Advanced Welding Training Institute

N. Hari Hara Swaminathan

Gas Tungsten Arc

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW
/ TIG)
 TIG WELDING
Developed during 1940s (second world war period) to
weld aluminium and magnesium in aircraft
components, using an electric arc as the heat source
and helium (He) as the shielding gas.

Names
 ARGON ARC WELDING (Old Name)
 HELIARC WELDING (Old Name)
 TUNGSTEN INERT GAS WELDING (TIG)
 GAS TUNGSTEN ARC WELDING (GTAW)
 An Arc Welding Process.
Nozzl
Arc between a non-consumable Shielding
tungsten electrode and the workpiece. gas Tungsten
Electrode
An inert gas sustains the arc and protects Arc
the molten metal from atmospheric Filler
Weld pool
contamination. rod

Process is independent of filler addition TIG WELDING

Filler metal can be added when reqd.

Independent control of heat input and

filler wire addition.
 GTA welding advantages and disadvantages

• Advantages:
– Very good control of the weld pool and penetration
– Heat transfer is easily controlled
– No spatter
– Welding without filler material possible (Autogenious)
– Thin material welding with very low currents is possible
– Can weld all types of metals and alloys
– The weld seam formed is good and slag free
– Weld root side is clean and slag-free (with root gas)
 Disadvantages of TIG welding

– Slow speed in filling large grooves

– Sensitive to drafts and wind
– Sensitive to impurities
– Gas purity is a critical factor
– High need for root protection
– Welder skill requirement is high
– Cost of process is comparitively higher.
 Application of TIG welding
• Welding of critical pipes and pipelines, for example
pressurized pipes,
• Manufacturing heat exchanger pipes and combinations
• Manufacturing stainless pipe and tubes
• Thin materials from ~ 0,1 mm and higher
• Thin stainless steel welding
• Aluminum welding
• Special materials welding, eg. Titanium
• Fixing and repairing minor works
• Space and aircraft industry
 TIG welding set-up
TIG TORCH REGULATOR/FLOW METER
(AIR or WATER COOLED)

SHIELDING GAS
WORK PIECE

WATER COOLER
CONSTANT CURRENT POWER SUPPLY (OPTIONAL)

Main Accessories :
Power Source
TIG Torch, Shielding Gas
 Power Source

• In GTAW process - Power Sources of Constant Current type

having drooping characteristics are used.
• Such Power Sources are used also for :
- MMAW process
- Plasma processes
 Drooping characteristics power source

• Designed to give stable

operation where the
electrode moves up and
down with the welders
hand eg MMAW and GTAW
processes.
• Variation in arc voltage with
movement of the welders
hand results in very little
change in current
• Stable current gives
consistent arc heat and
weld pool
 TIG Welding Modes
• DC Straight Polarity (Electrode Negative) DCSP / DCEN
Most widely used mode, to weld all metals
except for Al, Mg, Cu-Al alloys

• AC TIG welding (Used to weld Al, Mg, Cu-Al)

Sine Wave, Square Wave with Wave Balance, Sq.
Wave with variable ac frequency.
Modes in TIG
Welding : DCEN
(DCSP)
less heat at electrode
(-ve,1/3 heat)

No cathodic
cleaning of oxide

Good penetration,
(+ve polarity – 2/3 heat)
Modes in TIG
Welding : DCEP
(DCRP) Excessive heat (2/3)
At Electrode (+ve)

effective oxide
cleaning

Shallow penetration
(1/3 heat, -ve polarity)
Effect of polarity on heat input
DCEN DCEP AC
Cathode Anode
_

1/16” 1/4” 3/32”

2/3 heat 1/3 heat 50% heat

Heat distribution and penetration
in DCEN, DCSP and AC TIG welding
 GTAW with AC for Aluminium
In this mode the polarity of the tungsten electrode and the workpiece
alternate between negative and positive at the frequency of the
applied welding current. This operating mode offers a good
compromise between workpiece heating and good fusion
characteristics combined with cathodic cleaning as described
above.

Diagram showing the current waveform for AC TIG operation

At normal mains frequencies (50Hz) heating and cleaning take place
during alternate half cycles, and is particularly suitable for materials
with tenacious oxide layers which would otherwise restrict or inhibit
fusion.
 AC Cleaning

DCEN DCEP Electrode

Oxide Layer
Arc

(Negative Half Cycle) (Positive Half Cycle)

Melt Zone
Penetration Cleaning
Combined effects of Oxide cleaning in electrode +ve and
penetration in electrode -ve half cycles in AC TIG
welding are utilised to weld Aluminium.
 Arc Initiation in GTAW
Touch or Scratch Start: Causes a short-circuit.
Risk : the electrode may stick to the surface and cause a tungsten
inclusion in the weld.
Lift arc : The short-circuit is formed at a very low current level.
HF (High Frequency) : High frequency (HF) unit ignites the arc
without contact between the electrode and workpiece.
HF consists of high voltage sparks of several thousand volts which
last for a few microseconds. The HF sparks will cause the electrode -
workpiece gap to break down or ionise. Once an electron/ion cloud is
formed, current flows from power source.
HF has been known to create difficulties and interference with
computer systems, telephones, and other electronic items, including
heart pacemakers. At nuclear power plant constructions the use of
HF - spark is prohibited.
(due to generation of high electromagnetic emission (EMI)
 DC Suppressor in AC

 Function of DC Suppressor
 Additional accessory to remove unwanted DC from output
- provides only AC output for welding
 Why DC Suppressor?
 In the positive half cycle, the oxide layer formed on the
surface of the job behaves as a PN junction diode in the
reverse bias and does not conduct current
 A DC suppressor removes the DC component and
facilitates AC output free from unwanted DC
 AC Freq.50 Hz.
EN/EP 50/50

Sine Wave In AC TIG Welding

 Deep penetration
Bad oxide cleaning
A colder electrode, stays sharper

Low penetration
Good oxide cleaning
A hotter electrode, tip
wears round

Wave balance (EN/EP ) In Square Wave AC TIG Welding

 AC waveforms
+
0 • Sine wave
- t
– Traditional AC - transformer (50Hz)
– Low noise,half cycle ignition bad
• Square wave
+ – Traditional or inverter power source
0 – High noise, good oxide cleaning
- t – AC frequency adjustable
• Formed square wave
– Available in modern power sources
+ – Combined sine- and square wave
0 – Optimum AC properties
- t – AC frequency adjustable
 TIG Torch and electrodes
normal
(manual)

straight
(machine

Short head

Nozzles in different shapes & sizes

Gas lens
+
 Tungsten electrodes
Addition of small amount of oxides of thorium / cerium /
lanthanum / zirconium to tungsten enhance the performance of
the tungsten electrodes by increasing the electron emissivity and
current carrying capacity of the electrodes.

Types of tungsten electrodes: (AS per AWS)

 Pure Tungsten (EWP), (Green)
 Thoriated Tungsten (EWTh), (Red) Zirconiated
Tungsten (EWZr),(Brown & white)
 Ceriated Tungsten (EWCe), (Grey)
 Lanthanated (EWLa), (Black, Gold & Blue )

+
 Tungsten electrodes Classification
ISO 6848 ISO Colour AWS AWS Colour Alloy
WP Green Green EWP Green Green None
WC20 Gray Gray EWCe-2 OrangeOrange ~2% CeO2
WL10 Black EWLa-1 Black ~1% La2O3
WL15 Gold Gold EWLa-1.5 Gold Gold ~1.5% La2O3
WL 20 Sky Blue SkyBlue EWLa- 2 Blue Blue ~2% La2O3
WT10 Yellow Yellow EWTh-1 Yellow Yellow ~1% ThO2
WT20 Red Red EWTh-2 Red Red ~2% ThO2
WT30 Violet Violet ~3% ThO2
WT40 Orange Orange ~4% ThO2
WY20 Blue Blue ~2% Y2O3
WZ3 Brown Brown EWZr-1 Brown Brown ~0.3% ZrO2
WZ8 White White ~0.8% ZrO2
+
 TIG Torch and electrodes
Tungsten Electrodes
2% Thoriated for DC welding
of MS, SS, Cu & Ni alloys - red
tip.
Thoriated electrodes are
being replaced by Pointed tip for
DCSP TIG
Lanthanated and Ceriated
tungsten electrodes.
Pure tungsten and Zirconiated
tungsten for AC welding of
Aluminium, Magnesium. Balled tip for
AC TIG
+
 Shielding Gases in TIG welding
ARGON --- Most widely used
 Best shielding
 Best cleaning action
 Arc starting easier
 Best arc stability
 Available and comparatively less
costly.
HELIUM
 Increases penetration and heat
 Increases welding speed
 Arc starting difficult
 Higher flow rate (2-3 times of
Control of impurities is very important
Argon) required.
for high quality welds.
 Higher cost
Impurities:
ARGON / HELIUM MIXTURES Moisture, oxygen, nitrogen and hydro-
 Combines benefits of both gases. carbons.
 Some times small percentage of
Oxygen or Hydrogen added to Argon
to improve wetting.
+
 Schematic profiles during TIG-welding
of different shielding gases,
current 150 A, arc length 4 mm, weld speed 15 cm/min
 Back Purging
When TIG welding certain materials, such as
stainless steel or nickel alloys, it is necessary to
prevent the reverse side of the weld area oxidising,
particularly in pipework when post-weld cleaning of
the root is impossible.This is usually achieved by
passing a stream of inert gas through the pipe, or
over the reverse side of a plate, to exclude, or purge,
oxygen from the area.
The gases most frequently used for purging are
argon or nitrogen. Which gas is chosen will depend
on technical, practical or economic reasons.
 Shielding gas flow rates
• Flow rates : 6 – 10 litres per minute, depending on
application, using argon gas.
• A low flow rate can easily cause defects in the welding. Too
high a flow rate can also cause defects in the welding due to
turbulence, along with high costs in gas.
• Shield gas type : For example, when using ”light” helium as
shielding gas, the flow rate must be 1.5 - 3 times more than
with argon.
• Welding speed: In mechanized welding the weld pool can
become larger than usual. Then a larger gas nozzle and flow
rate can be used
• When needed, a gas lens can be used in the torch. Longer gas
shield distances are possible when using a gas lense.
 AWS Specifications for Filler Metals Suitable
for GTAW
Specification
No.
A 5.2 Iron and Steel gas welding rods.
A 5.7 Copper and Copper alloy bare welding rods and electrodes
A 5.9 Corrosion resistant Chromium-Nickel steel bars and composite
metal cored and standard arc welding electrodes and welding rods
A 5.10 Aluminium and Aluminium alloy welding rods and bare electrodes
A 5.13 Surfacing welding rods and electrodes
A 5.14 Nickel and nickel alloy bare welding rods and electrodes
A 5.16 Titanium and titanium alloy bare welding rods and electrodes
A 5.18 Mild steel electrodes for Gas Metal Arc Welding
A 5.19 Magnesium alloy welding rods and bare electrodes
A 5.24 Zirconium and Zirconium alloy bare welding rods and electrodes
 Defects in TIG WELDING

Bead oxidised

Tungsten inclusion

Lack fusion /
penetration

excess penetration
Crack in weld
Crater crack

+
 Tungsten Inclusions
Touching a tungsten electrode into a molten weld pool
will often result in some tungsten being melted off and
taken into the weld metal. Similarly, if the tip of a
tungsten electrode for AC operation is ground to a point,
this will be removed on initiation of the AC arc and end
up in the weld metal.
The resultant tungsten inclusions will be classified as a
defect and will have to be ground out and the weld
repaired.
Welders should be careful not to allow the electrodes to
come into contact with the weld pool and to ensure all
tungsten electrodes are correctly ground and prepared
for welding.
 GTAW Welding Parameters

The current and polarity to be used will determine the

diameter of the tungsten electrode. The relationship
between current and electrode diameter for tungsten
electrodes with additions of thorium oxide, cerium
oxide, lanthanum oxide or zirconium oxide is shown in
the next table
If using pure tungsten electrodes the currents quoted
should be reduced to 75-90% of these values for DCEN
operation and to 60-75% for AC operation.
It is advised that national standards be consulted for
suitable current ranges.
Recommended Current Ranges for Tungsten Electrodes

Based upon Standard, ISO 6848 - 2004.

 Selecting the right parameters
ELECTRODE GAS NOZZLE no GAS FLOW CURRENT RANGE

DIAMETER l / min A

 1,6 4-5 5-7 20 - 130

 2,4 5-6 6-8 100 - 250
 3,2 6-7 7-9 150 - 350
 4,0 7-8 8 - 10 200 - 500

• Gas nozzle number is defined by the marking 1/16” ( 1,5875mm )

• Example: number 5 is 5 x 1,5875 mm = 7,9 mm
 Electrode stick-out and arc length
in DC-ve welding

3 - 5 mm

1 - 5 mm

Electrode stick-out depends on the current and joint type used

 Development of Power sources
Some, more sophisticated, power sources allow the welding
current to start at a low level and build-up and also allow
the current to decay slowly when welding ceases. This
'slope-up' and 'slope-down' facility prevents burn through
on thin material and allows crater filling to take place.

Layout of typical TIG welding equipment

 GTA Welding Machines

For GTAW Welding we can have

• DC TIG welding Machines

• DC Pulsed welding machines
• AC TIG welding machines,
• AC/DC TIG Welding Machines
• Square wave AC machines
• Inverter type – Both DC and AC DC, with variable AC
frequency.
 Pulsed welding Power Sources

Many welding sets now are capable of giving a pulsed

arc in which high current pulses are provided over a
lower background current. The pulse frequency,
duration, and maximum current and the background
duration and current can be varied to suit the
application. With some equipment the pulse shape
can be varied too.
Use of pulsing allows greater control over heat input
of the arc and enables consistent welds to be made in
very thin materials, in dissimilar thickness joints, and
unsupported root runs, and when welding in position.
 Pulsed welding
In pulse-TIG welding the current changes according to the
settings of frequency and pulse ratio, between pulse and
pause currents.
tc
I
ts Build-up of a bead consisting
of diverse nuggets
Is

It

t
I ave = Average current
t c = Cycle time / Frequency
PL = pool length
t s = Pulse time OL = overlapping length
I s = Pulse current DN = distance between
I t = Pause current two nuggets
 Pulsed TIG welding modes
Pulse welding can be divided to three different classes, according to
frequency:

Long pulse welding

• Frequency 0.2 - 10Hz
• Considerable pause time, during which the molten metal has time to cool, so
the weld is easier to control
.
Quick pulse
• Frequency 50 - 500Hz
• Frequency is so high, that pulse cycles are no longer distinguished
• Usually the penetration is better and weld narrower
• This feature is typical for ”ordinary inverter power sources”.

“High frequency pulse”

• Frequency 1kHz- 20kHz
• Only in special machines
 Pulsed TIG applications
Pulsed TIG is a versatile welding process for all
positions and material thicknesses
Uses:
Positional welding
Pipe welding
Welding without filler material
Welding of materials of different
thicknesses
Special materials eg SS & Ni alloys
Advantages:
Greater control on fusion & penetration
Welding is quicker (quick pulse)
Deeper penetration
Easier welding
Stable arc
 Hot Wire TIG

In this variation, instead of the welder manually feeding

a cold, length of filler rod into the molten weld pool,
filler wire from a small spool is electrically pre-heated
and continuously fed via a contact tube into the back of
the pool. The resistance heating of the wire prior to
adding to the pool means that deposition rates can be
substantially improved compared to conventional cold
wire TIG.
There can also be improvements in productivity, as the
welder does not have to stop to pick up filler rods.
Mechanised wire feeding in TIG
to increase productivity
 Orbital TIG
Orbital TIG is an automatic process used primarily of the
welding together of pipes. The welding head comprises
of a method to hold in place both of the pipes to be
welded. It also contains a compact welding torch and a
drive mechanism allowing it to move completely around
the pipe. There will also be an integral wire feed system
on models for use with pipe that cannot be welded
autogenously.
Welding heads are produce in different diameters
suiting only a limited range of pipe diameters.
Process variations - Pipe welding

Schematic view of mechanised

butt welding
of tubes using a pipe welding
clamp

- Orbital welding -
Tube to tube- sheet welding

Typical boiler tube plate welding head

Specialist equipment for tube and tube-plate welding for
heat exchangers has been developed. These systems may
operate from the outside or inside depending on tube
diameter and the size of the welding head.
 Narrow-Gap TIG
In this variation, the components to be welded are
brought together in either as a square edge joint with a
small gap and a backing bar or 'U' preparation. These
combinations mean that distance between the two sides
of the joint are much smaller, hence the term 'narrow
gap'. The TIG torch, perhaps with some modification,
can be lowered into the gap and withdrawn slowly as
the weld progresses. Hot-wire filler addition may be
used together with pulsed current and other techniques
to assist the process.
Using a small gap between the component faces allows
thicker plates to be welded with fewer weld passes,
saving consumable costs, but, more importantly, labour
costs.
 The Activated –Flux (A-Tig) process
• Gas Tungsten Arc Welding is widely used in nuclear,
aerospace, power, oil, shipbuilding & host of other industries.
• Fundamental to applications requiring high quality thru’
control of bead shape & metallurgical characteristics.
• It is, however, a low productivity process,
• A-TIG welding process, developed by Paton Welding Institute
in the 1960’s, is a feasible alternative to increase the process
productivity
• A-TIG uses a thin layer of an active flux that is applied to the
surface before welding.
• The activated flux causes constriction in the arc-,increasing
current density at the anode root and the arc force acting on
weld pool.
 Advantages Of A-Tig Process
• A-TIG can enhance weld penetration by up to 300%

• A-TIG gives weld metal properties similar to parent metal

• Less sensitive to cast to cast material variation

• Higher welding speed and productivity

• Cost of Welding can be reduced by as much as 50 %

 Weld Penetration Profile
Conventional-vis-à-vis A -Tig
THANK YOU