Comparative Microstructural, Mechanical and Corrosion Study between Dissimilar ATIG and Conventional TIG Weldments of 316L Stainless Steel and Mild Steel

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The present paper reports an interesting work on the very important topic of corrosion protection materials, namely dissimilar 316L Stainless Steel – Mild Steel ATIG and  conventional TIG Weldments. The article is well written, summarizes a lot of valuable information in its figures and tables, and contains a lot of work. The manuscript needs several revisions before it can be published. Therefore, please improve or clarify the following points:

1. It is not very clear what the novelty of your research is. Please rewrite the last paragraph on page 3, lines 118–124 of the introduction, to focus on industrial applications.
2. The number of replicates for the corrosion test must be specified and entered into table 14 along with the uncertainty for each parameter.
3. In fig. 21, insert the notation for each polarization curve and keep the same color for the notation.
4. The resolution of figures 9 and 19 is very low. Please improve it.
5. To homogenize the  measuring units to IUPAC standards, page 5, line 204 “cc has to be replaced with mL”
6. The references used in the introduction are quite old. Please include references from 2020-2022 regarding this topic.

 Based on these, I advise the authors to rectify the above-mentioned errors, and I hope to re-evaluate the revised manuscript.

Author Response

Reviewer 1:

The authors thanks you very well for your valuable remarks and suggestions.

 

Question 1

It is not very clear what the novelty of your research is. Please rewrite the last paragraph on page 3, lines 118–124 of the introduction, to focus on industrial applications.

 

Response 1

 

The last paragraph on page 3, lines 118–124 of the introduction was modified as suggested.

 

Question 2

 

The number of replicates for the corrosion test must be specified and entered into table 14 along with the uncertainty for each parameter.

 

Response 2

 

For the corrosion analysis the tests were performed on standard equipment (Nova-Autolab) with excellent reproducibility and repeatability of analysis using standard electrodes which are well calibrated and having a track record of good repeatability in result. The medium used for the corrosion analysis is also standardized which is 3.5% NaCl solution. Therefore we didn't performed the repeated test as it will give the similar result and we also did not feel the need to do so.

 

Question 3

In fig. 21, insert the notation for each polarization curve and keep the same color for the notation.

 

Response 3

 

In Figure 21, Each polarization curve was labeled and same color was assigned for polarization curve.

 

 

Question 4

 

The resolution of figures 9 and 19 is very low. Please improve it.

 

Response 4

The resolution of figures 9 and 19  was improved

Question 5

To homogenize the  measuring units to IUPAC standards, page 5, line 204 “cc has to be replaced with mL”

 

Response 5

As suggested cc unit was replaced by mL in page 5

 

Question 6

 

The references used in the introduction are quite old. Please include references from 2020-2022 regarding this topic.

 

Response 6

 

Recent references from 2020-2022 were added.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

In this work, pseudo-components fluxes were analyzed regarding the weld aspect, microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of dissimilar 316L austenitic stainless steel and mild steel welded joints. Using Mixing design available in Minitab 17 software, the obtained optimal pseudo-component flux is 74% SiO2, 3% Fe2O3, 13% Cr2O3 and 10% NaF. The optimal combination of flux used in ATIG weld has a beneficial effect on mechanical properties and without degradation of corrosion resistance if compared to the conventional TIG weld. Moreover, in ATIG process, the weld depth is achieved in a single pass and, the edge preparation and/or adding a filler metal are not required. These achievements meet the requirements of many industries. I recommend that this paper could be published in Metals after minor revision. Comments 1: There are many writing mistakes in the article. Please correct it carefully. For example: Error:‘For each combination, the three selected oxides Cr2O3, TiO2 and ZrO2 varies and 10% of NaF was added and kept fixed to get pseudo ternary combination.’ Correct:‘For each combination, the three selected oxides SiO2, Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 varies and 10% of NaF was added and kept fixed to get pseudo ternary combination.’ Comments 2: In Figure 10(b), the positions of interfaces mild steel and 316L stainless steel are not clear. This is not sufficient to prove the symmetry of the weld bead, please supplement according to experiment.

Author Response

Reviewer 2:

The authors thanks you very well for your valuable remarks and suggestions.

 

Question 1

There are many writing mistakes in the article. Please correct it carefully. For example: Error:‘For each combination, the three selected oxides Cr2O3, TiO2 and ZrO2 varies and 10% of NaF was added and kept fixed to get pseudo ternary combination.’ Correct:‘For each combination, the three selected oxides SiO2, Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 varies and 10% of NaF was added and kept fixed to get pseudo ternary combination.’

Response 1

“For each combination, the three selected oxides Cr2O3, TiO2 and ZrO2 varies and 10% of NaF was added and kept fixed “   Corrected in the manuscript and replaced by

“For each combination, the three selected oxides SiO_2, Fe₂O₃ and Cr₂O₃ varies and 10% of NaF was added and kept fixed.”

 

Question 2

Comments 2: In Figure 10(b), the positions of interfaces mild steel and 316L stainless steel are not clear. This is not sufficient to prove the symmetry of the weld bead, please supplement according to experiment.

 

Response 2

Our reference was the top surface(top face weld) from where we draw the medium line on the top weld surface (from the edges of the plates to the weld line - the plates to be joined widths is 100 mm ) . It is obvious that the weld bead in Figure 10(b) is not shifted to any side. We conclude the quasi symmetry of the ATIG weld. The measurement of the areas listed in the Table 7 was conducted accurately based on the medium line drawn of the top surface of the weld line(face weld), referring to this line, we use a scriber to mark the medium  top surface line to be sure after cutting small specimen for macrographs, hot mounting operation, grinding  and etching we remove the Bakelite.  Another vertical line is drawn on weld section base to medium top line.

 

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Nice contribution. The manuscript may be further improved with the following changes:

1. The references should not be clubbed [4-15]. Each reference should be included for its individual merit.
2. Avoid mixing language styles, British and non-British. eg. technic or technique.
3. The quality of figures (2, 10, 18, 19, 21) should be improved.
4. Provide the composition of flux in conclusion 5 in place of 'our' optimal flux.

Author Response

Reviewer 3:

The authors thanks you very well for your valuable remarks and suggestions.

Question 1

The references should not be clubbed [4-15]. Each reference should be included for its individual merit.

Response 1

References presentation were revised in the revised manuscript. One or two and rarely 3 references to support the corresponding information in the introduction part.

Question 2

Avoid mixing language styles, British and non-British. eg. technic or technique.

Response 2

In all manuscript word “technic” is replaced by “technique” to avoid mixing language styles as suggested.

Question 3

The quality of figures (2, 10, 18, 19, 21) should be improved.

Response 3

The quality of figures (2, 10, 18, 19, 21) improved in the revised manuscript.

Question 4

Provide the composition of flux in conclusion 5 in place of 'our' optimal flux.

Response 4

The composition of flux provided as suggested in conclusion 5.

Reviewer 4 Report

 Stainless steels and mild steels are widespread materials in several industries. Dissimilar welding of materials is a technic used to meet the needs of industries. Austenitic stainless steel 316L and mild steel have different chemical compositions, thermal and mechanical properties. Therefore, it is interesting to develop a flux paste in order to assure the reliability and sustainability of dissimilar material welded structures. In this work, pseudo-components fluxes were analyzed regarding the weld aspect, microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of dissimilar 316L austenitic stainless steel and mild steel welded joints. Using Mixing design available in Minitab 17 software, the obtained optimal pseudo-component flux is 74% SiO2, 3% Fe2O3, 13% Cr2O3 and 10% NaF. During this investigation, the weld carried out using the optimal combination of activated tungsten inert gas (ATIG) technic is evaluated and compared to another weld executed using the conventional tungsten inert gas (TIG) process. In conclusion, it was observed that the optimal combination of flux used in ATIG weld has a beneficial effect on mechanical properties and without degradation of corrosion resistance if compared to the conventional TIG weld. Moreover, in ATIG process, the weld depth is achieved in a single pass and, the edge preparation and/or adding a filler metal are not required.

Author Response

The authors thanks you very much for reviewing the manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Congratulations on a great job. The author has made substantial improvements to this article. The manuscript can be accepted for publication in the present form.

Reviewer 4 Report

The paper has been improved largely