Abstract
The use of stainless steels in the machine manufacturing industry is increasing day by day. Due to the poor corrosion properties of especially unalloyed and low-alloy steels, stainless steels are among the preferred materials in industrial applications because of their superiorities such as high corrosion resistance, very good forming and welding capabilities, hygiene and aesthetic appearance. The welding requirements of stainless steels with such widespread use potential are inevitable. For this reason, studies on welding joining stainless steels are important. In this study, AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel materials were joined using different shielding gas combinations through the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) method. In the welding operations, pure argon (100 % Ar), 97 % Ar + 3 % H₂, and 93 % Ar + 7% H₂ gas combinations were used. The effect of shielding gas combined with the mechanical and metallographic tests applied to the welded sheets on the mechanical and microstructural properties of AISI 430 stainless steel was investigated. In the results obtained from the study, a noticeable grain coarsening occurred in the microstructure of the weld metal and HAZs with the addition of H₂ to the Ar gas during the welding process. The highest tensile strength was obtained from the joints welded with 97 % Ar+3 % H₂ mixture gas. As a result of the tensile test, a rupture occurred in the base metal in all welded samples. No crack or tear defect was found in the weld zone due to the bending test.

Key words
GMAW, AISI 430 stainless steel, gas combination, mechanical properties, microstructure

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