Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20

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Journal of Manufacturing Processes

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Low current arc ignition stability in micro-TIG welding

Shixuan Pang, Biao Cao *
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Micro‑tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is widely used in electronic component manufacturing. Arc ignition
Micro-TIG welding under low current should be employed to avoid burning the micro-component. However, it is relatively complex
High voltage arc ignition to manipulate. To improve the stability and reliability of the arc ignition under low current, the effect of the
Cathode spot motion
ignition method, cathode spot motion (CSM), and welding circuit inductance is investigated. High voltage arc
Inductance
Arc stability
ignition (HVAI) experiments are carried out with different inductances under various CSM amplitudes. A high-
speed digital camera is employed to record the arc image, while a digital oscilloscope is used to simultaneously
detect the arc voltage and current waveforms. The results show that HVAI can achieve smooth arc ignition with
the low current in a relatively long discharge gap. The inductance in the welding circuit plays an effective role in
maintaining the burning of the micro-arc. However, overly high inductance prevents arc formation just after the
breakdown of the gap. When a traditional TIG welding torch is used, cathode spots move violently at the
beginning of the low current arc ignition. This results in arc oscillation in the space or even rapid extinguishing.
By placing an insulating ceramic tube on the tungsten electrode, the emission of electrons can be limited to the
electrode tip. This, in turn, restricts the range of motion of the cathode spots to the tip region. Consequently, low-
current arc ignition performance is improved.

1. Introduction
Micro‑tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is developed based on
traditional TIG welding. It employs a micro-arc within a typical current
range of 0.5–20 A to melt the metal material and form a micro-welded
joint. Micro-TIG welding plays an important role in the welding of
motor winding terminals, thermocouple wires, inductor coils, sensor
wire ends, and many other metal wires [1,2]. Contrary to laser welding
and electron beam welding, micro-TIG welding is characterized by
lower costs, low required energy, and more balanced energy distribu­
tion, which is conducive to ameliorating the formation of wire end
welded joints [3,4]. Since fusion of the thin metal wire end requires low
energy, the arc needs to be ignited at a low current to prevent the metal
wire from burning out. To ensure adequate quality of the welded joint,
achieving reliable arc ignition and maintaining its stability under the
condition of long arc has become an important research subject.
Compared with the traditional high current arc ignition technology, this
is technically harder to achieve. The reason is that the cathode spot
motion (CSM) occurs at the surface of the tungsten electrode during the
initial stage of low current arc ignition, which easily causes arc extinc­
tion [5]. When high-frequency high voltage arc ignition is applied to
micro-TIG welding, arc interruption is likely to occur if the initial cur­
rent is less than 5 A. In addition, touch arc ignition generally requires
more than 5 A current and causes the electrode to contaminate the
workpiece [6,7]. Neither of these ignition methods is desirable for
micro-TIG welding. Therefore, to achieve the welding of the smaller
diameter wire end, it is of great importance to stably ignite the micro-arc
with lower current by the improved ignition method.
To acquire the micro-arc, numerous measures based on high voltage
arc ignition (HVAI) have been proposed and applied in the past few
decades. Park et al. [8] used a 7 kV high voltage to break down the gas
gap and generate a conduction path. Then, another 1 kV DC power
supply with the limiting resistance of R = 300 Ω provided immediate
energy to promote the formation of approximately 3 A current arc.
Similarly, steady-state DC glow discharges were used to ignite the micro-
arc by connecting a 2–10 kΩ resistor in series with the high voltage
power supply [9]. When only a single ignition supply was employed,
Liao et al. [10] applied 330 V DC voltage between the electrodes to
generate corona discharge. Then, the energy was released to form a
micro-arc. In a similar manner and due to the instability of the micro-
arc, Mingon et al. [11] used a higher voltage of 1.3 kV with an addi­
tional compression nozzle. Kimura et al. [12] found that adding the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mebcao@scut.edu.cn (B. Cao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2021.07.022
Received 26 May 2021; Received in revised form 4 July 2021; Accepted 11 July 2021
Available online 24 July 2021
1526-6125/© 2021 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Pang and B. Cao
nozzle with a diameter of less than 1 mm compresses and stabilizes the
arc. This is in accordance with the results demonstrated by Egerland
[13]. Furthermore, by breaking down the gas gap with a 12 kV DC power
supply, Saiepour et al. [14] measured the time required for the cold arc
to transition to the steady state. The results indicate that shortening this
time can effectively avoid the extinction of a micro-arc during the arc
ignition process. These measures can effectively break down the gap to
form an arc and maintain the stability of the micro-arc. However, they
all require a high voltage above 1 kV and either a current limiting
resistor or a compression nozzle to maintain the arc stability. In addi­
tion, the existence of current limiting resistors reduces energy efficiency.
Moreover, it also limits the arc current range, thus reducing its appli­
cation range. Overcoming these limitations is aspired in forthcoming
improvements of the ignition method.
Many investigations have been conducted to study the influence
factors of arc stability. According to Meister et al. [15], inductance is
considered effective in maintaining arc stability. Their experiments
showed that the 1 A argon arc could burn steadily by connecting a 5–10
mH inductor in series on the welding circuit, whereas the inductor of 0.6
mH can only sustain the arc above 3.5 A. Kharin et al. [16] demonstrated
that the arc duration proportionally increased with inductance in the
range of 1–400 mH. Fernando et al. [17] obtained stable glow discharge
for 10 ms by employing a 300 mH inductor. This is because the current
decreases with an increase in the arc resistance, thus resulting in a
voltage L * dI/dt appearing on the inductance L and prolonging the arc
duration [18]. Although these investigations indicate that inductance
plays a role in maintaining the arc stability, how inductance reduces the
fluctuation of the micro-arc current has not been clarified. In addition,
overly high inductance inevitably limits the increase rate of the arc
current just after the breakdown of the gap, thus keeping the arc from
being formed. After the gas gap is broken down, the main current must
be increased in a main-power-controlled manner to the minimum
required current. This has to be done to sustain the arc before the con­
ducting path disappears [19]. For a DC power supply with a no-load
voltage of 80 V, Saiepour et al. [20] verified that a high voltage igni­
tion source must have an output voltage of at least 4 kV and a current of
more than 0.5 A of over 56 μs to ignite a 3 mm TIG arc. In conclusion,
inductance in the welding circuit should be neither too large to limit the
arc formation nor too small to stabilize the micro-arc. Therefore, the
optimal value of the inductance needs to be calculated and verified to
optimize the arc ignition performance.
Due to its effect on the characteristics of the cathode spot, the
tungsten electrode has been identified as another significant factor that
affects the stability of the micro-arc. Kosovich et al. [21] showed that a
tungsten electrode with a diameter of 0.16–0.30 mm can maintain stable
combustion of the 1 A arc. However, the stability of the arc of less than
10 A cannot be guaranteed by a tungsten electrode with a diameter of
0.8–1.5 mm. According to Park et al. [9], by electrically polishing the
tungsten electrode, a 0.35 A arc can be sustained, while 0.7 A arc can be
sustained by employing the mechanically polished tungsten electrode.
The reduction of the curvature radius at the tip of the tungsten electrode
is beneficial for shortening the time required for establishing a stable
cathode spot [14]. Černák et al. [23] showed that the formation of the
cathode spot is mainly decided by the electrons emission mode, namely
field emission, and thermal emission. This is related to the heating ef­
ficiency of the cathode spot to the tungsten electrode [24], the arc
current, and the geometric characteristics of the tungsten electrode [26].
The cathode spot moves on the surface of the tungsten electrode until its
temperature meets the thermionic electron emission condition [27].
Although the tungsten electrode with a small diameter can maintain the
stability of the micro-arc, its mechanism during the arc ignition process
is unclear. Moreover, the influence of CSM on micro-arc stability has not
been thoroughly studied. Currently, there is no convenient method to
quickly eliminate the CSM.
In this paper, a series of HVAI experiments are carried out to inves­
tigate the influence of CSM and welding circuit inductance on low
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Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20
current arc ignition to determine the optimum arc ignition matching
condition in the long gap. Firstly, HVAI experiments are carried out and
the results are compared with high-frequency arc ignition (HFAI) to
efficiently achieve low current arc ignition in the long gap. Then, by
combining with the waveforms of the arc voltage and current, the effect
of inductance on reducing arc current fluctuation is illustrated. More­
over, optimal inductance is calculated to achieve stable arc ignition in
the low current. Finally, the phenomenon of CSM in the arc ignition
process is analyzed by arc images. Thus, the welding torch and tungsten
electrode are treated to reduce its adverse effects on the stability of the
micro-arc, which is an important parameter for igniting the arc at lower
currents. The investigation in this paper aims to provide a better un­
derstanding of the micro-TIG welding arc ignition process, determine
the main factor affecting its arc ignition performance, and achieve stable
low current arc ignition in the long gap.
2. Experimental methods
A custom-made micro-TIG machine was used for the arc ignition
experiments. The inverter frequency of the welding power supply was
100 kHz, the no-load voltage was 108 V, the rated output current was 20
A, and the minimum output current was 0.1 A. In Fig. 1(a), the sche­
matic of the system used in the arc ignition experiments is shown. In
Fig. 1(b), a structural diagram of the power supply is shown. In this
system, the micro-TIG welding is performed in direct current electrode
positive (DCEN) mode with constant current characteristics. To trigger
the gas discharge, the arc ignition circuit obtains high voltage via a
voltage multiplier circuit. As shown in Fig. 1(b), the inductance L0 is
used to maintain the micro-arc stability.
As shown in Fig. 1(a), a high-speed digital camera (FASTCAM-Super
10 KC, Photron, Japan) was used to record the entire arc ignition process
at the speed of 1000 fps/s. To observe the arc, the TIG arc light was
properly attenuated by adjusting the camera's aperture and exposure
time. The data was imported into the computer through a small com­
puter system interface (SCSI) data bus. The output voltages were sepa­
rately sampled with arc photoelectric isolation, and a hall current sensor
was used to measure the arc current. Voltage and current generated
during the arc ignition process were recorded using a digital oscilloscope
(DPO2024B, Tektronix, America).
The tungsten electrode was WC20 (i.e., W + 1.8–2.2 wt%CeO2) with
a diameter of 1.6 mm and a tip angle of 20◦ . The shielding gases were
pure argon at the gas flow rate of 5 L/min, and the workpiece was a 304
stainless steel wire with a diameter of 0.5 mm. Tests 1 and 2 listed in
Table 1 were carried out to compare the advantages of HVAI and HFAI.
An 8 kV DC voltage was used for HVAI, while approximately 2–3 kV AC
voltage of 120–200 kHz was employed for HFAI. Tests 2–4 were carried
out to reveal the role of inductance in maintaining the stability of the
micro-arc. Test 3 and tests 5 and 6 were carried out to analyze the in­
fluence of CSM on low current arc ignition stability.
The pattern of CSM can be changed by adding the ceramic tube on
the tungsten electrode and polishing it. This can be described as heavy
cathode spot motion (HCSM), slight cathode spot motion (SCSM), and
negligible cathode spot motion (NCSM). During the arc initiation pro­
cess of micro-TIG welding, a conventional welding torch is used and the
tungsten electrode is ground to a taper angle of 20◦ (Fig. 2a). Due to the
long path motion of the cathode spots, HCSM is produced. For SCSM, a
conventional welding torch is used and the tungsten electrode is ground
to a taper angle of 20◦ . Then, an insulating ceramic tube is placed around
the tungsten electrode, and the tungsten electrode is extended 0.5 mm
out of the ceramic tube, as shown in Fig. 2(b). Consequently, only SCSM
is generated because the cathode spot can only move at the tip of the
tungsten electrode. For NCSM, a conventional welding torch is used and
the tungsten electrode is ground to a taper angle of 20◦ . Then, the
tungsten electrode tip is polished to a radius of curvature less than 0.16
mm. Alternatively, the tungsten tip is crushed to create a microscopic
bulge on its tip. An insulating ceramic tube is later placed around the
S. Pang and B. Cao Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the micro-TIG welding system: (a) information acquisition system, and (b) topology structure diagram of power supply.

To assess the arc ignition performance, variation of the longest

Table 1
electrode gap with arc striking current was measured in each test. Lower
Micro-TIG arc ignition conditions.
arc striking current and longer electrode gap indicate better arc ignition
Test Cathode spot motion Inductance L0 (mH) Ignition method stability. To enhance the reliability of the experiments, each test group
1 SCSM 0.04 HFAI was continuously ignited 20 times with the same arc striking current and
2 SCSM 0.04 HVAI the same gap. Then, the electrode gap was adjusted according to the
3 SCSM 5 HVAI
success rate until the longest electrode gap with a success rate of 100%
4 SCSM 10 HVAI
5 HCSM 5 HVAI was obtained. Next, the arc striking current was modified to obtain the
6 NCSM 5 HVAI new longest gap that can reliably ignite the arc in the same manner.
After every 20 ignitions, the tungsten electrode is repolished, and the
test is continued.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. High voltage arc ignition process

In Fig. 3, arc shapes with 4 A current in a 10 mm gap during the HVAI

Fig. 2. Structure diagram of the welding torch and the workpiece: (a) normal
torch, (b) torch with the ceramic tube on the electrode.
tungsten electrode, and the tungsten electrode is extended 0.5 mm out of
the ceramic tube, as shown in Fig. 2(b). The CSM is eliminated relatively
quickly. Thus, because of the extremely short time leading to the stable
cathode spot (nearly 6 ms), the effect of CSM is almost negligible
(NCSM).
process are shown. The arc is formed 1 ms after breaking down the gas
gap. Then, the arc experiences a peak current, after which its current is
gradually adjusted to the set value. Despite slight shaking, the thin and
long arc is not extinguished due to the sufficiently large current. In this
gap, if the current set value is reduced below 3.5 A, the arc will not be
stabilized because its electrical conductivity tends to drop rapidly when
the arc is shaking. However, if the set current value remains unchanged,
the arc will not be interrupted even if the electrode gap is increased to
17 mm. This indicates that the current has a more significant influence
on the stability of the arc than the electrode gap for the low current arc.
However, due to different mechanisms of electrical breakdown, it is
relatively difficult to ignite an arc in a 10 mm gap during HFAI
experiments.
In Fig. 4, a comparison between maximum stable arc gaps obtained
during HVAI and HFAI processes is shown. Both arcs can be obtained
and maintained above 3.5 A. However, the maximum electrode gap for
HVAI is wider than the HFAI gap. With an increase in the current, both
gaps are widening first then stabilizing. When the arc striking current is
higher than 5 A, the maximum electrode gap of HVAI is increased to 24
mm, while the one of HFAI is equal to 8 mm. Beyond this point, only
sparks are generated without arc formation. This can be analyzed by the
characteristics of the streamer propagation during the electric break­
down process.
HFAI process relies on a high-frequency strong electric field to break
down the gas gap and generate a large number of charged particles that
can instantly participate in the conduction path. According to [28], AC
(alternating current) breakdown process requires a lower voltage than

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S. Pang and B. Cao Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20

Fig. 3. Arc shapes with 4 A current in the 10 mm gap during the HVAI process.

of the cathode after primary streamer propagation, thus forming a

plasma with a high electron density of 1021 m− 3 for the positive polarity
[31]. According to [32], the space charge layer around the negative
streamer is formed by an excess of electrons. These electrons drift out­
ward from the streamer body. Moreover, their drift in the lateral di­
rection decreases the focusing and enhancement of the electric field at
the streamer tip. Since the head of the streamer propagation is divergent
or branching, it is extremely difficult for it to grow forward. This, in turn,
results in a relatively high breakdown voltage. However, it also produces
more charged particles, thus resulting in a wider conductive volume and
lower resistance. Compared with HFAI, the streamer generated by the
HVAI process lasts long enough for the main source to build-up to the
required arc current. Then, the arc may be ignited even at the gap of 24
mm.

Fig. 4. Variation of maximum electrode gap with arc striking current during
HVAI and HFAI experiments.

DC (direct current) breakdown process. This is because the voltage po­

larity changes and positive net charges form in the electrode gap away
from the electrodes. This, in turn, modifies the electric field and pro­
motes the formation of an avalanche process at lower voltages due to the
high electron drift losses and low ion mobility. Consequently, this makes
it easier for streamers to grow. However, it also leads to thin ionization
channels, as demonstrated in [29]. In addition, electric field enhance­
ment at the head of the channel is observed in the phase-resolved pic­
tures in [30]. This indicates that the shape of the ionization channel
looks like a thin streamer. However, this leads to relatively small
amounts of charged particles and relatively large resistance in the
ionization channel. In the long gap, an increase rate of the initial current
is limited, causing the electrons to recombine with ions before forming
an arc, in turn leading to the disappearance of the conduction channel
and the failure of the arc ignition.
In HVAI process with tungsten electrode as the cathode, when a high
enough voltage is applied between the electrodes, the streamer forms in
the diffusion mode and secondary streamers re-propagate from the pin Fig. 5. Variation of maximum electrode gap with arc striking current under
different inductance levels.

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S. Pang and B. Cao Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20

3.2. Effect of inductance on maintaining the micro-arc

In Fig. 5, variation of the longest electrode gap with arc striking

current for different inductors is shown. A relatively larger inductance
leads to a lower arc striking current and a shorter maximum electrode
gap. When the inductance L0 is 0.04 mH, more than 3.5 A of current is
required to achieve reliable arc ignition. As the inductance increases to
5 mH, the minimum arc striking current can reach 1.2 A. In both cases,
the longest electrode gap is 24 mm. If the inductance continues to in­
crease to 10 mH, the arc striking current can be further dropped to 0.8 A.
However, the longest electrode gap is reduced to 18 mm. This is because
the resistance of the plasma channel in the long gap is relatively high Fig. 7. Equivalent circuit of the arc ignition circuit.
and the 10 mH inductance severely limits the increase rate of the initial
current. Finally, due to the plasma's failure to heat up in time, electrons
As shown in Fig. 6, the arc resistance within 10 μs during the arc
recombine with ions, thus causing the arc ignition failure. Therefore, to
interruption process can be described as:
ignite the arc in the long gap, the inductance needs to be limited to 10
mH. On the other hand, the inductance should be as large as possible to E0 + kL0
R(t) = (3)
maintain the stability of the micro-arc. In summary, it is necessary to I0 − kt
find an appropriate inductance to maintain the micro-arc stability.
The role of inductance is analyzed in the following arc interruption where E0 = 24 V, L0 = 0.04 mH, I0 = 3 A, and k = ΔI/Δt = 2.5 * 105 A/s,
example. In test 2, only 40 μH inductance is present in the welding which represents the slope of the current decline.
circuit. For SCSM interference, if the arc is ignited with a current lower Under the assumption that the arc is submitted to the same distur­
than 3.5 A, the arc current fluctuates significantly. For the output bance as that shown in Fig. 6 and that the arc resistance changes as
voltage and current waveforms of the welding power supply shown in shown in Eq. (3), the differential equation when inductance L0 increases
Fig. 6, the arc is extinguished during the arc ignition process with 3 A to L can be expressed as:
current in the 4 mm gap in one case. During periods of severe arc dI
(
E0 + kL0
)
disturbance, the current dropped from 3 A to 0.5 A in 10 μs (point A to E0 − L − I=0 (4)
dt I0 − kt
point B in Fig. 6). At point B, due to the insufficient voltage of the power
supply, the electrons recombined with ions relatively quickly, thus Then, the following solution can be obtained:
preventing the arc from forming. The 40 μH inductance has difficulty in ( )
10 − kL 1− 34 24*(3 − kt)
3 kL *(3 − kt)kL + (5)
34
maintaining the stability of the arc current when subjected to such I(t) =
34 − kL 34 − kL
interference level. Thus, the inductance is reasonably increased to a
suitable value to reduce the current fluctuation and avoid arc Under the effect of inductance L, the arc current after 10 μs of
interruption. disturbance should be as close as possible to I0, which can be expressed
As shown in Fig. 7, the required inductance to stabilize the arc is as:
calculated by using the equivalent circuit of the welding. Parameter E0 is 34
(30 − 3kL)*6− kL + 12
the output voltage of the power supply, R1 is its internal resistance, C is I(10μs) = (6)
34 − kL
the energy-storage capacitor in the HVAI circuit, R2 is the current
limiting resistance, L0 is the inductance in the welding circuit, and Ra is In Fig. 8, the relationship between the current I (10 μs) and the
the arc resistance. After the arc is ignited, only the main circuit is inductance L is depicted. With an increase in inductance L, current I (10
operational, and a differential equation can be obtained according to μs) gradually approaches I0, i.e., the arc current becomes more stable.
Kirchhoff's Law and Faraday's Law of electromagnetic induction: The welding circuit requires at least 5 mH inductance in series to keep
the reduction of arc current within 5%. However, as seen from Fig. 5, if
dI
E0 − L0 − IR = 0 (1) the inductance increases from 5 mH to 10 mH, the longest arc ignition
dt
gap decreases from 24 mm to 18 mm, while the minimum arc striking
Here, R = R1 + Ra. In Fig. 6, the arc current can be considered as current is not significantly modified. Therefore, 5 mH inductance is
linearly decreasing during the arc interruption process, i.e.: suitable for maintaining the stability of the arc ignition in the long gap.
I(t) = I0 − kt (2)

Fig. 6. Waveforms of arc current and voltage identifying the arc extinction in Fig. 8. Variation of the arc current after 10 μs of disturbance with the induc­
the 4 mm gap. tance L.

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S. Pang and B. Cao Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20

In the long gap, even if the welding circuit is connected with 5 mH

inductance in series, it has difficulty maintaining the micro-arc due to its
volt-ampere characteristics. In Fig. 9, the arc shape of test 3 is shown
when it is ignited with different currents in the 16 mm gap. Moreover, its
voltage and current waveforms are shown in Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 9
(a), 2 A arc can burn continuously. When the arc wobbles, its current
drops from 2.1 A to 1.5 A, while the output voltage rises from 30 V to 40
V. This can be observed from the arc shape of 60–62 ms during the arc
ignition in Fig. 9(a) and the waveforms of I2 and U2 in Fig. 10. Because
the voltage difference of 1.5–2 A arc is relatively small, the arc current
can be prevented from excessive dropping and can be timely restored
through the continuous current action of inductance and PID (Propor­
tion Integration Differentiation) control of power supply.
However, as shown in Fig. 9(b), the arc is extinguished after 36 ms of
arc ignition with 1.2 A current. As shown in Fig. 10 for 17 ms in curves I1 Fig. 10. Waveforms of the arc current and voltage in 16 mm gap during
and U1, when the current drops to 0.5 A, the arc voltage sharply in­ arc ignition.
creases to 85 V. In this case, the arc voltage does not exceed the no-load
voltage. Hence, the power supply can adjust the current to the set value
by self-regulation, thus avoiding arc interruption. This also explains why
micro-TIG welding requires a high no-load voltage. However, if the arc
current excessively drops and the voltage of maintaining the arc exceeds
the no-load voltage, the welding power supply cannot maintain the arc
through self-regulation. This, in turn, results in arc extinction, as shown
at 37 ms of curve I1 in Fig. 10. Therefore, in combination with Fig. 5, it is
concluded that only the arc above 1.5 A can be stabilized by 5 mH
inductance if the arc length is less than 16 mm.

3.3. Effects of cathode spot motion

In Fig. 11, the results of test 3 and tests 5 and 6 are shown. It can be
observed that the CSM has a significant influence on low current arc
ignition. As the amplitude of CSM weakens or even disappears, the arc
ignition performance is greatly improved. Under the condition of HCSM,
the minimum arc striking current is 1.4 A and the maximum electrode
gap is 18 mm. As the amplitude of CSM decreases to SCSM, the minimum
arc striking current decreases to 1.2 A, while the maximum electrode
gap increases to 24 mm. If CSM is nearly eliminated (NCSM), the arc can
be ignited at 0.2 A in the 4 mm gap. The effect of CSM on low current arc Fig. 11. Variation of maximum electrode gap with arc striking current under
ignition is determined by the characteristics of the micro-arc. The for­ different CSM amplitudes.
mation process of the cathode spot is analyzed as follows:
According to the Richardson equation, when there is an external where Ww is the work function of the cathode material, kB is the Boltz­
electric field E, the hot electron density on the cathode surface can be mann constant, and A is a constant related to the metal. According to Eq.
expressed as: (7), the current density of electrons on the cathode surface is jointly
(
√̅̅̅
) determined by Ww, E, and T. At the initial stage of the low current arc
ignition, the temperature of the tungsten electrode is relatively low, and
Ww − e eE
−
j = A*T 2 *e (7)
kB T

the emission of hot electrons is insufficient. This results in a significant

Fig. 9. Arc shapes in the 16 mm gap during the ignition process: (a) 2 A arc current, (b) 1.2 A arc current.

17
S. Pang and B. Cao
amount of positive space charge generated near the cathode. Based on
the minimum voltage principle, the positive ion current in front of the
cathode shrinks, i.e., the cathode spot shrinks [33]. This increases the
density of the positive ion current, generates a stronger electric field,
and facilitates electrons emission more easily. In other words, the
electric field intensity E in Eq. (7) is maximized. At the same time, to
keep Ww as low as possible, the electron emission automatically trans­
fers to the metal surface with low Ww, i.e., the oxides. The high power
generated by high current density quickly melts and vaporizes the oxides
[34]. When the oxides are consumed, field emission is the key factor in
maintaining the ionization channel due to low temperature. Then, the
arc is automatically transferred to the next oxides that are easy to be
ionized. The cathode spot moves on the tungsten electrode surface
irregularly at high speeds up to 105 cm/s, resulting in large arc path
changes [25], as shown in Fig. 12.
Micro-arc motion can cause a sharp decline of the plasma conduc­
tivity. According to [35], the micro-arc is in a non-local thermodynamic
equilibrium (LTE) state with a low ionization degree. Its conductivity is
mainly dominated by electron number density and electron temperature
[36]. In addition, according to [37], the electron number density of
argon plasma is approximately 1023 m− 3 when its electron temperature
is over 15,000 K, approximately 1022 m− 3 when its electron temperature
is 10,000 K, and approximately 1016 m− 3 when its electron temperature
is 4000 K. This indicates that the electron number density sharply de­
creases with electron temperature within 10,000 K. According to [38],
the electron temperature of the 2 A arc is only 9810 K, while the tem­
perature of its heavy particles is 5700 K. Therefore, when CSM occurs,
the arc path changes and the electron temperature decreases accord­
ingly. In the new path, due to the low electron temperature, the electron
number density drops sharply. This, in turn, decreases electrical con­
ductivity and leads to arc extinguishing.
In Fig. 12, arc shapes of HCSM in the 4 mm gap are displayed, with its
current and voltage waveforms shown in Fig. 13. After arc ignition, the
cathode spot is attached to the cylinder surface of the tungsten electrode,
resulting in a curved arc. In addition, the arc shape is constantly
changing due to the constant jumping of the cathode spot. This makes
the arc current extremely prone to drop but has a negligible effect on the
arc over 2 A current. As shown in Fig. 12(b), the arc will not be extin­
guished even if the arc is initiated with a 2 A current. Due to HCSM, the
tungsten electrode failed to be heated in time, thus resulting in the
presence of CSM even after 195 ms of arc ignition. As shown in curve I1
in Fig. 13, when the arc is ignited with 1.2 A current, a high probability
of the current dropping below 0.5 A exists. If the micro-arc current
drops, a sharp decline in plasma conductivity follows, therefore leading
to the arc extinction. Finally, as shown in Fig. 12(a), the 1.2 A arc is
Fig. 12. Arc shapes in the 4 mm gap during the HCSM ignition process: (a) 1.2 A arc current, and (b) 2 A arc current.
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Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20
Fig. 13. Waveforms of the arc current and voltage in the 4 mm gap during the
HCSM ignition process.
extinguished 25 ms after the ignition. Moreover, HCSM has an adverse
effect on wire end welding. This is because the anode spot moves to one
side of the wire end, which results in a weak wire end joint or even a lack
of welding. Therefore, the influence of CSM on micro-TIG welding
should be minimized.
When SCSM is present, the arc shapes during the ignition process
with 2 A current in the 4 mm gap are shown in Fig. 14. It can be seen that
the arc shape near the tungsten electrode slightly changes during the
period of 20–23 ms following the arc ignition. This can be attributed to
the fact that the cathode spot is confined to moving on the tungsten
electrode cone. After 205 ms of arc ignition, the arc shape near the
tungsten electrode does not change anymore. This is because the tip of
the tungsten electrode, which has been exposed to the high-temperature
plasma, is quickly heated and its temperature rapidly rises. As a result,
the necessary condition of electron thermal emission is reached, which is
considered the main factor in maintaining the arc [26]. After the cath­
ode spot moves to the tungsten electrode tip, it remains there, indicating
that the arc has reached a steady state. During the entire arc ignition
process, the cathode spot is confined to the tungsten electrode cone,
resulting in a minor change in the arc path. Compared with HCSM, the
above analysis of SCSM indicates that the arc can be ignited at lower
currents. In addition, higher-quality welded joints can be obtained with
more stable arcs.
When CSM is almost eliminated (NCSM), the stability of the low
current arc ignition is significantly improved. In Fig. 15, arc shapes
initiated with 1 A current in the 8 mm gap under the condition of NCSM
are shown, with its voltage and current waveforms shown in Fig. 16. The
cathode spot appears at the tip of the tungsten electrode after 6 ms of arc
S. Pang and B. Cao Journal of Manufacturing Processes 69 (2021) 12–20

Fig. 14. Arc shapes with 2 A current in the 4 mm gap during the SCSM ignition process.

Fig. 15. Arc shapes in the 8 mm gap with NCSM during arc ignition process with 1 A current.

ignition. After that, the arc shape in the cathode region remains un­
changed, indicating that the arc has reached a stable state. This is due to
the existence of a microscopic bulge at the tip of the tungsten electrode
with a radius of curvature less than 0.16 mm where the cathode spot is
first attached after the arc is ignited. Due to the small volume, low mass,
and high resistance of the micro bulge, its temperature can rise rapidly
under the action of arc heat conduction and resistance heat. Conse­
quently, compared with SCSM, this makes it possible to reach the con­
ditions required for electron thermal emission in a shorter time. As a
result, the arc can reach a steady-state more quickly. In this case, the
rapid decline of plasma conductivity caused by the arc moving to the
low-temperature zone is avoided. Thus, a more stable current and
voltage waveforms are obtained during arc ignition, as shown in Fig. 16.
The arc can even be ignited with 0.2 A current under the condition of
NCSM, as demonstrated in the result of test 6 in Fig. 11.
4. Conclusions
(1) Compared with high-frequency arc ignition, high voltage arc
ignition with a tungsten needle as a negative electrode can break
down the gas gap to form a larger diameter streamer with more
charged particles. Consequently, enough time is ensured for the

19
S. Pang and B. Cao
Fig. 16. Waveforms of the arc current and voltage in the 8 mm gap during the
NCSM ignition process.
main source to build-up to the required arc current in the argon
gas gap up to 24 mm.
(2) Inductance has a significant effect on low current arc ignition
with the function of reducing arc current fluctuation. As the
inductance increases, the arc can be ignited with a lower sus­
taining current. However, overly high inductance limits the in­
crease rate of the initial arc current, easily resulting in the failure
of the arc formation when the electrode gap is sufficiently long.
(3) Since it leads to heavy arc shape oscillation and conductivity
fluctuation, cathode spot motion has a significant influence on
low current ignition. By placing an insulating ceramic tube on the
tip of the tungsten electrode, the adverse impact of cathode spot
motion can be weakened since the location of the cathode spot
has been restricted.
(4) When high voltage arc ignition with a 5 mH inductor in the
welding circuit is used and the cathode spot motion is nearly
eliminated (NCSM), the low current arc ignition performance is
greatly optimized, which can ignite an arc with a current of 2.2 A
at a gap up to 24 mm or even with a current of 0.2 A at a gap of 4
mm. This type of arc ignition is superior to the stable 6 mm 1 A
free arc [21,22] and 1 mm 0.35 A compressive arc [8].
Declaration of competing interest
No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and
manuscript is approved by all authors for publication.
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