The effect of DSAW on preheating temperature in welding thick plate of high-strength low-alloy steel

Double-sided double arc welding (DSAW), a high efficiency method requiring no back chipping for welding thick plate of high-strength low-alloy steel was used in this study. Gas metal arc welding is employed for backing run and filler passes. The effect of DSAW on preheating temperature is investigated. Meanwhile, numerical simulation has been performed to predict transient temperatures, which are in good agreement with the experimental results. The critical stress in DSAW without preheating is 528.31 MPa, while in conventional welding with 100 °C preheating temperature, it is 393.44 MPa. The higher critical stress implies that the samples in DSAW without preheating have better cold crack resistance than those in conventional welding with 100 °C preheating temperature. Y-slit type cracking test indicates that the samples welded by double-sided double arc demonstrate better cold crack resistance than conventional welding at the same preheating temperature. Therefore, DSAW can realize welding thick plate of high-strength low-alloy steel with lower preheating temperature or even without preheating.