BMM4793

WELDING AND JOINING TECHNOLOGY

PROJECT REPORT
(PLASMA ARC WELDING)

Lecture: MOINUDDIN MOHAMMED QUAZI

Section: 01

Name: Alani Nur Sabrina Binti Azhar

Matric No: MA17139

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 ABSTRACT

Plasma arc welding has high performance and quality. It has been the premier welding
process for steel, metal and aluminium in the manufacturing production. Plasma arc welding
has started a wide-ranging investigation into the joining of metals in manufacturing
production. It become the recommended welding method over another arc welding processes
as it has expanded welding rate, improved welding efficiency and reduced the effect of
process variation on process efficiency. In order to increase the efficiency of plasma arc
welding procedure, depth of penetration and welding productivity, much improvement has
been made. Additional favoured for welding-based materials due to the creation of stable,
regulated and constricted arcs with low current requirements.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

NO CONTENT PAGES

1 Introduction 4–5

2 Microstructure 6

3 Microstructure of base material and welded microstructure 7-9

4 Tensile strength of welded samples 10

5 Hardness of the welded samples 11

6 Important parameters of welding for good strength 12

7 Welding procedure and testing 13

8 Relevant codes / quality management 14

9 Inspection defects and failures analysis 15

10 Conclusion (feasibility / cost) 16

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 11 References 17

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Plasma arc welding is a liquid state welding process. Plasma are known as a hot
ionised gas that create a welding joint by fusion. There are two type of plasma arc
welding, that is transferred PAW and non-transferred PAW. The advantages for PAW
are, it very high energy and welding speed, easy to use for welding hard and thick
workpieces. A part from that, the distance between the instrument and the workpiece
does not impact the formation of the arc. High equipment and repair cost are the
drawbacks of plasma arc welding. It also demanded a noisy operation and high degree
of ability.[CITATION WIK09 \l 17417 ]

Plasma arc welding process is the same as the TIG welding process and no filler
material is used in this process. The plasma jet is created by heating the orifice gas in
the torch plenum and pushing the plasma to escape through the constricting nozzle
orifice. Partial shielding is derived from plasma and is complemented by an auxiliary
shielding gas. Shielding gasses used include argon or combination of argon with
hydrogen or helium. Plasma arc welding has been used in the maritime and aerospace
industries. It is used to weld stainless steel or titanium pipes and tubes. It is also
commonly used in the electronics industry.

Plasma arc welding has been used in all industry because of its benefits. With it
benefit, plasma arc welding will be the premier weld in industry compare to the other
type of welding.

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Figure 1: Plasma arc welding

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2.0 MICROSTRUCTURE

Microstructure is a structure of material with the very small scale. Microstructure will present
in the weld deposit and the weld heat affected zone. Structure requiring this range of
magnification for their examination are called microstructures. The microstructure are
defects, impurities, grains and grain boundary. Anything that is not regular from a prescribed
crystalline structure is a microstructure. Microstructure appear due to defects present or
absent of the structure. These defects can be taking many forms but the primary ones are the
pores. [ CITATION Bri20 \l 17417 ]

Microstructure can be form by different process, with is generated when a material goes
through a phase transformation brough about by changing temperature and pressure. Other
than that, it also can be generated when a melt crystallising to a solid on cooling. [ CITATION
Bri20 \l 17417 ]

Figure 2: Microstructure of SiCp /Al MMCs

Figure 2 shows the Microstructure of SiCp /Al MMCs. Microstructure is a very small
scale of object. The structure of material can be seen using a optical microscope.

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3.0 MICROSTRUCTURE OF BASE MATERIAL AND WELDED
MICROSTRUCTURE

Figure 3 shown macrostructure of weld joint of plasma arc welding. In the central welding
field, there are no cracks, pores and incomplete melting of the filler are built. In order to
enhance the mechanical properties of the weld joint, high quality of welding is provided by
plasma arc.

Figure 3: Macrostructure of welded joint

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Figure 4 shown the figures display of microstructures of welded, a) centre of weld, b)
bottom weld and c) fusion zone

Figure 4: Weld microstructures

Figure 5 below shown the welding microstructures of welded joint with is a) Weld and
b) Fusion zone.

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Figure 5: Weld microstructures of welded joint (a) Weld and (b) Fusion zone

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4.0 TENSILE STRENGTH

Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) also simplified to tensile strength (TS) is the ability of
a material or structure to sustain loads tending to elongate, as opposed to compressive
strength, with loads tending to decrease in size. In other tensile strength, it resists
stress where compressive strength resists compressive energy. Tensile strengths are
seldom used in the design of ductile members, but they are important to fragile
members. They are tabulated for common materials such as alloys, composite
materials, ceramics, plastics and wood. [ CITATION The16 \l 17417 ]

Table 1 shown the mechanical properties for tensile strength of wall. It contains the
part of mechanical properties, condition, deposited direction, ultimate tensile strength.
Tensile strength is maximum load which material obtain to support without fracture
during stretched.

Table 1: Mechanical properties of the walls

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5.0 HARDNESS OF THE WELDED SAMPLES

Hardness test is a measurement made by indenting the metal with a penetrator under a known
load. It will be determined by load applied, how load is applied and configuration of
penetrator. Hardness of the weld can be testing using various methods such as Brinell,
Rockwell, Vickers and Knoop.[ CITATION PDK18 \l 17417 ]

Investigation of the hardness for welded joint is well known in standards such as ISO 9015
and ISO 15614. This shown test loads, the number of indents for the parent material, the heat
effected region (HAZ) and the welding as well as the distances between each indent and the
depth below the welded joint surface.

Figure 6: Schematic illustration of hardness measurement on the profile of the wall

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6.0 IMPORTANT PARAMETERS OF WELDING FOR GOOD STRENGTH

By using the input parameters of the PAW operation, the quality of the welded joint can be
finding out. The optimum tensile properties based on the input process parameters of the
plasma arc welding process can be figure out by using the mathematical equations.

Figure 7: Plasma arc welding process

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7.0 WELDING PROCEDURE AND TESTING

Figure 8: Stages in welding procedure and welder approval

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8.0 RELEVANT CODES/QUALITY MANAGEMENT

8.1 America Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Codes

Code Description

ASME BPVC Section Details for welding rods, electrodes and wire fillers
II

ASME BPVC Section Welding and Brazing Qualifications

IX

8.2 American Welding Society (AWS) Standards

Code Description

AWS A2.4 Grade symbols for welding, brazing,

AWS A3.0 Grade welding expression and definitions

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9.0 INSPECTION DETECTS AND FAILURES ANALYSIS

Figure 9 displays the SEM fractography of the standard tensile measure in the lower
and middle areas. Coupons display the standard fracture fractography shown in figure
below. To denote the direction of crack development, apply arrows without the back
line. Crack growth at the bottom is associated with the additive deposition will
recognize while the crack growth at the centre is perpendicular to the fracture surface.
With regards to the form and width of the dome, the dome fractography reveals
elongated dimples and tearing ridges. In comparison, the fracture surface of the centre
region reveals a combination of course and fine dimples, which are broader and
darker than those of the sample dimples in the bottom region.

Figure 9: The fractography of typical tensile test

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10. CONCLUSION

Plasma arc welding has expansion around 60 years ago. It started from main use in the
aerospace industry until popularization of different mechanical procedure. PAW
equipment also can be used commonly. PAW have greater scope for development
because of the rapid growth and revolution of the high equipment in manufacturing
industry. Due to its characteristic such as, good penetration capability, high arc energy
density, strong arc and high performance, PAW will take a role in future.

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11. REFERENCES

1. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/563/2/022003/pdf
2. https://www-sciencedirect-
com.ezproxy.ump.edu.my/science/article/pii/S2214785320372783
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_arc_welding

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