GTAW

Initially, we started with GTAW to perform the welding the composite after reading different papers published regarding the welding magnesium composite (not same as ours) available on internet. MACHINE USED The machine used for the welding of the composite was the simple TIG welding machine present in the workshop. Various parts of the machine with their respective parameters chosen are discussed in the below section. 1. TABLE Movement of the table/ bed of the machine can be : a) Automatic :- No need to hold the torch, electrode and the filler rod except to adjust the different parameter like feed, etc . b) Manual :- Torch and filler rod ( if used) are holded. Both of them were utilised in order to perform the welding of the composite as a part of different trial. Firstly automatic was tried out and the manual table bed movement was also tried. FEED RATE The other factor to be included in the table is the feed rate i.e. the speed of the table. Different speeds taken in the automatic mode were 6mm/min, 9mm/min and 12mm/min.

2. TORCH The torch includes different parameters:a) Sheilding Gas Different shielding gases can be used such as argon, carbon dioxide, etc. In our case the shielding gas used was ARGON. And the other parameter that influences welding is the flow rate of the shielding gas used. In our case the flow rate used was 20L/min initially and then it was increased to 24L/min in order to avoid any burning / fire of the composite as it is discussed above that is very explosive. b) Electrode The electrode used was obviously Tungsten (non consumable) and the other parameter including electrode is its diameter. The diameter of the electrode chosen was 3mm. c) Arc Length The arc length defines the concentration of heat and it is always tried to obtain the vena contracta of the arc to come at the workpiece. And to obtain the vena contracta at the composite, the arc length was taken to be 3mm.

3. CURRENT USED The current that can be used in the machine is AC, DC Pulse. We chose the DC pulse in our project. And the wide range of current is chosen and experimented on the composite. The value of current varies from 60A to 120A. 4. FILLER ROD Initially the welding was tried out without using the filler rod and in the later part filler rod was used for welding of the composite. The filler rod was taken to be of the same material as that of the composite. Basically the filler rod was cut out from the same slabs.

Other parameter except the machine was the: WIDTH OF THE COMPOSITE: The width of the magnesium composite slabs we used varies from 4mm to 6mm. the experiment was done on different width of slabs but the basic try was to weld the 6mm thick slab. PARAMETER Table Movement Feed Rate VALUE/ MODE Automatic or manual 6mm/min, 9mm/min, 12mm/min (for automatic mode) Argon 3mm 3mm 60A to 120A DC Same composite 4mm to 6mm

Sheilding Gas Electrode Diameter Arc Length Current Filler rod Width of Composite

TRIALS DONE
1. TRIAL 1 To start with something we chose the following parameters for the welding of the composite after reading out the some papers related welding of magnesium composites present on internet. PARAMETER Table Movement Feed Rate Sheilding Gas Electrode Diameter VALUE/ MODE Automatic 12mm/min Argon 3mm

Arc Length Current Filler rod Width of Composite

3mm 120A DC Nothing 4mm

INFERENCE: The welding of bead on plate was not successful as the composite burned and this lead to think that the value of current taken is high which lead to the burning of the composite. This trial tells us to decrease the current in the next trials. 2. TRIAL 2 In this attempt the value of current was decreased and also the feed rate was also decreased and the following total data was: PARAMETER Table Movement Feed Rate Sheilding Gas Electrode Diameter Arc Length Current Filler rod Width of Composite VALUE/ MODE Automatic 6mm/min Argon 3mm 3mm 110 DC Nothing 4mm

INFERENCE This was also pretty unsuccessful as in this trial, the composite melted. So, it was found out that the material melted due to the low feed rate and slow moving arc increases the temperature of the composite above its melting point.

3. Trial 3 In this trial the current was decreased a bit and the feed rate is increased. PARAMETER Table Movement Feed Rate Sheilding Gas Electrode Diameter Arc Length Current Filler rod Width of Composite VALUE/ MODE Automatic 9mm/min Argon 3mm 3mm 100A DC Nothing 4mm

INFERENCE This was not that successful. Again welding was not obtained and it was because of the high current we were using. From the above three trials it was pretty sure that we need to take very less current and the feed rate should also be optimum that is not too high and not too low.

HAZ MEASUREMENT
Heat affected zone tells about the depth of the penetration of the welding obtained. We need to check the heat affected zone in order to check out what was the penetration of the above trials and to check whether the GTAW welding is actually successful for this composite or not. Steps: Small piece of composite cut by abrasive cutter. The mould is prepared of the cut part by the machine used for making moulds for performing HAZ measurement. The polishing of the mould was done by the emery paper using different grit sizes for different time. Grit size Time ( in min) 220 20 400 20 600 15 800 15 1000 10 1500 5 2000 5 The etching was to be done further in order to check the HAZ which was not done as we were short of time.