Waste to wealth: development of cladding flux from steel slag for submerged arc welding

A novel methodology has been developed which permits to transform waste slag into welding flux meant for stainless steel cladding. The developed flux has been applied for stainless steel cladding using submerged arc welding process. The claddings prepared using developed flux has been evaluated in terms of bead geometry, mechanical properties and chemical composition. The depth of penetration, weld bead width and height of reinforcement achieved with developed flux are 7.64 mm, 14.01 mm, and 4.07 mm, respectively, which are superior than obtained with fresh flux (8.05 mm, 12.85 mm, and 3.44 mm), as far as cladding is concerned. It observed that the developed flux is capable to produce chemical composition of claddings as per ASME SFA 5.4 standard. The percentage of chromium, nickel and manganese in claddings is 18.1%, 8.56% and 1.04% respectively which satisfy the ASME requirements. The side bend test proves a good bonding strength between substrate and claddings. The hardness of claddings produced with developed flux is also comparable with that of fresh flux. The average hardness of cladding produced with developed flux is 459 Hv, compared with that of fresh flux (435 Hv). The cost of developed flux is 54.86% economical than that of fresh flux. This research advocates that steel slag could be utilized as a raw material for manufacturing welding flux for stainless steel cladding.