MM5012 - Welding Processes

Dr Murugaiyan Amirthalingam
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Chapter 2 - Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Direction of
weld

GTAW head
Power
Shielding gas
Contact tube

Filler rod

Electrical arc
Copper shoe
(optional)

Tungsten electrode
(nonconsumable)
Weld bead

Shielding gas

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Arc welding processes

Video - Arc in action

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GTA welding
Process characteristics
1

Known as Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG)

welding in Europe, Wolfram Inert Gas
welding (WIG) in Germany or by original
trade names Argonarc or Heliarc welding.
chemically inert atmosphere
high arc energy denstiy
stable and controllable
good joint quality and
deposition rates and joint completion rates
are low.
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GTA welding

Electrode characteristics
1

Small amount of oxides are added to lower

the work function.
Thoriated W is a common electrode - but
banned in many countries; not in India
Top angle of the electrode strongly influence
the shape of the arc and the weld pool.

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Welding Technology

Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

nd shallower weld pool. This is illustrated in Figure 1.24.

e 1.24. The influence of the electrode tip angle on the shape of the arc a
weld pool.
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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Source - Wikipedia!

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Shielding gases
1

Primary function is to (i) sustainable low

voltage arc and (ii) protection from
atmosphere
Secondary functions control of weld
bead geometry and mechanical properties.
Argon is by far most widely used for GTAW.
Gases with high thermal conductivity (H)
may result in a reduction in conductive core
of the arc increased voltage and
reduction in arc stability.
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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Secondary functions
2% O2 + 20% CO2

20% CO2

7.5% CO2

2.5% CO2

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Secondary functions
Ar

Ar + CO2

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Argon
1

Widely used for GTAW,

Totally inert and denser than air,
Low ionisation potential facilitates arc
ignition and stability,
Up to 5% of Hydrogen addition is used for
welding of -stainless steels to increase
productivity and penetration.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Helium
1

Totally inert and lighter than air,

Requires higher arc voltage than argon (for
same current and arc length)
Leads to increased heat input and larger
fusion zone.
Expensive than Ar but compensated by
increased welding speed,
Used widely for high-conductivity materials.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

CO2
1

Chemically active gas and denser than air,

Dissociation can lead to reduction in arc core
temperature,
Dissociated oxygen may react with active
elements in the molten pool.
Tolerance and arc stability are generally
poor, especially at high currents.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Oxygen
1

Used in gas mixtures,

Improves arc stability if mixed with argon
and reduces surface tension of liquid steel,
Reactive elements will form oxides.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Hydrogen
1

Increases arc voltage and heat input when

mixed with Argon,
Not suitable for ferritic steels,
Chemically reducing improves wetting in
-stainless steels and improves weld bead
finish.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Gases for welding of steels

1

Argon is widely used,

Argon with 5% hydrgoen is used to increase
speed and profile for -stainless steels (SS),
He/Ar mixtures 30-80% He for high-speed
welding of steels and SS.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Gases for welding of aluminium alloys

1

Argon is widely used,

He/Ar mixtures up to 80% He can bed used
for thicker materials to reduce number of
passes

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Gases for welding of copper and its alloys
1

High heat input arc is desirable,

He or He/Ar mixture can be used to reduce
the need for preheat and increased welding
speeds
Nitrogen and nitrogen/argon mixture widely
used in GMAW; nitrogen increases heat
input but metal transfer is poor and lead to
spatter.

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Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding

Gases for welding of nickel and its alloys
1

Argon or Ar/He mixtures can be used,

High nickel alloys are susceptible for nitrogen
porosity,
1-5% of hydrogen in Argon improves fluidity
and reduce porosity,
Ar/hydrogen mixture is often used for GTA
welding of cupro-nickels.

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Welding power sources

Requirements
to produce suitable output current and
voltage characteristics for the process,
to allow the output to be regulated to suit
specific applications,
to control the output level and sequence
to suit the process and application
requirements.
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Welding power sources

Functional requirement

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Welding power sources

Conventional power source designs

Tapped transformers,
Moving-iron control,
Variable inductor,
Magnetic amplifier

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Welding power sources

Tapped transformers

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Welding power sources

Tapped transformers

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Welding power sources

Moving-iron control

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Welding power sources

Variable inductor

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Welding power sources

Magnetic amplifier

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Welding power sources

Magnetic amplifier

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Welding power sources

Electronic power regulator systems

SCR phase control,
Transistor series regulator,
Secondary switched transistor power
supplies,
Primary rectifier-inverter and
Hybrid designs
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Welding power sources

Silicon-Controlled Rectifier phase control circuit

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Welding power sources

Transistor series regulator

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Welding power sources

Switching transistor power supply

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Welding power sources

Switching transistor power supply

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Welding power sources

Primary rectifier-inverter power supply

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Welding power sources

Primary rectifier-inverter power supply

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Welding power sources

Primary rectifier-inverter power supply

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Welding power sources

hybrid power supply

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Welding power sources

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Welding power sources

Micro processor controlled power sources

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Variations in GTAW
1

10

Pulsed GTAW
High-frequency pulsing GTAW
Square-wave AC variable polarity GTAW
Plasma welding
Cold- and hot-wire feed GTAW
Dual-gas GTAW and plasma welding
Multicathode GTAW
A-TIG welding
buried arc GTA
High current GTAW
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Variation in GTAW
Pulsed GTAW

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Variations in GTAW
Advantages of pulsed GTAW
1

Reduced distortion;
Improved tolerance to dissimilar thicknesses;
Improved tolerance to dissimilar materials;
Reduced thermal build-up;
Improved tolerance to cast-to-cast variation.
Used for demanding applications (cryogenic
bellows, nuclear plant pipework and welding of
aero-engine components in Nimonics)
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Variations in GTAW
Operating parameters of pulsed GTAW (1 to 10 Hz)
Material
Pulse amplitude (A)
Pure nickel
250 to 300
SS
150 to 200
Cupro-nickel alloys
150 to 200
Plain carbon steels
100 to 150
Nimonic alloys
50 to 80
Ip tp = K
where Ip is pulse current and tp is pulse time and K is
constant.
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Variations in GTAW

High frequency pulsed GTAW

1

Pulse frequency of above 5000 Hz,

To improve arc stiffness due to high pulse
current amplitude,
High energy density and efficiency,
High welding speeds.

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Variation in GTAW
Square wave AC with variable polarity

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Variation in GTAW
Cold wire filler addition
Direction of
weld

GTAW head
Power
Shielding gas
Contact tube

Filler rod

Electrical arc
Copper shoe
(optional)

Tungsten electrode
(nonconsumable)
Weld bead

Shielding gas

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Variation in GTAW
Cold wire filler addition

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Variations in GTAW
Cold wire filler addition
1

Independent wire addition to control weld pool

temperature and alloying,
Generally done manually,
Mechanical wire additions are set at constant
rate in a torch mounted system,
Dabber TIGTM - mechanised wire feeder with
reciprocating motion as in manual feed (2 to 10
Hz).
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Variation in GTAW

Hot wire filler addition

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Variation in GTAW
Deposition rate

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Variation in GTAW
Dual gas GTAW

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Variations in GTAW
Dual gas GTAW
1

To constrict the arc,

Lorentz forces Plasma jet,
Cooling the outer core to increase the arc core
temperature,
Ar-5% hydrogen for inner gas and Ar-20%CO2
for outer gas,
Improved arc stability in low current (20 to 50A)
and heat input,
SS, carbon steel and Al of 3 to 4 mm.
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Variation in GTAW
Plasma welding

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Plasma welding

Plasma welding
Generation of plasma by arc constriction in two
operation modes
Transferred arc mode
Non-transferred arc mode

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Plasma welding
Plasma welding - transferred arc

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Plasma welding
Plasma welding - non transferred arc

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Plasma welding

Plasma welding

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Plasma welding
Transferred arc
1

Extreme heat input can even be used for cutting

Welding in key hole mode power beam welding

Non transferred arc

1

Workpiece is not in the current circuit

Pilot arc can be established independent of workpiece
Very low heat input flame heating
Used for spraying and coating

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Plasma welding
Plasma welding torch

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Plasma welding
Characteristics
1

Normally done with DC (DCEN)

Both AC and DCEP is possible with larger electrodes
and special torch designs
low current or microplasma welding (0.1 to 15 A)
1
2

Intermediate current plasma welding (15 to 200 A)

1
2
3

Excellent arc stability

Joining of very thin sheets, encapsulation of electronic
components, sensors, finer-mesh filter elements and repair of
turbine blades
Same as GTAW but high speed and melting efficiency
Electrodes are protected from accidental touch-down
Used for welding transformer core to avoid contamination

High-Current plasma operation

1
2

Welding in key hole mode

Single pass weld in up to 9 mm.
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Plasma welding
Welding with key hole

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Multicathode GTA welding

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Multicathode GTA welding

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A-TIG welding
Cast to cast variation

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A-TIG welding
Cast to cast variation

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A-TIG welding
Variation of surface tension with T

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A-TIG welding

Surface tension of the weld pool can be changed

by using activated salts and pastes,
Simple oxide pastes such as TiO2 and SiO2 ,
Cast to cast problem can be overcome.

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Buried arc GTA welding

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GTA welding

Controlling parameters
Primary

Secondary

Current
Arc length
Travel Speed Polarity
Shielding gas
Electorde angle
Filler addition

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GTA welding
Controlling parameters

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