The Paton Welding Journal, 2026, №03

2026 №03 (04)

2026 №03 (06)

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The Paton Welding Journal, 2026, #3, 36-44 pages

Modern technologies for welding thick-section steels

P.I. Onyshchenko, T.B. Maidanchuk

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

Abstract
At present, welded structures made of thick-section steels are widely used in construction, mining, metallurgical, energy, and other industries. An analysis of existing steel welding technologies, including those employing high energy density sources, has been carried out. It is shown that the application of electron beam, plasma, laser welding, and hybrid processes currently requires a high level of fabrication accuracy and significant capital investment in auxiliary and welding equipment. The use of multipass shielded metal arc welding with coated electrodes and mechanized gas-shielded arc welding is characterized by low productivity, inconsistent quality of fusion between the filler metal and the base metal, and the formation of interlayer defects such as slag inclusions and pores. It has been established that, for welding vertical joints, promising technologies include mechanized arc welding with forced weld formation and electroslag welding. These processes are characterized by high productivity and process stability while requiring significantly lower capital investment compared to high energy density welding methods.
Keywords: thick-section steel, electron beam welding, laser welding, plasma welding, hybrid welding processes, submerged arc welding, arc welding with forced weld formation, electroslag welding, mechanical properties, techno-economic justification

Received: 23.09.2025
Received in revised form: 24.11.2025
Accepted: 19.03.2026

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Suggested Citation

P.I. Onyshchenko, T.B. Maidanchuk (2026) Modern technologies for welding thick-section steels. The Paton Welding J., 03, 36-44.

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