WELDING PROCESSES

Prof.S.Sundaresan
L&T Welding Chair
M.S.University, Baroda
Basic ideas
&
Terminology
• Fusion and pressure welding

• Heat sources
Arc, gas, power beam,
electrical resistance

• Shielding
Flux (MMAW, SAW)
Gas (GTAW, GMAW)
Vacuum (EBW)
Welding
direction

Typical weld joint

Butt joint, butt weld T - Joint, fillet weld

Lap joint, fillet weld

Types of joints and welds

Edge preparation

Filler material and weld metal

Weld metal (fusion zone)

Heat-affected zone (HAZ)
Unaffected parent material

Manual, semi-automatic and automatic welding

Welding positions: Flat, horizontal, vertical,

overhead
 Heat-affected zone Weld metal
(HAZ) (Fusion zone)

Unaffected
parent material

Fusion and heat-affected zones

Properties of the welding arc
 Definition
 Need to ionize the gas
 Cathode, anode and arc column
 Temperature of the arc
Anode hotter than the cathode
 Electromagnetic forces in the arc
Pinch effect and plasma jet
Significance for metal transfer
 Power source
characteristic Arc
characteristic
OCV

Voltage Operating
point

SCC
Current

Electrical behaviour of arc and power source

 Welding processes

Pressure welding Fusion welding

Cold pressure Hot pressure Chemical reaction

Electrical LBW EBW
welding welding resistance
Gas
Thermit
welding
welding Resistance Electroslag
Diffusion Explosive Ultrasonic
welding welding
welding
bonding welding
Electric arc

Friction welding

Flux-shielded Gas shielded

SAW GTAW PAW

SMAW

GMAW
Including
FCAW
 Manual metal arc welding
(Shielded metal arc welding)

• Flux-coated electrode

• Consumable electrode process

• Why flux? – arc stabilization and shielding

• Manual mode
Manual metal-arc welding (MMAW)
 Metal transfer

Manual metal-arc welding (MMAW)

1 2 3 4

Welding direction

Change of welding electrodes in MMAW

• Different types of MMAW electrodes
Cellulosic, rutile, basic coatings

• Iron-powder electrodes
Increase in productivity

• Low-hydrogen electrodes
Need for baking electrodes
• Advantages of MMAW
Cheap
Flexible
Versatile

• Disadvantages
Slow (current limitation)
Discontinuous

• Ways of making process continuous

 SMAW DISCONTINUITIES

• POROSITY
• SLAG INCLUSIONS
• SPATTER
• INCOMPLETE JOINT PENETRATION
• INCOMPLETE FUSION

ARC STRIKE
• STARTING POROSITY
 From reel

Wire - feed rolls

From power source

Arc

Work

Mechanized wire-feed system

 Submerged-arc welding (SAW)
 Need for continuous welding process
 Separation of wire and flux
 Wire-feed motor to deliver bare wire
 No current limitation – no spatter
no air entrainment
 High currents, high current densities
Suited to thick sections (mostly steel)
 Automatic welding
Submerged-arc welding (SAW)
Advantages

High deposition rate

Deep penetration
High thermal efficiency
No need for operator protection
Smooth, ripple-free bead
Disadvantages

 Limited to flat position

 No visibility of weld pool
 High dilution
 High heat input Reduced toughness
 SAW DISCONTINUITIES
• GROOVE ALIGNMENT

• SLAG INCLUSIONS

• POROSITY

• INCOMPLETE FUSION
• ARC BLOW
Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW)
• Why gas shield?
• Aluminium, other non-ferrous alloys,
alloy steels
• Non-consumable electrode
• Shielding gas only inert (Ar or He)
• Electrode polarity (DCEN or AC)
• Advantages, applications, disadvantages
Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW)
 Water cooling of torch
Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW)
 GTA WELDING WITH
FLUX ACTIVATION (A-TIG ROCESS)
• Application of flux as thin coating
 Dramatic increase in penetration depth

• Flux consists of oxides, halides, metal powder

• First reported in the 1960s by Paton Institute

Spread to other countries only by 1990

• Much development work since then and

method already adopted commercially
 Flux activation….
Large benefit in productivity

– Reduction in welding times

– Simplification of joint preparation

– Reduction in distortion

– Flux inexpensive and easy to apply

– Other advantages of conventional TIG

also applicable to A-TIG
 Flux activation….

• Two broad mechanisms proposed

– Arc constriction effects

– Surface tension effects

 Flux activation….
• Flux activation applied predominantly to
stainless steel but also to other
materials, e.g., magnesium alloys

• Possibility of microstructural
modification, believed due to
enhanced constitutional undercooling
 GTAW DISCONTINUITIES
• POROSITY
• INCOMPLETE FUSION
• INCOMPLETE JOINT PENETRATION
• TUNGSTEN INCLUSIONS
Gas metal-arc welding (GMAW)
• Consumable electrode process
Wire-feed drive
• Aluminium, other non-ferrous alloys,
alloy steels, unalloyed
steels
• Electrode polarity (always DCEP)
• Shielding gas - Inert ( Ar / He) or
active (CO2)
 Gas metal-arc welding (GMAW)……

• Suited to thick sections, thin sizes also

weldable

• Metal transfer problems

spray transfer, dip transfer

• Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)

• Advantages, applications
Gas metal-arc welding (GMAW)
GMAW DISCONTINUITIES
• POROSITY

• INCOMPLETE FUSION

• INCOMPLETE JOINT
PENETRATION
Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)
• Variant of MMAW, for continuous welding
• Also variant of GMAW, with flux addition
• Designed for ferrous materials

Weld metal protected by slag (from flux)

and by gas (from flux or separate gas shield)

Self-shielded and gas-shielded types,

Gas shield usually CO2
 Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)……..
• In relation to MMAW: Higher deposition rate and
productivity
• In relation to SAW: Better arc visibility and
maneuverability
• In relation to solid-wire GMAW: Better arc
behaviour and metal transfer
• Tubular and complex types
Applications: Most rapidly expanding range
 FCAW DISCONTINUITIES
• SLAG INCLUSIONS

• POROSITY

• INCOMPLETE FUSION

• INCOMPLETE JOINT
PENETRATION
 Plasma arc welding (PAW)

Constricted arc: Many advantages

 High power concentration

 Remarkable arc stability even at
low currents (microplasma)
 Stiff arc - directional control
 Strong thrust in plasma jet
plasma cutting, spraying
 Flexibility
Plasma arc welding (PAW)……..
 Need for pilot arc – transferred and
non-transferred
arcs
 Electrode polarity – always DCEN
 Need for two separate gas streams –
orifice (or plasma) & shielding gases,
usually argon for both
 Applications
GTAW PAW
 PAW DISCONTINUITIES

• TUNGSTEN INCLUSIONS
• COPPER INCLUSIONS
• TUNNELING – KEYHOLE
• INCOMPLETE FUSION
• INCOMPLETE JOINT PENETRATION
 Friction stir welding

 Solid state welding process

 Developed and patented by TWI, UK

 Wide scope in aerospace and automotive industries

Friction stir welding

Friction stir welding arrangement

 Friction stir welding

Transverse section of 50 mm thick 6086-T6 aluminium alloy

 Friction stir welding
Principle of FSW

 Tool: Larger diameter shoulder and smaller diameter, profiled probe

 Probe plunged into joint and rotated

 Region of metal surrounding probe (and below it) heated up and thermally
conditioned

 Depth of penetration controlled by length of probe

 Additional frictional heat through contacting shoulder

 Combined heat → Plasticised, almost hydrostatic condition in adjoining

material

 Flow of material around the probe and coalescence behind it (as tool
traverses forward)

 Thus autogenous keyhole joining

 Friction stir welding
Application potential of FSW

 Airframes, fuel tanks & thin alloy skins in the aerospace

 Sheet bodywork and engine support frames for the

automotive industry

 Railway wagon and coach-work, bulk carrier tanks for

the transportation industry

 Hulls, decks and internal structures for high-speed

ferries and LPG storage vessels for the ship building
industry
Electron beam welding (EBW)

Electrons from thermionic emission

Acceleration by high voltage (say 100 kV)

Focussing by electromagnetic lenses

High heat concentration

High power density (say 5X10 10 W/m2)

However, low total heat input (say 300 J/mm)

Set-up Keyholing

Electron beam welding (EBW)

 Electron beam …..
Advantages:
• Small quantity of total heat concentrated in a
narrow area
• Deep penetration, high d/w ratio, narrow weld
and HAZ
• Minimum residual stress/ distortion
• Minimum metallurgical damage
• Vacuum → Total absence of contamination
• Possibilities of steering/ deflection/ defocusing/
oscillation of electron beam
Laser beam welding
 Laser beam welding ….

• Similar to EBW, concentration of low total heat in

narrow region, high d/w ratio, minimum damage,
etc.
• Also possibilities of automation
Differences:
• Usable beam power much lower than in EBW
(poor efficiency, reflection, etc.) → reduced
penetration
• No vacuum chamber, no limitation on workpiece
size
Most rapidly increasing application potential:
typical example – automobile industry