WELDING

Welding is a process of metal joining by applying heat and sometime pressure

Diversity of welding processes

welding
Solid state welding Resistance welding Cold welding Friction welding Diffusion welding Flash welding Ultrasonic welding Explosion welding Consumable electrode Gas metal arc welding Shielded metal arc welding Submerged arc welding Flux cored arc welding Electrogas welding Electroslag welding Gas tungsten arc welding Atomic hydrogen welding Plasma arc welding Non consumable electrode Electrical energy Chemical energy Oxyacetylene welding Oxyfuel gas welding Other processes Laser beam welding Thermit welding Electron beam welding Fusion welding Soldering and brazing Soldering Brazing

INTRODUCTION
Fusion Welding Joining of similar metals by bringing them to fusion temperature and making the joint with or without filler metal

SPECIAL WELDING PROCESS

PLASMA ARC WELDING THERMIT WELDING ELECTRON BEAM WELDING FRICTION WELDING DIFFUSION WELDING FLAME CUTTING ELECTRON SLAG WELDING

Welding v casting
Weld must adhere to mould wall Heat is added continually to welds
High temperature gradient

Welds solidify much faster than castings In welds, the surface shape is constant There is strong mixing of weld pools

Weld detailing

Weld positions - plate

Flat (1G)

Horizontal (2G)

Vertical (3G) Up or Down

Overhead (4G)

Welding positions - pipe

Axis vertical 2G

Axis horizontal 5G

Axis inclined 45 6G

Joint types

Butt

Tee

Edge Lap Corner

FUSION WELDING
Definition : Fusion Welding is defined as melting together and coalescing materials by means of heat Energy is supplied by thermal or electrical means Fusion welds made without filler metals are known as autogenous welds

Fusion welding
This process involves the partial melting of the two members welded in the join region. The thermal energy required for this fusion is usually supplied by chemical or electrical means.

Base metal melt + filler melt

Characteristics of the fusion weld joint (Manufacturing Engineering and Technology: p820)

Fusion weld structure

Fusion line Weld preparation Weld metal

Base metal

HAZ

HAZ

Welding procedure
Selection of process conditions & consumables for a weld Designed to match base material properties as closely as possible & avoid weld defects Needs to consider service conditions of the weld

Definition of weldability
The capacity of a material to be welded under the imposed fabrication conditions into a specific, suitably designed structure & to perform satisfactorily in intended service.
(ANSI / AWS A3.0)

GAS WELDING
Oxy-fuel gas welding derives heat from the combustion of a fuel such as acetylene in combination with oxygen

Oxyfuel Gas Welding

Fig : Three basic types of oxyacetylene flames used in oxyfuel-gas welding and cutting operations: (a) neutral flame; (b) oxidizing flame; (c) carburizing, or reducing flame. The gas mixture in (a) is basically equal volumes of oxygen and acetylene.

Oxyfuel Gas Welding

Welding process that uses fuel gas combined with oxygen to produce flame This flame heat melts the metals at the joint Acetylene fuel is used in gas welding process Primary combustion process C2H2 + O2 2CO + H2 + heat This reaction dissociates into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Secondary combustion process 2CO + H2 + 1.5 O2 2CO2 + H2O + heat

Types of flames
Neutral flame Oxidising flame Carburising flame Filler Metals : Additional material to weld the weld zone Available as rod or wire They can be used bare or coated with flux The purpose of the flux is to retard the

Torch used in Oxyacetylene Welding

Fig : (a) General view of and (b) cross-section of a torch used in oxyacetylene welding. The acetylene valve is opened first; the gas is lit with a park lighter or a pilot light; then the oxygen valve is opened and the flame adjusted. (c) Basic equipment used in oxyfuel-gas welding. To ensure correct connections, all threads on acetylene fittings are left-handed, whereas those for oxygen are righthanded. Oxygen regulators are usually painted green, acetylene regulators red.

ARC WELDING
An arc is generated between two conductors of electricity, cathode and anode ( considering direct current, DC) when they are touched to establish the flow of current and then separated by a small distance. An arc is a sustained electric discharge through the ionized gas column called Plasma between the electrodes. Electrons move from cathode Anode To produce the arc the sufficient voltage difference is required

ARC WELDING

Shielded metal arc welding process

The electrode is provide with a flux which burns and produces gaseous protective shield around the weld zone

Submerged arc welding:

The arcing takes place under a blanket of flux. The unfused flux is recovered and reused .

Submerged arc welding:

Weld arc is shielded by a granular flux ,consisting of silica, lime, manganese oxide, calcium fluoride and other compounds. Flux is fed into the weld zone by gravity flow through nozzle Thick layer of flux covers molten metal Flux acts as a thermal insulator ,promoting deep penetration of heat into the work piece Consumable electrode is a coil of bare round wire fed automatically through a tube Power is supplied by 3-phase or 2-phase power lines

The GMAW process

The heat is produced by an electric arc between the continuously fed metal electrode and the base metal. Both the base metal and the filler are melt. The weld area is protected by inert shield gases.

Weldable metals: -steel carbon - steel low-allow - steel stainless - aluminum - copper and its allows - nickel and its allows - magnesium - reactive metal (titanium, zirconium, tantalum)

Characteristics of the weld joint by GMAW (Modern Welding (p63))

The parameters of the GMAW process

- The method used to transfer the metal across the arc. There are four metal transfer methods (short circuit, globular, spray, pulsed spray). Each one requires different settings and has divers use interests. - The shielding gas. - The electrode size. - The electric parameters: voltage and current (the GMAW use the continuous current). - The feed rate (speed of filler supply). - The travel speed.

Advantages of the GMAW - wide range of weldable metals (high-quality welds on all commercially important metal) - easy to learn - can be used in all welding position - low in cost (the equipment costs less than 3000 dollars) - can be easily automated - rapid, economic - high level of productivity

Flux Fluxcored Arc Welding

Flux cored arc welding is similar to a gas metal arc welding Electrode is tubular in shape and is filled with flux Cored electrodes produce more stable arc improve weld contour and produce better mechanical properties Flux is more flexible than others

FluxFlux-Cored Arc Welding

Electroslag Welding:
Arc is started between electrode tip and bottom part of the part to be welded Flux added first and then melted by the heat on the arc Molten slag reaches the tip of the electrode and the arc is extinguished Heat is then continuously produced by electrical resistance of the molten slag Single or multiple solid as well as flux-cored electrodes may be used

Equipment used in Electroslag welding

Fig : Equipment used for electroslag welding operations.

Plasma arc
The Coalescence is produced by striking an arc between a tungsten electrode and a water cooled nozzle.

Electron Beam
The Coalescence is produced by heat generated from the kinetic energy of intense beam of electron.

Welding Defects
Cracks
In weld metal or HAZ

Porosity
Gas bubbles entrapped in weld metal

Incomplete fusion (interrun or at preparation edge) Inclusions

Slag or other matter entrapped in weld

Defective profile
Under-weld, over-weld, lack of penetration, overlap, undercut

Causes of weld defects

Poor design of weldment
Lack of access to make weld

Mistakes by welder
Lack of skill Poor placement of weld metal Inadequate cleaning

Poor welding procedure

Weld defects

Slag inclusion

Wormhole porosity Incomplete fusion

Overlap

Solidification cracking
Contraction strains cause rupture of the weld at the point where the last material solidifies.
Solidification range Weld pool size & shape

Residual stress & distortion

Uneven heating leads to constrained thermal expansion At completion of the weld thermal cycle the weldment either distorts or if restrained will contain residual stress Residual stress fields are complex, but stresses as high as yield often occur Stresses may need to be removed by a stress relief heat treatment

Solid state welding

It merges all the welding processes in which there is no fusion of the workpieces . For example, in the solid welding process named resistance seam welding, the welding join is produced in the wheel electrodes region by applied a current and a pressure without fusion of the base metal.

The resistance seam welding (source: Modern Welding (p73))

Soldering or brazing
In these processes, only the filler metals which join the two pieces to be welded are melted and not the base metal. The braze metals have higher melting temperatures than the solder metals.

Filler metal: brass or solder Base metal

Characteristics of a brazed or soldered joint

Safety
Burn hazard Protection clothes and gloves

Eye protection against spatters and ultraviolet and infrared rays

Helmet or special glasses

Toxic gases: - carbon monoxide (CO) - ozone (O2) - phosgene gases produced with some metals when welded Well ventilated area