Method for improvement of the slag crust separation in gas-arc welding with austenitic wire

A study was made aimed at the discovery of a possibility to improve the slag crust separation in a gas-electric welding with the austenitic wire containing chromium amd molybdenum by alloying it with zirconium. The weld-up in carbon dioxide was made with wires grade KH25N25M3 (electrosmelting of EhP622), Kh25N40M7 (EhP673) andKH25N60M10 (EhP606) both without zirconium and with different contents of this element. The zirconium effect was evaluated by the appearance of the weld-up and by the slag crust separation. The results obtained have shown that alloying the weld-up metal and wire with zirconium improves the slag crust separation considerably, which could be explained by means of modern viewpoints regarding the mechanism of chemical bonding of the crust with the joint metals. Conforming to this mechanism the presence of zirconium in the wire containing chromium and molybdenun should prevent their oxidation and eliminate the formation of compounds in the slag which could, when crystallizing, add up to the weld-up metal. Thus, alloying the weld metal with zirconium is one of the ways of improving the slag crust separation in the gas-electric welding