Welding Technique 23-24 Fall

WELDING TECHNIQUE
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolga MERT

Yildiz Technical University
Mechanical Engineering Department
Materials Science & Manufacturing Technologies Div.
E3 Block, Welding Lab. - Rm. E3-20
Tel: +90 212 383 2805
E-mail: tmert@yildiz.edu.tr ; tolgamert@gmail.com
Avesis Web Page: http://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/tmert/

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolga MERT
Research Areas
- Welding & Joining Techniques
- Steels & High Strength Steels
- Stainless Steels
- Ni-based Super Alloys
- Additive Manufacturing (SLS*SLM-WAAM)
- Robotic Welding&Joining
- Welding Emissions
- Emissions Measurement
- Dispersion Modeling
- Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)
- Risk Analysis and Assessment
- Machine Learning
Contact: via e-mail (tmert@yildiz.edu.tr)
Office Hours: Wednesday 13.00 - 14.50

Friday 14.00-15.50
PLEASE STICK WITH THESE RULES
• Please concentrate, listen/watch and try to understand

• If you have any questions direct them to me during or
after the class
• Please do not leave the online lecture room during the
delivery of the course since there will be a question-
answer/discussion sessions
• We will give 10~15 mins break after 45~50 mins lecture
delivery
Evaluation System
Recommended Books
• Principles of Welding-Processes, Physics, Chemistry and Metallurgy,

Robert W. Messler, Wiley
• Joining of Materials and Structures - From Pragmatic Process to
Enabling Technology, Robert W. Messler, Jr., Elsevier
• Welding processes handbook, Klas Weman, Woodhead Publishing
• ASM Metals Handbook vol 6.
• Welding handbook, AWS (American Welding Society)
Joining
• The ability to join similar or dissimilar materials has been central to the
creation of useful tools, the manufacture of products, and the erection of
structures. Joining was undoubtedly one of the first, if not the first,
manufacturing technology.
• In the most general sense, joining is the act or process of putting or
bringing things together to make them continuous or to form a unit.
• As it applies to fabrication, joining is the process of attaching one
component, structural element, detail, or part to create an assembly,
where the assembly of component parts or elements is required to
perform some function or combination of functions that are needed or
desired and that cannot be achieved by a simple component or element
alone
Joining
• An assembly is a collection of manufactured parts, brought together by
joining to perform one or more than one primary function. These primary
functions can be broadly divided into the following three categories: (1)
structural, (2) mechanical, and (3) electrical.
• In structural assemblies, the primary function is to carry loads— static,
dynamic, or both. Examples are buildings, bridges, dams, the chassis of
automobiles, or the airframes of aircraft or spacecraft.
• In mechanical assemblies, the primary function, while often seeming to be
(and, in fact, also having to be) structural, is really to create, enable, or
permit some desired motion or series of motions through the interaction
of properly positioned, aligned, and oriented components. Examples are
engines, gear trains, linkages, actuators, and so on.
• In electrical assemblies, the primary purpose is to create, transmit,
process, or store some electromagnetic signal or state to perform some
desired function or set of functions. The most noteworthy examples are
microelectronic packages and printed circuit boards but also include
motors, generators, and power transformers.
Reasons for Joining Materials and
Structures
Goal 1: Achieve Functionality
• To carry or transfer loads in an array of parts needing to act
together without moving (i.e., a static structure)
• To carry and transfer loads in an array of parts needing to act
together by moving (i.e., a dynamic structure)
• To achieve size and/or shape complexity beyond the limits of
primary fabrication processes (e.g., casting, molding, forging,
forming, powder processing, etc.)
• To enable specific functionality demanding mixed materials
• To allow structures to be portable (i.e., able to be moved to or from
sites)
• To allow disassembly for ultimate disposal
• To impact damage tolerance in the structure beyond that inherent
in the materials of construction (i.e., structural damage tolerance)
Structures
Goal 2: Facilitate Manufacturability
• To obtain structural efficiency through the use of built-up details
and materials
• To optimize choice and use of just the right materials in just the
right place
• To optimize material utilization (i.e., minimize scrap losses)
• To overcome limitations on size and shape complexity from primary
fabrication processes
• To allow on-site erection or assembly of prefabricated details
Structures
Goal 3: Minimize Costs
• To allow optimal material selection and use (versus forcing
compromise)
• To maximize material utilization and minimize scrap losses
• To keep the total weight of materials to a minimum (through
structural efficiency)
• To provide more cost-effective manufacturing alternatives (versus
forcing a primary fabrication process to its limit)
• To facilitate automation of assembly, for some methods
• To allow maintenance, service, repair, or upgrade; all of which
reduce life-cycle costs
• To facilitate responsible disposal
Structures
Goal 4: Provide Aesthetics
• To enable application of veneers, facades, etc., different from the
underlying structure
• To allow complex shapes to be formed
Joining Techniques
Joining techinques can be classified in two groups. These joints can be unfastenable or be
permanent.
Unfastenable Joints
Threaded fasteners such as screws, bolts, and nuts allow for disassembly.
Typical assemblies using: (a) bolt and nut, and (b) Self-tapping screws: (a) thread-forming and (b) thread-
screw. cutting
Unfastenable Joints
Various head styles available on screws and bolts

Permanent Joints
• Adhesive bonding
• Riveting
• Soldering & brazing
• Welding
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
• Adhesive bonding is a joining process in which a filler material is used to hold two (or
more) closely spaced parts together by surface attachment.
• The filler material that binds the parts together is the adhesive. It is a nonmetallic
substance—usually a polymer.
• The parts being joined are called adherends.
• Curing refers to the process by which the adhesive’s physical properties are changed
from a liquid to a solid, usually by chemical reaction, to accomplish the surface
attachment of the parts. Curing is often motivated by heat and/or a catalyst, and
pressure is sometimes applied between the two parts to activate the bonding process.
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
• Cohesion is defined as the internal strength of an adhesive as a result of a variety of

interactions within the adhesive.
• Adhesion is the bonding of one material to another, namely an adhesive to a
substrate, due to a variety of possible interactions
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
• Adhesive bonding is to form surface bond with the help of organic and inorganic adhesives.
• Metal adhesives are generally made of high polymer artificial resins.
• Compared with conventional joining techniques, joining of metal materials with adhesives are
superior in designs which require lightweight structures.
• Aviation industry has leaded this method to develop.
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
For best adhesion results, the following conditions must be satisfied:
(1) surfaces of the adherends must be clean—free of dirt, oil, and oxide films that would
interfere with achieving intimate contact between adhesive and adherend; special
preparation of the surfaces is often required;
(2) the adhesive in its initial liquid form must achieve thorough wetting of the adherend
surface;
(3) it is usually helpful for the surfaces to be other than perfectly smooth—a slightly
roughened surface increases the effective contact area and promotes mechanical
interlocking.
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
There are three types of adhesives:
1. Natural adhesives: Starch, dextrin, soy flour and some animal products
2. Inorganic adhesives: Sodium silicate and magnesium oxychloride
3. Synthetic organic adhesives: Thermoplastics or thermosetting polymers
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
Joint Design
• Adhesive joints are not generally as strong as those by welding, brazing, or soldering.
The following design principles are applicable:
(1) Joint contact area should be maximized.
(2) Adhesive joints are strongest in shear and tension
(3) Adhesive bonded joints are weakest in cleavage or peeling
Types of stresses that must be considered in adhesive bonded joints: (a) tension, (b) shear, (c) cleavage, and (d) peeling
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
Joint Design
Some joint designs for adhesive bonding

Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
Chemical Types of Adhesives
1. Epoxy based: They maintain high strength and high temperature properties until 200C.
2. Acrylics: They are suitable for places where substrates are not clean
3. Cyanoacrylate: Joint is thin and it forms between 5 and 40 seconds.
4. Urethanes:They possess high toughness and flexibility in room temperature and widely
used as impermeability material.
5. Silicons: They are highly resistant to dissolvers and humid. They have high impact and
peeling strength. Curing times could be 1 to 5 days.
* Generally, combinations of these adhesives could be used (Ex: Epoxy-silicon, nitril-phenolic,

epoxy-phenolic, urethane acrylic esther, ethyl cyanoacrylate etc.)
Adhesive is dispensed by a manually controlled dispenser to bond parts during assembly
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
Advantages of Adhesive Bonding
❖ The process is applicable to a wide variety of materials;

❖ Parts of different sizes and cross sections can be joined—fragile parts can be joined by
adhesive bonding;
❖ Bonding occurs over the entire surface area of the joint, rather than in discrete spots
or along seams as in fusion welding, thereby distributing stresses over the entire area;
❖ Some adhesives are flexible after bonding and are thus tolerant for cyclical loading
and differences in thermal expansion of adherends;
❖ Low temperature curing avoids damage to parts being joined;
❖ Sealing as well as bonding can be achieved;
❖ Joint design is often simplified
Permanent Joints
ADHESIVE BONDING
Drawbacks of Adhesive Bonding
❖ Joints are generally not as strong as other joining methods;

❖ Adhesive must be compatible with materials being joined;
❖ Service temperatures are limited;
❖ Surface preparation and cleaning prior to application of adhesive are important;
❖ Curing times can impose a limit on production rates;
❖ Inspection of the bonded joint is difficult.
Adhesive Bonding Video
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
• A rivet is an unthreaded, headed pin used to join two (or more) parts by passing the
pin through holes in the parts and then forming (upsetting) a second head in the pin
on the opposite side.
• Once the rivet has been deformed, it cannot be removed except by breaking one of
the heads.
• Rivets are widely used for achieving a permanent mechanically fastened joint.
• Riveting is a fastening method that offers high production rates, simplicity,
dependability, and low cost.
• Despite these apparent advantages, its applications have declined in recent decades in
favor of threaded fasteners, welding, and adhesive bonding.
• Riveting is one of the primary fastening processes in the aircraft and aerospace
industries for joining skins to channels and other structural members.
Riveted aircraft structures
Longitudinal riveted joint of A300 aircraft body. Double
riveted lap joint. Titanium rivets.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Rivet Materials
• The material of the rivets must be tough and ductile.

• They are usually made of steel (low carbon steel or nickel steel), brass, aluminum or copper,
but when strength and a fluid tight joint is the main consideration, then the steel rivets are
used.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Rivet Terms
1. Pitch. It is the distance from the center of one rivet to the center of the next rivet measured
parallel to the seam. It is usually denoted by p.
2. Back pitch. It is the perpendicular distance between the center lines of the successive rows. It is
usually denoted by pb.
3. Diagonal pitch. It is the distance between the centers of the rivets in adjacent rows of zig-zag
riveted joint. It is usually denoted by pd.
4. Margin or marginal pitch. It is the distance between the centers of the rivet hole to the nearest
edge of the plate. It is usually denoted by m.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Types of Riveted Joints
There are two types of riveted joints depending on the way the plates are connected. Lap Joint and
butt joint.
Lap Joint
A lap joint is that in which one plate overlaps the other and the two plates are then riveted together.
Butt Joint
A butt joint is that in which the main plates are kept in alignment butting (i.e. touching) each other
and a cover plate (i.e. strap) is placed either on one side or on both sides of the main plates. The
cover plate is then riveted together with the main plates
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Butt joints are of the following two types :

1. Single strap butt joint, and 2. Double strap butt joint.
In a single strap butt joint, the edges of the main plates butt against each other and only one cover
plate is placed on one side of the main plates and then riveted together.
In a double strap butt joint, the edges of the main plates butt against each other and two cover plates
are placed on both sides of the main plates and then riveted together.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
There are different types of riveted joints depending on the rows of the rivets.
1. Single riveted joint,
2. Double riveted joint.
• A single riveted joint is that in which there is a single row of rivets in a lap joint.
• A double riveted joint is that in which there are two rows of rivets in a lap joint.
Similarly the joints may be triple riveted or quadruple riveted.

Permanent Joints
RIVETING
a) Single riveted lap joint b) Double riveted lap joint c) Double riveted lap joint (zig-zag riveting)
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Advantages of Riveting
• Different materials can be joined by riveting.

• Ease of application
• Resistant to vibrations
• No transformations in chrystallographic structure of the materials; thus no distortions.
• More elastic joint compared with welding.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Drawbacks of Riveting
• Rivet hole reduces the strength.

• Only lap joint is possible; thus construction is heavier.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Five basic rivet types, also shown in assembled configuration:

(a) solid, (b) tubular, (c) semitubular, (d) bifurcated,(e) compression.
Riveted bridge construction Eiffel Tower rivets
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Caulking and Fullering
Caulking
• Caulking is a process employed on riveted joints of pressure vessels like tanks, steam boiler to
make joint leak proof and fluid tight. The narrow blunt chisel tool used for caulking is known as
caulking tool. Caulking tool about 5mm thick, 38mm breadth and edge of tool is ground to an
angle of 80°. The tip of the tool is forcing down (burring down) the edges of joint as well as the
edge of rivet head as shown in figure. It closes all the asperities in the contacting surfaces.
• Caulking is done at the edges of plates in lap joint and edges of strap plate in a butt joint. The
edges of plates are first bevel at 70-80° then caulking tool is hammered either by hand,
hydraulic tool, or pneumatic tool.
• Great care would be taken during caulking to avoided injury of main plates below the tool and
that may open the joint instead of sealing it.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Caulking
Caulking
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Fullering
• Fullering is also a process to make a sealed joint. It is similar to the calking except the shape of
tool. The tools used for this purpose is known as fullering tool. The thickness of fullering tool is
equal to the thickness of plates.
• The blow on the fullering tool results in simultaneous pressure on the entire edges of the plate.
The fullering is more satisfactory than caulking because it gives a clean finish and less risk of
damaging of plates.
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Fullering
Fullering
Permanent Joints
RIVETING
Comparison between caulking and fullering
Caulking
An operation to make leak-proof joint; the outer edges of the rivet joint is hammered into seam.
The narrow blunt tool used for caulking known as caulking tool.
Caulking carried out at the edges of both plates and rivet.
The thickness of caulking tool is about 5mm
The risk of getting main plate damaged is high.
The achieved is surface finish is not good as fullering.
Fullering
A process to make leak-proof joint
The tool used known as fullering tool
Fullering is carried out only at edges of plates.
The thickness of fullering tool is same as the thickness of plate.
The chance to get main plate damaged is low.
Very good surface finish.
Riveting Video1
Riveting Video2
Permanent Joints
BRAZING & SOLDERING

• Brazing and soldering both use filler metals to join and bond two (or more) metal parts
to provide a permanent joint.
• A filler metal is added in brazing and soldering as in most fusion-welding operations;
however, no melting of the base metals occurs.
Brazing and soldering are attractive compared to welding under these circumstances:
(1) the metals have poor weldability;
(2) dissimilar metals are to be joined;
(3) the intense heat of welding may damage the components being joined;
(4) the geometry of the joint does not lend itself to any of the welding methods;
(5) high strength is not a requirement.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
• Brazing is a joining process in which a filler metal is melted and distributed by capillary
action between the faying surfaces of the metal parts being joined.
• No melting of the base metals occurs in brazing; only the filler melts.
• In brazing, the filler metal (also called the brazing metal), has a melting temperature
(liquidus) that is above 450C but below the melting point (solidus) of the base
metal(s) to be joined.
• If the joint is properly designed and the brazing operation has been properly
performed, the brazed joint will be stronger than the filler metal out of which it has
been formed upon solidification.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Brazing Methods
• Torch brazing
• Furnace brazing
• Induction brazing
• Resistance brazing
• Dip brazing
• Infrared brazing
• Braze welding
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Capillary Brazing
Several techniques for applying filler metal in brazing: (a) torch and filler rod; (b) ring of filler metal at
entrance of gap;and(c) foil of filler metal between flat part surfaces. Sequence: (1) before, and (2) after
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Capillary Brazing
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Wetting and contact angle
The classical model of wetting is based on the behavior of a liquid drop on a solid with a flat
surface, which is rigid and is inert with respect to the liquid material. Accordingly, the liquid will
spread over a solid surface until the three surface tensions—between the liquid droplet and the
solid substrate, the liquid droplet and the atmosphere, and the substrate and the atmosphere—
are in balance.
SL is the surface tension between the solid and liquid, LV is the surface tension between the
liquid and vapor, SV is the surface tension between solid and vapor, and  is the contact
angle of the liquid droplet on the solid surface.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
•  < 90 corresponds to the condition SV > SL This imbalance in surface tension (i.e., surface
energy) provides the driving force for the spreading of liquid over the solid surface and
diminution of the unwetted surface area.
• The contact angle  provides a measure of the quality of wetting. Thus, if 90 <  < 180 ,
some wetting is said to occur, but a liquid droplet will not spread on the surface with which
it is in contact.
• On the other hand, if  < 90 , a liquid droplet will wet the substrate and also spread over an
area defined by the contact angle . Clearly, the area of spreading will increase with
decreasing contact angle.
• Thus, wetting is improved by decreasing  , i.e., as cos increases, i.e., as  approaches zero,
and cos may be maximized by:
● Increasing SV
● Decreasing SL
● Decreasing LV
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Numerical model of a liquid droplet of constant volume wetted on a plane at contact angles
of (a) 45, (b) 90, and (c) 135. Spreading occurs if the contact angle is less than 90.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Advantages of Brazing
(1) any metals can be joined, including dissimilar metals;

(2) certain brazing methods can be performed quickly and consistently, thus permitting
high cycle rates and automated production;
(3) some methods allow multiple joints to be brazed simultaneously;
(4) brazing can be applied to join thin-walled parts that cannot be welded;
(5) in general, less heat and power are required than in fusion welding;
(6) problems with the heat-affected zone (HAZ) in the base metal near the joint are
reduced;
(7) joint areas that are inaccessible by many welding processes can be brazed, since
capillary action draws the molten filler metal into the joint.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Drawbacks of Brazing
(1) joint strength is generally less than that of a welded joint;

(2) although strength of a good brazed joint is greater than that of the filler metal, it is
likely to be less than that of the base metals;
(3) high service temperatures may weaken brazed joint;
(4) the color of the metal in the brazed joint may not match the color of the base metal
parts, a possible aesthetic disadvantage.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Application Areas of Brazing
Brazing as a production process is widely used in a variety of industries, including

automotive (e.g., joining tubes and pipes), electrical equipment (e.g., joining wires and
cables), cutting tools (e.g., brazing cemented carbide inserts to shanks), and jewelry
making. In addition, the chemical processing industry and plumbing and heating
contractors join metal pipes and tubes by brazing.
Tube brazing Jewelry brazing Brazed cutting tools

Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Brazing Methods
• Torch brazing
• Furnace brazing
• Induction brazing
• Resistance brazing
• Dip brazing
• Infrared brazing
• Braze welding
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Brazed Joints
• Brazed joints are commonly of two types: butt and lap. However, the two types have
been adapted for the brazing process in several ways.
• The conventional butt joint provides a limited area for brazing, thus jeopardizing the
strength of the joint. To increase the faying areas in brazed joints, the mating parts are
often scarfed or stepped or otherwise altered.
(a) Conventional butt joint, and adaptations of the butt joint for brazing: (b) scarf
joint, (c) stepped butt joint, (d) increased cross section of the part at the joint.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Brazed Joints
• Lap joints are more widely used in brazing, since they can provide a relatively large
interface area between the parts. An overlap of at least three times the thickness of
the thinner part is generally considered good design practice.
(a) Conventional lap joint, and adaptations of the lap joint for brazing: (b) cylindrical
parts, (c) sandwiched parts, and (d) use of sleeve to convert butt joint into lap joint
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Braze Welding
Braze welding. The joint consists of braze (filler) metal; no base metal is fused in the joint.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Filler Metals
Brazing filler metal characteristics:
(1) melting temperature must be compatible with the base metal,

(2) surface tension in the liquid phase must be low for good wettability,
(3) fluidity of the molten metal must be high for penetration into the interface,
(4) the metal must be capable of being brazed into a joint of adequate strength for the
application,
(5) chemical and physical interactions with base metal (e.g., galvanic reaction) must be
avoided.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Filler Metals
• Filler metals are applied to the brazing operation in various ways, including wire, rod,
sheets and strips, powders, pastes, preformed parts made of braze metal designed to
fit a particular joint configuration, and cladding on one of the surfaces to be brazed.
• Braze metal pastes, consist of filler metal powders mixed with fluid fluxes and binders.
Permanent Joints
BRAZING
Fluxes
• Brazing fluxes serve a similar purpose as in welding; they dissolve, combine with, and
otherwise inhibit the formation of oxides and other unwanted by-products in the
brazing process.
• Common ingredients for brazing fluxes include borax, borates, fluorides, and chlorides.
Characteristics of a good flux include:
(1) low melting temperature,
(2) low viscosity so that it can be displaced by the filler metal,
(3) facilitates wetting,
(4) protects the joint until solidification of the filler metal.
Fluxes
Braze filler metals and fluxes
Application of brazing paste to joint by dispenser
Brazing Video
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
• Soldering is similar to brazing and can be defined as a joining process in which a filler
metal with melting point (liquidus) not exceeding 450C is melted and distributed by
capillary action between the faying surfaces of the metal parts being joined.
• As in brazing, no melting of the base metals occurs, but the filler metal wets and
combines with the base metal to form a metallurgical bond.
• Surfaces to be soldered must be pre-cleaned so they are free of oxides, oils.
• An appropriate flux must be applied to the faying surfaces, and the surfaces are
heated.
• As an industrial process, soldering is most closely associated with electronics
assembly.
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
Advantages
(1) low energy input relative to brazing and fusion welding,

(2) variety of heating methods available,
(3) good electrical and thermal conductivity in the joint,
(4) capability to make air-tight and liquid-tight seams for containers,
(5) easy to repair and rework
Disadvantages
(1) low joint strength unless reinforced by mechanical means

(2) possible weakening or melting of the joint in elevated temperature service.
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
Solders and Fluxes
Solders:
• Most solders are alloys of tin (Sn) and lead (Pb), since both metals have low melting
points.
• Their alloys possess a range of liquidus and solidus temperatures to achieve good control
of the soldering process for a variety of applications.
• Lead is poisonous and its percentage is minimized in most solder compositions.
• Tin is chemically active at soldering temperatures and promotes the wetting action
required for successful joining.
• In soldering copper, common in electrical connections, intermetallic compounds of
copper and tin are formed that strengthen the bond.
• Silver and antimony are also sometimes used in soldering alloys.
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
Solders and Fluxes
Some common solder alloy compositions with their melting temperatures and applications.
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
Solders and Fluxes
Expectations from a soldering flux:
(1) be molten at soldering temperatures,

(2) remove oxide films and tarnish from the base part surfaces,
(3) prevent oxidation during heating,
(4) promote wetting of the faying surfaces,
(5) be readily displaced by the molten solder during the process,
(6) leave a residue that is non-corrosive and non-conductive.
Permanent Joints
SOLDERING
Fluxes
Soldering fluxes can be classified as organic or inorganic.

• Organic fluxes are made of either rosin (i.e., natural rosin such as gum wood, which is not
water-soluble) or water-soluble ingredients (e.g., alcohols, organic acids, and
halogenated salts).
• The water-soluble type facilitates cleanup after soldering.
• Organic fluxes are most commonly used for electrical and electronics connections.
• Inorganic fluxes consist of inorganic acids (e.g., muriatic acid) and salts (e.g.,
combinations of zinc and ammonium chlorides) and are used to achieve rapid and active
fluxing where oxide films are a problem.
• Both organic and inorganic fluxes should be removed after soldering, but it is especially
important in the case of inorganic acids to prevent continued corrosion of the metal
surfaces.
Soldering Video
What is Welding?
Short and Combined Definition:
Undetachable joining or hardfacing of two or more, similar or

dissimilar metallic or thermoplastic materials, with the use of heat,
pressure or both and with/without the use of additional filler metal.
What is Welding?
• A weld can be made homogeneous, as when two parts made from
the same metal (e.g. austenitic stainless steel) are joined with a filler
of the same alloy, or they can be made to be intentionally dissimilar
(heterogeneous), as when two parts made from different metals are
joined (e.g. gray cast iron with a bronze filler metal).
• Similarly, two polymers or plastics can be joined and made to be

homogeneous if they are of identical (or essentially identical) type or
composition, as when two pieces of thermoplastic polyvinyl chloride
(PVC) are thermally bonded or welded or heterogeneous when two
unlike but compatible thermoplastics are joined by thermal bonding
What is Welding?
The key in each case is that even when the material across the joint is
not identical in composition (i.e., homogeneous), it is essentially the
same in atomic structure, thereby allowing the formation of chemical
bonds:
primary metallic bonds between similar or dissimilar metals,
primary ionic or covalent or mixed ionic-covalent bonds between
similar or dissimilar ceramics,
secondary hydrogen, van der Waals, or other dipolar bonds between
similar or dissimilar polymers.
What is Welding?
• The problem comes about when the materials to be joined are

fundamentally different in structure at the atomic or (for polymers)
molecular level.
• Examples: Joining of metals to ceramics or even thermoplastic to
thermosetting polymers.
• Welding applies not just to metals. It also applies equally well to

certain polymers (e.g., thermoplastics), crystalline oxide or non-
oxide ceramics, intermetallic compounds, and glasses.
What is Welding?
Welding is the result of the combined action of heat and pressure.
• Sometimes just pressure is applied with NO heat.

• Sometimes heat and pressure are applied together.
• Sometimes just heat is applied with NO pressure.
* Filler material of the same type, even if not same composition, as the
base material(s) may or may not be required.
Aims of Welding?
1. Joining
2. Hardfacing
3. Repair
4. Heat treatment-annealing
5. Cutting-gouging
Advantages and Drawbacks of Welding
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Joints of exceptional structural integrity 1. Impossible to disassemble joints

and efficiency, will not accidently loosen or without destroying detail parts
disassemble
2. Wide variety of process embodiments 2. Heat of welding degrades base

properties
3. Applicable to many materials within a 3. Unbalanced heat input leads to
class distortion or residual stresses
4. Manual or automated operation 4. Requires considerable operator
skill
5. Can be portable for indoor or outdoor 5. Can be expensive (e.g., thick
use sections
6. Leak-tight joints with continuous welds 6. Capital equipment can be
expensive (e.g., electron-beam
guns and vacuum chambers)
7. Cost is usually reasonable
Classification of Welding
A) Depending on the Aim
A1. Joining
• Undetachable joining of two or more parts.
A2. Hardfacing
• Depositing material on a workpiece in order to fill volume gap or
have a bigger volume and to resist abrasive effects.
Classification of Welding
B) Depending on the Energy Intensity and Type
B1. Welding based on melting

• Two or more metallic materials are heated locally to be melted and
filler metal is utilized when needed. For instance; arc welding, spot
welding, oxy-acetylene welding
B2. Solid state welding
• Heat and/or pressure are utilized to form joining; but base metals
do not melt and filler metal is not used. For instance; forge welding,
diffusion welding, friction welding, friction stir welding
Classification of Welding (in short)
Classification of Welding Processes
There are many types of welding techniques used to join metals. The
welding processes differ in the manner in which temperature and
pressure are combined and achieved.
– Plastic Welding or Pressure Welding
– Fusion Welding or Non-Pressure Welding
Plastic Welding or Pressure Welding:

When the metal piece acquires plastic state on heating, external
pressure is applied.
In this process, externally applied forces play an important role in the
bonding operation.
• “A group of welding processes which produces coalescence at
temperatures essentially below the melting point of the base
materials being joined without the addition of a filler metal” is
Pressure Welding Process.
Fusion Welding or Non-Pressure Welding:

The material at the joint is heated to a molten state and allowed to
solidify.
In this process the joining operation involves melting and solidification
and any external forces applied to the system do not play an active
role in producing coalescence.
Usually fusion welding uses a filler material to ensure that the joint is
filled.
Pressure Welding Processes by Energy Source
Fusion Welding Processes by Energy Source
Weldability
According to the definition developed by the American Welding

Society (AWS):
“Weldability is the capacity of a material to be welded under the
imposed fabrication conditions into a specific suitably designed
structure and to perform satisfactorily in the intended service.”
If material’s weldebality is high, it means that welding of the material

could be applied with proposed method to a designed construction
without any precautions. In addition, weld quality expectations would
be met after welding.
Weldability
• Some base metals or alloys may exhibit good weldability under

some conditions, but poor weldability under other conditions.
• A good example is heat-treatable, quenched and tempered (Q&T)
steels, such as ASTM A514 construction steel. In the heat-treated
condition, where a yield strength of 689 MPa (100 ksi) has been
developed by appropriate quenching and tempering, this alloy
exhibits good weldability provided the base metal is sufficiently
preheated (to prevent cooling at rates high enough to produce
untempered martensite), that low-hydrogen welding procedures
are employed, and that allowable heat input limits are not
exceeded.
Weldability
Factors weldability depend on:

• Most important factor is base metal chemical composition
• Process,
• Operating parameters (especially, net linear heat input),
• Procedures,
• Degree of restraint,
• Environment (especially presence of hydrogen from any form of
water or hydrocarbon)
Weldability
• Composition can determine inherent weldability, with some alloys

being inherently weldable, others being inherently difficult to weld,
and still others being essentially unweldable.
• For those materials that are inherently difficult to weld, special
attention and care must be given to the conditions under which
welds are to be made, most particularly the degree of restraint, but
also the net heat input.
Weldability
Weldability
Tendency towards Welding Welding Practicability Welding Safety

Chemical composition of Pre-treatments prior to Design of the construction
the material welding
Stress (force) conditions
Metallurgical properties Realization of the welding and types
with regard to production and weld sequences to be
methods followed
Wall thicknesses and cross-
Physical properties of the Treatments after welding section changes
material
Temperatures during
service
Weldability
Tendency towards Welding

- Tendency towards welding is closely related to chemical,
metallurgical and physical properties of the material chosen.
- If the material is not a common one, then the construction should
also be taken into consideration
Weldability
Welding Safety
• It should be understood from welding safety that when
construction functions under given operating conditions, welding
seam must also fulfil the necessary requirements as expected from
the system.
• In constructions, welding safety should be higher from at least
some parts of the design of the construction.
Weldability
Welding Practicability
• It should be understood from welding practicability that designed
construction is manufactured with proposed welding technique
fulfilling other conditions.
Weldability
Material
• Chemical composition of the materials are strongly related with

strength. In addition, hardening, ageing, brittle fracture, hot
cracking susceptibility, structural (textural) changes, diffusion and
dissolution of the gases in texture are among basic factors.
• Materials gain most of their properties from the processes they
were manufactured.
– Melting methods
– Deoxidation treatments
– Hot or cold working
– Heat treatments
Other factors:
• Segregations (deviation from chemical composition), sulfide, nitride
and similar formations during solidification, anisotropy in strength
Weldability
Material
Other factors (physical properties ) for tendency towards welding:
• Thermal conductivity,
• Coefficient of thermal expansion,
• Spesific heat,
• Melting temperature or solidification range of alloys
Weldability
Construction
• Construction has pre-defined dimensions, shapes and cross

sections.
• Construction could be manufactured with the welding process
selected (must be applicable).
• Abrupt changes in cross sections (particulary if the parts will work
under dynamic conditions) and notch effect must be avoided in
design phase of the construction.
Weldability
Surface Preparation
• Layers such as scales, oxides, grease, oil, paint etc. on surface of the
materials adversely affect weldability.
Example: Porosity formation in molten based welding processes
• Insufficient surface preparation in cold press welding makes it

impossible to weld. This is especailly true for metals like aluminum
and its alloys, whose oxide layer melts at temperatures higher than
that of material’s.
Weldability
Some Remarks on Welding Safety
• Proper preparation of weld grooves as well as weld passes and

sequences are quite important in order to achieve welding safety by
reducing residual stresses or spreading them uniformly.
• Heat input per unit weld seam changes depending on the technique
used. Therefore, gas absorption of the material, hardenability
tendency and weld stresses change. In addition, depending on the
techniques used and reaching and waiting at high temperatures
may lead to unwanted phases such as chromiumcarbide formation
in alloy steels.
• There might be some crack formations in service and in order to
avoid this, pre and post as well as during welding weld heat
treatments should be applied. Hardenable steels must be cooled
slowly in this respect.
Weldability
Aluminum -> Issues with oxy-acetylene welding

18-8 Austenitic stainless steel -> No issues with TIG(WIG) welding
Welding of steels
Steel: Fe-C alloy
C Hardness
Strength
Weldability
Formability
C Not welding but casting

Weldability
Carbon steels
C < 0.25% → Low carbon steel
0.25% < C < 0.50 % → Medium carbon steels
C > 0.50% → High carbon steels
Low carbon steel -> Weldability high (No precautions)

Medium carbon steel → Fairly weldable(Some precautions)
High carbon steel -> Poor weldability (Precautions needed – Pre and
post heat treatment etc.)
C Hardness PRECAUTION
If material is thick -> Cooling rate Pre heat treatment
Stress relief annealing
Weldability
Tendency towards Welding (Carbon steels)
C% Pre Heating Stress Relief Annealing

< 0.25 Not needed Not needed
0.25 – 0.50 Necessary Necessary
> 0.50 Mandatory Mandatory
Low Alloy Steels

Containing alloying elements: Mn, Si, Cr, Ni, Mo, V etc.
Total percentage of alloying elements < 5%
Carbon Equivalent (Ceq)
𝑀𝑛 𝐶𝑟+𝑀𝑜+𝑉 𝑁𝑖+𝐶𝑢
𝐶𝑒𝑞 = 𝐶 + + + (IIW)
6 5 15
Weldability
Tendency towards Welding (Low alloy steels)
Ceq % Pre Heating Stress Relief

Annealing Good
< 0.45 Not needed Not needed
Limited
0.45≤Ceq< 0.60 Necessary Not needed
(100-200C) Not
> 0.60 Mandatory Mandatory guaranteed
(200-350C)
𝑇𝑝𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 = 350 ∗ 𝐶𝑒𝑞 − 0.25 (C) (Daniel Seferian)
** Spectral analysis is used to obtain chemical composition (elemental percentages)

of the base metal
** Pre heating temperature of 100C is always useful in order to decrease cooling rate
Weldability
* Calculate carbon equivalent and pre-heat temperatures
Material C% Mn % Si % Cr % Ni % Mo % Cu %
1 0.06 1.40 0.38 0.55 1.75 0.50 0.03
2 0.12 1.50 0.70 0.20 1.25 0.40 0.07
Weldability
• Weldox 700 → Ceq = 0.40 → No preheat

• Material 1 → Ceq = ~0.62 → TPreheat = 213 C
• Material 2 → Ceq = ~0.58 → TPreheat = 201 C
FUSION BASED WELDING PROCESSES
Welding processes divide into two major categories:
(1) fusion welding, in which coalescence is accomplished by melting the two parts to be
joined, in some cases adding filler metal to the joint;
(2) solid-state welding, in which heat and/or pressure are used to achieve coalescence,
but no melting of the base metals occurs and no filler metal is added.
• Fusion welding is by far the more important category.

• It includes (1) arc welding, (2) resistance welding, (3) oxyfuel gas welding, and (4)
other fusion welding processes.
OXY-FUEL GAS WELDING
• Gas welding is one of the oldest methods of welding and, for many years,
was the most widely used method of metal-melting; however, its use is a
lot less common today.
• Oxyfuel gas welding (OFW) is the term used to describe the group of FW
operations that burn various fuels mixed with oxygen to perform welding.
• Oxyfuel gas is also commonly used in cutting torches to cut and separate
metal plates and other parts.
• Nevertheless, it is a versatile method, using simple and relatively cheap
equipment. It is suitable for repair and erection work, for welding
pipes/tubes and structures with a wall thickness of 0.5-6 mm in materials
particularly prone to cracking, such as cast iron and non-ferrous metals. It
is also widely used for cladding and hardfacing.
Gases used in oxyfuel welding and/or cutting, with flame temperatures and
heats of combustion
Important characteristics of fuel gases.
OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING
Equipment
• A set of equipment consists essentially of gas cylinders (bottles), pressure

regulators, gas hoses, flashback arrestors and welding torches.
Equipment
Acetylene
• Acetylene (C2H2) is the fuel gas for gas welding. It consists of 92.3 % of
carbon by weight, and 7.7 % of hydrogen. Its combustion in oxygen
produces a higher combustion temperature than that of any other
hydrocarbon gas. In addition, its flame is the most concentrated in
comparison with other gases.
• Acetylene ignites very easily, and produces an explosive mixture in air over
a wide range of concentrations (2.3-82 %).
Equipment
Acetylene
• Acetylene is chemically unstable under pressure, even without the
presence of air and, under certain conditions, it can explosively
decompose to its constituents (carbon and hydrogen). To enable the gas to
be stored, the gas cylinders are filled with a porous mass, saturated with
acetone, which absorbs the gas when it is filled. The pressure in the
bottles is 2 MPa. However, explosive decomposition can occur in the pipes
from the bottle if the pressure exceeds 1.5 MPa.
Equipment
Oxygen
• Oxygen is stored as a compressed gas or liquid. In cylinders, it is usually
stored at a pressure of 20 MPa. Large users usually receive the gas in liquid
form.
• All connections must be clean and tight, in order to avoid leakage. Oil or
grease mustn’t be applied to connections
Equipment
Pressure regulators
The purpose of the pressure regulator is to reduce the high and variable
pressure in the cylinder to a suitable working pressure. It keeps the gas flow
rate constant throughout the life of the cylinder charge, despite any
variations in back pressure caused by the heating of the welding torch.
Equipment
Gas hoses
Gas hoses are color-coded: red for acetylene and blue for oxygen. In addition,
in order to protect against mistakes, the acetylene connection has a left-hand
thread, while the oxygen connection has a right-hand thread.
Equipment
Flashback arrestor
• A flashback means that the flame burns backwards into the torch with a
popping sound.
• It occurs if the combustion speed of the flame exceeds the speed at which the
gas is being supplied, so that the flame front moves backwards.
• A flashback arrestor fitted at the regulator prevents a flashback from going any
further back.
• The reason for a flashback occurring is that a mixture of oxygen and acetylene
has occurred in the hoses, e.g. by oxygen having entered the acetylene hose
and formed an explosive mixture. The flashback arrestor prevents the flame
from reaching the acetylene cylinder and triggering an explosive
decomposition
Flashback arrestors
Equipment
Welding torch
Two types of welding torches: injector torches for low pressure acetylene and
high pressure torches.
• In high pressure torches, the acetylene and oxygen flows are self-powered
by the pressure in their storage cylinders , and mix in the mixing chamber
section of the torch.
• In low-pressure torches, the oxygen flows into the torch through a central
jet, producing an injection effect that draws in acetylene from the
surrounding peripheral connection. From here, the gases continue to the
mixing section prior to combustion
Oxy-fuel welding torch

Oxy-acetylene equipment Oxy-acetylene torches, hoses and pressure regulators
• Oxy-acetylene welding (OAW) is a fusion-welding process performed

by a high-temperature flame from combustion of acetylene and
oxygen.
• The flame is directed by a welding torch.
• A filler metal is sometimes added.
A typical oxy-acetylene welding operation (OAW)

• The heat is generated by the combustion of acetylene in oxygen, which

gives a flame temperature of about 3100 C. This is lower than the
temperature of an electric arc, and the heat is also less concentrated. The
flame is directed onto the surfaces of the joint, which melt, after which
filler material can be added as necessary. The melt pool is protected from
air by the reducing zone and the outer zone of the flame. The flame should
therefore be removed slowly when the weld is completed.
• The less concentrated flame results in slower cooling, which is an
advantage when welding steels that have a tendency to harden, although
it does make the method relatively slow, with higher heat input and the
added risk of thermal stresses and distortion
OFW Video
• Acetylene (C2H2) is the most popular fuel among the OFW group because it is capable
of higher temperatures than any of the others—up to 3480C.
• The flame in OAW is produced by the chemical reaction of acetylene and oxygen in
two stages.
• The first-stage reaction is seen as the inner cone of the flame (which is bright white),
while the second-stage reaction is exhibited by the outer envelope (which is nearly
colorless but with tinges ranging from blue to orange).
1st stage
2nd stage
• When the mixture of acetylene and oxygen is in the ratio 1:1, the resulting flame is
neutral.
• When oxygen proportion is higher than acetylene, resulting flame is oxidizing.
• When acetylene proportion is higher than oxygen, resulting flame is reducing
(carburizing).
• Neutral flame is used for steel welding.

• Oxidizing flame is used for brass and bronze welding.
• Reducing flame is used for cast iron welding and hardfacing.
The neutral flame from an oxy-acetylene torch, indicating temperatures achieved
Steps to achieve a neutral flame—(a) ignite the flame with acetylene valve slightly open, (b) continue to
open acetylene valve until smoke disappears and a gap is seen, (c) slowly open oxygen valve to produce
white cone, and (d) continue to open oxygen valve to produce a smaller, clearly defined cone
The neutral flame from an oxy-acetylene torch, indicating temperatures achieved
Flame types in oxy-acetylene welding

Oxyacetylene flame temperatures
Forehand and backhand welding
Two different methods of welding are used when gas welding: forehand and backhand.
• Forehand: The flame in forehand welding is directed away from the finished weld
• Backhand: The flame in backhand welding is directed towards the finished weld
• Thin sheet metal (less than 3 mm) is normally carried out using forehand welding. This
method is generally used for non-ferrous metals
• Steel over 3 mm thick should be backhand welded, as the size of the melt pool is so
large, when welding thick materials, that the gases and slag cannot escape from the
pool without assistance.
• Backhand welding is faster than forehand welding, and so the workpiece is subjected to
high temperature for a shorter time. As a result, backhand welding thick materials have
a finer crystalline structure and retain their toughness better than would have been the
case if they had been forehand welded.
Forehand welding (left) and backhand welding (right).
• Flux is used when welding easily oxidized materials, where the welding flame itself is
insufficient to prevent oxides forming.
• This is likely to be the case when welding stainless steels and non-ferrous metals.
• The flux is brushed onto the joint surfaces before welding, and must be thoroughly
removed after welding in order to prevent corrosion
Oxy-acetylene fluxes
The benefits of oxy-fuel welding
Oxy-fuel welding is very suitable for welding pipes and tubes, it is both effective and economic for
applications such as HVAC systems, for the following reasons:
• The ability to even out the temperature in the weld at low temperatures. Slow heating
• and cooling can avoid the risk of hardening.
• Metal thicknesses up to about 6 mm can be welded with an I-joint.
• Speed, as only one pass is needed. Filler wires can be changed without having to pause for grinding.
• Good control of melting, as the welder can see at all times that he has the desired pear-shaped
opening in the bottom of the melt pool.
• Root defects are avoided by taking care to ensure good burn-through.
• Pipes and tubes often have to be welded in very confined spaces. In such cases, gas welding is often
preferable, bearing in mind the less bulky protective equipment required (goggles, as against a
normal arc welding helmet or visor, and compact torch) to perform the work.
• The equipment is easy to transport and requires no electricity supply.
• It is possible to use the light from the flame to locate the joint before welding starts.
• The size of the HAZ can be reduced by surrounding the weld area with damp (fireproof!) material.
• Other applications for gas welding include welding of hot water pipes, gas bottles, nuclear heat
exchangers and boilers.
Oxy-Acetylene Cutting
• The cutting torch heats the steel to its kindling temperature of approximately 870°C
(1600°F). While the role of the flame is to preheat the steel, the actual cutting is
conducted by a stream of pure oxygen delivered through the torch which burns
(oxidizes) the steel to create the cut and clear the molten metal away. The oxidation
process generates additional heating, which allows the cutting to continue at
relatively fast speeds.
• Because the process relies on the oxidation reaction with steel, its use is restricted
mainly to ferrous metals. The width of the cut is known as the kerf. The same gases
used for welding can be used for cutting, but again, acetylene is the most common
because it produces the most heat.
Kerf and drag

Common cutting torches—injector type on the left, and mixing chamber on the right
Oxy-Acetylene Cutting OAC Gas Adjustment
Oxy-acetylene cutting torch

Torch-cut pipe
A cutting torch is used to cut a steel pipe
ARC WELDING
• Arc welding (AW) is a fusion-welding process in which coalescence of the metals is

achieved by the heat of an electric arc between an electrode and the work. The same
basic process is also used in arc cutting.
• An electric arc is a discharge of electric current across a gap in a circuit. It is sustained by
the presence of a thermally ionized column of gas (called a plasma) through which current
flows.
• To initiate the arc in an AW process, the electrode is brought into contact with the work
and then quickly separated from it by a short distance. The electric energy from the arc
thus formed produces temperatures of 5500C or higher, sufficiently hot to melt any
metal.
• In most arc welding processes, filler metal is added during the operation to increase the
volume and strength of the weld joint.
ARC WELDING
Electric Arc
An electric arc is a discharge of electric current across a gap in a circuit. It is sustained by the
presence of a thermally ionized column of gas (called a plasma) through which current flows. In
general, atmospheric air is a poor conductor of electric current. The distance between the
electrodes, however, is small, and the applied voltage is high, so that a gas discharge, i.e., the
formation of an arc, may occur. In the build-up between the oppositely polarized electrodes, an
electric field electrically accelerates the charged particles toward the opposite pole.
The potential fall in an arc with an arc voltage of 20V

ARC WELDING
General Technology of Welding
Electrodes: Electrodes used in AW processes are classified as consumable or non-

consumable.
• Consumable electrodes provide the source of the filler metal in arc welding. These
electrodes are available in two principal forms: rods (also called sticks) and wire.
• Welding rods are typically 225 to 450 mm long and 2.5 to 5 mm in diameter.
• Non-consumable electrodes are made of tungsten (or carbon, rarely), which resists
melting by the arc.
ARC WELDING
Arc Shielding: At the high temperatures in arc welding, the metals being joined are chemically
reactive to oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen in the air. The mechanical properties of the weld
joint can be seriously degraded by these reactions. Thus, some means to shield the arc from
the surrounding air is provided in nearly all AW processes.
• Arc shielding is accomplished by covering the electrode tip, arc, and molten weld pool
with a blanket of gas or flux, or both, which inhibit exposure of the weld metal to air.
• Common shielding gases include argon and helium, both of which are inert. In the
welding of ferrous metals with certain AW processes, oxygen and carbon dioxide are
used, usually in combination with Ar and/or He, to produce an oxidizing atmosphere or to
control weld shape.
ARC WELDING
• Flux is a substance used to prevent the formation of oxides and other unwanted
contaminants, or to dissolve them and facilitate removal.
• During welding, the flux melts and becomes a liquid slag, covering the operation and
protecting the molten weld metal. The slag hardens upon cooling and must be removed
later by chipping or brushing.
Flux is usually formulated to serve several additional functions:
(1) provide a protective atmosphere for welding,
(2) stabilize the arc,
(3) reduce spattering.
The method of flux application differs for each process. The delivery techniques include;
(1) pouring granular flux onto the welding operation,
(2) using a stick electrode coated with flux material in which the coating melts during welding to cover
the operation,
(3) using tubular electrodes in which flux is contained in the core and released as the electrode is
consumed.
SHIELDED METAL ARC WELDING (SMAW-MMA)
• Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is an AW process that uses a consumable electrode
consisting of a filler metal rod coated with chemicals that provide flux and shielding.
• The filler metal used in the rod must be compatible with the metal to be welded, the
composition usually being very close to that of the base metal.
• The coating consists of powdered cellulose (i.e., cotton and wood powders) mixed with
oxides, carbonates, and other ingredients, held together by a silicate binder.
• Metal powders are also sometimes included in the coating to increase the amount of filler
metal and to add alloying elements.
• The heat of the welding process melts the coating to provide a protective atmosphere and
slag for the welding operation. It also helps stabilize the arc and regulate the rate at which
the electrode melts.
Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW)

Electrodes in SMAW:
• Rutile (Titandioxide coating)

• Basic (Coating is mainly calcium)
• Cellulosic (Coating is composed of organic materials)
• Oxide (Mainly iron oxide coating)
• Acidic (Iron oxide and manganese coating)
Rutile electrodes
• The coating of rutile electrodes contains large quantities (about 25~45 %) of the mineral
rutile (Ti02).
• Electrodes of this type produce an arc that is easy to strike and re-strike.
• They are very easy to use and produce neat welds with an easily removable slag.
• Unfortunately, they also produce a higher hydrogen content in the weld metal, which
introduces the risk of hydrogen embrittlement and cracking and restricts their use to
welding carbon steel having a minimum ultimate tensile strength less than 300 MPa.
Basic electrodes
• Basic electrodes contain calcium fluoride (fluorspar - CaF2) in the coating.

• The slag reacts as a base, thus leaving low sulphur and oxygen contents in the weld metal.
• The strength and toughness of the weld are therefore the strongest of those welds
produced by any type of electrode, and the resistance to hot cracking is also higher.
• Basic electrodes produce a slag having a lower melting point than that from rutile and acid
electrodes, which means that the risk of slag inclusions is slight, even if the slag has not
been completely removed between passes.
• They are well suited for positional welding in all positions.
Basic electrodes
• Due to the very high temperatures involved (up to 500°C) in the manufacture of
electrodes, the moisture content of the coating is low when the electrodes are supplied.
As a result, the hydrogen content in basic weld metals is low, thus providing good cold
cracking performance.
• Basic electrodes are, however, hygroscopic, which means that they must be stored in dry
conditions.
• When delivered, they are normally packed in special diffusion-proof wrappings. Every
welder should have access to a pouch, in which the electrodes can be kept at a
temperature of 50-80°C throughout the working period.
Cellulosic electrodes
• The coating of cellulose electrodes contains a relatively high proportion of cellulose

substances, intended to produce excellent penetration.
• These electrodes are used exclusively for welding oil or natural gas pipes.
Welding Machine
• Direct current (DC),

• Alternating current (AC)
• AC machines are less expensive to purchase and operate, but are generally restricted to
welding of ferrous metals.
• Less magnetic arc blow with AC.
• DC equipment can be used on all metals with good results and is generally noted for better
arc control.
P= Power, (W)
E= Voltage,(V)
P = IE I= Current, (A)
Welding Machine
• AC machine: Transformers
• DC machines: Redresors, Generators, Inverters
Welding Machine
Advantages and Disadvantages of SMAW
• The equipment is portable and low cost, making SMAW highly versatile and probably the
most widely used of the AW processes.
• A disadvantage of SMAW is the use of the consumable electrode stick. As the sticks are
used up, they must periodically be changed. This reduces the arc time with this welding
process.
• An other limitation is the current level that can be used. Because the electrode length
varies during the operation and this length affects the resistance heating of the electrode.
Shielded metal arc welding (stick

welding) performed by a welder Pipeline SMAW
SMAW Video
GAS METAL ARC WELDING (GMAW) /
MIG-MAG WELDING
• Gas Metal Arc Welding Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) (MIG-MAG) is an AW process in
which the electrode is a consumable bare metal wire, and shielding is accomplished by
flooding the arc with a gas. The bare wire is fed continuously and automatically from a
spool through the welding gun.
• Wire diameters ranging from 0.8 to 1.6 mm are used in GMAW, the size depending on the
thickness of the parts being joined and the desired deposition rate.
• Gases used for shielding include inert gases such as argon and helium (MIG welding), and
active gases such as carbon dioxide (MAG welding).
• Inert gases are used for welding aluminum alloys and stainless steels while CO2 is
commonly used for welding low and medium carbon steels
• MIG: Metal Inert Gas ; MAG: Metal Active Gas

MIG-MAG WELDING
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW)

MIG-MAG WELDING
Schematic illustration of the gas-metal arc welding (GMAW) process

The principle of MIG/MAG welding.
The arc (1) is struck between the workpiece and a metal wire electrode (2) that is
continually fed forward into the arc.
The wire is supplied on a reel (3), and is fed to the welding gun by the drive rollers (4),
which push the wire through a flexible conduit (5) in the hose package (6) to the gun
(7).
Electrical energy for the arc is passed to the electrode through the contact tube (9) in
the welding gun. This contact tube is normally connected to the positive pole of the
power source, and the workpiece to the negative pole. Striking the arc completes the
circuit.
The gas nozzle (11) that surrounds the contact tube (9) supplies shielding gas (10) for
protection of the arc and the weld pool (12).
GMAW Video
GMAW torch
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding gun
The welding gun with hose package is an essential part of the welding
equipment. It brings the shielding gas, electrode and welding current to the arc.
It is difficult to design a robust welding gun for this tough environment but at the
same time make it small and light enough to be acceptable for working in narrow
spaces
1. Contact tube. 2. Shielding

gas nozzle. 3. Trigger switch. 4.
Hose package. 5.Electrode. 6.
Flexible conduit. 7. Shielding
gas hose. 8. Power cable
Welding gun with hose package

MIG-MAG WELDING
Wire feed unit
• The electrode is passed to the drive rolls, which then push the wire through the
hose package. Even in normal use it is common for the friction to vary, e.g. when
the curvature of the hose is changed or when particles or dirt fill up the wire
conduit
Heavy duty 4 drive roll assembly

MIG-MAG WELDING
Wire feed unit
Drive rolls with different types of traces are

used. For soft electrode material as
aluminium, U-type traces are recommended
MIG-MAG WELDING
Power source
• DC power sources, with relatively straight characteristics, are used for MIG/MAG welding.
• Controlled by a stepping switch. Tap-changer rectifier units have been traditionally used,
and are the most common type.
• Thyristor-controlled rectifier units are larger and somewhat more advanced: the most
advanced types are inverter power sources.
• Inverter power sources have the most advanced design. In addition to their generally good
characteristics and control facilities, inverters are often used for welding aluminum and
stainless steel, which benefit from the use of pulsed MIG welding.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Cooling units
• Cooling units water-cooled welding torches are often used in the higher current range
(300-500 A).
• Cooling water is circulated from a cooling unit, which may be separate or be incorporated
in the power source. The water cools the copper conductor in the hose and cable bundle,
the gas nozzle and the contact tip.
• Cooling units normally include a water container, a pump and a fan-cooled radiator.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Setting of welding parameters
Parameters in MIG/MAG welding:

– Electrode diameter
– Voltage
– Wire feed speed and current
– Welding speed
– Inductance
– Electrode stick-out
– Choice of shielding gas and gas flow rate
– Torch and joint position
MIG-MAG WELDING
Electrode diameter
• The size of electrode is chosen according to welding current, but in opposition to covered
electrodes each electrode has a large and overlapping range of current. As a rule, the
material transfer is smother with a thinner electrode.
• When welding with soft aluminum wire, the risk of feeding problem can be reduced with a
thicker electrode
MIG-MAG WELDING
Voltage
• Increased voltage increases the arc length and gives a wider weld bead. Undercut is a sign of
too high a voltage. If short arc welding is used a higher voltage reduces the short circuit
frequency, which will give larger drops and more spatter.
• Too low voltage, on the other hand, will increase the risk for stubbing and bad start
performance.
• On thin plates short arc welding gives the possibility of high welding speed without burn
through.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Wire feed speed and current

• Current is set indirectly by the wire feed speed and diameter. Current is the main parameter
for welding and has to be chosen to plate thickness and welding speed with respect to the
weld quality.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding speed
• Welding speed has also a considerable effect on shape and penetration of the weld.
The effect of welding speed on weld appearance, with constant values of current and voltage
MIG-MAG WELDING
Inductance
• It is often possible to adjust the inductance of the power source to fit the wire size and to
give the right welding properties. The most sensitive is short arc welding. A low value gives a
distinct and concentrated arc but the spatter will increase. A higher value gives a softer
behavior, a somewhat wider bead and a softer sound. Too high inductance gives bad stability
with a tendency for stubbing.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Electrode extension
• Easiest to measure is the contact tip distance from the joint surface. A rule of thumb says
that a normal distance is 10~15 x diameter of the electrode. Too small stick-out increases the
risk of burn-back, where the arc will weld the electrode together with the contact tip. Too
long a distance to the workpiece will increase the risk for stubbing, especially at the start.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Electrode extension
• The contact tip-to-work distance also has an influence on the current and penetration profile.
If the electrode extension is increased the current and heat input decreases while the
amount of deposited metal remains. This reduces the penetration, and if it was unintentional
a risk for lack of fusion appears. A good rule is therefore to keep the wire stick-out constant
during the welding operation.
Contact tip-to-work distance (CTWD)

(1) and electrode extension (2).
MIG-MAG WELDING
Choice of shielding gas

• Mixtures of argon with 5-20 % carbon dioxide (C02) are most popular for the welding of mild
and low alloyed steels. For spray and pulsed arc welding, a low content of C02 can be an
advantage. Pure C02 is an alternative for short arc welding that gives good penetration and
safety against lack of fusion but increases the amount of spatter.
• For stainless steels argon is also used but with only small additions of C02 or 1~2% oxygen
(02).
• For welding of aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and copper alloys normally pure argon or argon-
helium mixtures are used. Helium increases the heat input, which will compensate for the
large heat conduction in thick walled aluminum or copper.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Gas flow rate

• The gas flow must be adapted to the arc.
• At low current it can be enough with 10 litres per minute while at higher welding data up to
20 litres may be required.
• Welding in aluminum needs more gas than steel does.
• Generally 10~12 times of the wire electrode can be taken as the shielding gas flow rate (e.g.
12~14 L/min for 1.2 mm diameter wire).
• Much higher flow rates are needed when using helium compared with argon because helium
has much less density than argon and is prone to leave welding area fast.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Torch and joint position

• Angles of the torch relative to the joint are also an important welding parameter.
• If it's directed away from the finished part of the weld (forehand technique), it will make the
penetration profile more shallow and the width of the seam wider.
• On the other hand, if it's directed towards the finished part of the weld (backhand
technique), the penetration will be deeper and the seam width narrower.
MIG-MAG WELDING

MIG-MAG WELDING

• The angle of the torch in the section across the welding direction has a direct influence on
the risk for lack of fusion.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Consumables
• MIG/MAG welding is used for mild steel, low alloyed and stainless steel, for aluminum,
copper and copper alloys, and nickel and nickel alloys etc. Plate thicknesses down to 0.7 mm
can be welded.
• The filler material has often a chemical composition that is similar to that of the base
material.
Filler wires
• The electrodes for MIG/MAG welding are available in the 0.6-2.4 mm range for use with
many different types of materials.
• The electrode is normally delivered on 10-15 kg coils (steel) but for large consumption a
container of about 200 kg can be ordered.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Consumables-Solid wire
GMAW electrode wires for mild steel
AWS designation for GMAW

welding wire
MIG-MAG WELDING
Solid and cored wires
• Cored wires consist of a metallic outer sheath, filled

with flux or metal powder.
• The flux cored wires can have either a rutile or basic
filling.
• They can also be self-shielded for use without
shielding gas.
• The cost per unit of cored wire is considerably
higher than that of solid wires, but they are in some
respects superior to solid wire.
• Cored wires are mainly used for somewhat thicker
plates. High deposition rate and good side wall
penetration characterise cored wire.
• Basic flux cored wires have similar performance to
that of basic manual stick electrodes giving a tough
and crack resistant weld metal.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Consumables-Cored wire
FCAW wire classification for mild and low alloy

steel
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
• The stability of a DC arc with a consumable electrode (i.e. a filler wire) depends
largely on how the molten metal is transferred in the arc.
• Metal transfer modes:
– Spray arc
– Short arc
– Globular transfer
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
Spray arc welding

• Spray arcs are characterized by the transfer of molten material in the form of many small
droplets, the diameter of which is less than that of the filler wire.
• As there are no short circuits, the arc is stable and spatter-free.
• A prerequisite for successful spray arc welding is that the values of current and voltage
should be over certain limits.
• More heat is supplied to the workpiece than with short arc welding, and so only materials of
5 mm thick or more are suitable for spray arc welding. The high heat input means that the
weld pool is also large, so welding has to be performed in the horizontal position.
• It should be noted that a pure spray arc cannot be obtained when using C02 as the shielding
gas: the shielding gas must be pure argon or (preferably) with a small proportion of C02 (not
more than 25 %) or 02.
• Spray arc welding is particularly suitable for MIG welding of aluminum and stainless steel, for
which the shielding gas is mainly argon.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
Short arc welding

• The heat input from short arc welding is low, which makes the process suitable for welding in
thinner materials. The drops from the electrode dip into the weld pool. The arc is therefore
periodically replaced by a short-circuiting bridge of molten metal.
• This can be repeated up to 200 times per second. If the short-circuit current is too high, it has
a considerable effect on the pinch-off forces, causing weld spatter.
Droplet short-circuiting with a low inductance in the power unit. a) Arc

period. b) Drop transfer. c) Low inductance setting gives high short circuit current and
spatter is developed when the short circuit breaks
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
Globular transfer
• At currents lower than needed for spray transfer and with voltage above pure short arc
welding there is a mixed region characterized with droplets larger than the electrode
diameter and often with an irregular shape.
• The molten drop grows until it detaches by short-circuiting or by gravity.
• The globular transfer mode is most often avoided
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
Arc types for different current and voltage conditions

MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
Welding currents vs. wire feed rate for carbon steel electrodes
MIG-MAG WELDING
Welding technology
Relationship between wire feed rate and GMAW short circuit and spray transfers
MIG-MAG WELDING
Pulsed welding
Pulsed MIG welding
Pulsed arc welding is used mainly for welding aluminum and stainless steel, although it can
also be used for welding ordinary carbon steel. The method of controlling the transfer of the
droplets by current pulses (30-300 Hz) from the power source makes it possible to extend the
spray arc range down to low welding data. The process provides a stable and spatter-free arc
as a welcome alternative to short arc welding
MIG-MAG WELDING
Pulsed welding
The pulses serve two purposes: supplying heat to melt the filler wire, and also to pinch off just
one molten droplet for each pulse.
• This means that, as the wire feed speed increases, the pulse frequency must also increase. This
will result in keeping the droplet volume constant at all times.
• A low background current contains the arc between the pulses.
• Although the current amplitude in each pulse is high, the average current – and thus the heat
input to the joint - can be kept low
MIG-MAG WELDING
Pulsed welding
MIG-MAG WELDING
Pulsed welding
Advantages
• The process is fully controlled and spatter-free.

• The ability to extend spray arc welding down to lower welding data is particularly suitable
when welding materials such as stainless steel or aluminum. It becomes possible to weld
thin materials, or to perform positional welding, with better results than would be obtained
with short arc welding
• Pulsed arc welding is sometimes used within the normal spray arc range in order to provide
better penetration into the material.
• Stable welding performance can also be achieved with a somewhat thicker filler wire. This is
useful when welding aluminum, as it is difficult to feed thin filler wires due to their softness.
• Recent work indicates that the efficient droplet pinch-off reduces overheating of the
droplets, resulting in less fume production
MIG-MAG WELDING
Pulsed welding
Disadvantages
• Production speed is generally lower than with short arc welding. The greater heat input,
relative to that of short arc welding, reduces the maximum usable wire feed speed.
• Pulsed arc welding restricts the choice of shielding gases. As with spray arc welding, the C02
concentration of an argon/C02 mixture must not be too high: the usual 80/20 % gas mixture,
as used for short arc welding, represents the limiting value
MIG-MAG WELDING
Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW)
• Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) is an arc-welding process in which the electrode is a

continuous consumable tubing that contains flux and other ingredients in its core. Other
ingredients may include deoxidizers and alloying elements. The tubular flux cored ‘‘wire’’
is flexible and can therefore be supplied in the form of coils to be continuously fed through
the arc-welding gun.
• Shielding gases typically employed are carbon dioxide for mild steels or mixtures of argon
and carbon dioxide for stainless steels.
Cross sections of different types of cored filler wires

MIG-MAG WELDING
Flux cored arc welding. The presence or absence of externally supplied shielding gas distinguishes the two types: (1) self-shielded,
in which the core provides the ingredients for shielding; and(2) gas shielded, in which external shielding gases are supplied.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Schematic illustration of the flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) process, operating

either self-shielded or gas-shielded.
MIG-MAG WELDING
• The two slag systems used for cored wires are basic and rutile.
• The rutile type produces a spray arc, the best welding characteristics and the best positional
welding performance. Today, rutile cored wires produce equally good mechanical properties as
do basic cored wires, while at the same time producing little hydrogen entrapment in the weld
metal. Typical hydrogen concentrations lie between 3 and 10 ml/100g of weld metal.
• The metal powder-filled cored wires contain a powder that consists mainly of iron and alloying
elements. The only slag formed is in the form of small islands of silicon oxide. These wires
have a high productivity in the horizontal position.
MIG-MAG WELDING
• Flux-cored wires are best suited for positional welding, as the slag provides better control of
the weld pool. In comparison with solid wires, cored wires are also regarded as producing
somewhat less risk of poor fusion.
• Self-shielded flux cored wires are filled with a powder that develops gases to protect the weld
pool. This is done by means of appropriate additives which are gasified in the arc.
• Cored wires are manufactured from 0.8 mm upwards in diameter, with the commonest sizes
being 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 mm. The range of weld metal grades is wide, and is constantly
increasing. In particular, the range of cored filler wires for use with stainless steel has
increased.
• Welding speed is higher with cored wires than when using coated electrodes (MMA) and solid
wire. As the current flows through the outer wall of the wire, current density is higher, with a
correspondingly higher rate of melting of the metal.
MIG-MAG WELDING
Deposition rate when welding carbon steel

MIG-MAG WELDING
Applications
The use of cored wire electrodes is increasing in parallel with the introduction of new
types of wire. They are used, for example, for:
• sheet thicknesses from 4 mm and upwards.
• both butt and fillet welds.
• manual welding in all positions.
• robot welding in the horizontal position.
MIG-MAG WELDING
The benefits of cored filler wires are:
• high deposition rate as a result of the high current density.

• ease of varying the alloying constituents.
• stabilizing substances in the powder extend the range of usable welding data.
• basic electrodes are tolerant of contamination in the material, producing a tough, crack-
resistant weld.
• better transverse penetration than with solid filler wires.
The drawbacks of cored filler wires are:
• Self-shielded wires produce relatively large quantities of fume.

• A higher price than for solid wires (does not necessarily mean a higher total cost).
• Troublesome thermal radiation at higher welding currents.
• Finishing work required when using slag-forming wires.
TUNGSTEN INERT GAS WELDING (TIG-WIG)
(GTAW)
• TIG welding (also called Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, GTAW) involves striking
an arc between a non-consumable tungsten electrode and the workpiece.
• The weld pool and the electrode are protected by an inert gas, usually
argon, supplied through a gas cup at the end of the welding gun, in which
the electrode is centrally positioned.
Schematic diagram of TIG welding equipment

(GTAW)
• TIG welding can also be used for welding with filler material, which is
applied in rod form by hand similar to oxy-acetylene welding.
• Tools for mechanized TIG welding are used for applications such as joining
pipes and welding tubes into the end plates of heat exchangers.
Characteristics of the method include:

• the stable arc
• excellent control of the welding result.
(GTAW)
• The main application for TIG welding is welding of stainless steel, welding
of light metals, such as aluminum and magnesium alloys, and the welding
of copper.
• It is also suitable for welding all weldable materials, apart from lead and
zinc, with all types of joints and in all welding positions.
• However, TIG welding is best suited to thin materials, from about 0.5 mm
up to about 3 mm thick.
(GTAW)
Schematic illustrations of TIG (GTAW) process

(GTAW)
Equipment
Equipment required for TIG welding:

• Torch (welding gun)
• HF (= high-frequency) generator
for ignition of the arc
• a power source
• shielding gas
• control equipment
(GTAW)
Equipment
Torch
• There are two main types of welding guns: water-cooled and air-cooled.
– water-cooled: maximum about 400 A
– air-cooled: maximum about 200 A.
(GTAW)
Equipment
HF (high-frequency) generator
• A TIG welding arc is generally ignited with the help of a high-frequency
generator, the purpose of which, is to produce a spark which provides the
necessary initial conducting path through the air for the low-voltage
welding current
• The frequency of this initial ignition pulse can be up to several MHz, in
combination with a voltage of several kV.
(GTAW)
Equipment
Power source
• TIG welding is normally carried out using DC, with the negative connected
to the electrode (DC EN), which means that most of the heat is evolved in
the workpiece.
• However, when welding aluminum, the oxide layer is broken down only if
the electrode is connected to the positive pole, this then results in
excessive temperature of the electrode. As a compromise, aluminum and
magnesium are therefore generally welded with AC.
(GTAW)
Equipment
Power source (cntn’d.)

• TIG power sources are generally electronically controlled, e.g. in the form
of an inverter or a thyristor-controlled rectifier. The open-circuit voltage
should be about 80 V, with a constant-current characteristic.
• When welding with AC (a sine wave), the HF generator is engaged all the
time: if not, the arc would extinguish on the zero crossings.
GTAW Power Supplies

(GTAW)
Polarity
(GTAW)
Equipment
Shielding gas
Steel
• Argon is generally used for TIG welding of unalloyed steels, low-alloyed
steels and stainless steels. For mechanical welding of all these metals, the
shielding gas may be argon, with an admixture of hydrogen or helium.
• A small addition of nitrogen may be used when welding duplex stainless
steels in order to ensure the correct ferritic/austenitic balance.
• When making quality welds with TIG, it is also very common to use a root
gas in order to protect the root side of the weld against oxidation. This is
particularly important in the case of stainless steels or when welding
easily-oxidized materials. The root gas is often a mixture of
nitrogen/hydrogen, or pure argon.
(GTAW)
Equipment
Shielding gas
Aluminium and its alloys

• The shielding gas for aluminum and aluminum alloys is usually argon,
possibly with the addition of helium.
• Helium improves the heat transfer, and is used when welding thicker
sections.
• The welding current is normally AC or, at low current levels, it may be DC
with the electrode connected to the positive.
(GTAW)
Equipment
Shielding gas
Copper and its alloys

• Argon is suitable for welding copper in all positions, and gives excellent
results when welding metal thicknesses up to about 6 mm. The high
thermal conductivity of the metal generally requires preheating.
• The best shielding gas for use when welding workpieces more than 6 mm
thick is helium, or helium containing 35 % argon
(GTAW)
Equipment
Shielding gas
Titanium
• Titanium welding requires an extremely high purity of shielding gas, not
less than 99.99 %. In addition, extra shielding gas is generally required.
Either helium or argon can be used, although argon is generally preferred
for metal thicknesses up to about 3 mm due to its higher density and good
shielding performance. The use of pure helium is recommended when
welding thick sections, due to the resulting higher heat content of the arc
(GTAW)
Equipment
Control equipment
• The necessary control equipment depends on to what extent the welding process
is mechanized. However, it is usual for the pre-flow and post-flow of the shielding
gas, and the HF generator, to be automatically controlled.
• Crater filling by slope-down of the current, and the ability to pulse the current, are
also often employed.
• Gas pre-flow and post-flow protect the electrode and the weld pool against
oxidation.
GTAW constant current GTAW pulsed current waveform

(GTAW)
Electrode
The electrode material should provide a combination of the following

characteristics:
– Low electrical resistance
– High melting point
– Good emission of electrons
– Good thermal conductivity.
The material that best meets these requirements is tungsten (wolfram).
(GTAW)
Electrode
(GTAW)
Electrode
(GTAW)
Electrode
(GTAW)
Electrode
• Pure tungsten electrodes are used when welding light metals with AC
• Other welding applications, the electrodes often incorporate an admixture
of 2 % thorium oxide, which improves the stability of the arc and makes it
easier to strike.
• Thorium is radioactive, but is not so dangerous that special precautions
are required, apart from taking care when grinding to avoid inhaling the
grinding dust. Alternative non-radioactive oxide additives that can be used
are those of zirconium, cerium or lanthanum.
(GTAW)
Electrode
• The electrode diameter is an important variable. The best arc stability is

obtained with a high current load, which means that the diameter should
be chosen so that the electrode tip is neither too hot nor too cold.
(GTAW)
Electrode
• For DC welding, the tip of the electrode is ground to an approximate 45

angle.
• The use of a special electrode grinding machine guarantees this angle is
always the same, as this would otherwise affect the arc and its
penetration into the workpiece material.
• Electrodes intended for use with AC welding are not ground: instead, the
current is increased until it melts the tip of the electrode into a soft,
rounded shape
Normally the tip of the electrode is ground to a length L = 1.5-2 times the diameter (D).
(GTAW)
Process Variations
Cold wire-Hot wire
Cold wire feeder GTAW: Electrode wire is fed to the torch from a spool by a constant-
speed motor eliminating the need for the operator to apply the filler manually.
Hot wire feeder GTAW: It is very similar to cold wire GTAW except that the filler metal
is heated by passing a current through it before it enters the arc. Additional shielding
gas is used to protect the heated filler. This produces a dramatic rise in deposition
rates, which are comparable to GMAW.
(GTAW)
Process Variations
Cold wire-Hot wire
GTAW hot wire equipment

Comparison of hot and cold wire
deposition rates
(GTAW)
Process Variations
Orbital Welding
(GTAW)
TIG welding video

SUBMERGED ARC WELDING (SAW)
• Submerged arc welding (SAW) is an arc-welding process that uses a

continuous, consumable bare wire electrode, and arc shielding is provided
by a cover of granular flux. The electrode wire is fed automatically from a
coil into the arc.
• The flux is introduced into the joint slightly ahead of the weld arc by
gravity from a hopper. The blanket of granular flux completely submerges
the welding operation, preventing sparks, spatter, and radiation that are
so hazardous in other AW processes. The flux masks the light from the arc
and there is no smoke or spatter from the weld.
• This improves working conditions as compared to that of gas metal-arc
welding or manual metal arc welding.
• Residual powder is sucked up, returned to the flux hopper and re-used.
• Welding can be carried out with DC or AC.

• If the welding parameters are properly set, the appearance of the weld is
often very uniform and bright, merging smoothly into the workpiece
material. The slag also usually comes away by itself.
Schematic diagram of submerged arc welding

Submerged arc welding (SAW)

The advantages of the submerged arc welding
• A high deposition rate

• Deep penetration, which allows the quantity of filler material to be
reduced
• The ability to achieve a high arc time factor (i.e. effective welding time)
• High weld quality
• Improved working environment compared to other arc welding methods
Application areas of submerged arc welding
• Steel fabrication for structural shapes (e.g., welded I-beams),

• Welding of plates (thicknesses > 6 mm) in shipyards,
• Longitudinal welding of large tubes or beams, tanks or large cylindrical
vessels,
• Welded components for heavy machinery,
• Welding of cranes and bridges,
• Welding of armoured vehicles
• Cladding, e.g. stainless steel onto ordinary carbon steel, or when applying
a coating of some hard wear-resistant material (These processes often use
strip electrodes).
Materials welded with SAW
• Low-carbon steels
• Low-alloy steels
• Stainless steels
Equipment
Power sources
• Power sources for submerged arc welding may have either straight or
drooping characteristics.
• A straight characteristic provides good self-regulation of the arc length.
The wire feed speed is sometimes also controlled, which is done by
sensing the arc voltage and adjusting the wire feed speed to maintain a
constant arc length.
• Power sources for submerged arc welding are designed for high current
and duty cycles, e.g. 800-1600 A, 44 V and 100 % duty cycle. Both AC and
DC welding may be used.
Equipment
Mechanisation aids
Equipment used for the longitudinal travel motion includes;

• Welding tractor that run directly on the sheet to be welded;
• A welding head that can be mounted on a column and boom unit;
• Powered rollers for rotating cylindrical workpieces
A welding tractor for

mechanized welding
Welding head,fitted to a
column and boom unit
Roller beds that automatically adapt to the workpiece diameter

Filler material
• The proper choices of filler wire and flux composition are important for
the finished weld.
• The aim is generally to achieve a composition and strength of the weld
metal similar to that of the base material.
• The weld metal analysis depends on the materials used in the filler wire,
with allowance for such factors as possible loss of alloying elements by
bum-off in the arc, melting of the base metal and alloying from the flux.
Filler wire
• The wire grade and its content of alloying metals primarily affect the
mechanical properties and chemical analysis of the weld metal.
• The strength of the weld metal can be increased by alloying with manganese
and silicon.
• The use of molybdenum and nickel as alloying elements improves the
toughness of the weld metal at low temperatures.
• The filler wire may be copper-plated in order to improve electrical contact and
to protect against corrosion.
• Common wire diameters are 1.6, 2.0, 2.5, 3, 4, 5 and 6 mm.
• Filler material in the form of strip (e.g. 0.5 x 100 mm) is often used when
applying stainless steel cladding, e.g. to pressure vessel steel. As a result of the
rectangular cross-section, penetration is exceptionally low, producing a
smooth and wide weld
Filler wire
Deposition rates for different wire diameters. 30 mm stick-out

length, DC+ polarity. The higher melting rate for thinner diameters
depends on the higher resistive pre-heating in the stick-out
Flux
The most important purposes of the flux are:
• To form a slag and protect the molten weld metal against the harmful
effects of the air.
• To supply alloying constituents to the weld metal and control its
composition.
• To improve the stability of the arc and to assist ignition.
• To form the weld's surface convexity and give a good surface finish to the
weld metal.
• To control the flow characteristics of the molten weld metal.
Flux
• As with coated electrodes, the flux may be acidic, rutile or basic.
• Acid and rutile fluxes have excellent welding characteristics and produce a
good weld appearance, although the mechanical properties of the weld
are more modest.
• A high proportion of oxides in the form of microslags have an
unfavourable effect on the impact toughness of the weld
• Increasing basicity improves the mechanical properties
The effect of the welding parameters
• welding speed
• polarity
• arc voltage
• arc current
• the size and shape of the welding wire
• the filler wire angle
• the number of welding wires
• wire stick-out length
• the use of additional filler wire or metal powder additive
• the type of flux (acid / neutral / basic).
Welding speed
• The welding speed affects the penetration and the width of the weld (the cross-
sectional area of the weld). A high speed produces a narrow weld with little
penetration.
• An excessively high speed produces a risk of undercutting, pores, root defects,
poor fusion and magnetic blow effect. Too low a speed results in an uneven
surface, while extremely low speed produces a mushroom-shaped penetration,
and can result in thermal cracking.
The effect of welding speed on weld appearance, with constant values of current and voltage
Polarity
• If the filler wire is positive, penetration is deeper than if the filler wire is
negative. This means that it is better to use negative polarity when
performing cladding, in order to avoid mixing the cladding material into
the base material.
• Melting rate is increased by about 30 % percent when negative polarity is
used.
The effect of wire polarity on penetration

Arc voltage
• A high arc voltage produces a broad weld with little penetration. This
means that it is suitable for welding wide gaps, and for increasing the
admixture of alloying elements from the flux. It also increases flux
consumption, and makes removal of the cold slag more difficult.
• A high arc voltage also increases the risk of undercutting, particularly
when making fillet welds.
The effect of arc voltage on the appearance of the weld

Welding current
• The welding current affects penetration and deposition rate. A high

current results in a higher and narrower weld, with a greater penetration
depth.
• However, too high a welding current can result in undercuts, an uneven
weld convexity, burn-through, thermal cracking, an inappropriate merging
angle with the body material and undercutting
The effect of welding current on weld appearance

Wire size
• A smaller wire diameter results in greater penetration than a thicker wire.

• For a given current, arc stability is better with a thinner wire, due to higher
current density. On the other hand, a thicker filler wire with a low welding
current can more easily bridge a wide joint.
The effect of wire diameter on weld appearance

Wire angle
• The angle of the filler wire to the joint has a considerable effect on the
shape and penetration of the weld.
• In certain cases, forehand welding gives a wider bead that can counteract
the tendency to produce a high, narrow weld convexity, and thus allow a
higher welding speed to be used
The effect of filler wire angle

Risk of weld defects
Hydrogen embrittlement
• This is also referred to as hydrogen cracking, hardening cracking or cold

cracking. The cracks occur in the HAZ, close to the melt boundary as the
material cools, sometimes several hours after welding.
• The effect is caused by a combination of shrinkage stresses, hydrogen
diffusing in from the weld metal and the formation of the hard martensite
phase structure in the metal
• A drawback of all welding processes involving protection by flux is the risk
of moisture absorption and the resulting increased risk of cold cracking.
The flux should be properly stored in order to keep it dry.
Hydrogen embrittlement
• Hydrogen is introduced from the molten pool through moisture or

hydrogen containing elements on the surface of the parent metal. The
hydrogen diffuses from the weld bead to the adjacent regions of the heat
affected zone. Fast cooling in combination with steels with higher strength
can give hardening effect.
• If hydrogen is present there is a great risk for hydrogen cracking.
• Thick plates and low heat input gives high cooling rate and this increases
the risk for hydrogen cracking
Pores
• Moisture in the flux.

• Dirt on the workpiece, such as rust or paint.
Solidification cracks
Solidification cracks, also called hot cracks arise as the material cools, if
certain combinations of unfavorable conditions occur.
• Low width/depth ratio of the weld penetration.
• High carbon and sulphur contents in the metal.
• Shrinkage stresses occurring as the material cools.
Solidification cracks may appear when the weld is deep and narrow
Undercuts
• Undercutting is a defect that indicates that the appropriate voltage range

for the process has been exceeded. Too low a voltage results in a narrow,
high weld convexity.
• Increasing the voltage makes the weld wider, but too high a voltage can
easily cause undercutting at the edge of the convexity. Too high a linear
speed along the weld can cause both a high convexity and undercutting
together
• The undercut will appear when the weld metal doesn't fill up the cavity
that is cut by the arc.
Too high voltage or welding speed may result in undercuts

PRESSURE BASED WELDING PROCESSES
• Pressure welding can be carried out by several welding methods, having in
common the fact that the surfaces of the joint are pressed or worked
together
Processes included in this category:

• cold pressure welding,
• resistance welding,
• friction welding,
• friction stir welding,
• ultrasonic welding,
• explosion welding,
• diffusion welding etc.
COLD PRESSURE WELDING
• Cold pressure welding is an example of a welding method that is carried
out entirely without heating.
• Cold welding (CW) is a solid-state process in which pressure is used at
room temperature to produce coalescence of metals with substantial
plastic deformation at the weld.
• The principle involves pressing the parts of the workpiece together with
such force that plastic deformation causes any residual oxide layers to be
pressed out and a metallic bond to be made. The method is very suitable
for use with copper and aluminum, and is often used for electrical
connections.
• An example is the connection terminal of copper which can be cold
pressure-welded to aluminum conductors. This is an application for which
fusion welding is definitely not suitable, as it forms a brittle intermetallic
compound with unacceptably low strength.
COLD PRESSURE WELDING
• Grease and oxides must be removed from the surfaces immediately before
welding, e.g. by wire brushing. The thin layer of grease applied by
touching with the fingers is sufficient to prevent the necessarily intimate
contact between the workpieces. However, aluminum can be successfully
welded with its oxide layer on the surface: as it is brittle, the substantial
plastic deformation breaks it apart.
• Welds can be made as butt welds or as overlap joints.
RESISTANCE WELDING
• Heat is generated by the passage of an electric current through the

resistance formed by the contact between two metal surfaces.
• The current density is so high that a local pool of molten metal is formed,
joining the two parts.
• The current is often in the range 1 000-1 00 000 A, and the voltage in the
range 1-30 V
Different types of resistance welding:

• spot welding
• seam welding
• projection welding
• resistance butt welding
• flash welding
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• It is a resistance welding process in which fusion of the faying surfaces of a

lap joint is achieved at one location by opposing electrodes.
• It is used for joining thin sheet materials (up to 3 + 3 mm) by overlap
joints, and is widely used, e.g. in the automotive industry. An ordinary
private car can have up to 5 000 spot-welded joints.
• The high current, in combination with a rapid heating time, means that
the thermal energy input is efficiently used: very little is conducted away
to the surrounding metal.
(a) Steps in a spot-welding cycle, and (b) plot of squeezing force and current during cycle. The
sequence is: (1) parts inserted between open electrodes, (2) electrodes close and force is applied,
(3) weld time— current is switched on, (4) current is turned off but force is maintained or
increased (a reduced current is sometimes applied near the end of this step for stress relief in the
weld region), and (5) electrodes are opened, and the welded assembly is removed.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• Two electrodes clamp the two sheets of metal together with a
considerable force, while passing a high current through the metal.
Thermal energy is produced as the current passes the electrical contact
resistance between the two sheets, as given by:
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
The total resistance between the electrodes is made up of:

2r1 +2r2+r3
where;
r1 = contact resistance between each electrode and the workpiece
r2 = the resistance through the metal of each of the pieces to be joined
r3 = the contact resistance between the two pieces of metal.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• As welding starts, the contact resistances are very high. The initial passage
of current breaks through the surface layers, so that the contact resistances
drop rapidly. Most of the heat formed at the contact between the
electrodes and the workpiece is conducted away through the water-cooled
electrodes.
• However, this is not the case with the heat developed in the contact
resistance between the two workpiece sheets, so the temperature here
rises until the melting temperature of the metal is reached, while the
surfaces continue to be pressed together by the clamping force, so that a
weld nugget forms in the contact area.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
Electrode
• The electrodes need to be of a material with a high hardness, low

electrical resistance and high thermal conductivity. Cooling is decisive for
their life.
• Electrode materials are covered by ISO 5182. These are mainly copper
alloys with a small percentage of alloying element to improve hardness,
while maintaining good conductivity.
• The most common materials are Class 2 (e.g. copper/chromium or
copper/chromium/zirconium) and may be used for low carbon and high
strength steels in general.
• Higher conductivity alloys, such as copper/zirconium and dispersion
strengthened copper, show some benefits when welding coated steels as
they provide less surface heating because of their low contact
resistance.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
Electrode
• When welding harder sheet materials, such as stainless steels, much

higher electrode forces are required but lower welding current. These
materials are better welded with the harder Class 3 electrodes such as
copper/nickel/silicon. This is replacing the superior
copper/cobalt/beryllium alloy because of the potential beryllium hazard
(mainly as a dust from machining or dressing operations).
• Wear and tear, together with deformation, increase the effective contact
size of the electrodes, which reduces the current density and, in due
course, the strength of the welds produced.
• An electrode normally has a life of about 5 000-10 000 welds: when
welding galvanized steel, this life is reduced to about 500-2 000 welds.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
Important parameters
• The welding current is the current that flows through the workpiece. Of all
the parameters, it is this that has the greatest effect on strength and
quality of the weld, as the amount of heat produced is proportional to the
square of the welding current.
• Too high current results in a weld with poor strength, with too great a
crater depression, spatter and some distortion. It also means that the
electrodes are worn unnecessarily.
• Too low current, on the other hand, also produces a weld of limited
strength, but this time with too small weld area
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• Squeeze time is the time needed to build up the clamping force. It varies
with the thickness of the metal and with the closeness of the fit, and is
also affected by the design of the electrode jaws.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• The clamping force is the force with which the electrodes press the sheets
together (kN).
• Too low clamping force results in a high contact resistance, accompanied
by spatter and resulting in a poor weld strength,
• Too high force results in too small weld, again with poor strength, but
accompanied by unnecessary wear on the electrodes and too great crater
depression
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• Welding time is the time for which current flows through the workpiece,
and is measured in cycles, i.e. during which alternating current passes
through one cycle.
• In Europe, the mains frequency is 50 Hz, which means that one cycle takes
1/50 = 0.02 s.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• Hold time is the time from when the current is interrupted until the
clamping force can be released.
• The plates must be held together until the weld pool has solidified, so that
the joint can be moved or the electrodes moved to the next welding
position.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• The electrode area determines the size of the area through which the
welding current passes, i.e. the current density. The electrode diameter
(d) is determined in relation to the thickness of the metal (t) from the
following formula:
d = 5. 𝑡
When welding high-strength steels, a factor of 5 in the formula can

suitably be increased to about 6-8.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
• Empirically, the optimum time for the spot welding of low-carbon steel
sheet is approximately
T = 0.0292 S2
S: thickness of the total stackup of sheets (in millimeters)
T: optimum weld time (in seconds)
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
Tolerance box
• The area in the diagram within which an acceptable spot weld can be
produced is referred to as the tolerance box or weldability lobe.
• Too high current results in spatter, while too low current, or too short
welding time, results in an inadequate, or even no, weld nugget.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Spot welding (RSW)
Spot welding advantages:
• Little deformation of the workpiece, as the thermal energy is more or less
restricted to the immediate vicinity of the weld.
• Very high rate of production for mechanized processes.
• Easy to automate, with high consistency, which is therefore suitable for
mass production.
• Low energy requirement and little pollution.
• Fast: resistance welding of 1 + 1 mm sheet, for example, takes 0.20 s.
• No filler materials required.
• Little special training required.
• Less environmental impact than when welding with an arc.
RSW Video
Rockerarm spot-welding machine.

RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
• Resistance Seam Welding functions very similar to Resistance Spot

Welding, except that the copper electrodes are rotating disks.
• The rotating electrodes are typically water cooled through either internal
or external cooling. Much like Resistance Spot Welding, the process relies
on contact resistance between the sheets, and can produce a leak‐tight
seam, or can be used to produce a series of spot welds
• Its industrial applications include the production of gasoline tanks,
automobile mufflers, catalytic convertors and various other fabricated
sheet metal containers.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
• The two wheels should be of the same size, in order to prevent the part
from being deflected towards one of them.
• The actual contact profile can be designed in a number of ways, in order
to suit the shape of the part to be welded.
• The current may flow continuously while welding is being carried out, or
intermittently to produce a series of spots, so closely positioned as to
produce a single, continuous weld.
• An unavoidable problem of seam welding is that some of the current
'leaks' through the completed weld.
Resistance seam welding (RSEW)
Different types of seams

produced by electrode wheels:
(a) conventional resistance seam
welding, in which overlapping
spots are produced; (b) roll spot
welding; and (c) continuous
resistance seam
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
• As the electrode rollers rotate, they do not need to be lifted between each
spot, as with spot welding.
• If the weld does not have to be continuous, seam welding can be used
therefore to position spots some regular distance from each other, which
can be carried out quicker than ordinary spot welding.
• Even when leak‐tight seams are being produced, the seam weld usually
consists of a series of overlapping spot welds. This is achieved by pulsing
the electrode current as the sheets pass between the rotating electrodes.
A rule of thumb in this approach is to overlap each weld by about 30%.
• A continuous seam weld (as opposed to overlapping spots) is possible as
well, but this approach is much more unstable and requires more robust
power supplies.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
• The same principle of optimum weld time applies, but weld time refers to
how long a given point on the weld will be in contact with the wheel as it
passes through the welder. In practice, travel speed and electrode
footprint length, L, should be controlled so that the resulting weld time is
matched with the 0.0292S2 rule
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
• Impulse profiles of 25 to 33% off-times are commonly used. Impulses

contain off-time for the electrodes to draw heat away from the weld
surface. Therefore, the occurrence of surface discontinuities is lessened.
• Off-time allows heat to redistribute itself within the weld, away from local
hot spots.
• Hot spots are places within the weld where thermal spikes may be
occurring due to either a relatively high local resistance, a non-uniform
current density, a multiple stack-up, or a stack-up of unequal sheets.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Weld Current Profiles for Seam Welding. (A) Ideal Impulse Shape. On-
Time is 75% Of Impulse Period While Off-Time is 25% of Impulse
Period. (B) Actual Impulse Shape is Typically Complex and Non-Ideal
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Equipment and Welding Parameters
Setup For Foil Butt Seam Welding of a Table Leg Made of Low-Carbon Steel
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Equipment and Welding Parameters
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Selection of Electrodes
• Class 1 Copper: Electrode wheels made of Resistance Welder

Manufacturers Association (RWMA) class 1 copper have been used for
seam welding of aluminum and magnesium alloys, galvanized steel, and
tin plated steel. The minimum electrical conductivity of class 1 copper is
80% International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). Recently, this
material has been replaced by hot-forged and heat-treated RWMA class 2
copper in the overaged condition
• Class 2 Copper: Seam welding of low-carbon and low-alloy steel is usually
done with electrodes made of hot-forged and heat-treated RWMA class 2
copper. Minimum conductivity is 75% IACS. Minimum hardness is typically
65 HRB. Class 2 also works well with all types of coated steel, but the
metallurgical optimization of weld parameters and provisions for wheel
maintenance are critical to the success of welding coated steels.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Selection of Electrodes
• Class 20 copper is also used for electrode wheels, with properties similar
to those of class 2 premium wheels. Class 20 wheels are made using a
powder metallurgy process that produces a pure copper product,
dispersion-strengthened with alumina. The alumina adds hot strength and
tends to reduce pickup during welding of coated steels.
• Class 3 copper is sometimes used for seam welding materials with lower
electrical conductivities, such as stainless steel, Nichrome, and Monel
alloys. However, class 3 is used with special ventilation only because of the
health hazard of atmospheric beryllium when welding or machining with
class 3 material. Class 3 wheels have lower electrical conductivity (45%
IACS), so they tend to run hot.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Electrode Size and Shapes
• Electrode wheels range in diameter from 50 to 610 mm. Popular sizes

range from 100 to 305 mm, with widths from 6 to 19 mm.
• Edge contours may be flat, radiused, beveled flat, or angled. In lap seam
welding, weld quality seems to be easiest to control with a radius edge.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Materials Welded
• Most low-carbon, high-carbon, low-alloy, and stainless steels, and many

coated steels tend to form areas of hard martensite upon cooling. In
critical applications, the welds may require post-weld tempering to reduce
the hardness and brittleness.
• Aluminum and aluminum alloys can be lap seam welded.
• Nickel and nickel alloys can also be seam welded, but seam welding is not
recommended for copper and high-copper alloys.
• Compatible combinations of dissimilar metals and alloys also can be seam
welded.
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
Applications
• Lap seams are popular in automotive applications, such as automotive fuel

tanks, catalytic converters, mufflers, and roof joints, as well as in non-
automotive applications, such as furnace heat exchangers, water tanks,
and certain types of can making
RESISTANCE WELDING
Seam welding
RSEW Video
Resistance seam welding application

Resistance seam welding machine
WELDING DISCONTINUITIES
• Discontinuities are interruptions in the desirable physical structure of a
weld.
• A discontinuity constituting a danger to the fitness-for-service of a weld is
a defect.
• By definition, a defect is a condition that must be removed or corrected
• The significance of a weld discontinuity should be viewed in the context of
the fitness-for-service of the welded construction.
• Fitness-for-service is a concept of weld evaluation that seeks a balance
among quality, reliability, and economy of welding procedure.
• Weld acceptance standards are used when a discontinuity has been clearly
located, identified, sized, its orientation determined, and its structural
significance questioned.
• Critical engineering assessments of weld discontinuities are performed to
define acceptable, harmless discontinuities in a structure that will not
sacrifice weldment reliability.
• One of the major reasons for understanding the engineering meaning of
weld discontinuities is to decrease the cost of welded structures by
avoiding unnecessary repairs of harmless weld discontinuities.
• Welders, of course, must constantly be encouraged to make sound
(perfect) welds independent of prevailing acceptance standards.
Process-related discontinuities
• Undercut: a groove melted into the base metal adjacent to the toe or root
of a weld and left unfilled by weld metal
• Slag inclusions: non-metallic solid material entrapped in weld metal or
between weld metal and base metal
• Porosity: cavity-type discontinuities formed by gas entrapment during
solidification
• Overlap: the protrusion of weld metal beyond the toe, face, or root of the
weld
• Tungsten inclusions: particles from tungsten electrodes that result from
improper gas-tungsten arc welding procedures
• Backing piece left on: failure to remove material placed at the root of a
weld joint to support molten weld metal
• Shrinkage voids: cavity-type discontinuities normally formed by shrinkage
during solidification
• Oxide inclusions: particles of surface oxides that have not melted and are
mixed into the weld metal
• Lack of fusion (lof): a condition in which fusion is less than complete
• Lack of penetration (lop): a condition in which joint penetration is less
than that specified
• Craters: depressions at the termination of a weld bead or in the molten
weld pool
• Melt-through: a condition resulting when the arc melts through the

bottom of a joint welded from one side
• Spatter: metal particles expelled during welding that do not form a part of
the weld
• Arc strikes (arc burns): discontinuities consisting of any localized remelted
metal, heat-affected metal, or change in the surface profile of any part of
a weld or base metal resulting from an arc
• Underfill: a depression on the face of the weld or root surface extending
below the surface of the adjacent base metal
Metallurgical discontinuities
• Cracks: fracture-type discontinuities characterized by a sharp tip and high

ratio of length and width to opening displacement
• Fissures: small crack-like discontinuities with only a slight separation
(opening displacement) of the fracture surfaces
• Fisheye: a discontinuity found on the fracture surface of a weld in steel
that consists of a small pore or inclusion surrounded by a bright, round
area
• Segregation: the non-uniform distribution or concentration of impurities
or alloying elements that arises during the solidification of the weld
• Lamellar tearing: a type of cracking that occurs in the base metal or heat-
affected zone (HAZ) of restrained weld joints that is the result of
inadequate ductility in the through-thickness direction of steel plate
Gas Porosity
• Gas porosity can occur on or just below the surface of a weld.

• Pores are characterized by a rounded or elongated teardrop shape with or
without a sharp point.
• Pores can be uniformly distributed throughout the weld or isolated in
small groups; they can also be concentrated at the root or toe of the weld.
• Porosity in welds is caused by gas entrapment in the molten metal, by too
much moisture on the base or filler metal, or by improper cleaning of the
joint during preparation for welding
Gas Porosity
Types of gas porosity commonly found in weld metal. (a) uniformly scattered
porosity. (b) cluster porosity. (c) linear porosity. (d) elongated porosity
Gas Porosity
Wormhole porosity in a weld bead. Longitudinal cut. 20×

Gas Porosity
Slag inclusion
• Slag inclusions may occur when using welding processes that employ a slag
covering for shielding purposes.
• Slag inclusions can be found near the surface and in the root of a weld,
between weld beads in multiple-pass welds, and at the side of a weld near the
root.
• During welding, slag may spill ahead of the arc and subsequently be covered
by the weld pool because of poor joint fit-up, incorrect electrode
manipulation, or forward arc blow. Slag trapped in this manner is generally
located near the root.
• Radical motions of the electrode, such as wide weaving, may also cause slag
entrapment on the sides or near the top of the weld after the slag spills into a
portion of the joint that has not been filled by the molten pool.
• Incomplete removal of the slag from the previous pass in multiple-pass
welding is another common cause of entrapment.
Slag inclusion
Slag inclusions in weld metal. (a) near the surface and in the root of a single-pass weld.
(b) between weld beads in a multiple-pass weld. (c) at the side of a weld near the root
Slag inclusion
Slag inclusion
Oxide inclusion
• Oxide inclusions are usually visible on the surface of material being welded
(especially aluminum).
• Oxide inclusions are less dense than the surrounding material and, therefore,
appear as dark irregularly shaped discontinuities in the radiograph
Tungsten inclusion
• Tungsten inclusions are particles found in the weld metal from the non-
consumable tungsten electrode used in GTAW.
• These inclusions are the result of:
– exceeding the maximum current for a given electrode size or type
– letting the tip of the electrode make contact with the hot tip of the electrode
– using an excessive electrode extension
– inadequate gas shielding or excessive wind drafts, which result in oxidation
– using improper shielding gases such as argon-oxygen or argon-carbondioxide
mixtures, which are used for GMAW
• Tungsten inclusions, which are not acceptable for high-quality work, can
only be found by internal inspection techniques, particularly radiographic
testing
Tungsten inclusion
Lack of fusion (LOF) and lack of penetration (LOP)
• Lack of fusion and lack of penetration result from improper electrode

manipulation and the use of incorrect welding conditions.
• Fusion refers to the degree to which the original base metal surfaces to be
welded have been fused to the filler metal; penetration refers to the
degree to which the base metal has been melted and resolidified to result
in a deeper throat
• In effect, a joint can be completely fused but have incomplete root
penetration to obtain the throat size specified. Based on these definitions,
LOF discontinuities are located on the sidewalls of a joint, and LOP
discontinuities are located near the root.
• The causes of lack of fusion include excessive travel speed, bridging,

excessive electrode size, insufficient current, poor joint preparation, overly
acute joint angle, improper electrode manipulation, and excessive arc
blow.
• Lack of penetration may be the result of low welding current, excessive
travel speed, improper electrode manipulation, or surface contaminants
such as oxide, oil, or dirt that prevent full melting of the underlying metal.
Lack of fusion in (a) a single-V-groove weld and (b) double-V-groove weld. Lack
of penetration in (c) a single-V-groove weld and (d) a double-V-groove weld
Lack of fusion
Lack of penetration
Undercut and Overlap
Weld discontinuities affecting weld shape and contour. (a) undercut and overlapping in a fillet
weld. (b) undercut and overlapping in a groove weld. (c) and (d) underfill in groove welds
Root undercut
Crown undercut
Inadequate weld reinforcement
• Inadequate weld reinforcement is an area of a weld where the thickness

of weld metal deposited is less than the thickness of the base material. It
is very easy to determine by radiograph if the weld has inadequate
reinforcement, because the image density in the area of suspected
inadequacy will be higher (darker) than the image density of the
surrounding base material.
Inadequate weld reinforcement
Excess weld reinforcement
• Excess weld reinforcement is an area of a weld that has weld metal

added in excess of that specified by engineering drawings and codes.
The appearance on a radiograph is a localized, lighter area in the weld. A
visual inspection will easily determine if the weld reinforcement is in
excess of that specified by the engineering requirements.
Excess weld reinforcement
Cracks
• Cracks can occur in a wide variety of shapes and types and can be located
in numerous positions in and around a welded joint.
• Cracks associated with welding can be categorized according to whether
they originate in the weld itself or in the base metal.
• Four types commonly occur in the weld metal: transverse, longitudinal,
crater, and hat cracks.
• Base metal cracks can be divided into seven categories: transverse cracks,
underbead cracks, toe cracks, root cracks, lamellar tearing, delaminations,
and fusion-line cracks.
Cracks
1, crater crack in weld metal; 2, transverse crack in weld metal; 3, transverse crack in
HAZ;, 4, longitudinal crack in weld metal; 5, toe crack in base metal; 6, underbead crack in
base metal; 7, fusion line crack; 8, root crack in weld metal; 9, hat cracks in weld metal
Cracks
• Transverse cracks in weld metal are formed when the predominant

contraction stresses are in the direction of the weld axis. They can be hot
cracks.
• Transverse cracks lie in a plane normal to the axis of the weld and are
usually open to the surface.
• Transverse cracks in base metal occur on the surface in or near the HAZ.
They are the result of the high residual stresses induced by thermal cycling
during welding.
• High hardness, excessive restraint, and the presence of hydrogen promote
their formation.
Cracks
• Underbead cracks are similar to transverse cracks in that they form in the
HAZ because of high hardness, excessive restraint, and the presence of
hydrogen. Their orientation follows the contour of the HAZ.
• Toe and root cracks can occur at the notches present at notch locations in
the weld when high residual stresses are present. Both toe and root cracks
propagate through the brittle HAZ before they are arrested in more ductile
regions of the base metal. Characteristically, they are oriented almost
perpendicular to the base metal surface and run parallel to the weld axis.
• Fusion-line cracks can be classified as either weld metal cracks or base
metal cracks because they occur along the fusion line between the two.
There are no limitations as to where along the fusion line these cracks can
occur or how far around the weld they can extend.
Cracks
• Longitudinal cracks may exist in three forms, depending on their positions in

the weld.
• Check cracks are open to the surface and extend only partway through the
weld. Check cracks are caused either by high contraction stresses in the final
passes applied to a weld joint or by a hot-cracking mechanism.
• Root cracks extend from the root to some point within the weld. Root cracks
are the most common form of longitudinal weld metal crack because of the
relatively small size of the root pass. If such cracks are not removed, they can
propagate through the weld as subsequent passes are applied. This is the
usual mechanism by which full centerline cracks are formed.
• Full centerline cracks may extend from the root to the face of the weld metal.
Centerline cracks may occur at either high or low temperatures. At low
temperatures, cracking is generally the result of poor fit-up, overly rigid fit-up,
or a small ratio of weld metal to base metal
Cracks
• Crater cracks are related to centerline cracks. As the name implies, crater
cracks occur in the weld crater formed at the end of a welding pass.
Generally, this type of crack is caused by failure to fill the crater before
breaking the arc. When this happens, the outer edges of the crater cool
rapidly, producing stresses sufficient to crack the interior of the crater.
• Hat cracks derive their name from the shape of the weld cross section
with which they are usually associated. This type of weld flares out near
the weld face, resembling an inverted top hat. Hat cracks are the result of
excessive voltage or welding speed. The cracks are located about halfway
up through the weld and extend into the weld metal from the fusion line
of the joint.
Cracks
SAFE PRACTICES in WELDING
Electrical Shock
• Most arc welding power supplies operate at open circuit voltages of 60–80 V.
Although these voltages are relatively safe, the risk of serious injury or death
exists if proper electrical safety practices are not followed.
• Common electrical safety practices include avoiding working in wet or damp
conditions, use of rubber soles, proper maintenance and grounding of
equipment, and special precautions when two or more welders are working
on the same structure.
• Some equipment (such as Electron Beam Welding) operates at much higher
voltages than arc welding equipment, increasing the danger if proper
electrical safety is not practiced
Radiation
• Welding arcs produce both ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Damage to the
eyes can occur if the arc is viewed without the use of proper lenses. Welders
should also be careful to protect exposed skin to prevent painful burns
similar to sunburn.
• Electron Beams and Lasers produce radiation as well. All equipment
producing radiation should use appropriate screens or booths to provide
additional protection to personnel in the vicinity of the welding operation.
• Thoriated tungsten electrodes used for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding are
radioactive, and therefore, proper ventilation and protection is required
during grinding
Burns
• The risk of getting burned always exists when working around any welding
operation.
• In addition to radiation burns, a welder or welding operator may be easily
burned by touching hot metal or getting hit by spatter or sparks. While arc
welding, proper protective equipment including a welding helmet, and
fireproof protection for the rest of the body must always be worn.
• In addition to fireproof clothing, arc welders should avoid the use of pants
with cuffs and open pockets, both of which can easily catch molten spatter.
Fume
• Welding processes produce a wide variety of potentially hazardous fumes.

• Sources include molten metal vaporization, oils, paint, coatings such as zinc,
and fumes and gases from decomposing fluxes.
• Proper ventilation must always be used.
• Other important considerations include the size of the welding space, the
type of welding process, the amount of welding being conducted, and the
location of the welder’s head relative to the flow of the fumes.
• Both general and local ventilation techniques are typically practiced.
• General ventilation refers to methods for ventilating the entire space such as
opening doors to allow natural ventilation, while local ventilation refers to
methods to protect personal at a work station such as with a movable hood.
Fume
Fume
Confined Space
• Special precautions must be taken when welding in confined spaces such as

tanks.
• Confined spaces produce extremely poor ventilation, and therefore, special
proactive approaches to ventilating such as providing oxygen to the welder
and monitoring air quality in the space are typically mandated.
Fire and Explosion Danger
• Most welding processes produce significant sources of heat such as sparks

and spatter for fire ignition.
• Therefore, combustible material or fuel should be kept at least 35 ft away
from the welding area.
• Combustible material on the other side of any wall adjacent to the work
station should be removed as well
Compressed Gases
• Pressurized gas cylinders used for many of the arc welding processes must be
handled properly to avoid explosions or leaks.
• Safe handling of compressed gasses is also covered in ANSI Z49.1 and
includes labeling, storage, gas withdrawal, valves and pressure relief devices,
prevention of fuel gas fires, and concern for air displacement.
Compressed Gases
• The concern for air displacement refers to the use of gasses that are capable
of displacing oxygen because they are either heavier than air (argon) or
lighter than air (helium).
• For example, when welding with argon, if proper ventilation is not ensured,
the argon will begin to pool at the floor and rise in depth much like filling a
room with water. Eventually, asphyxiation is possible if the depth reaches the
level of the welder’s head.
• The same danger exists with helium, but in this case, the pooling begins at
the ceiling and grows downward. This can be a dangerous situation especially
when welding overhead.
Hazardous Materials
• When dealing with hazardous materials, the use of Material Safety Data
Sheets (MSDSs) becomes paramount.
• Typical hazardous materials around a welding operation may include
fluorine, zinc, cleaning compounds, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and chromium
and nickel in stainless steels.
• When welding involves hazardous materials, special ventilation techniques
are typically required and the collection of air samples may be mandated.
• OSHA and other organizations have established allowable limits of airborne
contaminants referred to as threshold limit values (TLV) and permissible
exposure limits (PEL).
References
• Principles of Welding-Processes, Physics, Chemistry and Metallurgy, Robert W.
Messler, Wiley
• Joining of Materials and Structures - From Pragmatic Process to Enabling
Technology, Robert W. Messler, Jr., Elsevier
• Welding processes handbook, Klas Weman, Woodhead Publishing
• ASM Metals Handbook vol 6
• https://www.esabna.com/us/en/education/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-
of-metal-cored-wires.cfm
• https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/faq-what-is-pulsed-mig-
mag-welding-and-what-are-its-advantages-over-conventional-mig-mag-processes
• https://www.oerlikon-welding.com/processes/tig-welding-process
• https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/faq-what-electrode-
material-should-i-use-for-resistance-spot-welding
• https://www.nde-
ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Radiography/TechCalibrations/Ra
diographInterp.htm
• https://www.amazon.com/MELTSTAR-Tungsten-Electrodes-32-
WP/dp/B0BQ2RF54G?th=1

Welding Technique 23-24 Fall

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Welding Technique 23-24 Fall

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

WELDING TECHNIQUE

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tolga MERT

Avesis Web Page: http://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/tmert/

Office Hours: Wednesday 13.00 - 14.50

• Please concentrate, listen/watch and try to understand

• Principles of Welding-Processes, Physics, Chemistry and Metallurgy,

Various head styles available on screws and bolts

• Cohesion is defined as the internal strength of an adhesive as a result of a variety of

For best adhesion results, the following conditions must be satisfied:

There are three types of adhesives:

Some joint designs for adhesive bonding

* Generally, combinations of these adhesives could be used (Ex: Epoxy-silicon, nitril-phenolic,

❖ The process is applicable to a wide variety of materials;

❖ Joints are generally not as strong as other joining methods;

• The material of the rivets must be tough and ductile.

Butt joints are of the following two types :

Similarly the joints may be triple riveted or quadruple riveted.

Types of Riveted Joints

• Different materials can be joined by riveting.

• Rivet hole reduces the strength.

Five basic rivet types, also shown in assembled configuration:

BRAZING & SOLDERING

(1) any metals can be joined, including dissimilar metals;

(1) joint strength is generally less than that of a welded joint;

Brazing as a production process is widely used in a variety of industries, including

Tube brazing Jewelry brazing Brazed cutting tools

Brazing filler metal characteristics:

(1) melting temperature must be compatible with the base metal,

(1) low energy input relative to brazing and fusion welding,

(1) low joint strength unless reinforced by mechanical means

Expectations from a soldering flux:

(1) be molten at soldering temperatures,

Soldering fluxes can be classified as organic or inorganic.

Short and Combined Definition:

Undetachable joining or hardfacing of two or more, similar or

• Similarly, two polymers or plastics can be joined and made to be

• The problem comes about when the materials to be joined are

• Welding applies not just to metals. It also applies equally well to

• Sometimes just pressure is applied with NO heat.

1. Joints of exceptional structural integrity 1. Impossible to disassemble joints

2. Wide variety of process embodiments 2. Heat of welding degrades base

B1. Welding based on melting

Plastic Welding or Pressure Welding:

Fusion Welding or Non-Pressure Welding:

According to the definition developed by the American Welding

If material’s weldebality is high, it means that welding of the material

• Some base metals or alloys may exhibit good weldability under

Factors weldability depend on:

• Composition can determine inherent weldability, with some alloys

Tendency towards Welding Welding Practicability Welding Safety

Tendency towards Welding

• Chemical composition of the materials are strongly related with

Other factors (physical properties ) for tendency towards welding:

• Construction has pre-defined dimensions, shapes and cross

• Insufficient surface preparation in cold press welding makes it

• Proper preparation of weld grooves as well as weld passes and

Aluminum -> Issues with oxy-acetylene welding

C Not welding but casting

Low carbon steel -> Weldability high (No precautions)

C% Pre Heating Stress Relief Annealing

Low Alloy Steels

Carbon Equivalent (Ceq)

Ceq % Pre Heating Stress Relief

𝑇𝑝𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 = 350 ∗ 𝐶𝑒𝑞 − 0.25 (C) (Daniel Seferian)