Lecture: 1 Introduction: Joining The manufacturing technology primarily involves

sizing, shaping and imparting desired combination of the properties to the mate
rial so that the component or engineering system being produced to perform inden
ted function in design life. A wide range of manufacturing processes have been d
eveloped in order to produce the engineering components of very simple to comple
x geometries using materials of different physical, chemical, mechanical and dim
ensional properties. There are four chief manufacturing processes i.e. casting,
forming, machining and welding. Selection of suitable manufacturing process is d
ictated by complexity of geometry of the component and number of units to be pro
duced, properties of the materials (physical, chemical, mechanical and dimension
al properties) to be processed. Based on the approach used for obtaining desired
size and shape by different manufacturing processes these can be termed as posi
tive, negative and or zero processes. Casting: zero process Forming: zero proces
s Machining: negative process Joining (welding): positive process Casting and fo
rming are categorized as zero processes as they involve only shifting of metal i
n controlled (using heat and pressure singly or in combination) way to get the r
equired size and shape of product from one region to another. Machining is consi
dered as a negative process because unwanted material from the stock is removed
in the form of small chips during machining for the shaping purpose. During manu
facturing it is frequently required to join the simple shape components to get d
esired product. Since simple shape components are brought together by joining in
order to obtain desired shape of end useable product therefore joining is categ
orized as a positive process. Schematic diagrams of few typical manufacturing pr
ocesses are shown in Fig. 1.1.
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Machining
Joining Fig. 1.1 Schematic diagram showing shaping approach of different manufac
turing processes Selection of Joint Three joining techniques namely mechanical j
oint (nuts & bolts, clamps, rivets), adhesives (epoxy resins, fevicol), welding
(welding, brazing and soldering) are commonly used for manufacturing variety of
engineering component. Each type of joint offers different load carrying capacit
y, reliability, compatibility in joining of similar or dissimilar materials besi
des their fitness for use in different environments and cost. It will be appropr
iate to consider following aspects while selecting type of
joints for an application: a) type of joint required for an application is tempo
rary or permanent b) similar or dissimilar materials are to be joined to take ca
re of the compatibility aspect as metallurgical incompatibility can be disastrou
s for performance of the joints c) properties of materials to be joined steel, c
ast iron, aluminium and dissimilar metals d) requirements of the service from th
e joint under special conditions of temperature, corrosion, environment, and rel
iability e) type and nature of loading conditions (static and dynamic loading un
der tension, shear, compression, bending etc.) f) economy or cost effectiveness
is off course one most important factors influencing the selection of joint for
an engineering applications
Welding and its comparison with other manufacturing processes Welding is one of
the most commonly used fabrication techniques for manufacturing engineering comp
onents for power, fertilizer, petro-chemical, automotive, food processing, and m
any other sectors. Welding generally uses localized heating during common fusion
welding processes (shielded metal arc, submerged arc, gas metal arc welding etc
.) for melting the faying surfaces and filler metal. However, localized and diff
erential heating & cooling experienced by metal being processes during welding m
akes it significantly different from other manufacturing techniques: Residual st
ress are induced in joined components (development of tensile residual stresses
adversely affects the tensile and fatigue properties of work piece) Simple shape
components to be joined are partially melted Temperature of the base metal duri
ng welding in and around the weld varies as function of time (weld thermal cycle
) Chemical, metallurgical and mechanical properties of the weld are generally an
isotropic Reliability of weld joint is poor. Some metal is wasted in the form of
spatter, run in and run off Process capabilities of the welding in terms of dim
ensional accuracy, precision and finish are poor. Weld joints for critical appli
cations generally need of post weld treatment such as heat treatment or mechanic
al working to get desired properties. Problem related with ductile to brittle tr
ansition behaviour of steel is more severe with weld joints under low temperatur
e conditions.
Selection of welding process A wide range of welding processes are available in
the market (Table 1). These were developed over a long period of time. Each proc
ess differs in respect of their ability to apply heat for fusion, protection of
the weld metal and so their effect on performance of the weld joint. However, se
lection of a particular process for producing a weld joint is dictated by the si
ze and shape of the component to be manufactured, the metal system to be welded,
availability of consumables and machines, precision required and economy. Whate
ver process is selected for
developing weld joint it must be able to perform the intended function for desig
ned life. Welding processes with their field of applications are given below: Re
sistance welding: Automobile Thermite welding: Rail joints in railways Tungsten
inert gas welding: Aerospace and nuclear reactors Submerged arc welding: Heavy e
ngineering, ship work Gas metal arc welding: Joining of metals (stainless steel,
aluminium and magnesium) sensitive to atmospheric gases
Advantages and Limitation of Welding as a Fabrication Technique Welding is mainl
y used for the production of comparatively simple shape components. It is the pr
ocess of joining the metallic components with or without application of heat, pr
essure and filler metal. Application of welding in fabrication offers many advan
tages, however; it suffers with few limitations also. Some of the advantage and
limitations are given below. Advantages of welding are enlisted below: 1. Perman
ent joint is produced, which becomes an integral part of work piece. 2. Joints c
an be stronger than the base metal if good quality filler metal is used. 3. Econ
omical method of joining. 4. It is not restricted to the factory environment. Di
sadvantages of welding are enlisted also below: 1. Labour cost is high as only s
killed welder can produce sound and quality weld joint. 2. It produces the perma
nent joint so creates the problem in dissembling if required. 3. Hazardous fumes
and vapors are generated so proper ventilation of welding area becomes mandator
y. 4. Weld joint itself is considered as a discontinuity owing to variation in s
tructure, composition and mechanical properties; therefore welding is not common
ly used for critical application where there is danger of life.
Applications of welding
General applications Presently welding is being widely used in fabrication of pr
essure vessels, bridges, building structures, aircraft and space crafts, railway
coaches and general applications besides shipbuilding, automobile, electrical,
electronic and defense industries, laying of pipe lines and railway tracks and n
uclear installations. Specific components need welding for fabrication includes
1. Transport tankers for transporting oil, water, milk and 2. Welded tubes and p
ipes, chains, LPG cylinders and other items. 3. Steel furniture, gates, doors an
d door frames, and body 4. White goods items such as refrigerators, washing mach
ines, microwave ovens and many other items of general applications
The requirement of the welding for specific area of the industry is given in fol
lowing section. Oil & Gas 1. Welding is also used for joining of pipes, during l
aying of crude oil and gas pipelines, construction of tankers for their storage
and transportation. Offshore structures, dockyards, loading and unloading cranes
are also produced by welding. Nuclear Industry 2. Spheres for nuclear reactor,
pipe line bends joining two pipes carrying heavy water require welding for safe
and reliable operations. Defense industry 3. Defense industry requires welding f
or joining of many components of war equipment. Tank body fabrication, joining o
f turret mounting to main body of tanks are typical examples of applications of
welding. Electronic industry 4. Electronic industry uses welding to limited exte
nt such as for joining leads of special transistors but other joining processes
such as brazing and soldering are widely being used. 5. Soldering is used for jo
ining electronic components to printed circuit boards (PCBs).
6. Robotic soldering is very common for joining of parts to printed circuit boar
ds of computers, television, communication equipment and other control equipment
etc. Electrical Industry 7. Starting from generation to distribution and utiliz
ation of electrical energy, welding plays important role. 8. Components of both
hydro and steam power generation system, such as penstocks, water control gates,
condensers, electrical transmission towers and distribution system equipment ar
e fabricated by welding. Turbine blades and cooling fins are also joined by weld
ing. Surface transport 9. Railways: Railways use welding extensively for fabrica
tion of coaches and wagons, repair of wheel, laying of new railway tracks by mob
ile flash butt welding machines and repair of cracked/damaged tracks by thermite
welding. 10. Automobiles: Production of automobile components like chassis, bod
y and its structure, fuel tanks and joining of door hinges require welding. Aero
space Industry 11. Aircraft and Spacecraft: Similar to ships, aircrafts were pro
duced by riveting in early days but with the introduction of jet engines welding
is widely used for aircraft structure and for joining of skin sheet to body. 12
. Space vehicles which have to encounter frictional heat as well as low temperat
ures require outer skin and other parts of special materials. These materials ar
e welded with full success for achieving safety and reliability. Ship Industry 1
3. Ships were produced earlier by riveting. Welding found its place in ship buil
ding around 1920 and presently all welded ships are widely used. Similarly subma
rines are also produced by welding. Construction industry 14. Arc welding is use
d for construction of steel building leading to considerable savings in steel an
d money. 15. In addition to building, huge structures such as steel towers also
require welding for fabrication.
Lecture - 2 Classification of Welding Processes I
Welding is a process of joining metallic components with or without application
of heat, with or without pressure and with or without filler metal. Various weld
ing processes have been developed so far. Welding processes can be classified on
the basis of following criteria:

Welding with or without filler material Source of energy for welding Arc and non
-arc welding Fusion and pressure welding
1. Welding with or without filler material A weld joint can be developed just by
melting of edges (faying surfaces) of plates or sheets to be welded especially
in case of thin sheet usually of less than 5 mm thickness. This type of weld is
termed as autogenous weld. The composition of the autogenous weld metal correspond
s to the base metal only. However, autogenous weld can be crack sensitive when s
olidification temperature range of the base metal to be welded is significantly
high. Following are typical processes in which filler metal is generally not use
d to produce a weld joint.
Laser beam welding Electron beam welding Resistance welding, Friction stir weldi
ng
However, for welding thicker plates/sheets using any of the following processes
filler metal can be used as per needs which is primarily dictated by thickness o
f plates. Application of autogenous weld under such conditions may result in con
cave weld or under fill like discontinuity in weld joint. The composition of the
filler metal can be similar to that of base metal or different one accordingly
weld joints are categorized as homogeneous or heterogeneous weld.
In case of autogenous and homogeneous welds, solidification occurs directly by g
rowth mechanism without nucleation stage. This type of solidification is called
epitaxial solidification. The autogenous and homogeneous welds are considered to
be lesser prone to the development of weld discontinuities than heterogeneous w
eld because of uniformity in composition and if solidification occurs largely at
a constant temperature. Metal systems having wider solidification temperature r
ange show issues related with solidification cracking and partial melting tenden
cy. The solidification in heterogeneous welds takes place in two stages i.e. nuc
leation and growth. Following are few fusion welding processes where filler may
or may not be used for developing weld joints:
Plasma arc welding Gas tungsten arc welding Gas welding
Some of the welding processes are inherently designed produce a weld joint by ap
plying heat for melting and filler metal both. These processes are mostly used f
or welding of thick plates (usually > 5mm) with high deposition rate.
Metal inert gas welding: (with filler) Submerged arc welding: (with filler) Flux
cored arc welding: (with filler) Electro gas/slag welding: (with filler)
Comments on classification of welding processes based on with/without filler The
gas welding process was the only fusion welding process earlier in which joinin
g could be achieved with or without filler material. The gas welding performed w
ithout filler material was termed as autogenous welding. However, with the devel
opment of tungsten inert gas welding, electron beam, laser beam and many other w
elding processes such classification created confusion as many processes were fa
lling in both the categories.
2.0 Source of energy of welding
Almost all weld joints are produced by applying energy in one or other form to d
evelop atomic/metallic bond between plates being joined and the same is achieved
either by melting the faying surfaces using heat or applying pressure either at
room temperature or high temperature. Based on the type of energy being used fo
r creating metallic bonds between the components to be welded, welding processes
can be grouped as under:
Chemical energy: gas welding, explosive welding, thermite welding Mechanical ene
rgy: Friction welding, ultrasonic welding Electrical energy: Arc welding, resist
ance welding Radiation energy: Laser beam welding, electron beam welding
Comments on classification of welding processes based on form of energy Energy i
n various forms such as chemical, electrical, light, sound, mechanical energies
etc. are used for developing weld joints. However, except chemical energy all ot
her forms of energies are generated from electrical energy for welding. Hence, c
ategorization of the welding processes based on the form of energy criterion als
o does not justify classification properly.
3.0 Arc or Non-arc welding
Metallic bond between the plates to be welded can be developed either by using h
eat for complete melting of the faying surfaces then allowing it to solidify or
by apply pressure on the components to be joined for mechanical interlocking. Al
l those welding processes in which heat for melting the faying surfaces is provi
ded after establishing an arc between the base plate and an electrode are groupe
d under arc welding processes. Another set of welding processes in which metalli
c bond is produced using pressure or heat generated from sources other than arc
namely chemical reactions or frictional effect etc., are grouped as non-arc base
d welding processes. Welding processes corresponding to each group are given bel
ow.
Arc based welding processes Shielded Metal Arc Welding: Arc between base metal a
nd covered
electrode
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding: Arc between base metal and tungsten
electrode
Plasma Arc Welding: Arc between base metal and tungsten electrode Gas Metal Arc
Welding: Arc between base metal and consumable
electrode
Flux Cored Arc Welding: Arc between base metal and consumable
electrode
Submerged Arc Welding: Arc between base metal and consumable
electrode
Non-arc based welding processes Resistance welding processes: uses electric resi
stance heating Gas welding: uses heat from exothermic chemical reactions Thermit
welding: uses heat from exothermic chemical reactions Ultrasonic welding: uses
both pressure and frictional heat Diffusion welding: uses electric resistance/in
duction heating to
facilitate diffusion
Explosive welding: involves pressure
Comments on classification of welding processes based on arc or non arc based pr
ocess Arc and non-arc welding processes classification leads to grouping of all
the arc welding processes in one class and all other processes in non-arc weldin
g processes. However, welding processes such as electro slag welding (ESW) and f
lash butt welding were found difficult to classify to either of the two classes
as in ESW process starts with arcing and subsequently on melting of sufficient a
mount flux the arc extinguishes and heat for melting of base metal is generated
by electrical resistive heating by flow of current through molten flux. In flash
butt welding, tiny arcs i.e. sparks are established during the welding followed
by pressing of components against each other. Therefore, such classification is
also found not perfect.
4.0 Pressure or Fusion welding
Welding processes in which heat is primarily applied for melting of the faying s
urfaces are called fusion welding processes while other processes in which press
ure is primarily applied with little or no application of heat for softening of
metal up to plastic state for developing metallic bonds are termed as solid stat
e welding processes. Pressure welding o Resistance welding processes (spot, seam
, projection, flash butt, arc stud welding) o Ultrasonic welding o Diffusion wel
ding o Explosive welding Fusion welding process o Gas Welding o Shielded Metal A
rc Welding o Gas Metal Arc Welding o Gas Tungsten Arc Welding o Submerged Arc We
lding o Electro Slag/Electro Gas Welding
Comments on classification of welding processes based on Fusion and pressure wel
ding Fusion welding and pressure welding is most widely used classification as i
t covers all processes in both the categories irrespective of heat source and we
lding with or without filler material. In fusion welding, all those processes ar
e included in which molten metal solidifies freely while in pressure welding, mo
lten metal if any is retained in confined space (as in resistance spot welding o
r arc stud welding) and solidifies under pressure or semisolid metal cools under
pressure. This type of classification poses no problems and therefore it is
considered as the best criterion.
Lecture: 3 Classification of Welding Processes II There is another way of classi
fying welding and allied processes which has been commonly reported in literatur
e. Various positive processes involving addition or deposition of metal are firs
t broadly grouped as welding process and allied welding processes as under: Weld
ing processes o Cast weld processes o Fusion weld processes o Resistance weld pr
ocesses o Solid state weld processes Allied welding processes o Metal depositing
processes o Soldering o Brazing o Adhesive bonding o Weld surfacing o Metal spr
aying This approach of classifying the welding process is primarily based on the
way metallic pieces are united together during welding such as Availability and
solidification of molten metal weld between components being joined are similar
to that of casting, Fusion of faying surfaces for developing a weld, Heating of
metal only to plasticize then applying pressure to forge them together Use pres
sure to produce a weld joint in solid state only. Cast welding process
Those welding processes in which either molten weld metal is supplied from exter
nal source or melted and solidified metal very slow during solidification like c
astings. Following are two common welding processes that are grouped under casti
ng welding processes: o Cast weld processes Thermite welding Electroslag welding
In case of thermite welding, weld metal is melted externally using exothermic he
at generated by chemical reactions and supplied between the components to be joi
ned while in electroslag welding weld metal is melted by electrical resistance h
eating and then allowed to cool very slowly for solidification similar to that o
f casting conditions. Comments on classification based on cast weld processes Th
is classification is true for thermite welding where like casting melt is suppli
ed from external source but in case of electroslag welding, weld metal obtained
by melting of both electrode and base metal and is not supplied from the externa
l source. Therefore, this classification is not perfect. Fusion Weld Processes T
hose welding processes in which faying surfaces of plates to be welded are broug
ht to the molten state by applying heat and cooling rate experienced by weld met
al in these processes are much higher than that of casting. The heat required fo
r melting can be produced using electric arc, plasma, laser and electron beam an
d combustion of fuel gases. Probably this is un-disputed way of classifying few
welding processes. Common fusion welding processes are given below: o Fusion Wel
d Processes Carbon arc welding Shielded metal arc welding Submerged arc welding
Gas metal arc welding Gas tungsten arc welding Plasma arc welding Electrogas wel
ding Laser beam welding Electron beam welding Oxy-fuel gas welding
Resistance welding processes Welding processes in which heat required for soften
ing or partial melting of base metal is generated by electrical resistance heati
ng followed by application of pressure for developing weld joint. However, flash
butt welding begins with sparks between components during welding instead of he
at generation by resistance heating. o Resistance welding processes Spot weld
Projection welding Seam welding High frequency resistance welding High frequenc
y induction welding Resistance butt welding Flash butt welding Stud welding
Solid state welding process Welding processes in which weld joint is developed m
ainly by application of pressure and heat through various mechanism such as mech
anical interacting, large scale interfacial plastic deformation and diffusion et
c.. Depending up on the amount of heat generated during welding these are furthe
r categorized as under: o Solid state welding process Low heat input processes U
ltrasonic welding
Cold pressure welding Explosion welding
High heat input processes Friction welding Forge welding Diffusion welding
There are many ways to classify the welding processes however, fusion welding an
d pressure welding criterion is the best and most accepted way to classify all t
he welding processes.
Welding and allied processes
Welding processes Cast weld process Thermit Electroslag Fusion weld process Carb
on arc Shielded metal arc Submerged arc Gas metal arc Gas tungsten arc Plasma ar
c Electrogas Laser beam Electron beam Oxy-fuel gas Resistance weld process Spot
Projection Seam H. F. resistance H.F. induction Resistance butt Flash butt Solid
state weld process Low heat input Ultrasonic Cold pressure Explosion
Allied processes Metal depositing process High heat input Friction Forge Diffusi
on bonding Soldering Brazing Adhesive bonding Weld surfacing Metal spraying
Lecture: 4 Power density and welding process 1.0 Introduction Fusion welding pro
cesses can be looked on the basis of range of energy density which they can appl
y for melting the faying surfaces of base metal for joining. Heat required for f
usion of faying surfaces of components being welded comes from different sources
in different fusion welding processes (gas, arc and high energy beam). Each typ
e of heat source has capability to supply heat at different energy densities (kW
/mm2). Even with same power (VI) different welding processes provide heat at dif
ferent energy densities due to the fact that it is applied over different areas
on the surface of base metal in case of different processes. Energy density (kW/
mm2) is directly governed by the area over which heat is applied by a particular
process. Power density increases from gas welding to arc welding to energy beam
based welding processes. Typical values of energy densities and approximate max
imum temperature generated during welding by different processes are shown in Ta
ble 1. Table 1 Power density and maximum temperature related with different weld
ing processes Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 Welding process Gas welding Arc welding Resistan
ce welding Laser beam welding Electron beam welding Power density (W/cm2) 10 50
1000 9000 10,000 Temperature (0C) 3500 6000 20,000 30,000
2.0 Effect of power density Energy density associated with a particular welding
process directly affects amount of heat required to be supplied for fusion of th
e faying surfaces. An increase in power density decreases the heat input require
d for melting and welding of work pieces because it decreases time over which he
at is applied during welding for melting. The decrease in heat application time
in turn lowers the amount of heat dissipated away from the faying surfaces so mo
st of the heat applied on the faying surfaces is used
for their fusion only. However, it is important to note that heat required for m
elting the unit quantity of a given metal is constant and is a property of mater
ial. Heat for melting comprises sensible heat and latent heat. Latent heat for s
teel is 2 kCal/mm3. Fusion welding processes are based on localized melting usin
g high-density heat energy. To ensure melting of base metal in short time it is
necessary that energy density of welding process is high enough (Fig. 1). Time t
o melt the base metal is found inversely proportional to the power density i.e.
power of (arc or flame) / area of work piece over which it is applied (W/cm2). L
ower the energy density of heat source greater will be the heat input needed for
welding as large amount of heat is dissipated to colder base material of work p
iece away from the faying surface by thermal conduction (Fig. 2).
Fig. 1 Effect of energy density and time on energy input
Heat input to workpiece
Increasing damage to workpiece Gas welding Arc welding High energy beam welding
Power density of heat source
Increasing penetration, welding speed, weld quality and equipment cost
Fig. 2 Effect of power density of heat source on heat input required for welding
Need of optimum power density of welding process As stated, low power density pr
ocesses need higher heat input than high power density processes. Neither too lo
w nor too high heat input is considered good for developing sound weld joint. As
low heat input can lead to lack of penetration and poor fusion of faying surfac
es during welding while excessive heat input may cause damage to the base metal
in terms of distortion, softening of HAZ and reduced mechanical properties (Fig.
3). High heat input has been reported to lower the tensile strength of many alu
minium alloys of commercial importance due to variation in metallurgical propert
ies of the weldment (Fig. 4). Moreover, use of high power density offers advanta
ges such as deep penetration, high welding speed and improved quality of welding
joints. Welding process (where melting is required) should have power density a
pproximately 10(W/cm2). Vaporization of metal takes place at about 10,000W/cm2 p
ower-density. Processes (electron and laser beam) with such high energy density
are used in controlled removal of metal for shaping of difficult to machine meta
ls. Welding processes with power density in ascending order are shown in Fig. 5.
8
Distortion (degree)
GTAW
6
4
2
EBW
10 20 30 40
Thickness (mm)
Fig. 3 Effect of welding process on angular distortion of weld joint as a functi
on of plate thickness
Al-Mg-Si
Tensile strength
Al-Cu-Mg
Al-Mg-Si
Heat input
Fig. 4 Schematic diagram showing effect of heat input on tesinle strenght of alu
minium alloy wled joints
Fig. 5 Power densities of different welding processes
Lecture 5 Physics of Welding Arc I 1.0 Introduction A welding arc is an electric
discharge that develops primarily due to flow of current from cathode to anode.
Flow of current through the gap between electrode and work piece needs column o
f charged particles. These charged particles are generated by various mechanisms
such as the thermal emission, field emission and secondary emission etc. Densit
y of charged particles in gap governs the electrical conductivity of gaseous col
umn. In an electric arc, electrons released from cathode (due to electric field
or thermo-ionic emission) are accelerated towards the anode because of potential
difference between work piece and electrode. These high velocity electrons movi
ng from cathode toward anode collide with gaseous molecules and decompose them i
nto charged particles i.e. electrons and ions. These charged particles move elec
trode and work piece as per polarity and form a part of welding current. Ion cur
rent becomes only about 1% of electron current as ions become heavier than the e
lectrons. Eventually electrons merge into anode. Arc gap between electrode and w
ork piece acts as pure resister load. Heat generated in a welding arc depends on
arc voltage and welding current. 2.0 Emission of Free electrons
Free electrons are needed between the electrode and work for initiating the arc
and their maintenance. Ease of emitting electrons by a material assessed on the
basis of two parameters work function and ionization potential. Emission of elec
trons from the cathode metal depends on the work function. The work function is
the energy (ev or J) required to get one electron released from the surface of m
aterial. Ionization potential is another measure of ability of a metal to emit t
he electrons and is defined as energy/unit charge (v) required for removing an e
lectron from an atom. Ionization potential is found different for different meta
l. For example, Ca, K, and Na have very low ionization potential (2.1-2.3ev), wh
ile that for Al and Fe is on the higher side with values of 4 and 4.5 ev respect
ively. Common mechanisms through which free electrons are emitted during arc wel
ding are described below: Thermo-ionic emission Increase in temperature of metal
increases the kinetic energy of free electrons and as it goes beyond certain li
mit, electrons are ejected from the metal surface. This mechanism of emission of
electron due to heating of metal is called thermo ionic
emission. The temperature at which thermo-ionic emission takes place most of the
metals melt. Hence, refractory materials like tungsten and carbon, having high
melting point exhibit thermo ionic electron emission tendency. Field emission: I
n this approach, free electrons are pulled out of the metal surface by developin
g high strength electric magnetic field. High potential difference (107V/cm) bet
ween the work piece and electrode is established for the field emission purpose.
Secondary emission High velocity electrons moving cathode to anode in the arc g
ap collide with other gaseous molecules in arc gap. This collision results in de
composition of gaseuous molecules into atoms and charged particles (electrons an
d ions). 3.0 Zones in Arc Gap
On establishing the welding arc drop in arc voltage is observed across the arc g
ap. However, rate of drop in arc voltage varies with distance from the electrode
tip to the weld pool (Fig. 1). Generally, five different zones are observed in
the arc gap namely cathode spot, cathode drop zone, plasma, anode drop zone and
anode spot (Fig. 2). Cathode spot It is the region of cathode wherefrom electron
s are emitted. Three types of cathode spots are generally found namely mobile, p
ointed, and normal. There can be one or more than one cathode spots moving at hi
gh speed ranging from 5-10 m/sec. Mobile cathode spot is usually produced at cur
rent density 100-1000 A/mm2. Mobile cathode spot is generally found during the w
elding of aluminium and magnesium. This type of cathode sopt loosens the oxide l
ayer on reactive metal like aluminium, Mg and stainless steel base metal. Theref
ore, mobile cathode spot helps in cleaning action point of view when reverse pol
arity is used. Pointed cathode spot is formed at a point only in case of tungste
n inert gas welding at about 100Amp/mm2. Pointed tungsten electrode forms the po
inted cathode-spot. Ball shaped tip of coated steel electrode forms normal catho
de spot. Cathode drop region: This region is very close to the cathode and a ver
y sharp drop of voltage takes place in this zone due to cooling effect of cathod
e. Voltage drop in this region directly affects the heat generation near the cat
hode which in turn governs melting rate of the electrode in the consumable arc w
elding process with straight polarity. Plasma:
Plasma is the region between electrode and work where mostly flow of charged par
ticles namely free electrons and positive ions takes place. In this region, unif
orm voltage drop takes place. Heat generated in this region has minor affect on
melting of the work piece and electrode. Anode drop region: Like cathode drop zo
ne, anode drop zone is very close to the anode and a very sharp drop in voltage
takes place in this region due to cooling effect of the anode. Voltage drop in t
his region affects the heat generation near the anode. In case of direct current
electrode positive (DCEP), voltage drop in this zone affects melting of the wor
k piece. Anode spot: Anode spot is the region of the anode where electrons get m
erged and their impact generates heat for melting. However, no fixed anode spot
is noticed like cathode spot.
cathode drop Potential drop (V) Potential drop in plasma zone Anode drop
Distance from cathode to anode
Fig. 1 Potential drop as function of distance form the cathode to anode
Electrode Cathode spot Cathode Cathode drop zone Flow + of ions Anode spot + ++
Flow of + electrones + - +
-+
Plasma (charged particles)
Anode drop zone Anode
Workpiece
Fig. 2 Zones in arc gap of a welding arc
4.0
Electrical Fundamentals of Welding Arc
The welding arc acts as an impedance for flow of current like an electric conduc
tor. The impedance of arc is usually found inversely proportional to the density
of charge particles and their mobility. Therefore, distribution of charged part
icles in radial and axial direction affects the total impedance of the arc. Thre
e major regions have been noticed in arc gap that accounts for total potential d
rop in the arc i.e. cathode drop region, plasma and anode drop region. Product o
f potential difference across the arc (V) and current (I) gives the power of the
arc indicating the heat generation per unit time. Arc voltage (V) is taken as s
um of potential drop across the cathode drop zone (Vc), potential drop across th
e plasma zone (Vp), and potential drop across the anode drop zone (Va) as shown
in Fig. 3. Power of the arc (P) = (Vc+ Vp+ Va) I Above equation suggests that th
e distribution of heat in three zones namely cathode, anode and arc plasma can b
e changed. Variation of arc length mainly affects arc plasma heat while shieldin
g gas influences the heat generation in the cathode and anode drop zones. Additi
on of low ionization potential materials (namely potassium and sodium) reduces t
he arc voltage because of increased ionization in arc gap which in turn affects
the heat generation plasma region. Heat generation at the anode and cathode drop
zones is primarily governed by type of welding process and polarity associated
with welding arc e.g. TIG welding with argon as shielding gas
shows 8-10 time higher current carrying capacity (without melting) than DCEP. Th
e submerged arc welding with DCEP generates larger amount of heat at cathode tha
n anode as indicated by high melting rate of consumable electrode. Increase in s
pacing between the electrode and work generally increases the potential of the a
rc because of increased losses of the charge carriers by radial migration to coo
l boundary of the plasma. Increase in the length of the arc column (by bulging)
exposes more surface area of arc column to the low temperature atmosphere which
in turn imposes the requirement of more number of charge carriers to maintain th
e flow of current. Therefore, these losses must be accommodated to stabilize the
arc by increasing the applied voltage. The most of the heat generated in consum
able arc welding process goes to weld pool which in turn results in higher therm
al efficiencies and narrow heat affected zone. This is more evident from the fac
t that the thermal efficiency of metal arc welding processes is found in range o
f 70-80% whereas that for non-consumable arc welding processes is found in range
of 40-60%.
Cathode
Cathode drop zone (Vc)
Plasma (Vp)
Anode drop zone (Va) Anode
Fig. 3 Three different zone in which voltage drop takes place
Lecture 6 Physics of Welding Arc II
5.0
Arc Initiation
There are two most commonly used methods to initiate an electric arc in welding
processes namely touch start and field start. The former is used in case of all
common welding processes while the later one is preferred in case of automatic w
elding operations and in the processes where electrode has tendency to form incl
usions in the weld metal like in TIG welding. 5.1 Touch Start
In this method, the electrode is brought in contact with the work piece and then
pulled apart to create a very small gap. Touching of the electrode to the workp
iece causes short-circuiting so resulting flow of heavy current leads to heating
, partial melting and even slight evaporation of the metal at the electrode tip.
All these things happen in very short time usually within few seconds (Fig. 4 a
, b). Heating of electrode produces few free electrons due to thermal ionization
; additionally dissociation of metal vapours (owing to lower ionization potentia
l of the metal vapours than the atmospheric gases) also produces charged particl
es (electron and positively charged ions). Pulling up of the electrode apart fro
m the work piece, flow of current starts through these charged particles and for
a moment arc is developed. To use the heat of electric arc for welding purpose
it is necessary that after initiation of arc it must be maintained and stabilize
d.
Power source + _ Electrode Short circuit
Base plates
a)
Power source + _
+ + + -
Metal vapours Ionized gases Charged particles
Base plates
b) Fig. 4 Schematic diagram showing mechanism of arc initiation by touch start m
ethod a) when circuit closed by touching electrode with work piece b) emission o
f electrode on putting them apart
5.2
Field Start
In this method, high strength electric field (107 V) is applied between electrod
e and work piece so that electrons are released from cathode by field emission (
Fig. 5). Development of high strength field leads to ejection of electron from c
athode spots. Once the free electrons are available in arc gap, normal potential
difference between electrode and work piece ensures flow of charged particles t
o maintain a welding arc.
Power source _ +
Emitted - electrons - -
High potential difference
Base plates
Fig. 5 Schematic diagram showing the field-start method of arc initiation 6.0 Ma
intenance of Arc
Once electric arc is initiated, next step is to maintain it to use the heat gene
rated for welding purpose. For maintaining of the arc two conditions must be ful
filled (1) heat dissipation rate from the arc region should be equal to that of
heat generated to
maintain the temperature of the arc and (2) number of electrons produced should
be equal to that of electrons lost to the work piece and surroundings. An electr
ic arc primarily involves flow of current through the gap between the work piece
and electrode hence there must be sufficient number of charged particles namely
electrons and ions. However, some of the electrons are lost from the arc surfac
e, to the weld pool and surroundings and some reunite with ions. Loss of these e
lectrons must be compensated by generation of new free electrons. In case of dir
ect current, magnitude and direction of current does not change with time hence
maintaining the flow of electrons and so the arc becomes easy while in case of a
lternating current (A. C.) both magnitude and direction change with time and for
a moment flow of current is zero. This makes re-ignition of an electric arc wit
h AC somewhat difficult and therefore it needs extra precautions and provisions.
There are two commonly used methods for maintaining the arc in A.C. welding: (1
) use of low ionization potential elements in coatings and (b) use of proper pow
er factor. 6.1 Low Ionization Potential Elements
In this method, low ionization potential elements such as potassium, calcium and
sodium are added in the flux covering of the electrode (coating). These element
s release free electrons needed for maintaining welding arc even with small pote
ntial difference between electrode and work piece (Fig. 6).
Coating without low ionization potential elements
Coating with low ionization potential elements
+ + +
-
Low density of charged particles
Plasma + + - - + Workpiece
High density of + + charged particles ++ + ++ Plasma +- - + + + - -+ - -- +- + W
orkpiece
Fig. 6 Schematic representation of effect of low ionization potential elements o
n density of charged particles 6.2 Proper Power Factor
In this method, current and voltage are made out of phase by using proper power
factor (0.3) so that when current is zero, full open circuit voltage is availabl
e between electrode and work piece (Fig. 7). Full open circuit voltage across th
e electrode and work helps in release of free electrons and flow of already exis
ting electrons which is a perquisite for maintenance of the arc.
current
voltage
Time
Fig. 7 setting proper power factor to have current and voltage out of phase
7.0
Arc Characteristic
Welding arc characteristic shows variation in the arc voltage with arc current.
There are three different regions on the arc characteristic curve namely droppin
g, flat and rising characteristics zones (Fig. 8). Initially at low current when
arc is thin, an increase in welding current increases the temperature of arc zo
ne which in turn enhances the number of charged particles in plasma zone of the
arc due to thermal ionization and thermally induced emission of electrons. As a
result electrical conductivity of arc zone increases hence arc voltage decreases
with initial increase in welding current in this zone. Arc tends to be stable i
n this region. This trend continues up to certain level of current and beyond th
at increase in current increases the diameter of cylindrical arc which in turn i
ncreases the surface area of the arc. Increase in surface area of the arc in tur
n increases loss of heat from the arc surface. Therefore, no significant rise in
arc temperature takes place with increase current hence arc voltage is not affe
cted appreciably over a range of current in flat zone of the curve. Further, inc
rease in current bulges the arc, which in turn increases the resistance to flow
of current (due to increased loss of charge carriers and heat from arc) so arc v
oltage increases with increase in welding current. These three
zones of arc characteristic curve are called drooping, flat and rising character
istics. Comparison of ohms law with arc characteristics shows that arc is not pu
rely resistive. Increase in arc length in general increases arc voltage during w
elding. However, the extent of increase in arc voltage with increase in arc leng
th varies with process as shown in Fig. 9.
Arc voltage (V)
100 Arc current (A)
1000
Fig. 8 Schematic diagram showing welding arc characteristics
50 40 Arc voltage [V] 30 20 10 0 0 4 8 12 16 20 Arc length [mm]
TIG W
Sh i ar elde cw d el d m e in tal g
MIG
We
g ldin
g eldin
Fig. 9 Variation in arc voltage as function of arc length for different welding
processes 8.0 Temperature of the Arc
In addition to arc voltage and current parameters (governing the power of arc),
thermal properties (thermal conductivity) of shielding gases present in arc zone
predominantly affect the temperature and its distribution in the arc region. Th
ermal conductivity of most of the gases (He, N, Ar) increases with rise in tempe
rature however, this increase is not continuous for some of the gases such as He
lium.
Thermal conductivity governs temperature gradient in the arc region. Reduction i
n thermal conductivity increases the temperature gradient and therefore at low t
emperature (of arc), there is very rapid decrease in temperature with increase i
n distance from the axis (center) of the arc (Fig. 10). Maximum temperature is o
bserved at core (along the axis of electrode) of the arc and it decreases rapidl
y with distance away from the core. Temperatures in anode and cathode drop zones
are generally lower than the plasma region due to cooling effect of electrode/w
ork piece. Temperature of arc can vary from 5000-30,000K depending upon the curr
ent and plasma gas. For examples in case of SMAW, temperature of arc is about 60
00K while that for TIG/MIG welding arc it is found in range of 20000-25000K.
Electrode
4,000 C Hottest part (20,000 C) 7,000 C 10,000 C 14,000 C
Workpiece
Fig. 10 Schematic diagram showing typical temperature distribution in the arc
Lecture 7 Physics of Welding Arc III 9.0 Arc Forces and Their significance on We
lding
All the forces acting in arc zone are termed as arc forces. In respect of weldin
g, influence of these forces on resisting or facilitating the detachment of molt
en metal drop hanging at the electrode tip is important which in turn affect the
mode of metal transfer (Fig. 9 a-f). Metal transfer is basically detachment and
movement of molten metal drops from tip of the electrode to the work piece and
is of great practical importance because flight duration of molten metal drop in
arc region affects the quality of weld metal and element transfer efficiency. 9
.1 Gravity Force
This is due to gravitational force acting on molten metal drop hanging at the ti
p of electrode. Gravitational force depends on the volume of the drop and densit
y of metal. In case of down hand welding, gravitational force helps in detachmen
t/transfer of molten metal drop from electrode tip (Fig. 9a). Gravitational forc
e (Fg)= Vg Where is the density of metal, V is volume of drop and g is gravitation
al constant. 9.2 Surface Tension Force
This force is experienced by drop of the liquid metal hanging at the tip of elec
trode due to surface tension effect. Magnitude of the surface tension force is i
nfluenced by the size of droplet, electrode diameter and surface tension coeffic
ient. This force tends to resist the detachment of molten metal drop from electr
ode tip and usually acts against gravitational force. In case of vertical and ov
erhead welding positions, high surface tension force helps in placing the molten
weld metal at required position more effectively by reducing tendency of fallin
g down of melt (Fig. 9b). Accordingly, electrode composition for odd-position we
lding purpose must be designed to have viscous and high surface tension weld met
al. Surface tension (Fs) = (2 X Re2)/4R Where is the surface tension coefficient, R
is drop radius and Re is the radius of electrode tip. An Increase in temperatur
e of the molten weld metal reduces the surface tension coefficient ( ), hence this
will reduce hindering effect of the surface tension force on detachment of the
drop. 9.3 Force Due to Impact of Charge Carriers
As per polarity charged particles (ions & electrons), move towards anode or cath
ode and eventually impact/collide with them. Force generated owing to impact of
charged particles on to the molten metal drop hanging at tip of electrode tends
to hinder the detachment (Fig. 9c). This force is given by Force due to impact o
f charged particles Fm= m(dV/dt) Where m is the mass of charge particles, V is t
he velocity and t is the time. 9.4 Force Due to Metal Vapours
Molten metal evaporating from bottom of drop and weld pool move in upward direct
ion. Forces generated due to upward movement of metal vapours act against the mo
lten metal drop hanging at the tip of the electrode. Thus, this force tends to h
inder the detachment of droplet (Fig. 9d). 9.5 Force Due to Gas Eruption
Gases present in molten metal such as oxygen, hydrogen etc. may react with some
of the elements (such as carbon) present in molten metal drop and form gaseous m
olecules (carbon dioxide). The growth of these gases in molten metal drop as a f
unction of time ultimately leads to bursting of metal drops which in turn increa
ses the spattering and reduces the control over handling of molten weld metal (F
ig. 9 e1e4). 9.6 Force Due to Electro Magnetic Field
Flow of current through the arc gap develops the electromagnetic field. Interact
ion of this electromagnetic field with that of charge carriers produces a force
which tends to pinch the drop hanging at the tip of the electrode also called pi
nch force. The pinch force reduces the cross section for molten metal drop near
the tip of the electrode and thus helps in detachment of the droplet from the el
ectrode tip (Fig. 9f1-f2). A component of pinch force acting in downward directi
on is generally held responsible for detachment of droplet and is given by: Pinc
h force (Fp)= ( X I2)/8 Where is the magnetic permeability of metal, I is the weld
ing current flowing through the arc gap.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e1)
e2)
e3)
e4)
FP
FP Pinch force FV FH
f1)
f2)
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram showing different arc forces a) gravitational force, b)
surface tension force, c) force due to impact of charge particles, d) force due
to metal vapours, e1 to e5) stages in force generation due to gas eruption and
f1 & f2) electromagnetic pinch force
10.0
Effect of Electrode Polarity
In case of D. C. welding, polarity depends on the way electrode is connected to
the power source i.e. whether electrode is connected to positive or negative ter
minal of the power source. If electrode is connected to negative terminal of the
power source, then it is called direct current electrode negative (DCEN) or str
aight polarity and if electrode is connected to positive terminal of the power s
ource then it is called direct current electrode positive (DCEP) or reverse pola
rity. Polarity in case of A. C. welding doesnt remain constant as it changes ever
y half cycle of current. Selection of appropriate polarity is important for succ
essful welding as it affects: 1. distribution of heat generation at anode and ca
thode, 2. stability of the arc and 3. cleanliness of weld 10.1 Heat Generation
In general, more heat is generated at the anode than the cathode. Of total DC we
lding arc heat, about two-third of heat is generated at the anode and one third
at
the cathode. The differential heat generation at the anode and cathode is due to
the fact that impact of high velocity electrons with anode generates more heat
than that of ions with cathode as electrons possess higher kinetic energy than t
he ions. Ion being heavier than electrons cannot accelerate and so move at low v
elocity in the arc region. Therefore, DCEN polarity is commonly used with non-co
nsumable electrode welding processes so as to reduce the thermal degradation of
the electrodes due to low heat generation. Moreover, DCEP polarity facilitates h
igher melting rate in case of consumable electrode welding process such as SAW a
nd MIG etc. 10.1 Stability of Arc
All those processes (SMAW, PAW, GTAW) in which electrode is expected to emit fre
e electrons required for easy arc initiation and their stability, selection of p
olarity affects the arc stability. Shielded metal arc welding using covered elec
trode having low ionization potential elements provide better stable arc with DC
EN than DCEP. However, SMA welding with DCEP gives smooth metal transfer. Simila
rly, in case of GTAW welding, tungsten electrode is expected to emit electrons f
or providing stable arc and therefore DCEN is commonly used. 10.3 Cleaning actio
n
Good cleaning action is provided by mobile cathode spot because it loosens the t
enacious refractory oxide layer during welding of aluminium and magnesium. There
fore, work piece is intentionally made cathode and electrode is connected to pos
itive terminal of the power source. Thus use of DCEP results is required cleanin
g action. During TIG welding, a compromise is made between the electrode life an
d cleaning action by selecting the A.C.. Comparison of AC and DC welding power s
ources S. No. 1 2 Arc stability Distribution of arc heat Poor Uniform Good Provi
de better control of heat Parameter AC DC
distribution 3 4 5 Efficiency Power factor Cleaning action High Low Good Low Hig
h Depends on polarity
6 7
Maintenance Cost
Less Less
More More
11.0
Arc Blow
Arc blow is basically a deflection of a welding arc from its intended path i.e.
axis of the electrode. Deflection of arc during welding reduces the control over
the handling of molten metal by making it difficult to apply the molten metal a
t right place. A severe arc blow increases the spattering which in turn decrease
s the deposition efficiency of the welding process. According to the direction o
f deflection of arc with respect to welding direction, an arc blow may be forwar
d or backward arc blow. Deflection of arc ahead of the weld pool in direction of
the welding is called forward arc blow and that in reverse direction is called
backward arc blow (Fig. 10 a-c).
Base plates
a)
DC power source
Direction of welding
b)
Direction of welding
c) Fig. 10 Schematic diagram showing welding in a) without arc blow, b) with for
ward arc blow and c) backward arc blow 11.1 Causes of arc blow
Arc blow is mainly encountered during DC arc welding due to interaction between
different electromagnetic fields in and around the welding arc. Incidences of in
teraction between electromagnetic fields mainly occur in areas where these field
s are localized. There are two common situations of interaction between
electromagnetic fields that leads to arc blow: interaction between electromagnet
ic field due to flow of current through the arc gap and that due to flow of curr
ent through plates being welded. Electromagnetic field is also generated around
the arc in arc gap. Any kind of interaction of this field with other electromagn
etic fields leads to deflection of the arc from its intended path. interaction b
etween electromagnetic field due to flow of current through the arc gap and that
is localized while welding near the edge of the plates. The lines of electromag
netic fields are localized the near the egde of the plates as these can flow eas
ily through the metal than the air therefore distribution of lines of electromag
netic forces does not remain uniform around the arc. These lines get concentrate
d near the edge of the plate. 11.2 Mechanism of arc blow Electromagnetic field i
s generated in a plane perpendicular to the direction of current flow through a
wire. Intensity of self induced magnetic field (H= i/2 r) due to flow of current d
epends upon the distance of point of interest from center of wire (r) and magnit
ude of current (i). In general, increase in current and decrease the distance of
from the wire increase the intensity of electromagnetic field. There can be
two types of polarities namely like and unlike polarity, as far as electromagnet
ic fields due to current flow and interaction between them are concerned (Fig. 1
1 a). In case of like polarity, the direction of flow of current is same in two
conductors. Electromagnetic fields in case of like polarities repel each other w
hile those of unlike polarities attract each other.
Fig. 11 Fundamentals of electromagnetic force generation and arc blow Arc tends
to deflect away from area where flux concentration exit. In practice, such kind
of localization of electromagnetic fields and so deflection of arc depends on th
e position of ground connection as it affects the direction of current flow and
related field. Arc can blow towards or away from the earthing point depending up
on the orientation of electromagnetic field around the welding arc. Effect of gr
ound connection on arc blow is called ground effect. Ground effect may add or re
duce the arc blow, depending upon the position of arc and ground connection. In
general, ground effect causes the deflection of arc in the direction opposite to
the ground connection. Arc blow occurring due to interactions between electroma
gnetic field around the arc and that of localized electromagnetic field near the
edge of the plates, always tends to deflect the arc away from the edge of the p
late (Fig. 11 b-c). So the ground connection in opposite side of the edge causin
g deflection can help to reduce the arc blow. Arc blow can be controlled by:
o Reduction of the arc length so as to reduce the extent of misplacement of molt
en metal o Adjust the ground connection as per position of arc o Shifting to A.
C. so as to neutralize the arc blow occurring in each half o Directing the tip o
f the electrode in direction opposite to the arc blow.
Lecture 8 Physics of Welding Arc IV 12.0 Arc Efficiency
Arc welding basically involves melting of faying surfaces of base metal using he
at generated by arc under a given set of welding conditions i.e. welding current
and arc voltage. However, only a part of heat generated by the arc is used for
melting purpose to produce weld joint and remaining is lost in various ways name
ly through conduction to base metal, by convention and radiation to surrounding
(Fig. 12). Moreover, the heat generation on the work piece side depends on the p
olarity in case of DC welding while it is equally distributed in work piece and
electrode side in case of AC welding. Further, it can be recalled that heat gene
rated by arc is dictated by the power of the arc (VI) where V is arc voltage i.e
. mainly sum voltage drop in cathode drop (VC), plasma (Vp) and anode drop regio
ns (Vp) apart from of work function related factor and I is welding current. Pro
duct of welding current (I) and voltage drop in particular region governs the he
at generated in that zone say near anode, cathode and in plasma region. In case
of DCEN polarity, high heat generation at work piece facilitates melting of base
metal to develop a weld joint of thick plates.
Electrode
Atmosphere
30% Heat 55%
Atmosphere
45%
Workpiece 10%
Fig. 12 Distribution of heat from the welding arc in DCEN polarity
12.1
Rationale behind variation in arc efficiency of different arc welding
processes Under simplified conditions (with DCEN polarity), ratio of the heat ge
nerated at anode and total heat generated in the arc is defined as arc efficienc
y. This ratio indicates the arc efficiency only in case of non-consumable arc we
lding processes such as GTAW, PAW, Laser and electron beam welding processes whe
re filler metal is not commonly used. However, this definition doesnt reflect tru
e arc efficiency for consumable arc welding processes as it is doesnt include use
of heat generated in plasma region and cathode side for melting of electrode or
filler metal. Therefore, arc efficiency equation for consumable arc welding pro
cesses must include heat used for melting of both work piece and electrode. Sinc
e consumable arc welding processes (SMAW, SAW, GMAW) use heat generated both at
cathode and anode for melting of filler and base metal while in case of non-cons
umable arc welding processes (GTAW, PAW) heat generated at the anode only is use
d for melting of the base metal, therefore, in general, consumable arc welding p
rocesses offer higher arc efficiency than non-consumable arc welding processes.
Additionally, in case of consumable arc welding processes (SMAW, SAW) heat gener
ated is more effectively used because of reduced heat losses to surrounding as w
eld pool is covered by molten flux and slag. Welding processes in ascending orde
r of arc efficiency are GTA, GMA, SMA, and SAW. GTAW produces lower arc efficien
cy (21-48%) than SMAW/GMAW (66-85%) and SA welding (90-99%).
12.2 Determination of arc efficiency Heat generated at the anode is found sum of
heat generated due to electron emission and that from anode drop zone. qa= [ + V
a] I where qa= is the heat at anode is work function of base metal at temperatur
e T = [( 0 +1.5KT) 0 is work function of base metal at temperature 0K K is the bolt
zman constant T temperature in Kelvin Va anode voltage drop
I welding current Heat generated in plasma region qp = Vp I Say its a fraction m
% of the heat generated in plasma region goes to anode/work piece for melting =
m (Vp I) So arc efficiency = total heat at anode / total heat generated in arc=
[qp + m (Vp I)]/VI Where V is arc voltage = Va + Vp + Vc Another way is that [{t
otal heat generated in arc- (heat with plasma region + heat of cathode drop zone
)}/total heat generated in arc}] So arc efficiency [{VI-[qc + (1-m) (Vp I)}/VI}]
or [{VI-[ Vc I + (1-m) (Vp I)}/VI}] Where qc is the heat generated in cathode d
rop zone.
VcI VpI VaI
a)
VcI VpI VaI
b) Fig. 13 Schematic of heat generation in different zones of the arc of a) nonc
onsumable arc and b) consumable arc welding processes.
13.0
Metal Transfer
Metal transfer refers to the transfer of molten metal from the tip of the electr
ode to the weld pool and is of great academic and practical importance for consu
mable electrode welding processes as it directly affects the control over the ha
ndling of molten metal, slag and spattering. However, metal transfer is consider
ed to be more of academic importance for GMA and SA welding than practical need.
Shielding gas, composition of the electrode, diameter and extension of the elec
trodes are some of the arc welding related parameters, which affect the mode of
metal transfer for a given power setting namely welding current and voltage. Fou
r common modes of metal transfer are generally observed in case of consumable ar
c welding processes. (1) Short Circuit Transfer
This kind of metal transfer takes place, when welding current is very low and ar
c gap is small. Under these welding conditions, molten metal droplet grows slowl
y at the tip of the electrode and then as soon as drop touches weld pool, short-
circuiting takes place. Due to narrow arc gap, molten drop does not attain a siz
e big enough to fall down on its own (by weight) due to gravitational force. On
occurrence of short circuit, welding current flowing through the droplet to the
weld pool increases abruptly which in turn results in excessive heat generation
that makes the molten metal of droplet thinner (low surface tension). Touching o
f the molten metal drop to weld pool leads to transfer of molten metal into weld
pool by surface tension effect. Once molten metal is transferred to the weld po
ol an arc gap is established which in turn increases arc voltage abruptly. This
increase in arc voltage (due to setting up of the gap) re-ignites arc and flow o
f current starts. This whole process is repeated during the welding. Schematical
ly variation in welding current and arc voltage for short circuit metal transfer
is shown in Fig. 14 (a).
electrode
drop of molten metal
base metal
Fig. 14 (a) short circuiting metal transfer (2) Globular Transfer
Globular metal transfer takes place when welding current is low (but higher than
that for short circuit transfer) and arc gap is large enough so molten metal dr
oplet can grow slowly (at the tip of the electrode) with melting of the electrod
e tip (Fig. 14 b). Drop continues to grow until gravitational force on drop (due
to weight of the drop) exceeds the surface tension force. As soon as drop attai
ns large size enough and so gravitational force becomes more than other force su
ch as surface tension force, drop detaches from the electrode tip and gets trans
ferred to the weld pool. The transfer of molten metal drop normally occurs when
it attains size larger than the electrode diameter. No short-circuit takes place
in this mode of metal transfer.
electrode
drop of molten metal
base metal
Fig. 14 (b) globular metal transfer (3) Spray Transfer
This kind of metal transfer takes place when welding current is higher than that
for globular transfer. High welding current results in high melting rate and gr
eater pinch force as both melting rate and pinch force are directly related with
welding current and are found proportional to square of welding current. Theref
ore, with high welding current, droplets are formed rapidly and pinched off from
the tip of electrode quickly even when they are of very small in size. Another
reason for detachment of small droplets is that high welding current increases t
emperature of arc zone which in turn lowers the surface tension force. Reduction
in surface tension force decreases the resistance to detachment of drop from th
e electrode tip. The transfer of molten metal from electrode tip appears similar
to that of spray in line of axis of the electrode (Fig. 14 c). This feature hel
ps to direct the molten metal in proper place where it is required especially in
odd position welding.
electrode
drop of molten metal
base metal
Fig. 14 (c) spay metal transfer
(4)
Dip Transfer
Dip type of metal transfer is observed when welding current is very low and feed
rate is high. Under these welding conditions, electrode is short-circuited with
weld pool, which leads to the melting of electrode and transfer of molten drop.
Approach wise dip transfer is similar to that of short circuit metal transfer h
owever these two differ in respect of welding conditions that lead to these two
types of metal transfers.
electrode
base metal
Fig. 14 (d) dip transfer
Melting Rate In consumable arc welding processes, weld metal deposition rate is
governed by the rate at which electrode is melted during welding. Melting of the
electrode needs the sensible and latent heat, which is supplied by the electric
al reactions i.e. heat generated at anode (I.Va), cathode (I.Vc) and plasma zone
(I.Vp). In case of DCEN polarity, heat generated in anode drop region and plasm
a region do not influence melting of electrode tip appreciably as electrode (cat
hode) in case of straight polarity (DCEN) gets very negligible heat from these t
wo regions (anode and plasma). Hence, in case of straight polarity (DCEN), melti
ng rate of electrode primarily depends on the heat generated by a) cathode react
ion and b) electrical resistance heating. Accordingly, melting rate of electrode
for consumable arc welding processes is given by following equation: Melting Ra
te = a X I + b X L X I2 where a & b are constant (independent of electrode exten
sion L and welding current I) and L is electrode extension and I is welding curr
ent. Values of constant a depend on ionization potential of electrode material (ab
ility to emit the charge carriers), polarity, composition of electrode and anode
/cathode voltage drops while another constant b accounts for electrical resistance
of electrode (which in turn depends on electrode diameters and resistivity of e
lectrode metal). Melting rate equation suggests that first factor (a X I) accoun
ts electrode melting due to heat generated by anode/cathode reaction and second
factor (b X L X I2) considers the melting rate owing to heat generated by electr
ical resistance heating. Melting rate is mainly governed by the first factor whe
n welding current is low, electrode diameter is large and extension is small, wh
ereas second factor significantly determines the melting rate of electrode when
welding current in high, electrode diameter is small, extension is large and ele
ctrical resistivity of electrode metal is high. Factors Limiting the Melting Rat
e Difference in values of constants a & b and welding parameters lead to the var
iation in melting rate of the electrode in case of in different welding processe
s. To increase the melting rate, welding current for a specific welding process
can be increased up to a limit. The upper limit of welding current is influenced
by two factors a) extent overheating of electrode caused by electrical resistan
ce heating and so related
thermal degradation of the electrode and b) required mode of metal transfer for
smooth deposition of weld metal with minimum spatter. For example, in semiautoma
tic welding process such MIG/SAW, minimum welding current is determined by the c
urrent level at which short circuit metal transfer starts and upper level of cur
rent is limited by appearance of rotational spray transfer. For a given electrod
e material and diameter, upper limit of current in case of SMAW is dictated by t
hermal composition of the electrode coating and that in case of GTAW is determin
ed by thermal damage to tungsten electrode. Lower level of current in general de
termined is by arc stability (the current at which stable arc is developed) besi
des other minimum requirement such as penetration, proper placement of the weld
metal and control over the weld pool especially in vertical and overhead welding
positions and those related with poor accessibility. Depending upon these facto
rs higher and lower limits of welding current melting rate are decided.
Lecture 9 Arc Welding Power Source I 1.0 Introduction One of the main requiremen
ts of a welding power source is to deliver controllable current at a voltage acc
ording to the demands of the welding process. Each welding process has distinct
differences from other processes in the form of process controls required. There
fore, arc welding power sources play very important role in successful welding.
The conventional welding power sources are: Power Source

Supply AC DC AC/DC
(i) Welding Transformer (ii) Welding Rectifier (iii) Welding Generators
Welding transformers, rectifiers and DC generators are used in shops while engin
e coupled DC and AC generators are used at site where line supply is not availab
le. Rectifiers and transformers are usually preferred because of lower noise, hi
gher efficiency and lower maintenance as compared to generators. Selection of a
power source mainly depends on the welding process and welding consumables to be
used for arc welding. The open circuit voltage normally ranges between 70-90 V
in case of welding transformers while that in case of rectifiers varies from 50-
80 V. Moreover, welding arc voltage becomes lower than open circuit voltage of t
he power source. Welding power sources can be classified based on different para
meters related with them as under:
Type of current: A.C., D.C. or both. Cooling medium: Air, water, oil cooled. Coo
ling system: Forced or natural cooling Static
characteristics:
Constant
current,
constant
voltage,
rising
characteristics. 2.0 Characteristics of power source Each welding power sources
has set of characteristics indicating the capability
and quality of power source. These characteristics help in selection of suitable
welding power source for a given welding condition. Basic characteristics of a
welding power source are given below:
Open circuit voltage (OCV) Power factor (pf) Static characteristics Dynamic char
acteristics Current rating and duty cycle Class of Insulation
2.1 Open circuit voltage (OCV) OCV shows the potential difference between the tw
o terminals of the power source when there is no load. Setting of correct open c
ircuit voltage is important for stability of welding arc especially when AC is u
sed. The selection of an optimum value of OCV (50-100V) depends on the type of b
ase metal, composition of electrode coating, type of welding current, type of we
lding process etc. Base metal of low ionization potential (indicating ease of em
itting free of electrons) needs lower OCV than that of high ionization potential
metal. Presence of low ionization potential elements such as K, Na and Ca in el
ectrode coating in optimum amount reduces OCV setting required for welding. AC w
elding needs higher OCV compared with DC owing to problem of arc stability as in
case of AC welding current continuously changes its direction and magnitude whi
le in case DC it remains constant. In the same line, GTAW needs lower OCV than G
MAW and other welding processes like SMAW and SAW because GTAW uses tungsten ele
ctrode which has good free electron emitting capability by thermal and field emi
ssion mechanism. Abundance of free electron in GTAW under welding conditions low
ers the OCV needed for having stable welding arc. Too high OCV may cause the ele
ctric shock. OCV is generally found to be different from arc voltage. Arc voltag
e is potential difference between the electrode tip and work piece surface when
there is flow of current. Any fluctuation in arc length affects the resistance t
o flow of current through plasma and hence
arc voltage is also affected. Increase in arc length or electrode extension incr
eases the arc voltage. Electrical resistance heating of electrode increases with
electrode extension for given welding parameters. 2.2 Power factor (pf) Power f
actor of a power source is defined as a ratio of actual power (KW) used to produ
ce the rated load (which is registered on the power meter) and apparent power dr
awn from the supply line (KVA) during welding. It is always desired to have high
power factor (pf). Low power factor indicates unnecessary wastage of power and
less efficient utilization of power for welding. Welding transformers usually of
fer higher power factors than other power sources. However, sometimes low power
factor is intentionally used with welding transformers to increase the stability
of AC welding arc. Application of a welding power source with high power factor
offers many advantages such as: Reduction of the reactive power in a system, wh
ich in turn reduces the power consumption and so drop in cost of power More econ
omic operations at an electrical installation (higher effective power for the sa
me apparent power) Improved voltage quality and fewer voltage drops Use of low c
able cross-section Smaller transmission losses
2.3 Static Characteristic of PS Static characteristic of a welding source exhibi
ts the trend of variation in voltage with current when power source is connected
to pure resistive load. This variation may be of three types, namely constant c
urrent (CC), constant voltage (CV), rising voltage (RV). 2.3.1 CC Power source T
he volt ampere output curves for constant current power source are called drooper
because of substantial downward or negative slope of the curves. With a change i
n arc voltage, the variation in welding current is small and, therefore, with a
consumable electrode welding process, electrode melting rate remains fairly cons
tant even with a minor change in arc length (Fig. 1). These power
sources are required for processes that use relatively thicker consumable electr
odes which may sometimes get sticked to workpiece or with nonconsumable tungsten
electrode where touching of electrode with base metal for starting of arc may l
ead to damage of electrode if current is unlimited. Under these conditions, the
short circuiting current shall be limited which would provide safety to power so
urce and the electrode.
50
CC po we rs ou rce
Increasing arc length
Arc voltage [V]
40
30
3 2 1
20
10 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Current [A]
Fig. 1 Static characteristics of constant current welding power source In consta
nt current power source, variation in welding current with arc voltage (due to f
luctuations in arc length) is very small therefore welding current remains more
or less constant despite of fluctuations in arc voltage / length. Hence, this ty
pe of power sources is found suitable for all those welding processes where larg
e fluctuation arc length is likely to take place e.g., in MMA and TIG welding. 2
.3.2 Constant Voltage PS In CV power sources, very small variation in arc voltag
e (due to fluctuations in arc length) causes significant change in welding curre
nt. Since arc voltage remains almost constant during welding despite of fluctuat
ions in arc length therefore this type of power sources are called constant volt
age type. Moreover, the constant voltage power sources do not offer true constan
t voltage output as current-voltage relationship curve shows slightly downward o
r negative slope. This negative slope is attributed to internal electrical resis
tance and inductance in
the welding circuit that causes a minor droop in the output volt-ampere characte
ristics of the power source (Fig. 2). Hence, this type of power sources is found
more suitable for all those welding processes where small fluctuations in arc l
ength can take place during welding like in semiautomatic welding process MIG, S
AW and PAW. The power source shall supply necessary current to melt the electrod
e at the rate required to maintain the preset voltage or arc length. The speed o
f electrode drive is used to control feed rate of the electrode which in turns a
ffects the arc gap/voltage. The variation arc voltage changes the average weldin
g current. The use of such power source in conjunction with a constant speed ele
ctrode wire feed drive results in a self regulating or self adjusting arc length
system. Due to some internal or external fluctuation if the change in arc lengt
h occurs, then it affects the electrode melting rate MR (by regulating current)
to regain the desired arc length.
Fig. 2 Static characteristics of constant voltage welding power source Self regu
lating arc In semiautomatic welding processes where constant voltage power sourc
e is used in association with automatically fed (constant speed) consumable elec
trode, arc length is maintained by self-regulating arc. Self-regulating arc is o
ne, which governs the melting/burn off rate of the electrode (by changing the cu
rrent) so that feed rate becomes equal to melting rate for maintaining the arc l
ength. For example, increase in arc length due to any reason shifts the operatin
g point from 2 to 3 thus increase the arc voltage (Fig. 3). Operating point is t
he
point of intersection of power source characteristics with arc characteristics.
Rise in arc voltage decreases the welding current significantly. Decrease in wel
ding current lowers the melting rate (see melting rate equation) of the electrod
e thus decreases the arc gap if electrode is fed at constant speed. Reverse phen
omenon happens if arc length decreases (shifting the operating point from 2 to 1
).
50
Increasing arc length
40 OCV [V]
CV power source
30
3
2 1
20
10 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Current [A]
Fig. 3 Static characteristics of constant voltage welding power showing operatin
g points with different arc length
Lecture 10 Arc Welding Power Source II
2.3.3 Rising Characteristics Power sources with rising characteristics show incr
ease in arc voltage with increase of welding current (Fig. 4). In automatic weld
ing processes where strictly constant voltage is required, power sources with ri
sing characteristics are used.
50
Increasing arc length CV power source
40 OCV [V]
30
20
10 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Current [A]
Fig. 4 Static characteristics of rising voltage welding power showing operating
points with different arc length 2.4 Dynamic characteristic Welding arc is subje
cted to severe and rapid fluctuations in arc voltage (due to continuous minor ch
anges in arc length) and welding current. Therefore, welding arc is never in a s
teady state. It causes transients in starting, extinction and reignition after e
ach half cycle in A.C. welding. To cope up with these conditions power source sh
ould have good dynamic characteristics to obtain stable and smooth arc. Dynamic
characteristic of the power source describes the instantaneous variation in arc
voltage with change in welding current over an extremely short period of welding
. A power source with good dynamic characteristic results in an immediate change
in arc voltage and welding current corresponding to the changing welding condit
ions so as to give smooth and stable arc.
250
1
200
22
150
4
20
100
18
50
3
2
16
0 2.408 2.412 2.416 2.420 2.424 2.428 2.432
14 2.408 2.412 2.416 2.420 2.424 2.428 2.432
a)
b)
Fig. 5 Dynamic characteristics of a power source showing a) current vs time and
b) voltage vs time relationship.
2.5
Duty Cycle
Duty cycle is the ratio of arcing time to the weld cycle time multiplied by 100.
Welding cycle time is either 5 minutes as per European standards or 10 minutes
as per American standard and accordingly power sources are designed. If arcing t
ime is continuous for 5 minutes then as per European standard it is considered 1
00% duty cycle and that will be 50% duty cycle as per American standard. At 100%
duty cycle, minimum current is drawn from the welding power source. For low dut
y cycles power source can allow drawing of high welding current safely. The weld
ing current which can be drawn at a duty cycle can be evaluated from the followi
ng equation; DR x IR2 = I2100 x D100 Where I D100 IR DR - Current at 100% duty c
ycle - 100% duty cycle - Current at required duty cycle - Required duty cycle
2.5.1 Importance of duty cycle During the welding, heavy current is drawn from t
he power source. Flow of heavy current through the transformer coil and connecti
ng cables causes electrical heating. Continuous heating during welding for long
time may damage coils and cables. Therefore, welding operation should be stopped
for some time depending
upon the level of welding current being drawn from the power source. The total w
eld cycle is taken as sum of actual welding time and rest time. Duty cycle refer
s to the percentage of welding time of total welding cycle i.e. welding time div
ided by welding time plus and rest time. Total welding cycle of 5 minutes is nor
mally taken in India as in European standard. For example, welding for 3 minutes
and followed by rest of 2 minutes in total welding cycle of 5 minutes correspon
ds to 60% duty cycle. Duty cycle and associated welding current are important as
it ensures that power source is safe and its windings are not damaged due to in
crease in temperature beyond specified limit. Moreover, the maximum current whic
h can be drawn from a power source at given duty cycle depends upon size of wind
ing wire, type of insulation and cooling system of the power source. In general,
large diameter cable wire, high temperature resistant insulation and force cool
ing system allow high welding current drawn from the welding source at a given d
uty cycle. 2.6 Class of Insulation The duty cycle of a power source for a given
current setting is primarily governed by the maximum allowable temperature of va
rious components (primary and secondary coils, cables, connectors etc.), which i
n turn depends on the quality and type of insulation and materials of coils used
in manufacturing of power source. The insulation is classified as A, E, B, F &
G in increase order of their maximum allowable temperature 60, 75, 80, 100 &125
0C respectively. 3.0 High Frequency Unit Some power sources need high frequency
unit to start the arc like in TIG and plasma arc welding. High frequency unit is
introduced in the welding circuit. Filter are used between the control circuit
and HF unit to avoid damage of control circuit. High frequency unit is a device
which supplies pulses of high voltage (of the order of few kV) and low current a
t high frequency (of few kHz). The high voltage pulse supplied by HF unit ionize
s the medium between electrode and workpiece/nozzle to produce starting pilot ar
c which ultimately leads to the igniting the main arc. Although high voltage can
be fatal for operator but at high frequencies current passes through the skin a
nd does not enter the body. This is
called skin effect i.e. current passes through the skin of operator without any
damage to the operator. 4.0 Feed drives for constant arc length Two types of fee
d systems are generally used for maintaining the arc length a) constant speed fe
ed drive and b) variable speed feed drive. In constant speed feed drives, feed r
ollers rotating at fixed speed are used for pushing/pulling wire to feed into th
e weld pool so as to maintain the arc length during welding (Fig. 6 a). This typ
e drive is normally used with constant voltage power sources in conjunction with
small diameter electrodes where self regulating arc helps to attain the constan
cy in arc length. In case of variable speed feed drives, feed rollers used for f
eeding electrode wire (in consumable arc welding processes like SAW and GMAW) ar
e rotated at varying speed as per need to maintain the arc length during welding
. Fluctuation in arc length due to any reason is compensated by increasing or de
creasing the electrode feed rate. The electrode feed rate is controlled by regul
ating the speed of feed rollers powered by electric motor (Fig. 6 b). Input powe
r to the variable speed motor is regulated with help of sensor which takes input
s from fluctuations in the arc gap. For example, an increase in arc gap sensed b
y sensor increases the input power to the variable speed motor to increase the f
eed rate of electrode so as to maintain arc gap.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 6 Schematics diagram showing principle of electrode feed drives for maintai
ning the arc length a) constant speed feed drive and b) variable speed feed driv
e
Lecture 11 Arc welding processes (SMAW) 1.0 Arc Welding Process
All arc welding processes apply heat generated by an electric arc for melting th
e faying surfaces of the base metal to develop a weld joint (Fig. 1). Common arc
welding processes are manual metal or shielded metal arc welding (MMA or SMA),
metal inert gas arc (MIG), tungsten inert has (TIG), submerged arc (SA), plasma
arc (PA), carbon arc (CA) etc.
Power source Power terminals Arc Electrode Power cable Electrode holder
workpiece
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram showing various elements of SMA welding system
2.0
Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
In this process, the heat is generated by an electric arc between base metal and
a consumable electrode. In this process electrode movement is manually controll
ed hence it is termed as manual metal arc welding. This process is extensively u
sed for depositing weld metal because it easy to deposit the molten weld metal a
t right place where it is required and it doesnt need separate shielding. This pr
ocess is commonly used for welding of the metals, which are comparatively less s
ensitive to the atmospheric gases. This process can use both AC and DC. The cons
tant current DC power source is invariably used with all types of electrode (bas
ic, rutile and cellulosic) irrespective of base metal (ferrous and non-ferrous).
However, AC can be unsuitable for certain types of electrodes and base material
s. Therefore, AC should be used in light of manufacturers recommendations for the
electrode application. In case of DC welding, heat liberated at anode and catho
de is generally greater than the arc column and cathode side. The amount of heat
generated at the anode and cathode
may differ appreciably depending upon the flux composition of coating, base meta
l, polarity and the nature of arc plasma. The in DCEN, distribution of the heat
generated at cathode and anode determines the melting rate of electrode and pene
tration into the base metal respectively. Heat generated by a welding arc (J) =
Arc voltage (V) X Arc current (A) X Welding time (s) If arc is moving at speed S
(mm/min) then net heat input is calculated as: Hnet= VI (60)/(S X 1000) kJ/mm 3
.0 Shielding in SMA welding To avoid contamination of the molten weld metal from
atmospheric gases present in and around the welding arc, protective environment
must be provided. In different arc welding processes, this protection is provid
ed using different approaches (Table 1). In case of shielded metal arc welding,
the protection to the weld pool is provided by inactive gases generated through
thermal decomposition of flux/coating materials on the electrode (Fig. 2). Shiel
ding of the weld pool by inactive gases in SMAW is not found very effective due
to two reasons a) gases generated by thermal decomposition of coating materials
dont necessarily form proper cover around the arc and welding pool and b) continu
ous movement of arc and varying arc gap during welding further decreases the eff
ectiveness of shielding gas. Therefore, SMAW
weld joints are often contaminated and are not very clean for their possible app
lication to develop critical joints. Hence, it is not usually recommended for de
veloping weld joints of reactive metals like Al, Mg, Ti, Cr and stainless steel.
These reactive metal systems are therefore commonly welded using welding proces
ses like GTAW, GMAW, SAW etc. that provide more effective shielding to the weld
pool from atmospheric contamination. 3.1 Coating on electrode
The welding electrodes used in shielded metal arc welding process are called by
different names like stick electrode, covered electrode and coated electrode. Co
ating or cover on the electrode core wire is provided with various hydrocarbons,
compound and elements around to perform specific roles. Coating on the core wir
e is made of hydrocarbons, low ionization potential element, binders etc. Na and
K silicates are invariably used in all kinds of electrode coatings. Coating on
the electrode for SMAW is provided to perform some of the following objectives:
 To increase the arc stability with the help of low ionization potential elements
like Na, K To provide protective shielding gas environment to the arc zone and
weld pool with the help of inactive gases (like carbon dioxide) generated by the
rmal decomposition of constituents present in coatings such as hydrocarbon, cell
ulose, charcoal, cotton, starch, wood flour To remove impurities from the weld p
ool by forming Slag as constituents present in coatings such as titania, feldspa
r, china-clay react with impurities and oxides in present weld pool (slag being
lighter than weld metal floats over the surface of weld pool which is removal af
ter solidification of weld) For controlled alloying of the weld metal (to achiev
e specific properties) can be done by incorporating required alloying elements i
n electrode coatings and during welding these get transferred from coating to th
e weld pool. However, element transfer efficiency from coating to weld pool is i
nfluenced by the welding parameter and process itself especially in respect of s
hielding of molten weld pool. To deoxidize weld metal and clean the weld metal:
Elements oxidized in the weld pool may act as inclusions and deteriorate the per
formance of the weld joint. Therefore, metal oxides and other impurities present
in weld metal are removed by de-oxidation and slag formation. For this purpose,
deoxidizers like Ferro-Mn, silicates of Mg and Al are frequently incorporated i
n the coating material. To increase viscosity of the molten metal so as to reduc
e tendency of falling down of molten weld metal in horizontal, overhead and vert
ical welding. This is done by adding constituents like silica in coating materia
ls which thickens the weld metal and enhances the viscosity.
Core wire Flux coating Protective gas shield Slag Solidified weld metal Arc Molt
en weld pool Base metal
Fig. 2 Schematic diagram showing constituents of SMAW 4.0 Welding parameters for
SMAW
SMA welding normally uses constant current type of power source with welding cur
rent 50-600A and voltage 20-80V at 60% duty cycle. Welding transformer (AC weldi
ng) and generator or rectifiers (DC welding) are commonly used as welding power
sources. In case of AC welding, open circuit voltage (OCV) is usually kept 1020%
higher than that for DC welding to overcome the arc un-stability related proble
ms due to fact that in case AC both current magnitude and direction changes in e
very half cycle while those remain constant in DC welding. OCV setting is primar
ily determined by factors like type of welding current and electrode composition
which significantly affect the arc stability. Presence of low ionization potent
ial elements (Ca, K) in coating reduces the OCV required for stable arc. Importa
nce of welding current Selection of welding current required for developing a so
und weld joints is primarily determined by the thickness of base metal to be wel
ded. In general, increase in thickness of plate to be welded increases the requi
rement of heat input to ensure proper melting, penetration and deposition rate.
This increased requirement of heat input is fulfilled using higher welding curre
nt. Thus need of high welding current dictates use of large diameter electrode.
SMAW electrode are found in different sizes and generally found in a range from
1-12.5mm in steps like 1.25, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.15, 4, 5, 6.3, 8 and 10 mm. Upper an
d lower limits of welding current for SMAW are determined by possibility of ther
mal decomposition of electrode coating material and arc stability respectively.
Welding current (A) is generally selected in range of 40-60 times of electrode
diameter (mm). Too high current creates problem of damage to the electrode coati
ng material due to thermal decomposition caused by electrical resistance heating
of the core wire. On other hand low current setting makes the arc unstable, poo
r penetration and low fluidity of molten metal. All these tend to develop discon
tinuities in weld joints. In shielded metal arc welding process, lower limit of
current is decided on the basis of requirement for stable arc, smooth metal tran
sfer and penetration whereas higher limit of current is decided on the basis of
extent of overheating of core wire that an electrode coating can bear without an
y thermal damage. High current coupled with long electrode extension causes over
heating of core wire of electrode due to electrical resistive heating. Excessive
heating may cause the
combustion/decomposition of flux much earlier than when it is required to provid
e inactive shielding gases for protecting the weld pool and arc. Therefore, larg
e diameter electrodes are selected for welding of thick sections as they can wor
k with high welding current. Large diameter electrodes allow high current settin
g without any adverse effect on electrode coating materials because increased cr
oss sectional area of electrode reduces resistance to the flow of current and so
the electrical resistance heating of the core wired is reduced.
Lecture 12 Shielded Metal Arc welding II Selection of type of welding current 1.
Thickness of plate/sheet to be welded: DC for thin sheet for better control ove
r heat 2. Length of cable required: AC for long cables required during welding a
s they cause less voltage drop i.e. loading on power source 3. Easy of arc initi
ation and maintenance needed even with low current: DC preferred over AC 4. Arc
blow: AC helps to overcome the arc blow as it is observed with DC. 5. Odd positi
on welding: DC is preferred over AC for odd position welding (vertical and overh
ead) due to better control heat input. 6. Polarity selection for controlling the
melting rate, penetration and welding deposition rate: DC preferred over AC 7.
AC gives the penetration and electrode melting rate somewhat in between of that
offered by DCEN & DCEP. DC offers the advantage of polarity selection (DCEN & DC
EP) which helps in controlling the melting rate, penetration and required weldin
g deposition rate (Fig. 3). DCEN results in more heat at work piece producing hi
gh melting rate and so high welding speed but with shallow penetration. DCEN pol
arity is generally used for welding of all types of steel except with low hydrog
en ferric steel electrodes. DCEP is commonly used for welding of non-ferrous met
al with low hydrogen electrodes and offers the advantage of deeper penetration.
AC gives the penetration and electrode melting rate somewhat in between of that
offered by DCEN & DCEP.
a) DCEN
b) DCEP
c) AC Fig. 3 Schematic diagram showing effect of welding current and polarity 5.
0 Electrode size and coating factor
Diameter of the core wire of an electrode refers to electrode diameter (d). Diam
eter of electrode with coating (D) with respect to that of core wire (d) is used
to characterize the coating thickness (Fig. 4). The ratio of electrode diameter
and core diameter (D/d) is called coating factor. Coating factor usually ranges
from 1.2 to 2.2. According to the coating factor, coated electrodes can be grou
ped into three categories namely light coated (1.2-1.35), medium coated (1.4-1.7
) and heavy coated (1.8-2.2). Stick electrodes are generally found of length var
ying from 250 to 400mm. During the welding, length of the electrode is determine
d by welders convenience to strike the arc and current carrying capacity of elect
rode without causing excessive heating of coating materials due to electric resi
stive heating caused by flow of current through the core wire. Bare end of elect
rode is used to make electrical connection with power source with the help of su
itable connectors.
Bare end Flux coating
Core wire d
D
Fig. 4 Electrode size and coating factor 6.0 Weld beads
Two types of beads are generally produced in welding namely stringer bead and we
aver bead. Deposition of the weld metal in largely straight line is called strin
ger bead (Fig. 5 a). In case of weaver bead weld metal is deposited in different
paths during the welding i.e. zigzag, irregular, curved (Fig. 5 b). Weaver bead
helps to apply more heat input per unit length during welding than stringer bea
d. Therefore, weaver beads are commonly used to avoid problems related with weld
ing of thin
plates and that in odd position (vertical and overhead) welding in order to avoi
d melt through and weld metal falling tendency.
a)
b)
Fig. 5 Schematic diagram showing weld bead a) stringer bead and b) weaver bead 5
.0 Metal transfer in SMAW
Metal transfer refers to the transfer of molten metal droplets from the electrod
e tip to the weld pool in consumable arc welding processes. Metal transfer in SM
A welding is primarily affected by surface tension of molten metal at the electr
ode tip. Presence of impurities and foreign elements in molten metal lowers the
surface tension which in turn facilitates easy detachment of molten metal drop f
rom the electrode tip. Therefore, type and amount of coating on electrode and ef
fectiveness of shielding of arc zone from the atmospheric gases appreciably affe
ct the mode of metal transfer. Acidic and oxide type electrodes produce molten m
etal with large amount of oxygen and hydrogen at the electrode tip. Presence of
these impurities in the molten weld metal lowers the surface tension and produce
s spray like metal transfer. Rutile electrodes are primarily composed of TiO2 du
e to which molten metal drop hanging at tip of electrode is not much oxidized an
d therefore surface tension of the molten weed metal is not reduced appreciably.
Hence, rutile electrodes produce more drop and less spray transfer. Basic elect
rode contains deoxidizers and at the same time moisture is completely driven off
to render low hydrogen electrodes. Therefore, melt droplets at the tip of the e
lectrode are of killed steel type having high surface tension. Since high surfac
e tension of molten metal resists the detachment of drop from the electrode tip
and hence the size of drop at tip of electrode increases to a great extent befor
e it is detached under the effect of gravitational and electro-magnetic pinch fo
rces. These conditions results in globular transfer with basic electrode. In cas
e of light coated electrodes incomplete de-oxidation (due to lack of enough flux
), CO is formed which remains with single molten weld metal droplet until it gro
ws to about half of electrode diameter. Eventually, drops with bubble of CO burs
ts which in turn results in metal transfer in form of fine drops and spatter. In
case of basic
electrode, metal transfer occurs by short circuiting mode if molten metal drop t
ouches the weld pool and melt is transferred to weld pool by surface tension eff
ect.
Lecture 13 Submerged Arc Welding 1.0 Introduction
Submerged arc welding (SAW) process uses heat generated by an electric arc betwe
en bare consumable electrode wire and the work piece. Since in this process, wel
ding arc and the weld pool are completely submerged under cover of granular and
fusible flux therefore it is called so. During welding, granular flux is melted
by heat generated by arc and provides protection to the weld pool contamination
from the atmospheric gases. The molten flux reacts with the impurities in the mo
lten weld metal to form slag and offers following effects on the weld joints.
Increased cleanliness of weld metal and so improved properties of weld
joint
Molten flux becomes lighter than weld metal hence floats on the top of
solidifying weld metal so protect the molten weld pool contamination from atmosp
heric gases
Shielding of the weld pool by molten flux and solidified slag and un-melted
flux retards cooling rate of the weld pool and HAZ which in turns decreases the
cracking tendency of hardenable steel. 2.0 Components of SAW System
SAW is known to be a high current welding process that is mostly used for joinin
g of heavy sections and thick plates as it offers deep penetration with high dep
osition rate and so welding speed due to high current. Continuous feeding of gra
nular flux around the weld arc from flux hopper provides shielding to the weld p
ool from atmospheric gases and control of weld metal composition through presenc
e of alloying element in flux. Complete cover of the molten flux around electrod
e tip and the welding pool during the actual welding operation produces weld joi
nt without spatter and smoke or flash. In following sections, important componen
ts of SAW system and their role have been presented.
hopper
feeder of flux granular flux
arc base metal
Fig. 1 Schematic of submerged arc welding system 2.1 Power source
Generally, submerged arc welding process uses power source at 100 % duty cycle;
which means that the welding is done continuously for minimum 5 min without a br
eak or more. Depending upon the electrode diameter, type of flux and electrical
resistivity submerged arc welding can work with both AC and DC. Alternating curr
ent and DC (EN polarity) is generally used with large diameter electrode (>4mm).
DC with constant voltage power source provides good control over bead shape, pe
netration, and welding speed. However, DC can cause arc blow under some welding
conditions. Polarity affects weld bead geometry,
penetration and deposition rate. DCEP offers advantage of self regulating arc in
case of small diameter electrodes (< 2.4mm) and high deposition rate while DCEN
produces shallow penetration. 2.2 Welding Electrode
The diameter of electrodes used in submerged arc welding generally ranges from 15
mm. The electrode wire is fed from the spool through a contact tube connected t
o the power source. Electrode wire of structural steel is generally copper coate
d for two reasons a) to protect them from atmospheric corrosion and b) to increa
se their current carrying capacity. However, stainless steel wires are not coate
d with copper. 2.3 SAW Flux
Role of fluxes in SAW is largely similar that of coating in stick electrodes of
SMAW i.e. protection of weld pool from inactive shielding gases generated by the
rmal decomposition of coating material. SAW fluxes can influence the weld metal
composition appreciably in the form of addition or loss of alloying elements thr
ough gas metal and slag metal reactions. Few hygroscopic fluxes are baked (at 25
0300 C for 1-2 hours) to remove moisture. There are four types of common SAW fluxe
s namely fused flux, agglomerated flux, bonded flux and mechanical fluxes. Manuf
acturing steps of these fluxes are given below. Fused fluxes: raw constituents-m
ixed-melted-quenched-crushed-
screened-graded Bonded fluxes: raw constituents-powdered-dry mixed-bonded using
K/Na silicates-wet mixed-pelletized-crushed-screened Agglomerated fluxes: made s
imilar to bonded fluxes but ceramic binder replaces silicate binder Mechanically
mixed fluxes: mix any two or three of above in desired ratios
Specific characteristics of each type of flux Fused fluxes Positives Uniformity
of chemical composition No effect of removal of fine particles on flux compositi
on

Non-hygroscopic: easy handling and storage Easy recycling without much change in
particle size and composition

Limitation due to difficulty in incorporating deoxidizers and ferro alloys In me

lting due to need of high temperature
Bonded fluxes Positives Easy to add deoxidizers and alloying elements Allows thi
cker layer of flux during welding
Limitation Hygroscopic Gas evolution tendency Possibility of change in flux comp
osition due to removal of fine particles
Agglomerated fluxes These are similar to that of bonded fluxes except that these
use ceramic binders Mechanical fluxes Positives Several commercial fluxes can b
e mixed to suit critical application to get desired results Limitations Segregat
ion of various fluxes during storage / handling In feeder and recovery system In
consistency in flux from mix to mix
Composition of the SAW fluxes The fused and agglomerated types of fluxes usually
consist of different types of halides and oxides such as MnO, SiO2, CaO, MgO, A
l2O3, TiO2, FeO, and CaF2 and sodium/potassium silicate. Halide fluxes are used
for high quality weld joints to be used for critical applications while oxide fl
uxes are used for developing weld
joints of non-critical applications. Some of oxides such as CaO, MgO, BaO, CaF2,
Na2O, K2O, MnO etc. are basic in nature (donors of oxygen) and few others such
as SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3 are acidic (acceptors of oxygen). Depending upon relative a
mount of these acidic and basic fluxes, the basicity index of flux is decided. T
he basicity index of flux is ratio of sum of (wt. %) all basic oxides to acidic
oxides. Basicity of flux affects the slag detachability, bead geometry, mechanic
al properties and current carrying capacity as welding with low basicity fluxes
results in high current carrying capacity, good slag detachability, good bead ap
pearance and poor mechanical properties and poor crack resistance of the weld me
tal while high basicity fluxes produce opposite effects on above characteristics
of the weld. 3.0 Welding parameters
Welding parameters namely electrode wire size, welding voltage, welding current
and welding speed are four most important parameters that (apart from flux) play
a major role on soundness and performance of the weld therefore these must be s
elected carefully before welding. 3.1 Welding Current
Welding current is the most influential process parameter for SAW because it det
ermines the melting rate of electrode, penetration depth and weld bead geometry.
However, too high current may lead to burn through owing to deep penetration, e
xcessive reinforcement, increased residual stresses and related problems like we
ld distortion. On the other hand, selection of very low current is known to caus
e lack of penetration & fusion and unstable arc. Selection of welding current is
primarily determined by thickness of plates to be welded and accordingly electr
ode of proper diameter is selected so that it can withstand under the current se
tting required for developing sound weld with requisite deposition rate and pene
tration (Fig. 2). Diameter (mm) 1.6 2.0 2.5 Welding Current (A) 150-300 200-400
250-600
3.15 4.0 6.0 3.2 Welding Voltage
300-700 400-800 700-1200
Welding voltage has marginal affect on the melting rate of the electrode. Weldin
g voltage commonly used in SAW ranges from 20-35 V. Selection of too high weldin
g voltage (more arc length) leads to flatter and wider weld bead, higher flux co
nsumption, and increased gap bridging capability under poor fit-up conditions wh
ile low welding voltage produces narrow & peaked bead and poor slag detachabilit
y (Fig. 2).
3.3
Welding speed
Required bead geometry and penetration in a weld joint are obtained only with an
optimum speed of welding arc during SAW. Selection of a speed higher than optim
um one reduces heat input per unit length which in turn results in low depositio
n rate of weld metal, decreased weld reinforcement and shallow penetration (Fig.
2). Further, too high welding speed increases tendency for a) undercut in weld
owing to reduced heat input, b) arc blow due to higher relative movement with am
bient gases and c) porosity as air pocket are entrapped due to rapid solidificat
ion of the weld metal. On other hand low welding speed increases heat input per
unit length which in turn may lead to increased tendency of melt through and red
uction in tendency for development of porosity and slag inclusion.
Fig. 2 Influence of welding parameters on weld bead geometry
4.0
Bead geometry and effect of welding parameters
Bead geometry and depth of penetration are two important characteristics of the
weld that are influenced by size of the electrode for a given welding current se
tting. In general, an increase in size of the electrode decreases the depth of p
enetration and increases width of weld bead for a given welding current (Fig. 3)
. Large diameter electrodes are primarily selected to take two advantages a) hig
her deposition rate owing to their higher current carrying capacity and b) good
gap bridging capability under poor fit-up conditions of the plates to be welded
owing to wider weld bead.
Fig. 3 Influence of electrode diameter on weld bead geometry 5.0 Advantage
Due to unique features like welding arc submerged under flux and use of high wel
ding current associated with submerged arc welding processes compared
with other welding process, it offers following important advantages: High produ
ctivity due to high deposition rate of the welding metal and capability weld con
tinuously without interruptions as electrode is fed from spool. High depth of pe
netration allows welding of thick sections Smooth weld bead is produced without
stresses raisers as SAW is carried out without sparks, smoke and spatter 6.0 Lim
itations
There are three main limitations of SAW a) invisibility of welding arc during we
lding, b) difficulty in maintaining mound of the flux cover around the arc in od
d positions of welding and cylindrical components of small diameter and c) incre
ased tendency of melt through when welding thin sheet. Invisibility of
welding arc submerged under un-melted and melted flux cover in SAW makes it diff
icult to assess/insure where weld metal is being deposited during welding. There
fore, it becomes mandatory to use an automatic device (like welding tractors) fo
r accurate and guided movement of the welding arc in line with weld groove so th
at weld metal is deposited correctly along weld line only. Applications of SAW p
rocess are mainly limited to flat position only as developing a mound of flux in
odd position to cover the welding arc becomes difficult which is a requisite fo
r SAW. Similarly, circumferential welds are difficult to develop on small diamet
er components due to flux falling tendency away from weld zone. Plates of thickn
ess less than 5 mm are generally not welded due to risk of burn through. 7.0 App
lications
Submerged arc welding is used for welding of different grades of steels in many
sectors such as shipbuilding, offshore, structural and pressure vessel industrie
s fabrication of pipes, penstocks, LPG cylinders, and bridge girders. Apart from
the welding, SAW is also used for surfacing of worn out parts of large surface
area for different purposes reclamation, hard facing and cladding.
Lecture 14 Gas Tungsten Arc welding I 1.0 Introduction Tungsten inert gas weldin
g process also called as gas tungsten arc welding is named so because it uses a)
electrode primarily made of tungsten and b) inert gas for shielding the weld po
ol contamination from atmospheric gases especially to join high strength reactiv
e metals and alloys such as stainless steel, aluminium and magnesium alloys wher
ever high quality weld joints need to be developed for critical applications lik
e nuclear reactors, aircraft etc. Invention of this process in middle of twentie
th century gave a big boost to fabricators of these reactive metals as none of t
he processes (SMAW and Gas welding) available at that time were able to weld the
m primarily due to two limitations a) contamination of weld from atmospheric gas
es and b) poor control over the heat input required for melting (Fig. 1). Despit
e of so many developments in the field of welding TIG is still invariable recomm
ended for joining of thin aluminium sheets of thickness less than 1mm.
Fig. 1 Schematic of tungsten inert gas welding process 2.0 TIG welding system Th
ere are four basic components (F Fig. 2) of TIG welding system namely a) DC/AC p
ower source to deliver the welding current as per needs, b) welding torch (air/w
ater cooled) with tungsten electrode and gas nozzle, c) inert shielding gas (He,
Ar or their mixture) for protecting the molten weld pool contamination from atm
ospheric gases and d) controls for moving the welding torch as per mode of opera
tion (manual, semi-automatic and automatic). This process uses the heat generate
d by an electric arc between the non-consumable tungsten electrode and work piec
e (mostly reactive metals like stainless steel, Al, Mg etc.) for melting of fayi
ng surfaces and inert gas is used for shielding the arc zone and weld pool from
the atmospheric gases. 2.1 Power source
TIG welding normally uses constant current type of power source with welding cur
rent ranging from 3-200A or 5-300A or higher and welding voltage ranging from
10-35V at 60% duty cycle. Pure tungsten electrode of ball tip shape with DCEN pr
ovides good arc stability. Moreover, thorium, zirconium and lanthanum modified t
ungsten electrodes can be used with AC and DCEP as coating of these elements on
pure tungsten electrodes improves the electron emission capability which in turn
enhances the arc stability. TIG welding with DCEP is preferred for welding of r
eactive metals like aluminium to take advantage of cleaning action due to develo
pment of mobile cathode spots during welding in work piece side which loosens th
e tenacious alumina oxides layer and so helps to clean the weld pool.
Fig. 2 Details of components of GTAW system 2.2 Welding Torch
TIG welding torch includes three main parts namely non-consumable tungsten elect
rode, collets and nozzle. A collet is primarily used to hold the tungsten electr
ode of varying diameters in position. Nozzle helps to form a firm jet of inert g
as around the arc, weld pool and the tungsten electrode. The diameter of the gas
nozzle must be selected in light of expected size of weld pool so that proper s
hielding of the weld pool can be obtained by forming cover of inert gas. The gas
nozzle needs to be replaced at regular interval as it is damaged by wear and te
ar under the influence of heat of the intense welding arc. Damaged nozzle does n
ot form uniform stream of inert gas jet around the weld pool for protection from
the atmospheric gases. Typical flow rate of shielding inert gas may vary from 5
-50liters/min. TIG welding torch is generally rated on the basis of their curren
t carrying capacity as it directly affects the welding speed and so the producti
on rate. Depending up on the current carrying capacity, the welding torch can be
either water or air cooled. Air cooled welding torch is generally used for lowe
r range of welding current (3-150A) than water cooled torches (max. 1000A). 2.3
Filler wire
Filler metal is generally not used for welding thin sheet by TIGW. Welding of th
ick steel plates by TIG welding to produce high quality welds for critical appli
cations such as joining of nuclear and aero-space components, requires addition
of filler metal to fill the groove. The filler wire can be fed manually or using
some wire feed mechanism. For feeding small diameter filler wires (0.8-2.4mm) u
sually push type wire feed mechanism with speed control device is used. Selectio
n of filler metal is very critical for successful welding because in some cases
even use of filler metal similar to that base metal causes cracking of weld meta
l especially when their solidification temperature range is wide. Therefore, sel
ection of filler wire should be done after giving full consideration to the foll
owing aspects such as mechanical property requirement, metallurgical compatibili
ty, cracking tendency of base metal under welding conditions, fabrication condit
ions etc. For welding of aluminium alloys, Al-(5-12wt.%) Si filler is used as ge
neral purpose filler metal. Al-5%Mg filler is also used for welding of some alum
inium alloys. Welding of dissimilar steels namely stainless steel with carbon or
alloy steels for high temperature applications needs development of buttering l
ayer before welding for reducing carbon migration and residual stress developmen
t related problems. 2.4 Shielding gas
Helium, Argon and their mixtures are commonly used as inert shielding gas for pr
otecting the weld pool depending upon the metal to be welded, criticality of app
lication and economics. Nitrogen and hydrogen are sometimes added in argon for s
pecific purposes such as increasing the arc voltage and arc stability which in t
urn helps to increase the heat of arc. Active or inert gases is to be used as sh
ielding gas in GTAW and GMAW process depends upon the type of metal to be welded
and criticality of their applications. 2.4.1 Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is m
ostly used for economical and good quality weld joints of ferrous metal as it pr
ovides requisite protection to the weld pool from atmospheric gases. However, un
der high temperature conditions, thermal decomposition of the carbon dioxide pro
duces CO and O2. Generation of these gases adversely affect the quality and soun
dness of the weld joint. 2.4.2 Inert Gases Argon and helium are the mostly commo
nly used shielding gases for developing high quality weld joints of reactive and
ferrous metals. These two inert gases as shielding
gas are different in many ways. Some of these features are described in followin
g section. A. Heat of welding arc
The ionization potential of He (25eV) is higher than Ar (16eV). Therefore, appli
cation of He as shielding gas results in higher arc voltage and hence different
VI arc characteristics of arc than when argon is used as shielding gas. In gener
al, arc voltage generated by helium for a given arc length during welding is fou
nd higher than argon. This results in hotter helium arc than argon arc. Hence, h
elium is preferred for the welding of thick plates at high speed especially meta
l systems having high thermal conductivity and high melting point. B. Arc effici
ency
Helium has higher thermal conductivity than argon. Hence, He effectively transfe
rs the heat from arc to the base metal so helps in increasing the welding speed
and arc efficiency. C. Arc stability
He is found to offer more problems related with arc stability and arc initiation
than Ar as a shielding gas. This behaviour is primarily due to higher ionizatio
n potential of He than Ar. High ionization potential of helium means it will res
ult in presence of fewer charged particles between electrode and work piece requ
ired for initiation and maintenance of welding arc. Therefore, arc characteristi
cs have been found different for Ar and He. A minima arc voltage is found in VI
characteristics curve an arc when both the gases are used as shielding gas but d
ifferent level of welding currents. With argon as shielding gas the welding curr
ent corresponding to the lowest arc voltage is found around 50A while that for h
elium occurs at around 150A (Fig. 3). Reduction in welding current below this cr
itical level (up to certain range) increases the arc voltage; which permits some
flexibility in arc length to control the welding operation.
50
40 Voltage [V]
He
30
Ar
20
10 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Current [A]
Fig. 3 Influence of shielding gas on VI characteristics of GTAW process with var
ying arc lengths D. Flow rate of shielding gas
Argon (density 1.783g/l) is about 1.33 and 10 times heavier than the air and the
helium respectively. This difference in density of air with shielding gases det
ermines the flow rate of particular shielding gas required to form a blanket ove
r the weld pool and arc zone to provide protection against the environmental att
ack. Helium being lighter than air tends to rise up immediately in turbulent man
ner away from the weld pool after coming out of the nozzle. Therefore, for effec
tive shielding of the arc zone, flow rate of helium (12-22 l/min) must be 2-3 ti
mes higher than the argon (5-12 l/min). Flow rate of shielding gas to be supplie
d for effective protection of weld pool is determined by the size of molten weld
pool, size of electrode and nozzle, distance between the electrode and work pie
ce, extent of turbulence being created ambient air movement (above 8-10km/hr). F
or given welding conditions and welding torch, flow rate of the shielding gas sh
ould be such that it produces a jet of shielding gas so as to overcome the ambie
nt air turbulence and provide perfect cover around the weld pool. Unnecessarily
high flow rate of the shielding gas leads to poor arc stability and weld pool co
ntamination from atmospheric gases due to suction effect. E. Mixture of shieldin
g gases
Small addition of hydrogen in argon increases arc voltage so arc burns hotter wh
ich in turn increases the weld penetration and welding speed like He. To take th
e advantage of good characteristics of He (thermal conductivity, high temperatur
e arc) and Ar (good arc initiation and stability) a mixture of these two gases A
r-(25-75%)He is also used. Increasing proportion of He in mixture increases the
welding speed and depth of penetration in weld. Addition of oxygen in argon also
helps increase the penetration capability of GTAW process owing to increase in
arc temperature and plasma velocity (Fig. 4)
30000
-1 Plasma velocity [ms ]
450 400
Ar + O2 Ar
25000 Temperature [0C] 20000
Ar + 5%O2 Ar
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
15000 10000 5000 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Distance from anode to cathode [mm]
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10
Distance from anode to cathode[mm]
a)
b)
Fig. 4 Influence of oxygen addition in Ar on a) arc temperature and b) plasma ve
locity of GTAW process F. Advantages of Ar over He as Shielding Gas
For general, purpose quality weld, argon offers many advantages over helium a) e
asy arc initiation, b) cost effective and good availability c) good cleaning act
ion with (AC/DCEP in aluminium and magnesium welding) and d) shallow penetration
required for thin sheet welding of aluminium and magnesium alloys.
Lecture 15 Gas Tungsten Arc welding II
2.5
Electrode for TIG torch
The electrode for tungsten inert gas welding process can be pure (uncoated) or c
oated with Zr or Th. However, pure tungsten electrode offers shorter life than c
oated electrodes because of rapid wear and tear of the pure tungsten electrode o
wing to their low current carrying capacity. The damage to electrode primarily o
ccurs due to the fact that tungsten carbide (formed during steel welding due to
reaction between W and C) has lower melting point than tungsten. Particles gener
ated due to damage of pure tungsten electrode causes contamination of the weldme
nt as tungsten particles inclusions therefore; these electrodes are not used for
critical welding applications. Pure tungsten electrodes are frequently coated o
xides of Th, Zr, La, and Ce. These oxides are expected to perform two important
functions a) increasing arc stability and b) increasing the current carrying cap
acity of the electrodes. Increase in arc stability of tungsten electrode in pres
ence of the oxides of thorium, cerium, zirconium and lanthanum is primarily attr
ibuted to lower work function of these oxides than pure tungsten. Work function
of pure tungsten electrode is 4.4eV while that of Zr, Th, La and Ce is 4.2, 3.4,
3.3 and 2.6 eV respectively. Lower the work function of the electrode material
easier will be emission of electrons in the gap between electrode and work piece
which in turn will improve the arc stability even at low arc voltage. Addition
of the oxides of thorium, cerium, zirconium and lanthanum helps to increase the
current carrying capacity of pure tungsten electrode up to 10 folds and this inc
rease is attributed to the fact that tungsten is a metallic conductor while oxid
es are insulators. Size of tungsten electrode is generally specified on the basi
s of its diameter as it largely determines the current carrying capacity of a gi
ven electrode material. The current carrying capacity of an electrode is also in
fluenced by cooling arrangement in welding torch (air/water cooled), type of pow
er source (DCEP/DCEN, AC), electrode extension beyond collets, nozzle diameter a
nd shielding gas. Type of welding torch
Air cooled welding torch offers lower current carrying capacity than water coole
d due to the fact that water cooling reduces overheating of the electrode during
welding by extracting the heat effectively from the electrode. Type of welding
current and polarity Current carrying capacity of an electrode with DCEN polarit
y is found to be higher than DCEP and AC because DCEN generates lesser (30% of a
rc power) heat in tungsten electrode side compared to the DCEP and AC. Therefore
, electrodes with DCEN polarity offer longer life with same level of welding cur
rent conversely higher current capacity for the same life. Size of welding elect
rode with DCEP (for the same current) should be larger than that with DCEN owing
to higher heat generation at anode than cathode for the same welding current. C
urrent carrying capacity of electrode for AC welding is generally found between
that of DCEP and DCEN as continuous change in polarity during the AC welding all
ows the somewhat cooling of electrode when electrode is negative for one half of
the cycle. Electrode diameter and welding current The diameter of tungsten elec
trode is usually found in a range of 0.3-8 mm and length varies from 75 to 610 m
m. The selection of electrode material and diameter is governed by the section t
hickness of the material to be welded. Thick plates demand greater heat input so
high welding current which in turn dictates the selection of large diameter ele
ctrodes. Excessive welding current causes erosion of electrodes and tungsten inc
lusion due to thermal damage. Erosion of electrode reduces the electrode life. L
ow welding current results in erratic wandering of welding arc over the tip of e
lectrode, which reduces the arc stability. However, wandering of the arc at low
current can be corrected by tapering the electrode tip (included angle 30-1200).
Taper angle affects the penetration and weld bead width. Low taper angle result
s in deeper the penetration and narrower the bead than high angle taper. 2.6 TIG
Arc Initiation
Direct work piece touch start method of initiating TIGW arc is not considered as
a good approach because it generally leads to many undesirable effects a) conta
mination of tungsten electrode, b) partial melting of electrode tip (due to shor
t circuiting) so reduction in life of the electrode and c) formation of tungsten
inclusions which deteriorate the mechanical performance of weld joint. Therefor
e, alternative methods of TIG arc initiation have been developed over the years
so as to avoid undesirable effects of touch start method. Three methods are comm
only used for
initiating TIG welding arc a) use of carbon block as scrap material, b) use of h
igh frequency high voltage unit and c) use of low current pilot arc. A. Carbon b
lock method This method is based on the principle similar to that of touch start
method where tungsten electrode is brought in contact of a scrap material or ca
rbon block placed in area which is close to the region where arc is to be applie
d during welding. However, this method doesnt necessarily prevent electrode conta
mination but reduces tendency for the same. B. High frequency unit This method i
s based on field emission principle by applying high frequency (1002000KHz) and
high voltage (3000-5000V) pulse to initiate the welding arc. The high voltage pu
lse ensures the availability of electron in arc gap by field emission and ioniza
tion of gases between the electrode and work piece required to initiate the arc.
This method is mainly used in automatic TIG welding process. Absence of contact
between electrode and work piece reduces the electrode contamination hence incr
eases life of the electrode. C. Pilot arc method Pilot arc method is based on th
e principle of using low current for initiating the arc to reduce adverse effect
s of high heat generation in form of electrode contamination and electrode melti
ng during the arc initiation (Fig. 5). For this purpose, an additional power sou
rce can be used to strike the arc between the tungsten electrode and auxiliary a
node (fitted in nozzle) using low current called pilot arc. This pilot arc is th
en brought close to base metal to be welded so as to ignite the main arc between
electrode and work piece.
Gas nozzle
Anode (contact tube) Arc between the electrode and anode Power source
Base plate
Fig. 5 Schematic showing the mechanism of pilot arc imitation method
Maintenance of TIG welding arc Arc maintenance in TIG welding with DC power supp
ly does not create any problem. However, in case of AC TIG welding, to have smoo
th and stable welding arc methods like use of high OCV, imposing the high freque
ncy and high voltage pulse at the moment when current is zero can be used so tha
t arc is not extinguished. 2.7 Pulse TIG Welding
Pulse TIG is a variant of tungsten inert gas welding. In this process, welding c
urrent is varied between a high and a low level at regular time intervals. This
variation in welding current between high and low level is called pulsation of w
elding current (Fig. 6). High level current is termed as peak current and is pri
marily used for melting of faying surfaces of the base metal while low current i
s generally called background current and it performs two functions 1) maintenan
ce of the welding arc while generating very low heat and 2) allows time for soli
dification of the weld pool by dissipating the heat to base metal. This feature
of current pulsation associated with this process effectively reduces net heat i
nput to the base metal during welding which in turn facilitates a) easy welding
especially of thin sheets and b) refinement of grain structure of the weld. Redu
ction in net heat input using arc pulsation decreases undesirable effects of com
paratively high heat input of conventional TIG welding such as melt through, wra
pping/buckling and fit-up.
Im Ib Tp Tb T
Ip
Fig. 6 Schematic showing parameters related with the pulse current and time.
2.7.1 Process Parameters of Pulse TIG welding Important variables in this varian
t of TIG welding are peak current, background current, peak current duration (pu
lse duration) and duration of background. Peak and background current can be con
trolled independently depending upon the characteristics of the base metal to be
welded such as thickness, materials etc.
Lecture 16 Gas Tungsten Arc welding II & Plasma Arc Welding 2.7.2 Selection of p
ulse parameters High peak current setting is required for welding of thick secti
on of metal with high thermal conductivity. Background current or low level of c
urrent must be high enough to maintain the stable arc with lowest possible heat
input so that solidification of the molten weld can take place without any heat
buildup. Duration of the pulse and background currents determines the pulse freq
uency. The frequency of the pulses and so their durations are selected as per he
at input and degree of control over the weld pool required. In Pulsed TIG, the w
eld bead is composed of a series of overlapping weld spots, especially when weld
ing is done with low frequency pulsing (Fig. 7).
a)
b)
c)
d)
Fig. 7 The relationship between the overlapping of weld spot and pulse frequency
in reducing order (for a given welding speed) Average welding current during pu
lse welding for calculation of heat input can be obtained by using following equ
ation: I p= peak current (A). T p= peak pulse current duration (ms). I b= backgr
ound current (A). T b= background current duration (ms). I m= Average current (A
), defined as: I m= [(I p X t p) + (I b X t b)] / (t p + t b). Pulse current Gen
erally, background current varies from 10 to 25% of peak current depending upon
the thickness base metal whereas peak current is generally set at 150 to 200% of
steady current corresponding to the conventional TIG welding for the same base
metal. Selection of the pulse peak current duration depends on the weld pool siz
e and penetration required for welding of the work piece of a particular thickne
ss while background current duration is determined on the basis of cooling rate
required in weld which in turn affects the microstructure of weld metal grain st
ructure and so the mechanical performance of the weld joints. Pulse Frequency Ve
ry low pulse frequency (conversely longer background current duration and short
peak current) during Pulse TIG welding, reduces heat input which in turn increas
es the solidification rate. Too high solidification rate increases porosity form
ation in weld primarily due to inadequate opportunities for escaping of gases fr
om the weld pool. A fine grained structure can be achieved using both low and hi
gh pulse frequencies. Fine microstructure is known to improve the mechanical pro
perties of the weld joint. Low pulse frequency (up to 20 Hz) has more effect on
the microstructure and mechanical properties. Pulse TIG welding is commonly used
for root pass welding of tubes and pipe welding. 2.8 Hot wire Tungsten Arc Weld
ing
This process is based on the principle of using preheated filler in TIG welding
and is primarily designed to reduce heat input to the base metal and increase th
e deposition rate (Fig. 8). Preheating of the filler increases welding speed and
so productivity. Preheating of the filler can be done using an external source
of heat. AC current is commonly used to preheat the filler wire by electrical re
sistance heating (Fig. 9). This process can be effectively used for welding of f
errous metals and Ni alloys. Welding of aluminium and copper by this process is
somewhat limited mainly by difficulties in preheating of Al and Cu fillers as th
ey need heavy current for electrical resistive heating of filler wire.
Deposition rate kg/hr 10
Hot wire TIGW
2 2
Convetional TIGW
Arc power KW
8
Fig. 8 Comparative deposition rates of conventional and hot wire GYAW process
Power source
AC power source for filler wire
Electrode
Power cable
workpiece
Fig. 9 Schematic showing the principle of hot wire GTAW process
Plasma Arc Welding 1.0 Introduction The plasma arc welding (PAW) can be consider
ed as an advanced version of TIG welding. Like TIGW, PAW also uses the tungsten
electrode and inert gases for shielding of the molten metal. Low velocity plasma
coupled with diffused arc is generated in the TIG welding while in case of PAW
very high velocity and coherent plasma is generated. Large surface area of the a
rc exposed to ambient air in case of TIG welding causes greater heat losses than
PAW. Therefore, TIG arc burns at temperature lower than plasma arc. 2.0 Princip
le of PAW In plasma arc welding, arc is forced to pass through nozzle (water coo
led copper) which causes the constriction of the arc (Fig. 1). Constriction of a
rc reduces the cross sectional area of arc thereby increases its energy density.
PAW is a high energy density and low heat input welding process therefore; it p
oses fewer problems associated with weld thermal cycle. Constriction of arc incr
eases the penetration and reduces the width of weld bead. Energy associated with
plasma depends on plasma current, size of nozzle, plasma gas (Fig. 2).
Arc between electrode & arifice
Fig. 1 Schematic of plasma arc welding system showing important components
Plasma gas Shielding gas Shielding gas
W Elecctrode
Constricted plasma arc
Fig. 2 Schematic of constriction of arc in PAW High energy density associated wi
th plasma arc produces a temperature of order of 28000 0C. This process uses the
heat transferred by plasma (high temperature charged gas column) produced by a
gas (Ar, Ar-H2 mixture) passing through an electric arc, for melting of faying s
urfaces. Inert gases (Ar, He) are frequently used to
protect the molten weld pool from the atmospheric gases. Charged particles (elec
trons and ions) formed as a result of ionization of plasma gas tends to reunite
when they strike to the surface of work piece. Recombination of charged particle
s liberates heat which is also used in melting of base metal. Electric arc can b
e produced between non-consumable electrode and work-piece or non-consumable ele
ctrode and nozzle. PAW uses the constant current type power source with DCEN pol
arity. Current can vary from 100-300Amp. Infrared and ultra-violet rays generate
d during the PA welding are harmful to human being. High noise (100dB) associate
d with PAW is another undesirable factor. 3.0 Type of PAW Plasma generated due t
o the arc between the non-consumable electrode and workpiece is called transferr
ed plasma whereas that due to arc between non-consumable electrode and nozzle is
called non-transferred plasma. Non-transferred plasma system to a large extent
is independent of nozzle to work piece distance.
Lecture 17 Metal Inert Gas Welding 1.0 Fundamentals of MIG welding This process
is based on the principle of developing weld by melting faying surfaces of the b
ase metal using heat produced by a welding arc established between base metal an
d a consumable electrode. Welding arc and weld pool are well protected by a jet
of shielding inert gas coming out of the nozzle and forming a shroud around the
arc and weld. MIG weld is not considered as clean as TIG weld. Difference in cle
anliness of the weld produced by MIG and TIG welding is primarily attributed to
the variation in effectiveness of shielding gas to shield the weld pool in two p
rocesses. Effectiveness of shielding in two processes is mainly determined by tw
o characteristics of the welding arc namely stability of the welding arc and len
gth of arc. The MIG arc is relatively longer and less stable than TIG arc. Diffe
rence in stability of two welding arcs is primarily due to the fact that in MIG
arc is established between base metal and consumable electrode (which is consume
d continuously during welding) while TIG welding arc is established between base
metal and nonconsumable tungsten electrode. Consumption of the electrode during
welding slightly decreases the stability of the arc. Therefore, shielding of th
e weld pool in MIGW is not as effective as in TIGW. Metal inert gas process is s
imilar to TIG welding except that it uses the automatically fed consumable elect
rode therefore it offers high deposition rate and so it suits for good quality w
eld joints required for industrial fabrication (Fig. 1). Consumable electrode is
fed automatically while torch is controlled either manual or automatically. The
refore, this process is found more suitable for welding of comparatively thicker
plates of reactive metals (Al, Mg, Stainless steel), the quality of weld joints
of these metals otherwise is adversely affected by atmospheric gases at high te
mperature.
Fig. 1 Schematic of GMAW process showing important elements 2.0 Power source for
MIG welding
Depending upon the electrode diameter and material and electrode extension requi
red, MIG welding may use either constant voltage or constant current type of the
welding power source. For small diameter electrodes (< 2.4 mm) when electrical
resistive heating controls the melting rate predominantly, constant voltage powe
r source (DCEP) is used to take advantage of the self regulating arc whereas in
case of large diameter electrode constant current power source is used with vari
able speed electrode feed drive system to maintain the arc length (Fig. 2).
50
Increasing arc length
40 OCV [V]
CV power source
3
30
2 1
20
10 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Current [A]
Fig. 2 Static characteristics of constant voltage power source showing effect of
arc length on operating point 3.0 Shielding gases for MIG welding
Like TIG welding, shielding gases such as Ar, He, CO2 and their mixtures are use
d for protecting the welding pool from the atmospheric gases. Affect of the shie
lding gases on MIG welding is similar to that of TIG welding. Moreover, shieldin
g gases in MIGW also affect the mode of metal transfer from the consumable elect
rode to the
weld pool during welding (Fig. 3). MIG welding with Ar as shielding gas results
in significant change in the mode of metal transfer from globular to spray and r
otary transfer with minimum spatter while He main produces globular mode of meta
l transfer. MIG welding with CO2 results in weld joint with a lot of spattering.
Shielding gas also affects width of weld bead and depth of penetration owing to
difference in heat generation during welding.
Ar
Ar + He
He
CO2
Fig. 3 Schematic showing influence of shielding gas on mode of metal transfer 4.
0 Effect of MIG welding process parameters
Among various welding parameters such as welding current, voltage and speed prob
ably welding current is most influential parameters affecting weld penetration,
deposition rate, weld bead geometry and quality of weld metal (Fig. 4). However,
arc voltage directly affects the width of weld bead. An increase in arc voltage
in general increases the width of the weld. Welding current is primarily used t
o regulate the overall size of weld bead and penetration. Too low welding curren
t results pilling of weld metal on the faying surface as weld bead instead of pe
netrating into the work piece. These conditions increase the reinforcement of we
ld bead without enough penetration. Excessive heating of the work piece due to t
oo high welding current causes weld sag. Optimum current gives optimum penetrati
on and weld bead width.
16
1mm
14 Burn off rate [kg/hr] 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Inc rea s of ing ele dia ctr me od e ter
1.6mm
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Welding current [A]
Fig. 4 Effect of welding current on melting of electrode of different diameters
Stick out of the electrodes (electrode extension) affects the weld bead penetrat
ion and metal deposition rate because it changes the electrode heating due to el
ectric resistance. Increase in stick out increases the melting rate and reduces
the penetration due to increased electrical resistive heating of the electrode i
tself. Selection of welding current is influenced by electrode stick out and ele
ctrode diameter. In general, high welding current is preferred for large diamete
r electrodes with small electrode extension in order to obtain optimal weld bead
geometry (Fig. 5). Increase in welding speed reduces the penetration.
Electrode wire
Welding current (A)
300 200 100 50 6
1.6mm
Contact tube
Electrode extension
Contact tube to work distance
1.0mm 12 20
Arc length
Extension of electrode (mm)
Fig 5 Schematic diagram showing a) electrode extension and b) effect of electrod
e extension on welding current for different electrode diameters
5.0 Metal transfer in MIG welding
Metal transfer during MIG welding depending up on the welding current, electrode
diameter and shielding gas can take place through different modes such as short
circuit, globular, spray, dip, rotary transfer (Fig. 6). Mechanisms for these m
etals transfers have already been described in section.
Electrode wire
Electrode wire
Contact tube
Contact tube
Electrode wire
Electrode wire
Contact tube
Contact tube
Fig. 6 Schematic of modes of metal transfer in MIG welding a) typical set, b) sh
ort circuiting transfer, c) globular transfer, and c) spray transfer
Increase in welding current changes mode of metal transfer from short circuiting
to globular to spray transfer (Fig. 7). Increase in welding current (over a nar
row range) leads to significant increase in drop transfer rate per unit time cou
pled with reduction volume of drops being transferred due to two reasons a) incr
ease in melting rate of the electrode and b) increase in pinch force.
300
Transition current No. of drops/ volume of drops
Spray transfer
250 Welding current [A] 200 150 100 50 0 15 17 19
Short circuiting metal transfer
250-300
No. of drops
Mixed mode of metal transfer
21
23
25
Arc voltage [V]
10-20
Volume
Current
a)
b)
Fig. 7 Effect of a) welding parameters on modes of metal transfer and b) on numb
er/volume of drops vs. welding current during metal transfer 2.7 Pulse MIG Weldi
ng
Pulse MIG welding is a variant of metal inert gas welding. Pulse MIG welding is
also based on the principle of pulsation of welding current between a high and a
low level at regular time intervals like Pulse TIG welding (Fig. 8). High level
welding current is termed as peak current and is primarily used for melting of
faying surfaces of the base metal while low current is generally called backgrou
nd current performs two functions 1) just maintenance of the welding arc and 2)
allows time for solidification of the weld pool by dissipating the heat to base
metal. This feature of current pulsation reduces net heat input to the base meta
l during welding which in turn facilitates welding of especially thin sheets and
odd position welding.
Welding current (A)
Peak current
2
3
4 1
Background current
5
Welding time (milli sec)
Fig. 8 The relationship between the welding current and time with metal drop for
mation tendency
Lecture 18 Brazing and soldering 1.0 Basics of Brazing and Soldering Brazing and
soldering both are solid/liquid processes primarily involve three steps a) heat
ing of plates to be joined using suitable heat source, b) placing and melting of
solder or brazing materials followed by heating to the molten state and c) fill
ing of molten filler metal between the faying surfaces of the components to be j
oined by capillary action and then solidification results in a joint. These thre
e steps are schematically shown in Fig. 1 (a-c). An attractive feature of these
processes is that a permanent joint produced without melting of parent work piec
es. Owing to this typical feature of developing a joint, brazing and soldering a
re preferred under following situations. 1. Metallurgical incompatibility: Joini
ng of metals having entirely different physical, chemical and mechanical charact
eristics 2. Poor Weldability: Joining of metals of poor weldability in fusion we
lding due to cracking tendency, chemical reactivity to ambient gases etc. 3. Unf
avorable HAZ: Heat affected zone formed in metal being welded by fusion welding
process due to weld thermal cycle causes excessive hardening or softening thus m
aking it not acceptable 4. Odd position welding: Locations of joint do not allow
application of conventional fusion welding technique due to working difficultie
s like melting of faying surfaces, placing molten metal in places where it is re
quired. 5. Light service conditions: Joint is not expected to take high load & t
emperature, other adverse atmospheric conditions.
Heating source
base plate
clearance base plate
a)
brazing/soldering material base plate Heating source
clearance base plate
b)
Heating source
base plate
clearance base plate
c)
Fig. 1 Schematic of Step used for brazing and soldering process a) heating of pl
ates, b) placing brazing/soldering metal and heating and c) filling of molten me
tal by capillary action followed by and solidification 2. Joints for Brazing and
Soldering Lap joint is commonly developed suing both the techniques. Clearance
(0.0750.125mm) between the plates to be joined is of great importance as it affe
cts the capillary action and so distribution of joining metal between the faying
which in turn affects the strength of joint (Fig. 2a ). Both too narrow clearan
ce and too wide clearance reduce sucking tendency of liquid joining metal by cap
illary action. To ensure good and sound joint between the sheets, surfaces to be
joined must be free from impurities to ensure proper capillary action. Butt joi
nt can also be developed between the components with some edge preparation prima
rily to increase the contact area between the plates to be joined (Fig. 2b).
Clearnace
a)
b)
Fig. 2 Schematic of lap joint for brazing and soldering
3.
Comparison of brazing and soldering
Both these solid/liquid joining processes can be compared in respect of various
factors such as melting point of filler and strength of joint, ability to withst
and at high temperature, heating source for developing joint and their applicati
ons. 3.1 Melting point of filler Soldering uses the metal system having low melt
ing point (183-2750 C than 4500C) called solder (alloy of lead and tin) while br
azing uses comparatively higher melting point (450-12000C) filler metals (alloys
of Al, Cu and Ni). 3.2 Strength of Joint
Strength of solder joint is limited by the strength of soldering metal. In gener
al, brazed joints offer greater strength than solder joints. Accordingly, brazed
joints are used for somewhat higher loading conditions than solder joint. 3.3 A
bility to withstand under high temperature conditions
In general, braze joints offer higher resistance to thermal load than soldered j
oint primarily due to difference in melting temperature of solder and braze meta
l. Therefore, these joints are preferred mainly for low temperature applications
. 3.4 Application
Soldering is mostly used for joining electronic components where they are normal
ly not exposed to severe temperature and loading conditions during service. Braz
ing is commonly used for joining of tubes, pipes, wires cable, and tipped tool.
4. Source of Heat for Joining
Soldering can be carried out using heat from soldering iron (20-150W), dip solde
ring and wave soldering. Brazing can performed using gas flame torch, furnace he
ating, induction heating, and infrared heating methods. 5. Limitation of these p
rocesses
These processes have major limitation of poor strength and inability to withstan
d at higher temperature with some possibility of colour mismatch with parent met
als. Common filler metals with brazing temperatures and applications are shown i
n table Filer metal Brazing temperature (oC) Al-Si 600 Cu 1120 Cu-P 850 Cu-Zn 92
5 Au-Ag 950 Ni-Cu 1120
Parent metal
Al
Ni Cu
& Cu
Steel,
Stainless
Stainless steel, NI
cast iron, steel, Ni Ni
6. Role of flux in brazing and soldering Fluxes react with impurities present on
the surface of base metal or those formed during joining to form slag apart fro
m reducing contamination of the joints from atmospheric gases (formation of oxid
es and nitrides due to atmospheric gases). For performing above role effectively
fluxes should have low melting point and molten filler should have low viscosit
y. Fluxes applied over the surface of work piece for developing joint must be cl
eaned from the work surface after brazing/soldering as these are corrosive in na
ture.
Lecture 19 Heat Flow in Welding I 1.0 Importance Arc welding processes involve t
he melting of the faying surfaces and the filler metal, if any, followed by soli
dification of the molten weld metal. Melting and solidification steps of welding
are associated with the flow of heat and are affected by rate of heat transfer
in and around the weld metal. Metallurgical structure of metal in weld and regio
n close to the weld metal is mainly determined by the extent of rise in temperat
ure and then cooling rate experienced by the metal at particular location. Furth
er, differential heating and cooling in different zones of weld joint cause not
only metallurgical heterogeneity but also non-uniform volumetric change which in
turn produces the residual stresses. These residual stresses adversely affect t
he mechanical performance of the weld joint and introduce distortion in the weld
ed components if proper care is not taken. Since heating, soaking and cooling cy
cle affects the metallurgical & mechanical properties, development of residual s
tresses and distortion therefore it is pertinent to study various aspects relate
d with heat flow in welding such as weld thermal cycle, cooling rate and solidif
ication time, peak temperature, width of heat affected zone. Further, mechanisms
of development of residual stresses and common methods relieving residual stres
ses apart from the distortion and their remedy will be discussed. 2.0 Weld Therm
al Cycle
Weld thermal cycle shows variation in temperature of a particular location (in a
nd around the weld) during the welding as a function of welding time. As the hea
t source (welding arc or flame) approaches close to the location of interest fir
st temperature increases followed by gradual decrease in temperature i.e. coolin
g. A typical weld thermal cycle shows (Fig. 1) the rate of heating (slope of a b
), peak temperature, and time required for attaining the peak temperature, cooli
ng rate (slope of b c). Since distance of the point of interest away from the we
ld centerline directly affects all the parameters of weld thermal cycle therefor
e each location/point offers different and unique weld thermal cycle (Fig. 2). I
n general, an increase in distance of point of interest away from the weld centr
e-line: decreases the peak temperature
 decreases the rate of heating and cooling after attaining peak temperature incre
ases time to attain peak temperature decreases rate of cooling with increase in
time
weld thermal cycle of location A
temperature
weld thermal cycle of location B
welding time
Fig. 1 Schematic of weld thermal cycle of two different locations away from the
weld centerline
location of heat source B
A Point of interest
Fig. 2 Schematic of welding showing location of two points A & B
2.1 Factors affecting welding thermal cycle However, weld thermal cycle varies w
ith distance form the weld centre line but it is also influenced by heat input r
ate, weldment geometry, thermal properties of base metal and initial plate tempe
rature. Rate of heat input is primarily governed by the energy density of heat i
nput source depending upon the welding process being used for development of wel
d joints. High energy density processes like plasma arc welding and laser beam w
elding offer higher rate of heating, peak temperature and cooling rates than low
energy density processes such as gas welding, shielded metal arc welding as sho
wn in Fig. 3. Weld geometry parameters such as thickness of plates being welded
also affect the heating rate, soaking time and cooling rate for a
given rate of heat input (welding parameters) owing to changes heat transfer con
ditions. In general, an increase in thickness of plate increases the rate of hea
t transfer which in turn decreases the rate of heating, soaking time and increas
es the cooling rate. Thermal properties of metal like thermal conductivity and s
pecific heat also have affect on weld thermal cycle similar to that of thickness
of plates as they increase the rate of heat transfer from the weld metal and HA
Z. Preheating of the plates reduces the rate of heating and cooling and increase
s the peak temperature and soaking period above certain temperature because preh
eating reduces the rate of heat transfer away from the weld zone.
temperature
High energy density process
Low energy density process
welding time
Fig. 3 Influence of energy density of heat source related with welding process o
n weld thermal cycle of HAZ.
Peak temperature near the weld fusion boundary decides the width of heat affecte
d zone (HAZ). Heating and cooling rate affect the microstructure of weld metal a
nd HAZ therefore weld thermal cycle of each point becomes of great interest espe
cially in structure sensitive metals like high carbon steels. 3.0 Cooling Rate
The final microstructure of weld zone and HAZ is primarily determined by the coo
ling rate (CR) from the peak temperature attained due to weld thermal cycle. Coo
ling rate above a particular temperature is of great importance in case of harde
nable steel where a cooling rate (CR) determines the final microstructure and me
chanical
properties of weldment and HAZ. Since microstructure of hardenable steel has dir
ect correlation with mechanical properties therefore, structure sensitive mechan
ical properties are affected by the cooling rate experienced by the weld metal a
nd heat affected zone. This is evident from the continuous cooling diagram of hy
po-eutectoid steel as shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 Effect of cooling on structure of weld joints shown in form of CCT diagra
m Weld thermal cycle indicates that cooling rate which varies as a function of p
eak temperature of particular location and time. The cooling rate calculation fo
r HAZ of hardenable steel weld joint is mostly made at 550 0C (corresponding to
nose temperature of CCT) as cooling rate at this temperature predominantly decid
es the end microstructure and mechanical properties of the joint. During welding
, two welding parameters dictate the cooling rate a) net heat input during the w
elding and b) initial plate temperature besides the thermal and dimensional prop
erties of material being welded. In general, increases in heat input decreases t
he cooling rate while reverse happens with increase of initial plate temperature
during welding of a given metal having specific thickness and thermal propertie
s. In view of above, major practical application of cooling rate equation is to
determine the preheat requirement for plate to be welded so as to avoid critical
cooling rate in weld and HAZ. Net heat input (Hnet) during welding is obtained
using following relationship: Hnet = f .VI/S where V is arc voltage (V), I weldi
ng current (A) and S welding speed mm/sec and f is the fraction of heat generate
d and transferred to the plate.

Lecture 20 Heat flow in welding II 3.1 Calculations of cooling rate Thickness of

the plate to be welded directly affects the cross sectional area available for
the heat flow from the weld which in turn governs cooling rate of a specific loc
ation. Accordingly, two different empirical equations are used for calculating t
he cooling rate in HAZ for a) thin plates and b) thick plates, depending upon th
e thickness of plate and welding conditions. There is no clear demarcating thick
ness limit to define a plate thick or thin. However, two methods have been propo
sed to take decision whether to use thick or thin plate equation for calculating
the cooling rates on basis of: 1) number of passes required for complete the we
ld 2) relative plate thickness According to first method, if number of passes re
quired for welding a plate are less than 6 then it is considered as thin plate e
lse thick plate for calculating cooling rate. Since this method is not very clea
r as number of passes required for completing the weld can vary with diameter of
electrode and groove geometry being used for welding, therefore a more logical
second method based on relative plate thickness criterion is commonly used. The
relative plate thickness criteria is more logical as it considers all the releva
nt factors which can affect the cooling rate such as thickness of the plate (h),
heat input (Hnet), initial plate temperature (To), temperature of interest at w
hich cooling rate is desired (Ti) and physical properties of plate like (specifi
c heat C, density ). Relative plate thickness ( ) can be calculated using following
equation: h{ C(Ti To)/Hnet}1/2 Thin plate cooling rate equation is used when < 0.
6 and thick plate cooling rate equation is used when > 0.9. If value of is in ra
nge of 0.6 to 0.9 then 0.75 is used as a limit value to decide the cooling rate
equation to be used. Cooling rate (R) equation for thin plates: {2 k C (h/ Hnet)(Ti
To)3}0C/sec Cooling rate (R) equation for thick plates: {2 k(Ti T0)2}/Hnet 0C/sec
Where h is the plate thickness (mm), k is thermal conductivity, is the density (
g/cm3), C is specific heat (kCal/0C.g), Ti is the temperature of interest (0C),
and To is the initial plate temperature (0C).
Cooling rate equations can be used to a) practically calculate the critical cool
ing rate (CCR) under a given set of welding conditions and b) to determine the p
reheat temperature requirement for the plate in order to avoid the CCR.
4.0
Critical cooling rate (CCR) under welding conditions
To determine the critical cooling rate for a steel plate under welding condition
s, bead on plate welds are made with varying heat input. On the basis of thickne
ss of the plate (5 mm) to be welded suitable electrode diameter is chosen first
and then accordingly welding current and arc voltage are selected (20V, 200A, To
=300C) for bead on plate (BOP) welding. Number of BOP welds is deposited using v
arying welding speed s (8, 9, 10, 11, 12mm/sec). Once BOP weld is completed at dif
ferent welding speed, transverse section of weld is cut to measure the hardness.
Thereafter, hardness vs. welding speed plot is made to identify the welding spe
ed above which abrupt increase in hardness of the weld and HAZ takes place. This
welding speed is identified as critical welding speed (say 10mm/min in this cas
e) above which cooling rate of the weld & HAZ becomes greater than critical cool
ing rate. This abrupt increase in hardness of the weld and HAZ is attributed to
martensitic transformation during welding as cooling rate becomes greater than c
ritical cooling rate owing to the reduction in heat input (Hnet) with increase o
f welding speed. Using welding conditions corresponding to this critical welding
speed for a given steel plate, critical cooling rate can be calculate using app
ropriate cooling rate equation. Corresponding Hnet = f X VI/S = 0.9 X 20 X 200 /
10 = 360 J/mm or 0.36 kJ/mm. Calculate relative plate thickness (RPT) parameter
for these conditions: h [(TiT0)C/Hnet]1/2 : 0.31 RPT suggests use of thin plate
equation for calculating the cooling rate: 2kc(h/Q) (tc-to)3 R we get : 5.8 0C/s a
nd it will be safe to conside CCR: 6 0C/s Simila ly these equations can also b
e used fo calculating the cooling ate o identifying the
eheat tem
e atu e t
o avoid CCR fo a
a ticula location unde given set of welding conditions. 5.0
Peak tem
e atu e and Heat Affected Zone The weld the mal cycle of a
a ticula
location exhibits
eak tem
e atu e and cooling ate as function of time a
a t f
om othe facto s.
Peak tem
e atu e dist ibution a ound the weld-cent e line dete mines a) sha
e of
the weld
ool, b) size of heat affected zone and c) ty
e of metallu gical t ans
fo mation and so mechanical
o
e ties of weld and HAZ. Va iation in heat in
ut
and initial
late tem
e atu e affect the
eak tem
e atu e dist ibution on the
l
ates du ing welding. An inc ease in heat in
ut by inc easing the welding cu ent
(fo a given welding s
eed) in gene al inc eases the
eak tem
e atu e of a
a t
icula location and makes the tem
e atu e dist ibution equal a ound the welding
a c (almost ci cula o oval sha
e weld
ool). Inc ease in welding s
eed howeve
makes the weld
ool (
eak tem
e atu e dist ibution) of tea d o
sha
e.
Fig. 5 Effect of wedling
a amete s on weld
ool
ofile as dictated by
eak tem
e
atu e Cooling f om the
eak tem
e atu e dete mines final mic ost uctu e of th
e weld and heat affected zone. The efo e,
eak tem
e atu e in the egion close t
o the fusion bounda y becomes of g eat enginee ing im
o tance as metallu gical t
ansfo mations (hence mechanical
o
e ties) at a
oint nea fusion bounda y a e
influenced by
eak tem
e atu e (Fig. 6). Peak tem
e atu e at any
oint nea the
fusion bounda y fo single
ass full
enet ation weld can be calculated using f
ollowing equation. 1/(t
-to) =(4.13chY / Hnet) + (1/(tm-to)) Whe e t
is
eak tem

e atu e in C, to is initial tem
e atu e in C, tm is melting tem
e atu e in C, Hnet
is net heat in
ut, J/mm, h is
late thickness in mm, Y is width of HAZ in mm an
d c is volumet ic s
ecific heat (J/mm3 C).
Fig. 6 Schematic showing elationshi
betweenFe-C diag am and diffe ent zone of
weld joints This equation can be used fo calculating the a)
eak tem
e atu e at
a
oint away f om the fusion bounda y, b) width of heat-affected zone and c) to
study the effect on initial
late tem
e atu e/
eheating and heat in
ut on widt
h of HAZ. Ca eful obse vation of equation will eveal that an inc ease in initia
l
late tem
e atu e and net heat in
ut will inc ease the
eak tem
e atu e at y d
istance f om the fusion bounda y and so width of heat affected zone. To calculat
e the width of HAZ, it is necessa y to mention the tem
e atu e of inte est/ c it
ical tem
e atu e above which mic ost uctu e and mechanical
o
e ties of a metal
will be affected. Fo exam
le, the
lain ca bon steels a e subjected to metallu
gical t ansfo mation above 727 0C i.e. lowe c itical tem
e atu e, hence tem
e
atu e of inte est/ c itical tem
e atu e fo calculating of HAZ width becomes 727
0C. Simila ly, steel tem
e ed at 3000C afte quenching t eatment wheneve heate
d to a tem
e atu e above 300 0C, it is ove -tem
e ed hence fo quenched and tem

e ed steel, tem
e ing tem
e atu e (3000C) becomes the c itical tem
e atu e. A si
ngle
ass full
enet ation weld
ass is made on steel of c=.0044 J/mm3 C, t=5mm, t

=25c, tm=1510c, Q=720J/mm. Calculate the
eak tem
e atu es at 3.0 mm and 1.5 mm a
nd 0mm distance f om the fusion bounda y. On e
lacing of values of diffe ent fa
cto s, in 1/(t
-to) =(4.13chY / Hnet) + (1/(tm-to)) the
eak tem
e atu e at dista
nce 3mm, 1.5mm and 0mm is obtained as 1184 C, 976C and 1510 C es
ectively. 6.0 Sol
idification Rate The solidification of weld metal takes
lace with a) eduction
in tem
e atu e of liquid metal, b) them liquid to solid state t ansfo mation and
c) finally eduction in tem
e atu e of solid metal u
to oom tem
e atu e. The
time equi ed fo
solidification of weld metal de
ends u
on the cooling ate. Solidification time
is the time inte val between sta t to end of solidification. Solidification tim
e is also of g eat im
o tance as it affects the st uctu e,
o
e ties and es
on
se to the heat t eatment of weld metal. It can be calculated using following el
ation Solidification time of weld (St) = LQ/2kc(tm-to)2 in sec Whe e L is heat of
fusion (fo steel 2 J/mm3) Above equation indicates that solidification time is
the function of net heat in
ut, initial
late tem
e atu e and mate ial
o
e tie
s such as latent heat of fusion (L), the mal conductivity (k), volumet ic s
ecif
ic heat ( C) and melting
oint (tm). Long solidification time allows each
hase to
g ow to a la ge extent which in tu n esults in coa se-g ained st uctu e of wel
d metal. An inc ease in net heat in
ut (with inc ease in welding cu ent / a c v
oltage o eduction in welding s
eed) inc eases the solidification time. An inc
ease in solidification time coa sens the g ain st uctu e which in tu n adve sely
affects the mechanical
o
e ties. Non-unifo mity in solidification ates in di
ffe ent egions of molten weld
ool also b ings va iation in g ain st uctu e and
so mechanical
o
e ties. Gene ally, cente line of the weld joint shows fine g
ain st uctu e (Fig. 7) and so the bette mechanical
o
e ties than those at fu
sion bounda y because of diffe ence in solidification times.
Fig. 7 Va iation in mic ost uctu e of weld a) fusion bounda y and b) weld cent e
owing to diffe ence in cooling ate

Lectu e 21 Residual st esses in weld joints 1.0 Residual st esses Residual st es
ses a e locked-in st esses
esent in the enginee ing com
onents even when the e
is no exte nal load and these develo

ima ily due to non-unifo m volumet ic c
hange in metallic com
onent i es
ective of manufactu ing
ocesses such as heat
t eatment, machining, mechanical defo mation, casting, welding, coating etc. Ho
weve , maximum value of esidual st esses doesnt exceed the elastic st ess of the
metal because st esses highe than elastic st ess leads to
lastic defo mation
and thus esidual st esses g eate elastic st ess a e accommodated in the fo m o
f disto tion of com
onents. Residual st esses can be tensile o com
essive de
e
nding u
on the location and ty
e of non-unifo m volumet ic change taking
lace
due to diffe ential heating and cooling like in welding and heat t eatment o di
ffe ential st esses like in contou olling, machining and shot
eening etc. 2.0
Residual st esses in welding
Residual st esses in welded joints
ima ily develo
due to diffe ential weld th
e mal cycle (heating,
eak tem
e atu e and cooling at the any moment du ing weld
ing) ex
e ienced by the weld metal and egion closed to fusion bounda y i.e. hea
t affected zone (Fig. 1). Ty
e and magnitude of the esidual st esses va y conti
nuously du ing diffe ent stages of welding i.e. heating and cooling. Du ing heat
ing
ima ily com
essive esidual st ess is develo
ed in the egion of base met
al which is being heated fo melting due to the mal ex
ansion and the same (the
mal ex
ansion) is est icted by the low tem
e atu e su ounding base metal. Afte
attaining a
eak value com
essive esidual st ess g adually deceases owing to
softening of metal. Com
essive esidual st ess nea the faying su faces eventu
ally educes to ze o as soon as melting sta ts and eve se t end is obse ved on
cooling stage of the welding. Du ing cooling as metal sta ts to sh ink, tensile
esidual st esses develo
(only if sh inkage is not allowed eithe due to metall
ic continuity o const aint f om job clam
ing) and thei magnitude kee
s on inc
easing until oom tem
e atu e is attained. In gene al, g eate is deg ee of cons
t aint highe will be the value of esidual st esses.
Tem
e atu e
C location of heat sou ce B
A
B C Time
A Point of inte est
Fig. 1 weld the mal cycle of a) locations A, B, C and b) tem
e atu e vs time el
ation of A, B and C
3.0 Mechanisms of esidual st ess develo
ment The esidual st esses in the weld
joints develo
mainly due to ty
ical natu e of welding
ocess i.e. localized he
ating and cooling leading to diffe ential volumet ic examination and cont action
of metal a ound the weld zone. The diffe ential volumet ic change can occu at
mac osco
ic and mic osco
ic level. Mac osco
ic volumet ic changes occu ing du i
ng welding cont ibute to majo
a t of esidual st ess develo
ment and a e cause
d by a) va ying ex
ansion and cont action and b) diffe ent cooling ate ex
e ien
ced by to
and bottom su faces of weld & HAZ. Mic osco
ic volumet ic changes mai
nly occu due to metallu gical t ansfo mation (austenite to ma tensitic t ansfo
mation) du ing cooling. 3.1 Diffe ential heating and cooling
Residual st esses develo
ing due to va ying heating and cooling ate in diffe en
t zones nea the weld as function of time a e called the mal st esses. Diffe ent
tem
e atu e conditions lead to va ying st ength and volumet ic changes in base
metal du ing welding. The va iation in tem
e atu e and esidual st esses owing t
o movement of heat sou ce along the cente line of weldment is shown schematicall
y in Fig. (2). As heat sou ce comes close to the
oint of inte est, its tem
e at
u e inc eases. Inc ease in tem
e atu e dec eases the yield st ength of mate ial
and simultaneously tends to cause the mal ex
ansion of the metal being heated. H
oweve , su ounding low tem
e atu e base metal
events any the mal ex
ansion wh
ich in tu n develo
s com
essive st ain in the metal being heated. Com
essive s
t ain initially inc eases with inc ease in tem
e atu e non-linea ly due to va ia
tion in yield st ength and ex
ansion coefficient of metal with tem
e atu e ise.
Fu the ,
inc ease in tem
e atu e softens the metal, the efo e, com
essive st ain educes
g adually and eventually it is vanished. As heat sou ce c osses the
oint of in
te est and sta ts moving away f om the
oint of inte est, tem
e atu e begins to
dec ease g adually. Reduction in tem
e atu e causes the sh inkage of hot metal i
n base metal and HAZ. Initially at high tem
e atu e cont action occu s without m
uch esistance due to low yield st ength of metal but subsequently sh inkage of
metal is esisted as metal gains st ength owing to eduction in tem
e atu e du i
ng
hase of weld joint (Fig. 3). The efo e, fu the cont action in sh inking bas
e and weld metal is not allowed with eduction in tem
e atu e. This behavio of
cont action leaves the metal in st ained condition means metal which should have
cont acted is not allowed to do so and this leads to develo
ment of the tensile
esidual st esses (if the cont action is
evented). The magnitude of esidual
st esses can be calculated f om
oduct of locked-in st ain and modulus of elast
icity.
St ess Tem
e atu e
A
A B
B Weld
ool C
C
Solidified weldmetal
D
D
E
E
a)
b)
c)
Fig. 2 Schematic diag am showing a)
late being welded, b) st ess va iation ac o
ss the weld cente line at diffe ent locations and c) tem
e atu e of diffe ent lo
cations
St ess
6 6
St ain
5 4 3 1 1
5 3 4
Tem
e atu e
2
2
St ess
Fig. 3 Effect of tem
e atu e on va iation in st ess and st ain du ing welding
3.2
Diffe ential cooling ate in diffe ent zone
Du ing welding, highe cooling ate is ex
e ienced by the to
and bottom su face
s of weld joint than the co e/middle
o tion of weld and HAZ (Fig. 4). This caus
es diffe ential ex
ansion and cont action th ough the thickness of the
late bei
ng welded. Cont action of metal at nea the su face sta ts even when mate ial in
co e
o tion is still hot. This leads to the develo
ment of com
essive esidua
l st esses at the su face and tensile esidual st ess in the co e.
High cooling ate
Low cooling ate
High cooling ate
Low cooling ate
High cooling ate
Fig. 4 Schematic showing diffe ent cooling ates at su face and co e egions of
the weld 3.3 Metallu gical T ansfo mation
Du ing welding, heat affected zone of steel and its weld inva iably ex
e ience t
ansfo mation of austenite into othe
hases like
ea lite, bainite o ma tensit
e. All these t ansfo mations occu with inc ease in s
ecific volume at mic osco

ic level. The t ansfo mations (f om austenite to
ea lite and bainite) occu ing
at high tem
e atu e easily accommodate this inc ease in s
ecific volume owing t
o low yield st ength and high ductility of these
hases at high tem
e atu e (abo
ve 550 0C)
the efo e t ansfo mation these dont cont ibute much towa ds the develo
ment of e
sidual st esses. T ansfo mation of austenite into ma tensite takes
lace at ve y
low tem
e atu e with significant inc ease in s
ecific volume. Hence, this t ans
fo mation cont ibutes significantly towa ds develo
ment of esidual st esses. De

ending u
on the location of the austenite to ma tensitic t ansfo mation, esid
ual st esses may be tensile o com
essive. Fo exam
le, shallow ha dening cause
s such t ansfo mation of austenite to ma tensite only nea the su face laye s on
ly and develo
s com
essive esidual st esses at the su face and tensile st ess
in co e while th ough section ha dening develo
s eve se t end of esidual st es
ses i.e. tensile esidual st esses at the su face and com
essive st ess in the
co e. 4.0 Effect of esidual st esses
The esidual st esses whethe tensile o com
essive
edominantly affect the so
undness, dimensional stability and mechanical
e fo mance of the weld joints. Si
nce magnitude of esidual st esses inc eases g adually to
eak value until weld
joint is cooled down to the oom tem
e atu e the efo e mostly the effects of es
idual st esses a e obse ved eithe nea the last stage of welding o afte some
time of welding in the fo m of c acks (hot c acking, lamella tea ing, cold c ac
king), disto tion and eduction in mechanical
e fo mance of the weld joint (Fig
. 5). P esence of esidual st esses in weld can encou age o discou age f actu e
due to exte nal loading as thei effect is additive in natu e. Conve sely, com

essive esidual st esses dec ease f actu e tendency unde exte nal tensile st e
sses
ima ily due to eduction in net tensile st esses acting on the com
onent
(net st ess on the com
onent: exte nal st esses + esidual st esses). Residual s
t ess of the same ty
e as that of exte nal one inc eases the f actu e tendency w
hile o

osite ty
e of st esses ( esidual st ess and exte nally a

lied st ess) d
ec ease the f actu e tendency. Since mo e than 90% failu e of mechanical com
one
nt occu s unde tensile st esses as c ack nucleation and thei
o
agation
ima
ily take
lace unde tensile loading conditions the efo e
esence of tensile
esidual st esses in combination with tensile loading adve sely affect the
e fo
mance of the mechanical com
onents while com
essive esidual st esses unde sim
ila loading conditions educe the net st esses and so discou age the f actu e.
Hence, com
essive esidual st esses a e intentionally induced to enhance tensil
e and fatigue
e fo mance of mechanical com
onents whe eas effo ts a e made to
educe tensile esidual
st esses using va ious a

oaches such as
ost weld heat t eatment, shot
eaking
, s
ot heating etc. In addition to the c acking of the weld joint unde no mal a
mbient conditions, failu e of weld joints ex
osed in co osion envi onment is al
so accele ated in
esence of tensile esidual st esses by a
henomenon called s
t ess co osion c acking. P esence of tensile esidual st esses in weld joints c
auses c acking
oblems which in tu n adve sely affects thei load ca ying ca
a
city. The system esidual st ess is destabilized du ing machining and lead to di
sto tion of the weld joints. The efo e, esidual st esses must be elieved f om
the weld joint befo e unde taking any machining o
e ation.
Fig. 5 Ty
ical
oblems associate with esidual st ess a) disto tion, b) solidif
ication c acking and c) st ess co osion c acking 5.0 Cont olling the esidual s
t esses
Welding fo c itical a

lication f equently demands elieving esidual st esses
of weld joints by the mal o mechanical methods. Relieving of esidual st esses
is
ima ily based on the fact of eleasing the locked-in st ain by develo
ing c
onditions to facilitate
lastic flow so as to elieve st esses. (a) The mal meth
od is based on the fact that the yield st ength and ha dness of the metals dec e
ase with inc ease of tem
e atu e which in tu n facilitates the elease of locked
in st ain thus elieves esidual st esses. Reduction in esidual st esses de
en
ds how fa eduction in yield st ength and ha dness take
lace with inc ease tem

e atu e. Greater is softening more will be relieving of residual stresses. Theref
ore, in general, higher is temperature of thermal treatment of the weld joint gr
eater will be reduction in residual stresses.
(b) Mechanical method is based on the principle of relieving residual stresses b
y applying external load beyond yield strength level to cause plastic
deformation so as to release locked-in strain. External load is applied in area
which is expected to have peak residual stresses.
(c) Mechanical Vibration of a frequency close to natural frequency of welded joi
ned applied on the component to be stress relieved. The vibratory stress can be
applied in whole of the components or in localized manner using pulsators. The d
evelopment of resonance state of mechanical vibrations on the welded joints help
s to release the locked in strains so to reduce residual stresses.
Lecture 22 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS I 1.0 Introduction Weld joints may be subject
ed variety of loads ranging from simple tensile load to the complex combination
of torsion, bending and shearing loads depending upon the service conditions. Th
e capability of weld joints to take up the load comes from metallic continuity a
cross the members being joined. Properties of the weld metal and resistance cros
s section area of the weld (besides heat affected zone characteristics) are two
most important parameters which need to be established for designing a weld join
t. 2.0 Modes of failure of the weld joints A poorly designed weld joint can lead
to the failure of engineering component in three ways namely a) elastic deforma
tion (like bending or torsion of shaft and other sophisticated engineering compo
nents) of weld joint beyond acceptable limits, b) plastic deformation (change in
dimensions beyond acceptable limits decided by application) of engineering comp
onent across the weld joint and c) fracture of weld joint into two or more piece
s under external tensile, shear, compression, creep and fatigue loads. Therefore
, depending upon the application, failure of weld joints may occur in different
ways and hence a different approach is needed for designing the weld for each ap
plication. 3.0 Design of weld joints and mechanical properties
Stiffness and rigidity are important parameters for designing weld joints where
elastic deformation is to be controlled. Under such conditions, weld metal of hi
gh modulus of elasticity (E) and rigidity (G) is deposited for producing weld jo
ints besides selecting suitable load resisting cross sectional area. When the fa
ilure criterion for a weld joint is the plastic deformation, then weld joints ar
e designed on the basis of yield strength of the weld metal. When the failure cr
iterion for weld joint is to avoid fracture under static loading, then ultimate
strength of the weld metal is used as basis for design. While under fatigue and
creep conditions design of weld joints is based on specialized approaches which
will be discussed in later stages in this chapter. Under simplified conditions,
design for fatigue loads is based on endurance limit and that for creep conditio
ns, allowable load or stress is kept within elastic limit. Weld joints invariabl
y
possess the different types of weld discontinuities of varying sizes which can b
e very crucial in case of critical applications e.g. weld joints used in nuclear
reactors and aerospace and space craft components. Therefore, weld joints for c
ritical applications are designed using fracture mechanics approach which takes
into account the size of discontinuity (in form of crack, porosity or inclusions
), applied stresses and weld material properties (yield strength and fracture to
ughness) in design of weld joints. 4.0 Factors affecting the performance of the
weld joints It is important to note that the mechanical performance of the weld
joints is governed by not only mechanical properties of the weld metal and its l
oad resisting cross sectional area (as mentioned above) but also on the welding
procedure being used for developing a weld joint which includes the edge prepara
tion, weld joint design, and type of weld, number of passes, preheat and post we
ld heat treatment being used, welding process and welding parameters (welding cu
rrent, arc length, welding speed) and method used for protecting the weld from a
tmospheric contamination. As most of the above mentioned steps of welding proced
ure influences metallurgical properties and residual stresses development in wel
d joint which in turn affect the mechanical (tensile and fatigue) performance of
the weld joint. 5.0 Design of weld joints and loading conditions Design of weld
joints for static and dynamic loads needs different approaches because in case
of static load the direction and magnitude become either constant or change very
slowly while in case of dynamic loads such impact and fatigue conditions, rate
of loading is usually high. In case of fatigue loading both magnitude and direct
ion of load may fluctuate. Under the static loading, lot of time becomes availab
le for localized yielding to occur in area of high stress concentration which in
turn causes stress relaxation by redistribution of stresses through-out the cro
ss section while under high dynamic loading conditions, due to lack availability
of time, yielding across the section doesnt take place and only localized excess
ive deformation occurs near the site of stress raiser which eventually provide a
n easy site for nucleation and growth of cracks as in case of fatigue loading. 6
.0 Need of welding symbols
It is important to communicate information about welding procedure without any a
mbiguity to all those who are involved in various steps of development of succes
sful weld joints ranging from edge preparation to final inspection and testing o
f welds. To assist in this regard, standard symbols and methodology for represen
ting the welding procedure and other conditions have been developed. Symbols use
d for showing type of weld to be made are called weld symbols. Symbols which are
used to show not only type of weld but all relevant aspects related with weldin
g like size & location of weld, welding process, edge preparation, bead geometry
and weld inspection process and location of the weld to be tested and method of
weld testing etc. are called welding symbols. Following sections present standa
rd terminologies and joints used in field of welding engineering. 7.0 Types of w
eld Joints
This classification of weld joints is based on orientation of plates/members bei
ng welded namely: Butt joint: plates are in same horizontal plane and aligned
weld
Lap joint: plates overlapping each other and the overlap can just one side or bo
th the sides of plates being welded
weld weld
weld weld
weld weld
Corner joint: joint is made by melting corners of two plates being welded and th
erefore plates are approximately perpendicular to each other at one side of the
plates being welded
weld
Edge joint: joint is made by melting edges of two plates to be welded and theref
ore plates are almost parallel
weld
T joint: one plate is perpendicular to another plate
weld
weld
T joint
3.0 Types of weld This classification in based on the combined factors related w
ith how weld is made and orientation of plates to be welded: Groove weld
Fillet weld

Plug weld
Plate B
weld
Plate A
Plate B Plate A

Bead weld
Lecture 23 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS II
1.0 Welding techniques The welding techniques are classified on the basis of the
plane on which weld metal is deposited. Flat welding In flat welding, plates to
be welded are placed on horizontal plane and weld bead is also deposited horizo
ntally. This is one of most commonly used and convenient welding techniques. Sel
ection of welding parameters is not very crucial for placing the weld metal at d
esired location in flat welding.
Flat welding
Horizontal welding In horizontal welding, plates to be welded are placed on vert
ical plane while weld bead is deposited horizontally. This technique is comparat
ively more difficult than flat welding. Welding parameters for horizontal weldin
g should be selected carefully for easy manipulation/placement of weld metal at
the desired location.
Horizontal welding
 Vertical welding In vertical welding, plates to be welded are placed on the vert
ical plane and weld bead is also deposited vertically. It imposes difficulty in
placing the molten weld metal from electrode in proper place along the weld line
due to tendency of the melt to fall down under the influence of gravitation for
ce. Viscosity and surface tension of the molten weld metal which are determined
by the composition of weld metal and its temperature predominantly control the t
endency of molten weld metal to fall down due to gravity. Increase in alloying/i
mpurities and temperature of melt in general decreases the viscosity and surface
tension of the weld metal and thus making liquid weld metal more thin and of hi
gher fluidity which in turn increases tendency of weld metal to fall down conver
sely increased difficulty in placing weld metal at desired location. Therefore,
selection of welding parameters (welding current, arc manipulation during weldin
g and welding speed all are influencing the heat generation) and electrode coati
ng (affecting composition of weld metal) becomes very crucial for placing the we
ld metal at desired location in vertical welding.
Vertical welding
Overhead welding In overhead welding, weld metal is deposited in such a way that
face of the weld is largely downward and it has high tendency of falling down o
f weld metal during welding. Molten weld metal is moved from the electrode (lowe
r side) to base metal (upper side) with great care and difficulty hence, it impo
ses problems similar that of
vertical welding but with greater intensity. Accordingly, the selection of weldi
ng parameters, arc manipulation and welding consumable should be done after cons
idering all factors which can increase the fluidity of molten weld metal so as t
o reduce the weld metal falling tendency. This is most difficulty welding techni
que and therefore it needs great skill to place the weld metal at desired locati
on.
horizontal welding
flat welding
overhead welding
vertical welding
2.0 Rationale behind selection of weld and edge preparation 2.1 Groove weld
Groove weld is called so because a groove is made first between plates to be wel
ded. This type of weld is used for developing butt joint, edge and corner joint.
The groove preparation especially in case of thick plates ensures proper meltin
g of the faying surfaces due to proper access of heat source up to the root and
results in sound weld joint. It is common to develop grooves of different geomet
ries for producing butt, corner and edge joint such as square, U (single and dou
ble), V (single and double), J (single and double) and bevel (single and double)
. 2.1.1 Single Groove welding Single groove means edge preparation of the plates
to produce desired groove from one side only resulting in just one face and one
root of the weld. While in case of double groove, edge preparation is needed fr
om both sides of the plates which in turn results in two faces of the weld and w
elding is needed from both sides. Single groove weld is mainly used in case of p
lates of thickness more than 5mm and less than 15mm. Moreover, this range is not
very hard and fast as it depends on penetration capability of welding process b
eing used besides weld parameters as they affect the depth up to which melting o
f plates can be achieved from the top. 2.1.2 Double groove weld Double groove ed
ge preparation is used especially under two conditions 1) when thickness of the
plate to be welded is more than 25 mm, so the desired penetration up to root fro
m one side is not achievable and 2) distortion of the weld joints is to be contr
olled. Further, double groove edge preparation lowers the volume of weld metal t
o be deposited by more than 50% as compared to that for the single groove weld e
specially in case of thick plates. Therefore, selection of double groove welds h
elps to develop weld joints more economically at much faster welding speed than
the single groove weld for thick plates.
Lecture 24 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS III 1.0 Factors affecting selection of suitab
le groove geometry
Selection of particular type of groove geometry is influenced by compromise of t
wo main factors a) machining cost to obtain desired groove geometry and 2) cost
of weld metal (on the basis of volume) need to be deposited, besides other facto
rs such as welding speed, accessibility of groove for depositing the weld metal,
and residual stress and distortion control requirement. U and J groove geometri
es are more economical (than V and bevel grooves) in terms of volume of weld met
al to be deposited, and offer less distortion and residual stress related proble
ms besides higher welding speed but these suffer from difficulty in machining an
d poor accessibility for achieving desired penetration and fusion of the faying
surfaces. On contrary V and bevel groove geometries can be easily and economical
ly by machining or flame cutting and provide good accessibility for applying hea
t up to root of groove, however, these groove geometries need comparatively more
volume of weld metal and so more residual stress and distortion related problem
s than U and J groove geometries. Square groove means no especial edge preparati
on except making edges clear and square but this geometry is used only up to 10m
m plate thickness. However, this limit can vary significantly depending upon the
penetration which can be achieved from a given welding process and welding para
meters. Square groove is usually not used for higher thicknesses (above 10mm) ma
inly due to difficulties associated with poor penetration, poor accessibility of
root and lack of fusion tendency at the root side of the weld. Therefore, it is
used for welding of thin sheets by TIG/MIG welding or thin plates by SAW. Groov
e butt welds are mainly used for general purpose and critical applications where
tensile and fatigue loading can take place during service. Since butt groove ge
ometry does not cause any stress localization (except those are caused by poor w
eld geometry and weld defects) therefore stress developing in weld joints due to
external loading largely become uniform across the section hence fatigue crack
nucleation and
subsequent propagation tendency is significantly lowered in butt groove weld as
compared with fillet and other types of welds. 2.0 Fillet weld
Fillet welds are used for producing lap joint, edge joint, and T joint especiall
y in case of non-critical applications. Generally, these do not require any edge
preparation, hence are more economical to produce especially in case of compara
tively thin plates compared to groove weld. However, to have better penetration
sometimes groove plus fillet weld combination is also. An increase in size of we
ld (throat thickness and leg length of the weld) for welding thick plates increa
ses the volume of weld metal in case of fillet welds significantly; hence these
become uneconomical for large size weld compared to groove weld. Due to inherent
nature of fillet weld geometry, stresses are localized and concentrated near th
e toe of the weld which frequently becomes an easy for nucleation and growth of
tensile/fatigue cracks. The stress concentration in fillet weld near the toe of
the weld occurs mainly due to abrupt change in load resisting cross section area
from the base metal to weld zone. To reduce the adverse effect of stress locali
zation, efforts are made to have as gradual transition/change as possible in loa
d resisting cross area from the base metal to weld either by controlled depositi
on of the weld metal using suitable weld parameters (so as to have as low weld b
ead angle as possible), and manipulation of molten weld metal while depositing o
r controlled removal of the weld metal by machining / grinding. 3.0 Bead weld
The bead weld is mainly used to put a layer of a good quality metal over the com
paratively poor quality base metal so as to have functional surfaces of better c
haracteristics such as improved hardness, wear and corrosion resistance. To redu
ce degradation in characteristics of weld bead of good quality materials during
welding it is important that inter-mixing of molten weld bead metal with fused b
ase metal commonly termed as dilution is as less as possible while ensuring good m
etallurgical bond between the bead weld and metal. Better control over the dilut
ion is achieved by reducing extent of melting of base metal using suitable weldi
ng procedure such preheating, welding parameter, welding process etc. Plasma tra
nsferred arc welding (PTAW) causes lesser dilution than SAW primarily due to dif
ference in net heat input
which is achieved in two cases. PTAW supplies lesser heat compared to other proc
esses namely MIGW, SMAW and SAW. Bead welds are also used just to deposit the we
ld metal same as base metal so as to regain the lost dimensions and is called re
clamation. The loss of dimensions of the functional surfaces can be due to varie
ty of reasons such as wear, corrosion etc. These bead welds are subsequently mac
hined out to get the desired dimensional accuracy and finish. 4.0 Plug welds
These welds are used for comparatively lesser critical applications. For develop
ing plug weld first a through thickness slot (of circular/rectangular shape) is
cut in one plate and the same is placed over another plate to be welded then wel
d metal is deposited in slot so that joint is formed by fusion of both bottom pl
ate and edges of slot in upper plate.
5.0 Welding and weld bead geometry For developing fusion weld joint, it is neces
sary that molten metal from electrode/filler and base metal fuse and mix togethe
r properly. Heat of arc/flame must penetrate the base metal up to sufficient dep
th for proper melting of base metal and then mixing with fused filler/electrode
metal. Heat generation in case of arc welding is determined by welding current,
voltage and welding speed. An optimum value of all three parameters is needed fo
r sound welding free from weld discontinuities. 5.1 welding current Low welding
current results in less heat generation and hence increased chances of lack of f
usion and poor penetration tendency besides too high reinforcement owing to poor
fluidity of comparatively low temperature molten weld metal while too high weld
ing current may lead to undercut in the weld joint due to excessive melting of b
ase metal and flattened weld bead besides increased tendency of weld metal to fa
ll down owing to high fluidity of weld meal caused by low viscosity and surface
tension. Increase in welding current in general increases the depth of penetrati
on/fusion. Therefore, an optimum value of welding current is important for produ
cing sound weld. 5.2 Arc voltage Similarly, an optimum arc voltage also plays a
crucial role in the development of sound weld as low arc voltage results in unst
able arc so poor weld bead geometry is obtained
while too high voltage causes increased arc gap and wide weld bead and shallow p
enetration. 5.3 Welding speed Welding speed influences both fusion of base metal
and weld bead geometry. Low welding speed causes flatter and wider weld bead wh
ile excessively high welding speed reduces penetration & weld bead width and inc
reases weld reinforcement and bead angle. Therefore, an optimum value of welding
speed is needed for producing sound weld with proper penetration and weld bead
geometry. 6.0 Design aspects of weld joint
Strength of the weld joints is determined by not only the properties of weld met
al but also characteristics of heat affected zone (HAZ) and weld bead geometry (
due to stress concentration effect) as sometimes properties of HAZ are degraded
to such an extent that they become even lower than weld metal due to increased a
) softening of the heat affected zone and b) corrosion tendency of HAZ. Assuming
that effect of weld thermal cycle on properties of HAZ is negligible suitable w
eld dimensions are obtained for a given loading conditions. Design of a weld joi
nt mainly involves establishing the proper load resisting cross sectional area o
f the weld which includes throat thickness of the weld and length of the weld. I
n case of groove butt weld joints, throat thickness becomes equal to shortest le
ngth of the line passing across the weld (top to bottom) through the root of wel
d. Conversely, throat thickness becomes the minimum thickness of weld or thickne
ss of thinner plate when joint is made between plates of different thicknesses.
While in case of fillet welds, throat thickness is shortest length of line passi
ng root of the weld and weld face. Any extra material (due to convexity of weld
face) in weld does not contribute much towards load carrying capacity of the wel
d joint. In practice, however, load carrying capacity of the weld is dictated no
t just by weld cross sectional area but also by stress concentration effect indu
ced by weld bead geometry and weld discontinuities especially under fatigue load
ing conditions.
Lecture 25 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS IV 1.0 Design of weld joint for static loadin
g As mentioned in above section for designing of a weld joint it is required to
determine the throat thickness and length of the weld. Measurement of throat thi
ckness is easier for groove butt weld joint than fillet weld joint because root
is not accessible in case of fillet weld. Throat thickness of fillet welds is ob
tained indirectly (mathematically) from leg length: 21/2X leg length. Leg length
can be measured directly using metrological instruments. Further, for a particu
lar plate thickness, minimum throat thickness values have been fixed by American
welding society in view of cracking tendency of fillet weld due to residual str
esses. Small fillet weld developed on thick plate exhibits cracking tendency app
reciably because small fillet can not sustain heavy residual tensile stresses wh
ich develop in small fillet weld. It is important to note that depending upon th
e expected service load, a weld joint can be designed by considering tensile, co
mpressive and shear stresses. A weldment joint design program starts with recogn
ition of a need to design a weld joints followed by main steps of weldment desig
n procedure including: 1. Determination or estimation of expected service load o
n the weld joint 2. Collecting information about working conditions and type of
stresses 3. Based on the requirement identify design criteria (ultimate strength
, yield strength, modulus of elasticity) 4. Using suitable design formula calcul
ate length of weld or throat thickness as per need 5. Determine length and throa
t thickness required to take up given load (tensile, shear bending load etc.) du
ring service Methodology Depending upon the service requirements identify the ty
pe of weld joint and edge preparation to be used Establish the maximum load for
which a weld joint is to be designed For a given thickness of the plate usually
throat thickness is generally fixed. For full penetration fillet weld, throat th
ickness is about 0.707 time of leg length of the
weld and that of groove weld generally is equal to thickness of thinner plate (i
n case of dissimilar thickness weld) or thickness of any plate (Fig. 1). Using s
uitable factor of safety and suitable design criteria determine the allowable st
ress for the weld joint. Subsequently calculate length of the weld using externa
l maximum load, allowable stress, throat thickness and allowable stress. 1.2 Des
ign of fillet welds (a) Stress on fillet weld joint can be obtained by using fol
lowing relationship: Load/weld throat cross sectional area Load/(throat thicknes
s X length of weld joint X number of welds) Load/0.707 X leg length of the weld
X length of the weld X number of welds
Length of weld
Leg length of weld a)
b)
c)
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram showing a) length and leg length of weld, b) throat thi
ckness for convex and c) throat thickness for convex fillet welds 1.3 Design of
butt weld joint
Stress on butt weld joint between equal thickness plates (Fig. 2) is obtained us
ing following relationship: Stress: Load weld throat cross sectional area= Load/
(throat thickness X length of weld joint X number of welds)=Load/ thickness of a
ny plate X length of the weld X number of welds
Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of butt weld between plates of equal thickness Stress ()
on the butt weld joint between plate of different thicknee (T1 and T2) ubj
ected to external load (P) experience eccentricity (e) owing to difference in t
hickne of plate and T1 thickne of thinner plate of the joint (Fig. 3). Even
axial loading due to eccentricity caue the bending tre in addition to axia
l tre. Therefore, tre on the weld joint become um of axial a well a be
nding tre and can be calculated a under. Stre in weld = Axial Stre + Ben
ding Stre

total

P T 1
P .e .
1 .T 2 1 T 3 1 12
P
e P
Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of butt weld when both the plate are of different thic
kne
2.0 Deign of weld joint for fatigue loading The approach for deigning weld jo
int for fatigue load condition i different from that of tatic loading primar
ily due to high tendency of the fracture by crack nucleation and
growth phenomenon. A weld joint can be categorized into different clae depend
ing upon the everity of tre concentration, weld penetration (full or partial
penetration weld), location of weld, type of weld and weld contraint. The cla
 of a weld joint to be deigned for fatigue loading i ued to identify allowab
le tre range for a given life of weld joint (number of fatigue load cycle) f
rom tre range v. number of load cycle curve developed for different loading
condition and metal ytem (Fig. 4). Thu, allowable tre range obtained on
the bai of the cla of the weld and fatigue life of weld (for which it i to
be deigned) i ued to determine the weld-throat-load-reiting cro-ectional
area (throat thickne, length of weld and number of weld).
Fig. 4 S-N curve for different clae of weld joint 2.1 Procedure of weld joi
nt deign for fatigue loading Weld joint for fatigue loading condition are dei
gned uing following tep: Identify the cla of the weld joint baed on everi
ty loading, type of weld, penetration and criticality of the joint for the ucce
 of the aembly For identified cla of the weld joint, obtain value of the a
llowable tre range uing fatigue life (number of cycle) for which it i to b
e deigned. The allowable tre range and ervice loading condition (maximum an
d minimum load) are ued to determine load reiting cro ectional area of the
weld joint (Fig.5)
Fig. 5 Common fatigue load pattern For given et of loading condition and ident
ified cla of the weld joint variou detail like throat thickne, length of w
eld joint and number of weld can be obtained from calculated load reiting cro
 ectional area deired. Generally, the maximum length of the weld become am
e a the length of the plate to be welded and maximum number of weld for butt w
elding i one and that for fillet weld can be two for uninterrupted weld. Thi
ugget that primarily throat thickne of the weld i identified if length and
number of weld are fixed ele any combination of the weld parameter uch a th
roat thickne, length of weld and number of weld can obtained in uch a way th
at their product i equal to the required load reiting cro ectional area. S
trength of weld metal doent play any big role on fatigue performance of the weld
joint a under evere tre condition (which generally exit in weld joint o
wing to the preence of notche and dicontinuitie) fatigue trength and life g
enerally do not increae with trength of weld metal. 7.3 Information required f
or deigning The fatigue life (number of load cycle) for which a weld i to be
deigned e.g. 2106 Cla of the weld joint baed on type and penetration and othe
r condition (Fig. 6) Allowable tre range on the bai of cla of weld and l
ife required from the figure
 Value of the maximum and minimum ervice load expected on weld joint
Fig. 6 Schematic of weld joint of different clae
Lecture 26 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS V 1.0 Fracture under fatigue loading The fluc
tuation in magnitude and direction of the load adverely affect the life and pe
rformance of an engineering component compared to that under tatic loading cond
ition. Thi advere effect of load fluctuation on life of a mechanical componen
t i called fatigue. Reduction in life of the mechanical component ubjected to
fatigue load i mainly caued by premature fracture due to early nucleation an
d growth of crack in the area of high tre concentration occurring to either
due to abrupt change in cro ection or preence of defect in form of crack,
blow hole, weak material etc. The fracture of the mechanical component under
fatigue load condition generally take place in three tep a) nucleation of c
rack or crack like dicontinuitie, b) table growth of crack and c) catatroph
ic and untable fracture. Number of fatigue load cycle required to complete eac
h of the above three tage of the fatigue eventually determine the fatigue lif
e of the component (Fig. 7). Each tage of fatigue fracture ranging from crack n
ucleation to catatrophic untable fracture i controlled by different propertie
 uch a urface propertie, mechanical and metallurgical propertie of the com
ponent in quetion. Any of the factor related with material and geometry of th
e component and loading condition which can delay completion of any of the above
three tage of the fatigue will enhance the fatigue life.
Fig. 7 Photograph of fatigue fracture urface of a weld joint 2.0 2.1 Factor af
fecting the tage of fatigue fracture Surface crack nucleation tage
Surface crack nucleation tage i primarily influenced by urface propertie uc
h a roughne, hardne, yield trength and ductility of engineering component
ubjected to fatigue provided there i not tre raier cauing tre localiza
tion. Crack on the urface of mooth engineering component are nucleated by mic
ro-level deformation occurring due to lip under the influence of fluctuating lo
ad. Repeated fluctuation of load reult urface irregularitie of micron leve
l which act a tre raier and ite for tre concentration. Continued lip d
ue to fluctuating load cycle ubequently produce crack like dicontinuity at t
he urface. It i generally believed that firt crack nucleation tage take abo
ut 10-20% of total fatigue life cycle of the engineering component. Since the me
chanim of fatigue crack nucleation i baed on micro-level
lip deformation at the urface therefore factor like urface irregularitie (i
ncreaing tre concentration), high ductility, low yield trength and low hard
ne would facilitate the micro-level urface deformation and thereby lower the
number of fatigue load cycle required for completing the crack nucleation tag
e (Fig. 8). Hence, for enhancing the fatigue life attempt are alway made to im
prove the urface finih (o a to reduce tre concentration due to urface ir
regularitie if any by grinding, lapping, polihing etc.), increae the urface
hardne and yield trength and lower the ductility uing variou approache nam
ely hot peening, carburizing, nitriding, and other hardening treatment.
Fig. 8 chematic of fatigue fracture mechanim
Surface nucleation tage in cae of welded joint become very crucial a almot
all the weld joint generally poe poor urface finih and weld dicontinuit
y of one or other kind which can act a a tre raier beide development of r
eidual tree which can promote or dicourage the urface nucleation tage de
pending upon the type of loading. Reidual tree imilar to that of external
loading facilitate the crack nucleation. Thi i the reaon why welding of bae
metal lower the fatigue life up to 90% depending upon the type of the weld join
t, loading condition and urface condition of weld. 2.2 Stable Crack Growth S
tage
A crack nucleated in firt tage may be propagating or non-propagating type depe
nding upon the fact that whether there i enough fluctuation in load or not for
a given material. A fatigue loading with low tre ratio (ratio of low minimum
tre and high maximum tre) epecially in cae of fracture tough material m
ay lead to the exitence of nonpropagating crack.
However, growth of a propagating crack i primary determined by tre range (di
fference of maximum and minimum tre) and material propertie uch a ductilit
y, yield trength and microtructural characteritic (ize, hape and ditribut
ion of hard econd phae particle in matrix). An increae in tre range in gen
eral increae the rate of table crack growth in econd tage of fatigue fractu
re. Increae in yield trength and reduction in ductility increae the crack gro
wth rate primarily due to reduction in extent of platic deformation (and o red
uced blunting of crack tip) experienced by material ahead of crack tip under the
influence of external load. Increae blunting of crack tip lower the tre co
ncentration of crack tip and thereby reduce the crack growth rate while a combi
nation of high yield trength and low ductility caue limited platic deformati
on at crack tip which in turn reult in high tre concentration at the crack
tip. High tre concentration at the crack tip produce rapid crack growth and
o reduce number of fatigue load cycle (fatigue life) required for completion o
f econd tage of fatigue fracture of component. All factor aociated with loa
ding pattern and material which increae the table crack growth rate finally lo
wer the number of fatigue load cycle required for fracture. High tre range in
general increae the table crack growth rate. Therefore, attempt are made by
deign and manufacturing engineer to deign the weld joint o a to reduce th
e tre range on the weld during ervice and lower the crack growth rate by dev
eloping weld joint of fracture tough material (having requiite ductility and y
ield trength). 2.3 Sudden fracture (Untable crack growth)
Third of tage of fatigue fracture correpond to untable rapid crack growth ca
uing abrupt facture. Thi tage commence only when load reiting cro ectio
nal area of the engineering component (due to table crack growth in econd tag
e of fatigue fracture) i reduced to an extent that it become unable to withta
nd maximum tre. Hence, under uch condition material failure occur largely d
ue to overloading of the remaining cro-ection area and their mode of fracture
may be ductile or brittle depending upon type of the material. Material of hig
h fracture toughne allow econd tage table crack growth (of fatigue fracture
) to a greater extent which in turn delay the commencement of third tage unta
ble crack propagation (Fig. 9). Converely for a
given load, material of fracture toughne (high trength and high ductility) wi
thtand up to the maller load reiting cro ectional area than that of low f
racture toughne.
Crack growth rate (da/dN)
udden fracture table crack growth
Threhold k

tage 1
tage 2

tage 3
Stre intenity factor range ( k)
Fig. 9 Stage II table fatigue crack growth rate v tre intenity factor rang
e in fatigue tet.
Lecture 27 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS VI 1.0 Crack growth and reidual fatigue life
Once the fatigue crack nucleated (after the firt tage), it grow with the incr
eae in number of fatigue load cycle. Slope of curve howing the relationhip b
etween crack ize and number of fatigue load cycle indicate the fatigue crack
growth rate doent remain contant (Fig. 10). The fatigue crack growth rate (lop
e of curve) continuouly increae with increae in number of fatigue load cycle
. Initially in econd tage of the fatigue fracture, fatigue crack growth rate
(FCGR) increae gradually in table manner. Thereafter, in third tage of fatigu
e fracture, FCGR increae at very high rate with increae in number of fatigue
load cycle a evident from the increaing lope of the curve.
udden fracture
Crack length

tage 3

tage 1
tage 2
No. of fatigue load cycle
Fig. 10 Schematic of crack length v. number of fatigue load cycle relationhip
Thi trend of crack ize v. number of fatigue load cycle remain ame even und
er varying ervice condition of weld joint made of different material. Moreov
er, the number of load cycle required for developing a particular crack ize (d
uring the econd and third tage of fatigue facture) varie with factor related
with ervice condition, material and environment. For example, increae in tr
e range during fatigue loading of high trength and low ductility weld decrea
e the number of load cycle required to complete the econd a well a third 
tage of fatigue fracture mean untable crack prorogation (increaing FCGR) occu
rring in third tage of fatigue fracture i attained earlier. Increae in fatigu
e crack ize in fact decreae the load reiting cro ection (reidual cro
ectional area) of weld which in turn increae tre accordingly for
given load fluctuation. Therefore, above trend of crack ize v. number of fati
gue load cycle i mainly attributed to increaing true tre range for given l
oad fluctuation which will actually be acting on actual load reiting cro ec
tion area at the any moment. Reidual fatigue life i directly determined by loa
d reiting cro ection area left due to fatigue crack growth (FCG) at any ta
ge of fatigue life. Increae in crack length and o reduction in load reiting
cro ectional area in general lower the number of cycle required for complete
fatigue fracture. Thu, left over fatigue life i.e. reidual fatigue life of a
component ubjected to fluctuating load gradually decreae with increae in fat
igue crack growth. 2.0 Factor affecting the fatigue performance of weld joint
There are many factor related with ervice load condition, material and environ
ment affecting one or other tage (ingly or in combination) of the fatigue frac
ture. The fatigue behavior of welded joint i no different from that of un-weld
ed bae metal except that weld joint have more unfavorable feature uch a tr
e raier, reidual tree, urface and ub-urface dicontinuitie, hardeni
ng/oftening of HAZ, irregular and rough urface of the weld in a welded condit
ion (if not ground and fluhed) beide inhomogeneity in repect of compoition
, metallurgical, corroion and mechanical propertie which adverely affect the
fatigue life. Therefore, in general, fatigue performance of the weld joint i u
ually found offer lower than the bae metal. However, thi trend i not common
in friction tir welded joint of precipitation hardenable aluminium alloy  the
e develop tronger and more ductile weld nugget than heat affected zone which g
enerally oftened due to reverion in a welded condition. The extent of decrea
e in fatigue performance (trength/life) i determined by everity of above men
tioned factor preent in a given weld beide the weld joint configuration and
whether joint i claified a load carrying or non-load carrying type. Reductio
n in fatigue performance of a weld joint can be a low a 0.15 time of fatigue
performance of correponding bae metal depending up on the joint configuration
and other welding related factor. Following ection decribe the influence of
variou ervice, material, environment and welding procedure related paramete
r on the fatigue performance of weld joint.
2.1
Service Load Condition
Service condition influencing the fatigue performance of a weld joint mainly i
nclude fatigue load and trend of it variation. Fluctuation of the load during
the ervice can be in different way. The fatigue load fluctuation are characte
rized with the help of different parameter namely type of tre, maximum tre
, minimum tre, mean tre, tre range, tre ratio, tre amplitude, lo
ading frequency etc. Following ection preent the influence of thee parameter
 in ytematic manner on fatigue. Thee parameter help to ditinguih the type
of tree and extent of their variation. a) Type of tre For nucleation and
propagation of the fatigue crack, exitence of tenile or hear tre i con
idered to be mandatory. Preence of only compreive tre doe not help in ea
y nucleation and propagation of the crack. Therefore, fatigue failure tendency i
 reduced or almot eliminated when fatigue load i only of compreive type. A
a cutomary, tenile and hear tre are taken a poitive while compreive 
tre i taken a negative. Thee ign convention play a major role when fatigu
e fluctuation i characterized in term of tre ratio and tre range (Fig. 1
1).
Stre
Stre
max. average min. Time
max. average min. Time
a) Tenion-Tenion
Stre
b) 0-Tenion
max.
Stre
max. average min. Time
average Time min.
c) Compreion-Tenion Fig. 11 Common fatigue load cycle b) Maximum tre
d) Fluctuating tre
It i maximum level of tre generated by fluctuating load and ignificantly in
fluence the fatigue performance of the engineering component. Any dicontinuity
preent in
weld joint remain non-propagating type until maximum tenile/hear tre (due
to fatigue loading) i not more than certain limit. Thereafter, further increa
e in maximum tre in general lower the fatigue life i.e. number of cycle req
uired for fracture becaue of increaed rate of crack growth occurring at high l
evel of maximum tre and reduction in number of load cycle required to comple
ted each of the three tage of the fatigue fracture.
Maximum Load (KN) Weld bond Weld bond, Weld Weld bond, bond, Weld 1984, 10 bond,
6037, 8.8 Weld 11198, adheive adheive adheive adheive Weld bond, 7.5 19645,
adheive bond, bond, bond, bond, 6.3 bond,5 , 24553, bond, 1984, 4.7 11198, 603
7, 4.1 19645, 3.7 24553, 3.5 2.9 2.3
Number of Cycle
c) Stre range It i the difference between maximum and minimum tre induced
by fatigue load acting on the engineering component of a given load reiting cr
o ection area. Difference of maximum and minimum tre give the tre rang
e directly if nature of tre remain ame (tenile-tenile, compreive-compre
ive, hear-hear. However, in cae when load fluctuation change nature of loa
d from tenile and compreive, hear and compreive or vice vera then it beco
me mandatory to ue ign convention with magnitude of tre according to the
type of loading to calculate the tre range. Zero tre range indicate that
maximum and minimum tree are of the ame value and there i no fluctuation i
n magnitude of the load mean load i tatic in nature therefore material will n
ot be experiencing any fatigue. Converely, for premature failure of material ow
ing to fatigue it i neceary that material i ubjected to enough fluctuation
in tre during the ervice. The extent of fluctuation in tre (due to fatig
ue) i meaured in term of tre range. In general, increae in tre range l
ower the fatigue life. Mot of the weld joint deign of real engineering yte
m for fatigue load condition therefore generally are baed on tre range or
it derivative parameter uch a tre amplitude (which i taken a half of th
e tre range) and tre ratio (ratio of minimum to maximum tre).
300
Nominal tre range (MPa)
O Bae metal W Bae metal T6 Bae metal
O FSW joint W FSW joint T6 FSW joint
250
200
150
100
50
0
500000
1000000
1500000
2000000
Number of cycle to fatigue failure (N)
d) Stre ratio It i obtained from ratio of minimum tre to maximum tre. L
ower value of tre ratio indicate greater fluctuation in fatigue load. For ex
ample, tre ratio of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 are commonly ued for evaluating the fat
igue performance of weld joint a per requirement (Fig. 12). Stre ratio of 0.
1 indicate that maximum tre i 10 time of minimum tre. Stre ratio of z
ero value ugget that minimum tre i zero while tre ratio of -1 indicate
 that the load fluctuate equally on tenile/hear and compreive ide. The de
creae in tre ratio for tenile and hear fatigue load (ay from 0.9 to 0.1)
adverely affect the fatigue performance.
fraction of ultimate tre
R: +0.5 R: 0 R: -0.5 R: -1
No. of fatigue load cycle(log cale)
Fig. 12 Effect of tre ratio (R) on fatigue life (N) for given tre conditio
n
e) Mean tre Mean tre i average of maximum and minimum tre. The influen
ce of mean tre on the fatigue life mainly depend on the tre amplitude and
nature of mean tre. Nature of mean tre indicate the type of tre. The
effect of nature of mean tre i.e. compreive, zero, and tenile tre, on t
he fatigue life at low tre amplitude i more than that at high tre amplitu
de. It can be oberved that in general mean tenile tre reult in lower fati
gue life than the compreive and zero mean tre (Fig. 13). Further, increae
in tenile mean tre decreae the number of load cycle required for fatigue c
rack nucleation and prorogation of the crack which in turn lower the fatigue l
ife.
Stre amplitude (log cale)
compreive mean tre
zero mean tre
tenile mean tre
No. of fatigue load cycle(log cale)
Fig. 13 Effect of type of tre on S-N curve f) Frequency of fatigue loading Fr
equency of the fatigue loading i number of time a fluctuating load cycle repea
t in unit time and i uually expreed in term of Hz which indicate the numb
er of fatigue load cycle per econd. Frequency of fatigue loading ha little in
fluence on fatigue performance. It ha been reported an increae in frequency of
loading in general increae?? the fatigue performance / life.
Lecture 28 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS VI 1.0 Material Characteritic
The performance of an engineering component under fatigue load condition i ig
nificantly influenced by variou propertie of material uch a phyical propert
ie, mechanical, corroion and metallurgical propertie. a) Phyical propertie
Many phyical propertie uch a melting point, thermal diffuivity and thermal
expanion coefficient, of the bae or filler metal can be important for developm
ent of ound weld. It i felt that probably thermal expanion coefficient of ba
e metal i one phyical propertie which can affect the fatigue performance of a
ound weld joint appreciably a it directly influence the magnitude and type o
f reidual tre which will be developed due to weld thermal cycle experienced
by the bae metal during welding. Tenile reidual tree are uually left in
weld metal and near-by HAZ which adverely affect the fatigue life of weld joint
and therefore attempt are made to develop compreive reidual tre in weld
joint uing localized heating or deformation baed approache. b) Mechanical pr
opertie Mechanical propertie of the weld joint uch a yield and ultimate ten
ile trength, ductility and fracture toughne ignificantly affect the fatigue
trength of the weld. The extent of influence of an individual mechanical proper
ty on fatigue performance primarily depend on the way by which it affect the o
ne or other tage of the fatigue fracture. For example, ductility, hardne and
yield trength affect the crack nucleation tage while ductility, tenile treng
th and fracture toughne influence econd tage of fatigue fracture i.e. table
crack growth and both thee tage contitute to about 90% of the fatigue life.
It i generally believed that under the condition of high tre concentration
a in cae of welded joint (epecially in fillet weld and weld with evere di
continuitie and tre raier and thoe ued in corroive environment), the me
chanical propertie uch a tenile trength and ductility dont affect the fatigu
e performance appreciably (Fig. 14). Therefore, deign and production engineer
hould not rely much on tenile trength of
electrode material for developing fatigue reitant weld joint. Moreover, in ca
e of full penetration, ground, fluhed, defect free butt weld joint, mechanica
l propertie namely ductility, hardne tenile trength and fracture toughne
can play an important role in determining the fatigue performance. Moreover, the
effect of thee propertie on each tage of fatigue fracture ha been decribed
in repective ection of fatigue fracture mechanim.
Fatigue trength
full penetration ground fluhed weld
partial penetration weld with reinforcement
fillet weld
Tenile trength of weld
Fig. 14 Schematic diagram howing the fatigue trength v. tenile trength rela
tionhip for different condition of the weld c) Metallurgical propertie Metall
urgical propertie uch a microtructure and egregation of element in weld in
fluence the fatigue performance. Microtructure indicate the ize, hape and di
tribution of grain beide the type and relative amount of variou phae pre
ent in the tructure. Due to varying cooling condition experienced by weld meta
l and heat affected zone during welding evere tructural in-homogeneity i obe
rved in the weld metal. Therefore, the mode of weld metal olidification continu
ouly varie from planar at fuion boundary to cellular, dendritic then equiaxed
at weld center line which in turn reult in varying morphology of grain in we
ld metal. Similarly ize of grain alo varie from coaret at fuion boundary
to finet at weld center line. Weld condition like welding parameter deciding
net heat input and ection ize and bae metal compoition eventually decide th
e final grain and phae tructure. Needle hape phae lower the fatigue life m
ore than pherical and cuboid hape microcontituent (Fig. 15). In general, fi
ne and equiaxed grain reult in better fatigue performance than coare and col
umnar dendritic grain a thee improve the
mechanical performance of the weld. Therefore, attempt are made to have refined
equiaxed grain tructure uing variou approache uch a controlled alloying,
external excitation force, arc pulation etc.
Si
AlCuNi
-phase (AlFeSi)
a)
b)
Fig. 15 Micrographs of aluminium showing micro-constituents of different morphol
ogies with a) long needle and b) fine and Chinese script morphologies 2.0 Enviro
nment
Fatigue performance of weld joint is significantly governed by the service envir
onments such as corrosion, high temperature and vacuum. In general, all these es
pecial environments influence the fatigue performance positively or negatively.
2.1 Corrosion fatigue
The performance of an engineering component which is exposed to corrosive media
during the service and is also subjected to fluctuating load is terms as corrosi
on fatigue. Corrosion means localized removal of materials either from plane smo
oth surface or from the crack tip. Localized corrosion from smooth surface facil
itates easy nucleation of crack during first stage of fatigue fracture by formin
g pits and crevices while removal of material from crack tip by corrosion accele
rates the crack growth rate during second stage of fatigue fracture. A synergic
effect of stable crack growth during second stage and material removal from crac
k tip lowers the fatigue life significantly. Moreover, how far corrosion will af
fect fatigue life; it depends on corrosion media for a given metal of weld e.g.
steel weld joints perform very more badly in saline environment (halide ions) th
an dry atmospheric conditions. 2.2 Effect of temperature
Effect of temperature on fatigue performance of the weld joint is marginal. Low
temperature generally increases the hardness and tensile strength and lowers the
ductility. Increase in hardness and strength delays the crack nucleation stage
during first stage of fatigue fracture, however; a combination of high strength
and low ductility increases the stable crack growth rate in second stage of fati
gue fracture. Carbon steel and mild steel weld joints below the ductile to britt
le transition temperature lose their toughness which in turn increases the stabl
e fatigue crack growth rate in second stage of the fatigue fracture. On the othe
r hand, increase in temperature lowers the strength and increases the ductility.
This combination of strength and ductility reduces the number of load cycles re
quired for nucleation of the fatigue crack in first stage of fatigue fracture wh
ile crack tip blunting tendency increases due to easy deformation of the materia
l ahead of the crack tip which in turn lowers the second stage stable crack grow
th rate. Therefore, influence of slight increase in temperature on the fatigue l
ife is not found to be very decisive and significant. However, high temperatures
can lower the fatigue performance appreciably due to increased plastic stain un
der fluctuating load conditions. 2.3 Effect of Vacuum
The fatigue performance of weld joints in vacuum is found much better than in th
e normal ambient conditions. This improvement in fatigue performance is mainly a
ttributed to absence of any surface oxidation and other reactions with atmospher
ic gases.
Lecture 29 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS VII 1.0 Parameters related with welding
There are many aspects related with welding which influence the fatigue performa
nce of a sound (defect free) weld joint such as welding procedure, weld bead geo
metry, weld joint configuration and residual stress in weldment. These parameter
s affect the fatigue performance in four ways a) how stress raiser in form of we
ld continuities are induced or eliminated, b) how residual stresses develop due
to weld thermal cycle experienced by the metal during the welding, c) how mechan
ical properties such as strength, hardness, ductility and fracture toughness of
the weld joint are influenced and d) how microstructure of the weld and HAZ is a
ffected by the welding related parameters. a) Welding procedure Welding procedur
e includes entire range of activities from edge preparation, selection of weldin
g process and their parameters (welding current, speed), welding consumable (wel
ding electrode and filler, flux, shielding gas), post weld treatment etc. Follow
ing sections describe effect of various steps of welding procedure on the fatigu
e performance of the weld joints. Edge preparation There are two main aspects of
edge preparation which can influence the fatigue performance of a weld joint a)
cleaning of surface and b) cutting of metal to be welded by fusion arc welding
process. Surface and edge of the plates to be welded are cleaned to remove the d
irt, dust, paint, oil grease etc. present on the surface either by mechanical or
chemical methods. Use of chemical approach for cleaning the surface using hydro
gen containing acid (sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid etc.) sometimes introduce
hydrogen in base metal which in long run can diffuse in weld and HAZ and facili
tate crack nucleation & propagation (by HIC) besides making weldment brittle. Im
proper cleaning sometimes leaves impurities on faying surface which if dont get m
elt or evaporate during the welding then induce inclusions in weld metal. Presen
ce of inclusions acts as stress raiser and so weakens the joint and lowers fatig
ue performance. Cutting of hardenable steel plates by thermal cutting methods su
ch as gas cutting also hardens the cut edge. These hardened edges can easily dev
elop cracks in
HAZ under the influence of the residual stresses caused by weld thermal cycle as
sociated with welding.
chemical cleaning using hydrogen based acids
H2 H2 H2 H2
Fig. 16 Hydrogen based chemical cleaning can introduce hydrogen in weld b) Weldi
ng process Welding process affects the fatigue performance in two ways a) net he
at input per unit area related with welding process affecting cooling rate and t
he so weld-structure and b) soundness / cleanliness of the weld. Arc welding pro
cesses use heat generated by an arc for melting of the faying surfaces of the ba
se metal. Heat generation from welding arc (VI) of a process depends on welding
current (amp) and welding arc voltage while net heat supplied to base metal for
melting is determined by welding speed (S). Therefore, net heat supplied to the
faying surfaces for melting is obtained from ratio of arc heat generated and wel
ding speed (VI/S). Net arc heat supplied to base metal falls over an area as det
ermined by arc diameter at the surface of base metal. Net heat input per unit ar
ea of the base metal affects the amount of the heat required for melting. Higher
the net heat input per unit area of the base metal lower is amount of heat requ
ired for melting the faying surfaces (owing to less diffusion of the arc heat to
underlying base metal) which in turn affects the cooling rate during solidifica
tion of the weld. Higher the net heat input per unit area lower is cooling rate
(Fig. 17). High cooling rate results in finer grain structure and better mechani
cal properties hence improved fatigue performance while low cooling rate coarsen
s the grain structure of weld which in turn adversely affects the fatigue life.
However, high cooling rate in case of hardenable steel tends to develops cracks
and harden the HAZ which may deteriorate the fatigue performance of the weld joi
nts.
COLLING RATE
FINE GRAIN STRUCTURE
COARSE GRAIN STRUCTURE
HEAT INPUT
Fig. 17 Schematic diagram showing effect of heat input on cooling rate and grain
structure of the weld Each arc welding process has a range for net heat input p
er unit area capacity which in turn affects the cooling so the grain structure a
nd fatigue performance accordingly (e.g. shielded metal arc welding possesses lo
wer net heat input per unit area than gas tungsten arc welding). Impurities (cau
sing inclusion in weld) are introduced due to interactions between the molten we
ld metal and atmospheric gases. However, the extent of contamination of the weld
depends on the shielding method associated with the particular welding process
to protect the molten weld from atmospheric gases. Each method has its own approac
h/mechanism of protecting the weld. GTA welding offers minimum adverse effect of
weld thermal cycle and cleanest weld in terms of lowest oxygen and nitrogen con
tent as impurities as compared to other welding process. On contrary SAW welding
results in high heat input and self shielded arc welding process produces weld
joints with large amount of oxygen and nitrogen as impurities in the weld metal.
Therefore, selection of welding process affects the fatigue performance appreci
ably. c) Welding consumables Depending upon the welding process being used for f
abrication of a fusion weld, variety of welding consumables such as welding elec
trode, filler wire, shielding gas, flux etc. are applied. The extent up to which
the factors related with welding consumables influence the fatigue performance
is determined by the fact that how following aspects related with welding are af
fected by welding consumables: a) net heat input b) cleanliness of the weld meta
l c) residual stress development
d) microstructure and chemical composition e) mechanical properties of the weld
joints Effect of each of above aspects of welding has already been described und
er separate headings. In following section, influence of welding consumable on e
ach of the aspects will be elaborated. d) Electrode Electrode diameter and coati
ng material affect the arc heat generation (due to variation in area over which
is heat is applied and level of heat generated owing to the change in welding cu
rrent and arc voltage) which in turn governs weld thermal cycle and related para
meters such as cooling rate, solidification rate, peak temperature and width of
HAZ. Large diameter electrodes use high welding current which in turn results in
high net heat input. Composition of the electrode material affects the solidifi
cation mechanism of the weld metal, residual stress in weldment and mechanical p
roperties of the weld metal. Electrode material similar to that of base metal re
sults in epitaxial solidification and otherwise heterogeneous nucleation and gro
wth mechanism is followed. The difference in thermal expansion coefficient and y
ield strength of electrode metal with respect to base metal determines the magni
tude of residual stress in weld and HAZ region. Larger is the difference thermal
expansion coefficient of two higher will be the residual stresses. Further, low
yield strength weld metal results in lower residual stresses than high yield st
rength metal. Development of tensile residual stresses in general lowers fatigue
life of weld joints. According to the influence of the solidification mechanism
, microstructure and residual stress on mechanical properties of weldment, fatig
ue performance is governed. e) Coating material and flux Presence of low ionizat
ion potential elements like Na, K, Ca etc. (in large amount) lowers the heat gen
eration as easy emission of free electrons from these elements in coating materi
al in the arc gap reduces the electrical resistance of arc column and so heat ge
neration. Additionally, the basicity index of the flux or coating material on th
e electrode affects the cleanliness of the weld. In general, flux or coating mat
erial having basicity index greater than 1.2 results in cleaner weld than that o
f low basicity index. Thickness of the coating material on the core wire in SMA
welding affects the
contamination of the molten weld pool shielding capability from atmospheric gase
s. Thicker is flux coating on the core wire better is protection due to release
of large amount of inactive protective gases from thermal decomposition of coati
ng materials and so cleaner is weld. However, increase in thickness of flux laye
r in SAW lowers the cooling rate of weld metal during the solidification and inc
reases the protection from atmospheric contamination. Effect of both these facto
rs on fatigue performance of the weld is expected to be different e.g. low cooli
ng should adversely affect the mechanical properties and fatigue performance whi
le cleaner weld should offer better fatigue performance owing to absence of stre
ss raisers in form of inclusions. f) Shielding gas The effect of shielding gas (
helium, argon, carbon dioxide, and mixture of these gases with oxygen and hydrog
en) on fatigue performance of the weld joint is determined by two factors: a) Ef
fect of shielding gas on the arc heat generation (due to difference in ionizatio
n potential of different shielding gases) which in turn affects the cooling rate
and so resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld. Addition
of oxygen, hydrogen and helium in argon increases the arc heat generation and p
enetration capability of the arc. b) Effect of shielding gas on the cleanliness
of the weld as shielding capability of each of the above mentioned gases to prot
ect the molten weld pool from atmospheric gases is different. Helium and argon p
rovide more effective shielding than carbon di-oxide and other gases and hence t
hey result in better fatigue performance of the weld joints. g) Post Weld Heat T
reatment Weld joints are given variety of heat treatments (normalizing, temperin
g, stress relieving, Q &T, T6 treatment) for achieving different purposes rangin
g from just relieving the residual stress to manipulating the microstructure in
order to obtain the desired combination of the mechanical properties. In general
, post weld heat treatment operation relieves the residual stresses and improves
the mechanical properties; these in turn result in improved fatigue performance
of the weld joints. However, improper selection of type of PWHT and their param
eters like heating rate, maximum temperature, soaking time and then cooling rate
, can deteriorate the mechanical properties, induce unfavorable softening or har
dening of HAZ, tensile residual stresses
and cracking in HAZ. As a result, unfavorable PWHT can adversely affect the fati
gue performance of the weld joint.
Lecture 30 DESIGN OF WELDED JOINTS VIII 1.0 Improving the fatigue performance of
the weld joints
The performance of welded joints can be improved using multi-pronged approach wh
ich includes enhancing the load carrying capability of the weld by improving the
mechanical properties of the weld, reducing the stress raisers, developing favo
rable compressive residual stresses. The basic principles of these approaches ha
ve been presented in following sections. 1.1 Load carrying capacity of the weld
Load carrying capability of the weld joints can be enhanced by selecting proper
electrode or filler metal and proper welding procedure so to obtain the desired
microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld. Efforts are made to achiev
e the fine equaixed grain structure in weld with minimum adverse affect of weld
thermal cycle on the heat affected zone. These factors are influenced by electro
de composition, net heat input during welding and presence of nucleating agent i
n weld metal to promote heterogeneous nucleation and so as to get equaixed grain
structure in the weld. Inoculation involving addition of the element like Ti, V
, Al and commonly used in steel and aluminium welds is usually done to achieve f
ine equaixed grain structure besides application of external excitation techniqu
es such magnetic arc oscillation, arc pulsation and gravitational force method.
Selection of proper welding parameters (welding current, speed) and shielding ga
s also help to refine the grain structure of the weld. In general, fine equaixed
grain structure is known to enhance the load carrying capacity of weld joints a
nd fatigue performance of the weld joints. Post weld heat treatment such as norm
alizing also helps to enhance fatigue performance of weld joints b refining the
structure and relieving the residual stress. Surface and case hardening treatmen
ts like carburizing and nitriding also help to increase the fatigue performance
of the weld joints in two ways a) increase the surface hardness up to certain de
pth and b) inducing compressive residual stresses. 1.2 Reducing stress raisers
First stage of fatigue crack nucleation is largely influenced by the presence of
the stress raisers on the surface of engineering component subjected to fatigue
loading. These
stress raisers in the weld joints may be in the form of ripples present on the s
urface of weld in as welded condition, sharp change in cross section at the toe
of the weld, cracks in weld and heat affected zone, inclusions in weld, too high
bead angle, excessive reinforcement of the weld bead, crater and under-fill (Fi
g. 18 & 19). In order to reduce adverse effects of stress raisers on fatigue per
formance of weld joints, it is necessary that stress raisers in form of poor wel
d bead geometry are reduced as much as possible by proper selection of the weldi
ng parameters, manipulation of welding arc and placement of molten weld metal (F
ig. 19). Presence of inclusions and defects in the weld metal can be reduced by
re-melting of small amount of weld metal near toe of the weld using tungsten ine
rt gas arc heat (Fig. 20). This process of partial re-melting weld bead to remov
e defect and inclusions especially near the toe of the weld is called TIG dressi
ng. TIG dressing is reported to increase the fatigue life by 20-30% especially u
nder low stress fatigue conditions.
high stress zone
Gradual transition gradual transition
Fig. 18 Reducing stress concentration at toe of the weld a) toe with sudden chan
ge in cross section causing high stress concentration and b) providing some fill
et at the toe of the weld by grinding
changing type and location of the weld joint
Fig. 19 Schematic diagram showing change on joint configuration from fillet to b
utt joints
base plate base plate Path of remelting
TIG arc for remelting
direction of TIG arc movement
Fig. 20 Schematic of TIG dressing Controlled removal of material from toe of the
weld by machining or grinding operation in order to give suitable fillet and av
oid abrupt change in cross section of the weld is another method of enhancing th
e fatigue life of weld joints. Further, attempts should be made to reduce the we
ld bead angle as low as possible so that transition in cross-sectional area from
the base metal to the weld bead is gradual (Fig. 18). Weld joints with machined
, ground and flushed weld bead offer minimum stress concentration effect and hen
ce maximum fatigue life. 1.3 Developing compressive residual stress
This method of improving the fatigue performance of the weld joints is based on
simple concept of lowering the effective applied tensile stresses by inducing re
sidual compressive stress which to some extent neutralizes/cancels the magnitude
of externally applied tensile stress. Therefore, this method is found effective
only when fatigue load is tensile in nature and lower in magnitude than yield s
trength. Moreover, this method marginally affects the fatigue performance of the
weld joints under low cycle fatigue conditions when fluctuating loads and corre
sponding stresses are more than yield strength of weld. Improvement in fatigue p
erformance of the weld joint by this method can vary from 20-30%. There are many
methods such as shot peening, overloading, spot heating, and post-weld heat tre
atment, which can be used to induce
compressive residual stress. All these methods are based on principles of differ
ential dimensional/volumetric change between surface layer and core of the weld
by application of either localizing heating or stresses.
a) Shot peening In case of shot peening, high speed steel balls are directed tow
ards the surface of the weld joint on which compressive residual stress is to be
developed. Impact of shots produces indentation through localized plastic defor
mation at the surface layers while metal layers below the plastically deformed s
urface layers are subjected to elastic deformation. Material further deeper from
the surface is unaffected by shots and plastic deformation occurring at the sur
face. Elastically deformed layers tend regain their dimension while plastically
elongated surface layers resist any come-back. Since both plastically and elasti
cally elongated layers are metallurgically bonded together therefore elastically
elongated under-surface metal layer tends to put plastically elongated surface
layer under compression while elastically elongated under-surface layer comes un
der tension. Thus residual compressive stresses are induced at shot peened surfa
ce. Presence of tensile residual stress below the surface is not considered to b
e much damaging for fatigue life as mostly fatigue failures commence from the su
rface. b) Overloading This method helps to reduce the residual stresses by devel
oping the opposite kind of elastic stresses by overloading the component under c
onsideration. c) Shallow hardening Shallow hardening improves the fatigue perfor
mance in two ways a) increase in the hardness of surface and near surface layers
which in turn delays crack nucleation stage of fatigue fracture and b) developm
ent of residual compressive stress at the surface reduces adverse effect of the
external tensile stresses. However, under external compressive loading condition
s residual compressive stresses can deteriorate the fatigue performance of welds
.
Lecture 31 INSPECTION AND TESTING OF WELD JOINT I
1.0 Introduction To produce quality weld joint, it is necessary to keep an eye o
n what is being done in three different stages of the welding efore welding suc
h as cleaning, edge preparation, baking of electrode etc. to ensure quality weld
joints During welding such as manipulation of heat source, selection of input p
arameters (pressure of oxygen and fuel gas, welding current, arc voltage, weldin
g speed, shielding gases and electrode selection) affecting the heat input and p
rotection of the weld pool from atmospheric contamination After welding such as
removal of the slag, peening, post welding treatment Selection of optimal method
and parameters of each step and their execution meticulously in different stage
s of production of a weld joint determine the quality of the weld joint. Inspect
ion is mainly carried out to assess ground realties in respect of progress or th
e work or how meticulously things are being implemented. Testing helps to: a) as
sess the suitability of the weld joint for a particular application and b) to ta
ke decision on whether to go ahead with (further processing or accept/reject the
same) and c) quantify the performance parameters related with soundness and per
formance of weld joints. Testing methods of the weld joint are broadly classifie
d as destructive testing and nondestructive testing. Destructive testing methods
damage the test piece to more or less extent. The extent of damage on (destruct
ive) tested specimens sometime can be up to complete fracture (like in tensile o
r fatigue testing) thus making it un-useable for the intended purpose while in c
ase of non-destructive tested specimen the extent of damage on tested specimen i
s mostly none or negligible which does not adversely affect their usability for
the intended purpose in of the anyways. Weld joints are generally subjected to d
estructive tests such as hardness, toughness, bend and tensile test for developi
ng the welding procedure specification and assessing the suitability of weld joi
nt for particular application.
Moreover, visual inspection reflects the quality of external features of a weld
joint such as weld bead profile indicating weld width and reinforcement, bead an
gle and external defects such as craters, cracks, distortion etc. 2.0 2.1 Destru
ctive Test Tensile test
Tensile properties of the weld joints namely yield and ultimate strength and duc
tility (%age elongation) can be obtained either in ambient condition or in speci
al environment (low temperature, high temperature, corrosion etc.) depending upo
n the need using tensile test which is usually conducted at constant strain rate
(ranging from 0.0001 to 10000 m/min). Tensile properties of the weld joint are
obtained in two ways a) taking specimen from transverse direction of weld joint
consisting base metal-heat affected zone-weld metal-heat affected zone-base meta
l and b) all weld metal specimen as shown in Fig. 1 (a, b).
SPECIMEN

ASE METAL
WELD

ASE METAL
a)

ASE METAL
WELD

ASE METAL
b)
Fig. 1 Schematic of tensile specimens from a) transverse section of weld joints
and b) all weld specimen Tensile test results must be supported by respective en
gineering stress and strain diagram indicating modulus of elasticity, elongation
at fracture, yield and ultimate strength (Fig. 2). Tests results must includes
information on following point about test conditions Type of sample (transverse
weld, all weld specimen) Strain rate (mm/min) Temperature or any other environme
nt in which test was conducted if any Topography, morphology, texture of the fra
cture surface indicating the mode of fracture and respective stress state
Fig. 2 Typical stress stain diagram for stainless steel sample
2.2 end test end test is one of the most important and commonly used destructi
ve tests to determine ductility and soundness (porosity, inclusion penetration a
nd other macro size internal weld discontinuities) of the weld joint produced us
ing under one set of welding conditions. ending of the weld joint can be done f
rom face or root side depending upon the purpose i.e. whether face or root side
of the weld is to be assessed. Further, bending can be performed using simple co
mpressive/bending load and die of standard size for free and guided bending resp
ectively (Fig. 3, 4). Moreover, free bending can be face or root bending while g
uided bending is performed by placing the weld joint over the die as needs for b
ending better and controlled condition (whether face or root bend is to be done)
as shown in Fig. 4.
a)
b)
Fig. 3 Schematics of free bend tests
Punch
Punch
Face bend Die
Root bend Die
a)
b)
Fig. 4 Schematics of guided bend tests a) face bend and b) root bend. For testin
g, load is kept on increasing until cracks start to appear on face or root of th
e weld for face and root bend test respectively and angle of bend at this stage
is used as a measured of ductility of weld joints. Fracture surface of the joint
from the face/root side due to bending reveals the presence of internal weld di
scontinuities if any. 2.3 Hardness test
Hardness is defined as resistance to indentation and is commonly used as a measu
re of resistance to abrasive wear or scratching. For the formation of a scratch
or causing abrasion, a relative movement is required between two bodies and out
of two one body must penetrate/indent into other body. Indentation is penetratio
n of a pointed object (harder) into other object (softer) under the external loa
d. Resistance to the penetration of pointed object (indenter) into the softer on
e depends on the hardness of the sample on which load is applied through the ind
enter. All methods of hardness testing are based on the principle of applying th
e standard load through the indenter (a pointed object) and measuring the penetr
ation in terms of diameter/diagonal/depth of indentation (Fig. 5). Greater the p
enetration of an indenter at a given standard load lower is the hardness. Variou
s methods of hardness testing can
be compared on the basis of following three criteria 1) type of indenter, 2) mag
nitude of load and 3) measurement of indentation.
Parameter Load

rinell 500-2000 kg
Rockwell Minor: 10 kg Major: 60 to 200 kg as dictated by scale to be used (A-C)
Knoop
Vickers
10 to 3000 g
Indenter Measurement

all Diameter
all or cone Depth
Cone
Pyramid
Diagonal Diagonal
cone ball
pyramid
Test piece
Fig. 5 Principle of hardness test using different test methods Penetration due t
o applied normal load is affected by unevenness on the surface and presence of h
ard surface films such as oxides, lubricants, dust and dirt etc. if any. Therefo
re, surface should be cleaned and polished before hardness test. In case of rin
ell hardness test, full load is applied directly whereas in rockwell hardness te
st, minor load (10 kN) is applied first before applying major load. Minor load i
s used to ensure the firm metallic contact between the indenter and sample surfa
ce by breaking surface films and impurities. Minor load does not cause indentati
on. Indentation is caused by major load only. Therefore, cleaning and polishing
of the surface films becomes mandatory for accuracy in hardness test results in
case of rinell test as major load is applied directly. Steel ball of different
diameters (D) is used as an indenter in rinell hardness test. Diameter of inden
tation (d) is measured to calculated the projected area and determine
the hardness. rinell hardness test results are expressed in terms of pressure g
enerated due to load (P). It is calculated by the ratio of load applied and proj
ected contact area. Load in range of 500 to 3000 kg can be applied depending upo
n the type of material to be tested. Higher load is applied for hard materials a
s compared to soft materials.
Rackwell hardness test uses minor load of 10 kg and major load of 50-150kg and t
he same is decided by scale (A, , C and D) to be used as per type of material t
o be tested. Minor load is not changed. Out of these many scales,  and C scales
are commonly used. Different indenter and major load are required for each scal
e. Steel ball and diamond cone are two type of indenters used in Rockwell testin
g.  scale uses hardened steel ball and major load of 90kg whereas C scale uses
diamond cone and major load of 140kg. Vickers hardness test uses square pyramid
shape indenter of diamond and load ranging from 1 to 120 kg. Average length (L)
of two diagonals of square indentation is used as a measure of hardness. Longer
is average diagonal length lower is hardness. Vickers hardness number (VHN) or d
iamond pyramid hardness (DPH) is the ratio of load (P) and apparent area of inde
ntation given by the relation:
Lecture 32 INSPECTION AND TESTING OF WELD JOINT II
2.4
Toughness testing
In actual practice, engineering components during service are invariably subject
ed to various kinds of loads namely static and dynamic loads which are classifie
d on the basis of the rate of change in magnitude of load and direction. Dynamic
loads are characterized by high rate of change in load magnitude and direction.
Reverse happens in case of static loads. In the hardness test and tensile tests
, load is increased very slowly that corresponds to the behaviour of material un
der more or less static loading condition. Moreover, very wide range rate of loa
ding (0.0001 to 1000mm/min) can be used in tensile test. Rate of loading governs
the strain rate and so rate of hardening and therefore mechanical behaviour of
material. For example, material at low rate of loading showing the ductile behav
iour can exhibit brittle behaviour under high rate of loading conditions. This t
est simulates service conditions often encountered in transportation, agricultur
al, and construction equipment. A material which possesses a large amount of imp
act resistance is said to be a tough material. Toughness is the ability of a mat
erial to resist both fracture and deformation. Toughness is the combination of s
trength and ductility. To be tough, a material must be both fairly strong and du
ctile to resist cracking and deformation under impact loading. Notches are place
d in impact test specimens to increase the stress concentration so as to increas
e tendency to fracture as mostly mechanical component have stress raisers. To wi
thstand an impact force, a notched material must be particularly tough.
Fig. 6 Principle diagram of toughness test. To study the behaviour of material u
nder dynamic load conditions (at high rate of loading) toughness test is frequen
tly conducted. There are two methods used for toughness testing namely Izod and
Charpy test, based on the common principle of applying the load at high rate and
measuring the amount of energy absorbed (kg m or Joule) in breaking the sample
due to impact (Fig. 6). However, there are some differences also in these two me
thods in terms of sample size and shape, method of holding of the sample and max
imum energy content of pendulum that hits the sample during the test. Sr. No. 1
Toughness test Izod Held vertically on anvil Cantilever and notch faces the as c
antilever 2 Charpy Held anvil horizontally as on pendulum Sample Holding
simply
Simply supported and notch is opposite side (not facing to pendulum)
supported beam
Standard sample for both testing methods having a notch and is mounted on the ma
chine in specific ways i.e. notch faces to pendulum in case Izod test while pend
ulum hits the sample from back of the notch in Charpy test (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7 Standard specimens for a) izod and b) charpy impact test Since most of th
e engineering components are invariably designed with notch and stress raisers t
herefore, it becomes important to know about the behaviour of material under imp
act loading in notched condition. Hence, toughness test is usually conducted usi
ng sample with notch. Moreover, un-notched samples can also be used for the toug
hness test and the results are expressed accordingly. Results of impact tests ar
e expressed in terms of either amount of energy absorbed or amount of energy abs
orbed per unit cross sectional area. It may be noted that values of toughness ar
e not directly used for design purpose but these only indicate the ability of th
e material to withstand against shock/impact load i.e. load applied at very high
rate. These tests are useful for comparing the resistance to impact loading of
different materials or same material with different processing conditions such a
s heat treatment, procedure and mechanical working etc. Resistance to the impact
loading of material depends on the surrounding temperature (Fig. 8). Therefore,
temperature at which toughness test is conducted must be reported with results.
Toughness N.m
Transition temperature
high toughness with dimple fracture
Low toughness and cleavage fracture
Test temperature
Fig. 8 Schematic diagram showing influence of test temperature on toughness 2.0
Fatigue behaviour of weld joint The fatigue performance of the metallic componen
ts in general is determined in two ways a) endurance limit i.e. indicating the m
aximum stress, stress amplitude or stress range for infinite life (typically mor
e than 20 million of load cycles) and b) number of load cycle a joint can be wit
hstand for a set of loading conditions as desired. Two types of samples are gene
rally prepared for fatigue studies as per ASTM 466 (Fig. 9 a, b). Reduced radius
sample generally ensures fracture from weld joint (Fig. 10). The fatigue perfor
mance is appreciably influenced by the various variable related with fatigue tes
t namely stress ratio, type of stress (tension-tension, reverse bending, tension
-compression, zero-tension), maximum stress, stress range, loading frequency and
surrounding environmental conditions such as temperature, corrosion, vacuum, tr
ibological conditions. Each and every parameter to be used for the fatigue test
must be carefully selected and recorded with results while reporting. Test condu
cted according to ASTM E466 standard Type of loading: axial pulsating/reverse be
nding/tension-compression Maximum stress: Stress ratio (ratio of minimum stress
to maximum stress) Temperature: ambient/vacuum/corrosion Frequency of pulsating
load: load cycles per min
Fig. 9 Standard specimen for fatigue testing For plotting the stress-number of c
ycle (S-N) curve, fatigue test is first conducted with maximum applied tensile l
oad corresponding to 0.9 time of yield strength of weld joint under study to det
ermine the number of load cycle required for fracture and then same test is repe
ated at 0.85, 0.8, 0.75, 0.7 . times of yield strength
of weld joint until endurance limits or desired fatigue life is achieved (Fig. 1
1). Typical dimensions of a standard specimen as per ASTM 466 are as-under. Cont
inuous radius (R): 100mm Width (W): 10.3mm Thickness *T): 11mm (as received) Gri
pping length: 50mm
a)
b) Fig. 10 Fatigue test sample a) Schematic diagram of standard fatigue test sam
ple with continuous radius between ends and b) photograph of typical specimen
Peak stress/Ultimate stress
0.6 0.56 0.52 0.48 0.44 0.4 100000
1000000
No. of cycles
10000000
Fig. 11 Typical data on fatigue test showing peak stress/ultimate stress vs. num
ber of cycle relationship for structure steel 3.0 Fracture toughness The resista
nce to fracture conversely resistance to crack growth is known as fracture tough
ness and is measured using various parameters such as a) stress intensity around
the crack tip (K), opening of crack mouth also called crack tip opening displac
ement (CTOD) and energy requirement for growth of crack (J or G). The mechanical
properties namely yield strength and ductility and thickness of the weld joint
under study primarily dictate the suitable parameter to be used for determining
the fracture toughness. The fracture toughness parameter namely stress intensity
factor (K) is commonly used for weld joint of heavy sections of high strength a
nd low ductility material developing plain strain conditions, while crack tip op
ening tip displacement and energy based methods (G and J integral) are used for
comparatively thinner sections made of low strength and high ductility material
developing plain stress condition. Measurement of fracture toughness using any o
f above parameters is performed using two types of samples a) compact tension sp
ecimen (CT) and b) three point bending specimen (TP). Schematics of two type of
specimen are shown in Fig. 12. In general, in these tests, applied external loa
d is increased until strain/crack opening displacement/energy vs. load relations
hip becomes non-linear. This critical value of load (P) is used for calculations
of fracture toughness using relevant formulas.
W-a
a
P
0.3 
a
W
W
a)
P/2
4W
P/2
b)
W=2, a=, W-a= and radius of hole r = 0.25 where  is plate thickness Fig. 12
Schematic of fracture toughness specimens using a) compact tension and b) three
point bending approaches Although different standards have historically been pu
blished for determining K, CTOD and J-integral, the tests are very similar, and
generally all three values can be established from one single test. In general,
stress intensity factor (K) decreases with increase in specimen thickness. This
trend continues up to a limit of thickness thereafter K becomes independent of t
he plate thickness. The corresponding value of K is called critical stress inten
sity factor (Kc) and occurs in plane strain condition. KIC is used for the estim
ation of the critical stress applied to a specimen with a given crack length. C KI
C /(Y( a)) Whe e KIC is the st ess-intensity facto , measu ed in MPa*m, C i the cri
tical tre applied to the pecimen, a i the crack length for edge crack or ha
lf crack length for internal crack and Y i a geometry factor
Lecture: 33 Solidification of Weld Metal 1.0 Epitaxial olidification The tranf
ormation of the molten weld metal from liquid to olid tate i called olidific
ation of weld metal and occur due to lo of heat from weld puddle. Generally,
olidification take place by nucleation and growth mechanim. However, olidifi
cation of weld metal can occur either by nucleation and growth mechanim or dire
ctly through growth mechanim depending upon the compoition of the filler/elect
rode metal with repect to bae metal compoition. In cae, when compoition of
the filler/electrode i completely different from the bae metal, olidification
occur by nucleation and growth mechanim e.g. ue of nickel electrode for join
ing teel. And when filler/electrode compoition i imilar to the bae metal, 
olidification i accompanied by growth only mechanim on partially melted grain
of the bae metal which i commonly known a epitaxial olidification. The growt
h of grain on either newly developed nuclei or partially melted grain of the ba
e metal, occur by conuming liquid metal i.e. tranforming the liquid into oli
d to complete the olidification equence. 2.0 Mode of olidification
The hape of grain mean tructure of grain in growth tage i governed by mode
of olidification. The mode of olidification in weld depend on compoition and
cooling condition experienced by weld metal at a particular location during th
e olidification. Thermal condition during olidification a determined by heat
tranfer in weld pool affect the actual temperature gradient at olid-liquid me
tal interface (G) and growth rate (R). A combination of high actual temperature
gradient (G) and low growth rate (R) reult in planar olidification i.e. where
liquid-olid interface i plane. A combination of low actual temperature gradie
nt (G) and high growth rate (R) reult in equiaxed olidification a hown in F
ig. (1). While combination of intermediate G and R value reult in cellular an
d dendritic mode of olidification. Product of G and R indicate the cooling rat
e. A high value of G.R produce finer grain tructure than low G.R value. During
welding, weld pool near the fuion boundary experience high value of G and
low value of R which in turn reult in planar olidification and at the weld ce
nter revere condition of G and R exit that uually caue equiaxed grain. In
fact G and R varie continuouly from the weld fuion boundary to the weld cente
r therefore all common mode of the olidification can be een in weld metal tr
ucture in equence of planar at the fuion boundar, cellular, dendritic and equi
axed at the weld centre. In general, equiaxed grain tructure i the mot favour
able weld tructure a it reult in bet mechanical performance of weld. Theref
ore, attempt are made to achieve the fine equaixed grain tructure in the weld
by different approache namely inoculation, controlled welding condition and ex
ternal force electromagnetic ocillation, arc pulation, mechanical vibration e
tc. In following ection, thee approache will be decribed in detail.
Equilibrium Temperature gradient
R
actual temeprature gradient (G)

olid
liquid
Fig. 1 chematic of temperature ditribution during olidification near olid-l
iquid metal interface In addition to microtructural variation in the weld, mac
rocopic change alo occur in weld, which are largely governed by welding param
eter uch a heat input (a determined by welding current and arc voltage) and
welding peed. Macrocopic obervation of the weld reveal of the two type of g
rain baed on their orientation a) columnar grain and b) axial grain (Fig. 3).
A reflecting from their name, columnar grain generally grow largely perpendic
ular to the fuion boundary in direction oppoite
the heat flow while axial grain grow axially in the direction of welding (Fig.
3). The axial grain weaken the weld and increae the olidification cracking te
ndency therefore effort hould made to modify the orientation of axial grain.
Fig. 2 Different mode of olidification in weld joint a) chematic diagram how
ing planar, cellular, dendritic and cellular tructure and b) micrograph of wel
d joint
weld pool
axial grain
Fig. 3 Schematic of axial grain in weld joint 3.0 Effect of welding peed on gr
ain tructure of the weld
Welding peed appreciably affect the orientation of columnar grain due to diff
erence in the hape of weld puddle. Low welding peed produce elliptical hape
weld pool and produce curved columnar grain with better uniformly of chemical co
mpoition which in turn reult in higher olidification cracking reitance of
the weld than weld produced uing high welding peed (Fig. 4). At high welding 
peed, the hape of the trailing end
of weld pool become tear drop hape and grain are motly perpendicular to the
fuion boundary of the weld.
columnar grain
columnar grain
weld pool of elipitcal hape
weld pool of trapezoidal hape
axial grain
a)
b)
Fig. 4 Effect of wending peed on hape of weld pool and grain tructure a) low
peed and b) high peed 4.0 4.1 Common method of grain refinement Inoculation
Thi method i baed on increaing the heterogeneou nucleation at nucleation t
age of the olidification by adding alloying element in weld pool which either
them elf or their compound act a nucleant. Increaed number of nucleant in t
he weld metal eventually on olidification reult in refinement of the grain i
n the weld. It i undertood that element having a) melting point higher than t
he liquidu temperature of the weld metal and b) lattice parameter imilar that
of bae metal can perform a nucleant. For aluminium, titanium and boron baed
compound a uch TiB2, TiC, AlTi-B, Al-Zr are commonly ued a grin refiner. It
i believed that increae in undercooling temperature during the olidification
with the addition of grain refiner i reponible for grain refinement a it inc
reae the nucleation rate and decreae the growth rate. For teel, Ti, V and A
l are commonly ued grain refiner.
Inoculant
Fig. 5 Schematic of grain refinement by inoculation 4.2 Arc pulation
The ga metal arc and ga tungten arc welding proce generally ue contant vo
ltage and contant current power ource. Moreover, thee procee ometime ue
a DC power ource which can upply varying current called bae current and peak
current. Bae current i the minimum current primarily ued to have table arc a
nd upplie leat amount of the heat to the weld; and olidification of the weld
i expected to take place during the bae current period (Fig. 6). While peak c
urrent i maximum current upplied by the power ource to the weld arc to genera
te the heat required for melting of the faying urface. The cycle of alternate
heating and cooling reult in maller weld puddle and o rapid cooling of the w
eld metal which in turn reult in finer grain tructure than the conventional w
elding i.e. without arc pulation (Fig. 7). It i believed that abrupt cooling o
f the weld pool urface during bae current period can alo lead to development
of few nucleant at the urface which will tend to ettle down gradually and mak
e their ditribution uniform in the molten weld pool in the ettling proce. In
creaed availability of nucleant due to urface nucleation will alo be aiti
ng to get finer grain tructure in weld.
welding current
bae current
welding time
DAS [micron]
peak current
Heat input [kJ/mm]
Fig. 6 Schematic of a) pule current v time welding and b) effect of heat inpu
t on dendrite arm pacing
a)
b)
Fig. 7 Microtructure of aluminium weld developed a) without arc pulation uing
160 A current and b) arc pulation between 120 and 160 A
Lecture: 34 Solidification of Weld Metal 4.3 Mechanical vibration and Electro-m
agnetic force
Both thee method are baed on ue of external excitation force to diturb oli
difying weld metal to create more number of the nucleant in weld metal through
different mechanim. The external diturbance caue forced flow and turbulence
in the vicou emi-olid weld metal carrying dendrite and nucleant which in
turn can reult in a) fracture of partially melted grain of the bae metal, b)
fragmentation of olidifying dendrite and c) improved ditribution of chemical
compoition and the nucleant (Fig. 8). The fractured dendrite and pulled out o
f partially melted grain preent in the weld act a nucleant for olidifying w
eld metal a they are of the ame compoition in olid tate.
Fig. 8 Refinement uing external excitation force 4.4 Magnetic Arc Ocillation
Arc compoed of charged particle can be deflected uing magnetic field. Arc oc
illation affect the weld pool in two way a) reduce the ize of weld pool and b
) alternate heating and cooling of weld (imilar to that of arc pulation) a h
own in Fig. (9). A combination of above two factor lead to rapid cooling o re
duced grain ize owing to increaed nucleation rate and reduced growth rate a i
ncreae in cooling rate of the
olidifying weld metal decreae the effective liquid to olid tate tranformat
ion temperature.
Fig. 9 Arc ocillation due to electromagnetic filed around welding arc.
4.5
Welding Parameter
Heat generated (kJ) in arc i obtained from the product of welding current and a
rc voltage (V.I) for given welding condition uch a type, and ize of electrod
e, arc gap, bae metal and hielding ga (if any). While the exact amount of hea
t upplied to bae metal for melting the faying urface i ignificantly determ
ined by the welding peed. Increae in welding peed for a given welding current
and voltage reult in reduced heat input per unit length of welding (kJ/mm) wh
ich i alo termed a net heat input for ake of clarity. Cooling rate experienc
ed by the weld metal and heat affected zone i found inverely proportional to n
et heat input (Fig. 10). Higher the heat input, lower the cooling rate. Low cool
ing rate reult in a) increaed olidification time (needed to extract complete
enible and latent heat from the molten weld pool) and b) high effective olid
to liquid tate tranformation temperature. Longer olidification time permit
each grain to grow to a greater extent which in turn produce coare grain truc
ture. Further, high heat input cauing high effective liquid olid tranformatio
n
temperature produce low nucleation rate and high growth and o coare grain tr
ucture. Increae in welding current or reduction in welding peed generally incr
eae the grain ize of weld metal a it increae the net heat input and lower
the cooling rate experienced by the weld metal during olidification.
Fig. 10 Macro-photograph of weld joint produced uing a) 3.0 kJ/mm and b) 6.0
kJ/mm heat input with help of ubmerged arc welding. 5.0 Typical metallurgical d
icontinuity of the weld Due to typical nature of welding proce, common metall
urgical dicontinuitie oberved in the weld are banding and micro-egregation o
f the element. In the following ection thee have been decribed in detail. 5.
1 Micro-egregation
Micro-egregation refer to non-uniform ditribution of element in the weld whi
ch primarily occur due to inherent nature of olidification mechanim i.e. tran
formation of high temperature alpha phae firt into olid by rejection of all
oying element into the liquid metal thereby lowering olidification temperature
. Except planar mode, other mode of olidification namely cellular, dendrite an
d equiaxed involve egregation. Therefore, inter-cellular, inter-dendritic and i
nter-equiaxed region i generally enriched of alloying element compared to cell
 (Fig 11).
D
Concentration,wt%Si
a
80 60 40 20 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Wt% Si
D
9 10
V
11
Point tarting from D
Fig. 11 Segregation of alloying element at grain boundary Banding Welding arc i
 never in teady tate a very tranient condition exit during arc welding whi
ch in turn lead to evere thermal fluctuation in the weld pool therefore coolin
g condition varying continuouly during the olidification. Variation in coolin
g rate of weld pool caue changing growth rate of the grain in weld or fluctuat
ing velocity of olidliquid metal interface. Abrupt increae in growth rate decr
eae the rate of rejection of alloying element in liquid metal near the olid-
liquid metal interface due to limited diffuion of alloying element while low c
ooling rate increae the rejection of element
near the olid liquid metal interface a long time available for diffuion to oc
cur. Thi alternate enrichment and depletion of alloying element produce band
like tructure a hown in Fig. Thi tructure i known to adverely affect the
mechanical propertie of weld joint.
Fig. 12 Typical micrograph of teel howing banded tructure

Lecture 35 CHEMICAL REACTION IN WELDS 1.0 Welding proce and cleanline of the
weld
In fuion welding, application of heat of the arc or flame reult in melting of
the faying urface of the plate to be welded. At high temperature metal beco
me very reactive to atmopheric gae uch a nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen pre
ent in and around the arc environment. Thee gae either get diolved in weld
pool or form their compound and o thee may adverely affect the oundne of t
he weld joint and mechanical performance. Therefore, variou approache are ued
to protect the weld pool from the atmopheric gae uch a developing envelop
of inactive (GMAW, SMAW) or inert gae (TIGW, MIGW) around arc and weld pool, w
elding in vacuum (EBW), covering the pool with molten lag (SAW, ESW). The effec
tivene of each method for weld pool protection i different. That i why adver
e effect of atmopheric gae in weld produced by different arc welding proce
e i different (Fig. 1).
0.2
SAW
0.15 O2 [%]
SMAW
0.1
Self hielded arc
0.05
CO2 Ar
MIG/MAGW
TIGW
0 0 0.04 0.08 0.12 N2 in weld [%] 0.16
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram howing nitrogen and oxygen content in different weldin
g procee Amongt the mot commonly ued arc welding procee, the cleanet w
eld (having minimum nitrogen and oxygen) i produced by ga tungten arc welding
(GTAW) proce due to two important factor aociated with GTAW: a) hort arc
length and b)
very table arc produced by uing non-conumable tungten electrode. A combinati
on of hort and table arc with tungten electrode reult a firm hielding of a
rc and weld pool by inert gae and which in turn retrict the entry of atmoph
eric gae in the arc zone. Ga metal arc welding (GMAW) alo offer clean weld
but not a clean a produced by GTAW becaue in GMAW arc length i omewhat grea
ter and arc tability i poorer than GTAW due to the ue of conumable electrode
, which in turn permit entry of atmopheric gae into the arc zone and weld po
ol. Submerged arc weld (SAW) joint are uually high in oxygen and le in nitro
gen becaue SAW ue flux containing motly metallic oxide. Thee oxide decomp
oe and releae oxygen in arc zone. Self hielded metal arc welding procee u
e electrode with coating of tronger nitride former like Al, Zr, Si etc. that
are found to be oxide former alo. Thee element react with nitrogen and oxyg
en preent in arc environment to form lag and remove them from the weld. Howeve
r, thi method i not effective therefore weld produced by elf hielded metal
arc welding proce contain large amount of nitrogen and ome amount of oxygen.
2.0 Effect of atmopheric gae on mechanical propertie
Oxide and nitride formed by thee gae if not removed from the weld, act a 
ite of weak zone in form of incluion and o lower the mechanical performance o
f the weld joint e.g. iron react with nitrogen to form hard and brittle needle
hape iron nitride (Fe4N) a hown in Fig. 2 (a, b). Thee needle hape micro-co
ntituent offer high tre concentration at the tip of particle-matrix interfa
ce which under external tenile tree facilitate the eay nucleation and prop
agation of crack, therefore fracture occur at low load and with limited elongat
ion (ductility). Similar logic can be given for reduction in mechanical performa
nce of weld joint having high oxygen/oxide content.
Mechanical propertie
Mechanical propertie
UTS
YS
UTS
YS
Impact reitance Elongation
Elongation Impact reitance
0
0.05
0.1
0.15 0.2 O2 in w eld [%]
0.25
0.3
0
0.05
0.1
0.15 0.2 N2 in w eld [%]
0.25
0.3
Fig. 2 Influence of oxygen and nitrogen a impuritie on mechanical propertie o
f teel weld joint Additionally, thee incluion break the dicontinuity of me
tal matrix which decreae the effective load reiting cro ection area. Redu
ction in load reiting cro ectional area lower the load carrying capacity o
f the weld. Nitrogen i alo a autenite tabilizer which in cae of autenitic
tainle teel (ASS) welding can place crucial role. Chemical compoition of A
SS i deigned to have about 5-8% ferrite in autenite matrix to control olidif
ication cracking of weld. Preence of nitrogen in weld metal either from atmoph
ere or with hielding ga (Ar) tabilize the autenite (o increae the auten
ite content) and reduce ferrite content in weld which in turn increae the ol
idification cracking tendency becaue ferrite in thee teel act a ink for i
mpuritie like P and S which otherwie increae cracking tendency of weld. 3.0 E
ffect on weld compoition
Preence of oxygen in arc environment not only increae chance of oxide inclu
ion tendency but alo affect the element tranfer efficiency from filler/electr
ode to weld pool due to oxidation of alloying element (Fig. 3). Sometime compo
ition of the weld i adjuted to get deired combination of mechanical, metallur
gical and chemical propertie by electing electrode of uitable compoition. Me
lting of electrode and coating and then tranfer of the element from arc zone c
aue the oxidation of ome of the highly reactive element which may be removed
in form of lag. Thu tranfer of epecially reactive element to weld pool i
reduced which in turn affect the weld metal compoition and o mechanical and o
ther performance characteritic of weld.
Element tranfer efficiency [%]
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 5 10 15 20 25 O2 [%] 30 35 40
Cr
Si Mn
Fig. 3 Influence of oxygen concentration on element tranfer efficiency of commo
n element
Lecture 36 CHEMICAL REACTION IN WELDS Hydrogen Hydrogen in weld joint of teel
and aluminium i conidered to be very harmful a it increae the cold cracking
tendency in hardenable teel and poroity in aluminium weld. Hydrogen induced
poroity in aluminium weld i formed mainly due to high difference in olubilit
y of hydrogen in liquid and olid tate. The hydrogen rejected by weld metal on
olidification if doent get enough time for ecaping then it i entrapped weld a
nd reult in hydrogen induced fine poroity. Weld made uing different proce
e produce varying hydrogen concentration owing to difference in olidification
time, moiture aociated with them and protection of the weld pool from atmoph
eric gae, ue of different conumable (Fig. 4). Hydrogen in teel and alumini
um weld joint i found mainly due to high difference in olubility of hydrogen i
n liquid and olid tate (Fig. 5). Cold cracking i caued by hydrogen epeciall
y when hard and brittle martenitic tructure i formed in the weld and HAZ. Man
y theorie have been advanced to explain the cold cracking due to hydrogen. Acco
rdingly to one of hypothei hydrogen diffue toward the vacancie, grain boun
dary area and other crytallographic imperfection. At thee location, egregat
ion of the hydrogen reult in firt tranformation of atomic hydrogen into gae
ou molecule and then build up the preure until it i high enough to caue g
rowth of void by propagation of crack in one of direction having high tre c
oncentration a hown in Fig. 6. Thereafter, proce of building up of the pre
ure and growth of crack i repeated until complete fracture of the weld without
any external load occur. Exitence of external or reidual tenile tree fur
ther accelerate the crack growth rate and o lower the time required for failure
to occur by cold cracking. Preence of both of above dicontinuitie (crack an
d poroity) in the weld decreae mechanical performance of weld joint. Hydrogen
in arc zone can come from variety of ource namely: moiture (H2O) in coating
of electrode or on the urface of bae metal,
hydrocarbon preent on urface in form of lubricant, paint etc inert ga (Ar)
mixed with hydrogen to increae the heat input hydrogen in diolved tate in m
etal (beyond limit) being welded uch a aluminium and teel
200 Potential hydrogen in filler [ml/100gm]
Cla 3
160

6 Cla Baked 100-150C

40
GMAW
0 0 5
Very Low
Ba ked
80
400 &
500 C
e o2 proc ored C c d e x Flu 24 C
120
10
Low
15
Medium
20
25
30
High
35
40
Hydrogen in weld [ml/100gm]
Fig. 4 hydrogen content in weld developed uing different welding procee It h
a been reported that proper baking of electrode directly reduce the cold crac
king tendency and time for failure. Therefore, attempt hould be made to avoid t
he hydrogen from above ource by taking uitable corrective action.
30ppmMolten iron
Delta Ferrite Autenite
Hydrogen olubility
Phae change
Alpha-Ferrite
1ppm Decreaing temperature
Fig. 5 Schematic of hydrogen olubility a a function of temperature of iron
Hydrogen induced crack
Fig. 6 Hydrogen induced crack Flux in welding Fluxe are commonly ued to take c
are of problem related with oxygen and nitrogen. Variety of fluxe i ued to i
mprove the quality of the weld. Thee fluxe are grouped in three categorie nam
ely halide fluxe (mainly compoed of chloride and fluoride of Na, K, Ba, Mg)
and oxide fluxe (oxide of Ca, Mn, Fe, Ti, Si) and mixture of halide and oxide
fluxe. Halide fluxe are free from oxide and therefore mainly ued for welding
highly reactive metal having good affinity with oxygen uch a Ti, Mg and Al a
lloy while oxide fluxe are ued for welding of low trength and non-critical w
eld joint of teel. In general, calcium fluoride in flux reduce hydrogen conc
entration in weld (Fig. 7). Halide-oxide type fluxe are ued for emi-critical
application in welding of high trength teel.
15
H2 in weld[cm3 /100gm]
10
5
24 C
0 0 4 8 12 16 20
Calcium fluoride in electrode [%]
Fig. 7 Influence of calcium fluoride on hydrogen concentration in weld joint Ba
icity of the flux The compoition of fluxe i adjuted o a to get proper ba
icity index of flux. It affect the ability of flux to remove impuritie like u
lpher and oxygen from melt. The baicity index of the flux refer to ratio of u
m of amount of all baic oxide and that of non-baic oxide. Baic oxide (CaO
i mot common) are donor of the oxygen while acidic oxide (uch a SiO2) are
acceptor of oxygen. Common acidic and baic oxide are hown in table below. Flu
x having BI <1 i called acidic flux, neutral flux have 1<BI<1.2 and baic flux
have BI>1.2. Increae in BI of the flux from 1 to 5 reult in ignificant decre
ae in ulphur content of the weld. The baic oxide namely CaO i trong deulph
urizer a oxygen releaed by CaO react with S and o the weld i deuphurized.
Type oxide Acidic Baic Neutral of 1 SiO2 K2O Al2O3 2 TiO2 Na2O Fe2O3 3 P2O5 CaO
Cr2O3 Decreaing Strength 4 V2O5 MgO V2O3 BaO ZnO MnO FeO 5 6 7
In general, an increae in baicity of the flux up to 2.0 decreae the S and ox
ygen concentration in weld joint a hown in Fig. 8 (a, b).
CaO/SiO2
0.1 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 0 1 2 3 4
0 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018 0.02
1
2
3
4
5
Oxygen in weld (%)
Flux baicity index
a)
Change in S (%)
b)
Fig. 8 Influence of baicity of flux on a) oxygen and b) uphur concentration in
weld. Thee oxide get decompoed at high temperature in arc environment. Stabi
lity of each oxide i different. Oxide with decreaing tability are a follow
: (i) CaO, (ii) K2O, (iii) Na2O and TiO2, (iv) Al2O3, (v) MgO, (vi) SiO2, (vii)
MnO and FeO. On decompoition, thee oxide invariably produce oxygen which in t
urn caue oxidation of reactive element in weld metal.
Lecture 37 Weldability of Metal I Undertanding weldability Weldability i con
idered a the eae of accomplihing a atifactory weld joint and can be in dete
rmined from quality of the weld joint, effort and cot required for developing t
he weld joint. Quality of the weld joint however, can be determined by many fact
or but the weld mut fulfill the ervice requirement. The characteritic of t
he metal determining the quality of weld joint include tendency to cracking, ha
rdening and oftening of HAZ, oxidation, evaporation, tructural modification an
d affinity to gae. While effort required for producing ound weld joint are d
etermined by propertie of metal ytem in conideration namely melting point, t
hermal expanion coefficient, thermal and electrical conductivity, defect inher
ent in bae metal and urface condition. All the factor adverely affecting the
weld quality and increaing the effort (& kill required) for producing a ati
factory weld joint will in turn be decreaing the weldability of metal. In view
of above, it can be aid that weldability of metal i not an intrinic property
a it i influenced by the all tep related with welding procedure, purpoe of
the weld joint and fabrication condition. Welding of a metal uing one proce
 may how poor weldability (like Al welding with SMA welding proce) and good
when welded with ome other welding proce (Al welding with TIG/MIG). Similarly
a teel weld joint may perform well under normal atmopheric condition and the
ame may exhibit very poor toughne and ductility at very low temperature cond
ition. Step of the welding procedure namely preparation of urface and edge, p
reheating, welding proce, welding parameter, pot weld treatment uch a reli
eving the reidual tree, can influence the weldability of metal appreciably.
Therefore, weldability of a metal i conidered a a relative term. Weldability
of teel Weldability of teel can be judged by two parameter (a) cleanline
of weld metal and (b) propertie of HAZ. Cleanline of weld metal i related w
ith preence of incluion due to lag or ga wherea HAZ propertie are primaril
y controlled by hardenability of the teel. Proper hielding of arc zone and deg
aing of molten
metal can be ued to control firt factor. Proper hielding can be done by inact
ive gae releaed by combution of electrode coating in SMA or inert gae (Ar
, He, Co2) in cae of TIG, MIG welding. Hardenability of teel i primarily gove
rned by the compoition. All the factor increaing the hardenability adverely
affect the weldability becaue teel become more hard, brittle and enitive to
fracture/cracking, therefore it need extra care. Therefore, more the precaution
 hould be taken to produce a ound weld joint. Addition of all alloying elemen
t (C, Mn, Ni, W, Cr etc.) except cobalt increae the hardenability which in tu
rn decreae the weldability. To find the combined effect of alloying element o
n hardenability/weldability, carbon equivalent (CE) i determined. The mot of t
he carbon equivalent (CE) equation ued to evaluate weldability depend type of
teel i.e. alloy teel or carbon teel. Common CE equation for low alloy teel
i a under: CE=C+Mn/6+(Cr+Mo+V)/5+(Ni+Cu)/15 (element are expreed in weight
percent amount) For low carbon teel and micro-alloy teel, CE i obtained u
ing following CE = C + Si/25 + (Mn+Cr)/16 + (Cr+Ni+Mo)/20 + V/15
equation:
From the Welding Journal, for low carbon, micro-alloyed teel, Ito-Beeyo
carbon equivalent: Ceq = C + Si/30 + (Mn+Cu+Cr)/20 + Ni/60 + Mo/15 + V/10 + 5*B
Since the effect of different alloying element on hardenability of teel i dif
ferent therefore, their influence on weldability will alo be different. In gene
ral, higher the CE, higher preheat temperature i required to produce defect fre
e weld joint. Following point can be kept in mind a broad guideline for weldin
g teel. CE < 0.45 0.45<CE< 0.7 CE > 0.7 No preheat required, 200-5000C of prehe
at may be ued Can not be welded
Thickne of plate being welded affect the cooling rate and when it i taken in
to account then above criteria i modified to get compenated carbon equivalent
(CCE) relation. CCE= CE + 0.00425t
Where t i the thickne of plate in mm CCE < 0.4 0.4<CCE< 0.7 CCE > 0.7 No preh
eat required, 200-5000C of preheat may be ued Can not be welded
For the weldability point of view, teel can be placed in five categorie baed
on chemical compoition, mechanical propertie, heat treatment condition, and
high temperature propertie: a) carbon teel, b) high trength low alloy teel,
c) quench and tempered teel, d) heat treatable teel and e) Cr-Mo teel. Thee
teel need to be welded in different form uch a heet, plate, pipe, forgi
ng etc. In cae of teel welding, it i important to conider thickne of bae
metal a it affect the heat input, cooling rate and retraint condition durin
g welding. Different type of teel and welding Carbon teel generally welded in
a rolled condition (beide annealed and normalized one) motly compoed of car
bon up to 1%, Mn up to 1.65%, Si up to 0.6% with reidual amount of S and P belo
w 0.05%. High trength low alloy teel (HSLA) i deigned to have yield trength
in range of 290-550 MPa uing alloying concentration leer than 1% in total. T
hee can be welded in condition ame a that of carbon teel. Quench and temper
ed (Q & T) teel belong to the carbon or HSLA teel category that are generally
heat treated to impart deired yield trength in range of 350 to 1030 MPa. Gene
rally pot weld heat treatment (PWHT) of Q & T teel i not carried out except
when dimenional tability at high temperature i required. Heat treatable teel
 generally contain carbon more than carbon or HSLA teel, to make increae the
ir repone to the heat treatment. However, preence of high carbon in thee te
el increae the hardenability which in turn decreae the weldability owing to
increaed embrittlement and cracking tendency of heat affected zone. Further, P
WHT of heat treatable teel weld joint i done to enhance their toughne and i
nduce ductility a preence of high carbon in thee teel, however, increae 
trength and hardne but at the cot of toughne and ductility. Cr-Mo teel ar
e primarily deign to have high reitance to corroion, thermal oftening and c
reep at elevated temperature (up to 700 0C). Therefore, thee are commonly ued
in food proceing, petrochemical indutrie and thermal power plant. Weld
joint of thee teel are generated given PWHT to regain ductility, toughne,
and corroion reitance beide reducing the reidual tree. Common problem
in teel welding Cracking of HAZ due to hardening High cooling rate noticed in
welding generally exceed the CCR and therefore chance of martenitic tranform
ation alo increae. It i well known from the phyical metallurgy of the teel
 that thi tranformation increae the hardne and brittlene at the ame ti
me it alo generate tenile reidual tree. Thi combination (high hardne
and tenile reidual tree) make the teel prone to the cracking. Cold crack
ing Another important effect of olid tate tranformation i the cold cracking.
It i alo termed a delayed/hydrogen induced cracking becaue thee two factor
 (delay and hydrogen) are baically reponible for thi cracking. Origin of th
i problem i the variation in olubility of hydrogen with the temperature (Fig.
). Reduction in temperature decreae olubility of hydrogen in olid tate due
to change in crytal tructure from F. C. C. to B. C. C. High temperature tranf
ormation (like autenite to pearlite or bainite) allow ecape of ome of exce
hydrogen (beyond the olubility). But in cae of low temperature tranformation
(autenite into martenite), when rate of diffuion reduce ignificantly, hydr
ogen can not ecape and remain in teel a olid olution. Diolve hydrogen ha
 more damaging effect in preence of martenite and it can be explained a foll
ow. Hydrogen diolved in atomic tate at low temperature diffue out gradually
toward the vacancie and other cavitie. At thee location atomic hydrogen con
vert into H2 ga and with time a thi ga tart to build up preure in the c
avitie. If the preure exceed the fracture tre of metal, cavitie expand
by cracking. Cracking of metal increae the volume therefore reduce the preu
re. Due to continuou diffuion of hydrogen toward the cavitie after ome time
again a preure exceed the fracture tre crack propagate further. Thi pro
ce i repeated until compete fracture take place without external load. Since
thi type
cracking and fracture take place after ome time of welding hence it i called
delayed cracking. Delay depend on the following factor: Hardenability of teel
Amount of hydrogen diolved in atomic tate Reidual tenile tre Hardenabil
ity of teel i related with the critical cooling rate, which depend on the pre
ence of alloying element. Steel of high hardenability promote the martenitic
tranformation therefore it ha high hardne and brittlene. High hardne in
creae the cracking tendency wherea oft and ductile metal reduce it. Crack t
ip are blunt in cae of ductile metal (they remain harp in hard and brittle m
etal), they (blunted crack tip) reduce the crack enitivity and increae the
tre level for fracture. A a reult crack propagation rate i reduced. Steel
of low hardenability will therefore minimize the cold/delayed cracking. Larger
the amount of diolved hydrogen fater will be the delayed/hydrogen induced cra
cking. Remedy Ue of low hydrogen electrode. Preheating of plate to be welded.
Ue of autenitic electrode. Ue of low hydrogen electrode will reduce the hy
drogen content in weld metal. Preheating of the plate will reduce the cooing rat
e, which will allow longer time for gae to ecape during the liquid to olid 
tate and olid-olid tranformation. It may alo reduce the cooling rate below t
he critical cooling rate o that martenitic tranformation can be avoided and a
utenite can be tranformed into oft phae like pearlite. Thee oft phae fu
rther reduce the cracking tendency. Ue of autenitic electrode alo avoid the
martenite formation and provide mainly autenite matrix in weldment. Autenite
i a oft and tough phae having high olubility ( %) for hydrogen. All thee c
haracteritic of autenite reduce the cold/delayed cracking.
Increae crack ize/damage Stre
Low Hydrogen
Complete fracture Crack initiation
Stre
Medium Hydrogen
No damage
High Hydrogen
Time
Time
Fig. Schematic diagram howing a) tre v. time relationhip for fracture by c
old crack and b) effect of hydrogen concentration on cold cracking at different
tre level
Lecture 38 Weldability of Metal II Need of aluminium welding Welding of alumini
um i conidered to be lightly difficult than teel due to high thermal & elect
rical conductivity, high thermal expanion coefficient, aluminium oxide (Al2O3)
formation tendency, and lower tiffne. However, increaing application of alu
minium alloy in all ector of indutry are forcing technologit to develop vi
able and efficient technologie for joining of aluminium without much advere ef
fect on their mechanical, chemical and metallurgical performance deired for lo
nger life of ytem. The performance of joint of an aluminium alloy to a grea
t extent i determined by it compoition, alloy temper condition and method of
manufacturing. All the three apect are uually included in aluminium alloy pe
cification. Aluminium alloy may be produced either only by cat or by cating an
d ubequently forming (which are called wrought alloy). Welding of wrought alu
minium alloy i more common and therefore in thi chapter dicuion are relat
ed to wrought aluminium alloy. Depending upon the compoition, aluminium alloy
are claified in 1XXX through 9XXX erie. Some of aluminum alloy (1XXX, 3XXX,
4XXX and 5XXX) non-heat treatable and other (2XXX, 4XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX erie)
are heat treatable. Strengthening of Non-heat treatable aluminium alloy and we
lding The trength of the non-heat treatable aluminium alloy i motly dictated
by olid olution trengthening and diperion hardening effect of alloying el
ement uch a ilicon, iron, manganee and magneium. Magneium i the mot eff
ective in olution trengthening therefore 5XXX erie aluminium alloy have rel
atively high trength even in annealed condition. Mot of the non heat treatable
aluminium alloy are work hardenable. Heating of thee alloy during welding (d
ue to weld thermal cycle) lower effect of prior work hardening and improve the
ductility which in turn can lead to lo of trength of HAZ. Moreover, high tr
ength olid olution alloy of 5XXX erie uch a Al-Mg and Al-Mg-Mn are found
uitable for welded contruction
tructure a they offer largely uniform mechanical propertie of the variou zo
ne of a welded joint. Strengthening of heat treatable aluminium alloy and weld
ing Mot heat treatable aluminium alloy (2XXX, 4XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX erie) are
trengthened by olid olution formation, work hardening and precipitation tren
gthening depending upon the alloy condition and manufacturing hitory. Strength
of thee alloy in annealed condition i either imilar or lightly better a co
mpared to non-heat treatable alloy mainly due to preence of alloying element
uch a copper, magneium, zinc and ilicon. Generally, heat treatable aluminium
alloy are precipitation hardened which involve olutionizing followed by quen
ching and aging either at room temperature (natural) or elevated temperature (ar
tificial aging). Three mot common precipitation hardenable aluminium alloy Al-
Cu (2XXX erie), Al-Mg-Si (6XXX erie) and Al-Zn-Mg (7XXX erie) are primaril
y hardened by forming non-coherent phae namely Al2Cu, Mg2Si and Zn2Mg repecti
vely beide many complex intermetallic compound during aging proce. Therefor
e, preence and lo of thee precipitate ignificantly affect the mechanical
performance (hardne, tenile trength and % elongation) of weld joint of the
e alloy, which in turn i governed by weld thermal cycle experienced by bae me
tal and weld metal during welding. In general, all factor decreaing the heat i
nput (either due to low welding current, increae in welding peed or ue of low
heat input welding procee uch a electron beam, pule TIG) would reduce the
width of heat affected zone aociate advere effect uch a the poibility o
f partial melting of low melting point phae (eutectic) preent at grain bounda
ry, over-aging, grain growth, reverion or diolution of precipitate or a comb
ination of thee.
In the olution heat treated condition, heat treatable alloy exhibit lower crac
king tendency than in the aged condition mainly due more uniform microtructure
and
leer retraint impoed by bae metal. Welding of heat treatable alloy in aged
condition lead to reverion (lo/diolution of precipitate) and over-aging (
coarening of precipitate by conuming fine precipitate) effect which in turn
often the HAZ to ome extent. However, under influence welding thermal cycle,
alloying element are diolved during heating and form heterogeneou olid olu
tion and ubequently on rapid cooling reult in uper aturation of thee elem
ent in aluminium matrix. Thu olutionizing and quenching take place in heat af
fected zone. Thereafter, aging of ome of the alloy like Al-Zn-Mg age lowly ev
en at room temperature and attain trength almot imilar to that of bae metal
while other heat treatable alloy like Al-Cu and Al-Mg-Si alloy dont how appreci
able age hardening. Hence, Al-Zn-Mg alloy are preferred when pot weld heat tre
atment i not either poible or feaible.
4.0
Weldability of aluminum alloy
Weldability of aluminium alloy like any other metal ytem mut be aeed in
light of purpoe (application conidering ervice condition), welding procedure
being ued and welding condition in which welding need to be performed. Weldab
ility of aluminium may be very poor when joined by hielded metal arc welding or
ga welding and the ame may be very good when joint i made uing tungten ine
rt ga or ga metal arc welding proce. Similarly other apect of welding proc
edure uch a edge preparation, welding parameter, preheat and pot weld heat t
reatment etc. can ignificantly dictate the weldability of aluminium owing to th
eir ability to affect the oundne of weld joint and mechanical performance. T
hu, all the factor governing the oundne of the aluminium weld, the mechanic
al and metallurgical feature determine the weldability of aluminium alloy yte
m. In general, aluminium i conidered to be of comparatively lower weldability
than teel due to variou reaon a) high affinity of aluminium toward atmoph
eric gae, b) high thermal expanion coefficient, c) high thermal and electrica
l conductivity, d) poor rigidity and e) high olidification temperature range. T
hee characteritic of aluminium alloy in general make them enitive from def
ect formation point of view during welding. The extent of undeirable affect of
above characteritic on performance of the weld joint i generally reduced ui
ng two approache a) effective protection of the weld pool from atmopheric cont
amination uing proper hielding
method and b) reducing influence of weld thermal cycling uing higher energy den
ity welding procee. Former approach mainly deal with uing variou environm
ent (vacuum, Ar, He, or their mixture with hydrogen and oxygen) to hield the
weld pool from ambient gae while later one ha led to the development of newer
welding procee uch a laer, pule variant of TIG and MIG, friction tir w
elding etc.
Lecture 39 Weldability of Metal II 5.0 5.1 Typical welding problem in aluminum
alloy Poroity
Poroity in aluminum weld joint can be of two type a) hydrogen induced poroit
y and b) interdendritic hrinkage poroity and both are caued by entirely diffe
rent factor (Fig. 1). Former one i caued by the preence of hydrogen in the w
eld owing to unfavorable welding condition uch a improper cleaning, moiture
in electrode, hielding gae and oxide layer, preence of hydro-carbon in form
of oil, paint, greae etc. In preence of hydrogen poroity i mainly occur du
e to high difference in olubility of hydrogen in liquid and olid tate of alum
inum alloy. During olidification of the weld exce hydrogen i rejected at the
advancing olid-liquid interface in the weld which in turn lead to the develop
ment of hydrogen induced poroity. Moreover, high cooling rate experienced by th
e weld pool alo increae tendency of entrapment of hydrogen. Exceive hydroge
n poroity can everely reduce trength, ductility and fatigue reitance of alu
minum weld due to two reaon a) reduction in effective load reiting cro-e
ctional area and b) lo of metallic continuity owing to the preence of ga poc
ket increae the tre concentration. It alo reduce the life of aluminum we
ld. Therefore, to control hydrogen induced poroity in aluminium following appr
oache can be ued a) proper cleaning of urface, electrode to drive off moit
ure and impuritie from weld urface b) addition of freon to the hielding ga,
c) churning the weld pool during weld olidification uing uitable electro-magn
etic field. Inter-dendritic poroity in weld mainly occur due to poor fluidity
of molten weld metal and rapid olidification. Preheating of plate and increa
ing heat input (uing high current and low welding peed) help in reducing the i
nter-dendritic poroity.
Fig. 1 Micrograph howing a) dendritic and b) ga poroity in aluminium weld (
100X) 5.2 Incluion
In general, preence of any foreign contituent (one which i not deired) in th
e weld can be conidered a incluion and thee may be in the form of gae, thi
n film and olid particle. High affinity of aluminium with atmopheric gae i
ncreae the tendency of formation of oxide and nitride (having denity imila
r to that of aluminium) epecially when a) protection of weld pool i not enough
, b) proper cleaning of filler and bae metal ha not been done, c) hielding ga
e are not pure enough and o providing oxygen and hydrogen to molten welding p
ool during welding, d) gae are preent in diolved tate in aluminium itelf
and tungten incluion while uing GTA welding. Motly, incluion of aluminium o
xide and nitride are found in weld joint in cae of un-favourable welding con
dition. Preence of thee incluion dirupt the metallic continuity in the we
ld therefore thee provide ite for tre concentration and become a ource of
weakne leading to the deterioration in mechanical and corroion performance o
f the weld joint (Fig. 2). Ductility, notch toughne and fatigue reitance of
the weld joint are very adverely affected by the preence of the incluion. T
o reduce the formation of incluion in weld it i important to give proper atten
tion to above ource of atmopheric gae and developing proper welding procedu
re pecification (election of proper electrode, welding parameter, hielding g
ae and manipulation of during welding), GTAW o a to avoid the formation of t
ungten incluion. for
Fig. 2 Incluion and other impuritie in weld joint 5.3 Solidification crackin
g
The inter-dendritic cracking of weld metal motly along the weld centerline in v
ery lat tage of olidification during welding owing to two main factor a) dev
elopment of tenile reidual tree and b) preence of low melting point phae
 in inter-dendritic region of olidifying weld i called olidification cracki
ng (Fig. 3). It primarily occur when reidual tenile tre developed in weld
(owing to contraction of bae metal and weld metal) goe beyond the trength of
olidifying weld metal. Moreover, the contribution of olidification hrinkage o
f weld metal in development of the tenile reidual tre i generally marginal
. All the factor namely thermal expanion coefficient of weld and bae metal, m
elting point, weld bead profile, type of weld, degree of contraint, thickne o
f work piece etc. affecting the contraction of the weld will govern the reidual
tree and o olidification cracking tendency. No reidual tenile tre no
cracking. Reidual tree in weld joint can not be eliminated but can be mini
mized by developing and following proper welding procedure. Increae in degree o
f retrain in general increae olidification cracking tendency due to increae
d reidual tenile tree. Similar, concave fillet weld bead profile reult h
igher olidification cracking tendency than thoe of convex weld bead profile. I
n ame line, other related material characteritic of bae metal uch a incre
ae in thickne of plate, thermal expanion of coefficient and melting temperat
ure in general increae the reidual tree and o olidification cracking te
ndency. Apart from the reidual tenile tree trength and ductility of weld
metal in terminal tage of olidification alo predominantly determine the olid
ification cracking tendency. In general, all the factor uch a compoition of
the weld metal, microtructure, egregation tendency increaing the olidificati
on temperature range and fluidity of low melting point phae (owing to reductio
n in urface tenion and vicoity) of molten weld metal increae the olidifica
tion cracking.
Fig. 3 Solidification cracking in aluminium weld 5.3.1 Compoition of aluminum a
lloy Preence of all alloying element (ilicon, copper, magneium, zinc) in uch
a quantity that increae the olidification temperature tend to increae the
olidification cracking tendency. In general, addition of thee element in alum
inum firt widen the olidification temperature range then after reaching maxim
um it decreae gradually a evident from the Fig. 4. It can be oberved additio
n of thee element at certain level reult in maximum range of olidification
temperature and that correpond to highet olidification cracking tendency. It
can be noticed from the figure .that olidification cracking i lower with both
very low and high concentration of alloying element owing to varying amount of l
ow melting point eutectic and other phae. Limited amount of low melting point
phae obviouly increae reitance to olidification cracking due to high tr
ength of olidified weld metal in terminal tage of olidification while in cae
of aluminium alloy (uch a eutectic or near to the eutectic compoition) the p
reence of large amount of low melting point phae facilitate healing of crack
 by the backfill of incipient crack which in turn decreae the olidification
cracking tendency. Therefore, election of filler metal for welding of aluminum
alloy i done in uch a way that for given dilution level concentration of all
oying element in weld metal correpond to minimum olidification temperature o
a to reduce the olidification cracking poibility. In general, application o
f Al-5%Mg and Al-(5-12%) Si filler are commonly ued to avoid olidification cr
acking for welding of aluminum alloy.
Fig. 4 Influence alloying element on olidification cracking tendency The micro
tructure of weld metal can influence olidification cracking in uch a way that
how far it affect the egregation tendency owing to variation in ize and orie
ntation of grain. In general fine grain tructure reult i large grain bounda
ry area hence more uniform ditribution and reduced egregation of alloying elem
ent. Further, fine equiaxed grain

tructure provide better heeling of incipient crack through back fill by liquid
metal available at lat to olidify. Converely for a given olidification crack
ing enitive alloy compoition coare columnar grain tructure having abutting
orientation encourage the cracking tendency a hown in Fig. 5. Moreover, the m
orphology of low melting point phae a governed by their urface tenion and v
icoity in liquid tate near lat tage of olidification alo affect the oli
dification cracking enitivity. In general, low melting point phae having low
urface tenion and vicoity (o high fluidity) olidify in form of thin film
and layer in inter-dendritic region which are conidered to be crack enitive
than thoe of globular morphology owing to high urface tenion and vicoity.
columnar grain weld pool of elipitcal hape
axial grain
a)
columnar grain
weld pool of trapezoidal hape
b) Fig. 6 Schematic diagram howing influence of welding peed on weld pool and
grain tructure of weld a) low peed and b) high peed
6.0
Control of olidification cracking Changing compoition of the weld metal o a
to reduce the olidification temperature range and increae the amount of low me
lting point eutectic to facilitate heating of incipient crack. The microtructu
re of weld metal can be controlled in many way uch a addition of grain refine
r, ue of external electromagnetic or mechanical force and election of proper
welding parameter uch a heat input (VI) and welding peed. Addition of grain
refiner (Ti, B, Zr etc) in aluminium weld metal o a to facilitate the developm
ent of fine and equiaxed grain tructure and reduce columnar grain tructure. Si
milarly low heat input lead to development of fine equiaxed grain and low weld
ing peed produce curved grain aociated with pear drop haped weld pool. Mech
anical vibration and electro-magnetic tirring of weld pool alo help to refine
the grain tructure avoid the abutting columnar grain a hown in Fig. Reducti
on in development of tenile reidual tree uing any of the approache uch
a pot weld tre relieving treatment, peening, hot blating, controlling wel
d bead geometry alway help in reducing the olidification cracking.
Lecture 39 Failure Analyi and Prevention: Fundamental caue of failure 1.0 In
troduction The failure of engineering component frequently lead to diruption
in ervice to the public at large. To avoid reoccurrence of the failure of engi
neering component during ervice, it i important that whenever failure occur,
the ame i thoroughly invetigated to etablih primary factor and other import
ant factor that led to failure o that uitable recommendation can be made to
avoid failure in future. Failure analyi and it prevention need a ytematic
approach of invetigation for etablih the important caue of the failure. The
refore, it i worth to familiarize with fundamental caue of failure of mechani
cal, general approach to be ued for the failure analyi and failure analyi o
f welded joint. 2.0 Fundamental caue of the failure In general, an engineerin
g component or aembly i conidered to have failed under the following three c
ondition when the component i a) inoperable, b) operate but doent perform the
intended function and c) operate but afety and reliability i very poor. Howe
ver, metallurgical failure of a mechanical component can occur in many way a)
elatic deformation i beyond acceptable limit, b) exceive and unacceptable le
vel of platic deformation, c) complete fracture ha taken place and d) lo of
dimenion due to variety of reaon. In thi chapter, failure analyi hall be
oriented mainly toward the metallurgical failure of mechanical component. 2.1
Elatic deformation Elatic deformation occur when tiffne of the component i
 le and the ame i primarily determined by modulu of elaticity and cro 
ection. Elatic deformation can lead to the failure of mechanical component ep
ecially in high preciion aemblie and machinery where even mall elatic defo
rmation under operating condition i acceptable. 2.2 Platic deformation Exce
ive platic deformation of the mechanical component leading to the failure can
occur in two condition a) externally applied tre i beyond the yield
trength limit and b) component i ubjected to applied tre lower than yield
tre but expoed to high temperature condition enough to caue creep. Both th
e cae hould be handled uing different approache. To avoid the failure by pl
atic deformation owing to externally applied tre more than yield trength, t
he cro ection hould be deigned after taking proper factor of afety and con
idering the yield trength of material of which component i to be made. For m
echanical component that are expected to be expoed in high temperature creep r
eitant material hould be elected o that under identical load condition, lo
w teady tate creep rate of creep reitant material can allow longer creep li
fe. 2.3 Fracture Fracture of mechanical component i uually caued by a) overl
oading, b) fatigue and c) tre rupture. Failure due to overloading can occur i
n many way uch a accidental loading, gradual reduction in load reiting cro
 ectional area of component due to wear and tear, deterioration in mechanical
propertie of component due to unfavorable metallurgical tranformation during
ervice. To avoid failure due to overloading well thought out deign hould be d
eveloped in light prevailing technological undertanding and tre calculation
while continuouly monitoring the condition of component during the ervice ho
uld alo be uing uitable technique and proper inpection and teting chedule
. 2.4 Fatigue, SCC and Creep The catatrophic fracture due to fatigue take pla
ce without any platic deformation. For fatigue fracture occur only when the ex
tent of variation of the load deciding the loading parameter like tre range,
tre amplitude, range of tre intenity factor and maximum tre, i large
enough and type of load i either tenile or hear. A firt tage fatigue crac
k nucleation and ubequent table growth of the crack during fatigue can occur o
nly under tenile and hear load by mode I and mode 2 or 3 repectively. Fatigue
failure can occur not jut in component with tre raier and internal defect
 but alo in well polihed and uniform cro-ection. However, fatigue life of
the component having tre
raier and defect i generally found lower than thoe of mooth cro ection.
Engineering component that are expected to experience the fatigue loading are d
eigned for pecific life e.g. 1 million load cycle, 2 million load cycle, 10
million load cycle and infinite life. The fatigue life (Number of load cycle) o
f a weld joint i primarily decided by the tre range for a given joint config
uration. Accordingly, weld cro ection i deigned to have tre range within
the pecified limit for particular fatigue life. Fracture urface of a componen
t failed by fatigue exhibit concentric circle arc uually called beach mark. S
tre rupture i another mechanim cauing fracture of thoe component which ar
e ubjected to high temperature expoure at high tree. The tre rupture i
third and lat tage of the creep where creep take place at increaing rate a
function of time by grain boundary liding mechanim that nucleate void and 
ubequently coalecence of void lead to fracture. Generally, the urface of a c
omponent ubjected to tre rupture ha many crack and evere necking near the
fracture urface which can be een even by naked eye. Lo of Dimenion Lo o
f dimenion take placed primarily due to removal of the material from the funct
ional urface by variety of wear mechanim uch a abraion, adheion, corroio
n eroion etc. Gradual lo of the material from the functional urface eventual
ly can lead to reduction in load reiting cro ectional area to uch an exten
t that failure take place by any of the above mentioned mechanim like excei
ve elatic deformation, platic deformation, overloading, fatigue, creep or tre
 rupture ingly or in combination with other mechanim. Moreover, the reita
nce to wear of material by a particular mechanim i determined different et o
f mechanical and chemical propertie of material. 3.0 Fundamental Caue of fai
lure
The failure of an engineering component in actual working condition can occur
due to very large of factor related with deign, material manufacturing, ervi
ce condition etc. To have ytematic undertanding on variou factor which can
lead to metallurgical failure of engineering component can be group under fol
lowing heading:
Improper deign Improper election of material Defect and dicontinuitie in m
etal itelf Improper proceing of material Poor ervice condition Poor aemb
ling Poor maintenance 3.1 Lack of Deign A deficient deign frequently caue fa
ilure of engineering component under external load. The deficiency in deign of
a component can be in variou form uch a preence of tre raier owing to
harp change in cro ection, changing the deign without proper conideration
of it influence on tre ditribution epecially under high tre area of t
he component, duplicating a ucceful deign for more evere loading condition
, deign i developed without full knowledge of tre condition owing to compl
exity of the geometry and inability to ue proper criteria for deigning the eng
ineering component. It i believed that in general more than 50% of the metallu
rgical failure of engineering component occur due to localization of the tre
e in preence of tre raier uch a harp fillet, notche, keyway, hole
etc. Localization of the tre initiate the crack and facilitate their prop
agation hence premature fracture occur due to the preence of tre raier. F
atigue failure i motly triggered by thee tre raier preent either at the
urface or in ub-urface region. Premature failure are alo oberved when man
agement encouraged by excellent performance of an engineering component with one
ytem decide to put the ame component on ome other imilar kind of ytem b
ut of higher capacity without giving full conideration to the tre analyi w
hich will be developed with new ytem. In new condition may not be compatible
to the ame component in repect of material, deign, and proceing condition
etc. o leading to premature failure.
Sometime
even

light
modification
in
deign
made
to
facilitate
the
manufacturing at the hop floor (in abence or ambiguity in deign pecification
) can lead to exceive tre concentration o the premature failure of enginee
ring component. A deficient deign can alo reult from important factor like
inability to calculate the tre accurately and dependence of deigner on unde
r of tenile data for the deign purpoe which may not alway be equally relevan
t. Deigner frequently alo come acro the ituation when accurate calculation
 and clear analyi of tre (under prevailing technological undertanding and
capabilitie) i not practicable due to complexity in geometry of the component
. 3.3 Improper election of the material Selection of a material for developing
the deign of a mechanical component during ervice in light of operating condi
tion hould be baed on expected failure mechanim uch a ductile or brittle
fracture, creep, fatigue, wear etc. For each type of expected failure mechanim
a combination of the mechanical, phyical and chemical propertie hould be po
eed by the potential material to be elected for developing a deign. For exam
ple, if failure of a component i expected to occur by exceive platic deforma
tion at room temperature and high temperature condition then yield trength and
creep repectively become important criterion for deign. Similarly, if failure
of a component i expected to occur by fracture under overload, fluctuating lo
ad and impact load then ultimate trength, endurance trength and impact tren
gth repectively hould be conidered. Deficient material election can occur du
e to reliance on tenile data for election of material, and inability to elec
t of metal in light of the expected failure mechanim and o a to develop uita
ble criteria for the deign purpoe. The problem of the material election i f
urther complicated when the performance of a material varie a function of tim
e e.g. creep, corroion, embrittlement etc. The election of the material for de
ign purpoe i till being made on the bai of the tenile data available in m
etal hand book depite of the fact that tenile data doe not correctly reflect
the performance of the material under different
type of load and ervice condition. The criteria for the election of metal fo
r deigning a component for a particular ervice condition mut be baed on the
expected failure mechanim. Practically there are no fixed criteria for electi
on of metal while deigning the component. Deign criteria for working condition
of each component hould be analyzed carefully and then baed expected failure
mechanim uitable deign criteria may be developed. Only a a guide following t
able how few failure mechanim and the correponding deign criteria that may
be ueful for deign the engineering component. S. No. 1 2 Failure mechanim Du
ctile fracture Brittle fracture Deign criteria Yield trength (in tenion, comp
reion, hear a per type of load) Fracture toughne (critical tre intenit
y factor K1c), Izode / Charpy notch toughne, ductility, ductile to brittle tra
nition temperature 3 4 5 6 7 Fatigue Thermal fatigue Creep Platic deformation
Stre cracking Endurance limit / fatigue trength with tre raier, hardne
Ductility, peak platic train (under operating condition) Creep rate at given
temperature Yield trength corroion K1SCC, corroion reitance to pecific env
ironment
3.3 Preence of defect and dicontinuitie in raw/tock metal Metal being ued
for fabrication of an engineering component may be deficient in many way depend
ing upon the thermal and mechanical tree experienced during manufacturing t
ep ued for developing the tock material. For example Rod, plate, and flat
produced by bulk deformation baed procee like rolling, forging and extruio
n may have unfavorable flow of grain, urface crack etc. while cating may ha
ve blow hole, poroity and diolved gae in olid tate. Component developed
uing uch raw material and tock having internal dicontinuity and minute u
rface defect generally offer poor mechanical performance epecially under ever
e fatigue load condition a thee dicontinuitie provide eay path for fractur
e. Therefore, raw material away from
fracture location and near the fracture urface of the failed part mut be tudi
ed uing uitable technique. To identify the preence of uch dicontinuitie i
n raw/tock material more attention hould be paid to the location wherefrom cra
ck have grown to caue fracture. 3.4 Unfavorable manufacturing proceing condi
tion A wide range of manufacturing procee are ued for obtaining the deired
ize, hape and propertie in tock material which include primary and econda
ry haping procee uch a cating, forming, machining and welding apart from
the procee like heat treatment, cae hardening, urface coating etc. that ar
e primarily deigned to impart the deired combination of propertie either at t
he urface or core of the raw material a dictated by the requirement of the ap
plication. The election of inappropriate combination of the proce parameter
of each of above mentioned manufacturing procee can lead to development of d
icontinuitie, defect, unfavorable tranformation and
metallurgical change and o deterioration in the performance of final product d
uring the ervice. Thee imperfection and dicontinuitie are motly proce p
ecific and can exit in variety of form due to improper election of manufactur
ing proce and their parameter. Therefore, due care mut be given by failure a
nalyt to invetigate the preence of any defect, dicontinuity or unfavorable f
eature in end produced by manufacturing procee and failed prematurely during
the ervice. Preence of any undeirable feature or dicontinuity in failed com
ponent not jut near the fracture urface but alo in new one or at the location
away from the fracture urface indicate that election of inappropriate manufa
cturing proce condition. Further, to etablih the reaon for development of
dicontinuitie and defect manufacturing proce and it parameter hould be a
nalyzed to ee whether thee were compatible with the raw material or not. Hence
, the failure analyt or invetigation team member mut have expertie in mater
ial and manufacturing proce in quetion in order to etablih the caue of fa
ilure owing to deficiency in manufacturing of material. Jut to have idea few ma
nufacturing procee along with commonly found defect and dicontinuitie that
can be potential ource of the failure occurring
due to abued proceing condition have been decribed in the following ection
. Forming and forging Thee are bulk deformation baed group of manufacturing p
rocee in which deired ize and hape i obtained by applying motly compre
ive, hear and tenile force to enure the platic flow of metal a per need. I
n obtaining the defect and dicontinuity free formed/forged product the ductili
ty of the raw material play a very crucial role. Forming/forging can be perform
ed either at room temperature or elevated temperature according to the ductility
and yield trength of the raw material. To increae the ductility and facilitat
e forming and forging procee bulk deformation at high temperature i commonly
performed. Apart from ductility and temperature, the rate of deformation alo 
ignificantly determined the ucce of bulk deformation baed procee. Lack of
ductility owing to inappropriate tock temperature and exceively high rate of
deformation condition can lead to crack and other continuitie in end product
. Machining Machining i a econdary haping proce and i alo conidered a n
egative proce where unwanted material i removal form tock material to get t
he deired ize and hape. Further, the material from the tock i removed in th
e form of mall chip by largely hear mechanim. However in ome of the advance
d machining procee the application of the localized intene heat i alo ued
for removing the material from the tock by melting and ablation. Improper mac
hining procedure including election of machining proce, tool, cutting fluid,
proce parameter etc. can lead to development of undeirable feature uch a
feed mark, overheating, decarburization, reidual tree and lo of alloying
element from the urface of the machined component. Thee can a ource of 
tre raier and provide eay ite for nucleation of the crack, oftening of ma
terial due to lo of alloying element. In cae failure wa triggered by ome d
icontinuity generated during machining, the failure analyt hould look into th
e compatibility of machining procedure with given material to
etablih the caue of the failure and make uitable recommendation to avoid the
reoccurrence of the imilar failure.
Welding The development of a joint by welding and allied procee like brazing
and oldering, thermal praying etc. generally involve application of localized
heat, preure or both with or without filler. However, nature of the joint it
elf i frequently conidered a dicontinuity owing to preence of heterogeneit
y in repect of the mechanical, chemical, tructural propertie and reidual tr
e tate of weld joint a compared to the bae metal or the component being jo
ined beide the exitence of weld defect within the acceptable limit in form o
f notche, poroitie, poor weld bead profile, crack etc. Owing to preence of
the above undeirable feature in weld joint joint efficiency i generally foun
d le than 100%. Therefore, weld joint i alo not conidered reliable for crit
ical application. The mot of the weld defect and dicontinuitie are weld proc
e and bae metal pecific. If failure ha been triggered by ome weld diconti
nuity then failure analyi mut look into welding procedure pecification and w
ork man hip apect to etablih the caue of failure. Heat treatment Heat tre
atment of many metal ytem like iron, aluminium, magneium, copper, titanium e
tc i a common indutrial practice to obtain the deired combination of properti
e a per need of the end application of the component. Heat treatment motly i
nvolve a equence of the controlled heating up to predetermined temperature fol
lowed by controlled cooling. Each tep of heat treatment from heating to the con
trolled cooling i determined by the purpoe of heat treatment, ize and hape o
f the component. Thu inappropriate election of any tep of heat treatment nam
ely heating rate, peak temperature, oaking time and cooling rate can reult in
unfavorable metallurgical tranformation and mechanical propertie that can even
tually lead to failure. For example, overheating of hardenable teel component
for prolong duration can caue oxidation, decarburization, exceive grain growt
h, diolution of the fine precipitate,
increaed hardenability, high temperature gradient during quenching and thu inc
reaed cracking tendency. Similarly, unfavorable cooling rate can produce undei
rable combination of the propertie which may be lead to poor performance of the
component during the ervice. Therefore, hardne tet on the failed component
i commonly performed to conform whether heat treatment wa done properly. In ca
e failure invetigation indicating that it wa triggered by unfavorable propert
ie and tructure generated during heat treatment, then failure analyt hould l
ook into the compatibility of heat treatment parameter with material, ize and
hape of the component to etablih the caue of the failure and make uitable r
ecommendation. Chemical cleaning Surface of the engineering component i frequ
ently cleaned uing mild hydrogen baed chemical and acid. Sometime, during th
e cleaning hydrogen get diffued into the ub-urface region of the metal if th
e ame i not removed by pot cleaning heat treatment or followed development of
the coating immediately then hydrogen i left in the uburface zone which can
ubequently be the caue of the failure by hydrogen embrittlement or cold crac
king. If the failure invetigation indicate the poibility of hydrogen embritt
lement or cold cracking then failure analyt hould look into the detailed proce
dure ued for chemical cleaning of the failed engineering component beide mea
uring the hydrogen diolved in uburface region uing uitable method. 3.5 Po
or aembling Error in aembly can be reult from variou way uch a ambiguou
, inufficient or inappropriate aembly procedure, mialignment, poor
workmanhip. Sometime failure are alo caued by the inadvertent error perform
ed by the worker during the aembly. For example failure of nut and tud aem
bly (ued for holding the car) by fatigue can occur owing to lack of information
regarding equence of tightening the nut and torque to be ued for tightening
purpoe; under uch condition any ort of looening of nut which in ubjected
to external load will lead to fatigue failure. 3.6 Poor ervice condition
Failure of an engineering component can occur due to abnormal ervice condition
experienced by them for which they are deigned. Thee may appear in form of exp
oure of component to exceive high rate of loading, unfavorable oxidative, cor
roive, eroive environment at higher or lower temperature condition for which
it ha not been deigned. The contribution of any abnormality in ervice conditi
on on the failure can only be etablihed after thorough invetigation regardin
g compatibility of the deign, manufacturing (uch a heat treatment) and materi
al of the failed component with condition experienced by them during ervice. T
o avoid any catatrophic failure of critical component during the ervice uual
ly well planned and thought out maintenance plan i developed which involve per
iodic inpection and teting of the component that crucial for uninterrupted op
eration of entire plant. For a ound maintenance trategy, it i important that
procedure of inpection and teting method hould be developed in uch a way t
hat they indicate the condition of the component from the failure tendency poin
t of view by the anticipated and expected failure mechanim. Any inpection and
teting that doent give information about the condition of the component with r
epect to failure tendency by the anticipated failure mechanim, become redundan
t. For example, a typical ound tet i conducted in Indian railway on arrival
training at each big tation for indentifying the aembly condition; imilarly,
the oundne of the earthen pot i alo aeed by ound tet. 3.7 Poor maint
enance trategy The failure of many moving mechanical component take place due
to poor maintenance plan. A well developed maintenance plan indicating each and
very important tep to be ued for maintenance uch what, when, where, who and
how, i pecified explicitly. Lack of information on proper chedule of maintena
nce, procedure of the maintenance frequently caue premature failure of moving
component. For example, abence of lubrication of proper kind in right quantity
and condition frequently lead to the failure of aemblie working under lid
ing or rolling friction condition.
Lecture 40 General Procedure of Failure Analyi 1.0 Introduction In the field o
f engineering, mechanical component are made uing variety of material proce
ed by different manufacturing procee and are ued in extremely wide range of
the ervice condition. Potential caue of failure of the component and their
mechanim alo numerou. Therefore, procedure of the failure analyi of each co
mponent hould be different and the ame mut be developed after giving proper t
hought on poible equence of event before failure along with proper evaluatio
n of the ituation and conideration of material, manufacturing proce, ervice
hitory and actual working condition etc. Since the failure analyi involve l
ot of effort, time and ue of reource therefore at the end of analyi failur
e analyi hould be in poition to come up with few potential caue of the fai
lure o that uitable recommendation can be made to avoid reoccurrence of the 
imilar failure. It ha been oberved that on receipt of failed component failur
e analyt tend to jump into concluion baed on half information and try to pr
epare the ample for metallographic tudie to look explore the deficiency in t
he material itelf. Thi kind of quickne i uncalled for and in thi proce v
ital clue, evidence and information can be lot from the urface of the fractur
ed component. In thi chapter general practice for metallurgical failure analy
i of any kind of component ha been decribed beide common feature of variou
 type of fracture and important tool and equipment available for pecific p
urpoe. 2.0 General tep of failure invetigation A broad guideline tep gen
erally ued in metallurgical failure analyi of mechanical component are decr
ibed in the following ection. Thee tep are generic and need not to be follow
ed in the pecified; moreover the equence of tep will largely be determined b
y the finding of the invetigation at any tage, with main objective of collect
ing evidence regarding caue of the failure o the
equence of event prior to the failure can be etablihed and uitable recommen
dation can be made to prevent the imilar failure in future. 1. Collection of b
ack ground information about failed component 2. Preliminary examination of fai
led component 3. Selection, preervation and cleaning of the ample 4. Aein
g the preence of dicontinuity and defect in failed component by non-detructiv
e teting 5. Evaluation of the mechanical propertie of the failed component 6.
Macrocopic obervation of fracture urface and component 7. Microcopic exam
ination of fracture urface and component 8. Metallographic examination of fai
led component 9. Etablihing the fracture mechanim 10. Failure analyi uing
fracture mechanic approach 11. Conducting tet under imulated condition 12.
Analyi of finding of invetigation 13. Report writing with recommendation 1.
Collection of back ground information of failed component Failure analyi hou
ld collection information mainly on manufacturing procedure ued for developmen
t the failed component, deign apect and ervice condition of the ame with
objective to familiarize with component under invetigation and to make an eff
ort to develop the draft equence of event which would have lead to failure. Depe
nding upon the level of record keeping practice, the level of information avail
able on above apect may vary appreciably. Information collection on manufactur
ing apect hould include detail drawing, material, manufacturing proce and
proce parameter, aembling method ued for obtaining the deired ize and h
ape. Since manufacturing tep ued for developing variou component of an ae
mbly are many procee therefore information collection can be grouped under th
ree heading baed on nature of manufacturing proce a) mechanical procee uc
h a forging, forming, machining etc. wherein external tree are applied duri
ng
manufacturing, b) thermal procee uch a welding, brazing, heat treatment etc
. that are baed on the application of heat to control the tructure and propert
ie and c) chemical procee uch a cleaning, electroplating, machining etc u
e mixture of chemical olution for variety of purpoe. Segregation of the inf
ormation on mechanical, thermal and chemical bai help to etimate the tructu
re, mechanical and chemical change that can be experienced by material during
manufacturing and o to produce deirable or undeirable change in the end prod
uct. The collection of information about ervice pat ervice condition to a gr
eat extent depend how meticulouly record keeping of working condition ha bee
n maintained. The failure analyt hould try to collect information about loadin
g and environmental condition, duration of ervice, temperature, maintenance pl
an etc. Sometime, failure analyt get only fragmented information on ervice c
ondition, in uch cae baed on the experience and kill failure analyt need
to etimate/gue the working condition in order to etablih the equence of e
vent that led to the failure. However, in abence of information any error in e
timation can be totally mileading to the invetigation hence failure analyt
are cautioned againt uch kind of etimation if they are not confident. 2.0 Pre
liminary examination of failed component Thi tep involve generation obervat
ion of failed component, their fragment and poition occupied them after failu
re. Detailed photographic record howing the condition and location/poition of
the failed component hould be obtained. A detailed and ytematic photographin
g i important in failure analyi becaue the failure which i appearing to be
a common and caual accident, ubequent invetigation may indicate eriou impl
ication and tampering poibilitie. Schematic diagram can alo be ued to loc
ation wherefrom photograph have been taken for better repreentation of the fa
iled component and their fragment a per need. 3.0 Preervation, cutting and
cleaning of the ample Uually in pot-accident cenario failed component are f
ound in very bad condition of hape, debri, impuritie etc. Baed on the prelim
inary examination
failure analyt hould take deciion on location wherefrom fractured component
need to be collected for further analyi. The ample may be taken from the nea
r fracture urface or ignificantly away from the fracture zone keeping in mind
regarding collection of the evidence that would help in etablihing the equenc
e of event beide indicating the potential caue of failure. The kill, exper
ience and gut feeling of the failure analyt play very crucial role in deciion
making on area/location wherefrom ample need to be collection. Once deciion
i taken, next tep would be to obtain the ample by cutting from the failed c
omponent or aembly which can be done uing mechanical or thermal method. Due
care hould be taken to avoid any chemical or mechanical damage when mechanical
method (machining, cutting) are ued for cutting the ample. Thermal cutting me
thod like ga cutting i conidered to be more damaging than mechanical method
becaue application of heat for cutting the ample by thermal method can chan
ge the tructure up to a greater ditance than mechanical method beide the po
ibility of falling of patter on the fracture urface. Hence, cut by thermal m
ethod hould be made at greater ditance than mechanical method. Cleaning of t
he fractured pecimen hould be avoided a far a poible a cleaning will remo
ve the foreign matter like oxide, paint, chemical etc. preent on the fracture
urface which can play an important role in etablihing the root caue and eq
uence of event prior to the failure. If cleaning i neceary to proceed with i
nvetigation and to carry out tudie then dry or wet cleaning can be applied a
 per requirement with due care to avoid any kind of damage to fractured pecime
n. Dry cleaning uing compreed jet of dry air can be applied to remove the fo
reign particle while wet cleaning can be done uing mild acidic or baic oluti
on followed by rining in freh water or acetone and drying before putting into
deiccator. Sometime platic replica method i alo ued for cleaning fracture
d urface. In thi approach one oftened acetate heet of about 1mm thickne i
 preed over the fracture urface and then taken once the heet i dried after
curing for 812 hour. Removal of heet from the fractured urface take away o
me of the
foreign matter preent on the urface. The hape of heet generally correpond
to that of fractured urface. Thee heet with attached foreign matter can be p
reerved for record and further tudie of fracture urface and foreign matter a
 per need in future. 4.0 Aeing the urface and ub-urface imperfection u
ing NDT To determine the poibility of the failure caued by preence few urf
ace and urface imperfection non-detructive teting of fractured component ep
ecially near the urface fracture can carried out uing variety of technique a
per need. Common non-detructive teting method include dye penetrant tet (
DPT), magnetic particle tet (MPT), eddy current tet (ECT), ultraonic tet (UT
), radiographic tet (RT) etc. Each tet ha unique advantage and limitation w
hich dictate their application a indicated in table. NDT tet DPT MPT

Advantage
Simple, cot effective portable Eay to apply Quick Simple
Limitation
Not for uburface defect Difficult to ae fine crack Surface cleaning in i
mportant Only for near urface defect Only for ferromagnetic material Chance
of arcing at contact point Difficult to ae deep ub-urface defect Difficul
t to interpret the reult a output i influenced by many factor Only for ferr
omagnetic and electrical conducting material Difficult to interpret the reult
and accuracy depend on many factor Need expertie and kill to interpret fin
ding Difficult to interpret the reult and accuracy depend on many factor Ne
ed expertie and kill to interpret finding Specially precaution i needed to
handle radiation and protect operator
Application
Surface dicontinuitie crack, fine poroitie Fine urface defect cloed by i
mpuritie
ECT
Very enitive method Continuou production Simi-killed worker can ue Very en
itive method Preciely locate the defect Poitive record of tet i obtained
No limit on thickne of the material which can be evaluated
For urface and ub-urface defect in continuou and long lender hape product
 like haft and gear etc
UT
For both urface and uburface defect like poroity, internal defect etc. Int
ernal defect located preciely can be
RT
5.0 Detructive tet in failure analyi
Detructive tet uch a hardne, tenile, toughne, fracture toughne and t
et under imulated condition are extenively ued in failure analyi for var
iety of purpoe. In generally, detructive tet are carried out to generate th
e data on mechanical performance of the pecimen under invetigation and to ae
 their uitability for given ervice load condition. Additionally detructive
tet can alo be ue to a) indentify / confirm the manufacturing proce ued
for developed the component under invetigation, b) confirm if particular heat t
reatment wa performed properly. Hardne tet i commonly carried out on mall
fractured pecimen for evaluating heat treatment, etimating ultimate tenile 
trength and determine the extent of work hardening or decarburization occurred o
n the fractured component during the ervice if any. Since it become difficult
to find large amount of material from the failed component for tenile and fat
igue tet therefore failure analyt motly rely on hardne tet. However, o
metime tenile, toughne, fatigue tet are conducted at low, high temperature
and in pecific environment to ae the performance under imulated condition
. Further, it i advied that care hould be taken in interpretation of laborat
ory tet reult of mechanical propertie and attributing the ame to failure ow
ing to difference in cale/ize of material in laboratory tet and real ervice
condition. Minor difference in actual and recommended value of mechanical prope
rtie may in fact not be reponible for failure. Tri-axial tre tate and rel
ated embrittlement of material hould not be overlooked during interpretation of
tenile tet reult.
6.0 Macrocopic obervation of fracture urface
Macrocopic obervation of the fracture urface in range of 1-50 magnification
with the help of lene, tereocope and optical microcope (with external light
ing) and now more commonly ued ytem i canning electron microcope. Platic
replica coated with gold layer of about 2000A can alo be ued for macrocopic
obervation. A careful macrocopic examination can reveal important information
on tre tate under which failure ha taken place,
location wherefrom fracture had initiated, direction of crack growth and operati
onal fracture mechanim during variou tage of fracture. The tre tate unde
r which failure ha taken place can be plain tre and plain train condition.
The plain tre condition generally oberved in ductile metal of thin ection
like heet, wire and thin plate, and i recognized by lating fracture urface
appearance while plain tain condition uually noticed with hard, brittle metal
 of heavy ection and i recognized by flat fracture urface largely normal to
external applied tre. The fracture urface of a typical tenile tet pecime
n of mild teel how more commonly known cup and cone fracture involving a comb
ination of flat fracture urface in central part correpond to plain train con
dition and lanting fracture urface near the outer urface belong to the plain
tre condition. Mot of the fracture of real component generally occur unde
r combined plain tre and plain train condition. Preence of chevron mark on
the brittle fracture urface can eaily indicate the location wherefrom fractur
e had initiated and direction of growth of crack. Crack uually grow in the dir
ection away from the chevron mark. Region where thee mark converge indicate
the ite of fracture initiation. It i important to note here that above trend i
 not alway true. The chevron mark can indicate the revere trend alo; conver
ely thee can how lat part of the fracture intead of tarting part of the fr
acture urface. Each fracture mechanim (uch a fatigue fracture urface, tre
 corroion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, brittle fracture etc.) reult in
pecific kind of fracture urface morphology in repect of urface roughne and
texture. Macrocopic examination baed on urface roughne and texture can rev
eal the extent and area where a particular fracture mechanim might have operati
onal during fracture. For example, typical fatigue fracture urface exhibit dif
ferent roughne and texture in three area of fatigue fracture namely fracture
crack initiation, table growth and udden fracture zone. 7.0 Microcopic ober
vation of fracture urface The microcopic examination of the fracture urface
help to identify the operating micro-mechanim of the fracture and i uually c
arried out uing
device
like
tranmiion
electron
microcope
and

canning
electron
microcope. Both electron microcope have different capabilitie in term of ma
gnification and reolving power. The tranmiion electron microcope offer hig
her reolving power (up to 100A) and magnification (3 X 105) than the canning e
lectron microcope (up to 150
0 0
A reolution and 1 X 105
magnification). Specimen are uually coated with thin layer of gold of about 5
0 A to make them electrical conducting with better reflection. Scanning electron
microcopy (SEM) i more popular a compared to tranmiion electron microcopy
(TEM) due to two reaon related with ample preparation a) ample preparation
for TEM i very tediou and time conuming and b) no ample preparation i neede
d for SEM except that it hould be mall enough to accommodate in vacuum chamber
. Depending upon the type of material and locating condition fracture urface
may reveal variety of microcopy fracture mechanim uch a dimple fracture, cl
eavage fracture and inter-granular fracture and fatigue fracture. The fracture b
aed on macro-cale deformation of the material (before fracture) can be claif
ied a ductile fracture and brittle fracture. Amongt the four microcopic mecha
nim of the fracture, dimple fracture belong to ductile fracture while other th
ree namely cleavage, Intergranular and fatigue fracture correpond to brittle f
racture. Dimple fracture i uually aociated with extenive platic deformatio
n of material prior to fracture which i indicated by the preence of conical 
hape deep cavitie in one of the fracture urface and correponding conical hap
e protruion in another fracture urface. Number, ize and depth of dimple ugg
et the extent of platic deformation and load carrying capacity. Dimple fractur
e i conidered a high energy fracture a it conume lot of energy in cauing
platic deformation prior to fracture. Fracture tough material of high load carr
ying capacity and good ductility predominantly exhibit dimple fracture. Cleavag
e fracture i aociated with brittle fracture and characterized by the preence
of typical river like pattern on the fracture urface that formed due to interm
ittent growth of crack and development of tep under the influence of
external load. In cleavage fracture crack propagate through the grain that com
e acro the crack converely it i a reult of tran-granular fracture. Cleava
ge fracture i conidered a low energy fracture a it conume little energy pr
ior to fracture i uually offer low load carrying capacity and limited deforma
tion prior to fracture. Intergranular fracture i alo aociated with brittle f
racture and characterized by the preence of typical flat urfaced ball hape gr
ain on the fracture urface formed by de-coheion of grain owing to the preenc
e of ome poor or brittle phae/compound at grain boundary under the influence
of external load. Since in type of fracture crack propagate motly along the g
rain boundarie to caue the fracture hence i termed a inter-granular fracture
. Fracture occurring due to hydrogen induced cracking, tre corroion cracking
and enitization of tainle teel etc. fall under the category of Intergranu
lar fracture. Like cleavage fracture, Intergranular fracture i alo a low energ
y fracture with poor load carrying capacity and limited ductility. Fatigue fract
ure i motly catatrophic and i generally characterized by the three ditinct
region on the fracture urface correponding to fatigue fracture initiation it
e, table crack growth zone, and udden fracture zone. Fracture owing to the fat
igue typical exhibit concentric circle commonly term a beach mark at low ma
gnification and imilar feature oberved at high magnification are called tria
tion. Thee feature are developed during econd tage of fatigue fracture i.e.
table crack growth. According to the nature of material, the region correpond
to udden fracture may how either dimple or cleavage fracture. 8.0 Metallograp
hic examination of failed component Metallographic examination of the failed a
well a new component i one of the mot important tool available to the fail
ure analyt a it i help: to ae the cla of the material (for the preenc
e of deirable undeirable feature uch a unfavorable orientation of grain, p
oroity etc.) to get idea about the uitability of compoition
to

tudy
effect
of

ervice
and
aging
condition

uch
decarburization, exceive grain growth etc. if any to obtain the information ab
out method of manufacturing and heat treatment carried out the on the failed com
ponent to determine the contribution of environment effect in failure uch a c
orroion, oxidation, work hardening etc. to identify the microtructural contit
uent contributing to the crack nucleation and propagation if any It i practical
ly not feaible to generalize the ite wherefrom ample hould be taken for meta
llographic tudie from failed component for the failure analyi becaue each
failure become unique and pecific and need different approach to etablih th
e caue of failure. Moreover, few general guideline for election of ample fo
r common failure can be given. The ample either from near fracture urface or
away from it hould be taken in uch away that it repreent to characteritic
of the entire component correctly. Examination of crack tip near the fracture u
rface at high magnification can indicate if a) crack i growing in tran-granula
r or Intergranular manner and b) crack ha ome preferential path in material. I
mage analyzing oftware can be very ueful to quantify the morphological charact
eritic of the micro-contituent that can be related with failure. The morphol
ogical feature uch a grain ize, hape (apect ratio, circularity, nodularity
, form factor, hape factor etc.), number of particle per unit area, relative a
mount of variou phae and their ditribution. Additionally image analyzer can
alo help in meauring the geometrical dimenion of incluion, crack and prop
ortion of variou micro-mechanim (uch a dimple, cleavage etc.) preent on t
he fracture urface. 9. Etablihing the fracture mechanim Uing obervation a
nd data collected in o far from above tage of invetigation attempt are made
to etablih fracture mechanim and condition which led to the failure during
ervice. For thi purpoe, information collected for preliminary tudy of the fa
iled component, macro and microcopy examination of
fracture urface, metallographic tudy of ample effort hould be made to etab
lih the chain activitie that have contributed to failure. 10. Failure analyi
uing fracture mechanic approach In light of dicontinuitie if any found duri
ng invetigation in failed component and fracture toughne & yield trength of
material involved in failure, effort hould be made to analyi the ituation u
ing principle of fracture mechanic to etablih that if preence of dicontinu
itie in material of given et of propertie have contributed to failure of the
component under given ervice load condition. 11. Conducting tet under imulat
ed condition Attempt can alo be made to imulate the condition under which a
component ha failed to undertand what might have led to the failure if invet
igator are unable to find any logical reaon for the failure of the component u
ing normal invetigator procedure on material, manufacturing and ervice rela
ted apect. 12. Analyi of finding of invetigation Analyi of all the infor
mation, fact, technical obervation collected through the invetigation i per
formed to etablih the equence of event that might have led to failure of a c
omponent. Thi can provide u inight on few potential factor that have caued
of failure of component. 13. Report writing with recommendation The report of fa
ilure analyi of mut include the following Few mot potential caue of failur
e Sequence of event that have lead to failure Recommendation to take uitable 
tep o a avoid recurrence of the ame kind of failure in future