The possibility of working at lower current and, consequently, reaching low dilution, points out advantages in the use of metal cored coated electrodes over conventional ones for hardafacing. It is known that the grain size of the filling alloy elements plays important role in the exothermic oxidation process, reflecting on the operational characteristics of the electrode. However, one can suppose that such process is dependent of the composition ratio of the slag-former compounds from the coating. The present work describes the evaluation of the filling alloy granulometry, present in metal core coated electrodes, on the dilution and deposition rate, taking into account the influence of the coating. The study was carried out using two types of electrodes with FeCrMn as alloying component, distinguished by the granulometry of the ferroalloy. Different coating compositions were employed with systematic variations in the ratio Calcite:Fluorite:Rutile. Bead dimensions were measured after bead-on-plate welds. It was concluded that the electrode with coarser ferroalloying presents better performance from the dilution and deposition efficiency points of view. The coating composition of the highest performance was established.
Hardfacing; Coated Electrode; Metal Cored; Dilution; Deposition efficiency
