Application of graphite rods in producing Inconel 625 (UNS N06625) joints through the use of microwave radiation energy

Abstract

Microwave energy is very efficiently being harnessed to join metallic materials these days. Although, use of microwaveenergy to join metallic materials is in its initial stage but, it has led to an outstanding development in the field of manufacturing. In this research work, joining of Inconel 625 (UNS N06625) without any filler material has been performed with the help of a novel process by harnessing microwave energy from a 900 W microwave applicator. Major novelty of thiswork is the application of graphite rods in accelerating the joining process based on the use of microwave radiation energydue to which it could become possible to join the Inconel specimens without using any filler powder. Selective microwave hybrid heating has been performed using six graphite rods and the process time taken for successful joining of Inconel625 specimens has been 360s. Three repetitions have been done using the mentioned process parameters. Mechanical characterization of the developed joints has been done with the help of Vickers micro-hardness tester and tensile testingmachine. The mean microhardness of the joints has been observed to be 325.1 HV at the joint region which came out to be 10.32 % more than that of the base alloy. The mean ultimate tensile strength has been observed to be 319.9 MPa with mean elongation of 5.3% which has been observed to be less than that of the base alloy.