Temperature distribution during multipass welding of plates

Welding is one of the most important material-joining processes widely used in industry. Low carbon steel plates and AISI type 301 stainless steel pla tes with 6, 8 and 12 mm thicknesses are widely used in the fabrication of p ressure vessels and other components. These plates are mostly joined togeth er by multipass welding methods. The temperature distribution that occurs d uring multipass welding affects the material microstructure, hardness, mech anical properties and the residual stresses that will be present in the wel ded material. Very limited experimental data regarding temperature distribu tion during multipass welding of plates is available in the Literature. Exp erimental work was carried out to find out the temperature distribution dur ing multipass welding of the above plates. The temperature distribution cur ves obtained during the experiments are presented. Average maximum temperat ure rise during each pass of welding is calculated and plotted against the distance from the weld pad centre line. From these plots, the maximum tempe rature rise expected in the base plate region during any pass of welding op eration can be estimated. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.