Indian Institute of Welding – ANB

Refresher Course – Module 14

The Welding Arc and

Power Sources
 Contents

 The Welding Arc

 Arc Welding Power Sources

2
 Welding Arc
 Electrical discharge between two objects without
physical contact
 Energy to be sufficient to allow discharge to take
place through an ionized gas – plasma
 Extremely high temperatures – tens of thousands
of degrees in the core of arc plasma
 When used for welding, one of the electrodes is
generally the workpiece and therefore a plane
surface while the other pole is the electrode which
approximates to a point
 Welding Arc
 Under these condition, the arc spreads from the
electrode forming a ball-shape
 Flow of current thro’ arc results in magnetic field
enveloping the arc and tends to compress it –
‘pinch effect’
 Because of the way the arc expands from the
electrode to the workpiece there is an axial
component of the pinch effect which causes hot
ionized gas in the arc to be set in motion from the
electrode to the workpiece.
 Welding Arc
 This is sometimes called a plasma jet and is
responsible for the depression which forms in the
surface of the molten pool at high welding
currents.
 The most important results of the electro-magnetic
forces in the arc and the plasma jet is the way
these forces can detach molten metal from the end
of the electrode and transport it to the molten pool
– even against influence of gravity.
 Welding Arc
 With high melting point electrode such as carbon
or tungsten ,so called refractory electrodes, the
electrode is not melted. These electrodes are said
to be ‘non-consumable’.
 When a lower melting point metal is used e.g.
when the electrode material is same as the parent
metal, the end of the electrode melts and molten
droplets are detached and transported to the molen
pool in a manner which depends upon the metal
and the nature of the arc environment. This sort of
electrode is described as ‘consumable’.
 Welding Arc
 The current supplied to an arc is generally
straightforward AC or DC, but some modern
welding power sources have square wave output
or allow welding current to be pulsed between
high and low values.
 Arcs cannot be nearly switched on and off.
 The plasma discharge has to be established usually
by touching the electrode on the workpiece and
then withdrawing it so that the discharge is
lengthened to that required for welding.
 Welding Arc
 High frequency discharge starting is occasionally
used for processes like Gas Tungsten Arc
Welding, but for consumable type welding the
electrode tip melts during short-circuit due to
initial surge of current.
 It is not therefore necessary to withdraw the
electrode to start the arc as the ac gap is created by
a mechanism like the blowing of a fuse.
 The initial arc formed in the manner just described
will not grow into a stable welding arc if the
power source cannot deliver the current required.
 Welding Arc
 Power sources must therefore have appropriate
dynamic responses.
 Once the arc has been established, it has to be
maintained during the current zero period if it is
an AC arc and during inadvertent arc length
variations when the welding is in progress.
 The most important factor in this is a voltage
which the power source supplies at the moment of
arc extinction.
 Welding Arc
 With normal MMA electrodes the voltage at
which the arc goes out and the arc restarts depends
on the composition of electrode coating. Certain
compounds like sodium or potassium silicates and
enable the arc to run at lower voltages which in
turn means that the power source can have a lower
open-circuit voltage.
 Electrodes with covering containing cellulose
produce an atmosphere round the arc containing
Hydrogen which raises the voltage required across
the arc. This provides a hotter deeply penetrating
arc but with requirement of higher open-circuit
voltage from the power source.
 Welding Arc
 Once the arc has been ignited it has to be
maintained by the power source providing an
appropriate voltage at the arc.
 All other things being equal the voltage required
by an arc depends directly on its length or the gap
between the electrode and the molten pool in the
workpiece.
 When fluxes are employed these can influence the
stability of the arc and compounds are often added
to make arc recognition easier after the voltage
reversals in AC welding
 Welding Arc
 The rate at which energy is applied to the
workpiece by the welding arc has an important
influence on the metallurgical properties of both
weld metal and heat affected zone.
 Heat input is generally defined as kilo-joules/mm
of weld-run i.e. current x arc-volts divided by
welding speeds.
 Actually only a portion 10-40 percent of the
energy generated in the arc never reaches the
workpiece because of radiation losses in the arc
column, losses in spatter etc.
 Welding Arc
 The magnetic field around the arc increases with
welding current and tends to compress the arc
increasing the temperature of the arc core and the
forces such as plasma jets within the arc.
 These magnetic fields are susceptible to deflection
by other magnetic fields as a result of the welding
current flowing in the workpiece or residual
magnetism in the steel being welded.
 All these effects are manifestations of what is
called ‘arc blow’ which is of concern mainly with
DC welding.
Arc Welding Power Sources

14
 Power Source Principles
 Input power from the mains is usually high
voltage low amperage
 But welding demands high amperage at a
relatively low voltage
 Usually this characteristic is achieved by
employing a step-down transformer.
 Power Source Principles
 The relationships between winding turns and input
and output voltages and currents are as follows:
N1 / N2 = E1 / E2 = I2/ I1
where
N1 = no. of turns on primary winding
N2 = no. of turns on secondary winding
E1 = input voltage
E2 = output voltage
I1 = input current
I2 = output (load) current
 Power Source Principles
 Taps in the transformer secondary windings to
change no of turns in secondary (fig 1.3) to vary
open circuit voltage.
 As shown in the equation, primary – secondary
current ratio is inversely proportional to primary –
secondary voltage ratio. Thus, large secondary
(welding) currents can be obtained from relatively
low line currents.
Power Source Principles
Power Source Characteristics
 Depending on the application and / or
welding process ,the static volt / ampere
characteristic of an arc welding power
source can be:
– Drooping / constant current (fig 1.13)
– Constant potential / constant voltage (fig 1.14)
Power Source Characteristics
Power Source Characteristics
 Power Source Characteristics
 The most common way of designating a power source
is by relationship between the current delivered and
the voltage across the output terminals known as volt-
ampere characteristic.
 The point where the arc characteristic at an
appropriate voltage crosses the characteristic of a
power source indicates the operation conditions and
the way arc current will change with changing
voltage.
 It will be observed that if the power source
characteristic is much flatter i.e. if it is a constant
voltage power source, there will be a proportionally
greater swing in current for the same voltage change.
Power Source Characteristics
 That is why a constant current power source is
usually selected for MMA welding where
consistent voltage may be difficult to achieve.
 However static characteristic do not fully
characterise a power source since the relationship
is a static one and the measurements are made
under steady-state conditions.
 The dynamic characteristic of an arc welding
powers source is determined by measuring the
transient variations that appear in output voltage
and current that appear in the arc.
Power Source Characteristics
 Dynamic characteristic describes instantaneous
variations or those that occur during short
intervals such as 0.001 seconds
 Most welding arc operate in continually changing
conditions. In particular, transients occur during
striking of the arc, rapid changes in arc length,
metal transfer across the arc and in case of AC
welding during arc extinction and re-ignition at
each half-cycle. The power source must respond to
these demands.
 Power Source Characteristics
 It is thus important to control the dynamic
characteristics of an arc welding power source. The
static volt-ampere characteristics have little significance
in determining dynamic response of an arc welding
system.
 Among the arc welding power source design features
that do have an effect on dynamic characteristics are
those that provide:
– Local Transient energy source such as parallel
capacitance circuits or DC series inductance
– Feedback controls on automated regulated systems
– Modifications of waveform or circuit operating
frequencies.
Power Source Characteristics
 However there is no universally recognized methods
by which dynamic characteristics can be specified.
 The use of reactor or choke in the power source
circuit is to delay the rise or fall of current in a coil
in an exponential manner as a result of the building
up and decay of the magnetic field.
 The result is that the current lags behind the voltage.
With a pure series resistance voltage and current are
in phase. No circuit, particularly in welding
equipment, is either purely resistive or purely
inductive.
 Power Source Characteristics
 In AC power sources and AC stages of a DC power
source the variable reactor limits the current which
is drawn in any voltage from open circuit to short
circuit. Inductive reactors are, however, used in DC
stages of power sources where they would behave as
resistors if current were steady.
 Welding current is never steady and the reactor in
this case is there to smoothen and dynamically
control the output. It prevents explosive fusing of
the bridge between weld pool and electrode on a
short-circuit and supplies, because of its stored
energy, extra volts to help reignite the arc after a
short-circuit has been cleared.
Power Sources
Power Sources
 AC Power Sources
 AC sources are almost without exceptions
of the constant current or drooping type and
fall into the following main categories:
– Moving core
– Moving Iron
– Tapped reactance
– Magnetic amplifier
 AC Power Sources
 Moving Iron or Moving Core
 AC Power Sources
 Moving Coil
 AC Power Sources
 Series Impedance
AC Power Sources
AC Power Sources
 DC Power Sources
 Unidirectional flow of current ensures better arc
stability
 Easier arc starting & Maintenance
 More efficient melting of consumable electrodes
 Higher deposition rate
 Lower spatter
 Possibility of using all types of electrodes
 Can be used for welding non-ferrous metals
 Types of DC Power Sources
 Transformer / Rectifier type – mainly comprised of
3 parts – Step-down transformer, current controlled
device & Rectifier bank which converts AC to DC
 Generally Silicon diodes are used
 Types of DC Power Sources
 SCR (Thyristor)
controlled
 Types of DC Power Sources
 Motor Generator Sets
– Moving / Rotating machines – so very high
running & maintenance costs
– No load power loss very high
– Very high weight-to-power ratio
– High capital cost
 Inverters
Requirements of Welding Power Sources
– General
• Availability of current at required
voltage
• Volt – Amp characteristics
• Adequate open circuit voltage
• Control of output
• Control of spatter
 MMA Power Sources
– Limit on short circuit current
– Sufficient OCV to strike & maintain arc
 MIG / MAG Power Sources
– Efficiency of metal transfer
– Slope & dynamic response
Some General Terms to Understand
 Rating – Denotes the power capacity available
from the machine
 Duty Cycle – A ratio of the ‘load on’ time allowed
to a specified test interval time. This is expressed
as a %, the maximum time the power source can
deliver at its rated output during each of a number
of successive interval
 Insulation class – The temperature withstanding
capability of the insulation materials (insulation
cover, varnish etc.) used in the power source
 Power Factor – Ratio of active power used to the
total power drawn from the system
Some General Terms to Understand

 Efficiency – Power utility factor of the machine

expressed as a % output to input. It accounts for
losses in the system particularly transformer
losses. In welding power sources ‘no load’ loss is
a very important criteria because power source
arc-on time is hardly 25% in a shopfloor
situation .
 Some General Terms to Understand
 Ingress Protection – IP Classes

– IP classes define the Degree of Protection provided by

the enclosures of the machines. Its followed by
various 2-Digit numbers such as 22, 23, 54 etc.
– The First Digit defines the degree of protection
provided by the enclosure with respect to PERSONS,
also to the equipment inside. The Degrees range from
0-6 where 0 means no protection & 6 means Dust
Proof.
– The Second Digit defines the degree of protection
provided by the enclosure with respect to harmful
ingress of Water. The Degrees range from 0-8 where 0
means no special protection & 8 means Protection
against Submerssion (Hermatically sealed).
 Power Source Selection Criteria
SMAW
 Type of welding current – AC or DC or Both
 Amperage range –determined by size & type of
electrodes
 Open circuit voltage (OCV) – High OCV desirable from
standpoint of arc initiation & arc maintenance. But
electrical hazard factors & high cost are to be considered
 Welding positions – If vertical & overhead welding are
planned, slope adjustments of the V-A curve is desirable
 Distance of welding point from the power source
 Copper or Aluminium conductors – A total non-issue
 Input power – 3 phase or 2 lines of 3 phase
 Power Source Selection Criteria
MIG / MAG
 Maximum & minimum electrode wire dia
 Welding job thicknesses
 Welding position
 Joining materials
 Criticality of joints – Pulsed / non-pulsed
 Preciseness of parameter control – step-controlled
or stepless
 Dip Transfer / Spray Transfer
 Shielding Gas
 Inductance level required
 Inverters
Basic Principle
 Inverter basically converts DC to AC
 DC derived by rectification of AC voltage with
high value electrolytic capacitors as filters
 These DC is converted to AC by high frequency
solid state switching (in KHz)
 A small ferrite core is sufficient for converting
several kilowatts of power
 Output of this ferrite transformer is rectified by
high frequency diodes and smoothened by a DC
choke
 The output is controlled with sensors & suitable
closed-loop electronic circuitry
 Inverters
Supply 3

1 2 4 5 7

6
1. Mains voltage is rectified to DC
2. The Inverter converts the DC to high frequency AC
3. The transformer changes the HF AC to suitable welding current.
4. The AC is rectified.
5. Various filters remove the disturbing frequencies and ripples in the DC
current. There is also a filter which protects against exterior high frequency
disturbances.
6. The entire process is monitored by a control circuit. This gives the machine an
ideal static and dynamic characteristics.
7. A DC voltage is available for welding purpose
 Why Inverters
Traditional power sources has the following
disadvantages
 Higher weight due to low frequency of operation (50
Hz) & larger volume occupying more workspace
 Why Inverters
 High energy consumption
1400

1200

1000

800
W att

600

400

200

0
Converter (MG Set) Thy. Rectifier Transformer Inverter

No load looses for different types of similar capacity

 Why Inverters
 Poor efficiency
E n erg y C o n su m p tio n (k W h /y ea r)

14000

12000

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Converter Transformer Inverter Actual Welding Current (A)

Energy consumption per year for different types of MMA-welding power source.
The differences depend on different efficiency and No-load losses.
 Why Inverters
 Poor dynamic response resulting in higher spatter
level & higher current stabilizing time

600

Average Starting Time (milliseconds)

8
7 500
6 400
% of welding spatter

5 300
4 200
3
100
2
0
1
80A/17.2V 155A/18.8V
0 Thy. Rectifier Inverter

Transformer Thy. Rectifier Inverter

The time elapsed from the tip of the wire
touching the work piece until a stable
Spatter level in welding welding arc is established. Wire dia.
1.0mm with 80:20 Argon/CO2 gas