Impact of Electric-Arc Welding on The Mechanical Properties of AISI 1055 Medium Carbon Steel with Varied Gauge Diameters

Abstract

Purpose: This paper investigated through experimentation, the impact of electric-arc welding processes on the mechanical properties of AISI 1055 steel medium carbon steel material with varied gauge diameters.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used experimental and analytical methods to investigate the impact of electric arc welding on the mechanical properties of AISI 1055 Medium Carbon Steel. The test samples were prepared based on the standards of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), with varied gauge diameters. Standard tensile tests were performed on the samples before welding and after welding, using a computer-interfaced Universal Tensile Testing Machine. Data obtained from the study was analyzed using graphs, tables and charts. Finally, the sets of results for both welded and unwelded specimens were compared to determine the impact that welding has on welded medium carbon steel components and structures.
 Findings: The data recorded by the computer-interfaced tensile test machine was used to plot and display, the stress-stain graphs for the various sets of samples. The results showed that the welding processes adversely affected the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), Yield Strength, Elastic Modulus and Impact Strength of the samples studied; since all the samples studied had their initial values dropped after undergoing welding and testing. However, the strain of the samples increased after welding.
 Research Limitation/Implication: Although there are other methods and techniques of welding metals, this study adopted electric arc welding to weld the samples used for the study due to resource constraints.
 Practical Implication: The findings of this study also bring to the fore, the need for industry regulators to promulgate standards to regulate the welding of medium carbon steel and by extension, other industrial materials to preserve the natural properties of the materials.
 Originality/Value: This study introduced an important perspective to the testing of engineering materials by varying the gauge diameters (a key determinant of the dimensional specifications of the specimen), to obtain a comprehensive insight into the impact of electric-arc welding on the mechanical properties of the material.