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The pulsed‐current gas tungsten arc‐welding process (PCGTAW) has recently been recommended as an approach to eliminate the high susceptibility of austenitic stainless steel to hot cracking. Within a wide range of variables, in the present study, the effects of pulse frequency, time ratio, and pulse current on the cracking susceptibility of austenitic stainless‐steel thin sheets are investigated. A fan‐shaped cracking test specimen is adopted, and suitable final dimensions are obtained by conducting some preliminary experiments. A good correlation is found between the maximum crack length, which is taken as a cracking susceptibility index, and the pulse form variables. The results are found to be significantly improved when compared with those of the continuous‐current process, which indicates that the PCGTAW process has an effective role in reducing the hot‐cracking susceptibility. The optimal conditions of the pulse form variables based on the hot‐cracking susceptibility are determined. The optimal values of the time ratio are found to be less than 50%, together with a pulse frequency of less than 1 Hz. Some new microstructure measures, such as columnar structure ratio, grain orientation angle, puddle diversion angle, and overlapping ratio, which are originally defined in this work, in addition to grain size and puddle form factor (aspect ratio), are used to interpret the hot‐cracking behavior. All are found to have a direct impact on the hot‐cracking susceptibility. The results obtained from microstructure examinations showed that the cracks formed are either intergranular or transgranular cracks.

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Extensive work had been conducted on spot-welding due to its rapidly increasing industrial importance. The resistance spot-welding involves complicated phenomena, as several effects are found in the process, e.g., temperature, surface roughness, pressure, and eddy current effects. Most of the work exerted for analyzing the spot-welding process neglect the effect of the eddy current generated during the flow of the huge welding main current through the assembly of electrodes and work sheets. This work presents an analytical method to investigate the generation of eddy current and to determine the total effective welding current in spot-welding. The current distribution on the work sheet when it is fed by a conducting electrode is also investigated. The obtained current formula is based on electromagnetic principles, where a very strong magnetic field is generated in the core of the electrodes as well as in the materials of work sheets due to the flow of very high amperage. The final resultant effective current is the superposition of the electrode welding current and the induced eddy current in the electrode and work piece assembly. The results offer a viable mathematical model, which can be applied for a precise prediction of the effective value of welding current in spot-welding processes, if applied in a comprehensive model including all involved effects.