Lecture 14

Gas Tungsten Arc welding I

This chapter presents the principle of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process
besides important components of TIG welding system and their role. This process is
also known as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. Further, fundamentals of
heat generation, arc stability and arc efficiency have also been described.
Additionally, comparison of argon and helium as shielded gases has been
discussed.
Keywords: Tungsten inert gas welding, shielding gas, welding torch, arc stability,
Arvs. He

14.1 Introduction
Tungsten inert gas welding process also called as gas tungsten arc welding is
named so because it uses a) electrode primarily made of tungsten and b) inert gas
for shielding the weld pool to prevent its contamination from atmospheric gases
especially when joining high strength reactive metals and alloys such as stainless
steel, aluminium and magnesium alloys, wherever high quality weld joints need to be
developed for critical applications like nuclear reactors, aircraft etc. Invention of this
process in middle of twentieth century gave a big boost to fabricators of these
reactive metals as none of the processes (SMAW and Gas welding) available at that
time were able to weld them successfully primarily due to two limitations a)
contamination of weld from atmospheric gases and b) poor control over the heat
input required for melting (Fig. 14.1). Moreover, welding of aluminium and its alloys
with shielded metal arc welding process can be realized using halide flux coated
electrodes by overcoming the problems associated with Al2O3, however, halides are
very corrosive and therefore welding of aluminium is preferable carried out using
inert shielding environment with the lerp of processes like GTAW and GMAW.
Despite of so many developments in the field of welding, TIG process is invariably
recommended for joining of thin aluminium sheets of thickness less than 1mm.
 Fig. 14.1 Schematic of tungsten inert gas welding process
14.2 TIG welding system
There are four basic components (F
Fig. 14.2) of TIG welding system namely a)
DC/AC power source to deliver the welding current as per needs, b) welding torch
(air/water cooled) with tungsten electrode and gas nozzle, c) inert shielding gas (He,
Ar or their mixture) for protecting the molten weld pool contamination from
atmospheric gases and d) controls for moving the welding torch as per mode of
operation (manual, semi-automatic and automatic). This process uses the heat
generated by an electric arc between the non-consumable tungsten electrode and
work piece (mostly reactive metals like stainless steel, Al, Mg etc.) for melting of
faying surfaces and inert gas is used for shielding the arc zone and weld pool from
the atmospheric gases.
14.2.1 Power source
TIG welding normally uses constant current type of power source with welding
current ranging from 3-200A or 5-300A or higher and welding voltage ranging from
10-35V at 60% duty cycle. Pure tungsten electrode of ball tip shape with DCEN
provides good arc stability. Moreover, thorium, zirconium and lanthanum modified
tungsten electrodes can be used with AC and DCEP as coating of these elements on
pure tungsten electrodes improves the electron emission capability which in turn
enhances the arc stability. TIG welding with DCEP is preferred for welding of
reactive metals like aluminium to take advantage of cleaning action due to
development of mobile cathode spots in work piece side during welding which
loosens the tenacious alumina oxide layer. This helps to clean the weld pool.DCEN
polarity is used for welding of metal such as carbon steel that dont require much
cleaning.
 Fig. 14.2 Details of components of GTAW system [Millerweld.com]

14.2.2 Welding Torch

TIG welding torch includes three main parts namely non-consumable tungsten
electrode, collets and nozzle. A collet is primarily used to hold the tungsten
electrodes of varying diameters in position. Nozzle helps to form a firm jet of inert
gas around the arc, weld pool and the tungsten electrode. The diameter of the gas
nozzle must be selected in light of expected size of weld pool so that proper
shielding of the weld pool can be obtained by forming cover of inert gas. The gas
nozzle needs to be replaced at regular interval as it is damaged by wear and tear
under the influence of intense heat of the welding arc. Damaged nozzle does not
form uniform jet of inert gas around the weld pool for protection from the atmospheric
gases. Typical flow rate of shielding inert gas may vary from 5-50 liters/min.
TIG welding torch is generally rated on the basis of their current carrying capacity as
it directly affects the welding speed and so the production rate. Depending upon the
current carrying capacity, the welding torch can be either water or air cooled. Air
cooled welding torch is generally used for lower range of welding current than water
cooled torches.
14.2.3 Filler wire
Filler metal is generally not used for welding thin sheet by TIGW. Welding of thick
steel plates by TIG welding to produce high quality welds for critical applications
such as joining of nuclear and aero-space components, requires addition of filler
metal to fill the groove. The filler wire can be fed manually or using some wire feed
mechanism. For feeding small diameter filler wires (0.8-2.4mm) usually push type
wire feed mechanism with speed control device is used. Selection of filler metal is
very critical for successful welding because in some cases even use of filler metal
similar to that base metal causes cracking of weld metal especially when their
solidification temperature range is every wide (>50oC). Therefore, selection of filler
wire should be done after giving full consideration to the following aspects such as
mechanical property requirement, metallurgical compatibility, cracking tendency of
base metal under welding conditions, fabrication conditions etc.
For welding of aluminium alloys, Al-(5-12wt.%) Si filler is used as general purpose
filler metal. Al-5%Mg filler is also used for welding of some aluminium alloys.
Welding of dissimilar steels namely stainless steel with carbon or alloy steels for high
temperature applications needs development of buttering layer before welding for
reducing carbon migration and residual stress development related problems.
14.2.4 Shielding gas
Helium, Argon and their mixtures are commonly used as inert shielding gas for
protecting the weld pool depending upon the metal to be welded, criticality of
application and economics. Helium or hydrogen is sometimes added (1-2%) in argon
for specific purposes such as increasing the arc voltage and arc stability which in
turn helps to increase the heat of arc. The selection of inert gases to be used as
shielding gas in GTAW and GMAW process depends upon the type of metal to be
welded and criticality of their applications. Carbon dioxide is not used with GTAW
process, at high temperature in arc environment, the thermal decomposition of the
carbon dioxide produces CO and O2. Generation of these gases adversely affect the
quality and soundness of the weld joint and reduces the life of tungsten electrode.
Inert Gases
Argon and helium are the mostly commonly used shielding gases for developing high
quality weld joints of reactive and ferrous metals. Small amount of hydrogen or
helium is often added in argon to increase the penetration capability and welding
speed. These two inert gases as shielding gas are different in many ways. Some of
these features are described in following section.
A. Heat of welding arc
The ionization potential of He (25eV) is higher than Ar (16eV). Therefore, application
of He as shielding gas results in higher arc voltage and hence different VI arc
characteristics of arc than when argon is used as shielding gas. In general, arc
voltage generated by helium for a given arc length during welding is found higher
than argon. This results in hotter helium arc than argon arc. Hence, helium is
preferred for the welding of thick plates at high speed especially metal systems
having high thermal conductivity and high melting point.
B. Arc efficiency
Helium offers higher thermal conductivity than argon. Hence, He effectively transfers
the heat from arc to the base metal which in turn helps in increasing the welding
speed and arc efficiency.
C. Arc stability
He is found to offer more problems related with arc stability and arc initiation than Ar
as a shielding gas. This behaviour is primarily due to higher ionization potential of
Hethan Ar. High ionization potential of helium means it will result in presence of
fewer charged particles between electrode and work piece required for initiation and
maintenance of welding arc. Therefore, arc characteristics are found to be different
for Ar and He. A minima arc voltage is found in VI characteristics curve of an arc
when both the gases are used as shielding gas but at different level of welding
currents. With argon as shielding gas the welding current corresponding to the
lowest arc voltage is found around 50A while that for helium occurs at around 150A
(Fig. 14.3). Reduction in welding current below this critical level (up to certain range)
increases the arc voltage; which permits some flexibility in arc length to control the
welding operation.
50

40 He
Voltage [V]

30
Ar
20

10
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Current [A]

Fig. 14.3 Influence of shielding gas on VI characteristics of GTAW process

D. Flow rate of shielding gas
Argon (density 1.783g/l) is about 1.33 and 10 times heavier than the air and the
helium respectively. This difference in density of air with shielding gases determines
the flow rate of particular shielding gas required to form a blanket over the weld pool
and arc zone to provide protection against the environmental attack. Helium being
lighter than air tends to rise up immediately in turbulent manner away from the weld
pool after coming out of the nozzle. Therefore, for effective shielding of the arc zone,
flow rate of helium (12-22 l/min) must be 2-3 times higher than the argon (5-12
l/min).
Flow rate of shielding gas to be supplied for effective protection of weld pool is
determined by the size of molten weld pool, sizes of electrode and nozzle, distance
between the electrode and work piece, extent of turbulence being created ambient
air movement (above 8-10km/hr). For given welding conditions and welding torch,
flow rate of the shielding gas should be such that it produces a jet of shielding gas so
as to overcome the ambient air turbulence and provides perfect cover around the
weld pool. Unnecessarily high flow rate of the shielding gas leads to poor arc stability
and weld pool contamination from atmospheric gases due to suction effect.
E. Mixture of shielding gases
Small addition of hydrogen in argon increases arc voltage which burns the arc hotter
and this in turn increases the weld penetration and welding speed like He. To take
the advantage of good characteristics of He (thermal conductivity, high temperature
arc) and Ar (good arc initiation and stability) a mixture of these two gases Ar-(25-
75%)He is also used. Increasing proportion of He in mixture increases the welding
speed and depth of penetration of weld. Addition of oxygen in argon also helps to
increase the penetration capability of GTAW process owing to increase in arc
temperature and plasma velocity (Fig. 14.4)
30000 450
400 Ar + O2
25000
Plasma velocity [ms-1]
Ar + 5%O2 350
Temperature [0C]

20000 300 Ar
Ar 250
15000
200
10000 150
100
5000
50
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Distance from anode to cathode [mm] Distance from anode to cathode[mm]

a) b)
Fig. 14.4 Influence of oxygen addition in Ar on a) arc temperature and b) plasma
velocity of GTAW process
F. Advantages of Ar over He as Shielding Gas
For general, purpose quality weld, argon offers many advantages over helium a)
easy arc initiation, b) cost effective and good availability c) good cleaning action with
(AC/DCEP in aluminium and magnesium welding) and d) shallow penetration
required for thin sheet welding of aluminium and magnesium alloys.
References and books for further reading
Metals Handbook-Welding, Brazing and Soldering, American Society for
Metals, 1993, 10th edition, Volume 6, USA.
R S Parmar, Welding process and technology, Khanna Publisher, New Delhi
 R S Parmar, Welding engineering & technology, Khanna Publisher, 2002, 2nd
edition, New Delhi.
Richard Little, Welding and Welding Technology, McGraw Hill, 2001, 1st
edition.
H Cary, Welding Technology, Prentice Hall, 1988, 2nd edition.
S V Nadkarni, Modern Arc Welding Technology, Ador Welding Limited, 2010,
New Delhi.
Welding handbook, American Welding Society, 1987, 8th edition, volume 1 &
2, USA.
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