Application of Unconstrained Cobalt and Aluminium Metal Powders in the Alloying of Carbon Steel in Submerged Arc Welding: Thermodynamic Analysis of Gas Reactions

The application of cobalt and aluminium powders in unconstrained format, not as metal powder in tubular wire nor as pre-alloyed powder, is used in this work to simplify weld metal alloying. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the application of unconstrained cobalt and aluminium powders in Submerged Arc Welding SAW to alloy the weld metal and to control the weld metal oxygen content. Aluminium powder is used to control the oxygen potential at the weld pool-slag interface in order to prevent oxidation of cobalt. The results presented here show that with the addition of Aluminium powder, 70% yield of Cobalt was achieved from the cobalt powder to the weld metal. The carbon steel base-plate material and weld wire materials combination were alloyed to 5.3% Co and 4.2% Al, whilst controlling the weld metal total oxygen content to 230 ppm. Thermodynamic analysis is applied to investigate the possible chemical interaction reactions between Co and Al compounds, as well as the role of the reactions on Co yield to the weld pool. The application of unconstrained metal powders ensures productivity gains in the overall SAW process because the time consuming and expensive manufacturing of alloyed wire and alloyed powder are eliminated.