Improvement of joint integrity in MIG welded steel: A review

Metal Inert Gas Welding is one of the most widely used welding methods in manufacturing industries. A significant challenge in any welding process is the achievement of high quality welds. This has led to a host of welding techniques designed with the goal of maintaining weld integrity by improving its mechanical and structural properties. This study looks at the application of various methods to improve the integrity of welded steel joints with attention to MIG welding. The systematic approach to the review considered in detail, the works done by numerous researchers in improving the integrity of welded steel joints through parametric optimization. This included several research works which adopted Taguchi's Design of Experiment method. A few other notable methods of improving weld quality apart from parametric optimization were also reviewed and were not exclusive to MIG welding. The study showed that the bulk of research embarked on, in the improvement of weld integrity involved parametric optimization. This also proved to be the simplest method. However, some other suggestions such as Post Weld Heat Treatment, Pulsed Current, Hybrid welding and Vibratory Welding were discovered to be alternative means of improving weld integrity. The use of reinforcing powders was also discovered, and it was suggested that the quality of MIG welded steel joints could be improved by using titanium alloy powder as weld joint reinforcement.