Development of welding consumables with fluorides and borides of rare earth metals is a promising area for improving the weldability of low alloy steels. As lanthanum fluoride and boride dissociate, lanthanum and boron dissolve in the weld pool and the welding arc plasma is saturated with fluorine. As a result of FeO, MnO, SiO2 deoxidation and FeS, MnS desulfurization, refractory lanthanum sulfides and oxides La2O3, La2S3 are formed in the weld pool, which can be the crystallization nuclei in the weld pool and the origin of acicular ferrite nucleation. The paper proposes a model of metallurgical processes in the arc and weld pool, as well as a model of electrochemical adsorption of Ni2+ cations in colloidal electrolytes during electrostatic deposition of nano-dispersed insoluble particles of LaF3 or LaB6 on the surface of wire. The paper discusses the constructional design of the welding wire and the technology for forming electrochemical composite coatings with copper and nickel matrix. The composite wires applied in the welding of low alloy steels make it possible to refine the microstructure, increase the tensile strength by 4% and the impact toughness of welds by 20%.
Keywords: composite coatings; electrochemistry; low alloy steel; microstructural refinement; rare earth compounds; welding consumables; welding metallurgy.