STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT OF CUTTING TOOLS RECOVERED BY SUBMERGED ARC WELDING (SAW) FOR HEAVY MACHINERY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37787/y8nkep78Keywords:
Soldadura por arco sumergido, integridad estructural, herramientas de corte, desgaste abrasivo, maquinaria pesadaAbstract
The cutting tools used in heavy machinery are subjected to severe abrasion, impact, and cyclic loading conditions, which cause progressive material loss and reduce their service life. The objective of this research was to evaluate the structural integrity of cutting tools restored by submerged arc welding (SAW) in order to determine their feasibility for reuse. The restoration process was carried out using T-500 wear-resistant steel, 3.2 mm EL-12 welding wire, and R35Mo flux, with welding parameters of 350 A, 30 V, and a travel speed of 30 cm/min. Microstructural and chemical composition analyses were performed, together with tensile, impact, hardness, and wear tests, complemented by structural and fatigue analyses. The average tensile strength was 1014.5 MPa, with fracture occurring in the base metal, while the average absorbed impact energy was 124.13 J. The welded zone exhibited an average wear rate of 0.01040 g/min compared with 0.01400 g/min for the base metal, representing a 25.7% reduction. Fatigue analysis estimated 61,447 cycles to reach total cumulative damage. The results demonstrate the technical feasibility of the SAW process for restoring the cutting tools evaluated.
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