WHAT IS WELDING ?

WELDING
Fastening two pieces of metal together by softening with heat and applying pressure. Join together by heating, as of metals. Unite closely or intimately.

Arc welding:
A group of welding processes wherein coalescence is produced by heating with an electric arcs or arcs , with or without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler metal.

WELDING PROCESSES
Arc welding process is the most common use , sub divided in to Shielded metal arc welding ( SMAW ) Stick Gas tungsten arc welding ( GTAW ) Sub merged arc welding (SAW) Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) Selection of process depends: Thickness and size, location and position of weld, joint design, welding equipment availability, process and operation requirement and production cost.

WELDING POSITIONS
Plate positions Flat position :1 G Horizontal position : 2G Vertical position : 3G Overhead position : 4G

WELDING POSITIONS
Pipe positions 1G , 2G Multiple position : 5G ( Welding groove in a vertical plane ) Multiple position : 6G ( Inclined at 45 degrees to horizontal )

ELECTRODE CLASSIFICATION AS per AWS E XXXX / EXXXXX

The prefix "E" designates arc welding electrodes. The first two digits of 4 digit Nos. and first 3 digits of 5 digit Nos. indicate minimum Tensile strength. E-60xx indicates minimum tensile strength 60,000 p.s.i. E-100xx indicates minimum tensile strength 100,000 p.s.i. Etc.

ELECTRODE CLASSIFICATION AS per AWS E XXXX / E XXXX

Second last digit indicates the welding position. The last digit indicate the welding position giving coating type, current & polarity.

ELECTRODE CLASSIFICATION AS per AWS E XXXX

Digit Type of coating 0 Cellulose sodium 1 Cellulose potassium 2 Titanium sodium 3 Titanium potassium 4 Iron powder titanium 5 Low hydrogen sodium 6 Low hydrogen potassium 7 Iron powder iron oxide 8 Iron powder low hydrogen E 6020 Iron oxide sodium Welding current DCEP AC or DCEP AC or DCEN AC or DCEP or DCEN AC or DCEP or DCEN DCEP AC or DCEP AC or DCEP or DCEN AC or DCEN AC or DCEP or DCEN

ELECTRODE CLASSIFICATION AS per AWS E XXXX

Position : 1 Flat , Horizontal, Vertical , Overhead 2 Flat and Horizontal only. 3 Flat , Horizontal, Vertical down and Overhead

E 7018 H 4 R H 4 Hydrogen less than 4 ml / 100 gm. R - Meets requirement of absorbed moisture test.

ELECTRODE CLASSIFICATION AS per AWS E XXXX - XX

The (EXXXX-'') indicates the approximate alloy in the weld deposits. A1 0.5%Mo B1 0.5%Cr 0.5%Mo B2 1.25%Cr 0.5%Mo B3 2.25%Cr 1%Mo B4 2%Cr 0.5Mo B5 0.5%Cr 1%Mo B6 0.5 Cr 0.5 Mo B9 9 Cr 1 Mo

The (EXXXX-'') indicates the approximate alloy in the weld deposits

C1 C2 C3 D1& D2 G

2.5%Ni 3.5%Ni 1%Ni 0.35Mo 0.15%Cr 0.25 - 0.45%Mo, 1.75%Mn 1%minMn, 0.5%minNi, 0.3%minCr, 0.2%minMo, 0.1%minV

Welding Flux
Welding flux Basicity Melting point c Acidic < or = 0.9 1100 1300 Neutral = 0.9 1.2 1300 1500 Basic = 1.2 2.0 > 1500 High basic > 2.0 > 1500

SMAW
2 mm thick and heavier. Electric arc sustained electric discharge between two poles. Converts electrical energy in to heat. Heat produced will be used for heating and melting of joint edges and the electrode and its coating. Some portion lost in radiation ( waves ) and convection (Gases).

SMAW
Shorter arc Less arc voltage increases current results increased weld deposition rate and welding speed. Longer arc - Higher arc voltage and lowers current Leads to lower welding productivity. Arc is too long heat is lost in air , spatter increases, weld metal picks up nitrogen results porosity and reduced toughness. The amount of welding is small- heat is immediately dissipated in to the parent metal and air- reduces ductility- to control low carbon in the weld metal.

SMAW
Advantages Low capital investment. Easy and economical to use. Applied on wide variety of metals and jobs. Disadvantages Care is required for storage and handling of electrodes. Protective clothing is required for welders. Excess current is used alloying elements in the flux coating will not be transferred to weld metals. Removal of slag.

GTAW
Non- consumable electrode shielded by an inert gas usually argon. Advantages Slag-metal reactions are absent. De-slagging time will be saved. Control of heat input of the arc and filler metal additions are independent of each other making control of puddle ( pool of liquid ) easier.

GTAW
Uniform penetration best as welded appearance . Though more costly ,sometimes save overall cost where cleanliness and soundness of welds are of paramount importance.

GTAW
Disadvantages.
Low deposition rates. Requires skill on the part of welder. Progress is costlier where backing , purging is required. An acute angle of torch will cause contamination of shielding gas which air resulting in porous welds.

SAW
Arc is maintained between end of bare wire electrode and the work. Wire feed speed is automatically controlled. Arc length is constant. Flux provide a protective blanket over the weld pool.

SAW
Advantages. Absence of smoke and arc flash ,hence minimum need for protective clothing. High weld metal quality. Smooth and weld finish with no spatter. Extremely high deposition rate and welding speed. High electrode deposition efficiency. Welders manipulative skill not needed , minimum operator fatigue.

SAW
Limitations
High initial cost. Limited welding position. Requirement of special jigs and fixtures. Difficulty in welding low thickness metals. Full penetration joint welds can not be performed from single side.

GMAW / MIG
The arc and the molten puddle are protected from contamination by the atmosphere with an extremely supplied shield of inert gas such or argon or helium. Later mild steel welded using CO2 as shielding gas. Since CO2 is not an inert gas termed as MIG /CO2 or MAG.

GMAW / MIG
How Metal transfer in CO2 welding ? Spray transfer The metal drop is detached and transferred along the arc column in to the weld pool. Dip transfer The wire tip touches weld pool and transfers the filler metal by direct contact.

GMAW / MIG
Advantages Slag metal reactions are absent Time spent in deslagging is saved. High speed and mechanized process. Thin sheets can be welded in all positions by dip transfer. CO2 is expensive ,widely used for welding mild steel.

GMAW / MIG
Limitations of CO2 process
Only carbon steels can be welded. Consumable must have deoxidizers. Dip transfer not suitable for penetration welds. Spray transfer not suitable for positional welds.

Deposition efficiency
SMAW 59 - 66 % (As size increases reduction in efficiency) GTAW 82 - 85% SAW 99 % GMAW 93 98 %

What is WPS & PQR ?

WPS : Written document that provides Direction to the welder making production welds In accordance with the code requirements. PQR : Documents what occurred during welding. Test coupon and its results Important is essential variables.

What are the parameters to be considered to prepare WPS ?

( ASME . I X Boiler & Pressure vessel code ,Welding and Brazing Qualifications )

Parameters to be considered.
1. Joints - QW 402 2. Base metals QW 403 3. Filler metals - QW 404 4. Positions - QW 405 5. Preheat - QW 406 6. PWHT - QW 407 7. Gas - QW 408 7. Elect.Charecter. - QW 409 8. Technique - QW 410 QW 401 - General ( JBF 3P GET)

HOW TO PROCEED ?

Essential variables Supplementary variables. Non essential variables.

TYPES OF JOINTS IN WELDING

1. 2. 3. 4. Butt Joint T Joint Corner Joint Lap Joint

FOR SMAW or STIC WELDING

( AS per ASME section IX)

QW 402 : JOINTS 1 .Groove design -Change in type of groove V groove , U groove , single bevel and double bevel etc Non essential. 4 . Backing 10 . Root spacing 11 . +/- Retainers

QW 403 Base Metals

5 Group Number - Supplementary 6 - T limits impact Supplementary 7 - T / t limits > 8 in . ( 203 mm ) - Essential 8 T Qualified - Essential 9 - t pass > in. (13 mm ) - Essential 11 - P.No. Qualified Essential 13 - P.No.5/9/10 - Essential

Materials
Grouping P1, P2, . . . . . . . P 53.
EX : P1 carbon steels P4 1 Chrome , molybdenum P5 - 2.5 chrome , 1 molybdenum P8 Stainless steels. P9 Nickel 1.5 to 3.5 P10 Ni, Cr and Mo based.

QW 404 Filler Metals

4 - F Number - Essential 5 - A Number - Essential 6 - Diameter Non Essential 7 - Diam . > in. ( 6 mm ) - supplementary Essential 12 AWS class Supplementary Essential 30 - t Essential 33 AWS class Non essential.

QW 405 - Positions
1 + Position Nonessential
2 Positions Supplementary essential. 3 Vertical welding Nonessential

QW 406 - Preheat
1 Decrease > 56 c - Essential
- Supplementary

2 Preheat maint.

3 Increase > 56 c - Supplementary

PREHEATING
Reduce shrinkage stress in the weld and base metal. To provide slower rate of cooling. To prevent excessive hardening. Allowing more time for any hydrogen that is present to diffuse away from weld to avoid under bead cracking. Preheat and inter pass based on ?

Carbon equivalent for steel

CE = C + Mn / 6 + ( Cr + M0 + V ) / 5 + ( Ni + Cu ) / 15.
CE up to 0.45 0.45 to 0.60 Over 0.60 - Optional - Preheat 95 205 deg. C - Preheat 205 372 deg. C

How to check the preheating temp on job ?

Temperature of the job immediately before welding begins . To be measured for a distance at least 75 mm on each side of the joint . Preferably on the opposite face from that which was heated in case of plate.

QW 407 - PWHT
1 PWHT - Essential

2 PWHT ( T & T range ) Supplementary 4 T limits- Essential ( Qualified thickness is 1.1 times of the production test coupon )

PWHT
Welded joint contains internal stresses called locked up stresses . Some times rise to values as high as YS of the material. This will be expected to relieve the locked up stresses so called as stress relieving. Heating to suitable temp Hold to enough to reduce residual stresses cooling slowly enough to minimize the development of new stresses.

PWHT
Post weld temperature usually in the range : 590 to 760 deg .centigrade. Soaking : 1 hour / inch. Heating and cooling rate : 100 to 200 deg. centigrade per hour thickness up to 25 mm and slower rates for thicker plates. ( Depending upon the code being followed )

QW 409 Electrical characteristics

1 > Heat input - Supplementary 4 Current or polarity Supple. /
Nonessential 8 I & E range Nonessential

HEAT INPUT

Voltage x amperage x 60 / Travel speed (in./min) or mm/min

CURRENT
Diameter of rod Current in amperes ( MM ) Min Max Ave 1.6 25 45 40 2.0 34 65 50 2.5 50 90 90 3.2 60 130 115 4.0 100 180 140 5.0 150 250 200 6.0 200 310 280 Straight polarity electrode negative DCEN. Reverse polarity electrode positive DCEP.

QW 410 Technique
1 String / weave Nonessential 5 Method cleaning -Nonessential 6 Method back gouge-Nonessential 9 Multi / single pass - supplementary 25 Manual or automatic-Nonessential 26 Peening -Nonessential String : Like Chain. Weave : Side to side motion of the electrode.

What more interesting to know ?

 WELDING DEFFECTS AND NON DESTRUCTIVE TESTING .

THANKS