Effect of ultrasonic peening on mechanical properties of low carbon steel AISI 1020 TIG welding joints process

In this paper, the effect of ultrasonic peening surface treatment on the mechanical properties of TIG butt weld joints of low-carbon steel (AISI 1020) was studied. A single V-angle (45°) was made on sheets of metal used then welded at constant parameters, namely: current, voltage. Wire filler ER70S-3 with argon was used to obtain many butt welding joints. Some of them were subjected to ultrasonic peening at one, two and three passes. The micro-hardness, microstructure, tensile and bending were tested. The results show increases in the tensile strength after the welding process. The test results showed improvements in the tensile strength of the weldments in comparison to the base metal. On the other hand, the tensile strength decreased with the ultrasonic process. Nevertheless, the tensile strength increased at a high number of ultrasonic passes. On the contrary, the ultrasonic process enhanced the bending strength compared to the base metal, whereas the weldments ability to bend deteriorated.