How to replace the original material for the welded structure manufacturing

Abstract Due to difficult pandemic situation with COVID-19 decease, as well as due to current geopolitical circumstances in the world, we are facing the shortage of steel and therefore the impossibility of delivering the contracted products within the agreed deadlines. It is thus necessary to find suitable steel for replacement. The procedure for selecting one such steel for substituting the deficit steel 25CrMo4, for the purposes of producing a responsible welded assembly, is described in this paper. After the careful analysis, the steel 42CrMo4 was taken into consideration as a possible substitute material. Prior to applying the new selected steel, it was necessary to perform the following tests: analyze its chemical composition, determine its most important mechanical properties and evaluate its weldability. Then, the optimal welding and heat treatment technologies were determined, so that the quality of the responsible welded structure would meet all the requirements, as the structure made of originally used steel. For the new steel, all the mentioned and some additional tests were conducted and the appropriate welding technology was prescribed. To verify the selected technology, appropriate tests were conducted on the model welded samples, the results of which are presented in this paper. Based on the analysis of the obtained results, it was concluded that the 25CrMo4 steel can be replaced by the 42CrMo4 steel, however, with the mandatory application of appropriate supplementary measures.