The construction assembly and the repair of steel constructions painted with protective coatings are often carried out using arc welding. During the welding process, the coating in the weld zone is degrading. The protective coatings breakdown products are involved in the pore and non-metallic inclusion formation in the weld, the composition and distribution study of which makes it possible to analyze the reactions occurring during the welding. In this study, welding beads were deposited on the coated sheet surface by MAG welding. The distribution of inclusions (the average diameter and the relative content) along with the porosity in different bead zones were investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy and digital image processing, and the chemical composition of inclusions was determined using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The amount of diffusible hydrogen in the deposited metal was estimated with the vacuum method. In this work, four organosilicate coatings grades, differing in their purpose and heat resistance, were used, and their effect on the weld was studied.
Keywords: MAG welding; diffusible hydrogen; high-temperature breakdown products; non-metallic inclusions; organosilicate coatings.