Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objective: Slag generated during submerged arc cladding is discarded as waste. It creates problems like environmental pollution, wastage of natural resources and need landfill space for its dumping. A technology for recycling of slag generated during submerged arc cladding of stainless steel was developed. In the present study the effects of process parameters and recycled slag on flux consumption has been studied. Methods/Analysis: The experiments were conducted using fractional factorial design with type of flux (fresh flux/recycled slag) as one of the controllable factors. Mathematical model for flux consumption was developed. Developed model was tested for its adequacy by F-test. The significance of the coefficients was tested by Student’s t-test. The results have been thoroughly analysed and presented graphically. The methodology for recycling the slag has also been discussed briefly. Findings: It was found that flux consumption increases with increase in open circuit voltage, decreases with increase in welding current and remains unaffected of travel speed. The results also proved that recycled slag does not produce any significant effects on the flux consumption. Novelty/Improvement: The work presented in this paper is essentially a novel technology developed by the authors originally. No work carried out by any other researcher on recycling of slag generated during stainless steel welding/cladding and its effects on flux consumption has been reported anywhere in literature
Keywords: Cladding, Factorial Design of Experiments, Flux Consumption, Submerged Arc Welding, Slag Recycling, Stainless Steel