WELDING

Welding is a process for joining two similar or dissimilar metals by fusion. It joins different
metals/alloys, with or without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler
metal. The fusion of metal takes place by means of heat. The heat may be generated either
from combustion of gases, electric arc, electric resistance or by chemical reaction. During
some type of welding processes, pressure may also be employed, but this is not an essential
requirement for all welding processes. Welding provides a permanent joint but it normally
affects the metallurgy of the components. It is therefore usually accompanied by post weld
heat treatment for most of the critical components. The welding is widely used as a
fabrication and repairing process in industries. Some of the typical applications of welding
include the fabrication of ships, pressure vessels, automobile bodies, off-shore platform,
bridges, welded pipes, sealing of nuclear fuel and explosives, etc.
Most of the metals and alloys can be welded by one type of welding process or the other.
However, some are easier to weld than others. To compare this ease in welding term
‘weldability’ is often used. The weldability may be defined as property of a metal which
indicates the ease with which it can be welded with other similar or dissimilar metals.
Weldability of a material depends upon various factors like the metallurgical changes that
occur due to welding, changes in hardness in and around the weld, gas evolution and
absorption ,extent of oxidation, and the effect on cracking tendency of the joint. Plain low
carbon steel (C-0.12%) has the best weldability amongst metals. Generally it is seen that the
materials with high castability usually have low weldability.
Advantages
1. Welding is more economical and is much faster process as compared to other processes
(riveting, bolting, casting etc.)
2. Welding, if properly controlled results permanent joints having strength equal or
sometimes more than base metal.
3. Large number of metals and alloys both similar and dissimilar can be joined by welding.
4. General welding equipment is not very costly.
5. Portable welding equipments can be easily made available.
6. Welding permits considerable freedom in design.
7. Welding can join welding jobs through spots, as continuous pressure tight seams, end-to-
end and in a number of other configurations.
8. Welding can also be mechanized.
Disadvantages
1. It results in residual stresses and distortion of the work-pieces.
2. Welded joint needs stress relieving and heat treatment.
3. Welding gives out harmful radiations (light), fumes and spatter.
4. Jigs, and fixtures may also be needed to hold and position the parts to be welded
5. Edges preparation of the welding jobs are required before welding
6. Skilled welder is required for production of good welding
7. Heat during welding produces metallurgical changes as the structure of the welded joint is
not same as that of the parent metal.
GAS WELDING PROCESSES

A fusion welding process which joins metals, using the heat of combustion of an oxygen /air
and fuel gas (i.e. acetylene, hydrogen propane or butane) mixture is usually referred as ‘gas
welding’. The intense heat (flame) thus produced melts and fuses together the edges of the
parts to be welded, generally with the addition of a filler metal. The fuel gas generally
employed is acetylene; however gases other than acetylene can also be used though with
lower flame temperature. Oxy-acetylene flame is the most versatile and hottest of all the
flames produced by the combination of oxygen and other fuel gases. Other gases such as

Hydrogen, Propane, Butane, Natural gas etc., may be used for some welding and brazing
applications.
Oxy-Acetylent Welding
In this process, acetylene is mixed with oxygen in correct proportions in the welding torch
and ignited. The flame resulting at the tip of the torch is sufficiently hot to melt and join the
parent metal. The oxy-acetylene flame reaches a temperature of about 3300°C and thus can
melt most of the ferrous and non-ferrous metals in common use. A filler metal rod or welding
rod is generally added to the molten metal pool to build up the seam slightly for greater
strength.
Types of Welding Flames
In oxy-acetylene welding, flame is the most important means to control the welding joint
and the welding process. The correct type of flame is essential for the production of
satisfactory welds. The flame must be of the proper size, shape and condition in order to
operate with maximum efficiency. There are three basic types of oxy-acetylene flames.
1. Neutral welding flame (Acetylene and oxygen in equal proportions).
2. Carburizing welding flame or reducing (excess of acetylene).
3. Oxidizing welding flame (excess of oxygen).
Neutral Welding Flame
A neutral flame results when approximately equal volumes of oxygen and acetylene are
mixed
in the welding torch and burnt at the torch tip. The temperature of the neutral flame is of
the order of about 5900°F (3260°C). It has a clear, well defined inner cone, indicating that the
combustion is complete. The inner cone is light blue in colour. It is surrounded by an outer
flame envelope, produced by the combination of oxygen in the air and superheated carbon
monoxide and hydrogen gases from the inner cone. This envelope is Usually a much darker
blue than the inner cone. A neutral flame is named so because it affects no chemical change
on the molten metal and, therefore will not oxidize or carburize the metal. The neutral flame
is commonly used for the welding of mild steel, stainless steel, cast Iron, copper, and
aluminium.
Carburising or Reducing Welding Flame
The carburizing or reducing flame has excess of acetylene and can be recognized by
acetylene feather, which exists between the inner cone and the outer envelope. The outer
flame envelope is longer than that of the neutral flame and is usually much brighter in color.
With iron and steel, carburizing flame produces very hard, brittle substance known as iron
carbide. A reducing flame may be distinguished from carburizing flame by the fact that a
carburizing flame contains more acetylene than a reducing flame. A reducing flame has an
approximate temperature of 3038°C. A carburizing-flame is used in the welding of lead and
for carburizing (surface hardening) purpose. A reducing flame, on the other hand, does not
carburize the metal; rather it ensures the absence of the oxidizing condition. It is used for
welding with low alloy steel rods and for welding those metals, (e.g., non-ferrous) that do not
tend to absorb carbon. This flame is very well used for welding high carbon steel.
Oxidising Welding flame
The oxidizing flame has an excess of oxygen over the acetylene. An oxidizing flame can
be recognized by the small cone, which is shorter, much bluer in colour and more pointed
than that of the neutral flame. The outer flame envelope is much shorter and tends to fan out
at the end. Such a flame makes a loud roaring sound. It is the hottest flame (temperature as
high as 6300°F) produced by any oxy-fuel gas source. But the excess oxygen especially at
high temperatures tends to combine with many metals to form hard, brittle, low strength
oxides.
Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) or Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW)
Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is a commonly used arc welding process manually
carried by welder. It is an arc welding process in which heat for welding is produced through
an electric arc set up between a flux coated electrode and the workpiece. The flux coating of
electrode decomposes due to arc heat and serves many functions, like weld metal protection,
arc stability etc. Inner core of the electrode supply the filler material for making a weld.
If the parent metal is thick it may be necessary to make two or three passes for completing
the weld.

Advantages
1. Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) can be carried out in any position with highest
weld quality.
2. MMAW is the simplest of all the arc welding processes.
3. This welding process finds innumerable applications, because of the availability of
a wide variety of electrodes.
4. Big range of metals and their alloys can be welded easily.
5. The process can be very well employed for hard facing and metal resistance etc.
6. Joints (e.g., between nozzles and shell in a pressure vessel) which because of their
position are difficult to be welded by automatic welding machines can be easily
accomplished by flux shielded metal arc welding.
7. The MMAW welding equipment is portable and the cost is fairly low.

Gas Tungusten Arc Welding (GTAW) or Tungusten Inert Gas Welding (TIG)
In this process a non-consumable tungsten electrode is used with an envelope of inert
shielding gas around it. The shielding gas protects the tungsten electrode and the molten
metal weld pool from the atmospheric contamination. The shielding gases generally used are
argon, helium or their mixtures. Typical tungsten inert gas welding setup is shown in Fig.
Gas Metal ARC Welding (GMAW) or Metal Inert Gas Welding (MIG)
Metal inert gas arc welding (MIG) or more appropriately called as gas metal arc welding
(GMAW) utilizes a consumable electrode and hence, the term metal appears in the title.
There are other gas shielded arc welding processes utilizing the consumable electrodes,
such as flux cored arc welding (FCAW) all of which can be termed under MIG. Though gas
tungsten arc welding (GTAW) can be used to weld all types of metals, it is more suitable
for thin sheets. When thicker sheets are to be welded, the filler metal requirement makes
GTAW difficult to use. In this situation, the GMAW comes handy. The typical setup for
GMAW or MIG welding process is shown in Fig. 17.22. The consumable electrode is in the
form of a wire reel which is fed at a constant rate, through the feed rollers. The welding
torch is connected to the gas supply cylinder which provides the necessary inert gas. The
electrode and the work-piece are connected to the welding power supply. The power supplies
are always of the constant voltage type only.
RESISTANCE WELDING
In resistance welding the metal parts to be joined are heated by their resistance to the flow
of an electrical current. Usually this is the only source of heat, but a few of the welding
operations combine resistance heating with arc heating, and possibly with combustion of
metal in the arc. The process applies to practically all metals and most combinations of pure
metals and those alloys, which have only a limited plastic range, are welded by heating the
parts to fusion (melting).
Spot Welding
In this process overlapping sheets are joined by local fusion at one or more spots, by the
concentration of current flowing between two electrodes. This is the most widely used
resistance welding process. It essentially consists of two electrodes, out of which one is fixed.
The other electrode is fixed to a rocker arm (to provide mechanical advantage) for
transmitting the mechanical force from a pneumatic cylinder. This is the simplest type of
arrangement.