A. Shazad, M. Uzair
Memoria Investigaciones en Ingeniería, núm. 28 (2025). pp. 45-57
https://doi.org/10.36561/ING.28.5
ISSN 2301-1092 • ISSN (en línea) 2301-1106 – Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay 47
1. Introduction. - Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) is widely used in various industries due to its affordability
and availability. It has a higher power density than gas fusion welding, but lower than Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG)
welding. However, extensive distortions can occur during SMAW due to the low concentration of flame. Skilled
welders can be easily sourced locally. High Strength Low Alloy Steel, known for its durability and strength, is utilized
in upper atmosphere research, power production, and defense industries [1,2]. High Strength Low Alloy Steel is widely
used in various industries due to its exceptional strength to weight ratio, enhanced toughness, ductility, and weldability.
However, welding joints of low alloy high strength steel can experience a degradation of strength in the joined material.
Welded joints exhibit reduced hardness and impact strength, and their ductility is also mitigated. These changes in
mechanical properties are caused by the high heat input during welding, which results in alterations to both the
microstructure and macrostructure of the welded samples [3,4].
Srinivasan et al. conducted a research study and revealed that the impact of heat on the mechanical properties of TIG
welded joints made from High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel. The study found that the strength of the welded
joints decreased to 55% of the strength of the base material due to the welding process [5,6]. To address this issue, the
samples were subjected to heat treatment, which resulted in an increase in strength. However, while other mechanical
properties such as hardness were improved, the ductility of the welded samples was found to be lower than that of the
base metal [7,8]. Sapthagiri et al. conducted a study on the impact of filler wire variation on the mechanical properties
of welded joints made from low alloy high strength steel. The study found that using copper-coated filler wire resulted
in an improvement in both yield strength and percent elongation [9].
Arc welding is more likely to produce defects such as angular and linear distortions compared to advanced techniques
like laser and electron beam welding. Rami et al. investigated the impact of different welding clamps used in gas metal
arc welding on the mechanical properties of the welded joints. The study found that using a heat treatment clamping
technique resulted in achieving welding efficiency of over 80% [10]. Srivastava et al. conducted a study on the
penetration depth of filler material in welding. The findings showed that changes in input heat and welding speed had
a negative impact on the penetration depth, which, in turn, affected the joint efficiency [11].
Li et al. studied the effect of changes in welding input heat on the mechanical properties of low carbon steel and found
that different microstructural phases were generated due to aberrations in cooling rate [12]. Eroglu et al. investigated
the microstructural variations in High Strength Low Alloy Steel caused by changes in input heat energy. They observed
that the hardness property in the weld region and heat-affected zone was reduced due to increased input heat. While
martensite was produced as a result of lower heat input, hardness property decreased beyond a certain point with further
increase in heat input [13]. Bijaya et al. conducted a study comparing the mechanical properties of mild steel joints
that were welded using GMAW and SMAW methods. The rapid cooling rate after welding resulted in the development
of bainite and martensite structures, which led to an increase in the hardness and tensile strength of the joints. However,
the impact strength was found to have been reduced [14]. Ruming et al. investigated the enhancement of mechanical
properties of welding joints through the addition of Cerium. The results revealed an improvement in toughness
attributed to the surplus of crack-free energy. Additionally, the tensile strength of low alloy steel was enhanced due to
the refined grain structure, resulting in a noticeable increase in welding efficiency upon the addition of Ce [15].
Narwadkar et al. conducted a study on the production of angular distortions in different types of welded joints. The
results indicated that the bevel groove joint was more susceptible to angular distortions than single and double V
groove joints, which were found to have lower angular distortions [16]. In another study, Adamczuk et al. investigated
the correlation between the number of welds passes and angular distortion. It was found that there was a direct
relationship between the number of passes and the angular distortions, with a greater shrinkage power resulting from
the welding of thicker plates due to the direct effect of increasing the amount of weld metal on angular distortions [17].
Wei et al. studied the impact of distortions on the performance of welding joints and revealed that distortions have a
direct effect on joint strength and dimensional accuracy [18]. Despite significant advancements in arc welding
technology, distortion induced by welding remains one of the most noticeable challenges in the production industry
for ensuring higher weld efficiency. Anis et al. investigated the impact of weld thickness and position on the residual
stress generated during welding due to the contraction and expansion of the welding joint [19,20]. Residual stresses
generated during welding hindered the joint efficiency increment, hence M Islam et al. performed a research work to
evaluate joint mechanical properties after different post welding treatments. Pre-bending and pre-heating are some
techniques utilized to control distortions [21,22].
2. Research Objective and Novelty. - The degradation of strength caused by high heat input during welding is a
primary factor contributing to joint failure under load. Uneven thermal distribution across the joint amplifies the effects
of residual stresses and increases the size of the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ). This study aims to improve the mechanical