May 2013 Cover_4/06 Cover 4/16/13 9:29 AM Page C1

May 2013
WELDING JOURNAL • VOLUME 92 NUMBER 5 • MAY 2013

PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATION OF WELDING
AND ALLIED JOINING AND CUTTING PROCESSES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING BRAZING, SOLDERING, AND THERMAL SPRAYING
select arc_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:52 PM Page C2

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May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 9:41 AM Page 3

CONTENTS May 2013 • Volume 92 • Number 5

AWS Web site www.aws.org

Features Departments
30 Not Your Father’s Gas Shielded Flux Cored Electrodes Editorial ............................4
From general usage to specialized applications, flux cored
Press Time News ..................6
electrodes have come a long way since their early
development News of the Industry ..............8

30 36
T. Myers

Welding Resources for When You’re on the Go

International Update ............12
Stainless Q&A ....................14
RWMA Q&A ......................20
Take a look at what is available in welding apps ready for
download to your tablet or smart phone Product & Print Spotlight ......24
H. Woodward et al. Coming Events....................54
42 Improving Surfacing Performance with GMAW Certification Schedule ..........58
A method of synchronizing polarity is used for applications Conferences ......................60
that require minimal dilution Welding Workbook ..............62
J. C. Dutra et al.
Society News ....................65
48 Exploring the Forces that Shape Droplets during Gas Metal Tech Topics ......................66
Arc Welding Guide to AWS Services ........86
The key to improving gas metal arc welding is understanding
the physics of droplet formation Personnel ........................88
A. Yelistratov Classifieds ........................95
Advertiser Index..................96

Welding Research Supplement

42 133-s Prediction of σ-Phase Embrittlement in Type 316FR
Weld Metal
The weldability of an advanced stainless steel developed for
the harsh service environment of a fast breeder reactor was
investigated
E. J. Chun et al.

140-s Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties

of Simulated Heat-Affected Zones in an Iron-Copper
Based Multicomponent Steel
The HAZ mechanical properties were studied in the welds of
ultrahigh-strength NUCu-140 precipitation hardened steel
J. D. Farren et al.
148-s Preliminary Investigation on Ultrasonic-Assisted
Brazing of Titanium and Titanium/Stainless Steel Joints
The fracture behavior of dissimilar joints made with an ultrasonic-
assisted induction heating system were explored
A. Elrefaey et al.
154-s Dynamic Control of the GTAW Process Using a Human
Welder Response Model
The sensory system of a human welder was used as a model for
intelligent welding systems
W. J. Zhang and Y. M. Zhang
Welding Journal (ISSN 0043-2296) is published
monthly by the American Welding Society for
$120.00 per year in the United States and posses-
sions, $160 per year in foreign countries: $7.50
per single issue for domestic AWS members and
$10.00 per single issue for nonmembers and
$14.00 single issue for international. American
Welding Society is located at 8669 Doral Blvd., Ste.
130, Doral, FL 33166; telephone (305) 443-9353.
Periodicals postage paid in Miami, Fla., and addi-
tional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to Welding Journal, 8669 Doral Blvd.,
Suite 130, Doral, FL 33166. Canada Post: Publi-
cations Mail Agreement #40612608 Canada Re-
turns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box
25542,London, ON N6C 6B2

Readers of Welding Journal may make copies of

articles for personal, archival, educational or
research purposes, and which are not for sale or
resale. Permission is granted to quote from arti-
cles, provided customary acknowledgment of
authors and sources is made. Starred (*) items
excluded from copyright.

On the cover: The fast-freezing slag system of all-position FCAW electrodes al-
lows for better out-of-position welding capabilities. (Photo courtesy of The Lin-
coln Electric Co., Cleveland, Ohio.)

WELDING JOURNAL 3
Editorial May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 1:59 PM Page 4

EDITORIAL
Founded in 1919 to Advance the Science,
Technology and Application of Welding

Why You Should Join the Officers

President Nancy C. Cole
RWMA NCC Engineering

Vice President Dean R. Wilson

My company has a long history in the Resistance Welding Manufacturing Alliance Well-Dean Enterprises
(RWMA) with several of its personnel involved since the organization’s founding in
1935. As this year’s RWMA chair, I have the unique opportunity to not only experience Vice President David J. Landon
regular member benefits, but also to see the workings inside the group. This scope of Vermeer Mfg. Co.
involvement undoubtedly provides my company and me with unique economic value well
Vice President David L. McQuaid
worth the cost of membership.
The focus of our volunteer effort in the resistance welding industry is to advance D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc.
resistance welding technology, broaden its use, and promote its economic benefits. Treasurer Robert G. Pali
Thousands of engineers spanning a time period of more than 100 years have kept resist- J. P. Nissen Co.
ance welding a highly relevant joining process. Through this collective effort, resistance
welding has remained the most cost-effective process available for joining metals in a Executive Director Ray W. Shook
wide range of industries. American Welding Society
RWMA, with the crucial support of AWS, maintains visibility at trade shows and in trade
journals around the world; provides the technical leadership for conducting the Emmet A.
Craig Resistance Welding School held in conjunction with FABTECH each year; provides Directors
nearly every volunteer hour on AWS resistance welding-related technical committees; and T. Anderson (At Large), ITW Global Welding Tech. Center
sponsors content-rich meetings with learning and networking opportunities. U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Miami Diver
The weld school is a mainstay program of the RWMA and AWS. Every year it intro- J. R. Bray (Dist. 18), Affiliated Machinery, Inc.
duces more people to resistance welding for the first time. Nearly everyone in the resist-
ance welding industry either learned the technology from this school or has helped with R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc.
the curriculum and development of the school and the modern foundation of the process G. Fairbanks (Dist. 9), Fairbanks Inspection & Testing Services
found in the Resistance Welding Manual, 4th Edition (2003). T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Victor Technologies
Membership in RWMA also provides access to a wealth of other educational oppor-
D. A. Flood (At Large), Tri Tool, Inc.
tunities. Perhaps most notably, meetings and events feature speakers willing to share
their incomparable and varied industry experience. Speakers at the Spring Annual S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altec Industries
Meeting and Fall Working Meetings range from industry leaders dealing with the short- K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards
age of skilled labor to engineers and researchers giving highly technical presentations J. Jones (Dist. 17), The Harris Products Group
that introduce and teach some of the latest trends and nuances of the technology. These
W. A. Komlos (Dist. 20), ArcTech, LLC
meetings draw a variety of resistance welding experts, such as Dr. Jerry Gould of the
EWI, keynote speaker at the annual meeting held in February in Tampa, Fla. T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory
Another major value resulting from your RWMA membership is networking with key J. Livesay (Dist. 8), Tennessee Technology Center
players in the resistance welding industry. The RWMA presents many different venues M. J. Lucas Jr. (At Large), Belcan Engineering
to meet suppliers, customers, and competitors in a constructive, positive environment.
With the addition of the deep resources of the AWS, RWMA membership has also D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training
become a window to the world market for resistance welding technology. As you may C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc.
already know, AWS has become a leader in presenting welding technology to both devel- J. L. Mendoza (Past President), Lone Star Welding
oped and emerging markets. The focus on developed markets includes FABTECH, S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro
Essen Welding & Cutting Fair, and Tokyo Welding Show. For more than a decade, AWS
has taken a leading role in emerging markets through participation in the Beijing-Essen K. A. Phy (Dist. 6), KA Phy Services, Inc.
Welding & Cutting Fair, Arabia-Essen Welding & Cutting Fair, Brazil Welding Show, W. A. Rice (Past President), OKI Bering
and further refinement of the successful AWS Weldmex Show. RWMA and AWS have R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College
created a compelling value proposition to the members of the Society and are uniquely
D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Marinette Marine Corp.
positioned to bring the best of American ingenuity to the world marketplace.
In a time of limited budgets, very busy calendars, and an overdose of media every day, N. Saminich (Dist. 21), Desert Rose H.S. and Career Center
the RWMA presents clear value to its varied members. With RWMA stepping under the K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
umbrella of AWS as a Standing Committee in 2005, T. A. Siewert (At Large), NIST (ret.)
the future effectiveness of this industry effort could
H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
not be brighter. Your participation in RWMA will not
only benefit you individually but it will benefit all mar- R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), ACH Co.
ket participants collectively in a way that otherwise J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College
would not be possible. It’s in all of our interests to M. R. Wiswesser (Dist. 3), Welder Training & Testing Institute
keep resistance welding technology visible as the most
cost-effective joining process available for many appli- D. Wright (Dist. 16), Zephyr Products, Inc.
cations and help our customers compete worldwide.

Mark B. Gramelspacher
Chair, RWMA

4 MAY 2013
esab_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:45 PM Page 5

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PRESS TIME
NEWS
Publisher Andrew Cullison
GM Invests $332 Million for New Fuel-Efficient Powertrains
Editorial
General Motors Co., Detroit, Mich., will invest nearly $332 million in four manufac- Editorial Director Andrew Cullison
turing sites to produce more fuel-efficient engines and transmissions. Editor Mary Ruth Johnsen
The investment includes $215 million in Flint Engine Operations for a new small Associate Editor Howard M. Woodward
Ecotec gas engine, part of a new engine family that includes three- and four-cylinder Associate Editor Kristin Campbell
variants with displacements from 1.0 to 1.5 L; $55.7 million in Toledo Transmission Op- Editorial Asst./Peer Review Coordinator Melissa Gomez
erations for increased capacity and tooling to produce a new eight-speed automatic
transmission and an existing six-speed transmission; $31.7 million in Bay City Power- Publisher Emeritus Jeff Weber
train, including $19.2 million to produce components for a new V6 engine and $12.5
million to produce components for the small Ecotec gas engine; and $29.4 million in Design and Production
Bedford Castings, including $19 million to produce components for the small gas en- Production Manager Zaida Chavez
Senior Production Coordinator Brenda Flores
gine and $10.4 million to produce components for the new eight-speed and existing six-
Manager of International Periodicals and
speed transmissions.
Electronic Media Carlos Guzman
Also, GM is increasing powertrain investment in plants in Romulus and Saginaw,
Mich., to $646 million for supporting production of the new V6 engine. This consists of Advertising
a $41 million increase to $256 million for Saginaw Metal Castings Operations to pro- National Sales Director Rob Saltzstein
duce castings for the new V6 engine and a $5 million increase to $390 million for Ro- Advertising Sales Representative Lea Paneca
mulus Engine Operations to build the new V6 engines. Advertising Sales Representative Sandra Jorgensen
Combined, the two investments will retain about 1650 jobs at the six facilities. Senior Advertising Production Manager Frank Wilson
Subscriptions
Indiana Foundry Records One Million Worker Hours Subscriptions Representative Tabetha Moore
without a Lost Time Accident tmoore@aws.org

Bremen Castings Inc., Bremen, Ind., a family-owned foundry and machine shop, has American Welding Society
recorded one million worker hours without a lost-time accident, which is defined as an 8669 Doral Blvd., Doral, FL 33166
occurrence that resulted in a fatality, permanent disability, or lost time from work of (305) 443-9353 or (800) 443-9353
one day or shift. Publications, Expositions, Marketing Committee
“We’ve implanted strategies and procedures to make sure that each and every em- D. L. Doench, Chair
ployee is accountable for each other’s safety while at work,” said President J. B. Brown. Hobart Brothers Co.
He added the executive team analyzes “near miss” reports, filed by employees when S. Bartholomew, Vice Chair
they notice something amiss, to determine changes that would prevent accidents from ESAB Welding & Cutting Prod.
occurring in the future. J. D. Weber, Secretary
American Welding Society
D. Brown, Weiler Brush
Broadwind Energy Wins $49 Million in Tower Orders T. Coco, Victor Technologies International
L. Davis, ORS Nasco
Broadwind Energy, Inc., Cicero, Ill., recently announced $49 million in tower orders D. DeCorte, RoMan Mfg.
from U.S. wind turbine manufacturers. This includes the following: $35 million for tow- J. R. Franklin, Sellstrom Mfg. Co.
ers serving various domestic wind projects that will be produced in its Manitowoc, Wis., F. H. Kasnick, Praxair
facility for delivery during 2013 and $14 million for producing towers in its Abilene, Tex., D. Levin, Airgas
facility with delivery scheduled for the second half of 2013. E. C. Lipphardt, Consultant
“We’ve seen a significant improvement in activity, and we are quoting orders for 2014 R. Madden, Hypertherm
delivery as the wind energy industry recovers from the downturn at the end of 2012,” D. Marquard, IBEDA Superflash
said Peter C. Duprey, company president and CEO. J. F. Saenger Jr., Consultant
S. Smith, Weld-Aid Products
D. Wilson, Well-Dean Enterprises
National Safety Council Accepting Submissions N. C. Cole, Ex Off., NCC Engineering
for 2013 Robert W. Campbell Award J. N. DuPont, Ex Off., Lehigh University
L. G. Kvidahl, Ex Off., Northrup Grumman Ship Systems
The National Safety Council (NSC), Itasca, Ill., invites worldwide organizations to D. J. Landon, Ex Off., Vermeer Mfg.
apply for the 2013 Robert W. Campbell Award. Presented annually, it is given to an or- S. P. Moran, Ex Off., Weir American Hydro
ganization that integrates environmental, health, and safety management into the core E. Norman, Ex Off., Southwest Area Career Center
R. G. Pali, Ex Off., J. P. Nissen Co.
of its business operations and understands this is critical to its people, planet, and profit.
N. Scotchmer, Ex Off., Huys Industries
“We are able to capture the best practices of our honorees through the development R. W. Shook, Ex Off., American Welding Society
of case studies detailing their continuous improvement process...we can then share these
lessons learned in boardrooms and classrooms worldwide,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC
president and CEO. Copyright © 2013 by American Welding Society in both printed and elec-
tronic formats. The Society is not responsible for any statement made or
Organizations can take a ten-question quiz at campbellaward.org/ready to determine opinion expressed herein. Data and information developed by the authors
whether they are ready to apply for the award. More information can be found at of specific articles are for informational purposes only and are not in-
tended for use without independent, substantiating investigation on the
campbellaward.org along with application criteria. Final submittals must be postmarked part of potential users.
by May 31.◆

MEMBER
6 MAY 2013
greiner_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:49 PM Page 7

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NEWS OF THE
INDUSTRY

DTE Energy Foundation Makes $1 Million Gift to

Support Career Technology Center
The DTE Energy Foundation recently
made a $1 million contribution to support
the capital campaign for a new Career
Technology Center at Monroe County
Community College (MCCC), Monroe,
Mich.
The $17 million, 60,000-sq-ft center is
scheduled to open in the fall.
It will allow updating and expansion
of existing programs now housed in the
East and West Technology buildings. In-
cluded are program areas such as weld-
ing, nuclear engineering, construction,
computer-aided drafting and manufactur- Pictured with the presentation check are (from left) Fred Shell, vice president
ing, electronics, mechanical engineering of corporate and governmental affairs, DTE Energy, and president of the DTE
and automation, quality assurance, and Energy Foundation; Dr. David Nixon, president, Monroe County Community
automotive engineering and service with College (MCCC); Ron May, senior vice president, major enterprise projects,
an emphasis on hybrid and battery DTE Energy; and William J. Bacarella Jr., chair, board of trustees, MCCC.
technology.
Additionally, the center will provide
facilities and equipment for developing programs in advanced manufacturing; renewable energies such as wind, solar,
and fuel cell technology; and sustainable and green technologies.
The center is being built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver Standards. It will feature the fol-
lowing: a geothermal system; industrial technology division and faculty offices; a computer classroom; and labs for weld-
ing, automation, automotive, construction, electronics, manufacturing, materials, mechanical design, metrology, and re-
newable/nuclear energies.
MCCC Board Chairman William J. Bacarella Jr. added that the college is developing a program to provide more edu-
cational opportunities for young people in southeastern Michigan, while helping to diversify the state’s future work force.
The state of Michigan is financing half the center’s construction costs. The college has committed to funding the other
half through existing funds and a capital campaign.
More information is available at www.monroeccc.edu/ctc.

Washington Governor Creates Weld

on Stateʼs Newest 144-Car Ferry
Washington Governor Jay Inslee kicked off the construction
of M/V Samish, the state’s newest 144-car ferry, by creating the
vessel’s first weld — with the initials of his grandson, Brody Robert
Inslee, into the keel — at Vigor Industrial’s Seattle shipyard.
Vigor CEO Frank Foti welcomed speakers, including Chris
Morgan, vice president of US Fab, the Vigor company building
the ferry; Patty Lent, Bremerton mayor; David Moseley, Wash-
ington State Department of Transportation’s assistant secretary;
and Paula Hammond, Washington’s secretary of transportation.
“More than 200 people will work on this ferry here at Vigor.
Hundreds more skilled craftspeople will build critical compo-
nents of the boat at our subcontractors around the region,” Mor-
gan said.
As he concluded the event, Foti called people’s attention to
the drydock outside the assembly hall where the first 144-car
ferry, Tokitae, is also under construction. US Fab achieved a mile- Washington State Governor Jay Inslee welds the initials of his grand-
stone when workers moved its 270 × 80 × 45 ft superstructure child at the keel laying ceremony for the state’s newest ferry, Samish,
onto the hull while both structures were in floating drydocks. at Vigor Industrial’s Seattle shipyard. (Photo by Stuart Isett/Vigor.)

8 MAY 2013
NI May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 12:59 PM Page 9

Miller to Invest in Regional Engineering

and Robotics Students
Miller Electric Mfg. Co., Appleton, Wis., recently announced
an initiative to promote engineering and robotics education in
the Fox Valley area. This includes $40,000 in scholarships to stu-
dents attending the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley (UWFox)
and employee mentors for these students.
Starting with the fall 2013 semester, scholarships will be
granted for two school years, with $20,000 a year going to pro-
vide financial assistance to UWFox engineering and robotics stu-
dents enrolled through the Fox Valley engineering program. They
are offered through the ITW Foundation, the charitable outreach
of Miller parent company, Illinois Tool Works (ITW), with the
University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley Foundation, Inc.
In addition, Miller and UWFox have established three local
robotics teams with the Boys & Girls Club of Appleton. With the
help of eight Miller employee mentors, they will build robots to
compete in regional VEX Robotics Competitions.

Berry Metal Enhances Developing

Energy-Efficient Ironmaking Technology
Berry Metal Co., Harmony, Pa., in collaboration with AISI
and the University of Utah, is lending its expertise to developing
a flash ironmaking process aimed at establishing an energy-
efficient and environmentally preferred alternative to the tradi-
tional blast furnace process.
The $8.9 million project has been selected by the Department
of Energy as a part of its Innovative Manufacturing Initiative.
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WELDING JOURNAL 9
NI May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 1:00 PM Page 10
This effort has seen support from the government and within the
steel industry due to its potential for cutting down energy use
and environmental emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. The
process utilizes direct gaseous reduction of fine iron concentrates
to make iron and is being powered by natural gas.
Berry’s role in the project so far, and in the future, will be
bringing the technology to life through designing and manufac-
turing the equipment, enabling practical application.
IPC Crowns Winner of Hand Soldering
World Championship
Fu Chunyan of Beijing Railway Signal Co. Ltd. accepts her first
place IPC World Championship hand soldering competition award
from John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO.
The first IPC World Championship hand soldering competi-
tion at IPC APEX EXPO® in San Diego, Calif., on February 21,
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10 MAY 2013
attracted participants from around the globe.
Fu Chunyan of Beijing Railway Signal Co. Ltd. in China earned
first place. She won $1000; a new Metcal soldering station; a Man-
tis inspection system; and a Sovella ESD footrest. In addition,
second place went to Viengkeo (Gail) Sourivongs of Connecti-
cut-based Imperial Electronic Assembly, and the third place prize
went to Wang He of China’s Changchun Institute of Optics.
The contestants built a functional electronics assembly within
a 1-h time limit that was judged in accordance with IPC-A-610E
Class 3 criteria, production speed, and overall electrical
functionality.
Upcoming hand soldering competitions are also planned for
Malaysia, Thailand, and India. For more details, visit
www.ipc.org/hsc.
Coxreels Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary
Coxreels, Tempe, Ariz., a manufacturer of hose, cord, and
cable reels, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The third-
generation, family owned and operated business was established
in 1923 as Cox Air Gauge. Originally aimed at enhancing the au-
tomotive service station market, its of-
fering has grown into a global product
used in more than 24 industries. Many
patents have marked the company’s
milestones. It also designs, builds, and
supports all its products in the United
States.
Coxreels has been in business for 90
years. Displayed is one of the company’s
oldest known catalogs from when it was
known as Coxwells Inc.
The proper
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NI May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 8:28 AM Page 11

Industry Notes
• Camfil Farr Air Pollution Control (APC), Jonesboro, Ark., a
producer of dust and fume collectors to clean up industrial
processes, plus an American Welding Society and International
Thermal Spray Association member, will now operate as Cam-
fil Air Pollution Control (APC). The new Web address for the
company is www.camfilapc.com.

• Masterweld Products, Coplay, Pa., a provider of gas metal arc,

gas tungsten arc, and plasma torches as well as consumables,
has expanded its repair department to include the Houston,
Tex., location. The facility will begin operations on May 1.

• Engine manufacturers, including KOHLER Engines, are warn-

ing users of gas-powered lawnmowers and other outdoor power
equipment to be vigilant when fueling. Blends with more than
10% ethanol, such as E15 and E85, should not be used. They
can cause permanent, irreversible damage not covered under
warranty.

• The Aluminum Association, Arlington, Va., and Metal Powder

Industries Federation, Princeton, N.J., signed a memorandum
of understanding to share metal powder safety information.

• Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina and Forsyth

Technical Community College, Winston-Salem, N.C., have
teamed up to offer welding classes for skills sought by area
companies such as Siemens, Caterpillar, and John Deere-
Hitachi. For more details, visit www.goodwillclasses.org.

• Desert NDT, LLC, Odessa, Tex., has acquired T&K Inspection,

Inc., Williston, N.D. Co-owners Jerry Thompson and Ken Kain
will continue to oversee local office operations.◆

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WELDING JOURNAL 11
May International Update_Layout 1 4/16/13 1:57 PM Page 12
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATE
New Facility Supports Solid-State Laser
Development
The TRUMPF Development Center, with a total floor space of
6200 sq m, contains office space and development laboratories for
solid-state lasers.
TRUMPF, a manufacturer of lasers for industrial use, has
expanded its primary solid-state laser development facility by erect-
ing a new building in the town of Schramberg-Sulgen, Germany.
TRUMPF Laser GmbH + Co. KG has augmented this corpo-
rate site with a structure offering 6200 sq m of floor space. The two-
story structure, measuring 52 × 52 m, houses laser testing labora-
tories, a climate control chamber, and the building’s utility services
on the first floor. The upper floor consists of offices and conference
rooms. With an investment of $17.5 million and 17 months of con-
struction work, development sections at Schramberg, which were
previously located in a number of different buildings around the
site, are now consolidated under a single roof. The company plans
to use the freed up floor space to expand its production capacities
for solid-state lasers.
Chinese Research Center to Feature
Specialized Laboratories
The Sandvik Materials Technology management team and Zhenjiang
local government officials turned the first soil on the site of the new
research center.
Sandvik Materials Technology, a global engineering compa-
ny, plans to invest in a new high-tech research and development
center adjacent to its manufacturing facilities in Zhenjiang,
China. A symbolic ground-breaking ceremony was held on
March 6. Building work on the 1440-sq-m center is set to begin
this summer, with plans to be operational in early 2014. It will
accommodate specialized laboratories, a learning center,
offices, and an exhibition area.
ZZ Zhang, Sandvik China president, said, “The laboratories
will be equipped to the highest standards with modern analyti-
cal equipment, including scanning electron microscopes and
advanced mechanical testing facilities.”
The center will support not only production units, but also
12 MAY 2013
the sales organization and customers with technical training semi-
nars and detailed research into material applications. It will also
provide materials analysis for other Sandvik business areas, specif-
ically Sandvik Construction and Sandvik Machining Solutions.
Wall Colmonoy Joins Forces with
Metaglobal
Wall Colmonoy’s European headquarters in Pontardawe, Wales,
has reached a distributor partnership agreement with Portugal-
based supplier, Metaglobal LDA, to sell surfacing and brazing
products, and castings to the Iberian region. The agreement will
strengthen Wall Colmonoy’s presence, market coverage, and sup-
port to customers in the Iberian region. Metaglobal LDA was
founded in 2006, and has facilities in Lisbon and Leiria, Portugal.
Its sales offices and staff will offer customers support on products,
services, and technologies in industries such as glass, oil and gas,
automotive, and aerospace.
Richard Shaw, commercial director of Wall Colmonoy Ltd., said,
“We are excited to partner with a distributor that can expand our
product reach and deliver technical support that customers can rely
on.” Certain global accounts will continue to be managed directly
by Wall Colmonoy Ltd.; however, all new inquiries for Spain and
Portugal will be handled by Metaglobal.
Westinghouse to Support Argentinaʼs
Steam Generator Replacement
Westinghouse will provide welding services in support of
project Life Extension Embalse Nuclear Power Plant.
(Photo courtesy of Nucleoeléctrica S. A.)
Westinghouse Electric Co. recently announced that its sub-
sidiary, PCI Energy Services, LLC (PCI), has signed a contract
with Nucleoeléctrica Argentina S.A. (NA-SA) to provide engi-
neering, specialty pipe cutting, and welding services in support of
the replacement steam generator program at Argentina’s
Embalse Nuclear Power Plant. This work is part of the overall
refurbishment program at Embalse to extend the plant’s life by
up to an additional 30 years.
Rubén Semmoloni, NA-SA project director, Life Extension
Embalse Nuclear Power Plant, said, “NA-SA values the engage-
ment and participation of PCI in the Embalse life extension proj-
ect, which will further enhance plant safety and operation for
years to come.”
Although the engineering scope of the work for the CANDU-6
pressurized heavy water reactor plant is underway, the major site
activities are expected to be executed during 2014. ♦
fronius_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:49 PM Page 13

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Stainless Q+A MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:18 PM Page 14

STAINLESS
BY DAMIAN J. KOTECKI
Q&A

Q: We have fabricated some 304 stainless

steel tanks using ER308LSi filler metal.
Our customer specified the 304, rather
than 304L, out of cost concerns. Ordinary
tap water is corroding the tanks, beside
the welds. One corroded tank was exam-
ined and found to be sensitized in the
heat-affected zone (HAZ), where the cor-
rosion is occurring. Can we do anything
about the remaining tanks?

A: Sensitization was previously addressed

in the November 2007 Stainless Q&A col-
umn. Briefly, sensitization occurs in those
portions of the heat-affected zone (HAZ)
that reach a peak temperature between
about 480° and 870°C (900° and 1600°F)
when there is enough carbon (more than
0.03%) available to produce precipitation
of chromium-rich carbides along grain
boundaries. Higher peak temperatures
than 870°C either allow chromium to dif-
fuse fast enough to keep up with the car-
bon in forming carbides, or actually cause
the carbides to dissolve. Peak tempera-
tures below about 480°C don’t allow Fig. 1 — Sensitized 304 stainless steel. The chromium carbides responsible for sensitization
enough carbon diffusion to form signifi- appear as black specks along the austenite grain boundaries.
cant chromium carbides during welding.
The carbides have the general formula
M23C6, where M is any metallic element,
but chromium is by far the most concen-
trated metallic element in the carbides.
The carbon atom is a very small atom
that can diffuse rapidly through the stain-
less steel matrix to the grain boundaries, so
that carbon from anywhere in a grain can
reach the grain boundary in this tempera-
ture range. But the chromium atom is a
large atom that diffuses slowly, so that only
chromium from very close to the grain
boundary participates in formation of the
carbides. Formation of the carbides then
tends to produce a chromium-depleted
zone beside the grain boundary. This
chromium-depleted zone, if exposed to a
corrosive medium, is preferentially at-
tacked and dissolved. The corrosion fol-
lows the chromium-depleted zones beside
the grain boundaries and a continuous
network of corrosion along grain bound-
aries causes grains to separate from the
weldment. Figure 1 shows the networks of
chromium carbides along the grain bound-
Fig. 2 — Graphic display of the effects of time and temperature on chromium carbide pre-
aries in a 304 HAZ.
cipitation and intergranular corrosion (IC) in 304 stainless steel.
First, one might ask why your customer
would specify 304 instead of 304L. The
concern about cost made sense many years
ago, but it really doesn’t now. As recently decarburizing was designed to contain William A. Krivsky and his colleagues at
as 1955, the only available methods of pro- only about 2% Cr. Then after decarbur- what was then the Linde Division of Union
ducing low-carbon stainless steel involved ization, expensive low-carbon fer- Carbide Corp. developed the argon-
decarburizing the melt under oxidizing rochromium was added to the melt to oxygen decarburization (AOD) process.
conditions that removed chromium to the reach the intended chromium content in In the AOD process, much cheaper
slag (Ref. 1). As a result, the melt during the stainless steel. But around 1955, Dr. high-carbon ferrochromium was intro-

14 MAY 2013
Stainless Q+A MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:19 PM Page 15

duced into the melt and an argon-oxygen
gas mixture was forced into the melt.
Combustion of the carbon raised the tem-
perature of the melt and removed the car-
bon. As the carbon decreased, the oxygen
content of the gas stream was decreased.
Then ferrosilicon was added to recover
some oxidized chromium from the slag.
The decarburization could be stopped at
whatever carbon level was desired. The
argon cost was more than offset by using
cheap high-carbon ferrochromium in-
stead of expensive low-carbon fer-
rochromium for the alloying.
It took about 15 years to fully debug the
AOD process, but since about 1970, the
AOD process has been the preferred
method of stainless steel refining. It com-
pletely dominates stainless steel refining
in the Western World. Today, I am told
that the price premium for 304L over 304
is about 1.5 to 2 cents/lb. That price dif-
ference is hardly worth considering in view
of the likelihood of sensitization when
welding 304.
There is a second reason that 304 might
be specified. Its specified minimum tensile
strength is 75 ksi (515 MPa) vs. 70 ksi (485
MPa) for 304L, and the specified mini-
mum yield strength of 304 is 30 ksi (205
MPa) vs. 25 ksi (170 MPa) according to
ASTM A240. However, you can purchase
stainless steel that is dual certified as both
304 and 304L (i.e., it is below 0.03% car-
bon but still meets the higher strength re-
quirement of 304). That would take care
of the strength concern.
The second heat treatment involves
considerably lower temperature, but
much longer time. The idea behind this
second heat treatment is to allow the car-
bides to form, but to provide enough time
at temperature to also allow chromium to
diffuse back into the chromium-depleted
zones and eliminate them. This can re-
quire more than 100 h at a temperature
like 760°C (1400°F). Figure 2 illustrates
the effect of temperature on chromium
carbide precipitation and on intergranular
corrosion (labeled “IC attack” in the fig-
ure). It can be seen from this figure, re-
produced from Folkhard (Ref. 2), that
long times at intermediate temperatures
can be used to heal the damage from sen-
sitization. The advantages of this ap-
proach over annealing and quenching is
that distortion will be much less (in part
because no quench is required at the end
of the treatment) and scaling will not
occur although the steel will be oxidized.
So cleanup afterward is less. But 100 h at
760°C is not cheap.
In conclusion, use of 304 in a weldment
that will see corrosive service is not a good
idea. The fix is expensive.♦
References
1. Krivsky, W. A. 1973. Stainless His-
tory, Metallurgical and Materials Transac-
tions, Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 1439–1477.
2. Folkhard, E. 1988. Welding Metal-
lurgy of Stainless Steels. Springer-Verlag,
Vienna.
DAMIAN J. KOTECKI is president,
Damian Kotecki Welding Consultants, Inc.
He is treasurer of the IIW and a member of
the A5D Subcommittee on Stainless Steel
Filler Metals, D1K Subcommittee on Stain-
less Steel Structural Welding; and WRC
Subcommittee on Welding Stainless Steels
and Nickel-Base Alloys. He is a past chair of
the A5 Committee on Filler Metals and Al-
lied Materials, and served as AWS president
(2005–2006). Send questions to damian@
damiankotecki.com, or Damian Kotecki,
c/o Welding Journal Dept., 8669 Doral
Blvd., Ste. 130, Doral, FL 33166.

want to land a job

The above discussion does not solve
your problem, but hopefully it will keep
others from making the same mistake.
Once 304 (or any other nonlow-carbon

after graduation?
stainless steel) has been sensitized, there
are only two ways of removing the sensiti-
zation; both involve heat treatment, and
neither is very palatable. The first is a so- Employers want commercial divers that are internationally certified.
lution anneal followed immediately by
water quench. The annealing temperature
of about 1040°C (1900°F), for an hour or NICAL INS
CH TI
TE T
so, dissolves all of the chromium carbides
A

UT
CD

and diffuses chromium back into the

E

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te’s Commercial
Co Diver
grain boundaries. The water quench from
the annealing temperature is necessary to Pr
Program offers the internationally
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is that the stainless steel oxidizes heavily at
the annealing temperature and tends to Start your career training in an internatio
internationally
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nd Underwater
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distort both at the annealing temperature
and during the quench. A cylindrical
shape, such as a pipe, lends itself to this ap-
proach because the cylindrical shape is
quite stiff, and entering the quench from
one end of an open cylinder greatly limits
distortion. But a tank does not lend itself Financial aid available for
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WELDING JOURNAL 15
Fellow Letter 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 9:11 AM Page 16

Friends and Colleagues:

I want to encourage you to submit nomination packages for those individuals whom you feel
have a history of accomplishments and contributions to our profession consistent with the standards
set by the existing Fellows. In particular, I would make a special request that you look to the most
senior members of your Section or District in considering members for nomination. In many cases,
the colleagues and peers of these individuals who are the most familiar with their contributions, and
who would normally nominate the candidate, are no longer with us. I want to be sure that we take
the extra effort required to make sure that those truly worthy are not overlooked because no obvious
individual was available to start the nomination process.

For specifics on the nomination requirements, please contact Wendy Sue Reeve at AWS
headquarters in Miami, or simply follow the instructions on the Fellow nomination form in this issue
of the Welding Journal. Please remember, we all benefit in the honoring of those who have made
major contributions to our chosen profession and livelihood. The deadline for submission is July 1,
2013. The Committee looks forward to receiving numerous Fellow nominations for 2014
consideration.

Sincerely,

Thomas M. Mustaleski
Chair, AWS Fellows Selection Committee
weld engineering_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:55 PM Page 19

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RWMA May 2013_Layout 1 4/17/13 2:30 PM Page 20

RWMA
Q&A
Q: I am trying to make resistance weld-
ing seams using a single-phase constant
current welding control and am having a
hard time holding the tolerance required
for this military project. We are using a
150-kVA seam welding machine with 3⁄8-
in.-wide welding wheels on 0.040-in. CRS.
The welding transformer tap switch is set
to the #1 position. I checked the learn
BY ROGER HIRSCH
table in the control and see that we are in
the 25–30% range so I know I am not over-
working the welding machine. Do you
have any suggestions?
A: The problem here is a misunder-
standing of how a resistance welding ma-
chine works. Because you are using the
control in this very low heat percentage
range, the output of the welding trans-
former is a series of very small heat pulses
and a lot of spaces in between. This
makes control of the process very sensi-
tive. No matter how good your control is,
it will be very difficult to achieve the de-
sired results with this welding machine.
Welding machine size is also often mis-
understood. The idea that you need a

Fig. 1 — 99% weld heat. Fig. 2 — 50% weld heat.

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20 MAY 2013
RWMA May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 2:01 PM Page 21

Fig. 3 — 30% weld heat. Fig. 4 — 460-V welding machine operating on a 230-V line
at 60% weld heat.

welding machine large enough to join the has no heat. The upper scan shows the each half cycle. The upper scan shows the
thickest metal can also mean it will be way RMS current that results from this firing. RMS current from this setting. A very
too large to do the smaller thickness com- Figure 3 shows what happens with a small change in this heat setting makes a
binations. Some of this problem can be heat setting of 30%, which is similar to large change in the RMS current, and a
overcome by using the welding machine your setup. Note that the amount of time control working in this range will be un-
with the transformer tap switch set at the that voltage is being conducted to the stable and cannot be accurate.
high settings for the thicker metal weld- welding transformer is very small com- A good rule of thumb is to use a resist-
ing, and then going to the low tap switch pared to the time of no voltage flow in ance welding machine with a transformer
setting for thin metals. Sadly, many of the
newer U.S.-made welding machines and
most of the imported welding machines
do not have a transformer tap switch and,
therefore, lose this ability.
To understand why using a welding ma-
chine at a very low heat percent setting is
a problem, you have to understand how a
welding control provides heat in response
to the program settings. The process is
called phase shifting. This is accomplished
by having the welding control fire the SCR
contactor (solid-state switch that conducts
voltage to the welding transformer) at dif-
ferent time delays in each half cycle of the
line power.
Used
If you want to use all of the line volt- Welders,
age, the control will turn on the SCR con-
tactor just after the current in the weld- Positioners,
ing transformer goes to zero. Since a weld-
ing transformer is an inductive device, this
Generators,
will happen a little after the line voltage
goes to zero.
Specialty
eci
ciiallt E
Equipment.
q ipm
Figure 1 shows a welding machine op-
erating at a 99% heat setting. The lower
red trace shows the current going into the
welding transformer primary. Note that
the current is conducted over the entire
sine wave of line power less a small notch
at each zero crossing. This would be about
the same as if you shorted the SCR con-
tactor and put the entire available line
voltage into the welding machine trans-
former. The upper blue scan shows the
RMS current created by this AC firing.
This RMS current is proportional to the
output of the welding transformer.
Figure 2 shows a current scan for a heat
setting of 50%. Note that about half of the reddarc.com 1-866-733-3272
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WELDING JOURNAL 21
RWMA May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 2:01 PM Page 22
tap switch setting that will produce the de-
sired RMS welding current when the con-
trol’s heat setting is between 60 and 90%.
The recommended upper limit of 90% is
to allow the welding control to have the
ability to increase heat to compensate for
incoming line voltage variations. It also
allows for changes in the welding machine
secondary impedance as ferrous metal of
the part is being pushed into the welding
machine throat.
There are several solutions to this type
of control problem:
The first is to set the welding machine
transformer tap switch to a lower number
and then use a higher weld heat setting.
Unfortunately, in your case, you are al-
ready at the lowest setting.
Next, use the correct size welding ma-
chine for the job. If you have a smaller
kVA seam welding machine, move the job
there. As an example, a 75-kVA seam
welding machine will probably find the
proper heat setting in the 60% range to
give control back to the system.
If this is not possible, and if you are
working on a 460-V power line, connect
the welding machine to a 230-V line with
the results as shown in Fig. 4. Be sure to
change the voltage select jumpers in the
control to 230 V. Now you will be in the
60% range since the line voltage ampli-
tude will be lower and you will be using
more of each ½ cycle of this line voltage
to create the desired RMS current for
welding. This will not increase the load on
the power lines since the turns ratio of the
welding transformer will remain the same.
Note that you can operate a 460-V
transformer on a 230-V line, but you can-
not operate a 230-V transformer on a 460-
V line without damaging the transformer.
Compare this to Fig. 3, which shows
the same transformer operating on 460 V
at a 30% weld heat setting. You can eas-
ily see how much more stable the process
is when more of each half-cycle of current
is being used.
Q: I have a project to join a small hanger
strap to the top bell of a fire extinguisher.
The hanger strap has two flat welding
tabs. Each tab has a flat welding area of
about 1⁄2 × 3⁄4 in. The drawing specifies four
small spot welds on each tab. I tried doing
this and cannot get very strong welds.
What am I doing wrong?
A: The problem here is in the hands of the
designer. Many people who design sheet-
metal parts do not have a full understand-
ing of how spot welding works and, as a
result, specify parts that cannot be suc-
cessfully welded. This part seems to be
such a case.
When you make the first of the four
small spot welds, you fuse the metal to
22 MAY 2013
form a nugget. When you try to make the and compensate for any slight misalign-
second spot weld, some of the voltage ment of the parts.
being conducted from the upper to the Another big advantage to using pro-
lower electrode finds an easy path through jections on this part is that you can use flat
the fused metal of the first weld nugget. electrodes. These electrodes will have
This is called shunting. Because of shunt- much longer life than a small spot weld-
ing, the second weld will be considerably ing electrode, and weld strength will not
weaker than the first weld. When you do be dependent on how well the electrodes
the third and fourth welds, the same prob- are dressed.◆
lem continues, but at an even greater level
of strength loss.
Making four welds this close together
will, if you are lucky, produce a total
strength of about 11⁄2 times that of a single
weld. And since the diameter of each weld
nugget will be small enough to fit into this
tab, the total strength of all four welds will
be very low as you have observed. ROGER HIRSCH is past chair of the
The solution is to use welding projec- RWMA, a standing committee of the
tions on the tabs. This will allow the weld- American Welding Society. He is also
ing current to make good separate welds president of Unitrol Electronics, Inc.,
at each projection in one pass of the weld- Northbrook, Ill., a manufacturer of re-
ing machine, and the strength of the over- sistance welding controls and process
all joint will be much closer to the strength water chillers. Send your comments
of a single projection multiplied by the and questions to Roger Hirsch at
number being used. Roger@unitrol-electronics.com, or
In this case, since you are welding a flat by mail to Roger Hirsch, c/o Welding
tab to a curved surface, it would be best Journal, 8669 NW Doral Blvd., Suite
to use two oval-shaped projections placed 130, Doral, FL 33166.
at right angles to the radius of the part.
This will allow the maximum weld area
Change of Address?
Moving?
Make sure delivery of your Welding Journal is not interrupted. Con-
tact the Membership Department with your new address informa-
tion — (800) 443-9353, ext. 204; mtrujillo@aws.org.
REPRINTS REPRINTS
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Request for quotes can be faxed to (219) 874-2849.
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duces the new Jessi Combs women’s line,
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24 MAY 2013
P and P May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:09 PM Page 25
Amp Angel™ autodarkening welding hel-
met, Women’s Shadow™ welding jacket,
and several glove options sized for female
hands. New offerings include custom em-
broidery, a new facial protection category,
welding brushes, welding curtains, and
welding blankets. The catalog’s latest edi-
tion may be requested from the contact
information below.
The Lincoln Electric Co.
www.lincolnelectric.com
(888) 355-3213
Welding Machine Useful
for Shipyards
The portable VR 5000 case has been
developed for dusty, damp, and salty en-
vironments. Used in combination with
GMA power sources from the TransSteel
series for separate wire feed units, it gives
welders a system for shipbuilding, oil-rig
construction, railway-vehicle manufac-
turing, and site erection. With external
dimensions of 507 200 320 mm, it fits
through any manhole of up to 350 mm in
diameter. The unit weighs less than 22 lb
and has interconnecting hose packs of up
to 229 ft long (for gas-cooled welding sys-
tems). It is designed for use with an
11-lb wire spool 200 mm in diameter. The
feeder unit is offered in water- or gas-
cooled, or synergic versions.
Fronius International GmbH
www.fronius.com
(877) 376-6487
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Two-Gas Adjustable Mixer
Configured for Hydrogen
The company’s SuperFlash Mini-PGM
t two-gas adjustable mixer can now be con-
figured for use with hydrogen. Users can
customize hydrogen/argon or hydrogen/
nitrogen mixes to best support their
process, creating their own mixed gas for
GMAW, GTAW, or plasma gouging/cut-
ting/welding. Weighing 7.5 lb and using
less than 1 ft3 of space, the Mini-PGM
provides enough gas for eight welding ma-
chines at approximately 40–50 ft3/h per
machine. Each mixer is fully adjustable
and comes standard with a mounting
bracket.
SuperFlash
www.oxyfuelsafety.com
(888) 327-7306
WELDING JOURNAL 25
P and P May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:10 PM Page 26

Materials Testing Company

Updates Web Site

The company has launched an updated

Web site with new features that provide
easier access to frequently used materi-
als, as well as all of the information and
tools found on the previous site. Calibra-
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tion customers will now find a tabbed sec-

tion dedicated to the capabilities and serv-
ices provided by LTI Metrology, the cali-
bration and dimensional inspection divi-
sion of the company. The Quick Service
Form, accessible under the contact tab or
with the contact us button, provides a con-
venient way to request information on ma-
terials testing, calibration, quality assur-
ance, billing, pickup, and delivery service.
The new site provides easy navigation and
access through the homepage to informa-
tion targeted to specific customers.

Laboratory Testing, Inc.

www.labtesting.com
(800) 219-9095

Fluids Eliminate Hazards

from Mineral Deposits
The company’s new welding chemical
products include a heavy-duty antispatter
and two glycol-based cooling fluids. The
antispatter, which is nonflammable and
solvent based, quickly evaporates to pro-
vide an effective surface coating and
eliminates the need to grind or brush the
surface after welding. The cooling fluids,
designed for use in plasma, GTAW,
GMAW, and resist-
ance welding systems,
eliminate the hazards
of mineral deposits.
The coolants also
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lubricate the pump,

liner, and gasket and
seal. They are ther-
mally stable and have
dielectric properties
that make them suit-
able for plasma and
arc welding systems.

Thermacut, Inc.
www.thermacut.com
(800) 932-8312

26 MAY 2013
P and P May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:10 PM Page 27

Earplugs Available in
Three Damping Levels
The DI Red 25 dB is
a CE-certified indus-
trial hearing protection
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tion in a discrete minia-
ture package and is designed for noisy en- Flux Cored
vironments, either at work or leisure. The
product allows air to enter the ear, reduc-
ing the occlusion effect normally experi-
enced when using earplugs. All of the
Welding
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Abrasives Catalog Includes catalog can be requested from the infor-
mation below or can be downloaded from
HARDFACE
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ing Solutions catalog features nonwoven
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WELDING JOURNAL 27
P and P May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:11 PM Page 28

Grinders Feature
High Power-to-Weight Ratio

The company’s line of CP3850 indus-

trial angle grinders and sanders offers a
high power-to-weight ratio with a 2.8-hp
motor. The CP3850, available in both 7-
and 9-in.-capacity models, weighs less
than 6 lb, allowing easier handling. Many
ergonomic features have been incorpo-
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and productivity, including a vibration-

damping multiposition side handle, auto
balancer, and integrated silencer. Safety
features include a double-action safety
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the operator from debris. The series is en-
gineered for aggressive use in contouring,
deburring, cutting, and sanding in the met-
alworking, transformation, manufactur-
ing, and energy industries.

Chicago Pneumatic
www.cp.com
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Magnetic Boards Track

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Teams focusing on productivity,
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28 MAY 2013
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Myers Feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:53 PM Page 30

BY TOM MYERS
TOM MYERS is a senior
applications engineer,
The Lincoln Electric Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio,
www.lincolnelectric.com.

Not Your Father’s

Gas Shielded
Flux Cored Fig. 1 — In years
past, a limited
number of FCAW-G

Electrodes electrode options

were offered to
fabricators.

FCAW-G consumables have steadily evolved into

application-specific productivity workhorses

E
lectrodes for the gas shielded, flux
cored arc welding (FCAW-G)
process were first developed in the
late 1950s. Over the next 40 years or so,
manufacturers refined and improved
these products, offering a fairly limited
line of carbon steel and low-alloy steel
electrodes for either all-position welding
or flat and horizontal only (i.e., in-posi-
tion) welding — Fig. 1.
During this time, there also were rel-
atively few variations in the formulations
of electrodes within a specific American
Welding Society (AWS) classification. In
many cases, one particular electrode was
intended to be used for a variety of ap-
plications. Oftentimes it was intended to
be used with either 100% carbon dioxide
(CO 2) shielding gas or a mixed argon
(Ar)/CO2 shielding gas.
Back then, the general manufacturing
philosophy was to develop an electrode
that was in essence a “one-size-fits-all”
product. This philosophy was partially
successful in meeting the demands of the
welding market during this time. How-
ever, today’s structural engineers and in-
dustrial designers are increasingly speci-
fying higher-strength, lower-weight steels
for cost savings and productivity consid-
erations, making these base materials a
popular choice in many industries.
These new specifications demand the

30 MAY 2013
Myers Feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:53 PM Page 31
Fig. 2 — The fast-freezing slag
system of all-position FCAW
electrodes allows for better out-
of-position welding capabilities.
need for low-alloy FCAW-G electrodes
that produce welds with increased ten-
sile and yield strengths (compared to car-
bon steel electrodes) for welding these
higher-strength steels. Other applica-
tions require electrodes that produce
welds with improved impact properties.
Generally, electrodes needed to produce
welds with low-temperature toughness of
at least 20 ft·lbf (27 J) at a test tempera-
ture of 0°F (–18°C) or –20°F (–29°C).
Some applications now require these
same absorbed energy values at temper-
atures of –40°F (–40°C) or even lower.
Similarly, operator demand for just
the “right” application-specific, flux
cored electrode has steadily increased
over the past five to ten years to keep up
with a growing desire for increased weld
productivity, performance, and quality,
not to mention aesthetics.
Because of this increased specifica-
tion of new materials, combined with de-
mands for more customized, efficient
electrodes, manufacturers have been re-
turning to their R&D drawing boards to
develop new gas shielded, flux cored con-
sumables.
Fundamentals and
Advantages of FCAW
Electrodes
Flux cored electrodes were originally
developed as a higher productivity exten-
sion of shielded metal arc welding
(SMAW) electrodes. They are, in fact,
like a SMAW electrode turned inside out.
They consist of a steel tube (i.e., outer
steel sheath) with flux inside the tube or
at the electrode’s core, hence the name,
“flux core.” Because of this design, the
electrode can be wound onto a coil or
spool, and with the use of a wire feeder
and welding gun, be fed continuously into
the weld joint.
Flux cored electrodes fall into two
fundamentally different categories: self-
shielded, flux cored electrodes (FCAW-
S) and gas shielded, flux cored electrodes
(FCAW-G).
Gas shielded, flux cored electrodes in-
corporate a double shielding system by
using an external shielding gas as well as
a slag system. The shielding gas is re-
quired to protect the arc and molten
metal from the atmosphere. It also re-
sults in exceptionally smooth arc charac-
teristics, compared to self-shielded elec-
trodes. They use either a rutile slag sys-
tem or a basic slag system. The rutile sys-
tem is the most common and is charac-
terized by a smooth arc with complete
slag coverage of the weld. The basic slag
system, while producing a globular metal
WELDING JOURNAL 31
Myers Feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:54 PM Page 32

Fig. 3 — While the use of a one-size-

fits-all electrode for a wide range of
applications can deliver adequate
arc performance, a single electrode
cannot perform well in every appli-
cation.

transfer and thinner slag coverage, can

be more resistant to weld cold cracking.
Most FCAW-G electrodes are ideal
for all-position welding and all deliver
great mechanical properties with high
deposition rates. They are used effec-
tively in general shop fabrication, struc-
tural steel (including seismic applica-
tions), shipbuilding, offshore, pipeline,
and other applications.
Flux cored arc welding electrodes can
be used similarly to SMAW electrodes
with a few notable benefits in the process
itself. First, SMAW electrodes must be
fed manually into a weld joint, making
only short welds and resulting in a lot of
stop and restart areas in the weld. Restart
areas generally have a higher chance of
containing a weld defect than any other
part of the weld. With the FCAW process,
the weld can be made for as long as
welders can comfortably reach before
having to stop the arc and reposition
themselves. This results in fewer restart
areas in the weld and, ultimately, fewer
chances for weld defects.
The FCAW process also has a higher
operating factor than the SMAW process
(where operating factor (%) equals arc
time divided by total fabrication time).
It’s also easier to use. It operates at
higher current levels, which yields higher
deposition rates and higher productivity.
Finally, FCAW electrodes have higher
electrode efficiency than SMAW elec-
trodes. This means that more of the pur-
chased pounds (kg) of electrode end up
as deposited weld metal and less is lost
through stubs.
Flux cored electrodes, with their slag characteristics, making them ideal for Flux cored arc welding electrodes are
systems, also have inherent advantages thicker sections of steel plate. considered to be “fabricated” electrodes
over slagless processes, such as gas metal Flux cored arc welding electrodes also and, thus, provide a good platform for
arc welding (GMAW). The fast-freezing handle surface contaminants on steel manufacturing new low-alloy electrodes.
slag system of all-position-classified plate better than solid GMAW elec- The outer sheath on FCAW electrodes —
FCAW electrodes allows for better out- trodes. Not only are deoxidizers present even low-alloy types — are fabricated
of-position welding capability, including in the outer carbon steel sheath of FCAW from types of carbon steels that are either
vertical and overhead, as the slag helps electrodes, but deoxidizers, denitrifiers, strip-based or green rod-based, both of
hold the molten metal against gravity — and scavenger elements are also added which are commonly available from steel
Fig. 2. Flux cored electrodes produce to the core elements, while solid GMAW mills. As such, the core ingredients for
higher deposition rates when welding out electrodes can only rely on the deoxidiz- various FCAW electrodes then can be al-
of position than do GMAW consumables. ers that are present in the raw green rod tered to produce low-alloy weld deposits
In addition, many in-position-classified material, which is drawn down to make with differing mechanical properties.
FCAW electrodes have good penetration them. In contrast, low-alloy solid GMAW

32 MAY 2013
Myers Feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:54 PM Page 33
wire cannot be fabricated. The final
chemistry of the electrode can only be
achieved by purchasing it as the raw
green rod steel. Low-alloy green rod can
be more expensive and difficult to source
than carbon-steel green rod.
Concerns with One-Size-
Fits-All Electrodes
The traditional multipurpose ap-
proach toward FCAW-G electrodes has
proven to be increasingly ineffective over
the years. While the use of a one-size-
fits-all electrode for a wide range of ap-
plications can deliver adequate arc per-
formance, the reach for a single electrode
to perform well in every application is
just too broad — Fig. 3. As a result, the
arc is never optimized.
Why? One electrode used with both
100% CO 2 and mixed gas (i.e., 75%
Ar/25% CO2) has to have a fine chemi-
cal balance in order to meet the mini-
mum and maximum mechanical property
requirements of its AWS classifications
with either type of shielding gas. Carbon
Fig. 4 — Some industries, such as
pipeline fabrication, often require
FCAW-G electrodes that produce
welds with a minimum low-temper-
ature toughness of 20 ft-lbf (27 J)
at –40°F (–40°C).
dioxide is an active gas, meaning that it
actively reacts with some of the elec-
trode’s alloys. Less alloy recovery from
the electrode occurs in the weld pool, re-
sulting in a slight decrease in mechani-
cal properties, such as ultimate tensile
strength and yield strength. Argon, an
inert gas, is nonreactive in the arc. There-
fore, the more argon in a mixed gas, the
more alloy recovery that occurs in the
weld pool. This results in a slight increase
in both tensile and yield strengths.
Hydrogen levels also play a role in why
FCAW-G electrodes are becoming more
specific, moving away from the one-size-
fits-all design structure of the past. Lower
levels of diffusible hydrogen in weld de-
posits means that such welds will have
higher resistance to hydrogen-induced
cracking.
Welding consumables can be classi-
fied with an optional diffusible hydrogen
designator. These designators include
the letter “H” and a number, which indi-
cate maximum milliliters of diffusible hy-
drogen per 100 g of weld metal. Most
FCAW-G electrodes today meet a dif-
fusible hydrogen rating of H8, with some
meeting a very low rating of H4.
Some industries, such as shipbuild-
ing/barge building, have increasingly
pushed the deposition rate capabilities
of all-position FCAW-G electrodes. Gen-
erally, when welding in position or with
gravity, welders can utilize faster wire
feed speed procedures to produce higher
deposition rates than they can when
welding out of position or against grav-
ity. However, because of remote welding
locations and limited access to their weld-
ing equipment, welders often cannot eas-
ily turn up their procedures when they
transition from out-of-position to in-po-
sition welding. Therefore, they need one
set of welding procedures for FCAW-G
electrodes that produce maximum depo-
sition rates for out-of-position welding
and still produce high deposition rates
for in-position welding. Many of the orig-
inal one-size-fits-all FCAW-G electrodes
could only be pushed so far before the
slag system would not support the addi-
tional molten weld metal. Therefore, new
WELDING JOURNAL 33
Myers Feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:54 PM Page 34
FCAW-G electrodes were needed with a
different type of slag system. These high-
deposition or “HD” electrodes have very
fast freezing slag systems that better sup-
port higher wire feed speed welding
procedures.
Additionally, many industries have
had increased requirements for weld
metal with improved impact properties.
The original one-size-fits-all FCAW-G
electrodes were designed to produce
welds with a minimum low-temperature
toughness of 20 ft-lbf (27 J) at 0°F or 20
ft-lbf (27 J) at –20°F. Some industries,
such as offshore and pipeline fabrication
(Fig. 4), often require FCAW-G elec-
trodes that produce welds with a mini-
mum low temperature toughness of 20
ft-lbf (27 J) at –40°F. These more strin-
gent requirements have necessitated the
need for new FCAW-G electrodes with
improved impact properties.
In other cases, FCAW-G electrodes
have been increasingly used on weld-
ments that must be stress relieved after
welding. In general, after postweld heat
treatment (PWHT), the tensile and yield
strength of the weld drops to a certain
degree. When the weld from a one-size-
fits-all FCAW-G electrode is stress re-
lieved, you can run the risk of the tensile
and yield strengths dropping below the
minimum specified levels. Therefore,
PWHT applications have led to the need
for more specialized FCAW-G electrodes
that have an altered chemical formula-
tion. These electrodes are designed to
have a minimal drop in tensile and yield
strength after stress relief.
With such changeable factors as
shielding gas, diffusible hydrogen levels,
deposition rate needs, and mechanical
property requirements, as well as differ-
ent grades of steel, coming into play in
the FCAW-G arena, the scope and ver-
satility of a one-size-fits-all electrode has
become increasingly narrower. This chal-
lenges manufacturers to meet stringent
mechanical properties on a consistent
basis with traditional multipurpose
FCAW-G electrode design.
New Approach to Design
To meet various industry-specific re-
quirements and operator demands for
mechanical properties, performance, and
aesthetics, manufacturers now are
designing and producing application-
targeted, next-generation FCAW-G con-
sumables with specific industries in mind.
In addition, many of the FCAW-G
electrodes today have been designed for
use with only one type of shielding gas in
34 MAY 2013
Fig. 5 — Manufacturers must bal-
ance three components when they
design an FCAW-G electrode — op-
erability, mechanical properties,
and diffusible hydrogen levels.
order to produce optimum operator ap-
peal and the targeted mechanical prop-
erties. They either will be for use with
100% CO2 or a mixed blend, consisting
of 75– 85% Ar/balance CO 2 (with 75%
Ar/25% CO2 the most popular blend).
The required shielding gas is now also
incorporated into the electrode’s AWS
classification number. For example, the
“C” in an E71T-1C classified electrode
specifies that it is for use with CO2 shield-
ing gas, while the “M” in an E71T-1M
classified electrode specifies that it is for
use with mixed shielding gas. Electrodes
that are still designed for use with either
type of shielding gas are dual classified,
such as “E71T-1C/E71T-1M.”
Furthermore, operator appeal of low-
alloy FCAW-G electrodes also has im-
proved. A welder can weld with a carbon
steel FCAW-G electrode or a low-alloy
FCAW-G electrode and not really see a
difference in arc performance. This re-
sults from the fact that manufacturers
have succeeded in coming up with a stan-
dard slag system for families of elec-
trodes. Individual electrodes can be mod-
ified for different applications by tweak-
ing the alloy formulation in the elec-
trode’s core so that welders and fabrica-
tors will see similar operating character-
istics, no matter the application.
Electrode Design
Producing a successful FCAW-G elec-
trode comes down to balance in the de-
sign and manufacture of the electrodes.
Manufacturers have worked to develop
FCAW-G consumables that consistently
meet mechanical properties, without
compromising quality and aesthetics.
They do so without taking it to the ex-
treme. They avoid creating an electrode
that produces mechanical properties that
are so robust that they tip the scale on
operability.
Think of the three key components of
electrode design as a triangle — Fig. 5.
On one side, you have operability. On the
second side, you have mechanical prop-
erties. On the third side, you have dif-
fusible hydrogen levels.
Targeted product development has al-
lowed manufacturers to design “families”
of FCAW-G electrodes, each aimed for
different applications in specific indus-
try segments. Each family balances the
three sides of the design triangle to avoid
compromising any one of those compo-
nents and, thus, delivers a robustly per-
forming electrode.
Application-Specific
FCAW Electrodes
Today, manufacturers of FCAW elec-
trodes offer broad product lines, with
many electrodes designed for specific ap-
plications and industries. Examples of
more specialized FCAW-G electrodes in-
clude ones designed for the following
uses:
• with one specific type of shielding gas
such as UltraCore® 71C and Ultra-
Core® 71A85 from The Lincoln Elec-
tric Co.
• for higher-strength steels (i.e., 80-,
90-, and 100-ksi minimum tensile
strength).
• “HD” type for high-deposition, out-of-
position capability (i.e., UltraCore®
HD-C and HD-M).
• for exceptionally high deposition rates
in the flat and horizontal positions.
• for improved low-temperature tough-
ness properties.
• “SR” type for stress-relieved applica-
tions.
• for pipe welding applications such as
Pipeliner® 81M, 101M, and 111M.
• for chromium-molybdenum (Cr-Mo)
steels.
Welders now have a broad choice of
electrodes designed for a variety of spe-
cific applications and industries, expand-
ing the range of use, as well as overall
quality and productivity. With improved
operating characteristics and perform-
ance, these enhanced, highly efficient
products are truly not our fathers’ flux
cored electrodes.◆
weld aid_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:55 PM Page 35

For Info go to www.aws.org/ad-index

Woodward et al feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 8:26 AM Page 36
Welding Resources
for When You’re
on the Go
A search found plenty
of free, easy-to-use,
welding-related apps
BY HOWARD WOODWARD, MARY RUTH JOHNSEN,
CARLOS GUZMAN, AND KRISTIN CAMPBELL
S
ure you can play games, work on a
crossword puzzle, count calories,
track your exercise regimen, and
manipulate photos through any number
of applications (apps) on your smart
phone or tablet, but can your work bene-
fit from the use of an app? It so happens
that when you Google “welding apps,”
you’ll discover a lengthy list for download
to both Android and Apple smart phones
and tablets.
Many apps are intuitive and require
no instruction to use. The topics include
selecting equipment, inspection data,
weld joint design, calculators, code stan-
dards, test questions, safety, etc. After
the initial downloading, most apps func-
tion without an Internet connection.
Apps usually begin by asking you to
answer a few questions to define your sit-
uation, then open a scroll-down page
with the answers or recommended set-
tings, data chart, a table, equipment set-
tings, required filler metals, etc.
The apps offered by equipment and
consumables manufacturers make it easy
to compare the features and capabilities
HOWARD WOODWARD (woodward@aws.org) is associate editor, MARY RUTH JOHNSEN (mjohnsen@aws.org) is editor, and KRISTIN
CAMPBELL (kcampbell@aws.org) is associate editor of the Welding Journal. CARLOS GUZMAN (cguzman@aws.org) is editor of the
Welding Journal en Español.
36 MAY 2013
of each of their offerings to clarify the im-
portant features to consider when shop-
ping for these items.
While many full-featured apps can be
downloaded free of charge, some free
apps are “Lite” versions that offer basic
versatility to promote purchasing the
“Full” version. Although some are lim-
ited in scope, a Lite version may be worth
checking out since the information it of-
fers may be all you require for your daily
needs.
A bonus to using mobile apps is their
potential educational value. You can eas-
ily “experiment” with different metals,
material thicknesses, processes, etc., to
get a feel for how various processes work.
Following are brief descriptions of a
cross section of welding-related apps
available for free downloading onto your
smart phone or tablet. To search for these
and other apps, just Google your topic
or the app’s name. You can often find
useful apps offered on welding equip-
ment manufacturers’ Web sites. Check
for new apps online occasionally, since
they are added and updated daily.
1 Help for Selecting
Power Generators.
This well-organized, easy-to-use app
details Multiquip’s line of MQ Power
WhisperWatt Super-Silent portable 5- to
450-hp generators designed to provide
power under the harsh conditions at con-
struction sites, entertainment venues,
and disaster-recovery operations. The
data are intuitively organized into com-
pact files that permit uncluttered viewing
of images and text on the small smart-
phone screens.
Opening the app for the first time
(Fig. 1) reveals a “Begin” button. Once
tapped, it opens a screen that scrolls
through 19 sizes of generators from 5 to
450 hp.
Tapping the hp size of your choice
opens a screen showing the several volt-
age ranges available for that size genera-
tor. Tapping a voltage range opens a page
illustrating the recommended generator
including its prime, standby, and voltage
dip ratings. Tapping that page opens a
Woodward et al feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 8:26 AM Page 37

simple questions. After entering the B

Fig. 1 — Multiquip MQ Power Genera-
tor Selector app as it appears on a
smart phone.
metal information, the calculator will dis-
play the suggested wire size, wire feed
speed and shielding gas settings, and volt-
age and current ranges.
The opening page of this app displays
a screen with four large icons labeled
MIG (Solid Wire), MIG (Flux Cored),
STICK, and TIG, plus a row of icons for
accessing YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,
and e-mail contact.
For example, touching the MIG (Solid
Wire) icon asks you the following two
questions: 1. What material are you weld-
ing? (The choices are aluminum, stain-
less steel, and steel); and 2. How thick is
the material? (The choices range from 1⁄8
to 1⁄2 in. and up.) After entering these
data, touch the “Get Settings” icon to
view the recommended settings and Fig. 3A and B — The 3M app offers
other suggestions. a guide for protecting yourself
against a variety of specific indus-

3
menu listing pages detailing this genera- App Provides Fast trial airborne contaminants.
tor’s specifications, dimensions, weights, Access to Respirator
engine specifications, trailer require-
ments, various options, plus a “Docu-
Info. the iPhone, this app is expected to be
ments” file that opens to offer a number available in December for Android-
This app from 3M is designed for in-
of PDF spec sheets and equipment based smart phones.
dustrial hygienists and safety profession-
brochures. A “Contact Us” button also
als who want rapid access to respirator
appears on this page that when touched
opens into a short form for writing an e-
mail message to the company.
guide information on their smart phones.
The guide identifies facepieces, car-
tridges, and filters including an overview
4 Pipefitter’s Reference
App.
of qualitative fit-testing protocols and The opening screen details (Welded)

2 Calculator Fine Tunes

Your Welding Machine.
This calculator (Fig. 2) from Miller
Electric Mfg. Co. is designed to help you
tune your welding machine for optimal
results based on your answers to a few
how to conduct the fit tests for a variety
of specific contaminants found in indus-
trial environments — Fig. 3A.
After the user enters the chemical
name, the app presents the company’s
recommendations for the appropriate
type of respiratory protection for that
contaminant — Fig. 3B. Included is a fre-
quently asked questions section and
product catalog. Currently available for
Flange Dimensions. The tabs shown are
Series 150, 300, 600, 900, and 1500; Valve
Dimensions; 1⁄2 Dimensions; Reducing
Tees; Pipe Schedules; and Abbreviations.
Touching the “Series Flange 600” tab, for
example, opens a table cross-referencing
Pipe Size, Wrench Size, Stud Length,
Raised Face, Gasket, and Ring Joint.
Touching the Pipe Schedules tab
opens a table displaying Nominal Wall
Thicknesses for commonly used pipes.

A
5 Ultrasound Calc Lite
Version App.

The first page presents three tabs la-

beled Transducers Physical Principles,
Characteristics of Ultrasonic Waves, and
Fundamental Principles of Ultrasonic
Wave Propagation.
Touching the Fundamental Principles
tab reveals three tabs for Snell’s Law Cal-
culations, Geometry Calculations, and
Basic Skip Calculations. Touching the
Basic Skip tab, for example, opens a
screen for the user to enter wall thick-
ness of the piece, refracted angle in the
Fig. 2 — The opening screen of Miller piece, half skip, full skip, and sound path
Electric’s weld setting calculator. numbers to complete the calculations.

WELDING JOURNAL 37
Woodward et al feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 8:27 AM Page 38

6 Phased Array Wizard Once installed, it has a login process

Lite. for the program’s users to input their ex-
isting username/password.
Features include the following: a list
This app offers a wealth of informa-
of companies to see machine data and pro-
tion beginning with five opening tabs la-
duction details; an overview of all ma-
beled PA Transducer Parameters, Wedge
chines and live status indicator; dashboard
Calculation, PA Inspection, Acoustic Pa-
widgets for each machine, an alerts his-
rameters of Materials, and Glossary.
tory, and lists of all events/alarms gener-
Touching the Parameters of Materials
ated by the machine; downloadable doc-
tab opens tabs for selecting aluminum,
uments and manuals; historical trending
brass, copper, glycerine, lead, nickel,
data for potential issues while walking the
Plexiglass, Rexolite, steel, titanium, and
shop floor; and scanning barcodes using
water. Touching a material’s tab presents
the phone’s camera for operator ID, part
its long and transverse velocities, density
serial number, and consumable lot code.
in g/cc, and the longitudinal and trans-
The app works for Blackberry (sup-
verse acoustic impedances.
ports OS 5.0 and greater), iPhone (sup-
ports iOS 4.3 and greater), and Android

7 ISMT Tube Calc Limited. phones.

This basic app is an easy-to-use

Tube/Bar Weight Calculator. The open-
ing screen prompts you to enter two val-
9 Discover Wheel Speed
Calculations.

ues from the menu of Diameter, Thick-
ness, Inside Diameter, and Length. As
an example, typing in 6-in. diameter,
0.25-in. wall, and 25-ft length displays a
table listing the parameters with a total
weight of 384.9 lb.
The Norton Abrasives grinding app of-
fers calculators for a coolant, dressing pa-
rameter, and wheel speed. The portable
grinder product selector has areas for se-
lecting the application, material, and pri-
mary/secondary attributes. Postal codes
can be entered in the distributor locator
lookup. The application inquiry features
Fig. 6 — The ShopFloorTalk app has
many forums, including one for welding
processes.
ing, fabrication, machining, and general
metalwork of all kinds — Fig. 6.
The welding and metalworking fo-

8 Check Live Welding

Machine Status
Reports.
The Lincoln Electric Co.’s Check-
Point™ app allows viewing live welding
machine status and production reports
on mobile devices — Fig. 4.
options for general information, machine
tool, abrasive and dressing products, work
material, and operational factors. Also
provided are sections for logging into an
abrasive connection site and contacting
the company — Fig. 5.
The app is available for iOS and
Android operating systems on mobile
devices.
rums offer the following topics: fabrica-
tion; equipment, suppliers, and original
equipment manufacturers; welding
processes; machining; metallurgy and
materials; shop safety; shop; general
welding information; SFT information,
workshops, and support; and business.
These sections have numerous posts,
including photos of finished, painted art-
works; questions and answers from what
welding process to use and when; tips for
getting customers; and much more.
There is also a members only forum.
To post messages, users must register;
provide profile information; and then ac-
tivate their account.
The app is compatible with the
iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad; requires
iOS 4.3 or later; is optimized for the
iPhone 5; and Android (1.5 and up).

Fig. 5 — Among Norton’s app offerings

are calculators for a coolant, dressing
parameter, and wheel speed.
11 Select Job Materials for
the Metalworking
Industry.
The Tool Steel Selection Guide app

10 Discuss Welding and

Fig. 4 — Lincoln’s app enables explo-
ration of a robot’s in limit, out of limit,
and total welds.
Metalworking Topics.
The ShopFloorTalk (SFT) app by End
of Time Studios, LLC, provides a discus-
sion forum for users interested in weld-
by Lindquist Steels, Inc., is for tool mak-
ers and designers, engineers, and users
interested in selecting and utilizing the
company’s materials — Fig. 7.
The build tab asks users the following
question: What would you like to create

38 MAY 2013
Woodward et al feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 8:27 AM Page 39
Fig. 7 — Lindquist’s app acts as a ref-
erence guide to work around tool pro-
duction needs.
today? An A–Z list has keywords from
aluminum extrusion tooling to zinc die
cast dies. By clicking on each term, sug-
gested materials from low to high pro-
duction value are found. Another area
for materials can also be explored.
In addition, users can obtain a
quote/order, discover the company’s his-
tory, and find contact details.
The app is compatible with the iPhone
(3GS, 4, 4S, and 5); iPod touch (3rd, 4th,
and 5th generations); and iPad.
12 Identify the Welding
Parameters for Your
Next Job.
The Welding Parameters Set-Up
Guide app from ESAB Welding & Cut-
ting Products provides users with the
welding parameters they need for a par-
ticular job, including wire feed speed,
voltage, current, and inductance — Fig.
8. The first step is to select solid wire or
flux-cored wire at the bottom of the
screen. If the user selects solid wire, it
will then ask what type of material, thick-
ness, wire type, and gas type will be used
(each of these are selected through
scroll-down listings). The guide then lists
the recommended settings. If flux-cored
wire is chosen, the guide asks users to se-
lect material thickness and wire type be-
fore listing the settings.
The app is compatible with iPhone,
iPod touch, iPad, Blackberry, and An-
droid devices.
Fig. 8 — Users plug a few pieces of in-
formation into ESAB’s Welding Parame-
ters Set-Up Guide and receive data that
can be used to set up their welding ma-
chine and adjust it to their specific ap-
plication requirements.
13 Help with Interpreting
Industrial Radiographs.
The Code 313 app (Fig. 9) is a calcu-
lator for interpreting industrial radi-
ographs in accordance with ASME B31.3,
Process Piping. The app’s developer
warns that the app does not replace the
code itself, nor the need to have the code,
but is a calculator to help you verify your
own interpretation. To use the app, you
Fig. 9 — Code 313 helps with interpreta-
tions of industrial radiographs.
type in the thickness of the weld and it
calculates the most common discontinu-
ities including cracks, incomplete pene-
tration, internal porosity, slag, undercut-
ting, and concave root. It also calculates
the sizes of image quality indicators
(IQIs) needed. The IQI area has three
sections for welds with no reinforcement
and welds reinforced on one or both
sides.
Lance Henderson, the app’s devel-
oper, offers four other free apps: X-Ray
Timer, Density, Ug Calc, and Barricade.
Information is available at www.lance-
henderson.com as well as through the
Apple app store.
14 Calculates Weld Costs.
The Welding Pro app by Certilas Ned-
erland BV, a maker of welding consum-
ables in The Netherlands, provides weld
cost calculations for fillet welds, and sin-
gle-V, double-V, and double bevel butt
joints — Fig. 10. It allows users to quickly
compare labor, gas, and filler metal costs.
Users pick the type of weld they will be
making (fillet or groove), then select
welding process, amperage, duty cycle,
type of electrode, etc. Users also desig-
nate whether they are welding steel,
stainless steel, or aluminum. While the
app is set up for metric units and euros,
a tap on the settings button allows users
to switch to Imperial Standard units and
dollars. It also displays the most recent
calculations and users can designate cer-
tain calculations as “favorites” that can
be stored and retrieved later. Requires
Android 2.2 and up or iOS 4.3 or later.
Fig. 10 — Welding Pro allows users to
quickly compare labor, gas, and filler
metal costs.
WELDING JOURNAL 39
Woodward et al feature May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 8:27 AM Page 40
15 Troubleshoot
Resistance Spot
Welding.
The Resistance Spot Welding Trou-
bleshooting App by Miyachi Unitek of-
fers a quick guide to solving common
problems found in the RSW process —
Fig. 11. The sharp interface is simple to
use and is well laid out. There are four
main menus or tabs: Instructions, Guide-
lines, Troubleshoot, and Info. By tapping
on the Troubleshoot tab, the user is able
to choose from a variety of possible symp-
toms or problems: overheating of weld-
ment, discoloration, weak weld, insuffi-
cient nugget, metal expulsion, sparking,
inconsistent welds, electrode damage,
and electrode sticking. Solutions are pre-
sented in four categories: material, elec-
trode, weldhead, and power supply.
Additionally, the user selects one of
four priority levels, according to the most
likely cause of the problem. For exam-
ple, if overheating of weldment is the
most likely cause of the problem, select
Priority 1 and the app reveals that it may
be caused by excess time. This suggestion
appears in the Power Supply Related
field. Tap on this field and a possible so-
lution is shown (in this case, “Decrease
weld time in steps of 5–10% ...”).
Although the solutions presented in
this app are brief and may not cover all
variables, it’s a good starting point for
professionals and a worthwhile tool for
educational purposes. This Miyachi
Unitek app is available for iPad, iPhone,
and Android.
Fig. 11 — By tapping on the Troubleshoot
tab, the user is able to choose from a va-
riety of possible symptoms or problems.
40 MAY 2013
16 Growing Catalog of
Welding Calculators.
AxonCalc has developed a series of
app calculators for welding, mechanical,
and materials engineering — Fig. 12. The
Welding AxonCalc app includes the fol-
lowing calculators: Carbon Equivalent
and Composition Parameter (PCM), Pre-
Heat and Interpass Temperature, Maxi-
mum Hi-Lo at Internal Diameter for
Pipes, Hi-Lo at Internal Diameter at Spe-
cific Location for Pipes, and Arc Weld-
ing Heat Input Calculator.
Designed with a legible and attractive
interface, the AxonCalc calculators are
easy to navigate and use. For example,
the Arc Welding Heat Input calculator
Fig. 12 — AxonCalc welding calculators
have a clean interface that is easy to
use.
has fields for inputting current, voltage,
and travel speed alone or travel speed
and time. The results, which can be
copied onto the device’s memory or
e-mailed directly from the application,
are displayed in both kJ/in. and kJ/mm.
This free app contains demos of all
the welding calculators, which lets the
user try them before committing to buy,
and the company has plans to expand the
collection regularly. Additional app
demos can be found on the company’s
Web site: www.axoncalc.com.
17 Look Up Cut Charts
and Error Codes.
The Thermal Dynamics Cut Chart is
designed for the company’s Ultra-Cut
series of high-precision automated
plasma systems — Fig. 13. The app of-
fers a cut chart for Ultra-Cut with
DPC3000 and error codes for all Ultra-
Cut as well as Auto-Cut systems — Fig.
13.
Under the best cut division, users can
select the appropriate material type, in-
cluding aluminum, mild steel, and stain-
less, along with the thickness (gauge, in.,
or mm). Corresponding options will ap-
pear, and some materials have multiple
options. Entering error codes will enable
viewing troubleshooting suggestions.
Also, there are sections linking to the
Victor Technologies Cutting & Welding
YouTube channel and locating technical
Fig. 13 — The Thermal Dynamics Cut
Chart features areas for looking up a cut
chart along with error codes.
support in Australia, Canada, China, Eu-
rope, South East Asia, and the United
States.
The app is compatible with the iPhone
(3GS, 4, 4S, and 5); iPod touch (3rd, 4th,
and 5th generations); and iPad. It re-
quires iOS 5.0 or later.◆
arc one_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:43 PM Page 41

For Info go to www.aws.org/ad-index

Puhl et al May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:55 PM Page 42
Improving Surfacing
Performance with GMAW
The synchronized polarity gas metal
arc welding technique shows
promise for applying coatings where
the risk of perforating the base
material is a critical factor
new technique for the production
A of a coating using the gas metal arc
welding (GMAW) process is pre-
sented in this article. The technique
fulfills two important requisites for this
type of operation: low dilution and high
productivity.
In order to carry out a welding task,
some characteristics associated with the
process and its respective procedure
need to be sought in order to fulfill the
technical requirements specified. In the
Table 1 — Weld Beads Obtained in the Flat Position on an ABNT 1020 Carbon Steel Plate (AWS ER70S-6) Wire with Diameter of
1.2 mm, Mixture of Ar and O2, Welding Speed of 348 mm/min, and Current of 250 A
Test Polarity Feed Speed (m/min)
1 DCEP
2 DCEN
42 MAY 2013
BY JAIR CARLOS DUTRA,
EDUARDO BIDESE PUHL,
NELSO GAUZE BONACORSO, AND
REGIS HENRIQUE GONCALVES E SILVA
JAIR CARLOS DUTRA, EDUARDO BIDESE PUHL
(eduardopuhl@labsolda.ufsc.br), and
REGIS HENRIQUE GONCALVES E SILVA are with
Federal University of Santa Catarina — UFSC
Mechanical Engineering Department, Florianópolis,
Brazil. NELSO GAUZE BONACORSO is with Federal
Institute of Education, Science and Technology of
Santa Catarina, Metal Mechanics Department,
Florianópolis, Brazil.
case of coating applications, beside the polarity, a welding condition tradition-
absence of defects in the weld beads and
in their overlaps, penetration and dilu-
tion must be minimized in order to guar-
ally considered inappropriate due to the
instability of the arc and a weld bead
geometry that is completely unsuitable.
antee the intended quality. The instability is currently resolved
Despite the fact that this study en- through the use of a specific gas compo-
compasses the parameters mentioned sition within a certain range of electrical
above, the intention herein is not to apply current. The geometry of the deposit is
them as comparison parameters. What is then solved by the synchronized polarity
of fundamental relevance is the possibil- gas metal arc welding (SP-GMAW) tech-
ity of using the GMAW process with di- nique proposed here, which consists of
rect current electrode negative (DCEN) the synchronization of the welding power
Weld bead appearance Cross section
7.2
11.7
Puhl et al May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:56 PM Page 43
A B
source output polarity with the torch po-
sition in relation to its oscillatory motion.
Welders discard the use of DCEN with
solid electrodes as an option because of
the allegation that the electric arc is un-
stable and produces a globular metal
transfer with a significant amount of spat-
ter. The geometry of the bead deposited
is unsuitable due to the low wettability,
which results in an almost circular cross
section that can lead to discontinuities
due to incomplete fusion at the joints
with adjacent weld beads. However, for
coating operations, other characteristics,
such as low levels of penetration and di-
lution, are required.
Recent studies on the GMAW process
with DCEN polarity have verified, via
high-speed digital filming, that the type
of shielding gas has a significant influ-
ence on metal transfer behavior and weld
bead geometry (Ref. 1). Good results
were obtained with an appropriate com-
position of argon and oxygen. The metal
transfer was globular at 150 A and axial
spray at 250 A without drop repulsion, in
contrast to descriptions in the classical
literature. The bead profile has low wet-
tability (inappropriate format) but ac-
ceptable penetration, as shown in Test 2
(Table 1).
The use of DCEN in the GMAW
process is a real possibility for tubular
electrodes with a slag-forming flux, but
in the case of solid electrodes, it is lim-
ited only to the context of alternating cur-
rent. In this latter case, the frequency of
the polarity switching is associated with
the frequency of the drop transfer and,
coincidently, is close to the frequency (50
or 60 Hz) the electricity-generating com-
panies provide. One sought-after prop-
erty is the greatest amount of molten
electrode material for a certain arc
power. This provides the process with
particular characteristics in order to
achieve specific objectives. For example,
researchers at Fronius, a manufacturer
Fig. 1 — Electric arc showing the behavior
of the GMAW arc in the following polari-
ties: A — DCEP; B — DCEN.
of welding power sources including CMT
Advanced (cold metal transfer), revealed
the gap-bridging capacity of the molten
material of the joint faces in root passes,
which they designated as the bridgeabil-
ity (Ref. 2).
Another important characteristic of
DCEN that is favorable for the applica-
tion of the coating is the high wire-melt-
ing rate for a certain current in compari-
son with direct current electrode positive
(DCEP) polarity. This distinctive melt-
ing rate, also represented by the differ-
entiated wire feed speed in Table 1, can
be explained by the behavior of the elec-
tric arc. In DCEN polarity, the electric
arc does not anchor only at the end of the
electrode as in DCEP (Fig. 1A), but in-
stead, widely embraces the electrode
(Fig. 1B), seeking points where the elec-
tron emission is favorable for the pres-
ence of oxides. This characteristic leads
to a greater parcel of the arc energy being
transferred to the electrode, enhancing
its relative melting at the expense of the
melting of the workpiece (Refs. 3, 4).
The objective of the new SP-GMAW
technique is to minimally affect the base
material and provide high productivity
with a reduced amount of defects. A po-
tential application for this technology is
the repair of in-service pipelines that un-
dergo a reduction in wall thickness due
to corrosion. In this application, more
than the need for low dilution, the ob-
tainment of highly reduced penetration
and the possibility of carrying out the re-
pair in a short time are of fundamental
importance. However, this type of coat-
ing is still carried out with coated elec-
trodes, where the result is fundamentally
dependent on the ability of the welder
and the execution time is long.
The SP-GMAW Technique
The developed technique was given
the denomination of synchronized polar-
ity (SP) due to the characteristic of the
change in polarity during the GMAW
process in synchrony with the torch po-
Fig. 2 — Functioning strategy for the
SP-GMAW technique (Ref. 5).
WELDING JOURNAL 43
Puhl et al May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:56 PM Page 44

sition in the trajectory of the weld bead

execution. Robots or manipulators auto-
Fig. 3 — Characteristics expected of the
weld bead cross section.
3
matically execute the weld beads, and
combine the qualities of both polarities
in the GMAW process. The negative po- Fig. 4 — Functioning diagram of the
larity is used in the center of the bead tra- SP-GMAW technique.
jectory in order to obtain greater melt-
ing rate and welding speed, and lower di-
lution and penetration. The positive po- Fig. 5 — Synchronization logic of the
larity is used only at the ends of the os- SP-GMAW technique.
cillation trajectory to prepare the weld
bead for adequate overlapping with an-
other that will be deposited alongside it, 4
thus avoiding fusion defects. In the qual-
ification of the procedure the values for
Yt and Yp of the transversal Y axis (Fig.
2) need to be appropriately considered.
The aim is to obtain weld beads with
the geometric characteristics shown in
Fig. 3.
The task of synchronizing the polari-
ties with the oscillation trajectory of the
gun is carried out via a digital synchro-
nization signal generated in the manipu-
lator controller and recognized at the
welding source, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus,
the welding equipment involved — ma-
nipulator and power source — must be
based on digital technology with the pos-
sibility for the programming and param-
etrization of electrical signals.
For a certain weld speed and oscilla-
tion amplitude/frequency, configured at
the programming interface of the manip- 5
ulator, the position of the transversal Y
axis is constantly compared with the tran-
sition amplitudes –Yt and +Yt, as shown
in Fig. 5. When the position of the Y axis
surpasses one of the transition ampli-
tudes, –Yt or +Yt, the synchronization
signal shifts to logic level 1, which, in
turn, commands the welding power
source to impose the I+ current on the
electric arc through the application of
DCEP polarity. If the position of the Y
axis is between these transition ampli-
tudes, the synchronization signal
switches to logic level 0, and commands
the welding source to impose the I– cur-
rent on the electric arc through the ap-
plication of DCEN polarity.
The value in the current module im-
posed by the source, I+ or I–, must be in
agreement with the respective wire feed
speeds established, since the melting
rates are different for each polarity when
the current values are the same. If the re-
action dynamics of the wire feeder used
is low, then the same wire speed can be
applied for the two polarities. In this
case, the process equilibrium is achieved
through the adjustment of the intensity
of each current, I+ and I–.

44 MAY 2013
Puhl et al May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:56 PM Page 45
Fig. 6 — The equipment setup for demonstrating the validity of the synchronized polarity gas metal arc welding technique.
Setting up the System
The tests performed to demonstrate
the validity of the SP-GMAW technique
simulated the recovery of the thickness
of a worn low-carbon steel workpiece
through the addition of 1.2-mm-diame-
ter ER70S-6 wire in the flat welding po-
sition. The equipment used for the tests
consisted of a microprocessor-controlled
welding power source (Model IMC In-
versal 450) with its respective wire
feeder, a Cartesian XY manipulator
(Model SPS Tartílope V2F), and a
portable data-acquisition system (Model
Table 2 — Values for the Parameters Applied in SP-GMAW
Parameters
Weld speed (mm/min)
Oscillation frequency (Hz)
Oscillation amplitude, 2.Yp (mm)
Polarity amplitude DCEN, 2.Yt (mm)
Wire feed speed (mm/min)
Electric current in DCEP polarity, I+ (A)
Electric current in DCEN polarity, I– (A)
IMC SAP-V4.01) (Ref. 6) — Fig. 6.
The welding power source was pro-
grammed to operate in GMAW mode
with the current imposed instead of the
voltage. This produces better dynamics
for the alternating polarities. The shield-
ing gas used was a mixture of 98%Ar
+ 2%O 2 with a flow rate of 13 L/min
that was recommended by researchers
(Ref. 1).
Table 2 shows the parameters of the
movement and of the welding used to
produce the weld bead shown in Fig. 6.
This deposit was obtained using the push
technique with an angle of 10 deg. The
Values
436
1.5
12.0
8.0
11.5
270
250
application time for DCEN was twice
that of DCEP. Despite the occurrence of
spattering (Fig. 7A), a regular weld bead
with an average width of 15.4 mm and
maximum height of 3.1 mm was obtained.
The maximum penetration (Fig. 7B) was
only 0.5 mm and the dilution was approx-
imately 13%.
The oscillograms of the voltage and
current of the electric arc, as well as the
wire feed speed (Fig. 8), were captured
during the production of this particular
weld bead. The temporal behavior of the
electric arc voltage indicates that short
circuiting does not occur. The spattering
observed can be explained by the projec-
tion of drops of the electric arc to the out-
side of the weld pool due to the inversion
of the direction of the weld torch move-
ment. This inversion of movement occurs
during the application of DCEP polarity
and at both lateral ends of the trajectory
of the torch oscillation.
It can also be observed that in DCEP
polarity, when the I+ current reaches its
reference value (270 A), the voltage grad-
ually reduces. This signals the decrease
in the length of the electric arc due to a
lack of wire consumption. When the po-
WELDING JOURNAL 45
Puhl et al May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:57 PM Page 46

larity is switched to DCEN, the length of

the electric arc is reestablished, indicated A
by an increase in its voltage. In this case,
the electric arc is stable, but operating
close to the limit of instability. To make
the process more stable, the DCEP cur-
rent of the DCEP polarity (I+) must be
corrected, that is, increased until an ap-
propriate wire feed speed is reached.
Also, other factors, such as nonlinear
electromagnetic force variations of the
arc, influence the transitory characteris-
tics that can contribute to the previously
mentioned voltage variation.
Another unstable and undesirable sit-
uation is when one or both currents, I+
and I–, are higher than the currents suit- B
able for a certain wire feed speed. In this
case, the arc length increases excessively
and melts the contact tip of the torch.
The same set of parameters used in
the previous test (Table 2) was applied to
make the weld shown in Fig. 9. In order
to ensure the overlap of the weld beads
only in the region of DCEP polarity, the
following criteria were applied: distance
between the longitudinal axes of two ad-
jacent weld beads equal to the value of
the oscillation amplitude, that is, 12.0
mm. The layer obtained (Fig. 9A) has
good superficial appearance with a max-
imum height of 3.1 mm and a maximum Fig. 7 — A — The weld bead obtained with the SP-GMAW technique; B — cross section
undulation of less than 0.3 mm. Its cross of the weld bead.
section (Fig. 9B) reveals a shallow pene-
tration and the absence of weld defects.

Conclusions
The SP-GMAW technique offers a
real possibility for the application of
coatings where the risk of perforating the
base material is a critical factor. This is
due to the achieved appropriate geomet-
ric characteristics for the task of coating
surfaces, such as shallow penetration, a
surface with almost no undulation, and
good dimensional ratio (width/height) of
the weld beads.
The coating criteria adopted in the SP-
GMAW technique for the overlap of ad-
jacent beads produced good results in the
flat welding position. There is no increase
in the height of the weld layer due to this
overlap. The maximum undulation gen-
erated was lower than 0.3 mm. The weld
layers produced do not present disconti-
nuities and have an excellent visual
aspect with the presence of very little
spatter.
The use of DCEN polarity during
times that extend beyond the period of Fig. 8 — Behavior of the main variables of the SP-GMAW technique.
drop transfer should not be discarded. If
used with certain wires in conjunction

46 MAY 2013
Puhl et al May 2013_Layout 1 4/12/13 2:57 PM Page 47
Fig. 9 — A — The coating obtained with the SP-GMAW process; B — a cross section of
the coating.
with adequate gas mixtures and a suit-
able current range, it can represent a
good alternative for specific cases of
welding. However, this technology re-
quires pieces of equipment that commu-
nicate with each other and considerable
dedication in the qualification of the set
of variables and parameters for the
GMAW process as well as for automatic
torch displacement.◆
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the team
at Labsolda/UFSC whose efforts made
this multidisciplinary task possible and
to the Brazilian government agency
CNPq and the company Tractebel Ener-
gia for financial support.
References
1. Souza, D., Rezende, A. A., and
Scotti, A. 2009. A qualitative model to
explain the polarity influence on the fu-
sion rate in the MIG/MAG process. Re-
vista Soldagem & Inspeção 14(3):
192–198.
2. Pickin, C. G., Willams, S. W., and
Lunt, M. 2011. Characterization of the
cold metal transfer (CMT) process and
its application for low dilution cladding.
Journal of Materials Processing Technol-
ogy 211(3): 496–502.
3. Ueyama, T., Tong, H., Harada, S.,
and Passmore, R. 2005. AC pulsed
GMAW improves sheet metal joining.
Welding Journal 84(2): 40–46.
4. Cirino, L. M. 2009. Study on the ef-
fects of polarity in direct and alternate
current TIG and MIG/MAG welding
processes. Master’s thesis. PosMec/
UFSC, Florianópolis, Brazil.
5. Puhl, E. B. 2011. Development of
MIG/MAG welding technologies for
productivity and quality enhancement by
means of negative polarity. Master’s the-
sis. PosMec/UFSC, Florianópolis, Brazil.
6. Labsolda: Operation Manuals.
Available at www.labsolda.ufsc.br/proje-
tos/manuais/manuais.php. Instituto de
Mecatrônica. Accessed June 14, 2012.
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
WELDING JOURNAL 47
Yelistratov GMAW_Layout 1 4/15/13 9:54 AM Page 48

Exploring the Forces that

Shape Droplets during
Gas Metal Arc Welding
A model is presented to better understand the BY ALEXEI YELISTRATOV

physics of drop formation ALEXEI YELISTRATOV

(alexeiyel@yahoo.com) is a
research associate.

N
ew, effective variations of the gas
metal arc welding (GMAW)
process are emerging. Some of
these methods, such as variations of con-
trollable drop transfer, pulse welding
methods, etc., are based on controlling
the drop transfer mode. These methods
improve the performance of GMAW for
thin-metal, root-pass welding by applying
controllable pulses of current and
thereby changing conditions for forming
the liquid metal drops. Because of this,
the physical processes causing the drop
transfer mode changes are of key impor-
tance for further development of GMAW
technologies, which attracts the attention
of multiple researchers (Refs. 1, 2, 4).
The application of gas mixtures of
argon (Ar) with carbon dioxide (CO2) or
oxygen (O 2) expands the arc and in-
creases the anode spot size while de-
creasing droplet diameter (Refs. 1, 3). By
gradually increasing the welding current
(A), the transition to spray mode occurs
sharply, within a transition current range
of 50–80 A — Fig. 1A.
For GMAW in Ar-rich gas mixtures,
the transition current density is 120–190
A/mm2 (Ref. 3). When Ar + oxidizing gas
(1 to 5% O2 or 5 to 8% CO2) mixtures are
used with a steel wire, the stability and
the range of technological modes demon-
strate marked improvement when com-

A B

Fig. 1A — Effect of welding current and shielding gas on droplet frequency for GMAW with 1⁄16-in. (1.6-mm) welding wire
(Ref. 3); B — effect of welding current (current density) on drop transfer mode for GMAW with 1⁄16-in. (1.6-mm) welding
wire ER70S-3 in shielding gas mixture Ar + 5% O2 (Ref. 7).

48 MAY 2013
Yelistratov GMAW_Layout 1 4/15/13 9:54 AM Page 49

Fig. 2 — Directions of the electromagnetic force acted on
molten droplet at globular and spray modes. Current-carrying
areas at the bottom of the electrode correspond to areas of
the arc anode spot.
Fig. 3 — Experimental setup for hydraulic modeling of
droplet formation. 1 — Upper vessel; 2 — thermocouple;
3 — extension; 4 — lower vessel with water; 5 — elec-
trical heater. A — Position of lower vessel (with boiling
water) that corresponds to highest vapor concentration
at the droplet forming zone; B — initial position of the
lower vessel.

pared to an arc with single-gas shielding.
According to multiple observations,
anode spot expands with increased cur-
rent (this provides its constant current
density), and in spray mode it envelops
the droplet and the tapered bottom part
of the wire — Fig. 1B.
In pulsed GMAW of aluminum, con-
trollable droplet and spray modes can be
achieved (Ref. 6). In this study, an abrupt
transition from pulsed-globular to
pulsed-spray transfer is mentioned (see
conclusion #3 and Ref. 6).
The Metal Transfer Forces
The physical forces in the electric arc
zone that are mainly responsible for
droplet transfer at the transition current
range are electrodynamic (pinch-effect)
and surface tension (Ref. 8).
The electrodynamic force acts as a
squeezing force, constricting the conduc-
tor when the current-carrying cross sec-
tions are the same. There is, however, an-
other important feature of this constrict-
ing force: When current-carrying cross
sections are different, an axial electrody-
namic force is created. This force directs
from lesser cross section to the larger
one. Welding current undergoes change
in the current-carrying cross sections dur-
ing its path from the welding wire to the
anode spot — Fig. 2. This is similar to
“conduction angle” (Refs. 3, 5).
Electrodynamic forces can be directed
up (Fig. 2) when the anode spot size is
smaller than the diameter of the elec-
trode at low-current globular transfer in
GMAW. In this case, the electrodynamic
force and surface tension force acted
jointly to support the droplet on the tip of
the electrode (wire). This force can be di-
rected down when the anode spot area
becomes larger than the cross section of
the electrode at high-current, spray
transfer with GMAW in Ar+CO 2/O 2
mixtures (Refs. 4, 5).
During GMAW with Ar+O 2/CO 2
mixtures, the anode spot is stabilized at
the bottom of the metal droplet (Refs. 1,
3), and heat energy is transferred from
the arc to the electrode through the bulk
of the droplet. With a further increase in
the welding current, the anode spot size
becomes larger than the external surface
of the droplet, eventually expands to in-
clude the cylindrical surface of the elec-
trode, and melting occurs radially, creat-
ing a taper (Refs. 1, 4).
The temperature inside the anode
spot is approximately the metal boiling
point (Ref. 4), resulting in intensive evap-
oration of the metal. The increased
droplet temperature (Ref. 7) and in-
creased metal vapor concentration in the
arc zone could lead to increased electri-
cal conductivity in the arc zone and result
in sharpening the electrode tip (Ref. 8).
In summary, the electrodynamic force
changes direction and becomes directed
downward during GMAW in Ar-rich

WELDING JOURNAL 49
Yelistratov GMAW_Layout 1 4/15/13 9:55 AM Page 50

Fig. 4 — Water modeling. A —

Droplet diameter vs. vapor concen- A
tration; B — droplet frequency vs.
vapor concentration.

shielding gases when the welding current

exceeds the transition current. There is
no information about variation of surface
tension force for GMAW at the transition
current range. The purpose of the fol-
lowing experiments was to study the rela-
tionship between welding current and
anode spot size, and the influence of sur-
face tension on droplet formation in con-
ditions similar to ones at the tip of the
molten electrode within transition cur-
rent range.
B
Experimental Procedures
The experiments were performed
using direct current, electrode positive
(DCEP) GMAW head with constant volt-
age (CV) power supply. Used throughout
these experiments were mild steel plates
7.87 × 2.36 × 0.39 in. (200 × 60 × 10
mm), AWS ER 70S-3 welding wire 1⁄16 in.
(1.6 mm) diameter, and various shielding
gases (100% CO2; 20% CO2 + 80% Ar;
10% CO2 + 90% Ar; 5% CO2 + 95%
Ar). The shielding gas mixture flow rate
was 42 ft3/h (20 L/min). The welding cur-
rent and voltage were recorded. High-
speed photography (4000 f/s) was used to
capture droplet measurements. The geo-
metrical sizes of the droplets and droplet
frequency were measured from the image
the surface tension force — physical This computation objective is to study
on the screen. The anode spot size was
modeling of liquid droplet formation. the surface tension variations in condi-
measured from the image on the screen
The physical model is not a model for tions similar to real welding, using water
by measuring the size of the bright spot
GMAW, nor a model for GMAW metal as a modeling liquid. Conditions that are
on the outer side of the droplet. This in-
drop transfer; instead, it is just the distin- similar in forming both, real arc welding
direct method is acceptable for evalua-
guishing group of physical interactions metal drop, and water drop are:
tion of low-scale objects in the electric arc
where the surface tension force predom- • Drop temperature is close to the boil-
zone (Ref. 4). The variations in measured
inates. This model allows investigating ing point.
droplet size were ±5%, and in anode spot
only the effect of surface tension and • The growing drop is surrounded by
size were ±10–15%.
eliminates the influence of forces related the drop’s liquid vapors.
to electrical current. Selection of the Since both liquids, molten steel and
Computational Model of modeling liquid and analog model di- water, have negative coefficients of
the Surface Tension Force mensions were made in accordance with surface tension, they react similarly to
theory of similarity. variations in the temperature of the drop-
Significant measurement errors can Although calculations have been made forming zone: The higher the tempera-
occur when studying the arc zone condi- for a number of liquids, water was se- ture (closer to boiling), the lower the sur-
tions using direct methods such as lected as the most suitable for these ex- face tension. The surface tension is
probes, thermocouples, etc. Practical cal- periments. Water and low-melting alloys caused by cohesion forces inside the
culation of the surface tension force for are used to study the flow of liquid steel in liquid and acts on any liquid surfaces in
GMAW conditions is impossible because molds and feed head systems in the met- accordance with the liquid’s physical
there are no reliable supporting data. allurgical industry; also, a water/alcohol properties.
Therefore, in this work, a qualitative model was used (Ref. 9) to study droplet/ To investigate the influence of surface
method was used to study the influence of molten pool interaction in GMAW. tension on water droplet transfer, the

50 MAY 2013
Yelistratov GMAW_Layout 1 4/15/13 9:55 AM Page 51
A anode spot area at GMAW. A — 100%
B readings from the hygrometer and ther-
model (Fig. 3) included an upper vessel
with water, an extension wherein the
droplets form, and a lower vessel with
boiling water and an electric heater. The
experimental setup included a thermo-
couple, which was fixed closely to the
outer end of the extension to measure the
temperature at the droplet-forming zone.
The extension used a special porous in-
sert to provide the laminar flow of the
water during droplet formation. The con-
centration of the water vapor was deter-
mined indirectly, by temperature in the
droplet-forming zone, i.e., the tempera-
ture of boiling water (100°C) corresponds
to 100% vapor concentration near the
surface. The formation of the water
droplets was observed using a 25×
microscope.
The water model for studying surface
tension effect in conditions compatible to
that at transition current range in
GMAW has several features:
1. In the model, the drop is formed by
water flowing from top, while in real
welding, wire melts from its bottom by ac-
tion of an electric arc. Current-caused
forces (pinch-effect, plasma jets, etc.)
make the real drop formation more com-
plicated, but the resulting effect of that is
variations in the drop temperature and
surface tension since they are the main
forces that support the drop.
2. When the heater moved up, radi-
ated heat could heat the upper vessel
with water. But with the thermocouple
installed near the drop, the total sur-
rounding temperature was registered
without relation to ways of heating. To
minimize that effect, the time for the ex-
periment was limited and each set of ex-
periments was repeated 8 to 10 times.
3. The method for evaluating the
vapor concentration by temperature in
the drop-forming zone cannot be accu-
rate but what is important is the concen-
Fig. 5 — Droplet external surface and
CO2; B — 95%Ar + 5%CO2.O2.
tration of vapor around the drop, not the
surrounding temperature.
For evaluation of the water vapor con-
centration, additional experiments were
conducted to measure the vapor concen-
tration (humidity) with a portable ther-
mohygrometer Testo 605-H1, which was
used in parallel with measuring the tem-
perature in the drop-forming zone. Ac-
cording to results, the hygrometer cannot
provide accurate readings due to the re-
stricted space for measurements (less
than 1 cm 3), but for larger spaces the
mocouple correlated to 5 to 7% at a fixed
distance for the thermocouple of a few
millimeters from the drop surface. Also,
it was found the correlation between
vapor concentration and temperature
improved with approaching the boiling
point. Because of that, temperature read-
ings from the thermocouple were ac-
cepted to evaluate the vapor concentra-
tion present in the small drop-forming
zone.
Effects of Water Vapor
In this set of experiments, the lower
vessel with boiling water was moved up,
closer to the droplet-forming zone. This
allowed the temperature and vapor con-
centration in the droplet-forming zone to
reach 100°C (100% vapor). The temper-
ature in the droplet formation zone and
the droplet transfer parameters (diame-
ter and frequency) was determined at
various vapor concentrations — Fig. 4.
When the concentration of the water
vapor approached 100%, sharp changes
in droplet transfer parameters were ob-
served. The drop diameter decreased
from 0.177 to 0.039 in. (4.5 to 1 mm), and
the drop transfer frequency increased
from 40 to 90/s.
Effects of Temperature
An electrical heater without the lower
vessel was installed below the droplet for-
mation extension and moved up toward
the extension. When the heater was in the
upper position, the size of the droplets
changed. The droplets lengthened in the
direction of the heater from 0.019 to
WELDING JOURNAL 51
Yelistratov GMAW_Layout 1 4/15/13 9:56 AM Page 52
0.047 in. (0.5 to 1.2 mm), and their diam-
eters decreased from 0.177 to 0.149 in.
(4.5 to 3.8 mm). The drop transfer fre-
quency increased from 40–43/s to
50–53/s.
Effects of Adding Dyes and
Ceramic Powders
Aniline dye, which is a soluble liquid,
was deposited on the surface of a droplet.
In a fraction of a second, the dye had
spread through the bulk of the drop. The
amount of aniline dye used did not affect
the diameter or the frequency of droplet
transfer.
Mineral oil, a nonsoluble liquid, col-
lected at the bottom of a water droplet,
and formed an independent drop. When
the oil was injected into the water droplet
(through a thin pipe), an independent oil
sphere formed inside the water droplet.
There were no noticeable changes in
drop transfer.
When dry ceramic powder was de-
posited on the surface of a water droplet,
it occupied only the surface of the
droplet. The powder, previously soaked
in aniline dye, penetrated through the
bulk of the water droplet. Powder, previ-
ously soaked in mineral oil, occupied only
the surface of the droplet.
When a mixture of ceramic powders
preliminarily soaked in aniline dye and in
mineral oil was used, penetration into the
bulk of the water droplet depended on the
composition of the mixture. When there
was more than 30 to 50% dyed powder in
the mixture, the powder began to pene-
trate into the bulk of the water droplet,
carrying the oiled powder. There were no
noticeable changes in drop transfer.
From the modeling experiments,
droplet transfer parameters and there-
fore surface tension are not dependent
considerably on temperature in the
droplet-forming zone until the tempera-
ture in drop forming zone approaches the
boiling point. After that, the high con-
centration of vapor causes the droplet-
transfer parameters to change in a
marked degree because of the drastic de-
crease in the surface tension force.
An analysis of the high-speed photo-
graphs of the droplet transfer during
GMAW in different gas mixtures (Fig.
5A, B) confirmed that change in droplet
transfer mode from globular to spray
(Fig. 1) occurred at the instant the anode
spot on the droplet’s surface became
greater than the droplet external surface
(Fig. 5B). In this study, this occurred
when the following parameters were
52 MAY 2013
used: gas mixture 95% Ar+5% CO 2,
welding current 290 to 310 A, and current
density 145 to 160 A/mm2.
Model Explains Iron
Powder Effect on Stability
The modeling experiments developed
in this study explain the change in droplet
transfer mode when welding within the
transition current range as follows:
• As the axial electrodynamic (“pinch-
effect”) force is directed down and grad-
ually increases, the anode spot size be-
comes larger than the cross section of the
electrode and larger than the external
surface of the droplet.
• At this moment, the value of the sur-
face tension decreases drastically be-
cause formation of the droplet occurs
completely inside the arc’s anode active
spot, within the zone with high metal
vapor concentration.
Together, those two factors lead to an
abrupt change in droplet size, changing
the transfer mode from globular to spray.
Experiments confirmed that any method
that increases the metal vapor concentra-
tion in the arc zone would decrease the
surface tension force of liquid metal. For
example, the addition of iron powder into
the flux core (or in the electrode coating),
in conjunction with increased deposition
rate, will probably decrease the droplet
diameter through the intensive metal va-
porization, thus providing a more stable
process.
Also, modeling experiments with ce-
ramic powder mixtures (conditions simi-
lar to flux core and shielded metal arc
welding) demonstrated that interaction
between liquid metal and slag are de-
pendent on the composition of the slag.
Some Interesting Results
1. For GMAW with Ar-rich shielding
gas, increasing the anode spot size above
the droplet external surface provides
high metal vapor concentration in the
droplet-forming zone.
2. The main cause of transfer mode
change from globular to spray is the in-
crease in the electrodynamic (“pinch ef-
fect”) force and the sharp decrease of the
liquid metal surface tension force on the
tip of the melted welding wire.
3. During GMAW in the globular
transfer mode, the surface tension force
and the electrodynamic force are two im-
portant factors in forming of the metal
drops. In the spray mode, when welding
current exceeds the transition value, the
influence of the surface tension force on
droplet formation becomes insignificant
and the electrodynamic force governs the
liquid metal transition to the molten
pool.
4. The surface tension force can be an-
other effective tool for controlling the
droplet transfer, arc stability, and alloy-
ing efficiency.◆
Acknowledgment
The author would like to acknowledge
Dr. A. Lesnewich for reviewing the man-
uscript and for his valuable suggestions.
References
1. Soderstrom, E. J., and Mendez, P.
F. 2008. Metal transfer during GMAW
with thin electrodes and Ar-CO2 shield-
ing gas mixture Welding Journal 87(5):
124-s to 133-s.
2. Hu, J., and Tsai, H. L. 2006. Effects
of current on droplet generation and arc
plasma in gas metal arc welding. Journal
of Applied Physics, 100, Article No.
053304.
3. Rhee, S., and Kannatey-Asibu, E.
Jr. 1992. Observation of metal transfer
during gas metal arc welding. Welding
Journal 71(10): 381-s to 386-s.
4. Kim, Y. S., McEligot, D. M., and
Eagar, T. W. 1991. Analysis of electrode
heat transfer in gas metal arc welding.
Welding Journal 70(1): 20-s to 31-s.
5. Jones, L. A., Eagar, T. W., and Lang,
J. H. 1998. Images of a steel electrode in
Ar-2%O2 shielding gas during constant
current gas metal arc welding. Welding
Journal 77(4): 135-s to 141-s.
6. Subramaniam, S., White, D. R.,
Jones, J. E., and Lyons, D. W. 1998.
Droplet transfer in pulsed gas metal arc
welding of aluminum. Welding Journal
77(11): 458-s to 464-s.
7. Soderstrom, E. J., Scott, K. M., and
Mendez, P. F. 2011. Calorimetric meas-
urement of droplet temperature in
GMAW. Welding Journal 90(4): 77-s to
84-s.
8. Wang, F., Hou, W., Kannatey-Asibu,
E., Schultz, W., and Wang, P. 2003. Mod-
elling and analysis of metal transfer in gas
metal arc welding. Journal of Physics D:
Applied Physics 36, pp. 1143–1152.
9. Choo, R. T. C., Mukai, K., and
Toguri, J. M. 1992. Marangoni interac-
tion of a liquid droplet falling onto a liq-
uid pool. Welding Journal 71(4): 139-s to
146-s.
trumpf_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:53 PM Page 53

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CE MAY_Layout 1 4/16/13 9:07 AM Page 54
COMING
NOTE: A DIAMOND ( ♦) DENOTES AN AWS-SPONSORED EVENT.
EVENTS
12th Annual Great Designs in Steel Seminar. May 1. Laurel
Manor Conf. Center, Livonia, Mich. Sponsored by The Steel Mar-
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♦JOM-17, Int’l Conf. on Joining Materials. May 5–8. Konventum
Lo Skolen, Helsingør, Denmark. Institute for the Joining of Ma-
terials (JOM) in association with the IIW. Cosponsored by AWS,
TWI, Danish Welding Society, Welding Technology Institute of
Australia, University of Liverpool, Cranfield University, Force
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AISTech 2013, Iron and Steel Technology Conf. and Expo. May
6–9, Pittsburgh, Pa. www.aist.org/aistech/.
INTERTECH 2013, Superabrasive Materials, Principles, and
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trial Diamond Assn. www.intertechconference.com.
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Int’l Thermal Spray Conf. and Expo. May 13–15. Busan, Repub-
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CE MAY_Layout 1 4/16/13 9:07 AM Page 56
— continued from page 54
18th Beijing-Essen Welding & Cutting Fair. June 18−21. New In-
ternational Expo Center, Shanghai, China. www.beijing-essen-
welding.com/en/index.htm.
Third VDI Congress, “Lightweight Design Strategies in Vehi-
cles.” July 3, 4. Wolfsburg, Germany. Sponsored by VDI Wis-
sensforum, Assn. of German Engineers. www.vdi.de/leichtbau.
♦Codes and Standards Conf. July 16, 17. Orlando, Fla. To include
AWS D1, Structural Welding Code — Steel, ASME Boiler and Pres-
sure Vessel Code, API pipeline codes, MIL specs and ISO stan-
dards. Sponsored by the American Welding Society (800/305) 443-
9353, ext. 264; www.aws.org/conferences.
59th Annual UA Assn. of Journeymen and Apprentices of the
Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry’s Instructor Training Pro-
gram. Aug. 11–17, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor,
Mich. www.visitannarbor.org/news/detail/ann-arbor-welcomes-the-
59th-annual-united-association-instructor-training-p.
12th Int’l Conf. on Application of Contemporary Non-Destructive
Testing in Engineering. Sept. 4–6. Grand Hotel Metropol, Por-
toroz, Slovenia. Sponsored by The Slovenian Society for Non-De-
structive Testing. www.fs.uni-lj.si/ndt.
LPPDE-North America. Sept. 9–11. Savannah, Ga. Lean Product
& Process Development Exchange, Inc. Address e-mail to
lppde@leanfront.com.
66th IIW Annual Assembly. Sept. 11–17. Essen, Germany. Or-
ganized by DVS (German Welding Society). www.dvs-
ev.de/IIW2013/.
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
56 MAY 2013
GAWDA Annual Convention. Sept. 15–18. Orlando, Fla. Gases
and Welding Distributors Assn. www.gawda.org.
ASM Heat Treating Society Conf. and Expo. Sept. 16–18. Indiana
Convention Center, Indianapolis, Ind. www.asminternational.org/
content/Events/heattreat/.
IIW Int’l Conf. on “Automation in Welding.” Sept. 16, 17. Essen,
Germany. www.iiw2013.com. Event in the IIW Annual Assembly.
Schweissen & Schneiden 2013 Int’l Trade Fair — Joining, Cutting,
Surfacing. Sept. 16–21. Essen, Germany. Sponsored by DVS (Ger-
man Welding Society). www.schweissenuschneiden.de/en/schweis-
sen_schneiden/index.html.
♦16th Annual Aluminum Conf. Sept. 17, 18. Chicago, Ill. Spon-
sored by the American Welding Society (800/305) 443-9353, ext.
264; www.aws.org/conferences.
Educational Opportunities
Brazing School — Fundamentals to Advanced Concepts. May
14–16 (Hartford, Conn.); Oct. 22–24 (Greenville, S.C.); Nov.
19–21 (Simsbury, Conn.). www.kaybrazing.com/seminars.htm;
dan@kaybrazing.com; (860) 651-5595.
CWI Preparation Courses: June 3–7, Aug. 19–23, Nov. 11–15.
D1.1 Endorsement: June 7, Aug. 23, Nov. 15; D1.5 Endorsement:
May 31, Aug. 16; API Endorsement: May 30, Nov. 8. All courses
and endorsements held at Welder Training & Testing Institute,
1144 N. Graham St., Allentown, Pa. www.wtti.com; (610) 820-
9551, ext. 204.◆
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
image of welding_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 9:14 AM Page 57

An Association of Welding Manufacturers

Know an individual, company, educator, or educational facility that

exemplifies what welding is all about?

Nominate them!
The Image of W
Welding
eld
ding A
Awards
w
wards Program recogn
recognizes
nizes outstanding
achievement in the following categories:

Individual
Distributor
(you or other individual) (welding products)

Section
Educator
(AWS local chapter)
(AWS (welding teacher at an institution, facility
facility,, etc.)

Large Business
Educational Facility
(200 or more employees) (any or
organization
ganization that conducts welding
education or training)

Small Business
(less than 200 employees)
Media
(open to industry and business publications)

Entry deadline is July 31, 2013

For more
more informatio
information
on and to submit a nomination
nomin
nation form online,
visit www.aws.org/awards/image.html
www.aws.org/awards/image.html
/awards/image.html or call
ca 800-443-9353.
Cert Schedule MAY_Layout 1 4/12/13 1:05 PM Page 58

CERTIFICATION
SCHEDULE Certification Seminars, Code Clinics, and Examinations

Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) Miami, FL July 21–26

LOCATION SEMINAR DATES EXAM DATE Orlando, FL Aug. 18–23
Birmingham, AL June 2–7 June 8 Denver, CO Sept. 15–20
Hutchinson, KS June 2–7 June 8 Dallas, TX Oct. 6–11
Spokane, WA June 2–7 June 8
Miami, FL Exam only June 13 Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS)
Bakersfield, CA June 9–14 June 15 LOCATION SEMINAR DATES EXAM DATE
Pittsburgh, PA June 9–14 June 15 Minneapolis, MN July 15–19 July 20
Beaumont, TX June 9–14 June 15 Miami, FL Sept. 23–27 Sept. 28
Corpus Christi, TX Exam only June 29 Norfolk, VA Oct. 14–18 Oct. 19
Hartford, CT June 23–28 June 29 CWS exams are also given at all CWI exam sites.
Orlando, FL June 23–28 June 29
Memphis, TN June 23–28 June 29 Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI)
Jacksonville, FL July 7–12 July 13 LOCATION SEMINAR DATES EXAM DATE
Omaha, NE July 7–12 July 13 Dallas, TX Aug. 19–23 Aug. 24
Cleveland, OH July 7–12 July 13 Chicago, IL Sept. 23–27 Sept. 28
Miami, FL Exam only July 18 Pittsburgh, PA Oct. 14–18 Oct. 19
Phoenix, AZ July 14–19 July 20 The CRI certification can be a stand-alone credential or can
Los Angeles, CA July 14–19 July 20 exempt you from your next 9-Year Recertification.
Louisville, KY July 14–19 July 20
Waco, TX July 14–19 July 20 Certified Welding Sales Representative (CWSR)
Milwaukee, WI July 14–19 July 20 CWSR exams will be given at CWI exam sites.
Corpus Christi, TX Exam only July 27
Sacramento, CA July 21–26 July 27
Kansas City, MO July 21–26 July 27 Certified Welding Educator (CWE)
Denver, CO July 28–Aug. 2 Aug. 3 Seminar and exam are given at all sites listed under Certified
Miami, FL July 28–Aug. 2 Aug. 3 Welding Inspector. Seminar attendees will not attend the Code
Philadelphia, PA July 28–Aug. 2 Aug. 3 Clinic portion of the seminar (usually the first two days).
Chicago, IL Aug. 4–9 Aug. 10
Baton Rouge, LA Aug. 4–9 Aug. 10 Certified Robotic Arc Welding (CRAW)
Portland, ME Aug. 4–9 Aug. 10 The course dates are followed by the location and phone number
Las Vegas, NV Aug. 4–9 Aug. 10
Mobile, AL Aug. 11–16 Aug. 17 June 17–21, Dec. 9–13 at
Charlotte, NC Aug. 11–16 Aug. 17 ABB, Inc., Auburn Hills, MI; (248) 391–8421
Rochester, NY Exam only Aug. 17
San Antonio, TX Aug. 11–16 Aug. 17 May 20–24, Aug. 19–23, Dec. 2–6 at
Seattle, WA Aug. 11–16 Aug. 17 Genesis-Systems Group, Davenport, IA; (563) 445-5688
San Diego, CA Aug. 18–23 Aug. 24
Minneapolis, MN Aug. 18–23 Aug. 24 Oct. 14 at
Salt Lake City, UT Aug. 18–23 Aug. 24 Lincoln Electric Co., Cleveland, OH; (216) 383-8542
Anchorage, AK Exam only Sept. 21
Miami, FL Sept. 15–20 Sept. 21 July 15–19, Oct. 21–25 at
Idaho Falls, ID Sept. 15–20 Sept. 21 OTC Daihen, Inc., Tipp City, OH; (937) 667-0800
St. Louis, MO Sept. 15–20 Sept. 21
Houston, TX Sept. 15–20 Sept. 21 Training: May 20–22, July 22–24, Sept. 23–25, Nov. 18–20
New Orleans, LA Sept. 22–27 Sept. 28 Exams: May 23–24, July 25–26, Sept. 26–27, Nov. 21–22 at
Fargo, ND Sept. 22–27 Sept. 28 Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, CO; (970) 225-7736
Pittsburgh, PA Sept. 22–27 Sept. 28
Indianapolis, IN Sept. 29−Oct. 4 Oct. 5 On request at
MATC, Milwaukee, WI; (414) 297-6996

9–Year Recertification Seminar for CWI/SCWI Certified Welding Engineer; Senior Certified Welding
(No exams given.) For current CWIs and SCWIs needing to meet Inspector Exams can be taken at any site listed under Certified
education requirements without taking the exam. The exam can be Welding Inspector. No preparatory seminar is offered.
taken at any site listed under Certified Welding Inspector.
International CWI Courses and Exams Schedules
LOCATION SEMINAR DATES Please visit www.aws.org/certification/inter_contact.html.
Pittsburgh, PA June 2–7
San Diego, CA July 7–12

IMPORTANT: This schedule is subject to change without notice. Applications are to be received at least six weeks prior to the
seminar/exam or exam. Applications received after that time will be assessed a $250 Fast Track fee. Please verify application
deadline dates by visiting our website www.aws.org/certification/docs/schedules.html. Verify your event dates with the Certification
Dept. to confirm your course status before making travel plans. For information on AWS seminars and certification programs, or
to register online, visit www.aws.org/certification or call (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 273, for Certification; or ext. 455 for Seminars.
Apply early to avoid paying the $250 Fast Track fee.

58 MAY 2013
awo metallurgy_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 9:06 AM Page 59

awo.aws.org

METALLURGY
ME TA
ALL
LURGY
G
for the Non-Metallurg
Non-Metallurgist:
ist: Fundamentals
Metallurgy is the science that deals with the internal
internal structure of
metals, the relationship between metals, and the properties of metals.
In welding, a basic understanding of metallurgy provides insight into
the positive and negative changes that occur in metals when joined
by welding.

From the properties of an atom to the behaviors

behaviors of metals during
the welding process, you are introduced to the properties of metals
and will gain an understanding of why metals behave the way they do.

Concepts covered include the anatomy of atoms,

atoms, the periodic table,
chemical bonding, including ionic bonding, covalent bonding, and
metallic bonding, as well as the properties of metals. This seminar
contains interactive exercises to reinforce key points and includes
summaries and quizzes to help prepare you for the completion exam.

The seminar is approximately five hours long and concludes with a

proficiency test.

Sample seminar at awo.aws.org/seminars/metallurgy

Conferences May 2013_Layout 1 4/15/13 1:04 PM Page 60
CONFERENCES
Pipeline Conference
June 4, 5
Houston, Tex.
The transportation of oil and natural gas through cross-coun-
try pipelines has never been as vigorous as it is now, and greater
growth lies ahead with welding in the thick of it. For many
decades, the stick electrode has been a driving force behind the
construction of these lines, and it is still very much in the driver’s
seat. But in order to cut costs, owners have started to use X80, a
lighter-weight, higher-strength linepipe steel. The same cellu-
losic electrodes used on the more conventional steels are inade-
quate for X80 steel. This has opened the door for low-hydrogen
electrodes and mechanized welding.
The keynote address to this important AWS conference will
be delivered by Brian Laing, president of CRC-Evans Pipeline
International. A seasoned veteran of the pipeline industry, Laing
once worked for NOVA (now TransCanada), as a welding
engineer. Following is a breakdown of the other speakers and
their topics.
Robin Gordon, senior vice president of Microalloying Inter-
national Inc., will present the current status of Grade X80 pipeline
technology and highlight the technical challenges that must be
addressed before considering its use.
Paul Tews’s presentation on “Specimen Quality for Fatigue
Test Girth Welds” should be of interest to every pipeline owner.
Tews, who is operating out of the UK at present, is the principal
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
60 MAY 2013
welding engineer for Subsea 7.
Bill Bruce, U.S. director of Welding and Materials Technol-
ogy for Det Norske Veritas, will discuss new revisions for pipeline
repair in API 1104.
Two popular processes, hybrid laser arc welding and friction
stir welding, are waiting their turns for acceptance in some ap-
plications. Matt Boring, senior welding engineer, Knieper & As-
sociates, will speak on the situation from the standpoint of ASME
Section IX.
Ian Harris, technical leader, Arc Welding, EWI, will give a
detailed presentation on the hybrid laser arc welding process and
how it is suited for pipeline construction work.
Another speaker from EWI, Connie Reichert, will talk about
automated corrosion repair of pipelines. Reichert is principal
engineer, Design, Controls & Automation.
Michael Lang, senior construction engineer, Bechtel Corp.,
has lean welding as his topic. Lang is chairman of the AWS D10
Committee on Piping and Tubing.
Russel Fuchs, senior technical manager, Bohler Welding
Group USA, will offer a comparison of one cellulosic electrode
and two low-hydrogen electrodes.
“SMAW: The Evolution of Stick Welding, from a Welder’s
Perspective” is the title of Lori Kuiper’s talk. She is offshore &
pipeline segment manager, Euroweld, Ltd.
Derick Railling, product manager, Global Onshore Pipeline,
ITW Welding, is basing his presentation on understanding the
sources and remedies of hydrogen-induced cracking in pipeline
welds.
Scott Funderburk from CRC-Evans Pipeline International
will talk about overcoming such operational challenges as leak
detection and automatic shut-off valves.
Chris Penniston, welding and materials engineer, RMS Sys-
tems in Canada, has chosen the topic of innovations in mecha-
nized welding.
Olivier Jouffron, technical manager, Serimax North America,
will discuss the steps that can be taken in welding corrosion-
resistant alloy pipe.
Win Wijnholds, president of Magnatech International BV in
The Netherlands, will discuss dual-process methodology.
Ryan Lewis, a consumables product manager at The Lincoln
Electric Co., will discuss some of the welding activities used in
oil shale environments.
Codes and Standards Conference
July 16, 17
Orlando, Fla.
This conference will feature information about the AWS D1
Structural Welding Code — Steel, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Code, and API pipeline codes, plus MIL and ISO standards, po-
tentially the most valuable documents available to manufacturers
and fabricators of welded products. Information will be provided
about the planning and execution of various welding processes, as
well as useful data for designers, inspectors, and QC specialists.◆
For more information, please contact the AWS Confer-
ences and Seminars Business Unit at (800) 443-9353, ext.
223, or e-mail ablanco@aws.org. You can also visit the Con-
ference Department Web site at www.aws.org/conferences
for upcoming conferences and registration information.
essen_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 2:48 PM Page 61

Join together.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR

JOINING CUTTING SURFACING
16–21 SEPT. 2013 ESSEN GERMANY
MESSE ESSEN GmbH
Tel. 001-914-962-1310
karen@essentradeshows.com
www.schweissen-schneiden.com

Meet over 1,000 exhibitors and experts from all over the world.
Discover innovative solutions in joining, cutting and surfacing.
Take advantage of the opportunities in the industry’s hot spot.
Join your industry in Essen!
For Info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
Welding Workbook May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 2:22 PM Page 1

WELDING
WORKBOOK Datasheet 340

Selecting Shielding Gases for Gas Metal Arc Welding

The primary function of the shielding gas in gas metal arc
welding (GMAW) is to exclude the atmosphere from contact with
the molten weld metal. This is necessary because most metals,
when heated to their melting point in air, exhibit a strong ten-
dency to form oxides, and, to a lesser extent, nitrides. Oxygen
also reacts with carbon in molten steel to form carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide. These reaction products may result in weld
discontinuities such as slag inclusions, porosity, and weld metal
embrittlement. Reaction products are easily formed in the at-
mosphere unless precautions are taken to exclude nitrogen and
oxygen.
Besides providing a protective environment, the shielding gas
and flow rate have a pronounced effect on arc characteristics,
mode of metal transfer, penetration and weld bead profile, speed
of welding, undercutting tendency, cleaning action, and weld
metal mechanical properties. The principal gases used in the
spray arc mode are shown in Table 1 and those for short-circuit
GMAW are shown in Table 2.◆

Table 1 — GMAW Shielding Gases for Spray Transfer

Metal Shielding Gas Characteristics

Aluminum 100% argon Best metal transfer and arc stability; least spatter; good cleaning action.
35% argon/65% helium Higher heat input than 100% argon; improved fusion characteristics on
thicker material; minimizes porosity.
25% argon/75% helium Highest heat input; minimizes porosity; least cleaning action.

Magnesium 100% argon Excellent cleaning action; stable arc.

Argon + 20–70% helium Improved wetting; less chance of porosity.

Carbon steel 1–5% oxygen, balance argon
5–15% carbon dioxide (CO2); balance
argon
Improves arc stability; produces a more fluid and controllable weld pool;
good fusion and bead contour; minimizes undercutting; permits higher
speeds than pure argon.
High-speed mechanized welding; low-cost manual welding.

Low-alloy steel 98% argon/2% oxygen Minimizes undercutting; provides good toughness.

Stainless steel 99% argon/1% oxygen
98% argon/2% oxygen
Improves arc stability; produces a more fluid and controllable weld pool;
good fusion and bead contour; minimizes undercutting on heavier
stainless steels.
Provides better arc stability, coalescence, and welding speed than
1% oxygen mixture for thinner stainless steel materials.

Nickel, copper, and 100% argon Provides good wetting; decreases fluidity of weld metal.
their alloys Argon/helium Higher heat inputs of 50 and 75% helium mixtures offset high heat
dissipation of heavier gauges.

Titanium 100% argon Good arc stability; minimum weld contamination; inert gas backing is
required to prevent air contamination on back of weld area.

Table 2 — GMAW Shielding Gases for Short-Circuiting Transfer

Metal Shielding Gas Characteristics

Carbon Steel 75% argon/25% CO2 High welding speeds with minimum melt-through; minimum spatter; clean
weld appearance; good pool control in vertical and overhead positions.
100% CO2 Deep penetration; faster welding speeds; high spatter levels.

Stainless steel 90% helium/7.5% argon/2.5% CO2 No effect on corrosion resistance; small heat-affected zone; minimizes
undercut.
Low-alloy steel 60–70% helium/25–35% argon/ Minimum reactivity; excellent toughness; excellent arc stability, wetting
4.5% CO2 characteristics, and bead contour; little spatter.
75% argon/25% CO2 Fair toughness; excellent arc stability, wetting characteristics, and bead
contour; little spatter.
Aluminum, copper Argon and argon/helium Argon satisfactory on sheet metal; argon-helium preferred for thicker
magnesium, nickel, and base material.
their alloys

Excerpted from the Welding Handbook, Vol. 2, ninth edition.

62 MAY 2013
buyers guide_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 8:21 AM Page 63
pipeline conference_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 9:09 AM Page 64

AWS Conferences & Exhibitions:

Pipelines Conference
June 4th – 5th / Houston, TX

Join us in Houston for the debut of the AWS Pipeline Welding Conference! Our featured
speakers will cover a multitude of topics including the welding of high strength X80 pipe
steels, orbital processes used in pipeline construction throughout the world, the new FRIEX
system from Belgium and many other exciting topics.

Highlights


Learn about the progress of new and innovative developments

in pipeline welding.


Network with industry peers to find the best solutions for

business growth.


AWS Conference attendees are awarded 1 PDH (Professional

Development Hour) for each hour of conference attendance.
These PDH's can be applied toward AWS recertifications
and renewals.

For the latest conference information and registration visit our web site at
www.aws.org/conferences or call 800-443-9353, ext. 224.
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:42 PM Page 65

SOCIETYNEWS BY HOWARD WOODWARD

woodward@aws.org

D1 Committee Convenes in Doral

The D1 Committee on Structural Welding met at AWS World Headquarters the week of Feb. 25.

Shown are (from left) AWS Vice President David McQuaid, past D1 Chair Donald Rager,
AWS Executive Director Ray Shook, D1 Chair Duane Miller, and Allen Sindel, D1 vice chair.

On March 1, a rare copy of the first-edition of the forerunner
to the D1.1, Structural Welding Code — Steel, all 20 pages of it, was
presented to Ray Shook, AWS executive director, for permanent
loan and preservation in the D. Fred Bovie Library and Museum
at AWS World Headquarters in Doral, Fla. The presenters included
Duane K. Miller, D1 chair; David McQuaid, D1 chair (1996–2002)
and AWS vice president; Donald D. Rager, D1 chair (2002–2008),
and Allen W. Sindel, D1 vice chair. The Code for Fusion Welding
and Gas Cutting in Building Construction includes general applica-
tion, definitions, materials, permissible unit stresses, design, work-
manship, erection, gas cutting, and an appendix. The document was
donated to the Society by Paul E. Masters, Cape Coral, Fla.

WELDING JOURNAL 65
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:42 PM Page 66
AWS President Nancy Cole (left) presents
Anne Rorke a special AWS award for her
many years of service at WTIA (Welding Tech-
nology Institute of Australia) where she cur-
rently is editor of the Australasian Welding
Journal. The presentation was made at the
March WTIA conference in Perth, Australia.
Tech Topics
New Standards Projects
Development work has begun on the
following revised standards. Affected indi-
viduals are invited to contribute to their
development. Contact Staff Secretary A.
Diaz, adiaz @aws.org; ext. 304. Participa-
tion on AWS Technical Committees is open
to all persons.
B2.1-1/8-010:20XX, Standard Welding
Procedure Specification (SWPS) for Gas
Tungsten Arc Welding of Carbon Steel to
Austenitic Stainless Steel (M-1, P-1, or S-1
to M-8, P-8, or S-8), 18 through 10 Gauge,
in the As-Welded Condition, with or without
Backing. Stakeholders: Manufacturers,
welders, CWIs, engineers.
B2.1-1/8-231:20XX, Standard Welding
Procedure Specification (SWPS) for Gas
Tungsten Arc Welding with Consumable In-
sert Root followed by Shielded Metal Arc
Welding of Carbon Steel (M-1/P-1/S-1,
Groups 1 or 2) to Austenitic Stainless Steel
(M-8/P-8/S-8, Group 1), 1⁄8 through 11⁄2 Inch
Thick, IN309, ER309, and E309-15,-16, or
-17, or IN309, ER309(L), and ER309(L)-
15, -16, or -17, As-Welded Condition, Prima-
rily Pipe Applications. Stakeholders: Man-
ufacturers, welders, CWIs, and welding en-
gineers.
D9.1M/D9.1:20XX, Sheet Metal Welding
Code. Stakeholders: Those involved in the
production and qualification of nonstruc-
tural sheet metal applications such as heat-
ing, ventilating, and air conditioning sys-
tems, food processing equipment, architec-
tural sheet metal, and in the acceptance of
welding and braze welding of nonstructural
sheet metal components.
66 MAY 2013
David McQuaid (left), an AWS vice president
and a past chair of the D1 Committee, re-
ceives recognition for his 30 years of service
from D1 Committee Chair Duane Miller.
ANSI Approved Revised Standards
A5.16/A5.16M:2013 (ISO 24034:2010
MOD), Specification for Titanium and Ti-
tanium-Alloy Welding Electrodes and Rods.
Approved 2/19/13.
F1.2:2013, Laboratory Method for Meas-
uring Fume Generation Rates and Total
Fume Emission of Welding and Allied
Processes. Approved 2/25/13.
ANSI Approved Reaffirmed Standards
B2.1-1-003:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Gas Metal Arc Welding (Short Circuiting
Transfer Mode) of Galvanized Steel (M-1),
18 through 10 Gauge, in the As-Welded Con-
dition, with or without Backing. 3/7/13.
B2.1-1-004:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Gas Metal Arc Welding (Short Circuiting
Transfer Mode) of Carbon Steel (M-1, Group
1), 18 through 10 Gauge, in the As-Welded
Condition, with or without Backing. 3/7/13.
B2.1-8-005:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Gas Metal Arc Welding (Short Circuiting
Transfer Mode) of Austenitic Stainless Steel
(M-8, P-8, or S-8), 18 through 10 Gauge, in
the As-Welded Condition, with or without
Backing. 3/7/13.
B2.1-1/8-006:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Gas Metal Arc Welding (Short Circuiting
Transfer Mode) of Carbon Steel to Austenitic
Stainless Steel (M-1 to M-8, P-8, or S-8), 18
through 10 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condi-
tion, with or without Backing. 3/14/13.
B2.1-1-007:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Damian J. Kotecki (right) receives his 30-
year service award pin from Harry Wehr,
chairman, A5 Committee on Filler Metals
and Allied Materials, on March 5, during the
annual meetings in Orlando, Fla. Kotecki
was cited for his many contributions to the
A5 Committees.
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of Galvanized
Steel (M-1), 18 through 10 Gauge, in the As-
Welded Condition, with or without Backing.
3/7/13.
B2.1-1-008:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of Carbon Steel
(M-1, P-1, or S-1), 18 through 10 Gauge, in
the As-Welded Condition, with or without
Backing. 3/11/13.
B2.1-8-009:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of Austenitic
Stainless Steel (M-8, P-8, or S-8), 18 through
10 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condition, with
or without Backing. 3/11/13.
B2.1-1-011:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Galvanized
Steel (M-1), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the As-
Welded Condition, with or without Backing.
3/11/13.
B2.1-1-012:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Carbon Steel
(M-1, P-1, or S-1), 18 through 10 Gauge, in
the As-Welded Condition, with or without
Backing. 3/11/13.
B2.1-8-013:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Austenitic
Stainless Steel (M-8, P-8, S-8, Group 1), 10
through 18 Gauge, in the As-Welded Condi-
tion, with or without Backing. 3/11/13.
B2.1-1/8-014:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) for
Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Carbon Steel
to Austenitic Stainless Steel (M-1 to M-8/P-
8/S-8, Group 1), 10 through 18 Gauge, in the
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:42 PM Page 67
As-Welded Condition, with or without Back-
ing. 3/11/13.
B2.1-1/8-227:2002-AMD1 (R2013),
Standard Welding Procedure Specification
(SWPS) for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding of
Carbon Steel (M-1/P-1, Groups 1 or 2) to
Austenitic Stainless Steel ( M-8/P-8, Group
1), 1⁄16 through 11⁄2 Inch Thick, ER309(L),
As-Welded Condition, Primarily Pipe Ap-
plications. 3/11/13.
B2.1-1/8-228:2002 (R2013), Standard
Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS)
for Shielded Metal Arc Welding of Carbon
Steel (M-1/P-1/S-1, Groups 1 or 2) to
Austenitic Stainless Steel ( M-8/P-8/S-8,
Group 1), 1⁄8 through 11⁄2 Inch Thick,
E309(L) -15, -16, or -17, As-Welded Con-
dition, Primarily Pipe Applications. 3/11/13.
B2.1-1/8-229:2002-AMD1 (R2013),
Standard Welding Procedure Specification
(SWPS) for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding fol-
lowed by Shielded Metal Arc Welding of
Carbon Steel (M-1/P-1, Groups 1 or 2) to
Austenitic Stainless Steel (M-8/P-8, Group
1), 1⁄8 through 11⁄2 Inch Thick, ER309(L) and
E309(L) -15, -16, or -17, As-Welded Con-
dition, Primarily Pipe Applications. 3/11/13.
B2.1-1/8-230:2002-AMD1 (R2013),
Standard Welding Procedure Specification
(SWPS) for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding with
Consumable Insert Root of Carbon Steel
(M-1/P-1, Groups 1 or 2) to Austenitic
Stainless Steel (M-8/P-8, Group 1), 1⁄16
through 11⁄2 Inch Thick, IN309 and
Share Your Technical Expertise
Volunteers are sought to contribute to the following technical committees
Visit www.aws.org/technical/jointechcomm.html
AWS Safety and Health Committee
seeks educators, users, general interest,
and consultants to help develop standards
on welding safety. S. Hedrick,
steveh@aws.org.
B4 Committee on Mechanical Testing
of Welds seeks professionals in the area
of standard methods for tension, shear,
bend, fracture toughness, hardness, weld-
ability, and other mechanical testing of
welds. B. McGrath, bmcgrath@aws.org.
B2B Subcommittee on Welding Quali-
fications, seeks members to update B2.1,
Specification for Welding Procedure and
Performance Qualification. A. Diaz,
adiaz@aws.org.
D17J Subcommittee seeks profession-
als to update specification for friction stir
welding of aluminum alloys for aerospace
applications. A. Diaz, adiaz@aws.org.
C2 Committee on Thermal Spraying,
C4 Committee on Oxyfuel Gas Welding
ER309(L), As-Welded Condition, Prima-
rily Pipe Applications. 3/11/13.
Standards for Public Review
B5.17:20XX, Specification for the Qual-
ification of Welding Fabricators. Revised.
$25. 5/20/13.
C1.5:20XX, Specification for the Quali-
fication of Resistance Welding Technicians.
Revised. $25. 5/20/13.
D15.1/D15.1M:2012-AMD1, Railroad
Welding Specification for Cars and Loco-
motives. Amendment standard. $129.
5/13/13. 2nd BSR-8.
AWS was approved as an accredited
standards-preparing organization by the
American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) in 1979. AWS rules, as approved
by ANSI, require that all standards be
open to public review for comment dur-
ing the approval process. The above stan-
dards are submitted for public review with
the closing dates shown. A draft copy may
be obtained from R. O’Neill,
roneill@aws.org.
ISO Standard for Public Review
ISO/DIS 5826.2, Resistance welding
equipment — Transformers — General
specifications applicable to all transformers
ISO/DIS 17533, Welding for aerospace
applications — Welding data in design
documents
Review copies of the above documents
and Cutting, and D8 Committee on Auto-
motive Welding seek educators, general
interest, and end users to update its doc-
uments. E. Abrams, eabrams@aws.org.
A5L Subcommittee on Magnesium
Alloy Filler Metals seeks professionals to
revised its filler metal document. R.
Gupta, gupta@aws.org.
D10P Subcommittee for Local Heat
Treating of Pipe seeks heat treating pro-
fessionals to help update its documents.
B. McGrath, bmcgrath@aws.org.
D14 Committee on Machinery and
Equipment and D14H Subcommittee on
Surfacing and Reconditioning of Indus-
trial Mill Rolls seeks professionals in de-
sign, production, engineering, testing, and
safe operation of machinery to prepare
recommended practices for surfacing and
reconditioning of industrial mill rolls. The
next meeting of the D14 Committee is
May 28 in Dallas, Tex. To attend, contact
E. Abrams, eabrams@aws.org.
are available from your national standards
body, which in the United States is ANSI,
25 W. 43rd St., 4th Fl., New York, NY,
10036; (212) 642-4900. Send comments
regarding ISO documents to your national
standards body. In the United States, if
you wish to participate in the development
of International Standards for welding,
contact A. Davis, adavis@aws.org.
Technical Committee Meetings
All AWS technical committee meet-
ings are open to the public. Persons wish-
ing to attend a meeting should contact the
committee secretary listed.
May 1, D8 Committee on Automotive
Welding. Livonia, Mich. E. Abrams, ext.
307.
May 7–9, D17 Committee on Welding
in the Aircraft and Aerospace Industries.
Los Angeles, Calif. A. Diaz, ext. 304.
May 16, Safety and Health Commit-
tee. Cleveland, Ohio. S. Hedrick, ext. 305.
May 28–30, D14 Committee on Ma-
chinery and Equipment. Dallas, Tex. E.
Abrams, ext. 307.
June 5, C2 Committee on Thermal
Spraying. Ogden, Utah. E. Abrams, ext.
307.
June 18, G2D Subcommittee on Reac-
tive Alloys. Seattle, Wash. A. Diaz, ext.
304.
D16 Committee on Robotic and Auto-
matic Welding seeks members in the gen-
eral interest and educational fields to help
revise its documents. B. McGrath, bmc-
grath@aws.org.
G2D Subcommittee on Reactive Alloys
seeks volunteers to update guides for the
fusion welding of titanium and titanium
alloys, and fusion welding of zirconium
and zirconium alloys. A. Diaz,
adiaz@aws.org.
J1 Committee on Resistance Welding
Equipment seeks educators, general in-
terest, and users to develop standards on
controls, installation and maintenance,
calibration, and resistance welding fact
sheets. E. Abrams, eabrams@aws.org.
A5K Subcommittee on Titanium and
Zirconium Filler Metals. Seeks profes-
sionals in the field to update specifications
for welding electrodes and rods of tita-
nium, zirconium, and their alloys. A. Diaz,
adiaz@aws.org.
WELDING JOURNAL 67
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:43 PM Page 68

Three Student Chapter Advisors Announce Awards

Roy Ledford Jr., advisor, Lawson State
Community College Student Chapter,
Bessemer, Ala., has selected Benjamin Vin-
ing and Randall Standridge to receive the
Student Chapter Member Award. Vining,
who is Chapter treasurer, will represent the
college at the 2013 Louisiana State Skills-
USA competition. He has passed several
welding procedure qualifications while
maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He has been named
the Outstanding Student in the Welding
Technology Program, and is named on this
year’s President’s List. Standridge, 2012–
13 Student Chapter chair, represented the
Chapter at the “Meet the President” event.
He serves as a volunteer tutor for several
subjects, has directed student activities, and
coordinated field trips and other events.
William Burns, advisor, Savannah Tech-
nical College “Southern Welders” Student
Chapter, Savannah, Ga., has selected
Dustin Bolgrign to receive the 2012–13
Student Chapter Member Award. Bolgrign
served as the 2012–13 Chapter chair and
earned a 3.95 GPA in his final semester in
the welding program. He served nine years
in the U.S. Army, completing four combat
tours, and continues to serve in the Army
Reserves.
Huck Hughes, advisor, Columbiana
County Career and Technical Center Stu-
dent Chapter, Lisbon, Ohio, has selected
Paige Lawrence, Chapter chair, to receive
the Student Chapter Member Award.
The AWS Board of Directors estab-
lished the Student Chapter Member Award
to recognize AWS Student Members whose
Student Chapter activities have produced
outstanding school, community, or indus-
try achievements. This award also provides
an opportunity for Student Chapter advi-
sors, Section officers, and District direc-
tors to recognize outstanding students af-
filiated with AWS Student Chapters, as well
as to enhance the image of welding within
their communities.
To qualify for this certificate award, the
individual must be an AWS Student Mem-
ber affiliated with an AWS Student Chap-
ter. The criteria and nomination form can
be downloaded from www.aws.org/sec-
tions/awards/student_chapter.pdf, or request
a copy from the Membership Dept. (800)
443-9353, ext. 260.

Name Your Candidates for These AWS Awards

The deadline for nominating candidates for the following awards is December 31 prior to the year of the awards presentations.
Contact Wendy Sue Reeve, wreeve@aws.org; (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 293.
William Irrgang Memorial Award
This award is given to the individual who has done the most
over the past five years to enhance the Society’s goal of advanc-
ing the science and technology of welding. It includes a $2500
honorarium and a certificate.
Honorary Membership Award
This award acknowledges eminence in the welding profession,
or one who is credited with exceptional accomplishments in the
development of the welding art. Honorary Members have full
rights of membership.
Nat. Meritorious Certificate Award
This award recognizes the recipient’s counsel, loyalty, and
dedication to AWS affairs, assistance in promoting cordial rela-
tions with industry and other organizations, and for contribu-
tions of time and effort on behalf of the Society.
George E. Willis Award
This award is given to an individual who promoted the ad-
vancement of welding internationally by fostering coopera-
tive participation in technology transfer, standards rationali-
zation, and promotion of industrial goodwill. It includes a
$2500 honorarium.
International Meritorious Certificate Award
This honor recognizes recipients’ significant contributions to
the welding industry for service to the international welding com-
munity in the broadest terms. The award consists of a certificate
and a one-year AWS membership.

New Award Category Created: AWS Distinguished Welder

The AWS Distinguished Welder Award has been created to
recognize professionals with a minimum of 15 years’ experience
as a welder and/or supervisor whose welding skills and experi-
ence warrant this special recognition. August 1 is the deadline
for submitting your completed nomination form.
The nomination packet should include information address-
ing the Definition and candidate’s Application Criteria as de-
tailed in the AWS Distinguished Welder Award Nomination
Form. The focus of the nomination packet should include specifics
of the individual’s skills. For details on the full description, se-
lection criteria, and nomination form, visit the AWS Web site
and select the awards category or e-mail Wendy Sue Reeve, sen-
ior manager, awards programs, wreeve@aws.org.
A maximum of ten individuals per year may be selected as
Distinguished Welders as determined by the Selection Commit-
tee. Nominations shall remain valid for three years. If the maxi-
mum number of Distinguished Welders allowed under the rules
is reached, the remaining candidates will be deferred for consid-
eration the next year, consistent with their time eligibility. If less
than the maximum number are awarded, the remaining candi-
dates will be deferred for consideration the following year, con-
sistent with their time eligibility.

Candidates Sought for Annual Masubuchi Award

November 1, 2013, is the deadline for submitting nominations
for the 2014 Prof. Koichi Masubuchi Award. This award includes
a $5000 honorarium. It is presented each year to one person, 40
years old or younger, who has made significant contributions to
the advancement of materials joining through research and de-
velopment. Nominations should include a description of the can-
didate’s experience, list of publications, honors, and awards, and
at least three letters of recommendation from fellow researchers.
The award is sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology Dept. of Ocean Engineering. E-mail your nomination
package to Todd A. Palmer, assistant professor, The Pennsylva-
nia State University, tap103@psu.edu.

68 MAY 2013
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:43 PM Page 69
New AWS Supporters
New Sustaining Members
Babcock & Wilcox
Nuclear Energy, Inc.
11525 N. Community House Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28277
Representative: Daniel E. Applegate
www.babcock.com
ESGA Ingenieria en Estructura S.A. de
Bluescope Building
North America, Inc.
7440 Doe Ave.
Visalia, CA 93291
Representative: Thomas Andersen
www.bluescopesteel.com
Greenville Technical College
738 S. Pleasantburg Dr.
Greenville, SC 29607
Representative: Jerry D. Norris
www.gvltec.edu
Greenville Tech’s welding program de-
livers a strong combination of hands-on
experience with classroom instruction. Its
graduates are fully trained to enter the
workforce and are prepared to advance
into supervisory positions.
Linear Controls, Inc.
1071⁄2 Commission Blvd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
Representative: Mckenna Bergeron
www.linearcontrols.net
Multi-Contact USA
100 Market St.
Windsor, CA 95492
Representative: Jocelyn Owen
www.multi-contact-usa.com
Pulverman
1170 Lower Demunds Rd.
Dallas, PA 18612
Representative: Scott Stephenson
www.pulverman.net
The Japan Welding Engineering Soc.
Qualification & Certification Dept.
4-20 Kanda Sakuma-Cho,Chiyoda-Ku
Tokyo 101-0025, Japan
Representative: Masaharu Sato
www.jwes.or.jp
Affiliate Companies
Big B Welding Service
64016 Arcola Railroad Ln.
Roseland, LA 70456
Cab Construction Co.
1532 1st Ave.
Mankato, MN 56001
C.V., Prolongacior de Recursos
Hidraulicos #6
La Loma Tlalnepantla 54060, Mexico
FM Stainless, LLC
1524 Ray Mountain Rd.
Ellijay, GA 30536
JRV Construction Enterprises, Inc.
891 Aura Rd.
Glassboro, NJ 08028
Leading Edge Mfg.
303 Chemin Metairie Rd.
Youngsville, LA 70592
McMenimen Design and Fabrication
3100 Cedar Bay Dr.
Melbourne, FL 32934
Webb Diving Services
6409 Rutledge Pike
Knoxville, TN 37924
Westar d.b.a. Quik-Shor
13217 Laureldale Ave.
Downey, CA 90242
Supporting Companies
Al Yousuf Enterprises
215, Aisha Bldg., Office No. 1
SVP Rd., Dongri, Mumbai
Maharashtra 400009, India
Hickey Metal Fabrication
873 Georgetown Rd.
Salem, OH 44460
H & R Welding, LLC
307 Drum Point Rd.
Brick, NJ 08723
Sureway Tool & Engineering Co.
2959 Hart Dr.
Franklin Park, IL 60131
Educational Institutions
ARPEC (Air Conditioning, Refrigera-
tion & Pipefitting Education Center)
13201 NW 45th Ave.
Opa-locka, FL 33054
Birmingham Ironworkers
Training Program Trust
2828 4th Ave. S.
Birmingham, AL 35233
Carrollton Area Career Center
305 E. 10th St.
Carrollton, MO 64633
Cerro Coso Community College
3000 College Height Blvd.
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
Mastbaum AVTS High School
3116 Frankford Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19134
Midlands Technical College
1260 Lexington Dr.
West Columbia, SC 29170
Muskegon Community College
221 S. Quarterline Rd.
Muskegon, MI 49442
Nueces Canyon High School
200 Taylor St.
Barksdale, TX 78828
Pitt Community College
2064 Warren Dr.
Winterville, NC 28590
Tennessee Technology Center at Crump
3070 Hwy. 64, PO Box 89
Crump, TN 38327
White Deer ISD - Agriculture Dept.
604 Doucette
White Deer, TX 79097
Welding Distributors
ACIT (USA), Inc.
6333 Hazelwood Ln. SE
Bellevue, WA 98006
Consolidated Steel Services, Inc.
632 Glendale Valley Blvd.
Fallentimber, PA 16639
WELDING JOURNAL 69
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:44 PM Page 70
Member-Get-A-Member Campaign
Listed are the members participating in
the 2012−2013 campaign. Standings as of
March 18, 2013. See page 83 of this Weld-
ing Journal for campaign rules and prize list
or visit www.aws.org/mgm. For information,
call the Membership Department
(800/305) 443-9353, ext. 480.
Winner’s Circle
Sponsored 20 or more Individual Mem-
bers per year since June 1, 1999. The super-
script denotes the number of times the mem-
ber achieved this status if more than once.
E. Ezell, Mobile10
J. Compton, San Fernando Valley7
J. Merzthal, Peru2
G. Taylor, Pascagoula2
L. Taylor, Pascagoula2
B. Chin, Auburn
S. Esders, Detroit
M. Haggard, Inland Empire
M. Karagoulis, Detroit
S. McGill, NE Tennessee
B. Mikeska, Houston
W. Shreve, Fox Valley
T. Weaver, Johnstown/Altoona
G. Woomer, Johnstown/Altoona
R. Wray, Nebraska
President’s Guild
Sponsored 20+ new Individual Members
M. Pelegrino, Chicago — 30
E. Ezell, Mobile — 22
President’s Roundtable
Sponsored 9–19 new Individual Members
R. Fulmer, Twin Tiers — 10
W. Blamire, Atlanta — 9
A. Tous, Costa Rica — 9
P. Strother, New Orleans — 9
President’s Club
Sponsored 3–8 new Individual Members
D. Galigher, Detroit — 7
W. Komlos, Utah — 7
J. Smith, San Antonio — 6
C. Becker, Northwest — 5
L. Webb, Lexington — 4
D. Wright, Kansas City — 4
T. Baber, San Fernando Valley — 3
J. Bain, Mobile — 3
A. Bernard, Sabine — 3
J. Blubaugh, Detroit — 3
P. Brown, New Orleans — 3
D. Buster, Eastern Iowa — 3
C. Daon, Israel Section — 3
G. Gammill, NE Mississippi — 3
B. Hackbarth, Milwaukee — 3
S. Jaycox, Long Island — 3
D. Jessop, Mahoning Valley — 3
70 MAY 2013
D. Saunders, Lakeshore — 3
J. Turcott, Rochester — 3
A. Winkle, Kansas City — 3
R. Wright, San Antonio — 3
R. Zabel, SE Nebraska — 3
President’s Honor Roll
Sponsored 2 Individual Members
G. Cornell, St. Louis
M. Depuy, Portland
D. Hayes Jr., Louisville
J. Helfrich, Tri-River
P. Host, Chicago
H. Hughes, Mahoning Valley
J. Kline, Northern New York
L. Kvidahl, Pascagoula
W. Larry, Southern Colorado
G. Lawrence, N. Central Florida
J. Mansfield, Philadelphia
E. Norman, Ozark
A. Sam, Trinidad
D. Saunders, Lakeshore
C. Shepherd, Houston
G. Solomon, Central Pennsylvania
A. Sumal, British Columbia
C. Villarreal, Houston
J. Vincent, Kansas City
A. Vogt, New Jersey
J. Vorstenbosch, International
M. Wheeler, Cleveland
L. William, Western Carolina
W. Wilson, New Orleans
J. Winston, St. Louis
Student Member Sponsors
Sponsored 4+ new Student Members
H. Hughes, Mahoning Valley — 106
A. Theriot, New Orleans — 47
B. Scherer, Cincinnati — 39
D. Saunders, Lakeshore — 36
W. England, Western Michigan — 33
R. Bulthouse, Western Michigan — 31
R. Hammond, Greater Huntsville — 28
T. Geisler, Pittsburgh — 24
S. Siviski, Maine — 24
R. Zabel, SE Nebraska — 24
B. Cheatham, Columbia — 23
C. Kochersperger, Philadelphia — 23
M. Arand, Louisville — 22
D. Bastian, NW Pennsylvania — 21
G. Gammill, NE Mississippi — 21
F. Oravets, Pittsburgh — 20
J. Theberge, Boston — 20
J. Johnson, Madison-Beloit — 19
V. Facchiano, Lehigh Valley — 18
J. Falgout, Baton Rouge — 18
R. Munns, Utah — 18
S. Lindsey, San Diego — 17
R. Richwine, Indiana — 17
AWS Member Counts
April 1, 2013
Sustaining ......................................573
Supporting .....................................335
Educational ...................................619
Affiliate..........................................503
Welding Distributor........................53
Total Corporate ..........................2,083
Individual .................................58,817
Student + Transitional .................9,471
Total Members .........................68,288
J. Russell, Fox Valley — 17
M. Anderson, Indiana — 16
E. Norman, Ozark — 16
M. Anderson, Indiana — 16
C. Donnell, NW Ohio — 14
R. Hutchinson, Long Bch./Or. Cty. — 14
D. Pickering, Central Arkansas — 13
C. Daily, Puget Sound — 12
J. Daugherty, Louisville — 12
C. Morris, Sacramento — 12
S. Robeson, Cumberland Valley — 12
A. Duron, Cumberland Valley — 11
K. Coxe, Palm Beach — 11
J. Boyer, Lancaster — 10
G. Seese, Johnstown-Altoona — 10
C. Schiner, Wyoming — 9
C. Galbavy, Idaho/Montana — 8
C. Gilbertson, Northern Plains — 8
R. Vann, South Carolina — 8
J. Dawson, Pittsburgh — 7
R. Udy, Utah — 7
A. Badeaux, Washington, D.C. — 6
T. Buckler, Columbus — 6
R. Fuller, Green & White Mountains — 6
T. Shirk, Tidewater — 6
K. Temme, Philadelphia — 6
P. Host, Chicago — 5
R. Ledford, Birmingham — 5
P. Strother, New Orleans — 5
W. Wilson, New Orleans — 5
C. Chifici, New Orleans — 4
L. Clark, Milwaukee — 4
J. Ginther, International — 4
C. Griffin, Tulsa — 4
J. Johnson, Northern Plains — 4
J. Reed, Ozark — 4
G. Rolla, L.A./Inland Empire — 4
E. Shreve, Pittsburgh — 4
G. Siepert, Kansas — 4
P. Strother, New Orleans — 4
T. Sumerix, Dayton — 4
R. Zadroga, Philadelphia — 4
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:44 PM Page 71
SECTIONNEWS
Shown at the Connecticut Section event are
Treasurer Walter Chojnacki (left) and Weld-
ing Instructor Joseph Hanlon.
Shown at the Green & White Section’s tour of Structal-Bridges are (from left) Sherry Morin, Jennifer Eastley, Ann Thompson, Richard
Mann, Gerry Ouelette, Geoff Putnam, District 1 Director Tom Ferri, Ernie Plumb, Rich Fuller, tour guide Daryl Hastings, Gary Buckley,
Phil Witteman, Feona Lund, John Steel, Perley Lund, and Chris Young.
District 1
Thomas Ferri, director
(508) 527-1884
thomas_ferri@victortechnologies.com
CENTRAL MASS./R.I.
FEBRUARY 28
Activity: The Section held its fourth an-
nual welders’ and vendors’ night event at
Greater New Bedford Vo-Tech High
School. Featured were hands-on demon-
strations of new welding and cutting equip-
ment and presentations by local steel and
welding-supply companies. The presenters
included New Bedford Vo-Tech welding in-
structors Paul Mendez and Brendon Pe-
Shown at the Central Mass./R.I. Section vendors’ night event are from left (front row) Chair
Paul Mendez, District 1 Director Tom Ferri, Douglas Desrochers, and Robert Winschel,
(back row) Brendon Pequita, and Tim Kinnaman.
quita, Section chair and vice chair, respec-
tively. District 1 Director Tom Ferri par-
ticipated in the event.
CONNECTICUT
FEBRUARY 26
Activity: The Section held a students’ night
program at Bristol Technical High School
in Bristol, Conn., for 65 attendees. The
school’s culinary department provided the
meals. Attending were representatives
from local businesses who discussed their
products and services and answered the
students’ questions. Assisting with the
event were Section Chair Steve Goodrow,
Treasurer Walter Chojnacki, Joseph Han-
lon, welding department head, and Tom
Ferri, District 1 director.
GREEN & WHITE MTS.
FEBRUARY 14
Activity: The Section members toured the
Structal-Bridges facility in Claremont,
N.H., to study its operations. They ob-
served submerged arc welding of 21⁄2-in.-
thick flanges to the web of 8- × 100-ft
bridge beams. They also toured the welder
training area and an environmentally con-
trolled building for painting and thermal
spraying. The guide was Daryl Hastings,
production trainer.
WELDING JOURNAL 71
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:44 PM Page 72
Shown at the Long Island Section program are from left (front row) Tom Gartland, Chair
Brian Cassidy, and Alex Duschere, (back row) Barry McQuillan, Ray O’Leary, Jessie Provler,
District 2 Director Harland Thompson, and Ken Messemert.
Shown at the March Philadelphia Section program are (from left) District 2 Director Har-
land Thompson, with Dave Schaffer, Bert Riendeau, Charlie Minnick, Chair Ken Temme,
and Tim Stott.
Mike Chomin (left) receives the District Di-
rector Award from District 2 Director Har-
land Thompson at the February Philadel-
phia Section event.
72 MAY 2013
Shown at the February Philadelphia Section
February meeting are (from left) District 2
Director Harland Thompson, Chair Ken
Temme, and ASNT Vice Chair Tony Gatti.
District 2
Harland W. Thompson, director
(631) 546-2903
harland.w.thompson@us.ul.com
LONG ISLAND
FEBRUARY 21
Speaker: Tom Gartland, Section vice chair
Affiliation: Trilogy Lab, LLC
Topic: Welding Kooks headers
Activity: The program was held in Wan-
tagh, N.Y. District 2 Director Harland
Thompson attended the program.
PHILADELPHIA
FEBRUARY 7
Speaker: Frank Hauser
Affiliation: Divers Academy International
Topic: Techniques for testing underwater
welds
Activity: Members of the local chapter of
ASNT attended this program. District 2
Director Harland Thompson and Chair
Ken Temme presented the District Direc-
tor Certificate Award to Mike Chomin, im-
mediate past chair. The program was held
at the Crown Plaza in Trevose, Pa.
MARCH 13
Speakers: Dave Schaffer, Airgas East; Bert
Riendeau, Airgas Northeast; Charlie Min-
nick, Miller Electric; and Tim Stott, Miller
Electric
Topics: Schaffer discussed AC balance
control; Riendeau spoke on welding codes
made friendly; Minnick talked about tra-
ditional welding machine technology; and
Stott detailed advances in modern inverter
machines
Activity: Philadelphia Section Chair Ken
Temme presented the District CWI of the
Year Award to Bill Mowbray of Scheck
Mechanical Contractors; and Section Ed-
ucator of the Year Awards to Walt Emerle,
training director, Plumbers and Pipefitters
Local 322; Dan Roskiewich, Gloucester
County Institute of Technology; and Char-
lie Minnick from Miller Electric. The
event was hosted by Plumbers and Pipefit-
ters Local 322, a Section supporter, rep-
resented by Jim Kehoe, business manager.
District 3
Michael Wiswesser, director
(610) 820-9551
mike@wtti.com
District 4
Stewart A. Harris, director
(919) 824-0520
stewart.harris@altec.com
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:45 PM Page 73

Philadelphia Section members display their awards (from left) Dan Roskiewich, Charlie Frank Hauser (left) receives a speaker gift
Minnick, Bill Mowbray, Chair Ken Temme, Walt Emerle, and Harland Thompson, District from Ken Temme, Philadelphia Section
2 director. chair, at the February program.

Tidewater Section members are shown during their tour of Catalina Cylinders in February.

Attendees are shown at the ASME-Triangle Section career panel program in February.

CHARLOTTE Division, Hampton, Va. Following dinner, TRIANGLE

CALENDAR hosted by the company, Joe Wolff guided FEBRUARY 5
MAY 3 the 22 members on a plant tour. The com- Activity: A career panel consisting of six
13th Annual Intercollegiate pany produces high- and low-pressure alu- senior members of the local chapter of
Welding Competition minum compressed gas cylinders. ASME and Russell Wahrman from the
Central Piedmont C. C., Charlotte, N.C. AWS Triangle Section convened at North
Contact Chair Ray Sosko Carolina University in Raleigh, N.C., to
(704) 330-4487 MARCH 14 share their experiences in the industry and
Speaker: Charlie Pennington answer questions for the college students.
Affiliation: ITW Welding North America District 4 Director and Section Chair Stu-
TIDEWATER Topic: Manufacturing filler metals art Harris expressed an interest in mak-
FEBRUARY 21 Activity: This Tidewater Section program ing the career panel program with ASME
Activity: The Section members visited was held at Smoke BBQ in Newport News, an annual event.
Catalina Cylinders — East, Cliff Impact Va., for 28 attendees.

WELDING JOURNAL 73
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Florida West Coast golfers get ready to tee off at the Section’s 21st annual tournament.
Participants are shown at the North Central Florida Section-sponsored welding contest.
Working the Florida West Coast Section raffle-ticket fund-raiser were (from left) Walt Arnold,
Bill Machnovitz, Raymond Monson, and Al Sedory.
First-place team members at the Florida West Coast tournament are (from left) Walt Arnold,
Jack Garrison, Don Chadwell, and Mike Gates.
District 5
Carl Matricardi, director
(770) 979-6344
cmatricardi@aol.com
FLORIDA WEST COAST
MARCH 2
Activity: The Section hosted its 21st an-
nual golf outing to raise funds for its schol-
arship program to assist local welding stu-
dents. More than 50 members, guests, and
sponsors participated in the event. The
Joey Pyles and Chair Jennifer Skyles took first-place team members, scoring 14
top honors in the professional category at the under par, were Walt Arnold, Jack Garri-
North Central Florida Section competition. son, Don Chadwell, and Mike Gates.
74 MAY 2013
The top-scoring welders, student category, in
the North Central Florida Section contest
were Jacob Underhill (right) and Tommy
Taylor.
Dave Parker (left) is shown with speaker
Gerry Crawmer at the Northern New York
Section meeting.
NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 12
Activity: The Section conducted a welding
contest at Community Technical Adult Ed-
ucation Center in Ocala, Fla., for 11 stu-
dent and 8 professional welders. Joey Pyles
from Townley Industries won the profes-
sional title with runner-up Jennifer Skyles,
Section chair, with SPX Industries. Jacob
Underhill from Bradford Union Area Ca-
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:46 PM Page 75

Pittsburgh Section and ASNT members are shown at the March program.

Shown at the Pittsburgh Section program are

Shown at the Tri-State Boy Scout merit badge training session are (kneeling) Allen Black (from left) Chair John Menhart, speaker Wes
and (from left) Calvin Roach, Xristopher Popoff, Devin Ames, John Saunders, David Hay, Williams, and Robert Saunders, ASNT
Cody Finley, Andy Hall, Sean McKinley, Fred Hammers, and Chad Bowen. Chapter chair.
reer Technical Center earned the top stu- DAYTON TRI-STATE
dent welder honor with Tommy Taylor tak- FEBRUARY 12 JANUARY 8, 10, 15
ing second place. Sebastian Rodriguez Activity: The Section conducted a Boy Activity: Fred Hammers, owner of Ham-
from Tech Simulation showed attendees Scout welding merit badge workshop at mers Industries, and Health and Safety
how to test their skills using a virtual arc Miami Valley Career Technology Center Manager Cody Finley hosted and trained
welding training system. in Clayton, Ohio, for 66 Scouts. Career a Boy Scouts welding merit badge class.
Center students assisted the Section mem- The hands-on shop training was taught by

District 6
Kenneth Phy, director
bers to instruct the Scouts on the proper
welding techniques. Chuck Ford, Section
student affairs chair, and Chair Chris Lan-
Shop Manager Calvin Roach, Andy Hall,
and John Saunders. Earning their weld-
ing badges were David Hay, Xristopher
(315) 218-5297 der led the activity. Popoff, and Chad Bowen of Troop 63,
kenneth.phy@gmail.com Devin Ames of Troop 790, Sean McKinley
FEBRUARY 16, 17 of Troop 50, and Allen Black of Troop 92.
NORTHERN NEW YORK Activity: The Dayton Section members The training was conducted at the Ham-
MARCH 5 participated in Tech Fest 2013 presented mers Industries facilities near Huntington,
Speaker: Gerry Crawmer, welding engineer by the Affiliated Societies of Dayton to in- W.Va.
Affiliation: General Electric (ret.) terest grade school students in science and
Topic: Welding steam turbine rotors technology. The Section members talked
Activity: The event was held at Shaker to students about careers in welding and
Ridge Country Club in Latham, N.Y. presented live demonstrations of auto-
mated welding using a Motoman robot. District 8
Joe Livesay, director
District 7
Uwe Aschemeier, director PITTSBURGH
(931) 484-7502, ext. 143
joe.livesay@ttcc.edu
(786) 473-9540 MARCH 12
uwe@miamidiver.com Speaker: Wes Williams, staff engineer CHATTANOOGA
Affiliation: First Energy Corp. FEBRUARY 16
COLUMBUS Topic: Procedure for repair of cracks in the Activity: The Section held its student weld-
MARCH 19 Unit 2 Nuclear Reactor head ing competition at Sequoyah High School
Speaker: Angie Rybalt, outreach manager Activity: Members of the local chapter of in Soddy Daisy, Tenn., hosted by the Se-
Affiliation: American Electric Power ASNT International Chapter, headed by quoyah High School Student Chapter. The
(AEP) Chair Robert Saunders, attended this pro- top scorers in the high school category
Topic: How AEP support services can help gram, held at Springfield Grille in Mars, were Dustin Luthringer, Colton Jones, and
businesses reduce power consumption Pa. Dexter McSpaden. The postsecondary cat-
Activity: The program was held at La Scala egory winners were Mauricio Gayton Jr.,
Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Eric Vennie, and Darren Vincent.

WELDING JOURNAL 75
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HOLSTON VALLEY
MARCH 12
Speaker: Gary Roberts
Affiliation: Airgas, automation specialist
Topic: Airgas University online training
Activity: Nominations for Section officers
were received for presentation at the April
meeting. The program was held at Mama’s
House Restaurant in Kingsport, Tenn.

Shown are the participants in the Chattanooga Section/Sequoyah High School Student
Chapter welding contest. NORTHEAST TENNESSEE
FEBRUARY 12
Activity: The Section hosted its annual stu-
dents’ day event at Tennessee Technology
Center (TTC) in Knoxville for about 230
students from local schools. The event in-
cluded talks on welding careers, compli-
mentary lunch, welding demonstrations,
and a tour of the Technology Center. At-
tending were high school welding instruc-
tors Steve Linn (TTC Knoxville), Jeff Han-
kins (Oak Ridge), Jim Thomas (South
Doyle), Rick Johnson (Grainger), Tim
The top-scoring welders in the Chattanooga Section/Sequoyah High School Student Chap-
Steelman (Morgan County), Michael Hurt
ter contest are (from left) Eric Vennie, Dexter McSpaden, Dustin Luthringer, Colton Jones,
(TTC Jacksboro), Mike Russell (TTC
Darren Vincent, and Mauricio Gayton Jr.
Harriman), and District 8 Director Joe
Livesay (TTC Crossville).

NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
FEBRUARY 21
Activity: The Section sponsored a stu-
dents’ night and equipment demo event
featuring the Lincoln Electric mobile dis-
play unit. Lincoln salesman Ron Martucci
demonstrated the equipment.

Speaker Gary Roberts (red sweater) is shown with the Holston Valley Section members.

District 9
George Fairbanks Jr., director
(225) 473-6362
fits@bellsouth.net
BIRMINGHAM
FEBRUARY 27
Activity: The Birmingham Section and
Lawson State C. C. Student Chapter mem-
bers held a welding seminar at Plumbers
and Pipefitters Local 372 in Duncanville,
Students are shown at the Northeast Tennessee Section’s students’ day event. Ala. Exhibitors included Victor, Lincoln
Electric, Miller Electric, Airgas Welding
Supply, and Harris Equipment.

Central Alabama
Student Chapter
MARCH 7
Speaker: Craig Ray
Topic: Jobs in underwater welding and
commercial diving
Activity: The program was held in the Cen-
tral Alabama Community College welding
shop in Alexander, Ala. Attending were D.
J. James, Emily Hatfield, Daniel Arnberg,
Brandon Fraser, Robin Holt, Zack Adams,
Chris Floyd, Walter Whatley, Colton
Steve Linn answers students’ questions at the Northeast Tennessee event.
Stroud, and Craig Ray.

76 MAY 2013
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:46 PM Page 77

Ron Martucci is shown at the Northeast Mis-

sissippi Section students program.
Northeast Mississippi Section members and students are shown at the February event.
NEW ORLEANS
FEBRUARY 26
Speaker: Nancy Cole, AWS president
Affiliation: NCC Engineering
Topic: The welding industry
Activity: Past AWS President John and
wife Donna Bruskotter hosted a reception
for Nancy Cole at their home in Slidell, La.
District 9 Director George Fairbanks was
among the Section’s guests who attended
the event.

MARCH 19
Speaker: Jason Lange
Affiliation: Lincoln Automation, Inc.
Topic: Controlling welding fumes Attendees are shown at the Birmingham Section-sponsored welding seminar.
Activity: IWS Gas & Supply, represented
by President Moussy Chassion, provided
the door prizes and sponsored this New
Orleans Section program at Café Hope in
Marrero, La., for 66 members, students,
and guests. Alfred Marshall, an appren-
tice with Ironworkers No. 58, was the 50/50
prize winner.

District 10
Robert E. Brenner, director
(330) 484-3650
bobren28@yahoo.com

District 10 Central Alabama Student Chapter members are shown at their March meeting.
MARCH 9
Activity: The District held its second CWI
Roundtable event at Babcock & Wilcox
Commercial in Euclid, Ohio. The event of-
fers CWIs an opportunity to share their
experiences and opinions. The 20 partici-
pants discussed a number of topics, includ-
ing qualification records, welding proce-
dure specifications, welder performance
qualification records, and the proper way
to issue welder certification papers.

DRAKE WELL
JANUARY 18
Activity: The Section participated in the
SkillsUSA competition hosted by the New Nancy Cole, AWS president, is shown with
Castle School of Trades in New Castle, Pa. Ironworker Alfred Marshall (left) receives a George Fairbanks (left), District 9 director,
The top welders were Joseph Crate, door prize from Aldo Duron, New Orleans and D. J. Berger at the New Orleans Section
Robert Ackerson, and Conner Biggs. Section chair. reception.

WELDING JOURNAL 77
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The New Orleans Section attendees are shown at the reception held at the Bruskotter’s home.

District 10 CWIs are shown during their roundtable discussion in March.

MARCH 12
Activity: The Drake Well Section mem-
bers discussed the March 9 District 10
Roundtable event and the District 10 con-
ference scheduled for April 19. Dan
Bubenhiem was elected vice chair.

MAHONING VALLEY
MARCH 14
Speaker: Jim Hannahs, PE, CWI
Topic: Metals and processes used to build
NASCAR vehicles
Activity: The meeting, held at Mahoning
County Career & Technical Center in Can-
field, Ohio, was attended by about 90
Shown at the New Orleans Section event are (from left) Tommy Callahan, Mike Massicot,
members and guests.
Jimmy Gibbs, Moussy Chassion, and Chair Aldo Duron.

NORTHWESTERN
PENNSYLVANIA
FEBRUARY 13
Speaker: Marty Siddall, technical sales
representative/automation specialist
Affiliation: The Lincoln Electric Co.
Topic: New technologies in robotic weld-
ing
Activity: The meeting was held at Tri State
Business Institute in Erie, Pa.

District 11
Robert P. Wilcox, director
Shown at the New Orleans Section March program are (from left) Moussy Chassion, Matt (734) 721-8272
Howerton, speaker Jason Lange, and Chair Aldo Duron. rmwilcox@wowway.com

78 MAY 2013
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:47 PM Page 79

NORTHWESTERN OHIO
FEBRUARY 27
SPEAKER: Curt Wilsoncroft, regional sales
representative
Affiliation: Victor Technologies
Topic: Carbon arc and oxygen lance cutting
Activity: The program was held at Owens
Community College in Perrysburg, Ohio,
for 41 attendees. Following the talk, the
group visited the welding lab where Wilson-
croft demonstrated the cutting processes
and members had a hands-on opportunity Shown at the Drake Well Section SkillsUSA competition are (from left) Robert Ackerson,
to experiment with the equipment. Tyler Hoffman, Joseph Crate, Chad Hajec, Joseph Steiner, and Conner Biggs.

District 12
Daniel J. Roland, director
(715) 735-9341, ext. 6421
daniel.roland@us.fincantieri.com

RACINE-KENOSHA
FEBRUARY 22
Speaker: Chris Boycks, CWI
Topic: The shortage of skilled qualified
welders and fabricators
Activity: The seventh annual District 12 Drake Well Section members are from left (front row) Robert Fugate, Colin Young, Justus
winter meeting was hosted by Jay Manu- Burk, Bailey Hagerty, Dan Bubenhiem, William Brownlee, Travis Crate, and Ward Kiser;
facturing Co. in Oshkosh, Wis. Dan (back row) Rolf Laemmer, Erick Speer, Joe Crate, and Troy Braden.
Roland, District 12 director, presented
Chair Dan Crifase the Dalton E. Hamil-
ton Memorial CWI of the Year Award and
the District Meritorious Award to Vice
Chair Ken Karwowski.

District 13
John Willard, director
(815) 954-4838
kustom_bilt@msn.com

CHICAGO
FEBRUARY 13
Activity: The Section hosted its annual St.
Valentine’s Day dinner party at Cooper’s
Hawk Winery & Restaurant in Chicago,
Ill., for 35 attendees.
Shown at the February Racine-Kenosha Sec-
Speaker Jim Hannahs (right) is shown with tion event are (from left) Chair Dan Crifase,
Dave Hughes, Mahoning Valley Section ex- District 12 Director Dan Roland, and Ken
ecutive committee member. Karwowski.

District 14
Robert L. Richwine, director
(765) 378-5378
bobrichwine@aol.com

INDIANA
FEBRUARY 9, 10
Activity: The Section conducted the re-
gional SkillsUSA welding contest at J. E.
L. Career Center in Indianapolis, Ind., for
20 participants. Four secondary and four
postsecondary welding contestants were
selected to compete in the state welding
contest. Working the event were Bob Rich- From left, Gary Dugger, Bennie Flynn, and Speaker Marty Siddall (left) is shown with
wine, District 14 director; Chair Bennie Gary Tucker worked the Indiana SkillsUSA Tom Kostreba, Northwestern Pennsylvania
Flynn; Gary Dugger; and Gary Tucker. contest. Section chair.

WELDING JOURNAL 79
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:48 PM Page 80
SkillsUSA welding contestants are shown during the Indiana Section event.
Shown at the Indiana Section contest are
(from left) Wilson Smith, Thomas Faucett,
and Bob Richwine, District 14 director.
Angela Harrison is shown with Dennis Pick-
ering at the Arkansas Welding Expo.
Shown at the February Central Arkansas
Section program are (from left) Aaron Carr,
Karen Cooper, and Dennis Pickering.
80 MAY 2013
Incoming Lexington Section Chair Coy Hall
(left) is shown with Sherman Cook.
Mike Lewis led the Indiana Section mem-
bers on a tour of Don Schumacher Racing.
Tom Dunn (left) receives the District 14 Mer-
itorious Award from Jerry Simpson at the St.
Louis Section holiday party.
Shown at the Lexington Section program are
(from left) Rosa Whitaker, Coy Hall, Rosa
McCallum, and Shawn Gannon.
FEBRUARY 27
Activity: The Indiana Section members
toured the Don Schumacher Racing facil-
ity in Brownsburg, Ind. Mike Lewis, sen-
ior vice president, conducted the tour.
LEXINGTON
FEBRUARY 28
Speaker: Tony Noah
Affiliation: The Lincoln Electric Co.
Topic: Pulse welding
Activity: Incoming Chair Coy Hall pre-
sented the Section CWI of the Year Award
to Sherman Cook, an instructor at Rock-
castle County Technical School. Rose
Whitaker and Rosa McCallum were pre-
sented $250 scholarship awards. Fifty
members and guests attended the pro-
gram.
ST. LOUIS
DECEMBER 21
Activity: The Section held its holiday party
at Cee Kay Supply, Inc., in St. Louis, Mo.
Company owner Tom Dunn was cited for
his generous support and the services he
has offered to the Section over the years.
In recognition, Jerry Simpson presented
Dunn the District 14 Meritorious Award.
District 15
David Lynnes, director
(701) 365-0606
dave@learntoweld.com
District 16
Dennis Wright, director
(913) 782-0635
awscwi1@att.net
District 17
J. Jones, director
(832) 506-5986
jjones6@lincolnelectric.com
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:48 PM Page 81

Speaker Dennis Pickering (kneeling) and attendees are shown at the February Central Arkansas Section meeting.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS
NOVEMBER 1
Activity: The Section participated in the
Arkansas Welding Expo presented by
WELSCO, Inc., at Verizon Arena in Lit-
tle Rock, Ark. Angela Harrison, WELSCO
president, was presented the Section Mer-
itorious Award. More than 700 students
attended the event to learn about job op-
portunities from Monica Pfarr, AWS cor-
porate director, workforce development,
who held presentations for them titled
“Let the Sparks Fly.” Vice Chair Dennis
Pickering, a welding instructor at
Arkansas Career Training Institute, made Attendees are shown at the Central Arkansas Section January program.
presentations at the expo.

JANUARY 17
Speaker: Dennis Pickering, vice chairman
Affiliation: Arkansas Career Training In-
stitute, welding instructor
Topic: Welding codes and standards
Activity: The program was held at the in-
stitute in Hot Springs, Ark.

FEBRUARY 11
Speaker: Dennis Pickering, vice chairman Shown at the East Texas Section program are (from left) Student Chapter Chair Michael
Affiliation: Arkansas Career Training In- Florczykowski, Chair Bryan Baker, Yoni Adonyi, speaker Tom Siewert, Robert Warke, and J.
stitute, welding instructor Jones, District 17 director.
Topic: The AWS scholarship program
Activity: The meeting was held at Arkansas
State University in Heber Springs, Ark.

EAST TEXAS
LeTourneau University S. C.
FEBRUARY 21
Speaker: Tom Siewert, AWS director-at-
large
Affiliation: NIST (ret.)
Topic: Analysis of the collapse of the World Shown at the Tulsa Section program are (from left) AWS President Nancy Cole, Todd Mor-
Trade Center buildings ris, Charles Griffin, Ralph Johnson, Ray Wilsdorf, and J. Jones, District 17 director.
Activity: The program was held at Le-
Tourneau University in Longview, Tex. At-
tending were District 17 Director J. Jones, TULSA Johnson received District Director Certifi-
Chair Bryan Baker, Student Chapter Chair FEBRUARY 9 cate Awards, and Charles Griffin was pre-
Michael Florczykowski, Prof. Materials Activity: The Section hosted a dinner to sented the Private Sector Instructor
Joining Engineering Yoni Adonyi, and celebrate St. Valentine’s day with the Award. Ralph Johnson and Ray Wilsdorf
Robert Warke, associate professor, mate- ladies. Nancy Cole, AWS president, at- received Dalton E. Hamilton Memorial
rials joining. tended the event. Todd Morris and Ralph CWI of the Year Awards.

WELDING JOURNAL 81
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:49 PM Page 82

Attendees are shown at the Houston Section instructors institute held February 22.

Tac Edwards (left), Lake Charles Section

Shown at the Houston Section booth at the Houstex® show are (from left) Sam Gentry, chair, presents a speaker plaque to John
Luanne Bray, John Stoll, and John Bray, District 18 director. Bray, District 18 director.

Alaska Section members and guests are shown at the February program.

Members and students are shown at the Spokane Section program in January.

Shown during the British Columbia Section
tour are Brad Moe and speaker John Shaw.
HOUSTON
District 18
John Bray, director
FEBRUARY 22
Activity: The Section held its seventh an-
(281) 997-7273 nual instructors institute hosted by Andre
sales@affiliatedmachinery.com Horn and the Industrial Welding Academy
staff. Thirty welding instructors attended

82 MAY 2013
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:49 PM Page 85
Dale Flood (left), an AWS director-at-large,
accepts a speaker gift from Brad Bosworth,
Fresno Section chair.
the event. The topic for the hands-on class
was flux cored arc welding. Each instruc-
tor had the opportunity to qualify on a sin-
gle V-groove butt joint on 3⁄8-in. plate in ei-
ther the flat or vertical position. The steel
plates were donated by Scott Witkowski
and Maverick Testing Laboratories.
FEBRUARY 26–28
Activity: The Section manned a booth at
the Houstex® The Art of Manufacturing
Show presented by the Society of Manu-
facturing Engineers at George R. Brown
Convention Center in Houston, Tex. Par-
ticipating were Sam Gentry, executive di-
rector, AWS Foundation; Joe Krall, AWS
managing director, global exposition sales;
John Stoll, and Luanne and John Bray,
District 18 director.
LAKE CHARLES
FEBRUARY 20
Speaker: John Bray, District 18 director
Affiliation: Affiliated Machinery
Topic: What’s new at AWS
Activity: The dinner and program were
held at Logan’s Roadhouse Restaurant in
Lake Charles, La.
District 19
Ken Johnson, director
(425) 957-3553
kenneth.johnson@vigorshipyards.com
ALASKA
FEBRUARY 20
Speaker: Marty Anderson, chair, ASNT
Alaska chapter
Affiliation: Alaska Technical Training, Inc.
Topic: Nondestructive welding inspection
technologies
Activity: The program was held for 21 at-
tendees in Anchorage, Alaska.
Idaho-Montana Section members are shown during their tour of Spudnik Equipment Co.
Attendees are shown at the Fresno Section program in February.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
FEBRUARY 20
Speaker: John Shaw, VP, government re-
lations and business development
Affiliation: Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards
Topic: Update on the National Shipbuild-
ing Procurement Strategy
Activity: Following a catered dinner and
the talk, the Section members were guided
on a tour of the Seaspan Vancouver Ship-
yards by AWS member Brad Moe.
SPOKANE
JANUARY 16
Speaker: Russ Loveland
Affiliation: Western States Equipment Co.
Topic: Maintaining large construction
equipment
Activity: The program was held at Spokane
Community College in Spokane, Wash.,
for 39 attendees.
District 20
William A. Komlos, director
(801) 560-2353
bkoz@arctechllc.com
IDAHO-MONTANA
FEBRUARY 13
Activity: The Section members visited
Spudnik Equipment Co., in Blackfoot,
Idaho, to tour the facility. The facility de-
signs and manufactures potato planting,
cultivating, harvesting, and handling
equipment. Wes Woodland, shift supervi-
sor, led the program.
District 21
Nanette Samanich, director
(702) 429-5017
nan07@aol.com
District 22
Kerry E. Shatell, director
(925) 866-5434
kesi@pge.com
FRESNO
FEBRUARY 21
Activity: The Section members met for a
demonstration of the Tri Tool AdaptArc
orbital welding system. Dale Flood, Tri
Tool project manager, an AWS director-
at-large, and past District 22 director, con-
ducted the program for about 45 atten-
dees. Attending were District 22 Director
Kerry Shatell, Kent Baucher, a past Dis-
trict 22 director, and Theo Davis, an in-
structor at Fresno City College.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
JANUARY 16
Speaker: Mark Paavola, administrator of
apprenticeship ad training
Affiliation: Sheet Metal Workers Assn.
Topic: Employment opportunities in the
sheet metal trade
Activity: Paavola and David Perez detailed
the training program used by the center.
International
GERMANY
CALENDAR
Essen, Germany
SEPT. 11–17
66th IIW Annual Assembly
2013 Int’l Trade Fair
Joining, Cutting, Surfacing
SEPT. 16, 17
Int’l Conf. on Automation in Welding
SEPT. 16–21
Young Welders’ Competitions
www.iiw2013.com
WELDING JOURNAL 85
Society News MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 3:49 PM Page 86

Guide to AWS Services

American Welding Society
8669 Doral Blvd., Ste. 130, Doral, FL 33166
(800/305) 443-9353; FAX (305) 443-7559; www.aws.org
Staff phone extensions are shown in parentheses.

AWS PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL SALES TECHNICAL SERVICES

Nancy C. Cole
nccengr@yahoo.com
NCC Engineering
2735 Robert Oliver Ave.
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
ADMINISTRATION
Executive Director
Ray W. Shook.. rshook@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(210)
Sr. Associate Executive Director
Cassie R. Burrell.. cburrell@aws.org . . . . . .(253)
Chief Financial Officer
Gesana Villegas.. gvillegas@aws.org . . . . . .(252)
VP Sales and Marketing
Bill Fudale..bfudale@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(211)
VP Technology and Business Development
Dennis Harwig..dharwig@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(213)
Executive Assistant for Board Services
Gricelda Manalich.. gricelda@aws.org . . . . .(294)
Administrative Services
Managing Director
Jim Lankford.. jiml@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(214)
IT Network Director
Armando Campana..acampana@aws.org . .(296)
Director
Hidail Nuñez..hidail@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . .(287)
Director of IT Operations
Natalia Swain..nswain@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(245)
Human Resources
Director, Compensation and Benefits
Luisa Hernandez.. luisa@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(266)
Director, Human Resources
Dora A. Shade.. dshade@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(235)
International Institute of Welding
Senior Coordinator
Sissibeth Lopez . . sissi@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(319)
Liaison services with other national and international
societies and standards organizations.
GOVERNMENT LIAISON SERVICES
Hugh K. Webster . . . . . . . . .hwebster@wc-b.com
Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, Washington, D.C.,
(202) 785-9500; FAX (202) 835-0243. Monitors fed-
eral issues of importance to the industry.
CONVENTION and EXPOSITIONS
Director, Convention and Meeting Services
Matthew Rubin.....mrubin@aws.org . . . . . . .(239)
ITSA — International Thermal
Spray Association
Senior Manager and Editor
Kathy Dusa.kathydusa@thermalspray.org . . .(232)
RWMA — Resistance Welding
Manufacturing Alliance
Management Specialist
Keila DeMoraes....kdemoraes@aws.org . . . .(444)
WEMCO — Association of
Welding Manufacturers
Management Specialist
Keila DeMoraes....kdemoraes@aws.org . . . .(444)
Brazing and Soldering
Manufacturers’ Committee
Jeff Weber.. jweber@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(246)
GAWDA — Gases and Welding
Distributors Association
Executive Director
John Ospina.. jospina@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(462)
Operations Manager
Natasha Alexis.. nalexis@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(401)
Managing Director, Global Exposition Sales
Joe Krall..jkrall@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(297)
Corporate Director, International Sales
Jeff P. Kamentz..jkamentz@aws.org . . . . . . .(233)
Oversees international business activities involving
certification, publication, and membership.
PUBLICATION SERVICES
Department Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(275)
Managing Director
Andrew Cullison.. cullison@aws.org . . . . . .(249)
Welding Journal
Publisher
Andrew Cullison.. cullison@aws.org . . . . . .(249)
Editor
Mary Ruth Johnsen.. mjohnsen@aws.org . .(238)
National Sales Director
Rob Saltzstein.. salty@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . .(243)
Society and Section News Editor
Howard Woodward..woodward@aws.org . .(244)
Welding Handbook
Editor
Annette O’Brien.. aobrien@aws.org . . . . . . .(303)
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Director
Ross Hancock.. rhancock@aws.org . . . . . . .(226)
Public Relations Manager
Cindy Weihl..cweihl@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . .(416)
Webmaster
Jose Salgado..jsalgado@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(456)
Section Web Editor
Henry Chinea...hchinea@aws.org . . . . . . . . .(452)
MEMBER SERVICES
Department Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(480)
Sr. Associate Executive Director
Cassie R. Burrell.. cburrell@aws.org . . . . . .(253)
Director
Rhenda A. Kenny... rhenda@aws.org . . . . . .(260)
Serves as a liaison between Section members and AWS
headquarters.
CERTIFICATION SERVICES
Department Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(273)
Managing Director
John L. Gayler.. gayler@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(472)
Oversees all certification activities including all inter-
national certification programs.
Director, Certification Operations
Terry Perez..tperez@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . .(470)
Oversees application processing, renewals, and exam
scoring.
Director, Certification Programs
Linda Henderson..lindah@aws.org . . . . . . .(298)
Oversees the development of new certification pro-
grams, as well as AWS-Accredited Test Facilities, and
AWS Certified Welding Fabricators.
EDUCATION SERVICES
Director, Operations
Martica Ventura.. mventura@aws.org . . . . . .(224)
Director, Education Development
David Hernandez.. dhernandez@aws.org . . .(219)
AWS AWARDS, FELLOWS, COUNSELORS
Senior Manager
Wendy S. Reeve.. wreeve@aws.org . . . . . . . .(293)
Coordinates AWS awards, Fellow, Counselor nom-
inees.
Department Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(340)
Managing Director
Andrew R. Davis.. adavis@aws.org . . . . . . .(466)
International Standards Activities, American Coun-
cil of the International Institute of Welding (IIW)
Director, National Standards Activities
Annette Alonso.. aalonso@aws.org . . . . . . .(299)
Manager, Safety and Health
Stephen P. Hedrick.. steveh@aws.org . . . . . .(305)
Metric Practice, Safety and Health, Joining of Plas-
tics and Composites, Welding Iron Castings, Per-
sonnel and Facilities Qualification
Managing Engineer, Standards
Brian McGrath .... bmcgrath@aws.org . . . . .(311)
Structural Welding, Methods of Inspection, Me-
chanical Testing of Welds, Welding in Marine Con-
struction, Piping and Tubing
Senior Staff Engineer
Rakesh Gupta.. gupta@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(301)
Filler Metals and Allied Materials, International
Filler Metals, UNS Numbers Assignment, Arc
Welding and Cutting Processes
Standards Program Managers
Efram Abrams.. eabrams@aws.org . . . . . . . .(307)
Thermal Spray, Automotive, Resistance Welding,
Machinery and Equipment
Stephen Borrero... sborrero@aws.org . . . . .(334)
Brazing and Soldering, Brazing Filler Metals and
Fluxes, Brazing Handbook, Soldering Handbook,
Railroad Welding, Definitions and Symbols
Alex Diaz.... adiaz@aws.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(304)
Welding Qualification, Sheet Metal Welding, Air-
craft and Aerospace, Joining of Metals and Alloys
Patrick Henry.. phenry@aws.org . . . . . . . . . .(215)
Friction Welding, Oxyfuel Gas Welding and Cut-
ting, High-Energy Beam Welding, Robotics Weld-
ing, Welding in Sanitary Applications
Senior Manager, Technical Publications
Rosalinda O’Neill.. roneill@aws.org . . . . . . .(451)
AWS publishes about 200 documents widely used
throughout the welding industry
Note: Official interpretations of AWS standards
may be obtained only by sending a request in writ-
ing to Andrew R. Davis, managing director, Tech-
nical Services, adavis@aws.org.
Oral opinions on AWS standards may be ren-
dered, however, oral opinions do not constitute of-
ficial or unofficial opinions or interpretations of
AWS. In addition, oral opinions are informal and
should not be used as a substitute for an official
interpretation.
AWS FOUNDATION, Inc.
www.aws.org/w/a/foundation
General Information
(800/305) 443-9353, ext. 212, vpinsky@aws.org
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Gerald D. Uttrachi
Executive Director, Foundation
Sam Gentry.. sgentry@aws.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (331)
Corporate Director, Workforce Development
Monica Pfarr.. mpfarr@aws.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (461)
The AWS Foundation is a not-for-profit corpora-
tion established to provide support for the educa-
tional and scientific endeavors of the American Weld-
ing Society.
Promote the Foundation’s work with your financial
support. Call (800) 443-9353, ext. 212, for complete
information.

86 MAY 2013
codes conference_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 9:20 AM Page 87
Personnel MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 1:39 PM Page 88

PERSONNEL

Eriez® Names Two to Key senior manager exports, and John Blicha
Positions to director of corporate communications.
Goldner will manage the company’s sales
offices in Central and South America and
Eriez®, Erie, Pa., a supplier of mag- the Middle East. Most recently, Goldner
netic lift, conveying, metal-detection, served as export market development
X-ray, controlling, and inspection equip- manager, targeting industrial markets in
ment, has promoted Andrew Goldner to Central and South America. Blicha has

Andrew Goldner John Blicha

served as marketing communications

manager since joining the company last
year.

Tuchscherer Elected AWS

Foundation Trustee

6 6 6 The American Welding Society Foun-

dation, Inc., Doral, Fla., has elected Becky
Tuchscherer to serve on its board of
trustees. Her term runs through 2015.
6 6 66 Tuchscherer is group vice president, com-
mercial welding, for Miller Electric Mfg.
6 6 6 6 Co., where she has worked since 1988. She
is an AWS member and has served on the
AWS Finance Committee. The AWS
6 6 6 Foundation was es-
tablished in 1991 to
6 6 6 6 support programs
that ensure the
+!3!6-/042
6
6 6 growth and develop-
ment of the welding
6 6 6 6 industry. Its focus is
on providing scholar-
6 6 ships for welding stu-
dents and pursuing
2% Thoriated welder workforce de-
velopment issues. Becky Tuchscherer
E3® Electrodes were tested
on +624%-346-2*.3 +)64)./06
! $!34%6+/64246-"/63-6
Wall Colmonoy Announces
)+!36+36)4+!36 6)-/0426./6 New Controller and CFO
3.!6'+2 3.")+26+'').+3.-/6
w h e n co m p a r e d t o Wall Colmonoy Corp., Madison

63-2.+34
6 6 6 6 6 Heights, Mich., a supplier of surfacing and
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 brazing products, castings, and engi-
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 neered components, has named Michael
6 6 6 6 6 Edwards chief financial officer, and
6 6 6 Michael Safford controller for the com-
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 pany’s U.S. operations. Edwards has ex-
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6

63-2.+34 E3®
after 3 passes after 8 passes

5-364)432-4!6!-/64246
2"/6-/6+624%-346-2*.3+)6
4)./06!$!34%6-/6+6
6./6
'.'46.36+6
6./6+))6

62+/6+''2-6 6)./4+263
E3®62+/6+''2-66)./4+263

Mike Edwards Mike Safford

For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
— continued on page 90
88 MAY 2013
general corporate_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 8:22 AM Page 89
Personnel MAY_Layout 1 4/15/13 1:39 PM Page 90
— continued from page 88
tensive experience in accounting with De-
loitte and in manufacturing where he has
held senior finance and operations man-
agement positions with a machine manu-
facturer and a provider of injection-
molded PVC pipe fittings. Safford is a cer-
tified managerial accountant, with Six
Sigma Green Belt training.
Centerline® Names RW
Account Manager
Centerline® (Windsor) Ltd., Windsor,
Ont., Canada, has named Greg Van Dyke
account manager specializing in resist-
ance welding con-
sumables and au-
tomation component
products. Van Dyke
has ten years of expe-
rience in the resist-
ance welding field,
most recently with
Resistance Welding
Products Ltd., and
the Tuffaloy Group of
Greg Van Dyke companies.
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
90 MAY 2013
Sales Director Hired at Adept Technology Appoints
Caster Concepts Global Marketing VP
Caster Concepts, Albion, Mich., a sup- Adept Technol-
plier of heavy-duty casters and wheels, has ogy, Inc., Pleasanton,
named Jamie Long Calif., a provider of
director of sales. intelligent robots,
Prior to joining the has named Glenn
company, Long Hewson senior vice
served as national president of global
sales manager for marketing. Hewson,
Hotsy Corp., a divi- with 25 years of prod-
sion of Karcher uct line and market-
North America, a ing experience, most Glenn Hewson
manufacturer of recently served as
Jamie Long high-pressure clean- vice president of global marketing at
ing systems. Avure Technologies, Inc.
TRUMPF Designates West
Coast Sales Manager
TRUMPF, Inc., Laser Technology
Member Milestones
Center, Farmington, Conn., has named
Gene Bonacum west coast regional sales
manager to handle accounts in Oregon, Damian J. Kotecki
Washington, California, Idaho, Montana,
and Wyoming. Bonacum has more than Damian J. Kotecki, an AWS Fellow,
20 years of experience in the field, most PE, a past AWS president, and world-
recently with Newport Corp. renowned authority on welding stainless
steels, has been ap-
pointed to the Board
of Advisors of
Abakan, Inc., Miami,
Fla. The announce-
ment states in part,
“Dr. Kotecki brings
43 years of welding
expertise as well as
his extensive techni-
cal and business net-
Damian Kotecki work to the Board of
Advisors, as Abakan
transitions its CermaClad™ large-area
cladding technology into full commercial
production. Dr. Kotecki’s extensive expe-
rience in welding research, pipeline fail-
ure analyses, welding training and specifi-
cations, welding procedure development,
quality assurance, and stainless/high-alloy
welding filler metal and product develop-
ment will help assure the company’s prod-
ucts incorporate the highest levels of
technical excellence.” Kotecki chairs the
A5D Subcommittee on Stainless Steel
Welding and the International Standards
Activities Committee. He is also a past
chair of the IIW Commission II Arc
Welding and Filler Metals, and authors
the bimonthly Stainless Q&A column in
the Welding Journal. He conducted weld-
ing research projects and pipeline failure
analyses for the Battelle Memorial Insti-
tute, served as director of research for
Teledyne McKay, and most recently re-
tired as the technical director for stainless
and high-alloy product development for
The Lincoln Electric Co.◆
awo welding symbols_FP_TEMP 4/11/13 9:06 AM Page 91

awo.aws.org

Understanding
Understanding
Welding
Welding Symbols
Knowledge of weld joint terminology is essential for all levels of the welding design and production process. Use
of proper terms makes it much easier for welding personnel to communicate about various fit-up and welding
problems encountered during the fabrication process. A welding inspector
inspecto ’s ability to read and interpret welding
inspector’s
plans correctly is essential to properly inspecting a piece or part.

This in-depth course walks the user through AWS 2.4:2012, starting with a module on orthographic views, joint
AWS
types, and weld types. Then the course dives into the various types of welds and clarifies the rules and usage of
welding symbols.

geometry,, groove welds, fillet welds, plug and slot welds, spot and
This self-paced course covers basic joint geometry
projection welds, and stud, seam, surfacing, and edge welds. Rounding out the seminar is a module on brazing
terms and symbols and non-destructive testing symbols. Interactive practice problems include an explanation of
each solution, and chapter quizzes will solidify the knowledge and prepare you for the proficiency exam.

The seminar is approximately 12 hours long and concludes with a final test.

Sample seminar at awo.aws.org/seminars/symbols

Counselor Letter 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 9:11 AM Page 92

Friends and Colleagues:

The American Welding Society established the honor of Counselor to recognize individual
members for a career of distinguished organizational leadership that has enhanced the image and
impact of the welding industry. Election as a Counselor shall be based on an individual’s career of
outstanding accomplishment.

To be eligible for appointment, an individual shall have demonstrated his or her leadership in the
welding industry by one or more of the following:

• Leadership of or within an organization that has made a substantial contribution to the welding
industry. The individual’s organization shall have shown an ongoing commitment to the industry, as
evidenced by support of participation of its employees in industry activities.

• Leadership of or within an organization that has made a substantial contribution to training and
vocational education in the welding industry. The individual’s organization shall have shown an
ongoing commitment to the industry, as evidenced by support of participation of its employees in
industry activities.

For specifics on the nomination requirements, please contact Wendy Sue Reeve at AWS
headquarters in Miami, or simply follow the instructions on the Counselor nomination form in this
issue of the Welding Journal. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2013. The committee looks
forward to receiving these nominations for 2014 consideration.

Sincerely,

Lee Kvidahl
Chair, Counselor Selection Committee
MAY 2013 WJ CLASSIFIEDS_Classified Template 4/16/13 8:41 AM Page 95

CLASSIFIEDS

CAREER EQUIPMENT FOR SALE OR RENT

OPPORTUNITIES

JOE FULLER LLC

We manufacture tank turning rolls
Welding Engineering 3-ton through 120-ton rolls
Technology Faculty www.joefuller.com
(9 mos. Full-Time, Tenure Track)
Teach undergraduate-level lecture and
laboratory course work in a process
oriented, “hands-on” A.A.S. and B.S.
degree program. Required: Bachelor of
Science in Welding Engineering, Welding
Engineering Technology, or a closely
related field. Two (2) years of welding re-
lated experience in a welding application,
design, educational, procedure or research email: joe@joefuller.com
environment. Candidates must demon- Phone: (979) 277-8343
strate proficiency in GMAW, SMAW, GTAW, Fax: (281) 290-6184
OFW, OFC, PAC, SAW, FCAW and RSW.
Our products are made in the USA
Additional requirements include knowledge
of pipe welding and experience in welding
graphics, welding fabrication, destructive CERTIFICATION
and nondestructive weldment evaluation, & TRAINING
mechanical testing, and computer applica-
tions. The successful candidate will have
a Master’s degree by the time of appoint-
ment or will be required to obtain such a
degree within four (4) years of hiring. For 2013
a complete posting or to apply, access the
electronic applicant system by logging on
to http://employment.ferris.edu. Ferris CWI PREPARATORY
State University is sincerely committed to Guarantee – Pass or Repeat FREE!
being a truly diverse institution and actively MITROWSKI RENTS 80+ HOUR COURSE
seeks applications from women, minorities, Made in U.S.A. MORE HANDS–ON/PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
and other underrepresented groups.
Welding Positioners Pascagoula, MS June 3–14, Oct. 21–Nov. 1
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action 1-Ton thru 60-Ton Houston, TX June 24–July 5, Aug. 19–30
employer. Ellijay, GA July 8–19, Sep. 9–20
Little Rock, AR July 29–Aug. 9
56+ HOUR COURSE
EQUIPMENT FOR EXTRA INSTRUCTION TO GET A HEAD START

SALE OR RENT Pascagoula, MS June 6 – 14, Oct. 24–Nov. 1

Houston, TX June 27–July 5, Aug. 22–30
Ellijay, GA July 11–19, Sep. 12–20
Little Rock, AR Aug. 1–9
40 HOUR COURSE
GET READY – FAST PACED COURSE!
Pascagoula, MS June 10–14, Oct. 28–Nov. 1
Houston, TX July 1–5, Aug. 26–30
Ellijay, GA July 15–19, Sep. 16–20
Little Rock, AR Aug. 5–9
Tank Turning Rolls Test follows on Saturday at same facility &
Used Equipment for Sale includes additional self study for weekend
www.mitrowskiwelding.com FOR DETAILS CALL OR E-MAIL:
(800) 489-2890
info@realeducational.com
Also offering: 9–Year CWI Recertification,
RT Film Interpretation, MT/PT/UT Thickness,
Welding Procedure Fundamentals,
CWS, SCWI, Advanced Inspection Courses

sales@mitrowskiwelding.com
(800) 218-9620
(713) 943-8032

WELDING JOURNAL 95
MAY 2013 WJ CLASSIFIEDS_Classified Template 4/16/13 8:42 AM Page 96

ADVERTISER
INDEX

ALM Materials Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Harris Products Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

www.almmh.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 544-5438 www.harrisproductsgroup.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 733-4043

ArcOne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Hobart Inst. of Welding Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

www.Arc1Weldsafe.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 223-4685 www.welding.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 332-9448

Arcos Industries, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC Image of Welding/WEMCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

www.arcos.us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 233-8460 www.aws.org/wemco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 443-9353

Astaras Welding Accessories, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Intercon Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

www.e3tungsten.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .web contact only www.intercononline.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 665-6655

Atlas Welding Accessories, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Lincoln Electric Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC

www.atlaswelding.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 962-9353 www.lincolnelectric.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(216) 481-8100

AWS Education Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59, 64, 87, 91 Masterweld Products USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
www.aws.org/education/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 443-9353 www.masterweld.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 433-3454

AWS Membership Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63, 89 Midalloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

www.aws.org/membership/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 443-9353 www.midalloy.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 776-3300

Bellingham Technical College Welding Rodeo . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 National Bronze & Metals, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
www.btc.cdc.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(360) 752-7000 www.nbmmetals.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(713) 869-9600

Camfil Air Pollution Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Netbraze LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

www.camfilapc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 479-6801 www.netbraze.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(855) 444-1440

Champion Welding Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 OTC Daihen, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

www.championwelding.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 321-9353 www.daihen-usa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(888) 682-7626

Commercial Diving Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Red-D-Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

www.commercialdivingacademy.com . . . . . . . . . . .(888) 974-2232 www.reddarc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(866) 733-3272

Cor-Met . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Schaefer Ventilation Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

www.cor-met.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 848-2719 www.schaeferfan.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 779-3267

Diamond Ground Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Select Arc, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC

www.diamondground.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(805) 498-3837 www.select-arc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(937) 295-5215

Electron Beam Technologies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Tianjin Leigong Welding Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
www.electronbeam.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(815) 935-2211 www.hardfacing.en.alibaba.com . . . . . . . . . . . .+86–13752201959

ESAB Welding and Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Triangle Engineering, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

www.esabna.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 372-2123 www.trieng.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(781) 878-1500

ESSEN Germany International Trade Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 TRUMPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

www.schweissen-schneiden.com . . . . . . . . . . . .001-914-962-1310 www.us.trumpf.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .web contact only

FABTECH 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Victor Technologies International, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

www.fabtechexpo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 443-9353, ext. 297 www.victortechnologies.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 426-1888

Fischer Engineering Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Weld Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

www.fischerengr.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(937) 754-1750 www.weldaid.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 935-3243

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96 MAY 2013
Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:10 PM Page 133

SUPPLEMENT TO THE WELDING JOURNAL, MAY 2013

Sponsored by the American Welding Society and the Welding Research Council

Prediction of σ-Phase Embrittlement in

Type 316FR Weld Metal
Precipitation behavior and impact toughness were studied for 316FR weld metal
subjected to the high operating temperatures and sodium environment of
fast breeder reactors

BY E. J. CHUN, H. BABA, K. TERASHIMA, K. NISHIMOTO, AND K. SAIDA

cialization of future FBRs in Japan can be-

ABSTRACT come a reality, discovering the effects of
the sodium environment and the relatively
Through aging treatments at 873 to 1023 K, sigma- (σ) phase embrittlement in Type high operating temperature on the repair
316FR stainless steel weld metal was predicted at service-exposure temperatures (773–823 weldability of components made of
K) of a fast breeder reactor (FBR) based on a kinetic approach to σ-phase precipitation.

WELDING RESEARCH
austenitic stainless steel (Types 304, 316,
Microstructural examination by scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and 321), the alloy usually chosen due to
and TEM) revealed that the dominant precipitated phases were σ and chi (χ), nucleated at its superior corrosion resistance, ductility,
δ-ferrite/austenite (γ) interfaces or in the interior of the δ-ferrite grains, thereby consuming strength, formability, and weldability
the δ-ferrite during isothermal holds at each aging temperature. The total amount of pre- (Refs. 6, 7), are very significant issues. Fur-
cipitated phases during isothermal aging sigmoidally increased as a function of the aging thermore, an advanced 316FR stainless
time. The kinetics of the appearance of these intermetallic phases could be expressed ap- steel structural material, which has im-
proximately by a Johnson-Mehl type equation. Based on the determined kinetic equation, proved creep fatigue behavior over other
the precipitation behavior of intermetallic phases and the degradation of impact toughness austenitic stainless steels, and which pos-
at 773 and 823 K could be successfully predicted. sesses a higher phase stability during high
temperature at longer exposure times by
Introduction Monju from the 1970s to the present day using the concept of solid-solution hard-
(Refs. 1–5). For future commercial FBR ening with low-carbon and medium nitro-
plants, further research on welding mate- gen as compared to conventional
Recently, society’s most important mis- austenitic stainless steel, is likely to be
rials will need to be performed. In addi-
sion and goal is to secure an effective en- used for the next generation of commer-
tion, as present nuclear plants have been
ergy source that will contribute to a cial FBRs in Japan. However, to the best
in operation for a long time, repairs of
reduction in global warming and replace- of the authors’ knowledge, research on
their aging parts, which mainly involve
ment of the fossil fuels that are gradually these issues has not been reported to date.
welding, are becoming necessary.
running short worldwide. Among various A particular result of the high-tem-
Prior to discussing repair welding
possible energy sources, one that is in- perature operation of a FBR is the need
processes for the FBR, it is important to
creasingly coming into the spotlight is nu- for weld repairs to the various main com-
understand the typical differences be-
clear power generation, due to its merits ponents in the nuclear plant. Such prob-
tween a FBR and other general types of
of providing a stable and efficient energy lems arise because welds have poorer
reactors (i.e., light water-cooled reactor).
supply system despite its known liabilities quality than the base metals due to solute
First, a FBR cannot use water as a moder-
of dangerous radioactivity and nuclear segregation or microstructural inhomo-
ator, rather molten sodium metal is em-
waste concerns. Among the diverse types geneity (to avoid hot cracking, the weld
ployed as a coolant, because of its high
of nuclear power generation, the fast metal for austenitic stainless steel is often
thermal conductivity. Second, a FBR has
breeder reactor (FBR, using fast neutrons intentionally rendered inhomogeneous
a higher operating temperature of
that breed Pu-239 from U-238) is well by introducing some amount of δ−ferrite
773–823 K compared to other reactors,
known as the most advanced thanks to its as a result of the rapid solidification rate
due to its high degree of heat generation
superior fuel economy. Thus, much re- during the welding process). These issues
(Ref. 4). Therefore, before the commer-
search has been performed in Japan on promote the transformation of inter-
the metallurgical behavior, as well as the metallic phases, which affect various me-
structural properties, of materials for the chanical and chemical properties (Ref. 8).
Japanese prototype fast breeder reactor KEYWORDS Therefore, in anticipation of the need for
welding repairs to FBRs, the study and
E. J. CHUN, H. BABA, K. TERASHIMA, and Embrittlement
prediction of the aging behavior of the
K. SAIDA are with Division of Materials and Type 316FR
Manufacturing Science, Graduate School of En-
weld metal is an absolutely necessary
Weld Metal
gineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. prerequisite.
Sigma Phase
K. NISHIMOTO is with Department of the Ap- Consequently, as a first research step
Kinetics
plication of Nuclear Technology, Fukui University toward developing a process for weld re-
of Technology, Fukui, Japan. pairs in the newly developed 316FR stain-

WELDING JOURNAL 133-s

Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:10 PM Page 134

Fig. 1 — Schematic illustration of the machining and detailed dimensions

WELDING RESEARCH

of specimens for the Charpy impact test.

less steel needed for the future generation AF solidification

of FBRs, the objective of the present study mode, solidifying as
is to clarify the prediction of σ-phase em- primary austenite (γ),
brittlement behavior. This is achieved which is generally re-
through study of the precipitation kinetics garded as having a
of the σ-phase in the weld metal at the pronounced high-tem-
general service exposure temperature of a perature cracking Fig. 2 — SEM micrographs of a cross section of bead-on-plate one-pass
FBR. In particular, the weld metal of typ- susceptibility. weld metal.
ical austenitic stainless steels can contain
different final microstructure characteris- Materials and
tics that are determined by solidification plate material for the Charpy impact tests.
Experimental Procedures The chemical compositions of these mate-
and subsequent phase transformation, typ-
ically through the AF and FA solidification rials are given in Table 1.
modes (Refs. 8, 9). Different solidification Materials
modes strongly affect various properties Aging Treatment of Weld Metal
such as corrosion resistance, high-temper- The base metal used in this study for
ature cracking behavior, and microstruc- aging treatments and Charpy impact tests Prior to performing aging treatments,
tural properties, etc. (Refs. 8–12). In this was Type 316FR austenitic stainless steel. bead-on-plate welds were prepared using
study, we first examined weld metal in the The 316L types were only employed by the a gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)

Table 1 — Chemical Compositions of Materials Used (mass-%)

C S P Cr Ni Mo Si Mn N Al O Fe
Type 0.0085 0.0009 0.023 17.56 12.02 2.15 0.44 0.79 0.088 0.011 0.007 Bal.
316FR
Type 0.0150 0.0040 0.031 17.28 12.11 2.04 0.70 0.92 0.024 — — Bal.
316L

Table 2 — Aging Conditions Used in the Present Study

Temperature (K) Aging Time (h)

873 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 394 — 526 — 1127 —
923 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 — 500 — 1000 — 1532
973 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 — 500 — — — —
1023 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 — — — — — —

134-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92

Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:10 PM Page 135

process. The dimensions were 120 × 40 ×

3 mm. Detailed GTAW conditions were as
follows: arc current, 110 A; arc voltage, 14
V; and welding speed, 1.67 mm/s. We spec-
imens were aged by heating as indicated in
Table 2, and after the aging treatment,
they were quenched with water.

Microstructure Analysis

The content of δ−ferrite in the as- Fig. 3 — SEM micrographs of the weld metal after aging at 873 K for 10 and 100 h, and 1023 K for 1 h.
welded and aged specimens was measured
using the magnetic induction method
(Feritscope®) in the central area of the
bead surface. To clarify microstructural
changes caused by the aging treatments,
specimens were observed by scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with
electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)
under an acceleration voltage of 20 kV
after electrolytic etching with a 10% aque-
ous solution of KOH using an applied volt-
age of 100 mV. The specimens were also
observed by transmission microscopy
(TEM) under an acceleration voltage of

WELDING RESEARCH
200 kV after jet polishing with a solution
of perchloric acid (5%) and acetic acid
(95%), using an applied voltage of 50 V.

Charpy Impact Test

Details of the machining and the di-

mensions of welding specimen are indi-
cated in Fig. 1. Smaller Charpy impact test
specimens of size 55 × 10 × 3 mm were
machined from welded plate as also indi-
cated in Fig. 1. The aging treatment for
Charpy impact test specimens was heating
at 1023 K for 0, 0.5, 1, and 10 h to differ-
entiate δ−ferrite decomposition behavior,
while the tests themselves were conducted
on the as-welded and aged samples at
room temperature according to JIS Z
2242, Method for Charpy pendulum impact
test of metallic materials. Four specimens
were tested for each aging time and their
average taken as the absorbed impact en-
ergy value. After the impact test, the frac-
tured surfaces of the specimens were
observed using SEM.
Change in Microstructure with
Aging Treatment
Fig. 4 — TEM micrographs and diffraction patterns of intermetallic phases (σ and χ phases).
precipitation behavior during aging at 873
and 1023 K for various holding times. The
precipitates appeared in the interior of the
δ-ferrite, and increased in number with an
increase in aging time. The precipitates
were mainly classified as belonging to two
types, one nucleated at the δ-ferrite/γ in-
terface and one within the δ-ferrite. These
precipitates can be easily identified on the
basis of backscattered electrons (BSE)
contrast in SEM. As reported elsewhere,
these precipitation behaviors may totally
consume the δ-ferrite.
Figure 4 presents TEM micrographs
that reveal two types of precipitates iden-
tified as the sigma phase (σ: FeCr) and the
chi phase ( χ: Fe18Cr6Mo5) through bright
and dark images, selected area diffraction
pattern, and its key diagram analysis. It
follows that the predominant precipitates
in 316FR stainless steel weld metal during
long-term aging were σ and χ phases.
Based on these results, EBSD analysis was
performed. Figure 5 shows representative
BSE micrographs of SEM and EBSD mi-
crographs. Therefore, one type nucleated
at the δ-ferrite/γ interface was σ-phase and
another within the δ-ferrite was χ-phase
in Type 316FR weld metal during aging
treatment.

Figure 2 shows typical microstructures

for Type 316FR weld metal after the Table 3 — Kinetic Parameters Determined for the Prediction of Aging Behavior
GTAW process. The cell morphology as-
sociated with the solidification behavior is
clearly visible. All the δ-ferrite was located Determined Prediction Parameters
at the cell boundaries or triple points of Temperature (K)
austenite (γ) with elongated or globular k (/s) n k0 (/s) Q (kJ/mol)
shape. These δ-ferrite distributions were
generally identified as being diagnostic of 873 1.2 × 10–6
the AF solidification mode, and the aver- 923 2.9 × 10–6 0.320 2.1 × 109 258
age volume fraction of δ-ferrite was about 973 3.0 × 10–5
3 % (FN < 3), measured by a Feritscope. 1023 1.8 × 10–4
Figure 3 shows SEM micrographs of

WELDING JOURNAL 135-s

Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/17/13 9:45 AM Page 136
Fig. 5 — Backscattered electron micrographs of SEM and EBSD micrographs of the weld metal after
aging at 873 K for 100 h.
WELDING RESEARCH
Fig. 7 — Applicability of kinetic approaches for the decomposition behavior of δ-ferrite.
Prediction of Intermetallic Phase
Precipitation
In order to predict the precipitation of
intermetallic phases in Type 316FR weld
metal during the practical operation of a
FBR, we have adopted a kinetic approach
to the isothermal aging treatments.
Effect of Aging Conditions on
Intermetallic Phases Precipitation
As mentioned above with reference to
Table 4 — Activation Energy for Diffusion of Alloying Elements in δ-Ferrite
Diffusion of Cr in δ−ferrite
Diffusion of Ni in δ−ferrite
Diffusion of Mo in δ−ferrite
Diffusion of Fe in δ−ferrite
136-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
Fig. 3, σ- and χ-phases were dominantly
precipitated in the δ-ferrite grains, thereby
decomposing the δ-ferrite. They are also
representative intermetallics, which is as-
sociated with degradation of impact
toughness. Therefore, the amount of in-
termetallic phases both σ and χ precipi-
tated could be approximated by the
decomposed fraction of δ-ferrite (y) ex-
pressed as follows:
f f − fi
y=
fi
Activation Energy (kJ/mol)
267
262
283
296
Fig. 6 — Fractional change of decomposed δ-ferrite
with aging time at various aging temperatures.
where fi is the initial amount of the δ-fer-
rite prior to aging and ff is final amount
of the δ-ferrite after aging. Based on this
relationship, Fig. 6 shows the change in
the decomposed δ-ferrite fraction as a
function of the aging temperatures and
holding times. The fraction of the inter-
metallic phases increased sigmoidally
with an increase in the aging time at any
aging temperature, and approached the
saturation point for long-term aging at
973 and 1023 K.
Kinetic Equation for the δ-Ferrite
Decomposition
In order to determine the kinetics of
decomposition in δ-ferrite, we employed
three approaches commonly used to de-
scribe the phase transformation kinetics in
various nucleation and growth systems
(Refs. 15–22): a parabolic law (the diffu-
sion-controlled growth theory proposed
originally by Zener), and the Johnson-
Mehl and Austin-Rickett equations.
In the first case, the parabolic law is ex-
pressed by
y=k t
(2)
where y is the decomposed fraction of δ-
ferrite indicated in Equation 1, k is the
parabolic rate constant, and t is the ex-
posure time (aging time in the present
(1) study).
On the other hand, the kinetic equa-
tion of phase transformations in metals
can be also generally expressed as
dy
= k n t n −1 (1 − y )
m
dt (3)
where y is the decomposed fraction of δ-
ferrite indicated in Equation 1, k is the
Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:10 PM Page 137
Fig. 8 — Plot to determine the activation energy for
decomposition of δ-ferrite at various aging temper-
atures.
temperature-dependent rate constant, t is
the time (ageing time in the present
study), n is the time exponent parameter
calculated by regression analysis depend-
ing on the nucleation mechanism and the
growth processes, and m is the impinge-
ment exponent. Equation 3 with m = 1
and m = 2 corresponds to the Johnson-
Mehl equation (Equation 4) and the
Austin-Rickett equation (Equation 5):
{
y = 1 − exp − ( kt )
n
} (4)
y fraction of δ ferrite at other points on the
= ( kt )
n
1− y (5)
The applicability of these kinetic equa-
tions can be confirmed by parabolic, John-
son-Mehl (log ln (1/1–y) = n log t+n
log k) and Austin-Rickett (log (y/(1–y) =
n log t+n log k) plots.
Figure 7 shows the results of applying
the three kinds of kinetic approaches.
There was a good linear relationship be-
tween the aging time and the fraction of
decomposed δ-ferrite in the Type 316FR
weld metal in the Johnson-Mehl plot re-
gardless of aging temperature, while the
other plots failed to adequately describe
the δ-ferrite decomposition behavior. In
particular, the Austin-Rickett plot devi-
ated from a linear relationship in the final
stages of precipitation, and the parabolic
plot showed also totally nonlinear behav-
ior at every aging temperature. In other
words, δ-ferrite decomposition behavior
during aging of Type 316FR weld metal
was best described by the Johnson-Mehl
kinetic equation.
To predict the decomposition behavior
during long-term service exposure of a
FBR, the remaining constants in the John-
son-Mehl equation (n and k) need to be
determined. These values were found
from a simple regression analysis of the
Fig. 9 — Prediction of the decomposition behavior
of δ-ferrite in the weld metal at practical operating
temperatures of a FBR.
Johnson-Mehl plot in Fig. 7. Moreover, it
is well known that the dependence of the
precipitation rate k in Equation 4 can be
generally expressed by an Arrhenius equa-
tion as follows:
⎛ −Q ⎞
k = k0 exp ⎜
⎝ RT ⎟⎠
(6)
where k0 is the frequency factor; Q is the
activation energy; T is the temperature;
and R is the gas constant.
Equation 6 can be transformed into the
following to describe an Arrhenius plot:
Q1
ln k = − + 1nk0
RT (7)
Figure 8 shows the Arrhenius plot,
showing a simple linear relationship be-
tween the reciprocal temperature and the
logarithm of k, allowing the determination
of the activation energy for the decompo-
sition of δ-ferrite and the k0 constant.
All the parameters determined in this
way are shown in Table 3. The fitting con-
stant n was independent of the aging tem-
perature, but the precipitation rate
constant k increased as a function of aging
temperature.
Literature report (Ref. 23) of the acti-
vation energy for diffusion of the main al-
loying elements present within the
δ-ferrite is shown in Table 4. Their similar
activation energies suggest that the de-
composition of δ-ferrite in this study
would be strongly influenced by the diffu-
sion of these alloying elements.
Prediction of δ-Ferrite Decomposition at
Service-Exposure Temperatures of a FBR
Using the determined kinetics of the
Johnson-Mehl equation, the decomposi-
tion behavior of δ-ferrite during in-ser-
vice exposure of FBR at practical
operation temperatures (773 and 823 K)
was predicted. Figure 9 shows the predic-
Fig. 10 — Change of impact toughness as a func-
tion of the amount of decomposed δ-ferrite (aging
at 1023 K).
tion results, showing a sigmoidal relation-
ship between operating time and the de-
composed fraction of δ-ferrite. There was
a large difference in the decomposition
WELDING RESEARCH
behavior between operating temperatures
of 773 and 823 K. Specifically, it took 15
months to reach 50% δ-ferrite decompo-
sition at 773 K, but it took only 1 month at
an operating temperature of 823 K to ar-
rive at the same point. In other words, a
50 K difference in the operating tempera-
ture caused about a 15 times faster de-
composition rate. The decomposed
aging time curve is also listed in Table 5.
According to these predictions, about
90% of the δ-ferrite will have decomposed
after only 5 years of operation of a FBR at
823 K, while about 66% of the δ-ferrite
will have decomposed at an operating
temperature of 773 K. Furthermore, after
50 years of FBR operation, in Type 316FR
weld metal, δ-ferrite will be completely
decomposed at 823 K. Consequently, the
operating temperature of the FBR should
be closely considered from the viewpoint
of δ-ferrite decomposition behavior, be-
cause it could seriously affect not only var-
ious mechanical and chemical properties
during service, but also the weldability of
any required repairs.
Prediction of Impact Toughness Behavior
in Weld Metal
In order to predict the embrittlement be-
havior resulting from the decomposition of
δ-ferrite in Type 316FR weld metal during
practical operation of a FBR, Charpy im-
pact tests were performed for specimens
with different fractions of decomposed δ-
ferrite. To predict this behavior, one as-
sumption that impact toughness of weld
metal is only governed by fractional change
of δ-ferrite decomposition was employed in
this study.
WELDING JOURNAL 137-s
Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/17/13 3:54 PM Page 138
Fig. 11 — SEM fractographs after Charpy impact tests as a function of decomposed fraction of δ-ferrite Fig. 12 — Predicted results of the absorbed impact
(aging at 1023 K).
Effect of δ-Ferrite Decomposition on
WELDING RESEARCH
Impact Toughness
Figure 10 shows the variation of im-
pact absorbed energy as a function of
aging time (i.e., decomposed fraction of
δ-ferrite). The impact energy of the weld
metal gradually decreased with increas-
ing isothermal holding time, namely, the
absorbed energy decreased with an in-
crease in the fraction of decomposed δ-
ferrite. Particularly, the energy value of
weld metal aged for 10 h was about 22 J,
a drastic decline by a factor of two com-
pared with an as-welded specimen. This
is the well-known σ-phase embrittlement
found in stainless steel weld metal (Refs.
6, 7, 19, 24).
Figure 11 compares SEM fractographs
of as-welded and aged weld metal after the
impact test to characterize the differences
in failure mechanism. In the as-welded
specimen, all the failure essentially oc-
curred in the shallow dimpled fracture
mode. However, in the aged specimens
(decomposed fraction of δ-ferrite: 0.35,
0.60, and 0.90), some brittle fracture area
was also detected in the surface, although
the majority of the surface had suffered
Table 5 — Predicted Results of the Decomposed Fraction of δ-Ferrite at Some Major Time
Points in Fig. 9
Operating time (years)
5 0.66
10
30
50
138-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
energy during long-term operation of a FBR.
shallow dimpled fracture surface. The
fraction of brittle fracture also increased
with an increase in the decomposed frac-
tion of δ-ferrite. In particular, as the
isothermal holding time increased, the
fractographs of the brittle fracture areas
revealed that the fracture surface was
largely composed of a dendrite morphol-
ogy. These fractographs show that the brit-
tle fracture was initiated in a dendrite
region by the precipitation of intermetallic
phases (σ- and χ-phases) in δ-ferrite.
Thus, it was clear that the presence of in-
termetallic phases significantly decreased
the impact toughness of the weld metal.
Predicted Impact Test Results at the
Service-Exposure Temperature of a FBR
By substituting the results of the
Charpy impact tests shown in Fig. 10 into
the predictions of precipitation behavior
shown in Fig. 9, we were able to predict
the impact toughness during long-term
service exposure in a FBR. Figure 12
shows the predicted results of the ab-
sorbed impact energy. As the result of the
precipitation behavior shown in Fig. 8,
the absorbed impact energy also de-
Decomposed Fraction of δ−Ferrite
773 K 823 K
0.90
0.74 0.95
0.85 0.98
0.89 0.99
creased sigmoidally with an increase in
the operating time. It takes approxi-
mately 3 months to reach an absorbed im-
pact energy of 32 J at 823 K, while
approximately 32 months will be needed
to reach the same absorbed energy at 773
K. Therefore, it was clear that impact
toughness behavior is also affected by dif-
ferences in the operating temperature.
Conclusions
In this study, the precipitation behav-
ior and changes in impact toughness dur-
ing actual operation of FBR was predicted
for Type 316FR stainless steel weld metal,
based on the kinetics of δ-ferrite decom-
position. The main conclusions of this
work can be summarized as follows:
1) Type 316FR stainless steel weld
metal contained approximately 3% (FN <
3) of δ-ferrite formed in the AF solidifica-
tion mode. Intermetallic σ- and χ- phases
were precipitated inside δ-ferrite during
aging treatments at 823, 873, 923, and
1023 K, consuming the δ-ferrite (i.e., frac-
tion of decomposed δ-ferrite = fraction of
precipitated intermetallic phases). As the
aging temperature and isothermal hold
time increased, the amount of intermetal-
lic phases increased sigmoidally.
2) The decomposition of δ-ferrite was
examined by three types of kinetic ap-
proaches — the parabolic law, Austin-Rick-
ett, and Johnson-Mehl equations. Among
these kinetic approaches, the decomposi-
tion behavior was best described by the
Johnson-Mehl type equation. The kinetic
parameters in the Johnson-Mehl type equa-
tion were determined to be n = 0.320, Q =
258 kJ/mol, and k0 = 2.1 × 109/s, regardless
of the aging temperature.
Chun 5-13 layout_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:10 PM Page 139

3) The δ-ferrite decomposition behav-
ior at practical operating temperature (773
and 823 K) found during FBR service was
predicted using the above determined pa-
rameters. The decomposition rate of δ-fer-
rite at an 823 K service temperature was
15 times faster than that at 773 K.
4) As the isothermal holding time in-
creased, the impact toughness decreased
during the aging treatment at 1023 K. In
the fractographs obtained after impact
tests, the fraction of brittle fracture region
increased with an increase in decomposed
δ-ferrite.
5) By combining the predictions of δ-
ferrite decomposition behavior with the
experimental results of the Charpy impact
test, we were able to predict changes in im-
pact toughness during in-service of a FBR.
We predict that it will take approximately
3 months to reach an absorbed impact en-
ergy of 32 J at 823 K, while approximately
32 months will be needed to reach a the
same absorbed energy at 773 K. In other
words, the rate of decrease of the ab-
sorbed impact energy at an 823 K operat-
Nagata, T. 1987. Simplified analysis and design
for elevated temperature components of
Monju. Nuclear Engineering and Design 98(3):
305 to 317.
4. Nakazawa, T., Kimura, H., Kimura, K.,
and Kaguchi, H. 2003. Advanced type stainless
steel 316FR for fast breeder reactor structures.
Journal of Materials Processing Technology
143–144(20): 905 to 909.
5. Nogami, S., Hasegawa, A., Tanno, T.,
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8. Inoue, H., Koseki, T., Okita, S., and Fuji,
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ing temperature was 10 times faster than
that at 773 K.
Acknowledgment
The present study includes the result of
“Core R&D program for commercializa-
tion of the fast breeder reactor by utilizing
Monju” entrusted to University of Fukui by
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sci-
ence and Technology of Japan (MEXT).
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12. Kou, S. 2003. Welding Metallurgy, second
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WELDING RESEARCH
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Laves phase precipitation and its transforma-
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terials Science and Engineering A 513–514(15):
154 to 159.

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Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:09 PM Page 140

Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical

Properties of Simulated Heat-Affected Zones
in an Iron-Copper Based
Multicomponent Steel
A combination of dilatometry, HAZ simulations, and mechanical testing were used
to determine the mechanical properties that develop in the HAZ of NUCu-140

BY J. D. FARREN, A. H. HUNTER, J. N. DUPONT, C. V. ROBINO, E. KOZESCHNIK, AND D. N. SEIDMAN

significant cost savings as a result of 1)

ABSTRACT minimization of expensive alloying ele-
ments; 2) simple production using inex-
NUCu-140 is a recently developed steel that relies on nano-scale Cu-rich precip- pensive processing techniques; and 3)
itates to achieve yield strength levels in excess of 825 MPa (120 ksi). In order for construction of structurally sound designs
NUCu-140 to be utilized as a structural material, a comprehensive welding strategy
WELDING RESEARCH

using less material due to higher yield

must be developed. Since NUCu-140 is a precipitation-strengthened material, this strength. It has been estimated that the
strategy must include a detailed understanding of the precipitate evolution that oc- utilization of NUCu-140 can produce a
curs in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) as a result of welding thermal cycles. A combi- fabrication cost savings of 20–35% (Ref.
nation of dilatometry, HAZ simulations, and mechanical testing are presented to de- 10).
termine the mechanical properties that develop in the HAZ of NUCu-140. MatCalc In order for NUCu-140 to be utilized as
kinetic simulations and Russell-Brown strengthening calculations were conducted to a structural material, a comprehensive
model the observed precipitate and mechanical property trends. The microhardness welding strategy must be developed. Since
and tensile testing results reveal that local softening is expected in the HAZ of NUCu- NUCu-140 is a precipitation-strength-
140 welds. MatCalc simulations show that a combination of partial dissolution, full ened material, this strategy must include a
dissolution, and re-precipitation of the Cu-rich precipitates is expected to occur in the detailed understanding of the precipitate
various HAZ regions. The predicted precipitate parameters are used as input to the evolution that occurs in the heat-affected
Russell-Brown strengthening model to estimate the changes in strength expected due zone (HAZ). There are four distinct re-
to changes in precipitate features. The measured and predicted strength levels exhibit gions that typically develop in the HAZ of
very good quantitative agreement for the low-heat-input simulations and reasonable steel welds: 1) the subcritical HAZ region;
qualitative agreement for the high-heat-input weld simulations. 2) the intercritical HAZ region; 3) the
fine-grained austenite HAZ region; and 4)
the coarse-grained austenite HAZ region
(Ref. 11). These regions are defined by the
els [≥ 825 MPa (120 ksi)], while maintain- peak temperatures that they experience
Introduction ing suitable toughness. Recent research relative to the austenization temperatures
conducted at Northwestern University has of the material, Ac1 and Ac3. The subcrit-
Copper precipitation-strengthened produced a candidate structural material ical HAZ experiences a peak temperature
materials such as high-strength, low-alloy that achieves yield strength levels in excess during the weld thermal cycle that does
(HSLA) 80 and 100 have been used ex- of 825 MPa while retaining toughness lev- not exceed the austenite start temperature
tensively in naval and structural applica- els that would exceed the requirements for (Ac1). Therefore, the subcritical region
tions due to their excellent combination of most naval and structural applications does not undergo any transformation to
strength and toughness. As a result of the (Refs. 1–9). NUCu-140 is a copper precip- austenite. The intercritical region experi-
ever increasing need to minimize cost, it is itation-strengthened steel that is com- ences a peak temperature between the
desirable to develop a HSLA variant that posed of a nominally ferritic microstruc- Ac1 and Ac3 temperatures that results in
can achieve even higher yield strength lev- ture with nano-scale Cu-rich precipitates partial transformation to austenite during
that strengthen the material, and NbC the weld thermal cycle. The fine-grained
precipitates that limit the austenite grain HAZ region experiences a peak tempera-
J. D. FARREN is with Naval Surface Warfare
Center – Carderock Division, West Bethesda, Md. growth. The use of NUCu-140 can offer ture that exceeds the Ac3 temperature and
A. H. HUNTER and D. N. SEIDMAN are with therefore causes full transformation to
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, austenite during welding. In this region,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. J. N. the thermal cycle only minimally exceeds
DUPONT (jnd1@lehigh.edu) is with Dept. of
KEYWORDS
the Ac3 temperature, which prevents sig-
Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh Uni-
versity, Bethlehem, Pa. C. V. ROBINO is with San- High-Strength Steels nificant austenite grain growth. The final
dia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.Mex. Fracture HAZ region is the coarse-grained HAZ.
E. KOZESCHNIK is with Dept. of Materials Sci- Weld Process Simulation In this region, the Ac3 temperature is sig-
ence and Technology, Vienna University of Tech- nificantly exceeded, which leads to austen-
nology, Vienna, Austria.

140-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92

Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/17/13 10:00 AM Page 141
Fig. 1 — LEAP tomography data collected from
NUCu-140 GMAW showing the evolution of the
average precipitate radius (<R>), number den-
sity, and volume fraction (φ) across the base
metal, HAZ, and FZ of the weld.
ite grain growth. The intercritical, fine-
grained, and coarse-grained HAZ regions
all experience transformation to austenite
during the weld thermal cycle. Therefore,
both the microstructural and precipitate
evolution needs to be investigated to un-
derstand the mechanical properties in
these regions.
A preliminary investigation of the mi-
crostructural evolution and mechanical
properties in NUCu-140 gas metal arc
welds (GMAW) and gas tungsten arc
welds (GTAW) was recently conducted
(Ref. 12). Microhardness traces revealed
that a locally softened HAZ region
formed as a result of the fusion welding
process. Average precipitate radius
(<R>), number density (Nv), and volume
fraction measurements (φ) conducted
using local electrode atom probe (LEAP)
tomography confirmed that the observed
decrease in microhardness occurred as a
result of the precipitate evolution that oc-
curs in the HAZ. Figure 1 shows a sum-
mary of the results. The base metal region
shows the initial precipitate parameters
that develop as a result of the solution and
aging thermal treatment. The region la-
beled HAZ 1 experienced a peak temper-
ature of ~ 675°C and exhibits a reduction
Fig. 2 — Dilatometry results for NUCu-140 heated at 1°, 10°, 100°, and 1000°C/s.
in <R> and φ while showing a concomi-
tant increase in Nv. This results from par-
tial dissolution of the precipitates on heat-
ing, followed by re-precipitation of new
and smaller Cu-rich precipitates during
cooling. The region labeled HAZ 2 expe-
rienced a peak temperature of ~910°C
and exhibits a further decrease of the
<R> and φ with an even greater increase
in Nv. It was determined that full precipi-
tate dissolution occurs in HAZ 2 on heat-
ing, followed by re-precipitation on cool-
ing. The fusion zone also undergoes full
dissolution of the Cu-rich precipitates on
heating but exhibits only minimal
re-precipitation during the cooling por-
tion of the weld cycle. Therefore, the fu-
sion zone exhibits the lowest <R>, Nv,
and φ of any weld region. The overall
trends in <R>, Nv, φ are consistent with
the observed local softening that occurs in
the HAZ as a result of the fusion welding
process. The current research focuses on a
more detailed investigation of the me-
chanical properties of each of the four crit-
ical regions of the HAZ using simulated
HAZ samples.
Experimental Procedure
The chemical composition of the
NUCu-140 steel investigated in this study
was measured using inductively coupled
plasma-optical emission spectroscopy
(ICP-OES) and the results are shown in
Table 1. The composition of NUCu-140 is
similar to HSLA-100 Comp II, with
slightly increased C and Al levels and
slightly decreased Cr and Mo levels. The
Al content is relatively high compared to
traditional structural steels, but Al has
been shown to segregate to the interface
of the Cu-rich precipitates in NUCu-140
and is believed to limit the coarsening ki-
netics during aging (Ref. 3). The NUCu-
Table 1 — Composition of Copper
WELDING RESEARCH
Precipitation-Strengthened NUCu-140 Steel
(all values in wt-%)
Element NUCu-140
Al 0.65
C 0.04
Cu 1.35
Fe Bal.
Mn 0.47
Nb 0.07
Ni 2.75
P 0.009
S 0.002
Si 0.47
140 was vacuum melted, cast into ingots,
and homogenized at 1150°C for 3 h. The
ingots were hot rolled at approximately
950°C to a final plate thickness of 25.4 mm
and air cooled. The plates were solution-
ized at 900°C for 1 h, water quenched to
room temperature, aged at 550°C for 2 h,
and air cooled to room temperature. Crit-
ical transformation temperatures at vari-
ous heating and cooling rates were deter-
mined by dilatometric methods using a
Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical simula-
tor equipped with an Anritsu SLB laser
dilatometer. Diametral dilatometry was
conducted on 6.35-mm-diameter solid
samples oriented such that the diameter
measurements corresponded with the
through-thickness direction in the original
plate. Samples were taken from approxi-
mately the ¼ thickness position in the
plate. A freespan of 25 mm and a low-
force jaw carrier were used to minimize
constraint during the determinations. The
Ac1 and Ac3 determinations generally fol-
lowed ASTM A1033, although some devi-
ations from recommended heating rates
and conditioning temperatures were used.
WELDING JOURNAL 141-s
Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/17/13 10:02 AM Page 142
A
B LH1350
Fig. 3 — Summary of the thermal cycles pre-
dicted using SOAR for the following samples: A
— Low heat input (1.5 J/m); B — high heat input
WELDING RESEARCH
(3.75 J/m).
Fig. 4 — LOM micrograph showing the NUCu-
140 base metal microstructure.
In order to be more consistent with the
NUCu140 aging temperature, the samples
were preconditioned at 450°C rather than
600°C. Preliminary experiments indicated
that Ac1 in this steel is below 700°C, so the
heating rate change for the Ac3 determi-
nations was conducted at 590°C rather
than the 700°C recommended by ASTM
A1033.
This information was then used to for-
mulate an experimental matrix of simu-
lated HAZ samples that would represent
each of the four critical regions of the
HAZ. The HAZ simulations were con-
ducted using a Gleeble 3500 thermome-
chanical simulator, and the heating and
cooling rates were controlled using the
QuikSim software package supplied with
the Gleeble 3500. Thermal cycles associ-
ated with a high (3.75 kJ/mm) and low (1.5
kJ/mm) heat input were utilized to repre-
sent the range of arc welding conditions
expected during the joining of NUCu-140.
142-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
Table 2 — Summary of the Precipitate Evolution Predicted Using MatCalc Kinetic Simulation
Software
Sample Peak MatCalc
Temperature Radius
(°C) (nm)
Base Metal (BM) 150 4.25
LH675 675 1.11
LH800 800 0.56
LH900 900 0.54
1350 0.46
HH675 675 0.96
HH800 800 0.60
HH900 900 0.60
HH1350 1350 0.60
The simulated HAZ samples were taken
in the T-L orientation and were 11 × 11 ×
60 mm. The samples were outfitted with
multiple thermocouples to determine the
width of the uniformly heated region
within the freespan (10 mm). Specimens
were prepared for light optical microscopy
(LOM) using standard metallographic
techniques and etched using a 3% Nital
solution. Grain size measurements were
conducted according to ASTM Standard
E112-96(2004)ε2, and five fields were
measured per sample. Microhardness
measurements were conducted using a
Vickers diamond indenter, a 1-kg load,
and a 15-s dwell time. Charpy impact test-
ing was conducted at –40°C according to
ASTM E23 on 10- × 10- × 50-mm speci-
mens. Tensile testing was performed ac-
cording to ASTM E8 on subsized samples
with a diameter of 6.35 mm and a 25.4-mm
gauge length. Charpy impact testing was
performed on two specimens per condi-
tion while tensile testing was conducted on
a single specimen per condition due to ma-
terial limitations. Post-fracture analysis
was conducted on all of the Charpy impact
and tensile specimens to ensure that crack
propagation and subsequent failure oc-
curred within the uniformly heated region
of the simulated HAZ sample. If failure
was not contained entirely within the uni-
formly heated region, the results of the
sample were discarded and a replacement
specimen was prepared and tested.
Results and Discussion
In order to simulate the four critical re-
gions of the HAZ, it is first necessary to
identify the critical transformation tem-
peratures, Ac1 and Ac3, for the NUCu-
140 substrate material. Dilatometry heat-
ing rates ranging from 1° to 1000°C/s were
investigated and the results are shown in
Fig. 2. The dilatometry curves show that
the Ac1 temperature increases directly
with heating rate and ranges from 706°C
with a 1°C/s heating rate up to 759°C with
MatCalc MatCalc
Number Density Phase
(m–3) Fraction
2.53 × 1022 0.0099
1.10 × 1023 0.0064
5.86 × 1024 0.0042
5.95 × 1024 0.0041
7.51 × 1024 0.0030
1.24 × 1023 0.0068
5.19 × 1024 0.0051
5.17 × 1024 0.0051
5.19 × 1024 0.0051
a 1000°C/s heating rate. The Ac3 temper-
ature exhibits a much narrower range,
824° to 839°C, indicating that the ferrite-
to-austenite transformation finish tem-
perature is not as dependent on heating
rate as the ferrite-to-austenite transfor-
mation start temperature. The transfor-
mation start temperatures increase di-
rectly with the heating rate since the
ferrite to austenite transformation is dif-
fusion controlled. Increased heating rates
provide less time for diffusion to occur,
which causes a concomitant delay in the
transformation start temperatures. These
results were used to select peak tempera-
tures to simulate the four critical regions
of the HAZ. A peak temperature of 675°C
was selected for the subcritical HAZ re-
gion since it is below the Ac1 temperature
over the entire range of heating rates in-
vestigated. An 800°C peak temperature
was selected for the intercritical HAZ re-
gion since it falls inside the Ac1 and Ac3
range for all four dilatometry curves. A
900°C peak temperature was selected for
the fine-grained austenite region since
900°C minimally exceeds the maximum
measured Ac3 temperature of 839°C. Fi-
nally, a 1350°C peak temperature was se-
lected for the coarse-grained austenite
HAZ region since 1350°C significantly ex-
ceeds the Ac3 temperature but is still
below the melting temperature of the
alloy.
The Smartweld Optimization and
Analysis Routine (SOAR) software (Ref.
13) was used to determine thermal cycles
associated with the various peak tempera-
tures identified previously. An 85% trans-
fer efficiency, representative of the
GMAW process, was assumed in the cal-
culations (Ref. 14). Weld thermal cycles
for each peak temperature were estimated
for both a low (1.5 kJ/mm) and a high (3.75
kJ/mm) heat input to determine the effect
of heat input on HAZ mechanical proper-
ties. The weld thermal cycles associated
with the 675°, 800°, 900°, and 1350°C peak
temperatures are shown in Fig. 3A, B for
Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:09 PM Page 143
B HAZ samples.
Fig. 5 — LOM micrographs of the following simulated samples: A — Low carbon
heat input; B — high heat input simulated HAZ samples.
the low and high input matrix, respec-
tively. Each thermal cycle was subse-
quently linearized and input directly into
the Gleeble 3500 QuikSim software to
produce simulated HAZ samples.
Figure 4 shows the NUCu-140 base
metal microstructure while Fig. 5A, B
shows the microstructure of the low heat
input and high heat input simulated HAZ
samples, respectively. The low heat input,
675°C (LH675) peak temperature sample
exhibits a predominantly equiaxed ferritic
microstructure that is nearly identical to
the base metal microstructure. Both the
LH800 and LH900 samples also exhibit an
equiaxed ferritic microstructure with little
to no change from the base metal mi-
crostructure. Each of these simulated
HAZ microstructures has a similar grain
size to the base material, which indicates
that no significant grain coarsening oc-
curred as a result of the thermal cycle. The
LH900 sample is fully austenitized during
the thermal cycle, but does not exhibit sig-
Fig. 6 — Microhardness data collected from NUCu-140 base metal and simulated
nificant austenite grain
coarsening. This can
be attributed to the
short time and slight
increase in tempera-
ture above Ac3. The
presence of NbC parti-
cles also aids in re-
stricting austenite
grain growth. The mi-
crostructure of the
LH1350 sample con-
sists of acicular ferrite
and a combination of
either Widmanstätten
ferrite, bainite, or low-
martensite.
The presence of acicu-
lar ferrite in the
LH1350 sample indi-
cates that significant
grain coarsening occurred during the sim-
ulated HAZ thermal cycle since acicular
ferrite nucleates intragranularly on het-
erogeneous nucleation sites such as oxide
inclusions, and its formation is enhanced
when the austenite grain size increases
(Refs. 15–18). The grain coarsening also
suggests that a 1350°C peak temperature
is high enough to dissolve the NbC parti-
cles. This is consistent with thermody-
namic calculations performed on similar
Fe-Cu steels that indicate the NbC parti-
cles will dissolve between approximately
1050° and 1100°C (Ref. 7). The high heat
input samples exhibit very similar mi-
crostructures when compared to the low
heat input counterparts, where the
HH675, HH800, and HH900 samples all
contain equiaxed ferrite. The HH1350
sample is also similar to its LH1350 coun-
terpart in that it exhibits austenite grain
coarsening leading to an acicular-type mi-
crostructure that contains a mixture of aci-
cular ferrite, Widmanstätten ferrite, bai-
nite, and low-carbon martensite.
WELDING RESEARCH
Figure 6 shows the average microhard-
ness values for both the high and low heat
input simulated HAZ samples. The low
heat input results show a noticeable re-
duction in hardness for the LH675 (280
HV), LH800 (235 HV), and LH900 (225
HV) samples as compared to the base
metal (300 HV). The observed softening
in these simulated HAZ samples occurs as
a result of evolution of the Cu-rich pre-
cipitates (Ref. 12). The LEAP tomogra-
phy data shown in Fig. 1 exhibit a linear
decrease in both the average precipitate
radius (<R>) and precipitate volume
fraction (φ) as the weld interface is ap-
proached (i.e., increasing peak tempera-
ture). This is consistent with the reduction
in hardness that is observed in the low heat
input matrix. The LH1350 sample (290
HV) exhibits only a minimal reduction in
microhardness even though it is expected
to have undergone full dissolution of the
Cu-rich precipitates. The relatively high
hardness of the LH1350 sample is attrib-
uted to the acicular-type microstructure
(mixture of acicular ferrite, Widmanstät-
ten ferrite, bainite, and low-carbon
martensite) observed in this region. The
high heat input microhardness results ex-
hibit a similar trend where there is local
softening in each of the four simulated
HAZ samples. The slightly lower hardness
values observed for the high heat input
675°, 800°, and 900°C peak temperatures,
relative to the low heat input samples, are
probably the result of increased coarsen-
ing/dissolution that is associated with the
longer heating and cooling times of the
high heat input thermal cycle. The
HH1350 sample (260 HV) again shows a
slight hardness recovery as compared to
the observed minimums that occurred in
WELDING JOURNAL 143-s
Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:09 PM Page 144
C properties is observed in the LH1350 sam-
WELDING RESEARCH
Fig. 7 — Tensile testing results for both low and high
heat input samples showing the following: A —
Yield; B — tensile; C — elongation.
the HH800 and HH900 samples.
Figure 7 shows the yield strength, ten-
sile strength, and elongation results for the
high and low heat input samples. Each
simulated HAZ data point presented in
Figure 7 was generated from a sample that
failed within the uniformly heated region.
This was verified through direct tempera-
ture measurements during the simulation
cycle and postfracture analysis. The low
heat input yield and tensile strength values
decrease as the HAZ thermal cycle peak
temperature increases up to the LH900
sample. Partial recovery of the tensile
Table 3 — Calculated Precipitate Parameters and Measured and Predicted Strength Change for LH800, LH900, HH800, and HH900 Samples
Average
Precipitate
Radius
<R> (nm)
Base Metal 4.25
LH800 0.56
LH900 0.55
HH800 0.60
HH900 0.60
144-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
Fig. 8 — Charpy data collected for NUCu-140 at –40°C.
ple, which agrees with the observed mi-
crohardness trends. These strength trends
are consistent with the observed micro-
hardness results discussed previously. The
elongation values only range from 18 to
21% across the base metal and all four
simulated HAZ samples, with the ductility
decreasing in the 675° and 800°C samples.
This observation is unexpected since the
675° and 800°C samples have decreased
strength levels compared to the base
metal, which would typically lead to higher
ductility. However, it must be noted that
the specimen gauge length contains
NUCu-140 material that was heated to a
range of different peak temperatures dur-
ing the Gleeble thermal cycle. The uni-
formly heated region in the simulated
HAZ sample is shorter than the specimen
gauge length and so the elongation results
represent some average elongation behav-
ior of each peak temperature/microstruc-
tural region. As a result, the elongation
value reported for each condition is actu-
ally a composite measurement and the re-
sulting trends are insignificant. Nearly
identical trends in yield strength and ten-
sile strength are observed for the high
heat input sample matrix.
Figure 8 shows the Charpy impact val-
ues for both the low and high heat input
Precipitate Interprecipitate
Volume Spacing L
Fraction φ (nm)
0.0099 75.5
0.0042 15.1
0.0041 15.0
0.0051 15.0
0.0051 14.9
samples tested at –40°C. The Charpy im-
pact energy generally increases relative to
the base metal value for the 675°, 800°, and
900°C peak temperature samples. This is
consistent with the microhardness and
yield strength results, since a decrease in
strength/hardness typically produces an
increase in toughness. The high heat input
1350°C peak temperature sample exhibits
only a very slight reduction in impact
toughness relative to the base metal, while
the impact toughness of the low heat input
sample is higher than that of the base
metal. The difference in impact toughness
between the LH1350 and HH1350 sam-
ples can be attributed to the prior austen-
ite grain size in each region. The LH1350
sample has a prior austenite grain size of
32 µm while the HH1350 sample has a
prior austenite grain size of 42 μm. The re-
duced prior austenite grain size and cor-
responding increase in grain boundary
area in the low heat input sample results
in a concomitant increase in the impact
toughness. It is interesting to note that all
regions of the HAZ exhibit relatively good
impact toughness relative to the base
metal, regardless of the location or heat
input.
In order to better understand the ob-
served mechanical property trends, the ex-
pected precipitate evolution in the base
Predicted Measured
Strength Strength
Change (MPa) Change (MPa)
— —
–162 –165
–185 –183
–52 –176
–53 –176
Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:09 PM Page 145

Fig. 10 — Measured vs. predicted strength change of 800° and 900°C simulated HAZ
samples using MatCalc as input to the Russell-Brown model.

ume fraction (φ). The excess solute from
the recently dissolved precipitates causes
re-precipitation of new, smaller Cu-rich
precipitates during the cooling portion of
the cycle, which leads to a resultant in-
mate the change in strength expected from
changes in the Cu-rich precipitates. The
Russell-Brown model assumes a random
distribution of spherical precipitates that
are elastically softer than the surrounding

Fig. 9 — MatCalc kinetic simulation for the LH675
simulated HAZ sample.
metal and HAZ regions was modeled
using MatCalc kinetic simulations (Refs.
12, 19–22). The MatCalc method esti-
mates precipitate nucleation and growth
kinetics in multicomponent and multi-
phase alloys and can deal with complex
systems and precipitation sequences. The
MatCalc method accounts for the compo-
sitional dependence of interfacial energy
and chemical driving force, which pro-
vides a significant improvement to the
classical nucleation, growth, and coarsen-
ing models when applied to the Fe-Cu sys-
tem. The simulations show the expected
evolution of the Cu-rich precipitates in
terms of average precipitate radius <R>,
number density (Nv), and precipitate vol-
ume fraction (φ). An example MatCalc
simulation result for the LH675 sample is
presented in Fig. 9. The LH675 sample be-
gins to undergo partial dissolution of the
Cu-rich precipitates at the end of the heat-
ing portion of the HAZ thermal cycle as
evidenced by the reduction in average pre-
cipitate radius <R> and precipitate vol-
WELDING RESEARCH
crease in the precipitate number density. matrix. These two assumptions are gener-
MatCalc simulations were also produced ally acceptable for NUCu-140 since the
for the LH800, LH900, and LH1350 sam- Cu-rich precipitates are roughly spherical
ples and in all three cases the Cu-rich pre- and are elastically softer than the nomi-
cipitates fully dissolved on heating, fol- nally ferritic matrix (Ref. 23). The Russell-
lowed by re-precipitation of the Cu-rich Brown model defines the shear strength of
precipitates on cooling. An identical set of the material as the following:
MatCalc simulations was performed for 1
the high heat input samples and similar ⎡ 2 ⎤2
Gb ⎢ E ⎥
trends were observed. A summary of the τ = 0.8 ⎢1 − P ⎥
predicted precipitate parameters for the L ⎢ E2 ⎥⎦
⎣ M
base metal and each of the simulated
HAZ samples can be seen in Table 2. E
p
Comparison of the base metal precipitate when sin–1 ≤ 50 deg (1)
E
parameters generated using MatCalc and M
LEAP tomography reveals that generally
good agreement is achieved for the <R> 3
and Nv. However, the MatCalc predicted ⎡ 2 ⎤4
φ (~0.0099) is more than three times less Gb ⎢ E P ⎥
τ= ⎢1 − 2 ⎥
than the φ measured using LEAP tomog- L⎢ E ⎥⎦
⎣ M
raphy (~ 0.032). Previous work by the au-
thors (Ref. 12) demonstrated that the sig- E
p
when sin–1 ≥ 50 deg (2)
nificantly higher φ values measured using E
M
LEAP tomography can be explained by
uncertainty in determining the true Cu
concentration of the Cu-rich precipitates. r
E ∞ log R
A combination of empirical Cu solubility E P
r log
data, published precipitate Cu concentra- P = 0 + r (3)
E R R
tions, and lever law calculations demon- M E∞ log log
strated that for the binary Fe-Cu system M
r r
0 0
the expected φ of Cu-rich precipitates for
NUCu-140 is approximately 0.013, which
is in very good agreement with the Mat-
1.77r
Calc prediction of 0.0099. Based on this L= (4)
analysis (Ref. 12), it was decided that the φ
MatCalc precipitate parameters would be
used as input for the strengthening calcu- where G is the shear modulus of the ma-
lations (discussed below). trix (77 GPa); b is the Burgers vector (0.25
Using the predicted precipitate param- nm); L is the interprecipitate spacing
eters generated using MatCalc, the (Equation 4 ); EP is the dislocation energy
strengthening model proposed by Russell in the precipitate; EM is the dislocation en-
and Brown (Ref. 23) can be used to esti- ergy in the matrix; EP∞ is the dislocation

WELDING JOURNAL 145-s

Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:09 PM Page 146
A gions are composed of an equiaxed ferritic
B heat input. The calculated shear strength
Fig. 11 — Sensitivity analysis of the Russell-Brown
model showing predicted increase in yield strength
WELDING RESEARCH
as a function of radius for constant volume frac-
tions. A — Full scale; B — enlarged view.
energy in the precipitate per unit length;
EM∞ is the dislocation energy in the matrix
per unit length; r is the radius; r0 is the
inner cut-off radius (2.5 b); R is the outer
cut-off radius (1000r0); and φ is the pre-
cipitate volume fraction. The shear modu-
lus of body-centered cubic (bcc) Cu is as-
sumed to be equivalent to that of
face-centered cubic (fcc) Cu. The ratio of
dislocation energy per unit length in the
precipitate and matrix (EP∞)⁄(EM∞) is ap-
proximately 0.6 (Ref. 23). The shear
strength in each simulated HAZ region is
calculated by substituting in the precipi-
tate parameters predicted using the Mat-
Calc simulations (Table 2) and applying a
Schmid factor of 2.5 (Ref. 23). The pre-
dicted shear strength change is then cal-
culated by comparing the calculated base
metal strength to the calculated strength
in each simulated HAZ region. Applica-
tion of the Russell-Brown model does
have several limitations which include the
assumption that the shear modulus of fcc
Cu and bcc Cu have the same value, the
calculation of L based on radius and pre-
cipitate volume fraction is subject to sig-
nificant error (Ref. 23), and the cut-off ra-
dius values are geometric approximations.
However, recent research has demon-
strated that the model provides good
agreement between calculation and ex-
periment for similar Fe-Cu based alloys
(Ref. 24). This calculation is assumed to
be a valid indicator of the overall strength
change since the matrix microstructure of
the base metal, subcritical HAZ, inter-
critical HAZ, and fine-grained HAZ re-
146-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
microstructure with nearly identical grain
sizes. The coarse-grained HAZ region
therefore cannot be compared using this
method due to the acicular-type mi-
crostructure that results from the HAZ
thermal cycle.
Figure 10 shows the measured vs. pre-
dicted yield strength change for the 800°
and 900°C peak temperature simulated
HAZ samples for both the low and high
values were converted into yield strength
values by applying the relationship that
shear yield strength is approximately
equal to 0.6 times the tensile yield strength
in steel (Ref. 25). The 1350°C samples
were not included in the strength calcula-
tions since they exhibit acicular-type mi-
crostructures and therefore cannot be di-
rectly compared to the equiaxed ferritic
structures. The 675°C peak temperature
samples were included in the calculation
but were not included in Fig. 10 since the
strengthening model predicts an increase
in yield strength of greater than 160 MPa
for the low heat input sample, while the
measured yield strength exhibits a de-
crease of approximately 60 MPa. This de-
viation can be explained as a result of the
partial dissolution and re-precipitation
predicted for the 675°C peak temperature
samples (Fig. 9), as well as how the inter-
particle spacing (L) is calculated. L is cal-
culated as a function of the average pre-
cipitate radius (<R>) and the precipitate
volume fraction (φ) through Equation 4,
but does not account for the precipitate
number density directly. This is typically
not a problem since all three of these pre-
cipitate parameters are interrelated. How-
ever, for the case of the 675°C peak tem-
perature simulated HAZ sample,
re-precipitation of new, smaller Cu-rich
precipitates is predicted during cooling.
This leads to a bimodal precipitate distri-
bution where the new, smaller precipitates
are not correctly accounted for in the cal-
culation of L. The new precipitates cause
<R> to decrease significantly, which re-
sults in a calculated L value that is too low
and which leads to a predicted strength
value that is too high.
The measured vs. predicted strength
change for the LH800 and LH900 samples
exhibit very good quantitative agreement
where there is an almost one-to-one rela-
tionship between the measured and pre-
dicted values. However, the quantitative
agreement breaks down for the high heat
input samples. The calculations for the
high heat input condition accurately re-
flect that there is little difference between
the HH800 and HH900 strength levels,
which was observed experimentally in Fig.
7A, but the magnitude of the measured
and predicted strength changes show sig-
nificant disagreement. The predicted de-
crease in strength is approximately 50
MPa as opposed to nearly 175 MPa for the
measured values. The predicted precipi-
tate parameters and strength changes are
shown in Table 3 for each heat input. Note
that MatCalc predicts only slight differ-
ences in the precipitate parameters for the
low and high heat input samples. This
agrees with the experimentally measured
strength levels, which show only minimal
differences in the resultant strength. This
suggests that MatCalc is accurately cap-
turing the precipitate evolution for the
various HAZ thermal cycles. This also im-
plies that NUCu-140 is not very sensitive
to heat input over the range of heat inputs
evaluated in this study. The large variation
in predicted strength calculated with only
minor differences in <R> and φ suggest
that the Russell-Brown model is very sen-
sitive to the input parameters of <R> and
φ. Figure 11A, B shows a sensitivity analy-
sis that plots the increase in yield strength
predicted by the Russell-Brown model as
a function of <R> for three representa-
tive φ values. The yield strength initially in-
creases with increasing precipitate radius
for a fixed volume fraction (Fig. 11A) up
to approximately 1 nm, after which the
yield strength is expected to decrease
(Ref. 26). This is consistent with a coars-
ening phenomenon where the overall pre-
cipitate strength contribution decreases
when the precipitates coarsen past the
peak aged condition. Figure 11B shows an
enlarged view of Fig. 11A for precipitate
radii up to 1 nm. The MatCalc-predicted
low heat input and high heat input precip-
itate parameters are labeled along with
the associated strengthening contribution
predicted by the Russell-Brown model.
The slope of the strength vs. <R> curve
in the vicinity of the low heat input and
high heat input precipitate parameters are
1590 and 2275 MPa/nm, respectively.
Note that, within this region, very large
strength increases are predicted with only
minor increases in precipitate radii for this
model. MatCalc simulations or LEAP to-
mographic measurements are probably
not accurate enough to expect valid quan-
titative comparisons with the R-B model
at the low end of the <R> range when
such small variations in precipitate pa-
rameters can cause large differences in the
predicted strength. This effect probably
accounts for the disagreement between
the measured and calculated strength
changes shown in Fig. 10.
Conclusions
Microstructural evolution and me-
chanical properties of simulated heat-
affected zones in NUCu-140 steel was in-
vestigated via light optical microscopy,
dilatometry, Gleeble HAZ simulations,
mechanical testing, and modeling tech-
Farren Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:09 PM Page 147

niques. The following conclusions can be
drawn from this research.
1. Dilatometry experiments over a wide
range of heating rates show that the Ac1
temperature ranges from 706°C with a
1°C/s heating rate up to 759°C with a
1000°C/s heating rate. The Ac3 tempera-
ture exhibits a narrower range of 824° to
839°C.
2. The subcritical, intercritical, and
fine-grained HAZ regions exhibit an
equiaxed ferritic microstructure that is
very similar to the NUCu-140 base metal
microstructure. The coarse-grained HAZ
exhibits a predominantly acicular-type
matrix microstructure composed of a com-
bination of acicular ferrite, Widmanstät-
ten ferrite, bainite, and low-carbon
martensite.
3. Microhardness and tensile testing
results demonstrate that local softening
occurs in the HAZ, with the minimum
strength and hardness occurring in the in-
tercritical and fine-grained HAZ regions.
The strength loss in these regions is at-
tributed to complete dissolution and only
lar precipitate parameters and equiaxed
ferrite microstructure would be expected
to produce similar strength levels for each
of these samples. This is consistent with
the measured mechanical properties
where there are only minor variations in
the yield strength for these conditions as a
function of heat input. This indicates that
NUCu-140 is insensitive to heat input over
the range of heat inputs (1.5–3.75 kJ/mm)
investigated in this study.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge fi-
nancial support of this research by the Of-
fice of Naval Research through Grant
Number N00014-07-1-0331 and useful dis-
cussions with the program manager, Dr.
William Mullins, of the Office of Naval
Research.
References
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face and Interface Analysis 36: 569.
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91(2): 53-s to 58-s.
10. Fine, M. E., Ramanathan, R., Vaynman,
S., and Bhat, S. P. 1993. International Sympo-
sium on Low Carbon Steels for the ‘90s, p. 511.
11. Bhadeshia, H. K. D. H., and Honey-
combe, R. W. K. 2006. Steels: Microstructure and
Properties. Elsevier, p. 287.
12. Farren, J. D., Hunter, A. H., DuPont, J.
N., Seidman, D. N., Robino, C. V., and
Kozeschnik, E. 2012. Submitted to Metallurgical
and Materials Transactions A.
13. Fuerschbach, P. W., and Eisler, G. R.
2002. 6th International Trends in Welding Re-
search Conference Proceedings.
14. DuPont, J. N., and Marder, A. R. 1995.
Thermal efficiency of arc welding processes.
Welding Journal 749(12): 406-s.
15. Babu, S. S. 2004. Current Opinion in
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16.Babu, S. S., and Bhadeshia, H. 1992. Ma-
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17. Babu, S. S., and Bhadeshia, H. 1990 Ma-
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18. Babu, S. S., and David, S. A. 2002. ISIJ
International 42: 1344.
19. Holzer, I., and Kozeschnik, E. 2010.
Mater. Sci. Forum 638–642: 2579.
20. Kozeschnik, E., Svoboda, J., Fratzl, P.,

partial re-precipitation of Cu precipitates,
as shown by precipitate simulation. The
coarse-grained HAZ exhibits a slight re-
covery of strength and hardness as a result
of the acicular-type structure that forms in
this region.
4. The Charpy impact energy at –40°C
for each HAZ region was equal to or bet-
ter than the unaffected base metal. This is
consistent with the microhardness and
yield strength results, since the HAZ re-
gions exhibited a decrease in
strength/hardness, which typically pro-
duces an increase in toughness.
5. Similar values of precipitate radii,
number density, and phase fraction were
calculated for the 675°, 800°, and 900°C
peak temperature samples for both low
and high heat input conditions. The simi-
2. Isheim, D., Gagliano, M. S., Fine, M. E.,
and Seidman, D. N. 2006. Acta Materialia 54:
841.
3. Kolli, R. P., and Seidman, D. N. 2007. Mi-
croscopy and Microanalysis 13: 272.
4. Gagliano, M. S., and Fine, M. E. 2004.
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 35A:
2323.
5. Isheim, D., Kolli, R. P., Fine, M. E., and
Seidman, D. N. 2006. Scripta Materialia 55: 35.
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Materialia 56: 2073.
7. Kolli, R. P., Wojes, R. M., Zaucha, S., and
Seidman, D. N. 2008. International Journal for
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8. Kolli, R. P., and Seidman, D. N. 2011. In-
ternational Journal for Materials Research (for-
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9. Leister, B. M., and DuPont, J. N. 2012.
Fracture toughness of simulated heat-affected
WELDING RESEARCH
and Fischer, F. D. 2004. Materials Science and
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Microstructure and Processing 385: 157.
21. Kozeschnik, E. 2008. Scripta Materialia
59: 1018.
22. Svoboda, J., Fischer, F. D., Fratzl, P., and
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Microstructure and Processing 385: 166.
23. Russell, K. C., and Brown, L. M. 1972.
Acta Metallurgica 20: 969.
24. Yu, X., Caron, J. L., Babu, S. S., Lippold,
J. C., Isheim, D., and Seidman, D. N. 2010. Acta
Mater. 58: 5596.
25. Deutschman, A. D., Michels, W. J., and
Wilson, C. E. 1975. Machine Design: Theory and
Practice.
26. Kolli, R. P., and Seidman, D. N. 2011. In-
ternational Journal for Materials Research (for-
merly Zeitschrift fur Metallkunde) 102: 1115.

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WELDING JOURNAL 147-s

Elrefaey 5-13_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:07 PM Page 148

Preliminary Investigation on Ultrasonic-

Assisted Brazing of Titanium and
Titanium/Stainless Steel Joints
Aluminum-based brazing filler metal can be used for brazing titanium to steel in air

BY A. ELREFAEY, L. WOJARSKI, J. PFEIFFER, AND W. TILLMANN

the oxide layer at the interaction interface

ABSTRACT was first lifted up by the undermining
Preliminary investigations of the microstructure and fracture behavior of ultrasonic- alloy, suspending in the liquid filler metal,
assisted brazing of CP titanium to itself and to AISI 304 stainless steel was conducted, before being broken up by the ultrasonic
using an aluminum-based filler. Test joints were processed at a temperature of 670°C excitation (Ref. 10). In the case of nonul-
and with a holding time of 3 min, followed by ultrasonic vibrations for 6 s. The resultant trasonic-assisted brazing of titanium, a sta-
joints were characterized in order to determine the brittle intermetallic compound ble oxide film grows on the surface of
titanium alloys when heated in air. The
(IMC) in the interfacial layer. The shear strength of the joints was tested as well. The pre-
oxide film presents a barrier for important
liminary experimental results showed that sound joints with good wetting quality, with-
interactions during the brazing process
WELDING RESEARCH

out pores and cracks can be achieved. Intermetallic Ti-Al phases were detected at the and resulted in incomplete wetting at the
titanium/aluminum-based filler metal in both similar and dissimilar joints. Both joints titanium interface.
fractured after shear strength tests in the area containing this intermetallic compound. The filler metals mostly used for
The titanium/titanium joints achieved a higher shear strength of 64 MPa. Meanwhile, the brazed titanium are silver-based (Refs.
titanium/stainless steel joint obtained 46 MPa. 11–15), titanium-based (Refs. 16–18), and
aluminum-based filler metals (Refs.
Introduction resultant layer has to be removed prior to 19–21). Aluminum-based filler metals
joining because it melts at a much higher have the potential to braze titanium with
Titanium and its alloys exhibit a unique temperature than the base metal (Ref. 4). sufficient properties. Their melting tem-
combination of mechanical and physical Brazing is one of the most inexpensive perature ranges substantially below the
properties as well as corrosion resistance, and convenient methods for joining tita- beta transus, which make them a strong
which make them desirable for several in- nium and titanium to dissimilar metals. competitor to other filler metals. Other
dustrial sectors such as power generation, Joining in a vacuum environment in- useful characteristics include lower densi-
chemical processing, aerospace, and med- creases the cost of production and also re- ties and a good metallurgical compatibil-
ical applications. On the other hand, steel duces the design flexibility (Refs. 5, 6). ity with titanium alloys to be brazed,
and steel alloys represent the most impor- Therefore, vacuum-free joining processes, particularly good wetting and flow in cap-
tant and widely used materials in industrial which are assisted by external mechanical illary gaps. On the other hand, a lower
applications. Gradually, composite struc- energy to disrupt the oxide layer in air, shear strength of titanium brazed joints
tures of dissimilar metals were accepted in have been developed and investigated. using aluminum filler metals can be gen-
national defense and civil industrial fields, Ultrasonic waves have been applied for erated by increasing the overlap area in
such as aeronautics and astronautics, and soldering and brazing aluminum and tita- order to achieve a load-carrying capability
energy and electric power industries. nium in air (Refs. 10–12). Ultrasonic vi- close to that of the base metal (Ref. 22).
Composite components of titanium alloy brations imposed on metal surfaces cause The main purpose of this study is to ex-
and steel can take advantage of these two a high cavitation intensity in the liquid plore and evaluate the preliminary exper-
materials simultaneously. A partial re- filler metal, which disrupts and flakes off iments related to brazing commercially
placement of steel components with tita- surface oxides, thereby allowing the filler pure titanium (CP Ti) and Cp Ti to stain-
nium alloys will become an important way metal to wet the surfaces and form a met- less steel by using an aluminum-based
to reduce the mass of spacecrafts (Refs. allurgical bond. When undermining phe- filler metal (Al2.5Mg-0.3Cr) in open air
1−3). nomena occurred during the interaction, utilizing an ultrasonic-assisted induction
Titanium belongs to a family of metals heating system. The focus is hereby on the
called reactive metals that have a strong interfacial microstructure and strengths of
affinity for oxygen. At room temperature, the joints.
KEYWORDS
titanium reacts with oxygen to form tita-
nium dioxide. This passive, impervious Experimental Work
Titanium
coating resists further interactions with the
surrounding atmosphere, and gives tita- Stainless Steel The base metals used in this work were
nium its famous corrosion resistance. The Brazing 2-mm-thick commercially pure titanium
Ultrasonic (CP Ti) Grade 2 and 2-mm-thick
Joint Microstructure austenitic stainless steel AISI 304. The
A. ELREFAEY, L. WOJARSKI (lukas.wo- chemical compositions of the base metals
Shear Strength
jarski@udo.edu), J. PFEIFFER, and W. TILL-
MANN are with the Institute of Materials Engi-
are presented in Table 1. The stainless
neering, TU Dortman, Dortman, Germany. steel plate was cut into 25 × 25 mm chips,

148-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92

Elrefaey 5-13_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:07 PM Page 149

and the titanium plate was cut into 10 ×

10 mm chips, for shear strength testing
and microstructure analyses. Additionally,
the samples were first polished with SiC
papers up to 1000 grit and subsequently
cleaned by an ultrasonic bath using ace-
tone as a solvent, prior to the brazing
process. The filler metal used was a 50 μm
thick TiBrazeAl-665A (Al-2.5Mg-0.3Cr,
wt-%) designed for brazing thin-walled ti-
tanium articles and titanium matrix com-
posites. This filler metal has a liquidus of
650°C, which is significantly lower than the
beta transus temperature of CP Ti. The
brazing foils, cleaned in acetone before
brazing, were sandwiched between the
overlapping areas of the base metals.
The ultrasonic-assisted brazing appa-
ratus used in this study is schematically il-
lustrated in Fig. 1. A horn was installed in
the vertical direction, and the test pieces Fig. 1 — Schematic illustration of the ultrasonic- Fig. 2 — Schematic illustration of the lap shear test.
assisted brazing apparatus.
were mounted into a steel holder. Initially,
the samples were heated up to a tempera-
ture 50 K below the solidus temperature was carried out at room temperature, and Brazing of Titanium/Al-2.5Mg-0.3Cr/
of the filler metal for a dwell time of 5 min, the displacement speed was 0.1 mm/s. Titanium Joint
using a high-frequency induction coil in

WELDING RESEARCH
Three samples were used to calculate the
air. This step aimed at achieving the ther- average shear strength. After the shear Figure 4A displays SEM microstruc-
mal equilibrium of the couple. The induc- test, the fracture surfaces were analyzed by ture features of the joint. Obviously a
tion heating system has an output power SEM and EDS analyses. sound joint was obtained since a homoge-
of 15 kW and operating frequency of 13 neous microstructure without voids or
KHz. The sample was then continuously Results and Discussion cracks was observed along the joint. The
heated up to 670°C with a holding time at titanium showed no change in the mi-
this temperature of 3 min. The specimen The characteristic microstructures of crostructure since the brazing temperature
temperature was measured by a K-type the base metals are shown in Fig. 3. The is much lower than the β-Ti transforma-
thermocouple, installed to touch a groove microstructure of the stainless steel is tion temperature. According to the Ti-Al
in the sample as close as possible to the composed of austenitic equiaxed grains binary phase diagram (Ref. 23), the solu-
joining interfaces. The horn was kept out- with annealing twins in the grain interiors. bility of Al in α Ti at the brazing tempera-
side the heating region without preheating Inclusions of the size of several microme- ture is about 8 wt-%. Therefore, the
till the temperature of the samples was ters can also be detected, while the mi- titanium base metal was enriched by alu-
reached, and then it was moved manually crostructure of CP Ti possesses equiaxed minum. The EDX analyses of the titanium
to touch the surface of the sample before α-phase grains. base metal, close to the interfacial-brazed
it started to work. Ultrasonic vibration
with 120-W power at a frequency of 25
kHz was applied for 6 s and propagated in Table 1 — Chemical Composition of Base Metals
a direction perpendicular to brazing sur-
faces. This duration was recommended to
completely destroy the oxide layer (Ref. Materials Wt-%
10). The samples were subjected to an
C Fe Ti Cr Ni Si P N H O
equal pressure of nearly 0.2 MPa, which
was a result of the weight of the horn. The CP Ti 0.02 0.03 Bal. — — — — 0.03 0.01 0.25
average heating rate was 2.3 K/s, and the AISI 304 0.06 Bal. — 17.88 8.52 0.31 0.009 — —
samples were cooled in air to room tem-
perature after brazing.
Selected samples were cut, mounted,
polished, and etched for microscopic eval- Table 3 — Chemical Analyses at Areas
Table 2 — Chemical Analyses at Areas
uation. A light optical microscope and Shown in Fig. 4 Shown in Fig. 7
scanning electron microscope (SEM),
equipped with an energy-dispersive spec- Area Average Chemical Analyses (at.-%) Area Average Chemical Analyses (at.-%)
trometer (EDS), were used to character- Ti Al Mg Cr Ti Al Mg Cr
ize the joints. A metallographic
1 98.76 1.24 — — 1 5.55 91.36 2.96 0.13
examination was carried out on the cross
2 99.61 0.39 — — 2 6.33 90.71 2.85 0.10
section. Hardness measurements were
3 0.37 97.35 2.17 0.11 3 97.09 2.51 0.40 —
performed with the help of a Vickers hard- 4 92.51 6.24 1.25 —
ness testing machine with 25-g load and 4 74.60 21.99 2.41 —
5 61.46 36.58 1.87 0.09 5 69.35 27.53 3.04 0.08
25-s impressing time. Additionally, lap 6 69.97 26.42 3.49 0.12
6 68.70 30.12 1.18 —
shear tests were performed to evaluate the 7 66.70 23.75 9.48 0.07
7 68.63 29.96 1.30 0.11
bonding strength of the specimen as 8 61.06 32.09 6.83 0.02
schematically illustrated in Fig. 2. The test

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A B

A B
Fig. 3 — Microstructures of base metals. A — Stainless steel AISI 304; Fig. 4 — SEM microstructure features of the titanium/titanium joint.
B — CP titanium. A — General view of the cross section; B — close-up view at the interfacial
area.
WELDING RESEARCH

Fig. 5 — Hardness distribution in the titanium/titanium joint. Fig. 6 — Fracture path of the titanium/titanium joint.

area, contained a considerable amount of the layer indicates that it is almost a Ti3Al measured as well. In spite of the formation
titanium as shown in Fig. 4A, Areas 1 and phase — Area 4. This layer has a maxi- of the hard and brittle Ti3Al phase at the
2. Table 2 lists the chemical analyses of all mum thickness of less than 2 μm and is interfacial brazed area, the presence of
phases at the brazed joint. The brazed formed discontinuously at the interface. this phase is preferred to as the TiAl phase
area mainly consists of a solid solution of Owing to the low ductility and toughness since Ti3Al has much better strength and
aluminum dissolving a few percentages of of Ti3Al at room temperature, this phase is ductility than TiAl (Ref. 24).
magnesium, titanium, and chrome (Area continuously crushed during sample The hardness distribution in the joint is
3). It is worth noting that there was no in- preparations for metallographic investiga- shown in Fig. 5. The hardness of the
dication of an oxide layer at the interfacial tions, and hence, scattered to the soft alu- brazed area showed lower values than in
area. Ultrasonic vibration disrupted and minum brazed area. The scattered phase the titanium base metal. Additionally, the
flaked off the surface oxides as was ex- .can be easily detected in the brazed area hardness close to the interfacial area in the
plained in detail by Xu et al. (Ref. 10). as clearly shown in Fig. 4A, Areas 5 and 6, titanium side was higher than in the base
The titanium/aluminum-based brazing and the close-up view in Fig. 4B, Area 7. metal far from the interface, owing to the
interface is planar in nature, and a thin in- Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses diffusion of aluminum into the base metal.
teraction layer was revealed at the inter- of the scattered Ti3Al reflected more alu- However, the hardness at the interfacial
face area as shown in Fig. 4B. The minum content since the phase is too thin, area, which is expected to present the
stoichiometric ratio between Al and Ti of and its aluminum background area was highest values, could not be assessed due
to the very thin interfacial area.
The fracture shear strength was calcu-
Table 4 — Chemical Analyses at Areas Shown in Fig. 8 lated as the failure load, divided by the
overlap area. The achieved average shear
strength of the joints is 64 MPa with a
Area Average Chemical Analyses (at-%)
standard deviation of ±2.7 MPa. This re-
Ti Al Mg Cr Fe Ni Si sult is comparable or a little lower than re-
1 70.19 22.93 6.00 0.36 0.43 0.09 — sults from our previous work, related to
2 20.19 73.98 3.58 0.67 0.32 0.06 1.20 brazing titanium in a vacuum, using a sil-
3 73.72 19.28 3.85 1.15 0.82 0.08 1.10 ver-based alloy (Ref. 15). The strength of
4 1.94 83.91 4.91 1.31 7.17 0.76 — the joint could be improved by optimizing
5 30.19 63.98 3.58 0.67 0.32 0.06 1.20
the brazing parameters such as the braz-
6 0.19 86.73 — 5.51 5.26 2.31 —
ing temperature, holding time, and ultra-
7 0.99 80.31 0.65 3.19 13.58 1.28 —
8 99.53 0.47 — — — — — sonic time. Figure 6 shows that the joints
9 0.17 2.71 0.20 19.20 68.73 7.77 1.22 failed mainly at the titanium/aluminum-
based filler metal interface owing to the

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formation of the hard and brittle Ti3Al in-

termetallic compound. The fracture mor-
phology of the joints after the shear test is
presented in Fig. 7A. Chemical analyses of
the corresponding fracture area (Table 3)
showed a high probability of a Ti3Al phase
at the surface of the aluminum-based filler
metal — Areas 5 and 6 in Fig. 7B, and the
titanium base metal as well, Areas 7 and 8
in Fig. 7C. This implies that the Ti3Al in-
termetallic compound is the most harmful
phase in the joint. Aluminum-based filler A
metal is shown in the fracture surface by
the Areas 1 and 2, while the titanium base
metal is presented by the Areas 3 and 4.
The fractography of these fracture sur-
faces basically showed cleavages in addi-
tion to tearing regions. The fracture
direction took the same direction as in the
shear test.

Brazing of Titanium/Al-2.5Mg-0.3Cr/
Stainless Steel Joint
B C
Figure 8A displays SEM microstruc-
ture features of the joint. It is clear that

the brazed filler metal wets the titanium
and stainless steel base metals well, and no
defects are observed at the interface. The
brazed area is mainly composed of three
zones. The first zone is the interfacial thin
reaction layer at the titanium/aluminum-
based filler metal. Energy-dispersive X-ray
analyses of this layer showed that it is the
Ti-Al intermetallic phase, either a Ti3Al or
an Al3Ti or a mix of them — Fig. 8B,
Areas 1–3. Table 4 lists the chemical analy-
ses of areas shown in Fig. 8. It is difficult to
exactly identify the content of this phase
since it is very thin and fragmented at the
interface. The second zone is close to the
previous interaction layer and basically
consists of aluminum-based matrix (Area
4) with fragments of Ti-Al intermetallic
phases (Area 5) separated from the inter-
facial area similar to the titanium/Al-
2.5Mg-0.3Cr/titanium joint. The third
zone is the one close to the stainless
steel/aluminum-based filler metal. In this
area, the solubility of iron into the alu-
minum is almost zero, which results in a
very early interfacial phase formation
when iron is dissolved into aluminum. Iron
and chromium diffusion from the stainless
steel side constitute several phases with
the aluminum-based filler metal. The
isothermal section in the Al-Fe-Cr ternary
phase diagram at 600°C and the partial
isothermal section at the aluminum-rich
corner (more than 75 at.-% Al) confirm
the existence of three-phase(1) υ +(2) θ +
(Al) and υ + (Al13Fe4) + (Al) (25–28) —
(1) The stoichiometric chemical composition of
this phase is Cr10.71 Fe8.68 Al80.61, and it is some-
times called H-CrFeAl.
(2) The stoichiometric chemical composition of
this phase is Cr2Al13 and sometimes called CrAl7
in the literature.
WELDING RESEARCH
Fig. 7 — Fracture morphology of the titanium/titanium joint. A — General view of the fracture surface;
B — close-up view at the surface of aluminum-based filler; C — close-up view at the surface of titanium
base metal.
Fig. 9A and B, respectively. Energy-dis- percentages of titanium caused the forma-
persive X-ray analyses at the interfacial tion of Ti3Al phase only at the interface
area suggest the presence of the three- since titanium has limited solubility in
phase υ + (Al13Fe4) + (Al) in spite of the molten aluminum. On the other hand,
low accuracy of the analyses due to the iron has a high solubility in molten alu-
minute size of the phases. The three-phase minum and is easily dissolved at the
are shown in Fig. 8C, Area 6 (grey grains molten stage (Refs. 29, 30). During cool-
of phase υ surrounded by black solid solu- ing, iron has a very low solubility in the
tion Al) and Area 7 (Al13Fe4 intermetallic solid state and is therefore present mostly
phase). as a coarse intermetallic phase in the
Similar to the titanium/titanium joint, brazed zone.
the diffusion of aluminum into the tita- The hardness distribution in the joint is
nium base metal in the titanium/stainless shown in Fig. 10. In contrast to the tita-
steel joint was shown in Fig. 8, Area 8. On nium/titanium joint, the hardness of the
the other side of the joints, the solubility brazed area showed the highest values.
of Al in the austenitic matrix is on the The brazed area close to the stainless steel
order of about 2 to 2.5 wt-% Al. There- side showed the peak hardness in respect
fore, EDX analyses detected a few per- to other areas in the brazed zone. It was
centages of aluminum in the stainless steel also noted that the stainless steel showed a
side of the joint — Fig. 8, Area 9. higher average hardness than titanium.
It is to be noted that the size and dis- The average shear strength of the joints
tribution of intermetallic compounds were achieved 46 MPa with a standard deviation
different from the Ti/Ti joint to the of ± 3.1 MPa. The strength was lower than
Ti/stainless steel joint. The solubility of Ti the titanium/titanium joint, since an Al-Fe
in aluminum at brazing temperature is al- intermetallic compound was detected in
most neglected (Ref. 23). Therefore, high the brazed area in addition to Al-Ti. Addi-
Table 5 — Chemical Analyses at Areas Shown in Fig. 11
Area Average Chemical Analyses (at.-%)
Ti Al Mg Cr Ni Fe
1 5.98 85.69 6.16 0.79 0.25 1.13
2 7.58 84.52 3.30 0.59 0.31 3.70
3 11.52 75.57 6.91 0.82 0.52 4.66
4 22.52 56.55 18.45 0.53 — 1.95
5 26.77 53.49 16.77 0.78 — 2.19
6 31.32 61.01 7.55 0.12 — —

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Elrefaey 5-13_Layout 1 4/16/13 3:07 PM Page 152
A lution aluminum with a Ti3Al intermetal-
B C
Fig. 8 — SEM microstructure features of the titanium/stainless steel joint. A — General view of the cross
section; B — close-up view at the titanium/aluminum-based filler metal interfacial area; C — close-up
view at the stainless steel/aluminum-based filler metal interfacial area.
A B
WELDING RESEARCH
Fig. 9 — A — Isothermal section in the Al-Fe-Cr ternary phase diagram at 600°C; B — the partial isother-
mal section at the aluminum-rich corner.
tionally, extra internal stresses are ex-
pected in this joint compared with the sim-
ilar titanium joint. Surprisingly, Fig. 11
shows the joints failed mainly at the tita-
nium/aluminum-based filler metal inter-
face in spite of the thinner intermetallic
compound of this area, compared with the
area close to the stainless steel/aluminum-
based filler metal, which showed thick and
different intermetallic compounds.
Fracture surface, corresponding to the
previous fracture pass, is shown in Fig.
12A and C for the stainless steel and tita-
nium sides, respectively. Chemical analy-
ses of different areas at the fracture
surface generally showed high aluminum
content in the stainless steel side (Table 5,
Areas 1–3). Meanwhile, at the titanium
side, the content of titanium increased sig-
nificantly (Areas 4–6). The stoichiometric
composition of different areas did not con-
firm the occurrence of any Al-Ti inter-
metallic compound at the fracture surface
in contrast to the titanium/titanium joint.
152-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
Figure 12B and D showed enlarged im-
ages of the stainless steel and titanium
sides, respectively. The microscope frac-
tography of these fracture surfaces basi-
cally showed cleavage morphologies in
both sides of the joint with more tearing
regions in the stainless steel side of the
fracture and more flat areas and shearing
directions in the titanium side.
Conclusions
Ultrasonic-assisted brazing experi-
ments of CP titanium to itself and to AISI
304 stainless steel were conducted using
an aluminum-based filler metal. The joints
were successfully brazed without voids,
cracks, or surface oxides disturbing the
wetting of the joint. The relationship be-
tween the mechanical properties of the
joints and the microstructure of the brazed
layers was examined. The results obtained
can be summarized as follows:
1) For the titanium/titanium joint, the
brazed area mainly consisted of solid so-
lic compound at the interfacial area.
During shear tests, the crack pass propa-
gated at this intermetallic compound has
almost no ductility to withstand thermal
stresses. The average shear strength of
the joints was 64 MPa.
2) For the titanium/stainless steel
joint, Ti-Al intermetallic compounds
were formed at the titanium/aluminum-
based filler metal interfacial area. Mean-
while, three-phase υ + (Al13Fe4) + (Al)
were formed at the stainless steel/alu-
minum-based filler metal interfacial area.
In spite of the high hardness of this area
in respect to the titanium/aluminum-
based filler metal interfacial area, the
crack pass during shear tests was close to
the Ti-Al intermetallic compound. The
average shear strength of the joints was
46 MPa.
References
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12. Chan, H. Y., Liaw, D. W., and Shiue, R.

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WELDING RESEARCH
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Dynamic Control of the GTAW Process

Using a Human Welder Response Model

A model was implemented to adjust the welding current in response to the

characteristic parameters of the 3D weld pool surface to maintain consistent,
complete joint penetration in GTAW

BY W. J. ZHANG AND Y. M. ZHANG

rapidly and accurately. Inconsistent con-

ABSTRACT centration, fatigue, and stress build up
such that welders’ capabilities degrade
In the modern welding industry where automated welding tends to be the during daily operations. Moreover, expe-
mainstream, manual welding is still not replaceable when human experience and rience and skills needed for critical opera-
skills are critical to produce quality welds. Yet the mechanization and transfor- tions typically require years to develop
mation of a human welder’s intelligence into robotic welding have not been ex-
WELDING RESEARCH

while the manufacturing industry is expe-

plored. In our previous study to understand a human welder’s behavior, the riencing an insufficient number of skilled
welder’s adjustments on welding current were modeled as a response to charac- welders for a long time (Ref. 1).
teristic parameters of the three-dimensional weld pool surface. In this work, the The mechanism of welders’ experi-
response model is implemented to feedback control the gas tungsten arc welding ence-based behavior, i.e., how welders re-
(GTAW) process to maintain consistent, complete joint penetration. Experiments spond to the information they acquire
were designed to start welding using different welding conditions (arc length, from their sensory system, should be ex-
welding speed, and root opening) along with initial current. After the initial open- plored and utilized to develop intelligent
loop control period, the welding current is adjusted by the controller that uses the robotic welding systems that combine in-
welder’s response model to determine how to adjust the welding current based telligence and physical capabilities for the
on the measured weld pool surface characteristic parameters. The resultant cur- next generation of manufacturing. Explor-
rent waveform and its backside weld bead width were recorded/measured and an- ing the mechanism may also be utilized to
alyzed. It was found that the human welder response model can adjust the cur- understand why less skilled welders are
rent appropriately to control the welding process to a desired penetration level not performing as well as skilled welders
despite the difference in the welding conditions and initial current. The desired and help train welders faster to help re-
backside width of the weld bead, 5.2 mm, was produced with a 0.4 mm variation solve the skilled welder shortage issue the
successfully in all experiments despite their diverse welding conditions and initial manufacturing industry is facing (Ref. 2).
current. However, developing a model of the
welders’ experience-based behavior and
control the desired weld state. Because of
adapting it as a controller in automated
Introduction their experience-based behavior in re-
welding is so far a challenging task. Nu-
sponse to the information they sense,
merous studies have been conducted with
Manual gas tungsten arc welding human welders may be preferred over
different sensing techniques mimicking
(GTAW) is thought by many as an opera- mechanized welding control systems in
welders’ sensing capability to the weld
tion that requires the highest skills, yet is certain applications.
pool. Various types of information about
commonly used in the industry, especially Although welders’ experience and
the weld pool have been extracted and in-
for applications requiring assured weld skills are crucial to producing quality
terpreted to describe the state of the weld-
quality. A human welder can hear the welds, human welders have limitations.
ing process (Refs. 3–9).
sounds of the arc, sense the reactive forces Critical welding operations require
Although successes in monitoring the
from the torch, and observe the weld pool welders concentrate consistently to react
weld pool continue to be made in the aca-
surfaces. Using such feedback informa- demic community, the intelligent behavior
tion, a welder can appraise the welding of a human welder has not yet been suc-
process with respect to the desired state, KEYWORDS cessfully transferred to automated weld-
then intelligently adjust the welding pa- ing. This is because welders, in the role of
rameters (e.g., current, welding speed, arc Human Welder Response human controller in the welding process,
length), and maintain appropriate torch Joint Penetration Control make decisions primarily based on past
orientation and distance in an effort to Intelligent Welding and learned experiences, which might not in-
Control volve a fundamental understanding of the
Weld Pool Surface laws of physics. Also, a skilled welder as-
W. J. ZHANG and Y. M. ZHANG
Complete Joint Penetration sesses and controls a welding process
(ymzhang@engr.uky.edu) are with the Institute
for Sustainable Manufacturing and Department Gas Tungsten Arc Welding using a humanistic approach where the
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Univer- (GTAW) feedback sensory information acquired by
sity of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

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the welder is imprecise and can only re-

flect partial truths about the instant status
of the weld process. An automated weld-
ing control system requires both mecha-
nistic methods for the welding phenom-
ena that are physically well understood
and mathematically feasible for both sen-
sors and control algorithms.
The theory of modeling for the human
controller dynamics has been extensively
studied since the 1940s. Great progress
was achieved in the 1960s and 1970s (Ref.
10), such as linear crossover model (Ref.
11) and the optimal control model (Ref.
12). The physical nature of a human oper-
ator indicates that the human controller is
naturally dynamic, stochastic, nonlinear,
and time varying. In this sense, nonlinear
methods were introduced to model the
human action neural networks, and
neuro-fuzzy or adaptive models (Refs.
13–17).
Although nonlinear methods typically
improve the prediction performance to Fig. 1 — Demonstration of a manual control system of the GTAW process. It is not a typical manual
some extent, it is still very appealing to use GTAW process. The human welder only adjusts the welding current based on his observation of the 3D
weld pool surface. The pipe rotates during the experiment while the torch, imaging plane, laser, and cam-
linear models due to their convenience for

analysis and design. Instead of taking real
industrial processes, most of the literature
in this area took certain benchmarks as
control objects, such as the pendulum, joy-
stick, etc. Besides, those developed mod-
els tend to be too complex to understand
and difficult to apply to the practical con-
trol systems.
In our first study on human welder re-
sponses (Refs. 18, 19), dynamic models of
a novice human welder’s behavior were
developed. The studied behavior of the
welder is focused on the adjustment of
welding current in response to the ob-
served three-dimensional (3D) weld pool
surface during the complete-joint-pene-
tration process. The weld pool geometry is
used as the sensory feedback information
since it is believed to provide valuable in-
sights into the welding process state.
Important information such as weld
defects and penetration are contained in
the surface deformation of the weld pool
in the GTAW process (Refs. 20, 21). The
era are stationary.
geometry of the weld pool has been stud-
ied (Refs. 22–26) as a means of monitor-
ing and controlling the weld joint penetra-
tion. A vision-based sensing system has
been developed to simultaneously meas-
ure the 3D weld pool surface and record
the responses the human welder made to
the surface. A dynamic model that corre-
lates the welder responses (model out-
puts) to the characteristic parameters
(model inputs) of the 3D weld pool sur-
face has been established.
This paper is the first of this kind ad-
dressing implementation of the human
welder response model as a controller in
the automated GTAW process. In particu-
lar, this study focuses on how this model
controls the current to achieve consistent
complete joint penetration under differ-
ent welding parameters. The backside
weld bead width is used as a measurement
WELDING RESEARCH
for the penetration state. The effective-
ness and robustness of the model-based
control are evaluated and verified in this
paper.
Modeling of the human welder re-
sponse is briefly reviewed in the next sec-
tion. In the experimental system and
methods section, a vision-based sensing
system is detailed as well as the experi-
ment method for implementation of the
model. The results of the model-based
control is presented and analyzed in the
human welder response model control
section. The human welder response
model is further improved in the improve-
ment of the human welder response
model section. The robustness of the con-
trol using the improved model is then an-
alyzed in the results and analysis of ro-
bustness experiments section. The
conclusion is then given.

Table 1 — Experimental Parameters

Welding Parameters

Root opening/mm/s Arc length/mm Welding speed mm/s Initial welding current/A Argon flow rate/L/min
[0, 5] [2, 5] 1.0 [50, 62] 11.8

Monitoring Parameters

Project angle/deg Laser to weld pool distance/mm Imaging plane to tungsten axis distance/mm
35.5 24.7 101

Camera Parameters

Shutter speed/ms Frame rate/fps Camera to imaging plane distance/mm

4 30 57.8

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A B
WELDING RESEARCH
C D
E are shown in Fig. 2B–E. The time for the
Human Welder Response Model
Principle of Human Welderʼs Behavior
A skilled welder starts a welding
process with initial welding parameters
that are considered optimal based on past
experiences. After observing the weld
pool surface until enough feedback in-
formation is perceived, the welder as-
sesses the process and adjusts the welding
parameters accordingly to produce desir-
able welds. Skilled human welders are be-
lieved to make an optimal or nearly opti-
mal control to minimize the error
156-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
Fig. 2 — Results of image processing and three-
dimensional reconstruction. A — Captured image
using the sensing system; B — resultant dots in the
captured image using image processing. The aster-
isk in the figure is the reference dot matching the
dot at the 10th row and 10th column in the pro-
jected laser dot matrix. C — Projected dots on the
3D weld pool surface; D — interpolated 3D weld
pool surface; E — weld pool boundary and the pro-
jected dots in oxy plane. The pentagrams are the re-
flected laser dots, and the stars are the boundary
dots of the weld pool. The blue curve is a fitted 2D
weld pool boundary in literature (Ref. 28).
between the current and desired states of
the welding process. Ideally,
qualified/skilled welders make similar
welds that meet the requirements be-
cause they all possess the ability to sense
the process and make a decision using the
sensed process feedback.
Manual GTAW Experimental System
With the principle of the human
welders’ behavior, an experimental system
has been developed (Refs. 18, 19) as
shown in Fig. 1. The pipe is rotated and
butt joint welded using DCEN GTAW at
12 o’clock without a filler metal. A human
welder observes the weld pool and adjusts
the welding current using an amperage re-
mote control installed on the torch. The
use of the remote controller for the weld-
ing current shown in the figure is for
demonstration purposes only. The actual
current remote controller is a thumb turn
knob on the torch. It adjusts the current
setting for the power supply.
Vision-Based Sensing Subsystem
The 3D weld pool surface being ob-
served by the human welder is also simul-
taneously measured by a vision system.
The system includes the low-power, 20-
mW illumination laser generator at a
wavelength of 685 nm with variable focus,
a 19×19 dot matrix structured light pat-
tern (Lasiris SNF-519X (0.77)-685-20) at-
tached to the head of the laser, an imaging
plane made by a piece of glass attached by
a sheet of paper, and a camera (Point Grey
Flea 3). The laser projects the 19 × 19 dot
matrix on the melting region. Part of the
dot matrix projected inside the weld pool
is reflected by the specular weld pool sur-
face. Then a reflection pattern of the dot
matrix is intercepted by the imaging plane.
Because of the plasma impact, the surface
of the weld pool is depressed and distorted
in GTAW. Therefore, no matter which
shape (concave or convex) the weld pool
presents, the alignment of the reflected
laser dot matrix is distorted by the de-
formed specular weld pool surface. The
distortion of the reflected dot matrix is de-
termined by the shape of the three-
dimensional weld pool surface and con-
tains the 3D geometry information about
the weld pool surface. The camera cap-
tures the images of the reflected laser dot
matrix from the imaging plane. A com-
puter connected to the camera processes
the images and reconstructs the 3D weld
pool surface in real time (Ref. 27).
Taking Fig. 2A, an acquired image in the
imaging plane, as an example, the results
of image processing and reconstruction
image capturing, processing, and weld
pool reconstruction is about 30 ms, which
is fast enough for monitoring the weld
pool dynamics in GTAW.
Human Welder Response Model
Having the 3D weld pool surfaces
recorded together with the current adjust-
ment made by the human welder, the
human welder response model establishes
the correlation between the current adjust-
ment and weld pool characteristics param-
eters, i.e., the length (L), width (W), and
convexity (C) of the 3D weld pool
surface.
Zhang and Zhang Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 2:55 PM Page 157

A B

Fig. 3 — Weld pool boundary and parameters. A — 2D boundary; B — longitudinal intercepted area.

WELDING RESEARCH
Table 2 —Welding Parameters Used in
Experiments with Different Initial Currents

Welding current/A 50, 54

Arc length/mm 3

Table 3 — Welding Parameters for Initial

Current Robustness Experiments

Welding current/A 50, 54, 58, 62

Arc length/mm 3

Table 4 — Welding Parameters for Arc Length

Robustness Experiments
Fig. 4 — Demonstration of experimental setup. The sensing system for the experiment is identical with that
Welding current/A 54 in Fig. 1. A computer connected to the camera is used for image processing, weld pool reconstruction,
Arc length/mm 2, 3, 4, 5 characterization, and to calculate the current output using the human welder response model.

Figure 3B shows the longitudinal inter-

To define these parameters, the 2D ΔI − 0.4725 ΔI + 0.1366ΔI
cepted area of the weld pool in oxy plane. k k −1 k −2
parametric model of the weld pool shown
The convexity is defined as the intercepted = 0.6097L − 2.2283L
in Fig. 3A k −3 k −4
area divided by the length of the weld pool.
Modeling the human welder response + 1.6137 L − 1.2675 W + 1.7667 W
k −5 k −3 k −4
x = ± ay b (1 − y ) , (a > 0, 1 ≥ b > 0) (1) is then to correlate his adjustment ΔIk as
r r r
a function of the characteristic parame- +0.0930 W − 0.6088 W
k −5 k −6
ters in different instants around instant + 30.3658C + 19.6357C
k. This can be done using the standard k −3 k −4
is adopted (Ref. 28). This model uses xr = least squares algorithm. To obtain this −67.6373C + 18.7761C (3)
x/L and yr = y/L. Once this model is ob- k −5 k −6
optimal model, F-test (Ref. 31) has also
tained, the width of the weld pool is then been used to determine the instant range where ΔIk–j is the current adjustment at in-
calculated that needs to be included in the model stant k–j with a 0.5-s sampling period. It
⎡ b ⎤b ⎛ b ⎞ for each of the characteristic parameters. can be found the human welder adjusts
w = w × L = 2 aL ⎢ ⎥ ⎜ ⎟ (2)
⎜ ⎟ As a result, the following model was ob- the current based on the previous current
⎣⎢ 1 + b ⎦⎥ ⎝ 1 + b ⎠
r
tained (Refs. 18, 19): adjustments and weld pool surfaces. That

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A A
WELDING RESEARCH

B B

C C
Fig. 5 — Results from experiment with initial current of 50 A. A — The cur- Fig. 6 — Results from experiment with initial current of 54 A. A — The cur-
rent and voltage; B — the backside weld bead width; C — the backside weld rent and voltage; B — the backside weld bead width; C — the backside weld
bead (the unit of x and y axis is pixel). bead (the unit of x and y axis is pixel).

is, the adjustment on the welding current

by the human welder requires the length,
width, and convexity of the weld pool sur-
face to model adequately. In addition, the
human welder makes the adjustment on
the welding current based also on the pre-
vious adjustments he made 1 s ago.

Experimental System and

Methods

In this section, the experimental setup

and methods used to implement the
Fig. 7 — Diagram of control system of the human welder response model with additional low-pass filter. human welder response model-based con-
trol are summarized.

Experimental Setup

The configuration of the experimen-

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A B

C D

WELDING RESEARCH
Fig. 8 — Current and voltage of the experiments. A — Initial current of 50 A; B — initial current of 54 A; C — initial current of 58 A; D — initial current of 62 A.

tal system is shown in Fig. 4. As men-

tioned in the human welder response
model section on a vision-based sensing
subsystem, having the laser pattern pro-
jecting the dot matrix on the weld pool
surface, part of the dot matrix pattern is
specularly reflected from it. Intercepted
by the imaging plane, the reflection pat-
tern is then captured by the camera. A
computer connected to the camera is re-
sponsible for processing the captured
image, reconstructing the weld pool sur-
face, and extracting the characteristic pa-
rameters. Based on the obtained charac-
teristic parameters of the weld pool
surface, the adjustment needed for the
welding current is calculated by the
human welder response model.
According to the principle of welders’ be-
havior briefed previously, a welder starts a
welding performance with an optimal esti-
mation of the welding parameters based on
past experience. To imitate the welder’s be-
Table 5 — Welding Parameters for Root Opening Robustness Experiments
Welding parameters
Root opening/mm
Arc length/mm
Initial current/A
havior, in each experiment of the study, spe-
cific welding conditions (welding conditions
and parameters that are not changed/ad-
justed on purpose in each particular exper-
iment including welding speed, arc length,
etc.) and an initial current are first applied
for the weld pool to grow freely to complete
joint penetration. Then the welding process
is manually switched to control mode, i.e.,
the human welder response model starts to
adjust the current for consistent complete
joint penetration.
Experiments
1 2 3
0 2 [0, 5]
3
54 58 54
Experimental Approach
In a manual welding process, a quali-
fied welder can control the welding
process to obtain a nearly uniform pene-
tration (backside weld bead width) that
he/she desires, even with different welding
conditions. To this end, a number of ex-
periments were conducted with different
welding conditions and initial welding cur-
rent in this study. At the beginning of each
experiment, the weld pool grows freely.

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C
WELDING RESEARCH
D
Fig. 9 — The backside appearance of the weld bead. A — Initial current of 50 Fig. 10 — The backside width of weld beads with a different initial current.
A; B — initial current of 54 A; C — initial current of 58 A; D — initial current
of 62 A.
With specific welding conditions and ini-
tial current, the welding process is able to
reach to complete joint penetration. Yet,
the dimension of the weld pool at com-
plete joint penetration in each experiment
is expected to be different. Then the ex-
periment is manually switched to control
mode, that is, to apply the human welder
response model to control the process.
Specifically, the model adjusts the welding
current based on the geometry of the 3D
weld pool surface such that the adjusted
welding current controls the process to ob-
tain a desired penetration that is evaluated
by the backside weld bead width. After
each experiment, the width of the ob-
tained backside weld bead is measured to
verify the effectiveness of the human
welder response model-based control.
The experimental parameters used
here are listed in Table 1. The pipe used in
this study is 4-in. nom. stainless T-
304/304L Schedule 5.
The initial current is in 50, 62 A, the arc
length varies within 2, 5 mm, and the joint
opening changes from 0 to 5 mm. The ro-
tation speed of the pipe, i.e., the welding
speed and up-down motion of the torch
are controlled by the computer to achieve
the required welding speed and arc length.
The effectiveness and robustness of the
human welder response model-based con-
trol will be evaluated against those weld-
ing parameter variations in this paper.
As mentioned before, a welder esti-
160-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
mates an initial welding current to start a
manual welding operation. The past expe-
rience-based estimation might vary within
a reasonable range. Also, the arc length
maintained by the welder might not always
be the same during manual welding, as
well as the root opening. The welding
speed, on the other hand, does not change
much when controlled by the welder, al-
though it might vary within a small range.
The welding speed is constant for the ex-
periments in this study. The welder’s be-
havior under large welding speed varia-
tion is the authors’ future work and
beyond the scope of the first study of this
kind.
As presented in the introduction, the
response model is developed based on the
behavior of a human welder with limited
skills. Given the physical limitation as a
human, the welder might feel stress, fa-
tigue, and lack of concentration in manual
welding. Because of the possible inconsis-
tent welding behavior, the welder’s re-
sponse data used to develop the model
cannot represent the prime performance
of the welder. In this sense, the model is
only able to present an average perform-
ance of the human welder.
However, the control based on the
human response model should be able to
get rid of the inconsistency, which is a
major issue with manual welding. The
model is expected to either consistently
produce a good weld by adjusting the cur-
rent quickly and accurately to maintain
uniform penetration, or produce an un-
qualified weld with a same failure pattern.
Therefore, to verify the effectiveness of
the model is to check if it is able to control
the welding process to a comparatively
consistent penetration, i.e., the backside
width of the weld bead under different
welding conditions and initial current can
converge to a constant within a small vari-
ation margin.
There are several types of relevant data
in this study. For the process, such data in-
clude welding current, arc length, and
welding speed. Since the human welder
response model under this specific study
controls the welding process only by ad-
justing the welding current, such data are
especially concerned with analyzing the
performance of the control. Second, for
the weld pool surface, the data include all
its characteristic parameters, i.e., the
length, width, and convexity. Studying the
current adjustment and variation in the
characteristic parameters can reveal how
the model controls the welding process. At
last for the weld bead, the backside width
is the major data of interest.
All these data, except the backside
weld bead width, are acquired/recorded in
real time. The backside bead width is
measured with one sample/s interval off-
line. For example, if the welding speed in
one experiment is 1 mm/s, then the bead
width is measured every 1 mm while it is
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A B

WELDING RESEARCH
C D
Fig. 11 — Current and voltage from arc length robustness experiments. A — Arc length of 2 mm; B — arc length of 3 mm; C — arc length of 4 mm; D — arc
length of 5 mm.

measured every 1.5 mm if the welding
speed is 1.5 mm/s, etc. In this sense, the
bead width measurement can be matched
with the time scale for other types of data.
Human Welder Response
Model Control
In this section, the results from the ex-
periments with initial current are pre-
sented and analyzed. As the first time to
implement the human welder response
model-based control, we focused on how
the model controls the process to consis-
tent complete joint penetration. Major
welding parameters used in the experi-
ments are listed in Table 2; the rest are the
same as in Table 1.
Results from the two experiments, in-
cluding the current, backside bead ap-
pearance, and its width, are presented in
Figs. 5 and 6, respectively.
The data acquisition starts before the
welding process begins. It is found that at
the beginning of the two experiments,
there are about 13-s (shown in Fig. 5A)
and 12-s (shown in Fig. 6A) periods dur-
ing which the current is 0, and the voltage
is the open-circuit one at approximately
70 V.
The red vertical dash line in Fig. 5A in-
dicates the time instant when the process
is switched to the model-based control
mode, i.e., the human welder response
model is applied to adjust the current
based on the 3D weld pool surface. From
the figure, the control begins at 40 s and
ends at approximately 96 s. The length of
the weld bead obtained in this period can
be easily calculated using the known weld-
ing speed. Since the position of the end of
the welding is clearly seen in Fig. 5C, the
position where the welding process begins
to be controlled on the produced weld can
be determined as shown by the red verti-
cal line in the middle of Fig. 5C.
By the start position of the model con-
trol, each of the weld beads in the two ex-
periments is divided into two zones as
shown in Figs. 5C and 6C. In zone A, the
backside bead width is determined by the
welding conditions used and initial cur-
rent. In the first experiment, the initial
current is 50 A. The average width of the
backside bead in this zone, shown in Fig.
5B, is about 1.7 mm. With a greater initial
current (54 A) in the second experiment,
the average width becomes 3.2 mm in zone
A as can be seen in Fig. 6B. In zone B, the
human welder response model starts to
control the process for a desired and con-
sistent penetration. Despite the fluctua-
tion, the average width for the first exper-
iment, shown in Fig. 5B as about 4.8 mm,
and that in the second experiment, shown
in Fig. 6B as about 4.7 mm, are considered

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tem and methods section, the model rep-

A resents the average performance of a
welder with limited skill. As a result, it
shows in the human welder response
model control section that the model is
not able to adjust the current accurately
enough to reduce the oscillation although
a comparatively consistent penetration is
obtained. It is known that a skilled welder
can avoid the current ripple with smooth
B current adjustment. In this sense, to
smooth the model’s adjustment is to filter
out the high-frequency part of the calcu-
lated current adjustment, i.e., to neutral-
ize the dynamics associated with the over-
reaction in the response model. A simple
method is to adapt a digital low-pass filter
after the model in the control system as
shown in Fig. 7.
C The low-pass filter used in this study
can be written in Equation 4.

ΔI′k = αΔIk–1 + (1 – α)ΔI′k, 0<α<1 (4)

where ΔI′k and ΔI′k–1 are the filtered cur-

rent adjustment at time instant k and k–1,
WELDING RESEARCH

respectively, and ΔIk is the current adjust-

D model at time instant k. Coefficient α con-
Fig. 12 — The backside weld beads from arc length robustness experiments. A — Arc length of 2 mm;
B — arc length of 3 mm; C — arc length of 4 mm; D — arc length of 5 mm.
the same.
It can be found there are current fluc-
tuations during the control period in both
experiments, shown in Figs. 5A and 6A.
That means the model is able to adjust the
current quickly but not skilled enough to
reduce the current ripples. That leads to
noticeable oscillations of the backside
bead width, which are clearly shown in
Figs. 5B, C and 6B, C. The current fluctu-
ates between 64 and 55 A in the first ex-
periment, and 64 and 54 A in the second.
Correspondingly, the backside bead width
changes from about 5.8 to 3.5 mm in the
first experiment, and 5.2 to 3.7 mm in the
second experiment.
The fluctuation of the current adjusted
by the model is understandable since the
model is developed using the data from
the behavior of a novice welder with lim-
ited skills. The reason for using an un-
skilled welder is that the authors intend to
study and follow the development of
welder skills and responses. It is a common
welding scenario that an unskilled welder
cannot predict the process quickly and ac-
curately so that he/she would frequently
overreact or underreact to the welding
process. A seasoned welder can easily
avoid the fluctuation by smoothing the be-
havior on the current adjustment.
Although there are similar current
fluctuations shown in both experiments, it
can be found that the current, controlled
by the model, is settled down within a cer-
tain amount of time. This is because the
human welder response model is stable
since all the poles of the model (Equation
3) are inside the unit circle in the Z plane
(Ref. 29). That means the model can con-
trol the process to a steady state. This is
understandable that any welder with lim-
ited skill should be able to produce a
steady welding process. Difference in the
width of the backside bead in the two ex-
periments in zone A indicates the differ-
ent characteristic parameters of the 3D
weld pool surface are obtained. Despite
the difference, the welding processes in
the two experiments reach a nearly identi-
cal backside bead width (4.8 and 4.7 mm)
after the control of the human welder re-
sponse model.
Improvement of the Human
Welder Response Model
As discussed in the experimental sys-
ment calculated by the welder response
trols the frequency bandwidth of the filter.
A greater α gives a wider bandwidth. In
this study, α is selected to be 0.5.
Since the filter blocks high-frequency
components in the current output, its
function would be pronounced during the
transition period. However, when the cur-
rent approaches its steady state, the high-
frequency components become insignifi-
cant. The steady-state value of the current
for a particular experiment is not affected
by the filter. Moreover, since the current
adjustment is smoothed by the filter, the
current ripple is expected to be mini-
mized. The backside weld bead width is
expected to be more consistent. The tran-
siting period also should be reduced sig-
nificantly. In this sense, adapting a low-
pass filter to the human welder response
model makes the model function like a
more skilled welder.
Results and Analysis of
Robustness Experiments
The human weld response model-
based control is now improved simply by
adding a low-pass filter as schematically il-
lustrated in Fig. 7. To confirm its effec-
tiveness in controlling the process to
achieve the desired weld penetration, var-
ious experiments were designed and con-
ducted in this section using this improved
system to examine its performance/ro-
bustness under different welding condi-
tions and initial welding currents.
In the first subsection, the experi-
ments with different initial current am-
perages are conducted. The robustness of

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Fig. 13 — The backside width of weld beads from arc length robustness exper-
iments.
the human welder response model-based
control with respect to the initial current
is analyzed. In the next subsection, the
arc length changes from 2 to 5 mm in the
conducted experiments. The root open-
ing is designed to vary from 0 to 5 mm in
the last subsection.
Robustness with Respect to Initial Current
Experiments with different initial
welding currents are conducted again but
with the improved control system. Since
the purpose is to examine the effective-
ness of the improved control, more initial
currents (Table 3) in a greater range are
used to examine the system’s robustness
against the initial current used. The results
are shown in Figs. 8 to 10. Figure 8 shows
the current and voltage from these four ex-
periments; the backside weld beads ob-
tained are demonstrated in Fig. 9; and the
measurements of the backside width of
the weld beads are presented in Fig. 10.
Since the initial welding current deter-
mines the backside width of weld bead in
zone A, with different initial currents, the
obtained weld beads have different back-
side widths. Specifically, the backside
bead width in the experiment with the ini-
tial current 50 A is 3.2 mm; with greater
initial current (54 A) in the second exper-
iment, the backside width is 3.7 mm; the
backside width obtained in the third ex-
periment (initial current 58 A) and fourth
(initial current 62 A) are 4.7 and 5 mm.
The settling time (set the error margin
5%) (Ref. 30) for the process to achieve the
steady state is in the range from 3.5 to 4.5 s.
For the experiment with an initial current of
62 A, the steady-state current is only about
0.5 A less than the initial current. The tran-
sition period is negligible from Fig. 8D. Be-
sides that, the settling times of the other ex-
C
periments are close to
each other, only with 1
s difference, despite
the difference in the
initial current used. As
discussed in the D
human welder re-
sponse model section
under the principle of Fig. 14 — Front side of the weld joint before experiment for root opening ro-
bustness experiments. A — 0 nominal root opening; B — 2-mm nominal
human welder’s be- root opening; C — nominal root opening increases from 0 to 5 mm (0.21
havior, a welder would in.); D — close review of the wide opening for marked area in C.
start to weld with an
optimally estimated
initial current (initial
welding parameters)
based on past experiences. A skilled welder
might adjust the initial current close to the
steady-state current that produces a desired
penetration. The effect from the transition
period on the result then can be minimized.
An unskilled welder, on the other hand,
might not be able to predict the initial cur-
rent close to a current that leads to the de-
sired penetration.
The transition period for the backside
weld bead is different such that the settling
time for the backside bead width differs
from that of the welding current. From
Fig. 8C and D, the initial current is close
enough to the steady-state current. There-
fore, the width of the backside bead in
each of the two experiments only increases
about 0.2 mm after the control is applied
as shown in Fig. 10. The effect from the
settling time on the welds produced for
these two experiments is negligible. How-
ever, the settling time for the backside
bead width observed from the experi-
ments with an initial current of 50 and 54
A is about 13 and 10 s, respectively. The
backside weld beads take a longer time
than the welding current to reach the
steady state.
The difference in the settling time be-
WELDING RESEARCH
tween the welding current and backside
bead width is understandable. There are
two dynamic processes involved, and each
of them has a settling time. First, after the
current settles down reaching its steady
state, the weld pool surface will take an ad-
ditional transition period to reach the cor-
responding dimension. The first dynamic
process is the transfer from the welding
current (parameters) to the weld pool sur-
face. Second, after the 3D weld pool sur-
face (front side) is settled down and
reaches its steady state, the 3D weld pool
surface on the backside that determines
the backside bead width will take extra
time to reach its corresponding steady
state. The transition period associated
with the backside width of weld bead is
longer than the transition time of the
welding current.
Figure 8 shows the steady-state current
corresponding to the penetration ob-
tained by the human welder response
model varies from 59.5 to 61.5 A. And the
steady-state width of the obtained weld
beads, shown in Fig. 10, converges within
the range from 5.0 to 5.3 mm in zone B. A
0.3-mm deviation in the backside bead
width is considered acceptable. It is known
that the weld pool is dynamic and vibrat-
WELDING JOURNAL 163-s
Zhang and Zhang Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/16/13 2:55 PM Page 164
A B
C — 0 nominal joint opening; B — 2-mm nominal joint opening; C — nomi-
WELDING RESEARCH
ing through the welding process. Even a
constant welding input might cause the
backside bead width varies within a small
range. It is possible that the difference of
the weld pool dimension generated by the
current varying from 59.5 to 61.5 A is un-
perceivable to the human welder response
model. In this sense, despite the different
backside width obtained at the beginning
of those experiments, because of different
initial current, a consistent penetration
with only a 0.3-mm width variation is
achieved using the model-based control.
Robustness with Respect to Arc Length
Arc length is another variation whose
effect on the control system needs to be
examined. Hence, experiments with dif-
ferent arc lengths are conducted. The ini-
tial current, arc length, and welding speed
are listed in Table 4; the rest are the same
as in Table 1. As can be seen from Table 4,
164-s MAY 2013, VOL. 92
Fig. 15 — Current and voltage from joint opening robustness experiments. A
nal joint opening increases from 0 to 5 mm (0.21 in.).
only the arc length
differs in the four
experiments to be
conducted while
other parameters
are the same. The
resultant current,
backside weld bead,
and backside width
measurements are
presented in Figs.
11–13, respectively.
With an increase
in the arc length, the
arc distribution be-
comes broader, and
the arc energy inten-
sity decreases. The
penetration capability thus reduces. From
Figs. 12 and 13, the width of the four weld
beads in zone A reduces down from 3.7 to
2.5 mm. To obtain a consistent penetra-
tion, the model-based control increases
the steady-state current from 61 to 64 A in
the experiments with the arc length chang-
ing from 2 to 5 mm. As mentioned in the
results and analysis of robustness experi-
ments section under robustness with re-
spect to initial current, a 2A deviation of
the steady-state current is considered a
reasonable margin for the control of the
human welder response mode. Only a 3A
deviation is obtained here because of the
difference in arc lengths. Therefore, the
arc length does not significantly affect the
value of steady-state current during the
control using the human welder response
model.
It is noticed that the voltage in Fig. 13
increases from 9 to 9.8 V due to the in-
crease in the arc length. A difference of 0.8
V in the arc voltage is observed between 5
and 2 mm arc length. As for the settling
time for the current in the four experi-
ments, it is similar to each other, which is
about 5 s, as can be seen from Fig. 11. The
transition period for the backside width is
also similar to each other, as shown in Fig.
13. The arc length difference does not af-
fect that transition period of the current or
backside width of the weld bead.
From Fig. 13, the backside width of
the weld bead in the four experiments
converges to about 5.2 mm in zone B.
Among the four weld beads, the one with
2 mm arc length reaches the largest
steady-state width (5.4 mm), and the weld
beads with 3 and 4 mm arc length have
the smallest steady-state width, which is
about 5.0 mm. From Figs. 13 and 10, one
can find that a nearly identical backside
width, which is about 5.2 mm with a 0.4-
mm variation margin is obtained despite
a difference in arc length and initial cur-
rent. That means the human welder re-
sponse model is able to control the weld-
ing process to achieve a consistent
penetration under different arc length
and initial current. It is reasonable be-
cause the model changes the current
based on its previous current adjustments
and the 3D weld pool geometry, as dis-
cussed in the human welder response
model heading under the human welder
response model section.
Differences in weld pool dimension
caused by different initial currents or arc
lengths might not be undetectable for the
human welder response model. There-
fore, the model is able to maintain a con-
sistent penetration despite the different
arc length and initial current.
Zhang and Zhang Supplement May 2013_Layout 1 4/17/13 3:52 PM Page 165
Root Opening Robustness
Root opening is difficult to be precisely
controlled in production. The effective-
ness of the human welder response model-
based control needs to be examined under
varying/different openings. In this subsec-
tion, experiments with different root
opening conditions/variations are con-
ducted. The root opening, arc length, and
welding speed are listed in Table 5; the rest
are the same as in Table 1.
There are three experiments. The
nominal/intentional root opening in the
first experiment is 0 mm as shown in Fig.
14A. As demonstrated in Fig. 14B, a 2-mm
root opening is used in the second experi-
ment. In the third experiment, the nomi-
nal opening gradually increases from 0 to
about 5 mm as shown in Fig. 14C and D.
The resultant current, backside weld bead,
and their widths are presented in Figs.
15–17, respectively.
The steady-state current differs in
these three experiments. The root open-
ing is close to zero in the first experiment.
The welding process is close to those in the
results and analysis of robustness experi-
ments section under robustness with re-
spect to initial current and robustness with
respect to arc length. Therefore, the
steady-state current (63 A) is close to the
resultant steady-state current obtained in
the last two subsections. However, as the
root opening increases, the weld pool sur-
face tends to be more concave, which
means the convexity of the weld pool is
smaller. The current adjustment con-
trolled by the human welder response
model (Equation 3) tends to be smaller ac-
cordingly. The penetration capability of
the arc also increases with the opening.
Therefore, less heat input is required to
produce the same penetration as the
opening increases. The steady-state cur-
rent for the second and third experiments
are reduced to 61.5 and 54 A, respectively.
The obtained backside widths of the weld
beads in these three experiments are
about 5.2, 5.5, and 5.6 mm, which are con-
sidered consistent with a reasonably small
variation margin.
It needs to be mentioned that the weld-
ing process stops at the position where the
root opening is about 4 mm in the third ex-
periment. The experimental results in ex-
periment 3 only claim that the human
welder response model-based control can
control the welding process to maintain
the consistent penetration for a root
opening 4 mm or smaller.
Conclusion
This paper addresses implementing
the human welder response model to ad-
just the welding current in reply to the
characteristic parameters of the 3D weld
A
B
C
Fig. 16 — The backside appearance of the weld beads from root opening robustness experiments. A — 0
nominal root opening; B — 2-mm nominal root opening; C — nominal root opening increases from 0 to
5 mm (0.21 in.).
pool surface for maintaining consistent,
complete joint penetration in GTAW.
The effectiveness and robustness of the
human welder response model-based con-
trol are verified in the experiments with
different welding conditions and the ini-
tial current. The material used in the ex-
periments is stainless steel pipe (4-in.
nom. stainless T-304/304L Schedule 5).
For the initial conditions, the current
varies from 50 to 62 A, arc length is within
[2, 5 mm], and the root opening changes
from 0 to 5 mm.
Under the experimental conditions
used, the following were found:
• The human welder response model
can diminish the inconsistent manual
welding performance. The model can con-
trol the welding process by adjusting the
current to maintain consistent complete
joint penetration.
• The backside width of the weld bead
corresponding to the consistent complete
joint penetration is about 5.2 mm with a
0.4-mm error margin.
• The maximum root opening at which
the human welder response model can
produce a consistent complete joint pene-
tration is about 4 mm.
The effectiveness and robustness of the
human welder response model control are
verified against different welding condi-
tions and initial current amperages.
Future studies will focus on modeling
behaviors of skilled welders. The resultant
models may be directly used without low-
pass filters to develop control systems for
improved performance. Differences and
similarities with those of the novice welder
WELDING RESEARCH
will be analyzed and used to help train and
improve less skilled welders.
Acknowledgments
This work is funded by the National Sci-
ence Foundation under grant CMMI-
0927707. We wish to thank Yi Lu and
Yukang Liu for their assistance on experi-
ments and graphics, and Lee Kvidahl for his
technical guidance on manual pipe welding.
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