Parametric Analysis and Optimization of TIG Welding for Enhanced Structural Integrity of Mild-Steel Sktm13a Pipe Butt Joints

The structural integrity of welded joints are critical factors that influence the overall safety and durability of various engineering structures, especially in the fields of construction, automotive, and pipeline industries.. This research systematically investigate the effects and interactions of welding parameters such as welding current, welding voltage, gas flow rate and welding speed for enhanced structural integrity of mild-steel SKTM13A pipe butt joints. Central Composite Design (CCD) based Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to investigate and optimized these Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process dependent variables to minimize responses such as residual stress, distortion in weld-ment, heat flux, and maximize Peak Temperature, tensile strength of the welded joints. The results indicated model F-values of 29.81 at a P-value of <0.0001 for the tensile strength explained the significance of the employed model. Optimal tensile strength of 308.56Mpa, minimum distortion in weldment of 0.2, Peak Temperature of 1518.45°C, residual stress of 282.724Mpa and heat flux of 1500.26Kw/min were achieved at a welding current of 140A, welding voltage 24V, gas flow rate 12lit/min and welding speed of 150 cm/min. Overall, these statistics suggest that the regression model for the desired responses are robust and adequately captures the relationship with the predictor variables. In conclusion, this research has provided valuable insights into the optimization of welding parameters using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) that can be effectively apply to drive innovation and competitiveness in the welding industry.