Shielding Gases

Development . Consulting . Applications

 Photo on title page:
The use of the well-proven shielding gases from Linde
together with LINFAST® leads to quality improvement and cost savings

Contents Page

Cost-Effective Industrial Gases from Linde...................................................................... 3

The Right Shielding Gas - for Every Welding Process ..................................................... 4

Compositions of Linde Shielding Gases .......................................................................... 5

Properties of Shielding Gas Constituents ........................................................................ 6

Arc Types: Their Actions and Applications ....................................................................... 8

Shielding Gases for MAG Welding of Structural Steels.................................................... 10

Shielding Gases for LINFAST® ......................................................................................... 12

Shielding Gases for MAG Welding of High-Alloy Steels and Ni Base Alloys ................... 14

Shielding Gases for MIG Welding of Non-Ferrous Metals................................................ 16

Shielding Gases for TIG Welding...................................................................................... 18

Oxidation Prevention Using Forming Gases .................................................................... 20

Shielding Gases for Plasma-Arc Welding......................................................................... 22

Shielding Gases for Arc Stud Welding ............................................................................. 23

Shielding Gases for Laser Beam Welding ........................................................................ 24

Linde Publications, Application Notes and Training Materials ......................................... 26

2
Cost-Effective Industrial Gases
from Linde

Q uality improvement and ratio- Steel cylinders

nalisation are crucial for any com-
pany that wishes to maintain and im- Water capacity Contents*
prove its competitive position in the litres m3
welding industry. Linde shielding
gases provide a variety of options for 10 2.1 – 2.4
achieving these aims. 20 4.0 – 4.7

As one of the leading suppliers of 52 9.1 – 11.8

industrial gases, Linde has decades
of experience in the development,
production and application of shield-
ing gases. Linde expertise encom- * Gaseous contents; the contents is
passes all modern welding applica- dependent on the type of gas
tions and is continuously updated by
innovative solutions.

The most up-to-date production Cylinder bundles

plants, regular quality controls and a
national sales network ensure the Contents*
best possible reliability of supply. m3

Our supply channels are not only 106.8 – 141.6

manifold, they are above all eco-
nomical: Linde offers tailor-made
and cost-optimised supply concepts
to each customer, from the 10 litre
cylinder to the 75,000 litre tank. Our
dense network of sales agents and
depots, the numerous Linde produc-
* Gaseous contents; the contents is
tion facilities and a comprehensive dependent on the type of gas
range of products ensure high avail-
ability, reliability of supply and short
distances for customers who want
to collect their own supplies.
Storage tanks
The Linde Technology Centre
uses the most advanced welding Contents
equipment to solve customer prob-
600 – 75,000 litres
lems on a case-by-case basis. Ap-
plications engineers provide on-site
assistance to customers to ensure
optimal use of Linde shielding gases.

3
The Right Shielding Gas –
for Every Welding Process

Process DIN 1910 Shielding Gases EN 439 Material

CORGON® 1 CORGON® S8 Steels for pipe, boilers, shipbuilding;
MAG CORGON® 2 CORGON® He 30 structural and fine-grain steels,
GMAW with active gas CORGON® 18 CORGON® He 25 C
®
case-hardening and heat-treatable
CORGON 10-40 CORGON® He 25 S
Carbon dioxide T.I.M.E. + T.I.M.E. II steels

CRONIGON® S1 CRONIGON® He 20 CrNi, Cr and other alloy steels,

CRONIGON® S3 CRONIGON® He 30 S Ni base alloys,
CRONIGON® 2 CRONIGON® He 50 S
CRONIGON® He 50 CRONIWIG® N series Duplex and super duplex steels

MIG Argon
VARIGON® He
Aluminium, copper, nickel
and other alloys
GMAW with inert gas VARIGON® S
VARIGON® He S

TIG Argon
Helium VARIGON® S
All weldable metals such as
unalloyed and alloy steels,
Tungsten inert gas VARIGON® He VARIGON® He S aluminium, copper,
VARIGON® H Nickel and Ni alloys
CRONIWIG® N-series CrNi steels
Argon 4.8 Reactive and refractory materials
(Special applications) such as titanium, tantalum, zirconium

PAW Plasma gas/Shielding gas:

Argon
All weldable metals
see TIG
Tungsten plasma-arc
VARIGON® H
VARIGON® He

Root Forming gas: Nitrogen-hydrogen

N2 H2
For all materials where oxidation
at the root must be avoided.
protection 100 % – Burn off hydrogen at levels
Without Forming gas 95 % 5% overs 10 %
90 % 10 %
85 % 15 %
80 % 20 %
With Forming gas

Laser LASPUR ® quality:

Argon
All weldable metals

beam Helium Materials supposed to be difficult

Gas mixtures to weld

Arc stud CORGON® 18 Structural steel, high-alloy steels

welding VARIGON® He 30 Aluminium

and Al alloys

4
Compositions of Linde Shielding Gases

Shielding gas EN 439 Argon Carbon Oxygen Helium Nitrogen Hydrogen

dioxide
% by vol. % by vol. % by vol. % by vol. % by vol. % by vol.

Argon (Ar) I1 100

Helium (He) I2 100
Carbon dioxide (CO2) C1 100

CORGON® 1 M 23 Balance 5 4
CORGON® 2 M 24 Balance 13 4
CORGON® 10 – 25 M 21 Balance 10 – 25
CORGON® S 5 M 22 Balance 5
CORGON S 8 ®
M 22 Balance 8

T.I.M.E. M 24 (1) Balance 8 0.5 26.5

T.I.M.E. II M 24 (1) Balance 25 2 26.5

CORGON® He 30 M 21 (1) Balance 10 30

CORGON® He 25 C M 21 (1) Balance 25 25
CORGON He 25 S®
M 22 (1) Balance 3.1 25
CRONIGON® 2 M 12 Balance 2.5
CRONIGON® He 50 M 12 (2) Balance 2 50
CRONIGON® He 20 M 12 (1) Balance 2 20
CRONIGON He 30 S ®
M 11 (1) Balance 0.05 30 2
CRONIGON® He 50 S M 12 (2) Balance 0.05 50
CRONIGON® S 1 M 13 Balance 1
CRONIGON S 3 ®
M 13 Balance 3

CRONIWIG® N 2/3 SAr+N2 Balance 2/3

CRONIWIG® N H SR1+2N2 Balance 2 1
CRONIWIG N He ®
SI3+2N2 Balance 20 2

VARIGON® S M 13 Balance 0.03

VARIGON® He 30 I3 Balance 30
VARIGON He 50 ®
I3 Balance 50
VARIGON® He 70 I3 Balance 70
VARIGON He 90 ®
I3 Balance 90
VARIGON He 30 S
®
M 13 (1) Balance 0.03 30
VARIGON® H 2 – 15 R1 Balance 2 – 15
VARIGON H 20 ®
R2 Balance 20

Nitrogen (N2) F1 100

Forming gas 95/5 – 80/20 F2 Balance 5 – 20

Note: In addition to the above-mentioned shielding gases other mixtures for special applications are available.

5
Properties
of Shielding Gas Constituents

Proper Use of Shielding

Gases Leads to Optimum
Welding Results
Shielding gases allow many parame-
ters of the welding process to be con-
trolled and optimised for specific appli-
cations.

The gas or gas mixture is selected

according to the required effects.

The possibilities for optimisation

cover virtually every factor in the welding
process:

Physical properties of the gas affect

metal transfer, wetting behaviour, depth
and shape of penetration, travel speed,
and arc starting. Gases with low ionisa-
tion energy, such as argon, facilitate arc
starting and stabilisation better than
those with high ionisation energy, such
as helium.

On the other hand, helium is a better Plasma-arc welding of pipes

choice for laser beam welding, where it
helps to control the plasma and thus the
penetration depth.

The dissociation energy of polyatomic

components in gas mixtures enhances
heat input to the base material due to
the energy released by recombination.

Gas Dissociation First ionisation

energy energy
eV/molecule eV/molecule
(first
ionisation stage)
H2 4.5 13.6
O2 5.1 13.6
CO2 4.3 14.4
N2 9.8 14.5
He 24.6
Ar 15.8
Kr 14.0
Physical properties of gases
CORGON® gas mixtures for safety-relevant components in car manufacture

6
Thermal Conductivity of Gas Components The thermal conductivity influences
weld geometry, weld-pool temperature
and degassing, and travel speed. For
example, travel speed and penetration
can be markedly increased by the addi-
tion of helium in MIG and TIG welding of
aluminium materials, or by the addition
Thermal conductivity [ W/cm°C ]

0.16
of hydrogen in TIG welding stainless
H2 steels.

0.12 Chemical properties influence both

the metallurgical behaviour and the weld
surface quality. Oxygen, for example, re-
sults in alloying elements and leads to
0.08 more fluid weld pools, while carbon diox-
ide results in carbon pickup in alloyed
materials. Argon and helium have a me-
He
tallurgically neutral behaviour, and hydro-
0.04 gen acts as a reducing agent. Nitrogen
O2 is added to the shielding gas to control
CO2 Ar the ratio of austenite to ferrite.

0
2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000
Temperature [ °C ]

Slag formation with different

CO2 additions to the shielding gas

Linde provides optimum shielding

gases for all welding applications.
Special gases can be developed for
individual requirements
MIG welding of aluminium heat exchangers using an Ar/He mixture

7
Arc Types:
Their Actions and Applications

A variety of arc types are employed in GMAW Arc Ranges with ArCO2 mixtures (schematic)
gas metal arc welding (GMAW) with con-
sumable wire electrodes. Crucial factors
in the selection of the arc type are the
shielding gas, the plate thickness and
the welding position.

● Short arc for sheet metal, out-of-po-

Welding voltage [ V ]

sition welding, and root-pass welding at RLB

low performance levels. The metal trans-

unstable arc
fer takes place with short-circuiting and
little spatter. ILB B
HL-SL
SLB
● Transition arc for medium-perform-
ÜLB

B
ance MAG welding of moderate plate HL-KL
thicknesses using argon-based gas mix- KLB
tures. Metal transfer is globular with par-
tial short-circuiting, but spatter is less
than with long-arc welding using CO2.
Wire feed rate [ m/min ]
● Long arc for high-performance MAG
welding of thicker sections using CO2.
Metal transfer is globular, with consider- KLB = Short arc HL-KLB = High-performance short arc
able spatter. ILB = Pulsed arc HL-SLB = High-performance spray arc
ÜLB = Transition arc
SLB = Spray arc
RLB = Rotating arc

Short arc Transition arc/long arc

8
● Spray arc for high deposition rates
and travel speeds on thicker sections
using argon-based gas mixtures. Metal
transfer is by droplets, without short-cir-
cuiting, and nearly spatterfree.

Spray arc

● High-performance arc for higher

deposition rates and travel speeds using
special argon gas mixtures containing
helium. The composition of the shielding
gas influences the arc type and metal
transfer, e.g.high-performance short arc,
high-performance spray arc, rotating arc.

Rotating arc

● Pulsed arc for all performance levels;

used in MIG and MAG welding with ar-
gon-rich mixtures, chiefly at moderate
performance levels (replacing transition
arc). Metal transfer without short-circuit-
ing with one well-defined droplet formed
per pulse. Less spatter than with other
arc types. The pulsed arc cannot be
used with shielding gases with more
than 20 – 25 % CO2.

Pulsed arc

9
Shielding Gases
for MAG Welding of Structural Steels

Linde shielding gases for MAG

welding of structural steels are

CORGON® 1
CORGON® 2
CORGON® with 10 – 40 % CO2
CORGON® S 5 / S 8
CO2
These shielding gases are suitable for
pipe steels, structural and fine-grain
structural steels, case-hardening steels
and heat-treatable steels of all qualities.
Filler metals in the form of solid wire
are standardised in EN 440 and in the
form of cored wire in EN 758. The
German Welding Society bulletin “DVS-
Merkblatt 0916” gives filler metal recom-
mendations for higher-strength fine-grain
structural steels.
The properties of gas mixtures vary
with composition. The composition also
influences the mechanical and engineer-
ing qualities of the weld metal and the
weld geometry. Use of CORGON® 18 for robot welding of lifting masts

Effect of Shielding Gas

on Mechanical and Engineering Properties * Rm: ensile strength Re: yield strength A5: elongation at fracture

Shielding gas Weld metal Impact energy J O2 content

Rm Re A5 * analysis % (mean of 4 specimens) of weld metal
N/mm2 N/mm2 % C Mn Si + 20 °C ± 0 °C – 20 °C – 30 °C – 40 °C – 50 °C % by weight
CORGON® 1
91 % Ar, 5 % CO2 610 472 28.1 0.08 1.32 0.67 138 124 87 83 58 48 0.031
4 % O2
CORGON® 10
640 544 25.7 0.09 1.43 0.72 130 88 64 55 60 41 0.029
90 % Ar, 10 % CO2
47-J-limit

CORGON® 18
620 522 26.8 0.09 1.37 0.70 144 120 86 62 50 40 0.0305
82 % Ar, 18 % CO2
CORGON® 25
601 505 29.3 0.09 1.30 0.65 124 97 76 61 51 41 0.034
75 % Ar, 25 % CO2
CORGON® S 12
591 510 27.5 0.06 1.20 0.60 138 126 87 67 46 40 0.0355
88 % Ar, 12 % O2
100 % CO2 594 437 27.8 0.10 1.21 0.62 84 54 48 35 28 22 0.062
Wire electrode to
0.115 1.53 0.98
EN 440 – G3Si1

10
Properties of Shielding Gases

Properties Ar/CO2 Ar/O2 CO2

Penetration
● Flat position Good Good Good
● Out-of-position More reliable Can become critical Reliable
with increasing CO2 level if fluid weld pool leads arc

Thermal load Lower High; Low

on torch with increasing CO2 level excessive torch temperature because of good
can limit performance thermal conductivity

Degree of oxidation Higher High; High

with increasing CO2 level e.g. at 8% O2

Porosity Lower Most sensitive Reliable

with increasing CO2 level

Gap bridging Better Good Worse

with decreasing CO2 level than with gas mixtures

Spatter Increasing Low Highest spatter,

with increasing CO2 level increasing with increasing
performance

Heat input Increasing Lowest High

with increasing CO2 level

Cooling rate lower, Cooling rate high, Cooling rate low,

less danger of cracking greater danger of cracking little danger of cracking

Arc type Short arc Short arc Short arc

Transition arc Transition arc Long arc
Spray arc Spray arc
Pulsed arc/up to 20 % CO2 Pulsed arc
High-performance short arc High-performance short arc
High-performance spray arc Rotating arc
The above properties of the various shielding gases govern their use in welding.
The versatility of Ar-CO2 and Ar-CO2-oxygen mixtures (the Linde CORGON® shielding gases) has led to their high popularity.
The addition of helium extends the range of applications.

11
Shielding Gases for LINFAST ®
– the MAG High-Performance Welding
Concept from Linde

Linde shielding gases for high-per- Effect of LINFAST ® Gases on the Stability
formance MAG welding are:
of Different Arc Types
CORGON® He 25 C
CORGON® He 25 S Conventionel MAG High-Performance T.I.M.E. II
MAG-M Welding Welding CORGON® He 25 C
CORGON® He 30
T.I.M.E. Gas RLB
T.I.M.E. II Gas LB
HL-S
SLB
These shielding gases were specially
Welding voltage [ V ]

developed for high-performance MAG HL-KL

B RLB
ÜLB

welding (T.I.M.E. process), a method

unstable arc
with increased wire feed rates for higher KLB T.I.M.E.
CORGON® He 30
deposition rates and travel speeds. SLB HL-SLB
ÜLB

Variation of the shielding gas compo- HL-KLB

KLB RLB
sition influences the arc characteristics,
metal transfer, penetration, weld surface
and porosity. SLB HL-SLB CORGON® He 25 S
ÜLB

B
The LINFAST ® concept is based on HL-KL
KLB
the relationship between the welding
parameters (wire feed rate, contact tube- 15 18 20 22 27 30 35

to-work distance and welding voltage) Wire feed rate [ m/min ]

and the shielding gas composition to
stabilise the arc types at high perform- KLB = Short arc HL-KLB = High-performance short arc
ance levels. Unstable arcs at a wire feed ÜLB = Transition arc HL-SLB = High-performance spray arc
rate of 22 – 30 m/min are reliably avoid- SLB = Spray arc
ed by the LINFAST ® concept in order to RLB = Rotating arc
achieve optimum welding results.

LINFAST® MAG high-performance welding of dredging shovels using CORGON® He 30:

cost savings and quality improvement

12
The MAG High-Performance Arc Types
- Penetration Profiles
and Avoiding Defects

● Spray arc Stable spray arc due to the use

at a wire feed rate of >15 m/min, spray of CORGON ® He 25 C at a wire
arc results in a typical v-shaped penetra- feed rate of 23 m/min, position
tion profile. PB, semi-mechanised

● High-performance short arc Extremely high travel speeds

This type of arc is particularly suitable for of more than 2 m/min are
low wall thicknesses and higher travel achievable with a high-per-
speeds. formance short arc and a
T.I.M.E. shielding gas (in the
photo: wire feed rate
= 17 m/min)

● High-performance spray arc cross section Weld defects due to arc in-
Weld defects are caused by arc insta- stability between rotating arc
bility. Unstable arcs are reliably avoided and high-performance spray
by the LINFAST® concept. arc at wire feed rates between
22 and 30 m/min (in the photo:
wire feed rate = 26 m/min, fully
mechanised).

longitudinal section

HL-SLB HL-SLB

RLB RLB

● Rotating arc CORGON ® He 25 S guarantees

The LINFAST® concept stabilises arc stable rotation at wire feed
rotation and guarantees wide and deep rates above 20 m/min
weld penetration in the root region in ad- (in the photo: wire feed rate
dition to excellent side wall fusion. = 26 m/min, position PB, fully
mechanised).

13
Shielding Gases
for MAG Welding of High-Alloy Steels
and Ni Base Alloys

Linde shielding gases for the MAG Carbon Burnoff and Pickup
welding of high-alloy steels are with Various Shielding Gases
CRONIGON® S 1
CRONIGON® S 3
CRONIGON® 2 0.07
0.049
CRONIGON® He 20 Alloy type (ELC)
CRONIGON® He 50 0.06
%C
CRONIGON® He 30 S
CRONIGON® He 50 S 0.05

CRONIWIG® N series 0.023

0.04
These shielding gases are suitable for:

● stainless steels to DIN 17440 0.03 ELC limit

0.01
(BS 970 part 4) 0.006
● high-temperature rolled
and forged steels to SEW 4670 0.02
Wire 0.002 0
● special stainless steels 0.016
electrode
● Ni base alloys
0.01 CORGON® S8 CRONIGON® S1 CRONIGON® 2 CORGON® 1 CORGON® 18 CO2

Filler metals for the welding of stain-

less and high-temperature steels are
standardised in DIN 8556
(BS 2901 part 2).

Short, transition, spray and pulsed

arc types can be used.

The carbon content is important for

maintaining the corrosion resistance. For
low-carbon ELC steel qualities, the maxi-
mum level in the weld metal should be
0.03 % if annealing is necessary.

Measurements of carbon burn off

and pick up clearly show that no corro-
sion problems should occur when using
CRONIGON® shielding gases.

Although the carbon content when

using CORGON® 1 stays below the ELC
limit, this shielding gas should not be
used for components that will be used in
corrosive environments.

MAG welding of an exhaust gas diffuser using CRONIGON ® He 50 S

14
Important Survey of Applications
Application Notes
Austenitic CrNi steels and ferritic Cr Shielding gas Properties Materials
steels can be welded quite well with the CRONIGON ® S 1 ● Low oxidation ● Ferritic Cr steels
spray arc, which begins at currents ● Moderate wetting
some 20 % below those struck on un-
alloyed materials. CRONIGON ® S 3 ● Greater oxidation ● Corrosion-resistant, austenitic
● Adequate wetting CrNi steels
The use of the pulsed arc ensures
stable metal transfer with little spatter CRONIGON ® 2 ● Low oxidation ● High-temperature
over the full range of melting rates. Hea- ● Good wetting austenitic steels
vier wires, which can be fed more re- ● Higher travel speed
● Minimal spatter ● Special steels. e.g. duplex
liably and offer better current transfer,
can thus be used. What is more, pulsed- CRONIGON ® He 20 ● Excellent wetting ● Special steels, e.g. duplex
arc welding is an excellent technique for CRONIGON ® He 50 even at great section thickness and super duplex
vertical-down welds. Nickel-based mate- ● Very good interpass fusion ● Corrosion-resistant
rials and most special steels should pre- ● Stable arc and high-temperature
ferably be welded with the pulsed arc. ● Minimal spatter CrNi steels
● High travel speeds, ● Ni base materials
Interpass welding temperatures especially suited with low corrosion stress
depend on the type of base metal: for fully mechanised welding

● 150 – 200 °C CRONIGON ® He 30 S ● Excellent wetting ● All Ni-based materials,

for austenitic CrNi steels
● 50 – 100 °C for Ni-based materials
Research at the Linde Technology
Centre has revealed some interesting
features:
● The weld geometry, surface finish,
wetting behaviour, and arc stability
are affected in different ways by the
base and filler metals.
● The torch position should be approx.
10° forehand for all materials.
Cronigon ® He 50 S ● Excellent arc stability especially
compared to other inert gases highly corrosion-resistant
● Extremely low surface oxidation Ni base alloys
due to considerably reduced
active gas content
● Very good interpass fusion
● High corrosion resistance
which is comparable
to TIG and MMA/SMA welding
● Next to no spatter
CRONIWIG ® N ● Reduction of ferrite content ● Full austenites
● Control of the ● Duplex and super duplex steels
austenite/ferrite ratio

● The weld metal should be applied in

stringer beads (less thermal stress).
The arc must always lead the weld
pool. Heavy spatter results if the weld
pool leads the arc even slightly,
especially with Ni-based materials.

MAG welding of a plated beam

with CRONIGON ® 2

15
Shielding Gases
for MIG Welding of Non-Ferrous Metals

Shielding gases for the MIG welding

of non-ferrous metals are inert gases
such as:

Argon
VARIGON® He
VARIGON® S
VARIGON® He S mixtures
Short, spray and pulsed arc types
can be used with these gases. Argon: 20 l/min 280 A / 25 V

The pulsed arc offers significant ad-

vantages, especially for softer Al filler
metals, because it allows the use of larg-
er-diameter wire electrodes with their im-
proved feeding reliability.

Filler metals for non-ferrous base

metals are standardised as follows:

● Al materials in DIN 1732 Part 1

(BS 2901 part 4)
● Copper and copper alloys VARIGON® He 30: 20 l/min 282 A / 27 V
in DIN 1733 (BS 2901 part 3)
● Nickel and nickel alloys
in DIN 1736 (BS 2901 part 5)

The hotter arc in VARIGON® He and

VARIGON®He S mixtures has proven
especially suitable for aluminium and
copper materials with their high thermal
conductivity.

VARIGON® He 50: 28 l/min 285 A / 30 V

VARIGON® He 70: 38 l/min 285 A / 34 V

Helium alters the weld contour, shape of penetration and welding voltage

16
Application Notes
on Helium
Arc voltage
For a given arc length, a higher arc
voltage is required as the helium content
increases.

Form of penetration
A rise in helium content leads to a
wider and therefore flatter weld. The pe-
netration is no longer “finger-shaped” as
when argon is used, but becomes more
rounded and deeper.

The better penetration behaviour faci-

litates good root fusion and permits
higher travel speeds.

Helium is significantly lighter than air.

This fact must be considered when
measuring the flow rate (correction
factor) and also when specifying the mi-
nimum flow rate. Helium improves the
degassing conditions of the weld pool MIG welding of Al materials with Argon or Ar-He mixtures
and reduces porosity. Higher gas prices
can often be offset by reduced costs for
post-weld machining.

Correction Factors and Minimum Gas Flow Rates

Shielding gas Correction factor – Minimum

multiply flow meter flow rate
reading by

VARIGON® He 30
1.14 18 l/min
VARIGON® He 30 S

VARIGON® He 50 1.35 28 l/min

®
VARIGON He 70 1.75 35 l/min

100 % He 3.16 40 l/min

17
Shielding Gases
for TIG Welding

In contrast to MIG and MAG, which Shielding gas Materials Remarks

are gas metal-arc processes, in TIG
welding the arc burns between a non- Argon All weldable metals ● Used most frequently
consumable tungsten electrode and the ● Root protection required
work. Inert gases, such as argon or he- for reactive materials
lium, or mixtures of these with non-
oxidising components are used to pro- VARIGON® S Al and Al alloys ● Increased arc stability
tect the tungsten electrode and the weld VARIGON® He 30 S and arc starting reliability
pool. in AC welding
VARIGON® He 30 ● Hotter arc results in
Al and Al alloys
TIG welding can be used with all VARIGON® He 50 ➜ better penetration
Cu and Cu alloys
fusion-weldable metals. The section of VARIGON® He 70 ➜ higher travel speed
current type, polarity and shielding gas VARIGON® He 90
depends on the base material.
Helium ● Arc starting difficulties
with old power sources possible
Application Notes ➜ use argon for ignition
Higher helium levels in argon-helium VARIGON® H 2 ● Hotter arc results in
mixtures promote heat evolution in the VARIGON® H 5 High-alloy CrNi steels ➜ better penetration
arc and permit higher travel speeds. VARIGON® H 6 ➜ higher travel speed
VARIGON® H 10
Hydrogen can also be used to im- Ni and Ni base alloys ● To avoid porosity
prove the energy balance of the TIG arc, CRONIWIG® N Full austenites ● Control of the
but only with high-alloy CrNi steels, Duplex and austenite/ferrite ratio
nickel and nickel base alloys. Up to 10 % Super duplex steels
hydrogen in argon improves penetration
and travel speed. Gases containing hy- Shielding gases and materials
drogen must never be used for welding
aluminium materials (increased porosity)
or reactive steels.
Materials Current type
Shielding gases of higher purity are and polarity
recommended for the welding of reactive
materials such as titanium or tantalum. Unalloyed and alloyed steels
The 4.8 quality is therefore used for
Copper und Cu alloys
these metals (versus 4.6 for other ma-
terials) with a purity of 99.998. Nickel and Ni alloys dc (–)
Titanium and Ti alloys
Zirkonium, tantalum, Tungsten

Aluminium ac
and Al alloys dc (–)
Magnesium with helium
and Mg alloys and VARIGON® He 90

Magnesium ac
and Mg alloys

TIG-welded container connections Materials, current type and polarity

18
 Argon VARIGON® He 50
10 l/min 15 l/min

Travel speed: 10 cm/min 20 cm/min

A higher level of helium leads to higher travel speeds.

This photograph shows welds in a 3 mm thick AlZn 4.5 Mg 1 alloy

Argon VARIGON® H 6

Travel speed: 7 cm/min 11 cm/min

Fillet weld in material 1.4301

Penetration and travel speed improve considerably with increased hydrogen

19
Oxidation Prevention
Using Forming Gases

Protection of the weld root is often Relative Densities of Forming Gases

needed in order to ensure optimal corro-
sion resistance of the part. Oxidation
and tints are prevented by excluding at-
1.4
mospheric oxygen.

Two methods can be used:

● Displacement of air by inert gases 1.3

Heavier than air

such as argon or by quasi-inert gases Ar mixtures

such as nitrogen
● Displacement of air plus utilisation of
the reducing action of hydrogen 1.2

For this reason, most forming gases

consist of
1.1
● Nitrogen with hydrogen additions
● Argon with hydrogen additions

Pure argon, on the other hand, is

only used rarely, for example with steels
1.0 Air
reacting with hydrogen.

Proper use of forming gases requires

that their relative densities are taken into 0.9
Lighter than air

account, e.g. when purging containers

from below (use high-density gases) or
above (use low-density gases).
0.8

N2 mixtures
0.7

0.6
4 8 12 16 20 24
% by vol. H2

Safety Notes:
Gases containing more than ca. 10 % hydrogen can form explosive mixtures with air.
Safety measures should be taken to avoid explosions.

For safety reasons, the DVS safety sheet 0937 recommends burning off hydrogen at H2 levels
higher than 10 vol.%.

20
Application Notes
Gases should comply with the
following EN 439 groups:
– Group R (Ar/H2 mixtures)
– Group I (Ar + Ar/He mixtures) and
– Group F (N2 + N2/H2 mixtures)

In order to positively prevent oxida-

tion tints, the forming gas feed must
continue until the part has cooled to
approx. 220 °C.

Preventing oxidation in the welding of

pipe requires pre-purging for a time that
depends on the purge gas flow rate and
the geometry of the part.

To prevent oxidation when welding

pipes, air must be eliminated by purging
before starting to weld. A guideline for
the required volume of shielding gas is
2.5 – 3.0 times the geometric volume of
the pipe from the injection point to the
weld. The flow rate should be approx.
5 to 12 l/min, depending on the diameter
of the pipe.

In titanium-stabilised CrNi steels,

forming gases containing N2 cause a
yellow coloration of the weld root. For
base materials containing N2, e.g. super
duplex steels, forming gases containing
high N2-percentages (up to 100 %), e.g.
to improve corrosion resistance arc of
benefit.

Welding with forming gas

Forming gas Base material

Argon All materials

Ar/H2 mixtures Austenitic steels,
Ni and Ni base materials
N2/H2 mixtures Steels with the exception
of high-strength fine-grain
structural steel, austenitic
steel (not Ti-stabilised)
N2 Austenitic CrNi steels,
Ar/N2 mixtures duplex- and
super duplex steels Typical yellow coloration: titanium-sta- No coloration: titanium-stabilised CrNi
bilised CrNi steel with nitrogen forming steel with argon/hydrogen forming
Root protection gases
for various materials
21
Shielding Gases
for Plasma-Arc Welding

As in TIG welding, the arc in plasma

welding is formed between a non-consu-
mable tungsten electrode and the work
piece. However, in contrast to TIG wel-
ding, the plasma arc is constricted by
the torch design (water-cooled copper
tip), resulting in a significantly higher po-
wer density.

There are three variants of the

plasma-arc welding process:

● Microplasma welding for thin and

very thin sheet (minimum thickness
approx. 0.1 mm at minimum current
approx. 0.3 A)

● Melt-in welding for thicknesses

of 1 - 3 mm

● Keyhole plasma-arc welding for

thicker sections, up to approx. 8 mm
in one run or thicker work in multiple
runs

Plasma-arc welding always involves

two gases: Plasma-arc welding of spiral aluminium pipes

● Plasma gases, chiefly argon,

sometimes with hydrogen
or helium additions

● Shielding gases which may have

other constituents added to the
argon, for example hydrogen for
welding CrNi steel and Ni alloys,
or helium for welding aluminium,
Al alloys, titanium and copper base
alloys.

Other plasma techniques include

plasma-arc powder (PTA) surfacing for
the application of refractory alloy coat-
ings, plasma hot-wire surfacing, and
plasma/MIG welding for high-per-
formance joining.

Plasma-arc welding of galvanised structural steel

22
Shielding Gases
for Arc Stud Welding

Recent investigations have shown Combinations of Shielding Gases and Materials

that the quality of arc stud welding using
the methods BH 10 and BH 100 can be
improved significantly with the appro- Base material Stud material Shielding gas
priate choice of shielding gases.
Structural steel Structural steel CORGON® 18
The combinations of shielding gases
and materials shown in the table on the High-alloy steel High-alloy steel CORGON® 18
right have proven well in workshop tests
and in the field. AlMg 3 Al 99.5 or AlMg 3 VARIGON® He 30
By avoiding the use of ceramic rings,
shielding gases are particularly advan-
tageous for fully mechanised welding, in-
cluding welding with industrial robots.

Steel and aluminium studs welded using

shielding gas

23
Shielding Gases
for Laser Beam Welding
Compared to conventional welding
techniques (MAG, TIG etc.), laser beam
welding is characterised by more con-
centrated heat input, lower distortion
and higher processing speeds. For many
applications, laser beam welding does
not require filler materials, although this
may be necessary for gap bridging or for
metallurgical reasons. Laser beam weld-
ing can be used e.g. for steel, light me-
tals and thermoplastic materials.
Two different laser types are com-
monly used for laser beam welding: The
CO2 laser and the Nd:YAG laser. Both
laser types require the use of shielding
gases to obtain high-quality welds.
Laser beam welding and cutting machine
at the Linde Technology Centre
24
CO2 Laser 5
Laser performance:
The CO2 laser is the most common P = 2 kW
type of laser used for welding by the car He
manufacturing industry and its compo-
Penetration depth d [mm]
4 Focus radius:
nent suppliers. The correct choice of rF = 100 µm
shielding gas is very important to ensure
high quality welds. Due to its interaction N2
with the laser beam, the shielding gas 3
has a major influence on the heat input
to the work piece. If a particular laser
Ar
beam intensity is exceeded on the sur-
face of the work, this causes a thermally- 2
induced plasma which affects the pene-
tration depth in combination with other
factors. Due to its high ionisation energy,
1 Material: St 52-3
especially helium in LASPUR ® quality
gives excellent results. However, other Shielding gas flow: 20 l m-1
shielding gases can also be used, such
as argon, nitrogen and various gas mix-
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
tures such as VARIGON® He 50.
-1
Travel speed v [mm s ]
Influence of shielding gas on penetration
depth and travel speed.
Cam welded with a CO2 laser
 Argon Helium

Plasma development and penetration behaviour of a CO2 laser with different shielding gases.

Nd:YAG laser
The main welding application for the
Nd:YAG laser is in precision engineering
for the electrical/electronics industry. A
few applications can also be found in the
car manufacturing industry. Laser powers
generally do not exceed 2 kW. Since the
wavelength of the Nd:YAG laser exhibits
little or no interaction with shielding gas-
es, their choice only needs to take
account of metallurgical factors.
Accordingly, argon in LASPUR ®quality is
commonly used, although helium, nitro-
gen and gas mixtures are also suitable.

Case of a heart pacemaker Photo: Lumonics

welded with a Nd:YAG laser

25
Linde Publications,
Application Notes and Training Materials

Special Publications Data Sheets Brochures

92 Effect of Welding Conditions on ● Safety Data Sheets (on request) ● Centralised Gas Supply Systems
Airborne Contaminants Generated
in Gas-Shielded Arc Welding, and ● Safety instructions (on request) ● LASPUR ® Gases for Laser Technology
Effect of the Workplace Con-
ditions ● LASPUR ® Guide for Laser Users
Gases and Supply System
101 MAGM Welding Stainless Steel -
Effect of Type of Shielding Gas ● Acetylen … there is no better fuel gas
for oxy-fuel gas processes
105 Demands on Welding Systems
and Manipulating Equipment ● Heat Treatment
Design in Fully Mechanised and with Linde Supplied Gases
Automated MAG Welding
● Storage Tanks
145 Shielding Gases and Process
Technology in Welding with High-
Alloy Cored Wire

146 MAGM Welding (GMAW) of

Corrosion-Resistant Duplex Steel
- 22 Cr 5 (9) Ni 3 Mo
Effect of Shielding Gases
and Process Variations

156 Application Technology Criteria for

Orbital TIG (GTA) Welding of
Electropolished High-Alloy Steel
Tubes

158 Shielding Gas for Welding and

Backup purging - Factors to Be
Taken into Account

03/90 Control of the Arc Welding

Process in Manufacturing

22/93 Gas-Shielded Arc Welding of

Aluminium

34/97 Pulsed MAGM Welding of Nickel

Alloys

36/97 High-performance MAG Welding

with the LINFAST ® Concept

38/97 TIG Welding of Aluminium Alloys

26
27
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