Flux cored arc welding on 30MnB5 steels used in agricultural mechanisation: microstructure evolutions and mechanical properties

30MnB5 steel has taken its rightful place among the materials used in agricultural mechanisation industry due to its excellent mechanical properties. 30MnB5 steel is widely used especially in structural parts requiring hardness, strength and wear resistance. The increasing importance of economic factors in today’s industry requires the production of long-lasting agricultural machineries in agricultural mechanisation. Agricultural machinery systems are set-up by assembling the materials used in agricultural mechanisation industry with each other. Therefore, it is important to apply welding process to this steel used in agricultural mechanisation. The number of studies on the use of various welding methods and consumables (electrode, welding wire, shielding gas, etc.) in welding of steels used in agricultural mechanisation continues increasingly today. Flux-cored arc welding technology is one of welding methods that have been mostly studied in recent years and are applied on various metals. In this study, 30MnB5 steel sheets were flux-cored arc welded using rutile and basic flux-cored wires in 100% CO atmosphere. Bending, impact, and hardness tests and metallographic examinations were carried out in order to determine the mechanical and microstructural properties of the welded samples. As a result of the microstructure studies, structures such as grain boundary ferrite, widmanstätten ferrite, acicular ferrite, bainite, and martensite were determined in the weld metal and HAZ. As a result of the hardness test, hardness distribution in the form of M was determined in the weld zones. The bending and impact tests indicated that the highest mechanical properties were obtained from the weld seams welded with basic flux-cored wire.