OVERVIEW

Weld

A joint produced by heat or pressure or both
both, so
o there is continuity of material.


Filler (if used) has a melting temperature close to the base material
Welding processes

Fusion welding
Welding in the liquid state with no pressure
Union is by molten metal bridging

Solid phase welding
Carried out below the melting point without filler additions
Pressure often used
Union is often by plastic flow
Basic Requirements of Welding Process
 Source of Heat
Chemical Reaction
Electrical - Arc, Resistance, Induction
Mechanical
 Protection from Atmosphere
Gas Shielding
Flux
Mechanical Expulsion
Vacuum

Fusion welding heat sources

Solid phase welding

Some arc welding processes

Hot processes
Forge welding
Friction welding
Diffusion bonding

Cold processes
Ultrasonic welding
Explosive welding

MMAW - manual metal arc welding

SAW - submerged arc welding
GTAW - gas tungsten arc welding (TIG)
GMAW - gas-metal
metal arc welding (MIG, MAG)
FCAW - flux cored arc welding

Welding Processes
1. Introduction
The manufacture of virtually all sophisticated modern products involves joining together many individual
components. Where a permanent join is required, welding is often a good option.
Welding processes can be divided into two categories
a. Fusion processes
The surfaces of two components to be joined are cleaned, placed close together and heated while being
protected from oxidation. A pool of molten metal forms and connects the components, a filler rod may be
used to add metal to the joint.

b. Solid phase processes

The metals to be joined do not melt, they are heated, usually by friction heating generated by sliding the parts
together under a normal load, this softens the metals and removes surface contamination. The sliding is then
stopped,

the

normal

load

is

increased

and

the

two

surfaces

join

together.

Friction welding is the main process in this class and is widely used to join axisymmetric components in two
different types of steels. Examples include engine valves where a heat resistant alloy head is required, but a
steel that will slide well in the guide is needed for the stem.

2. Fusion Welding Processes

2.1 Potential Problems
Although the majority of welding is carried out on steels, other metals, particularly aluminium, are
increasingly being joined by welding. To ensure that the designers intent is met, a number of precautions
need to be considered when specifying the metals and process.

Distortion - As the parts are heated to their melting point, they will undergo significant thermal expansion
and on cooling, contraction. To minimise the adverse effects of this it will often be necessary to use jigs,
tacking and a suitable welding sequence or procedure, i.e. 'back stepping'

Oxidation - At the elevated temperatures involved in fusion welding, metals oxidise rapidly. Oxidation
would either prevent joining or result in a sub-standard joint. Oxidation is prevented in a number of ways
depending upon the process. In oxy-acetylene welding, the gases produced by combustion in the flame
prevent oxidation. In the metal inert gas (MIG) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) processes, the arc is shrouded by
a supply of inert gas such as helium, argon, carbon dioxide or a mixture of these. In the electric arc
consumable electrode process the rod is coated with a flux which forms a protective layer and gas in the weld
area as the rod is consumed.

Loss of Mechanical Properties - Where a metal has been subjected to a thermal process, welding will
frequently result in loss of property - strength or hardness - in the area adjacent to the weld, called the heat
affected zone (HAZ).

Embrittlement - One source of embrittlement when welding steel is where consumables are damp, which
may result in the weld taking up hydrogen. This problem can be avoided by ensuring that all metal to be
welded and consumables are stored in dry conditions.
An alternative cause of embrittlement is when alloy steels are welded or when a 'plain' steel with a carbon
content above 0.2% is welded. In these instances the self cooling of the parts may result in martensitic zones
adjacent to the weld which are unacceptably brittle.
For general fabrication work involving plain steel, it is normal to use specify carbon content of less than
0.15%.
When welding alloy steels appropriate pre-heating and slow post cooling must be carried out to ensure that
the cooling rate is too slow to result in any martensitic transformation.

JointOrientation
As most welding processes rely on a weld pool being formed between the parts to be joined, the process is
most straightforward when the weld pool is stable, that is when it is horizontal. This will not be the case
when vertical and overhead joints are required. These require much more skill and special
electrodes/coatings may be used.

2.2 Oxy Acetylene Welding

In this process heat is provided by the combustion of Acetylene in Oxygen which gives a flame temperature
of about 2700oC. This can be used to weld steel with a thickness up to about 5 mm. A filler rod is normally
applied to assist in making the join. The process is widely used in jobbing shops with manual operation and
requires a fair bit of skill, particularly when welding aluminium and thinner gauge steel.

2.3 Arc Welding

Several welding processes are based on heating with an electric arc, example of this is simple arc welding,
also known as shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) or stick welding Fig. 2.3.
In this process an electrical machine (which may be DC or AC, but nowadays is usually AC) supplies current
to an electrode holder which carries an electrode which is normally coated with a mixture of chemicals or
flux. An earth cable connects the workpiece to the welding machine to provide a return path for the current.
The weld is initiated by tapping (striking) the tip of the electrode against the workpiece which initiates an
electric arc. The high temperature generated (about 6000oC) almost instantly produces a molten pool and the
end of the electrode continuously melts into this pool and forms the joint.

Fig. 2.3 Arc welding

The operator needs to control the gap between the electrode tip and the workpiece while moving the
electrode along the joint on the parent metals.
In the shielded metal arc welding process (SMAW) Fig. 2.3, the 'stick' electrode is covered with an extruded
coating of flux. The heat of the arc melts the flux which generates a gaseous shield to keep air away from the
molten pool and also flux ingredients react with unwanted impurities such as surface oxides, creating a slag
which floats to the surface of the weld pool. This forms a crust which protects the weld while it is cooling.
When the weld is cold the slag is chipped off.
The SMAW process cannot be used on steel thinner than about 3mm and being a discontinuous process it is
only suitable for manual operation. It is widely used in jobbing shops and for onsite steel construction work.
A wide range of electrode materials and coatings are available enabling the process to be applied to most
steels, heat resisting alloys and many types of cast iron.

2.4

Metal

Inert

Gas

(MIG)

or

Gas

Metal

Arc

Welding

(GMAW)

In this process a filler metal is stored on a spool and driven by rollers (current is fed into the wire) through a
tube into a 'torch'. The large amount of filler wire on the spool means that the process can be considered to be
continuous and long, uninterrupted welds can easily be made. An inert gas is also fed along the tube and into
the torch and exits around the wire. An arc is struck between the wire and the workpiece and because of the
high temperature of the arc a weld pool forms almost instantly. In this process they key issues are selecting
the correct gas mixture and flow rate and the welding wire speed and current. Once these have been set, the
skill level required is lower than with the oxy acetylene process, and it can readily be automated and MIG
welding is now commonly carried out by robots. The MIG process is widely used on steels and on
aluminium. Although the inert gas shield keeps the weld clean, depending upon the process settings, there
may be spatter of metal globules adjacent to the weld which detracts from its appearance unless they are
removed.

2.5 Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW)

This is similar to MIG welding except that the electrode is in the form of a hollow tube filled with flux that
may include metal powder(s). No inert gas is needed.

2.6 Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) or Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
This process uses a non consumable tungsten electrode is used and an arc struck between this and the
workpiece surface.

Fig. 2.6 Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG)

An inert gas is used to shield the weld area and filler rod may be used. The process is well suited to joining
non - ferrous metals, including aluminium, refractory and special metals and is effective for joining thin
section metals. A high degree of skill is needed, but high quality welds can be produced.