Abstract:

Tankers are subject to the European Agreement on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR). In the production of tankers, AISI 304, AISI 321 and AISI 316Ti quality austenitic stainless steels are joined by plasma welding method. Tankers are exposed to loads under different temperatures depending on the products they carry. In this study, the mechanical properties of the weld zones under 80°C, 150°C and 250°C temperatures were determined by tensile test. Tensile test was performed on welded and unwelded samples and their mechanical properties were compared. The microstructure of the regions under the influence of welding and heat (ITAB) of the welded samples was evaluated by electron microscopy. In addition, the weld areas of the welded samples were examined by radiographic (x-ray) examination method. No gaps, cracks or discontinuities were found in the structure in radiographic examination and optical microscope imaging. In the tensile test results, it was determined that the plasma welding process produced stainless steels had lower tensile, yield and percent elongation values compared to the non-welded sheet forms.

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