Lecture – 14

Definition of Welding
Welding is the process of joining two pieces of metal or non-metal at faces rendered plastic or liquid
by application of heat or pressure or both. Filler material may be used to affect the union.
All metals are weldable provided proper process and techniques are used. If either of these two
aspects or both are overlooked, no good weld can be obtained.

Advantages of welding
1. Welding is the lowest cost joining method.
2. It affords lighter weight through better utilization of material.
3. It joins all commercial metals.
4. It can be used anywhere.
5. It provides design flexibility.
6. They are tight and leak proof.
7. Their production time is less.
8. There is no problem of stress concentration.
9. It has good appearance.
10. Their strength is high.
Limitations of Welding
1. Quality of welding depends on human factor (i.e., on skills of operator).
2. It needs special internal inspection.
3. Their capacity to damp vibrations is poor.
4. Parts manufactured by It are prone to thermal distortion due to heat generated.
5. Inspection of welded joints is costly and requires specialist.
Classification of welding methods
Welding processes are classified as shown below.

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Characteristics of a good weld

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Resistance Electric Welding

The heat produced is given by H = I2 RtK, where

H = Heat developed in joules
I = Current passing through the work in amps
R = Electrical resistance of the work in ohms
t = be the Time of current flow in seconds
K = A factor which represents energy loss through radiation and conduction. Its value is less
than unity.

Different types of resistance winding

1. Spot Welding  Principle of operation:
Spot welding consists of joining two pieces by placing them between two electrodes and passing a
heavy current through them for a very short duration. This causes the material just below the
electrodes to heat up quickly due to the intervening resistance to the flow of electric current.
When coalescence temperature is reached, the current is switched off and a pressure is applied on
the two electrodes. The pressure is released when the spot weld cools off. The portion of the
material just below the electrodes gets pressure welded. The weld joint is usually in the form of a
round spot (if the electrodes have circular tips), hence the name spot weld.

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 Advantages:
1. Easiest and the most widely used method of welding
2. Does not require any skilled technicians/labour.
3. Power required to operate is less
4. Fast processing so can be used for heavy production purposes.
Limitations:
1. Can’t be used to weld thick work pieces
2. If proper pressure is not applied weld may break or fail.
3. Over pressure or high current may cause black and ugly finishing of the weld.
4. Bigger power equipment required
Welding Equipment: Copper electrodes, Step down transformer, Manual pedal and coolant.
Can weld: Thin sheets of metal like steel, or stainless steel, aluminium, zinc.
Application: Automotive Industries, Orthodontics, Boiler and tank manufacturing field.
2. Seam  Principle of operation:

a) The work-pieces to be seam welded are cleaned, overlapped suitably and placed between the
two circular electrodes which hold the work-pieces together by the pressure on electrode force.
b) Switch on the coolant supply (in some machines, the electrodes are cooled by external spray of
water; in others, the electrodes are cooled by refrigerant fluid that flow inside the working
electrodes).

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 c) Switch on the current supply. As the first current impulse is applied, the power-driven circular
electrodes are set in rotation and the work-pieces steadily move forward.
d) If the current is put off and on quickly, a continuous fusion zone made up of overlapping
nuggets is obtained. It is known as stitch welding.
e) If individual spot welds are obtained by constant and regularly timed interruption of the
welding current, the process is known as roll (spot) welding.
Advantages:
1. It can produce gas tight or liquid tight joints.
2. Overlap can be less than spot or projections welds.
3. Several parallel seams may be produced
Disadvantages:
1. Cost of equipment is high as compared to spot welding set.
2. Welding can be done only along a straight or uniformly curved line.
3. It is difficult to weld thickness greater than 3 mm.
Welding Equipment: Roller electrodes, Step down transformer.
Can Weld: Stainless steels, steels alloys, nickel and its alloys, magnesium alloys etc.
Application:

3. Butt  The butt weld consists of joining of two pieces of metal together either on face or on
edge. It is of two types namely upset butt welding and flash butt welding.
A. Upset Butt Welding: For making upset welding, edges of the workpiece should be
cleaned perfectly and flatten. The parts to be welded are clamped in copper jaws as shown
in Figure. The jaws act as electrodes. Both work pieces edges are prepared and butted
together. There may be some gap between parts but it should be such that no arcing takes
place. Then the jaws are brought together in a solid contact when the current flows
through the point of contact of jaws to form a locality of high electric resistance. At this
point, the applied pressure upsets or forges the parts together.

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 Upset welding (UW)/resistance butt welding is a welding technique that produces
coalescence simultaneously over the entire area of abutting surfaces or progressively
along a joint, by the heat obtained from resistance to electric current through the area
where those surfaces are in contact. Pressure is applied before heating is started and is
maintained throughout the heating period. The equipment used for upset welding is very
similar to that used for flash welding. It can be used only if the parts to be welded are
equal in cross-sectional area. The abutting surfaces must be very carefully prepared to
provide for proper heating. The difference from flash welding is that the parts are
clamped in the welding machine and force is applied bringing them tightly together.
High-amperage current is then passed through the joint, which heats the abutting surfaces.
When they have been heated to a suitable forging temperature an upsetting force is
applied and the current is stopped. The high temperature of the work at the abutting
surfaces plus the high pressure causes coalescence to take place. After cooling, the force
is released and the weld is completed.
Advantages of Upset Butt Welding:
1. Upset butt-welding is more suitable for welding many alloys which are difficult to
weld using fusion welding. The metal retains base metal characteristics because the base
metal does not melt during welding.
3. The welded joint is stronger because the hot working structure is maintained.
4. The introduction of composite materials and inclusion of secondary materials on the
base metal are almost minimal.
5. Upset welding is mainly adapted to fabricate very large structures compared to
conventional resistance welding.
Limitation:
1. It can be used only if the parts to be welded are equal in cross-sectional area.
2. The voltage required for welding is 2-8 volts and current vary from 50 A to several
hundred amperes, depending upon the material and the area to be welded at a time.
The current, pressure and time may be manual or automatic controlled.
3. If intimate contact is not obtained because of improper joint preparation, the weld
will be defective.
Can weld: non- ferrous materials
Applications of Upset butt Welding:
1. This process is mainly used for welding nonferrous materials of smaller cross section
such as bars, rods, wires, tubes etc.
2. Upset welding is used to make closure of capsules, small vessels and containers,
3, It is applied in welding steel-rails.

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 B. Flash Butt Welding: Even though it is not a resistance welding process, it is desirable to
consider it here, as in this method the two metal pieces are butted together and a current is
passed through the joint which heats the ends to red hot. Flash welding may be defined as
a resistance welding process that produces coalescence at the faying surfaces of a butt
joint by flashing action and by application of pressure after heating is substantially
completed.
In this process of welding no special preparation of the faces to be welded is necessary. In
flash butt welding the voltage to the metal parts to be joined together is applied before
putting them together. Protruding small parts of the faces to be welded are brought into
contact; the heat developed owing to high resistance of the contact areas raises the
temperature of the material at these points and causes them to melt. The molten metal is
blown out, and a small arc is formed which raises the temperature of adjoining parts of
the abutting surfaces. The ejection of molten metal from high spots continues until the
whole of the surfaces are heated to the welding temperature.
Some additional heat may be created by the combustion of molten particles, the forceable
action of which is probably due to the pressure of metallic vapour. The flashing action is
aided by an oscillating movement of one of the components. As soon as the whole of the
surfaces to be welded reach forging temperature, the pressure is applied, and the power
supply is cut off.

Advantages of Flash Butt Welding:

(i) It is a faster process.
(ii) Preparation of weld surface is not required.
(iii) Power requirement is less.
(iv) Many dissimilar metals with different melting temperatures can be flash welded.
(v) The process is cheap.
(vi) It offers strength factor upto 100%.
Disadvantages of Flash Butt Welding:
(i) More chances of fire hazards.
(ii) Metal is lost during flashing and upsetting.
(iii) Concentricity and straightness of the work pieces during welding process is often
difficult to maintain.

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 Can Weld: Low carbon steels, tool steels, stainless steels, aluminium alloys with
thickness exceeding 1.25 mm, copper alloys with high zinc content, magnesium alloys,
molybdenum alloys, nickel alloys, titanium alloys, medium strength and high strength
low alloy steels)
Applications of Flash Butt Welding:
(i) It is used for welding metal sheets, bars, rods fittings etc.
(ii) Flash welding finds applications in automotive and air craft products.
(iii) It is also employed in household appliances, refrigerators and farm implements.
Difference between Flash Welding and Upset Butt Welding:

(i) In upset butt welding no arcing (hence flashing) occurs between the surfaces being joined. Heat is
produced solely by the electrical resistance at the abutting surfaces to the passage of an electric
current.
(ii) In flash welding, unlike upset butt welding, the movable platen keeps on moving constantly
toward the stationary platen.
(iii) Flash welding consumes much less welding current than consumed by upset butt welding
process; the time allowed for weld to be completed is, however, more.
(iv) In flash welding heat application precedes the pressure where as in upset butt welding constant
pressure is applied during the heating process which eliminates flashing.
C. Stud Welding: It is similar to flash welding because it incorporates a method of drawing
an arc between the stud (a rod) and the surface of the base metal. Then, the two molten
surfaces are brought together under pressure to form a weld. Stud welding eliminates the
need for drilling holes in the main structure.
Welding Equipment: The stud welding equipment consists of a stud welding gun, a d.c.
power supply capable of giving currents upto 400 A, a device to control current and studs
and ferrules which are used not only as arc shields but also as containing walls for the
molten metal.
Metals that can be welded: It is a low-cost method of fastening extensions (studs) to a
metal surface. Most of the ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be stud-welded
successfully. Ferrous metals include stainless steel, carbon steel and low-alloy steel. Non-
ferrous metals include aluminium, lead-free brass, bronze and chrome plated metals.
Applications: Stud welding finds application in the installations of conduit pipe hangers,
planking and corrugated roofing. This process is also used extensively in shipbuilding,
railroad and automotive industries.
4. Projection Welding Principle of operation:
Projection welding copper electrodes are used as copper is a very good conductor of heat and
electricity. The two metal pieces which are to be joined are kept between two electrodes and the

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 electrodes are kept between the platens as shown in the figure above. A large pressure force is to
be applied to the electrodes by the two platens, upper and lower platen. After that current is
passed through the system. As the current passes, the heat is produced due to internal resistance
possessed by the metal workpieces. This heat produced by resistance is concentrated at the
projections on the workpiece because when the two workpieces are placed together, the sheets
touch only at the points of projections. Usually, two or three projections are welded at the same
time. When welding workpieces of unequal thickness projection is made in thicker workpiece and
for dissimilar materials welding projections are made in the one with high thermal conductivity.
When pressure is applied to the workpiece by the platens, these projections collapse and get fused
and weld nuggets are formed at the place of projections. Hence a quality weld is formed and the
two metal workpieces are welded successfully.
Projection welding is another variation of spot welding. It is similar to spot welding but it requires
much less current than spot welding. Unlike spot welding, electrodes are not used for
concentration of heat in projection welding instead the projection on the workpiece is used for this
purpose. Other factors must be controlled such as alignment, projection consistency, welder
follow up and with nut welding threads protection while performing projection welding process.

Advantages:
1) This projection welding requires a very small supply of current. As less current passes through
the electrodes, the life of electrodes increases. This process requires also less pressure for
welding.
2) Unlike spot welding, there is no limitation on the thickness of the metals to be welded.
3) Unlike spot welding, more than one spot can be made in single operation.
4) This process is suitable for automation.
5) Filler metals are not used in this process. Hence, clean weld joints are obtained in this process.
6) This process is also effective in welding joints which are in complicated locations.
7) This process gives a good heat balance while welding.
Disadvantages:
1) Projection formation in projection welding is a complicated process and it takes time. Only a
skilled person can form projections of different required shape like spherical projections.

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 2) This process is not applicable to all types of workpieces; the composition of workpiece has to
be considered while choosing this welding process.
3) It cannot be applied to some type of brasses and coppers.
4) Projections cannot be made in thin workpieces.
5) Equipments are costlier.
Can weld: Special nuts, small fasteners, special bolts, studs and similar parts
Applications: Projection Welding is also used for welding parts of refrigerator, condensers,
refrigerator racks, grills, etc. Apart from that, projection welding is used in automobile
workshops, ship building works and sheet metalworking.

5. Percussion  Principle of operation:

In low voltage drawn arc method a low voltage capacitor is used and the workpieces are initially
kept in contact but are separated by an electromag-netic device at the commencement of energy
discharge. When the workpieces are melted adequately, they are brought together under impact.
In high voltage breakdown of gap, the pieces to be joined are connected to the capacitor and are
brought together by spring or pneumatic pressure as shown in figure. As the gap reduces to the
breakdown level the arc is initiated and superficial melting takes place before the pieces are
brought together under impact. The voltages required in this method are of the order of 103 volts
which being lethal the process is best handled in automatic mode.
In low voltage ionising tip method, the arc is initiated by fusing initial point of contact between
the two pieces to be welded. As the metal is melted it ionises the path facilitating the initiation of
the arc.
For joining wires to thicker metal parts, a capacitor bank charged to 100 volts is used. When wire
touches the workpiece under a momentary pressure a short length at the tip is vaporised or
splashed initiating the arc which forms a molten metal droplet at the end of the wire and a pool on
the workpiece. As the wire keeps advancing it plunges into the weld pool forming a welded joint.

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Advantages:
1. The time cycle involved is very short.
2. Heat-treated and cold worked materials can be welded without annealing.
3. No filler metal is required.
4. No cast structure is produced at interface.
5. Welding of dissimilar metal and copper to steel is possible.
6. These welders have a long wear life for welding jaws due to very short relatively low current
welding pulse.
Limitations:
1. The welding process is limited to butt joints.
2. Total area is limited.
3. Similar metals can usually be joined more economically by other processes.
4. The process is usually confined for joining of dissimilar metals not normally considered weldable.
5. The workpieces must be free of oil or dirt.
Can Weld: Copper to Molybdenum, Stainless steel, Low Caron steel, Aluminium alloys. Medium
Caron steels, nickel alloys, copper alloys.
Application: Percussion welding is particularly good for joining small diameter wires, even with
widely different properties, of 0 050 to 0-400 mm diameter, in electronic industry. Percussion welding
has been very successfully used for welding of dissimilar metal combinations like copper to Nichrome
(80% Ni + 20% Cr), copper wire to 304 stainless steel (austenitic) plate, thorium to thorium or
thorium to zircaloy.
Power Supply for Resistance Welding
AC supply is used for resistance welding because of the ease and convenience with which the
required high current at a low voltage can be obtained by means of a transformer. The kVA required
for resistance welding, when actually making a weld, ranges from a few kVA to as much as 1 MVA.
The power factor will be about 0.25 or 0.3 lagging. The power factor is low mainly due to the high
ratio of reactance to resistance of the loop formed by the jaws of the welding machine. Such heavy
intermittent single-phase loads may cause serious voltage drop difficulties in the supply network.
Such problems can be overcome to some extent by connecting capacitors of suitable capacity in
parallel with the welding transformer so as to improve the power factor. But with this arrangement the
power factor will become leading when welding current is not being drawn. This problem can be
avoided by connecting the capacitors in series with the welding transformer to neutralize the reactance
drop in the supply circuit.

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Electric Arc Welding

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 1. Carbon Arc Welding  Principle of Operation: Carbon arc welding is one of the oldest
welding techniques that are still in use today. In this process, a carbon or graphite rod is used
as a negative electrode and the work being welded as positive. Mostly graphite electrodes are
used as they yield longer life and have low resistance and thus capable of conducting more
current. The reason to use carbon rod as negative electrode is that less heat will be generated
at the electrode tip than that at the work-piece, and carbon from the electrode will not fuse
and mix up with the job. In carbon arc welding, the arc heat between the carbon electrode and
the work melts the base metal and, when required, also melts the filler rod. As the molten
metal solidifies, a weld is produced. The non-consumable graphite electrode erodes rapidly
and, in disintegrating, produces a shielding atmosphere of carbon monoxide and carbon
dioxide gas. These gases partially displace air from the arc atmosphere and prohibit the
oxygen and nitrogen from coming in contact with molten metal. Filler metal, when used, is of
the same composition as the base metal.

Arc Characteristics: The arc produced between the two electrodes heats the metal to the
melting temperature. This is about 3,200°C on the negative electrode, and 3,900°C on the
positive electrode.
Advantages:
 The equipment used in this process has a lower cost. So, you don’t need to invest big bucks to
carry out this welding process. As the cost of the equipment involved in it is very less, you
can do this welding with less money.
 It is easy to carry out. Anyone can perform CAW. A skilled operator is not required during
this arc welding.
 Very fewer distortions are produced on the workpiece.

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  In carbon arc welding, the temperature of the molten pool can be easily controlled by
changing the arc length.
 You can easily automate this entire welding process.
Disadvantages:
 Carbon arc welding can only be used on DC supply.
 The carbon electrode requires approximately twice the current to raise the temperature of the
work to welding temperature as compared with metal electrode.
 If any filler material is required, then a separate filler rod has to be used in the carbon arc
welding.
 In carbon arc welding, the arc serves only as a source of heat and it does not transfer any
metal to reinforce the weld joint.
 Unstable quality of the weld (porosity).
Metals that can be welded: welding sheet steel, copper alloys, brass, bronze, and
aluminium. It is not suitable for vertical and overhead welding.
Applications of Carbon Arc Welding:
The carbon arc welding is commonly used in following application
 With the carbon arc welding, the model metal can be easily welded by using a suitable
coated filler rod.
 Carbon arc welding can be used for welding the galvanised sheets using the copper-silicon-
manganese alloy filler rod.
 The carbon arc welding can also be used for welding stainless steel of thinner gauges with
excellent results.
 The carbon arc welding is adaptable for automation particularly where the amount of weld
deposit is large and the materials to be fabricated are of simple geometrical shapes such as
water tanks.

2. Metal Arc Welding  Principle of Operation: In metallic arc welding an arc is established
between work and the filler metal electrode. The intense heat of the arc forms a molten pool
in the metal being welded, and at the same time melts the tip of the electrode. As the arc is
maintained, molten filler metal from the electrode tip is transferred across the arc, where it
fuses with the molten base metal. Arc may be formed with direct or alternating current.
Arc Characteristics: To strike the electric arc, an open circuit voltage of between 60 to 80
volts is required and for maintaining the short arc 15 to 25 volts is necessary. Depending upon
the class of the work to be welded, the electric current required for metallic arc welding varies
from 10 to 500 Amperes. The temperature produced is about 2,400°C and 2,600°C on the
negative electrode and positive electrode respectively.

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 Metals that can be welded: Mainly low caron steel, high alloy austenitic stainless steel. With
many precautions, this welding process can also be used for low and medium steels.
Advantages: For this type of welding both ac and dc can be used. An ac equipment is
preferred as it has high efficiency, negligible loss at no load and minimum maintenance and
initial cost.
Disadvantages: Welding with dc also gives rise to “arc blow”, owing to the magnetic forces
created by the current, a trouble which does not exist with AC welding. The correct welding
current, voltage and welding speed are very important. Various welding currents can have a
deciding effect on the forming of proper beads.
Application of shielded Metal Arc welding: For welding processes in the maintenance and
repair industry. Used in the construction of the steel structure and in industrial fabrication.
Used to weld iron and steel (including stainless steel). Also used to weld aluminium, nickel
and copper alloys.

3. Hydrogen Arc Welding  Principle of Operation: The atomic hydrogen arc welding is an
arc welding process which uses an arc between two tungsten electrodes in a shielding
atmosphere of hydrogen. The atomic hydrogen arc welding was invented by Irving Langmuir.
The source of electrical energy could be either DC or AC, but in practice, AC supply should
be chosen as it is commonly available. Molecular hydrogen is blown through the arc and
transformed catalytically into the atomic form which acts as a carrier for transfer of energy
from the arc to the work-piece.
The equipment consists of a welding torch with two tungsten electrodes inclined and adjusted
to maintain a stable arc as shown in Figure 4.4. Annular nozzles around the tungsten
electrodes carry the hydrogen gas supplied from gas cylinders. AC power source is suitable as
compared to DC because equal amount of heat will be available at both electrodes. A

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 transformer with a certain open circuit voltage is required to strike and maintain the arc. The
workpieces are cleaned to remove dirt, oxides and other impurities to obtain a sound weld.
Hydrogen gas supply and welding current are switched ON. An arc is struck by bringing two
tungsten electrodes in contact with each other and instantaneously separated by a small
distance of 1.5 mm. Therefore, the arc still remains between two electrodes. As the jet of
hydrogen gas is passed through the electric arc, it disassociates into atomic hydrogen by
absorbing large amounts of heat supplied by the electric arc. This hydrogen gas will act as a
shielding gas which means it will protect the welding joint from the atmospheric gases and
will ensure the quality of the welding joint to be good.
If atmospheric gas like oxygen comes near the welding process it combines with hydrogen to
form water and quickly evaporates due to the heat of the welding process and prevents the
formation of metal oxide. Hydrogen shielding will also protect the welding joint from
contamination by atmospheric gases like carbon, nitrogen or oxygen.
Also, when the arc will come in contact with the jet of hydrogen gas, the hydrogen gas which
is in the diatomic form will deionize into H+ single ions and absorbs heat from the arc.
Hydrogen gas gets deionized when it is placed at more than 6000o C near the arc. The amount
of heat absorbed by the hydrogen atoms will be equal to the bond energy between the two
hydrogen atoms when in diatomic form. The reaction shown below takes place when
hydrogen deionizes.
H2 = H + H – 422 KJ (Endothermic Reaction)
When this deionized H+ ions will come near the workpiece and hit the surface of the base
metal, they will cool down and will combine with other H+ ions. But when two H+ ions
combine, suddenly a large amount of heat will be liberated which is denoted by the following
reaction:
H + H = H2 + 422 KJ (Exothermic Reaction)
The heat liberated during the recombination of hydrogen atoms will be absorbed by the
workpiece plates. Hence, metal will fuse due to which fusion joint is created between the
metal plates or workpieces. Hence, a molten pool will be created between the workpieces.
The workpiece in this welding process is not completely part of the electrical circuit.

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 Arc Characteristics: In this welding process, a high temperature of 3400 to 4000°C is
obtained by using electric arc and hydrogen gas.
Metals that can be welded: These welding processes are used in welding of tool steels which
contains tungsten, nickel and molybdenum.
Advantages of Atomic Hydrogen Welding:
1. Welding process is faster.
2. During the process, intense flame is obtained which can be concentrated at the joint. Hence,
less distortion occurs.
3. There is no requirement of separate flux and shielding gas or flux. The hydrogen envelop
itself prevents oxidation of the metal and tungsten electrode. It also reduces the risk of
nitrogen pick-up.
4. Workpiece do not form a part of the electric circuit. Hence, problems such as striking the
arc and maintaining the arc column are eliminated.
5. Welding of thin materials is also possible which may not be successfully carried out by
metallic arc welding.
6. The arc remains between two tungsten electrodes, and it can be moved to other places
easily without getting extinguished.
Limitations of Atomic Hydrogen Welding:
1. The cost of welding is high when compared to the other process.
2. Welding process is limited to flat positions only.
3. The process cannot be used for depositing large quantities of metals.
4. Welding speed is less when compared to metallic arc or MIG welding.
5. A skilled operator is required to operate this welding process.
6. This welding process is riskier as hydrogen is a highly inflammable gas.
Applications of Atomic Hydrogen Welding:
1. They are used in joining parts, hard surfacing and repairing of dies and tools.
2. Atomic hydrogen welding is used where rapid welding is necessary in stainless steels, non-
ferrous metals and other special alloys.
3. This process is also used in repairing dies and tools, hard surfacing, and joining parts.

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