Experiment No 8

Objective:
To perform an experiment of Gas welding and analysis of gas welding defects.

Introduction:
Gas welding is a welding process that melts and joins metals by heating them with a flame
caused by a reaction of fuel gas and oxygen. The most commonly used method is oxyacetylene
welding, due to its high flame temperature. The flux melts, solidifies and forms a slag skin on
the resultant weld metal.

Fig 8.1 Gas welding

Equipment of Gas Welding:

➢ Cylinders
➢ Oxygen cylinders.
➢ Acetylene cylinders
➢ Pressure regulator
➢ Torches
➢ Goggles
➢ Gloves

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Process of Gas Welding:

✓ Separately purge both oxygen and fuel gas lines.

✓ Open fuel gas valve 1/2 turn.
✓ Ignite flame with striker.
✓ Increase fuel gas flow until flame leaves end of tip and no smoke is present.
✓ Decrease until flame goes back to tip.
✓ Open oxygen valve and adjust to neutral flame.
✓ Depress oxygen lever and make necessary adjustments.
Defects of Gas Welding:

Welding defects are generated in a welding job due to the faulty or poor technique used by the
inexperienced or unskilled welder or due to fundamental difficulties in the welding operation. An
ideal weld or good weld should be such that adequate fusion exists between the filler metal and
edge preparation together with good penetration.

Fig 8.2 Defect of gas welding

Types of Welding Defects:

1. Incomplete Penetration

Incomplete penetration occurs when the Depth of the welded joint is insufficient.

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Penetration is defined as the distance from the base plate top surface to the maximum extent
of the weld nugget.

Causes of Incomplete penetration:

• Improper joints
• Too large root face, root gape, and bevel gear.
• Wrong hold position of the electrode
2. Inclusion:

This is maybe in the form of slag or any other foreign material, which does not get a chance to
float on the surface of the solidifying weld metal and thus gets entrapped inside the same.
Inclusion lowers the strength of the joint and makes it weaker.

Causes of Inclusion:

• Too high or too low arc current.

• The too-small included angle of the joint.
• Wrongly placed tack welds.

Porosity and Blowholes:

Porosity is a group of small voids and blowholes are comparatively bigger isolated holes or
cavities. They are mainly generated due to entrapped gases.

Causes of Porosity and Blowholes:

• Use of improper electrode and longer arc

• faster arc travel speed
• Too low and too high arc currents

Spatter:
Spatter is the small metal particles that are thrown out of the arc during welding and get
deposited on the base metal around the weld bead along its length.

Causes of Spatter:

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 • Excessive arc current
• Use of longer arc, damp electrodes
• Electrode being coated with improper flux ingredients

Distortion:

Distortion is the change in the shape and difference between the position of two plates before
and after welding due to the temperature gradient present at various points along the joints. In
general, we can say that distortion is due to unequal expansion and contraction of the weld metal
and all kinds of distortion increase with the volume of metal deposited.

Distortion of the weldment can be divided into three types:

1. Longitudinal shrinkage (Occurs Parallel to the weld lines).

2. Transverse shrinkage (Perpendicular).
3. Angular shrinkage (rotation around the weld lines).
4. Causes of Distortion;
5. A great number of passes with small diameter electrodes
6. Slow arc travel speed
7. High residual stresses in the plate to be welded
8. Using improper welding sequences

Undercut Welding defects:

An undercut is a kind of weld defect which forms a groove in the parent metal along with the
sides of the weld bead. Groove reduces the thickness of the plate and also reduces the strength
of the weld.

Causes of Undercut:

• Too large electrode diameter

• Longer arc
• Faster arc travel speed
• Magnetic arc blow
• Higher current

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