Type 420 stainless steels (nominally 0.2% C, 12% Cr), and related allo
ys, are commonly used for cladding continuous caster rolls for steel m
ills by submerged arc welding. In this study, an acid flux and a basic
flux, with Type 420 wires designed for each flux, were used to make c
laddings unclear a variety of wire feed speed (current) voltage condit
ions. These various conditions resulted in flux-to-wire ratios as low
as 0.3 and as high as 1.5. Deposit composition and hardness properties
were then obtained. With the acid flux and either wire, deposit chrom
ium and carbon decreased with increasing flux-to-wire ratio. With the
basic flux and either wire, deposit chromium did not vary significantl
y when the flux-to-wire ratio was varied. But deposit carbon was very
high when the wire designed for acid flux was used with the basic flux
. Hardness variations with flux-to-wire ratio changes were also noted.
It is concluded that deposit composition is independent of flux-to-wi
re ratio when a basic flux and a wire designed for basic flux are used
. But the deposit composition is strongly affected by flux-to-wire rat
io when an acid flux is used. It is also shown that deposit compositio
ns markedly different from normal compositions are obtained when a wir
e designed for acid flux is used with basic flux, or when a wire desig
ned for basic flux is used with acid flux.