A n o d e / C a t h o d e Geometry and Shielding Gas Interrelationships in GTAW

Electrode tip geometry and groove geometry must be compatible to ensure arc stability
BY J. F. KEY

ABSTRACT. A comprehensive set of experiments to determine specific effects of tungsten electrode tip geometry and shielding gas compositions (consisting of pure argon, pure helium, five mixtures of argon and helium, and one mixture of argon and hydrogen) on penetration was conducted. Performance of various c o m binations of tip geometry and shielding gas in three common weld groove geometries was assessed. No o p t i m u m electrode tip geometry or shielding gas composition was found for all GTAW conditions. Penetration increased w i t h electrode vertex angle when welding on flat plate. Helium additions generally increased penetration. Electrode tip geometry and groove geometry must be compatible to ensure arc stability. Conclusions are based on heat transfer models that are heavily dependent on tungsten electrode vertex angle and shielding gas thermophysical properties.

helium or argon and hydrogen as well as edge preparations whose geometry varies for the joint, the interrelationships between shielding gas composition and electrode geometry (both anode and cathode) need to be assessed. This task was initiated to provide this assessment, and, as such, is part of a larger program to fully characterize fusion welds from heat source through unaffected base material. Experimental Procedure All materials used were from the same heat of 12.7 mm (0.5 in.) thick AISI Type 304 stainless steel plate. For anode geometry studies, standard 75 deg V grooves, 40 deg U grooves [4.76 mm (0.188 in.) root radius], and 10 deg narrow grooves [2.5 mm (0.10 in.) root face extension] were machined into the plate. A solid-state, series-regulated 150 A GTAW power supply was used as the current source. A precision positioner driven by a stepping motor was utilized to move the specimen under a fixed torch. Two-percent thoriated tungsten electrodes, 2.38 mm (0.094 in.) in diameter, and custom, premixed shielding gases were used. Argonhelium compositions were 10, 25, 50, 75, and 90 vol-% helium, with the balance argon. A 95 vol-% argon-5 vol-% hydrogen mixture also was evaluated. Ultra-high purity argon and helium were used as pure, unmixed shielding gases.

Partial penetration (=30% of plate thickness) single spot welds and constant current bead welds were made on flat plates and in grooves to encompass a w i d e range of welding methods. The spot welds represented overlapping spot welds produced using high current-short duration current pulsations. Spot welds were 2.0 s in duration, and bead-on-plate welds were made at 3.0 m m / s (7.09 ipm). An arc gap of 1.00 mm (0.039 in.) was used with pure argon but had to be increased as helium was added. Pure helium required a gap of 1.50 mm (0.059 in.). High-speed cinematography was used to analyze arc dynamics and arc interactions w i t h the groove. A 16-mm rotating prism camera was used to film all welds w i t h the exception of the bead-in-groove welds (in which groove walls obscured a lateral view of the arc). A camera speed of 500 frames/s was adequate for the purposes of this study. Neutral density filters were used to attenuate arc intensity. Timing light marks on film (Eastman Kodak MS 2256 color instrumentation film) edges allowed quantification of temporal events. (See Reynolds and Key16 for more details.) Films were viewed using a motion analysis projector. Table 1 gives the experimental matrix of weld types produced as a function of electrode tip geometry and shielding gas composition. All welds were sectioned and prepared for metallographic examination. Macrophotographs were taken of each section. Fusion zone depth, w i d t h , and area were measured on the flat plate welds. Only the fusion zone area was measured on groove welds since fiducial reference marks needed for depth measurements were destroyed during welding.

Introduction Early work by Savage et a/.1 and Chihoski 2 -' on penetration effects of tungsten electrode (cathode) tip geometry in autogenous gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was put in perspective by Spiller and MacGregor 4 w h o differentiated between partial penetration welds on thick plate and full penetration welds on thin plate. A study limited to Alloy 600 has been presented more recently by Glickstein et a/.5 Various heat transfer models 6 " 15 have been presented to rationalize these results. These works were generally concerned with arcs shielded by inert, pure gases, usually argon. Since many GTAW procedures call for shielding gas mixtures of argon and 364-s I D E C E M B E R 1980

Paper presented at the 61st AWS Annual Meeting held in Los Angeles, California, during April 13-18, 1980. I. F. KEY is Scientist, Materials Engineering Branch, Fuels and Materials Division, EG&G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Results Figure 1 shows arc shape and resulting fusion zone profile as a function of electrode tip geometry for stationary spot-on-plate welds. Note that the arc changes from a " b e l l " shape at small vertex angles to a more constricted " b a l l " shape at large vertex angles. Also, the arc is uniformly more con-

stricted for the larger truncation diameter, 0.500 mm (0.020 in.). Macrophotographs of the fusion zone show a corresponding shape change. As the arc becomes more constricted, the fusion zone becomes narrower and much deeper. These fusion zone dimensions are reasonably constant at vertex angles over 90 deg. Figure 2 shows a graphical plot of

these results and corresponding beadon-plate welds (only the d e p t h / w i d t h ratio need be plotted since it reflects trends in depth, w i d t h , and area); the correlation coefficient, r2, only applies to the 15-90 deg portion of the plot. In subsequent plots, r2 will apply to the entire plot. Figure 3 shows the effect of helium and hydrogen additions to argon

Table 1Experimental Matrix Vertex angle and truncation diameter, deg/mm

15/0.125 /0.500 30/0.125 /0.500 45/0.125 /0.500 60/0.125 /0.500 75/0.125 /0.500 90/0.125 /0.500 120/0.125 /0.500 180
a

Shielding gas composition, vol-% 100 Ar

SOP,"" BOP"" SOP, BOP SOP, BOP SIC,' C ' B I G " " SOP, BOP SOP, SOP, BOP BOP SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

90Ar/10He

75 Ar/25 He

50 Ar/50 He

25 Ar/75 He

10 Ar/90 He

100 He

95 Ar/5 H2

SOP, BOP SIC, BIG SOP, BOP SOP, SOP, BOP BOP

SOP, BOP SOP, BOP SIG, BIG SOP, SOP, SOP, BOP BOP BOP

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP, BOP SIG, BIG

SOP,

BOP

SOP,

BOP

SOP,

BOP

SOP,

BOP

SOP,

BOP

SOP,

BOP

SOP,

BOP

' S p o t - o n - p l a t e {2.0 s). " " B e a d - o n - p l a t e (3.0 m m / s ) . lcl S p o t - i n - g r o o v e {75 V-groove, 40 U-groove, 10 narrow groove), 2.0 s. " " B e a d - i n - g r o o v e (75 V-groove, 40 U-groove, 10 narrow groove), 3.0 m m / s .

Vertex angle

0.125

*fe *^ +. -A. 4fc-

0.500

0.125

WHmyuuuiH WUMHMMI IHUHUHIIilHiB

0.500 mm Truncation
Fig. 1-Arc shape and fusion zone profile as a function of electrode tip geometry in a pure argon shield (150 A, 2.0 s spot-on-plate)

w
W E L D I N G RESEARCH S U P P L E M E N T I 365-s

shielding gas on fusion zone profile in spot-on-plate welds. Figure 4A shows graphical results of d e p t h / w i d t h as a function of helium content for spoton-plate welds. As expected, helium additions cause a large increase in penetration (273%) when using an electrode with a sharp tip geometry such as a 30 deg vertex angle w i t h 0.125 mm (0.005 in.) diameter truncation. A significant increase (148%) is obtained for a moderate 60 deg tip. However, electrodes w i t h blunt 90 or 180 deg vertex angles produced only slightly improved penetration (22 and 0.60 0.500-mm dia truncation 0.125-mm dia truncation 0.40 g
Q. 0)

8%, respectively) when helium was added. For these particular welding conditions, helium has little benefit if a blunt tip geometry is used. The poor correlation coefficient for the 180 deg plot and, to a lesser extent, the 90 deg plot is attributed to arc instability. Arcs were generally less stable for blunt electrodes than sharp ones regardless of shielding gas composition. Arcs from a 180 deg tip geometry are very unstable unless the weld is made at the electrode's maximum current limit to ensure uniform emission from the

'//' / / f ''/J / // 0.20

S O P (r2 SOP(r2 BOP (r 2 BOP (r 2

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SOP: Spot-on-plate weld (2.0 s) BOP: Bead-on-plate weld (3.0 mm/s) Current: 150 A The correlation coefficient (r 2 ) applies only to the 15-90 degree portion of the plot I 60 I 90 I 120 I 150 180

Vertex angle (degree) Fig. 2Fusion zone depth/width as a function of electtode tip geometry in a pure argon shield (150 A, 2.0 s spot-on-plate and 3.0 mm/s bead-on-plate)

entire tip. Effects of helium and hydrogen additions to argon were sought for bead-on-plate welds. These welds were made at a fairly rapid 3.0 m m / s (7.09 ipm) rate. Figure 4B shows results which differ somewhat from corresponding spot-on-plate welds. All electrode tip geometries performed similarly to the 90 deg electrode in spot-on-plate welds, where the penetration is somewhat greater, but the influence of helium and the amount of scatter, reflected in r2, is similar. H o w ever, Larson" reports results from bead-on-plate welds made at slower travel speeds ~ 1 . 0 m m / s (2.36 ipm) that are similar to spot-on-plate results in Figs. 3 and 4A. Obviously, welding speed effect on molten pool geometry is responsible for these differences. Figure 5 shows variations in d e p t h / width due to electrode vertex angle in a 95 Ar-5H 2 shield for both spot-onplate and bead-on-plate welds. A l though the d e p t h / w i d t h is uniformly greater at all vertex angles, the trends are the same as for a pure argon shieldFig. 2. Figure 6 shows the fusion zone area as a function of helium content and electrode tip geometry for spot-ingroove welds. Figure 6A is for a 75 deg V groove, Fig. 6B is for a 40 deg U groove, and Fig. 6C is for a 10 deg narrow groove. Although helium has a moderate to significant effect on fusion zone area in both the V-groove and U-groove, it generally has less effect in the narrow groove. In general, the sharper electrode tip geometries produce larger fusion zone areas.

Fig. 3Fusion zone profile as a function of electrode tip geometry and helium or hydrogen content of shielding gas (150 A, 2.0 s spot-on-plate). 366-s I D E C E M B E R 1980

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Fig. 4Fusion zone depth/width as a function spot-on-plate; B3.0 mm/s bead-on-plate

tip geometry

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gas at 150 A: A2.0 s

Figure 7 s h o w s c o r r e s p o n d i n g b e a d in-groove welds, w h i c h indicate that h e l i u m a d d i t i o n s are m u c h more effective for increasing fusion zone area i n b e a d - i n - g r o o v e t h a n f o r s p o t in-groove welds. Although electrode t i p g e o m e t r y has l i t t l e e f f e c t o n f u s i o n z o n e area in p u r e a r g o n , t h e sharp g e o m e t r i e s are c l e a r l y s u p e r i o r in h i g h h e l i u m - c o n t e n t s h i e l d i n g gases. Figure

8 s h o w s t h e d e p e n d e n c e of t h e f u s i o n z o n e area o n e l e c t r o d e v e r t e x a n g l e in a 95 A r - 5 H , s h i e l d f o r b o t h s p o t - i n groove and bead-in-groove welds. A limited n u m b e r of experiments w e r e r e p e a t e d t o p r o v i d e an i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e statistical v a l i d i t y o f results. For s p o t - o n - p l a t e e x p e r i m e n t s , errors in d e p t h / w i d t h w e r e less t h a n 10% f o r " s h a r p , " e.g., 30 d e g e l e c t r o d e t i p

g e o m e t r i e s , a n d u p t o 25% f o r " b l u n t , " e.g., 90 d e g e l e c t r o d e t i p g e o m e t r i e s . D e c r e a s e d arc s t a b i l i t y f o r b l u n t e l e c trodes may a c c o u n t f o r t h e increased v a r i a t i o n . For b e a d - o n - p l a t e e x p e r i m e n t s , errors in d e p t h / w i d t h f e l l w i t h in a 10% v a r i a t i o n f o r all e l e c t r o d e t i p geometries. Discussion S p o t - o n - p l a t e a n d b e a d - o n - p l a t e results f r o m t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d arc temperature measurements18 for the same c o m b i n a t i o n s of e l e c t r o d e tip g e o m e t r y a n d s h i e l d i n g gas c o m p o s i t i o n s u p p o r t heat t r a n s f e r m o d e l s t h a t d e p e n d , in p a r t , o n e l e c t r o d e tip geometry and thermophysical properties of t h e s h i e l d i n g gas. S h a w 6 c h a r a c terizes an arc p r o d u c e d b y an e l e c t r o d e w i t h a s m a l l v e r t e x a n g l e as a l i n e heat s o u r c e t h a t is p o o r l y d i s t r i b u t e d . Temperatures w o u l d be high along the axis b u t m u c h l o w e r e l s e w h e r e . C o n versely, an e l e c t r o d e w i t h a large vertex a n g l e p r o d u c e s a d i s t r i b u t e d heat s o u r c e w h i c h is m u c h m o r e e f f i c i e n t in producing deep penetration welds. Ludwig8 f o u n d that high thermal c o n d u c t i v i t y gases s u c h as h e l i u m a n d h y d r o g e n (at c e r t a i n temperatures) p r o d u c e a u n i f o r m l y d i s t r i b u t e d heat s o u r c e regardless of t h e e l e c t r o d e t i p

1.00

I I 95Ar-5H2 Spot-on-plate 0 Bead-on-plate

0.80

i g 8" Q

0.60

0.40

0.20

30

60

90

120

150

180

210

240

V e r t e x angle (degree) Fig. 5Fusion zone depth/width as a function of electrode tip geometry in a 95 argon-5 hydrogen volume petcent shielding gas for both spot-on-plate (150 A, 2.0 s) and bead-on-plate (150 A, 3.0 mm/s) welds.

WELDING

R E S E A R C H S U P P L E M E N T I 367-s

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Fig. 6Fusion zone area as a function of electrode tip geometry and helium content of the shielding gas for 150 A, 2.0 s spot-in-groove welds: A75 deg V groove; B40 deg U-groove; C10 deg narrow groove geometry. The high thermal conductivity and specific heat of helium and hydrogen (compared to argon) also aid in transferring more heat to the anode. Results were compared to previously published data-Table 2.''s Trends in data were similar to Savage et al.' and Spiller et al.* w i t h the f o l l o w i n g exceptions: a maximum in fusion zone depth and a minimum in w i d t h occurred for electrode vertex angles in the 75 to 90 deg range. Savage's1 data showed a uniform increase in depth and decrease in w i d t h up to 180 degrees. Spiller's 4 data showed the opposite trend, i.e., a slight decrease in depth with increasing vertex angles, but a similar trend to Savage's1 data in width. It should be noted that Savage used carbon steel and Spiller used Type 321 stainless steel. Savage found no dependence of fusion zone area on electrode vertex angle. Present results for spot-on-plate welds show that the area increases uniformly w i t h vertex angle. However, scatter in the data for bead-on-plate results do not reflect this trend. Glickstein's5 results for alloy 600 were considerably different. His work showed a maximum in depth, w i d t h , d e p t h / w i d t h , and area for electrode vertex angles between 30 and 45 deg. Two arguments are proposed to

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368-sl D E C E M B E R 1980

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WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT I 369-s

ly s m a l l t r u n c a t i o n , p r o d u c e t h e m o s t stable arcs, e s p e c i a l l y in V g r o o v e a n d n a r r o w g r o o v e w e l d s . This m a y acc o u n t , in p a r t , f o r t h e i r e q u a l or superior p e r f o r m a n c e c o m p a r e d to blunt geometries. A l t h o u g h U grooves accept most electrode tip geometries, t h e y are t o o large f o r e c o n o m i c a l mechanized welding. T h e g r o o v e g e o m e t r y has an a d d i t i o n a l e f f e c t o n heat t r a n s f e r t o t h e anode. Since g r o o v e w a l l s c o n f i n e t h e arc a n d l i m i t r a d i a t i o n a n d c o n v e c t i o n losses t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , e l e c t r o d e t i p g e o m e t r y has less e f f e c t o n p e n e t r a t i o n . This is e s p e c i a l l y t r u e in t h e case of n a r r o w - g r o o v e j o i n t s w i t h nearly v e r t i c a l w a l l s . T h e o v e r r i d i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n a p p e a r s t o b e arc s t a b i l i ty w h i c h i n d i c a t e s use of a m o d e r a t e l y sharp e l e c t r o d e t i p g e o m e t r y (30-60 deg vertex angle).

Conclusions
Results i n d i c a t e t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n clusions on a n o d e / c a t h o d e geometry a n d s h i e l d i n g gas i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s in autogenous, partial-penetration GTAW: 1. P e n e t r a t i o n increases as the t u n g s t e n e l e c t r o d e t i p is m a d e m o r e b l u n t (15-90 d e g ) f o r b o t h s p o t - o n plate and bead-on-plate welds. 2. O p t i m u m e l e c t r o d e t i p g e o m e t r y is g o v e r n e d by arc s t a b i l i t y w h e n w e l d i n g in a g r o o v e f o r b o t h s p o t - o n - p l a t e a n d b e a d - o n - p l a t e w e l d s . Path l e n g t h t o g r o u n d m u s t be c o n s i d e r e d . Sharp t i p g e o m e t r i e s (30-60 d e g ) are p r e ferred. 3. H e l i u m a n d h y d r o g e n have a beneficial effect on penetration for b o t h spot-on-plate and bead-on-plate w e l d s . T h e e f f e c t is e s p e c i a l l y s t r o n g in h e l i u m mixtures for sharp electrode tip g e o m e t r i e s , A s p e c i a l case arises f o r s p o t - o n - p l a t e w e l d s in w h i c h b l u n t e l e c t r o d e t i p g e o m e t r i e s are q u i t e e f f e c t i v e in p u r e a r g o n . 4. H e l i u m also has a b e n e f i c i a l effect o n p e n e t r a t i o n w h e n w e l d i n g in a groove for b o t h spot and bead welds. 5. D a t a f a v o r heat t r a n s f e r m o d e l s t h a t d e p e n d , in part, o n e l e c t r o d e t i p geometry and thermophysical properties of t h e s h i e l d i n g gas. T h e s e p a r a m eters a f f e c t b o t h d i s t r i b u t i o n and t r a n s f e r of heat t o t h e a n o d e w i t h resulting strong effects on fusion z o n e profile. 6. N o o p t i m u m combination of e l e c t r o d e t i p g e o m e t r y or s h i e l d i n g gas c o m p o s i t i o n w a s f o u n d f o r all G T A W conditions. Acknowledgments Appreciation is e x t e n d e d to L. D.

Fig. 9Influence of electrode tip geometry and groove geometry on path length to ground: A75 deg V groove; B40 deg U groove; C10 deg narrow groove

R e y n o l d s f o r his c o n t r i b u t i o n s in e q u i p m e n t design and fabrication and for p e r f o r m i n g high-speed c i n e m a t o g raphy and w e l d i n g . T h i s w o r k w a s s u p p o r t e d b y t h e U. S. D e p a r t m e n t o f E n e r g y , A s s i s t a n t Secretary f o r Research a n d D e v e l o p m e n t , O f f i c e of Basic E n e r g y S c i e n c e s , u n d e r DOE Contract No. DE-AC0776ID01570.

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370-sl DECEMBER 1980