Advances in Welding Technology

Professor S. Sundaresan
L&T Welding Chair
Dept. of Metallurgical Engg.
M.S. University, Vadodara
Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW)
• Why gas shield?
• Aluminium, other non-ferrous alloys,
alloy steels
• Non-consumable electrode
• Shielding gas only inert (Ar or He)
• Electrode polarity (DCEN or AC)
• Advantages, applications, disadvantages
Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW)
 Water cooling of torch
Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW)
 GTA WELDING WITH
FLUX ACTIVATION (A-TIG ROCESS)
• Application of flux as thin coating
 Dramatic increase in penetration depth

• Flux consists of oxides, halides, metal powder

• First reported in the 1960s by Paton Institute

Spread to other countries only by 1990

• Much development work since then and

method already adopted commercially
 a

a) without flux b) with A-TIG flux

GTA welds in 6 mm thick
stainless steel [Howse, 2000]
 Flux activation….
Large benefit in productivity

– Reduction in welding times

– Simplification of joint preparation

– Reduction in distortion

– Flux inexpensive and easy to apply

– Other advantages of conventional TIG

also applicable to A-TIG
 Flux activation….

• Two broad mechanisms proposed

– Arc constriction effects

– Surface tension effects

 Flux activation….
• Flux activation applied predominantly to
stainless steel but also to other
materials, e.g., magnesium alloys

• Possibility of microstructural
modification, believed due to
enhanced constitutional undercooling
FRICTION STIR WELDING

• Solid state welding process

• Developed and patented by TWI, UK

• Wide scope in aerospace and

automotive industries
 FRICTION STIR ….

• Tool with pin / probe

rotated and moved
along joint

• Heat generation,
plastic flow and
churning action

• Solid-state bonding Basic set-up for friction stir welding

Friction stir welding

Friction stir welding arrangement

 Friction stir welding
Principle of FSW

 Tool: Larger diameter shoulder and smaller diameter, profiled probe

 Probe plunged into joint and rotated

 Region of metal surrounding probe (and below it) heated up and thermally
conditioned

 Depth of penetration controlled by length of probe

 Additional frictional heat through contacting shoulder

 Combined heat → Plasticised, almost hydrostatic condition in adjoining

material

 Flow of material around the probe and coalescence behind it (as tool
traverses forward)

 Thus autogenous keyhole joining

 Friction stir welding

Transverse section of 50 mm thick 6086-T6 aluminium alloy

 FRICTION STIR …..
FRICTION
ADVANTAGES
STIR ….

• Joining materials difficult to fusion-weld

• Refined microstructure

• Superior mechanical properties

• Freedom from hot cracking, porosity and loss of alloying

elements

• No need for edge preparation, filler wire or shielding gas

• No fumes, no radiation hazards

• Ease of automation and repeatability

 FRICTION STIR ……
FRICTION STIR ….
• Much work on aluminium alloys
- no liquation, fine microstructure,
reduced residual stress and distortion

• Also studies on Mg alloys, Cu alloys

• Problem for higher-melting materials:

- accelerated wear of the tool

HSS for Al, but boron nitride, titanium carbide, etc.,

for Fe, Ni, Ti alloys
 Friction stir welding
Application potential of FSW

 Airframes, fuel tanks & thin alloy skins in the aerospace

 Sheet bodywork and engine support frames for the

automotive industry

 Railway wagon and coach-work, bulk carrier tanks for

the transportation industry

 Hulls, decks and internal structures for high-speed

ferries and LPG storage vessels for the ship building
industry
Electron beam welding (EBW)

Electrons from thermionic emission

Acceleration by high voltage (say 100 kV)

Focussing by electromagnetic lenses

High heat concentration

High power density (say 5X10 10 W/m2)

However, low total heat input (say 300 J/mm)

Set-up Keyholing

Electron beam welding (EBW)

 Electron beam …..
Advantages:
• Small quantity of total heat concentrated in a
narrow area
• Deep penetration, high d/w ratio, narrow weld
and HAZ
• Minimum residual stress/ distortion
• Minimum metallurgical damage
• Vacuum → Total absence of contamination
• Possibilities of steering/ deflection/ defocusing/
oscillation of electron beam
Laser beam welding
 Laser beam welding ….

• Similar to EBW, concentration of low total heat in

narrow region, high d/w ratio, minimum damage,
etc.
• Also possibilities of automation
Differences:
• Usable beam power much lower than in EBW
(poor efficiency, reflection, etc.) → reduced
penetration
• No vacuum chamber, no limitation on workpiece
size
Most rapidly increasing application potential:
typical example – automobile industry
 HYBRID WELDING
• Augmentation of laser
beam with an arc  Hybrid system

• Most common: GMAW, PAW, GTAW

• GMAW & PAW preferred to GTAW

• Nd:YAG laser preferred to CO2 laser

• First reported in 1978

• Rapid increase in commercial application in a range of

industries
 HYBRID WELDING
Hybrid systems  Significant efficiency gains,
synergistic effects

Improvement in penetration 
Increase in welding speed

Arc heat increases workpiece absorption of laser

beam

Laser improves arc stability

Laser constricts arc

HYBRID WELDING
Laser constricts arc

Arc constriction by laser beam [Ono, 2002]

 HYBRID WELDING

• Laser beam ensures deep penetration

• Arc melting of surface improves

gap tolerance

• Arc gives smoother blend in

dissimilar thickness TWBs
 HYBRID WELDING

Increase in penetration and gap tolerance with

hybrid welding [Ono, 2002]
 Laser + Plasma arc welding

Laser-alone welding

Dissimilar thickness TWBs

Gas metal-arc welding (GMAW)
• Consumable electrode process
Wire-feed drive
• Aluminium, other non-ferrous alloys,
alloy steels, unalloyed
steels
• Electrode polarity (always DCEP)
• Shielding gas - Inert ( Ar / He) or
active (CO2)
 Gas metal-arc welding (GMAW)……

• Suited to thick sections, thin sizes also

weldable

• Metal transfer problems

spray transfer, dip transfer

• Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)

• Advantages, applications
Gas metal-arc welding (GMAW)
Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)
• Variant of MMAW, for continuous welding
• Also variant of GMAW, with flux addition
• Designed for ferrous materials

Weld metal protected by slag (from flux)

and by gas (from flux or separate gas shield)

Self-shielded and gas-shielded types,

Gas shield usually CO2
 Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW)……..
• In relation to MMAW: Higher deposition rate and
productivity
• In relation to SAW: Better arc visibility and
maneuverability
• In relation to solid-wire GMAW: Better arc
behaviour and metal transfer
• Tubular and complex types
Applications: Most rapidly expanding range
 HYDROGEN CONTROL…..
• Different approach: Reduce HD in the weld

• Further lowering of limit for new, higher-strength steels

• Measures for decreasing HD:

• Increase slag basicity
• Increase oxygen content
• Reduce partial pressure of hydrogen in the gas shield
• Reduce hydrogen activity by adding fluorides in flux

• K2SiF6, Na3AlF6, KF, MnF3 found more effective than

CaF2
 HYDROGEN CONTROL…..
• Different approach: Reduce HD in the weld

• Further lowering of limit for new, higher-strength steels

• Measures for decreasing HD:

• Increase slag basicity
• Increase oxygen content
• Reduce partial pressure of hydrogen in the gas shield
• Reduce hydrogen activity by adding fluorides in flux

• K2SiF6, Na3AlF6, KF, MnF3 found more effective than

CaF2
 HYDROGEN CONTROL…..
• Another approach: Hydrogen traps

• Hydrogen in lattice and in crystal defects and second-

phase particles

• Mean residence time longer in trap than as solute

• Specific rare earth and transition metal additions→

compounds such as Ce2O3, TiC, Y2O3, etc. with high
binding energy for hydrogen

• Addition of 1600 ppm Y: HD reduces to 1-2 mL/100g