Investigation of Tensile Behaviour of TIG Welded 316 Stainless Steel using Taguchi Techniques

Abstract

This works aims at the analysis and optimization of joining similar grades of stainless steel by TIG welding. TIG welding may use a filler material. There is a variant in the process which does not require filler material. Such process is known as Autogenous TIG welding process.  The parameters like current, welding speed and gas flow rate are the variables in the study. The objective of this research is to determine the influence of various welding parameters on the weld bead of 316 SS by using Taguchi technique. A plan of experiments based on Taguchi technique method has been carried out. Orthogonal array, signal to noise (S/N) Ratio, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed for studying the welding characteristics of material & to optimize the weld parameters. The result obtained are the output from each parameter, through which optimal parameters are found out for maximum tensile strength. It is found that -welding current followed by welding speed are major parameters influencing mechanical properties of welded joint.