Role of Shielding Gases and

their selection in Arc Welding

Role of Shielding Gases in Arc

Welding:
Protects the weld pool from the atmosphere
NITROGEN

SHIELDING
GAS

OXYGEN

Stabilizes the arc

ionized gas creates a path for the arc
Affects the shape of the arc plasma column to allow different
droplet transfer modes
Influences
heat input
travel speed
penetration
surface appearance

Pure Shielding Gases

Sometimes I am good ...

... and sometimes I am bad

Pure gases have both desirable and undesirable effects

in the welding arc and in the deposited weld metal.
Gases that can be used for shielding without mixing:
Argon ( Ar )
Carbon Dioxide ( CO2 )
Helium ( He )
Gases that can be used in shielding gas mixtures are:
Oxygen (O2 )
Nitrogen (N2 )
Hydrogen ( H2 )

Argon Shielding Gas (Ar)

Welding grade argon is
99.997% pure
Monatomic gas
Chemically inert
Insoluble in molten metal
Will provide spray transfer
Low spatter
Low alloy losses
Penetration Profile
Welding of non-ferrous metals
of Argon
aluminum
copper and their alloys
magnesium

Bead profile of argon and

helium

Carbon Dioxide Shielding

Gas
Welding grade is 99.8% pure
Reactive gas
Deep and wide penetration pattern
Large droplet transfer
Hot arc due to dissociation
Spatter and smoke
Penetration Profile
Requires wire high in deoxidizers of CO2
silicon and manganese

Pure CO2 can only be used in short circuit and

globular transfer mode with solid wire
low parameters, thin materials
out of position capabilities

Helium Shielding Gas (He)

Welding grade is 99.995% pure

Chemically inert
Monatomic
Penetration Profile
Hot arc
of Helium
Will not produce true Spray Transfer
Globular only

Pure Helium is typically used on non-ferrous

materials with high melting temperatures or
high thermal conductivity

Shielding Gas Mixtures:

Shielding gas mixtures are designed to
take advantage of the desirable
attributes of each gas to produce an
optimal result.
Argon

Pros / Cons

CO2

Pros / Cons

Less spatter
Less post weld clean-up

Higher welding speeds

Smooth weld bead
Better mechanical
properties

Argon / CO2
Pros / Cons
Facilitates out of position
welding
Wider parameters for
voltage and amperage
Reduces fumes and
particulate

Components: Oxygen (O2)

99.5% pure
Is used as an addition to argon based mixtures to :

stabilize the welding arc

improve wetability
reduce chances of undercut
superheats weld surface
Reduces droplet size in spray transfer

Components: Hydrogen (H2)

99.95% purity required
Used as an addition with Argon for welding of 300
series stainless steels.
Provides increased heat input.
Reduces surface oxides and provides improved surface
appearance.

Components: Nitrogen (N2)

99.9% pure
Used as an alloy addition when welding duplex and
super-duplex stainless steels.
Can cause porosity if there is more then 5%
Provides matching weld deposit in specialty stainless
steels

Shielding Gas Mixtures Properties &

Benefits
Gas Mix

Argon
+ CO2

Properties and Benefits

Oxygen coming from dissociation provides
good wetability
Higher CO2 contents (15%-25%) used for short
circuit transfer
Lower CO2 contents (6%-10%) used for spray
transfer
CO2 provides extra penetration

Penetratio Less deoxidizers in filler metal required*

n Profile Reduced alloy losses*
Reduces the carburizing effects*
*When compared to 100% CO2

Shielding Gas Mixtures Properties & Benefits

Gas Mix

Properties and Benefits

1%-8% gives good wetting action in the arc

Lower Surface Tension in weld pool than with
pure argon
More fluid pool than pure argon
Fine droplet transfer
Wide bead shape with deep center profile
Low spatter
Penetratio Soft, smooth arc
n Profile Low alloy loss: increases with increased
oxygen
The larger volume of molten metal to be
super heated, the higher the oxygen
concentration: maximum 10%

Argon
+
Oxyge
n

Shielding Gas Mixtures Properties &

Benefits
Gas Mix

Properties and Benefits

Argon Welding of non-ferrous metals

+
Helium percentages range between
Helium
20% and 75%

The greater the metal thickness, the

Penetration
Profile

higher the percentage of helium

Shielding Gas Mixtures Properties &

Benefits
Gas Mix

Properties and Benefits

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

Argon
+
Hydro
gen

Stainless steel - Nickel alloys

300 series only (Austenitic)
2%-5% hydrogen
High travel speeds
Reduced distortion
Good color match

Shielding Gas Mixtures Properties &

Benefits
Gas Mix

Properties and Benefits

Best combination of individual gas benefits

Argon
+
O2
+
CO2

Versatile
spray and short circuit transfer
Very low spatter
High travel speeds
Low fume and particulates
High deposition efficiency

Shielding Gas Mixtures Properties &

Benefits
Gas Mix

Properties and Benefits

GMAW - Stainless Steel

Argon
+
Helium
+
CO2

3% or less CO2 in order to keep the carbon

content low
90%-18% Helium
7%-80% Argon
Depending on the gas percentages, can be used
for all types of metal transfer including pulse
GMAW

Shielding Gas Physics

Physical Properties
Ionization Potential
Thermal Conductivity
Disassociation and
Recombination
Reactivity/Oxidation Potential
Surface Tension

Properties of Gases
GAS

Symbol Mol.
Specific Density Ionization
Weight Gravity G/ft3
Potential
Air = 1
eV

Argon

Ar

39.95

1.38

0.114

15.7

Carbon
Dioxide

CO2

44.01

1.53

0.1235

14.4

Helium

He

4.00

0.1368

0.011

24.5

Hydrogen H2

2.016

0.0695

0.0056

13.5

Nitrogen

N2

28.01

0.967

0.782

14.5

Oxygen

O2

32.00

1.105

0.0892

13.2

Ionization Potential
The energy, expressed in electron volts required to
remove an electron from a gas atom
Creates an ion
Arc starting and arc stability are greatly affected by
the ionization potential of the gas, or mixture of gases.
As the molecular weight increases, the ionization
potential decreases.
Argon - low ionization potential
Easy arc starting characteristics.
Helium - high ionization potential
Difficult arc starts and arc stability can be a
problem.

Ionization Potential (cont.)

Many other factors affect the stability of the plasma, however, the
minimum required energy level must be maintained to ionize the
gas during welding.

The energy level is directly associated with the ARC VOLTAGE. For
equivalent arc lengths and welding currents, the voltage obtained
with helium is appreciably higher than with argon.
This translates into more available heat input during welding with
argon/helium blends

Thermal Conductivity

A measure of how well a gas can conduct heat. It influences the

radial heat loss from the center to the periphery of the arc
column as well as the heat transfer between the plasma and
liquid metal.

Argon which has a lower thermal conductivity, produces two

separate distinct penetration zones
A narrow finger core in the center and a wide cross section
across the top.

A number of mixes have significantly higher thermal conductivity

and the resulting weld profile is wider, with a greater cross
section.
Helium, argon-helium, argon-hydrogen, argon-carbon dioxide
and pure carbon dioxide

Disassociation and
Recombination
Multi atom gases (CO2,H2,and O2 have unique
properties. When heated to high temperatures in the
plasma, these atoms break down (disassociate) into
their individual atoms.

As the atoms come in contact with the cooler

base material they recombine and release
their heat (energy) at that point.
Recombination allows gases to appear to have the
properties of very high thermal conductivity gas(es)
such as pure helium.
The heat generated at the work surface can be
considerably higher than pure argon with
combinations of these gases (Ar/CO2, Ar/H2, Ar/O2).

Reactivity/Oxidation
Potential
Reactive gas results in a reduction of alloying

elements, weld strength, and weld ductility

The oxidizing nature of the shielding gas affects both
the welding performance and properties of the
resulting weld deposit.
Argon and helium, or combinations, have no oxidizing
potential because they are inert.
Oxygen and carbon dioxide will react with elements in the
base and filler material.

Small additions of reactive gas components such as

oxygen and carbon dioxide can:
enhance the arc stability
affect metal transfer.
Metal droplet size decreases, and the number of droplets
increases per unit time as the reactive gas percentage is
increased.

Surface Tension
The primary property affecting weld bead
shape.
If the surface tension is high the resultant bead
will convex and irregularly shaped.
Pure argon

Low surface tension of the molten pool resulting in

higher fluidity - wetting action.

Small additions of oxygen or carbon dioxide

lowers the surface tension
Lower ST values promote flatter beads with minimal
susceptibility for undercutting.
Excessive additions of oxygen or carbon dioxide may cause
severe oxidization of the weld deposit and poor surface
appearance.

Effect of surface tension on the

bead shape.

In welding, the surface tension

between molten steel and its
surrounding atmospherehas a
pronounced influence on bead
shape.
If surface tension is high, a
convex, irregular bead will result.
Lower values promote flatter
beads with minimum

Shielding gases used

Process: GMAW with solid wire
Material: MILD STEEL/CORTEN STEEL
100%CO2
80%Argon+20%CO2
86%Argon+12%CO2+2%O2

Shielding gases used in railway coach

units
Process: GMAW with solid wire
Material: Stainless Steel
98%Ar+2%CO2.
98%Ar+2%O2
90%Ar+5%CO2+5%O2

Shielding gases used in railway coach

units
Process: FCAW
Material: Stainless Steel
100%CO2.

Shielding gases used in railway coach

units
Process: GTAW
Material: Stainless Steel
100%Ar.

Thank You