Welding consumables

The consumables with the appropriate strengths for welding the Hardox^® and Strenx^® grades can, in many cases, attain favorable toughness values in the all weld metal.
The weld metal in joints of the Strenx^® grades can reach an impact toughness – with many kinds of consumables – that is typically above the toughness requirements of the unaffected parent metal.
 
There are seldom exact, specified toughness requirements for joints in the Hardox^® grades. When measured, the impact toughness values in the weld metal are normally at a level of – or above – the typical impact toughness values for these steel grades.

The hydrogen content of consumables depends on factors such as the welding method used. The types of consumables that can fulfill the recommended hydrogen level is stated in the table below.

Consumables	Type of consumable
Solid wires ( MAG- and TIG welding)	All types
Flux cored wires (MAG)	Basic and rutile variant
Metal cored wires (MAG)	Certain type
Consumables for MMA-welding	Basic variant
Consumables for SAW	Basic flux/solid wire combination

The hydrogen content of a given consumable brand can be attained by their manufacturer. This info is often attained in their datasheet. If a consumable is classified for a certain hydrogen content, it can be read out according to their standard designation. Both European and American norms applies the same principal in accordance with below. Solid wires are not qualified with respect to their hydrogen content since all of these can attain low hydrogen levels at the recommended level from SSAB.

Example:

The following rutile cored wire for MAG-welding with a yield strength of 817 MPa in the all-weld metal. It is qualified in accordance with the following standard classifications. 

EN 12535: T 69 5 Mn2NiCrMo B M21 2 H5
SFA/AWS A5.29: E111T5-K4M H4

In this case the qualification includes the hydrogen content. It is stated last in the designation marked with an “H”. The no after this letter marks the hydrogen content expressed in ml/100 g of weld metal. In this case the European standard EN 12535 has a qualified hydrogen level of maximum 5 ml/100 g of weld metal. The American standard SFA/AWS thereby has a qualified level of maximum 4ml/100 g of weld metal.

When welding with consumables with yield strengths (R_p0.2) up to 690 MPa the consumable properties typically don’t influence the minimum preheat temperature of the joint. The reason is that the carbon equivalent, CET, of the parent metal typically exceeds that of the weld metal by at least 0.03 units of percentage.

For consumables with yield strengths of 690 MPa and higher, the CET value for the consumable verses the CET value for Strenx^® is normally so high that the minimum preheating temperature of both the steel and the consumable are to be considered. In this situation, the highest minimum preheat temperature of either the joint plates or the consumable should be used. The software SSAB WeldCalc™ can simplify these calculations.  

Strenx^® 900–1300 steel types are frequently welded with consumables that have yield strengths of about 750–1100 MPa in the all-weld metal. This group of consumables represents the highest strength available on the market. Their manufacturers do not normally specify preheat/interpass temperatures for these types of consumables.

The actual temperature can for example be determined in accordance with the European Norm EN 1011-2, Method B. In addition, SSAB has made its own general estimates of the lowest suitable preheat/interpass temperature in accordance with the table below. SSAB considers that the interpass temperature should be set at a maximum of +210 °C.

The permissible heat input follows our normal recommendations for the relevant steel grade.

Single plate thickness in the joint [mm]	Min. preheat temperature [°C]
≤ 10	125
10,1 – 20,0	140
20,1 – 40,0	175
>40,0	190

The consumables are arranged according to the yield strength (Rp0.2) for which they are classified. In reality, a given consumable normally has a higher yield strength than its standard designation. The mechanical properties of a given consumable can be obtained from its manufacturer.

Consumable manufacturer/ Min yield strength MPa (ksi)	400 (58)	470 (68)	540 (78)	610 (97)	680 (100)	745 (108)
AWS Class	ER 70X*	ER 80X*	ER 90X*	ER100X*	ER110X*	ER120X*
ELGA	Elgamatic 100	Elgamatic 162	Elgamatic 163	Elgamatic 135		Elgamatic 138
ESAB	OK Aristorod 12.50, OK Aristorod 12.63	OK Aristorod 13.09, OK Aristorod 13.12	OK Aristorod 13.22	OK Aristorod 55, OK Autrod 13.25	OK Aristorod 69	OK Aristorod 79
LINCOLN ELECTRIC	LNM 25, SUPRAMIG HD	LNM Ni1, LNM Ni2.5		LNM MoNi, Superarc AK 10-TM	LNM MoNiVa	LNM MoNiCr
BÖHLER	EMK6, EMK8	NiCu1-IG, DCMS-IG	CM2-IG	Union NiMoCr	X70-IG, alform 700-IG	Union X90, Union X96
OERLIKON	Carbofil 1, Carbofil 1 Gold	Carbofil NiCu		Carbofil NiMoCr, Carbofil NiMo1		Carbofil 120

The consumables are arranged according to the yield strength (R_p0.2) for which they are classified. In reality, a given consumable normally has a higher yield strength than its standard designation. The mechanical properties of a given consumable can be obtained from its manufacturer.

Consumable manufacturer/ Min yield strength MPa (ksi)	400 (58)	470 (68	540 (78)	610 (97)	680 (100)	745 (108)
AWS Class	ER 7X*	ER 8X”	ER 9X”	ER10X*	ER11X”	ER12X”
ELGA	Elgacore DWA 51B, Elgacore DWA 50	Elgacore DWA 55L	Elgacore DWA 65L		Elgacore R690
ESAB	Tubrod 15.00, Filarc PZ 6113S	OK Tubrod 15.17	Dual-Shield 55, Dual-Shield CrMo2	Dual-Shield 62	Dual-Shield 69, OK Tubrod 15.27	Filarc PZ 6149
LINCOLN ELECTRIC	Outershield 71E-H, Outershield 71MS-H	Outershield 12-H, Outershield 19-H	Outershield 20-H	Outershield 101Ni-HSR	Outershield 690-H
BÖHLER	Ti52-FD, Union TG 55 M	Ti 60-FD, Ti 2 Ni T-FD	Kb 65 T-FD		Kb 85 T-FD
OERLIKON	Fluxofil 14HD, Fluxofil 19HD	Fluxofil 20, Fluxofil 20HD

The consumables are arranged according to the yield strength (R_p0.2) for which they are classified. In reality, a given consumable normally has a higher yield strength than its standard designation. The mechanical properties of a given consumable can be obtained from its manufacturer.

Consumable manufacturer/ Min yield strength MPa (ksi)	400 (58)	470 (68)	540 (78)	610 (97)	680 (100)	745 (108)
AWS Class	ER 7X*	ER 8X”	ER 9X”	ER10X*	ER11X”	ER12X”
ELGA	Elgacore MXA 100, Elgacore MXA 100XP	Elgacore MXA 55			Elgacore M690
ESAB	OK Tubrod 14.13, PZ6105R				OK Tubrod 14.03	Coreweld 89
LINCOLN ELECTRIC	Outershield MC710-H, Outershield MC715-H
BÖHLER	HL 46-MC, HL 51 T-MC	HL53 T-MC, NiCu1 T-MC	HL65 T-MC	HL75 T-MC	alform 700-MC	alform 900-MC, alform 960-MC

The consumables are arranged according to the yield strength (R_p0.2) for which they are classified. In reality, a given consumable normally has a higher yield strength than its standard designation. The mechanical properties of a given consumable can be obtained from its manufacturer.

Consumable manufacturer/ Min yield strength MPa (ksi)	400 (58)	470 (68)	540 (78)	610 (97)	680 (100)	745 (108)
AWS Class	E7016-X*, E7018-X*	E8016-X*, E8018-X*	E9018-X*	E10018-X*	E11018-X*	E12018-X*
ELGA	P48S, P51	P48K, P65MR			P110MR
ESAB	OK 48.00, OK 48.50	OK 73.68, OK 73.15	OK 74.78	OK 74.86 Tensitrode	OK 75.75, Filarc 118	OK 75.78
LINCOLN ELECTRIC	Basic 7018, Baso 100	Conarc 74	Conarc 60G, Conarc 70G		Conarc 80	Conarc 85
BÖHLER	Fox ev 50, AWS E7018-1	Fox ev 60, Fox Fox 2.5Ni	Fox ev 70		Fox EV 85, Fox alform 700
OERLIKON	Carbofil 1, Carbofil 1 Gold	Tenacito 70	Tenacito 65R	Tenacito 75	Tenacito 80	Tenacito 100

The consumables are arranged according to the yield strength (R_p0.2) for which they are classified. In reality, a given consumable normally has a higher yield strength than its standard designation. The mechanical properties of a given consumable can be obtained from its manufacturer.

Consumable manufacturer/ Min yield strength MPa (ksi)	400 (58)	470 (68)	540 (78)	610 (97)	680 (100)	745 (108)
AWS Class	F7X*	F8X”	F9X”	F10X*	F11X”	F12X”
ELGA	Elgasaw 102/ Elgaflux 251B, Elgasaw 102Si/ Elgaflux 251B	Elgasaw 102Mo/Elgaflux 251B
ESAB	OK Autrod 12.22/OK Flux 10.62, OK Autrod 12.32/OK Flux 10.62	OK Autrod 12.24/OK Flux 10.62, OK Autrod 12.34/OK Flux 10.62	OK Autrod 12.44/OK Flux 10.62	OK Autrod 13.40/OK Flux 10.62	OK Autrod 13.43/OK Flux 10.62
LINCOLN ELECTRIC	L-61/Lincolnweld 8500, L-50M/P 240	LNS 40A/Lincolnweld 8500, LNS 150/P 240	LNS 164/839, LNS 151/P 240	LA82/Lincolnweld MIL 800-H, LA100/Lincolnweld MIL 800-H
BÖHLER	EMS 2/BB 24, Union S 2/ UV 420TT	EMS 2 Mo/BB 24	3NiMo 1-UP/BB24		3 NiMoCr/BB24 Union S 3 NiMoCr/ UV 420TT
OERLIKON	OE-S3/OP121TT	OE-S2Mo/OP121TT	OE-S3NiMo1/ OP121TT

Hardox^® and Strenx^® can always be welded with austenitic stainless steel consumables of type AWS 307. The typical basic chemical composition for this grade is 18 % Cr, 8 % Ni, 6 % Mn. After welding, high resistance is achieved to both hydrogen cracks and hot cracks in the joint. The structure of the weld metal will contain austenite, which contributes to a high toughness of the weld metal.

The yield strength (R_p0.2) of this type of consumables is around 450–550 MPa. The resistance to hydrogen cracks are very high for these types of consumables. It means that it is no need to state a max hydrogen content for stainless consumables.

This type of consumable is suitable as the buffer layer in hard facing. An alternative to the welding consumable AWS 307 is an austenitic stainless steel consumable according to AWS 309. However, the risk of hot cracking is somewhat higher for type AWS 309 compared to AWS 307. Consumables according to AWS 307 are listed in the table below.

Consumable manufacturer/Min yield strength MPa (ksi)	MMA	MAG, solid ware	MAG, flux cored wire	MAG, metal cored wire	SAW
AWS Class	A5.4: E307X*	A5.9: E307	A5.22: E307X*	A5.22: E307X*
ELGA		Cromamig 307Si
ESAB	OK 67.45, OK67.52	OK 16.95		OK Tubrod 15.34
LINCOLN ELECTRIC	Arosta 307	LNM 307
BÖHLER	Fox A7	A7-IG	A7-FD	A7-MC
OERLIKON	Supercromax R	Inertfil 307	Fluxinox 307

In order to achieve the intended hydrogen content, it is important that the consumables are handled in accordance with their manufacturer. Otherwise, the consumables can be subjected to excessive hydrogen pick-up from different substances in their environment.

General issues to consider in this respect are that: