Effect of Boehmite Nanoparticles Surface Adsorbed with Vanadium on the Microstructure and Hardness of the Melted Zone in the Submerged Arc Welding Process

One of the most important weld quality characteristics related to the strength of the weld is the hardness of melted zone (HMZ) that is affected by different input parameters in the submerged arc welding process. In recent years, expensive nanomaterials have been effectively used in improving the quality of products in various fields. Keeping this in mind, it was therefore, decided to use a cost-effective approach to extract expensive and poisonous vanadium, from the hazardous wastewater collected from the Bistoon thermal power plant in Kermanshah province in Iran, and then introduce it into the weld pool via the cheap boehmite nanoparticles to investigate its impact on the HMZ. A five-level five-factor rotatable central composite design was then employed for collecting data in modeling of the HMZ as a function of arc voltage (V), welding current (I), stick-out (N), welding speed (S), and thickness of boehmite nanoparticles surface adsorbed with vanadium (F) coated on low-carbon steel plates (St37) prior to actual welding. The results showed that the addition of boehmite nanoparticles surface adsorbed with vanadium increased the HMZ by 13 % approximately.