Dublin Institute of Technology

Welding Technology
Lab Assignment 3

Shiyas Basheer 12/7/2011

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Applications of welding........................................................................................................................... 2 Types of welding ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Arc welding ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Consumable electrode methods: .................................................................................................... 3 Non-consumable electrode methods: ............................................................................................ 4 Gas welding ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Chemical welding ................................................................................................................................ 4 Resistance welding.............................................................................................................................. 4 Spot welding ................................................................................................................................... 5 Seam welding .................................................................................................................................. 5 Special welding processes................................................................................................................... 5 Future Developments ............................................................................................................................. 5 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Declarations ............................................................................................................................................ 8

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Welding Technology
Introduction
Welding is a joining process of two similar or dissimilar metals with or without the help of filler metal and with or without the application of pressure. Depending upon the combination of temperature and pressure from a high temperature with no pressure to a high pressure with no temperature, a wide range of welding process has been developed. Welding is done with the help of a heat source, heat is produced which changes the metal to plastic or fused state. Then a filler metal is added to form a pool of molten metal (the weld puddle) that cools to become a strong joint. The use of filler metal depends on the size of gap or groove in the work piece. If gap size is ignorable then just two metal pieces are joined by using a heat source.

Applications of welding
Welding is used as a fabrication process in every industry big or small. It is a principal means of fabricating and repairing metal products. The process is efficient, economical and dependable as a means of joining metals. This is the only process which has been tried in the space. Welding finds it application in automobile industry, and in the construction on buildings, bridges and ships, submarines, pressure vessels, offshore structures, storage tanks, oil, gas and water pipelines, girders, press frames, and water turbines. In making extension to the hospital buildings, where construction noise is required to be small, the value of welding is significant. Rapid progress in exploring the space has been made possible by new methods of welding and the knowledge of welding metallurgy. The aircraft industry cannot meet the enormous demands for airplanes, fighter and guided planes, spacecrafts, rockets and missiles without welding. The process is used in critical applications like fabrication of fission chambers of nuclear power plants. A large contribution the welding has made to the society is the manufacture of household products like refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, dishwashers and other similar items. It finds application in the fabrication and repair of farm, mining and oil machinery, machine tools, jigs and fixtures, boilers, furnaces, railway coaches and wagons, anchor
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chains, earth moving machinery, ships, submarines, underwater construction and repair.

Types of welding
Depending on different heat sources, welding is classified into following types: Arc welding Gas welding Chemical welding Resistance welding Special welding process

Arc welding
Arc welding refers to a group of welding processes that use a welding power supply to create an electric arc between an electrode and the base material to melt the metals at the welding point. They can use either direct (DC) or alternating (AC) current, and consumable or non- consumable electrodes. When the distance between the electrode and the work piece is just few millimeters then the electrons from the electrode jump to the work piece or vice versa. The air between the electrode and the work piece get ionized and due to this excitation and deexcitation of atoms an arc is produced. The

temperature of this arc will be 30000C to 40000C Metal also melts from plastic state at the localized area due to this high temperature. The process of arc welding is widely used because of its low capital and running costs. Different arc welding processes are:Consumable electrode methods:
SMAW: Shielded Metal Arc Welding: - In this process, flux coated electrode is

used. When theelectrode is brought near the work piece then the flux from it startsdepositing on metal piece. Flux acts as a shielding medium to preventenvironmental oxidation of metal. It also lowers the melting point of metal,absorbs the impurities and comes out as a slag/gang. Thus metal piecesare joined easily without any oxidation at high temperature.
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GMAW: Gas Metal Arc Welding: - Gas welding using argon or helium is the only

satisfactory method for aluminium alloys welding. The electrode used is consumable. Non-consumable electrode methods:
GTAW: Gas Tungsten Arc Welding: - In this process, the arc is struck using a non-

consumable tungsten electrode and an atmosphere of argon or helium.

SAW: Submerged Arc Welding: - It is an automatic form of metallic arc welding

which can beused in straight line joining of metals. Since the electrode is non-consumable so the flux is just sprinkled over the work piece.

Gas welding
When the source of heat is gas then the most common gas used for welding is oxyacetylene also known as oxyfuel welding. It employs the combustion of acetylene in oxygen to produce a welding flame temperature of about 3100C. The flame, since it is less concentrated than an electric arc, causes slower weld cooling, which can lead to greater residual stresses and weld distortion, though it eases the welding of high alloy steels.

Chemical welding
If the source of heat is a chemical reaction then method of welding is called thermite welding. It is the process of igniting a mix of high energy materials, also called thermite, that produce a metallic slag that is poured between the working pieces of metal to form a join. This process commonly utilizes the composition of 5 parts iron oxide red (rust) powder and 3 parts aluminium powder ignited at high temperatures. A violent reaction occurs that produces through reduction and oxidation a white hot iron slag and vaporous aluminium oxide. It is widely used to weld railway rails.

Resistance welding
Resistance welding involves the generation of heat by passing current through the resistance caused by the contact between two or more metal surfaces. Small pools of molten metal are formed at the weld area as high current is passed through the metal. In general, resistance welding methods are efficient and cause little pollution, but their applications are somewhat limited and the equipment cost can be high. Most commonly used methods are of two types:
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i. ii.

Spot welding Seam welding

Spot welding In this process, thin metallic sheets are joined by spot weldingmachine. This machine consists of two Cu-electrodes. Due to theapplication of pressure and flow of electricity, temperature of work pieceincreases and it welds. This welding is important in automobile industry. Seam welding Seam welding machine consists of two rolls, one is movable andthe other is stationary, through which metallic pieces are passed.Resistance offered by the work pieces, heats them up. Thus metals meltand are joined at the welding point.

Special welding processes

Ultrasonic welding Friction welding Co-extrusion welding Cold welding Diffusion welding High frequency welding Hot pressure welding Induction welding Roll welding

Future Developments
One fundamental need in the welding arena is a greater understanding of metallurgy as it applies to welded materials. Welding and materials engineers will develop new materials and adapt existing materials, which are specifically designed to be welded into world-class, fabricated products. Also, as new materials are developed, the welding industry must develop new techniques to ensure their weldability. New concepts in this area include the development of materials that will reduce energy requirements. Less energy will be used for both pre-heating and post-heating

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purposes. Smart materials will have a microchip embedded within the material, to monitor the physical characteristics of materials as they undergo the fabrication process and allow engineers to know exactly how they will perform in service. Studies will also be needed to develop new filler metals and to improve the purity of certain products associated with welding (e.g., gases, filler wires).

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Bibliography
Anon, Practical welding technology - Rudy Mohler - Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.ie/books?id=tsFoJjMU4dgC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_sum mary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed December 13, 2011a]. Anon, Welding Forges Into The Future. Available at: http://www.aws.org/research/future.html [Accessed December 13, 2011b].

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Declarations
All the works in this report are done by me other than that stated above Signature: .. Date:

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