Aws WJ

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
February 2013
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3 WELDING JOURNAL
CONTENTS
32 Automobile Manufacturing Using Laser Beam Welding
Welding variables were investigated to produce a sound lap
joint between low-carbon steel and an aluminum alloy
N. Cavusoglu and H. zden
38 Mechanical and Technological Properties of Laser Welded
Steel Wheel Rims
Laser technology shows its advantages in production welding
in the automotive industry
A. . na and H. zden
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.
Departments
Editorial ............................4
Washington Watchword ..........6
Press Time News ..................8
News of the Industry ............10
Book Review......................14
Aluminum Q&A ..................22
Brazing Q&A ......................26
Product & Print Spotlight ......28
Brazing & Soldering Today
Technology News ..............54
Coming Events....................60
Certification Schedule ..........64
Welding Workbook ..............70
Society News ....................73
Tech Topics ......................79
Amendment #1
A5.8M/A5.8:2011
Errata: AWS B2.1-8-013:2002
Interpretation:
A5.36/A5.36M:2012
Guide to AWS Services ........94
Personnel ........................96
Classifieds ......................104
Advertiser Index ................106
29-s GMA Brazing of Galvannealed Interstitial-Free Steel
A unique process that combines gas metal arc welding and
brazing was applied to joining a new generation of automotive
steel
S. Basak et al.
36-s New Optical Filter Plate for Use as Eye Protection
by Welders
Goggles that provide eye protection with greater general
visibility were investigated
A. Langa-Moraga et al.
41-s Tool Design Effects for FSW of AA7039
Experiments were conducted with threaded tool geometries to
evaluate the mechanical properties of friction stir welded AA7039
D. Venkateswarlu et al.
48-s Penetration Depth Monitoring and Control in
Submerged Arc Welding
Research was conducted to find a reliable way to control weld
penetration to eliminate the backgouging step in two-sided
welding in shipbuilding
X. R. Li et al.
Features
Brazing & Soldering Today
Welding Research Supplement
32
48
February 2013 Volume 92 Number 2
AWS Web site www.aws.org
44 Controlled Atmosphere Brazing of Aluminum Heat
Exchangers
High-production rates were attained with brazing
multichannel flat-tube heat exchangers
H. Zhao et al.
48 Reflow of AuSn Solder Creates Strong Joints
A fluxless soldering process produces strong joints in
microelectronic applications
I. Golosker and J. Florando
EDITORIAL
Since the two questions above are always the first ones manufacturers ask when we
approach them about joining our association, I thought Id give you the answers.
The Welding Equipment Manufacturers Committee (WEMCO), a standing commit-
tee of the American Welding Society (AWS), is a group of more than 80 welding equip-
ment manufacturers that was formed 15 years ago so manufacturers could promote, dis-
cuss, and improve the industry. Members meet annually in February for great network-
ing and to hear first-rate speakers address pertinent topics affecting our industry. The
intrinsic value is in meeting with top executives of various-sized manufacturers involved
in the welding industry. Each member is given the opportunity to hear new ideas, share
best practices, and network with some of the best minds in our industry. The highlight of
the annual meeting is the economic forecast by renowned economist Alan Beaulieu of
Industry Trends Research.
The value of membership cannot be overstated. Long-time WEMCO member Dave
Marquard, CEO/owner of SuperFlash Compressed Gas Equipment, recently wrote, My
time and expenses have always been critical. Especially time. Time is really the only
product and service that all of us have. If you are to be successful, or even just survive,
you have to optimize every minute of it. WEMCO has helped me optimize it.
Heres what WEMCO members rely on:
Exposure to the best networking in the welding industry.
WEMCOs annual meeting. Compelling topics, top-level presenters, and invaluable
information to your company. This years meeting will be held in conjunction with the
Resistance Welding Manufacturers Alliance (RWMA) at Saddlebrook Golf & Tennis
Resort in Wesley Chapel, Fla. For more information, visit www.wemco.org.
Participation in business forums and roundtables that provide workable options and
better leveraging.
Receiving quarterly newsletters, forecasting reports, and research from WEMCOs
leading economist.
WEMCO membership benefits extend the bounds of the annual meeting. WEMCO,
along with the American Welding Society, continues to lead the way in promoting weld-
ing as a career. AWS via its new Careers in Welding Committee has made a huge invest-
ment in promoting the welding industry to high schools, Boy Scouts, and technical col-
leges. Its Careers in Welding mobile trailer tours the country to provide students an
opportunity to learn about welding with virtual welding machines. WEMCO is proud to
sponsor the Image of Welding Awards given annually to outstanding contributors and
leaders in the fields of education, promotion, and individual excellence in welding at the
FABTECH show.
John Stropki, chairman of Lincoln Electric, recently said, If we, as welding equip-
ment manufacturers, dont promote our industry, who will? And, if we dont, who will we
sell our products to?
For more information about WEMCO, contact
Keila DeMoraes at AWS at kdemoraes@aws.org or
(800/305) 443-9353, ext. 444. Isnt it time you join the
leaders from such companies as 3M Speedglas, Abicor
Binzel, ESAB, Harris Products, Hypertherm, Jackson
Safety/Kimberly Clark, Lincoln Electric, Miller
Electric, Victor Technologies, to name only a few, and
enjoy the benefits of being a member of WEMCO?
FEBRUARY 2013 4
Officers
President Nancy C. Cole
NCC Engineering
Vice President Dean R. Wilson
Well-Dean Enterprises
Vice President David J. Landon
Vermeer Mfg. Co.
Vice President David L. McQuaid
D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc.
Treasurer Robert G. Pali
J. P. Nissen Co.
Executive Director Ray W. Shook
American Welding Society
Directors
T. Anderson (At Large), ITW Global Welding Tech. Center
U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Miami Diver
J. R. Bray (Dist. 18), Affiliated Machinery, Inc.
R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc.
G. Fairbanks (Dist. 9), Fairbanks Inspection & Testing Services
T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Victor Technologies
D. A. Flood (At Large), Tri Tool, Inc.
S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altech Industries
K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards
J. Jones (Dist. 17), Victor Technologies
W. A. Komlos (Dist. 20), ArcTech, LLC
T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory
J. Livesay (Dist. 8), Tennessee Technology Center
M. J. Lucas Jr. (At Large), Belcan Engineering
D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training
C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc.
J. L. Mendoza (Past President), Lone Star Welding
S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro
K. A. Phy (Dist. 6), KA Phy Services, Inc.
W. A. Rice (Past President), OKI Bering
R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College
D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Marinette Marine Corp.
N. Saminich (Dist. 21), Desert Rose H.S. and Career Center
K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
T. A. Siewert (At Large), NIST (ret.)
H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), ACH Co.
J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College
M. R. Wiswesser (Dist. 3), Welder Training & Testing Institute
D. Wright (Dist. 16), Zephyr Products, Inc.
Founded in 1919 to Advance the Science,
Technology and Application of Welding
What Is WEMCO and Why
Should I Join?
Robert E. Ranc Sr.
Past Chair, WEMCO
Victor
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Executive Order Issued to Bolster
Exporting
President Obama has issued a new executive order (E.O.
13630) to establish an Interagency Task Force on Commercial
Advocacy to enhance federal support for U.S. businesses com-
peting for international contracts, coordinate the efforts of exec-
utive branch leadership in engaging their foreign counterparts
on commercial advocacy issues, and increase the availability of
information to the U.S. business community about the kinds of
export opportunities available. Chaired by the Secretary of Com-
merce, the task force will consist of senior-level officials from 15
executive departments and agencies. The functions of the task
force will include the following:
Developing strategies to raise the awareness of commercial
advocacy assistance within the U.S. business community in order
to increase the number of U.S. businesses utilizing commercial
advocacy services;
Instituting processes to obtain and distribute information
about foreign procurement opportunities that may be of interest
to U.S. businesses in order to expand awareness of opportunities
for them to sell their goods and services to foreign governments;
and
Increasing the success of U.S. exporters competing for for-
eign procurements.
The task force will submit a progress report to the Export Pro-
motion Cabinet twice annually.
STEM Immigration Legislation Moves
Forward
Legislation has passed the House that would eliminate the
Diversity Lottery Green Card Program and reallocate up to
55,000 green cards a year to new programs for foreign graduates
of U.S. universities with advanced STEM (science, technology,
engineering, or math) degrees. These green cards would first be
made available to foreign graduates with doctorates and any re-
maining would then be made available for foreign graduates with
masters degrees.
According to advocates for the STEM Jobs Act, presently only
5% of green cards are issued based on the skills and education
of the recipients. As a result, many foreign graduates of U.S. uni-
versities in STEM fields, despite being in demand by American
employers, may end up on years-long green card waiting lists.
The purpose of this legislation is to facilitate these graduates re-
ceiving green cards so they remain in the United States to work.
OSHA Seeks Construction Standards
Improvement Recommendations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has issued a Request for Information soliciting recommenda-
tions for revisions to existing construction standards and the ra-
tionale for these recommendations. In particular, OSHA is seek-
ing input regarding removing or revising requirements that are
confusing or outdated, or that duplicate or are inconsistent with
other standards. Comments are due by Feb. 4, 2013.
New Cadmium Rule Compliance Tool
Issued
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has released a new interactive online tool to assist employers in
complying with OSHAs cadmium standard (29 CFR 1910.1027).
OSHAs Cadmium Biological Monitoring Advisor,
www.dol.gov/elaws/cadmium.htm, analyzes biological monitoring
results provided by the user. These data, along with a series of
answers to questions generated by the cadmium advisor, are used
to determine the biological monitoring and medical surveillance
requirements that must be met under the general industry cad-
mium standard. These requirements include the frequency of ad-
ditional monitoring and other mandatory components of the em-
ployers medical surveillance program.
Cadmium is a soft, bluish metal used in many industries, in-
cluding batteries, metal machining, plastics, ceramics, painting,
and welding operations.
New Enforcement Initiative for Federal
Lobbying Registration Laws
The Department of Justice is initiating a new effort to pursue
serial violators of the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA).
The LDA generally requires persons who engage in lobbying of
Congress to comply with certain registration requirements, but
it is widely assumed that the law is ignored by many lobbyists.
Presently, there are approximately 12,000 registered lobbyists,
representing just more than 17,000 clients. Lobbying registra-
tions have been decreasing annually since 2008, when the execu-
tive branch began barring registered lobbyists from certain gov-
ernmental and quasi-governmental positions with the federal
government.
Economic Census Underway
The Commerce Departments Census Bureau is mailing mil-
lions of forms to American businesses, as the official twice-a-
decade (every five years in years ending in 2 and 7) meas-
ure of the economy rolls out. Most U.S. businesses with paid em-
ployees will receive a form in the coming weeks, and the Census
Bureau will collect responses until the February 12, 2013, dead-
line.
The 2012 Economic Census covers more than 1000 industries
in all sectors of the private, nonfarm economy. To create a snap-
shot of the American economy, the census asks businesses to pro-
vide basic information on revenue, employment, and payroll, and
industry-specific topics such as the products and services they
provide.
Normal Trade Relations with Russia Made
Permanent
Legislation extending permanent normal trade relations to
Russia has been passed by Congress and signed by the president.
The effect is to give U.S. exporters the benefit of more favorable
treatment for exports of goods and services and stronger com-
mitments on protection of intellectual property rights. Russia
had previously been prohibited from receiving unconditional and
permanent normal trade relations under a federal statute en-
acted during the Cold War.
WASHINGTON
WATCHWORD
BY HUGH K. WEBSTER
AWS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICE
Contact the AWS Washington Government Affairs Office at
1747 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20006; e-mail
hwebster@wc-b.com; FAX (202) 835-0243.
FEBRUARY 2013 6
Call us at 800-782-2110 for a free quote on your
next project.
www.greinerindustries.com
STRUCTURAL STEEL FABRICATION
We can roll a beam up to 40 inches theeasy way and pipe up to 20
inches. Our press brake has 2,750 tons of power with a 40-foot bed. Our
CNC horizontal boring mill has a 12-foot high by 30-foot long machining
envelope. Our G&L bay boasts a 50-ton lifting capacity with 31-foot hook
height of overhead cranes. Our 30-foot by 50-foot, permanently installed,
leveling bed allows us to level to within fteen thousandths of an inch.
INDUSTRIAL BLASTING & COATING
Our capabilities include 81,000 square feet of capacity, 34-foot by 34-foot
doors and a 100-ton four-point pick-and-carry crane.
You can count on Greiner!
Structural Steel Fabrication
Steel Plate & Sheet Metal Fabrication
Miscellaneous Metals
Machining
Rolling & Forming Services
Cutting Services
Industrial Coatings
Industrial & Electrical Contracting
Crane Rental &Trucking Services
Heat-Bending Services
(AISC Certied for Major Steel
Bridge Fabrication)
Capacity. Precision. Strength.
24-foot hammerhead columns and base
plates for the WorldTrade Centers new
Transportation Hub.
133-ton transfer girder for a
NewYork City high-rise.
Greiner has some of the biggest equipment of its kindinthe
EasternUnitedStates andcertications for handlingjust about
any large, heavy-dutysteel fabricationjobfor you.
25-inch diameter steel node connectors
at JFK International Airport.
PRESS TIME
NEWS
Ford Investing More than $773 Million across
Southeast Michigan Manufacturing Facilities
Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., is spending more than $773 million on new equip-
ment and capacity expansions across six manufacturing facilities in southeast Michigan,
delivering on a commitment to invest $6.2 billion in U.S. plants by 2015.
The investments will create 2350 new hourly jobs and allow the company to retain an
additional 3240 hourly jobs. Also, over the next few months, Ford will bring a new stamp-
ing press on line at the Michigan Assembly Plant; install equipment for four new stamp-
ing presses at the Dearborn Stamping Plant; and finish expanding the Flat Rock Assem-
bly Plant to produce the new Fusion.
Lincoln Electric Acquires Tennessee Rand
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, recently acquired the privately held
automated systems and tooling manufacturer, Tennessee Rand, Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn.,
a designer and manufacturer of tooling and robotic systems.
Tennessee Rand brings extensive tool design, system building, and machining capa-
bilities that will enable Lincoln to further expand its welding automation business, said
Christopher L. Mapes, chief executive officer.
AAR Partners with Wayne Community College to
Expedite Welding Careers
Through a public-private partnership with Wayne Community College, Goldsboro,
N.C., aerospace and defense company AAR designed an eight-week welding certificate
program to address a shortage of welders at its mobility systems division, which manu-
factures equipment used by the military to transport troops and supplies around the
world.
Under the curriculum, incumbent workers who complete the course can test for their
welding certificate and increase their salaries by as much as $4.50/h. Wayne also added
daytime classes to accommodate employees who work nights, so students earn a pay-
check while they learn.
The fast-track program is helping us to build a pipeline of talent and provides em-
ployees in lower-skilled positions, such as grinders, a clear pathway to advancement to
mid-skills jobs, said Kevin Johnson, training specialist for AAR.
In addition, the fast-track welding curriculum is available to non-AAR employees
through Wayne Community Colleges adult continuing education initiatives.
LA-CO Industries Acquires Tempil
LA-CO Industries, Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., has acquired Tempil, a division of
Illinois Tool Works, Inc. With this addition, the company and its Markal industrial
marking and temperature-indication products are positioned for growth within the in-
dustrial and welding channels. Tempil business operations will also continue to func-
tion independently of LA-CO Industries global business operations.
Sciaky Releases New Additive Manufacturing Video
Sciaky, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries and provider of
additive manufacturing systems, has launched a new Direct Manufacturing (DM) video
at http://sciaky.com/direct_manufacturing.html.
With the objective to save manufacturers time and money on the production of large,
high-value metal parts and prototypes, Sciaky launched its DM process, based on addi-
tive manufacturing principles, in 2009. According to the company, today this remains
the only large-scale, fully programmable means of achieving near-net-shape parts made
of titanium, tantalum, Inconel, and other high-value metals ranging up to 19 ft long,
4 ft wide, and 4 ft high. It combines computer-aided design, Sciakys electron beam weld-
ing technology, and layer-additive processing. Deposition rates typically range from 7 to
20 lb/h.
FEBRUARY 2013 8
MEMBER
Publisher Andrew Cullison
Publisher Emeritus Jeff Weber
Editorial
Editorial Director Andrew Cullison
Editor Mary Ruth Johnsen
Associate Editor Howard M. Woodward
Associate Editor Kristin Campbell
Editorial Asst./Peer Review Coordinator Melissa Gomez
Design and Production
Production Manager Zaida Chavez
Senior Production Coordinator Brenda Flores
Manager of International Periodicals and
Electronic Media Carlos Guzman
Advertising
National Sales Director Rob Saltzstein
Advertising Sales Representative Lea Paneca
Advertising Sales Representative Sandra Jorgensen
Senior Advertising Production Manager Frank Wilson
Subscriptions
Subscriptions Representative Tabetha Moore
tmoore@aws.org
8669 Doral Blvd., Doral, FL 33166
(305) 443-9353 or (800) 443-9353
Publications, Expositions, Marketing Committee
D. L. Doench, Chair
Hobart Brothers Co.
S. Bartholomew, Vice Chair
ESAB Welding & Cutting Prod.
J. D. Weber, Secretary
D. Brown, Weiler Brush
T. Coco, Victor Technologies International
L. Davis, ORS Nasco
J. Deckrow, Hypertherm
D. DeCorte, RoMan Mfg.
J. R. Franklin, Sellstrom Mfg. Co.
F. H. Kasnick, Praxair
D. Levin, Airgas
E. C. Lipphardt, Consultant
R. Madden, Hypertherm
D. Marquard, IBEDA Superflash
J. F. Saenger Jr., Consultant
S. Smith, Weld-Aid Products
D. Wilson, Well-Dean Enterprises
N. C. Cole, Ex Off., NCC Engineering
J. N. DuPont, Ex Off., Lehigh University
L. G. Kvidahl, Ex Off., Northrup Grumman Ship Systems
D. J. Landon, Ex Off., Vermeer Mfg.
S. P. Moran, Ex Off., Weir American Hydro
E. Norman, Ex Off., Southwest Area Career Center
R. G. Pali, Ex Off., J. P. Nissen Co.
N. Scotchmer, Ex Off., Huys Industries
R. W. Shook, Ex Off., American Welding Society
Copyright 2013 by American Welding Society in both printed and elec-
tronic formats. The Society is not responsible for any statement made or
opinion expressed herein. Data and information developed by the authors
of specific articles are for informational purposes only and are not in-
tended for use without independent, substantiating investigation on the
part of potential users.
/ Made for the TransSteel Series, the VR 5000 Case
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through any manhole down to a diameter of 13.8.
Withstanding the toughest requirements, its 100%
insulated against high atmospheric humidity, dust
and splash water. Available in Synergic and
manual, water or gas-cooled models.
For more information visit www.fronius-usa.com
/ Battery Charging Systems / Welding Technology / Solar Electronics

FEBRUARY 2013 10
NEWS OF THE
INDUSTRY
Welded Tube to Build $50 Million Facility
Welded Tube USA, Inc., has finalized agreements to purchase
45 acres in the Tecumseh Business Park on the former Bethle-
hem Steel facility in Lackawanna, N.Y., according to Executive
Chairman Barry Sonshine. The company plans to invest approxi-
mately $50 million in constructing a facility that will house steel
pipe mill equipment to supply pipe to the energy industry.
The investment will occur in three phases. Constructing the
109,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in phase one would be ex-
panded by an additional 34,000 sq ft in phase two. The final phase
would call for the construction of a 30,000-sq-ft building. If mar-
ket and economic conditions are favorable, the company could
hire as many as 121 employees by the completion of these phases.
The initial building construction is anticipated to be com-
pleted this month with production scheduled to begin in August.
Terex Utilities Takes Top Honors in
Humantechs Find It Fix It Challenge
Terex Utilities, Huron, S.D., is the winner of Humantech,
Inc.s, sixth annual Find It Fix It Challenge that rewards sim-
ple, effective workplace systems to increase productivity, improve
worker morale, and reduce workplace injuries and illnesses.
The company earned top honors with its pedestal weld sta-
tion that focused on improving a workers posture and comfort
for welding a vertical gusset and top plate to the metal shell of a
The Combined Arms Support Command, Fort
Lee, Va., is helping to increase opportunities for
sustainment soldiers by developing credentialing
programs for 27 of its 57 military occupational spe-
cialties. One way, through the U.S. Army Ordnance
Schools Allied Trade Specialist course, is a 19-week
session providing machining and welding training,
two highly sought after trades in the civilian manu-
facturing industry, according to Master Sgt. Alvin
V. Beehler, Allied Trades chief instructor.
The machining portion is based on the National
Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) curricu-
lum. There are a total of five credentials service
members can earn by its end. After passing each
section, students can take the NIMS written test
online.
I enjoy what I do, and I plan to make the Army
a career. This program will help me to advance
through the ranks faster, said Pfc. Jeremiah John-
son, a 91E Advanced Individual Training student.
A future initiative is to also certify the trainings
welding portion. Jack Peters, Metalworking Serv-
ices Division chief, mentioned working to offer serv-
ice members in all training levels opportunities to
earn American Welding Society (AWS) Level 1 Welder qualifications. Additionally, the Ordnance School is seeking to be-
come an AWS Accredited Test Facility to help them earn welder certification, he said.
Credentialing Program for Machining, Welding Helps Service Members Excel
Terex Utilities won the Find It Fix It Challenge with a pedestal
weld station entry. As shown, the newly fabricated welding table
holds the pedestal in an upright position. The redesigned pedestal
also allows the vertical gusset to be welded from the outside.
Students attending the Allied Trades Specialist course at the U.S. Army
Ordnance School learn to machine parts on manual lathes. (Photo cour-
tesy of Staff Sgt. Gregory N. Dunbar, U.S. Army Ordnance School.)
11 WELDING JOURNAL
pedestal. It connects a boom to a truck chassis and houses the
bearing that enables the boom to rotate while in operation.
Previously, a worker had to climb in and out of a metal shell
up to eight times per unit. While lying horizontally, the welder
had to weld parts of the pedestal together. When one section was
complete, the welder would get out of the pedestal, rotate it to
the next weld position, climb back into the unit, and weld the
next part. The improvement idea came from Jereme Kempf.
With a $300 budget, the team engineered and fabricated a
steel welding table to hold the pedestal vertically. Work can now
be done seated; the cycle time was reduced by 20 min; and the
design engineering department redesigned the pedestal to elimi-
nate the vertical gusset weld to a plug weld on the pedestals
outside.
Behlen Mfg. Co. Expands to Texas
Behlen Mfg. Co. recently announced a long-term lease, sub-
ject to final approval of local incentives, of the former Smead
Mfg. plant in McGregor, Tex. The 180,000-sq-ft building will be
used to manufacture farm and ranch equipment for its Behlen
Country business unit. Employment is expected to exceed 50
jobs by the end of 2013.
Manufacturing was expected to begin in January. The Behlen
Country product line includes stock tanks, dog kennels, and gates,
all of which have welding play a primary part in the manufactur-
ing operation.
Jobs will be filled through transfers of Behlen Partners in
Progress from other locations, including Columbus and Omaha,
Neb.; Baker City, Ore.; and Huntingdon, Tenn. Simultaneously,
Behlen will be accepting applications in the McGregor area for
skilled positions, including welding, operating machines, load-
ing, maintenance, and general manufacturing.
In addition, Behlen plans to make an investment in the facil-
ity to meet manufacturing requirements and move equipment
from its Huntingdon, Tenn., location, which has transitioned to
a distribution center. The company projected it would start mak-
ing deliveries from the plant in January.
For more information, visit www.behlenmfg.com.
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FEBRUARY 2013 12
Linde Engineers Developing Alternatives to
Helium
Faced with a helium sourcing shortage, industry segments
working with Linde North America engineers (www.lindeus.com)
are accepting new product developments leading to lower helium
requirements, or replacing it, without sacrificing application
quality.
Helium has become the product of choice for many indus-
trial processes, mostly because of its physical and thermal prop-
erties. However, there are certain areas where we have success-
fully substituted for helium, or reduced the amount of helium re-
quired, with little or no adverse effect on quality, productivity, or
process robustness, said Joe Berkmanns, national technical man-
ager for Linde Canada, Ltd.
Shielding gas mixtures for arc welding can also be modified
to use less helium. Helium is added for its higher ionization en-
ergy and thermal conductivity; more arc energy means deeper
penetration and faster welds, but these properties can make the
arc unstable and less focused. Small additions of active compo-
nents can stabilize the arc, concentrate heat input, and allow for
a reduction of helium content.
Developments in nozzle and gas supply technology has al-
lowed the substitution of nitrogen in thermal spray processes that
use helium as a propellant. Shielding gases that use small nitric
oxide additions can achieve higher heat input and stabilize the
arc.
It isnt just a matter of changing the mix, however, said Berk-
manns. Changes to process parameters, the equipment, and
sometimes the parts may be necessary.
Advanced High-Strength Steels Provide
Cost-Effective Automotive Lightweighting
A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) report Mass Reduction for Light-Duty Vehicles for
Model Years 20172025 determined basic lightweighting costs
$0.46/lb of weight saved using advanced high-strength steels vs.
$1.55/lb with aluminum. It examined mid-size body, chassis, and
interior vehicle systems. EDAG, Inc., George Washington Uni-
versity, and Electricore, Inc., prepared the report.
Cost models have traditionally associated a significant cost
penalty with alternative materials, and this NHTSA report con-
firms this while demonstrating advanced high-strength steels pro-
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The Steel Market Development Institutes Future Steel Vehicle uses
97% high-strength and advanced high-strength steels of which nearly
50% reach into GigaPascal strengths.
continued on page 102
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BY DAVID BENETEAU
A Scientific, Systematic
Approach Makes
Resistance Welding
Book Understandable
Resistance Welding: Fundamentals and
Applications, Second Edition, by Hongyan
Zhang and Jacek Senkara, presents an
overview of the resistance spot welding
process. The book covers a broad range
of topics from physics, metallurgy, and
process modeling to practical application
and troubleshooting. There are detailed
descriptions of how equipment mechan-
ics and control methodologies influence
the resistance spot welding process and
the resultant weldment. Methods of eval-
uating and determining quality are also
described and illustrated.
The authors have a presentation style
that demonstrates how to apply a scien-
tific and systematic approach to solve
practical issues. This method makes the
review of the physics of resistance spot
welding understandable and relevant to
students, researchers, shop floor techni-
cians, and welding engineers alike.
The book is well organized and pre-
sented, so it is a good read for those in-
clined to review it from cover to cover, or
a good reference for those who want to
follow the index to a specific topic.
The authors explain the concepts of re-
sistance welding by drawing comparisons
throughout the text between welding steel
and aluminum. The low resistance, high
thermal conductivity, ductile aluminum is
contrasted with welding steel, which gen-
erally has higher electrical resistance as
well as lower thermal conductivity and
ductility. In most cases, the stark material
property differences highlight the weld-
ing principles and result in an overview of
theoretical concepts that is easy to follow.
The authors have added magnesium
alloys to this second edition to reflect the
current industry interest. Adding this new
metal further serves to help readers apply
the knowledge and principles to applica-
tions or other materials they may be faced
with. As limited published information on
welding magnesium is otherwise available,
the authors have made this an invaluable
resource for anyone tackling this material
for the first time.
The authors begin each chapter with a
distillation of current industry knowledge
and description of applicable standards.
Their synopsis of published and some-
times conflicting opinions is supported by
citation of 364 document references. This
is an increase of more than 100 references
over the 2006 first edition. The book con-
tinues to be a great overview and distilla-
tion of the recent works by leading experts
in the field of resistance welding. The ex-
tensive linking of references allows the
reader to continue exploring the subject
matter beyond this book and seek out the
experts. In several cases, follow-up is
made even easier because the source In-
ternet URL has been provided.
Where conflicting expert opinions or
a knowledge gap exists, the authors pres-
ent theoretical analysis or experimental
procedures and results to add clarity and
new understanding. Their review of indus-
try standard impact loading tests, for ex-
ample, details issues affecting the results
of industry standard tests. They then pro-
pose a new form of impact tester substan-
tiated with experimental data to show how
the issues are addressed and results im-
proved. In another instance, the authors
discuss heat balance and the law of ther-
mal similarity before proposing a modi-
fied heat balance theory.
In addition to analysis and insight, the
authors have also identified the need for
additional work. This ranges from practi-
cal issues related to the variation in weld
specimen sizes required by current indus-
try (AWS, ISO, and military) standards to
more esoteric work on expulsion theory
to resolve models that will work for vari-
ous materials and welding conditions.
The resistance welding machine is re-
viewed in detail. For example, the effect
of machine stiffness on expulsion, weld
strength, and electrode alignment are dis-
cussed. The effect of machine friction on
weld microstructure and tensile-shear
strength is presented. An overview of elec-
trode follow-up theory is also provided.
In addition to machine mechanics, there
is an extensive discussion of single-phase
AC, single-phase DC, three-phase DC,
and MFDC control methodologies. A
broad range of process monitoring and
control systems is discussed. Information
on ultrasonic evaluation has been en-
hanced, and illustrations of ultrasonic
feedback have been provided.
New front matter in this second edi-
tion includes a preface and short author
biography. Additional coverage of the
metallurgical aspects of materials in-
volved in resistance welding, such as
steels, aluminum and magnesium alloys,
zinc, and copper has been provided. Sev-
eral figures have been made more under-
standable with the inclusion of a new, full-
color insert.
The second edition has made a great
book even better. It remains a significant,
practical aide to anyone interested in a
better understanding of the resistance
welding science, and it should be consid-
ered for their library.
BOOK
REVIEW
DAVID BENETEAU is is vice president of
CenterLine (Windsor) Ltd. He is an AWS
Counselor and holds numerous positions
on AWS Technical Committees, including
chair of the J1 Committee on Resistance
Welding Equipment.
FEBRUARY 2013 14
Resistance Welding: Fundamentals and
Applications, Second Edition, by
Hongyan Zhang, University of Toledo,
Ohio, and Jacek Senkara, Warsaw Univer-
sity of Technology, Poland. ISBN 978-1-
4398-5371-9 (hardback). Published De-
cember 13, 2011, by CRC Press (www.crc-
press.com), 456 pages. Price $167.95.
Change of Address?
Moving?
Make sure delivery of your Welding
Journal is not interrupted. Contact
Maria Trujillo in the Membership
Department with your new address in-
formation (800) 443-9353, ext. 204;
mtrujillo@aws.org.
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 individuals 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 individuals 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 individuals organization shall have shown an
ongoing commitment to the industry, as evidenced by support of participation of its employee 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
Nomination of AWS Counselor
I. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
In 1999, the American Welding Society established the honor of Counselor to recognize indi-
vidual 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
individuals 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 individuals organization shall have shown an ongoing
commitment to the industry, as evidenced by support of participation of its employees
in industry activities such as AWS, IIW, WRC, SkillsUSA, NEMA, NSRP SP7 or other
similar groups.)
Leadership of or within an organization that has made substantial contribution to training
and vocational education in the welding industry. (The individuals organization shall
have shown an ongoing commitment to the industry, as evidenced by support of partici
pation of its employees in industry activities such as AWS, IIW, WRC, SkillsUSA, NEMA,
NSRP SP7 or other similar groups.)
II. RULES
A. Candidates for Counselor shall have at least 10 years of membership in AWS.
B. Each candidate for Counselor shall be nominated by at least five members of
the Society.
C. Nominations shall be submitted on the official form available from AWS
headquarters.
D. Nominations must be submitted to AWS headquarters no later than July 1
of the year prior to that in which the award is to be presented.
E. Nominations shall remain valid for three years.
F. All information on nominees will be held in strict confidence.
G. Candidates who have been elected as Fellows of AWS shall not be eligible for
election as Counselors. Candidates may not be nominated for both of these awards
at the same time.
III. NUMBER OF COUNSELORS TO BE SELECTED
Maximum of 10 Counselors selected each year.
Return completed Counselor nomination package to:
Wendy S. Reeve
Senior Manager
Award Programs and Administrative Support
Telephone: 800-443-9353, extension 293
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: July 1, 201
8669 Doral Blvd., Suite 130
Doral, FL 33166
3
(please type or print in black ink)
COUNSELOR NOMINATION FORM
DATE_________________NAME OF CANDIDATE________________________________________________________________________
AWS MEMBER NO.___________________________YEARS OF AWS MEMBERSHIP____________________________________________
HOME ADDRESS____________________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY_______________________________________________STATE________ZIP CODE__________PHONE________________________
PRESENT COMPANY/INSTITUTION AFFILIATION_______________________________________________________________________
TITLE/POSITION____________________________________________________________________________________________________
BUSINESS ADDRESS________________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY______________________________________________STATE________ZIP CODE__________PHONE_________________________
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND, AS APPLICABLE:
INSTITUTION______________________________________________________________________________________________________
MAJOR & MINOR__________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEGREES OR CERTIFICATES/YEAR____________________________________________________________________________________
LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER: YES_________NO__________ STATE______________________________________________
SIGNIFICANT WORK EXPERIENCE:
COMPANY/CITY/STATE_____________________________________________________________________________________________
POSITION____________________________________________________________________________YEARS_______________________
POSITION____________________________________________________________________________YEARS_______________________
SUMMARIZE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS IN THESE POSITIONS:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IT IS MANDATORY THAT A CITATION (50 TO 100 WORDS, USE SEPARATE SHEET) INDICATING WHY THE NOMINEE SHOULD BE
SELECTED AS AN AWS COUNSELOR ACCOMPANY THE NOMINATION PACKET. IF NOMINEE IS SELECTED, THIS STATEMENT MAY
BE INCORPORATED WITHIN THE CITATION CERTIFICATE.
**MOST IMPORTANT**
The Counselor Selection Committee criteria are strongly based on and extracted from the categories identified below. All in-
formation and support material provided by the candidates Counselor Proposer, Nominating Members and peers are considered.
SUBMITTED BY:
PROPOSER_______________________________________________
AWS Member No.___________________
The proposer will serve as the contact if the Selection Committee requires further information. The proposer is encouraged to include a
detailed biography of the candidate and letters of recommendation from individuals describing the specific accomplishments of the can-
didate. Signatures on this nominating form, or supporting letters from each nominator, are required from four AWS members in addition
to the proposer. Signatures may be acquired by photocopying the original and transmitting to each nominating member. Once the sig-
natures are secured, the total package should be submitted.
NOMINATING MEMBER:___________________________________Print Name___________________________________
AWS Member No.______________
AWS Member No.______________
AWS Member No.______________
AWS Member No.______________
CLASS OF 2014
SUBMISSION DEADLINE JULY 1, 2013
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Automotive and
Resistance Welding
Standards
RWMA
Resistance
Welding Manual,
Revised Fourth
Edition
The latest and most
complete compilation of
basic information on
resistance welding
available anywhere. 468
pages, 25 chapters, 2
appendices (including
an index), 308 figures,
85 tables. 8
3
/
4" x 11
1
/
4", (2003).
RWM $125/$94
Resistance Welding Pocket Handbook
Portable basic information and dos and donts. Common
defects and their causes. Sample weld schedules. 3
3
/
4" by 6,
spiral-bound, 48 pages, 12 tables, 16 figures (2011).
Order Code: RWPH $20/$15
D8.1M:2007, Specification for
Automotive Weld Quality Resistance
Spot Welding of Steel
Establishes acceptance criteria for resistance spot welds in
autos fabricated from steels, including Advanced High
Strength Steels. 38 pages, 24 figures, 4 tables, (2007).
D8.1 $56/$42
D8.6:2005, Specification for Automotive
Resistance Spot Welding Electrodes
Supplement to RWMA Bulletin 16, Resistance Welding
Equipment Standards. Specifies chemical composition,
physical requirements, dimensions, and identification of
various shapes and nose configurations of electrodes, elec-
trode caps, and cap-adaptor shanks used in the automotive
industry. Annexes describe recommended electrode material
for spot welding similar and dissimilar metals, and stan-
dard gauges for confirmation of RWMA electrode tapers. 98
pages, 8 annexes, 47 figures, 37 tables, (2006).
D8.6 $80/$60
D8.7M:2005, Recommended Practices
for Automotive Weld Quality Resistance
Spot Welding
Presents recommended practices and criteria for evaluating
resistance spot welds typical of automotive sheet steel appli-
cations. Contains weld characteristics, metrics, and testing
methods useful in evaluating spot welding quality on coated
and uncoated automotive sheet steels of all strength levels
and compositions. The test methods are designed to assess
static and dynamic properties of automotive sheet steel
welds. 28 pages, 18 figures, 3 tables, (2005).
D8.7 $52/$39
Automotive Weld Quality Arc Welding
of Steel
Provides the minimum quality requirements for arc welding
of various types of automotive and light truck components.
Covers the arc and hybrid arc welding of coated and uncoated
steels. 26 pages, 17 figures, (2007).
D8.8 $52/$39
D8.9M:2012, Test Methods for Evaluating
the Resistance Spot Welding Behavior of
Automotive Sheet Steel Materials
Helps predict performance of sheet steel that is resistance spot
welded for use in auto manufacturing. Also addresses equip-
ment setup, electrode installation and dressing, electrode
endurance testing, current level and range assessment, weld
property testing, current break-through testing, and design of
experiments testing. 124 pages, 42 figures, 22 tables,
(2012).
D8.9 $92/$69
Automotive Weld Quality Arc Welding of
Aluminum
Covers the arc welding of automotive and light truck compo-
nents that are manufactured from aluminum alloys. 32
pages, 18 figures, 3 tables, (2008).
D8.14 $56/$42
D14.3/D14.3M:2010, Specification for
Welding Earthmoving, Construction, and
Agricultural Equipment
For self-propelled, on- and off-highway machinery and
agricultural equipment. Specifies requirements for structur-
al welds used in the manufacture and repair of crawlers,
tractors, graders, loaders, off-highway trucks, power shovels,
backhoes, mobile cranes, draglines, and other heavy earth-
moving, construction, and agricultural equipment. 94
pages, 22 figures, 13 tables, (2010).
D14.3 $80/$60
D17.2/D17.2M:2013, Specification for
Resistance Welding for Aerospace
Applications
Requirements for aerospace resistance spot and seam weld-
ing of aluminum, magnesium, steel, nickel, cobalt, titani-
um, and their alloys. Intended to replace MIL-W-6858D
and AMS-W-6858A. 56 pages, 11 figures, 13 tables
(2013).
Order Code: D17.2 $64/$48
RWMA Bulletin #5: Resistance Welding
Control Standard
Discusses weld controls, timing diagrams, input/output
connections, SCR sizing, and terminal markings. Explains
voltage compensation and other critical performance stan-
dards, plus safety, construction, installation, and operation
standards. 62 pages, (1994).
Order Code: RW5 $55/$42
RWMA Bulletin #14: Maintenance
Manual for Resistance Welding
Machines
Explains installation, maintenance, and operation of a
resistance welding machines electrical, pneumatic,
hydraulic and cooling systems. Includes a trouble-shooting
section. Useful for maintenance personnel and operators.
(1996).
RWMA Bulletin #16: Resistance Welding
Equipment Standards
RWMA standards for welding equipment, including electri-
cal, electrode, and fluid-power standards. (1996).
RWMA Bulletin #34: Manufacturers
Cross Reference of Standard Resistance
Welding Electrode Numbers and Alloys
An extensive cross-reference of standard resistance welding
electrodes and alloys recognized by the RWMA. 13 pages,
(1997).
A10.1M:2007, Specification for
Calibration and Performance Testing of
Secondary Current Sensing Coils and
Weld Current Monitors Used in Single-
Phase AC Resistance Welding
Methods for testing performance of Rogowski-type air core
current sensing coils (CSC) and weld current monitors used
in the measurement of single-phase AC resistance welding
currents. Definitions relevant to this measurement are
included. CSC and system tests and calibration methods are
detailed. Detailed information to available to the user is pre-
scribed.54 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables, (2007).
Order Code: A10.1 $64/$48
C1.1M/C1.1:2012, Recommended
Practices for Resistance Welding
Covers spot, seam, projection, flash, and upset welding, as
well as weld bonding for uncoated and coated carbon and
low-alloy steels, aluminum alloys, stainless steels, nickel,
nickel-base alloys, cobalt-base alloys, copper and alloys,
and titanium and alloys. Details equipment and setup,
welding variables, joint preparation, cleaning, welding
schedules and parameters, weld quality testing, safety, and
health. 132 pages, 54 tables, 30 figures (2012).
Order Code: C1.1 $96/$72.
AWS Automotive and Resistance Welding Standards
Lesser price shown is for AWS members. For a complete catalog, call 888-WELDING.
Preview and order any of
these books and browse
dozens of others at
pubs.aws.org
C1.4M/C1.4:2009, Specification for
Resistance Welding of Carbon and Low-
Alloy Steels
Provides the shear strength and weld button diameter
requirements for carbon steel and low-alloy steel sheet resist-
ance and projection welds. 30 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables
(2009).
Order Code: C1.4 $56/$42
C1.5:2009, Specification for the
Qualification of Resistance Welding
Technicians
Establishes requirements for qualification of resistance weld-
ing technicians. Defines minimum experience, examination,
application, qualification, and requalification requirements
and methods. Provides a method for technicians to establish a
record of their qualification and abilities, such as develop-
ment of machine troubleshooting, processes controls, quality
standards, and problem solving. 22 pages, 1 table (2009).
Order Code: C1.5 $52/$39
C3.9M/C3.9:2009, Specification for
Resistance Brazing
Minimum fabrication, equipment, material, and process pro-
cedure requirements for resistance brazing of steels, copper
and alloys, and heat- and corrosion-resistant materials, and
other materials that can be resistance brazed. Criteria for clas-
sifying resistance-brazed joints based on loading and conse-
quences of failure, and quality assurance criteria. 24 pages
(2009).
Order Code: C3.9 $52/$39.
Ninth Edition, Volume 1, Welding Science
and Technology
Presents the latest developments in the basic science and
technology of welding, and general descriptions of processes,
continues with chapters on the physics of welding and
cutting; heat flow; welding metallurgy; design; test methods;
residual stress; welding symbols; tooling and positioning;
monitoring and control; mechanized, automated, and
robotic techniques; economics; weld quality; inspection;
qualification and certification; welding codes and standards;
and safe practices. 932 pages, 17 chapters, 2 appendices,
530 illustrations, 168 tables, hardbound. 8" x 10",
(2001).
WHB-1.9 $192/$144
Ninth Edition, Volume 2, Welding
Processes, Part 1
Presents comprehensive information on welding and related
processes. Contains detailed information on arc welding
power sources; shielded metal arc, gas tungsten arc, gas
metal arc, flux cored arc, submerged arc, and plasma arc
welding processes. Includes chapters on electroslag welding,
stud welding, oxyfuel gas welding, brazing, soldering,
oxygen cutting, and arc cutting and gouging. 736 pages,
15 chapters, 260 line drawings, 100 photographs, 148
tables, hardbound. 8" x 10", (2004).
WHB-2.9 $192/$144
Ninth Edition, Volume 3, Welding
Processes, Part 2
Over 600 pages of comprehensive information on solid-
state and other welding and cutting processes. The book
includes chapters on resistance spot and seam welding,
projection welding, flash and upset welding and high-
frequency welding. In addition to a chapter on friction
welding, a new chapter introduces friction stir welding.
The most recent developments in beam technology are
discussed in the greatly expanded chapters on laser beam
welding and cutting and electron beam welding. A
diverse array of processes are presented in chapters on the
ultrasonic welding of metals, explosion welding,
diffusion welding and diffusion brazing, adhesive
bonding and thermal and cold spraying. The last chapter
covers various other welding and cutting processes,
including modernized water jet cutting. 669 pages, 15
chapters, 3 appendices, 438 illustrations, 59 tables;
hardbound. 8" x 10", (2007)
WHB-3.9 $192/$144
Ninth Edition, Volume 4, Materials and
Applications, Part 1
Extensively revised and updated from the eighth edition,
this comprehensive volume had more than 50 experts in
materials and materials applications assure its accuracy
and the currency of its content. It is a great reference
source for engineers, educators, welding supervisors, and
welders. Covers carbon and low-alloy steels; high-alloy
steels; coated steels; tool and die steels; stainless and
heat-resisting steels; clad and dissimilar metals; surfac-
ing; cast irons; maintenance and repair welding; and
underwater welding and cutting. Includes more than
500 tables, charts, and photos. 779 pages, 10 chapters,
hardbound, 8" x 10", (2011).
WHB-4.9 $192/$144
Eighth Edition, Volume 3, Materials and
Applications Part 1
Covers nonferrous metals, plastics, composites, and ceramics;
specialized topics on maintenance and repair welding; under-
water welding and cutting. Includes applications of the
specific metals and processes, weldability, safe practices. Best
copy available, 538 pages, 10 chapters, softbound. 8
1
/
2" x
10
1
/
2", (1996).
WHB-3.8 $160/$120
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WHB-ALL $762/$572
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Own the Entire Library of AWS Welding Handbooks!
These are the must-have references for engineers, structural designers, technolo-
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sure youre on the cutting edge with new and updated material. Here are five
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Lesser price shown is for AWS members. For a complete catalog, call 888-WELDING.
FEBRUARY 2013 22
ALUMINUM
Q&A
BY TONY ANDERSON
Q: What aluminum filler metal is the
most appropriate for welding the follow-
ing base metals and applications, and
why?
1. Application
I need to weld a handrail made of 6061-
T6 tubing that will be postweld anodized
and also requires a good color match
between the base metal and weld after
anodizing.
Filler Metal Choice
Tubing made from 6061-T6 can be
welded with either 4xxx or 5xxx series filler
metals. Filler metals 4043 and 5356 are
often used to weld this popular base alloy.
However, this is an application that will
be postweld anodized and using the 4043
filler will create a color match problem
after the weldment is anodized. The sili-
con in the 4043 will cause the weld to be-
come dark in contrast to the lighter col-
ored base metal after anodizing.
The 5356 filler metal is the most ap-
propriate choice because, after anodizing,
it will provide a close color match. (Note:
Anodizing is an electrochemical surface
treatment that can be applied to alu-
minum in order to increase aluminum
oxide thickness and provide improved sur-
face characteristics in some applications.)
2. Application
I need to weld an aluminum pipe made
from 6063 base material that is intended
to be postweld anodized, requires a good
color match after anodizing, and is in-
tended to be used in an application with
a sustained temperature of around 200F.
Filler Metal Choice
Our choice is a little more complicated,
as we now have two important criteria.
First, we have anodized color-match re-
quirements, and second, sustained serv-
ice at elevated temperatures.
The definition of elevated temperature
for aluminum is generally accepted to be
a temperature above 150F. Prolonged ex-
posure to temperatures between 150 and
350F can have a detrimental effect on
aluminum alloys that contain more than
3% magnesium (Mg); it can promote a
condition known as stress corrosion crack-
TOUGHNESS This rating applies to the ability of an aluminum weldment to deform plastically
in the presence of stress raisers without low-energy initiation and propagation of cracks. The
most useful test data is from tear resistance testing expressed in unit propagation energy of
measured crack lengths. In structural design, notch toughness is becoming more emphasized
by designers to facilitate the ability to inspect highly stressed structures and nd cracks in
weldments before catastrophic failure occurs. It may also be a design consideration if fatigue
and impact loading are factors directly associated with a weldment.
POST WELD HEAT TREATMENT This rating applies to the ability of a weld to respond to
post-weld heat treatment in the form of solution heat treatment and articial aging. An A
rating indicates that the ller metal is heat treatable and will therefore respond to post weld heat
treatment even without dilution of the base metal. A B rating indicates that the ller metal is
not heat treatable. However, it may be used for applications requiring post weld heat treatment
but with the understanding that the weld may or may not acquire substantial increase in
strength dependent on the joint design, welding procedure, and resultant amount of dilution of
base metal obtained during welding. A C rating requires consultation with an expert. No rating
indicates that the ller metal is not heat treatable and that it should not be used for applications
requiring post weld heat treatment as it may result in substantial reduction in weld perfor-
mance.
COLOR MATCH AFTER ANODIZING Base metal and ller metal color match after post-weld
anodizing can be of major concern in cosmetic applications. Some ller metals closely match
the base metal color after anodizing and others will react to the anodizing process by changing
to a color very different to that of the base metal.
ELEVATED TEMPERATURE SERVICE This rating is based on the reaction of some ller
metals when exposed to sustained elevated temperature: 150F to 350F (66C to 180C). If
5xxx series base metal or ller metal with more than 3% magnesium content are subjected to
prolonged exposure to these temperatures, precipitate can form within them that is highly
anodic to the aluminum-magnesium matrix. It is this continuous grain boundary network of
precipitate that produces susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and the potential for
premature component failure.
CORROSION RESISTANCE This variable may be a consideration for some environmental
conditions. The rating is based on exposure to fresh and salt water environments and is not
associated with a specic chemical exposure. It gives an indication as to the possibility of
galvanic corrosion due to the difference in the electrode potential between the base metal and
the ller metal. For consideration for other environmental and chemical exposures contact an
expert.
DUCTILITY This characteristic of the completed weld may be of consideration if forming
operations are to be used on a completed weldment during fabrication.
Note: Testing procedure requirements for guided bend tests may need to be adjusted to
accommodate the varying ductility of ller metals (AWS D1.2).
CRACK SENSITIVITY The Probability of Hot Cracking - this rating is established through use
of crack sensitivity curves (Developed by Alcoa) and the consideration of ller metal and base
metal chemistry combinations. There are levels of various alloying elements within aluminum
that have been identied as seriously affecting hot cracking susceptibility during weld solidi-
cation. This rating is primarily based on the probability of producing a weld outside these crack
sensitive chemistry ranges.
STRENGTH Ratings are for llet weld and groove weld strength in the as welded condition.
Groove welds Any specied ller metal with a rating can provide minimum transverse tensile
strength in groove welds that will meet the as-welded strength of the base material.
Fillet welds Ratings provided are for llet weld shear strength.
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WELD METAL PROPERTIES
Fig. 1 An extract from an aluminum filler metal selection chart describing the weld metal
property categories that can be rated on the chart and used to help with the selection of the
most appropriate filler metal for a specific application.
For this column, I compiled a selection of questions asked on a regular basis. These are all associated with aluminum filler
metal selection for various applications using a variety of base metal types.
23 WELDING JOURNAL
ing, which can lead to premature weld
failure.
The 5356 filler metal, which we would
generally choose to obtain a good color
match after anodizing, contains more than
3% Mg (4.7 to 5.5% Mg) and is therefore
an unsuitable choice for this application.
We cannot use the 4043 filler metal, which
is suitable for elevated temperature serv-
ice, because it will provide a poor color
match after anodizing. Filler metal 5554
has a Mg content of 2.4 to 3.0% and is
suitable for elevated temperature service.
Filler metal 5554 is also an aluminum
magnesium alloy and does not contain a
significant level of controlled silicon.
Therefore, 5554 will provide a reason-
able color match after anodizing and is
the most appropriate choice to consider
for this application.
3. Application
I need to perform a complete joint pen-
etration groove-weld procedure qualifi-
cation test using 5083 base metal, and I
am required to meet the minimum trans-
verse tensile strength specified by the
AWS D1.2, Structural Welding Code
Aluminum. Should I use 5356, 5183, or
5556 filler metal?
Filler Metal Choice
When welding the 5xxx series base met-
als and seeking to consistently meet min-
imum tensile strength requirements, there
are a few facts worth understanding.
The minimum tensile strength, used
for procedure qualification of groove
welds with these nonheat treatable alu-
minum alloys, is based on the annealed
strength of the base alloy being welded. If
this were a fillet weld qualification test
with 5083 base metal and not a complete
joint penetration groove weld, the small
differences in filler metal shear strength
values between these three filler metals
may or may not be significant. Certainly,
welding procedures for fillet welds made
on 5083 base metal could be easily quali-
fied with all three of these filler metals.
However, when it comes to tensile
strength requirements for groove welds,
there are differences between these filler
metals that can significantly affect test re-
sults. In some cases the strength differ-
ences between these filler metals, al-
though quite small, can mean the differ-
ence between passing and failing a tensile
test. Also, the strength of any one filler
metal classification can differ from one
batch to another based on the actual mag-
nesium content of the alloy and where it
resides within the classification chemistry
range limits.
The 5356 filler metal was developed
for welding 5086 base metal and to match,
or slightly exceed, its annealed tensile
strength, which is lower than 5083. The
5356 filler metal was not intended to con-
sistently match the higher tensile strength
requirements on 5083 base metal. That
being said, I have seen groove weld qual-
ification test results that have obtained
the minimum tensile requirements made
on 5083 base metal welded with 5356 filler
metal. My opinion is that consistently ob-
taining acceptable tensile strength using
5356 filler metal on 5083 base metal is not
a practical expectation when considering
variation in filler metal chemistry from
batch to batch, and variance in joint de-
sign and welding procedures used. There-
fore, I would not recommend the 5356
filler metal for this application.
The 5556 filler metal was originally de-
veloped for welding 5456 base alloy to
meet its tensile strength requirements,
which are higher than 5083. The 5556 filler
metal will also meet the tensile strength
requirements for 5083 base alloy. The
5183 filler metal was produced specifically
to meet the tensile strength requirements
For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
metal and does so successfully when used
in its mid-range chemistry.
I recommend evaluation of 5183 filler
metal for this application.
4. Application
I need to weld an A356 aluminum cast-
ing to a 6061-T6 extruded section.
Filler Metal Choice
It is not uncommon to weld dissimilar
aluminum base metals together. However,
not all aluminum base metal combinations
are suitable for welding to each other. The
metal combinations to avoid are the high-
silicon to the high-magnesium base alloys,
and the high-copper to the high-magnesium
base alloys. This particular combination,
A356 to 6061, is not usually a problem.
However, we need to carefully con-
sider the most appropriate filler metal to
use. The 6061 base metal can be welded
to itself with 4xxx or 5xxx filler metal, with
the 4043 and 5356 filler metals the most
commonly used. Nonetheless, the A356
casting has high silicon content and there-
fore should not be welded with a 5xxx
series (high magnesium) filler metal.
The 4043 filler metal would be a good
filler metal to evaluate for this application.
5. Application
I need to weld an aluminum frame
structure that will be used for material
handling. This structure will be used in
harsh conditions and must be able to with-
stand strong impact. The base materials
will consist entirely of weldable 6xxx se-
ries alloys in extruded sections of various
configurations. This structure will be used
at ambient temperature in the as-welded
condition and not anodized after welding.
Filler Metal Choice
Again, the 6xxx series base alloys can be
welded with 4xxx or 5xxx series filler met-
als. The criterion in this particular appli-
cation, which may promote the selection
of one filler metal over the other, is the re-
quirement for optimum toughness in the
welded joints. Silicon additions in the 4xxx
series aluminum filler metal provide many
desirable characteristics: low melting tem-
perature, low shrinkage rate, high fluidity,
and low hot-cracking sensitivity.
However, ductility and toughness are
negatively impacted by the addition of sil-
icon. There are significant differences be-
tween the 4xxx and 5xxx series filler met-
als when we consider their ductility and
toughness characteristics. The 4xxx series
filler metals have lower ductility and
toughness characteristics when compared
to the 5xxx series.
Therefore, for this application, I rec-
ommend the evaluation of the 5356 filler
metal and not the 4043.
6. Application
I need to weld an aluminum structure
made from 6061-T6 base metal that ranges
between 1 and 2 in. in thickness. This
structure will be postweld heat treated and
artificially aged to return the completed
structure to the 6061-T6 condition. The
fillet welds and complete joint penetra-
tion groove welds must have optimum
strength after heat treatment.
Filler Metal Choice
The primary consideration here is
postweld heat treatment. This base metal
can often be welded with a 4xxx or 5xxx
series filler metal. However, in this appli-
cation, we would not select a 5xxx series
filler metal such as 5356 as this type of
filler metal is not suitable for postweld
heat treatment. Therefore, we need to
consider a 4xxx series filler metal.
The 4043 filler metal could be used for
such an application; however, the 4043 is
not a heat-treatable filler metal. That is,
4043 will not produce adequate strength
to match the 6061-T6 unless sufficient
amounts of magnesium are removed from
the base metal and transferred into the
filler metal during the welding process. In
thick-section groove welds and fillet
welds, it can be difficult to obtain substan-
tial dilution of the base metal throughout
the weld thickness. Without such dilution
of base metal, there is little chance of ac-
quiring the optimum strength in the weld
in order to meet the T6 condition of the
base metal after postweld heat treatment.
The obvious choice for this application
is a filler metal that will respond to post-
weld heat treatment without the neces-
sary base alloy dilution. Filler metal 4643
was developed by Alcoa in the 1960s
specifically for this purpose. It is similar
to 4043 but includes magnesium, which
provides it with the ability to respond to
strengthening through this form of post-
weld heat treatment. Welds made in 6xxx
series base alloys with 4643 will typically
produce strengths around 90% of the base
alloy T6 condition after postweld heat
treatment.
A second option for this application
would be the more recently developed filler
metal 4943. The 4943 filler metal was pri-
marily designed to provide higher strength
over 4043 in the as-welded condition, but
it will also provide increased strength over
4643 in the postweld heat treated condi-
tion. Tests have shown that 4943 will pro-
vide a 100% strength match of the 6061-T6
after postweld heat treatment.
Summary
Filler metal selection is perhaps one of
the most significant challenges between
welding aluminum and other metals.
These six examples illustrate that not only
the base metal chemistry, but also the ap-
plication of the completed weldment can
strongly influence your choice in select-
ing the most appropriate filler metal for
a given base metal in a specific applica-
tion.
Fortunately, there are a number of ex-
cellent filler metal selection charts avail-
able to help us choose the most appropri-
ate filler metal for our particular applica-
tions. A typical legend used in aluminum
filler metal selection charts is shown in
Fig. 1. Many of these charts provide rat-
ings for filler metals on such characteris-
tics as strength, crack sensitivity, ductil-
ity, color match after anodizing, corrosion
resistance, elevated temperature service,
toughness, and postweld heat treatment.
Contact me if you would like a filler metal
selection chart, and I will send you one
free of charge.
FEBRUARY 2013 24
TONY ANDERSON is director of
aluminum technology, ITW Welding
North America. He is a Fellow of the
British Welding Institute (TWI), a Regis-
tered Chartered Engineer with the British
Engineering Council, and holds numer-
ous positions on AWS technical commit-
tees. He is chairman of the Aluminum
Association Technical Advisory Commit-
tee for Welding and author of the book
Welding Aluminum Questions and An-
swers currently available from the AWS.
Questions may be sent to Mr. Anderson
c/o Welding Journal, 8669 Doral Blvd.,
Ste. 130, Doral, FL 33166, or via e-mail at
tony.anderson@millerwelds.com.
Dear Readers:
The Welding Journal encourages
an exchange of ideas through
letters to the editor. Please send
your letters to the Welding Journal
Dept., 8669 Doral Blvd., Ste. 130
Doral, FL 33166. You can also reach
us by FAX at (305) 443-7404 or by
sending an e-mail to Kristin Camp-
bell at kcampbell@aws.org.
BRAZING
Q&A
BY ALEXANDER E. SHAPIRO
Q: We are very interested in brazing tita-
nium products. My question concerns
brazing titanium with steel. Basically, we
would like to join titanium Grade 5 plate
with stainless steel 304 round bars (1 or
7
8
in. in diameter) and require a strength of
40 ksi at the joint. Please suggest a suit-
able filler metal and a brazing process for
us to try.
A: Technically, vacuum brazing of tita-
nium Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V alloy) to stain-
less steel is not a problem. The process of
joining titanium to nickel-plated stainless
steel using a silver-copper eutectic (AWS
BAg-8) as a brazing filler metal has a long
history of industrial application, and has
been studied rather thoroughly (Ref. 1).
The brazing is carried out over a wide
temperature range from 820 to 920C de-
pending on design of joined parts and the
required joint strength.
BAg-8a the lithium-modified BAg-
8 filler metal can also be used in the
same range of brazing temperatures. The
brazed parts are shown in Fig. 1. BAg-8a
is not suitable for vacuum brazing, unless
the heating rate is so high that it takes only
1 to 2 min. to reach the brazing tempera-
ture. So, this braze is ideal for induction
brazing or brazing by energy beam (elec-
tron or laser).
Within the last two decades, new
processes and material options have been
studied and tested. The application of new
titanium flux RL3 A16 opened the oppor-
tunity to join titanium to titanium and ti-
tanium to steel in air using torch brazing
or, preferably, induction brazing. Stan-
dard silver-based filler metals such as
BAg-24 or BAg-34 are successfully used
for brazing in air. A key point of this
process is rapid and uniform heating of the
joint area, because titanium oxidizes very
fast and the protection ability of flux is lim-
ited in time. Therefore, brazing in air is
successful mostly for small-size parts.
Precoating the titanium part before
brazing is recommended. This means that
you should use a three-step process: 1)
deposition of the silver braze alloy onto
the titanium surface by heating and melt-
ing with the flux, 2) removing flux residues
from the surface using hot water and a
metal brush, and 3) assembling with the
steel part and brazing them together with
new additions of flux and braze filler
metal.
The joint clearance between the parts
to be brazed should be as small as possible
due to difference of coefficients of ther-
mal expansion. With your design, this
means that you should slightly compress
the parts during brazing and cooling.
Brazing titanium to steel can also be
done in air with the same flux and alu-
minum-based filler metal TiBrazeAl-635
(the Al-Cu-Mg system) or TiBrazeAl-655
(the Al-Cu system) at a temperature
below 700C Fig. 2. The aluminum filler
metals can be used, when a low brazing
temperature is needed, while the strength
of joints is not a critical issue.
However, vacuum brazing with BAg-8
is still the most often used process for join-
ing titanium to stainless steel. In order to
reach the maximum strength of the brazed
joint, the brazing should be done in com-
pliance with the recommendations below.
First, the stainless steel should be
plated with nickel 0.0004 to 0.0006 in. (10
to 15 microns) thick. Nickel plating sig-
nificantly improves the spreading of liq-
uid filler metal along the steel surface.
Sometimes, electroless nickel plating
does not provide a stable quality of coat-
ing. Then, silver plating 0.0006 0.0001
in. (12 to 15 microns) thick is used instead
of a nickel coating. The nickel or silver
layer serves as an effective barrier to pre-
vent the formation of brittle Ti-Fe inter-
metallics that are replaced by NiTi, AgTi,
and CuNiTi phases.
Second, the brazing temperature in
the range of 830 to 850C and dwell time
from 3 to 6 min are optimal process pa-
rameters to produce 25 to 30 ksi (170 to
210 MPa) joint shear strength. Higher
brazing temperature and longer holding
time result in uncontrolled growth of the
brittle TiCu
2
intermetallic layer at the in-
terface of the joint metal with titanium,
and the strength of the joints goes down
to 20 ksi (140 MPa) or even lower values.
If you want to increase the strength of
the joints to 40 ksi (275 MPa) and higher,
you will have to change the joint design.
For example, use a tube-in-tube design in-
stead of a simple overlapping, or provide
so-called mechanical securing of brazed
joints, such as brazing of a threaded
connection.
Acknowledgment
My thanks to Dr. Yury A. Flom of
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for
his advice on this subject.
Reference
1. Shiue, R. K., Wu, S. K., Chan, C. H.,
and Huang, C. S. 2006. Infrared brazing of
Ti-6Al-4V and 17-4 PH stainless steel with
a nickel barrier layer. Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A, Vol. 37, No. 7:
22072217.
This column is written sequentially by
TIM P. HIRTHE, ALEXANDER E.
SHAPIRO, and DAN KAY. Hirthe and
Shapiro are members of and Kay is an ad-
visor to the C3 Committee on Brazing and
Soldering. All three have contributed to the
5th edition of AWS Brazing Handbook.
Hirthe (timhirthe@aol.com) currently
serves as a BSMC vice chair and owns his
own consulting business.
Shapiro (ashapiro@titanium-braz-
ing.com) is brazing products manager at Ti-
tanium Brazing, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.
Kay (Dan@kaybrazing.com), with 40
years of experience in the industry, operates
his own brazing training and consulting
business.
Readers are requested to post their ques-
tions for use in this column on the Brazing
Forum section of the BSMC Web site
www.brazingandsoldering.com.
Fig. 1 Stainless steel and titanium tubes
brazed to titanium plate in vacuum using
BAg-8a filler metal in the form of
1
16-in.
wire ring placed inside the tubes. (Photo
courtesy of Dr. Yury Flom, NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center.)
Fig. 2 Titanium Grade 5 brazed in air
to stainless steel 304 using TiBrazeAl-655
filler metal. The shear strength of these
brazed joints is 17 to 19 ksi (118 to 130
MPa).
FEBRUARY 2013 26
PRODUCT & PRINT
SPOTLIGHT
Soldering Station Features
Fast Heat-up Time
The WXD 2, a two-channel, 255-W sol-
dering and desoldering station, features
the WXDP 120-W desoldering tool with
a 35-s heat-up time, quick replacement fil-
ter cartridge, and XDS nozzles with ex-
tended shafts to minimize tip cleaning. It
also has a standby mode, which automat-
ically sets the pencil to a lower tempera-
ture when not in use. All WX tools have
an integrated sensor system with commu-
nications, signal processing, and memory
built into the handle. Removal of the tool
from its safety rest switches it back to its
operating temperature. A blue LED light
ring on the tool handle gives visual indi-
cation it is heating. The stations high-
speed microcontroller allows maximum
temperature precision and optimal dy-
namic temperature performance in load
situations.
Weller
www.apexhandtools.com/weller
(800) 548-8883
Abrasive Wheels Remove
Braze and Residual Oxides
The companys Type 1 abrasive wheels,
effective for mechanically removing braze,
flux, and residual oxides from automobile
roof joints and other large assemblies, are
comprised of multiple layers of nonwoven
cotton fiber with aluminum oxide or sili-
con carbide abrasives that are laminated,
pressed, and bonded together into a dense
wheel. The wheels, suitable for use in end-
of-arm-tooling in robotic applications,
come in several sizes from 3 to 12 in. O.D.
Rex-Cut Abrasives
www.rexcut.com
(800) 225-8182
Publication Reviews
Current Brazing Research
Advances in brazing: Science, technol-
ogy and applications reviews current re-
search on the subject. Part one explains
the fundamentals of brazing, including
molten wetting processes, strength and
margins of safety of brazed joints, and
modeling of associated physical phenom-
ena. Part two discusses the materials that
use brazing techniques, such as superal-
loys, filler metals, diamonds and cubic
boron nitride, and varied ceramics and in-
termetallics. The book concludes with
part three that covers the main applica-
tions, including solid-state electrochemi-
cal devices, electrical, packaging, and
structural applications.
Research and Markets
www.researchandmarkets.com
(800) 526-8630
A new line of low-temperature brazing filler metals eliminates cad-
mium, which is used to reduce the liquidus temperature in filler met-
als to improve production speed. The patent-pending, Planet Class
17 filler metals Mars#4, Earth#7, and Neptune#6 all have
liquidus temperatures lower than all of AWS Class 137 brazing filler
metals. Listed as follows are the planets, classes, liquidus, and tensile
strenths: Mars, 4, 1105F, 64,642 lb/in.
2
; Neptune, 6, 1121F, 48,926
lb/in.
2
; Earth, 7, 1140F, 56,428 lb/in.
2
; Venus, 3, 1224F, 56,426 lb/in.
2
;
Pluto, 5, 1274F, 55,357 lb/in.
2
; Saturn, 2, 1338F, 65,357 lb/in.
2
; and
Jupiter, 1, 1355F, 53,392 lb/in.
2
. Pictured is an image comparing
brazed copper.
NetBraze LLC
www.netbraze.com
(937) 444-1444
Special Emphasis on Brazing and Soldering
FEBRUARY 2013 28
New Line of Cadmium-Free Brazing Filler Metals Announced
29 WELDING JOURNAL
Solder Alloy Offered in
Lead-Free Bar Form
SN100C solder alloy, used by manu-
facturers to implement lead-free solder-
ing for their production lines, is now ac-
cessible in bar form. Comprised of tin-
copper-nickel and germanium, and free
of silver or bismuth, it is environmentally
friendly. The solder alloy is available as a
paste and cored wire.
AIM, Inc.
www.aimsolder.com
(800) 225-5246
Laser Cut Braze Plugs
Fill Holes Left in Castings
Braze Plugs block the holes left in a
casting, allowing access to the inside
where additional machining is required.
Brazed into the casting, they are subse-
quently heat treated and finish machined.
Supplied in any high-nickel-based super-
alloy to precisely match the cast materi-
als, the product is laser cut using nitrogen
to prevent a recast (oxide) layer. Cut to
customer specification, typical plugs are
0.180 0.080 0.080 in.
Advanced Laser Technologies
www.advancedlasertechnologies.net
(781) 438-6374
Safety Equipment Supplier
Releases New Catalogs
The supplier of machine safety equip-
ment has released two new safety guide-
books and product catalogs. The 564-page
Compendium offers information on
machine safety subjects and the complete
line of the companys products. It provides
guidelines on issues such as strategic ma-
chine safety planning and how and where
to upgrade, explanations of common
safety terminology, information on na-
tional safety directives and standards, and
the primary safety standards organizations
and information sources. The Switches
catalog contains technical information on
the companys line of safety switches, in-
cluding solenoid locking switches and
noncontact switches designed for a vari-
ety of applications.
ABB Jokab Safety
www.jokabsafetyna.com
(888) 282-2123
Soldering System Offers
Compact Table Space
The Ultima series of selective solder-
ing and fluxing systems offer a way for sol-
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FEBRUARY 2013 30
dering through-hole components as well
as connectors to surface mount and mixed
technology PCBs. The TR2 has a high-
precision X-, Y-, and Z-axis drive that
moves the PCB, resulting in a lightweight
construction that takes up 36 31 in. of
table space. The 35-lb solder pot and
pump assembly features a nitrogen hood
with a built-in micropreheater. Users can
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process. A universal PCB holder with
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FEBRUARY 2013 32
T
oday, continuing ecological pres-
sure, energy and fuel problems,
and global competition have led
companies to search for new automobile
designs.
One of the main targets in studies for
optimizing fuel-efficient and environ-
mentally friendly automobile designs is
to save material and weight without sac-
rificing quality and safety.
Reliable, lightweight materials for au-
tomotive design and automobile bodies,
which are not possible to use with the
conventional manufacturing processes
due to economic and technical reasons,
can easily and economically be used with
current laser manufacturing methods.
In this study, variation of the weld
seams depending on laser power and
heat input are investigated in laser lap
joint welding of low-carbon steel (DC04)
and AlMgSiCu (6061-T6) aluminum
alloy materials. In the attempt to control
the fragile intermetallic phase formation,
which causes problems in laser lap
joint welding of materials with different
properties, and the intermetallic phase
layer thickness, laser parameters were
modulated.
Selected Processes for
Laser Manufacturing
There has been increasing and wide-
spread multipurpose use of better qual-
ity, high power, and efficient, long-last-
ing lasers in industry in parallel with laser
technology developments (Refs. 13).
The preferred laser manufacturing
processes in industry are as follows:
Laser welding, soldering, and
bonding
Laser cutting, drilling, and marking
Laser surface treatments.
Benefits of Laser Lap Joint
Welding
In the automotive industry, laser lap
joint welding is preferred due to its pro-
duction rate and ease in joining thin and
different materials compared to butt
joint welding.
One of the biggest advantages in using
different materials is to reduce the con-
struction weight as much as possible. The
easiest and most economical solution to
manufacture such constructions is to use
lighter-weight materials.
In the automotive industry, there has
been an increasing use of light metals,
such as aluminum, magnesium, and com-
posite materials. The different materials
can be welded by using the laser process,
which is not possible with conventional
manufacturing processes.
Automobile
Manufacturing Using
Laser Beam Welding
NIYAZI CAVUSOGLU (niyazi.cavusoglu@ege.edu.tr) and HUSEYIN OZDEN are with the Mechanical Engineering Department, Ege University,
Bornova-zmir, Turkey.
This study explores laser lap joint welding of low-carbon steel
(DC04) and AlMgSiCu (6061-T6) aluminum alloy materials
BY NIYAZI CAVUSOGLU
AND HUSEYIN OZDEN
Fig. 1 Lap welding of steel on top
of aluminum and the specimen
dimensions.
33 WELDING JOURNAL
Metallurgical problems due to differ-
ences between the melting temperatures,
thermal conductivity, thermal expansions
of the materials lapped, and the forma-
tion of fragile intermetallic phases
(Fe
x
-Al
y
compounds), reduces the joints
strength and constitutes major problems.
These can be prevented since the heat
input to the material is low during the
laser welding process.
There are many factors (laser power,
welding speed, laser beam quality, focal
distance, etc.) affecting the laser welding
process. Therefore, there is only limited
information in literature regarding the
effects of numerous factors on laser beam
welding and related subjects for the
process (Refs. 47).
Research on Laser Welding
Different Materials
Formation of Intermetallic
Phases
Sierra et al. researched laser welding
and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) of
galvanized steel to an aluminum alloy
(Ref. 8). Bouayad et al. studied the in-
teraction between molten aluminum and
solid iron to improve the metallurgical
bond between ferrous inserts and alu-
minum matrix in castings using immer-
sion tests (Ref. 9).
In addition, Kreimeyer et al. studied
hybrid structures of titanium and alu-
minum alloys; their main goal was the
control of intermetallic phase formation
(Ref. 10). Liu and Zhao chose a laser-
GTA hybrid welding technique to study
the lap welding of dissimilar alloys
AZ31B Mg and 304 steel (Ref. 11).
Reports Highlighting
Microstructures of Laser
Welding Dissimilar Materials
Phanikumar et al. studied the mi-
crostructure evolution during continu-
ous laser welding of dissimilar metals for
a binary Cu-Ni couple by investigating
the effects of laser beam scan speed and
laser power on various factors (Ref. 12).
Takn and aligl investigated the
effect of welding power on the laser weld-
ing of steels AISI 430, ferritic stainless
steel, and AISI 1010 low-carbon steel
(Ref. 13).
Sharma and Molian also presented
the results of laser welding two AHSS
steels, TRIP780 and DP980, using a
Yb:YAG laser machine including optical
metallography, microhardness, tensile,
and fatigue tests (Ref. 14).
Material Choice and
Preparation of Welded
Samples
The materials used in this study were
low-carbon steel (DC04) in accordance
with EN 10130 with 1.2-mm thickness,
which is widely used in the automotive
industry; and AlMgSiCu (6061-T6) alu-
minum alloy with 2-mm thickness, also
widely used in the aerospace and auto-
motive industries. The chemical and me-
chanical properties of the materials used
are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
DC 04 steel and 6061 aluminum plates
were cut to 100 mm length and 50 mm
width. Lap welding joints were made with
steel on top of aluminum Fig. 1.
Before the welding process occurred,
the aluminum plates were polished with
emery (1200 SiC), and surface cleaning
was performed by wiping the surfaces
with acetone. Steel materials were only
cleaned with acetone.
As in butt joint welding, special prepa-
rations are also required to obtain nec-
essary conditions for laser lap welding
procedures such as the quality of joint
faces and an extreme sensitivity to the
root opening tolerance of the joint. Metal
plates were compressed with a specially
manufactured fixture with the steel on
top of the aluminum to prevent root
openings at the joint faces.
A view of the clamping device used
for the laser lap welding sample is pre-
sented in Fig. 2.
A continuous wave Nd:YAG laser de-
vice with a maximum laser power of 3 kW,
focal distance f = 200 mm, was used when
preparing the laser lap welding sample.
A picture of the Nd:YAG laser beam
source is shown Fig. 3. A 1-mm-diam-
eter fiber cable was used for transmitting
the laser beam. Welding the materials
was done by using a 6-axis robot arm with
a laser welding head attached to it Fig.
4. Beams from the laser welding head
were applied to the surface perpendicu-
larly. Argon gas with 20 L/min flow rate
was attached to the welding area with a
Table 1 Chemical Properties of Materials (%)
Standard C P S Mn
DIN-EN 10130
(DC04 Steel) 0.08 0.03 0.03 0.40
Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Cr Ni Zn Ti Ga V
AlMgSiCu
(6061-T6 0.54 0.21 0.24 0.07 0.98 0.1 0.006 0.1 0.012 0.014 0.014
Aluminum)
Table 2 Mechanical Properties of
Materials
Yield Tensile % Strain
Strength Strength (in 80 mm)
(MPa) (MPa)
DC04 210 280 38
6061-T6 240 290 12
Fig. 2 A view of the clamping device used for lap welding and the joint.
FEBRUARY 2013 34
side jet working as a shielding gas. The
focal plane was adjusted to be coincident
with the surface of the upper part in the
welded lap joints.
Results of Changing
Parameters
According to macro images of the
welded seams, laser welding parameters,
especially laser power, welding speed,
and heat input, were effective on the weld
seam quality.
Upper surface and macro views of the
welded specimens were investigated at
different laser powers with a fixed laser
welding speed. The laser parameter ef-
fects on geometrical shape, dimensions,
and especially welding penetration and
welding seam width, were evaluated. Ex-
ternal appearance, quality, and strength
of the welded joints help to understand
the process stability.
It is highly possible a weld seam that
is smooth, crack free, without sagging,
and without crater external appearance
is also free from internal defects.
Welding Seam Surfaces
The external top view of a steel-
aluminum lap joint welded with a laser
is presented in Fig. 5 along with the laser
welding parameters. Welding was done
at a speed of 1.9 m/min at various power
levels. Cracks and spatter were observed
at some laser power levels. Transverse
cracks occurred during the welding
process with P = 2800 W laser power.
When P = 2800 W laser power was ex-
ceeded, the transverse crack formation
increased, and spatter occurred from the
melt. At P = 3000 W laser power, crater
cracks also began to form as well as trans-
verse cracks and spatter Fig. 6.
Disorders in the width of the top sur-
face may be due to keyhole instability or
variable root openings between the steel
and aluminum plates. Some transverse
cracks seen in the samples can be consid-
ered as a result of residual stress.
The spatter formation seen in Fig. 6
can be explained with assumptions based
on a high laser power and material prop-
erties. In low speeds or high laser pow-
ers (high laser welding heat input), ma-
Fig. 3 Example of a Nd:YAG laser beam source. Fig. 4 A 6-axis robot arm is featured.
Fig. 5 Views of the external top surface of the weld seams with laser lap
welding (V = 1.9 m/min). Laser power is as follows: A 2500 W; B 2600 W;
C 2700 W; D 2800 W; E 2900 W; F 3000 W.
A
B
C
D
E
F
terial vapor increases on seams, thus pen-
etration of the laser beam into the mate-
rial weakens.
Therefore, this causes faulty weld
seam formation. Elements in the melt
with a low evaporation temperature
cause the spatter formation to increase
explosively with high laser powers. Lack
of material in the weld metal is also seen
due to increasing spatter when the laser
power increases.
Macro Images of Welded
Seams, Penetration
There have been difficulties in obtain-
ing macro images of laser lap joint weld-
ing. Different processes and etching flu-
ids (acids) are needed depending on the
metal properties. Narrow but deep pen-
etration is obtained at the weld joint.
There have been differences in macro im-
ages depending on the position of the
focal point on the given part. In general,
laser welding seams are narrow and deep
penetrated compared to conventional
weld seams.
In laser lap welding, factors affecting
the form and dimension of the macro
welding seam are the laser parameters,
material properties, and root openings
between parts. Macro images showing
welded seams are presented in Fig. 7.
As seen in Fig. 7, penetration of the
welded samples
does not show a
significant change
with varying laser
welding power. We
observed that pen-
etration depths in-
creased as laser power increased. We ob-
served a crack in the aluminum side of
the welded joint when welding is per-
formed with a 2700-W laser power. A big-
ger crack and tear occurred when the
welding was performed with a 2900-W
laser power.
Upon examining the penetration
depths with an optical microscope, it was
found that if laser power P = 2500 W (A),
2600 W (B), 2700 W (C), 2800 W (D),
and 2900 W (E) are applied, the pene-
tration depths were 390, 640, 880, 1160,
and 1300 m, respectively.
At a constant welding speed, when
welding power is increased, the increased
heat input (J/mm) in the weld causes
cracks. Residual stresses due to the ther-
mal factors on the parts with different
thicknesses and physical properties cause
breaking in the form of decomposition
and cracks. Steel residual stresses cause
breaking of the connection from a weak
spot or intermediate transverse spot.
In Fig. 8, penetration depths depend-
ing on the heat input applied to the weld-
ing are presented. As seen from the fig-
ure, penetration depths increases as heat
input applied to the welding increases.
Intermetallic Phase Formation
Due to differences in the physical and
chemical properties of the materials
used, such as melting and boiling tem-
perature, thermal conductivity, density,
and thermal expansion coefficient, major
problems such as fragile intermetallic
phase formations may occur in welding
different materials.
In the welding of steel-aluminum ma-
terials, Fe
x
Al
y
(such as FeAl
3
, Fe
2
Al
5
),
intermetallic phases form in the weld-
aluminum interface. The thickness com-
bined with the intermetallic phase in this
interface greatly affects the weld dura-
bility. However, reducing the thickness
of the formed intermetallic phase layer,
improves the weld durability.
When images of the welded samples
taken by optical microscope were inves-
tigated, it was observed that the molten
metal solidification in the melt occurred
in the form of columnar grains oriented
toward the center of the weld seam from
the steel-weld interface Fig. 9.
The melt region in the welding joints
of aluminum and steel are rich in iron
(Fe). An intermetallic layer formed along
the irregular border between the weld
35 WELDING JOURNAL
Fig. 6 Cracks, spatter, and a crater in laser lap weld-
ing. Laser power is as follows: A 2800 W; B and C
3000 W.
Fig. 7 Macro images of the welded seam (aluminum
side). Laser power is as follows: A 2500 W; B 2600
W; C 2700 W; D 2800 W; E 2900 W.
Fig. 8 Changes in penetration

depths depending on the heat input.
A
A
B
B
C
C
D
E
metal and aluminum melt region. It was
observed that this interface layer is gray
and quite distinct from the other regions.
In the aluminum side of the weld re-
gion, white colored areas formed above
the columnar grains. In the deep pene-
tration laser welding method, turbulent
motion occurred in the vapor groove.
This led to the formation of white solute
bands that showed a pattern parallel to
the interface layer between the alu-
minum and weld metal. These solute
bands were formed by the encapsulation
of molten aluminum in the weld metal.
With the help of EDX analysis results
and using the Fe-Al equilibrium diagram,
it is thought that the white solute bands
are composed of Fe
3
Al or FeAl com-
pounds. But it is also possible that alu-
minum may have solidified as pure alu-
minum. These white solute bands and in-
termetallic phase can be seen in Fig. 10.
Conclusions
In this study, a low-carbon steel
(DC04) and AlMgSi aluminum alloy
(6061-T6) were joined with lap joint laser
welding. The effects of laser power and
heat input on the welding seams were ex-
amined. The analysis and results within
the given experimental conditions can be
enumerated in the order of importance
as follows:
Width of the top view of welding
seams are regular for 2500-, 2600-, and
2700-W laser power.
An increase in penetration depth
for steel-aluminum (steel on top of the
aluminum) laser lap welding joints when
heat input, which depends on the laser
parameters, is increased.
It was found that when the laser
power was 2500, 2600, 2700, 2800, and
2900 W, then the penetration depths was
as 390, 640, 880, 1160, and 1300 m,
respectively.
The maximum penetration depth
for the welded metal was measured as
1300 m for 2900 W laser power. How-
ever, a crack was observed through the
aluminum thickness in the heat-affected
zone (HAZ) and base metal border.
Visible cracks are observed in the
top view of weld seams when a 2800-W
laser power is applied.
Crater formation and spatter begin
to occur from the molten material when
2900- and 3000-W laser power is applied.
To obtain a crack-free weld seam,
one needs to work with 25002600 W
laser power and 1.9 m/min welding speed.
It was observed that the aluminum and
steel used in this study can give a quality
weld joint around 80 J/mm heat input.
Saw blade-shaped formations were
observed to the aluminum side from the
intermetallic phase.
Reducing the thickness of the
formed fragile intermetallic phase layer
improves the joint durability.
The reduced durability brought only
intermetallic phase formation may be
prevented by the choice of laser param-
eters such as laser power, shielding gas,
and additional material for the steel-
aluminum laser welding process.
References
1. Bunte, J. 2003. Laser-based joining
processes in the automotive engineering.
International ETG-Congress. LZH. Laser
Center Hannover.
2. zden, H. 2007. Investigating fiber
lasers for shipbuilding and marine con-
struction. Welding Journal 86(5): 2628.
3. na, A. ., and zden, H. 2011.
FEBRUARY 2013 36
Fig. 10 The solute bands and intermetallic phase in weld metal.
Fig. 9 Columnar grains in the weld region oriented toward the center of the
weld seam from the steel-weld interface.
Production of laser welded steel rim in
automobile industry. TMMOB Chamber
of Mechanical Engineers. 12. Automo-
tive and Manufacturing Technology
Symposium.
4. Katayama, S., Joo, S., Mizutani, M.,
and Bang, H. 2005. Laser weldability of
aluminum alloy and steel. Trans Tech
Publications, Materials Science Forum
502: 481486. Switzerland.
5. Potesser, M., Schoeberl, T.,
Antrekowitsch, H., and Bruckner, J.
2006. The characterization of the inter-
metallic Fe-Al layer of steel-aluminum
weldings. EPD Congress 2006, The Min-
erals, Metals & Materials Society.
6. Sierra, G., Peyre, P., Beaume, F. D.,
Stuart, D., and Fras, G. 2007. Steel to alu-
minum key-hole laser welding. Elsevier.
Materials Science and Engineering A447:
197208.
7. Theron, M., Rooyen, C., and
Ivanchev, L. H. 2007. CW Nd:YAG laser
welding of dissimilar sheet metals. Na-
tional Laser Centre. South Africa.
8. Sierra, G., Peyre, P., Deschaux, B.
F., Stuart, D., and Fras, G. 2008. Gal-
vanised steel to aluminum joining by
laser and GTAW processes. Materials
Characterization 59(12): 17051715.
9. Bouayad, A., Geromettaa, C.,
Belkebir, A., and Ambari, A. 2003. Ki-
netic interactions between solid iron and
molten aluminum. Materials Science and
Engineering A363(1-2): 5361.
10. Kreimeyer, M., Wagner, F., and
Vollertsen, F. 2005. Laser processing of
aluminum-titanium tailored blanks. Op-
tics and Lasers in Engineering 43(9):
10211035.
11. Liu, L. M., and Zhao, X. 2008.
Study on the weld joint of Mg alloy and
steel by laser-GTA hybrid welding. Ma-
terials Characterization 59(9): 12791284.
12. Phanikumar, G., Dutta, P., and
Chattopadhyay, K. 2005. Continuous
welding of Cu-Ni dissimilar couple using
CO
2
laser. Science and Technology of
Welding and Joining 10(2): 158166.
13. Takn, M., and aligl, U. 2009.
The effect of laser power on laser weld-
ing joint of the pair of AISI 430-1010
steel. Firat niversity. Journal of Engi-
neering Sciences 21(1): 1122.
14. Sharma, R. S., and Molian, P. 2009.
Yb:YAG laser welding of TRIP780 steel
with dual phase and mild steels for use
in tailor welded blanks. Materials & De-
sign 30(10): 41464155.
15. avuolu, N. 2012. The effect of
welding parameters on the mechanical
and metallurgical characteristics of
welded joint in the laser lap welding of
DC04 steel and 6061-T6 aluminum alloy
sheets. PhD dissertation. zmir, Turkey,
Ege University.
16. Ready, J. F. 2001. LIA Handbook
of Laser Materials Processing. Laser In-
stitute of America.
17. Tienhoven, V., Pathiraj, J., and
Meijer, J. 2006. Laser joining of steel-
aluminum joints in T-configuration. Pro-
ceedings of 25th International Congress on
Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics.
18. Borrisutthekul, R., Miyashita, Y.,
and Mutoh, Y. 2005. Dissimilar material
laser welding between magnesium alloy
AZ31B and aluminum alloy A5052-O.
Elsevier, Science and Technology of Ad-
vanced Materials (6): 199204.
37 WELDING JOURNAL
FEBRUARY 2013 38
T
he use of lasers has increased and
become widespread in many manu-
facturing operations, such as mate-
rial processing, measuring, quality con-
trol processing, and automation. It is a
competitive, energy-saving process with
high user satisfaction.
Due to its many advantages, laser pro-
cessing has replaced more conventional
methods and techniques in the industry.
Laser technology has become widely
used in Germany where it has been im-
plemented into its automotive industries.
It offers reduced labor costs, taxes, and
material costs as well as energy savings.
Lighter, safer, and better-quality designs
have been put on the market and new
parts created as a result of laser process-
ing. The common advantages of lasers in
automotive industrial operations include
the following (Refs. 110):
High-speed operation;
High reliability and repeatable
quality;
Multipurposes, includes welding, cut-
ting, and marking;
Processing using noncontact tools
(since tool wear does not occur there is
no need to change the tool);
Automation;
Enables the creation of new designs,
operations, and measurements that were
previously deemed impossible;
High-density energy transportation to
a narrow point;
Deep, narrow, and controllable
penetration;
Suitability for joining numerous mate-
rials with different characteristics;
A decrease in or no need for physical
or chemical operations before and after
the processing.
For these reasons, manufacturers in
the wheel rim industry have implemented
laser processing.
ALI . NA and H. ZDEN
(h.ozden@yahoo.de) are with
Ege University, Mechanical
Engineering, Izmir, Turkey.
The properties of laser-welded wheel rims
were considered good enough for the process
to be used in production in the auto industry
BY ALI . NA
AND H. ZDEN
Laser
Welding Laser
Soldering
Laser Surface
Modification
Laser
Marking
Laser Quality
Control
Laser Monitoring
Measuring
Laser
Drilling
Laser
Forming
Laser
Cutting
Fig. 1 Laser processing used in the
manufacturing of wheel rims.
Lasers Offer Advantages for
Welding Steel Wheel Rims
39 WELDING JOURNAL
Fabricating Wheel Rims
Conventional Manufacturing of
Steel Wheel Rims.
Since steel wheel rims are a basic
product of the automotive industry, man-
ufacturers look for new ways to design
the rims to better compete in the mar-
ketplace (Refs. 4, 5). In particular, the
manufacture of steel wheel rims entails
much processing in production lines, and
this is a disadvantage in terms of cost. So,
the use of laser welding in the manufac-
turing of steel wheel rims is now being
considered to reduce costs.
Figure 1 shows schematically the laser
processing used to manufacture steel
wheel rims. Wheel rims consist of two
basic parts: the rim and the disk Fig. 2.
The manufacturing methods and assem-
bling techniques are based on cold form-
ing and welding methods. Steel sheets
with good welding characteristics are
used in manufacturing.
The first step in the manufacturing
process is to obtain blanks with the
proper specifications and surface quality.
The prepared blanks for producing the
rims are rounded using a rounding ma-
chine, then the ends of the materials are
banded and flattened using a press before
the butt joining process. The flattened
ends are joined with flash welding or
upset butt joint welding Fig. 3. After
the welding operation, fins present on the
surface and at the corners of the welds
are removed with a scarfing and edge-
trimming machine Fig. 4. When these
operations are completed, the rims are
rerounded with a press and formed into
their final shape with cold roller ma-
chines and presses.
The disk materials, which are cut as
circular blanks, are formed with flow
forming machines or presses. The center
holes, ventilation holes, and bolt holes
are punched out with presses, then lathed
and countersinked to precise dimensions.
The rims and disks, which are formed
last, are pressed against each other then
welded using the submerged arc or gas
metal arc welding processes. After these
operations, to eliminate the distortions
due to the welding process, the wheel
rims are pressed again. At the end of as-
sembly, the wheel rims are painted.
Wheel Rim Manufacturing Using
Laser Welding.
There are few publications about
using laser processing in the manufactur-
ing of wheel rims. In addition, using the
laser welding method is more common
when compared with other methods. For
instance, Caprioglio developed and
patented a system to assemble rim to disk
with laser welding (Ref. 4). BBS Interna-
tional GmbH uses laser welding in its
wheel rim designs (Ref. 5). Dawes in his
laser welding book illustrates a laser butt
joint welded steel rim, and it is seen that
the ductility is enough for cold forming
(Ref. 6).
Laser Advantages and
Disadvantages
Laser welding offers a number of ad-
vantages and disadvantages compared to
conventional methods, such as flash and
butt resistance welding, submerged arc
welding, and gas metal arc welding in
wheel rim manufacturing.
Laser Advantages Include the
Following:
Since the laser head has no direct con-
tact with the material, it is not necessary
to change the tools routinely; however, in
flash and upset butt welding, the elec-
trodes should be changed periodically.
Since no flash occurs in the applica-
tion of the laser welding, there is no dam-
age to the machine and there is no pollu-
tion in the vicinity of the operation.
Because the surface of the laser
welded material is quite smooth, it is not
necessary to implement finishing opera-
tions after the welding process. This saves
the added expense of these operations
normally required after flash and butt re-
sistance welding.
Laser welding speed is as fast as that
for upset butt resistance welding and
faster than submerged arc welding and
gas metal arc welding.
Laser welding consumes much less
electrical power than the flash and butt
resistance welding processes. For exam-
ple, the butt joint welding machine used
in the Hayes Lemmerz Janta wheel rim
factory is 960 kW, but a 50-kW fiber laser
(its wall-plug efficiency is more than
25%) consumes only 200 kW.
Lasers produce narrower weld zones
compared with the other welding
processes.
Generally, there is no need for filler
material in laser welding.
It is possible to apply a lap joint with
laser welding during the rim to disk weld-
ing operation.
Lower thermal distortions occur using
laser welding when compared with sub-
merged arc and gas metal arc welding.
By using laser welding and tailored
Rim
Disk
Fig. 2 A steel wheel rim and the basic
parts, rim and disk.
Fig. 3 Rim manufactur-
ing process. A Bend and
flattening process; B
upset butt welding.
Fig. 4 Rim manufactur-
ing process, weld joint with
fin surface after scarfing
process.
A B
FEBRUARY 2013 40
blanks, it is possible to manufacture the
rims with different wall thicknesses and
different local mechanical properties in
different regions in accordance with the
load distributions in service conditions.
The weight of the parts can be reduced by
these means.
Laser Disadvantages Include the
Following:
The edges to be joined with laser
welding should have a smooth sheared
zone. Before and during the welding
process there must be almost a zero root
opening between the abutting edges,
otherwise good quality joints cannot be
obtained.
A fixing or clamping apparatus or a
special construction is required in laser
welding, as is required in flash and resist-
ance butt welding.
Environmental conditions (dust, hu-
midity, etc.) must be appropriate for the
laser.
Tests and Results
To determine whether laser welding is
a practical method to use, steel wheel rim
materials were welded using laser and
upset butt welding. The specimens for
testing were removed from the welded
materials. These specimens were sub-
jected to tension and bending tests,
and their Vickers hardness values were
measured.
The material used in the experiments
was 6-mm-thick (RSt 44-2) S275J2G3
(DIN EN1002) steel, the same material
used in steel wheel rim manufacturing.
The mechanical and chemical properties
of the material are shown in Tables 1 and
2, respectively.
The dimensions of the welded materi-
als are shown in Fig. 5. The material
welded with butt resistance welding was
subjected to a scarfing and edge trimming
process after the welding operation in
question. Welded material was cut from
the flattened region and test samples
were removed from the part.
The material welded with the laser
was taken from the line after the bend
and flattening operations then inter-
rupted from the smoothed region. Before
welding, the material edges were milled
to avoid any defects during welding due
to cutting with blades and the slitting
process. In the mechanical cutting
process, full flat edges could not be ob-
tained and sometimes curvature oc-
curred at the edges due to the force of the
blades or the tools.
The prepared material was welded
with a Trumpf HD 4006 Nd:YAG 4000-W
and Arcmate120i Fanuc robot Fig. 6.
The welding process was applied double-
sided. The reason for this is although the
laser has enough power for one-sided
welding, the apparatus clamping the
parts for the operation was not appropri-
ate for it. A proper apparatus for butt
joints is shown in Fig. 7. During the laser
welding operation, laser power P = 2500
W, focus length f = 150 mm, welding
speed V = 8 mm/s, and Ar gas flow = 7.5
L/min, BPP: 25 mm*mrad parameters
were used for the sample tests.
Weld Properties
After the laser welding process, the
appearance of the weld joints was evalu-
ated. No cracks were observed on the sur-
face of the material due to the welding
process, and quite regular and smooth
weld joints were obtained that required
Fig. 5 Dimensions of the
welded samples and speci-
mens after laser butt joint
welding.
Fig. 6 Nd:YAG 4000-W
laser machine and robot
welding mechanism.
Fig. 7 Clamping apertures for butt join-

ing of the materials with laser.
Table 1 Mechanical Properties of (RSt 44-2) S275J2G3 Steel
Yield Strength Re (N/mm
2
) Tensile Strength Rm (N/mm
2
) Elongation-% A
min. min. maks min.
275 410 510 28
Table 2 Chemical Properties of (RSt 44-2) S275J2G3 Steel
% C % Si % Mn % S ppm N % Al % Cu+Cr+Ni
maks. 0.18 01.150 maks. 0.020 maks. 0.008 maks. 90 0.02 maks. 0.30
no additional processing. The width of
the joint was 2 to 2.5 mm. The appear-
ance of the laser weld is shown in Fig. 8.
There is no undercut on the surface of the
weld joints. A line occurred in the middle
of the joint. The reason for this was the
influx of the molten metal into the key
hole, which is formed as long as the laser
head moved forward during the welding
process. The line is regular and continu-
ous and shows that good quality joints
can be achieved. As a matter of fact, the
macro view verified these assumptions.
No defects were determined in the macro
section of the weld such as porosity and
incomplete fusion. A narrow HAZ was
obtained as expected. The comparison of
the laser and butt resistance weld joint
appearance is shown in Fig. 9.
Our study of the properties of the
welds started with the microhardness
test. The fusion zone and base metal were
examined. A 19.64 N load (F) was applied
for 10 s in all hardness tests. When the
hardness of the laser weld was compared
with the upset butt resistance weld, the
hardness of the laser weld was approxi-
mately 25 Vickers greater in the center of
the fusion zone Fig. 10.
It had been thought that the reason
for the higher hardness values is the ef-
fect of a faster cooling rate of the fusion
zone with laser welding.
The tension tests were applied in ac-
cordance with 287 EN 895, 1996 standard.
At the end of the tension tests, diagrams
having close properties to the base mate-
rial were obtained Fig. 11. The frac-
tures occurred quite far from the fusion
41 WELDING JOURNAL
Fig. 8 Surface of the laser butt weld joint.
Fig. 10 Hardness profile of laser butt joint welding. WM =
weld metal, HAZ = heat-affected zone, BM = base material.
Fig. 11 Force elongation diagram of the laser butt welding
joint.
Fig. 9 A comparison of the butt resistance and laser welded
samples.
Table 3 Tension Test Values
Tension Test Yield Tensile Elongation-% A Reduction in
Specimens No.: Strength Re Strength Area (% Z)
(N/mm
2
) Rm (N/mm
2
)
1 364.58 441.14 30.01 63.0
2 372.16 464.09 26.2 68.2
3 352.3 419.24 31.06 62.5
Means 363.01 441.49 29.09 64.6
zones Fig. 12. This situation shows that
the joints have sufficient strength. The
test values are shown in Table 3. In order
to test the ductility of the weld specimens,
three-point bending tests were carried
out according to EN 910.
The dimensions of the specimens
were 6 24 180 mm. At the end of the
bending test, no cracks were observed on
the specimens as shown in Fig. 13. It has
been determined that there was no wors-
ening of the mechanical and technologi-
cal properties of the laser welded steel
wheel materials after the three-point
bending tests.
Conclusion
After evaluation by tension tests, three-
point bending tests, hardness tests, and
macro views, the properties of laser
welded wheel rims were considered good
enough to use this process in production
in the auto industry.
Test results gave no disadvantage for
the laser welds when compared with the
flash and butt resistance welds in terms of
mechanical and technological properties,
and the laser welded steel wheel rims
were of good quality. The fractures oc-
curred quite far from the fusion zones,
and the hardness of the laser weld was
greater in the center of the fusion zone;
however, no high values were obtained.
No crack was observed at the end of the
bending test and the ductility was good.
On account of the lower energy con-
sumption, laser welding has great advan-
tages. In addition, there is no need for the
extra finishing process required after
flash and upset butt welding with the
scarfing process, which may lead
to notching during the cold forming
operation.
It is possible to create new, lighter and
rigid designs and optimization for wheel
rims with the use of laser welding.
References
1. zden, H. 2007. Investigating fiber
lasers for shipbuilding and marine con-
struction. Welding Journal 86(5): 2628.
2. zden, H. 2009. Multi-laser pro-
duction in the automotive industry, laser
manufacturing, laser measure, laser test-
11. Automotive Symposium, TYAP-
Bursa, Turkey.
3. zden, H. 2008. State of the laser
technology and laser applications in the
industry, Cukurova University Sympo-
sium, C. Faculty of Engineering and
Architecture, Adana, Turkey.
4. Caprioglio, L. 2008. Method and
device for laser welding of a rim to disk of
a wheel for motor vehicle. U.S. Patent
Application Pub. No: US 2008/0190901
A1, Rivoli (Torino).
5. BBS International GmbH,
www.bbs.com. Eriim tarihi: 01.09.2009.
BBS 2009 catalog.
6. Dawes, C. 1992. Laser Welding A
Practical Guide. Abington Publishing,
UK.
7. Kleiner, M., Geiger, M., and Klaus
A. 2003. Manufacturing of lightweight
components by metal forming. CIRP An-
nals Manufacturing Technology 52(3):
521542.
8. Longfield, N., Lieshout, T., De Wit,
I., Veldt, T. V. D., and Stam, W. 2007. Im-
proving laser welding efficiency. Welding
Journal 86(5): 5254.
9. A state-of-the-art survey The
auto/steel partnership tailor welded
blank project team. June 2001. Tailor
Welded Blank Applications and Manufac-
turing, p. 27.
10. Schlueter, H. 2007. Laser beam
welding. Welding Journal 86(5): 3739.
FEBRUARY 2013 42
Fig. 13 Laser welded specimens to which bending tests
were applied.
Fig. 12 Tension test specimens after the test. As seen,
fractures occurred at the base metal region.
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BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY
FEBRUARY 2013 44
H
eat exchangers play an important
role in renewable energy utiliza-
tion. The development of brazed
aluminum microchannel heat exchangers
for automotive applications required
high thermal performance, compact size,
and low material cost.
Aluminum was only successfully ex-
tracted as a pure metal less than 200 years
ago. Although its history is short, the
abundance of aluminum in the earths
crust and advances in extraction technol-
ogy by the end of 19th century made the
mass production of aluminum possible
and the price affordable. The relatively
low cost and many attractive properties
such as light weight, high thermal
conductivity, and good corrosion
resistance make aluminum and its alloys
good candidates for heat transfer
devices.
The development in joining technol-
ogy, especially controlled atmosphere
brazing of aluminum (CAB) promotes
the high production rate of compact alu-
minum heat exchangers.
Characteristics of Al
Microchannel Heat
Exchangers
Aluminum microchannel heat ex-
changers use multichannel flat tubes as
refrigerant passages and multilouvered
fins as air side heat transfer augmenta-
tion. Figure 1 illustrates examples of mul-
tiport extruded tubes and louvered fins
that are typically used for compact heat
exchangers. The arrangement of parallel
channels (typical hydraulic diameters are
less than 1 mm) in flat tubes has many ad-
vantages when compared to conventional
round tubes. The increased internal sur-
face-to-volume ratio improves refriger-
ant side heat transfer performance and
provides means for refrigerant charge re-
duction. The flat tube design not only
provides convenience in parts assembly
and fixturing processes for brazing, but
also offers better flexibility on tube cir-
cuit design and lower fan power con-
sumption due to the reduction of drag
coefficients. On the air side of mi-
crochannel heat exchangers, multilou-
vered fins that are brazed with the tubes
offer highly effective heat transfer en-
hancement. The louvered designs are
guided by the concept of air flow disrup-
tions based on boundary layer theory in
fluid dynamics. An optimized design
of fin geometries is essential for fully uti-
lizing the potential of the structures
(Ref. 1).
CAB Brazing of Al
Microchannel Heat
Exchangers
The manufacturing of microchannel
Controlled Atmosphere Brazing of
Aluminum Heat Exchangers
HUI ZHAO, STEFAN ELBEL, and PEGA
HRNJAK are with Creative Thermal
Solutions, Inc., Urbana, Ill.
Multichannel flat tube heat exchangers are
proving efficient heat transfer devices suitable
for the automotive and HVAC&R industries
BY HUI ZHAO, STEFAN ELBEL,
AND PEGA HRNJAK
Fig. 1 Multiport extruded tubes
and multilouvered fins.
45 WELDING JOURNAL
heat exchangers requires joining of vari-
ous components including tubes, fins,
and header manifolds. Brazing is the pre-
ferred method for joining multiple parts.
Historically, vacuum furnace brazing and
dip brazing were used for manufacturing
of aluminum heat exchangers. In the past
two decades, the controlled atmosphere
brazing (CAB) has become the state-of-
the-art technology in manufacturing au-
tomotive aluminum heat exchangers. The
development of highly efficient CAB
technology enables high production rates
of brazed aluminum heat exchangers.
The process involves the usage of No-
colok (a registered trademark of Solvay
Fluor GmbH, Germany) flux under pro-
tective inert gas atmosphere (Ref. 2). The
flux containing potassium fluoroalumi-
nate compounds was developed in the
1970s and replaced the corrosive chlo-
ride-based fluxes for furnace brazing.
The fact that Nocolok flux is noncorro-
sive under normal conditions both before
and after brazing eliminates the need for
a postbrazing cleaning process of the
brazed parts. Mass production of brazed
heat exchangers is accomplished by man-
ufacturing lines that include continuous
equipment such as degreaser, fluxer, dry-
off oven, brazing furnace, and cooling
sections.
For CAB-brazed aluminum heat ex-
changers, AA3xxx series alloys are widely
used as core materials, which offer good
mechanical strength and brazability. The
American Welding Society (AWS) BAlSi
series filler metals (Al and Si as major
components) are commonly used for alu-
minum brazing. These filler metals have
good wettability on many Al alloys, and
the brazed joints have good mechanical
strength and corrosion resistance in gen-
eral. Some heat exchanger components
to be brazed can be made of a composite
sheet of core alloy and filler metal
cladding, also called brazing sheet. The
prebrazing assembling process becomes
less time and labor consuming.
Figure 2 illustrates the formation of
joints between fins and an AA3003 plate
at 577600C during a CAB brazing
process in a transparent lab furnace. The
fin material is AA3003 alloy clad with
thin layers of AA4343 filler metal on both
sides.
Clad brazing sheets are used for fabri-
cation of various heat exchanger compo-
nents such as fins, tubes, and headers.
Using long-life brazing sheet alloy as
heat exchanger tube material offers cor-
rosion protection to the heat exchanger
core due to the interdiffusion of alloy el-
ements (such as Si) between the clad and
base materials and the precipitation of
intermetallics during brazing. The subse-
quently formed thin interlayer serves as a
sacrificial subsurface band to protect the
tube core alloy from corrosion attack
(Ref. 3). This protection mechanism has
been successfully applied to brazed alu-
minum heat exchangers such as automo-
tive radiators. In the case of microchan-
nel heat exchangers, the multichannel
tubes usually do not have the filler metal
clad layers because the tubes are manu-
factured by extrusion from alloy ingots.
Louvered fins are usually made from
cladded brazing sheets to provide filler
metal for bonding. A Zn coating or the
use of Nocolok Zn flux are often seen
in practice to enhance the corrosion re-
sistance of the microchannel tubes.
New Opportunities for CAB
Brazed Microchannel Heat
Exchangers
The superior heat transfer perform-
ance combined with other advantages
such as size and refrigerant charge re-
duction create new opportunities for mi-
crochannel heat exchangers. Figure 3 il-
lustrates a miniature personal cooling
system that utilizes a CAB brazed ser-
pentine type microchannel heat ex-
Fig. 2 CAB brazing of clad louver fin
with tube plate. A Liquid filler
metal fills the clearance between fin
and plate; B cross section of brazed
joint.
Fig. 3 Application of a microchan
nel condenser in a personal cooling
system.
A B
FEBRUARY 2013 46
changer as condenser. The novel cooling
system uses refrigerant R134a as cooling
medium and requires a very small charge
amount. A significant weight reduction
can be achieved when compared to a
chilled water-based cooling system. Ex-
perimental studies have shown that the
brazed serpentine microchannel con-
densers provide effective heat rejection
capacity during the operation of the cool-
ing system (Ref. 4). The application of
such a mini-cooling system can be readily
extended to other fields such as heat dis-
sipation of electronic devices.
A recent trend observed in the heat-
ing, ventilating, air-conditioning, and re-
frigeration (HVAC&R) industry is to re-
place the mechanically assembled round
copper tube/Al fin heat exchanger with
CAB brazed all-aluminum microchannel
heat exchangers. In addition to the ad-
vantage of material cost savings, the im-
proved system performance of a station-
ary air conditioner using a microchannel
heat exchanger as the condenser has been
experimentally demonstrated (Ref. 5).
As illustrated in Fig. 4, a copper tube con-
denser and an aluminum microchannel
condenser of identical dimensions with
respect to coil volume, air flow face area,
and fin density were separately installed
in an air-conditioning system and experi-
mentally tested to compare their per-
formances. It was concluded that under
the same air side operating conditions,
the system with the microchannel con-
denser showed improved cooling capac-
ity (average increase of 4%) and coeffi-
cient of performance (COP) (average
increase of 17%), as well as reduced over-
all refrigerant charge (average reduction
of 9%).
The reliability issue, in particular, the
corrosion resistance of microchannel heat
exchangers, is one of the key factors that
influence the transition from copper to
aluminum heat exchangers in commercial
HVAC systems. Both the brazing process
and service conditions have significant in-
fluences on the corrosion resistance of
brazed heat exchangers. The existing data
and corrosion testing methods from auto-
motive microchannel condensers may not
readily apply to the new applications. For
example, the working environments and
system operating cycles are very different
between automotive and stationary air-
conditioning systems. There are very lim-
ited corrosion data for Al microchannel
heat exchangers used in stationary air-
conditioning systems due to the relative
short period of the application. Acceler-
ated lab testing methods are needed for
corrosion behavior evaluations. The
American Society of Heating, Refrigerat-
ing and Air-conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE) has recently proposed a co-
operative research project between aca-
demia and industry on developing a
proper corrosion test method that can
reasonably predict corrosion behaviors of
microchannel aluminum heat exchangers
in HVAC&R systems.
Summary
Aluminum microchannel heat ex-
changers show great potentials for many
applications in the HVAC&R industry.
Controlled atmosphere brazing technol-
ogy provides a cost-effective and envi-
ronmentally friendly manufacturing
method for these advanced heat transfer
devices. Novel heat exchanger design and
continuous development of new materi-
als, as well as stringent requirements in
terms of device reliability, impose new
challenges on the manufacturing process.
The industry is continuously seeking
improvements on CAB brazing technol-
ogy for sustainable manufacturing of
a new generation of Al compact heat
exchangers.
References
1. Hrnjak, P. 2011. New opportunities
for Al microchannel heat exchangers.
2nd International Congress Aluminum
Brazing Technologies for HVAC&R Alu-
minum-Verlag, Dsseldorf/Germany.
2. Garcia, J., Swidersky, H-W,
Schwarze, T., and Eicher, J. 2010. Inor-
ganic fluoride materials from Solvay
Fluor and their industrial applications.
Functionalized Inorganic Fluorides: Syn-
thesis, Characterization & Properties of
Nanostructured Solids. A. Tressaud, ed.,
Chichester, UK, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
3. Melander, M., and Woods, R. A.
2010. Corrosion study of brazed alu-
minum radiators retrieved from cars
after field service. Corrosion, 66, 015005-
1-015005-14.
4. Elbel, S., Bowers, C. D., Zhao, H.,
Park, S., and Hrnjak, P. 2011. Develop-
ment and analysis of miniature vapor
compression cooling technology. 23rd
IIR International Congress of Refrigera-
tion, Prague, Czech Republic, Paper 244,
August 2226.
5. Park, C. Y., and Hrnjak, P. 2002. R-
410A air-conditioning system with mi-
crochannel condenser. Proceedings of the
9th Purdue Refrigeration Conference. Uni-
versity of Purdue.
Fig. 4 Copper tube and microchan
nel condensers for an aircondition
ing system. (Courtesy of the AirCon
ditioning and Refrigeration Center,
University of Illinois.)

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M
odern microchips, sensors, and
microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) have precipitated the
development of soldering processes that
avoid the use of corrosive flux. Various
solutions have been developed for this
challenge, and a fluxless soldering
process must optimize joint strength
while minimizing temperature effects
during reflow. Furthermore, performing
solder joints in atmospheric conditions is
desirable because it alleviates complica-
tions inherent to processing in an inert
gas environment. Systems with sensitive
polymers must remain below certain
temperatures and time thresholds while
the hard solder reaches extreme reflow
temperatures. Understanding how heat-
ing recipes affect the strength,
microstructure, and composition of a
fluxless solder is valuable in optimizing
production processes.
The use of hard solder has several ad-
vantages in microelectronics applica-
tions, including high thermal stability
Reflow of AuSn Solder Creates
Strong Joints
ILYA GOLOSKER
(golosker1@llnl.gov) is a
mechanical engineer
and JEFFREY FLORANDO is a
materials scientist, Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory,
Livermore, Calif.
Local heating of AuSn solder creates reliable
bonds, but small changes in the heat schedule
result in significant changes to joint strength
and microstructure
BY ILYA GOLOSKER
AND JEFFREY FLORANDO
Fig. 1 A schematic of the layers in a
soldering sample with the thermode used
to reflow the solder. A thermode is heated
by passing current from point A to B, and
a thermocouple is attached to the bottom
of the thermode for feedback control to
the power supply. The thermode assem-
bly lowers with a force P to make contact
with the chip and solder assembly.
49 WELDING JOURNAL
(Ref. 1) and good thermal conductivity
for heat dissipation (Ref. 2). The price
for these advantages is a high reflow tem-
perature that may damage polymers and
other temperature-sensitive compo-
nents. Localized heating can be opti-
mized to create high-temperature gradi-
ents that limit the flow of the solder to the
specified joint (Ref. 3) and control the
temperature distribution. A maximized
temperature gradient was found to best
satisfy these parameters. Overall, the de-
cision to utilize hard solders must take
into account their high strength and good
fatigue resistance (Ref. 6), in exchange
for the transmission of stresses not seen
in soft solders.
Fluxless 78Au22Sn solder joints were
successfully created using a thermode in
atmosphere. The samples were shear
tested to determine the joint strength.
Electron microscopy with energy-disper-
sive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) was
performed to inspect microstructure and
the formation of intermetallic phases,
and nanoindentation was used to deter-
mine material properties. Small changes
in thermode hold time and temperature
were found to influence the microstruc-
ture and strength of the solder.
Materials and Methods
Preformed pieces of 0.038-mm-thick,
homogenous 78Au22Sn (wt-%) fluxless
solder (AIM, Cranston, R.I.) were used
to join a Cu stripline and alumina chip.
The Cu stripline, used to carry current to
the desired component, was metalized
for soldering with an electroless nickel
immersion gold (ENIG) finish of 4 m of
Ni and 0.5 m of gold. The chip layer con-
sisted of 0.5-mm-thick alumina with de-
posited layers of Ti, Au, Ni, and Au. The
chip and stripline were placed on a work-
ing surface of either machined copper or
Fig. 2 A Diagram of the meshed regions of the FlexPDE finite el-
ement simulation of the soldering. The working surface domain was
varied from a Cu heat sink to an insulating phenolic material to de-
termine the optimal surface for solder reflow; B solder temperature
vs. time plot for a finite element simulation of a 600C heating recipe.
A heating recipe driving the temperature of the thermode simulates
the heating and cooling cycles of the solder.
Fig. 3 A schematic of the mechanical
testing of a solder sample. An Al block is
used to support the substrate and is at-
tached to the stripline layer. The setup
minimizes bending and produces a shear
force at the solder layer.
B A
FEBRUARY 2013 50
fiberglass-reinforced phenolic resin sub-
strate during soldering. A schematic of
the metallization is presented in Fig. 1.
Soldering
Reflow of the solder was achieved
using a thermode to send a thermal pulse
into the chip assembly, as seen in Fig. 1.
A Miyachi-Unitek ThinLine 87-A ther-
mode head with a Uniflow 2 power sup-
ply allowed for control of the soldering
recipe and load on the thermode. The
thermode was fabricated from molybde-
num and customized to conform to the
shape of the triangular solder preforms,
also seen in Fig. 1. An electric current was
passed from point A to B in Fig. 1 for
Joule heating of the thermode, resulting
in a temperature gradient going down-
ward to the stripline. A K-type thermo-
couple was attached near the bottom of
the thermode for feedback control to the
power supply. As per the schematic in
Fig. 1, the alumina chip was placed on the
bottom with the Cu stripline on top in
contact with the thermode. Hardware
was machined to align the sample under-
neath the thermode. Heating recipes for
all samples had a rise time of 1 s, while
hold times and thermode temperatures
were varied.
Finite element simulations with a
FlexPDE partial differential equation
solver (Ver. 6.15, www.pdesolutions.com)
were used to investigate the processing
surface on which the samples were sol-
dered. The simulations were modeled in
a mesh with 29,160 nodes in cylindrical
coordinates, solving the heat equation in
discrete time steps. The meshed domains
can be seen in Fig. 2A. The effects of a Cu
heat-sink surface (k = 386 W/m-K, Ref.
8) and insulating Bakelite phenolic resin
surface (k = 0.52 W/m-K, Ref. 9) were
compared by inspecting time profiles of
heating recipes. While a Cu heat sink
layer lowered the temperature of the
front of the package, a corresponding
drop was found in the solder tempera-
ture, necessitating increased tempera-
tures and hold times to achieve reflow. As
seen in Fig. 3B, the solder temperature
profile corresponding to a 600C peak
temperature at the thermode is
50100C lower with a Cu heat sink. To
reduce the temperature of the front of
the package while achieving reflow of the
solder, a Bakelite bottom layer was used
for all tests. The model was used to esti-
mate a heating profile to produce peak
temperatures up to 200C above the
melting point of the solder to achieve
proper reflow.
Shear Testing
Solder joint strength was tested using
an MTS 0.5-kN electromechanical load
frame and MTS TestWorks software ac-
quiring data at 50 Hz. Fixtures for the
tensile test machine supported the sam-
ple and constrained motion to minimize
bending and ensure a shear stress state.
The Cu stripline was bonded to an Al bar
with 3M DP420 epoxy. The bar was at-
tached to the lower fixture using a clamp,
as shown in Fig. 3. The substrate was sup-
ported from the bottom by an Al cutout
and bending was minimized with a sup-
porting bracket near the top of the sam-
ple. The displacement rate of the test fix-
ture was controlled to 0.05 in./min to
represent quasi-static loading. After fail-
ure, the wetted area of the solder was
able to be observed, and its area was cal-
culated using image analysis software.
The quotient of the maximum machine
load and wetted area was used to calcu-
late shear stress.
Characterization
Intermetallic compounds were identi-
fied using the EDAX system
(www.edax.com) for energy-dispersive X-
ray spectroscopy. The system uses a 1.3-
Fig. 4 Fixtures for mechanical testing
of a solder sample in a tensile testing
machine. The bracket and clamp in the
image are used to counteract bending of
the sample.
Fig. 5 Phase diagram for Au-Sn solder (Ref. 7). The arrow notes the 78/22 wt-% com-
position of the AuSn solder.
51 WELDING JOURNAL
m Parylene window to detect the re-
sponse to an X-ray excitation. Calibra-
tion was performed with a manganese
target and a Fe
55
radioisotope as an X-
ray source to detect MnK and MnK ex-
citation signals.
Nanoindentation
Nanoindentation measurements were
made on solder cross sections after shear
testing. The samples were cross sectioned
across the reflow zone and mounted in
615 Light Blue epoxy (Dexter Corp.). Di-
amond powder was used to first polish
the alumina substrate, but not overpolish
the solder joint. Then 1-m colloidal alu-
mina was used to finish the polish to min-
imize scratching and smearing of the soft
metallization layers.
Measurements of hardness and mod-
ulus of elasticity were achieved with an
Agilent Nanoindenter G200 with an XP
head. A diamond Berkovich indenter was
used to a depth of 2000 nm. Modulus and
hardness values were obtained as a func-
tion of indentation depth, and data
deeper than 1 m were considered to
minimize the surface effects at small
depths. The strain rate target of the in-
dentation was set to 0.05/s for all tests.
Multiple indentations were made along
each solder cross section, allowing for
statistical analysis of the data. A fused sil-
ica standard with known modulus and
hardness was used for calibration and
determination of the indenter tip area
function.
What Was Learned
The first sample was soldered with a
575C thermode temperature held for 1.5
s Fig. 5. Thermode temperatures well
above the 282C melting point of the
alloy are necessary for adequate heat to
transfer through the metallization layers
in the short hold time. The sample was
mechanically tested, and the bond failed
in the solder layer at a shear stress of 13.8
MPa. A lamellar eutectic structure of al-
ternating phases of eutectic Au
5
Sn ()
and AuSn () phases formed, which is ex-
pected based on the phase diagram
shown in Fig. 6. The solder and metal-
lization layers can be seen in Fig. 6A. The
high-magnification SEM micrograph
(Fig. 6B) shows -phase intermetallics in-
terspersed throughout the solder thick-
ness, which is consistent with the Sn-rich
hypereutectic 78/22 wt-% AuSn composi-
tion. Rapid cooling of the sample when
the thermode lifted from the chip assem-
bly resulted in a fine eutectic lamellar
structure with a spacing of 0.25 m.
Nanoindentation measurements showed
Fig. 6 A A low-magnification scanning electron micro-
graph of the solder, nickel, gold, and alumina layers of the chip
assembly heated to 575C and held for 1.5 s; B a high-mag-
nification image of the gold and nickel layers as well as the
eutectic phases and phases formed in the solder.
Fig. 7 A Photograph of the failed solder joint on the ENIG
layer of first sample; B the reflow area of the solder is
clearly visible on the bottom half of the sample.
B
B
A A
FEBRUARY 2013 52
a modulus of 73.1 6.0 GPa and hard-
ness of 2.56 0.40 GPa. The solder pre-
forms and reflow area can be seen in Fig.
7A, B, which are visually similar to the
other samples.
The second sample was heated to
575C and held for a longer time of 2 s.
Mechanical testing resulted in a shear
stress of 20.0 MPa at failure. A low-
magnification SEM image can be seen in
Fig. 8A. Figure 8B shows similar mi-
crostructural features with a and -
phase eutectic with -phase inter-
metallics in the solder. The primary
solidification phase also emanates from
the Au layer at the bottom 25 m of the
solder layer. A higher shear stress of 20
MPa measured from mechanical testing
is an indication of a stronger joint.
Nanoindentation testing resulted in a
modulus measurement of 74.0 3.0 GPa
and hardness of 2.68 0.1 GPa. While
the mechanical properties were not sta-
tistically different from the sample
heated for less time, the shear stress at
failure was higher. The intermetallic
phase and eutectic microstructure at the
interface of the bottom Au and AuSn sol-
der indicate increased dissolution of Au
into the solder during reflow.
The third sample was heated to 600C
and held for 4 s, providing the most se-
vere heating cycle of the three tests. The
highest shear strength of 24.9 MPa re-
sulted from the sample breaking through
the epoxy layer and tearing the Cu
stripline while the solder stayed intact.
The calculated shear strength is in good
agreement with the manufacturers doc-
umented room-temperature overlap
shear strength of 24.1 MPa (3500 lb/in.
2
)
for epoxy bonded to aluminum that had
not been etched (Ref. 10). The eutectic
and lamellar structure was observed,
but now (AuNi)
3
Sn
2
intermetallics were
also present in the solder based on
EDAX analysis. Micrographs of the sam-
ple are shown in Fig. 9A, B. Nanoinden-
tation resulted in a modulus measure-
ment of 83 5 GPa and hardness of 2.69
0.10 GPa. During heating, the gold
completely dissolved in the solder and
the higher temperature allowed for the
nickel layer to react and form Ni-rich in-
termetallics. The (AuNi)
3
Sn
2
intermetal-
lic compounds may be responsible for the
significant increase in shear strength.
Table 1 summarizes the mechanical
properties measured with nanoindenta-
tion as well as the shear stress at failure.
The hardness did not differ between sam-
ples, but the modulus of the sample with
the (AuNi)
3
Sn
2
intermetallics is higher
Fig. 9 A A scanning electron micrograph of the solder as-
sembly cross section heated to 600 for 4 s. Triangular inden-
tation marks are visible from the nanoindentation measure-
ments; B a high-magnification micrograph of the gold,
nickel, and solder layers. Nickel-rich intermetallic phases
are visible due to the gold layer completely dissolving in the
solder.
A A
B B
Fig. 8 A A scanning electron micrograph of the solder as-
sembly cross section heated to 575C and held for 2 s. The alu-
mina chip and deposited gold and nickel layers underneath the
solder are visible; B a high-magnification micrograph
showing the nickel layer and solder. The gold layer is not dis-
cernable, and gold-rich, -phase intermetallics emanate
from the interface.
53 WELDING JOURNAL
than the other samples. The modulus val-
ues for the first two samples are consis-
tent with Chromiks results on the eutec-
tic composition, as seen in Table 2. The
finer lamellar structure (0.25 m vs. 10
m in Chromik) is responsible for the
comparably higher hardness values in all
three samples. The stiffness of the
(AuNi)
3
Sn
2
phase in the third sample
may be responsible for the higher modu-
lus value. Similar intermetallics were
found in other studies where the samples
were annealed and thermally aged, but
were found to decrease the toughness of
the joint (Ref. 5).
Conclusion
Fluxless AuSn solder was successfully
reflowed in atmosphere using a ther-
mode. The Au layers contacting the sol-
der preform prevented the formation of
oxides that would hinder the reflow
process. The ability to join components
without an inert gas environment allows
for greater freedom in designing experi-
ments and production processes with
predictable localized reflow without un-
necessarily heating the entire assembly in
an oven.
Changes in hold time from 1.5 to 4 s
and thermode temperatures ranging
from 575 to 600C were found to nearly
double the strength of the solder joint.
The growth of -phase intermetallics can
be correlated to a 50% increase in bond
strength with a 0.5-s longer hold time,
and Ni-rich intermetallics result in bond
strength of at least 24.8 MPa. Local heat-
ing to achieve reflow of hard solders has
the potential to control the reflow area
and temperature distribution, resulting
in strong solder joints.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Barry
Olsen for his help in soldering, and Mary
LeBlanc and Victor Hepa for their work
in bond testing. We would also like to
thank John W. Elmer for helpful feed-
back and commentary throughout the
writing of the article, and Chris Walton
for the development of the FEA model.
This work was performed under the
auspices of the U.S. Department of En-
ergy by Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-
07NA27344.
References
1. Aasmundtveit, K. E., Wang, K.,
Hoivik, N., Graff, J. M., and Elfving, A.
2009. AuSn SLID bonding: Fluxless
bonding with high temperature stability
to above 350C. Microelectronics and
Packaging Conference, EMPC 2009. Euro-
pean, pp. 16, June 1518.
2. Yoon, J. W., Chun, H. S., Koo, J. M.,
and Jung, S. B. 2007. AuSn flip-chip sol-
der bump for microelectronic and opto-
electronic applications. Microsystem
Technologies, Vol. 13, No. 11,
pp.14631469, June, Doi:
10.1007/s00542-006-0330-9.
3. Humpston, G., and Jacobson, D. M.
1993. Principles of Soldering and Brazing.
Materials Park, Ohio: ASM Interna-
tional. ISBN: 0-87170-462-5.
4. Chromik, R. R., Wang, D.-N.,
Shugar, A., Limata, L., Notis, M. R., and
Vinci, R. P. 2005. Mechanical properties
of intermetallic compounds in the Au-Sn
system. Journal of Materials Research 20,
2161.
5. Zribi, A., Chromik, R. R., Presthus,
R., Teed, K., Zavalij, L., DeVita, J., Tova,
J., Cotts, E. J., Clum, J. A., Erich, R., Pri-
mavera, A., Westby, G., Coyle, R. J., and
Wenger, G. M. 2000. Solder metallization
interdiffusion in microelectronic inter-
connects. IEEE Transactions on Compo-
nents and Packaging Technologies, Vol. 23,
No. 2, pp. 383387, June, doi:
10.1109/6144.846778.
6. Lee, C. C., and Kim, J. 2005. Fun-
damentals of fluxless soldering technol-
ogy. Proceedings International Sympo-
sium on Advanced Packaging Materials:
Processes, Properties and Interfaces, pp.
3338, 1618, March doi:
10.1109/ISAPM.2005.1432041.
7. Massalski, B. Binary Alloy Phase Di-
agrams. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM In-
ternational. 2nd Ed., Vol. 1, p. 434.
8. Holman, J. P. Heat Transfer. Mc-
Graw Hill, 9th Ed. Table A-2. Property
values for metals.
9. Sumitomo Bakelite North America
RX 790 Fiberglass Reinforced Pheno-
lic Novolac.
10. Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesives
DP-469 Off-White, DP-420 Off-White
Data Sheet, Sept. 1997, www.3m.com.
Table 1 Summary of Nanoindentation and Shear Testing Results
Sample Thermode Temperature (C) Hold Time (s) Modulus (GPa) Hardness (GPa) Shear Stress (MPa)
1 575 1.5 73.1 6.0 2.56 0.4 13.1
2 575 2 74 3.0 2.68 0.1 20.0
3 600 4 83 5.0 2.69 0.1 24.9
(a)
(a) Failure in epoxy layer.
Table 2 Summary of Results from Chromik et al. (Ref. 4)
Phase Modulus (GPa) Hardness (GPa)
Eutectic 76 5 1.3 0.2
Au
5
Sn ( ) 74 5 2.5 0.2
AuSn ( ) 87 9 1.4 0.1
(Eutectic spacing ~10 m)
FEBRUARY 2013 54
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Active Solder Joining Copper
Buss on Silicon Photovoltaic
Cells
A new active solder, Sn-3Ag-2.5Ti-
0.1Ce-0.1Ga, was proposed and tested
by S-Bond Technologies Corp.,
Lansdale, Pa., and Villanova University,
Pa., for direct bonding photovoltaic cells
aluminized rear contact to reduce cost as
well as increase the performance and
reliability of PV cells and modules.
Active soldering would eliminate the
need for the silver contact layer and flux,
lowering cost, and then with direct alu-
minum/silicon contact, lower contact
resistance to decrease electrical losses
and increase cell/module power efficien-
cy (Ref. 1). Active soldering eliminates
the need for the silver contact layer and
flux, lowering cost, and then with direct
aluminum/silicon contact, lower con-
tact resistance to decrease electrical
losses and increase cell/module power
efficiency.
In the thermal-sonic process, ultra-
sonic (acoustic) waves disrupt the oxides
on the molten solder strips as the ther-
mal-sonic soldering tip heats the sur-
rounding area to enable melted solder to
wet the area. The bulk panel was heated
to 180C, while the probe tip operated at
350C to heat the surrounding back con-
tact and copper buss. When the solder-
precoated buss was heated, the solder
layer was remelted, flowed, and wetted
the surrounding contact area as the
oxides on the surfaces were disrupted via
ultrasonic energy.
The mechanical strength of soldered
joints was tested to peel the Cu-buss
strips from the silicon cell back contact.
The active solder samples began to peel
at an average load of 7.2 N where the
conventionally flux soldered samples
began to peel at an average load of 5 N.
The initial starting peel load failure is
higher and as the peel propagates, the
load drops and has an irregular pattern
as the peel failure progresses to final
failure. Both solder joints exhibited the
same post initial peel irregular load
behavior.
Oxidation-Resistant Braze
Materials for Brazing Seal
Honeycombs
In modern gas turbine engines, there
is a trend toward higher operating tem-
peratures as increasing the cycle peak
temperature helps improve engine effi-
ciency and thereby reduces fuel con-
sumption and CO
2
emissions. In turbine
modules, in particular, the increased
temperatures challenge the oxidation
resistance of brazed seal assembles.
High-temperature failure mecha-
nisms of honeycomb seals were reviewed
and evaluated by Sulzer Metco, Inc.,
Troy, Mich., one being braze alloy oxida-
tion induced fatigue, which highlights
the need for braze filler materials with
improved high-temperature oxidation/
hot gas corrosion resistance. Other
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
55 WELDING JOURNAL
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
requirements for optimized joining of
seal honeycombs include precise meter-
ing the amount of braze filler metal and
the need for high-temperature resistant
filler metals with improved wetting and
low penetration of base metal for honey-
combs made from ferritic alloy foils with
high aluminum concentration (Ref. 2).
Conventional Ni-based and Co-based
brazing filler metals in the form of pow-
ders or amorphous foils are character-
ized by wetting, oxidation in the honey-
comb nodes, fatigue cracking, and base
metal erosion. The global market growth
for braze filler materials for brazing seal-
type honeycombs was estimated for large
civil turbofan engines from 2011 to 2018
to be 13% or 1.7% compounded annual
growth rate (CAGR) for new engine
build (OEM) and maintenance repair
and overhaul (MRO) combined. In the
same period, the market for braze filler
metals for brazing OEM seal honeycomb
will grow by 38% or 4.8% CAGR com-
pared to 3% or 0.5% CAGR for MRO.
Brazing Explosively Bonded
Nb-Cu Discs to Alumina Ceramic
Using 35Au-62Cu-2Ti-1Ni Active
Filler Metal
Niobium is difficult to attach using
soldering processes without first plating
with nickel-gold, nickel-tin, or similar
materials that are directly solderable.
Cladded, explosively bonded niobi-
um-copper material was manufactured
by Sandia National Laboratories,
Albuquerque, N. Mex., to avoid expen-
sive plating steps. A solder-dipping
process is then used to pre-tin the
exposed copper surfaces, preparing
them for next-assembly soldering steps
(Ref. 3).
To simulate the component braze-
ment geometry, explosively bonded nio-
bium and copper metal sheets were
actively brazed to 94% alumina ceramic
test specimens. ASTM F19 tensile but-
tons were fabricated using the explosive-
ly bonded niobium-copper material as
the interlayers. The test samples were
active brazed using a commercially avail-
able gold-based active brazing filler
metal with the composition 35Au-62Cu-
2Ti-1Ni (wt-%). Tensile strength of the
joints brazed at 1055C is 4182 MPa,
while brazed at 1025C is only 928 MPa.
Increasing the joint preload or force
on the tensile button assemblies was
demonstrated as a viable method to
deform the Nb-Cu interlayers sufficient-
ly during the brazing procedure to make
hermetic and strong brazements.
Induction Brazing of Alumina
and Zirconia with Stainless
Steel, Fe-Ni, and Fe-Ni-Co Alloys
Most metal-ceramic brazed joints are
produced in vacuum furnaces. Since fur-
nace brazing is characterized by low pro-
ductivity, the induction brazing was stud-
ied by the Technical University of
Chemnitz, Germany, as an energy-
efficient alternative for brazing metals
and ceramics (Ref. 4).
A commercially available active filler
metal (Ag-26.5Cu-3Ti) was used for
Aerospace Grade
Brazing & Welding
Alloys
Aerospace Grade
Brazing & Welding
Alloys
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We understand that a small request can make a big difference.
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FEBRUARY 2013 56
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
induction brazing alumina and zirconia
to stainless steel 304, FeNi42, and
FeNiCo29 18 alloys. Microstructure and
mechanical strength (4-point bending
test) of the joints are compared for both
processes.
Depending on the type of ceramic,
the bending strengths can be influenced
by different process parameters.
Adjusting these leads to equivalent
bending strengths of induction-brazed
joints compared to furnace-brazed ones.
Since induction brazing allows a precise
process control, the microstructure for-
mation and, in particular, the thickness
of the reaction zone can be adjusted.
Therefore, higher mechanical strengths
are expected with induction brazing
when using real components.
A slow cooling rate after induction
brazing significantly improves the
strength of brazed joints Al
2
O
3
from
50 MPa at 90 K/min to 95 MPa at 15
K/min. Longer holding at the brazing
temperature also increases the bending
strength of brazed joints ZrO
2
from
about 370 MPa at 3 min of holding time
to about 450 MPa at 7 min of holding
time.
Reaction Brazing C/SiC
Composites to Nb Using Ti-Ni
Composite Foils as Filler Metals
C/SiC composites and Nb were suc-
cessfully brazed with Ti-50Ni (at.-%)
composite foils in vacuum by the Harbin
Institute of Technology and Zhejiang
Seleno Science and Technology Co.,
P.R., China.
The microstructure and shear
strength of the brazing joints, as well as
the reaction path during brazing, were
all studied (Ref. 5). The results indicated
that multistage reactions occurred dur-
ing brazing, including reactions between
Ti and Ni foils, reactions between Ti-Ni
liquid and C/SiC during infiltration of
Ti-Ni liquid to C/SiC pores, reactions
between TiNi and Nb, plus reactions
between TiNi-Nb eutectic liquid and
C/SiC during infiltration of TiNi-Nb liq-
uid to C/SiC pores.
Microstructures of the brazed joints
at the dense part of C/SiC and pore part
of C/SiC were different. The microstruc-
ture of a typical brazed joint at the dense
part of C/SiC can be expressed as:
(C/SiC)/discontinuous TiC + continuous
(Ti,Nb)C/(Ti,Nb)2Ni/(Ti,Nb)2Ni parti-
cles + Ti-Ni-Nb-Si compound + TiNi-
(Nb,Ti) eutectic/Nb.
The microstructure of the joint at the
C/SiC part with open pores is the same
as that of the dense part, whereas the
joint at the distal pore of C/SiC is com-
posed of TiNi, Ti
2
Ni, and TiC phases.
The C/SiC and Nb brazed joints exhibit-
ed a high shear strength of 188 MPa at
room temperature and 128 MPa at
800C due to high strength of the TiNi-
(Nb,Ti) eutectic alloy in the joint metal,
high interfacial strength of C/SiC and
filler metal, and contribution of filler
metals that infiltrated the C/SiC pores.
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
57 WELDING JOURNAL
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Erosion Control of Brazed
Stainless Steel Heat Exchangers
Brazing filler metals affect the metals
to be joined through erosion or diffusion
to a larger or lesser extent. If this erosion
is not controlled, it will destroy the prop-
erties of the stainless steel component by
weakening it or burning through thin-
walled sections. This can cause immedi-
ate leakage or decreased functionality,
especially in heat exchangers. Erosions
of stainless steel with four nickel-based
brazing alloys (BNi-2, BNi-5, BNi-7, and
Ni613) and one iron-based brazing alloy
(F300) were studied by Hgans AB,
Sweden, after brazing in a vacuum fur-
nace (Ref. 6).
It has been demonstrated that there
are two different types of erosion pri-
mary and secondary. The primary ero-
sion takes place during melting of the
brazing alloy. Primary erosion was there-
fore examined at the initial location of
the brazing alloy. The secondary erosion
happens when the brazing filler metal is
fully molten and has reached the gap.
Both primary and secondary erosions
have to be dealt with in an industrial
setup. To control erosion, both the braz-
ing cycle and joint design needs to be
used. The most effective method is to
design the filler metal, which has mini-
mum reaction with the substrate. For the
stainless steel base metal, this is more
difficult as all brazing alloys comprise
melting point depressants such as Si and
B responsible for erosion, which reached
300 microns in depth. However, the
modified BrazeLet 613 brazing alloy
exhibited low primary erosion (only 70
microns in depth) that is barely visible
on stainless steel plates.
Influence of Fatigue Stresses
and Operating Environment on
Mechanical Properties of
Stainless Steel Brazed Joints for
Automotive Applications
The mechanical behavior of stainless
steel (AISI 304 and AISI 1213) brazed
joints under a variable load and different
environmental conditions (at tempera-
tures up to 200C and after being
exposed in a chamber with a changing
aggressive atmosphere) were investigat-
ed at Aachen University and TU
Dortmund, Germany. Both the static
tensile and fatigue properties of joints
made with the AWS BCu-1b copper
filler metal were tested (Ref. 7).
Fatigue tests were carried out at room
temperature, at 200C, and after a corro-
sion cyclic test to verify the influence of
thermal and corrosive exposure on the
dynamic strength of brazed joints. The
experiments demonstrated that the qua-
sistatic strength decreases already at a
test temperature of 200C. On the other
hand, the results of the fatigue test do
not show any temperature dependence
up to the same temperature due to
recrystallization phenomena in the cop-
per alloy. Dynamic tests can better rep-
resent the mechanical behavior of the
investigated brazed components under
service conditions to fit the requirement
of automotive applications, namely a
constant strength up to the maximum
service temperature.
Corrosion detrimentally affected
mechanical behavior (approximately
50% decrease of the strength). This phe-
nomenon can be explained by the disso-
lution of the brazing alloy at the edge of
the brazed joint, which caused a huge
increase of the notching effect, and as a
consequence, a premature failure of the
specimens.
Chromium-Containing
Amorphous Brazing Foils and
Their Resistance to Automotive
Exhaust Gas Condensate
Brazed stainless steel fin-plate heat
exchangers are well established and
extensively used for exhaust gas recircu-
lation in the automotive industry to
reduce emission levels. This application
requires materials with an enhanced cor-
rosion resistance because the higher sul-
fur content within the low-quality fuels
leads to an increased risk of failure due
to corrosive damage of the base and
joint metals.
Different Ni-Cr and Fe-Ni-Cr base
amorphous brazing foils (ABFs), as well
as the recently developed Ni-Cr-Si-P
foils, were investigated by
Vacuumschmelze, Hanau, Germany,
with a range of different test conden-
sates that were used for evaluating cor-
rosion resistance of stainless steel 316
brazed joints (Ref. 8).
The ABFs of the (Ni,Fe)-
(Cr,Mo,Cu)-Si-B system VZ2150 and
VZ2106 exhibited good corrosion resist-
ance against high-sulfur containing con-
densates, even if chloride concentration
reach excessive values of 1000 ppm. The
foil VZ2106 is a good example that addi-
tions of iron, molybdenum, and copper
in an Ni-Cr matrix significantly improve
corrosion resistance even if the chromi-
um content is on a relatively low level
(11.5% of VZ2106 vs. 18% of VZ2150).
These results confirm the fact that mod-
ern amorphous brazing foils are benefi-
cial over traditional alloys to withstand
the high corrosive load of a harsh auto-
motive exhaust gas environment, even if
the fuel quality is low.
New Brazing Filler Metals for
Reactive Air Brazing Fuel Cell
Components
The reactive air brazing (RAB)
process is an economic and technically
interesting joining technology, especially
for electrochemical devices such as solid
oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) or membranes.
The brazing process takes place in a
muffle furnace in air atmosphere. New
process procedures and filler metals
were developed by RWTH Aachen
University, Germany, to solve problems
occurring due to the chemical reactions
between the filler metals and base mate-
rials (Ref. 9). A brittle reaction layer
between the currently most used brazing
filler metal Ag8Cu and steel, and the
infiltration of brazing filler into the
ceramic, lead to failure in the joint.
Mechanisms of both reactions were
investigated by differential scanning
calorimetric tests.
Depending on the material of join
partners, different alloying elements
shaped up as alternatives to copper.
Cobalt, aluminum, molybdenum, and
vanadium are promising additives to
brazing alloys for joining membranes
(Ba
0.5
Sr
0.5
Co
0.8
Fe
0.2
O
3
/X15CrNiSi25-
20 steel). Aluminum, nickel, iron,
silicon, and titanium oxide reached
good results for SOFCs (YSZ/
X1CrWNbTiLa22). The problem of
reactions between the filler metal and
SOFC steels was solved by using an
Ag2Fe2Si2Al (wt-%) filler metal and the
two step RAB approach using Ag4Ni2Ti
or Ag0.5Al0.5Ti (wt-%) filler metals. In
this approach, different temperatures
are used in every step to control the
reactions of the filler metal with the steel
and ceramic independently of each
other. Additionally, bonding strength
between filler metal and SOFC ceramics
has been improved.
The strong infiltration and degrada-
tion of BSCF ceramics, which are used
for membrane technologies, can be
avoided by brazing with the new devel-
oped filler metal Ag3Mo (wt-%). Even a
good compatibility with the steel has
been observed.
Joining Oxygen Transport
Membranes by Reactive Air
Brazing
In recent years, oxygen transport
membranes (OTM) became important
for a number of technological applica-
tions, especially for oxygen supply in
emission-free oxyfuel power plants.
Suitable OTM materials are perovskite-
type ceramics such as Ba
0.5
Sr
0.5
Co
0.8
Fe
0.2
O
3Gr.d
(BSCF) with mixed
ionic and electronic conductivity. Active
brazing in vacuum is not possible, due to
a decomposition of perovskite at low
oxygen partial pressures.
Reactive air brazing (RAB) of per-
ovskite OTM was investigated by
RWTH-Aachen, Germany, using the Ag-
CuO brazing composition at the CuO
contents varied in the range of 316 mol-
% (Ref. 10).
BSCF is a reactive material, and by
brazing to a austenitic stainless steel
(AISI 314), brittle reaction layers occur
at the braze-steel interface. The thick-
ness of the reaction layer depends on the
brazing temperature, brazing time, and
CuO content. Moreover, it can be
expected that these reaction layers grow
up at working conditions, because the
joints are exposed to elevated tempera-
tures over a long period of time.
The reaction layers in the brazed
joint is a brittle compound, because the
high porosity and some cracks were
found. High oxygen contents in the reac-
tion zone, detected by EDX analysis,
suggest that this compound consists of
oxides of elements from the steel and
BSCF in combination with the CuO
from the braze alloy. Formed reaction
layers found in the specimen brazed with
FEBRUARY 2013 58
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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59 WELDING JOURNAL
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Ag-16CuO grow further from the thick-
ness of ~40 microns to a thickness up to
330 microns when annealed at 850C for
1000 h. The reaction layer of the
annealed specimen is still porous and
shows cracks.
High CuO content (16 mol-%) in the
braze alloy creates an exothermal reac-
tion subsequent to the melting of the
braze alloy. This exothermal reaction
does not appear in case of a CuO
concentration of 3 mol-%. Explanation
of this phenomenon needs further
investigations.
Mechanical Behavior of
Advanced Reactive Air Brazed
Joints Made with Ag-0.5Al
Brazing Alloy
The Ag-CuO system has been exten-
sively investigated for reactive air braz-
ing (RAB) due to good wettability and
can nowadays be considered as a stan-
dard filler metal system for joining com-
ponents of solid oxide fuel cells
(SOFCs). However, during high-temper-
ature operation, Cu-oxides are reduced
to Cu in the Ag-CuO joints releasing O
2
leading to subsequent alloying of Cu in
the Ag matrix. This process leads to a
significant strength loss of the joint and
to a degraded interfacial adhesion dur-
ing continuous operation.
A new Ag-0.5Al (mol-%) braze filler
metal manufactured by PVD coating of
aluminum, or arc melting an Ag-Al alloy
with subsequent rolling (IOT), was test-
ed by Forschungszentrum Jlich GmbH,
Jlich, Germany, to develop a material
system with less aging susceptibility.
Fracture mechanics experiments are car-
ried out to characterize delamination
resistance at ambient temperature and
shear-strength at operating temperature
compared to pure Ag and Ag8Cu brazes
(Ref. 11). Joints were investigated both
in the as-brazed state and after 500 h of
isothermal aging in air at 800C.
Microstructural analysis exhibited
that both the Ag0.5Al (IOT) and
Ag0.5Al (PVD) braze variant show
reduced interfacial reaction layer forma-
tion at the braze/steel interface. Disc-
shaped (Cr, Al)
2
O
3
-precipitates distrib-
uted all over the matrix of the Ag0.5Al
(IOT) braze are believed to be the cause
of the enhanced shear strength of this
joining variant. This means that the
advanced Ag0.5Al (IOT) braze com-
bines excellent mechanical behavior,
promising microstructural stability, and
enhanced processing properties.
Brazing C/C Composites to
Nickel Alloys with Fe-Based
and Ag-Cu-Ti Filler Metals
Carbon/carbon composites having
high specific strength and heat resis-
tance were brazed to Inconel 600,
Hastelloy C-276, and austenitic stain-
less steel, SUS304, using new Fe-based
and traditional Cusil-ABA active filler
metals by Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Japan.
The Fe-based brazing filler alloy was
TB-2720 having the composition Fe-
20Cr-42Ni-12(Si+P). To relieve the
residual stress induced by the mismatch
in the coefficients of thermal expansion
(CTE), a Ni or Cu foil interlayer was
added to some of the specimens at the
brazing interface (Ref. 12). The samples
were brazed in a vacuum furnace at
830C for the Ag-Cu-Ti filler metal and
1070C for the Fe-based filler metal.
The microstructure of the brazed
interface was observed, and it was found
that quality brazed joints were obtained
for the combinations of C/C compos-
ites/Cu foil/Inconel 600 and C/C com-
posites/Cu foil/Hastelloy C-276, both of
which were brazed with the Ag-Cu-Ti
brazing filler alloy.
The brazed joints made with the Fe-
based filler metal formed a bond
between the C/C composites and filler
layer, but later cracked during the cool-
ing. The residual stresses induced by the
large discrepancy in the coefficient of
thermal expansion (CTE) might have
caused the cracking.
References
All these references are from IBSC-
2012: Proceedings from the 5th
International Brazing and Soldering
Conference, April 2225, 2012, Las Vegas,
Nev., editors R. Gourley and C. Walker.
1. Smith, R. W., Darwell, C., Singh, P.,
Jen, K-P., and Santhaman, S. Active sol-
der joining electrical buss on photovolta-
ic cells. pp. 2126.
2. Sporer, D., and Fortuna, D. Braze
materials for brazing seal honeycomb:
Trends, challenges and a market out-
look. pp. 5158.
3. Walker, C., Bishop, G., Stokes, R.,
and De Smet, D. Active-brazing explo-
sively-bonded niobium-copper to alumi-
na ceramic. pp. 7174.
4. Wielage, B., Hoyer, I., and
Hausner, S. Induction brazing of alumi-
na and zirconia with various metals. pp.
101108.
5. Liu, Y., Feng, J., Zhang, L., Dong,
X., and Zhang, L. Reaction brazing of
C/SiC composites to Nb with equiatomic
Ti-Ni composite foils. pp. 119124.
6. Mars, O., Stroiczek, M., and
Persson, U. Erosion control of stainless
steel brazing alloys. pp. 169173.
7. Bobzin, K., Bagcivan, N., Kopp, N.,
Puidokas, S. M., Tillmann, W., Wojarski,
L., Liu, C., and Manka, M. Influence of
dynamic stresses and operating environ-
ment on the mechanical properties of
copper-based braze joints. pp. 327331.
8. Hartmann, T., and Nuetzel, D.
Chromium containing amorphous braz-
ing foils and their resistance to automo-
tive exhaust gas condensate. pp.
394401.
9. Bobzin, K., Bagcivan, N., Kopp, N.,
and Weiler, C. Development of new
brazing fillers and process variants for
reactive air brazing (RAB) of electro-
chemical devices. pp. 433436.
10. Kaletsch, A., Hummes, J., Bezold,
A., Pfaff, E. M., and Broeckmann, C.
Joining oxygen transport membranes by
reactive air brazing. pp. 437443.
11. Li, C., Kuhn, B., Brandenberg, J.,
Beck, T., and Singheiser, L. Mechanical
behavior of advanced reactive air brazed
joints. pp. 444449.
12. Ikeshoji, T-T., Amanuma, T.,
Suzumura, A., and Yamazaki, T. Brazing
of C/C composites and Ni base alloys
with Ag-Cu-Ti and Fe-based braze filler
alloys. pp. 465469.
Information provided by ALEXANDER
E. SHAPIRO (ashapiro@titanium-
brazing.com) and LEO A. SHAPIRO,
Titanium Brazing, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.
A new Ag-0.5Al (mol-%) braze filler metal
manufactured by PVD coating of aluminum, or arc melting
an Ag-Al alloy with subsequent rolling (IOT), was tested to
develop a material system with less aging susceptibility
COMING
EVENTS
LAM 5th Annual Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop.
Feb. 12, 13. Hilton Houston North Hotel, Houston, Tex. Ameri-
can Welding Society is a cooperating society in this event. AWS
members receive discounted registration. www.lia.org/confer-
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Solar POWER-GEN Conf. and Expo. Feb. 1315. San Diego
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WEMCO/RWMA Co-Located Annual Meeting. Feb. 2123.
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index.html.
13th Annual Lean and Six Sigma Conf. March 4, 5. Phoenix, Ariz.
asq.org/conferences/six-sigma/program/index.html.
ASNT 22nd Annual Research Symposium. March 1821. The
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destructive Testing. www.asnt.org.
ILSC Intl Laser Safety Conf. March 1821. Doubletree by
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WRC number.
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FMP30
1-800-243-8417 1-860-683-0781 Fax: 1-860-688-8496
www.Fischer-Technology.com info@fischer-technology.com

For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
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61 WELDING JOURNAL
[MC]
2
2013 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conf. April
10, 11. Hyatt Regency, Cincinnati, Ohio. MTConnect Institute.
www.mtconnectconference.org.
GAWDA 2013 Spring Management Conf. April 1517. Grand
Hyatt Hotel and Convention Center, River Walk, San Antonio,
Tex. Gases and Welding Distributors Assn. www.gawda.org.
North American Steel Construction Conf. April 1719. St. Louis,
Mo. www.aisc.org/content.aspx?id=31134.
Society of Vacuum Coaters SVC TechCon 2013. April 2025.
Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, R.I. www.svc.org.
JOM-17, Intl Conf. on Joining Materials. May 58. Konven-
tum Lo Skolen, Helsingr, Denmark. Institute for the Joining of
Materials (JOM) in association with the IIW. Cosponsored by
AWS, TWI, Danish Welding Society, Welding Technology Insti-
tute of Australia, University of Liverpool, Cranfield University,
Force Technology, and ABS (Brazilian Welding Assn.). E-mail
Osama Al-Erhayem at jom_aws@post10.tele.dk; www.jominsti-
tute.com/side6.html.
AISTech 2013, Iron and Steel Technology Conf. and Expo. May
69, Pittsburgh, Pa. www.aist.org/aistech/.
INTERTECH 2013, Superabrasive Materials, Principles, and
Applications for the Aerospace and Defense Industries. May 68.
Hyatt Regency Baltimore Harbor Hotel, Baltimore Md. Indus-
trial Diamond Assn. www.intertechconference.com.
SERIOUS AIR FOR SERIOUS PLACES
A powerhouse ventilator for the toughest jobs.
High quality industrial products: circulation fans, exhaust,
misting, evaporative cooling and infrared heat.
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POWER-GEN India & Central Asia, Renewable Energy World
Conf. & Expo, and HydroVision India. May 68. Bombay Exhi-
bition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai, India. www.power-genindia.
com/index.html.
AWS Weldmex Show, FABTECH Mexico, METALFORM Mex-
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can Welding Society, Fabricators and Manufacturers Assn, Intl,
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Precision Mealforming
Assn. www.aws.org/show/weldmex2013.html.
Intl Thermal Spray Conf. and Expo. May 1315. Busan, Repub-
lic of Korea. Sponsored by ASM International. www.asminterna-
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IIE Annual Conf. and Expo. May 1822. Caribe Hilton, San Juan,
Puerto Rico. www.iienet2.org/annual2.
44th Steelmaking Seminar Intl. May 1922. Tau Grande
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s/n Arax - Minas Gerais, Brazil. Held by Brazilian Metallurgi-
cal, Materials, and Mining Assn. www.abmbrasil.com.br.
Educational Opportunities
Laser Vision Seminars. Feb. 20, 21; March 20, 21; April 24, 25;
May 22, 23; June 19, 20; Aug. 28, 29; Oct. 2, 3; Nov. 6, 7; Dec. 4,
5. Servo-Robot, Inc. www.servorobot.com.
Introduction to Ultrasonic Joining. Feb. 7. EWI, Columbus,
Ohio. Call (614) 688-5049, e-mail education@ewi.org.
ASM Intl Courses. Numerous classes on welding, corrosion, fail-
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Materials Park, Ohio, online, webinars, on-site, videos, and
DVDs; www.asminternational.org, search for courses.
Automotive Body in White Training for Skilled Trades and
Engineers. Orion, Mich. A five-day course covers operations,
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for automotive lines and integrated cells. Applied Mfg.
Technologies; (248) 409-2000; www.appliedmfg.com.
Basic and Advanced Welding Courses. Cleveland, Ohio. The
Lincoln Electric Co.; www.lincolnelectric.com.
Basics of Nonferrous Surface Preparation. Online course, six
hours includes exam. Offered on the 15th of every month by The
Society for Protective Coatings. Register at www.sspc.org/training.
Best Practices for High-Strength Steel Repairs. I-CAR courses
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CWI/CWE Course and Exam. Troy, Ohio. A two-week prepara-
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(800) 332-9448; www.welding.org.

Join us in New Orleans for an exciting look into the world of shipbuilding!
Our featured speakers will cover a multitude of topics including robotics
and mechanized welding for shipbuilding applications, aluminum
applications, advanced welding processes and much more.
AWS Conferences & Exhibitions:
8
th
Shipbuilding Conference
February 26-27, 2013 / Wyndham Riverfront New Orleans
For the latest conference information and registration visit our web site at
www.aws.org/conferences or call 800-443-9353, ext. 264.
Highlights
Learn about the progress of new and innovative
developments in shipbuilding.
Network with industry peers to discuss the best solutions for
business growth.
Information on new and emerging technologies being
developed for shipbuilding applications.
AWS Conference attendees are awarded 1 PDH
(Professional Development Hour) for each hour of
conference attendance. These PDHs can be applied
toward AWS recertifications and renewals.

February 26-27, 2013
Shipbuilding Confer
th
8
WS Confer A

W / February 26-27, 2013
Shipbuilding Confer
ences & Exhibitions: WS Confer

ont New Orleans fr yndham River W
ence Shipbuilding Confer
ences & Exhibitions:

ont New Orleans
ence

ont New Orleans

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800-443-9353, ext. 264. or call ws.org/conferences
ation visit our web site at or the latest conference information and registr

enewals. ecertifications and r
ence attendance. These PDHs can be applied
800-443-9353, ext. 264.
ation visit our web site at

ence attendance. These PDHs can be applied
CERTIFICATION
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Memphis, TN June 2328 June 29
9-Year Recertification Seminar for CWI/SCWI (No exams
given) For current CWIs and SCWIs needing to meet education
requirements without taking the exam. The exam can be taken at
any site listed under Certified Welding Inspector.
LOCATION SEMINAR DATES
Dallas, TX March 1015
Miami, FL April 712
Sacramento, CA April 28May 3
Charlotte, NC May 510
Pittsburgh, PA June 27
San Diego, CA July 712
Miami, FL July 2126
Orlando, FL Aug. 1823
Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS)
New Orleans, LA April 1519 April 20
Minneapolis, MN July 1519 July 20
CWS exams are also given at all CWI exam sites.
Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI)
Houston, TX April 1519 April 20
Las Vegas, NV May 610 May 11
Miami, FL June 37 June 8
Dallas, TX Aug. 1923 Aug. 24
The CRI certification can be a stand-alone credential or can
exempt you from your next 9-Year Recertification.
Certified Welding Sales Representative (CWSR)
CWSR exams will be given at CWI exam sites.
Certified Welding Educator (CWE)
Seminar and exam are given at all sites listed under Certified
Welding Inspector. Seminar attendees will not attend the Code
Clinic portion of the seminar (usually the first two days).
Certified Robotic Arc Welding (CRAW)
The course dates are followed by the location and phone number
June 1721, Dec. 913 at
ABB, Inc., Auburn Hills, MI; (248) 3918421
Feb. 25March 1; May 2024, Aug. 1923, Dec. 26 at
Genesis-Systems Group, Davenport, IA; (563) 445-5688
March 4, Oct. 14 at
Lincoln Electric Co., Cleveland, OH; (216) 383-8542
April 2226, July 1519, Oct. 2125 at
OTC Daihen, Inc., Tipp City, OH; (937) 667-0800
March 25, May 20, July 22, Sept. 23, Nov. 18 at
Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, CO; (970) 225-7736
On request at:
MATC, Milwaukee, WI; (414) 297-6996
Certified Welding Engineer; Senior Certified Welding
Inspector Exams can be taken at any site listed under Certified
Welding Inspector. No preparatory seminar is offered.
International CWI Courses and Exams Schedules
Please visit www.aws.org/certification/inter_contact.html.
Certification Seminars, Code Clinics, and Examinations
IMPORTANT: This schedule is subject to change without notice. Applications are to be received at least six weeks prior to the sem-
inar/exam or exam. Applications received after that time will be assessed a $250 Fast Track fee. Please verify application deadline
dates by visiting our Web site 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.
FEBRUARY 2013 64

AWS invites you to join us in Las Vegas to expand your weld cracking
knowledge! Our featured presenters will explore the many causes of weld
cracking as well as provide information on preventive measures.
Gain practical knowledge on the types and causes of weld cracking.
Network with industry peers to discuss the best solutions for business growth.
AWS Conference attendees are awarded 1 PDH (Professional Development Hour)
for each hour of conference attendance. These PDHs can be applied toward AWS
recertifications and renewals.
Weld Cracking Conference
March 26-27, 2013 / Las Vegas
For the latest conference information and registration visit our web site
at www.aws.org/conferences or call 800-443-9353, ext. 264.

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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
Fellow Description
DEFINITION AND HISTORY
The American Welding Society, in 1990, established the honor of Fellow of the Society to recognize members for
distinguished contributions to the field of welding science and technology, and for promoting and sustaining the professional
stature of the field. Election as a Fellow of the Society is based on the outstanding accomplishments and technical impact of the
individual. Such accomplishments will have advanced the science, technology and application of welding, as evidenced by:
Sustained service and performance in the advancement of welding science and technology
Publication of papers, articles and books which enhance knowledge of welding
Innovative development of welding technology
Society and chapter contributions
Professional recognition
RULES
1. Candidates shall have 10 years of membership in AWS
2. Candidates shall be nominated by any five members of the Society
3. Nominations shall be submitted on the official form available from AWS Headquarters
4. Nominations must be submitted to AWS Headquarters no later than July 1 of the year prior to that in
which the award is to be presented
5. Nominations will remain valid for three years
6. All information on nominees will be held in strict confidence
7. No more than two posthumous Fellows may be elected each year
NUMBER OF FELLOWS
Maximum of 10 Fellows selected each year.
AWS Fellow Application Guidelines
Nomination packages for AWS Fellow should clearly demonstrate the candidates outstanding contributions to the advance-
ment of welding science and technology. In order for the Fellows Selection Committee to fairly assess the candidates qualifica-
tions, the nomination package must list and clearly describe the candidates specific technical accomplishments, how they con-
tributed to the advancement of welding technology, and that these contributions were sustained. Essential in demonstrating the
candidates impact are the following (in approximate order of importance).
1. Description of significant technical advancements. This should be a brief summary of the candidates most
significant contributions to the advancement of welding science and technology.
2. Publications of books, papers, articles or other significant scholarly works that demonstrate the contributions cited
in (1). Where possible, papers and articles should be designated as to whether they were published in
peer-reviewed journals.
3. Inventions and patents.
4. Professional recognition including awards and honors from AWS and other professional societies.
5. Meaningful participation in technical committees. Indicate the number of years served on these committees and
any leadership roles (chair, vice-chair, subcommittee responsibilities, etc.).
6. Contributions to handbooks and standards.
7. Presentations made at technical conferences and section meetings.
8. Consultancy particularly as it impacts technology advancement.
9. Leadership at the technical society or corporate level, particularly as it impacts advancement of welding technology.
10. Participation on organizing committees for technical programming.
11. Advocacy support of the society and its technical advancement through institutional, political or other means.
Note: Application packages that do not support the candidate using the metrics listed above
will have a very low probability of success.
Supporting Letters
Letters of support from individuals knowledgeable of the candidate and his/her contributions are encouraged. These
letters should address the metrics listed above and provide personal insight into the contributions and stature of the
candidate. Letters of support that simply endorse the candidate will have little impact on the selection process.
Return completed Fellow nomination package to:
Wendy S. Reeve
Senior Manager
Award Programs and Administrative Support
Telephone: 800-443-9353, extension 293
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: July 1, 2013
8669 Doral Blvd., Suite 130
Doral, FL 33166
(please type or print in black ink)
FELLOW NOMINATION FORM
DATE_________________NAME OF CANDIDATE________________________________________________________________________
AWS MEMBER NO.___________________________YEARS OF AWS MEMBERSHIP____________________________________________
HOME ADDRESS____________________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY_______________________________________________STATE________ZIP CODE__________PHONE________________________
PRESENT COMPANY/INSTITUTION AFFILIATION_______________________________________________________________________
TITLE/POSITION____________________________________________________________________________________________________
BUSINESS ADDRESS________________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY______________________________________________STATE________ZIP CODE__________PHONE_________________________
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND, AS APPLICABLE:
INSTITUTION______________________________________________________________________________________________________
MAJOR & MINOR__________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEGREES OR CERTIFICATES/YEAR____________________________________________________________________________________
LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER: YES_________NO__________ STATE______________________________________________
SIGNIFICANT WORK EXPERIENCE:
POSITION____________________________________________________________________________YEARS_______________________
POSITION____________________________________________________________________________YEARS_______________________
SUMMARIZE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS IN THESE POSITIONS:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IT IS MANDATORY THAT A CITATION (50 TO 100 WORDS, USE SEPARATE SHEET) INDICATING WHY THE NOMINEE SHOULD BE
SELECTED AS AN AWS FELLOW ACCOMPANY NOMINATION PACKET. IF NOMINEE IS SELECTED, THIS STATEMENT MAY BE IN-
CORPORATED WITHIN THE CITATION CERTIFICATE.
SEE GUIDELINES ON REVERSE SIDE
SUBMITTED BY: PROPOSER_______________________________________________AWS Member No.___________________
Print Name___________________________________
The Proposer will serve as the contact if the Selection Committee requires further information. Signatures on this nominating form, or
supporting letters from each nominator, are required from four AWS members in addition to the Proposer. Signatures may be acquired
by photocopying the original and transmitting to each nominating member. Once the signatures are secured, the total package should
be submitted.
NOMINATING MEMBER:___________________________________NOMINATING MEMBER:___________________________________
Print Name___________________________________ Print Name___________________________________
AWS Member No.______________ AWS Member No.______________
NOMINATING MEMBER:___________________________________NOMINATING MEMBER:___________________________________
Print Name___________________________________ Print Name___________________________________
AWS Member No.______________ AWS Member No.______________
CLASS OF 201
SUBMISSION DEADLINE July 1, 201
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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.
Pipelines Conference
June 4
th
5
th
/ Houston, TX
For the latest conference information and registration visit our web site at
www.aws.org/conferences or call 800-443-9353, ext. 224.
Highlights
Learn about the progress of new and innovative developments
in pipeline welding.
Network with industry peers to fnd 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 recertifcations
and renewals.
WELDING
WORKBOOK
Numerous factors occur during production of resistance welds
that influence end weld quality. An understanding of these factors
and their effect on quality is important to individuals concerned
with production, maintenance, manufacturing engineering, and
quality control.
Pressure and Force Systems
The welding equipment pressure systems are normally either
hydraulic or pneumatic. With either type of system, the electrode
force, or welding force, is generated by the pressure of the media
acting over the area of the piston of the cylinder to which the mov-
able electrode is attached. The effect of an improper electrode force
can be illustrated relative to the basic heat equation used in resist-
ance welding, H=I
2
Rt. Low electrode force will increase the re-
sistance factor R of this equation.
A high resistance (caused by a low force) will generate more
heat, the negative effects of metal expulsion, porous welds, surface
whiskers of sharp metal spikes, sticking electrodes, poor electrode
life, and low-strength welds will be encountered.
Electrode Condition and Geometry
A complete weld schedule must include a recommended elec-
trode shape or geometry. The loss of this shape, either through
mushroomed electrodes or a change in electrode shape, can have
disastrous effects on weld quality. When electrode tips are allowed
to mushroom, the pressure and current density decreases in an ex-
ponential fashion, since area is proportional to the diameter
squared.
Primary Voltage Drops
Primary line voltages are seldom constant in large manufactur-
ing facilities. Weld quality problems arise when these fluctuations
exceed normal limits. In small manufacturing operations, the volt-
age drop in a buss bar system of minimal size may affect quality.
Initiating a large number of welding machines at the same time can
produce large voltage drops. This condition can sometimes be
avoided by the use of sequence firing circuits. Modern welding con-
trols can compensate for some degree of small primary voltage
fluctuations.
Resistance and Reactance Increases in Secondary
Current
Current-carrying members of the secondary circuit must be kept
in good condition to minimize their respective individual voltage
drops. Any rise in the operating temperature of the secondary cur-
rent members will increase the resistance. This will result in lower
welding current at the electrode tips.
Operator
The welding machine operator is another great factor in quality
control of resistance welding. Regardless of the condition of the
machine, establishment of settings, inspection surveillance, and as-
sembly of parts, it is the operator alone who makes the weld. One
of the best ways to minimize weld quality problems is to have thor-
oughly trained personnel who have a complete knowledge of the
resistance welding process and equipment, as well as any particular
problems that may be inherent to the manufacturing facility doing
the welding.
Following are some types of resistance weld defects and
possible causes.
Expulsion at Weld Interface
1. Dirty, scaly material.
2. Poor fitup.
3. Squeeze time too short.
4. Weld force too low.
5. Weld current too high or weld time too long.
6. Poor follow-up.
Surface Expulsion, Electrode Sticking
1. Squeeze time too short.
4. Tips dirty (requiring dressing).
5. Weld current too high or weld time too long.
Electrode Mushrooming
1. Weld time too long.
2. Weld force too high.
3. Weld current high.
4. Insufficient cooling.
5. Electrode area too small.
6. Electrode alloy too soft.
Excessive Weld Indentation
1. Weld time too long.
3. Poor fitup.
4. Weld current too high.
Little or No Weld Nugget
1. Weld time too short.
3. Weld current too low.
4. Electrode face too large.
5. Poor heat balance.
6. Welds too close together.
7. Machine not turned to weld.
8. Dirty or coated material.
9. Tap switch off.
10. Control malfunction.
Cracks in Weld Nugget
1. Hold time too short.
4. Poor follow-up.
Displaced Weld Nugget
1. Electrode misaligned.
2. Poor heat balance.
3. Poor fitup.
Weld Not Holding
3. Poor fitup of parts.
4. Poor follow-up.
5. Incorrect weld projections (projection welding only).
6. Weld current too low.
7. Poor setup of tooling.
8. Weld time too short.
FEBRUARY 2013 70
Datasheet 255a
Excerpted from the Resistance Welding Manual, fourth edition.
Resistance Weld Defects and Possible Causes
NOVEMBER 18-21, 2013
MCCORMICK PLACE
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS USA
fabtechexpo.com
CHICAGO
SAVE THE DATE
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SOCIETYNEWS SOCIETYNEWS
73 WELDING JOURNAL
AWS Fellow Zhili Feng has made sig-
nificant contributions to the advancement
of computational welding mechanics, pio-
neering an approach that accurately pre-
dicts the mechanical driving forces for weld
solidification cracking. He has also made
outstanding contributions in friction stir
welding (FSW) and processing, characteri-
zation of welds by advanced neutron and
synchrotron scattering, and a novel solid-
state process for joining dissimilar metals.
Dr. Feng was among the first to develop a
heat flow model to assist the development
of FSW of aluminum alloys and steels, and
other metals. His research and develop-
ment programs are sponsored by automo-
tive, aerospace, nuclear, petrochemical.
and power-generation industries, as well as
by government agencies such as DOE,
DOD, NASA, NST, and NIST. He has pub-
lished more than 97 research and review
papers and submitted six invention disclo-
sures and patent applications related to
multipass FSW, fracture testing of welds,
and inspection of welds.
AWS Fellow Thomas L. Lienert is a
technical staff member and acting team
leader for the Welding and Joining Team
at Los Alamos National Laboratory. At
EWI, he produced the first defect-free fric-
tion stir welds (FSWs) on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy
and a 1018 steel alloy. He continued this
work under both Cooperative Research
Program (CRP) and International Re-
search and Development programs at EWI.
After leaving EWI, Dr. Lienert continued
his studies of FSW of high-temperature ma-
terials at USC. His work focused on the Ti-
15-3-3-3 alloy for U.S. Air Force applica-
Industry Leaders Recognized at FABTECH
AWS Fellows and Counselors Tapped in Las Vegas
The AWS 2013 board of directors are shown at FABTECH in Las Vegas, Nev.
Shown (from left) are incoming AWS Fellows Thomas L. Lienert and Zhili Feng and incoming AWS Counselors John M. Stropki, Johnnie J.
DeLoach, and Victor Y. Matthews, a past AWS president. Counselor William H. Kielhorn was cited prior to his death last year.
FEBRUARY 2013 74
tions; and the Al-6XN superaustenitic
stainless steel alloy, and the DH-36 steel
alloy for U.S. Navy applications. He is a
member of the editorial board of Science
and Technology of Welding and Joining, a
principal reviewer of the Welding Journal,
an AWS director-at-large, and serves on
several technical committees.
AWS Counselor Johnnie J. DeLoach
has worked in the structural welding in-
dustry for 28 years where he has led pro-
grams to develop high-strength steel weld-
ing and consumables, and friction stir
welding techniques for applications in the
shipbuilding industry that have resulted
in significant performance and fabrica-
tion benefits without
adding cost. De-
Loach has been rec-
ognized with numer-
ous awards for his ex-
pertise.
AWS Counselor
William H. Kielhorn
devoted more than
50 years to teaching
and promoting weld-
ing technology. He
served on the LeTourneau University fac-
ulty since 1966 where he instructed hun-
dreds of welding students. He completed
45 years of teaching service without miss-
ing a single class. He published two engi-
neering textbooks and made numerous
contributions to technical journals and the
AWS Welding Handbook. His AWS
awards include the Adams Memorial
Membership, Member Proposer, and the
Plummer Memorial Education Lecture
Award in 1999. He served on the AWS
board of directors as District 17 director
from1989 to 1995, and remained active in
the AWS East Texas Section and several
AWS committees until his death last year.
AWS Counselor Victor Y. Matthews, a
past AWS president, has served as Dis-
trict 10 director, chair of the AWS Cleve-
land Section, and delegate and chair of
IIW Commission XIV, Education and
Training. He worked in the welding equip-
ment and consumables manufacturing in-
dustry for 46 years. At The Lincoln Elec-
tric Co., he served as production welder,
lab technician, plant welding engineer,
and global customer service specialist,
president of the Employees Association,
and was named Employee of the Year in
1995. Matthews also serves as a firefighter
and EMT Level I for Russell Fire Depart-
ment, HAZMAT technician for Chagrin
Southeast, and EMS instructor for The
Lincoln Electric Co.
AWS Counselor John M. Stropki
joined The Lincoln Electric Co. as a sales
trainee after receiving his masters degree
in industrial engineering. He rose through
the ranks to serve as national sales man-
ager for Canada, senior vice president of
sales for United States and Canadian ac-
counts, and executive vice president and
president, North America. Currently, he
is chairman, president, and CEO of Lin-
coln Electric Holdings, Inc., and serves
on the corporate boards of National Man-
ufacturers Association, National Electric
Manufacturers Association, Greater
Cleveland Partnership, and others. He re-
ceived the AWS Honorary Membership
Award in 2001. He is active with the Gases
and Welding Distributors Association
(GAWDA), American Lung Association,
Harvest for Hunger, Boy Scouts of Amer-
ica, and Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation.
Comfort A. Adams
Lecture Award
Fluid flow and solidification in welding:
Three decades of fundamental research at
the University of Wisconsin
Sindo Kou, an AWS Fellow and a Fel-
low of ASM International, holds a PhD
in materials science and engineering. He
worked at General Motors Research Lab-
oratory, and as an associate professor at
Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1983, he
joined the University of Wisconsin-Madi-
son where he became a full professor in
1985. He is currently chair of the Depart-
ment of Materials Science and Engineer-
ing. He has authored two texts: Welding
Metallurgy and Transport Phenomena and
Materials Processing. Kous citations in-
clude the John Chipman Award from Iron
and Steel Society of AIME, and the
Charles H. Jennings Memorial, Warren F.
Savage Memorial, William Spraragen Me-
morial, and Adams Memorial Member-
ship Awards from AWS.
Adams Memorial
Membership Award
Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, an AWS
Fellow, holds a PhD in materials science
and metallurgy. He worked as a research
associate at Tohoku University, Japan,
then served on the technical staff at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory from 1993 to
2005. Later, he became technology leader
at Edison Welding Institute before join-
ing the engineering faculty at The Ohio
State University. Babu specializes in
phase transformations, welding metal-
lurgy of steels and nickel-based superal-
loys, computational weld modeling, and
friction stir welding. He is director of the
NSF I/UCRC center for integrative ma-
terials joining science for energy applica-
tions in collaboration with Colorado
School of Mines, Lehigh University, and
the University of Wisconsin. His citations
include the AWS Professor Koichi Ma-
subuchi Award and the Lidstone Medal
Award from The Welding Institute.
Howard E. Adkins Memorial
Instructor Membership Award
Timothy L. Gill, a Certified Welding
Inspector and a Certified Welding Edu-
cator, began his career in education in
1979, then gained experience in industry
for five years. In 1994, he implemented
the AWS SENSE program with great suc-
cess at a vocational school in Missouri. In
2010, he developed new welding courses,
based on SENSE, that offered training
certificates and a two-year associates de-
gree. Gill also serves as an officer in the
AWS Kansas City Section.
Scott H. Sutherland taught for several
years then gained experience as a welder
at Oilfield Pipe and Supply and later at
John Zink where he served for ten years.
After receiving his masters degree, he
taught welding at a high school then
joined Tri County Technology Center
where his students have a 92% course
completion rate and a 100% job place-
ment rate.
Achievement Awards Presented at FABTECH
Sindo Kou S. S. Babu Timothy Gill
Scott Sutherland
David Fink Rich Samanich
William Kielhorn
75 WELDING JOURNAL
Craig Tichelar Jenord Alston Elizabeth Drexler
Philippe Darcis
C. McCowan Jeffrey Sowards
Kenneth L. Brown Memorial
Safety and Health Award
David A. Fink, an AWS Counselor,
joined The Lincoln Electric Co. in 1971
where he serves as manager, Compliance
Engineering (Consumables). He holds
patents for ultralow-hydrogen metal
cored electrodes. Fink has chaired the A5
Committee on Filler Metals and Allied
Materials and several of its subcommit-
tees for many years, and served as a chap-
ter chair for the Welding Handbook. He
contributes to the AWS Technical Activi-
ties Committee as an at-large member
and to the AWS Safety & Health Com-
mittee and its subcommittees. Fink is ac-
tive with developing international weld-
ing standards and chairs the US TAG to
ISO TC 44 SC3 for Filler Metals.
Robert J. Conkling Memorial Award
2012 SkillsUSA Championships
Gold Medalist Schools
FIRST PLACE HIGH SCHOOL
Pioneer Technology Center
Ponca City, Okla.
FIRST PLACE POSTSECONDARY
Eastern Wyoming College
Torrington, Wyo.
A. F. Davis Silver Medal Award
MAINTENANCE AND SURFACING
Laser Engineered Net Shaping for
Repair and Hydrogen Compatibility
Paul S. Korinko is a senior fellow sci-
entist at Savannah River National Labo-
ratory. His research focuses on solid-state
resistance welding, improving weldments
for plutonium containment, and corro-
sion-resistant coatings for gas turbines.
Thad M. Adams is a research manager
at Materials Science & Technology, Sa-
vannah River National Laboratory. His
current focus is on new materials and
technologies for use in hydrogen service.
Stephen H. Malene is with the Mixed
Oxide Fuel Fabrication facility of B. F.
Shaw Co., Inc.
S. C. D. Gill and John Smugeresky
are with Sandia National Laboratory.
Distinguished Welder Award
Rich Samanich is a Senior Certified
Welding Inspector and an AWS Certifi-
cation Test Supervisor. He is experienced
on a wide variety of welding projects in-
cluding military aircraft, cross-country
pipelines, and water-treatment and power
plants. Currently, he is a welder with
Computer Science Corp. and assists with
welder training at a local high school.
Craig Tichelar is with the Chicago Zo-
ological Society where he established the
Welding Dept. at the Brookfield Zoo. His
father taught him how to weld and braze
as a boy, and he continued his education
at Hobart Institute of Welding Technol-
ogy and Moraine Valley C. C., where he
taught welding for nine years. Since 2002,
he has been teaching welding at College
of DuPage. Tichelar, 2012 chair of the
Chicago Section, holds patents on a vari-
ety of inventions.
Dalton E. Hamilton Memorial
CWI of the Year Award
Jenord Alston, chair of the Tidewater
Section, is a Certified Welding Inspector
and Certified Welding Educator. After
working as a welder in shipyards and
power plants, he joined the staff at
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility. He serves as a judge for the Vir-
ginia SkillsUSA welding competitions,
mentor for CWI seminar applicants, and
sits on the welding advisory boards for
several schools and community colleges.
W. H. Hobart Memorial Award
Ductile-Fracture Resistance in X100
Pipeline Welds Measured with CTOA
Elizabeth Drexler is a materials re-
search engineer at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology where she
studies fracture properties of pipeline
steels exposed to pressurized hydrogen.
Philippe P. Darcis is currently Tenaris
line pipe product leader based in
Dalmine, Italy. His research includes
high-strength steel pipeline fatigue,
welded joints, and ductile fracture.
Christopher N. McCowan has worked
as a materials research engineer at the
National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology since 1984. His studies include me-
chanical properties of high-strength and
stainless steels, aluminum, copper, in-
dium, and other metals.
Jeffrey W. Sowards is a materials re-
search engineer at National Institute of
Standards and Technology where he stud-
ies the welding metallurgy and weldability
of nickel-based alloys, ferrous alloys, and
dissimilar metal welds.
J. David McColskey is a physical scien-
tist for Protiro, Inc., at National Institute
of Standards and Technology where he
manages the fracture-mechanics labora-
tory in Boulder, Colo.
Thomas A. Siewert, an AWS Fellow, di-
rector-at-large, Distinguished Member,
and Life Member, retired after 25 years of
service from National Institute of Stan-
dards and Technology. Currently, he is a
consultant for welding, metallurgy, and
nondestructive evaluation issues.
Honorary Membership Award
Emily Stover DeRocco heads a consult-
ing firm focused on education reform and
workforce and economic development.
Earlier she was president of The Manu-
facturing Institute and senior vice presi-
dent of the National Association of Man-
ufacturers. In 2001, she was appointed as-
sistant secretary of labor by President
George W. Bush where she chaired several
workforce and education committees. De-
Rocco, who holds a juris doctorate, cur-
rently sits on the advisory boards of three
colleges and two technology companies.
Jennifer M. McNelly is president of The
David McColskey Thomas Siewert
Emily DeRocco
Jennifer McNelly
FEBRUARY 2013 76
Manufacturing Institute. Earlier, she
served as administrator for the U.S. De-
partment of Labor Office of Regional In-
novation and Transformation and direc-
tor of the Business Relations group. She
also served as senior vice president of
Strategic Partnership, LLC, an interna-
tional consulting firm assisting Fortune
500 companies in building strategic part-
nerships with government agencies in sup-
port of workforce development.
International Meritorious
Certificate Award
Warren Miglietti has 24 years experi-
ence in welding, brazing, and heat treat-
ment of metals, focusing on developing
repair techniques for aircraft, gas turbine
engines, and industrial components. Since
2008, Dr. Miglietti has served as principal
engineer in the Reconditioning Depart-
ment at PSM, a wholly owned subsidiary
of Alstrom. Previously he worked five
years at General Electric Co.
Klaus Middeldorf is general manager
of DVS, the German Welding Society,
where he is involved with welding research
technology, standardization, training, and
supporting conferences and trade shows
worldwide. His research has focused on
the mechanical and fatigue behavior of
steels, Al alloys, and powder forged ma-
terials. Earlier, Dr. Middeldorf served as
a project manager for manufacturing pulp
and paper products at the Proctor & Gam-
ble facility in Germany.
William Irrgang Memorial Award
Kenneth R. Stockton, a Certified
Welding Inspector, Certified Welding Ed-
ucator, and past AWS District 2 director,
joined Public Service Electric and Gas in
1984. Starting as a welder mechanic, he
currently develops and implements train-
ing programs in support of fossil-fueled
power plants in New Jersey, New York,
and Connecticut. Since 1985, he has
served on the Middlesex County Voca-
tional High Schools Welding Advisory
Committee and, since 1995, has served as
a judge for the New Jersey SkillsUSA
welding competitions.
Charles H. Jennings
Memorial Award
Laser-Enhanced Metal Transfer Part I
Part II Analysis and Influence Factors
Yi Huang worked as a research assis-
tant in the Welding Research Laboratory
at the University of Kentucky until he re-
ceived his PhD in 2011. Currently, he is a
welding engineer at RoMan Engineering
Services in Livonia, Mich.
YuMing Zhang, an AWS Fellow, holds
the James R. Boyd Professorship in Elec-
trical Engineering at the University of
Kentucky. He is also founder and presi-
dent of Adaptive Intelligent Systems,
LLC, a developer of welding technologies.
Prof. Koichi Masubuchi Award
Seung Hwan C. Park recently joined
Hitachi Research and Development Corp.
in Shanghai, China, where he performs
welding and materials processing re-
search. In 2005, after receiving his PhD in
materials engineering, he joined Hitachi
Research Laboratory Japan where he de-
veloped tools for friction stir welding.
Samuel Wylie Miller
Memorial Medal Award
Edwin R. Szumachowski, as a research
engineer, developed products for welding
steels and nickel-based alloys and hard-
facing applications at Teledyne-McKay for
34 years until his retirement in 1986. Ear-
lier, at Battelle Memorial Institute, he
worked with Admiral Hyman Rickover to
develop the first atomic submarine.
National Meritorious Award
Donald B. DeCorte, an AWS member
for 32 years and a past director-at-large,
has been affiliated with the Detroit and
West Michigan Sections. DeCorte has
helped AWS develop international mar-
keting and sales initiatives. Currently, he
is vice president of RoMan Mfg., COO of
RoMan Engineering Services, and active
with various AWS and Resistance Weld-
ing Manufacturing Alliance committees.
Jenny McCall has 20 years experience
in the industry. Since 2003, she has served
as president and COO of WESCO Gas &
Welding Supply, Inc. McCall has served
on several boards, including Associated
Builders and Contractors, Gases and
Welding Distributors Association
(GAWDA), Women of Gases and Weld-
ing, and Distributor Council for Miller
Electric Co. In 2010, McCall became
GAWDAs first female president.
Robert L. Peaslee Memorial
Brazing Award
Microstructure and Properties of Laser
Brazed Magnesium to Coated Steel
Ali Nasiri is doing his doctoral research
on laser brazing of magnesium alloys at
the University of Waterloo, Canada.
Liqun Li is a professor at the Harbin
Institute of Technology, China, where she
received her PhD in material processing
engineering.
Sookhwan Kim is a welding research
engineer at Research Institute of Science
and Technology, South Korea, where he
has worked for 28 years.
Y. (Norman) Zhou, a Canada Research
Chair, is a professor and director of the
Centre for Advanced Materials Joining at
the University of Waterloo, Canada.
David C. Weckman has served on the
faculty of the University of Waterloo De-
partment of Mechanical & Mechatronics
Warren Miglietti Klaus Middeldorf Ken Stockton Yi Huang YuMing Zhang Seung Hwan Park
E. Szumachowski Donald DeCorte Jenny McCall
Ali Nasiri
Liqun Li Sookhwan Kim
Engineering since he received his PhD
there in 1983.
Tam C. Nguyen has served on the fac-
ulty of the Mechanical Systems Engi-
neering program at Conestoga College
since receiving his PhD there in 2005.
Plummer Memorial Education
Lecture Award
Welding Engineering Education
and Training National and
International Perspectives
Confessions of a PhD Who
Can Actually Weld
Yoni Adonyi worked eight years in the
pressure vessel, shipbuilding, and aero-
space industries before earning his PhD
in welding engineering. Following seven
years at U.S. Steel Technical Center and
teaching at Carnegie Mellon University,
he became a professor of welding engi-
neering at LeTourneau University where
he became the first to hold the endowed
Omer W. Blodgett Chair in Welding and
Materials Joining Engineering.
Private Sector Instructor
Membership Award
Mark Trevithick, a Certified Welding
Inspector and Certified Welding Educa-
tor, is the lead welding instructor for the
GTAW-AC nonferrous pipe welding
course at UA Pipefitters Local Union No.
208, Denver, Colo., a course he co-
founded. He has trained more than 500
apprentices and 400 instructors at the UA
Instructor Training Program. Trevithick
is also president of Compfab, Inc., spe-
cializing in precision weldments.
Warren F. Savage Memorial Award
Oscillatory Marangoni Flow:
A Fundamental Study by Conduction-
Mode Laser Spot Welding
Sindo Kou. See notice under Comfort
A. Adams Lecture Award.
Chaowalit Limmaneevichitr is an as-
sociate professor at King Mongkuts Uni-
versity of Technology, Thailand.
Peng-Sheng Wei is the Xi-Wan Chair
Professor at National Sun Yat-Sen Uni-
versity in Taiwan, China.
William Spraragen Memorial Award
A New Chromium-Free Welding Consum-
able for Joining Austenitic Stainless Steels
Jeffrey W. Sowards. See notice under
W. H. Hobart Memorial Award.
Dong Liang is a corrosion and mate-
rials engineer with the Pressure Equip-
ment and Integrity Group, Shell/Motica,
in Norco, La.
Boian T. Alexandrow is a research sci-
entist in the Welding Engineering Pro-
gram at The Ohio State University.
Gerald S. Frankel is a professor of ma-
terials science and engineering, and di-
rector of the Fontana Corrosion Center
at The Ohio State University.
John C. Lippold, an AWS Fellow, is a
professor at The Ohio State University.
R. D. Thomas Memorial Award
John W. Elmer, an AWS Fellow and
Honorary Member, is group leader for
materials processes at Livermore Na-
tional Laboratory involved with brazing,
soldering, and laser and electron beam
welding. He was presented the Yoshiaki
Arata Award from the International In-
stitute of Welding for his extraordinary
achievements in fundamental research in
welding science and technology.
Elihu Thomson
Resistance Welding Award
Muralidhar Tumuluru is with U. S.
Steel Research and Technology Center
where his studies center on joining ad-
vanced high-strength steels for automo-
tive applications. An AWS member since
1980, he is a principal reviewer for the
Welding Journal and serves on several
AWS technical committees and the
American Council of the IIW.
George E. Willis Award
Bryan A. Chin, an AWS Fellow, is a
professor and chair of materials engi-
neering at Auburn University. He is a for-
eign member of the Russian Academy of
Engineering Sciences, McWane endowed
chair of the Samuel Ginn College of En-
gineering, and served on the Department
of Energys Foreign Exchange Teams on
Advanced Materials with Russia, United
Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and France.
77 WELDING JOURNAL
Y. Norman Zhou David Weckman Tam Nguyen
Yoni Adonyi
Mark Trevithick C. Limmaneevichitr
Peng-Sheng Wei
Dong Liang
Boian Alexandrow Gerald Frankel
M. Tumuluru Bryan Chin
John Lippold
John Elmer
FEBRUARY 2013 78
AWS Membership Awards
Presented at FABTECH
Barry Lawrence and Vern Sutter re-
ceived AWS Gold Member Certificates
for 50 years of service.
Cited to receive Life Member Certifi-
cates for 35 years of service were Robert
Bitzky, Kenneth Chorniak, Paul Cun-
ningham, Theodore Day, Gina Gadpaille,
David Hudson, Charles Keibler, Gerald
Knorovsky, Firdosh Mehta, Girard Mir-
gain, Calvin Pepper, Stephen Pollard,
Satyanarayana Segu, Jerome Siko,
Daniel Spackman, Jeffrey Thyssen, Gil
Trigo, and Art Varvoutis.
Presented Silver Member Certificates
for 25 years of service were Christopher
Anderson, Warren Arata, Don Bobyk, Pat
Clark, James Crook, David Diaz, Imtiaz
Edoo, Deger Elove, David Faas, Gregory
Frederick, Christopher Hobson, Harley
Jacobson, Grant Lilley, Ashok Mahesh-
warri, Scott Malkasian, Stephen Proch-
now, John Sisson, Larry Thomas, and
Carlos Vasquez Rojas.
Named Scholarships Announced at
Section Awards Luncheon
This year, 19 Sections established or
enhanced existing Named Scholarships.
Announcing new scholarships were the
Connecticut and Central Massachu-
setts/Rhode Island Sections in District 1;
Cumberland Valley and Lancaster Sec-
tions in District 3; South Florida Section
(H. D. Riviere named scholarship) in Dis-
trict 5; Dayton Section and Les Vesey
Dayton Section named scholarships in
District 7; Mobile Section (two scholar-
ships) in District 9; Cleveland Section Dr.
John Gerken named scholarship in Dis-
trict 10; Detroit Section for several named
scholarships and a West Michigan Sec-
tion named scholarship in District 11; and
Idaho/Montana Section named scholar-
ship in District 20.
Life Members display their certificates at the FABTECH awards-presentation luncheon.
Bill Rice (far left), AWS president, is shown with the Silver Member Certificate awardees at the FABTECH program.
The Section representatives display their named scholarship banners at the FABTECH event.
Vern Sutter (left) and Barry Lawrence display
their Gold Member Certificates for 50 years
of service to the Society.
Service Anniversaries and New Scholarships Announced at FABTECH
79 WELDING JOURNAL
New Standards Projects
Development work has begun on the
following standards. Affected individuals
are invited to contribute to their develop-
ment. E-mail the committee secretary
listed with the document. Participation on
AWS Technical Committees and Subcom-
mittees is open to all persons.
D14.3/D14.3M:2010-AMD1, Specifica-
tion for Welding Earthmoving, Construc-
tion, and Agricultural Equipment. This doc-
ument provides specifications for produc-
ing structural welds used in the manufac-
ture and repair of earthmoving, construc-
tion, and agricultural equipment. Pre-
sented are welding practices that have
been proven to be successful in the indus-
try. Basic dimensional weld details are de-
fined and interpreted for application
throughout the document. Provisions are
made to identify base metals used in these
weldments. Stakeholders: machinery and
equipment communities. E-mail Efram
Abrams, eabrams@aws.org.
D15.1/D15.1M:2012-AMD1, Railroad
Welding Specification for Cars and Loco-
motives. This specification establishes
minimum standards for the manufacture
and maintenance of railroad equipment.
Clauses 417 cover the general require-
ments for welding in the railroad indus-
try. Clauses 1824 cover specific require-
ments for the welding of base metals thin-
ner than
1
8 in. (3 mm). Stakeholders in-
clude all manufacturers and repair facili-
ties of railroad rolling stock. E-mail
Stephen Borrero, sborrero@aws.org.
Amendment
Standard Approved
A5.8M/A5.8:2011-AMD1, Specification
for Filler Metals for Brazing and Braze Weld-
ing. ANSI approved 11/30/12.
Technical Committee Meetings
Note: All meetings scheduled for
Doral, Fla., will be held at AWS World
Headquarters, 8669 Doral Blvd.
Feb. 4. B4 Committee on Mechanical
Testing of Welds. Doral, Fla., contact B.
McGrath, bmcgrath@aws.org.
Feb. 6. International Standards Activi-
ties Committee, Doral, Fla., contact A.
Davis, adavis@aws.org.
Feb. 6, 7. Technical Activities Commit-
tee. Doral, Fla. Contact A. Alonso,
aalonso@aws.org.
Feb. 26March 1. D1 Committees,
Doral, Fla. For detailed meeting informa-
tion, visit www.aws.org/WPZD8B; or con-
tact B. McGrath, bmcgrath@aws.org.
Feb. 26, 27. C3 Committee and Sub-
committees on Brazing and Soldering.
Doral, Fla. Contact S. Borrero, sbor-
rero@aws.org.
Feb. 28. B2F Subcommittee on Plastic
Welding Qualifications. St. Petersburg,
Fla., contact S. Hedrick, steveh@aws.org.
Feb. 28. G1A Subcommittee on Hot
Gas Welding and Extrusion Welding, St.
Petersburg, Fla., contact S. Hedrick,
steveh@aws.org.
March 12, 13. D16 Committee on Ro-
botic and Automatic Welding. Tanner,
Ala., contact P. Henry, phenry@aws.org.
Tech Topics
Amendment #1 A5.8M/A5.8:2011
Specification for Filler Metals for
Brazing and Braze Welding
The following Amendment has
been identified and will be incorpo-
rated into the next reprinting of this
document.
Subject: In Table 5 Chemical Com-
position Requirements for Nickel and
Cobalt Brazing Filler Metals; The
boron (B) weight percentages for AWS
classifications BNi-5a and BNi-5b
Replace:
AWS Classification B
BNi-5a 1.31.6
BNi-5b 1.31.6
With data from AWS
A5.8/A5.8M:2004:
AWS Classification B
BNi-5a 1.01.5
BNi-5b 1.11.6
Interpretation A5.36/A5.36M:2012
Specification for Carbon and
Low-Alloy Steel Flux Cored Electrodes
for Flux Cored Arc Welding and
Metal Cored Electrodes for
Gas Metal Arc Welding
Inquiry No.: A5.36-12-INT1
Inquiry: Does Table 5 of AWS A5.36/
A5.36M:2012 allow the use of gas
blends different from the listed nom-
inal composition within a listed
shielding gas composition range when
conducting classification tests for gas
shielded electrodes to AWS
A5.36/A5.36M?
Response: Yes.
Errata AWS B2.1-8-013:2002
Standard Welding Procedure Specifica-
tion (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 Condition,
with or without Backing
Page 6, Metric Conversions
Correct 12350F to 120F.
ISO Standards for Welding
In the United States, if you wish to par-
ticipate in the development of Interna-
tional Standards for welding, contact An-
drew Davis, adavis@aws.org, otherwise,
contact your national standards body.
A5K Subcommittee on Titanium and Zirconium Filler Metals.To update specifica-
tions for welding electrodes and rods of titanium, zirconium, and their alloys. A. Diaz,
adiaz@aws.org.
A5L Subcommittee on Magnesium Alloy Filler Metals. R. Gupta, gupta@aws.org.
C2 Committee on Thermal Spraying, C4 Committee on Oxyfuel Gas Welding and
Cutting, and D8 Committee on Automotive Welding seek educators, general interest,
and users to update its documents. E. Abrams, eabrams@aws.org.
D10P Subcommittee for Local Heat Treating of Pipe. B. McGrath, bmcgrath@aws.org.
D14 Committee on Machinery and Equipment and D14H Subcommittee on Surfac-
ing and Reconditioning of Industrial Mill Rolls seek professionals in design, production,
engineering, testing, and safe operation of machinery and equipment to prepare recom-
mended practices for surfacing and reconditioning of industrial mill rolls. E. Abrams,
eabrams@aws.org.
D16 Committee on Robotic and Automatic Welding seeks general interest and edu-
cators to help revise its documents. B. McGrath, bmcgrath@aws.org.
D17J Subcommittee to update specification for friction stir welding of aluminum al-
loys for aerospace applications. A. Diaz, adiaz@aws.org.
G2D Subcommittee on Reactive Alloys to update guides for the fusion welding of ti-
tanium 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 interest,
and users to help develop its documents on controls, installation and maintenance, cali-
bration, and resistance welding fact sheets. E. Abrams, eabrams@aws.org.
Members Sought for Technical Committees
visit www.aws.org/technical/jointechcomm.html
FEBRUARY 2013 80
Member-Get-A-Member Campaign
Listed are the members participating in
the 20122013 campaign. Standings as of
12/16/12. See page 85 of this Welding 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.
Winners Circle
Sponsored 20 or more new Individual Members
per year since June 1, 1999. The superscript de-
notes the number of times the member achieved
Winners Circle status if more than once.
E. Ezell, Mobile
10
J. Compton, San Fernando Valley
7
J. Merzthal, Peru
2
G. Taylor, Pascagoula
2
L. Taylor, Pascagoula
2
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
Presidents Roundtable
Sponsored 919 new Individual Members
M. Pelegrino, Chicago 16
E. Ezell, Mobile 12
R. Fulmer, Twin Tiers 10
W. Blamire, Atlanta 9
A. Tous, Costa Rica 9
P. Strother, New Orleans 9
Presidents Club
D. Galiher, Detroit 7
W. Komlos, Utah 7
J. Smith, San Antonio 6
C. Becker, Northwest 5
L. Webb, Lexington 4
A. Bernard, Sabine 3
P. Brown, New Orleans 3
D. Buster, Eastern Iowa 3
C. Daon, Israel 3
G. Gammill, NE Mississippi 3
D. Jessop, Mahoning Valley 3
A. Winkle, Kansas City 3
D. Wright, Kansas City 3
R. Wright, San Antonio 3
Presidents Honor Roll
G. Cornell, St. Louis
P. Host, Chicago
H. Hughes, Mahoning Valley
L. Kvidahl, Pascagoula
W. Larry, Southern Colorado
G. Lawrence, North Central
J. Mansfield, Philadelphia
E. Norman, Ozark
A. Sam, Trinidad
D. Saunders, Lakeshore
C. Shepherd Houston
A. Sumal British Columbia
J. Vincent, Kansas City
A. Vogt New Jersey
J. Vorstenbosch International
M. Wheeler, Cleveland
L. William, Western Carolina
W. Wilson, New Orleans
R. Zabel, SE Nebraska
Student Member Sponsors
Sponsored 3 or more new AWS Student
Members
H. Hughes, Mahoning Valley 73
B. Scherer, Cincinnati 39
W. England, West Michigan 33
R. Hammond, Greater Huntsville 28
S. Siviski, Maine 24
B. Cheatham, Columbia 23
T. Geisler, Pittsburgh 23
C. Kochersperger, Philadelphia 23
M. Arand, Louisville 22
G. Gammill, NE Mississippi 21
J. Falgout, Baton Rouge 18
R. Munns, Utah 18
S. Lindsey, San Diego 17
E. Norman, Ozark 16
R. Hutchinson, Long Bch./Or. Cty. 14
D. Pickering, Central Arkansas 13
R. Zabel, SE Nebraska 13
J. Daugherty, Louisville 12
C. Morris, Sacramento 12
R. Richwine, Indiana 12
S. Robeson, Cumberland Valley 12
D. Saunders, Lakeshore 11
A. Theriot, New Orleans 10
A. Duron, Cumberland Valley 10
J. Boyer, Lancaster 9
G. Seese, Johnstown-Altoona 8
C. Schiner, Wyoming 8
C. Gilbertson, Northern Plains 8
J. Dawson, Pittsburgh 7
R. Udy, Utah 7
R. Vann, South Carolina 7
T. Buckley, Columbus 6
R. Fuller, Green & White Mts. 6
T. Shirk, Tidewater 6
A. Badeaux , Washington, D.C. 5
P. Host, Chicago 5
K. Temme, Philadelphia 5
W. Wilson, New Orleans 5
C. Chifici, New Orleans 4
J. Reed, Ozark 4
G. Siepert, Kansas 4
P. Strother, New Orleans 4
R. Zadroga, Philadelphia 4
S. Liu, Colorado 3
G. Lunen, Kansas City 3
AWS Member Counts
Jan. 1, 2013
Sustaining ......................................556
Supporting.....................................344
Educational ...................................622
Affiliate..........................................494
Welding Distributor........................50
Total Corporate ..........................2,066
Individual .................................58,394
Student + Transitional ...............10,044
Total Members.........................68,438
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 ad-
vancement of materials joining through research and development. Nominations should include a description of the candidates expe-
rience, 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 Technology Dept. of Ocean Engineering. E-mail your nomination package to Todd A.
Palmer, assistant professor, The Pennsylvania State University, tap103@psu.edu.
Candidates Sought for Welding-Related Awards
William Irrgang Memorial Award
This award is given to the individual who has done the most
over the past five years to enhance the Societys 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 recipients 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.
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.
81 WELDING JOURNAL
SECTIONNEWS SECTIONNEWS
District 1
Thomas Ferri, director
(508) 527-1884
thomas_ferri@victortechnologies.com
Speaker Jim Reid (center) poses with Boston
Section Secretary Rick Moody (left) and
Chair Dave Paquin.
Paul Iannotta (right) received his CWI
award from Harland Thompson, District 2
director, at the Long Island Section program.
Jim Reid (far right) discussed welding Grade 91 steel for Boston Section members.
Shown at the Connecticut Section meeting are (from left) Walter Chonacki, District 1 Di-
rector Tom Ferri, Rick Monroe, Chair Steve Goodrow, and Carole DelVecchio.
Working a CWI exam presented by the Maine Section are (from left) Teila, Russ, and Nissa
Norris and John Rayburn.
BOSTON
DECEMBER 3
Speaker: Jim Reid
Affiliation: Reid Consulting
Topic: Welding Grade 91 steels
Activity: The meeting was hosted by Arti-
san Industries at its facility in Waltham,
Mass.
CONNECTICUT
DECEMBER 13
Activity: The Section held an executive
board meeting at Taste of Maine Restau-
rant in East Windsor, Conn. Attending
were District 1 Director Tom Ferri, Chair
Steve Goodrow, Treasurer Walter
Chonacki, Certification Chair Rick Mon-
roe, and Vice Chair Carole DelVecchio.
MAINE
AUGUST 25
Activity: The Section members conducted
a CWI and CWE test at Clarion Hotel in
Portland, Maine. Russ Norris served as
the CWI test administrator, assisted by
Teila and Nissa Norris and John Rayburn.
LONG ISLAND
DECEMBER 4
Activity: The Section held an industry ap-
preciation luncheon at BOCES of Nassau
County, N.Y. Paul Iannotta received the
Section Dalton E. Hamilton Memorial
CWI of the Year Award from Harland
Thompson, District 2 Director, and Mr.
Clark, school principal.
NEW JERSEY
NOVEMBER 20
Speaker: Robert F. Waite, P.E, CWI
Topic: Responsibilities of the CWI
Activity: Robert Waite received the Sec-
tions August F. Manz Speaker of the Year
Award from Chair Bob Petrone. The meet-
ing was held in Scotch Plains, N.J.
District 2
Harland W. Thompson, director
(631) 546-2903
harland.w.thompson@us.ul.com
FEBRUARY 2013 82
District 4
Stewart A. Harris, director
(919) 764-4000
Steward.Harris@Altec.com
District 3
Michael Wiswesser, director
(610) 820-9551
mike@wtti.com
Robert Waite (left) is shown with Bob
Petrone, New Jersey Section chair.
The Triangle Section welding merit badge class included (from left) Owen Stoddard, Joshua
Moss, Merit Badge Counselor Russell Wahrman, Mason Poole, and Cameron Burns.
Some of the Lancaster Section meeting attendees are shown at the November event.
Lancaster Section Chair Justin Heistand
(left) is shown with John Ganoe.
Brian Gross (left) displays his award pre-
sented by Justin Heistand, Lancaster Sec-
tion chair.
Carl Matricardi (left), District 5 director, Jim Blackburn (center), and David Ennis, Atlanta
Section chair, are shown during the tour of Syncroflo in October.
LANCASTER
NOVEMBER 7
Activity: Fifty-four attendees, including
welding students from Harrisburg Area C.
C., participated in a hands-on demonstra-
tion of the VRTEX360 virtual arc weld-
ing training system. Dave Watson, Lincoln
Electric sales engineer, conducted the pro-
gram. Everyone had a chance to try the
machine. Jonathan Fink received a weld-
ing helmet for achieving the highest score.
Brian Gross received the Section Merito-
rious Award and John Ganoe received the
Section Educator Award.
TRIANGLE
DECEMBER 1
Activity: Russell Wahrman, vice president
of inspections at Inspectology, Inc., trained
and tested scouts Owen Stoddard, Joshua
Moss, Mason Poole, and Cameron Burns
from Troop 11, Occoneechee Council,
Raleigh, N.C., to earn their welding merit
badges.
83 WELDING JOURNAL
District 5
Carl Matricardi, director
(770) 979-6344
cmatricardi@aol.com
District 7
Uwe Aschemeier, director
(786) 473-9540
uwe@miamidiver.com
District 6
Kenneth Phy, director
(315) 218-5297
kenneth.phy@gmail.com
ATLANTA
OCTOBER 25
Activity: The Section members visited Syn-
croflo in Norcross, Ga., to study its opera-
tions. Jim Blackburn, owner, presented a
history of the company and guided the tour
of the plant. Carl Matricardi, District 5
director, attended the event.
NORTHERN NEW YORK
DECEMBER 4
Speaker: Warren G. Alexander, P.E.
Affiliation: Structural metals consultant
Topic: Design of the self-anchored San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Activity: The meeting was held at Shaker
Ridge Country Club in Albany, N.Y.
CHATTANOOGA
NOVEMBER 27
Activity: The Section members visited Ko-
matsu America Corp. manufacturing fa-
cility in Chattanooga, Tenn., to study its
welding processes and testing procedures.
Andrew Miller, production manager and
welding engineer, discussed the operations
then conducted the plant tour. Joe Livesay,
District 8 director, attended the program.
GREATER HUNTSVILLE
OCTOBER 25
Activity: The Section held its meeting at
Blount County Center of Technology
where Welding Instructor Randy Ham-
mond discussed the need for welders and
what it takes to keep a job. Joe Smith, a
welding instructor at Marshall Technical
College, discussed the need for welders at
Ingalls Shipyard, job pay scales, and incen-
tives.
NOVEMBER 15
Activity: Representatives from Ingalls
Shipbuilding David Cobb, trade manager,
and Russell Bosarge, recruiter, explained
the need for welders at the facility. They
presented a film depicting the reconstruc-
tion of the USS Cole. The meeting fol-
lowed a cookout in the welding shop at
Marshall Technical School in Huntsville,
Ala.
HOLSTON VALLEY
NOVEMBER 13
Activity: The Section members visited
Angus-Palm, Inc., in Greeneville, Tenn.
Tim Gary presented a tour of the facility
and offered an in-depth view of the fabri-
cation and welding processes involved with
the production of ROPS (roll over protec-
tion services). The dinner and meeting
were held at Ryans Restaurant in
Greeneville.
Bob Christoffel (left) is shown with speaker
Warren G. Alexander at the Northern New
York Section program.
Andrew Miller conducted the Chattanooga
Section members on a tour of Komatsu.
Joe Livesay, District 8 director, is shown dur-
ing the Chattanooga Section tour.
District 8
Joe Livesay, director
(931) 484-7502, ext. 143
joe.livesay@ttcc.edu
Holston Valley Section members are shown during their tour of Angus-Palm, Inc.
FEBRUARY 2013 84
Shown during the Northeast Tennessee Section tour are (from left) Caleb Anderson, Lucas Hicks, Charles Leopper, John Folk, Patrick
Werner, Bruce Lowery, Brent Shattles, Chair Joshua Burgess, David Hoff, Philip Bodanza, Lloyd Cadd, District 8 Director Joe Livesay, Dar-
ren Nail, Jim Werner, Chris Hayes, Paul Pipkin, Daniel Conner, and Jonaaron Jones.
Shown at the completion of their bridge-building project are (from left) Jerry Breeding, Tristen Staggs, Austin Branner, Branden Blanken-
ship, Allen Gillpin, Lucas Matthews, David Abbott, Holden Tuddle, Malachi Summers, Austin Matthews, Jesse Warner, Wyatt Sullivan, and
David Porter, advisor, Tennessee Technology Center at Red Boiling Springs Student Chapter.
NORTHEAST TENNESSEE
OCTOBER 23
Activity: The Section members visited Ma-
terials Engineering & Testing Corp. in Oak
Ridge, Tenn., for demonstrations and a
tour of its fabrication, welding, and mate-
rials testing shop. Attendees included
members from other local Sections and
welding students from Tennessee Technol-
ogy Center at Crossville and the Univer-
sity of Tennessee. District 8 Director Joe
Livesay attended the program.
Tennessee Tech. Center at
Red Boiling Springs S.C.
NOVEMBER 19
Activity: The Student Chapter members
proudly displayed the foot bridge they
welded in cooperation with the Tech Cen-
ters drafting class and machine shop stu-
dents. Organizing the project was Advisor
David Porter, welding instructor, and a
member of the Nashville Section.
Speaker Robert Ellig (left) is shown with Milt
Kemp, Lakeshore Section chair.
Speaker Robert Shaw (left) is shown with
Jeff Stanczak at the Chicago Section event.
District 9
George Fairbanks Jr., director
(225) 473-6362
ts@bellsouth.net
District 10
Robert E. Brenner, director
(330) 484-3650
bobren28@yahoo.com
District 11
Robert P. Wilcox, director
(734) 721-8272
rmwilcox@wowway.com
NORTHWEST OHIO
NOVEMBER 29
Activity: The Section held an awards pres-
entation program hosted by Chair Richard
West. Timothy Klement and Juan Huerta
received their Silver Member certificates
for 25 years of service to the Society. The
event was held at Tony Packos Cafe in East
Toledo, Ohio.
District 12
Daniel J. Roland, director
(715) 735-9341, ext. 6421
daniel.roland@us.ncantieri.com
B
L
I
N
D

P
E
R
F
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87 WELDING JOURNAL
LAKESHORE
NOVEMBER 8
Speaker: Robert Ellig, president
Affiliation: Bluco Modular Fixturing
Topic: Applications for Bluco products
Activity: The program was present at
Machuts Supper Club in Two Rivers, Wis.
CHICAGO
NOVEMBER 7
Speaker: Robert E. Shaw, president
Affiliation: Steel Structures Tech Center
Topic: New CWI requirements for making
bolting inspections
Activity: The program was held at Mama
Luigis Restaurant in Chicago, Ill.
NOVEMBER 30
Activity: The Chicago Section members
held its annual holiday outing at Brook-
field Zoo.
LEXINGTON
NOVEMBER 15
Speaker: Tripp Tuggle, district sales man-
ager
Affiliation: Hypertherm
Topic: Plasma cutting
Activity: Bradly Rucker and Stephen Roth
each received a $500 Woodrow Scott Me-
morial Scholarship, presented by welding
instructors Shawn Gannon and Bobby Cof-
fee and Chair Frank McKinley. Fifty-five
members and guests attended the event.
INDIANA
DECEMBER 8
Activity: The Section held its Christmas
party at Holiday Inn Express in Anderson,
Ind., for about 50 attendees.
Ivy Tech C. C.
Student Chapter
DECEMBER 8
Activity: Advisor Robert Richwine, Dis-
trict 14 director, joined eleven Chapter
members to wrap presents they purchased
for needy children in the area as part of
the Ivy Tech C. C. Wish Tree Program.
Shown at the November Chicago Section program are (from left) George Novac, Eric
Purkey, Eric Krauss, Marty Vondra, and Chair Craig Tichelar.
Chicago Section Chair Craig Tichelar (far left, wearing a necktie) poses with Brookfield
Zoo restaurant staff during the Sections holiday outing.
Some of the Indiana Section members and guests are shown at the December program.
Shown at the Lexington Section program are (from left) Shawn Gannon, Bradly Rucker,
Chair Frank McKinley, Stephen Roth, and Bobby Coffee.
District 13
John Willard, director
(815) 954-4838
kustom_bilt@msn.com
Bethann Neal wraps a present at the Ivy Tech
C. C. Student Chapter event.
District 14
Robert L. Richwine, director
(765) 378-5378
bobrichwine@aol.com
FEBRUARY 2013 88
District 16
Dennis Wright, director
(913) 782-0635
awscwi1@att.net
Louisville Section members and guests are shown at Churchill Downs in November.
Curt Wilsoncroft demonstrated automated carbon arc gouging for the East Texas Section
members and guests.
Shown at the East Texas Section program in October are (from left) Chair Bryan Baker,
speaker Joel Armstrong, and J. Jones, District 17 director.
District 15
David Lynnes, director
(701) 365-0606
dave@learntoweld.com
LOUISVILLE
NOVEMBER 25
Activity: The Section members and guests
enjoyed a day of horse racing at Churchill
Downs in Louisville, Ky.
SANGAMON VALLEY
NOVEMBER 15
Activity: The Section held a students night
program featuring a welding competition
using virtual reality welding machines. Eric
Gleason, a recruiter for Midwest Techni-
cal Institute, participated in the program.
The event was held at Heartland Techni-
cal Academy in Decatur, Ill.
NORTHERN PLAINS
DECEMBER 1
Activity: The Section held its first Boy
Scout welding merit badge training event
at Lynnes Welding Training, Inc., in Fargo,
N.Dak., for 28 scouts from the Northern
Lights Council. The welding instructors in-
cluded District 15 Director Dave Lynnes,
Jerod Tengesdal, Carl Tengesdal, and Kale
Burkey. Assisting were Wendi Stachler,
Nathan Stachler, Tamra Maddock, Chuck
Choate, Jeff Schneider, Thomas Springer,
Adam Patterson, Cody Flynn, David Wills,
Vinay Gopinath, Armon Myrick, Mace
Harris, and Kurt Goltz. Donations were
received from Mace Harris, Lincoln Elec-
tric, Praxair, and American Welding and
Gas.
EAST TEXAS
APRIL 26
Activity: The Section members and weld-
ing students met at Kilgore Jr. College in
Kilgore, Tex., for a demonstration of the
Arcair Matic N7500 automated carbon
arc gouging system. Curt Wilsoncroft from
Victor Technologies conducted the pro-
gram.
OCTOBER 25
Speaker: Joel Armstrong
Affiliation: Red Ball Oxygen
Topic: The responsibilities of Certified
Welding Inspectors
Activity: The program was held at Pa-
pacitas in Longview, Tex. District 17 Di-
rector J. Jones attended the program.
NOVEMBER 15
Speaker: Rachel Buchanan
Affiliation: Buchanan Insurance Services
Topic: Insurance protection for welders
Activity: The meeting was held at Pa-
pacitas in Longview, Tex.
DECEMBER 11
Activity: The East Texas Section hosted its
holiday party at Papacitas Restaurant in
Longview, Tex. Featured was a Toys for
Tots gift program urging attendees to bring
an unwrapped toy to the party to benefit
local needy children.
NORTH TEXAS
NOVEMBER 20
Activity: The Section members toured the
Red Ball Oxygen plant in Grand Prairie,
Tex. Attending were Student Chapter
members from Lincoln Tech and Hill Col-
lege Cleburne campus. The tour was con-
ducted by Jason Kirby, manager and a Sec-
tion board member, who explained the
quality control system. Charles Jones dis-
cussed the refill rack system.
District 17
J. Jones, director
(940) 368-3130
jjones@Victortechnologies.com
89 WELDING JOURNAL
Birds-eye view of the East Texas Section carbon arc gouging demonstration in April.
Instructor Ron Theiss (far right) is shown with the attendees at the Houston Sections CWI training seminar.
Shown at the November Tulsa Section program are (from left) District 17 Director J. Jones,
Jerry Knapp, Barry Lawrence, Todd Fradd, Scott Sutherland, and Ralph Johnson.
Charles Jones (left) and Jason Kirby led the North Texas Section tour of Red Ball Oxygen.
TULSA
OCTOBER 23
Activity: The Section members toured
BLM Equipment and Mfg., Inc., in
Catoosa, Okla. Eddie Michels, president
and owner, described the methods used to
make storm shelters and pressure vessels.
A highlight was a demonstration using an
air canon to propel a 2 4 through a ply-
wood wall simulating the destructive
power of tornadic winds.
NOVEMBER 27
Speaker: Scott Sutherland
Affiliation: Tri County Vocational School
Topic: How I became a welding instructor
Activity: Scott Sutherland received the
Howard E. Adkins Educator of the Year
Award. District 17 Director J. Jones pre-
sented AWS membership anniversary cer-
tificates to Barry Lawrence (50 years),
Ralph Johnson and Jerry Knapp (35
years), and Todd Fradd (25 years). The
event was held at Shilohs Restaurant in
Tulsa, Okla.
HOUSTON
DECEMBER 1
Activity: The Section held its annual so-
cial event with a Casino Night theme at
Bradys Landing in Houston, Tex.
DECEMBER 37
Activity: The Section hosted a three-day
Certified Welding Inspector seminar at
Embassy Suites Hotel in Houston, Tex., for
48 attendees. Ron Theiss was the instruc-
tor. John Bray, District 18 director, made
a presentation about the Houston Section
events.
SABINE
OCTOBER 16
Speaker: Nev Aras, manager
District 18
John Bray, director
(281) 997-7273
sales@afliatedmachinery.com
FEBRUARY 2013 90
Shown at the Houston Sections Casino Night event are (from left) Indumathi Segu, Saty
Segu, Luanne Bray, John Theiss, and Mike Young.
Alaska Section members are shown at the November program.
Affiliation: Industrial Thermal Services
Topic: The importance of stress relieving
using heat treating
Activity: Among the 38 attendees were
welding students from Lamar Technical
College. This Sabine Section program was
held at Catfish Kitchen in Beaumont, Tex.
ALASKA
NOVEMBER 28
Speaker: Vince Tucker
Affiliation: Hypertherm
Topic: Automated plasma cutting and fiber
laser systems
Activity: The program was held in Anchor-
age, Alaska.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
NOVEMBER 20
Speakers: David and Adam Stasuk
Affiliation: Stasuk Testing & Inspection
Topic: Inspecting the tunnel liners on the
Seymour-Capilano Twin Tunnel Project
Activity: The program was held at the UA
Piping Industry College of British Colum-
bia in Delta, B.C., Canada.
OLYMPIC
DECEMBER 6
Speaker: Chair Sjon Delmore
Affiliation: CK Worldwide, sales manager
Topic: Cold wire GTAW applications
Activity: Following the talk, Delmore pre-
sented a hands-on demonstration of the
process for the 35 attendees. The meeting
was held at Bates C. C. in Tacoma, Wash.
PUGET SOUND
DECEMBER 6
Speaker: Mel Clifford, national strategic
sales manager
Affiliation: OTC-Daihen
Topic: Advancements in digitally con-
trolled GMAW power supplies
Activity: The Section presented $500
scholarships to Art Schnitzer and Ryan
McGuire. Welding students and staff from
Renton Technical College, South Seattle
C. C., Lake Washington Technical College,
and Everett C. C. attended the event.
Chair Dan Sheets announced his plans for
conducting a shielding gas workshop at
Everett C. C.
Speaker Nev Aras (left) is shown with John
McKeehan, Sabine Section chair.
Pat Newhouse poses with speakers Adam (left) and David Stasuk at the British Columbia
Section program.
District 19
Ken Johnson, director
(425) 957-3553
kenneth.johnson@vigorshipyards.com
91 WELDING JOURNAL
Olympic Section Chair Sjon Delmore
demonstrated GTA welding fundamentals
at the December program.
Welding students are shown at the Puget Sound Section program.
Shown at the Puget Sound Section program are (from left) Steve Pollard, Ryan McGuire,
Art Schnitzer, and Steve Nielson.
The Idaho/Montana Section joined other local engineering societies for a holiday social in December.
Kirk Webb demonstrated the use of metal
core wires at the Idaho/Montana Sections
student program held Dec. 7.
Speaker Mel Clifford is shown with Ken
Johnson, District 19 director, at the Puget
Sound Section program.
District 20
William A. Komlos, director
(801) 560-2353
bkoz@arctechllc.com
IDAHO/MONTANA
DECEMBER 6
Activity: The Section members partici-
pated in the Eastern Idaho Engineering
Councils Christmas social held at Shilo
Inn in Idaho Falls, Idaho. John Buttles re-
ceived the Section Meritorious Award. At-
tending the event were members of the
local chapters of ANS, ASCE, ASME,
AlChE, IEEE, IAS, IWIN, ISA, ISPE,
ACS, and TBP. The sponsors included
Basic American Foods, Idaho National
Laboratory, Premier Technology, Inc., and
Walker Engineering P.C.
DECEMBER 7
Activity: Brigham Young University weld-
ing students met for a technical presenta-
tion and meal at the welding department
facilities. Kirk Webb of Hobart Brothers,
assisted by Dan Cox of Norco Idaho Falls,
discussed and demonstrated the use of
metal core wires and pulsed spray trans-
fer technology. The BYU welding students
are working to recharter their Student
Chapter by early this year.
FEBRUARY 2013 92
Attendees are shown at the New Mexico Section program in November.
District 21 board members and guests are (from left) Robert Doiron, Sam Lindsey, Holley Lindsey, Carolyn Compton, Ryan Compton, Jack
Compton, Connie Compton, Evelyn Schinder, Rich Samanich, District 21 Director Nanette Samanich, Mariana Ludmer, George Rolla,
and Kenny Reid.
Scouts helped each other earn their Boy
Scout welding merit badges at the Sacra-
mento Valley Section-sponsored event.
NEW MEXICO
NOVEMBER 30
Speaker: Justin Forni, assistant coordina-
tor, welding director
Affiliation: UA Plummers & Pipefitters
Topic: Application of the tip GTAW
process for pipe welding
Activity: About 50 people attended the
program, including members of the Cen-
tral New Mexico C. C. Student Chapter.
The program was held at J B Henderson
Construction Company in Albuquerque,
N.Mex.
District 21
Board Members Meeting
NOVEMBER 12
Activity: Members of the District 21 board
held a meeting during FABTECH in Las
Vegas, Nev., headed by Nanette Samanich,
District 21 director.
SACRAMENTO VALLEY
AUGUST 18
Activity: The Section sponsored a boy
scout welding merit badge training and
testing program for 31 scouts and their
families. Participating in the training were
Scout Master Eric Wright of Wright Weld-
ing, Thomas and Zachary Larsson of Lars-
son Welding, Mike McGeehan of McGee-
han Welding, Jesse Wood of J. W. Weld-
ing, Doug Kyle of Kyles Portable Welding,
Don Crossley of Croz Custom Metal Fab-
rication, Mike Heidt of Heidts Portable
Welding, Del Kovach of Kovach Welding,
and Marvin, Jay, and Daniel Martinez
from Advanced Welding Service.
District 22
Kerry E. Shatell, director
(925) 866-5434
kesi@pge.com
District 21
Nanette Samanich, director
(702) 429-5017
nan07@aol.com
93 WELDING JOURNAL
New AWS Supporters
New Sustaining Members
Advantech Industries, Inc.
3850 Buffalo Rd.
Rochester, NY 14624
Representative: Jess P. Bedard
www.advantechindustries.com
Horizon Metals, Inc.
8059 Lewis Rd.
Berea, OH 44017
Representative: Paul Froehlich
www.horizonmetals.com
Smith Welding Products, Inc.
109 Rickman Industrial Dr.
Holly Springs, GA 30142
Representative: Wayne M. Blamire
www.smithwelding.com
Smith Welding Products supplies a
complete line of products and services
for the welding and cutting industry. In
addition to providing filler metals, indus-
trial and specialty gases, and safety prod-
ucts, it offers welder training and certifi-
cation and procedure certifications.
Affiliate Companies
Advanced Flow Systems
PO Box 709, STN Whonnock
Maple Ridge BC V2W0C9
Canada
D & D Mechanical, Inc.
2563 Bellwood Rd.
Richmond, VA 23237
Clarkdale Metals Corp.
PO Box 910, 500 Luke Ln.
Clarkdale, AZ 86324
Element Fabricating, Inc.
10703 N. Government Way
Hayden, ID 83835
Feinstein Iron Works, Inc.
12683 Willets Point Blvd
Flushing, NY 11368
FindWelders.com
9 Dalamar Ct.
Latham, NY 12110
KW Industries, Inc.
909 Industrial Blvd.
Sugar Land, TX 77478
Mid Atlantic Contracting
7749 Woodbine Rd.
Woodbine, MD 21797
Pioneer Power, Inc.
570 Hatch Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55117
Robbins Mfg., Inc.
200 Steel Rd., POB 87
Fall River, WI 53932
Rus Industrial, LLC
16030 Bear Bayou Dr.
Channelview, TX 77530
Total Marine Technology Pty. Ltd.
1 Ambitious Link, Bibra Lake
Perth, WA6163, Australia
Supporting Companies
Hauck Mfg. Co.
100 N. Harris St.
Cleona, PA 17042
Mohammed Areef Arafat Construction
and Metal Industries
PO Box 355850
Riyadh, 11383, Saudi Arabia
Welding Distributors
Condo Welding Depot, Inc.
2950 W. 84th St., Bay #1
Hialeah, FL 33018
ILMO Products Co.
2728 S. 2nd St.
St. Louis, MO 63118
Educational Institutions
College of the Sequoias
915 S. Mooney Blvd.
Visalia, CA 93277
Catawba Valley C. C.
2550 Hwy. 70 SE
Hickory, NC 28602
La Feria High School
901 N. Canal St.
La Feria, TX 78559
Michigan State University
Physical Plant
1147 Chestnut Rd.
East Lansing, MI 48824
Mitchell Technical Institute
1800 E. Spruce St.
Mitchell, SD 57301
Ocean County Vo Tech
1299 Old Freehold Rd.
Toms River, NJ 08753
River Valley Technical Center
307 South St.
Springfield, VT 05156
Supreme Institute of
Technical Education
37/2236, A2, 1st Fl.r, Angel Te Duem,
N. Palathuruthi Rd., Kathrikadavu
Cochin-Ernakulam,
Kerala 682017
India
Vatterott College Kansas City
4131 N. Corrington Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64117
Virginia Military Institute
Preston Library
345 Letcher Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450
American Welding Society members
will receive a discounted fee to attend the
Laser Institute of America (LIA) 5th An-
nual Laser Additive Manufacturing Work-
shop to be held Feb. 12 at Hilton Houston
North Hotel in Houston, Tex. The two so-
cieties have signed a cooperating society
agreement wherein AWS is listed as a Co-
operating Society for the event and AWS
members receive the LIA member dis-
count. For complete information, visit
www.lia.org/conferences/lam.
Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop Offers Discounted Fee to AWS Members
FEBRUARY 2013 94
Guide to AWS Services
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
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 Nuez..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)
INTERNATIONAL SALES
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 OBrien.. 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
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
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.
TECHNICAL SERVICES
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 ONeill.. 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 Foundations work with your financial
support. Call (800) 443-9353, ext. 212, for complete
information.
Airgas Names West Region
President
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, Pa., has named
David Shedd president of the Airgas West
region. He succeeds
Samuel Thompson
who has left the com-
pany. Shedd most re-
cently worked for
Oldcastle Precast
where he was presi-
dent of the national
manufacturing divi-
sion and its central
region.
SIFCO Names CFO
SIFCO Industries, Inc., Cleveland,
Ohio, a supplier of forged products and
heat-treating, coating, welding, and ma-
chining services for the aerospace and
other industries, has named Catherine
(Kate) Kramer CFO, succeeding Frank
Cappello who has left the company. Previ-
ously, Kramer served the company as di-
rector of financial planning and analysis.
GH Induction Hires
Midwest Sales Manager
GH Induction Atmospheres,
Rochester, N.Y., has hired Michael
Maiorino as its midwest regional sales
manager, serving customers in Michigan,
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Maiorino has
many years of sales experience with a
process heating and controls manufactur-
ing company.
Gateway Hires Product
Development Manager
Gateway Safety, Cleveland, Ohio, has
appointed Greg Schmidt to the newly cre-
ated position of product development
manager for all of the companys product
categories including eye, face, head, hear-
ing, and respiratory protection. Previ-
ously, Schmidt served as a product man-
ager for Applied Industrial Technologies
and earlier as a design engineer and prod-
uct manager for Rockwell Automation.
Wall Colmonoy (UK) Makes
Staff Changes
Wall Colmonoy Ltd. (UK), Pontar-
dawe Swansea, UK, has promoted Nick
Clark to machine shop business unit man-
ager for the UK facility and named Mark
Harrison continuous improvement man-
ager. Clark joined the company last year
as a process engineer in the Alloy Products
Group. Previously, he served four years as
an intelligence officer with the rank of
captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. Harri-
son has 18 years of experience in Six Sigma
and Lean methodologies he acquired
while working for Honeywell, PowerPart-
ners, and Masco UK Windows Group.
Intelligrated Appoints
Sales Account Manager
Intelligrated, Cincinnati, Ohio, an au-
tomated material-handling product
provider, has appointed Mike McCarthy a
sales account man-
ager, responsible for
supporting clients
within the companys
distribution and fulfill-
ment business. Prior
to joining the com-
pany, McCarthy
served as a sales exec-
utive for GE Health-
care and worked on
the installation team
for The Buschman Co.
Noble Gas Hires Three
Noble Gas Solutions, Albany, N.Y., a
supplier of welding equipment and gases,
PERSONNEL
FEBRUARY 2013 96
David Shedd
Nick Clark Mark Harrison
Mike McCarthy
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has named Andrew
Carnevale second
shift high-pressure
cylinder technician,
Frank Gazeley a store
sales trainee, and
Thaddeus Mil-
czewski second shift
cylinder handler.
Carnevale has experi-
ence in landscaping,
Gazeley previously
served as manager of a local golf course,
and Milczewski has experience in the
transportation industry.
Caster Concepts Appoints
Sales Representative
Caster Concepts, Inc., Albion, Mich., a
supplier of heavy-duty industrial casters
and wheels, has appointed Kurtis Myers a
territory sales representative for the East
Coast region. Myers previously served the
company for five years as purchasing and
inventory manager.
Matheson Changes Upper
Management Assignments
Matheson, Basking Ridge, N.J., a sup-
plier of industrial gases and associated
equipment, has announced its current
chairman and CEO William J. Kroll has
assumed the role of executive chairman of
the board of directors, and current presi-
dent and COO Scott Kallman will transi-
tion to president and CEO. Kroll has
served as chairman and CEO for the past
nine years and will continue to serve as a
member of the board of directors of Taiyo
Nippon Sanso Corp., the companys par-
ent company. Kallman assumes responsi-
bility for corporate administration, legal
services, human resources, business de-
velopment, information technology,
R&D, marketing, and finance.
Andrew Carnevale
Frank Gazeley
T. Milczewski
PERSONNEL
continued from page 96
FEBRUARY 2013 98
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Online Welding Safety Certificate Course
Earn PDHs and increase your ability to improve safety and health of your welding operations.
Three-hour self-paced course covers electric shock, vision and skin protection,
ventilation, fire protection, handling of gases, and much more.
Sample seminar at awo.aws.org/seminars/safety
OSHAestimates that
4 out of every 1,000
welders will
experience a fatal
injury or accident over
their working lifetime
Online elding Safet W Online y Certificate Course elding Safety Certificate Course y Certificate Course
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fluid path configured with an electroless
nickel-plated steel, 90-deg full-flow NPT
swivel inlet, and chemical-resistant
AFLAS seals. Standard features include a
one-piece, all-welded A frame base for
maximum stability, low-profile outlet riser,
and open drum slot design to provide a
noncrimping, flat smooth hose wrap.
Coxreels
www.coxreels.com
(800) 269-7335
Filler Metals Approved for
Commercial Applications
The companys patent-pending 4943
aluminum filler metals, including
GMAW wire and GTAW cut-lengths, fea-
ture AWS A5.10 classification and ASME
F23 allocation. Developed in response to
industry demands for a higher-strength
aluminum welding product that offers the
advantage of using a 4043 aluminum filler
metal, the filler metals are suitable for el-
evated-temperature applications. Both
filler metals can be used for welding au-
tomotive and motorcycle frames, wheels,
furniture, ladders and frames, ship decks,
pleasure boats, bicycles, and aerospace
applications, as well as A356.0 casting
repairs.
Maxal
www.maxal.com
(800) 346-2529
Obituaries
John D. Miller
John D. Miller, 73, died Dec. 17 in Her-
shey, Pa. A CWI and an AWS Life Mem-
ber, he was active for nearly 40 years with
the Reading Section
where he served as
chair for three terms.
He served a tour of
duty in the U.S.
Army, and for 29
years, was a produc-
tion manager for
PRL Industries in
Cornwall, Pa. Miller
was a member of the
Liberty Marching
Club, Rexmont Fire
Co., Newmanstown Athletic Association,
AmVets, and the Lebanon American Le-
gion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. His
hobbies included playing bluegrass music,
hunting, and fishing. He is survived by his
wife, Betty, four children, seven grand-
children, and two brothers.
Glenn W. Oyler
Glenn W. Oyler, 89, an AWS Coun-
selor, died Dec. 29 in Albuquerque,
N.Mex. An AWS member since 1952,
Oyler served
as a District 1
director, direc-
t or- at - l arge,
and AWS tech-
nical director
(19771981).
He also served
as executive di-
rector and
president of
the Welding
R e s e a r c h
Council, a del-
egate to 20 IIW
World Assem-
blies, and chaired Commission VII Re-
search and Development. In 1941, he
worked as a welder for Fairchild Aircraft
Corp. and as a welder in the Army Air
Corps (19421945). He received his bach-
elors, masters, and doctorate degrees
from Penn State University, University of
Pittsburgh, and Lehigh University, respec-
tively. He worked for ALCOA while get-
ting his masters degree. He worked seven
years for the Linde Division of Union Car-
bide in New Jersey where he helped de-
velop the plasma arc cutting process. In
1960, he became the chief welding engi-
neer of the Nuclear Division of Texas In-
struments in Massachusetts, and worked
with Adm. Rickover in the fabrication of
nuclear reactor fuel cores for the Naval
Nuclear Reactor Program. In 1963, he be-
came director of applied research and de-
velopment for ACF Industries in Albu-
querque. Oyler next worked in the Space
Program, first for Lockheed Corp. then
Martin Marietta Corp. In 1973, he trans-
ferred to the Martin Mariettas Michoud
Plant as chief welding engineer in charge
of building the first Space Shuttle external
fuel tank. Oyler was a Fellow of ASM In-
ternational, the National Space Society,
and the British Welding Institute. He
served as a member of the ASME Pressure
Vessel and Boiler Code Committee. He
received numerous awards and published
many papers and lectured widely about
space exploration. Following his retire-
ment in 1989, he worked on cruise ships
for 20 years as a dance host. Oyler is sur-
vived by three children, three grandchil-
dren, two great-grandchildren, and a
brother.
101 WELDING JOURNAL
Glenn W. Oyler
John D. Miller
PERSONNEL
PRODUCT & PRINT
SPOTLIGHT
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vide significant mass reduction at the lowest possible cost, said
Lawrence W. Kavanagh, president, Steel Market Development
Institute. This is significant, as automakers have the challeng-
ing task of developing affordable vehicles that meet new and
tightening regulations.
In addition to its cost advantage, steels ability to provide crash
performance for safety was also confirmed in this report.
PFERD Training Academy Debuts
The PFERD Training Academy has been opened at the com-
panys manufacturing facility in Milwaukee, Wis. This space is a
safe, controlled working environment equipped with a broad se-
lection of power tools and product samples. It is also staffed by
an experienced team of technical experts trained at the com-
panys worldwide headquarters in Marienheide, Germany.
Courses include classroom sessions and practical lab applica-
tions covering its line of abrasives, TC burs, files, mounted points,
specialty abrasive products, brushes, and power tools. Training
schedules consist of two-and-a-half day sessions with meals, lodg-
ing, and ground transportation to and from the airport provided
for attendees. All training manuals and materials are provided
as well, and completion certificates are awarded.
National Technical Manager, Sam Lombardo, has a broad
background in the metalworking industry. Phil Benincaso,
PFERD training manager, has been with the company for more
than twenty years. Other staff members include trainers Imre
Karetka and Kevin Kolb.
Airgas Supports Operation Homefront;
Acquires Four Businesses
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, Pa., has reaffirmed its Operation Home-
front commitment, a charity that supports Americas troops by
providing emergency assistance/moral support to the family mem-
bers left behind when they are deployed.
Airgas Executive Chairman Peter McCausland along with Air-
gas President and CEO Mike Molinini recently presented Oper-
ation Homefront President and CEO Jim Knotts with a $100,000
donation. An other $100,000 donation will be made during 2013.
In related company news, Airgas acquired the assets and op-
erations of four businesses, including U.S. Welding & Safety Sup-
ply Co., Miami, Fla.; Rebel Welding & Industrial Supply, Inc.,
with operations in Vicksburg, Miss., and Tallulah, La.; Sadler
Welding Products, LLC, with facilities in Dothan, Eufaula, and
Troy, Ala., plus Panama City, Fla.; and Rochester Welding Sup-
ply Corp., with locations in Rochester and Manchester, N.Y.
Steel Dynamics Structural and Rail Division
to Expand Production
Steel Dynamics, Inc., plans to install a heat-treating system at
its Columbia City, Ind., structural and rail division. When opera-
tional, the system will be capable of producing up to 350,000 tons
of standard strength and head-hardened plain, carbon steel rails
for North Americas railroad industry.
Capital investments are estimated to be slightly less than $27
million. Site preparation will start immediately with construction
expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013. The company an-
ticipates it will commission the system before the end of 2013.
Production ramp-up is expected to continue through 2015, reach-
ing full production of 350,000 tons in early 2016. This expansion
is expected to create nearly 40 new, full-time jobs.
In addition, the companys new process will involve a mod-
ern, universal mill capable of rolling 320-ft-long rails.
Caster Concepts Starts New Addition
Caster Concepts, Inc., a manufacturer of heavy-duty indus-
trial casters and wheels, recently broke ground on a 21,000-sq-ft
addition to its current headquarters in Albion, Mich.
Site work will begin immediately, and as spring breaks, con-
struction will begin on the footings and steel structure with com-
pletion expected in mid-summer. This addition will bring the
companys facility to approximately 65,000 sq ft.
The official name of the existing building is The Richard H.
Dobbins Building for Manufacturing. My father would be very
excited about this announcement as he loved manufacturing and
was very proud of this business, said William Dobbins,
president.
Industry Notes
Global research and development spending is forecast to grow
by 3.7%, or $53.7 billion, in 2013 to $1.5 trillion, according
to the forecast by Battelle and R&D Magazine. The full re-
port can be found through www.battelle.org.
Workers at NASA earned a U.S. Patent (#8,290,006) for de-
vising a dynamically variable spot size system, incorporating
a plurality of lenses, to use in laser welding and brazing metal
components.
Osborn, Cleveland, Ohio, recently celebrated its 125th an-
niversary. Founded by John J. Osborn in 1887, the company
now offers more than 10,000 standard finishing products, and
is publishing its history in a coffee-table book.
GM recently announced the next-generation Chevrolet Ca-
maro will be assembled at the Lansing Grand River Assem-
bly Plant, Lansing, Mich., as building it there consolidates
the rear-wheel drive assembly with the Cadillac CTS and ATS.
FEBRUARY 2013 102
NEWS OF THE INDUSTRY
Attendees receive hands-on experience at PFERDs Training Acad-
emy that represents an upgrade in product training for distributors.
Lynnes Welding Training, Inc., Fargo, N.Dak., owned by AWS
District 15 Director Dave Lynnes, attained accreditation by
the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.
Also, the school offered its first of what is expected to be
many Boy Scout Welding Merit Badge Days to 28 of the Boy
Scouts of the Northern Lights Council (Northern District).
Progress Rail Services, Albertville, Ala., purchased the mo-
bile welding assets from RibbonWeld LLC, Springfield, Mo.,
a rail welding company. They will become part of its rail weld-
ing subsidiary, Chemetron Railway Products, Inc.
At a dedication ceremony, Norfolk Southern, Atlanta, Ga.,
named its rail welding facility after the late Hubert L. Rose,
who retired from the company after a 43-year career.
Penn Stainless Products, Quakertown, Pa., installed two new
Koike Aronson Versagraph Millennium Series plasma cutting
systems (model 3100) with Hypertherm HPR800XD HyPer-
formance technology.
Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, Calif., has been awarded
a $300,000 Industry Driven Regional Collaborative Grant
from the California Community College Chancellors Office.
It will fund purchasing robotic welding and CNC machinery.
Coherent, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., acquired Lumera Laser
GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany, a producer of fast lasers
for microelectronics and precision materials processing.
Joining Technologies, Inc., East Granby, Conn., an industrial
laser applications company, is celebrating its 20th anniver-
sary. Founded in 1992 by Michael Francoeur, it provides nu-
merous services, including laser welding and cladding.
Solar Atmospheres of California recently added low pressure
vacuum carburizing to its vacuum heat treating, air temper-
ing, and cryogenic services.
The AWS Schools Excelling through National Skill Stan-
dards Education Level I and National Center for Construc-
tion Education and Research Level I and II curriculums are
now incorporated into Mohave Community Colleges weld-
ing program at the Neal Campus-Kingman, Ariz.
Arc Energy Resources, Gloucestershire, U.K., invested in a
Faro portable coordinate measuring arm, advancing inspec-
tion facilities for its weld overlay cladding services.
Norton Abrasives, Worcester, Mass., introduced a new global
brand standards program that will unify branding efforts
worldwide and includes its parallelogram logo.
SparkFun Electronics is included in a new initiative between
Vermont and For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology (FIRST) Robotics. The pilot program, in place at
10 career and technical education institutions, offers a $3000
grant.
103 WELDING JOURNAL
AT FABTECH 2013
Chicago Nov. 19-21, 2013
Submission deadline: Mar. 29, 2013
The AWS Professional Program is an annual three-day program of sessions
on technical topics featuring the most recent welding research and best practices
in manufacturing and construction from around the world.
Submit your Professional Program abstract online by March 29 at
http://awo.aws.org/professional-program-abstract-form
or contact Martica Ventura at (800) 443-9353 ext 224 (mventura@aws.org)
FEBRUARY 2013 104

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American Torch Tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
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Hobart Inst. of Welding Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
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Hodgson Custom Rolling, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
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Intercon Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
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KMT Saw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
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Lincoln Electric Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC
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Lucas-Milhaupt, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
www.lucasmilhaupt.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(414) 679-6000
Metglas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
www.metglas.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 581-7654
Midalloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
www.midalloy.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 776-3300
OTC Daihen, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
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Red-D-Arc Weld Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
www.reddarc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(866) 733-3272
Resistance Welding Manufacturing Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
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Robotic Arc Welding Conference & Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
http://sections.aws.org/milwaukee/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(262) 613-3790
Schaefer Ventilation Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
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Select Arc, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC
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Stella Welding Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
www.stella-welding.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+39.0331.985787
Superflash Compressed Gas Equipment/Ibeda, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .58
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Thermal Dynamics/Victor Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
www.thermaldynamicsautomation.com . . . . . . . . . . . .(866) 279-2628
Triangle Engineering, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
www.trieng.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(781) 878-1500
TRUMPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
www.us.trumpf.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .web contact only
Weld Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
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Weld Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
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Weld Hugger, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
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IFC = Inside Front Cover
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OBC = Outside Back Cover
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ADVERTISER
INDEX
FEBRUARY 2013 106
Introduction
Interstitial-free (IF) steel has been re-
garded as an important class of new-gener-
ation steel where the content of interstitial
solute (carbon and nitrogen) is brought
down below 50 ppm in order to avoid dis-
continuous yielding and strain aging (which
increases strength at the expense of ductil-
ity). This steel, therefore, possesses excel-
lent formability and finds an extensive
application in thin-sheet galvannealed (zinc-
coated) form in automotive industries for
making car bodies (Ref. 1). In general, the
joining of zinc-coated thin steel sheets by
conventional arc welding processes, such as
gas metal arc welding (GMAW), gas tung-
sten arc welding (GTAW), and others, en-
counters several difficulties. The main diffi-
culty of arc welding arises due to high arc
energy that causes vaporization of the zinc
coating. This occurs not only at the joint re-
gion but also at a relatively large area
around the joint (Refs. 2, 3). Other issues
with arc welding include a wider heat-af-
fected zone (HAZ), generation of spatter,
risk of melt through, potential contamina-
tion, and relatively large residual stress gen-
eration and associated distortion (Refs. 3,
4). On the other hand, in automotive indus-
tries, the bare steel sheets are efficiently
joined by resistance spot welding using a
copper electrode. However, for zinc-coated
steel sheets, copper electrodes deteriorate
quickly through alloying with Zn (Refs.
59). This requires frequent replacement of
electrodes in resistance spot welding for
joining zinc-coated steel sheets. In recent
years, in order to overcome such problems a
novel combination of GMAW and brazing
processes (called GMA brazing) has been
proposed where the consumable electrode
(usually a copper-based alloy) itself acts as
the filler metal that melts and fills the joint
clearance between thin steel sheets through
capillary action (following the principle of
brazing), while the steel sheets remain at
solid state since the process is carried out at
much lower heat input (Refs. 2, 3). In the
process, the zinc coating only vaporizes lo-
cally at the joint region. While the joint re-
gion is being filled by the copper-based
braze alloy, the corrosion resistance and
aesthetic appearance are maintained. Melt-
through risk, generation of spatter, residual
stress, and distortion are reduced due to
lower heat input requirements, which also
account for energy savings. The main chal-
lenge of this process is to achieve adequate
joint strength (100% joint efficiency) with
the use of a copper-based (nonferrous) filler
metal. While joining DP 600 and TRIP 700
steel sheets by GMA brazing process with
copper-based filler metals containing Al-Ni
and Mn-Al, Chovet and Guiheux (Ref. 3)
reported difficulty in obtaining 100% joint
efficiency. Moreover, only a few research
works have been carried out with regard to
the application of this novel process on zinc-
coated common steel sheets, which mainly
deal with mechanical parameters (Refs.
24). The influence of shielding gases and
process parameters on metal transfer and
bead shape in GMA brazed joints of zinc-
coated steel plates has been investigated by
Iordachescu et al. (Ref. 4). The short-circuit
mode of metal transfer with argon-based
gas mixture containing H
2
and He was re-
ported to provide acceptable bead shape
and adequate arc stability. However, the in-
depth microstructural study with regard to
the joining process (phase evolution, ther-
modynamic stability of phases, etc.) is still
pending. Moreover, the application of
GMA brazing particularly on IF steel in
order to achieve 100% joint efficiency is not
SUPPLEMENT TO THE WELDING JOURNAL, FEBRUARY 2013
Sponsored by the American Welding Society and the Welding Research Council
GMA Brazing of Galvannealed
Interstitial-Free Steel
A unique process that combines brazing and gas metal arc welding has displayed
an ability to reach 100% joint efficiency in thin zinc-coated steel
BY S. BASAK, T. K. PAL, M. SHOME, AND J. MAITY
KEYWORDS
IF Steel
Brazing
Diffusion
1
Interface
Dispersed Fe
5
Si
3
S. BASAK (sushovanbasak@gmail.com) is sen-
ior research fellow and T. K. PAL (tkpal.ju@
gmail.com) is professor, Metallurgical & Material
Engineering Department, Jadavpur University,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India. M. SHOME
(mshome@tatasteel.com) is head, Material
Characterization and Joining Research Group, R
& D, Tata Steel Ltd., Jamshedpur, Jharkhand,
India. J. MAITY (joydeep_maity@yahoo.com)
is Associate Professor, Department of Metallurgi-
cal and Materials Engineering, National Institute
of Technology Durgapur, Durgapur, West Bengal,
India.
ABSTRACT
The gas metal arc (GMA) brazing process (a novel approach that combines GMA
welding and brazing) was applied for joining a new-generation automotive steel (in-
terstitial-free steel) using silicon-containing copper-based filler metal. During this join-
ing process, an interface region of very high hardness was developed through the
diffusion of the silicon present in the molten braze metal into the solid steel. The in-
terface microstructure consisted of silicon-enriched, iron-based intermediate phase
1
for lower heat input and dispersed submicroscopic Fe
5
Si
3
particles in
1
matrix
for higher heat input. The calculated diffusion distance of silicon was in excellent
agreement with the measured interface width, which envisaged the diffusion of silicon
in iron matrix as the controlling factor for evolution of the interface region. The ther-
modynamic calculations exhibited the lowest Gibbs free-energy change for Fe
5
Si
3
as
compared to other compounds of Fe and Si to justify the stability of Fe
5
Si
3
in the mi-
crostructure. Accordingly, during tensile shear tests, the failure occurred in the base
metal region, i.e., not at the harder and stronger joint interface. These results sug-
gested a successful joining with 100% joint efficiency.
29-s WELDING JOURNAL
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readily available as a research report.
In the present research work, the GMA
brazing process is applied for joining gal-
vannealed IF steel sheets using silicon- con-
taining copper-based braze alloy to achieve
100% joint efficiency. The detailed process
mechanism in view of atomic diffusion and
thermodynamic phase stability is analyzed
in correlation with phase evolution typically
characterized by optical metallography,
field emission scanning electron microscopy
(FESEM), FESEM-based energy dispersive
X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), high resolution
transmission electron microscopy (TEM),
and TEM-based selected area electron dif-
fraction.
Experimental Procedure
The material for the present investiga-
tion is zinc-coated (galvannealed) sheets
of interstitial-free
steel (Grade:
HIF-GA) of 1
mm thickness.
The chemical
composition of
this steel is shown
in Table 1. The
as-received steel
sheets were degreased with acetone and
suitably clamped together to form a lap
joint. Thereafter, GMA brazing of the lap
joint was performed using a pulsed-syner-
gic machine of 270-A capacity (Trans Pulse
Synergic 2700 4R/E, Fronius, Austria) with
copper-based filler metal (consumable
electrode) containing 3.7 wt-% silicon. A
schematic experimental setup is shown in
Fig. 1. The GMA brazing was carried out
at two different heat inputs (considering
70% machine efficiency) with varying cur-
rent and welding speed as given in Table 2.
The torch was traversed automatically
along the edge of the upper sheet. The lap
joint with a forehand travel angle of about
70 deg and a working angle of 20 deg was
maintained. Pure argon was used as the
shielding gas at a flow rate of 12 L min
1
.
During GMA brazing, the temperature
profile of the joint region near the inter-
face for the two different heat inputs
(specimens P1 and P2) was measured with
an R-type (platinum-rhodium) thermo-
couple of 1.5 mm diameter using a digital
temperature recorder (MV1000, Yoko-
gawa, Japan).
After GMA brazing, the small samples
were cut from the joint region along the
transverse section of the welded sheet for
metallographic evaluation. These speci-
mens were polished with successive grades
of emery papers up to 1000-grit size fol-
lowed by cloth polishing with 1-m diamond
paste and thereafter etched with a 2% Nital
solution. The metallographic specimens
were examined under optical microscope
(Zeiss, Imager A1m, Germany), and a
FESEM (Zeiss, SUPRA25, Germany)
equipped with EDS detector (INCA Penta
FEBRUARY 2013, VOL. 92 30-s
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Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the GMA brazing process. A Experimen-
tal setup; B GMA brazing procedure with forehand travel angle; C with
working angle.
A
B C
Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of tensile test specimen.
Fig. 4 Optical microstructure of the unaffected base metal.
Fig. 3 Typical macrophotograph of the IF steel sheets joined by GMA braz-
ing process (higher heat input).
Table 1 Chemical Composition of the IF Steel Sheet (wt-%)
C Si Mn P Ti Fe
0.0024 0.094 0.470 0.027 0.035 balance
Table 2 GMA Brazing Parameters
Specimen Mean Mean Wire Feed Welding Heat
Code Current Voltage Speed Speed Input
(A) (V) (mm s
1
) (mm s
1
) (J mm
1
)
P1 44 16.6 60.00 8.33 61.38
P2 60 18.0 81.67 6.67 113.34
FET, Oxford, UK). Grain size of ferrite in
relevant optical images was measured in
terms of average grain diameter as per
ASTM E112 standard (Ref. 10). The area
fractions occupied by relevant phases were
measured by standard point count analysis
(Ref. 10). In order to identify the different
phases present as a whole in the joint re-
gion, specimens were subjected to X-ray dif-
fraction (XRD) analysis with slow scan rate
(1 deg min
1
) in a high-resolution X-ray dif-
fractometer (X Pert Pro, PANalytical In-
struments, Netherlands). Subsequently, thin
foils of the specimens were studied under a
high-resolution TEM (CM-70, Philips Ltd.,
Netherlands) equipped with selected area
electron diffraction.
Cross sections of the specimens from the
joint region were also mounted for micro-
hardness testing. Microhardness measure-
ments were taken at a load of 50 gf along a
line perpendicular to the joint interface
using a standard microhardness testing ma-
chine (AMH43, LECO, U.S.A.). Finally,
the lap joint samples were machined to pre-
pare standard tensile-shear test specimens
following DIN EN 10002-1 standard (Ref.
11). A schematic diagram of the tensile
shear test specimen is shown in Fig. 2. Ten-
sile shear tests were carried out in a 100-kN
capacity universal testing machine (Instron-
8862, UK) at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm
min
1
. The loading direction for tensile
shear test is indicated on the macrophoto-
graph of the lap joint Fig. 3.
Results and Discussion
Microstructural Evolution at the
Joint Region
A typical macrophotograph of the IF
steel sheets joined by GMA brazing
process is shown in Fig. 3. The region of
the joint selected for metallographic study
is clearly highlighted on the figure. With
regard to the microstructural areas of in-
terest, the joint region after GMA brazing
of the IF steel have been classified as: 1)
unaffected base metal, 2) heat-affected
zone (HAZ), 3) interface region, and 4)
braze metal. The typical optical mi-
crostructure of the unaffected base metal
in etched condition is shown in Fig. 4,
which is comprised of equiaxed polygonal
ferrite grains. The measured grain size of
polygonal ferrite is 34 m.
The FESEM backscattered electron
images along with EDS elemental map-
ping of the joint region are presented in
Figs. 5, 6. They depict the overall view of
the different significant parts for both the
specimens (P1 with lower heat input and
P2 with higher heat input) in as-polished
(unetched) condition. Furthermore, the
EDS line scans of the joint region for P1
and P2 are shown in Fig. 7. The optical mi-
crostructures of the HAZ region of the
specimens in etched condition are pre-
sented in Fig. 8A and B. These mi-
crostructures of HAZ exhibit destroyed
polygonal ferrite grains and the presence
of acicular ferrite. The equiaxed polygonal
grain morphology is mostly destroyed due
to thermal cycle experienced by this re-
gion. The thermal cycle (temperature-time
history) of the joint region during the
GMA brazing process is shown in Fig. 9.
According to Cu-Si phase diagram (Ref.
12), the solidification range of Cu-3.7 wt-
% Si alloy (filler metal) is 9401010C.
During brazing, the joint regions of the
specimens, P1 (lower heat input) and P2
(higher heat input), were heated to the
maximum recorded temperatures of 1017
and 1184C, respectively Fig. 9. These
temperatures are higher than the liquidus
temperature (1010C) of the filler
metal/electrode and below the solidus
temperature of the IF steel (which is close
to the melting point of the pure iron,
1539C, carbon content being very low).
Accordingly, the brazing filler metal melts
and fills the joint to form braze metal;
whereas, the IF steel sheets remain at solid
state as per the concept of GMA brazing.
However, these maximum temperatures
are relatively high and close to the solidus
temperature of the IF steel. Furthermore,
the average cooling rates calculated from
Fig. 9 in the solidification range
(9401010C) for P1 and P2 are 108C s
1
and 82C s
1
, respectively. Besides, be-
tween 910 and 723C (expected austen-
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Fig. 5 EDS elemental mapping of the as-polished joint region of P1. A FESEM backscattered elec-
tron image; B distribution of iron (Fe K); C distribution of silicon (Si K); D distribution of
copper (Cu K ).
Fig . 6 EDS elemental mapping of the as-polished joint region of P2. A FESEM back sscattered
electron image; B distribution of iron (Fe K); C distribution of silicon (Si K); D distribution
of copper (Cu K ).
A
A
B
B
C
C
D
D
ite-to-ferrite transformation regime in
HAZ), the calculated average cooling
rates for P1 and P2 are 228C s
1
and
133C s
1
, respectively. Therefore, the re-
gion of the steel just adjacent to the joint
interface (HAZ region) is heated to a high
temperature and subsequently subjected
to nonequilibrium fast rate of cooling
(133228C s
1
). The fast rate of cooling
is attributed to heat transfer through adja-
cent base metal that possesses relatively
high thermal conductivity. Accordingly,
the HAZ region exhibits destroyed polyg-
onal ferrite grains and the presence of aci-
cular ferrite. A rapid cooling from high
temperature would result in displacive
transformation to generate needlelike aci-
cular ferrite involving para-equilibrium
nucleation and diffusionless growth, as
also reported elsewhere in low-carbon
steel systems (Ref. 13).
The FESEM backscattered electron
images and corresponding EDS elemental
mapping (Figs. 5, 6) and EDS line scans
(Fig. 7) indicate that the interface region
is comprised of Fe and Si in both speci-
mens (P1 and P2). The FESEM-based
EDS spot analysis carried out within the
interface region indicated that the compo-
sition range of Si was 9.9612.47 wt-% in
an iron matrix considering both specimens
(P1 and P2). According to Fe-Si phase di-
agram (Fig. 10), at this composition range
of silicon, the
1
phase is stable at room
temperature. The
1
possesses a body-
centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure
(Ref. 12). The high-resolution bright field
TEM images along with selected area dif-
fraction pattern (SADP) of the interface
region are presented in Fig. 11A and B.
The specimen with low-heat input (P1) ex-
hibits only the presence of BCC
1
phase
at the interface Fig. 11A. However, the
specimen with high heat input (P2) shows
the presence of fine round-shaped hexag-
onal Fe
5
Si
3
phase dispersed in BCC
1
matrix Fig. 11B. The presence of Fe
5
Si
3
could only be properly revealed and iden-
tified by selected area diffraction in TEM
(about 338 nm in average diameter).
Both specimens (P1 and P2) also con-
tain the hexagonal Fe
5
Si
3
phase in the
form of patches in the braze metal distrib-
uted in the copper-enriched matrix. This
is identified by the FESEM backscattered
electron images and corresponding EDS
elemental mapping (Figs. 5, 6), and the
high-resolution TEM images along with
SADP analysis Fig. 12A, B. The
FESEM-based EDS spot analysis indi-
cates that the copper-based alloy matrix
contained 2.353.13 wt-% Si, 0.770.89 wt-
% Mn, and 3.063.29 wt-% Fe for both
specimens (P1 and P2). According to
graphical point count analysis of the
FESEM images, the area fractions occu-
pied by Fe
5
Si
3
in braze metal region for
low (specimen P1) and high (specimen P2)
heat inputs are 4.30% and 14.17%, re-
spectively. Also, the size of the patches of
Fe
5
Si
3
appears to be larger for the higher
heat input braze joint. The result of X-ray
diffraction analysis (Fig. 13) of the entire
joint region for both specimens (P1 and
P2) further confirms the presence of all
the phases previously identified, viz. -
iron matrix (in HAZ and base metal),
BCC
1
intermediate phase (at interface
region), Fe
5
Si
3
(at braze metal for both
the heat inputs and at interface region for
higher heat input), and copper-based solid
solution (at braze metal). The peaks of
BCC iron represent the presence of -iron
matrix and
1
intermediate phase; while
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A
A
B
B
Fig. 7 EDS line scans at the joint region. A P1; B P2.
Fig. 8 Optical microstructures of HAZ: A P1; B P2.
the peaks of copper indicate the existence
of copper-based solid solution.
The existence of silicon-enriched, iron-
based intermediate phase
1
at the interface
region, and Fe
5
Si
3
at the braze metal and at
the interface region for higher heat input in-
dicates the diffusion of Fe and Si across the
interface of the molten copper-based braze
metal (containing Si) and the solid IF steel
substrate (containing Fe) at the brazing
temperature. Once the molten braze metal
(filler metal) fills the joint under capillary
action, the silicon present in the molten
braze metal diffuses into solid steel gener-
ating Si-enriched, ironbased intermediate
phase
1
that forms the interface region. At
a higher heat input (specimen P2), the braz-
ing temperature is also higher (1184C).
This accounts for faster diffusion of Si in
steel causing the formation of more silicon-
enriched phase Fe
5
Si
3
of submicron size in
a matrix of
1
. Also, the average width of
the interface (as measured from FESEM
images, Figs. 5, 6) is larger for higher heat
input (6.13 m) than that of the lower heat
input (2.15 m).
According to Batz et al. (Ref. 14), the
diffusivity (D in cm
2
s
1
) of silicon in -
iron as a function of absolute temperature
(T in K) is given as
D = 0.44 e
48000/RT
(1)
In this relationship,
the activation energy
(Q) and the frequency
factor (D
0
) are 48000
Cal mol
1
and 0.44
cm
2
s
1
, respectively.
Taking the value of
universal gas constant
(R) as 1.986 Cal mol
1
K
1
, the diffusivi-
ties of Si at two brazing temperatures, viz.
1290 K (1017C) and 1457 K (1184C)
were calculated as 3.21 10
9
cm
2
s
1
(namely, D
1
) and 27.49 10
9
cm
2
s
1
(namely, D
2
), respectively. The diffusion
distance (x) is known to be proportional to
(Dt)
1/2
(Ref. 15). By inspection of the heat-
ing and cooling cycles for the two heat in-
puts employed and shown in Fig. 9, the
diffusion time (t) may be assumed to be
similar in the two cases. Then, the ratio of
the diffusion distance (x
2
) at 1184C to the
diffusion distance (x
1
) at 1017C would be
equal to (D
2
/D
1
)
1/2
, i.e., 2.93. This value
closely matches with the ratio (2.85) of the
measured interface width (6.13 m) at
GMA brazing temperature of 1184C
(higher heat input) to the interface width
(2.15 m) at GMA brazing temperature of
1017C (lower heat input). This clearly in-
dicates that the generation of the thin in-
terface region was a process controlled by
the diffusion of silicon in -iron.
On the other hand, at the brazing tem-
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Table 3 Result of Tensile Shear Test
Sample No. Maximum Load (kN) Extension (mm) Location of Failure
P1 7.13 29.46 Base metal
P2 7.19 28.93 Base metal
Fig. 9 The thermal cycle (temperature-time history) of the joint region dur-
ing GMA brazing process.
Fig.11 The high-resolution TEM images along with selected area diffrac-
tion pattern (SADP) of the interface region. A P1; B P2.
Fig. 10 Fe-Si phase diagram (Ref. 12).
A
B
perature, iron diffuses into the molten
braze metal and mixes under the arc. Dur-
ing cooling to room temperature, as the
copper-based braze metal solidified, iron
combined with silicon to form Fe
5
Si
3
,
which comes out as a precipitate in the
copper-based matrix.
The relative thermodynamic stability of
different compounds of iron and silicon was
studied by Zhi-shui et al. (Ref. 16). In the
present research work, the data points (Ref.
16) of Gibbs free-energy change (G in kJ
mol
1
) vs. absolute temperature (T in K)
were curve-fitted (using Microsoft Excel
software), generating the following rela-
tionships:
For FeSi: G = 0.0699T 156.98, with R
2
= 0.99 (2)
For FeSi
2
: G = 0.0117T 25.901, with
R
2
= 0.98 (3)
For Fe
2
Si: G = 0.0177T 109.99, with
R
2
= 0.97 (4)
For Fe
5
Si
3
: G = 0.0303T
294.29, with R
2
= 0.98 (5)
The values of coefficient of
determination (R
2
) very close
to 1 represent an excellent ac-
curacy of these equations.
Using these equations, the G
values at room temperature
(300 K) for FeSi, FeSi
2
, Fe
2
Si,
and Fe
5
Si
3
were calculated as
136.01, 29.41, 104.68,
and 285.20 kJ mol
1
, respec-
tively. The most negative value
of G for Fe
5
Si
3
formation as
compared to other compounds
of Fe and Si justifies the stabil-
ity of Fe
5
Si
3
in the microstruc-
ture. The larger volumetric
fraction and size of Fe
5
Si
3
pre-
cipitates in the braze metal at
higher heat input (higher braz-
ing temperature) as compared
to that at lower heat input
(lower brazing temperature) is
due to the greater diffusion of
Fe in the molten braze metal at
a higher brazing temperature
(1184C).
It is important to note that
the GMA brazing temperatures (1017
and 1184C) of the present study exceeded
the boiling point of pure zinc (907C), the
coating metal originally present on the gal-
vannealed steel sheets. Therefore, the zinc
coating was vaporized locally at the joint
region during the GMA brazing process.
Subsequently, there was no trace of zinc
found in the joint region.
Joint Properties and Joint Efficiency
The microhardness traverse curves for
both the specimens (P1 and P2) are shown
in Fig. 14. In both the cases, relatively
lower hardness is exhibited by the braze
metal, as expected for a soft copper-based
matrix. At the interface, there is a sharp
rise in hardness due to the presence of
hard
1
-based matrix. Thereafter, the
hardness decreases sharply in the HAZ
and base metal. The HAZ region pos-
sesses relatively higher hardness than the
base metal. The microstructure of the-
HAZ consists of destroyed polygonal fer-
rite grains and acicular ferrite. The
destroyed polygonal ferrite grain regions
appear to be coarser than the ferrite grains
of the base metal, though the actual grain
size could not be measured due to lack of
grain boundary clarity. However, the nee-
dle-shaped acicular ferrite possesses a very
small crystal size (crystal width in the
range of 48 m). Besides, as a displacive
transformation product generated through
para-equilibrium nucleation and diffu-
sionless growth, acicular ferrite contains a
dense substructure of dislocations (Refs.
1719). However, the polygonal ferrite (as
observed in the base metal) is reported to
possess significantly lower dislocation con-
tent (Ref. 17).
Therefore, due to such morphological
and microstructural features, acicular fer-
rite has been shown to provide not only
better hardness and strength, but also
higher resistance to crack propagation
(Ref. 20). Also, the hardness of the braze
metal is marginally higher than the base
metal. This is attributed to the presence of
uniformly distributed Fe
5
Si
3
in the copper-
based matrix of the braze metal. While the
hardness of the interface region is much
higher than the braze metal, HAZ, and
base metal in both the specimens, the
specimen (P2) with higher heat input ex-
hibits relatively higher hardness (291 HV)
of the interface region than the specimen
(P1) with lower heat input (268 HV). The
interface microstructure of the specimen
P1 consists only the
1
phase. However,
the specimen P2 possesses the submicron
sized Fe
5
Si
3
dispersed in
1
as the mi-
crostructure of the interface region. Ac-
cordingly, the additional factor of
dispersion hardening contributes to the
higher hardness of the interface in speci-
men P2. In concurrence with the micro-
hardness test results, during tensile shear
tests, the failure occurs in the base metal
region, the softer and less strong part, in-
dicating 100% joint efficiency. The occur-
rence of failure from the base metal region
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Fig. 12 The high-resolution TEM images along with selected
area diffraction pattern (SADP) of the braze metal region. A
P1; B P2.
Fig. 13 X-ray diffraction pattern of the entire joint region.
A
B
in the specimens subjected to tensile shear
loading is shown in Fig. 15. Accordingly,
the tensile shear test result (Table 3) ex-
hibits similar maximum load and extension
in both specimens (P1 and P2) correspon-
ding to the failure at the base metal region
in both the cases. This reflects the much
higher hardness (as exhibited in the mi-
crohardness test result) and strength of
the joint interface than the base metal.
Conclusions
1) The novel method of GMA brazing
with Cu-based electrode (filler metal) con-
taining Si produces a hard and strong joint
in a galvannealed IF steel through the de-
velopment of Fe-based, Si-enriched
1
in-
terface (for lower heat input) or
submicron sized Fe
5
Si
3
dispersed
1
inter-
face (for higher heat input).
2) During GMA brazing process, once
the molten braze metal (filler metal) fills
the joint under capillary action, the silicon
present in the molten braze metal diffuses
into solid steel forming Si-enriched, iron-
based intermediate phase
1
for lower
heat input and dispersed submicroscopic
Fe
5
Si
3
particles in
1
matrix for higher
heat input that form the interface region.
3) The calculated diffusion distance of
Si into the base metal is in excellent agree-
ment with the measured interface width
indicating the diffusion of Si in the iron
matrix as the controlling factor for evolu-
tion of the interface region.
4) At the brazing temperature, iron mi-
grates into the molten braze metal and
mixes under the brazing arc. During cooling
to the room temperature, as the copper-
based braze metal solidifies, iron combines
with silicon to form Fe
5
Si
3
, which comes out
as precipitate in the copper-based matrix.
The calculated lowest Gibbs free-energy
change for the formation of Fe
5
Si
3
as com-
pared to other phases of Fe and Si justifies
its stability in the microstructure.
5) The presence of acicular ferrite in
HAZ and the typical microstructure of
Fe
5
Si
3
precipitates distributed in copper-
based matrix in braze metal provide rela-
tively higher hardness than the base metal.
Most importantly, as compared to other
regions (base metal, HAZ, and braze
metal), a sharp rise in hardness is observed
at the interface region that contains
1
at
lower heat input. Still higher hardness of
the interface is obtained for higher heat
input where submicron-sized Fe
5
Si
3
is dis-
persed in the
1
matrix. Accordingly, dur-
ing tensile shear test, failure occurs at the
weaker base metal region for both heat in-
puts, indicating 100% joint efficiency.
Therefore, even with a nonferrous copper-
based braze alloy (filler metal), it is possi-
ble to join IF steel to itself.
Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful to Professor
B. S. Murty and Ms. Kanchanamala of
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Department, Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy Madras, for providing necessary ex-
perimental support in transmission
electron microscopy.
References
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Fig. 15 The failure location in the GMA brazed specimens subjected to tensile shear loading.
Fig.14 The microhardness traverse curves of the
joint.
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Introduction
Oxyfuel welding is a process that uses
fuel gases and oxygen to weld or cut met-
als. The flame produced by an oxyacety-
lene torch reaches a temperature of
around 3500C and emits radiation span-
ning a wide portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum including ultraviolet, infrared,
and visible radiation. In fact, the oxyacety-
lene torch emits double the radiation lev-
els of short wavelengths compared to the
remaining bands of the spectrum Fig.
1.
Ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet C
(UVC) radiation produce acute but re-
versible injuries such as photokeratitis and
photoconjunctivitis, which cause eye
swelling, tearing, intense pain, foreign
body feeling, photophobia, etc. However,
bright light or short-wavelength visible ra-
diation can penetrate through to the retina
causing irreversible heat and/or photo-
chemical lesions that may lead to partial
or total vision loss (Ref. 1).
The oxyacetylene flame also produces
ocular damage and irreversible loss of vi-
sual function; however, the phototoxic
damage of this welding flame is not well
studied because there are not mechanical
elements affecting the ocular surface dur-
ing the welding process.
The first documented reports of reti-
nal damage induced by welding are the
works by Terrien published in 1902 (Ref.
2). According to the literature available to
date, it seems that any welding process in-
volves risks that may lead to several forms
of ocular damage and diseases (Refs. 38).
Photochemical retinal damage was first
described in 1966 by Noell, who inadver-
tently noted that the retinae of experi-
mental animals could incur irreversible
damage by exposure for several hours or
days to ambient light within the intensity
range of natural light. Since this discovery,
several studies have tried to identify the
bands of the spectrum that cause most
retinal damage. Thus, Noell et al. reported
that retinal tissue is detrimentally affected
by exposure to short wavelengths (Ref. 9).
In similar studies such as the one by
Okuno et al. (Ref. 5), it was concluded
that the sun and arc welding, plasma cut-
ting, and discharge lamps show effectively
high radiances and that permissible expo-
sure times are only 0.6 to 40 s, indicating
that visualization of these light sources is
extremely harmful to the retina (Ref. 10).
Conventional protection goggles and-
screens available to workers, besides ab-
sorbing the noxious bands of
electromagnetic radiation, also block out
99% of the entire visible spectrum, so vis-
ibility is greatly reduced.
In the search for a device that is both
protective and fails to reduce visibility, we
have developed several optical filters in-
corporated in safety glasses to selectively
block harmful light while preserving opti-
mal vision and luminosity. The filter pro-
posed here (UCM-AET) is composed of
the plastic polymer CR-39 (allyl diglycol
carbonate) with a refraction index of 1.50
(HS Monark, Spain) treated by immersion
in the dyes Yellow and Gray sun (Brain
Power, Inc., Florida, U.S., patent:
12/027679) (Ref. 11). The transmittance
curve of the new filter illustrates how it
fully absorbs the short wavelengths emit-
ted by a welding torch (transmittance 0 in
the range 400450 nm), and attenuates the
rest of the wavelengths in comparison with
two conventional filters used in welding
equipment Fig. 2. This study focuses on
the ocular damage induced by visible light
(380780 nm), taking for granted that all
protective filters block UV and IR radia-
tion. This study was designed to compare
the visual performance using the new
UCM-AET selective-absorbance filter and
a conventional filter used for eye protec-
tion by welders.
Experimental Procedure
New Optical Filter Plate for Use as Eye
Protection by Welders
A new protective optical filter plate was designed to improve visibility
BY A. LANGA-MORAGA, C. BONNIN-ARIAS, E. CHAMORRO, J. PREZ-CARRASCO,
AND C. SNCHEZ-RAMOS
KEYWORDS
Welding
Protective Filters
Visual Acuity
Stereoacuity
Contrast Sensitivity
Light Damage
A. LANGA-MORAGA, J. PREZ-CAR-
RASCO, and C. SNCHEZ-RAMOS are with
Department of Optics, School of Optometry,
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid,
Spain. C. BONNIN-ARIAS, E. CHAMORRO,
and C. SNCHEZ-RAMOS are with Col.
Neuro-Computing and Neuro-Robotics Re-
search Group, Universidad Complutense de
Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
ABSTRACT
People whose work tasks involve the use of welding torches are at special risk of suf-
fering eye injuries due to the emission of visible, short-wavelength radiation. Current
legislation requires that a company provide its employees with protection against the
harmful radiation produced by welding equipment. Often, however, a worker will be re-
luctant to use protective goggles since these markedly cut visibility and can consequently
lead to errors or even burns. This practice of avoiding the use of protection makes them
susceptible to suffer irreversible severe retinal damage leading to partial or complete
loss of vision. In this paper, we propose the use of a new photoprotective filter in the
form of safety goggles that seeks to improve the compromised vision produced by con-
ventional filters. We compare a series of visual function variables in 36 adults, aged 30
to 58 years, using the new optical filter and a conventional filter used for welding pro-
tection. Our findings suggest that the filter proposed provides optimal protection
against the harmful effects of short-wavelength radiation while minimizing the reduced
vision effects of conventional filters used for this purpose.
Materials and Equipment
Study participants. A prospective obser-
vational cross-sectional study was per-
formed on 36 adults aged 30 to 58 years.
All participants provided their written in-
formed consent, and all experiments were
approved by the Ethics Committee of
Hospital Clnico San Carlos. We included
working-age subjects of both sexes. The
only exclusion criterion was an unwilling-
ness to provide informed consent.
Experimental procedure. All partici-
pants completed a series of tests designed
to assess binocular vision and monocular
visual field under three treatment condi-
tions: 1) without a protective filter, 2) with
a conventional protective filter used by
welders, and 3) with the new absorbance-
selective AET-UCM filter. All tests were
performed under normal work photopic
luminance conditions. This meant that
measurements were made with best-
correction for near distance tasks if
needed. The variables determined were
binocular visual acuity, contrast sensitivity,
stereoacuity, color discrimination, and
central and paracentral contrast threshold.
The tests described below (Fig. 3) were
performed randomly, with or without the
use of a filter, which was also random.
Traditional Runge near vision pocket
card (Precision Vision, U.S.). This test was
used to determine
near-distance (40 cm)
visual acuity. The test
card comprises 16 let-
ter sizes that measure
visual acuities of
20/500 to 20/16. As the
subject reads the letters, the examiner
records the smallest sized letter the indi-
vidual is able to read.
Titmus. Stereoacuity or depth percep-
tion was assessed using the Titmus test,
which consists of two slightly different im-
ages, or anaglyphs, dissociated by means
of polarized filters, that stimulate each
retina. The variable assessed was the in-
verse of binocular disparity measured in
radians. Each eye selects the image corre-
sponding to its filter and as these are fused
the visual system perceives the depth sim-
ulated. The test was developed by Stereo
Optical Co. and is performed in three
steps. In the first step, a fly is presented to
the subject to measure the inverse of
stereoscopic visual acuity (SVA) of 3000
of arc
1
. The subject puts on the polarized
spectacles and the card is viewed at a 40-
cm distance. The subject should be able to
touch the wings of the fly in an elevated
plane. If the subjects finger reaches the
anaglyph, this means there is insufficient
stereoacuity for good binocular vision. In
the second step, three rows of animals that
measure 400-200-100 of arc
1
, respec-
tively, are presented to the individual who
is instructed to indicate which row appears
to stand out above the rest. Finally, nine
series of circles are presented in which an
elevation is only perceived in one circle.
The subject should indicate which circle in
the series is different. The scale for these
circles ranges from 800 to 40 of arc
1
.
VCTS (Vistech Consultans, Inc.,
Stereo Optical Co.). This test estimates
contrast sensitivity during near vision (40
cm) and is composed of circular discs
arranged in 5 rows and 9 columns. Each
disc contains a section of a sinusoidal grat-
ing and for each row 5 spatial frequencies
(vertical) are presented corresponding to
1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 18 cycles/deg. From left
to right in each row, contrast gradually de-
creases in 0.25-log unit steps. For each fre-
quency level, contrast (horizontal)
diminishes from left to right in 0.25-log
unit steps on average. The bands are rep-
resented as different inclinations, 15 deg
to the left and right and vertical. The sub-
ject is instructed to indicate the inclination
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Fig. 1 Emission spectrum of an oxyacetylene welding torch.
Fig. 2 Transmittance curves of the new (green line) and two conven-
tional protective filters for welding (red and black lines).
Fig. 3 Tests used to assess vision.
Fig. 4 Mean visual acuity recorded with/without the use of a protective
filter.
of these bands and the examiner records
the minimum contrast the individual is
able to perceive for each spatial frequency.
This test is considered reliable to deter-
mine contrast sensitivity (Ref. 12).
Farnsworth-Munsell D-28 Hue. This test
of color vision is an abridged version of the
Farnsworth D-100 Hue color discrimina-
tion test. It is comprised of 28 caps (in-
cluding a reference cap) that are colored
according to the Munsell scale showing in-
cremental hue variations while maintain-
ing luminance and saturation at a given
Munsell value. These hues occupy posi-
tions in the uniform color space of
Farnsworth, hence, the tests name. The
subject is instructed to order the caps ac-
cording to hue. The caps cover different
zones of color space and are numbered
such that the order indicated by the sub-
ject can be recorded on a response sheet.
The response order is translated to a
score, which serves to detect color vision
abnormalities and aptitude.
Frequency-doubling technology (FDT)
perimetry. This test uses an automated in-
strument for visual field testing based on
frequency-doubling technology. The fre-
quency-doubling effect is achieved by a
low-frequency spatial sinusoidal grating
(<1 cycle/deg) undergoing counterphased
flickering at a temporal frequency of 15
Hz. This determines that the number of
dark and light bars appear to be twice the
actual number. The test consists of taking
measurements of contrast sensitivity (in
decibels, dB) to detect the frequency-
doubling stimulus. The FDT perimetry in-
strument (Humphrey Systems, Dublin,
Calif., and Welch Allyn, Skaneateles,
N.Y.) determines the contrast sensitivity
needed to detect the stimulus at 17 or 19
locations in the central visual field. The
subject fixes on the black dot in the center
of the screen and presses the instrument
response button when vertical bars flicker
in different areas of the screen. For this
study, we used the C-20 threshold presen-
tation pattern with 17 stimulus locations.
After entering the age of the subject, a
preliminary familiarization test was per-
formed on the left eye (these results were
discarded) and then the contrast threshold
was assessed in the right eye under the
three treatment conditions.
Statistical analysis. Data were com-
pared among the three treatment condi-
tions to assess the effects of the filters on
the different measures of visual perform-
ance. All comparisons were pairwise and
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Table 1 Values Recorded for the Different Vision Performance Variables Determined with and without a Protective Filter Designed for Use by
Welders
Without a Filter UCM-AET Filter Conventional Filter
Mean p-value Mean p-value Mean p-value
Visual acuity
LogMAR (40 cm) 0.1 0.49 0.49 0.22 0.999 0.03 0.07 0.000*
Stereoacuity
of arc
1
97 95 89 78 0.999 279 531 0.000*
Color Discrimination
N de errors 5 4 6 4 0.006* 17 3 0.000*
Contrast sensitivity
1.5 cpd 4.89 0.32 4.81 0.47 0.999 2.58 1.36 0.000*
3 cpd 5.42 0.77 5.08 1 0.417 247 1.56 0.000*
6 cpd 4.17 1.3 3.58 1.38 0.028* 1.5 1.18 0.000*
12 cpd 3.44 1.87 2.94 1.91 0.316 0.58 0.81 0.000*
18 cpd 2.81 2.29 1.92 1.71 0.022* 0.19 0.52 0.000*
FDT Perimetry
Central 29.49 5.36 25.51 4.2 0.000* 1.84 2.39 0.000*
Fovea 31.36 5.94 25.89 3.98 0.000* 2.19 3.51 0.000*
Fig. 5 Mean stereoacuity recorded with/without the use of a protective
filter.
Fig. 6 Mean color vision errors recorded with/without the use of a protective
filter.
significance was set at a p< 0.05 and sta-
tistical power at 0.8. All statistical tests
were performed using Statgraphics Plus 5.0
software (Professional Edition).
Results
Sample characteristics. The study par-
ticipants were 36 subjects of mean age
4414 years: 22 men (4714 years) and
14 women (3914 years).
Visual acuity and stereoacuity. Mean VA
and stereoacuity in absence of a protective
filter were 0.10.49 logMAR and 9795
arc
1
, respectively, considered normal for
this age range. Corresponding values were
0.490.22 logMAR and 8978 arc
1
for
the UCM-AET filter and 0.030.07 log-
MAR and 279531 arco
1
for the conven-
tional filter. It was observed that the lower
the VA and stereoacuity, the lower was the
resolution capacity of the subjects exam-
ined. These results show no significant ef-
fects induced by the new filter on near
visual acuity and depth perception
(stereoacuity). In contrast, these measures
were significantly reduced when the con-
ventional filter was used (Table 1) Figs.
4, 5.
Color discrimination. This ability was
determined as the number of errors pro-
duced when ordering the different hues in
the Farnsworth-Munsell test. Our results
show that both filters significantly com-
promise color discrimination Fig. 6.
The number of errors was high at around
43% for the conventional filter and much
lower for the new filter with only a 5% loss
of color discrimination detected (Table 1).
Contrast sensitivity. Using the UCM-
AET filter, contrast sensitivity for near vi-
sion was significantly reduced for the spa-
tial frequencies of 6 and 18 cpd, while a
greater reduction was observed with the
conventional filter for all the spatial fre-
quencies tested. Thus, contrast sensitivi-
ties recorded for the new filter were
closer to those obtained without a filter
than the values recorded for the conven-
tional filter Fig. 7.
FDT perimetry. Our visual field data
showed significantly reduced contrast
thresholds for all zones examined using
both filters although this reduction was
more marked for the conventional filter.
Thus, the UCM-AET filter achieved a
919% reduction in the contrast threshold
while this was 9199% for the conven-
tional filter. This means that with the new
filter, the contrast threshold is 7685% im-
proved over the normal working condi-
tions of welders Fig. 8.
Discussion
Some jobs involve a particular risk of
eye damage due to the simultaneous pres-
ence of photothermal, photomechanical,
and photochemical factors. Several stud-
ies addressing the topic have indicated a
need for safety goggles or screens for
welding tasks since high UV radiation lev-
els can cause severe eye damage (Refs.
38). Such devices need to provide suffi-
cient protection for the worker to under-
take his/her routine work without
exceeding the maximum permissible ex-
posure (MPE) threshold. To verify that
eye protection devices were able to satisfy
this requirement, in 1997, Tenkate (Ref. 4)
determined levels of exposure to UV radi-
ation in a group of welders using a photo-
sensitive polymer film to line the inner and
outer surfaces of the eye protection used
by the welders. The results of this study in-
dicated that mean ocular exposure (inside
the helmet) was four to fivefold the MPE,
suggesting a need for additional eye pro-
tection to that provided by conventional
welders helmets (Ref. 5). Subsequent to
this, Maier et al. (Ref. 13) in 2005 and
Peng et al. (Ref. 7) in 2007 examined sev-
eral protective filters and concluded that
these protected workers from exposure to
the harmful radiation emitted by welding
tools. In addition, Maier et al. admitted
that macular damage in welders was a con-
sequence of negligence in complying with
safety regulations.
In another landmark study conducted
by Chou et al. in 1996 at a car assembly
plant, the factors described as the main
risks related to welding work, besides ra-
diation from the blow torch, were the par-
ticles of melted metal emitted in all
directions (Ref. 14). This means that
workers in such an environment should
wear some form of eye protection that in-
corporates an ocular filter. However,
welders often have to work in dark, re-
stricted environments and this compro-
mises their vision such that they frequently
take off their safety goggles to complete
the work (Ref. 6).
However, rather than being negligent,
it seems that a welder will remove his/her
safety goggles to avoid burns on hands
and arms, since as shown by our results,
visual acuity is reduced by up to 58%
using a conventional filter. Considering
that the flame from an oxyacetylene weld-
ing torch can exceed a temperature of
3500C, optimal vision in the work field
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Fig. 7 Mean contrast sensitivity recorded with/without the use of a pro-
tective filter.
Fig. 8 Mean FDT visual field results recorded with/without the use of a pro-
tective filter.
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is essential to avoid burns or errors.
The filters currently used for this pur-
pose are attenuating rather than selective
filters and thus considerably impair vision
to the extent that they may not be regu-
larly used by some welders. The Industrial
Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) and
Compliance Magazine state that 68% of all
employees who should use protective eye-
wear do not do so (Ref. 16). This is prob-
ably why an estimated 400,000 eye injuries
occur on the job every year according to
the American Society to Prevent Blindness
(Ref. 15).
To avoid this loss of visibility while
using eye protection, in this study we pro-
pose the use of a band-selective filter that
only absorbs the short wavelengths in large
measure and attenuates the remaining
wave lengths of the visible spectrum, while
blocking UV and IR radiation. This filter
will therefore protect the worker from the
harmful radiation and, by allowing the
passage of the lower-energy wavelengths,
will also improve the wearers vision
through the eye protective material.
We observed that standard approved
protective optical filters incorporated in
safety glasses reduce most aspects of vision
by 50 to 70%. The optical filter proposed
(UCM-AET) induces a reduction in visual
perception of 15 to 35%, so its use can im-
prove near vision by around 40% com-
pared to conventional filters, providing the
same level of ocular protection. Due to the
increase in the visibility of the working sce-
nario, the use of safety glasses will go and,
consequently, there will be a better pre-
vention of occupational risks of ocular
damage in agreement to Maier (Ref. 13).
In general terms, a high percentage of
workers routinely exposed to the photo-
toxic effects of light will eventually have to
give up their work due to health impacts.
The benefits of such a solution are there-
fore crucial. The new filter will protect the
retinae of welders while enabling them to
see sufficiently well to perform any de-
tailed task and avoid the risk of burns. The
filter proposed also has the benefit that it
is an easy and economical solution to the
problem addressed.
Conclusions
1) To promote the regular use of eye
protection in the welding environment, a
protective component is required that will
not reduce the visual acuity of the worker.
The absorbance-selective UCM-AET fil-
ter does not affect the visual acuity, while
a standard filter reduces the resolution ca-
pacity of the wearer by more than half.
2) The new filter is recommended to
avoid work accidents involving skin burns
produced by poor visibility in the work
environment.
3) The new filter is also recommended
for detailed welding work since, unlike the
situation with the conventional filter
tested, depth perception is unaffected.
4) Although both the new filter and the
standard filter diminish the users ability
to discriminate colors, this effect was more
marked for the conventional filter.
5) The UCM-AET filter absorbs short
wavelengths of light but transmits
medium and long wavelengths. This al-
lows for improved visibility in the work
field since practically normal contrast
thresholds are maintained. Conversely,
contrast thresholds were reduced four
fold compared to the values recorded
without a filter, thus increasing the risk of
accidents or of a worker not using the re-
quired eye protection.
6) The different aspects of vision were
dramatically reduced when the conven-
tional filter was used. In contrast, the new
filter was able to avoid or minimize these
effects emerging as a good protection sys-
tem for welders along with their habitual
spectacle correction used for work activ-
ities.
References
1. Margrain, T. H., et al. 2004. Do blue light
filters confer protection against age-related
macular degeneration? Prog Retin Eye Res
23(5): 523531.
1. Terrien. F. 1902. Du pronostic des trou-
bles visuels dorigine lectrique. Arch Ophthal-
mol (Paris) 22:692738.
3. Arend, O., et al. 1996. Welders macu-
lopathy despite using protective lenses. Retina
16(3): 257259.
4. Tenkate, T. D., and Collins, M. J. 1997.
Personal ultraviolet radiation exposure of work-
ers in a welding environment. Am Ind Hyg.
Assoc. J. 58(1): 3338.
5. Okuno, T., Ojima, J., and Saito, H. 2001.
Ultraviolet radiation emitted by CO
2
arc weld-
ing. Ann Occup Hyg 45(7): 597601.
6. Kim, E. A., et al. 2007. Macular degener-
ation in an arc welder. Ind Health 45(2):
371373.
7. Peng, C. Y., et al. 2007. Evaluation and
monitoring of UVR in shield metal arc welding
processing. Health Phys 93(2): 101108.
8. Okuno, T. Ojima, J., and Saito, H. 2010.
Blue-light hazard from CO
2
arc welding of mild
steel. Ann Occup Hyg 54(3): 293298.
9. Noell, W. K., et al. 1966. Retinal damage
by light in rats. Invest Ophthalmol 5(5):
450473.
10. Okuno, T., Saito, H., and Ojima, J. 2002.
Evaluation of blue-light hazards from various
light sources. Dev Ophthalmol 35: 104112.
11. Snchez-Ramos, C., ed. 2011. Lighting
device with prophylactic and therapeutic filter
for healthy eyes, pseudoaphakic eyes and/or
eyes suffering neurodegeneration, Universidad
Complutense de Madrid, pp. 1810.
12. Ginsburg, A. P. 1984. A new contrast
sensitivity vision test chart. Am J Optom Physiol
Opt 61(6): 403407.
13. Maier, R., et al. 2005. Welders macu-
lopathy? International Archives of Occupational
and Environmental Health 78(8): 681685.
14. Chou, B. R., and Cullen, A. P. 1996. Oc-
ular hazards of industrial spot welding. Optom
Vis Sci 73(6): 424427.
15. Olsson, I. H. 2001. Heads up on safety:
Use proper head and eye protection. Welding
Journal 80(2): 4345.
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Introduction
The inherent problems related to the
fusion welding of aluminum alloys are of
great concern. Even if much care is taken,
hydrogen embrittlement and liquation
cracking may not be fully avoided for most
of the fusion welded aluminum joints.
Hence solid-state welding of aluminum is
preferred because the alloy is not melted
during such welding process. Friction stir
welding (FSW) is one such solid-state
welding process and is considered to be
much better for joining aluminum alloys
than fusion welding processes. The FSW
process utilizes a rotating tool with a pro-
truding pin as shown in Fig. 1. Friction stir
welding can also be used to join high-
strength aerospace and marine-grade alu-
minum alloys and other metallic alloys
that are difficult to weld by conventional
fusion welding. It uses the frictional heat
of the rotating shoulder and the stirring ef-
fect of the tool pin for solid-state joining.
The process was invented at The Welding
Institute (TWI) in Cambridge in early
1990 (Refs. 1, 2).
Several previous studies reported the
effects of the FSW shoulder and pin pro-
files (Ref. 3) and feasibility of the process.
The usefulness of the FSW process for
producing 2519 T-stiffeners was investi-
gated with grooved shoulder for combat
vehicle construction by Colligan et al.
(Ref. 4). Tool pins such as column screw,
tapered screw, column pin, and taper pin
were investigated for welding of 2014 alu-
minum alloy by Zhao et al. (Ref. 5). It was
reported that the tensile strength of the
weld reached 75% of the base material
with tapered screw pin tools. It was also re-
ported that tools without any threads pro-
duced inferior and defective welds (Ref.
5). The effect of threaded FSW tools on
weldability of 1050-H24 and 6061-T6 alu-
minum welds were investigated by
Hidetoshi and the benefits of threaded
tools were emphasized (Ref. 6).
Friction stir welding as a process for
spot welding of 6061-T4 aluminum alloy
was investigated by Tozaki et al. Threaded
tools were used for the purpose. Proper
pin length and process parameters pro-
duced welds with adequate tensile and
cross-tensile strength (Ref. 7). Scilapi et
al. investigated the effects of FSW tool
shoulder geometry on 1.5-mm-thick 6082
T6 aluminum alloy. They advocated the
use of FSW tool with fillet and cavity for
joining thin aluminum sheets (Ref. 8).
Friction stir welding tool pins like straight
cylindrical, cylindrical taper, threaded
cylindrical, square, and triangular with
combinations of 15-, 18-, and 21-mm
shoulders were used by Elangovan and
Balasubramanian to join 6061 aluminum
alloy. In their investigation, square pins
provided superior tensile properties with
least number of defects (Ref. 9). Various
FSW tool pins like straight cylindrical,
cylindrical taper, cylindrical threaded,
square, and triangular with combination
of 15-, 18-, and 21-mm shoulder diameters
were used in an investigation for joining
AZ31B magnesium alloy (Ref. 10).
For tapered and straight cylindrical
tools, a higher possibility for tunnel de-
fects were reported, and threaded pin
tools provided the best results (Ref. 10).
Palanivel et al. studied the effect of tool
pin profiles on mechanical and metallur-
gical properties of dissimilar 6351-5083
H111 aluminum alloy welds (Ref. 11).
Tool pin profiles such as straight cylindri-
cal, threaded cylindrical, square, tapered
square, and tapered octagon were used for
the purpose and the square straight tool
provided the best result (Ref. 11).Vijay
and Murugan investigated the effects of
FSW tool pin profiles such as square,
hexagon, and octagon, and concentric cir-
cular grooved shoulders on stir cast Al-10
wt-% TiB2 metal matrix composite welds
(Ref. 12). It was reported in their study
that the tapered pin produced narrower
stir zones with coarser grains compared to
that of the straight pin tools (Ref. 12).
Threaded tool geometries were also in-
vestigated by Rajakumar et al. for the op-
timization of the FSW process for maxi-
mizing the tensile strength of 7075-T6
aluminum alloy (Ref. 13). An empirical
equation was also developed for predict-
ing the tensile strength of the joints based
on the process parameters and tool geo-
metrical parameters (Ref. 13). Blignault et
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Tool Design Effects for FSW of AA7039
The usefulness of tool designs and modeling methodology were demonstrated for
predicting friction stir weld characteristics based on tool geometrical parameters
BY D. VENKATESWARLU, N. R. MANDAL, M. M. MAHAPATRA, and S. P. HARSH
ABSTRACT
The present investigation discusses the effects of threaded friction stir welding
(FSW) tool geometries on AA7039 welds. It is thought that for harder materials
like AA7039, threaded FSW tools are useful. However, the tool shoulder geome-
try and concavity of the shoulder surface also play important roles in defining the
quality characteristics of friction stir welds. The effect of threaded FSW tools on
7039 aluminum alloys were investigated using different shoulder diameters, pin
diameters, and levels of shoulder surface concavity. A full factorial design matrix
was utilized to manufacture 27 FSW tools having different levels of threaded pin
diameter, shoulder diameter, and shoulder surface concavity. Experiments were
conducted to study the effect of these tools on AA7039 welds with respect to weld
tensile strength, cross-sectional area, and % elongation. A mathematical model
was developed to predict the effects of the tool geometries on the welds using re-
sponse surface regression analysis. The interaction effects of the control factors
(tool geometrical parameters) on the responses such as weld strength, weld cross
section, and % elongation were studied. The modeling methodology developed in
this investigation was found to be adequate for predicting the effects of FSW tool
geometrical factors on the weld.
KEYWORDS
Friction Stir Welding
Tool Geometries
Tensile Strength
Percent Elongation
Surface Response
D. VENKATESWARLU is research scholar, and
M. M. MAHAPATRA and S. P. HARSH are as-
sistant professors, Mechanical & Industrial Engi-
neering Dept., IIT, Roorkee, India. N. R. MAN-
DAL (Nrm@naval.iitkgp.ernet.in) is professor,
Dept. of Ocean Engineering & Naval Architec-
ture, IIT, Kharagpur, India.
al. used a number of combinations of tool
geometries and predicted the ultimate
tensile strength of the FSW joint using re-
sponse surface methodology (RSM) (Ref.
14). They also indicated a wide range of
tool geometries can produce acceptable
weld performance such as tensile strength
within the specified window of input
process parameters. Rajakumar et al. in-
vestigated the effect of welding process
parameters of a number of threaded tools
on AA7075-T6 and observed that pin di-
ameter of 5 mm and shoulder diameter of
15 mm yielded higher joint tensile proper-
ties (Ref. 15).
It is observed from the literature re-
view that investigators have used different
types of tool shoulder and pin geometries
for FSW of aluminum alloys. The use of a
threaded pin-based tool was emphasized
many times. The effect of tool shoulder
and shoulder concavity are also important
along with the dimensions of the shoulder.
There is, therefore, a need to develop a
model that would encompass the tool di-
mensional features such as tool pin diam-
eter, extent of shoulder flat surface, and
shoulder diameter to determine the re-
sponses such as weld strength and weld
cross-sectional area and ductility in terms
of % elongation. The present investiga-
tion is a step in this regard wherein exten-
sive experiments were carried out to fi-
nally develop surface response regression
equations for predicting the effect of tool
geometries on the welds.
Experimental Details
A vertical milling machine with an in-
house developed FSW setup was used in
the present study for joining 6-mm-thick
AA7039 aluminum sheets. The tool mate-
rial was stainless steel grade 310. The alloy
composition of the tool material and phys-
ical properties are given, respectively, in
Tables 1 and 2. The chemical composition
of the AA7039 used in the present study is
given in Table 3. The mechanical proper-
ties of AA7039 obtained from the labora-
tory test is presented in Table 4.
The cross-sectional area of a friction
stir weld depends on the tool geometries.
The nature and shape of the weld cross-
section zones are different for each type of
tool. A schematic representation of the
friction stir welded cross section is shown
in Fig. 2 along with a welded cross-section
macrostructure.
The stir zone is where the material has
been intermixed due to the action of the
tool pin. Grain refinement generally takes
place in this zone. The thermomechani-
cally affected zone (TMAZ) is next to the
weld zone, which is thermally affected,
and most of it is partially deformed as in-
dicated in Fig. 2. The heat-affected zone is
next to the TMAZ.
The rotational speed settings available
on the machine used for the welding were
500, 710, 1000, 1400, and 2000 rev/min.
During the trial experimental runs, good
results were obtained with 710 rev/min.
Welding with a higher rotational speed of
the FSW tool in excess of 710 rev/min
mostly resulted in groove defects in the
joints. Hence, experiments were con-
ducted with a constant tool speed of 710
rev/min and tool traverse speed of 20
mm/min. The plate edges were machined
for a square butt joint configuration. They
were positioned and clamped rigidly to the
machine bed with zero root opening and
cleaned with acetone before welding for
degreasing. A general full factorial design
of experiment technique was used for se-
lecting tool geometrical parameters such
as the shoulder diameter, pin diameter,
and shoulder surface concavity as the con-
trol factors. Each factor had three levels as
given in Table 5. The high, medium, and
low levels of shoulder diameters were 22,
19, and 16 mm, respectively. The pin di-
ameter levels were 8, 7, and 6 mm. The
shoulder flat surface levels are shown in
Fig. 3. Each experiment was conducted
three times to ascertain the repeatability
of the procedure for each of the 27 tools
as indicated in Table 6.
The schematic of the designed and
manufactured tools is given in Fig. 3 indi-
cating the shoulder flat surface (SFS) lev-
els, as full flat shoulder surface (level 1), 2-
mm flat shoulder surface (level 2), and
1-mm flat shoulder surface (level 3) from
the shoulder periphery.
The tensile strength, % elongation,
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Fig. 1 Schematic of the FSW process. Fig. 2 A Etched cross sections of FS AA 7039 welds;
B schematic of friction stir weld cross-section macrostructure.
Table 1 Composition of FSW Tool Material by Percentage
Fe C Cr Mn Ni P S Si
4853 0.25 2426 2 1922 0.045 0.03 1.5
Table 2 FSW Tool Material Physical
Properties
Hardness, Brinell 160
Tensile strength, ultimate (MPa) 655
Tensile strength, yield (MPa) 275
Table 4 Mechanical Properties of AA7039
Tensile strength (MPa) 347
Yield strength (MPa) 261
% Elongation 12.54
Vickers hardness (HV) 115
Table 3 Chemical Compositions (wt-%) of
Base Materials
Element Mg Zn Al
AA 7039 0.98 3.54 95.48
and weld cross section of each sample
were then measured experimentally and
average values of each sample are shown
for 27 tools in Table 6. Tensile test speci-
mens were prepared and tested using a
computerized universal testing machine.
The schematic of a tensile test specimen is
shown in Fig. 4. The tensile strength, %
elongation, and weld cross-sectional area
with respect to varying tool geometries
were observed and recorded. These data
were then further utilized in multiple re-
sponse surface regression analyses.
Results and Discussion
The experimentally measured data of
each sample, i.e., tensile strength, % elon-
gation, and weld cross section were noted
and utilized further for analysis of vari-
ance (ANOVA) (Ref. 16). The response
control factors for the analysis were shoul-
der diameter, pin diameter, and shoulder
surface concavity levels, and the response
parameters were tensile strength, % elon-
gation, and weld cross-sectional area.
These factors and parameters were used
to build up the mathematical model that
could be used for prediction of responses
of varying tool geometries.
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Fig. 3 Schematic of threaded tools used in the experiments showing shoulder flat
surface levels: A Full flat shoulder surface (level 1); B 2-mm flat shoulder
surface (level 2); C 1-mm flat shoulder surface (level 3) from the periphery.
Fig. 4 Tensile test specimen.
A B C
Table 6 Experimental Data of Friction Stir Weldment Characteristics
Sl. No. Shoulder diameter Pin diameter Shoulder surface Tensile strength % Elongation Weld cross
level level level (MPa) section (mm
2
)
1 1 1 1 146.58 2.12 46.76
2 1 1 0 158.06 2.51 47.25
3 1 1 1 150.33 1.91 46.26
4 0 1 1 180.32 3.03 46.90
5 0 1 0 181.39 3.50 46.22
6 0 1 1 166.70 3.13 44.37
7 1 1 1 136.78 2.11 46.93
8 1 1 0 180.66 3.40 45.23
9 1 1 1 151.22 3.02 45.81
10 1 0 1 212.00 5.16 48.98
11 1 0 0 258.13 6.09 52.88
12 1 0 1 208.52 4.51 50.52
13 0 0 1 243.06 5.67 52.22
14 0 0 0 290.12 7.02 52.07
15 0 0 1 238.71 5.67 52.22
16 1 0 1 242.95 4.58 49.13
17 1 0 0 238.54 5.60 49.27
18 1 0 1 241.00 6.05 51.99
19 1 1 1 190.94 3.34 45.91
20 1 1 0 175.20 3.30 46.70
21 1 1 1 165.77 2.23 48.80
22 0 1 1 219.13 3.76 47.26
23 0 1 0 225.55 4.33 48.55
24 0 1 1 170.67 2.80 48.25
25 1 1 1 168.58 2.59 45.42
26 1 1 0 174.55 3.10 49.10
27 1 1 1 168.73 2.99 48.33
Table 5 Tool Pin and Friction Surface Design Matrix
Variables Level
High Medium Low
(+1) (0) (1)
Shoulder diameter (mm) 22 19 16
Pin diameter (mm) 8 7 6
Shoulder surface concavity levels 3 2 1
Regression Modeling of Tool Geometry
Effects
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
used to investigate the full factorial design
of experimentally measured data.
MINITAB software (Ref. 17) was used to
carry out ANOVA. The results of ANOVA
are given in Table 7. The ANOVA of re-
sponse parameters as shown in Table 7
also gives the coefficient of determination
(R
2
). It gives the proportion of variability
in a data sample. This coefficient of deter-
mination is a statistical measure that indi-
cates how well the regression equation ap-
proximates the data sample. The ANOVA
also gives a parameter given as adjusted
R
2
. In multiple regression models, ad-
justed R
2
(Adj R
2
) is a measure of the pro-
portion of the variation in the dependent
variables. The adjusted R
2
allows the de-
grees of freedom to be associated with the
sum of squares.
The ANOVA as given in Table 7 also
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Table 7 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for FSW Response Parameters
Analysis of Variance for Tensile Strength: (Response Surface Regression: R
2
= 91.7%; Adj R
2
= 87.3%)
Source DF Seq SS Adj SS Adj MS F P
Regression 9 38162.3 38162.3 4240.3 20.86 0.000
Linear 3 2804.9 2804.9 935.0 4.60 0.016
Square 3 34637.6 34637.6 11545.9 56.81 0.000
Interaction 3 719.8 719.8 239.9 1.18 0.347
Residual Error 17 3454.9 3454.9 203.2
Total 26 41617.2
Analysis of Variance for % Elongation: (Response Surface Regression: R
2
= 97.3%; Adj R
2
= 95.9%)
Regression 9 52.0008 52.0008 5.7779 69.02 0.000
Linear 3 1.0408 1.0408 0.3469 4.14 0.022
Square 3 48.1835 48.1835 16.0612 191.85 0.000
Interaction 3 2.7765 2.7765 0.9255 11.06 0.000
Residual Error 17 1.4232 1.4232 0.0837
Total 26 53.4240
Analysis of Variance for Weld Cross Section: (Response Surface Regression: R
2
= 85.2%; Adj R
2
= 77.4%)
Regression 9 129.572 129.572 14.3969 10.90 0.000
Linear 3 11.978 11.978 3.9928 3.02 0.058
Square 3 106.435 106.435 35.4782 26.87 0.000
Interaction 3 11.159 11.159 3.7197 2.82 0.070
Residual Error 17 22.446 22.446 1.3204
Total 26 152.018
Fig. 5 A Main effect plots; B interaction plots for tensile strength of welds. Fig. 6 A Main effect plots; B interaction plots for % elongation of
welds.
A
B
A
B
provides sequential sum of squares (Seq
SS), adjusted sum of squares (Adj SS), and
adjusted mean squares (Adj MS). For gen-
eral regression analysis, MINITAB uses
adjusted sum of squares (Adj SS). The ad-
justed sum of squares (Adj SS) is the ad-
ditional sums of squares determined by
adding each particular term to a regres-
sion model given that other terms are also
in the model. The sequential sums of
squares (Seq SS) are the sums of squares
added by a term with previous terms al-
ready entered in the model (Ref. 17).
Analysis of variance is useful to inves-
tigate the significance of factors and the
interactions on the responses. In the
ANOVA table, MS indicates the mean
square and is given as
The degrees of freedom in ANOVA
are used to calculate the mean square
(MS). In the ANOVA table, the Fvalue in-
dicates variance ratio or Fishers ratio,
which is defined as
The probability of significance (P
value) is then calculated based on the vari-
ance ratio (F value). If the probability of
significance value (P value) is less than
0.05, then generally it can be stated that
the effect of control factors is significant.
Results of ANOVA for FSW response pa-
rameters are shown in Table 7. Consider-
ing the cases where the probability of sig-
nificance, i.e., Pin Table 7, is less than 0.05,
the following were concluded for the rela-
tional effect on response parameters.
Analysis of variance for tensile
strength for both linear and square rela-
tions resulted in P values less than 0.05.
This indicates the linear and square rela-
F
MS for a term
MS for the error term
=
MS
SS Sum of square deviation
DF Degree of f
=
( )
rreedom
( )
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A
A B
C
B
Fig. 7 A Main effect plots; B interaction plots for cross-sectional
area of welds.
Fig. 8 Surface plots of the following with respect to shoulder and pin diameter:
A Tensile strength; B % elongation; C weld cross section.
Table 8 Response Surface Regression Relation for Outputs: Tensile Strength (TS), % Elongation (EL), and Weld Cross Section (WCS), and
Inputs: Tool Shoulder Diameter (SDM), Pin Diameter (TPD), and Shoulder Surface (SS)
Sl.
No. Responses R
2
(%) Adjusted R
2
(%) Regression equation
1 Tensile Strength
(TS) 91.7 87.3 TS =(272.01) + (2.08*SD) + (11.51*TPD)
+ (4.37*SFS) + (25.71*SD*SD)
+ (68.61*TPD*TPD) + (20.13*SFS*SFS)
+ (2.81*SD*TPD) + (3.13*SD*SFS)
+ (6.50*TPD*SFS)
2 %
Elongation
(EL) 97.3 95.9 EL =(6.566) + (0.126*SD) + (0.205*TPD)
+ (0.003*SFS) + (0.733*SD*SD)
+ (2.640*TPD*TPD) + (0.724*SFS*SFS)
+ (0.181*SD*TPD) + (0.395*SD*SFS)
+ (0.207*TPD*SFS)
3 Weld Cross Section
(WCS) 85.2 77.4 WCS =(51.570) + (0.157*SD) + (0.699*TPD)
+ (0.391*SFS) + (0.601*SD*SD)
+ (4.142*TPD*TPD) + (0.470*SFS*SFS)
+ (0.310*SD*TPD) + (0.059*SD*SFS)
+ (0.911*TPD*SFS)
tions between the response control factors
and response parameters are significant.
In case of % elongation, ANOVA showed
the interactions of the response control
factors as well as both linear and square
relations between the response control
factors and response parameters to be sig-
nificant. However, for the weld cross-
sectional area, ANOVA showed the quad-
ratic response surface equations to be
more appropriate for capturing the effect
of tool geometries.
Surface Response and Interaction Effects
The main and interaction effect plots
for the response parameters are shown in
Figs. 57. Figure 5A indicates the pin di-
ameter seems to be the most dominating
factor as compared to that of shoulder di-
ameter and shoulder surface concavity for
the tensile strength. The 19-mm shoulder
diameter and concavity level 2 (2 mm flat
surface and concavity at 7 deg) seem to be
most effective for achieving better tensile
strength as indicated in Fig. 5A.
The interaction effect plot for % elon-
gation indicated that pin diameter had sig-
nificant impact on % elongation as shown
in Fig. 6A, B. Out of the three control fac-
tors, shoulder surface seems to be least af-
fecting % elongation as indicated in Fig.
6A, B. Apart from the pin diameter, the
19-mm shoulder diameter seems to be
more dominant for achieving better %
elongation, as can be seen in Fig. 6B.
The main effects plot on the weld cross-
sectional area with respect to control factors
is shown in Fig. 7A. It shows least effect of
the shoulder diameter, significant effect of
pin diameter, and some effect of shoulder
surface concavity on the weld cross section.
It is also observed in Fig. 7A that shoulder
surface level 3 (1 mm flat surface from the
outside perimeter of the tool shoulder and
7 deg inside tapered) resulted in less weld
cross-sectional area. The interaction plots
in Fig. 7B also showed that the shoulder di-
ameter and shoulder surface concavity have
almost a similar effect in the formation of
the weld cross-sectional area.
Role of Pin Diameter in Weld
Characteristics
The pin diameter was found to be the
most significant factor that affects the
weld tensile strength and weld cross-
sectional area. This is because the stirring
in the weld is mainly caused by the pin ac-
tion. A 7-mm-diameter threaded pin was
found to be the most effective in this in-
vestigation. Pin diameters exceeding 7 mm
did not improve the weld tensile proper-
ties, which might be due to improper
bonding/mixing of the material by the
larger-diameter pin. An interesting obser-
vation was noted with regard to the weld
cross-sectional area. It was found to be
maximum with a tool having a 7-mm-
diameter pin. The weld cross-sectional are
reduced with increasing pin diameter.
Role of Shoulder Diameter in Weld
Characteristics
The main effect plots indicated consid-
erable effect of tool shoulder diameter on
tensile strength and % elongation. The ef-
fect of tool shoulder diameter on weld
cross-sectional area was found to be not
that significant. The 19-mm shoulder di-
ameter was observed to provide maximum
weld tensile strength. As compared to the
pin diameter, it was observed that shoul-
der diameter had less of an effect on for-
mation of the weld cross-sectional area.
Role of Shoulder Flat Surface and
Concavity In Weld Characteristics
Shoulder surface (concavity) levels 2
and 3 were found to achieve better weld
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Table 9 Percentage Error of Weldment Characteristics for Test Cases
Test case input variables Percentage error from the model prediction
Sl. Shoulder Pin Shoulder Tensile Tensile % % % Elon- % Weld Weld cross %
No. diameter dia. surface strength strength Error Elon- gation Error cross section Error
(mm) (mm) level (MPa) predicted (MPa) gation predicted section predicted
(mm
2
) (mm
2
)
1 20 8 3 187 204.08 8.37 3.54 3.68 3.91 48.83 46.43 5.15
2 17 8 2 190 203.00 6.40 3.56 3.76 5.52 48.99 48.14 1.76
3 14 8 1 125.67 116.49 7.87 1.84 1.72 6.41 46.28 47.82 3.22
4 20 7 3 267.05 253.74 5.24 5.9 5.85 0.81 53.91 50.89 5.92
5 17 7 2 266.3 261.97 1.65 5.9 6.32 6.70 55.80 51.37 8.60
6 14 7 1 189.53 184.77 2.57 3.79 4.67 18.87 46.28 49.83 7.13
Fig. 10 Surface plots of the following with respect to pin diameter and shoul-
der surface type: A Tensile strength; B % elongation; C weld cross
section.
Fig. 9 Surface plots of the following with respect to shoulder diameter and sur-
face type: A Tensile strength; B % elongation; C weld cross section.
tensile strength as compared to that of
level 1 or full flat surface. The shoulder
flat surface level 2 indicated 2 mm flat sur-
face of the shoulder from the boundary of
the tool then interally tapered at 70 and
was observed to perform better than level
1. Shoulder surface level 3 was observed to
cause less weld cross-sectional area as ob-
served in Fig. 7. It can be stated that the
flat shoulder surface and level 2 shoulder
surface produced almost similar effects
for weld cross-sectional area. However,
overall shoulder surface level 2 was found
to achieve maximum weld tensile strength.
The response surface regression equa-
tions for tensile strength (TS), % elonga-
tion (EL), and weld cross-sectional area
(WCS) are given in Table 8. It may be
noted that the regression equations were
tested with measured output of each tool
as presented in Table 6. The predicted re-
sponses from these equations were com-
pared with the respective values of meas-
ured responses given in Table 6. These
equations, presented in Table 8, were
found to be sufficiently accurate with max-
imum error of 5% indicating the suitabil-
ity of these regression equations to predict
the effect of tool geometries.
The response surface regression equa-
tions were further utilized for generating
3D surface plots of responses as shown in
Figs. 810. In Fig. 8AC, the 3D surface
response plots are shown for the tensile
strength, % elongation, and weld cross-
sectional area with respect to the shoulder
and pin diameters. The surface plots
shown in Fig. 8AC having a convex sur-
face indicates to having optimal points. In
Fig. 9AC, the 3D surface response plots
are shown for the tensile strength, % elon-
gation, and weld cross-sectional area with
respect to shoulder diameter and shoulder
surface. The response indicates a zone of
optimality. In Fig. 10AC, the 3D surface
response plots are shown for the tensile
sectional area with respect to pin diameter
and shoulder surface levels. The regres-
sion equations as indicated in Table 8 were
tested further for some test case tools hav-
ing different tool geometries other than
those given in Table 6. Experiments were
conducted to measure tensile strength, %
elongation, and weld cross-sectional area
for the test case tools as given in Table 9.
The geometry features of these tools were
further used in regression equations
stated in Table 8 for predicting tensile
section. The predicted values of the re-
sponses and measured responses of the
test cases were then compared as shown in
Table 9. The maximum % error was found
to be 8.6% for weld cross-sectional area
for test case serial number 5 (Table 9).
From the prediction capability of the
model developed in the present investiga-
tion, it can be stated that the regression
equations developed in the present work
are appropriate for predicting the effects
of varying design parameters of threaded
tools on friction stir welding of 7039 alu-
minum alloys.
Conclusions
The tool designs and modeling
methodology presented here demon-
strated the usefulness of the approach for
predicting the friction stir weld character-
istics based on tool geometrical parame-
ters. The effect of tool shoulder concavity
levels was also investigated. The multi-
response regression equations developed
here were found appropriate for predict-
ing the weld quality characteristics based
on varying tool parameters. With respect
to FSW of AA7039 using threaded tools
having varying shoulder surface, shoulder
diameter, and pin dimension, the follow-
ing can be stated:
Pin diameter was found to have maxi-
mum influence among the control factors
that determine tensile strength of the
weld. In the present investigation, a 7-mm
pin diameter was found to yield better re-
sults compared to 6 and 8 mm.
The effect of shoulder diameter was
found to not be significant compared to
pin diameter for weld tensile properties.
With respect to the processing window
used in this investigation, the 19-mm
shoulder diameter was found to be more
suitable for obtaining adequate tensile
strength and percentage elongation.
The 2-mm flat shoulder surface from
the periphery of the shoulder, followed by
concavity of 70 was observed to be more
suitable for achieving adequate tensile
strength.
The weld cross-sectional area was also
found to depend on the tool pin diameter,
and the effect was almost similar to the
weld tensile strength.
The surface response regression equa-
tions developed in the present investigation
were found to be fairly accurate for predict-
ing the effect of tool geometries on the
welds signifying the adequacy of the model.
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statistical design of tool geometry and process pa-
rameters. Journal of Materials Engineering and
Performance DOI: 10.1007/s11665-011-9984-2.
15. Rajakumar, S., Muralidharan, C., and
Balasubramanian, V. 2011. Influence of friction
stir welding process and tool parameters on
strength properties of AA7075-T6 aluminium
alloy joints. Materials and Design 32: 535549.
16. Montgomery, D. C. 2001. Design and
Analysis of experiments. Singapore: John Wiley
& Sons.
17. Minitab Inc. 2000. User manual of
MINITAB statistical software. Release 13.31,
State College, Pa.
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Introduction
Submerged arc welding (SAW) is a
major process used to join ship structures,
and its efficiency plays a significant role in
determining the total ownership costs of
ships. Unlike other arc welding processes,
in SAW the arc and molten weld metal are
shielded by a covering envelope of molten
flux and a layer of unfused granular flux
particles (Refs. 1, 2). This unique ap-
proach for shielding allows the use of large
welding currents without spatter and high
travel speeds without exposing high-tem-
perature liquid metal to the surrounding
atmosphere. Thus, quality welds can be
made at high travel speeds.
However, in current practices with
SAW, the power supply is set to the con-
stant voltage (CV) mode to balance the
melting of the wire with its given feeding
speed. While the deposition rate and wire
balance are controlled, the melting cur-
rent is subject to change. Because the
melting current is the same as the base
metal current, which controls weld pene-
tration, the resultant weld penetration can
vary with welding conditions that may af-
fect the melting-feeding balance of the
wire causing the CV power supply to
change the current. Efforts are needed to
control welding conditions such as root
opening, joint geometry, and contact tube-
to-work distance (CTWD) within certain
ranges. However, the resultant weld pen-
etration is still not ensured.
The significance of weld penetration
monitoring and control in SAW for ship-
building can be appreciated and demon-
strated through its capability in facilitating
the so-called no backgouge method.
This applies to the automated, two-sided
butt joint welding processes such as panel-
line assemblies where plates are welded
using SAW tractors from both sides to en-
sure complete joint penetration and ac-
ceptable weld quality. Two-sided welding
in shipbuilding applications involves weld-
ing from one side, flipping the plate, and
then completing the weld from the other
side.
For applications that require complete
joint penetration, the key to two-sided
welding is ensuring that the backside
weld completely penetrates the joint and
fuses into the weld deposited on the op-
posite side. In most cases, complete joint
penetration is assured by backgouging
prior to welding of the opposite side (or
backside weld) (Refs. 3, 4). The elimina-
tion of backgouging could significantly
save time and cost through the following:
1) eliminating the steps associated with
the backgouging process, and 2) reducing
the volume of weld metal needed to com-
plete the backside weld. Unfortunately,
this so-called no backgouge method is ap-
proved in limited cases, and the major
issue limiting its use is due to the inability
to reliably control weld penetration. If one
could accurately control weld penetration
from the two sides, one would be able to
extend the use of no backgouge proce-
dures to greater component thicknesses.
Sensing and control of weld penetra-
tion are critical variables for the competi-
tive next-generation manufacturing indus-
try. Unfortunately, the penetration depth
in partial penetration weld applications is
not visible, and the weld bead on the back-
side of the workpiece is not visible from
the front side. Monitoring weld penetra-
tion, either the penetration depth or weld
bead on the backside of the workpiece, is
challenging.
Despite the difficulties, a number of
methods have been proposed to detect
weld penetration. For SAW, methods that
are based on direct observation of the
electric arc or weld pool such as camera
Penetration Depth Monitoring and
Control in Submerged Arc Welding
The partial penetration depth in the submerged arc welding process is modeled
and feedback controlled based on the base metal current
BY X. R. LI, Y. M. ZHANG, AND L. KVIDAHL
KEYWORDS
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW)
Weld Penetration
Modeling
Control
Proportional Integral
Derivative (PID)
DH36
X. R. LI is with Adaptive Intelligent Systems,
LLC, Lexington, Ky. Y. M. ZHANG
(ymzhang@aiswelding.com;yuming.zhang@uk
y.edu) is with Adaptive Intelligent Systems, LLC,
and the University of Kentucky Institute for Sus-
tainable Manufacturing and Department of Elec-
trical and Computer Engineering. L. KVIDAHL
is with Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula,
Miss.
Presented during the AWS Professional Program
at FABTECH 2012, Las Vegas, Nev.
ABSTRACT
Submerged arc welding (SAW) is known for its high productivity. However, there is
a lack of capability to monitor and control weld penetration. Because penetration is be-
lieved to be primarily determined by base metal current, a gas metal arc welding
(GMAW) gun is added into the SAW process to bypass part of the total current. The
base metal current that controls weld penetration is directly reduced, and the ability to
adjust the base metal current to control weld penetration without reducing deposition
rate is introduced into SAW. To conveniently monitor weld penetration and acquire the
needed feedback for weld penetration control, welding parameters and conditions af-
fecting weld penetration were analyzed and specific variables subject to variation and
fluctuation were identified. Experiments were conducted to see what parameters affect
the weld penetration and what their significances are. It was found that the base metal
current is the dominant parameter that determines weld penetration with a sufficient
accuracy when other major parameters are in their stated ranges. A control system has
been established to monitor and control weld penetration using a proportional integral
derivative (PID) control algorithm. This algorithm is based on penetration feedback
provided by the penetration model that correlates weld penetration depth to base metal
current. Experiments on DH36 square butt joints verified the effectiveness of the pro-
posed method.
FEBRUARY 2013, VOL. 92
and pool oscillation are apparently not
suitable. Other methods that have been
explored for SAW, which include ultra-
sonic penetration sensors (Refs. 5, 6), in-
frared camera-based sensors (Refs. 79),
and numerical analysis-based methods
(Refs. 10, 11). However, to facilitate a
method that is more suitable for a manu-
facturing environment, it may be pre-
ferred if only arc signals can be conve-
niently measured.
This paper proposes a method to mon-
itor and control the depth of weld pene-
tration using SAW, which can be conve-
niently implemented in a manufacturing
environment. At first, the double-elec-
trode bypass method that has previously
been studied for gas metal arc welding
(GMAW) with an added gas tungsten arc
welding (GTAW) bypass torch (Ref. 12)
and GMAW bypass welding gun (Refs. 13,
14), respectively, is introduced to the SAW
to provide the ability to change the base
metal current. It is believed the base metal
current is a major parameter in determin-
ing weld penetration without reducing
deposition rate. In-situ testing and data
analysis were performed to model the
depth of the weld penetration and corre-
late the penetration depth to the arc sig-
nals. Weld penetration monitoring and
subsequent control system were estab-
lished with feasibility verified by prelimi-
nary experiments. Finally, closed-loop
control experiments were conducted to
verify the effectiveness of the proposed
method and system.
Process and System
Principle
A modified SAW process that allows
the base metal current to be adjusted with-
out reducing the deposition rate is intro-
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Fig. 1 Bypass SAW process block diagram.
Fig. 3 Bypass SAW platform.
Fig. 2 Block diagram of automatic welding system.
Fig. 4 Installation of bypass GMAW gun.
Table 1 Welding Conditions for Modeling Experiments
Parameters Unit Value
Material AISI 1018
Butt joint root opening in. 0
CTWD in.
3
4
Travel speed in./min 20
Main voltage V 30.0
Main wire
1
8 in. (3.2 mm) AWS A5.17
Bypass voltage V 30.0
Bypass wire 0.045 in. (1.14 mm) AWS A5.18
duced by adding a GMAW gun into a con-
ventional SAW process as illustrated in
Fig. 1. Two power supplies are used to
power the SAW gun and added GMAW
gun, separately. In all consumable arc
welding processes,
including SAW
with a consumable
wire as a terminal
of the arc, the total
current I
t
that melts
the main wire is the
same as the base
metal current I
bm
that determines the
penetration on the
workpiece. The
deposition rate is
proportional to
I
bm
, since I
bm
= I
t
. If a partial penetration
of specific depth is needed, the deposition
rate will have to change accordingly. With
the introduction of the bypass GMAW
gun and bypass current I
bm
, the relation-
ship becomes as follows:
I
t
= I
bm
+ I
bp
(1)
As a result, the total current can be set
large enough to achieve the needed depo-
sition rate, while the bypass current can be
well controlled to achieve the desired base
metal current to produce the required
penetration. As a result, two control vari-
ables, the wire feed speeds of the main
wire and bypass wire, can be adjusted to
produce the two outputs, weld penetration
and deposition rate, at their desired val-
ues. The required controllability for weld
penetration without reducing the deposi-
tion rate is provided.
The principle of the system established
in this study is to implement the proposed
50-s
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Fig. 5 Bypass SAW control system (left: control box; right: initial parameter
input screen on HMI terminal touchscreen).
Fig. 6 Model accuracy for group 1.
Table 2 Measurements from Identification Experiments
No. I I
bm
I
bp
P WFS
m
W
m
WFS
bp
W
bp
W
t
(A) (A) (A) (in.) (in./min) (lb/h) (in./min) (lb/h) (lb/h)
1 466.23 301 165.23 0.157 91 18.63 322 8.55 27.18
2 464.23 279 185.23 0.111 91 18.63 371 9.84 28.47
3 464.23 264 200.23 0.084 91 18.63 408 10.81 29.44
4 464.23 251 213.23 0.074 91 18.63 439 11.65 30.28
5 464.23 237 227.23 0.071 91 18.63 473 12.55 31.18
6 462.23 245 217.23 0.058 91 18.63 448 11.91 30.53
7 586.23 431 155.23 0.222 101 20.67 298 7.91 28.58
8 584.23 406 178.23 0.208 101 20.67 354 9.39 30.06
9 597.23 397 200.23 0.208 101 20.67 407 10.81 31.48
10 600.23 414 186.23 0.207 101 20.67 373 9.91 30.58
11 611.23 393 218.23 0.199 101 20.67 451 11.97 32.67
12 621.23 395 226.23 0.181 101 20.67 470 12.49 33.16
13 692.23 577 115.23 0.346 112 22.9 201 5.33 28.23
14 647.23 491 156.23 0.280 112 22.9 301 7.97 30.87
15 638.23 458 180.23 0.265 112 22.9 359 9.52 32.42
16 632.23 430 202.23 0.222 112 22.9 412 10.94 33.84
17 626.23 399 227.23 0.214 112 22.9 473 12.55 35.45
18 632.23 388 244.23 0.208 112 22.9 514 13.65 36.55
process and control shown in Fig. 2. The
embedded controller is the core of the
control system. It is interfaced with the
process through a number of isolation
modules. A human machine interface
(HMI) terminal is used by the operator to
input initial welding parameters. The op-
tional data acquisition module is used only
when it is necessary to record the on-line
measurements. All the components of the
control system are installed in a portable
control enclosure. Both power supplies
are operated under CV mode. For each
wire feeder, the wire feed speed command
signal is provided by the embedded con-
troller via the output isolation module.
Two current sensors are used to measure
the base metal current and bypass current.
The measurements from sensors are di-
rectly connected to the input isolation
modules.
Experimental Setup
An LT-7 tractor from Lincoln Electric
was used to perform SAW in this study and
is shown together with the bypass GMAW
gun in Fig. 3. A Miller Deltaweld 652
CV/DC welding machine was used to
power the SAW gun under constant volt-
age (CV) mode. With a preset arc voltage,
the welding current can be changed with
the wire feeding speed setting. The AWS
A5.17 EM12K wire with
1
8-in. (3.18-mm)
diameter from Lincoln Electric was cho-
sen as the consumable wire for SAW. It is
fed by the LT-7 tractor, with adjustable
wire feeding speed denoted as WFS
m
. Lin-
colnweld 882 flux was used to protect the
submerged arc and weld pool. The lower
end of the flux hopper merges with the tip
of the SAW gun in order to supply flux
when the gun is moving and make sure
that the electric arc is protected from sur-
rounding atmosphere with the flux
protection.
The bypass GMAW gun was fixed to
the tractor with an approximate 45-deg
angle with the SAW gun, as shown in Fig.
4. The bypass welding gun was powered by
a Thermal Arc Powermaster 500 CC/CV
welding machine, which is also operated
under CV mode. The AWS A5.18 ER70S-
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Fig. 9 Block diagram of control system.
Fig. 10 Weld bead made from experiment for -in. penetration depth.
Table 3 RMSEs for the Four Models
Model RMSE (in.) Regression variables/number of parameters
Model 1 0.0112 base metal current and deposition rates/4
Model 2 0.0124 base metal current/2
Model 3 0.0206 deposition rates/3
Model 4 0.0122 base metal current, square of base metal current/3
Table 4 Welding Parameters for
1
4-in. Penetration
Parameters Unit Parameter Value
CTWD in.
3
4
Main voltage V 30
Total current Follow main wire speed
Main wire 0.125 in. (3.175 mm) AWS A5.17
Main wire feed speed in./min 70
Bypass voltage V 30
Bypass current Follow bypass wire feeding speed
Bypass wire 0.045 in. (1.14 mm) AWS A5.18
Initial bypass wire feed speed in./min 200
Desired base metal current A 436
Table 5 Experimental Results for
1
4-in. (0.25-in.) Penetration Depth
Point # I
bm
I
bp
I Penetration Error
A A A in. %
1 438 117 555 0.2449 2.05
2 436 123 559 0.2500 0
3 432 119 551 0.2571 2.83
4 434 113 547 0.2421 3.15
5 438 112 550 0.2457 1.73
6 434 116 550 0.2512 0.47
7 435 116 551 0.2520 0.79
6 wire with 0.045-in.
(1.14-mm) diameter
from Kobelco was se-
lected as the bypass wire.
A Miller S-74D wire
feeder was used to supply
the bypass wire at a wire
feeding speed of WFS
bp
.
A bypass SAW process
controller was installed
based on the universal
welding process control
system developed by Adaptive Intelligent
Systems, LLC, Lexington, Ky. (Ref. 15) The
controller was used to monitor and control
various welding parameters, such as weld-
ing current, arc voltage, wire feeding speed,
etc. A HMI terminal was used to enhance
the communication between welder and
process. The controller and HMI screen are
shown in Fig. 5.
Modeling
Regression Variables
As discussed above, the bypass SAW
introduced an ability to control both the
base metal current and deposition rate. In
this section, the authors will demonstrate
that the depth of the weld penetration can
be determined by the based metal current
with sufficient accuracy. The ability to
control the weld penetration is established
using the bypass SAW. To this end, all
major parameters affecting penetration
depth would have to be taken into consid-
eration first.
A number of studies have been de-
voted to modeling the SAW process (Refs.
1620). Based on these studies, a compre-
hensive model is proposed to correlate the
depth of the weld penetration to a number
of welding parameters as the regression
variables:
P = f(I
bm
,W
t
,G, CTWD, S) (2)
Here, P is the depth of partial penetra-
tion weld (in.), I
bm
the base metal current
(A), W
t
the total deposition rate (lb/h), G
the root opening (in.), CTWD the contact
tip-to-work distance (in.), and S the travel
speed (in./min).
In the welding parameters included in
Equation 2, CTWD and S can be accu-
rately controlled, and Gmay be controlled
with a certain range. The approach is to
simplify the model into the following
form:
P = f(I
bm
,W
t
), (3)
identify the model under given CTWD
and S and nominal G, and then examine
how the accuracy may be affected by G
when it is in the tolerant range. It is ap-
parent that
W
t
= W
m
+ W
bp
(4)
Here, W
m
and W
bp
are the deposition
rates from the main (SAW) wire and by-
pass wire, respectively. In general, a depo-
sition rate W can be calculated from its
wire feed speed WFS for a steel wire in the
following expression:
W= 13.1 D
2
WFS EE (5)
52-s
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Fig. 11 Measured welding parameters with -in. penetration control.
Fig. 12 Completed weld bead for -in. penetration depth on DH36.
Fig. 13 Completed weld bead for
3
8-in. penetration test on DH36.
Table 6 Alloy Composition (wt-%) of DH36
Steel (Ref. 23)
Alloy Material Wt-%
C 0.18
Mn 0.901.60
Si 0.100.50
S 0.035
P 0.035
Al 0.015 min
Nb 0.020.05
V 0.050.10
Ti 0.02
Cu 0.35
Cr 0.20
Ni 0.40
Mo 0.08
1
4-in. Penetration Test on DH36
Material DH 36
Root opening in. 0
CTWD in.
3
4
Main voltage V 30.0
Total current A Follow main wire speed
Main wire
1
8-in. (3.17-mm) AWS A5.17
Main wire speed in./min 70
Bypass current A Follow bypass wire speed
Bypass wire 0.045-in. (1.14-mm) AWS A5.18
Initial bypass wire speed in./min 200
Here, D is the diameter of the wire
(in.), WFS the wire feed speed (in./min),
and EE the electrode efficiency that is
considered 100% for a solid wire. The con-
stant of 13.1 is due to the density and units
used. Hence,
W
t
= W
m
+ W
bp
= 13.1
(D
2
m
WFS
m
+ D
2
bp
WFS
bp
) (6)
The proposed model becomes
P = f(I
bm
, W
m
, W
bp
) (7)
Identification Experiments
To provide sufficient variations for the
regression parameters in the model, three
groups of butt joint welding experiments
were conducted on -in.-thick AISI 1018
plates under conditions in Table 1.
In the butt joint welding experiments,
no root openings were set intentionally.
For each experiment, WFS
m
was manually
set as a constant on the panel of the SAW
tractor, and there were variations in the
total current from experiment to experi-
ment with the same nominal WFS
m
.
Within each group, WFS
bp
was changed in
a relatively large range and bypass current
changed accordingly. After experiments,
specimens were cut in 1-in. intervals to
measure the depth of the weld penetra-
tion. Table 2 lists all the measured experi-
mental data, including the regression vari-
ables/model inputs and model output.
Model Identification
Four tentative model structures were
proposed in Equation 8.
Model 1 includes the base metal current
and deposition rates as regression parame-
ters/model inputs; Models 2 and 3 only con-
sider either the base metal current or depo-
sition rate, respectively; and Model 4
contains linear and quadratic equations
representing the base metal current.
The Least Squares method (Ref. 21)
was used to estimate model coefficients
for each given model structure in Equa-
tion 8 using experimental data in Table 2.
The measured output was compared with
the model fitted penetration depth in Figs.
68 for each of the three experiment
groups.
To evaluate model performances, the
root mean square error (RMSE) was used
for each model:
where p and p denote the measured and
model-estimated penetration depths, re-
spectively. Index i indicates the ith sample
in the given experiment group, and n is the
number of samples from the given experi-
ment group. The resultant RMSEs are
listed in Table 3.
When the number of parameters is the
same, a model with a smaller RMSE
should be selected. Model 3 is thus elimi-
P a a I a W a W Model
P a a I
bm m bp
bm
= + + +
= +
0 1 2 3
0 1
( 1)
( 2) Model
P a =
00 1 2
( 3) ( + + a W a W Model
m bp
88)
(
0 1 2
2
P a a I a I Mode
bm bm
= + + ll 4)
RMSE
p P
n
l i i
n
= (9)
2
1

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Fig. 14 Weld bead profiles for -in. partial penetration test etchants.
Fig. 15 Weld bead profiles for
3
8-in. partial penetration test etchants.
Table 8 Measured Welding Current and Penetration Depth for
1
Point # I
bm
I
bp
I
t
Penetration Error
A A A in. %
1 480 63 543 0.2547 1.89
2 470 66 536 0.2516 0.63
3 470 63 533 0.2551 2.05
4 465 63 528 0.2539 1.57
5 469 63 532 0.2539 1.57
3
Material DH 36
Root opening in. 0
CTWD in.
3
4
Main voltage V 30.0
Total current A Follow main wire speed
Main wire
1
8-in. (3.17-mm) AWS A5.17
Main wire speed in./min 90
Bypass current A Follow bypass wire speed
Bypass wire 0.045-in. (1.14-mm) AWS A5.18
Initial bypass wire speed in./min 200
nated. As the number of parameters in-

creases, the resultant reduction in RMSE
must be significant. The significance may
be examined using F-test (Ref. 22) with a
given confidence level . For = 0.05, F
= 0.5 and 1.6 from Models 2 to 3 and from
Models 2 to 1, respectively. Both these F
values are far from being significant.
Model 2 is selected. Because of the small
RMSE, the resultant model (model 2)
P = 0.1258 + 0.0008I
bm
(10)
is considered to exhibit the best accuracy.
Local Modeling
The model identified above is a global
model. The modeling accuracy may be
better assured if models are identified for
different penetration levels of concern,
such as 50% and 75% of the full plate
thickness. This is because a specific pene-
tration level can narrow down many pa-
rameters/variables: 1) Root opening,
CTWD, and travel speed appropriate to
the needed penetration level should be de-
termined and then set to the correspon-
ding constants; 2) arc voltage for main and
bypass power supply appropriate to the
needed penetration level should be deter-
mined and then set at a constant level (30
V, for example); and 3) main wire feed
speed appropriate to the needed penetra-
tion level should be determined and then
set at a constant. Reduced ranges of these
parameters/variables in general should
improve the accuracy of local models over
the global model established on wide
ranges of these parameters/variables.
Feedback Control and
Verification Experiment
The principle of the proposed penetra-
tion control system is illustrated in Fig. 9.
In this system, only the bypass wire feed
speed is adjusted to control the penetra-
tion depth/base metal current. If the dep-
osition rate and weld penetration both
need to be accurately controlled, the main
wire speed should be adjusted together
with the bypass wire feed speed.
In Fig. 9, the penetration model calcu-
lates/estimates the depth of weld penetra-
tion P as the feedback. Its difference with
the desired depth of weld penetration P* is
used as the input of the proportional inte-
gral derivative (PID) control algorithm.
The output of the PID control algorithm is
the change of the bypass wire feed speed
WFS
bp
. The process includes power sup-
plies, wire feeders, and resultant arcs. The
travel speed, main wire feed speed, and
other constant parameters are also applied
to the process. However, only the bypass
wire feed speed is manipulated as the con-
trol variable of the process. The outputs of
the process contain all variables from the
bypass SAW process and can be recorded
for off-line analysis, but only the base metal
current is used as the feedback.
The PID controller was implemented by
the embedded control system introduced in
the process and system section. The A/D
port of controller samples the current sig-
nals from the current sensors at 100 Hz (100
samples per second per channel). The con-
trol period was empirically selected to be 0.5
s. The average of the measurements of a
particular signal in a control period was
used as the measurement/feedback of this
signal in this control period.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the
proposed monitoring and control method,
closed-loop control verification experi-
ments were conducted by butt joint weld-
ing -in.-thick AISI 1018 carbon steel
plates with the targeted depth of penetra-
tion at in. (50% of whole thickness).
AISI 1018 carbon steel was selected be-
cause of its combination of typical traits of
steel: strength, ductility, and comparative
ease of machining. Chemically, it is very
similar to A36 hot rolled steel, but the cold
rolling process creates a better surface fin-
ish and better properties. Its good weld-
ability and low cost especially make it an
appropriate choice for extensive experi-
ments based on process and method de-
velopments, as in this paper.
In all the preliminary experiments for
verification, two -in.-thick by 2-in.-wide
by 24-in.-long AISI 1018 plates were
tacked with no intentional root opening.
Square butt joints were welded with no
grooves at the flat position. The SAW trac-
tor traveled along the experimental track
with the welding gun in line with the joint.
The optimal values of constant param-
eters were determined based on prelimi-
nary experiments. For -in. (50%) partial
penetration control, multiple tests with
the optimal values for the constant pa-
rameters were conducted. These tests not
only produced more samples for further
analysis, but also proved the stability and
consistency of the proposed bypass SAW
method. The optimal values for constant
welding parameters for targeted -in.
penetration are listed in Table 4.
The travel speed of 20 in./min is accept-
able for butt joint welding in productivity
lines, but not too fast to add difficulties for
penetration. The voltage settings and diam-
eter of the main wire (0.125 in.) were deter-
mined based on typical shipbuilding appli-
cations. The bypass wire diameter (0.045
in.) is typical for GMAW applications/guns.
The initial value for the bypass wire feed
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Table 10 Measured Welding Currents and Penetration Depth for
3
8-in. Penetration Test on
DH36
Point # I
bm
I
bp
I Penetration Error
A A A in. %
1 563 106 669 0.3772 0.58
2 568 104 672 0.3709 1.10
3 575 102 677 0.3752 0.05
4 576 107 683 0.3728 0.58
5 561 102 663 0.3748 0.05
Table 11 Experimental Results from the Joint Root Opening Test
Point # I
bm
I
bp
I Penetration Error
A A A in. %
1 434 78 512 0.2512 0.47
2 438 78 516 0.2539 1.57
3 448 80 528 0.2547 1.89
4 436 89 525 0.2528 1.10
5 443 92 535 0.2449 2.05
Table 12 Experimental Results from
5
8-in. CTWD Test
Point # I
bm
I
bp
I Penetration Error
A A A in. %
1 432 110 542 0.2472 1.10
2 438 105 543 0.2504 0.16
3 438 112 550 0.2480 0.79
4 434 109 543 0.2449 2.05
speed was used before the base metal cur-
rent feedback became available.
Experiments have been conducted to
identify the local model corresponding to
the 50% penetration level using the ex-
perimental conditions given in Table 5.
The resultant local model is
P = 0.0361 + 0.000656I
bm
(11)
Based on this local model, the desired
base metal current is 436 A in order to
produce -in. penetration depth on the
-in.-thick plates. Figure 10 shows the
resultant butt joint weld. As can be ob-
served, the weld made is consistent and
smooth after brushing off the solidified
flux. The recorded currents are plotted
in Fig. 11.
Figure 11 includes the bypass wire
feed speed command signal. Before t =
3 s approximately, the bypass wire feed
speed command signal is 0. This is be-
cause the bypass wire feed system was
switched on manually after the main arc
was established. The bypass wire feed
speed command signal was then adjusted
from its initial value of 200 in./min as de-
termined by the PID control algorithm.
As a result, the base metal current is con-
trolled at its desired level, 436 A, ap-
proximately.
The completed weldment was then
cut into 1-in. segments to measure the re-
sultant depth of the weld penetration
along the coupon length. The results to-
gether with the measured arc signals are
given in Table 5 in 1-in. intervals. For
partial penetration weld joints, it was
easy to identify the weld interface and
penetration depth from the weld profile
of each small sample. In comparison with
the welding parameters measured in Fig.
11, the measured penetration depths
corresponded to the welding parameters
around each point. The information of
weld samples is listed in Table 5.
As can be seen, the base metal current
was closed-loop controlled accurately
around the desired level of 436 A, with a
maximum error of 4 A. The average weld
penetration from the experiment was
0.2484 in. The maximum error was
0.0079 in., only 3.15% of the desired pen-
etration depth.
In further tests, it was also found that
the root opening of less than
1
16 in. will
not have a noticeable influence on the
penetration control accuracy. Actually,
even though the weld joint was prepared
to have a zero root opening, the root
opening may become larger during weld-
ing because of heat distortion of the base
material. Therefore, if the weld joint is
prepared with a root opening smaller
than
1
16 in., the monitoring and control
accuracy will not be affected visibly.
DH-36 Experiment Results
and Analysis
In order to prove the effectiveness of
the partial penetration control method, -
in.-thick DH36 plates were welded to
achieve a desired partial penetration of
in. (50%) and
3
8 in. (75%) targeting ship-
building applications. The two penetra-
tion depths are sufficient to avoid back
gouging. If specific penetration depths are
required for future applications, another
set of welding and control parameters can
be given to achieve those levels.
Material
As extensively used in ship structures,
DH36 plates were selected to demonstrate
the feasibility of the proposed method in
practical applications. The chemical com-
position of DH36 is listed in Table 6.
All the welding experiments were car-
ried out on square butt joints in the flat po-
sition. Two pieces of DH36 plates with in.
thickness 3 in. width 24 in. length were
butt joint welded with zero root opening.
Although the root opening may be slightly
increased during the welding process, it
wont affect the control accuracy as learned
in previous experiments and will be demon-
strated in this section. The SAW tractor
traveled along the experimental track with
the GMAW gun in line with the joint.
Partial Penetration at in. (50%)
To achieve -in. penetration on -in.-
thick DH36 square butt joints, a series of
preliminary experiments were conducted
to obtain the following local model:
P= 0.3633 + 0.001312 I
bm
(12)
This local model calls for 470-A base
metal current to produce -in. penetra-
tion depth. The welding parameters used
to conduct these experiments and result-
ant base metal current from this local
model are listed in Table 7.
Again, the DH36 square butt joints
were tacked with zero root opening before
welding. The completed weld bead is il-
lustrated in Fig. 12. Similarly, as in the
conventional SAW process, the weld bead
in Fig. 12 is smooth without spatter. In ad-
dition, due to the closed-loop control ef-
fect, the weld bead is also consistent in
width and height. To accurately measure
partial penetration depth, the specimen
was cut into several small sections along
the weld bead with 1-in. interval. On the
profile of weld bead cross section, the pen-
etration depth can be measured by caliper
with accepted accuracy. The welding cur-
rent and partial penetration depth meas-
urements corresponding to each cross-
section sample are listed in Table 8.
From the measurement of partial pen-
etration depth, it can be seen that the max-
imum error for -in. penetration is 0.051
in. (2.05% of desired penetration depth),
which is far less than the maximum error
of
1
16 in. acceptable to shipyards.
Partial Penetration at
3
8 in. (75%)
Following the same procedure, the fol-
lowing local model for
3
8-in. partial pene-
tration was obtained:
P = 0.4942 + 0.001312 I
bm
(13)
By similar calculation, for
3
8-in. pene-
tration depth, the required base metal cur-
rent should be 570 A. Other welding pa-
rameters are listed in Table 9. With
increased weld penetration, the main wire
feeding speed was increased from 70 to 90
in./min, in order to provide larger welding
current and higher deposition rate.
Similarly consistent weld and results
were obtained as shown in Fig. 13 and
Table 10.
By examining the results, the maximum
error for
3
8-in. partial penetration is 0.0041
in. (1.10% of required penetration depth),
which is also inside the tolerated error of
1
16 in.
Weld Profile
The obtained weld bead specimens
from the partial penetration test were
later processed by SECAT, Inc., Lexing-
ton, Ky., using standard preparation tech-
niques for metallographic examination.
By polishing and etching those specimens,
the penetration depth could be more
clearly identified and measured. Some se-
lected weld bead profiles were shown
below in Figs. 14 and 15.
Based on the etching results, it can be
observed that in certain cases, the main
and bypass welding guns may deviate from
the joint. This may have been caused by an
irregular edge or deformation of the weld
joint, or the travel trajectory of the SAW
tractor may not have been exactly in line
with the weld joint. However, the weld in-
terface of all specimens reached the de-
sired penetration depth. These weld bead
profiles further proved the effectiveness
of the proposed partial penetration con-
trol method by the bypass SAW process.
Variation Experiments
In ideal cases with all the welding pa-
rameters and conditions kept constant, an
open-loop SAW process using predeter-
mined welding parameters (wire feed
speed, voltage, CTWD, root opening, etc.)
would produce consistent welds and weld-
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penetration depth as typically used in in-
dustrial practices. However, the base
metal current that controls the weld pen-
etration depth does subject to the effects
from possible variations in the CTWD and
root opening. A closed-loop control would
overcome the effects of these variations
on the base metal current and weld pene-
tration depth.
Further, while the introduction of the
bypass arc provides advantages, the arcing
process becomes more complicated and is
determined by more parameters including
bypass wire position/angle. Ideally, setting
all parameters at their nominal values be-
comes challenging. A closed-loop control
would overcome the effects of possible
setting inaccuracy on the base metal cur-
rent and weld penetration depth. In addi-
tion, when an open-loop method is used, a
few experiments are needed to determine
the values for the welding parameters that
produce the desired base metal current
and weld penetration depth. With a
closed-loop control, such experiments be-
come unnecessary.
To further demonstrate the effective-
ness of the closed-loop controlled bypass
SAW process, a series of experiments were
designed and conducted with varying root
openings and CTWDs.
Varying Root Opening
In previous experiments, butt joint
welds were made without intentional root
openings. To demonstrate the effective-
ness of the closed-loop control, the same
welding parameters from the feedback
control and verification experiment sec-
tion (Table 4) were used to weld the same
AISI 1018 plates but with an intentional
variation in the root opening that in-
creased from 0 to
1
16 in. The obtained weld
bead was processed in the same way, and
the measurements are listed in Table 11.
As can be seen, even with a
1
16-in. root
opening, the base metal current was closed-
loop controlled accurately around the de-
sired level of 436 A. The average weld pen-
etration from the experiment was 0.2515 in.
The maximum error was 0.0066 in., only
2.05% of the desired penetration depth.
Therefore, for the root opening varying be-
tween 0 and
1
16 in., the closed-loop control
still guaranteed consistent weld penetration
depth at the desired level.
Varying CTWD Test
For the varying CTWD test, the same
experiment parameters and weld joint
were used as described in Table 4 and the
feedback control and verification experi-
ment section. For this test, the CTWD was
set
1
8 in. lower than the standard
3
4-in.
CTWD. The total current is expected to
change from the case with the standard
3
4-
in. CTWD under the same total WFS and
power supply voltage settings. Through
feedback control, the base metal current,
as well as the penetration depth, will be
stable at the set points. The obtained weld
bead was processed in the same way, and
the measurements are listed in Table 12.
As can be seen, the maximum error was
2.05%. The closed-loop control still guar-
anteed consistent weld penetration depth
at the desired level.
It is apparent that consistent weld pen-
etration depths were achieved with ac-
ceptable accuracies despite the
changes/variations in the CTWD and root
opening. Further verification experiments
are needed in order to confirm the effec-
tiveness of the closed-loop control system
under other different changes/variations
in welding conditions. The constraints on
and the design of the closed-loop control
system may be subject to changes.
Conclusions
1) Bypass SAW provided an effective
method to adjust the weld penetration for
SAW without reducing the deposition
rate.
2) A controlled bypass SAW system
was established with shipbuilding welding
as the target application.
3) The penetration depth in welding
square butt joints can be determined by
the base metal current with an acceptable
accuracy.
4) Local models provided a method to
obtain more accurate weld penetration es-
timates for specific applications.
5) The effectiveness of the proposed
penetration estimation/modeling and con-
trol method for DH-36 was experimen-
tally demonstrated.
Acknowledgment
This work was funded by the Navy
SBIR Program under contract N65538-10-
M-0110. The technical guidance and assis-
tance from the technical point of contact,
Jonnie Deloach, is greatly appreciated.
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