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2026 №01 (04) DOI of Article
10.37434/as2026.01.05 		2026 №01 (06)

Automatic Welding 2026 №01


"Avtomatychne Zvaryuvannya" (Automatic Welding), #1, 2026, pp. 37-47

Modern welding technologies for thick-walled steels

P.I. Onyshchenko, T.B. Maidanchuk

E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the NAS of Ukraine 11 Kazymyr Malevych Str., 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine. E-mail: pwi_37@ukr.net

At present, welded structures made of thick-section steel are extensively employed in the construction, mining, metallurgical, energy and other industrial sectors. An analysis of existing steel welding technologies, including those utilizing high-energydensity sources, has been conducted. The results indicate that the application of electron-beam, plasma, laser and hybrid welding methods currently requires a high level of preparation and production culture, as well as significant capital investment in auxiliary and welding equipment. Multi-pass arc welding with covered electrodes and mechanized welding in shielding gases are characterized by low productivity, inconsistent fusion quality between the filler and base materials, and the formation of interlayer defects such as slag inclusions and porosity. It has been established that for welding vertical seams, promising technologies are mechanized arc welding with forced seam formation and electroslag welding, which are characterized by high productivity and process stability with significantly lower capital investments compared to the use of highly concentrated energy sources. 56 Ref., 9 Fig.
Keywords: thick-section steel, electron-beam welding, laser welding, plasma welding, hybrid welding methods, submerged arc welding, arc welding with forced seam formation, electroslag welding, mechanical properties, techno-economic justification


Received: 23.09.2025
Received in revised form: 24.11.2025
Accepted: 12.01.2026

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