Influence of welding angle in the process of submerged arc welding of pressure vessel steel

Abstract In the industrial production of pressure vessels (PV), a very important role is played by the welding of the elements that make up the vessel. The predominant welding technology in the case of manufacturing PV is the submerged arc welding (SAW) for which different welding regimes are defined depending on the characteristics of the base material. The welding regimes are made up of various parameters easy to manipulate by the operators of the welding machines, one of them is the welding angle. In this article, aspects are discussed regarding the way in which the welding angle of SAW influences the quality of welded joints. Tensile tests were carried out on specimens taken from plates joined by SAW using different values of the electrode tilt. Aspects regarding the geometry and dimensions of the welded joints obtained as a result of the variation of the welding angle are analysed and, in the end, an optimal angle is indicated for the welding process of PV. The basic material used in the experiments is a fine-grained material intended for the manufacture of vessels that work in high pressure and high temperature regimes, named in the technical literature P355 N.