Demand for research on the use of hydrogen, an eco-friendly fuel, is rapidly increasing in accordance with global environmental problems and IMO environmental regulations in the shipbuilding and marine industry. In the case of hydrogen, similar to liquefied natural gas, it has a characteristic that its volume decreases hundreds of times during phase transformation from gas to liquid, so it must be stored in a tank in the form of liquefied hydrogen for transport efficiency. The material of the liquid hydrogen tank is selected in consideration of mechanical properties and hydrogen embrittlement at cryogenic temperatures. In this study, welding research was conducted on STS316L material, which was most commonly used in the space industry. In this study, flux cored arc welding was performed under 4 welding conditions to derive the optimal welding conditions for STS316L material, and then mechanical properties of the welded part were compared and analyzed.

Due to the environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the number of ships using cryogenic fuel such as LNG (liquefied natural gas) is increasing rapidly, and the demand for eco-friendly ships is expected to grow further in the future. The material of the tank for storing cryogenic fuel such as LNG is limited within the IGC Code, and available materials include 9% nickel steel, Invar (36% nickel steel), Al5083-0, STS304L, and high manganese steel. Recently, 9% nickel steel has been used as a tank in LNG fuel-powered ship projects, and it has excellent thermal/mechanical properties in cryogenic LNG environmental conditions (-163°C). In this study, it is conducted an experimental study on SAW(Submerged Arc welding), which has better welding efficiency than FCAW(Flux Cored Arc Welding), which is mainly used for 9% nickel steel materials. In addition, to verify the reliability of the welded part after the welding test, cross-sectional observation of the welded part was performed and the mechanical properties such as the tensile strength and cryogenic impact strength of the welded part were evaluated.