22 Welding Technology and Design

and low values.When the current is maintained at high on-position, welding takes
place with the required penetration. During the off-position, the torch is manipulated
to correct the positioning. The electrode is kept sufficiently hot and the ionised
column is also retained so that the arc is not extinguished. In this process deep
penetration is obtained with less heat input to the joint. The pulsed arc agitates the
molten weld metal and so minimises the porosity. Pulsing produces arc stiffness
and hence avoids arc wander. Molten weld pool can be well manipulated and,
successive solidification of the nuggets avoids cracking and burn-through. Lesser
heat input improves the grain structure and the mechanical properties of the weld.
There is no need for weaving because the pulsed current is sufficient to melt the
required base metal area. Since the molten metal deposited in each pulse starts
solidifying from the periphery towards the centre, the centre portion becomes prone
to defects like segregation and shrinkage cracks. Pulsed TIG welding is suitable
for the root run of the tube and pipe welding. Thin plates and foils can be effectively
welded by this process.
While joining precision parts by pulsed TIG, rapid current rise and current
decay with a high pulse repetition rate is used. In mechanised TIG, slower rates of
current rise and fall and slower current pulse rates are used.
The advantages of pulsed TIG are
(a) variation in joint fit-up can be tolerated
(b) welding of sheets down to 1 mm thickness can be carried out
(c) distortion is minimised
(d) position welding made easy
(e) operator requires less skill
(f) mechanisation is possible
(g) ideal for critical applications like root passes of pipes, joining dissimilar
metals etc.
Hot wire TIG
Hot wire TIG welding is similar to ordinary tungsten inert gas welding except that
the filler wire is heated prior to the deposition, either by resistance heating or by
induction heating. A high quality weld is obtained at a high deposition rate which
is controlled by adjusting the heating current of the wire. The dilution level is low
in this welding process. Since the wire is heated before entering the welding zone,
the volatile surface contaminants of the filler wire get evaporated, thus eliminating
hydrogen, porosities, etc.
Spot TIG
Spot TIG is a process adopted to spot welding. Argon shielding is used in this
process. The current can be supplied in pulses and by proper timing spot welds
with defect free nuggets can be obtained.
Circumferential seam welding of pipes and tubes is carried out by orbital TIG
welding. Welding speed must be properly adjusted to suit variations in weld position,
such as vertical-up, flat, vertical-down and overhead. Pulsed current is also used
for orbital TIG.