Effect of GTAW process parameters on AISI 304L austenitic stainless steels and optimisation using Grey-Taguchi technique

In the present study, single-pass butt joints for GTA welding of AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel are evaluated for weld quality. Research is being done on welding to improve the quality of the weld. The input weld parameters for GTAW of Austenitic Stainless Steel AISI 304L are based on welding current (C), gas flow rate (G) and arc gap (A) to study the effect of TIG welding input process parameters on the mechanical characteristics and parametric optimisation of TIG process in order to find the best possible parametric combination to yield a favourable weld quality in terms of mechanical features of weld. The Grey-Taguchi method has been applied for process optimisation. Following the butt-joining, the joints can be examined visually and by X-ray radiography. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), Yield strength (YS) and percentage elongation (PE) were used to assess the weld quality. The data was analysed, discussed, and interpreted using the Grey-Taguchi Technique. The best parametric combination is obtained becomes C3 G3 A2 (i.e. Welding current: 110A, Gas flow rate = 20 l/min and Arc gap = 3 mm). This is the result of multi-objective optimisation utilising the Grey-based Taguchi approach to simultaneously maximise tensile properties of weld joint.