Effect of substituting fine rutile of the flux with nano TiO2 on the improvement of mass transfer efficiency and the reduction of welding fumes in the stainless steel SMAW electrode

Abstract

This paper presents a novel method for reducing fume formation rate (FFR) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) concentration in welding fumes by substituting fine rutile in the flux of SMAW electrode with nano TiO 2. A maximum reduction of FFR up to 21% and Cr(VI) up to 42% was achieved in the experimental electrode. For the first time, the experimental study related the efficacy of mass transfer of specific elements to their percentage reduction in the emission. The results of the constituent analysis showed that Fe, Ni, Cr and Mn in the welding fumes were reduced up to 16%, 44%, 32% and 28% respectively due to the deoxidization property of the nano-Ti, which prevented the target elements to get oxidized.