confirmed only by Ovako once given the actual conditions. The
purchaser of an Ovako product has the responsibility to ascertain and control the applicability of
the products before using them.
Continuous development may necessitate changes in technical data without notice. This document
is only valid for Ovako material. Other material, covering the same international specifications, does
not necessarily comply with the properties presented in this document.
Ovako 2019
©
Ovako AB
SE-111 87 Stockholm, Sweden
www.ovako.com Phone: +46 (0)8 622 13 00

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Welding Guide

Image courtesy of Kemppi.

1 INTRODUCTION 4 8.5 Case hardening steels 43

3 HEAT AFFECTED ZONE 7 9 REPAIR WELDING OF

Image courtesy of ESAB.

4 Back to Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents 5

The curve T represents the maximum temp-

6 Back to Table of Contents

Table 1 – Joint type factors for 2- and 3-dimensional objects

Type of joint 2-dimensional (F2) 3-dimensional (F3)

Back to Table of Contents 7

t8/5 = (6700-5*T0)*Q* (1/(500-T0)-1/(800-T0))*F3 (2)

T0 = Working temperature (°C)

Image courtesy of ESAB.

8 Back to Table of Contents

Figure 2 – Examples of calculating the ma-

Back to Table of Contents 9

where If the steel does not have a strongly harde-

The efficiency factor (η) varies on each wel-

MMA and MIG/MAG 0.8

10 Back to Table of Contents

The need for preheating can be determined

Tp = 697*CET+ 160*tanh(d/35)+62*HD0,35 + (53*CET-32)*Q-328 (6)

Tp = Preheating temperature (°C)

Back to Table of Contents 11

CEV = C + Mn/6 + (Cr + Mo + V)/5 + (Ni+ Cu)/15 (%) (7)

12 Back to Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents 13

• low effective heat input Q; e.g. ø2.5 mm

• higher effective heat input Q; e.g. ø4 mm

Figure 3. Continuous cooling transformation Curve 3:

14 Back to Table of Contents

The term weldability defines how suitable the

The most common one of these is a cold

Back to Table of Contents 15

4.1.2 Hydrogen content

16 Back to Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents 17

UCS = 230 C + 190 S +75 P + 45 Nb – 12.3 Si – 5.4 Mn – 1 (8)

UCS < 10 no risk of hot cracking

18 Back to Table of Contents

Steel’s toughness through-thickness depends

Lamellar tearing risk can be reduced with the

• Using high power (by welding through the

Figure 6 – Typical locations for lamellar

Back to Table of Contents 19

• pores In MMA welding, pores can be caused by the

5.1 Pores Impurities on groove surfaces are a common

Figure 8 – An elongated pore

Slag inclusions develop when slag gets caught

20 Back to Table of Contents

5.3 Lack of fusion

Figure 9 – Lack of fusion Figure 11 – Incomplete root fusion

Back to Table of Contents 21

5.6 Shrinkage cavity (or pipe)

In fillet welds, if the rod is aligned too upright

If the weld groove angle is narrow when using

22 Back to Table of Contents

Steel’s notch sensitivity increases as the

t8/5 = (6700-5T0)Q* (1/(500-T0)-1/(800-T0))*F3 (2)

Tp = 697CET+ 160tanh(d/35)+62HD0,35 + (53CET-32)*Q-328 (6)