b Knowledge 5

The first patent on the submerged-

arc welding (SAW) process was taken out in 1935 and covered an electric arc beneath
a bed of granulated flux. Developed by the E O Paton Electric Welding Institute, Kiev,
during the Second World War, SAW's most famous application was on the T34 tank.

Process features

Similar to MIG welding, SAW involves formation of an arc between a continuously-fed

bare wire electrode and the workpiece. The process uses a flux to generate protective
gases and slag, and to add alloying elements to the weld pool. A shielding gas is not
required. Prior to welding, a thin layer of flux powder is placed on the workpiece surface.
The arc moves along the joint line and as it does so, excess flux is recycled via a
hopper. Remaining fused slag layers can be easily removed after welding. As the arc is
completely covered by the flux layer, heat loss is extremely low. This produces a
thermal efficiency as high as 60% (compared with 25% for manual metal arc). There is
no visible arc light, welding is spatter-free and there is no need for fume extraction.

Operating characteristics
SAW is usually operated as a fully-mechanised or automatic process, but it can be
semi-automatic. Welding parameters: current, arc voltage and travel speed all affect
bead shape, depth of penetration and chemical composition of the deposited weld
metal. Because the operator cannot see the weld pool, greater reliance must be placed
on parameter settings.

Process variants

According to material thickness, joint type and size of component, varying the following
can increase deposition rate and improve bead shape.

Wire

SAW is normally operated with a single wire on either AC or DC current. Common

variants are:

 twin wire
 multiple wire (tandem or triple)
 single wire with hot or cold wire addition
 metal powder addition
 tubular wire

All contribute to improved productivity through a marked increase in weld metal

deposition rates and/or travel speeds.

A narrow gap process variant is also established, which utilises a two or three bead per
layer deposition technique. See What is narrow gap welding?

Flux

Fluxes used in SAW are granular fusible minerals containing oxides of manganese,
silicon, titanium, aluminium, calcium, zirconium, magnesium and other compounds such
as calcium fluoride. The flux is specially formulated to be compatible with a given
electrode wire type so that the combination of flux and wire yields desired mechanical
properties. All fluxes react with the weld pool to produce the weld metal chemical
composition and mechanical properties. It is common practice to refer to fluxes as
'active' if they add manganese and silicon to the weld, the amount of manganese and
silicon added is influenced by the arc voltage and the welding current level. The the
main types of flux for SAW are:

 Bonded fluxes - produced by drying the ingredients, then bonding them with a
low melting point compound such as a sodium silicate. Most bonded fluxes
contain metallic deoxidisers which help to prevent weldporosity. These fluxes are
effective over rust and mill scale.
 Fused fluxes - produced by mixing the ingredients, then melting them in an
electric furnace to form a chemically homogeneous product, cooled and ground
 to the required particle size. Smooth stable arcs, with welding currents up to
2000A and consistent weld metal properties, are the main attraction of these
fluxes.

Applications

SAW is ideally suited for longitudinal and circumferential butt and fillet welds. However,
because of high fluidity of the weld pool, molten slag and loose flux layer, welding is
generally carried out on butt joints in the flat position and fillet joints in both the flat and
horizontal-vertical positions. For circumferential joints, the workpiece is rotated under a
fixed welding head with welding taking place in the flat position. Depending on material
thickness, either single-pass, two-pass or multipass weld procedures can be carried out.
There is virtually no restriction on the material thickness, provided a suitable joint
preparation is adopted. Most commonly welded materials are carbon-manganese
steels, low alloy steels and stainless steels, although the process is capable of welding
some non-ferrous materials with judicious choice of electrode filler wire and flux
combinations.

he submerged arc process is somewhat unusual in that the welding consumables,

unlike the other fluxed processes of MMA or FCAW, comprise two components, the wire
and the flux, that may be supplied separately.

Since both the wire and the flux will have an effect on the weld metal composition, and
hence on the mechanical properties, the welding engineer is faced with choosing the
appropriate wire/flux combination for the application. This article discusses some of the
characteristics of wires and fluxes. The next article will review the specifications.

The welding wire is generally of a composition that matches that of the parent metal and
wires are available for the welding of carbon and low and high alloy steels, stainless
steels, nickel and copper/nickel alloys. In addition, submerged arc welding may be used
for surfacing with corrosion or wear resistant coatings using both wires and flat strips.
The wires may be solid or metal cored. Strips may be rolled or sintered.

Welding wires vary from 1.2mm ('thin' wire or twin wire submerged arc) to 6.4mm in
diameter and are capable of carrying welding currents ranging from 150 to 1600amps.
The wires for ferritic steels are generally copper coated to increase contact tip life,
improve electrical conductivity and extend the shelf life. Stainless steel and nickel alloy
wires are bright drawn and uncoated. The wire is supplied on reels weighing 10 to 50kg
and can also be obtained in large pay-off packs weighing up to 500kg. The strip used
for surfacing is supplied in 15 to 240mm widths but the thickness is a standard 0.5mm.
As with the wire, strip is available in a range of coil weights.
Whilst the wire is relatively simple and is designed to match the parent metal
composition and/or mechanical properties, the flux is far more complex. The functions of
the flux are:

 to assist arc striking and stability

 to form a slag that will protect and shape the weld bead
 to form a gas shield to protect the molten filler metal being projected across the
arc gap
 to react with the weld pool to provide clean high quality weld metal with the
desired properties
 to deoxidise the weld pool
 provide deoxidants
 in some circumstances, to provide additional alloying elements into the weld pool

Fluxes may be categorised in two ways: by the method of manufacture (fused or

agglomerated) or by its activity (neutral, active or alloying). Within these broad
groupings the fluxes may be classified further by their constituents, silica, manganese
oxide, calcium fluoride etc.

Perhaps the most convenient method of classifying, however, is by reference to the

'basicity index' (BI) of the flux. The index is calculated by dividing the sum of the
percentages of the basic constituents by the sum of the acid constituents. Calcium,
magnesium, sodium, potassium and manganese oxides, calcium carbonate and calcium
fluoride are the basic constituents of a flux; silica and alumina the acid constituents.
Acid fluxes have a basicity index of 0.5 to 0.8; neutral fluxes 0.8 to 1.2; basic fluxes 1.2
to 2.5 and highly basic fluxes 2.5 to 4.0. The basicity of a flux has a major effect on the
weld metal properties, most importantly the notch toughness. As a general rule the
higher the basicity the higher the notch toughness.

Neutral fluxes are designed to have little or no effect on the chemical analysis of the
weld metal and therefore on the mechanical properties. They contain low silica, calcium
silicate and alumina and do not add significant amounts of silicon and manganese to the
weld.

The acid fluxes contain substantial amounts of silica, silicates in the form of calcium
and/or manganese silicate and manganese oxide. These fluxes react with the weld pool
and will raise both silicon and manganese content of the weld together with a high
oxygen content. The result of this is that the toughness of the weld is poor but the fluxes
will tolerate rusty surfaces, will detach easily and give a good weld appearance. They
are especially useful for single pass high speed welding such as fillet welding of web to
flange girder joints.

The basic fluxes fill much the same role in submerged arc welding as basic coatings do
in manual metal arc welding. They have a low silica content and are composed of
varying amounts of calcium carbonate and/or fluoride, alumina, calcium, manganese
and magnesium oxides and rutile.
This combination of compounds gives a clean, low sulphur, low oxygen weld metal with
good to excellent notch toughness. As a general rule, the higher the basicity, the higher
the toughness. The transfer of silicon and manganese into the weld metal is also
limited. Such fluxes are preferred for the welding of high quality structural steels,
pressure vessels, pipework and offshore structures where either good high or low
temperature properties are required.

The fused fluxes are acid, neutral or slightly basic and are manufactured by mixing the
constituents together, melting them in an electric furnace and crushing the solidified
slag that is produced to give a flux with a glassy appearance.

These fluxes are homogeneous, resistant to moisture pick-up and mechanically strong
so that they do not break down but maintain the required particle size. The high
temperatures required by the melting operation mean that some constituents,
particularly the de-oxidants present in the highly basic fluxes, decompose and are lost.
This limits the range of applications of these fluxes to general structural work where
sub-zero service temperatures will not been countered.

The agglomerated fluxes may be neutral, basic or highly basic. They are made from a
wet mix that is corned, dried and baked to achieve a low moisture content. This low
temperature process means that strong deoxidants and ferro-alloys can be incorporated
without being lost. The binders used in the corning process, however, are hygroscopic
so that moisture pick-up can be a problem on the shop floor. Baking of the flux prior to
use may be necessary and if the flux is not used within a specified (short) timeframe,
the flux hoppers on the welding equipment should also be heated, to limit moisture pick-
up during storage. The flux may also suffer mechanical damage during recirculation,
breaking down to form a dust. Although a small particle size is capable of carrying a
higher current, too many fines in the flux will give rise to gas being trapped between the
slag and the weld pool. This will result in unsightly gas flats or pockmarking on the weld
surface. To avoid this, the recirculating system should be equipped with filters to
remove both large particles of detached slag and the fine dust.

Fluxes are supplied in bags, generally plastic, weighing from 25 to 40kg and in plastic
drums of up to 250kg. Recently some suppliers have been packing the flux in
hermetically sealed bags, aka vacuum packed electrodes. This method is useful in that
the flux can be used straight from the bag with guaranteed low hydrogen levels and
without the need to bake prior to use.

This article was written by Gene Mathers.

Of all the arc welding processes, only submerged arc welding uses two completely
separate components, both of which may have a major effect on the mechanical
properties of the weld deposit. This makes the specifying of consumables somewhat
complicated. It will not be possible therefore to cover all the alloy types in this brief
article which will cover the carbon, carbon-manganese and low alloy structural steels
only.
BS EN ISO 14171 is the specification for Welding consumables: Solid wire electrodes,
tubular cored electrodes and electrode/flux combinations for submerged arc welding of
non alloy and fine grain steels. 

The specification covers the classification of the wire chemical composition and the
wire/flux combination. It also specifies the mechanical properties of all weld metal
deposits in the as-welded condition.

This standard is a combined specification providing for classification utilizing a system

based upon the yield strength and the average impact energy for weld metal of 47 J, or
utilizing a system based upon the tensile strength and the average impact energy for
weld metal of 27 J.

The classification is composed of:

 A reference to the standard 'ISO 14171'

 A symbol 'A' if the classification is based on yield strength and average impact
energy is 47J or 'B' if the classification is based on tensile strength average
impact energy is 27J.

And of five parts, plus a sixth supplementary part:

Part 1. A symbol indicating the process - in the case of submerged arc welding this is
'S'.
Part 2. Two digits indicating either the tensile properties of a multi-run deposit or the
tensile properties of the parent metal to be welded using a two run technique -
see Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1A. Symbols for tensile properties - multi-run technique (classification

based on yield strength and average impact energy 47J)

Multi-run Tensile Properties

Symbol Min. Yield N/mm 2 Min. UTS N/mm 2 Min. Elongation %
35 355 440 - 570 22
38 380 470 - 600 20
42 420 500 - 640 20
46 460 530 - 680 20
50 500 560 - 720 18

Table 1B. Symbols for tensile properties - multi-run technique (classification

based on tensile strength and average impact energy 27J)
 Multi-run Tensile Properties
Symbol Min. Yield N/mm 2 Min. UTS N/mm 2 Min. Elongation %
43X 330 430 - 600 20
49X 390 490 - 670 18
55X 460 550 - 740 17
57X 490 570 - 770 17

Note: 'X' is 'A' or 'P', where 'A' indicates testing in the as-welded condition and 'P'
indicates testing in the post-weld heat-treated condition.

Table 2A. Symbols for tensile properties - two-run technique (classification based
on yield strength and average impact energy 47J)

Two-Run Tensile Properties

Symbol Min. Yield Parent Metal N/mm 2 Min. Tensile Strength of Welded Joint N/mm 
2T 275 370
3T 355 470
4T 420 520
5T 500 600

Table 2B. Symbols for tensile properties - two-run technique (classification based
on tensile strength and average impact energy 27J)

Symbol Min. Tensile Strength of Welded Joint N/mm 2

43S 430
49S 490
55S 550
57S 570

Note that the two-run technique has two tensile results specified; one for the minimum
yield strength of the parent metal, one for the tensile strength of the welded joint.

Part 3. Table 3 gives the temperature at which the average Charpy-V impact value of
47J or 27J may be achieved.

Table 3. Symbol for Charpy-V impact properties

 Symbol Temp. for Min Impact Energy 47J or 27J at °C
Z No requirements
A +20
0 0
2 -20
3 -30
4 -40
5 -50
6 -60
7 -70
8 -80
9 -90
10 -100

Part 4. The symbol for welding flux type shall be in accordance with ISO 14174.

Flux type symbol

Flux Type Symbol

manganese-silicate MS
calcium-silicate CS
zirconium-silicate ZS
rutile-silicate RS
aluminate-rutile AR
aluminate-basic AB
aluminate-silicate AS
aluminate-fluoride basic AF
fluoride-basic FB
any other type Z

Part 5. Tables 4 and 5 in ISO 14171 contain a listing of the chemical composition of 22
wires and are too lengthy to include in full in this article. The wires all contain a
maximum carbon content of 0.15% and range from plain carbon, through C-Mn, C-Mo,
Mn-Mo to Ni and Ni-Mo. All are prefixed 'S' followed by a number from 1 to 4 denoting
from 0.5% Mn (1) to 2% Mn (4). The addition of nickel and/or molybdenum is denoted
by the chemical symbol of the alloy addition being included. Thus an S3 wire contains
1.5% Mn, an S2Ni1Mo 1%.

Part 6. (optional) The standards also provides an optional symbol indicating the
diffusible hydrogen content of the weld metal obtained in accordance with ISO 3690
(see Table 6 in the standard).

Examples of designations:

The designation for an electrode/flux combination for submerged arc welding for multi-
run technique depositing a weld metal with a minimum yield strength of 460 MPa (46)
and a minimum average impact energy of 47 J at -30°C (3) produced with an aluminate-
basic flux (AB) and a wire S2 would be:

ISO 14171-A-S 46 3 AB S2

In addition to BS EN ISO 14171 which specifies the mechanical properties expected

from a particular flux/wire combination, there is an additional specification, BS EN ISO
14174, that specifies the fluxes in greater detail, including the application for which a
flux may be used. The specification uses a total of seven symbols, four being
compulsory and three optional. The first symbol identifies the intended process, either
'S' for submerged arc welding or ‘ES’ for electroslag welding. The second identifies the
method of manufacture, which may be an 'F' for a fused flux; 'A' for an agglomerated
flux and 'M' for a mixture of fused and agglomerated. The third part gives an indication
of the chemical constituents of the flux.

The fourth part gives a symbol for the application(s), Class 1 being intended for the
welding of carbon and low alloy steels, including high strength structural and creep
resistant steels. There is no alloying from this class of flux. Class 2 fluxes are for the
welding of, and the surfacing with, stainless and heat resisting steels and nickel alloys.
Class 3 is for use with hard surfacing weld metals, the flux providing such elements as
carbon, chromium and molybdenum to the weld deposit. Class 4 is for all other fluxes,
eg for copper alloys.

The remaining three symbols are not compulsory and comprise, firstly, a number or
chemical element symbol that defines what is termed in the specification as the
'metallurgical behaviour' of the three classes of flux mentioned above. Two digits then
specify the pick-up or loss of silicon and manganese (in this order) to be expected when
welding carbon or low alloy steels using flux Class 1. Flux Classes 2 and 3 may be
characterised by the use of a chemical symbol to identify the alloying element being
added via the flux, eg Cr, if the flux is chromium compensating.
The current type is indicated by the addition of DC or AC to the symbols and finally an
'H', followed by a number, gives the weld metal hydrogen level expected from a
correctly dried or baked flux eg H5 for 5ml/100g.

A designation for a flux supplied in accordance with BS EN 760 may therefore be S A

AF 1 55 DC H5 for an agglomerated alumina-calcium fluoride basic flux intended for the
welding of carbon or low alloy steels, no pick-up or loss of silicon or manganese, used
with DC welding current and with a hydrogen content of less than 5ml/100g weld metal.

It must be remembered that the properties given by these designations are obtained
from as welded, all weld metal specimens deposited using standard welding parameters
of current, voltage and travel speed.

The properties achieved in a production weld may be entirely different due to the effects
of dilution from the parent metal, higher or lower heat input, different wire diameters,
preheat and interpass temperatures and post weld heat treatment. It is essential,
therefore, that the suitability of a flux/wire combination is confirmed by procedure
qualification testing.

Note also that flux/wire combinations supplied to the same specification designation by
different manufacturers may not necessarily provide similar mechanical properties or
weld cleanliness.

This article was written by Gene Mathers and Marcello Consonni.

As with the BS EN specifications for submerged arc welding consumables, the

American Welding Society (AWS) system also uses a dual flux type/wire composition
designation to identify the flux/wire combination that will provide the required properties.

The AWS system is somewhat simpler than the BS EN method, particularly if the full
flux descriptor is used. There are, however, only two specifications that deal with both
wire composition and the flux but an additional two specifications that cover bare wires
for stainless steels and the nickel based alloys. These are A5.17 - Carbon Steel
Electrodes and Fluxes for Submerged Arc Welding and A5.23 Low-Alloy Steel
Electrodes and Fluxes for Submerged Arc Welding. The bare wire specifications are
A5.9 Wire Electrodes, Strip Electrodes, Wires, and Rods for Arc Welding of Stainless
and Heat Resisting Steels-Classification and A5.11/A5.11M Nickel and Nickel-Alloy
Bare Welding Electrodes and Rods for Shielded Metal Arc Welding.

In AWS A.5.17 and AWS A5.23 the first part of the designation describes the flux type
and may comprise up to six digits depending upon whether the flux is supplied with the
tensile strength expressed in increments of 10 megapascals (two numbers where 43
represents 430MPa) or in pounds per square inch (1 digit ie 6 represents 60,000psi or
two digits ie 12 represents 120,000psi).
The first digit, the letter 'F', identifies the consumable as a submerged arc welding flux,
the next letter 'S' is only included if the flux is made from or includes crushed slag.
Omission of this letter 'S' indicates that the flux is unused and contains no crushed used
flux introduced either by the flux manufacturer or the welding fabricator.

The next one or two digits specify the minimum tensile strength as explained above and
this is followed by 'A' or 'P' for whether the test results were obtained in the as-welded,
(A condition) or post-weld heat treated, (P condition). The last digit identifies the
minimum temperature at which a Charpy-V impact value of 27J can be achieved as in
Table 1 below.

Table 1 Impact Test Requirements

Test Temperature Impact value Impact value

Digit
°C °F (Joules) (ft.lbf)

Z no impact requirements 27 20
0 -18 0 27 20
2 -29 -20 27 20
4 -40 -40 27 20
5 -46 -50 27 20
6 -51 -60 27 20
7 -70 - 27 -
8 - -80 - 20
10 -100 -100 27 20
15 - -150 - 20

In AWS A5.17 wiresare split into three groups of low, medium and high manganese.
The first digit, 'E', identifies the consumable as a bare wire electrode. If supplemented
by 'C' the wire is a composite (cored) electrode. The composition of the solid wire is
obtained from an analysis of the wire. However, since the composition of a cored wire
may be different from that of its weld deposit the composition must be determined from
a low dilution weld deposit made using a specific, named flux.

The next letter, 'L', 'M' or 'H' indicates a low (0.6% max), medium (1.4% max) or high
(2.2% max) manganese content. This is followed by one or two digits that give the
specific composition. An optional letter 'K' indicates a silicon killed steel. There are a
final two or three optional digits identifying the diffusible hydrogen in ml/100g weld
metal, H16, H8, H4 or H2.
A full designation for a carbon steel flux/wire combination could therefore be F6P5-
EM12K-H8. This identifies this as being a solid wire with a nominal 0.12% carbon, 1%
manganese and 0.1 to 0.35% silicon capable of achieving an ultimate tensile strength of
60 k.p.i. (415MPa), a Charpy-V impact strength of 27J at -50°F (-46°C) in the post weld
heat treated condition.

The classification in AWS A5.23 is, of necessity, rather more complicated as this
specification covers a wide range of low alloy steels, a total of forty six solid wires and
thirty two composite wire weld metal compositions. Within the confines of this brief
article it will not be possible to cover in full the entire classification of the wires.

The flux designation is almost identical to that of AWS A5.17, except that a four, five or
six digit identifier may be used. Why this additional sixth digit? Because some of the
electrodes in the specification are capable of providing tensile strengths above 100,000
psi - in these cases the designation may be, for example, F11, identifying the flux as
providing 110 ksi (760MPa) minimum tensile strength.

The classification of the wire comprises two parts - the first that of the wire, solid wires
being prefixed 'E' and composite wires 'EC', the second part specifies the composition
of the weld deposit. The wire classification commences with 'E' to identify a bare wire,
the next letter places the wire in a 'family' of wires. 'L' or 'M' identifies the wires as being
alloyed with copper, 0.35% max; 'A'as containing molybdenum, 0.65% max; 'B' as the
creep resisting steels containing chromium and molybdenum; 'Ni' for those wires
containing nickel. 'F comprises the Ni-Mo or Cr-Ni-Mo wires; 'M' triple de-oxidised Ni-Mo
wires; 'W' aNi-Cu wire and 'G' not specified.

This use of wires to this latter 'G' designation may lead to problems as quite large
changes can be made to the composition to achieve the required mechanical properties
- a good example of this is where the NACE requirements for sour service of 248BHN or
1% nickel maximum are required. To achieve the required tensile or impact strength the
consumable manufacturer may increase the carbon or nickel contents above those
used in the procedure qualification test and still supply to the same designation.
Table 2 in AWS A5.23 classifies both solid wire and composite wire/flux combinations
by means of weld metal compositions but still using the identifying letters as for the solid
wires described above. The prefix 'E' is, however, omitted thus a carbon/molybdenum
deposit may be classified, for example, as A3, a Cr-Mo deposit as B4, Ni-Mo as F5 etc.

Thus a full designation for a flux/wire combination for an as welded 1% Ni/0.25% Mo

weld deposit with an ultimate tensile strength of 80ksi and an impact strength of 27J at
-60°F (-51°C) may therefore be F8A6-ENi1-Ni1 and for a similar deposit using a cored
wire in the PWHT'd condition F8P6-ECNi1-Ni1.

As mentioned in earlier articles on the topic of consumable specifications, it must be

remembered that the mechanical properties and compositions are determined from test
pieces taken from absolutely minimal dilution welds made on specified parent plates
with a standard set of welding parameters - heat input, preheat, interpass temperature,
post weld heat treatment temperature and time. They may therefore NOT reflect the
results obtained in a production weld and the designation cannot be relied upon to
guarantee the properties required by the application.

Where these properties are important it is therefore essential that mechanical testing,
chemical analysis etc are determined from test specimens made using parent materials
and parameters representative of production welding.

This article was written by Gene Mathers.