XRD and DTA Analysis of Developed Agglomerated Fluxes for Submerged Arc Welding

A unique study of structural and chemical analysis of crystalline phases in developed agglomerated fluxes was carried out. Thirty-two fluxes were developed by using a mixture of oxides, halides, carbonates, silicates, and ferroalloys for submerged arc welding. The present paper focuses on only ten (out of thirty-two) fluxes which were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) to know the different types of oxides formed and changed in oxidation number of metallic centers after sintering process at around 850°C. To know the effect of temperature over phase transformation and melting of different compounds, differential thermal analysis (DTA) was carried out from 1000 to 1400°C. This study aims to know the quantity of ions present (percentage) and melting behavior of developed agglomerated fluxes for submerged arc welding process. 1. Introduction The agglomeration method is used for flux preparation by using a mixture of oxides, halides, carbonates, silicates, and ferroalloys [1]. The chemistry of weld metal is always governed by the electrochemical changes at the weld pool flux interface because the important properties of submerged arc welding fluxes are the function of their physiochemical properties [2–5]. The important chemical reactions take place during heating of ceramic oxide which is the chemical reaction among the different phases [6], phase transformation of minerals [7], formation of crystalline phases [8], and chemical and structural characterization of crystalline phases in agglomerated fluxes for submerged arc welding were observed [9]. Therefore, the developed agglomerated fluxes can be analyzed to know their crystal structure observed during the rise of temperature. The objective of this analysis is to know the crystalline phases as well as to quantify the different types of ions and their distribution in developed agglomerated fluxes (AGF1101–AGF1110) by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) is used to know the peaks of endothermic temperatures. 2. Experimentation In the present study, the fluxes have been designed on the basis of binary and ternary phase diagrams for different oxide and fluoride systems [10] and formulated by using response surface methodology technique [11, 12]. In these fluxes, varying amount of oxides and fluorides were added to know the crystalline phases as well as to quantify the different types of ions and their distribution in developed agglomerated fluxes (AGF1101–AGF1110) by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) was carried out to know the peaks of endothermic