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Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain size and hardness
in submerged arc welds

Article  in  International Journal of Materials and Product Technology · January 2018

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2018.10010769

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Int. J. Materials and Product Technology, Vol. 56, No. 4, 2018 313

Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry,

grain size and hardness in submerged arc welds

Joydeep Roy*
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute Technology Agartala, India
Email: deeproymech@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Ram Naresh Rai

Department of Production Engineering,
National Institute Technology Agartala, India
Email: nareshray@yahoo.co.in

Subhash Chandra Saha

Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute Technology Agartala, India
Email: subashchandrasaha@yahoo.in

Abstract: This work is mainly concerned about the influence of titanium

dioxide powder addition into flux on the bead geometry, grain size, and
hardness in submerged arc weld of low alloy steel plates. Titanium dioxide
powders were mixed with the commercial fluxes in a different proportion of
2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5%. The welding process parameters were kept constant
for different welding conditions. Bead geometry parameters show a significant
improvement due to the titanium dioxide addition. 5% of titanium dioxide
enrichment was showing the best result for the bead geometry parameters.
Nucleation of the acicular ferrite and grain refinement of weld metal (WM)
microstructure has been observed with the enrichment of titanium. Average
grain size of ferrite and pearlite decreases with the increase of titanium content.
Phase analysis of WMs shows that the ferrite% increased and pearlite%
decreased with respect to titanium content. But, the increase of titanium content
was not showing any clear trend on the hardness profile of weldments.

Keywords: SAW; bead geometry; phase analysis; grain size; hardness.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Roy, J., Rai, R.N. and
Saha, S.C. (2018) ‘Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain
size and hardness in submerged arc welds’, Int. J. Materials and Product
Technology, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp.313–325.

Biographical notes: Joydeep Roy is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical

Engineering Department at the NIT Agartala, Tripura, India. He has completed
his MTech and PhD from NIT Agartala in the specialisation of Thermal
Science and Manufacturing, respectively. He is teaching Materials Science and
Welding Technology for the last two years in UG and PG level. His research
area of interest is manufacturing science. He has published more than ten

Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

314 J. Roy et al.

research papers in different reputed national and international journal. He is

guiding several projects in UG and PG students.

Ram Naresh Rai is an Associate Professor in the Production Engineering

Department at the NIT Agartala, Tripura, India. He completed his PhD from
IIT Kharagpur, India in Metal Matrix Composite. His teaching experience is
above ten years in the field of production technology. Before that, he has also
worked in the industry. He is holding the post of Dean R&C in the institute at
present. His research area of interest is composite material, casting and
welding. He is supervising several PhD and MTech thesis and also published
more than 20 research papers recently in reputed national and international
journal.

Subhash Chandra Saha is a former Principal of Tripura Engineering College

and Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Mechanical Engineering
Department at the NIT Agartala, Tripura, India completing his 33 years of
teaching and research. After completing his graduation in Mechanical
Engineering, he joined IIT Kharagpur for his Mtech degree and completed his
PhD in IT BHU. Recently, he is actively engaged in the development of friction
stir welding for non-ferrous material, dissimilar materials and metal matrix
composite. He already produced many PhD and MTech in the area of interest
and published around 30 research papers recently in reputed national and
international journals.

1 Introduction

Submerged arc welding (SAW) fluxes play a significant role during the welding to
control the chemical composition of weld metal (WM) (Messler, 2008). The mechanical
properties of the welded joint are determined by the microstructural behaviour of WM
(Honeycombe and Bhadeshia, 1995). It is well established that alloying elements such as
Ti, Ni, B, Mo, Cr, etc., play an important role for microstructural development (Evans
and Bailey, 1999). Therefore, it is quite essential to manipulate the composition of
welding consumables for the optimum joint properties. Previous researchers have used
various procedures to manipulate WM composition. Two major approaches for
improving the WM properties are to use of different types of flux and another one is to
alter the WM chemical composition by introducing of newer filler material or by metal
powder addition in the WM (Bhole et al., 2006). Generally, WM microstructure of
conventional low-alloy steel consists of varying amounts of acicular ferrite (AF),
polygonal ferrite, widmanstatten ferrite, pearlite and martensite-austenite (M-A)
microphases. It has been reported that the AF delivers the optimum microstructure to the
welds because of its fine grain size, as well as dislocation density and reducing crack
propagation (Honeycombe and Bhadeshia, 1995). One of the useful methods for
promoting the AF formation in SAW is the enrichment of various oxides into the flux
such as titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, boron oxide. These oxides in the flux may
contribute to different metallic element dissolution and oxygen into the weld (Paniagua-
Mercado et al., 2005). Evans (1996) studied the effect of titanium and boron additions in
SAW process and highlighted that the volume fraction of AF is increasing with the
increase in titanium content in low concentrations of boron. The Presence of excess
titanium tends to promote the strain hardening and formation of secondary phases. Bose-
 Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain size and hardness 315

Filho et al. (2007) studied the influence of Ti, Ni, Mo and Cr on the microstructure and
the chemical composition of non-metallic inclusion in high strength low alloy (HSLA)
steel. In the range of 50 to 400 ppm titanium has not so much effect on microstructural
development but further increase in the alloying elements, the hardenability of WM has
changed due to the presence of microphases.
Non-metallic inclusion plays a significant role in controlling the microstructure of
WMs. It has also been reported that inclusions may pin austenite grain boundaries for
reducing their grain size. These inclusions may also be responsible for determining the
fracture resistance of the high strength low alloy welds metals (Bose-Filho, 1995).
Paniagua-Mercado et al. (2009) investigated that the Ti-containing inclusions favour the
heterogeneous nucleation of AF and the density of Ti-containing inclusions increases
with Ti content into the flux. Yield strength, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and Vickers
hardness decreased with Ti content but elongation and impact strength increases.
Beidokhti et al. (2009a) studied the effect of Ti addition on the microstructure and
inclusion formation in submerged arc welded pipeline steel. The amount of AF in WM
increased with Ti content but further addition of Ti the microstructure changes into small
bainite (B) and ferrite with M/A microconstituents. Ti wt% in inclusion increases with
TiO2 addition, which improves impact toughness of weld but increases the hydrogen
induced crack (HIC). Menon et al. (1999) highlighted that the chemical composition of
the inclusions promotes the ferrite nucleation, and concluded that it is strongly influenced
by the aluminium content of the WM.
The WM grain structure can affect its mechanical properties significantly. It is well
established that Charpy V-notch impact toughness generally decreases with the increase
of tensile strength structural steel WM (Easterling, 1983). The formation of fine equiaxed
grains in the fusion zone has two main advantages. First, fine grains help to reduce the
susceptibility of the WM to solidification cracking during welding. Second, fine grains
can improve the mechanical properties of the weld, such as the ductility and fracture
toughness in case of steels and stainless steels. Therefore, much effort has been made to
grain refinement of the weld fusion zone. Davies and Garland (1975) used inoculant
powders of titanium carbide and ferrotitanium– titanium carbide mixtures were fed into
the weld pool during the SAW of mild steel and very fine grains were obtained. Surain
et al. (2005) studied the effect of molybdenum on ferritic high strength steel in manual
metal arc welding by varying the amount of metallic Mo powder during electrode
coating. A progressive refinement of the microstructure was observed in the columnar
regions as Mo and Mn increased in the WM. Mousavi et al. considered the effect of Tibor
additions on the grain refinement and solidification behaviour of castings and gas
tungsten arc (GTA) welds of aluminium alloy 7108 (Mousavi et al., 1999). They found
that Tibor was a more efficient grain refiner for alloy 7108 than scandium, resulting in
finer grain sizes with a lower amount of grain refiner. Zirconium is extensively used for
steel refinement because of its strong affinity to oxygen and sulphur, which reduces the
volumetric fraction of non-metallic inclusion and improves both toughness and cold work
properties during steel manufacture (Trindade et al., 2006).
The above study reveals that many research works have been done on various aspects
of titanium in structural steels. But there is no such clear discussion on bead morphology
and grain refinement of phases due to the Ti enrichment. So, the aim of the present
investigation is to study the influence of titanium dioxide additions in the fluxes on the
bead geometry, grain size, and hardness in submerged arc welds.
316 J. Roy et al.

2 Experimental setup and procedure

Bead-on-plate welding was carried out in a SAW machine [Model- MAESTRO 1200 (F)]
available in NIT Agartala, India workshop. Similar matching filler wire with different
amounts of TiO2 powder added into the flux for making different WMs chemical
compositions. TiO2 metal powder was mechanically mixed with the commercial fluxes in
amounts of 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5%. Beyond the maximum limit, TiO2 could not be
added because after that limit welding (visual inspection) was not good and the
detachability of slag is also poor. Process parameters were the same for all welding
conditions. Fresh commercial flux weld was used for comparison. A 16mm thick low
alloy steel plate was used for this study. The chemical composition (wt %) of the base
plate and electrode wire was shown in Table 1. Electrode wire of 4 mm diameter (AWS
A/S 5.17: EH 14) coated with copper has been used. A fused type silicon product with
grain size 0.2 to 1.6 mm with basicity index 1.6 flux (AUTOMELT A55) was used for
welding having chemical composition of, SiO2 + TiO2 = 30%, CaO + MgO = 10%,
Al2O3 + MnO = 45%, CaF2 = 15%. Welding process parameters remain same for all the
welding conditions as given in Table 2. Welding was performed on six sets of low alloy
steel plates and the average value has been taken for the discussion.
Table 1 Chemical composition (wt%) of base plate and electrode wire

Element Carbon Manganese Silicon Sulphur Phosphorus Carbonequ

Base plate 0.163 0.419 0.150 0.013 0.019 0.24
Electrode 0.04 0.4 0.05

Table 2 Welding process parameters

Exp. % of Basicity Wire feed rate Voltage Traverse speed Stickout Current
no. TiO2 index (mm/min) (V) (m/min) (mm) (A)
1 0 1.6
2 2.5 1.52
3 5 1.44
160 38 0.75 25 750
4 7.5 1.37
5 10 1.31
6 12.5 1.24

After conducting all the experiments, the test plates were visually and ultrasonically
inspected for detection of any defect or irregularity in weldment. Test specimens were cut
in transverse position to the welding direction, size of about 12–15 mm width by an
automatic hydraulic power saw. For the metallographic study, the welded specimens
were polished by using different grades of emery papers and finally with diamond paste
followed by a standard metallographic procedure. Polished specimens were etched with a
mixture of 2% nital solution to reveal the various zones of weldments. Grain size and
bead geometry parameters were measured by using an optical microscope (Leica DMI
3000M) attached with an image analysing software. Linear intercept method has been
adopted for the grain size measurement according to ASTM E112. Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was carried out for
the inclusion analysis. The microhardness tests were carried out in a Matsuzawa
 Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain size and hardness 317

MMT-X7B Vickers microhardness machine throughout the weldment with a constant

load of 2 kg and dwell time 10 s.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 WM chemical composition

TiO2 powder was added into the flux to change the chemical composition of WM.
Table 3 shows the all-weld-metal chemical composition analysis results. It can be
observed that the values for each element were fairly uniform, except the titanium, which
varied systematically from 0.01% to 0.03%.
Table 3 Weld metal chemical composition

Element C Mn Si P S Ti
WM-T0 0.102 0.94 0.312 0.018 0.0099 0.01
WM-T2.5 0.104 0.94 0.311 0.02 0.010 0.016
WM-T5 0.101 0.90 0.31 0.019 0.0098 0.017
WM-T7.5 0.104 0.91 0.298 0.020 0.010 0.02
WM-T10 0.102 0.89 0.296 0.021 0.010 0.027
WM-T12.5 0.103 0.89 0.291 0.02 0.011 0.030

3.2 Effect of TiO2 on bead morphology

The shapes of the weld bead containing TiO2 were different from the commercial flux.
Figure 1 shows the macrograph of weldment for the 2.5% and 10% TiO2 addition. More
deeper and narrower weld pools were found in TiO2 enriched fluxes welding compare to
the commercial flux welding.

Figure 1 Macrograph of weald bead at TiO2 2.5% and 10% (see online version for colours)

The effect of TiO2 on the depth of penetration (P), bead width (W), and reinforcement
(R) is shown in Figure 2. P increases with TiO2 content gradually up to 10% after that it
falls. P increases by 20% approx. compare to the fresh flux WM. W shows a mixed trend
with TiO2, W decreases up to 5% then it increases.
318 J. Roy et al.

Figure 2 Effect of TiO2 on bead geometry parameters (see online version for colours)

P
W
R
12

10

8
P,W,R

2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
TiO2%

W decreases for all the conditions than the fresh flux weld. TiO2 does not have so much
effect on the R. R slightly increases with enriched fluxes. R directly related to the metal
deposition, it increases with the decreases of traverse speed (Little, 1973). Since the
welding conditions became constant for all the welding conditions so, R does not show
any significant variation with the enriched fluxes.
P increases with TiO2 content because the oxides content increases with enriched
flux. The improvement of P is due to the presence of oxygen content in the TiO2 enriched
fluxes. Here the oxygen used as a surface active element so the reversed Marangoni
convection takes place. Heat source distribution and Marangoni convection on the top
surface of the weld pool control the bead shape (Lu et al., 2004; Xu et al., 2007). The
surface tension of a pure metal and alloys generally decreases with the increasing
temperature, ∂σ / ∂T < 0. Since there is a large temperature gradient existing on the
welding pool surface between the centre under the arc and the edges of the weld pool, a
large surface tension gradient will be produced along the surface. In the weld pool for
such materials, the surface tension is higher in the relatively cooler part of the pool edge
than that in the pool centre under the arc, and hence, the fluid flows from the pool centre
to the edge. In that case, the heat flux is easily transferred from the centre to the edges
and the weld shape is relatively wide and shallow as shown in Figure 3(a).
 Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain size and hardness 319

Figure 3 Schematic of Marangoni convection

(a)

(b)

Source: Heiple et al. (1983)

When the surface-active elements, such as sulphur, oxygen or selenium, exceed a certain
concentration in a stainless steel WM (Xu et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2003), the
temperature coefficient of the surface tension changes from a negative to positive value,
∂σ/∂T > 0, and the direction of the Marangoni convection in the weld pool changes as
illustrated in Figure 2(b). In this case, a relatively deep and narrow weld was made.
P slightly decreases above the 10% TiO2 enrichment. This may be due to the higher
TiO2 content in the WM. If the TiO2 content in the flux is too high then TiO2 cannot
totally decompose, the solid oxide particles float on the top surface (Xu et al., 2007).
The overall desirability of the bead geometry increases with the addition of TiO2
content compare to commercial flux. P and W showing the improvement of bead
geometry as far as optimal bead geometry is concerned.

3.3 Effect of TiO2 on WM microstructure and grain size

The micrographs of the weld zones processed under different welding conditions are
shown in Figure 4. The changes in microstructure of the WMs with different level of
alloying elements are studied. The microstructure of the WM consisted of AF,
grain-boundary ferrite (GBF), Widmanstätten ferrite (WF) and other phases like pearlite,
B and M/A microconstituents within the WM (Beidokhti et al., 2009b). Optical
micrographs of WM reveal that the volume percentage of AF as a function of the
titanium content of the flux. The increase in the percentage of AF with the increase in
titanium content is apparent; this is accompanied by a decrease in the other ferrites. The
320 J. Roy et al.

mean length of AF is a function of the Ti content in the flux, where a decrease in length
occurs with increased titanium content of flux. Literature suggests that Titanium is strong
carbide and nitride formers. TiN and TiC are favourable sites for the AF formation due to
close matching between 100 planes of ferrite and these particles. The difference in
chemical free energy between ferrite and austenite and the tendency for the system to
minimise the total interfacial free energy of interface boundaries are driving forces for the
growth of a ferrite crystal from austenite (Beidokhti et al., 2009b).

Figure 4 Weld metal micrographs in different welding conditions

The non-metallic inclusions observed in this work are the result of deoxidation and/or
desulphurisation reactions taking place in the weld pool. It has been shown by some
researchers (Bose-Filho, 1995; Beidokhti et al., 2009a) that these inclusions are very
important in the microstructural development of ferritic WMs since they act as nuclei for
AF. It has also been suggested that inclusions may pin austenite grain boundaries
reducing their grain size. Figure 5 shows the EDX analysis of WM inclusion. Inclusions
are enriched of Ti which promotes the formation of AF formation. With increasing Ti
content in the weld, the Ti content in the inclusions increases gradually and hence,
 Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain size and hardness 321

reduces the amount of Mn and Si. Figure 6 shows the percentage of ferrite and pearlite of
WMs. It is clear that TiO2 additions in the flux increase the % of ferrite and pearlite% is
decreased.

Figure 5 EDX analysis of weld metal inclusion (see online version for colours)

Figure 6 % of ferrite and pearlite vs. % of TiO2 addition (see online version for colours)

% of pearlite
% of ferrite

60
% of pearlite & ferrite

50

40

0 6 12
TiO2%

The base metal of present work shows a typical lamellar ferritic and pearlitic
microstructure. Micrograph depicts that ferrite phases are light etched and pearlite phases
are dark etched and the fine carbide particles are not visible in low magnification (Prasad
and Dwivedi, 2008; Kolhe and Datta, 2008). With the increase of titanium in the WM,
ferrite% is increased from 38.8% to 56% and pearlite% is decreased from 62.64% to
56%. This is obvious because of AF nucleation increase with titanium dioxide addition.
322 J. Roy et al.

Figure 7 shows the average width of ferrite and pearlite with different TiO2 content.
From Figure 7, it is very clear that TiO2 additions help to grain refinement in the WM.
The mean grain size of ferrite and pearlite reduced compare to commercial flux welding.
Previous literature reported that the effect of solute elements on the grain refinement is
controlling the growth of the nucleated grains (Bose-Filho, 1995). This phenomenon can
be explained in terms of growth restriction factor (GRF). The GRF may be defined as
‘mc0(k – 1)’, where m is the liquidus gradient, c0 the bulk composition and k is the
partition coefficient between solid and liquid. The solute elements created the
constitution undercooling which restricts the grain growth by slowing diffusion of the
alloying elements (Babu et al., 2012).

Figure 7 Average width of ferrite and pearlite of weld metals (see online version for colours)

WF
WP
14.2

14.0

13.8

13.6
WF, WP

13.4

13.2

13.0

12.8

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
TiO2%

In a diffusion layer, higher constitutional undercooling generates ahead of the advancing

solid/ liquid interface due to the increase of titanium content in the WM, which restricts
grain growth since the diffusion of the solute occurs slowly, thus limiting the rate of the
crystal growth and hence refines the grain size (Easton and Stjohn, 1999).

3.4 Effect of TiO2 on hardness

Figure 8 represents the hardness profile of weldment for different welding conditions.
The hardness value is showing a mixed trend with the addition of titanium oxide.
Hardness decreased for 2.5%–7.5% TiO2 addition then increased. The pearlite% in WM
seems to be responsible for the decrease of hardness and the pearlite% decrease with
titanium content (Paniagua-Mercado et al., 2009; Fattahi et al., 2013). Hardness increases
from 165.3 to 210.6 for the higher percentage TiO2. In higher titanium added WM
 Effect of TiO2 enriched fluxes on the bead geometry, grain size and hardness 323

microstructure consisting of TiC and TiN, this may be the reason for the increase of
hardness. Bose-Filho et al. (2007) investigation also does not show any clear trend
between hardness values of WM and titanium content. In all of the tested pieces, the
hardness values in the WM were the same, but when test moved through heat affected
zone (HAZ) from fusion line to the base material, hardness values were lower than the
weld. The HAZ hardness curve is at its highest point in the coarse grain HAZ and sinks
down in the fine grain HAZ. Minimum hardness was found in the base material.

Figure 8 Hardness profile of weld metals at different TiO2% (see online version for colours)

0%
230 2.50%
5%
220 7.50%
10%
210 12.50%
200
Hardness(HV2)

190

180
Base metal
170

160

150
Weld Metal HAZ
140
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Distance from the fusion line (mm)

4 Conclusions

The influence of titanium oxide powder addition in flux on the bead geometry, grain size,
and hardness of low alloy steel WMs in SAW process has been investigated. Based on
that investigation the following conclusions can be drawn:
• Bead geometry parameters were changed with the addition of titanium oxide in the
flux. P increases significantly with titanium content but at maximumTiO2 P
decreases. Overall acceptability of bead geometry increases with the addition of Ti
content. In every case, response parameters improve compare to commercial flux.
• Optical micrographs of WMs reveal more equiaxed ferritic and pearlitic
microstructure rather than the commercial flux welding. Formation of AF is a
function of titanium content. Phase analysis of WMs highlighted that ferrite%
increases and pearlite% decreases. The Grain size of WMs ferrite and pearlite
decreases with the addition of titanium in the flux.
324 J. Roy et al.

• The hardness value of WMs does not show any specific order with TiO2 addition.
But the hardness value increases in the higher percentage of titanium addition due to
the presence of harder phases.
From the above study, it can be recommended that the TiO2 powder addition during
SAW is a useful approach to improve the weld bead P, hardness, and grain size
refinement.

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