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Running Head: Metallography of Weld Defects Genre Analysis

Genre Analysis: Metallography of Materials Affected by Welds and Weld Defects

The University of Texas at El Paso
Christina Pickett

Abstract

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This genre analysis covers two different genres over similar topics. The
main topic that links the two genres together is the metallography of weld
defects and the effects on the metal a weld can cause. The first genre is a
typographic and is a very simple chart that displays a general visual
representations of weld defects. This genre is aimed towards metallurgist
and welders that are beginning to learn to analyze welds. The second genre
is an iconographic genre. This genre is an article about the microscopy of a
gas tungsten-arc welding of AZ31 magnesium alloy. The topics of the two
genres are fairly different where the visual is demonstrating a defect in the
actual weld and the iconographic genre is explaining how a weld affects the
material being welded on. The iconographic genre, though, could help a
reader of the general public understand the typographic genre.
Audience
The typographic genre tends to lean more towards students in welding tech
schools. The visual is a chart made up of images displaying how a weld
actually looks and if not done correctly, how a weld is damaged. A weld not
being welded in the correct form can result in the weld being weak and not
fulfilling its purpose as it should. College students, usually that have just
graduated high school and are attending a welding tech program to get a
certification in welding, would see this often. This visual displays various
kinds of defects and weld mistakes that could be useful to welding students.
The Iconographic genre has a more advanced audience that would go into
much more detail over the analysis of the weld and the material. The main
audience would be Metallurgical Engineers, Welding Engineers, and in some
cases, Mechanical Engineers. A metallurgical engineer or welding engineer
would take interest in this article for its research on a tungsten arc weld over
magnesium alloy. The purpose for a metallurgist to analyze this article is to
learn more about how the weld affects materials, specifically the AZ31
Magnesium Alloy in this case. A weld can cause damage to a material and if
the material fails it is a Metallurgists job to research and discover why the
material failed. (Liming Liu) Based on the former researches of GTA welding
magnesium alloy (without filler wire), coarse grains in heat-affected zone
(HAZ) always become the weakness during tensile test. (2006). A heataffected Zone (HAZ) is the immediate area around a weld that is affected by
the heat of the welder during the process. This causes a change in
microstructure, or the change in grain size, that can lead to weakness in the
material itself. A metallurgical engineer or mechanical engineer performs a
tensile test on the material and then conduct an experiment to discover why
the material failed.
Ethos

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In the article Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy, both

the author Liming Liu and corresponding author of the article are from State
Key Laboratory of Materials Modification and School of Materials Science and
Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, in China. This shows that the authors
have spent time in educational facilities researching this particular topic. The
authors show credibility by also explaining in great detail the process of the
experiment and the results. The authors give detailed examples of how the research
was conducted. By defining what the machines being used are, such as a gas
tungsten-arc welder (GTA) with filler, the authors gain trust from a reader because
they seem to know what they are doing.
The visual representation, on the other hand, comes out of text that was
made for and from the RWTH Aachen University a Welding and Joining Institute. On
the website for the Aachen University the Research Focus states, The Welding and
Joining Institute (ISF) of the RWTH Aachen University has, for almost 60 years now,
been dealing with modern welding and joining technologies. From this a reader can
infer that the research over the images are trustworthy because of the amount of
time the university has been established.

Pathos
The visual may not have much of an emotional appeal to someone but
it does have a clean and straight forward look to it and is easy to read. The
visual can be understood by someone that has a basic knowledge of welding,
one doesnt need to be an expert in the field to know what most of the visual
representations are trying to get across to the viewer. For the article Gas
Tungsten-Arc Filler Welding for AZ31 Magnesium Alloy, it appeals to the
reader because it goes into detail about the process of how the metallurgists
performed the weld on the AZ31 Magnesium Alloy.
Logos
The effects of a weld on materials can result in the change of that
materials microstructure. The change in a materials microstructure can then
result in the material ability to perform as it normally should. The
mechanical properties are reduced catastrophically by the heat of the
welding process. (The Science and Engineering of Materials. 2011, 2006).
The article is explaining how a weld can cause damage to a material with
what is called a heat-affected zone (HAZ). The weld causes the temperature
to rise in the immediate area around it. This rise in temperature then causes
the microstructure in the HAZ to change. The area closest to the weld is
chaged drastically. As the HAZ drifts more outwards the microstructure is not
affected as much. In this genre analysis the iconographic and the
typographic genres are meant for a specific audience that includes high
school and college student welders, welding engineers, metallurgical
engineers, and mechanical engineers. Both genres have displayed ethos,

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pathos, and logos. By doing so the genres have a earned trust from a reader
that the information that is contained is accurate and can be testable among
other engineers/scientists.

References

Author, D. R. Askeland, Author, P. P. Fulay, Author W. J. Wright (2011, 2006)

The Science And Engineering Of Materials. Stamford, CT: Publisher, Global
Engineering
Author, Liming Liu., and Author, Changfu Dong. (2006) Gas tungsten-arc filler
welding of AZ31 magnesium alloy. Materials Letters. volume 60 (Issue 17-18)
Author, wo-be. (2005) Chapter 9 - Welding Defects.pdf. Retrieved from
http://mercury.kau.ac.kr/welding/Welding%20Technology%20II%20%20Welding%20Metallurgy/Chapter%209%20-%20Welding%20Defects.pdf