Experimental investigation of the effect of vibration on mechanical properties of 304 stainless steel welded parts

Some of the problems that occur during the welding process include the creation of coarse grains in the weld structure and the hardening of the weld region, which reduce the strength and impact resistance of the welded parts. One technique to improve the mechanical properties of weld is the application of mechanical vibration to the molten pool. In this article, the effect of vibrating the part during welding on the mechanical properties of steel plates has been investigated in the tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process. The plate is made of stainless steel 304 with 2 mm in thickness. A filler material has also been used for welding so that the effect of vibration can be observed on the weld pool region. The experimental tests have been performed under different welding conditions with respect to voltage, current, welding speed, vibrations amplitude, and frequency. Then, the resultant mechanical properties of the tested parts were measured. Also, the microstructure obtained by applying the vibration has been examined. Based on these experimental results, the effect of mechanical vibration on mechanical properties of the weld was investigated. Moreover, considering the mechanical properties obtained from these experiments, the optimum values of amplitude, frequency, and welding speed were determined.