WELDING

Welding is a metal joining method in which the joining edges are heated and fused together to form a permanent ( homogeneous ) bond / joint.

ADVANTAGES OF WELDING
A Permanent pressure tight joint Strongest joint and any type of metal of any thickness can be joined Occupies less space Gives more economy of material Has less weight Withstand high temp. and pressure equal to joined material Gives no colour change to joints Can be done quickly

DEFINITION OF ARC
Arc is an electric discharge between two electrodes which takes place through an electrically conducting hot ionised gas known as plasma Arc used for welding is called welding arc Arc is between a thin rod/ wire and a plate , it is therefore a bell shaped

Contd.
Arc is a high current low voltage electric discharge ( 10 200 A and 10-50 V) Arc consists of a mechanism for emitting electrons from the cathode which after passing through ionised hot gas merge into anode Arc is divided into five parts ( the cathode spot, cathode drop zone , arc column, anode drop zone, anode spot )

Contd
Voltage drops across the arc column is more gradual while the voltage drop across the cathode and anode drop zone are quite steep Arc voltage is a sum of the Cathode drop Vc , Column drop Vp and Anode drop Va Thus V = Vc + Vp + Va

TYPES OF WELDING ARCS

Two types of welding arcs STATIONERY / IMMOBILE / FIXED ARC MOVING / TRAVELLING / MOBILE ARC

Fixed arc
Fixed arc is formed between a non consumable electrode and a workpiece Arc may be used with or without filler A separate wire is introduced into the arc column and thus melted to transfer into the weld pool Most of the heat going to the non consumable electrode remains unutilised (thermal efficiency between 45-60% )

Mobile Arc
Mobile arc is formed between a consumable electrode and a work piece An arc in which the molten metal from the tip of the electrode is transported through it to become a part of the weld pool Mobile arc is a metal arc Thermal efficiency lies between 75 90 %

ARC CHARACTERISTICS

METAL TRANSFER ACROSS THE ARC

Gravity force Gas expansion force Surface tension Electromagnetic force

GRAVITY FORCE
Molten globules formed at the arcing end of the electrode travel towards the job in the molten pool Gravitational force helps the transfer of metal in flat or down-hand position and thus the deposition rate of weld metal is increased

GAS EXPANSION FORCE

Flux coating on electrode melts due to the arc heat , resulting in the : Production of carbon monoxide and hydrogen mainly Formation of a sleeve of the flux at the arcing end due to a little higher melting point of the flux coating than the core wire. These gases expand and gain velocity. The flux sleeve direct these gases to flow in the direction of molten metal due to pushing effect and influence penetration.

SURFACE TENSION

It is the characteristic (force) of the base metal to attract and retain the molten metal in it. The short arc promotes more surface tension effect

ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE
Current passing through the electrode forms magnetic lines of force in the form of concentric circles This force exerts a pinch effect on the molten metal globules Globules is detached from the electrode and reaches the molten pool

ELECTRON EMISSION MECHANISM

THERMIONIC EMISSION AUTO ELECTRONIC EMISSION PHOTO ELECTRONIC EMISSION SECONDARY EMISSION

THERMIONIC EMISSION
Liberation of electron from the heated electrodes Due to increase in temp., the kinetic energy of the free electrons increases to a point where they can escape from the surface of the negative electrode at the cathode spot into the field free space outside in the face of attraction by the positive ions left behind on the cathode

AUTO ELECTRON EMISSION

Due to high voltage across the electrods , air between them is ionised Electric discharge ensues with the emission of electrons from the cathode surface

PHOTO-ELECTRIC EMISSION

Energy in the form of a beam of light falls on the cathode surface Kinetic enegy of electrons is increased which results in their emission from the cathode into vacuum or another material

SECONDARY EMISSION
Due to increase in velocity of rapidly moving ions than the orbital velocities of electrons in atoms of the materials of the cathode which results in expulsion of electrons Electron emission is either thermionic or auto emission type Emission of electron dependent upon the excitation/ work function of a material

Contd..
Work function is defined as the energy required,in ev/ joule , to get one electron released from the surface of material to the surrounding Ionisation potential is defined as the enegy per unit charge in volts, required to remove an electron from an atom to an infinite distance

CATHODE SPOT
It is that part of the negative electrode wherefrom the electron are emitted

Three types of cathode spot mode: Mobile cathode spot mode Thermionic cathode spot mode Normal mode

MOBILE CATHODE SPOT MODE

One or more very small cathode spots appear appear at the cathode surface Speed of travel is 5-10 m/s. E.g. on aluminium multiple spots which generate complex series of branched tracks are observed while on copper the trace left behind is commonly single without any branches

THERMIONIC CATHODE SPOT MODE

It forms at the tip of a sharply pointed tungston rod used with argon shielding It remains fixed in position Current density of the order of 100 A/ mm*mm

NORMAL MODE CATHODE SPOTS

CATHODE DROP ZONE

It is the gaseous region immediately adjacent to the cathode in which a sharp drop in voltage occurs. The combined size of the cathode drop zone and the anode drop zone is of the order of 1/100 mm which is nearly equal to the electron mean free path

ARC COLUMN
Bright visible portion of the arc having high temp. and low potential gradient Temp. of the arc column depends upon the gases present in it and the amount of welding current flowing in the circuit. At high temp. , all the molecular gases present in the column get split into electrons and ions .

Contd.
No. of electrons and ions in any given volume of the arc remains the same to keep the arc electrically neutral Average ion is about one thousand times heavier than an electron , so electrons are more mobile and carry most of the current across the column The potential gradient is lower than that across the cathode drop zone or the anode drop zone in the column.

Contd

Contd..
Welding arc results in a bell shaped or cone shaped arc with apex of the cone at or near the tip of the rod electrode Max. temp. is at the core of the column Axial plasma velocity decreases as the arc periphery is approached

Contd

Contd..
Gas flow lines and Plasma velocity lines in carbon arc welding

Contd..
In a steady state the plasma jet has a streamline flow with the flow velocity approximately proportional to the welding current When the flow is not symmetrical, it results in the setting up of magnetic forces which deflect the arc column, it is known as arc blow

ARC STABILITY
Arc is said to be stable if it is uniform and steady Stable arc will produce good weld bead and a defect free weld nugget Unstable arc produce slag entrapment, porosity, blow holes and lack of proper fusion

FACTORS GOVERNING ARC STABILITY

Suitable matching of arc and power source characteristic Continuous and proper emission of electrons from the electrode and thermal ionization in the arc column Position and movements of cathode & anode spots Arc length and arc current Electrode tip geometry Steadiness of current in A.C welding as regards its magnitude and wave shape Presence of dampness, oil, grease, etc. on the surface of work piece

The unwanted deflection or the wandering of a welding arc from its intended path is termed as arc blow Under arc blow, an arc may distort, deflect or rotate AC arc are less susceptible to arc blow than DC arc because the alternating current reverses direction which in turn reverses the magnetic field. The magnetic field builds up, collapses and rebuilds as current reverses from positive to negative. This phenomenon does not permit the magnetic field strength to build to a value so as to cause arc blow

ARC BLOW

FACTORS AFFECTING ARC BLOW

Magnetic field produced in the work-piece adjacent to the welding arc, because of the current flow through the arc Presence of bus bars carrying large direct currents, in the neighborhood of the place where welding is being carried out With multiple welding heads, arc at one electrode may be affected by the magnetic field of the arc at the other electrode The magnetic field produced in the work-piece around the earth connection may tend to drive the arc away from the point where this connection is made

TYPES OF ARC BLOW

FORWARD ARC BLOW BACKWARD ARC BLOW SIDEWARD ARC BLOW ARC ROTATION

EFFECT OF ARC BLOW

Increased arc blow results in an unstable arc Poor weld bead appearance Irregular and erratic weld deposition Undercutting and lack of fusion Spatter Slag entrapment Porosity Uneven and weak welded joint

Thermal Effects of Welding on Parent Metal In all welding processes, except cold welding, heating and cooling are essential and integral parts of the process. High degrees of superheat in the weld metal may be obtained in many fusion welding processes. The maximum temperature exceeds various critical temperatures at which phase transformations occur in the metals involved in welding. The extent and slope of the thermal gradient is determined by the heat supplied by the welding process per unit volume of metal per unit time and the thermal conductivity of the base metal parts. The study of welding metallurgy requires a consideration of the following metallurgical phenomena that play an important role in fusion welding:

Thermal Effects of Welding on Parent Metal (a) The parent metal and the electrode melt and then resolidify as an integrated mass under the equivalent of chill casting conditions. This causes redistribution of the micro-constituents and the alloying elements in the weld metal zone. (b) The (unmelted) parent metal is subjected to a complex heat treatment in the form of a temperature gradient extending from the melting range to room temperature and followed by a cooling cycle induced by the neighbouring cold metal and the atmosphere. The phase changes or changes in structures that result due to welding depend on

Thermal Effects of Welding on Parent Metal

Welding process used (arc, gas, etc.) Filler rod composition and the composition of flux in case of coated electrodes. The conditions under which the weld is made, i.e., the amount of oxygen and nitrogen present. The chemical composition of base metal. The temperature and the phase changes that take place in and around the weld introduce volume changes which result in plastic flow, residual stresses and sometimes cracking too. If one looks at a macrostructure of a welded joint, he clearly visualises three distinct zones, namely: (a) Weld metal zone - Grain growth region (b) Heat affected zone - Grain refined region, Transition region. (c) (Unaffected) base metal or parent metal.