A review on welding techniques: properties, characterisations and engineering applications

In the manufacturing sector, welding has long been a popular method of combining materials. Hence, there has been a lot of research in this area, leading to evolution of conventional welding techniques. These developments widened its feasibility enabling the process to be functional in diverse crucial applications. A detailed review of various research efforts carried out in the field of welding provides an ideal repository which can effectively help identify various research gaps. This paper intends to throw light on the following aspects of welding: a detailed description of different fabrication methods involved in fusion and solid-state welding processes, weld performance evaluation on the basis of mechanical properties, microstructure, corrosion, wear and fatigue behaviour followed by a brief summary of various applications. The mechanical properties and microstructures of various commercially viable alloys like steel, DSS, Ti-6Al-4 V, Al- Mg alloy, AZ31, AA6061, Al-Zn-Mg-Cu and Ni-base super alloys have been discussed in detail. Various mechanisms which influenced the changes in microstructure and resulting mechanical behaviours have been discussed. The inferences obtained as a result of microstructural, mechanical, corrosion and wear property analysis have been correlated to understand major areas of application. The extensive data compiled in this study aims to give readers valuable insights and inferences on a vast topic, which promises great scope for development in the future.