Effect of welding current on joining of AISI 316 L steel by TIG welding process

AISI 316L is one of the most widely used austenitic stainless-steel types today. Since it has less carbon content than AISI 316, annealing is not required even in thick sections, especially after welding processes. In this study, 6 pieces AISI 316L plate in 220x70x10 mm were combined by TIG welding method with different welding currents, keeping the conditions the same, and their differences were tried to be revealed experimentally. Micro and macro structural properties, changes in hardness, fracture energies, three-point bending tests and tensile tests of the samples of which welding processes were completed were carried out according to current standards and the results were compared with each other. As a result of the experiments and analyses, it has been determined that the change in the welding current value affects the mechanical properties of the welded joint when joining AISI 316 L austenitic stainless steel with TIG welding method and the most appropriate value for this study is 150 A.