The joining of ESAB and Victor

brings together five heavy hitters.

Now all the welding and cutting
solutions you need are available
from one company – ESAB.

Visit us at booths C2444, C2454, and C2466 at FABTECH 2014.

 November 2014

PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND APPLICATION OF WELDING
AND ALLIED JOINING AND CUTTING PROCESSES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING BRAZING, SOLDERING, AND THERMAL SPRAYING
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November 2014 • Volume 93 • Number 11 CONTENTS
FEATURES
40 Explosion Welding of Dissimilar Metals
Metals such as aluminum can be metallurgically
joined to stainless steel or titanium — D. J. Butler
and D. G. Brasher

44 High­Purity Welding in the Biotechnology and

Pharmaceutical Industries
High-tech industries depend on clean welding
conditions — R. Campbell et al. 44 54
50 Dissimilar Welding Utilizing Nickel­Based Filler Metals 54 High­Purity Welding for Hygienic Applications
Knowing the characteristics of nickel-based filler Standards have been developed for joining piping,
metals will determine if they are right for joining tanks, and vessels in the food and dairy
dissimilar metals — B. Gaal et al. industries — W. Roth et al.

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

58 Controlled­Atmosphere Induction Brazing Brightens
Surface Finish 62 66
The popularity of induction brazing in a
controlled atmosphere is growing — K. K. Kuhn
and R. Detty

62 Brazing Best Practices: 12 Tips for HVAC Technicians

See step-by-step procedures for sound fabrication
of HVAC equipment — C. Cordia and G. Mitchell

66 Brazing Ceramics to Titanium Using Amorphous

Filler Metal
A study was made to determine the optimum
parameters for joining metal to ceramic
Y. H. Liu et al.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

411­s Effect of Inserted Strips on Electrode Degradation Forces acting on droplet transfer were analyzed to
in Resistance Spot Welding better understand the indirect arc welding process
A copper-nickel strip inserted into the spot welding J. Wang et al.
process showed signs of extending electrode life
Y. Y. Zhao et al. 439­s The Effect of Materials on Radiation Exposure
during the GTAW Process
421­s Material Strength Effect on Weld Shrinkage Visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation were
and Distortion measured with gas tungsten arc welding of carbon steel,
Factors that influence welding distortion and shrinkage stainless steel, and titanium to determine the effects of
were examined — Y. P. Yang et al. electric current on photon energy rates — A. Gursel
and A. Kurt
431­s Metal Transfer with Force Analysis in Consumable
and Nonconsumable Indirect Arc Welding Process

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 3

 DEPARTMENTS
6 Editorial 78 Coming Events
8 Press Time News 84 Certification Schedule
10 News of the Industry 86 Conferences
16 Business Briefs 88 Welding Workbook
18 International Update 91 Society News
20 Stainless Q&A 92 Tech Topics
22 RWMA Q&A 104 Guide to AWS Services
26 Technology 108 Personnel
32 Product & Print Spotlight 113 Brazing Profiles
Brazing & Soldering Today 118 Classifieds
On the cover: Good practices will allow
74 Technology News 120 Advertiser Index brazed joints for use in heating, ventilation,
and air­conditioning applications to with­
stand high operating pressures and last the
life of the compressor or evaporator. (Photo
courtesy of TurboTorch, St. Louis, Mo.)

R. W. Roth (At Large), RoMan Manufacturing, Inc. C. Coffey, Lincoln Electric

N. Saminich (Dist. 21), NS Inspection and Consulting D. DeCorte, RoMan Mfg.
K. E. Shatell (Dist. 22), Pacific Gas & Electric Co. S. Fyffe, Astaras, Inc.
T. A. Siewert (At Large), NIST (ret.) D. Levin, Airgas
J. Stoll (Dist. 18), Bohler Welding Group U.S. R. Madden, Hypertherm
OFFICERS H. W. Thompson (Dist. 2), UL, Inc. D. Marquard, IBEDA Superflash
President Dean R. Wilson R. P. Wilcox (Dist. 11), Ford Motor Co. J. F. Saenger Jr., Consultant
Welldean Enterprises J. A. Willard (Dist. 13), Kankakee Community College S. Smith, Weld­Aid Products
M. R. Wiswesser (Dist. 3), Welder Training & D. Wilson, Welldean Enterprises
Vice President David J. Landon Testing Institute J. N. DuPont, Ex Off., Lehigh University
Vermeer Mfg. Co. L. G. Kvidahl, Ex Off., Northrop Grumman
Ship Systems
Vice President David L. McQuaid WELDING JOURNAL D. J. Landon, Ex Off., Vermeer Mfg.
D. L. McQuaid and Associates, Inc. S. P. Moran, Ex Off., Weir American Hydro
Publisher — Andrew Cullison
E. Norman, Ex Off., Southwest Area Career Center
Vice President John R. Bray Editorial R. G. Pali, Ex Off., J. P. Nissen Co.
Affiliated Machinery, Inc. Editorial Director Andrew Cullison
N. Scotchmer, Ex Off., Huys Industries
Editor Mary Ruth Johnsen
Treasurer Robert G. Pali R. W. Shook, Ex Off., American Welding Society
Associate Editor Howard M. Woodward
J. P. Nissen Co. Associate Editor Kristin Campbell
Editorial Asst./Peer Review Coor. Melissa Gomez American Welding Society
Executive Director Ray W. Shook 8669 NW 36 St., # 130, Miami, FL 33166­6672
American Welding Society Publisher Emeritus Jeff Weber
(305) 443­9353 or (800) 443­9353
Design and Production
DIRECTORS Production Manager Zaida Chavez Welding Journal (ISSN 0043­2296) is published monthly by
the American Welding Society for $120.00 per year in the United
U. Aschemeier (Dist. 7), Subsea Global Solutions Sr. Production Coordinator Brenda Flores States and possessions, $160 per year in foreign countries: $7.50
R. E. Brenner (Dist. 10), CnD Industries, Inc. Manager of International Periodicals and per single issue for domestic AWS members and $10.00 per single
issue for nonmembers and $14.00 single issue for international.
D. J. Burgess (Dist. 8), Alstom Power Electronic Media Carlos Guzman American Welding Society is located at 8669 NW 36th St., # 130,
N. C. Cole (Past President), NCC Engineering Miami, FL 33166­6672; telephone (305) 443­9353. Periodicals
G. Fairbanks (Dist. 9), Fairbanks Inspection & Advertising postage paid in Miami, Fla., and additional mailing offices. POST­
MASTER: Send address changes to Welding Journal, 8669 NW
Testing Services National Sales Director Rob Saltzstein 36th St., # 130, Miami, FL 33166­6672. Canada Post: Publications
T. A. Ferri (Dist. 1), Victor Technologies Sr. Advertising Sales Exec. Sandra Jorgensen Mail Agreement #40612608 Canada Returns to be sent to
Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2,
K. Fogleman (Dist. 16), Consultant Sr. Advertising Sales Exec. Annette Delagrange Canada.
P. H. Gorman (Dist. 20), Sandia National Laboratories Manager of Sales Operations Lea Paneca Readers of Welding Journal may make copies of articles for
Sr. Advertising Production Manager Frank Wilson personal, archival, educational or research purposes, and which
S. A. Harris (Dist. 4), Altec Industries are not for sale or resale. Permission is granted to quote from arti­
K. L. Johnson (Dist. 19), Vigor Shipyards cles, provided customary acknowledgment of authors and sources
J. Jones (At Large), The Harris Products Group
Subscriptions is made. Starred (*) items excluded from copyright.
Copyright © 2014 by American Welding Society in both
Subscriptions Representative Tabetha Moore
J. Knapp (Dist. 17), Gas and Supply printed and electronic formats. The Society is not responsible for
[email protected] any statement made or opinion expressed herein. Data and infor­
T. J. Lienert (At Large), Los Alamos National Laboratory mation developed by the authors of specific articles are for infor­
D. E. Lynnes (Dist. 15), Lynnes Welding Training PUBLICATIONS, EXPOSITIONS, mational purposes only and are not intended for use without inde­
C. Matricardi (Dist. 5), Welding Solutions, Inc. pendent, substantiating investigation on the part of potential users.
S. P. Moran (At Large), Weir American Hydro
MARKETING COMMITTEE
K. A. Phy (Dist. 6), K. A. Phy Services, Inc. D. L. Doench, Chair, Hobart Brothers Co.
W. R. Polanin (At Large), Illinois Central College S. Bartholomew, Vice Chair, ESAB Welding
W. A. Rice (Past President), OKI Bering & Cutting Prod.
R. L. Richwine (Dist. 14), Ivy Tech State College J. D. Weber, Secretary, American Welding Society
D. J. Roland (Dist. 12), Airgas USA, LLC, D. Brown, Weiler Brush
North­Central Region T. Coco, Victor Technologies International

4 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

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EDITORIAL

The AWS Foundation at 25

This year, we celebrate the 25th anniver- scholarships were awarded to more than 525
sary of the AWS Foundation and its mission students. You can see that from modest be-
of supporting the education of new genera- ginnings, the Foundation has come a long
tions of welding professionals through schol- way in support of welding education.
arships and other endeavors. It is fitting that Today, its scholarship program includes
the AWS Foundation was formed 25 years • District Scholarship Program, which provides
ago with a donation recognizing the work of $10,000 to each of the 22 AWS Districts an-
a pioneer in the welding industry. Glenn nually for a total of $220,000 in funding to
Gibson is recognized by many as the inven- help students at trade/technical schools,
tor of the first practical gas metal arc weld- community colleges, and universities.
ing (GMAW) apparatus (U.S. Patent • Educators Scholarship Program, which
#2,504,868 filed in January 1949). His son’s provides funds for teachers/instructors
Gerald D. Uttrachi donation in honor of his father was the pursuing additional studies.
Chair, AWS Foundation Foundation’s first of significance. Although • Section and District Named Scholarship
other early patents appear to address a ver- Program. To date, there are 77 scholar-
sion of GMAW, they lacked some vital factor. ships endowed by Districts, Sections,
For example, a patent by GE from 1936 (U.S. and/or individuals.
2,053,417) showed a shower head-type • Graduate Research Fellowship Program,
shielding device employed in its apparatus. which offers four fellowships endowed at
Later work in gas tungsten arc welding $500,000, providing an annual award to
showed this method of shielding to be non- four students of $25,000, matched in kind
functional because air aspirated between the by the university.
widely spaced gas ports. This may be why • National Scholarship Endowment Pro-
the GE patent employed a magnetic device gram, with a minimum funding endow-
to “shake” drops from the melting electrode. ment of $50,000 from individuals and
The Gibson patent, in four of its claims, corporations, provides funds for students
states the gas shielding must be nonturbulent. pursuing associate and bachelor degrees.
None of the patents cited as prior art against The initial Foundation bylaws also stated
this patent address proper shielding. Gibson an objective to provide “image enhancement
clearly understood this critical element needed and public awareness.” To that end, its welder
to make a viable GMAW process. My recent ex- workforce development program continues
perience indicates many welders and welding to grow and expand. Traffic at www.careersin-
managers do not understand what Gibson welding.com and www.jobsinwelding.com has
clearly knew: shielding gas flow beyond about increased dramatically. Since its initial tour
25 L/min (55 ft3/h) using typical industrial- in 2011, the Careers in Welding mobile ex-
size nozzles causes turbulence and inferior hibit has traveled 50,000 miles to 53 events
welds. The idea that “if some is good, more in 43 states, and more than 90,000 visitors
must be better,” is all too prevalent when set- have walked through the exhibit.
ting shielding gas flow. The Foundation board and its Careers
“It is critical that That’s just one reason why it is critical that Committee continually look for opportuni-
welders, welding welders, welding managers, and welding engi- ties to influence welding workforce initia-
managers, and neers understand basic welding science in ad- tives that impact the welding profession
dition to knowing manual welding skills, and from recruitment to retirement. They have
welding engineers be able to communicate it to others. The AWS identified areas of focus through the Boy
understand basic Foundation helps by providing scholarships Scouts, 4H, and FFA. Our Women in Weld-
welding science in at various levels for welders, welding engi- ing programs focus on recruitment of more
addition to neers, and those seeking advanced science de- women into our profession. These are just
knowing manual grees in welding or metallurgy-related fields. some of our current focuses.
welding skills.” Since its inception in 1989, and the first Re- The AWS Foundation’s work and scholar-
search Fellowship grant in 1991 for $20,000, ship activity are very important to the
the AWS Foundation has awarded more than health of our industry. I urge you to support
$6.4 million to more than 5000 students pur- the Foundation through donations and your
suing studies/research in welding and related estate plan so this vital work can continue
joining technologies. In 2014, $500,000 in for the next 25 years and beyond. WJ

6 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

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PRESS TIME NEWS

White House Announces Recipients of 600,000 tons. At capacity, its extra tonnage is expected to
generate approximately 100 new production/logistics jobs.
$450 Million in Job­Driven Training Grants
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Labor Thomas
OSHA Launches National Dialogue on
E. Perez, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently Hazardous Chemical Exposures and PELs
announced the winners of $450 million in job-driven train-
ing grants going to nearly 270 community colleges. This The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and
funding is part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Commu- Health Administration (OSHA) is launching a national dia-
nity College and Career Training competitive grant program. logue with stakeholders on ways to prevent work-related ill-
The grants will provide community colleges and other eli- ness caused by exposure to hazardous substances.
gible institutions with funds to partner with employers for The first stage is a request for information on the man-
expanding and improving their ability to deliver education agement of hazardous chemical exposures in the workplace
and career training programs. They will also help job seekers and strategies for updating permissible exposure limits
get the skills needed for in-demand jobs. (PELs). Ninety-five percent of OSHA’s current PELs, which
Included is the Scale-up Southeast Louisiana for Energy cover fewer than 500 chemicals, have not been updated
and Advanced Manufacturing Jobs at Delgado Community since their adoption in 1971. In addition, the agency’s cur-
College. Awarded $2.5 million, it will work with employers rent PELs cover only a small fraction of the tens of thou-
such as ExxonMobil, U.S. Heritage Powersports, and Lock- sands of chemicals used in commerce.
heed Martin to fill the needs of business as well as industry Suggestions are sought on possible streamlined ap-
in Southeastern Louisiana. The program expects to train proaches for risk assessment and feasibility analyses, plus
1150 students over the next three years for welding, ma- alternative approaches for managing chemical exposures, in-
chining, electrical, and industrial maintenance jobs. cluding control banding, task-based approaches, and in-
formed substitution.
California Steel Industries Introduces The comment period will continue for 180 days, due
April 8, 2015, at 11:59 PM EDT. Instructions are available in
New Pipe Mill Startup the Federal Register, Docket No. OSHA-2012-0023, at
https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-24009.

Lincoln Electric Acquires Easom

Automation Systems
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, has ac-
quired Easom Automation Systems, Inc., Detroit, Mich., a
privately held integrator and manufacturer of automation
and positioning systems, serving heavy fabrication, aero-
space, and automotive OEMs and suppliers. The company
has annual sales of approximately $30 million.

Clinton Community College to Construct

An electric resistance welded pipe exits the mill at California Advanced Manufacturing Institute
Steel Industries’ new pipe mill capable of producing up to
400,000 tons per year and diameters up to 24 in. Clinton Community College, Plattsburgh, N.Y., will re-
ceive $12.7 million in state funding as part of the SUNY
California Steel Industries, Inc., recently announced that 2020 Challenge Grant Program. An advanced manufacturing
its subsidiary, CSI Tubular Products, Inc., has produced the institute will be constructed on the college’s main campus.
first pipe off its new electrical resistance welded pipe mill at The institute will link Clinton and SUNY Plattsburgh
the company’s site near Fontana, Calif. with Clarkson University, creating a system to support the
In addition, California Steel Industries celebrated its 30- entire region’s economic growth as well as space needed to
year anniversary in business with an invitation-only tour of provide training. In addition, it will allow these institutes
the new mill. The facility cost, including installation, repre- and area partners — including CITEC, the North Country
sents more than $100 million. Chamber of Commerce, North Country Workforce Invest-
The No. 2 Pipe Mill produced its first pipe on August 25. ment Board, The Development Corp., CV-TEC, and a num-
It will feature American Petroleum Institute grade high- ber of area manufacturers — to work together for aligning
strength line pipe using induction welding technology. Also, current and projected workforce development initiatives
it contains full body ultrasonic lamination testing and ultra- with current and future industry needs.
sonic weld seam inspection. “This initiative will strengthen the county’s educational
Annual production capacity on the new mill is expected pipeline, help us better serve the region’s existing industry,
to be approximately 400,000 net tons, bringing CSI Tubular and help attract new manufacturers to the area,” said Fred
Products’ total tubular product capacity to more than Smith, Clinton’s president. WJ

8 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

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NEWS OF THE INDUSTRY

NASA Unveils World’s Largest Spacecraft Additionally, work is proceeding on other welding tools.
Welding Tool for Space Launch System Engineers completed welding all the rings for the first flight
of SLS using the Segmented Ring Tool. Ten barrels also have
been welded for the SLS core stage using the Vertical Weld
Center. The rings connect and provide stiffness between
domes and barrels, which will make up the five major core
stage structures — forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, inter-
tank, liquid hydrogen tank, and engine section.
For a more in-depth profile, watch the “Welding Wonder:
NASA’s Vertical Assembly Center” video on the American
Welding Society’s YouTube channel.

ESAB Celebrates 110 Years

From consumables and arc equipment to automation and per­

sonal protection, ESAB makes a full line of welding and cutting
products.

September 2014 marked the 110th anniversary of ESAB

Welding & Cutting Products, Florence, S.C. The company’s
worldwide reach extends far with more than 8700 employ-
A wide­angle view using a 16­mm fisheye lens displays the Verti­ ees and manufacturing facilities across four continents.
cal Assembly Center at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New In 1904, Oscar Kjellberg submitted a hand-written
Orleans, La., during a ribbon­cutting ceremony on Sept. 12. patent for the covered electrode. This invention also marked
(Image credit: NASA.) the beginning of his company, Elektriska Svetsnings-
Aktiebolaget (ESAB). The company’s history includes in-
volvement in the early development of the gas tungsten and
The largest spacecraft welding tool in the world, the Ver- gas metal arc processes, as well as the invention of a friction
tical Assembly Center, officially is open for business at stir welding machine. Other developments include high-
NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La. speed submerged arc welding with tandem weld heads and
The 170-ft-tall, 78-ft-wide structure completes a welding the integrated cold electrode system.
toolkit that will be used to build the core stage of America’s ESAB’s technology helps create a range of products and
next rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). Its core stage, projects used in environments from the ocean floor to outer
soaring more than 200 ft tall with a diameter of 27.6 ft, will space. The 2014 acquisition of Victor Technologies has fur-
store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will ther expanded its product portfolio. The company is also
feed the rocket’s four RS-25 engines. part of the Colfax Corp. Learn more at www.esabna.com/110.
“This rocket is a game changer in terms of deep space ex-
ploration and will launch NASA astronauts to investigate as-
teroids and explore the surface of Mars while opening new Welding Efforts toward a ‘Paws’ Cause =
possibilities for science missions, as well,” said NASA Ad- Not Such a ‘Ruff’ Deal
ministrator Charles Bolden at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Vertical Assembly Center is part of a tool family de- The 60th Security Forces Squadron Military Working Dog
signed to weld the core stage of SLS. It will join domes, (MWD) team, Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and 60th Mainte-
rings, and barrels to complete the tanks or dry structure as- nance Squadron Aircraft Structural Welding shop have
semblies. It also will be used to perform evaluations on the joined forces in support of their four-legged assistants.
completed welds. Boeing is the prime contractor for the SLS “Our current training obstacles for the canines are
core stage, including avionics. around 15 years old, and they’re pretty beat up,” said Tech.

10 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 Sgt. Chris Smith, 60th SFS MWD kennel master. “It would
cost the Air Force around $28,000, plus shipping, to replace
these items.”
The obstacles sought were a ladder, dog-walk with steps,
teeter totter, and four boxes for “bad guys” to hide in during
detection training.
“I used a drawing/engineering program to lay out the di-
mensions,” added Smith.
The MWD unit purchased the steel and decking materials
for less than the $3000 budget, then relied on airmen
welders for fabrication. Four days and approximately 1200
lb of steel later, the welding shop completed the frames of
four boxes, ladder with the dog walkway, and teeter totter.
The handlers also needed to work on composite decking
for finishing the obstacles. The projected completion date
was last month.

Manufacturing Industry Mosaic Breaks

Guinness World Record
A manufacturing industry themed display recently broke
the Guinness World Record for the “World’s Largest Coin
Airman 1st Class Jeremy Halcomb, a 60th Maintenance Squadron Mosaic” during the International Manufacturing Technolo-
Aircraft Structural Welding shop metals technologist, performs gy Show.
gas metal arc welding. He’s putting the finishing touches on the This mosaic incorporated more than $65,000 worth of
frame of a canine training obstacle that will go to the 60th Secu­ coins — the amount of money manufacturing contributes to
rity Forces Squadron Military Working Dog canines at Travis Air the U.S. economy each second. Its design illustrates a manu-
Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Madelyn facturing worker holding a gear surrounding a globe, high-
Brown.) lighting North America. A set of rising bar graphs depicts

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NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 11

 / Perfect Welding / Solar Energy / Perfect Charging

Visit us at FABTECH
Booth # C1954

Atlanta

/ No matter what you weld or where you weld it, Fronius has the perfect solution.
www.fronius-usa.com • www.facebook.com/fronius.usa

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Wet Welding Repairs Approved

History was made on September 10 by breaking the Guinness

World Record for the “World’s Largest Coin Mosaic.”

the growth manufacturing has brought to the U.S. economy. Pictured with the new certificate are Dr. Robert Surma, head of
ship systems and components, DNV­GL; Kevin Peters, vice presi­
The money used in creating the mosaic will be donated to dent, SGS; Adrie Huijbregts, vice president, SGS; Uwe Asche­
The Manufacturing Institute. Also, the final mosaic — com- meier, senior welding engineer, SGS; and Rick Shilling, executive
prised of more than 214,000 dollar, quarter, dime, nickel, vice president, SGS.
and penny coins — covered an area of more than 840 sq ft.
Construction started on September 8 at Soldier Field in
Chicago, Ill., with the official unveiling and record confirma- Subsea Global Solutions, LLC (SGS) recently received a
tion on September 10. certificate from Dr. Robert Surma, head of ship systems and
“While achieving this Guinness World Record is an enor- components, DNV‐GL, allowing the company to perform
mous accomplishment for the industry itself, it is truly grat- permanent repairs by underwater wet welding on certain ar-
ifying to know that the sum of the coins used, as well as ad- eas of vessels. The event took place during the SMM mar-
ditional donations from event sponsors, will benefit the itime show in Hamburg, Germany, held September 9–12.
growth of our industry and the future generations that The SGS global network of coded welder divers will be
strive to keep it alive,” said Klas Forsström, president, Sand- available to perform these permanent repairs on a case-by-
vik Coromant. case basis utilizing this procedure, in locations throughout

12 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

the world, in accordance with the approvals by DNV‐GL.
This announcement completes a 30-month-long joint re-
search and development program. SGS welded more than 80
groove weld test plates underwater at its facilities in Miami,
Fla.; Long Beach, Calif.; and Terneuzen, the Netherlands.
The nondestructive examination and mechanical testing of
the plates were performed at the DNV-GL lab in Hamburg.
At the end of April 2014, the test plates were welded in a
training tank in Miami with a DNV‐GL welding engineer,
ABS welding engineer and surveyor, as well as Lloyd’s Regis-
ter in attendance.
Also, the nondestructive and destructive exams were
again performed at the DNV‐GL lab in Hamburg. Welding
the plates, as well as nondestructive and destructive exams,
were performed in accordance with AWS D3.6M:2010, Un-
derwater Welding Code, Class A. The results were positive
with all welded test plates exhibiting metallurgical proper-
ties equivalent to permanent weld repairs performed “top-
side.” During the lab tests, representatives from DNV‐GL,
ABS, and Lloyd’s Register were in attendance.

Sciaky to Provide Electron Beam System

to Lockheed Martin
Sciaky, Inc., Chicago, Ill., recently received a purchase or-
der from Lockheed Martin Space Systems to provide an elec-
tron beam additive manufacturing system. It will help the
company reduce time and cost on producing titanium
propulsion tanks.
The electron beam additive manufacturing process com-
bines computer-aided design, electron beam manufacturing
technology, and layer-additive processing.
The 110 × 110 × 110 in. build envelope of the system will
allow Lockheed Martin to produce large titanium parts with
virtually no waste.
On July 10, Sciaky announced the availability of electron
beam additive manufacturing systems to the marketplace.
This is the second multimillion dollar order from a major
global manufacturing company since the notice.

Industry Notes
• A logistics consortium and Fresh Express, Inc., have
partnered with Mountain View College to provide job
training for 158 new and incumbent workers using two
Skills Development Fund grants totaling $390,377 from
the Texas Workforce Commission. These will benefit
workers in the Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas area.
Training will include welding and much more.

• BEST, Inc., Chicago, Ill., recently announced the avail-

ability of a “rent” or “rent-to-own” for PCB inspectors or
soldering/rework technicians. They can be contracted for a
period of time or may be offered on a temporary-to-perma-
nent hire basis. Personnel are screened, trained, and certi-
fied operators. Visit www.solder.net.

• Centorr Vacuum Industries, Nashua, N.H., has shipped

its first redesigned Workhorse™ vacuum furnace to Setra
Systems for precision brazing at its U.S. production facility
and will be building a new MIM-Vac M900 debind/sinter-
ing furnace in 2014 expanding its base for the metal injec-
tion molding market for FloMet, LLC.
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NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 13

• Computrol, Inc., Meridian, Idaho, has selected ACE Pro- • CRC-Evans Pipeline International, Inc., is celebrating
duction Technologies as the company’s choice supplier the official grand opening of its new global HQ in Houston,
for its selective solder needs and recently purchased its Tex. The site, combined with its Onshore West Headquar-
fifth KISS-103 selective solder system. In addition, ACE ters facility, has two extra working bays to finish proce-
has announced that Hughes Electronics Products Corp. dures for future work in welding, coating, and inspection.
invested in a second KISS-101IL in-line selective soldering
system and Crane Aerospace & Electronics has invested • The Grainger Foundation donated $5000 to Tri-Coun-
in a second KISS-102 selective soldering system. ty Technical College, Pendleton, S.C., to expand the cut-
ting lab in its welding department. According to Paul
• Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding di- Phelps, the college’s welding program coordinator, this
vision has donated $89,786.90 to Bishop State Commu- grant will be used for purchasing additional equipment.
nity College, Mobile, Ala., for buying 20 welding machines
and wire feeders to support its pre-employment program • SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association and
there. Also, this division has donated $53,640 to Missis- Tooling U-SME, Cleveland, Ohio, have launched a new on-
sippi Gulf Coast Community College for purchasing line training program aimed at closing the manufacturing
welding machines to be used at the school’s new Transitions skills gap in the plastics industry. For more information,
Academy. It will be housed at the college’s West Harrison visit www.plasticsindustry.org/plasticsu. WJ
County Center in Long Beach, Miss.

• Each MobileWelder Holland LP designs and manufac-

tures in its Crete, Ill., plant is given a unit number, and Correction
when 911 was next on the list, the company made a 9/11
themed truck. Including red, white, and blue striping with The picture that appeared on page 11 of the September
a “We Will Never Forget” shield plus American flag, its in- issue of the Welding Journal depicted an unsafe method of
augural assignment is to service a transit line in Denver, operating a positive material identification (PMI) instru-
Colo. ment. The individual is holding the workpiece too close to
the PMI instrument, potentially exposing his hand to X-
• CNA, Chicago, Ill., has presented a check for $15,000 to ray scatter. The hand or any other body part should be to-
Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs, the educational founda- tally clear of the radiation beam emitted by the instru-
tion of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Inter- ment.
national®, in support of its summer manufacturing camps.

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14 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
BUSINESS BRIEFS

Plexus Commemorates New Facility CNH Industrial Expands Construction Equipment

Production in Iowa
CNH Industrial N.V. is investing $24 million to expand
production in Burlington, Iowa, by adding a crawler dozer
production line to its manufacturing plant.
This expansion will create approximately 50 full-time
jobs. Preparations will begin later this year and production
on the new line is expected to begin in the second half of
2015.
Production facilities will include a new paint line, welding
and computer numerical control machining equipment, and
an assembly line.
Currently, the machines are produced at the Calhoun,
Marion Blakey, president/CEO of the Aerospace Industries Ga., plant that will close in the third quarter of 2015. The
Association, provided the keynote address honoring the comple­ production transfer is contingent upon completion, and ap-
tion of the Plexus Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing Center proval, of all state and local incentives and grants.
of Excellence.
Manufacturing Leaders Reveal
Plexus Corp. celebrated the recent completion of its $50
‘Critical Issues’ Agenda
million manufacturing facility in Neenah, Wis., incorporat-
Frost & Sullivan’s Manufacturing Leadership Council,
ing the new Plexus Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing
Mountain View, Calif., has established a new Critical Issues
Center of Excellence.
Agenda in manufacturing for 2014 to 2015.
The company held this event in conjunction with the Sec-
The council has focused the new agenda around six criti-
ond to None Coalition, an ongoing effort by the Aerospace
cal issues with emphasis on the following: new product in-
Industries Association (AIA) to preserve America’s role as a
novation and collaborative customer-centric cultures; key
global leader in the aerospace and defense industries. AIA
transformative technologies; the need for new approaches
President/CEO Marion Blakey served as keynote speaker.
to employee engagement to attract and develop the next
Representatives from aerospace and defense organiza-
generation of manufacturing leaders; harnessing the poten-
tions as well as city and state government officials were in
tial of public and private partnerships to drive innovation
attendance to tour the 410,000-sq-ft building.
and growth; and the rising importance of sustainability and
At full capacity, the facility could employ more than 2000
social responsibility practices to the industry’s future.
workers. Currently, Plexus is hiring to fill more than 100
The agenda is based on consultation with more than 100
new positions for the facility to add to the present workforce
senior executive members of the Manufacturing Leadership
of more than 1000. Career opportunities can be found at
Council and Board of Governors. Go to http://bit.ly/1tmjSxn
www.plexus.com.
for more information.
Industrial Robotics Market Worth Atlantic Coast Pipeline Expected to Begin
$40.08 Billion by 2020 Delivering Natural Gas in Late 2018
According to Industrial Robotics Market by Type, Compo-
Governor Pat McCrory recently announced a proposed
nent, Function, Industry (Automotive, Electrical & Electronic,
550-mile natural gas pipeline would bring hundreds of jobs
Chemical, Rubber, & Plastic, Metal & Machinery, Food & Bever-
along with hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activ-
ages, Pharmaceutical, & Construction), & Geography – Analysis
ity to North Carolina.
& Forecast to 2014 – 2020 the market for industrial robotics
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a $4.5 billion joint venture
is estimated to reach $40.08 billion by 2020 at a compound
between Dominion, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas,
annual growth rate of 5.2% from 2014 to 2020.
and AGL Resources, is expected to begin delivering natural
In addition, the industrial robotics market is expected to
gas to customers in late 2018.
grow at a relatively slow pace driven by the growing nonau-
The project is expected to create approximately 738 jobs
tomotive applications of industrial robotics, increase of
each year in North Carolina during the construction phase
their use in emerging countries, and reduction in the manu-
and create 52 permanent jobs.
facturing costs achieved with their use.
It is designed to transport 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural
Published by MarketsandMarkets, this report includes an
gas per day originating in Harrison County, W. Va., traveling
in-depth analysis of the market by type, component, func-
through Virginia, and ending in Robeson County, N.C. The
tion, industry, and geography. It gives a detailed view of the
natural gas will come from the Utica and Marcellus shale
market across the four major geographies as well.
basins in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. WJ
Industrial robots are operated in many ways, including
for welding, material handling, and packaging/palletizing.
For more details, visit www.marketsandmarkets.com/
Market-Reports/Industrial-Robotics-Market-643.html.

16 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
INTERNATIONAL UPDATE

SENATI Hosts International Day of Welders total investment of $32.6 million. The program will run for
almost five years, with an estimated completion date of
More than 2000 December 2019.
welders recently
gathered at SENATI, Hexicon to Build Rotating Offshore
Lima, Peru, a voca- Wind­Power Platforms
tional-training insti-
tute and AWS inter- Hexicon, Stock-
national agent, for holm, Sweden, an
its 13th annual In- offshore wind-en-
ternational Day of ergy company, re-
Welders, to learn cently announced
More than 2000 welders gathered in about the latest an agreement with
Lima, Peru, to learn about the latest welding technology SSAB, a Nordic-
welding technology and processes. and processes avail- and U.S.-based
able for the manu- steel company, to
facturing, mining, and construction industries. The event, co- develop offshore
organized with SENATI and Soldexa, Lima, Peru, a provider of Hexicon’s floating platforms, fitted with wind-power plat-
machinery, equipment, and services, was held for more than several wind turbines, turn automatically forms in deep wa-
ten hours. Attendees were able to visit exhibit booths and view into the wind while harnessing excellent ters. The two com-
demonstrations by SENATI welding students. conditions far offshore for the generation panies will opti-
Lectures, given by various professionals in the industry of renewable energy. mize the steel ma-
from Brazil, Columbia, and Peru, were made available through terial in the foun-
video conferencing to the cities of Piura, Trujillo, Chimbote, dation of the wind platforms to ensure functionality and in-
Arequipa, Tacna, and Cusco in Peru. Topics discussed included crease cost effectiveness during their complete life cycle.
plasma pipe-cutting applications, welding automation for “This agreement is an important milestone in further de-
tanks and pipes, pipe welding, filler metal selection for pipe velopment of our patented solutions. Far offshore wind power
and tube, and welding safety, among others. is more easily sealable and a prime source of renewable energy.
Hexicon’s technology offers competitive advantages for the
long-term renewal-energy market,” said Henrik Baltscheffsky,
Cambodia Receives Funding to Raise CEO, Hexicon.
Quality of Technical Training The floating foundations with several wind turbines enable
efficient wind park configuration in locations where winds are
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending a $30 stronger and environmental impact is reduced. A first demon-
million loan for a nationwide program to raise the quality stration unit is planned for Swedish waters in 2017.
of technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
in Cambodia and create more job opportunities for women Aerospace Supplier Opens New Building in
and the poor. Specific measures include support for the es- France
tablishment of a competency-based assessment and certifi-
cation system, including the development of flexible path- UTC Aerospace Systems, a supplier of aerospace and de-
ways between different qualification levels and types of fense products, recently inaugurated a new building dedicated
training. Sector skills councils will be established, made up to production of thrust reversers and the integration of nacelle
of industry associations and large employers in construc- systems for the Airbus A350 XWB at its Toulouse, France, site.
tion, auto mechanics, electrical works, and manufacturing, The building, operated by Goodrich Aerospace Europe S.A.S.,
to help develop centers of excellence. was dedicated during an event attended by company leaders,
“The TVET system remains in its infancy and needs reform Airbus executives, program teams, and local employees.
and additional investment to address gaps in access, quality, The new building, adjacent to the existing production facili-
and institutional capacity in order to make a sustained contri- ty, includes a 50,000-sq-ft thrust reverser production area
bution to the development of a skilled workforce,” said Nor- with a moving assembly line, a paint shop with an infrared
man LaRocque, principal education specialist, ADB. “The pro- curing tunnel, and office space for support functions.
gram will overhaul the existing system to make it more re- “We have delivered more than 15,000 engine casings to Air-
sponsive to labor market needs and help provide disadvan- bus in the past 40 years and we’re extremely proud to celebrate
taged groups with more opportunities for formal training.” another milestone today with the inauguration of this new
The program will provide stipends to individuals from poor A350 XWB building,” said Marc Duvall, president, UTC Aero-
households identified under a government household support space Systems-Aerostructures. “Our relationship with Airbus
scheme and to women’s dormitories. A gender- is an example of what can happen when companies work to-
action plan establishing quotas for females receiving training gether. The innovative thrust reverser line, along with opti-
stipends will also help increase female enrollment and reten- mized design of the whole building to ensure a smooth and
tion in formal TVET programs. lean flow for all operations, will enable us to meet program
In addition to ABD’s assistance, the government of Cam- ramp-up as this exciting new platform enters into service later
bodia will provide contributions totaling $2.6 million for a this year.” WJ

18 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
STAINLESS Q&A
BY DAMIAN J. KOTECKI

of standard 304H stainless steel. How- pared to those of conventional 304H.

Q: What is Super 304H stainless ever, Super 304H extends the design The boilers in electrical power-
steel and how is it best welded? limits of the boiler tubes to higher generation plants are commonly de-
temperature and/or pressure. scribed as “subcritical,” “supercritical,”
A: Super 304H is a fairly common, if The higher temperature and pres- or “ultrasupercritical,” depending upon
not standardized, term for a modified sure, in turn, improve the efficiency of the pressure and temperature of the
version of 304H stainless steel with the steam boilers in power generation steam. These descriptions refer to the
about 3% copper, 0.5% niobium, and so that the same amount of power can phases (liquid and vapor) present in
small amounts of nitrogen, aluminum, be obtained from burning less coal, as the boiler. The critical point for water
and boron added. Table 1 shows the a way of addressing global warming is about 22 MPa (3200 lb/in.2) pres-
compositions of both steels, as speci- presumed to be due to carbon dioxide sure and 374°C (705°F).
fied in ASTM A 213/A 213M — 06a, emissions. For example, a Babcock-Hi- At higher temperature and pres-
Standard Specification for Seamless Fer- tachi K.K. online publication indicates sure, there is no phase boundary be-
ritic and Austenitic Alloy-Steel Boiler, Su- that at 650°C (1200°F), the 100,000-h tween liquid and vapor, or it is not
perheater, and Heat-Exchanger Tubes. (11.4 years) creep rupture strength of possible to define a difference between
Table 2 shows the minimum me- 304H is 55 to 60 MPa (8000 to 8700 liquid water and steam. So a boiler
chanical property requirements for lb/in.2) while that of Super 304H is that operates below 22 MPa pressure
these steels as presented in ASTM A 110 to 120 MPa (16,000 to 17,400 is subcritical, even if the peak temper-
213/A 213M. It can be seen that Super lb/in.2) applied stress — double that of ature of the steam is above 374°C, be-
304H is required to be a little stronger 304H. cause liquid water will exist some-
than conventional 304H, but the dif- ASME Code Case 2328-1 specifies where in the cooler parts of the boiler.
ference is not large, particularly in design limits for Super 304H. Appar- A subcritical boiler might operate at
yield strength. ently, it is the copper as an alloy ele- 16.6 MPa (2400 lb/in.2) steam pres-
As the title of the ASTM specifica- ment that is primarily responsible for sure and 538°C (1000°F) peak steam
tion implies, this steel is primarily in- the improvement in the high-tempera- temperature.
tended for boiler tubes, as is also a use ture properties of Super 304H as com- A supercritical boiler in a power

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20 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

Table 1 — Compositions of Super 304H and 304H Stainless Steels

Steel Chemical Composition (wt­%) (single value is a maximum)

C Mn P S Si Cr Ni Mo Cu Nb N Al B
Super 0.07 17.0 7.5 2.5 0.30 0.05 0.003 0.001
304H to 1.00 0.040 0.010 0.30 to to — to to to to to
0.13 19.0 10.5 3.5 0.60 0.12 0.030 0.010

304H 0.04 18.0 8.0

to 2.00 0.045 0.030 1.00 to to — — — — — —
0.10 20.0 11.0

arc welding (GTAW) and covered elec-

Table 2 — Minimum Mechanical Property Requirements at Room Temperature trodes for shielded metal arc welding
(SMAW). Much of the welding of these
Steel UNS Number Tensile Strength (lb/in.2) Yield Strength (lb/in.2) % Elongation boiler tubes is done with orbital auto-
matic GTAW. When the wall thickness
Super 304H S30432 86,000 34,000 35 becomes rather heavy, narrow-groove
304H S30409 75,000 30,000 35
GTAW joint designs with automatic
orbital welding are useful. In any case,
plant might operate at 24.1 MPa (3500 ERNiCrCoMo-1, both of which are it is helpful to use welding conditions
lb/in.2) steam pressure and 550°C commonly known as Alloy 617, but to produce a somewhat convex weld
(1020°F) peak steam temperature. these are quite expensive. However, bead shape to provide improved resist-
This is not much of an increase in tem- there are also proprietary stainless ance to solidification cracking. WJ
perature over that of the subcritical steel filler metals that are similar in
boiler mentioned above, but it is a composition and mechanical proper-
very significant increase in pressure. ties to Super 304H base metal. The
This means that either the wall thick- suppliers typically use Super 304H as
ness of the boiler tubes needs to be in- their commercial description of these DAMIAN J. KOTECKI is president, Damian
creased if the tubes are to remain filler metals, and they can be found by Kotecki Welding Consultants, Inc. He is treas­
304H, or a material with a higher searching online for this designation. urer of the IIW and a member of the A5D
creep rupture strength (such as Super The Super 304H filler metals tend Subcommittee on Stainless Steel Filler Met­
als, D1K Subcommittee on Stainless Steel
304H) needs to be substituted for the to be higher in nickel content (e.g., Structural Welding; and WRC Subcommittee
304H to obtain the same design life of 16% Ni) than is the base metal. As a on Welding Stainless Steels and Nickel­Base
the boiler tubes. result, the weld metal tends to be fully Alloys. He is a past chair of the A5 Commit­
An ultrasupercritical boiler might austenitic and, therefore, somewhat tee on Filler Metals and Allied Materials, and
operate at 24.5 MPa (3550 lb/in.2) susceptible to solidification cracking. served as AWS president (2005–2006). Ques­
tions may be sent to Damian J. Kotecki
steam pressure, and 600°C (1110°F) In view of this consideration, the c/o Welding Journal, 8669 NW 36 St., # 130,
peak steam temperature. This condi- filler metal manufacturers seem only Miami, FL 33166, or via e­mail at
tion represents a very slight increase to offer these compositions in the [email protected].
in pressure over that of the supercriti- form of rods or wires for gas tungsten
cal example above, but it represents a
more significant increase in tempera-
ture. Future ultrasupercritical boiler
designs are expected to go up to 650°,
700°, or even 750°C (1200°, 1290°, or
1380°F), and higher pressures. The
practical temperature limit for Super
304H appears to be around 650°C, al-
though the ASME Code Case 2328-1
covers design stresses up to 750°C.
Higher temperatures are likely to re-
quire higher alloy stainless or nickel-
based alloys.
Turning to welding of Super 304H,
there is no AWS classification for
stainless steel filler metal that approx-
imately matches the composition and
properties of this base metal, nor is
there an ISO standard filler metal.
One could turn to a nickel-based alloy
filler metal such as ENiCrCoMo-1 or For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 21

RWMA Q&A
BY DAVID BELLISH

A B
Q: What are some of the “best
practices” that I should consider to
help generate a resistance spot
weld with more consistent quality
in my robotic work cell?

A: In today’s resistance spot welding

environment, the issue of weld quality
is getting more attention since it ulti-
mately affects an end user’s bottom
line. There are several different factors
that can help increase weld quality, Fig. 1 — Examples of resistance spot welding guns: A — X­type; B — C­type.
which include initial weld parameter
setup, weld gun selection, water cool- trodes will mushroom excessively, your target. The parameters can be ad-
ing, electrode weld face maintenance, which will also generate poor welds. justed slightly from these initial sug-
and adaptive welding control. With all of the different materials gested values based on preliminary
Weld Parameter Setup: One of the (coated/uncoated standard steels, ad- test data. These initial values occa-
simplest and most commonly over- vanced high-strength steels, alu- sionally need to be altered for various
looked factors in consistently generat- minum alloys, etc.), it is critical to reasons, such as the use of different
ing quality welds is the weld schedule. choose the correct weld schedule for weld cap materials (copper chromium,
Electrode force, weld time, and weld the application. The charts published copper chromium zirconium, copper
current are closely related and incor- by RWMA, AWS, and other resources zirconium, aluminum oxide disper-
rect settings for any of these parame- offer reference material for establish- sion-strengthened copper, and
ters will negatively affect weld quality. ing solid weld parameters. Some of others).
For example, too short a weld time or these charts include different specifi- The urge to “throw sparks” should
too low weld current will generate a cations for Class A, B, and C welds. be resisted when trying to establish a
very weak weld or a no weld condition. If weld quality is your main con- final weld schedule. Although many
With too much weld force, your elec- cern, then a Class A weld should be feel this is the best way to guarantee a
good weld, it is quite the opposite. clearances allow for it, the weld point typically 45 deg. Cutting the tube at
Weld expulsion is just material from should be inline with the main pivot the correct height and angle will help
the part and weld caps being thrown point on X-type guns (Fig. 1A), or in- improve the water flow at the under-
from the weld spot, which causes ir- line with the actuator axis on C-type side of the weld cap, which is critical to
regularities in the process. guns — Fig. 1B. The weld caps should help cool the electrode face and to pull
Weld Gun Selection: Selecting the be sized per the weld tables, and per- heat away from the electrode weld sur-
right weld gun for the application is pendicular to the product whenever face. Poor cooling leads to the elec-
critical for long-term success. Since possible. This will help with tip align- trode becoming too hot and soft,
typical weld guns last for millions of ment and reduce tip deflection and/or which leads to mushrooming of the
cycles, selecting the wrong weld gun skidding. As is the case with all me- weld face and, ultimately, poor welds.
will have long lasting effects on your chanical equipment, proper mainte- Tip Dressing and Monitoring: Main-
weld quality. If weld quality is your nance, including a preventive mainte- taining the correct amount of heat be-
major concern, then most weld gun nance schedule, should be performed ing generated at the weld point is the
manufacturers would argue that a to help ensure weld quality. Weld gun core of resistance welding quality.
servo-operated weld gun offers the manufacturers can suggest mainte- Over time, the electrode face will grow
best opportunity for generating quali- nance schedules and items that should in diameter from the thermal and me-
ty welds. Servo-controlled weld guns be a primary focus. chanical damage caused during spot
offer a few advantages over pneumati- Water Cooling: Typically, weld gun welding. This damage is even worse
cally controlled weld guns, or other manufacturers will specify a suggested when welding coated steels due to the
available options. These include more water flow rate, temperature, and alloying of the coating and electrode
options for weld force, better speed pressure differential. Depending on material. An increase in weld face di-
control to limit panel surface and elec- the weld duty cycle, suggested flow ameter will cause a decrease in current
trode damage, better electrode posi- rates can vary from 2 to 6 L/min, with density that cannot generate the prop-
tion control, and better force control. a typical value around 4 L/min for er amount of heat. So, current step-
Not only is the type of gun impor- each arm. The water temperature and pers are added, or the electrode is
tant, but making sure the gun is ro- pressure differential should be set ac- dressed back to its original shape to
bust enough for the application is just cording to the weld gun manufactur- maintain current density. Most end
as important. The adapters and arms er’s specifications. Another important users choose to use some type of tip
should be sized for the appropriate point is to cut the water tube at the dressing system that will reshape the
weld force to help minimize deflection correct height in relation to the weld face to help maintain this con-
and tip slippage. If tooling and product adapter, and also the correct angle, stant weld face. There are various

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

 types of tip dressers on the market, process, the actual values of current,
which range from servo driven to voltage, and resistance are compared
pneumatic driven, and even hand-held to master values for a known good
devices. Some manufacturers choose weld. As the weld controller monitors
to remove the caps from the produc- the data, the weld current and weld
tion line, and dress them in quantity time are adjusted to keep the actual
off-line. The material removal rate and values as close as possible to the mas-
tip dressing frequency can be deter- ter values. In theory, this control sys-
mined from experimental data from tem should duplicate weld quality
the end user’s history or from the tip from weld to weld. Some systems also
dresser manufacturer. Choosing the involve force monitoring equipment
right tip dresser or system should be that is built into the weld gun, which
decided based on the application and some feel improves the weld quality
user preferences. To help ensure quali- system even further. Improving weld
ty tip dressing, there are weld face quality is one goal of this equipment;
monitoring systems available with to- eliminating or greatly reducing weld
day’s tip dressing systems. In a fully spatter is another goal. This not only
automated line, these monitoring sys- helps with weld quality, but worker
tems can check the performance of the safety. These weld controls can also
tip dresser and make sure there are no help track all of the actual weld data
problems, such as no dress, off-center for future reference and quality
dressing, or burrs. There are several reporting.
different types of monitoring systems In conclusion, there are literally
available that utilize various types of thousands of factors that can affect
light, laser, or pneumatic technology. overall weld quality, but starting with
Utilizing a monitoring system adds an- the basics, like a solid weld schedule, a
other layer of quality control to the robust weld gun, and proper water
weld cap shape and diameter, which cooling are good starting points. Uti-
will improve the weld’s appearance lizing new technology, like tip dressing
and strength. Maintaining the weld monitoring systems and adaptive con-
face diameter also allows for tighter trol welding, can definitely aid in the
control of weld nugget size. quality control process as long as they
Adaptive Welding Control: Adap- are applied correctly. WJ
tive weld controls are utilized in man-
ufacturing plants to help reduce the
amount of destructive and ultrasonic
DAVID BELLISH is senior technical coordina­
testing that would normally be re- tor at Obara Corp. USA, Erlanger, Ky., and
quired. Adaptive welding involves the has more than 20 years of experience in
use of high-speed monitoring equip- weld gun design. He is an applicant member
ment to track current, voltage, and re- of the AWS D8D Subcommittee on Automo­
tive Resistance Spot Welding. Send your
sistance. Weld control manufacturers comments and questions to David Bellish
use various methodologies and c/o Welding Journal, 8669 NW 36 St., # 130,
processes, but the end results are simi- Miami, FL 33166, or via e­mail at
lar. Typically, during the welding [email protected].

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

24 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
TECHNOLOGY BY JEAN-PIERRE PLANCKAERT,
BRYAN O’NEIL, AND FABIEN JANUARD

Performance Assessment of Argon Mixes for Pipeline Welding

The trend for increased oil and gas welding. It is also most critical to en- applied to accelerate the transfer of
consumption implies a growth of long- sure complete root fusion and good in- the drop. The squeezing of the liquid
distance pipeline installations. For in- ternal root profile. bridge is monitored through voltage
stance, the U.S. Department of Energy If the root pass is welded from out- measurement. When a specific value is
estimates that gas world consumption side, then the bevel is a U type — Fig. reached, the pinch current is reduced
will grow by 44% over the next 30 1A. When copper backing is allowed quickly. When the liquid bridge breaks,
years, from 108 trillion ft3 in 2007 to (according to standards), an internal it does so at low current in order to
156 trillion ft3 in 2035. In 2010, clamp is used and carries copper shoes produce as little spatter as possible.
24,000 miles of pipeline were under to support the weld pool during solidi- Then the arc is reestablished and a
construction worldwide and 66,000 fication. The welding position is down- high current known as peak current is
miles of pipeline were planned. This hill. When copper is prohibited for applied. This momentary pulse of cur-
means that pipeline networks have metallurgical reasons, the root pass rent establishes the arc length and
been rapidly expanding and will con- can be deposited without any support causes the arc to broaden and melt a
tinue their growth at a fast rate. but at a lower welding speed and using wide area, which eliminates incom-
Pipe laying involves many joining a special root process. The welding po- plete fusion.
tasks that require the use of industrial sition is then uphill. This advanced waveform appears to
gases. For example, the use of GMAW If the root pass is welded from the have a high potential for application to
is widely spread. Literature reveals inside, the bevel type selected is a the welding of root pass at high pro-
that in arc welding the shielding gas compound V (Fig. 1B) and an internal ductivity levels in narrow groove
mixture has a fundamental effect not clamp is used with a special device car- bevels. It is also well known that
only on the protection and heat con- rying the GMAW guns. Finally, if pipe shielding gas composition has a funda-
duction phenomena but also on the re- beveling is not performed on site, the mental impact on weld-bead-shape
sulting bead-shape characteristics. bevel is the original V type and lineup characteristics and arc stability.
Pipelines vary from 15 cm to more is made with a 3–4-mm root opening. Shielding gases have a multifunctional
than 1 m in diameter and up to thou- The Surface Tension Transfer® effect on the following areas:
sands of kilometers in length. Individ- (STT®) process developed by Lincoln • Stability of the arc and its ignition;
ual pipes are normally 12 m long so Electric is used for depositing the root • Metal transfer and droplet size;
every kilometer of line requires 83 pass without a copper backing bar — • Bead profile (appearance and
welded joints. The pipe can only ad- Fig. 2. This is basically an electronically geometry);
vance across the country, or the sea controlled short-circuit process that of- • Welding speed;
bed, as fast as the individual sections fers less spatter than conventional • Metallurgical and, therefore,
can be joined together. So welding is short-circuit transfer. At the start of mechanical properties through the
on the critical path for pipe laying. the cycle, when the molten wire comes loss of alloying elements;
For the offshore sector, welding of into physical contact with the weld • Emission of fumes;
the root pass in narrow groove pool, the current is reduced immediate- • Weld-pool surface tension.
pipelines focuses attention both in ly, eliminating the incipient short. This Each gas has its physical properties
terms of quality requirements and low-level current is maintained for a like density, ionization potential, ther-
productivity. Indeed, the travel speed short time so that the surface tension mal conductivity, and specific heat.
of the root pass is a key factor in de- force can begin the transfer of the drop These data have a strong influence on
termining the overall productivity rate to the pool, forming a liquid bridge. arc behavior and, consequently, on
of pipe installation using mechanized A high level of pinch current is then welding performances. Using the opti-

Fig. 1A — Site bevel preparation with U type. Fig. 1B — Site bevel preparation with compound V type.

26 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 Fig. 2 — Schematic diagram of metal
transfer mechanism for STT® current
waveform (source: Lincoln Electric).

mum shielding gas implies less post

weld cleanup, fewer rejects, increased
welding speeds, and higher productivity.
It may also be possible to improve
productivity and weld-bead quality
through optimization of the shielding
gas composition. Nevertheless, no lit-
erature was found regarding the effect
of the shielding gas composition on
weld-bead quality for the STT® weld-
ing process. Research developed at Air
Liquide was focused on the evaluation
of such an effect of the shielding gas.

First Set of Experiments

Bead-on plate welds have been per-
formed on carbon steel with a solid
wire (diameter 1.0 mm) and the elec-
trical parameters have been recorded
(arc voltage and welding current). The
stability of the process is defined by
the life cycle of a droplet (arc time and
short-circuit time) and the STT® maxi-
mum wire-feed speed is given by the
appearance of breakings of the molten
metal bridge at a high current level.
With this process, it has been con-
cluded that the less CO2, the more sta-
ble the process and the more impor-
tant the maximum wire-feed speed
value is.

Second Set of Experiments

Automatic welds have been per-
formed in a narrow bevel with a U-type
geometry with different shielding gases,
and the bead geometries have been eval-
uated — Figs. 3, 4. Final quality re-
quired in welding construction has been
assessed using international standards
recognized by different organizations
and commissions that classify the ac-
ceptance criteria requirements. These
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 27

standards mention requirements con- and reinforcement.
cerning the welding of the root pass in Both cross sections show a com-
the following aspects: plete joint penetration, overpenetra-
• External profile tion being in agreement with stan-
• Internal profile dards (< 0.3 mm). Nevertheless, the
• Root concavity Ar-18% CO2 mixture gives a better
• Undercutting wetting with no incomplete fusion.
• Inadequate root penetration The overweld is also more flat than
• Incomplete root penetration. with pure CO2, which is more favor-
Cross sections of weld beads have able for the next filling passes.
been performed and industrial accept-
ance criteria for root pass have been Main Conclusions Fig. 3 — Weld­bead cross section. Root
applied, including root penetration pass with a U­type bevel. Shielding gas
along with bead concavity — angles The interest of Ar-18% CO2 vs. CO2 is pure CO2.

Fig. 4 — Weld­bead cross section. Root

pass with a U­type bevel. Shielding gas
is Ar­18% CO2.

using the STT® process has been un-

derlined:
• Stability of electrical recordings (fre-
quency and defect probability);
• Weld-bead morphology of a root pass
in a narrow groove.
It is noteworthy that a lower CO2
percentage offers a narrower window
of valid parameters, but the increased
difficulty for finding the setting point
with an argon-based mixture is not a
problem as much as the welding proce-
dure is designed in a workshop by
skilled technicians and engineers.
Though higher CO2 percentage gives a
better handleability, the global trend is
the use of mechanized welding.
These results show that Ar–18%
CO2 (Air Liquide ARCALTM Force) leads
to an optimum bead shape and a
process stability that enhances the
maximum wirefeed speed without
spatter. The ARCALTM range presents a
high level of purity more stringent
than standards ISO 14175 and AWS
5.32-2011. WJ

JEAN­PIERRE PLANCKAERT (jean­

[email protected]) and
FABIEN JANUARD are with Air Liquide Re­
search & Development, France. BRYAN
O’NEIL is with The Lincoln Electric Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio.

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

28 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
WELD.
DONE.
When it comes to tackling your toughest welding
challenges, OTC Daihen delivers. With end-to-end
solutions to save time, reduce costs, and improve
quality, we make welding automation truly seamless
and easy, so you can stay focused on what really
matters—getting the job done.

Fast. Achieve faster welds with

a flatter surface.
Clean. Reduce spatter by up
to 80%, minimizing cleanup.
Low-cost. Use less expensive
shielding gas.
Efficient. Reduce power loss
by up to 10%.
Versatile. Robots, systems,
power sources, and more,
for nearly every application.
Complete. Seamless solutions,
from engineering to integration
and support.

A global leader in welding automation, OTC Daihen offers a full line of welding,
cutting, and positioning equipment, torches, robots, turnkey welding cells,
along with world-class service, support, engineering, integration, and training.
888-OTC-ROBO www.daihen-usa.com
For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
 The 2014 AWS Roboc
Arc Welding Compeon
In this corner – robot welding programming experts only!
By Vern Mangold
Vice-Chair of AWS D16
Committee on Robotic and Automatic Welding

H
istory was made on November 20, exam from 20 to 30 . The time allowed remains the same, with contest-
ants having up to 20 minutes to answer as many of the exam questions
2013, at FABTECH in Chicago, Ill. as possible. The questions cover welding fundamentals and robotic arc
For the first time in the history of in- welding systems. The performance test is also a timed exam where con-
testants will demonstrate familiarity with the components of a robotic
dustrial robots, a competition was held by a arc welding cell, program the machine to weld a test coupon, weld the
coupon, and visually verify the coupon’s quality. Wolf Robotics and
professional society that involved the use of Miller Welding Automation will provide the robotic welding cells for
off-the-shelf industrial robots in a head-to- the competition. Servo Robot will again serve as the official judge of
the welded coupons.The competition format and structure are designed
head skills competition. Each contestant to emulate the examination process and testing procedures that the
raced against the clock to answer as many American Welding Society uses for actual Certified Robotic Arc Welder
certification testing.
technical questions as possible in the time
provided, and to successfully weld a pre- A The Brief History of Robot Arc Welding and Cerficaon
use of industrial robots to perform arc welding processes is rel-
tacked steel coupon. atively new. Industrial robots turned 50 years old in 2011, and the
Nineteen contestants competed at the 2013 event, with Jennifer process of robotic arc welding has been in existence in rudimentary
Hildebrandt emerging victorious. Her winning marks included a per- form since 1972. A slightly more mature robot welding process is ro-
fect score on the written examination and time of 19 minutes in the botic resistance welding, also known as spot welding. Spot welding is
performance test. The combination of her marks for overall weld qual- typically used to join sheet metal structures together. Robots have suc-
ity, excellent floor-to-floor time, and the written examination results cessfully welded automobile bodies together since 1965. Arc welding
proved too much for the rest of the field. Hildebrandt was crowned as with robots only became a reality when the servo and computer tech-
the first AWS Robotic Arc Welding Champion. Second place went to nologies used by robots improved and the ability of robots to move in
Jeff Stein, a welding engineering technology student at Ferris State a continuous, variable, and controlled fashion was perfected. This en-
University who also works for Polaris Industries, and Mike Kimball, an abled machines, for the first time, to duplicate the dexterity of human
AWS CWI and robot programmer for Jay Mfg. in Oshkosh, Wis. hand motion.
A new year has arrived, and it is time to name the best robotic arc By trial and error, the robot arc welding process developed over time
welder for 2014, at FABTECH Atlanta this month. until today robot arc welding is considered a mature manufacturing
The only substantive change in the competition for this year is the process technology.
increase in the number of multiple choice questions on the written In 1985, the AWS Technical Activities Committee added a new tech-
nical machinery committee to its family of technical committees. John
 Jennifer Hildebrand, the 2013 CRAW
Champion, evaluates her compeon
program, just before successfully welding the
coupon and becoming the champion. Not
only is Hildebrandt an honors graduate of
Milwaukee Area Technical College, but she
recently enjoyed an opportunity to take her
talents out of the college lab and into the
industrial world. This summer she interned at
Wolf Robocs, Ft. Collins, Colo., where she
was able to apply her skills in an industrial
seng. Her knowledge and experse
connued to evolve as she worked with the
robots every day. If she does repeat as
FABTECH CRAW Champion in Atlanta, it will
certainly not be a maer of luck.

Hinrich, past AWS director-at-large and for- combination of experience and education re- at www.aws.org/certification/CRAW, or contact
mer A.O. Smith executive, leveraged his exten- quirements related to use of manual or semi- AWS at (800) 443-9353, ext. 272.
sive experience with arc welding robots and automatic arc welding that includes robotic
his contacts within industry to convince AWS and automatic operator experience, and work-
AWS CRAW Approved Tesng
to become actively involved in the safe and ef- ing in an occupation that has a direct relation- Centers (ATCs)
ficient application of this emerging technol- ship to welding and robotics. The CRAW-T ABB, Inc.
ogy. At Tower Automotive (formerly A.O. level of certification also requires certification Auburn Hills, Mich.
Smith), Mr. Heinrich’s engineers developed as an AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI). (248) 391-8421
techniques and manufacturing protocols for
Genesis Systems Group
arc welding robots which became the founda-
Davenport, Iowa
tional information and benchmarks for the
new D16 Committee on Robotic and Auto- (563) 445-5688
matic Welding. The first task addressed by the Milwaukee Area Technical College
D16 Committee was the development of an West Allis, Wis.
arc welding robot system safety standard. The (414) 456-5454
document identification number is D16.1, OTC Daihen, Inc.
which became an ANSI-approved standard in Tipp City, Ohio
2001. (937) 667-0800
The committee has successfully published
four AWS/ANSI robot standards, along with The Lincoln Electric Co.
technical reports and other tools that con- Cleveland, Ohio
tinue to enhance and augment the safe appli- (216) 383-8542
cation of arc welding robots. Wolf Robotics
With the completion of the first edition of Fort Collins, Colo.
D16.4, Specification for the Qualification of Ro- (970) 225-7736
botic Arc Welding Personnel, AWS recognized
industry demand for certification in robotic The exam for both levels of certification in- Safety First: An AWS Tradion
arc welding. The AWS Subcommittee on Cer- cludes a written test with up to 135 multiple- It is significant that the D16 Committee has
tification of Robotic Arc Welding Personnel choice questions, and a performance test that produced ANSI standards that address the
was formed in order to establish the require- includes the finish welding of a mild steel technical needs of the welding industry in the
ments for two levels of certification, the Ro- coupon. logical areas of business productivity and effi-
botic Arc Welding Operator and Technician. Although not required, training is recom- ciency. The committee produced the D16.2
The acronym CRAW (Certified Robotic Arc mended as an integral part of the CRAW Recommended Practices standard in 1998 (last
Welding) was adopted for the new certifica- program for each of the two levels of certifica- revised in 2007). However, the D16.1 robotic
tion and is the term used when referring to tion. This training is offered by AWS Approved safety standard remains the most important
the CRAW-O (Certified Robotic Arc Welding Testing Centers (ATCs) that also administer publication produced by the D16 committee.
Operator) and CRAW-T (Certified Robotic Arc the required written and performance exams. The D16.1 standard provides comprehensive
Welding Technician) credentials. Qualification Potential candidates can contact the AWS directions and information necessary for the
for these two certifications are based on a ATCs listed below, visit the AWS website safe use of robot arc welding technology. N

How to compete at FABTECH

The 2014 Roboc Welding Compeon will be an abbreviated version of an AWS
CRAW cerficaon examinaon with a 20­minute wrien exam and a 20­minute
robot programming and welding test.
First prize will be free tuion for full CRAW training and the official exam. The top
three contestants will also receive awards and duffle bags. All contestants will receive
an AWS t­shirt. To apply for the contest, go to the AWS website at www.aws.org/
cerficaon/CRAW or visit Booth A2825 at Fabtech to register and compete on
Tuesday, Nov. 11 during show hours, or on the morning of Wed., Nov. 12. Candidates must robocally weld a CRAW
weld coupon as shown above, per criteria in
In addion to the Roboc Welding Compeon, AWS will conduct the 2014 U.S. AWS D16.4, Specificaon for the Qualificaon
Invitaonal Weld Trials, also in Building A of the Georgia World Congress Center. of Roboc Arc Welding Personnel.
PRODUCT & PRINT SPOTLIGHT Brazing and Soldering Awareness

Gas Nozzle Enables are flat and clean. The narrow, conical soldering kit (PSK300 and PSK300-PB
Higher Brazing Speeds shape of the gas nozzle causes the for the lead-bearing version) is aimed
shielding gas to emerge at a high at the roofing and sheetmetal trades.
speed. This, in turn, also constricts the Each kit includes a heavy-duty iron
arc and allows brazing to be carried with stand; combination of solder and
out more rapidly. At the same time, flux; assortment of tip cleaners and
gas consumption decreases. tinners; and a collection of mainte-
nance accessories for ensuring optimal
Fronius International GmbH heat transfer and long product life
www.fronius.com housed in a molded plastic carrying
(877) 376­6487 case. The construction of each iron is
based around three core features:
Soldering Kits Come in high-caliber steel parts, production of
150­ and 300­W Versions heating elements in small batches, and
iron-clad solid copper soldering tips.
In collaboration with the joining-
technology development dept. at Audi American Beauty Tools
AG, the company has achieved a braz- www.americanbeautytools.com
(800) 550­2510
ing advancement. With its patented
new shape of gas nozzle, CMT Braze+
makes higher brazing speeds possible. Company Expands Its Line of
Initial applications of the process in High­Purity Gas Regulators
autobody shops at Audi AG have
demonstrated that under real series- The company has expanded its line
production conditions, robot-assisted The 150-W professional soldering of specialty, high-purity, and laborato-
brazing speeds of up to 3 m/min are kit (PSK150) is intended for MRO ry gas regulators to include general-
feasible. The resulting brazed seams services while the 300-W professional purpose to corrosive and toxic grade

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

32 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 Soldering Station Features
200­W Hot Air Pencil
The WXA2, a two-channel, 255-W
hot air and soldering station, features
the WXHAP200 hot air pencil with
200 W of power. It delivers
200°–662°F within 35 s using an inte-
grated hot air activation button on the
handle. This provides flexibility for W of power is used to slowly increase
high-mass soldering. Additionally, the the temperature of a printed circuit
WXHP120 preheating plate with 120 board prior to rework. The WXSB200

6.0 gas systems. The new aesthetic

and ergonomic designs, coupled with
improved snap-on tamper-proof
gauges, were driven by end-user needs.

Victor TechnologiesTM
http://victorspecialtygascontrol.com/
(800) 569­0547

Brazing Tips Offer 100%

Wraparound Heat Distribution

Cap’n Hook® tips, part of the com-

pany’s line of hot tips for brazing and
heating, offer concentrated heat (up to
5600°F), and are available in six mod-
els: three for oxygen/acetylene and
three for oxygen/fuel gases such as
propylene and propane. The tips,
which are useful for HVAC/R techni-
cians and plumbers, feature a 40-deg
flame angle that flows onto copper
tubing and away from sensitive areas,
minimizing the chances of burning ad-
jacent components. They provide
100% wraparound for even heat distri-
bution and are available for brazing 1-,
2-, and 3-in. copper tubes.

Uniweld Products, Inc.

www.uniweld.com
(800) 323­2111

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 33
 solder bath with 200 W of power is
used for tinning component leads and
removing insulative coatings. The sol-
dering station also includes a standby
temperature mode.

Weller
www.apexhandtools.com/weller
(800) 476­3030

Mobile App Helps Find

Correct Welding Parameters

Weld Parameter Guide, available at

no cost, is a mobile app designed to
provide common weld settings for
SMAW, GMAW/FCAW, and GTAW
processes. Available for Apple® iOS
and Android™ devices, welders can use
the app to find the correct welding pa-
rameters for their projects, welding
process, material, and thickness. It
provides convenient access to informa-
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

PIPE WELDERS... PURGE PROBLEMS?

INTERPURGE... IS YOUR SOLUTION!
WHY SETTLE FOR THIS?

316L Stainless w/ Argon Purge @ 250ppm Oxygen Level

NOTE: 1% Oxygen in Atmosphere is 2,094.6 ppm!

PURGE 2-3 MINUTES! ASSORTED PURGE
WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THIS! DAMS FOR ALL SIZES KITS AVAILABLE

316L Stainless w/ Argon Purge @ 12ppm Oxygen Level

PERFECT PURGING = HIGH QUALITY WELDS

PURGE MONITORS QUICK & ACCURATE

(OXYGEN TO 1PPM) PIPE ALIGNMENT

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34 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
tion that will help them set up their
weld operations on the go.

The Lincoln Electric Co.

www.lincolnelectric.com
(888) 935­3878

End Prep Tool Designed for

High­Purity Piping Systems

The company’s clamping end prep

tool, for use on thin-wall and heavy-
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 35
wall tubes with a high percentage of
chrome, has a massive clamp that
grips tubing from the outside, evenly
distributing the holding power, to en-
sure a chatter-free, precision end prep.
The tool, useful for high-purity piping
systems requiring 371⁄2-deg bevels, flat-
facing, J-preps, and orbital welding,
features a 950-W electric motor and
requires no cutting oils. It operates on
110/230 V and has a narrow body that
fits between 11⁄8-in. tubes, a working
range of 1⁄2 to 21⁄2 in., and uses an easy
to change block for changing tube matic applicators and hand-held
sizes. squeeze bottles, and does not spatter.

ESCO Tool Fusion, Inc.

www.escotool.com www.fusion­inc.com
(800) 343­6926 (440) 946­3300 ger-type PCB holder. Programmable
speed, dip/lift angles, and dwell time
Braze Paste Useful in Joining Dip Soldering Systems Feature provide process control. All models
of Carbon­Steel Parts Vast Capability Range have titanium solder pots with tem-
perature controllers for use with lead-
EFK, a new brazing paste paired New models in the company’s Auto- free SAC or SnPb solders. They include
with copper filler metals, is useful for Dip series include highlights that im- an automatic dross skimmer and col-
brazing of carbon-steel parts in prove dip soldering technology. Touch- lection trough along with a program-
exothermic- and endothermic- screen controlled models feature pro- mable, 7-day, 24-h startup timer. The
controlled atmosphere furnaces. The grammable preheat and dip height set- largest model can handle PCBs up to
paste can be dispensed through auto- tings, plus include an adjustable, fin- 600 × 350 mm. In addition, the EZ-

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

36 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
Flux 500A spray fluxing system is an
accessory.
Manncorp
www.manncorp.com/Auto­Dip.html
(800) 745­6266

Catalog Offers Supplies for

Professional Contractors
The company, a distributor of spe-
cialty hardware, tools, and concrete ac-
cessories, has released a 900-page,
full-color catalog with more than
20,000 products and an improved in-
dex. The updated catalog provides pro-
fessional contractors quick and easy
access to hardware, tools, materials,
pricing, and information they need to
get the job done on time. New prod-
ucts include a range of power tools,
power tool accessories, and building
materials. The catalog also features
many construction safety items that
are specific to the needs of the profes-
sional contractor.
HD Supply
www.whitecap.com
(800) 944­8322

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 37
Tip Cleaner Made for Soldering Nozzles Available Operating System Software
Soldering Iron with Identification Marks Monitors Soldering Process
SWAK-OS is a graphics-based pro-
gramming and editing machine con-
trol system that graphically monitors
programs throughout the selective sol-
dering process. The operating system
software features fast program loading
and program recall with minimal oper-
ator interface via ACE proprietary
software with simplified process and
motion-control functions. It also fea-
The company’s universal nozzles tures an automatic solder-pot detec-
for selective soldering machines are tion system for the recognition of tin-
constructed of steel alloys, precision lead, lead-free, or high-melting-point
The company’s low-abrasive brass machined, and available in standard solder alloys, as well as dual solder
wire Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner is de- sizes from 2.5 to 14 mm. Identifica- pump machine configurations. The
signed to make it easier for individuals tion marks are available for distin- software, which runs on a Windows 7
to clean their solder iron tip. Sold ex- guishing leaded and lead-free versions, platform, includes an integrated-board
clusively on Amazon, the cleaner pro- and custom nozzles are available, scanning function that automatically
vides a faster way of removing tool based on specific application require- captures and saves the board image to
dirt, dust, and builtup oxides. The ments, such as waveform sizes, multi- the program.
cleaner comes with a case that holds port, and extended or shortened
the brass wire in place. lengths. Ace Production Technologies, Inc.
www.ace­protech.com
Meck Products Pillarhouse International, Ltd. (509) 924­4898
www.meckproducts.com www.pillarhouse.biz
(608) 352­0325 (847) 593­9080

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

38 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
 BY DONALD J. BUTLER
AND DAVID G. BRASHER

Explosion Welding of
Dissimilar Metals Explosion welding can produce
robust dissimilar metal joints

Explosion welded joints and components can be engineered

and designed using a wide variety of metals

E
xplosion welding, bonding, or forcing the plate to accelerate and col- joint, but the real strength of the joint
cladding is a unique and inter- lide with the base plate at a high veloc- comes from the molecular bond that
esting process that can weld dis- ity. A plasma jet forms in front of this takes place between the base metals.
similar metals together. The explosion collision point as it moves across the The size and shape of the wave pattern
welding process enables dissimilar plate. The plasma jet removes any ox- is a useful indicator of the energy that
metals such as low-melting-point, low- ides and dirt on the surfaces of the was used to create the explosion weld-
density aluminum to be metallurgical- clad and base plate. This allows the ed joint. A wave pattern that is too flat
ly welded to higher-melting-point, very clean surfaces of the clad and or overly aggressive shows that the ex-
higher-density metals such as stainless base plates to collide behind the plas- plosion welding parameters need to be
steel or titanium. Conventional weld- ma jet and form a true molecular corrected. Numerous parameters can
ing techniques, when used on dissimi- bond. control the period and amplitude of
lar metals, usually lead to very brittle the wave pattern.
joints. The explosion welding process Wave Pattern
allows for interlayer metals to be in- Parameters
troduced between the base materials A unique phenomenon of the explo-
to eliminate formation of brittle inter- sion welding process is the wave pat- Three basic parameters control the
metallics and to increase joint ductili- tern that develops between the welded quality of an explosion welded joint:
ty. The result is very robust joints be- materials. Figure 2 shows tantalum explosive density, explosive detona-
tween the base materials that are as welded to copper with a highly devel- tion velocity, and standoff distance be-
strong or very near the strength of the oped wave pattern. The wave pattern tween the materials being welded.
base metals themselves. forms during the collision of the two Each of these parameters can be ad-
materials. The collision pressure and justed to control the amount of energy
Process Explanation angle causes material on the surface of being used to create the explosion
the base metals to flow as a fluid dur- welded joint. By adjusting these pa-
Explosion welding starts with two ing the bonding event. The wave pat- rameters, high-strength welds be-
plates in parallel alignment and a care- tern is formed while the metals are tween aluminum and copper can be
fully controlled gap between them. An flowing, and even though the metals achieved just as readily as welds be-
explosive charge is placed on the clad- are flowing like a fluid they stay in a tween tantalum and copper.
der plate and detonated from one end. solid state. The base metals do not For example, the welding of ¼-in.-
Figure 1 shows the explosion weld- melt and resolidify at the weld inter- thick titanium 6Al4V with a yield
ing process at mid-event. The explo- face like a conventional weld. strength of 120 ksi and 15% elonga-
sive detonation front is traveling from The wave pattern helps increase the tion to 304L stainless steel will use an
left to right across the cladder plate shear strength of an explosion welded explosive with a density of 0.75 g/cm3,

40 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 Fig. 1 — Explosion welding at mid-event. Fig. 2 — Explosion welding wave pattern, tantalum/copper.

a detonation velocity of 3000 m/s, and metals are preserved during the explo- with dissimilar metal joints, there are
a ¼-in. standoff distance between sion welding event. factors that a designer needs to con-
plates. The welding of annealed copper Creates a true metallurgical joint. sider when planning with this process.
with a yield strength of 30 ksi and An explosion welded joint is a true Distortion of the metals. Due to
40% elongation to the same 304L metallurgical joint between two met- the high forces the explosion creates,
stainless steel will use an explosive als. The joint is very strong and will be the metals are often distorted during
with a density of 0.60 g/cm3, detona- as strong as the materials that are be- the explosion welding process. The
tion velocity of 2500 m/s, and a 1⁄8-in. ing welded together. metals will thin as they are pulled and
standoff distance between plates. Interlayers can easily be added to stretched. Designers typically start
the joint. Joints can be engineered for with materials thicker than minimum
Explosion Welding specific applications by adding thin in- requirements to allow for thinning.
terlayer metals between the base met- Also, a tight flatness tolerance may re-
Characteristics als. The interlayer metals can be used quire surfaces to be milled flat.
as diffusion barriers to prevent brittle The process is mostly limited to
There are many alternative dissimi- intermetallics from forming. Also, flat plates or circular geometries.
lar metal joining techniques such as when welding two high-strength mate- The distortion of the metals during ex-
brazing, soldering, diffusion bonding, rials with low ductility, High Energy plosion welding limits the shapes that
electron beam welding, friction weld- Metals, Inc., has found that adding a can be explosion welded. Curved sur-
ing, and roll bonding. Each process thin interlayer of a high-ductility met- faces or net-shape parts can be explo-
may be preferred based on a particular al can increase the joint impact sion welded together, but the shape of
set of criteria. strength with minimal loss of tensile the part will be changed from the
Explosion welding does have the strength. This creates joints that are forces created during the weld. Gener-
following distinct advantages over extremely versatile and strong. ally, finish parts are cut, formed,
most other dissimilar welding and/or machined from an explosion
processes. welded plate or tube.
Cold welding process. Explosion Explosive Welding Design Edge effects. Around the perime-
welding is a cold welding process. The Considerations ter of an explosively welded plate,
metals do not melt and resolidify. This both constituent metals exhibit thin-
means there is no heat-affected zone While the explosion welding ning and the weld is compromised due
and the mechanical properties of the process can help solve many problems to reduced explosive pressure. The
edges of explosion welded plates are
usually not usable material. Plates
start oversized and then are trimmed
to the finish size after explosion weld-
ing. The edge effect is typically limited
to roughly twice the thickness of the
cladder plate. This means a ½-in.-thick
cladder plate will have about a 1-in.-
wide perimeter of waste material.

Applications
Explosion welded materials and
components are used in a wide range
of industries. Following are four exam-
Fig. 3 — Aluminum to stainless steel pipe transition fittings.
ples of how explosion welded materi-
als can be used.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 41

 Fig. 4 — Diagram of Curiosity’s RTG generator (illustration from
Wikipedia). Fig. 5 — Titanium to stainless steel tube transition fitting.

minum-to-stainless bosses to attach

stainless steel ground cables to alu-
minum structures on ships. Figure 6
shows an as-machined bimetallic boss
and bimetallic stud, and a picture of a
bimetallic ground boss/cable assembly
being used to ground an aluminum
ladder on a Coast Guard vessel. In ad-
dition to grounding assemblies, these
bosses and studs are used to attach
steel or stainless steel boxes or compo-
nents to aluminum structures.
Fig. 6 — Aluminum/stainless steel bimetallic boss and stud. Boss installed on U.S. Coast
Guard vessel with a stainless steel bond strap.
Conclusion
Aluminum to stainless steel pipe sion welded aluminum-tantalum- Explosion welding is an underuti-
transition fittings. Facilities that re- stainless steel design was chosen since lized, but proven, welding technique
quire a transition from stainless steel repair of a leaky or weak joint would that has solved many engineering
to aluminum pipes are faced with few be impossible. Figure 4 shows a dia- problems by welding dissimilar metals.
options. Each pipe could be flanged gram of the power system. The explo- The process can weld together highly
and then the flanges could be bolted sion welded joints were used on the fu- divergent metals, creating a high-
together, but galvanic corrosion at the eling end Cap of the RTG generator. strength joint without the use of any
bolted connection can cause problems. Titanium to stainless steel tube intermediate binder. Explosion welded
Explosion welded transitions, as transition fitting. Many universities joints and components can be engi-
shown in Fig. 3, solve this problem. and national laboratories are perform- neered and designed for a wide variety
The aluminum pipe can be conven- ing high-energy physics experiments of applications using a wide variety of
tionally welded to the aluminum side in high-vacuum equipment that re- metals. When there is a need to join
of the transition fitting, and the stain- quire transition fittings between tita- dissimilar metals, designers should
less steel pipe can be welded to the nium and stainless steel tubing. These consider components manufactured
stainless steel side. The explosion transition fittings must be able to from explosively welded metals. WJ
welded transition fitting is very robust withstand high temperatures of con-
with high tensile and impact ventional welding during installation
strengths. Additionally, the joints are and pass a helium leak test of 10–9 atm
leaktight and are used regularly in cc/s or higher. A transition fitting is
high-vacuum environments. being used (Fig. 5) that is explosion
Space exploration. Designers of welded titanium to stainless steel us- DONALD J. BUTLER (info@highener-
the power system on the Mars rover ing a tantalum interlayer. gymetals.com) and DAVID G. BRASHER
Curiosity needed an aluminum to Bimetallic bosses and studs. The are with High Energy Metals, Inc.,
stainless steel component. An explo- U.S. Navy and Coast Guard require alu- Sequim, Wash.

42 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
Fig. 1 — Biopharmaceutical
process skid. (Photo courtesy of
CSI Central States Industrial.)

High-Purity Welding in the

Biotechnology and
Pharmaceutical Industries
Exploring the joining
T
he 2010 edition of The American SEMI standards. This chapter only al-
Society of Mechanical Engineers lows orbital gas tungsten arc welding
of metallic and (ASME) B31.3, Process Piping (GTAW) for production welds and re-
Code, included a new chapter X on quires using weld coupons.
polymeric materials, high-purity piping which, in addition High-purity welding is typically
to the pressure-safety requirements of broken into three categories. The
including what’s in the B31.3, also addresses cleanability re- highest level of purity is in the semi-
ASME Bioprocessing quirements of high-purity applications.
This chapter provides alternative
conductor and microelectronics indus-
tries, where fabricating equipment and
Equipment Standard rules for designing and constructing piping systems to manufacture wafers
piping designated by the owner as and chips requires welding inside of
high-purity fluid service. It also adds cleanrooms. Welding is performed
requirements to the B31.3 base code, with orbital GTAW equipment using
such as requiring welds to meet not high-purity argon shielding and purg-
only requirements in there, but for the ing from dewars of liquid argon using
BY RICHARD CAMPBELL, biopharmaceutical industry those in stainless steel tube for the purge lines
JAMES DVORSCEK, the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment with in-line purifiers and filters to re-
CURTIS ELKINS, AND Standard (BPE Standard) and for the move contaminants from these gases.
WILLIAM ROTH semiconductor industry those in the The next level is the biotechnology

44 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

and pharmaceutical industries, where welding is typically performed in ac- materials, in-process materials, clean-
welding is performed on equipment, cordance with the BPE Standard. ing or steaming solutions, and where
along with piping and tubing systems, This standard, first published in there is a potential for that surface to
used to manufacture drugs and other 1997, was developed for equipment affect the drug product. Cleanliness
biologics. Although some welding is and tubing systems used for manufac- of these process contact surfaces is
performed in cleanrooms, most is turing biopharmaceuticals such as critical.
done in fabrication shops or construc- drug products. It provides require- Part MJ addresses, in a general
tion sites with precautions taken to ments for the design for sterility, ma- manner, the welding processes used
keep the inside of the materials clean. terials, surface finishes, and materials for metallic materials. For welds where
Welding tube in this industry is done joining, plus examination, inspection, the process contact surfaces will be
with orbital GTAW equipment. Weld- and testing. used in the as-welded condition, the
ing pressure vessels and tanks is done The materials joining chapter (Part BPE Standard limits welding processes
with various arc welding processes. Ar- MJ) of the BPE Standard is not pre- to the inert-gas arc processes (such as
gon purging is typically used, but ei- scriptive but provides requirements GTAW or plasma arc welding) or the
ther dewars of liquid argon or cylin- and acceptance criteria. Part MJ cov- high-energy beam processes (such as
ders of high-purity argon are used ers joining of both metallic and poly- electron beam or laser beam welding).
with a polymer hose for the purge meric materials. Since no postweld finishing will be
lines; purifiers and filters are typically performed, the welding process must
not used. Joining Metallic Materials provide as-welded surfaces that are
The next level involves the food, sufficiently clean to avoid contamina-
dairy, and beverage industries, where Welding metallic materials involves tion of the product. Thus, the require-
much of the welding is performed with welds on stainless steels (mainly UNS ment for the inert-gas arc or high-en-
manual GTAW to standards such as S31603 and N08367) and nickel al- ergy beam welding processes.
the American Welding Society (AWS) loys. Part MJ provides rules for weld- When the welds are to be finished
D18 specifications. ing on pressure vessels, pipe, tube, and after welding (via various mechanical,
tube attachments, such as the skid chemical, and/or electrochemical
Welding in the shown in Fig. 1. processes addressed in the standard),
The BPE Standard first identifies the BPE Standard allows welding to be
Biotechnology and process contact surfaces vs. non- performed with the high-energy beam
Pharmaceutical Industries process contact surfaces. Process con- or any of the arc welding processes
tact surfaces are defined as those sur- (such as shielded metal arc welding,
In the biotechnology, pharmaceuti- faces that are in contact with, or have gas metal arc welding, GTAW). These
cal, and biopharmaceutical industries, the potential to be in contact with, raw processes are typically limited to weld-

Fig. 2 — Orbital gas tungsten arc welding of a stainless steel tubing Fig. 3 — Tube-attachment welding of fittings to transfer panels.
system. (Photo courtesy of Magnatech, LLC.) (Photo courtesy of CSI Central States Industrial.)

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 45

ing pressure vessels, tanks, and fit-
tings where the weld surface can be
ground and/or polished after welding,
which will remove any contaminants,
slag, or discoloration produced from
the lower-purity welding processes.
For welding pressure vessels, Part
MJ requires welding procedure and
performance qualifications, joint de-
signs, examination, inspection, and
testing to be in accordance with the
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
Section VIII, in addition to require-
ments in the BPE Standard. Likewise,
similar requirements for welding pipe
and tube must be in accordance with
the B31.3, Process Piping Code, plus
additional requirements in the BPE
Standard.
In the biotechnology and pharma-
ceutical industries served by the BPE Fig. 4 — Beadless welding of polymer tubing. (Photo courtesy of GF Piping Systems.)
Standard, pipe and tube are clearly dif-
ferent, unlike codes such as B31.3.
Pipe is classified according to its nomi-
nal diameter while tube is by its out-
side diameter. Most importantly, tube
is typically used in these industries be-
cause both the inside and outside sur-
faces are mechanically polished (and
sometimes the inside is electropol-
ished) to provide a smooth and clean
surface, which also allows welds to be
cleaner from oxides and other slags
compared with welds on pipe.
The BPE Standard has additional
requirements for welding tube, such
as requirements for making coupon or
sample welds on a periodic basis, and
recommends these at the beginning of
each work shift, when the purge gas
cylinder is changed, or when the or-
bital welding equipment is changed.
Additional examinations include
100% visual examination of the out-
side diameter surfaces of welds plus a
minimum of 20% visual examination
of the inside diameter surfaces of
these welds (direct or indirect with a
fiberscope or borescope).
Most of the welding on tube is per-
formed with the autogenous (no filler
metal) GTAW process, the majority
utilizing orbital tube welding equip-
ment — Fig. 2. Because this is a mech-
anized or automated process, the
preparation and fitup of the joint is
critical.
Precision orbital cutoff saws and
facing equipment to properly prepare
the joint faces are used. Tack welding
is typically performed manually to en-
sure proper joint alignment, although Fig. 5 — Acceptable and unacceptable groove weld profiles for metallic tube welds (Ref.
ASME BPE Standard, Fig. MJ-8.4-1). (Reprinted from ASME BPE-2012, by permission of The
most of the orbital equipment is capa- American Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)
ble of doing this. The weld head is

46 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 Table 1 — Acceptance criteria for groove welds on metallic tube-to-tube butt joints (Ref. ASME BPE Standard, Table MJ-8.4-1). (Reprinted
from ASME BPE-2012, by permission of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)

placed over the joint and shielding gas performed until the oxygen content is means of connecting tubing systems
(typically high-purity argon) fills the low enough to ensure that very little between rooms or switching from one
weld head to shield the arc. discoloration of the inside surface of the tubing system to another (such as
Purging the inside surfaces of the weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ) will from the drug product system to a
tube is essential and done with the occur. cleaning solution system). These pan-
same gas, typically using polymer tub- Unique to the high-purity indus- els involve fittings welded to stainless
ing to deliver the purging gas. Purging is tries are transfer panels that provide a steel sheet, requiring fillet welds to

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 47

 Sample #1a Sample #1b

Sample #2 Sample #3

Sample #4 Sample #5

Fig. 6 — Discoloration acceptance criteria for groove welds and Fig. 7 — Acceptable and unacceptable weld profiles for beadless
heat-affected zones on mechanically polished UNS S31603 tube welds on polymeric tube (Ref. ASME BPE, Fig. PM-4.2.8.1-1). (Reprint-
(Ref. ASME BPE Standard, Fig. MJ-8.4-3). (Reprinted from ASME BPE- ed from ASME BPE-2012, by permission of The American Society of
2012, by permission of The American Society of Mechanical Engi- Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.)
neers. All rights reserved.)

make these tube-attachment welds, Weld Acceptance ences Fig. 5. Part MJ identifies that
which are typically made with manual the weld shall not result in a surface
GTAW (Fig. 3) and sometimes with Criteria in the ASME that will contribute to microbiological
mechanized or automatic tube-to- BPE Standard growth and contamination of the
tubesheet GTAW equipment. Other at- product. Each of these additional crite-
tachments are also covered by the re- Part MJ provides four separate vi- ria has specific influences on the
quirements for groove and fillet tube- sual examination acceptance criteria cleanliness of the weld and potential
attachment welds in Part MJ. tables for welds made on metallic ma- for hold-up of fluids on the inside of
terials, one each for pressure vessel the tube, which could lead to microbio-
Joining Polymeric Materials and tank welds, pipe welds, tube logical growth and contamination of
welds, and tube-attachment welds, the product.
The 2014 edition of the BPE Stan- plus separate criteria for tube welds on Discoloration of stainless steel
dard incorporates joining polymer polymeric materials. welds and HAZs are the visible evi-
tube and pipe into Part MJ. This re- dence of various thicknesses and com-
quires welding procedure and per- Metallic Materials positions of oxides, hydroxides, and
formance qualifications in accordance other surface contaminants formed
with AWS B2.4, Specification for Weld- In each of the tables for metallic during welding. If these discoloration
ing Procedure and Performance Qualifi- materials, there are separate criteria levels are significant enough, they
cation for Thermoplastics. Joint designs for welds on process contact surfaces could potentially contaminate the
are limited to square grooves in butt and nonprocess contact surfaces. drug product, reduce the corrosion re-
joints. Table 1 shows the acceptance crite- sistance of the metal, and reduce the
The examination, inspection, and ria for groove welds on tube-to-tube life cycle of the piping system. The ac-
testing must be in accordance with the butt joints. Similar to codes and other ceptable discoloration levels are differ-
B31.3, Process Piping Code, in addition standards, this table addresses weld ent on the process contact and non-
to requirements in the BPE Standard. defects such as cracks, lack of fusion, process contact surfaces.
The joining method is limited to bead- incomplete penetration, porosity, in- The BPE Standard provides new
less welding (Fig. 4), where the two clusions, undercut, arc strikes, along color photographs of welds on UNS
pieces of tube are prepared and faced with overlap — and allows none of S31603 tube with both mechanically
to provide a tight, square joint, then these. polished and electropolished interior
placed in the welding equipment, and However, this table adds criteria for surfaces, with purging of the tube’s in-
a bladder is placed inside to help shape concavity (underfill), convexity (rein- terior with various amounts of oxygen
the inside surface while the joint is forcement), discoloration of the HAZ in the argon purge gas.
heated, resulting in essentially no and weld bead, tack welds, weld bead The photographs of welds on me-
underbead. width, and misalignment and refer- chanically polished UNS S31603 are

48 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

shown in Fig. 6 (it is essential to utilize Kadeem Bhaila, ITT Engineered RICHARD CAMPBELL (rdcampbe@bech-
the actual photographs in the ASME Valves; Neill Bickel, Genentech/Roche; tel.com) is a Bechtel Fellow and welding
BPE Standard or ASME BPE-EP-2012 Jeffrey Bradley, Eli Lilly; William Burg, technical specialist with Bechtel, Hous-
and BPE-MP-2012 stand-alone ver- DECCO; Todd Cook, T&C Stainless; ton, Tex. He is chair of the ASME Biopro-
sions). The acceptance criteria for dis- Randolph Cotter, Cotter Brothers; cessing Equipment Subcommittee on
coloration levels in Part MJ are differ- James Fritz, TMR Stainless; Evelyn Materials Joining (MJ) and AWS D1K
ent on electropolished and mechanically Gayer, Holloway America; David Gille- Stainless Steel Structural Welding Sub-
polished tube (these criteria are based spie, BMWC Constructors; Reinhard committee. JAMES DVORSCEK is a princi-
on corrosion tests that are identified in Hanselka, CRB; Barbara Henon, Mag- pal consultant for vessels and welding
technologies with Abbott Laboratories,
Appendix M of the BPE Standard). natech; Michael Hohmann, Quality
Abbott Park, Ill. He is the 1st vice chair of
Coalescence; William Huitt, W.M. the ASME BPE MJ Subcommittee. CURTIS
Polymeric Materials Huitt Co.; Ted Hutton, Arkema; Carl ELKINS is in business development-high
Kettermann, RathGibson; Kenneth purity with CSI Central States Industrial,
The acceptance criteria for beadless Matheis, Sr., Complete Automation; Springfield, Mo. He is the 2nd vice chair of
welds on polymer tube are provided in Nicholas McCauley, A&B Process Sys- the ASME BPE MJ Subcommittee.
text format along with Fig. 7 that tems; Thomas O’Connor, CSI Central WILLIAM ROTH is a welding and materials
shows the acceptable and unacceptable States Industrial; Herman Reinhold, engineer with Procter & Gamble, West
weld profiles. These criteria are neces- AM Technical Solutions; David Sisto, Chester, Ohio. He is secretary of the ASME
sarily different than those for metallic Purity Systems; Michael Solamon, Bioprocessing Equipment MJ Subcommit-
tee, chair of the AWS D18 Committee, and
materials because of the differences in Feldmeier Equipment; Lynn Sturgill,
member of the AWS Technical Activities
material properties and welding SWCC; Glyn Tabor, Eli Lilly; Chris Committee.
processes. Trumbull, former chair, Paul Mueller;
and Cullen Weeks, CRB.
Conclusions
High-purity welding includes weld-
ing in the semiconductor and micro-
electronics industries; biopharmaceu-
tical, biotechnology, and pharmaceuti-
cal industries; and food, dairy, and
beverage industries. Most welding in
the biopharmaceutical industries is
performed in accordance with the
ASME BPE Standard that provides
specific weld acceptance criteria for
Education That Works
pressure vessels and tanks, pipe, tube,
and tube attachments.
Welding metallic tube is typically
performed with orbital GTAW equip-
COMMERCIAL
ment, and shielding and purging with
argon from dewars of liquid argon or
cylinders of high-purity argon. Weld-
DIVE TRAINING
ing polymeric tube is typically done
with beadless welding processes. Addi- AIM HIGH. DIVE DEEP. Call Today!
tional examination requirements are
included in the BPE Standard.
Acceptance criteria involve the nor-
mal requirements relating to cracks,
incomplete penetration, incomplete
fusion, overlap, and arc strikes, but ad-
ditional criteria are provided such as
concavity, convexity, misalignment,
and discoloration levels to ensure that
the welds will not contaminate the
drug product. WJ

Acknowledgments 1.800.238.DIVE (3483)

The primary authors of this article www.diversacademy.edu
would like to acknowledge the contri-
Near Atlantic City, New Jersey
butions of the other members of the
ASME BPE Subcommittee on Materi-
als Joining. They are as follows:
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 49

Dissimilar Welding
Utilizing Nickel-Based
Filler Metals
If the nickel-based filler metal satisfies the constraints BY BRIAN GAAL,
MARTIN CARUSO,
imposed by material properties and service conditions, you AND SAM KISER
can expect outstanding performance and long service life

N
ickel-based filler metals have metals. There are four major differ- important when using nickel-based
many unique properties that ences that can cause trouble, particu- filler metal. Nickel solidifies as a face-
make them ideal choices for larly for welders who are accustomed centered cubic structure that is sus-
welding dissimilar metals. The major to welding carbon steel. The first is the ceptible to solidification cracking in-
constraints that must be addressed cleanliness of the weld joint prepara- cluding centerline cracking. A slightly
when welding dissimilar metals utiliz- tion. Nickel alloys are much more sus- convex weld bead profile is recom-
ing nickel-based filler metals are the ceptible to cracking caused by sulfur mended because it applies a compres-
weldabilty of nickel-based filler met- and other nonmetallic elements. sive stress transversely across the weld
als, the metallurgical compatibility of Therefore, the weld area must remain face. The compressive stress helps to
the filler metals and the dilution lim- clean and free of dirt, grease, and for- mitigate centerline cracking.
its, the physical properties of any dis- eign material. It is also good practice The depth of penetration is much
similar welded joint, and the service to dedicate specific tools like stainless less in nickel alloys compared to car-
conditions. If all these constraints are steel wire brushes and grinding wheels bon steel. The primary reason lies in
adequately addressed, a successful to be used only for welding with nickel the fact that normal sulfur levels in
joint can be made between two differ- alloys. Nickel oxide is much more tena- nickel alloys are about 10 times lower
ent metals that will provide outstand- cious than iron oxide and must be re- than the sulfur levels in steel. Sulfur is
ing performance and long service life. moved by grinding, abrasive blasting, the most commonly encountered sur-
or pickling. A stainless steel wire brush face active element (SAE) in tradition-
Weldability is a good tool to remove welding slag al weld fabrication of metals. The
and other debris, but it will only polish Marangoni effect explains the flows of
The first constraint that needs to nickel oxide and give the appearance molten metal in a welding pool in
be addressed is the general differences of cleanliness. terms of different levels of SAE (Ref.
in weldability of nickel-based filler The weld bead profile is also very 1). High levels of SAE result in deep

Low Sulfur High Sulfur

GTAW: 1900 W, 2.0 mm Arc Length GTAW: 1900 W, 2.0 mm Arc Length

Fig. 1 — The effect of sulfur on penetration due to the Fig. 2 — Estimation of dilution by graphical technique.
Marangoni effect.

50 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 Fig. 3 — Dilution tolerance for copper in nickel-based weld Fig. 4 — Dilution tolerance for chromium in nickel-based weld
metals. metals.

penetration while low levels result in dilution since the entire weld bead der 8% for nickel-copper and under
shallow penetration, which actually consists of base metals. 5% for copper-nickel.
helps control dilution in nickel weld- Regardless of the welding process Nickel-chromium welding products
ing. This distinct difference is illustrat- used, dilution is also affected by such are the most likely to be used for joints
ed in Fig. 1. factors as joint design and fitup. In involving dilution by chromium. With
cladding by automatic processes, prop- those products, the total chromium
Metallurgical Compatibility er electrode positioning and the use of content of the weld metal should not
oscillation can greatly lower dilution. exceed about 30%. Since the welding
Once there is a good understanding Although it is always best to keep products contain 15 to 20% chromi-
of the nuances of welding with nickel dilution low, it is also important for di- um, dilution should be held to under
filler metals, the next constraint is lution to be consistent along the weld. 15%. Fortunately, applications in
metallurgical compatibility. When Variation in dilution rate will result in which high chromium dilution could
welding with steel base metal and filler variation in weld properties along the occur are rare.
metal, maximum penetration is desir- length of the joint. Iron Dilution: The most frequent-
able. However, in a dissimilar weld the ly encountered source of dilution in
amount of penetration will affect the Dilution Limits dissimilar welding is iron. Many appli-
composition and properties of the cations require joining of ferrous ma-
weld. Therefore, dilution must be Based on dilution estimates, the terials to nickel alloys, and steel is the
closely controlled. The basic calcula- composition of the weld metal can be usual substrate for claddings. Most
tion for dilution is the amount of base estimated. Then it can be compared nickel-alloy weld metals can accept a
metal that is melted relative to the with known dilution limits for nickel- substantial amount of iron dilution,
overall size of the weld — Fig. 2. alloy weld metals to determine but the dilution limit for a weld metal
The amount of dilution is depend- whether it is crack sensitive or sound. generally varies with welding process-
ent on the welding process. Shielded The major alloying elements normally es used. Figure 5 shows the limits of
metal arc welding (SMAW), the most of concern in considering dilution of iron dilution for the various weld met-
widely used process for dissimilar nickel-alloy weld metals are copper, als and welding processes.
joints, normally produces a dilution chromium, and iron. The nickel-based Nickel weld metal can accept up to
rate of 30% when welding is done in weld metals can accept unlimited dilu- about 40% iron dilution when welding
the flat position. The welder’s tech- tion by nickel. is performed by the SMAW process. If
nique may vary the rate by ± 10%, but Copper Dilution: The limits for applied with bare welding wire, howev-
the welder has the least influence on copper dilution of the four major types er, nickel weld metal should not be di-
dilution with SMAW. of nickel-alloy weld metals are shown luted with more than 25% iron.
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) has in Fig. 3. As the chart indicates, copper Limits of iron dilution for nickel-
a wider variation in dilution. Rates dilution is of no concern with nickel, copper weld metal vary greatly de-
may range from about 10 to 50% de- nickel-copper, and copper-nickel weld pending on the welding process used.
pending on the type of metal transfer metals. With nickel-chromium welds, With SMAW, iron dilution of up to
and torch manipulation. Spray trans- e.g., ENiCrFe-2 or ENiCrFe-3, copper about 30% causes few problems. Sub-
fer gives the highest dilution, and dilution should not exceed 15%. merged arc deposits should not be di-
short-circuiting transfer the lowest. Chromium Dilution: As shown in luted more than 25% by iron. When
Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) Fig. 4, chromium dilution must be deposited by the gas-shielded process-
has the greatest variation in dilution. controlled with all of the weld metals. es, nickel-copper weld metal is less tol-
When filler metal is used, dilution Dilution of nickel weld metal by erant of iron dilution, especially if the
rates range from 20 to 80% or higher chromium should not be more than weld is to be stress relieved. The limits
depending on operator technique. An 30%. Nickel-copper and copper-nickel are not closely defined at present, but
autogenous weld is made without filler weld metals have low tolerance for established conservative guidelines are
metal and would be considered 100% chromium; dilution should be kept un- 15% maximum iron dilution for de-

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 51

 lowed. Complex the stainless base metal will expand
joint configurations more than the alloy steel, placing the
with sharp transi- line of differential expansion along the
tions should be weaker, alloy steel side, as shown in
avoided. Keep in Fig. 6. If the nickel-chromium weld
mind that this ap- metal is used, the stress resulting from
plies to filler metal unequal expansion will be confined to
selections as well. the stronger, stainless steel side of the
When joining a low- joint, as shown in Fig. 7. The data
carbon steel to a shown in Fig. 8 are based on an exten-
Monel® alloy, there sive research program involving the
is no need to use a Materials Properties Council, Electric
Fig. 5 — Dilution tolerance for iron in nickel-based weld metals
very high-strength Power Research Institute, and GA
by process.
nickel-chrome-moly Technologies. Experimental data indi-
filler metal. The cated that weld joint life between fer-
posits to be used as-welded and markedly different strengths will actu- ritic steels and austentic stainless
5–10% maximum dilution for stress- ally act as a stress riser and lead to steels could be extended 4½ to 7½
relieved welds. Since those values are quicker failure than a lower strength years by making the welds with nickel-
likely to be exceeded when a joint in- filler metal. This is particularly true in chromium filler metals.
volves steel, a layer of nickel weld met- situations where fatigue loading is ex-
al or nickel-copper weld metal from a
coated electrode should be applied to
perienced. Potential Problem: Thermal
the steel before completion of the Expansion Mismatch
joint. The nickel-copper barrier layer Physical Properties
may also be applied by submerged arc Differences in melting range be-
welding. In addition to metallurgical com- tween two base metals or between the
Copper-nickel weld metals can ac- patibility, other factors such as differ- weld metal and base metal can result,
cept only small amounts of iron. With ences in thermal expansion and melt- during welding, in fissuring of the ma-
all welding processes, iron dilution of ing range often influence selection of a terial with the lower melting range.
copper-nickel deposits should be limit- weld metal for a dissimilar joint. A Solidification and contraction of
ed to 5% (Ref. 2). joint between austenitic stainless steel the material with the higher melting
Nickel-chromium weld metals can and low-alloy steel such as T-22 illus- range places stress on the other mate-
accept relatively large amounts of iron trates the need to consider thermal ex- rial while it is in a weak, incompletely
dilution, making them useful for many pansion. This type of dissimilar joint is solidified condition. The problem of-
dissimilar joints involving stainless found in the superheater and reheater ten can be eliminated by applying a
and carbon steels. Deposits of nickel- tubing of power plant boilers. The ex- layer of weld metal on the low melting
chromium coated electrodes can be di- pansion rate of low-alloy steel is about range base metal before the joint is
luted up to about 40% with iron. De- 30% lower than that of austenitic welded. A lower stress level is present
posits applied by bare wire can accept stainless steels. During service at during application of the weld metal
up to 25% iron dilution. moderate cyclical temperature, un- layer. During completion of the joint,
Weld deposits made with nickel- equal expansion will place stress in the the previously applied weld metal re-
based coated electrodes can tolerate joint and can reduce fatigue life. From duces the melting range difference
larger amounts of dilution than welds the standpoint of dilution, either a across the joint.
made with bare wire processes. The stainless steel or a nickel-chromium
slag system can remove some detri- weld metal would be suitable. The Corrosion
mental impurities that are present in stainless weld metal would expand
higher concentrations in steel. That is about the same as the stainless base Nickel alloys and nickel filler metals
why the SMAW process can tolerate metal, and the nickel-chromium weld are chosen often because of their re-
more dilution and is often the process metal would expand at a rate near that sistance to a wide variety of corrosive
of choice in repair situations. of the alloy steel. media. Corrosion engineers typically
Silicon Dilution: Dilution of If the joint is welded with a stain- identify eight different types of corro-
nickel-chromium weld metal by silicon less electrode, both the weld metal and sion. This article focuses on three
should also be considered, especially if
the joint involves a cast material. Total
silicon content in the weld deposit
should not exceed about 0.75%, and
preferably should be controlled below
0.50%.
Anytime there is a transition in a
fabricated member, there is the possi-
bility for stress risers that may ulti-
mately lead to premature failure. It is
no different in the case of a dissimilar Fig. 6 — Location of maximum shear stress for a dissimilar weld using stainless steel filler
weld joint, basic rules should be fol- metal.

52 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 occurs in the softest zone, yet a stan-
dard 2.0-in. (51-mm) gauge length av-
erages the elongation over all five
zones, giving values misleadingly low.
Elongation of a transverse specimen
means nothing unless the gauge
length is restricted to the zone of
fracture.

Fig. 7 — Location of maximum shear stress for a dissimilar weld using nickel-based filler Summary
metal.
If the foregoing considerations are
types: general, localized, and galvanic ing a filler metal that will be more no- properly addressed, a sound weld pro-
corrosion. General corrosion is an ble or cathodic to the base metal will viding a long service life can be made
overall attack on the entire surface of a distribute the corrosion caused by the between two dissimilar metals using
specimen. Examples of general corro- galvanic couple over the much larger nickel-based filler metals. However, in
sion are rusting carbon steel or corro- surface of the base metal. The type of most real-world situations, there may
sion of a piece of carbon steel exposed media can have an effect on whether a be some unknowns. When encounter-
to hydrochloric acid. Localized corro- weld metal will be protected or not. ing a dissimilar weld joint in an aque-
sion is an accelerated form of corro- For example, a weld made using ERNi- ous corrosive environment, filler met-
sion that only attacks localized areas CrMo-3 on nickel-copper alloy ex- als ERNiCrMo-14 and ENiCrMo-14
resulting in pitting or crevice attack. posed to seawater at 25°C would be ca- (Ref. 3) will provide outstanding re-
This type of corrosion commonly leads thodic, but in a solution of 48% HF at sistance to pitting and crevice attack,
to premature failures. 25°C the weld would be anodic. and will likely be cathodic to most base
Galvanic corrosion is a form of cor- metals. When encountering a dissimi-
rosion that commonly occurs in dis- lar weld joint in a high-temperature
similar welding. When two or more Evaluating Weld Quality environment up to 2100°F, ERNiCrCo-
dissimilar metals are joined with a Mo-1 or ENiCrCoMo-1 (Ref. 3) will
conductive weld metal, they form a The characteristics of dissimilar provide an excellent combination of
galvanic couple. If this dissimilar weld joints must be considered in perform- creep strength and hot corrosion re-
joint is exposed to an electrically con- ing bend and tensile tests to evaluate sistance. In addition to these over-
ductive media such as seawater, gal- weld quality. In general, longitudinal matching suggestions, if the consider-
vanic corrosion may occur. This weld instead of transverse specimens ations of weldability, metallurgical
joint then becomes an electrolytic cell should be used to avoid misleading compatibility, dilution, physical prop-
where the anode loses electrons and results. erties, corrosion requirements, and
the cathode gains electrons, resulting A dissimilar joint consists of three weld quality testing are properly ad-
in the corrosion attack or dissolution alloys (two base metals and diluted dressed, dissimilar weldments that ex-
of the anode. Failure due to galvanic weld metal) plus two heat-affected hibit long successful service lives can
corrosion can occur when welding two zones. If the various areas have differ- be accomplished. WJ
different metals or when welding with ent mechanical properties or work
an undermatching or anodic filler met- hardening rates, a guided bend test on References
al. If galvanic corrosion is not taken a transverse specimen will likely fail
into consideration when selecting a due to differences in yield strengths. 1. Heiple, C. R., and Roper, J. R.
filler metal in a dissimilar weld joint, The lower yield strength base metal 1982. Mechanism for minor element
the weld can be preferentially attacked and possibly weld metal will yield be- effect on GTA fusion zone geometry.
resulting in premature failure. fore any deformation occurs in the Welding Journal 61(4): 97-s to 102-s.
Galvanic corrosion can be avoided higher yield strength metal. With a 2. Wilson, R. K., Kelly, T. J., and
by proper filler metal selection. Select- longitudinal specimen, all areas of the Kiser, S. D. 1987. The effect of iron di-
joint are forced to lution on Cu-Ni weld deposits used in
elongate at the same seawater. Welding Journal 66(9): 280-s
rate, providing a more to 287-s.
realistic indication of 3. Baker, B., Gollihue, R., Kiser, S.,
weld quality. ASME and Shoemaker, L. 2008. Alloy welding
QW-161.5 permits the products multi-task to reduce mainte-
use of longitudinal nance cost and improve process relia-
specimens when mate- bility. NACE Paper No. 08179.
rials of markedly dif-
ferent strengths are
welded together.
BRIAN GAAL ([email protected]) is welding
Similar results are engineer and MARTIN CARUSO is technology
Fig. 8 — Service life ratio for dissimilar welds between ferritic obtained with trans- manager with Special Metals Welding
steel and austenitic stainless steel welded with 309 stainless verse tensile tests. Products, Newton, N.C. SAM KISER is a
and various nickel alloy welding products. Most of the elongation consultant, Newton, N.C.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 53

High-Purity Welding for
Hygienic Applications
The AWS D18 Sanitary Standards provide easy-to- BY WILLIAM ROTH, RICHARD
CAMPBELL, BARBARA HENON,
follow requirements for the welding of sanitary AND DICK AVERY
process piping, tanks, vessels, and other equipment

n the early 1990s, the food and

I dairy industry faced the challenge

of inconsistency in fabricated
equipment used in processing plants.
The lack of a consensus standard to
cover the welding of sanitary tubing
necessitated that each end user create
its own set of fabrication acceptance
criteria. Many of these food and dairy
producers had incomplete or inade-
quate requirements that resulted in
gaps between their quality expecta-
tions and delivery of welded produc-
tion equipment. Sanitary (hygienic)
systems require specific welding ac-
ceptance criteria to ensure proper
drainage and cleanability of the equip-
ment surfaces that make contact with
the products intended for human or
animal use. The industry needed an
easy-to-follow document with quality
levels appropriate for food and dairy.

A Brief History
The 3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc., a
leading trade group for the food and
dairy industry, develops sanitary de-
sign standards for food and dairy pro-
cessing, packaging and handling
equipment, and systems. 3-A ap-
proached AWS in the early 1990s with
a request to prepare welding specifica-
tions for equipment used in food and
dairy product processing plants. In re-
sponse to this request, the Technical
Activities Committee and the Board of
Directors approved the formation of
the D18 Committee in the fall of 1995.
Several members of the D18 Commit- Fig. 1 — Examples of maximum allowable discontinuities (from AWS D18.1).

54 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

tee are active members of 3-A, and the ments. Performance qualification vari- ing operator, welding supervisor, and
committee continues to maintain liai- ables for the qualification of welders owner’s representative. For welders
son with 3-A. The D18 Committee (manual) and welding operators (or- and welding operators, the PWS pro-
published D18.1, Specification for Weld- bital) are also detailed. This standard vides a record of their outside diame-
ing of Austenitic Stainless Steel Tube and recognizes manual welding, machine ter weld bead profile to use in evaluat-
Pipe Systems in Sanitary (Hygienic) Ap- welding, and orbital welding, and pro- ing welds that cannot be examined in-
plications, in 1999. Since that first doc- vides guidelines for inspection of stan- ternally. Visual examination of the
ument, the D18 Committee has also dard test weldments with maximums outside diameter is used to give an in-
published D18.2 and D18.3. given for concavity and convexity on dication of the quality of the root
The first edition of AWS D18.1 ap- the inside and outside diameters, mis- weld, which is typically on the product
plied to gas tungsten arc welding alignment, and variation in weld bead contact surface.
(GTAW) and plasma arc welding width. Visual examination acceptance cri-
(PAW) of only austenitic stainless steel The D18.1 document pioneered the teria in D18.1 established require-
¼ in. (6 mm) diameter and larger tube concept of verification variables. ments for fusion butt-joint welds for
and pipe for new construction of pip- Changes to these parameters would sanitary applications that would opti-
ing systems for dairy, meat, poultry, not be expected to change mechanical mize cleaning in place of the piping
vegetable, beverage, and other prod- properties of the weld and are not of a systems and minimize the growth of
ucts consumed by humans and ani- nature to require requalification per microorganisms that could contami-
mals. In the 2009 edition, the scope ANSI/AWS B2.1. However, these nate the product. Whether manual or
was expanded to include nickel alloys changes could affect acceptability of orbital welds are made, the weld
that are also used in the industry. AWS the weld or heat-affected zone for use should always completely penetrate
D18.1 deals exclusively with welding in a sanitary system. Some examples around the entire circumference, with-
qualifications and visual examination of verification variables are changes in out excessive concavity or convexity of
requirements prior to postweld finish- backing purge gas flow rates of more the outer or inner surface. Weld dis-
ing, often called postweld condition- than 10% or weld head shielding gas continuities that could affect the
ing. Many of the requirements within flow rates of more than 25% from that cleanability or drainability of the pip-
AWS D18.1 were created to allow rea- qualified in the WPS. To address this ing system such as cracks, undercut,
sonable expectations of weld quality situation to ensure quality, without crevices, porosity, pits, and embedded
for autogenous welds (fusion welds undue burden on the fabricator, the or protruding material are not accept-
made without filler metal) without do- verification variable was created. A able. Visual examples of several maxi-
ing extensive internal examinations. change in a verification variable, be- mum allowable discontinuities for
yond the allowance, requires success- product contact and nonproduct con-
ful completion of a verification test, tact surfaces are shown in Fig. 1.
The Quality Cycle which is a sample weldment intended Figure 1 illustrates the maximum
to confirm that the changes still facili- acceptable oxide island diameter of 1⁄16
D18.1 begins the quality cycle by tate the weld meeting the visual ac- in. (1.6 mm) for the weld termination.
requiring written qualified Welding ceptance criteria. While the weld face should be of uni-
Procedure Specifications (WPSs) be The results of all weld qualifications form width, Fig. 1 shows permissible
followed for each weld done. This and inspections must be document- weld face minimum and maximum
mandates destructive testing of weld ed/maintained by the contractor and width variations for manual welds so
samples according to ANSI/AWS B2.1, owner. Annex B of D18.1 provides as to prevent incomplete fusion de-
Specification for Welding Procedure and sample forms that may be used to fects. Guidelines for alignment of the
Performance Qualification. Procedure qualify welders or welding operators weld components are also provided to
qualification test welds must be exam- and welding procedures to D18.1, in- be such that no ridge is formed on the
ined visually, either directly or indi- cluding the welder qualification test inner surface of the weld joint, which
rectly, using a borescope or mirror, record and sample WPS. would affect drainability.
and also be subjected to bend tests and Prior to any production welding on A color chart showing varying
tensile tests according to ANSI/AWS a project, each welder/welding opera- amounts of weld discoloration result-
B4.0, Standard Methods for Mechanical tor prepares three verification tests. ing from oxidation during welding is
Testing of Welds, to demonstrate the These preconstruction weld samples shown in Fig. 2. Many hold onto the
strength and ductility of the weld- (PWS) are given to each welder, weld- belief that discoloration is only a cos-
metic blemish. However, university
and private testing have shown that
discoloration compromises corrosion
resistance of stainless steel. The
greater the level of discoloration (i.e.,
the higher the number on Fig. 2), the
less resistant the stainless steel is to
chemical attack.
To prevent discoloration, the weld
joint should be purged on the inner
surface with a good quality purge gas.
Fig. 2 — Color chart showing the inside of orbital tube welds made on 304L with various The amount of color has been shown
levels of oxygen in the argon purge gas (from AWS D18.1 and D18.2).

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 55

to vary with the amount of oxygen in
the inert gas purge. Sample numbers
1–3, shown in Fig. 2, have generally
been found acceptable for sanitary ap-
plications, but the acceptance level is
subject to agreement between the
owner and contractor. Tack welds
must also meet similar discoloration
requirements and tacks must be fully
consumed.

The D18.2 Guide

AWS D18.2, Guide to Weld Discol-
oration Levels on Inside of Austenitic
Stainless Steel Tube, is a stand-alone
guideline that contains the same color
chart found in AWS D18.1 — Fig. 2.
This standard provides the same weld
discoloration levels as in AWS D18.1,
identified with the backing purge oxy-
gen concentrations. It also notes other
factors, such as moisture, hydrocar- Fig. 3 — Sanitary pressure vessels typical of those fabricated in accordance with AWS
bons, hydrogen, and surface finish, D18.3:2005. (Photo courtesy of Apache Stainless Steel Equipment Corp., Beaver Dam, Wis.)
that also affect discoloration. This
standard intentionally does not pro- expanded discoloration levels more fo- Tube and pipe welding for sanitary flu-
vide any acceptance criteria, only dis- cused at lower concentrations of oxy- id transport is not addressed in AWS
coloration levels associated with vari- gen as needed in that industry, and D18.3. However, welding tube or pipe
ous oxygen levels in shielding or purge the reference to AWS D18.2 was is within the scope when they are
gas. It is the responsibility of the own- dropped at that time. welded to an opening for use as a noz-
er to specify the level of discoloration AWS D18.2 is available in two ver- zle in a tank or vessel, or are welded to
that is acceptable for the application. sions, a two-page, 8.5 × 11-in. docu- equipment for use other than for
As such, AWS D18.2 can be referenced ment printed front and back on lami- transportation of fluids (i.e., protec-
by other codes and standards or by nated stock, and a 12.5 × 18.5-in. ver- tive shrouds for sensors, etc.). Figure 3
owner’s specifications for industries sion also on laminated stock but print- shows sanitary pressure vessels typical
other than the food and dairy indus- ed only on one side. The larger format of those fabricated in accordance with
tries that AWS D18 addresses. While provides larger photographs and al- AWS D18.3.
developed on stainless steel tube, it lows for better use in welding shops This specification also introduced
also can be applied to welds on pipe, and in the field. AWS D18.2 continues many new concepts to help drive clari-
tanks, vessels, and other equipment. to be referenced by other high-purity fication and alignment between the
This separate version of the color industries. owner and fabricator. One of these is
chart was originally printed as a result the definition of surface classification
of a need in the biotechnology and zones (SCZ). AWS D18.3 uses a cut-
pharmaceutical industries for a means The D18.3 Specification away drawing of a typical sanitary
to accurately assess stainless steel tank and identifies various areas in
weld discoloration. The ASME Biopro- The creation of D18.1 and D18.2 terms of their applicability toward
cessing Equipment (BPE) Standard ad- covered tube, pipe, and discoloration. sanitary requirements. These zones
dressed discoloration in words, but However, this still left a large sector of are product contact surface (PCS),
ASME did not have the means at the sanitary equipment without equiva- nonproduct contact surface — ex-
time to publish color photographs. lent guidelines. In 2001, the D18 com- posed (NPCS-E); nonproduct contact
The ASME BPE Committee ap- mittee began work on expanding the surface — remote (NPCS-R); and non-
proached AWS and the AWS D18 com- range of equipment covered by sani- exposed surface (NES). This allowed
mittee to publish a color chart that did tary fabrication requirements, which for common terminology and exam-
not include all the technical require- led to the 2005 edition of AWS D18.3, ples so differing levels of requirements
ments of the food and dairy industry Specification for Welding of Tanks, Ves- could be applied to different SCZs. For
as published in AWS D18.1. The result sels, and Other Equipment in Sanitary example, an owner might want a
was the first publication of AWS D18.2 (Hygienic) Applications. smoother surface finish on the PCSs
in 1999. The AWS D18.2 color chart Beside covering tanks, vessels, and than on NPCS-E or NPSC-R.
was referenced in the ASME BPE Stan- other equipment used in hygienic ap- Surface finishes were another area
dard from the 2002 through 2009 edi- plications, AWS D18.3 includes an ex- where the D18 committee led the way
tions. When the 2012 edition of the panded list of construction materials with defined weld finishes. The com-
BPE Standard was published, ASME that are not commonly used in tube or mittee defined eight different weld
had developed its own color chart with pipe, but are used in this equipment. finishes (WF-1 through WF-8). This

56 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

allowed common understanding and follows: Richard Howard, vice chair, WILLIAM ROTH ([email protected]), PE, CWI, is a
defining of weld finishes ranging from Vogt Power International; Joseph welding and materials engineer, Procter & Gamble
as-welded (WF-1) to welds being Campbell, former chair, WeldTech Co. He is chair of the AWS D18 Committee and a
member of the AWS Technical Activities Committee.
ground smooth and electropolished to Solutions Corp.; Bryan Chin, Auburn RICHARD CAMPBELL (rdcampbe@ bechtel.com),
a specified roughness average (R a) for University; Chip Eskridge, Jacobs En- PE, is a Bechtel Fellow and welding technical spe-
cialist with Bechtel, Houston, Tex. He is chair of the
a WF-8. Surface finishes, such as weld gineering; Larry Hanson, Johnsonville AWS D1K Stainless Steel Structural Welding Subcom-
finishes, are often specified by owners Sausage, LLC; Chelsea Lewis, Commit- mittee and of the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment
in terms that are not directly measura- tee secretary, American Welding Subcommittee on Materials Joining. BARBARA
HENON is semi-retired and is supported by Magnat-
ble, such as “180 grit,” “2B,” or “mir- Society; Joseph McSwiggin, Rodem, ech LLC for ASME B31.3 Process Piping Code Com-
ror.” These terms are highly subjective. Inc.; Jay Petter, Quality Tank Solu- mittee membership, and is a member of the AWS D18
Moreover, they can lead to disagree- tions; and James Williams, James and AWS D10 Committees. RICHARD AVERY is a con-
sultant to the Nickel Institute, specializing in the
ments on compliance since none of Williams, PC. welding of stainless steels and nickel alloys.
these have an objective measurable
way to determine if the finish is met.
The 2015 edition of AWS D18.3 will
have many improvements. These in-
clude the following:
• The table of essential and nonessen-
tial variables, WPS requirements,
and sample forms has been changed
to qualification and verification vari-
ables. This will more closely align
with both AWS B2.1 and AWS
D18.1.
• The scope was clarified to point out
that applicable portions could be
used as needed.
• Several definitions, figures, and text
were changed to more closely align
with AWS A3.0, Standard Welding
Terms and Definitions, and AWS
D1.6, Structural Welding Code —
Stainless Steel.
• Several metric conversions were har-
monized to current AWS guidelines.

Conclusions
The AWS D18 committee has creat-
ed a trio of specifications to address
sanitary welding in the food and dairy
industries where stainless steel is the
typical material of construction. Weld-
ing of tube, pipe, tanks, vessels, and
other equipment are all covered by
these specifications. These industry-
recognized standards have allowed for
common understanding between own-
ers and fabricators for quality expecta-
tions on welds, weld finishes, and dis-
coloration. This, in turn, has led to re-
duced confusion and increased align-
ment in the specifying, fabrication,
and examination of equipment for the
sanitary industry. WJ

Acknowledgments

The primary authors of this article

would like to acknowledge the contri-
butions of the other members of
the AWS D18 Committee on Welding
in Sanitary Applications. They are as
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 57

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

Controlled-Atmosphere
Induction Brazing
Brightens Surface Finish
It is possible to realize greater production
BY KLAUS KURT KUHN
reliability and more efficient use of AND RICHARD DETTY
energy with induction brazing

T
echnical demands made in pro- them from the braze joint. New tech- Brazing Filler Metals
duction and assembly equipment niques allow these operations to be
are leading manufacturers of conducted in a controlled atmosphere Brazing filler metals can come in a
brazing systems to develop new tech- with a blanket of inert gas or combina- variety of forms, shapes, sizes, and al-
nical innovations to improve produc- tion of inert/active gases to shield the loys depending on their intended use.
tivity and quality. The most pro- operation and eliminate the need for a Ribbon, preformed rings, paste, wire,
nounced new trend in brazing technol- flux. These methods have been proven and preformed washers are just a few
ogy is controlled atmosphere induc- on a wide variety of material and part of the shapes and forms alloys can be
tion brazing, due to its cleanliness configurations replacing or comple- found.
in production and superior finished menting atmosphere furnace technol- The decision to use a particular al-
appearance. ogy with a just-in-time single-piece loy and/or shape is largely dependent
flow process. on the base materials to be joined,
Principles of Brazing
and Soldering
Brazing and soldering are processes
for joining similar or dissimilar mate-
rials using a compatible filler material.
Filler metals include lead, tin, copper,
silver, nickel, and their alloys. Only the
alloy melts and solidifies during these
processes to join the workpiece base
materials, entering the joint by capil-
lary action. Soldering processes are
conducted below 840°F while brazing
applications are conducted at tempera-
tures above 840° and up to 2100°F.
The success of these processes de-
pends upon the assembly’s design,
clearance between the surfaces to be
joined, cleanliness, process control, and
the correct selection of equipment
needed to perform a repeatable process.
Cleanliness is ordinarily obtained
by introducing a flux, which covers
and dissolves dirt or oxides displacing Fig. 1 — Relationship between joint clearance and tensile strength.

58 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

a convenient and precise way to quick-

ly and efficiently heat a selected area
of an assembly.
Induction heating is noncontact
heating based upon transformer theo-
ry. The power supply is an AC source
to the induction coil that becomes the
primary windings of the transformer
while the part to be heated is the
transformer’s secondary — Fig. 2. The
base materials of the workpiece heat
because of their inherent electrical re-
sistivity to the induced current flow-
ing in the mass generated by the in-
duction coil’s magnetic coupling.
Current passing through an electri-
cal conductor (the workpiece) results
in heating as current meets resistance
to its flow. These losses are low in cur-
rent flowing through aluminum, cop-
per, and their alloys. These nonferrous
materials require additional power to
heat at similar rates to carbon steels
that are more electrically resistive to
Fig. 2 — Induction heating system showing the transformer effect on a workpiece. current flow, which ultimately trans-
forms into the heat necessary for the
brazing process.
placement during processing, and the to 0.006 in. Larger clearances up to
Heating is accomplished without
service environment for which the fi- 0.015 in. usually lack sufficient capil-
physical contact between the heat
nal product is intended. lary action for a successful braze.
source and the part. The alternating
Brazing with copper (above 1650°F)
current tends to flow on the surface
Clearance Affects or nickel-based metals (above 1850°F)
and there is a relationship between the
requires that the joint tolerance is kept
Strength to an absolute minimum, and in some
frequency of the alternating current
and the depth it penetrates the part.
cases, assembled with an interference
The clearance between the faying This is known as the reference depth
fit at ambient temperatures to ensure
surfaces to be joined determines the of heating. Part diameter, material
the correct joint tolerances while at
amount of braze alloy, capillary ac- type, and wall thickness can have an
the brazing temperature.
tion/penetration of the alloy, and sub- effect on heating efficiency based on
sequently the strength of the finished the reference depth.
joint. The best fitup condition for con- Induction Heating The selection of the output power
ventional silver brazing applications Theory of the induction unit and the operat-
are 0.002 to 0.005 in. total clearance ing frequency of the system is depend-
— Fig. 1. Aluminum typically is 0.004 Induction heating systems provide ent upon the workpiece. The power

A B

Fig. 3 — Examples of induction coils. A — Encircling; B — nonencircling.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 59

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

range of this equipment is typically A

5–50 kW with a medium operating fre-
quency range of 3–50 kHz used on
larger, heavier mass assemblies. High-
frequency equipment is best utilized
on thin cross-sectional assemblies for
greatest efficiencies with a frequency
range of 150–350 kHz.
The amount of power required
(kW) is always dependent on the part
B
symmetry and the material of the
workpiece. Of great importance for in-
duction brazing is having uniform
heating of all parts to be soldered or
brazed. Asymmetric parts, dissimilar
masses, and nonuniform cross sec-
tions are often very difficult to achieve
the appropriate uniformity in a single
heat time. For this reason, timed ramp Fig. 4 — A — Finished part appearance when conventionally brazed in air with flux; B —
and soak functions or implementation finished appearance of an induction-brazed part processed with a shielding gas.
of an optical pyrometer to control the
power density are implemented in the
heating event. This allows both induc- that is too wide will heat more metal ture composites. Thermal expansion,
tion and conduction to evenly distrib- than necessary, and therefore be less material compatibility, and thermal
ute heat through the parts mass to efficient. Many special designs of in- conduction of the part during the
achieve thermal uniformity at the fay- ductors for localized heating have been brazing process are also considered
ing surfaces. developed that heat efficiently with- when designing the holding fixture for
out surrounding the workpiece. repeatable everyday operation.
Induction Coil Design Stand-alone, inline, rotary, index-
Induction Fixtures and ing, or continuous, a properly de-
Fabricated from highly conductive Production Automation signed material handling system is
copper tubing or plate, the induction critical to the success of a brazing
coil’s design is influenced by the appli- If the shape of the workpiece will process. It needs to retain its integrity
cation, selection of frequency, power not support itself in an upright or con- throughout the rigors of daily part
density, and heat time. The purpose of ventional position (self seating/self processing. The material handling sys-
the inductor is to create a magnetic centering), a simple nesting fixture tem can be as simple as a stand-alone
flux pattern to generate a current path may be required. Materials for fixtur- manually loaded system where an op-
in the workpiece to selectively heat the ing include nonmagnetic stainless erator loads the parts into a holding
area of the assembly to be brazed. steel, ceramics, heat-resistant compos- fixture, or as complex as a fully auto-
The coil must be correctly posi- ites, refractories, and high-tempera- mated system.
tioned on the assembly allowing the
required heating to be accomplished.
The air gap or coupling space between
the workpiece and the inside of the in-
ductor should be minimized for rea-
sons of efficiency. Typical design gaps
of 1⁄8 to 1⁄4 in. are reasonable for brazing
with a helical coil.
Irregularly shaped sections may
need additional clearances thus re-
quire additional power to overcome
these poor coupling efficiencies. These
cases include situations where a round
inductor with a large air gap or a
nonencircling coil is needed to access
the braze area — Fig. 3.
The area to be heated determines
the length of the inductor. An inductor
that is too short will require a longer
heating time to allow the heat, by con- Fig. 5 — Six-station automated-indexing dial system for induction shield gas brazing of
duction, to cover the area. An inductor multiple stainless steel tube and fitting assemblies simultaneously at each location.

60 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

Controlled-Atmosphere in a single heat. ture. The hydrogen content can be de-

Advantages of shielding with inert termined by the parts aesthetic finish
Induction Brazing gases in a controlled-atmosphere requirements. Usually a 95% nitrogen
induction brazing system are listed and no greater than 5% hydrogen
Controlled-atmosphere induction below. would be utilized in processing.
brazing in an oxygen-free environ- • Little or no clean up of the fin-
ment produces exceptional joint quali- ished brazed assembly, Conclusion
ty in a fluxless environment without • Removal of the fluxing prepara-
scaling or oxidation — Fig. 4. The in- tion, application, and clean up steps in Controlled-atmosphere induction
duction coil, in most cases, is within process, brazing using shielding gases is an in-
the closed inert atmosphere environ- • The gas shroud and tooling serve novative breakthrough in manufactur-
ment for selective heating of the braze as workpiece holders in the process, ing technologies. The key advantages
area. In some others, the inductor may • Efficient energy usage by heating of induction brazing technology are
surround a nonconducting contain- “on demand” in only the area that re- noncontact heat transfer, excellent
ment, such as a quartz tube. quires brazing, process repeatability, high efficiency,
These production systems can be as • Near single-piece flow with re- and rapid rate of heating. Long-term
simple as a bell jar where the parts are duced inventory over conventional energy savings, high part quality, safe-
positioned for process, heated, and batch processing, ty, and process control highlight the
cooled under the protective contain- • Reduced distortion by heating features of this technology, which is
ment. Automated multistation sys- only the area needed to be brazed. now gaining momentum, comple-
tems (Fig. 5) allow continuous loading Shield gas selections include all no- menting or replacing conventional
of assemblies into fixturing having a ble gases depending upon the parts to processes in the automotive, aero-
positive flow of inert gas designed to be processed, but the most common space, environmental, and HVAC
index through the heating and cooling are nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen. arenas. WJ
needs of the braze assembly. After the Carbon steel parts use argon or pure
KLAUS KURT KUHN is managing director,
heating is completed at the first sta- nitrogen with the Grade 5.0 (high pu- Ajax Tocco Magnethermic GmbH, Hirschhorn,
tion, the remaining stations are pro- rity). For high-alloy stainless steel Germany, and RICHARD DETTY is
vided for cool down. To increase pro- parts, the cover gas is also pure nitro- sales/product manager, Ajax Tocco
duction, multiple parts can be brazed gen or a nitrogen-hydrogen gas mix- Magnethermic Corp., Warren, Ohio.

For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 61

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

Brazing Best Practices:

12 Tips for HVAC Technicians
A prominent HVAC technician training school offers its BY CHRIS CORDIA AND
GREG MITCHELL
guidelines for brazing quality high-pressure joints

W
hile a sound understanding of soldering and brazing experience and taught in classes presented at American
theory is important for HVAC (heating, ventilation, Trade School, St. Louis, Mo. By following these tips, you can
and air conditioning) technicians, it is their hands- help ensure your brazed joints will withstand high-side oper-
on skills that define their ability to do the work properly. ating pressures up to 500 lb/in.2 and last the life of the com-
This article presents the 12 hands-on tips learned from pressor or evaporator.

Tip 1: Deburr and clear the tubing. or a tool intended for that purpose. tight fitup to promote good capillary
Burrs that remain on the outside edge Technically, a copper-to-copper con- action, which is the movement of a liq-
of the cut can prevent tubing from fit- nection does not require cleaning be- uid along the surface of a solid caused
ting into the full depth of the cup, and cause the phosphorus in the filler rod by the attraction of the molecules of
burrs on the inside will cause turbu- will act as a flux. In practice, it is rec- the liquid to the molecules of the solid.
lence in the refrigerant. Any copper ommended to remove the surface cop- A joint that lasts 30 years has filler
shavings left inside the tubing can per oxides before brazing. Note: Sand- material throughout the depth of the
cause even more damage, as they can paper should not be used for this pur- cup (the overlapping portions of the
clog the liquid line filter and metering pose since the silica particles can come tubing, which will absorb the filler
device orifice. After reaming (Fig. 1), loose and cause problems similar to metal through capillary action and cre-
turn the tube upside down, then those caused by copper burrs. ate the finished, brazed joint). A loose
knock out all the loose shavings. Be joint (Fig. 3) won’t provide the neces-
sure to inspect the inside of the tube sary capillary action, and “painting” or
before making the final dry fit. “pasting” filler metal on top of the
joint just won’t provide the required
strength. In fact, such a joint will likely
crack from vibration.

Fig. 1 — An HVAC technician is using a Fig. 2 — Removing copper oxides

deburring tool prior to assembly. using a noncontaminating abrasive
cloth.

Tip 2: Clean the tube, coupling, and Fig. 3 — An example of a loose joint
filler rod. The parts should be cleaned Tip 3: Ensure a tight fitup to pro- that will not provide the necessary
with a 3M Scotch-Brite™ pad (Fig. 2) mote good capillary action. Ensure capillary action.

62 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

Tip 4: Purge the tube with nitrogen. Tip 6: Which torch is better — Air-
Copper oxidizes when exposed to swirl or oxyacetylene? The facts are
room air at brazing temperatures. The oxyacetylene (4700°F) produces a
same black-gray metallic flakes seen flame nearly twice as hot as an air-
on the outside of a joint brazed in air swirl flame (2700°F). But among
will also be present on the inside of HVAC technicians, which torch to use
the tubing. These flakes can clog the is just a matter of personal preference.
liquid line filter and metering device. One of the authors prefers an air-swirl
Purging the joint with nitrogen during (air-acetylene) torch because the wrap-
Fig. 7 — Tradesmen typically carry an
brazing prevents oxidization from tak- around effect of the flame makes it assortment of brazing tips.
ing place. Figure 4 clearly shows the easier to evenly heat all sides of the
difference between a tube brazed with- joint. Air-swirl torches also automati-
out nitrogen purge (at left) and with cally meter gas flow, so there’s no need Tip 8: For oxyacetylene, use a
nitrogen (at right). See Tip 12 on how to adjust pressure at the regulator, and slightly carburizing flame. Unlike
to use a nitrogen purge kit. of course, there’s no oxygen regulator welding, which requires a neutral
at all. The other author grew up using flame, HVAC technicians prefer a
oxyacetylene and prefers to use it, es- slightly carburizing (or reducing)
pecially for larger-diameter pipe or flame. The small reduction in oxygen
when working outside on a cold, windy reduces the flame temperature, which
day. As an interesting side note, some provides a touch more control when
technicians carry an adapter that lets brazing. Figure 8 shows a slightly car-
them attach an air-swirl tip to an burizing flame, which is about 3⁄4 to 1
acetylene torch handle — Fig. 6. This in. long using a #2 tip.
provides the flexibility to use air-swirl
for soldering, as an oxyacetylene flame
is too hot for that process.

Fig. 4 — The interiors of joints brazed

in air (left) vs. nitrogen purged.

Tip 5: Learn to use a variety of filler

materials. Brazing filler rods are avail-
able with 15, 6, or 0% silver, with the
balance copper and about 5% phos-
phorus. A high silver content provides Fig. 8 — A slightly carburizing (reduc-
a greater “pasty range” or degree of ing) flame is more desirable for
Fig. 6 — Brazing torch shown with an
workable room before the metal turns air-swirl tip. brazing.
liquidous at about 1450°F — Fig. 5.
While a 15% silver rod is user friendly,
it may cost 15 times more than a rod Tip 7: Carry several tip sizes. To ad- Tip 9: Heat the tube, not the filler
with 0% silver. Since you will be re- just heat delivery for the application at metal. Unlike gas welding, where the
quired to work with the filler rod pro- hand, it’s necessary to use the correct flame directly melts the filler rod,
vided by the contractor, it is important tip size for the job — Fig. 7. Oxyacety- brazing uses the heat of the tube to
to be skilled in the use of all types. lene users can throttle gas flow to melt the filler metal. Start by heating
some degree to control temperature,
but it’s better to change tip sizes to
control the temperature. In practice,
most technicians carry sizes #0, #2,
and a small multiflame tip.
Air-swirl torch users must change
tip sizes to control heat delivery, as
the gas orifice automatically meters a
precise flow rate. Most technicians
carry several tips for brazing, includ-
ing an A-3 for tubing up to 1⁄2 in. in di-
ameter, an A-8 for 1⁄2- to 1-in.-diameter
Fig. 5 — Filler metal is applied to the tubing, and an A-11 for 7⁄8- to 15⁄8-in.- Fig. 9 — The filler rod should follow the
hot tubing surface. diameter tubing. torch around the tubing.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 63

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

the male portion of the joint first, as it material for a few seconds more (Fig. rubber cone tip then insert the cone
will automatically begin to transfer 11) to allow capillary action to draw in tip into the tubing.
heat to the female (or coupling) por- the molten metal and completely fill Set the flow meter no higher than 5
tion of the joint. Next, evenly heat all the cup. ft3/h; a higher flow rate would cool the
sides of the female portion of the tube. tubing and possibly blow away the
As the tubing reaches brazing temper- molten filler metal. Note that a flow
ature, its color starts to change. At this meter must be used to set the flow
point, touch the end of the filler rod to rate, since a rate of 5 ft3/h is too low to
the joint. The heat of the tubing will be felt or heard, even when the cone
melt the filler metal and capillary ac- tip is held close to an ear.
tion will draw it into the cup. Be sure When connecting to a typical HVAC
to direct the flame ahead of the filler system with an existing line set, the
rod; basically, the filler rod should proper work order is to “chase the ni-
chase the torch around the tubing — trogen.” Starting at the condenser, re-
Fig. 9. move the Schroeder core valves from
the liquid and suction line and connect
Tip 10: Flame distance. Whether us- a hose from the flow meter to the liq-
ing an air-swirl or an oxyacetylene Fig. 11 — Heating briefly after removing uid line valve. The nitrogen can flow
the rod ensures complete capillary
torch, keep the bluest part of the action.
into the liquid line, through the meter-
flame just off the tube as you bring it ing device, through the evaporator and
to temperature — Fig. 10. Normal dis- into the suction line, where nitrogen
tances are about 1⁄2 in. for air-swirl and Tip 12: How to use a nitrogen purge can escape so as not to pressurize the
1 in. for oxyacetylene. Note that oxy- kit properly. First, connect a nitrogen system while brazing. The brazing or-
acetylene torch users might need to regulator to a nitrogen cylinder. Set der is the same: liquid line going out of
move the torch farther away to reduce the low-side pressure to about 40 the condenser, liquid line entering the
heat input after the tube comes up to lb/in.2. Next, connect a hose between evaporator, suction line exiting the
temperature or risk burning a hole the regulator and a blow gun or inflat- evaporator, and suction line entering
through the tube. able purge tip and send a blast of ni- the condenser. WJ
trogen through the line set to remove
oxygen and contaminants. Remove the CHRIS CORDIA is the HVAC instructor
hose and connect a flow meter to the at American Trade School, St. Louis, Mo.,
regulator. Reconnect the hose to the and GREG MITCHELL is central regional
flow meter, connect the other end to a manager at TurboTorch, St. Louis, Mo.

Fig. 10 — Keep the bluest part of the

flame just off the tube during heating. Fig. 12 — An HVAC technician sets up the nitrogen purge kit prior to brazing.

Tip 11: Complete the capillary About American Trade School. The school, www.americantradeschool.edu, of-
action. Add filler metal around the fers a 60-week HVAC diploma program and a 90-week associate’s degree pro-
circumference of the tube; as a rule of gram. In these courses, students train about 60% of their time in the lab apply-
thumb, the circumference roughly ing their classroom lessons, and within the first week are introduced to the fun-
equals the length of filler rod used. damentals of brazing copper tubing in diameters from 5⁄16 to 11⁄4 in. Both pro-
Remove the filler rod and continue to grams are recognized by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (St. Louis
heat the coupling and applied filler Chapter) and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship.

64 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

Brazing Ceramics to Titanium

Using Amorphous Filler Metal

It was demonstrated that microstructure and mechanical BY YU HUA LIU, JIAN DONG HU,
ZUO XING GUO, AND JIAN CHEN LI
properties are significantly influenced by the brazing
temperature, heat time, and cooling rate

T
i-6Al-4V is one of the most im- A B
portant titanium alloys and is
widely used in aerospace indus-
tries. This alloy has excellent fracture
toughness and corrosion resistance.
Also, it can be readily welded, forged,
and machined. On the other hand,
ZrO2, one of the most important ce-
ramic materials, has attracted great at-
tention because of its high strength
and fracture toughness (Ref. 1). The
difficult fabrication of complex-shaped
and/or large-sized components limits
its widely potential applications be-
cause of the brittleness and inflexibili- Fig. 1 — The XRD analyses of brazing joint. A — Side of ZrO2 ; B — side of Ti-6Al-4V.
ty (Refs. 2, 3). Approaches to join ZrO2
with other materials, typically metals
and alloys, can overcome this draw-
back to a great extent, leading to in-
tensive investigations in the past
decades (Refs. 4–8).
There have been some methods,
such as brazing, transient liquid phase
bonding, and diffusion bonding, to be
proposed for ceramic-metal or ceram-
ic-ceramic joining (Ref. 1). Among the
most popular methods is active braz-
ing, particularly using the Ag-Cu-Ti al-
loys, which are eutectic or close to eu-
tectic compositions (Refs. 4, 5).
Recently, it has been found that Fig. 2 — Backscattered electron image of the brazing interface at 1148 K for 5 min.
amorphous alloys with good glass-
forming ability could be used as braz- residual stress produced in the joint standing ductility and flexibility (Refs.
ing solders (Refs. 9, 10), even replac- and thus enhance the joint strength; 11–13).
ing the traditional Ag-Cu-Ti filler al- 2) the superior wettability of the In particular, the Ti-based amor-
loys, because of the three advantages amorphous alloy shortens the joint phous filler metals offer a combination
for the bonding materials: 1) the clearances required by traditional at- of low density, high specific strength,
amorphous alloys can accelerate atom- omized powders or paste formulations and relatively low cost (Refs. 14–18).
ic diffusion and surface reaction dur- at the joint for filling; 3) in addition, Zou et al. joined two pieces of ceramic
ing the brazing process at a low braz- the amorphous foil with large width Si3N4 materials using a Ti-Zr-Ni-Cu
ing temperature, which can reduce and thickness combines with out- amorphous foil as a solder and

66 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

A achieved the joint with much higher electron microscope (FESEM)

bonding strength than that joined by equipped with an energy-dispersive
using a crystalline filler metal (Ref. spectrometer (EDS). The compounds
19). However, there is no report on the and alloys at the interfacial region
joining of the ZrO2/metal assemblies were identified by X-ray diffraction
using amorphous filler metals. In this (XRD) using CuKα radiation. The
contribution, in view that Ti-6Al-4V is shear strength of the joint was meas-
one of the most important titanium ured using an MTS tester (MTS-810)
alloys because of its excellent fracture at a constant speed of 0.1 mm/min.
toughness and corrosion resistance as
well as the readily welded, forged, and Effect on the
machined properties for wide applica-
B
tions in aerospace industries, ZrO2 is Microstructure of
brazed to the Ti-6Al-4V alloy using a the Joint
Ag53Cu41Ti6 amorphous solder. The
systemical investigation demonstrates Figure 1 shows the XRD patterns of
that the microstructural evolution and the brazing joint, demonstrating that
mechanical properties remarkably rely there are TiO, Ti2O, Cu2Ti4O, and Ag
on the brazing conditions, such as phases in the side of ceramic ZrO2 and
temperature and heat time, as well as Ag, CuTi, CuTi2, and α-Ti phases in the
cooling rate. side of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Figure 2 shows
the backscattered electron image of
Joining Ceramic ZrO2 the interface zone of the joint at 1123
C K for 5 min. Table 1 shows the chemi-
and Titanium Alloy cal composition measured by EDS. Be-
cause the first, second, and fifth layers
Ti-6Al-4V alloy plate (5.76 Al, 4.03 are very thin, their compositions can-
V, 0.28 Fe, 0.06 C, and 89.87 Ti, wt-%) not be measured. Combined with Fig.
and sintered ZrO2 pieces with the size 1 and Table 1, the Ti atoms diffused
of 20 × 5 × 5 mm were used for the and reacted with O atoms from ZrO2,
joining experiment. The 17–50-μm- producing TiO and Ti2O compounds in
thick Ag53Cu41Ti6 amorphous foil with the first thin layer (Ref. 20). In the sec-
the melting temperature of 1119 K ond layer, Cu2Ti4O compound formed
was cut into the size of 15 × 5 mm for because of the strong appetency be-
D the use of solder. Both the Ti-6Al-4V tween Ti and Cu atoms as well as the
and the ZrO2 pieces were polished with reaction with ZrO2 (Ref. 4). It is a sin-
different sizes of diamond pastes, gle Ag element in the third layer. The
while the Ag53Cu41Ti6 amorphous foil gray and black phases are CuTi2 and
was gently ground with SiC sandpaper. CuTi, in the fourth layer, respectively.
After cleaning in acetone, ZrO2 and Ti- The Widmanstätten structure in the
6Al-4V plates and Ag53Cu41Ti6 foil were fifth layer is α-Ti. The interface of the
assembled in a sandwich structure. joint consists of six layers of different
The brazing experiment was per- thicknesses, which are ZrO2/TiO+
formed in a high Ti2O/Cu2Ti4O/Ag/CuTi+CuTi2/Wid-
vacuum of ∼5 × 10-4 Pa. manstätten structure/Ti-6Al-4V alloy.
After the welding experiment, the Figure 3 shows the microstructures
E specimens were sectioned and then of the brazing joints under different
polished for microstructural character- brazing temperatures, demonstrating
izations by a field emission scanning the remarkable changes of the mi-

Table 1 — Chemical Compositions (at.­%) of Various Phases Observed in Fig. 4

Region Ti O Ag Cu Zr Al Phase

1 38.8 57.1 — — 4.1 — TiO + Ti2O

2 52.1 13.1 6.3 26.5 2.0 — Cu2Ti4O
3 — — 87.0 9.4 3.6 — Ag
Fig. 3 — Microstructure of the brazing 4 49.1 — 2.9 46.1 0.9 1.0 CuTi
joints in different temperatures. A — 1148 5 62.7 — — 31.5 — 5.8 CuTi2
K; B — 1173 K; C — 1198 K; D — 1223 K; 6 77.9 — 0.8 10.2 0.6 10.5 α­Ti
E — 1273 K.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 67

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

crostructures of the joint with increas- A B

ing temperature. The thickness of the
Ag layer decreases, obviously, and is
discontinuous. The thickness of the
first layer increases with increasing
temperature. As the temperature in-
creases, the evident contrasts in the
interface of the joint change to two
layers from four layers, because of the
enhanced diffusion of the atoms with
the increasing temperature. Ti atoms
combined with O atoms and formed
C D
TiO + Ti2O, so that the thicknesses of
TiO + Ti2O and Widmanstätten struc-
ture increases.
The heat time effect on the mi-
crostructures of the brazing joints at
1173 K is presented in Fig. 4. The
thickness of the first layer increases
gradually with increasing the time,
while the thickness of the second layer
decreases from 30 to 8 μm. Figure 5
shows the microstructure changes of
brazing the joints with different cool- Fig. 4 — Microstructure of brazing joints for different heat times. A — 5 min; B — 10 min;
ing rates at 1173 K for 10 min. The C — 20 min; D — 30 min.
cracks and the micropores appear in
the interface of the ZrO2 and first lay-
er with increasing of the cooling rate, A B
which depresses the shear strength.

Effect on the Shear

Strength of the Joint
At a given heating time of 10 min,
the shear strength of the joint as a
function of the brazing temperature is
plotted in Fig. 6. As shown in this fig-
ure, the shear strength increases to
178 MPa as the brazing temperature C D
decreases to 1123 K, reaching the
maximum value. With increasing of
the temperature, the shear strength of
the joint will give rise to a slight de-
pression in shear strength. The frac-
ture of the joint occurs in the second
layer near the side of ZrO2 because of
the brittle TiO and Ti2O oxides, of
which the thickness increases with the
increase in brazing temperature, lead-
ing to the decrease in shear strength
Fig. 5 — Microstructure of the brazing joints with different cooling rates. A — 5 K/min;
of the joint.
B — 10 K/min; C — 20 K/min; D — 30 K/min.
The shear strength of the brazing
joints is also strongly dependent on
the heat times, as shown in Fig. 7,
where the shear strength of 178 MPa brazing joints rests with the thickness brazing filler metal. Therefore, the
can be achieved in the heat time of 10 of the Cu2Ti4O layer. The thickness of shear strength of the brazing joints is
min. While further extending the time Cu2Ti4O decreases with increasing of low.
to 30 min, the shear strength is almost the heat time, which increases the Figure 8 shows the shear strength
the same. The fracture occurs at the shear strength. But a short heat time, of the brazing joints decreases as the
interface between TiO + Ti2O and such as 5 min, leads to insufficient dif- cooling rate increases. The shear
Cu2Ti4O. The shear strength of the fusing of the elements and the residual strength can reach 178 MPa at a cool-

68 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

Fig. 6 — The shear strength of the brazing joints in different braz- Fig. 7 — The shear strength for the brazing joints for different heat
ing temperatures. times.

the brazing of Acknowledgments

ZrO2 and Ti-6Al-
4V alloy using This work was supported by 2012
Ag53Cu41Ti6 amor- Open Foundation of the Key Lab of Au-
phous brazing tomobile Materials, Jilin University,
filler metal with from Natural Scientific Basic Research
the maximum Fund for Platform and Base Construc-
shear strength of tion (Grant No. 12-450060481229), the
178 MPa, which State Key Laboratory of Advanced
is higher than Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute
that of of Technology (No. AWPT-Z03), and
zirconia/stainless Department of Science & Technology of
steel with Ag-Cu Jilin Province (Grant No. 20100545).
filler metal (90
MPa) (Ref. 21), References
and that of ZrO2
and Ti-6Al-4V al- 1. Hanson, W. B., Ironside, K. I., and
Fig. 8 — The shear strength of the brazing joints with different
cooling rates.
loy using Fernie, J. A. 2000. Active metal brazing of
Ti47Zr28Cu14Ni11 zirconia. Acta Mater. 48: 4673–4676.
amorphous braz- 2. Hao, H., Wang, Y., Jin, Z., and Wang,
ing filler metal X. 1995. Joining of zirconia ceramic to
ing rate of 5 K/min. When the cooling (108 MPa) (Ref. 22). stainless steel and to itself using
rate is increased to 30 K/min, the Ag57Cu38Ti5 filler metal. J. Am. Ceram. Soc.
shear strength decreases to 136 MPa 78: 2157–2160.
due to fracture occurring at the inter- Conclusions 3. Wang, X. H., and Zhou, Y. C. 2010.
Layered machinable and electrically con-
face between TiO + Ti2O and Cu2Ti4O. ductive Ti(2)AlC and Ti(3)AlC(2) ceramics:
Ceramic ZrO2 and metallic Ti-6Al-
A low cooling rate, such as 5 K/min, A review. J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 26:
4V alloy have been successfully brazed
can offer abundant time for the diffu- 385–416.
using amorphous Ag53Cu41Ti6 filler
sion and the reaction of the atoms in 4. Muolo, M. L., Ferrera, E., Morbelli,
foil. It is found that the shear strength
the filler metal and the base metal, re- L., and Passerone, A. 2004. Wetting,
decreases with the increase of the
ducing the thermal mismatch and the spreading, and joining in the alumina-zir-
brazing temperature, the heat time, conia-Inconel 738 system. Scripta Mater.
residual stress at the interface be-
and cooling rate because of the 50: 325–330.
tween the ceramic and metal. In con-
concomitant changes of the micro- 5. Smorygo, O., Kim, J. S., Kim, M. D.,
trast, elevating the cooling rate gives
structures and components at the and Eom, T. G. 2007. Evolution of the in-
rise to the increase of the fraction of
interface of the brazing seam. The terlayer microstructure and the fracture
brittle Cu2Ti4O phase with long strip modes of the zirconia/Cu-Ag-Ti filler/Ti ac-
maximum shear strength of 178 MPa
and the presence of a high residual tive brazing joints. Mater. Lett. 61:
can be achieved based on the optimal
stress at the interfaces, which depress- 613–616.
technical parameters: the brazing tem-
es the shear strength. 6. Durov, A. V., Kostjuk, B. D.,
perature of 1123 K, the heat time of
Therefore, the optimal technical pa- Shevchenko, A. V., and Naidich, Y. V. 2000.
10 min, and the cooling rate of 5
rameters make it possible to achieve Joining of zirconia to metal with Cu-Ga-Ti
K/min. WJ

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 69

BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

and Cu-Sn-Pb-Ti fillers. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 9. Kalin, B. A., Fedotov, V. T., and Grig- metals: alloys, processing, joint structure,
290: 186–189. oriew, A. E. 1995. Application of amor- properties, applications. Sci. Technol. Weld.
7. Durov, A. V., Naidich, Y. V., and phous filler metals in production of fusion Join. 9: 181–199.
Kostyuk, B. D. 2005. Investigation of inter- reactor high heat flux components. Fusion 12. Singh, M., Asthana, R., and Sh-
action of metal melts and zirconia. J. Eng. Des. 28: 119–124. pargel, T. P. 2008. Brazing of ceramic-ma-
Mater. Sci. 40: 2173–2178. 10. Szewieczek, D., and Tyrlik, J. 1995. trix composites to Ti and Hastealloy using
8. Singh, M., Shpargel, T. P., and Designing the brazed joint properties with Ni-base metallic glass interlayers. Mater.
Asthana, R. 2007. Brazing of stainless steel application of amorphous tape as a filler Sci. Eng. A 498: 19–30.
to yttria-stabilized zirconia using gold- metal. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 53: 13. Singh, M., and Asthana, R. 2007.
based brazes for solid oxide fuel cell appli- 405–412. Joining of zirconium diboride-based ultra-
cations. Int. J. Appl. Ceram. Technol. 4: 11. Rabinkin, A. 2004. Brazing with high-temperature ceramic composites us-
119–133. (NiCoCr)-B-Si amorphous brazing filler ing metallic glass interlayers. Mater. Sci.
Eng. A 460: 153–162.
14. Kim, Y. C., Kim, W. T., and Kim, D.
H. 2004. A development of Ti-based bulk
metallic glass. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 375:
127–135.
15. Torun, O., and Celikyurek, I. 2009.
Boriding of diffusion bonded joints of pure
nickel to commercially pure titanium.
Mater Design 30: 1830–1834.
16. Lin, T. S., Yang, M. X., He, P.,
Huang, C., Pan, F., and Huang, Y. D. 2011.
Effect of in situ synthesized TiB whisker
on microstructure and mechanical proper-
ties of carbon-carbon composite and
TiBw/Ti-6Al-4V composite joint. Mater De-
sign 32: 4453–4458.
17. Jiang, W. C., Gong, J. M., Tu, S. D.,
and Fan, Q. S. 2009. Microstructure of
high temperature Ti-based brazing alloys
and wettability on SiC ceramic. Mater De-
sign 30: 275–729.
18. Botstein, O., and Rabinkin, A. 1994.
Brazing of titanium-based alloys with
amorphous 25wt.%Ti-25wt.%Zr-
50wt.%Cu filler metal. Mater. Sci. Eng. A
188: 305–315.
19. Zou, J. S., Jiang, Z. G., Zhao, Q. Z.,
and Chen, Z. 2009. Brazing of Si(3)N(4)
with amorphous Ti(40)Zr(25)Ni
(15)Cu(20) filler. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 507:
155–160.
20. Wu, Z. Y., Shiue, R. K., and Chang,
C. S. 2010. Transmission electron mi-
croscopy study of the infrared brazed high-
strength titanium alloy. J. Mater. Sci. Tech-
nol. 26: 311–316.
21. Liu, G. W., Qiao, G. J., Wang,
H. J., Yang, J. F., and Lu, T. J. 2008. Pres-
sureless brazing of zirconia to stainless
steel with Ag-Cu filler metal and TiH2 pow-
der. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 28: 2701–2708.
22. Liu, Y. H., Hu, J. D., Zhang, Y. P.,
Guo, Z. X., and Yang, Y. 2012. Effect of pa-
rameters on interface of the brazed ZrO2
ceramic and Ti-6Al-4V joint using Ti-based
amorphous filler. Acta Metall. Sin. 25:
89–94.

YU HUA LIU, JIAN DONG HU, ZUO XING GUO,

and JIAN CHEN LI ([email protected]) are with
Department of Materials Science and Engi-
neering, Jilin University, Changchun, China.

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70 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

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BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Sintering Silver­Nanopaste for tering process. These investigations of tive brazing alloys, Ag-26.5Cu-3Ti and
Low­Temperature Joining the sintering behavior showed that the Cu-18Sn-3Ti (wt-%), was evaluated in
organic shell is decomposed much the temperature range 860°–1010°C.
The thermal and sintering behavior faster when the sample is placed in a The surface roughness of a SiC sub-
of a silver-nanopaste was studied at furnace which is then heated to sinter- strate was ranged at <1 micron, 1–2
the Chemnitz University of Technolo- ing temperature. Therefore, a sinter- microns, and 2–5 microns. Also, wet-
gy, Germany, with respect to its appli- ing process takes place even at temper- ting Ag-28Cu and Cu-18Sn (wt-%)
cation for joining copper at tempera- atures as low as 300°C. brazing alloys on the surface of silicon
tures below 500°C. The shape, distri- The sintered microstructure ex- carbide coated with titanium film 2
bution, and size of nanoparticles hibits thermal properties of bulk sil- microns thick was measured in argon
60–90 nm was characterized using ver. Therefore, it is possible to produce to compare with the wetting behavior
transmission electron microscopy. The joints at temperatures below 450°C of the above mentioned active brazing
thermal behavior was studied by dif- with a temperature resistance superior filler metals (Ref. 2).
ferential scanning calorimetry and to conventionally soldered joints. The contact angle of both alloys de-
thermogravimetry. In addition, scan- creased with rising temperature. Be-
ning electron microscopy was used to Wettability of Silicon Carbide tween 890° and 920°C, the wetting an-
evaluate the sintering behavior at dif- by Ag­Cu­Ti and Cu­Sn­Ti gle drops to 6 deg for the AgCuTi filler
ferent temperatures and holding times Brazing Filler Metals metal. The same behavior can be ob-
(Ref. 1). served for the CuSnTi alloy between
This analysis revealed that the layer The effect of surface treatment and 860° and 890°C. Above these tempera-
of silver nanopaste 20 microns thick morphology of a silicon carbide sub- tures, both alloys do not reduce their
has great potential for joining copper strate on the wetting behavior con- wetting angles on the SiC surface. Size
at low temperatures. It was shown cerning different active brazing filler and uniformity of the spreading area
that the organic shell of nanoparticles metals was explored at the Technical reached a maximum at 920°C. It did
oxidatively decomposed at tempera- University Dortmund, Germany. not change after this.
tures below 450°C, followed by a sin- Wetting in the vacuum of two ac- Surface roughness has a major im-

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74 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 TECHNOLOGY NEWS BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

pact on the spreading behavior of ing Cu-based brazed components in carried out to compare the new filler
molten metal. AgCuTi filler metal contact with potable water. In this metal to standard eutectic alloy Al-
showed a homogeneous spreading be- case, mechanisms of emission must be 12Si (AWS BAlSi-4). On reaching the
havior on smooth surfaces with rough- resolved until countermeasures can be breakdown potential of the BAlSi-4
ness <1 micron, but with surface taken. comparative alloy, the current densi-
roughness rising to 2–5 microns, wet- ties of lithium-containing alloys were
ting was inhibited and the spreading Flux­Free Al­Li­Si Filler Metals still all in the passive region. The low
area shrank to half of that size. On the and the Process for Furnace anodic corrosion current in the passive
contrary, the wetting and spreading of region had a maximum of 0.03
the CuSnTi alloy was not inhibited by
Brazing Aluminum mA·cm–2.
a rough surface. Moreover, the spread-
A new flux-free braze alloy, Al-(13-
ing area was slightly increased on a Active Metal Brazing Various
14)Si-(0.2-0.3)Li wt-%, was manufac-
SiC surface having a roughness of 2–5 Metals on Nitride Ceramics
tured at the Leibniz Universität, Han-
microns.
nover, and BIAS Institute, Bremen,
Precoating the SiC sample with tita- Aluminum nitride AlN and silicon
Germany, by melting Al, Si, and
nium resulted in enhancement of the nitride Si3N4 are attractive alternative
LiAlH4.
wetting and spreading behavior of substrate materials for thermoelectric
This filler metal was tested in braz-
AgCu and CuSn filler metal. The generators (TEGs) with higher operat-
ing aluminum Alloy 6063 in an argon-
spreading area of CuSn is already larg- ing temperatures due to their high
nitrogen shielding-gas continuous fur-
er at 860°C. The AgCu alloy does not thermal conductivity, electrical resis-
nace without a flux (Ref. 4). The filler
show this behavior below 1010°C. tivity, and mechanical strength. Inter-
metal exhibited excellent wetting, cap-
During wetting, the Ti coating reacts actions between two silver-based Ag-
illary flow, and formation of defect-
with SiC and forms TiC and Ti3SiC2, Cu-Ti and Ag-Ti active braze filler met-
free brazed joints. The tensile strength
creating an interfacial layer where the als, nitride ceramics and nickel, and
of joints reached 180 MPa at elonga-
thin liquid spreads. tungsten and molybdenum have been
tion 7%.
Corrosion tests by cyclic voltamper- examined at the Fraunhofer-Institute
Safe Use of Brazing Alloys in ometry in a 3% NaCl solution were for Ceramic Technologies and Systems,
Potable Water Applications
The methodology of corrosion
measurements and interpretation of
results in view of including data in en-
vironmental pollution standards, as
well as evaluating the corrosion activi-
ty of brazing filler metals, was studied
at the Chemnitz University of Tech-
nology, Germany.
Examples of nickel- and also cop-
per-based brazing filler metals were
evaluated to answer this question:
What has to be done to assure safe use
of brazing alloys in potable water ap-
plications (Ref. 3)?
The result of measurements con-
ducted from 1 to 26 weeks is proof of
the compliance with the German
Drinking Water Ordinance considering
nickel ion emission for the reviewed
nickel-based brazing filler metals:
Ni650 (AWS BNi-5), Ni710 (AWS BNi-
7), and B-Ni60CrPSi (Ni-30Cr-6P-4Si
wt-%). Every brazing filler metal re-
mains clearly under the tolerable level
of nickel ion pollution, 20 μg/L.
There are no significant differences
compared to reviewed nickel-based
brazing alloys. In some analyses these
filler metals exhibited even lower val-
ues with respect to nickel ion concen-
tration. On the other hand, increased
nickel ion emission appears when us-
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NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 75

 TECHNOLOGY NEWS

WORK
W ORK
Dresden, Germany, to realize reliable the metallization surface planes of the
bonds between nitride ceramics and diamonds. The X-ray diffraction pat-
metals like copper, nickel, or refracto- tern of the adherent on the fractured
ry metals. This was done to ensure diamond surface (110) was identified
that AlN and Si3N4 can be practically as Al4C3. This hexagonal plane was

SSMART
MART
RT used as substrates for the hot or cold
sides of a TEG (Ref. 5).
In all cases, formation of a TiN re-
action layer at the ceramic/braze inter-
face was observed. Active metal braz-
ing of nickel to AlN and Si3N4 was pos-
matched with diamond (110) and
slightly matched with diamond (111).

Effects of Iron, Indium on the

Formation of Intermetallics and
Shear Strength of Lead­Free
sible with both brazes whereas metal-
lization of nitride ceramics with the Soldered Joints
refractory metals occurred only in
The effects of alloying with 0.2 and
combination with AlN. While brazing
0.6 wt-% Fe, 1.7 wt-% In, and 0.3 wt-%
at 900°C, the TiN layer had a thickness
Ce on the microstructure and reliabili-
of 1–2 microns, whereas increasing
ty of Sn-3.6Ag-0.9Cu lead-free solder
its brazing temperature to 1050°C re-
were explored at the University Sains
sulted in TiN thickness of up to 10
Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
microns.
Indium with cerium decreased the
melting point of the solder from 217°
Reaction Products and Strength to 204°C, and it slightly improved wet-
of Diamond Joints with ting on copper and Ni-P electroless-
Manganese Powder, Al­Si Alloy plated substrates. The contact angle of
the indium-alloyed solder was as low
Aluminum and manganese were se- as 18 deg on copper while ~30 deg on
Model 200 Positioner
lected to modify a diamond surface be- the initial solder. Also, indium inhibit-
fore brazing due to their carbide-form- ed the growth of an intermetallic layer
ing ability. Desorption of CO and CO2 at the interface of joint metal and sub-
gases from a diamond surface at 770 K strate (Ref. 7).
affects the brazing process of diamond The addition of iron did not practi-
to metals. Desorbing CO, CO2, and hy- cally change the wettability of the sol-
drocarbons from the diamond surface der on copper and slightly decreased
was detected at the Tokyo Institute of the contact angle on the Ni-P sub-
Technology, Japan, by a quadrupole strate. The solder with 6% Fe exhibit-
mass spectrometer at elevated temper- ed the lowest thickness of inter-
atures above 873 K (600°C) in vacuum metallics (1.5 microns) after reflow
(Ref. 6). and aging on the Ni-P base metal while
Diamond metallization using a it resulted in the largest thickness of
Model 1200 Pipemate manganese powder and quantities of an intermetallic layer (8.4 microns) on
the Al-Si alloy was attempted at tem- copper.
peratures <873 K (600°C) without On the other hand, iron improved
graphitization. Condensed infrared the shear strength of soldered joints.
heating was used to vibrate carbon The strength was ~42 MPa on Ni-P
atoms at a substrate surface. This met- and 53 MPa on copper for lead-free
allization process, using manganese solder with 6% of iron, while the
powder in a vacuum, was then used for strength of the joint made using the
joining diamond to a Fe-42 Ni Invar al- initial solder was only 25–29 MPa, and
loy plate. The latter process involved the strength of indium-alloyed solder
brazing using the Al-Si filler metal in was 33 MPa on Ni-P and 37 MPa on
an argon atmosphere or in vacuum at copper. However, the indium-alloyed
a low temperature. soldered joints demonstrated the best
For the (100), (110), and (111) sur- plasticity — elongation up to 39%
faces of the diamond, maximum shear with Ni-P base metal and up to 50%
strength (11 MPa) was obtained for elongation with copper.
joints of diamond (110) specimens.
The Mn7C3 formation at 701 K (428°C) Gallium­Based Flux­Free Solder
was detected by a differential thermal for Joining Metals and Ceramics
analysis of the powder mixture. This
carbide was considered as a cause of A new flux-free, diffusion-hard-
the difference in the joint strength of ened, Ga-Sn-Cu solder was tested in
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76 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 TECHNOLOGY NEWS BRAZING & SOLDERING TODAY

joining copper-ceramic parts for a transform into Al2Cu3 intermetallic flux-free filler metals and process for
piezoelectric sensor by Avangard compound and dispersed into the brazing aluminum. pp. 205–211.
Corp., Sanct-Peterburg, Russia. bulk of the solder again. 5. Pönicke, A., Rost, A., Schilm, J.,
The solder consists of a mixture A similar reduction in growth and and Michaelis, A. 2013. Active metal
featuring gallium 58.6 wt-%, tin 6.5 associated development of inter- brazing of various metals on nitride
wt-%, and copper powder 35 wt-%. metallics was observed in SAC–1Al/Cu ceramics. pp. 278–282.
Copper powder has a particle size in samples subjected to thermal aging at 6. Yamazaki, T., Tsuda, H., Sak-
the range of 25–45 microns (Ref. 8). 170°C under air for 24–2096 h. aguchi, S., Ikeshoji, T.-T., and Suzumu-
This solder was prepared immedi- Growth rates of typical intermetallic ra, A. 2013. Reaction product between
ately prior to soldering by mixing cop- reaction products Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn at diamond and manganese powder heat-
per powder with a Ga-Sn master alloy the SAC/Cu interface during isother- ed by condensed infrared rays for met-
for 15 s. Solidification of the joint mal aging are both lower than all those allization. pp. 283–286.
metal started 15 min after the deposi- interpolated and calculated from the 7. Fallahi, H., Nurulakmal, M. S.,
tion between the copper and ceramic results of Cu/Sn, Cu/Cu6Sn5, and Fallahi Arezodar, A., and Abdullah, J.
parts to be joined. Heating can speed Cu3Sn/Sn diffusion couples reported 2012. Effect of iron and indium on
up the diffusion of copper into the Ga- in prior articles. WJ formation of intermetallics and me-
Sn alloy matrix and formation of a Ga- chanical properties of lead-free sol-
Cu-Sn solid solution by several hours. References ders. Materials Science and Engineering
Maximum working temperature of the A 553: 22–31.
soldered joint is 242°C. Heating above Note: Refs. 1–6 are from Brazing, 8. Ivanov, N. N., Ivin, V. D., Dzuba-
this temperature may result in remelt- High Temperature Brazing and Diffusion nenko, S. V., Lukianov, V. D., and Fe-
ing of the joint metal. Bonding, LÖT-2013, DVS-Berichte, dorov, S. S. 2013. Flux-free solder.
This solder has the following char- Vol. 293. Russian Patent 2498889. Published on
acteristics: coefficient of thermal ex- 11-20-13.
pansion after solidification is 1.6 × 1. Hausner, S., and Wielage, B. 9. Li, J. F., Agyakwa, P. A., and
10–5 °C–1; its specific weight is 5.5 2013. Characterization of an Ag- Johnson, C. M. 2012. Effect of trace Al
g/cm3; Young’s modulus is ~211 GPa; nanopaste with respect to sintering on growth rates of intermetallic com-
and Poisson’s coefficient is 0.10°C. The and thermal behavior for low-temper- pound layers between Sn-based sol-
solder was found to be most suitable ature joining. pp. 136–142. ders and Cu substrate. J. of Alloys and
for joining copper, aluminum, piezoce- 2. Tillmann, W., Pfeiffer, J., Wojars- Compounds 545: 70–79.
ramic, or glass. ki, and Yurchenko, S. 2013. Evaluation
of wetting behavior of active brazes as
Effect of 1% Al Addition to a function of the surface conditions of
Lead­Free Solders on the silicon carbide substrates. pp. 151–
156.
Growth of Intermetallics 3. Hoyer, I., Weis, S., and Groll, M.
2013. Nickel ions in potable water and
The effect of adding 1 wt-% Al into their migration out of brazing fillers
100 Sn, 96.5 Sn–3.5 Ag (SA), and 95.5 and brazed joints. pp. 176–181. Information provided by ALEXANDER E.
Sn–3.8 Ag–0.7 Cu (SAC) solders on the 4. Langohr, A., Swider, M. A., Wulf, SHAPIRO (ashapiro@titanium­brazing.com)
growth rates of intermetallic layers be- E., Möwald, K., Hassel, T., Maier, H. J., and LEO A. SHAPIRO, Titanium Brazing, Inc.,
tween these solders and a Cu substrate and Möller, F. 2013. Development of
Columbus, Ohio.
was experimentally studied at the Uni-
versity of Nottingham, UK.
The addition of 1 wt-% Al into pure
tin, SA, and SAC solders decreased the
growth rate of intermetallic layers,
which form at the interface between
copper and the joint metal (Ref. 9).
The most pronounced reduction in
rate of intermetallic growth was ob-
served in the SAC–1Al/Cu system dur-
ing reflow at 260°C for 5–120 min un-
der 98%N2 + 2%H2 forming gas. This
was accompanied by development of a
layer of AlCu intermetallic compound,
which was first formed within the bulk
of the solder and then migrated to-
ward — and gradually replaced — pre-
viously formed Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn
compounds at the solder/Cu inter-
face. This was observed to finally
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NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 77

COMING EVENTS

AWS-SPONSORED EVENTS U.S., CANADA, MEXICO EVENTS

FABTECH 2014. Nov. 11–13. Georgia World Congress Center, Association for Manufacturing Excellence® ‘Strategic Suc­
Atlanta, Ga. This exhibition is the largest event in North cess through People­Powered Excellence’ Conference. Nov.
America dedicated to showcasing the full spectrum of metal 10–14. Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel, Jack-
forming, fabricating, tube and pipe, welding equipment, and sonville, Fla. www.ame.org.
myriad manufacturing technologies. (800/305) 443-9353,
ext. 264; www.fabtechexpo.com. International Thermal Spray Conference colocated with
AeroMat 2015 and Microstructural Characterization of
Thermal Spray Pavilion and Conference. Nov. 12. Georgia Aerospace Materials and Coatings. May 11–14, 2015. Long
World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga., at FABTECH 2014. Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach,
Topics to include applications, processes, coatings, equip- Calif. www.asminternational.org/web/itsc-2015.
ment, automation, sensors and controls, and safety issues.
Int’l Thermal Spray Assn., an AWS Standing Committee. INTERTECH 2015. May 19, 20, 2015. Downtown Marriott In-
www.thermalspray.org; www.fabtechexpo.com. dianapolis, Indianapolis, Ind. To feature developments and
applications for superabrasives in the automotive and other
6th Int’l Brazing & Soldering Conference. April 19–22, 2015. industries. Sponsored by Industrial Diamond Assn. of Amer-
Long Beach, Calif. Topics will include current research, prac- ica. www.intertechconference.com.
tical and potential applications, and new developments in
these technologies. www.awo.aws.org/2015-ibsc.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
FABTECH 2015. Nov. 9–12, 2015. McCormick Place, Chicago,
Ill. This exhibition is the largest event in North America
dedicated to showcasing the full spectrum of metal forming, 4th IIW Welding Research & Collaboration Colloquium. Nov.
fabricating, tube and pipe, welding equipment, and myriad 5, 6. The University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. The
manufacturing technologies. (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 264; Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA).
www.fabtechexpo.com. www.wtia.com.au.

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78 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
International Conference on Mechanics and Civil Engineer­
ing (ICMCE2014). Dec. 13, 14. Zhong Tian Century Hotel,
Wuhan, Hubei, China. All papers will be presented in Eng-
lish. www.icmce2014.org/cfp.html.

International Symposium on Engineering Technology, Edu­

cation, and Management (ISETEM 2014). Dec. 26, 27.
Guangzhou, China. www.isetem.org.

2nd Arabia Essen Welding & Cutting. Jan. 10–13, 2015.

Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai, UAE. www.arabia-essen-
welding-cutting.com.

6th International Conference on Emerging Technologies in

Nondestructive Testing (ETNDT6). May 27–29, 2015. Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. www.etndt6.be.

8th Offshore Energy Expo and Conference. Oct. 13, 14,

2015. Amsterdam RAI, The Netherlands. www.offshore-ener-
gy.biz.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Brazing School — Fundamentals to Advanced Concepts.

Nov. 18–20 (Hartford, Conn.). Kay and Associates. (860)
651-5595; www.kaybrazing.com/seminars; dan.kay@kaybraz-
ing.com.

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Tuline Welding Hoses Are

NOW AVAILABLE FACTORY DIRECT FROM
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For ordering details, contact HBD/Thermoid Sales/Customer Service at
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For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 79
Grounding and Electrical Protection Courses. Nov. 13, 14 in nars, and blogs. Visit www.hypertherm.com, www.hyper-
New Orleans, La. Lyncole XIT Grounding; (800) 962-2610; thermcuttinginstitute.com.
www.lyncole.com/courses/.
INTEG Courses. Courses in NDE disciplines to meet certifica-
Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop. March 4, 5, 2015. tions to Canadian General Standards Board or Canadian Nu-
College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central clear Safety Commission. The Canadian Welding Bureau;
Florida, Orlando, Fla. www.lia.org/lam. (800) 844-6790; www.cwbgroup.org.

Resistance Welding Seminars. Nov. 20, Orlando, Fla. T. J. Laser Safety Online Courses. Courses include Medical Laser
Snow Co. www.tjsnow.com; [email protected]. Safety Officer, Laser Safety Training for Physicians, Indus-
trial Laser Safety, and Laser Safety in Educational Institu-
Shot Peening Workshops. Nov. 11–13, Singapore, China; tions. Laser Institute of America; (800) 345-2737;
Nov. 25–27, Reims, France; Dec. 2–4, Venice, Italy. Spon- www.lia.org.
sored by Metal Finishing News. www.mgn.li/workshops;
[email protected]. Laser Safety Training Courses. Courses based on ANSI
Z136.1, Safe Use of Lasers, Orlando, Fla., or customer’s site.
Welder Training & Testing Institute Courses. API Endorse- Laser Institute of America; (800) 345-2737; www.lia.org.
ment: Nov. 1; D1.5 Endorsement: Nov. 3–7; D1.1 Endorse-
ment: Nov. 7; Contact Tracy Wiswesser, WTTI, 1144 N. Gra- Laser U — Online Education Portal. Offers practical infor-
ham St., Allentown, Pa.; (610) 820-9551, ext. 204; mation to use on the job. Topics range from 3D printing to
www.wtti.com. drilling, welding, wireless and optical product requirements,
and many others. Visit website for complete information
E­Courses in Destructive and Nondestructive Testing of and to sign up for modules. Laser Institute of America;
Welds. Online video courses taken at one’s own pace offer www.lia.org/laseru.
certificates of completion and continuing education units.
Hobart Institute of Welding Technology. [email protected]; Laser Vision Seminars. Two-day classes, offered monthly
www.welding.org. and on request, include tutorials and practical training. Pre-
sented at Servo-Robot, Inc., St. Bruno, QC, Canada. For
Hypertherm Cutting Institute Online. Includes video tutori- schedule, cost, and availability, send your request to
als, interactive e-learning courses, discussion forums, webi- [email protected].

Robotic Contact Tip Specialist

visit our web site
www.tokinarc.com
e-mail: trading@tokinar
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80 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
Machine Safeguarding Seminars. Rockford Systems, Inc.;
(800) 922-7533; www.rockfordsystems.com.

Machining and Grinding Courses. TechSolve, www.TechSolve.org.

NACE International Training and Certification Courses. Na-

tional Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers; (281) 228-6223;
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NDE and CWI/CWE Courses and Exams. Allentown, Pa., and

customers’ locations. Welder Training and Testing Institute;
(800) 223-9884; www.wtti.edu.

NDT Courses and Exams. Brea, Calif., and customers’ loca-

tions. Level I and II and refresher courses in PA, UT, MP, ra-
diation safety, radiography, visual, etc. Test NDT, LLC; (714)
255-1500; www.testndt.com.

Online Education Courses. Topics include Introduction to

Die Casting ($99), Metal Melting and Handling ($99), Prod-
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($19), Managing Dust Hazards ($19), Safety (free). North
American Die Casting Assn.; (847) 808-3161; www.diecast-
ing.org/education/online.

Plastics Welding School. A two-day course for certification

to European plastics welding standards. Malcom Hot Air
Systems; www.plasticweldingtools.com.

Protective Coatings Training and Certification Courses. At For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

various locations and online. The Society for Protective
Coatings; (877) 281-7772; www.sspc.org.

Robotics Operator Training. Presented by ABB University at

13 locations nationwide. For course titles and locations:
(800) 435-7365, opt. 2, opt. 4; www.abb.us/abbuniversity.

Safety Training Online. Unlimited training on myriad indus-

trial safety course titles. Visit website for complete informa-
tion and previews of several courses; www.safety99.com.

Service Manager Course. Designed for sheet metal workers

and HVAC service shop owners. Various locations and dates.
International Training Institute. (703) 739-7200;
www.sheetmetal-iti.org.

Servo­Robot Training Seminars. Two-day laser-vision semi-

nars held throughout the year at Servo-Robot, Inc., near
Montreal, Canada. Seminars include tutorials and hands-on
practical training. For seminar schedule and costs, e-mail
request to [email protected].

Shielded Metal Arc Welding of 2­in. Pipe in the 6G Position

— Uphill. Troy, Ohio. Hobart Institute of Welding Technolo-
gy; (800) 332-9448; www.welding.org.

SSPC Training and Certification Courses. Courses in protective

coatings, abrasive blasting, paint inspector, bridge coatings in-
spector, surface preparation, NAVSEA inspector, and many
others. The Society for Protective Coatings; www.sspc.org.

Thermadyne® Distributor Training. Year-around training at

Denton, Tex.; West Lebanon, N.H.; Bowling Green, Ky.; and
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NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 81

 Unitek Miyachi Corp. Training Services. Personalized train-
ing services on resistance and laser beam welding and laser
marking; (626) 303-5676; www.unitekmiyachi.com.

Vibration Training Short Courses. Presented at locations na-

tionwide, customer’s site, and by correspondence. Vibration
Institute; www.vibinst.org.

Welding Courses. A wide range of specialized courses pre-

sented throughout the year. The Lincoln Electric Co.; (216)
486-1751; www.lincolnelectric.com.

Welding Introduction for Robot Operators and Program­

mers. This one-week course is presented in Troy, Ohio, or at
customers’ locations. Hobart Institute of Welding Technolo-
gy; (800) 332-9448, ext. 5603; www.welding.org.

Welding Skills Training Courses. Courses include weldability

of ferrous and nonferrous metals, arc welding inspection,
quality control, and preparation for recertification of Certi-
fied Welding Inspectors. Hobart Institute of Welding Tech-
nology; (800) 332-9448; www.welding.org. WJ

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Send information on upcoming events to the Welding
Journal Dept., 8669 NW 36 St., #130, Miami, FL 33166.
Items can also be sent via FAX to (305) 443-7404 or by
e-mail to [email protected].
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Publish Your Research in the

WELDING
Journal
and You’ll Get


Your research sent to more than 69,000
American Welding Society members


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will be exposed to your
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82 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

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E: [email protected]
P: 281-680-2000
See us at Fabtech booth # C3413 W: www.twisoftware.com
CERTIFICATION SCHEDULE Certification Seminars, Code Clinics, and Examinations

Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) Springfield, MO Mar. 22-27 Mar. 28

York, PA Exam only Mar. 28
Location Seminar Dates Exam Date Las Vegas, NV Mar. 29-Apr. 3 Apr. 4
St. Louis, MO Exam only Dec. 6 Minneapolis, MN Mar. 29-Apr. 3 Apr. 4
Los Angeles, CA Dec. 7–12 Dec. 13 Syracuse, NY Mar. 29-Apr. 3 Apr. 4
Orlando, FL Dec. 7–12 Dec. 13 St. Louis, MO Exam only Apr. 11
Reno, NV Dec. 7–12 Dec. 13 Nashville, TN Apr. 12-17 Apr. 18
Houston, TX Dec. 7–12 Dec. 13 New Orleans, LA Apr. 12-17 Apr. 18
Miami, FL Exam only Dec. 18 San Francisco, CA Apr. 12-17 Apr. 18
Charlotte, NC Jan. 11-16 Jan. 17 Perrysburg, OH Exam only Apr. 18
Beaumont, TX Jan. 11-16 Jan. 17 Miami, FL Exam only Apr. 23
Denver, CO Jan. 18-23 Jan. 24 Calgary, AB Apr. 19-24 Apr. 25
Miami, FL Jan. 18-23 Jan. 24 Annapolis, MD Apr. 26-May 1 May 2
Pittsburgh, PA Jan. 18-23 Jan. 24 Corpus Christi, TX Apr. 26-May 1 May 2
Long Beach, CA Feb. 8-13 Feb. 14 Detroit, MI Apr. 26-May 1 May 2
New Orleans, LA Feb. 8-13 Feb. 14
Seattle, WA Feb. 8-13 Feb. 14 Certified Welding Educator (CWE)
Waco, TX Feb. 8-13 Feb. 14 Seminar and exam are given at all sites listed under Certified
Atlanta, GA Feb. 22-27 Feb. 28 Welding Inspector. Seminar attendees will not attend the Code
Milwaukee, WI Feb. 22-27 Feb. 28 Clinic portion of the seminar (usually the first two days).
Miami, FL Exam only Feb. 26
Houston, TX Mar. 1-6 Mar. 7 Certified Welding Sales Representative (CWSR)
Kansas City, MO Mar. 1-6 Mar. 7 CWSR exams will be given at CWI exam sites.
Mobile, AL Mar. 1-6 Mar. 7
Norfolk, VA Mar. 1-6 Mar. 7 Certified Welding Supervisor (CWS)
Boston, MA Mar. 8-13 Mar. 14 CWS exams are also given at all CWI exam sites.
Rochester, NY Exam only Mar. 14
Edmonton, AB Canada Exam only Mar. 16
Birmingham, AL Mar. 22-27 Mar. 28 9­Year Recertification Seminar for CWI/SCWI
Chicago, IL Mar. 22-27 Mar. 28 For current CWIs and SCWIs needing to meet education re-
Dallas, TX Mar. 22-27 Mar. 28 quirements without taking the exam. The exam can be tak-
Miami, FL Mar. 22-27 Mar. 28 en at any site listed under Certified Welding Inspector.
Location Seminar Dates
Seattle, WA Nov. 16–21
Miami, FL Dec. 7–12

Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI)

The CRI certification can be a stand-alone credential or can
$6450.

$6450.
exempt you from your next 9-Year Recertification.

3&13*/54
3&13*/54 Certified Robotic Arc Welding (CRAW)



Seminar dates (S:) are followed by the exam dates (E:)






S: Dec. 8–11, E: Dec. 12; at









ABB, Inc., Auburn Hills, MI; (248) 391–8421








OTC Daihen, Inc., Tipp City, OH; (937) 667-0800
Lincoln Electric Co., Cleveland, OH; (216) 383-8542





Genesis-Systems Group, Davenport, IA; (563) 445-5688











S: Nov. 17–19, E: Nov. 20, 21, at
Wolf Robotics, Fort Collins, CO; (970) 225-7736












On request at MATC, Milwaukee, WI; (414) 297-6996 WJ






IMPORTANT: This schedule is subject to change without notice. Please ver­
ify your event dates with the Certification Dept. to confirm your course sta­
tus before making travel plans. Applications are to be received at least six
weeks prior to the seminar/exam or exam. Applications received after that
time will be assessed a $250 Fast Track fee. Please verify application dead­
line dates by visiting our website www.aws.org/certification/docs/sched­
ules.html. For information on AWS seminars and certification programs, or
Call 866.879.9144 or to register online, visit www.aws.org/certification or call (800/305) 443­
[email protected] 9353, ext. 273, for Certification; or ext. 455 for Seminars.

84 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
CONFERENCES

FABTECH 2014 Conferences Additive Manufacturing

Georgia World Congress Center November 13
Room C205
So You're the New Welding Engineer Additive manufacturing represents the realization of the
November 11, 12 ideal of “on-demand manufacturing.” Without molds or dies,
Room C302 additive manufacturing enables production of parts and
prototypes on demand. Design improvements can be made
and tested rapidly without tooling and machining
Here’s help for getting you “up to speed” quickly, asking constraints. Learn from the experts about additive manufac-
the right questions, getting the results you need, saving turing processes such as powder bed fusion, material extru-
money, and staying out of trouble. This two-day conference sion, directed energy deposition, material jetting, and more.
is for managers, engineers, designers, and others with weld-
ing responsibility but limited exposure to or background in
welding. The conference focuses on arc welding applications,
but the principles have universal applicability. Presentations
Look ahead to 2015
and discussion are based on the “Application Analysis Work-
sheet,” which was developed to teach a senior college course International Brazing and Soldering
to engineers about to enter industry, with the objective of Conference (IBSC)
helping them develop a path to understand and deal with April 19–22, 2015
the challenges they were about to face. Long Beach, Calif.
Thermal Spray Technology: Now in its sixth year, the IBSC remains the premier event
High­Performance Surfaces for the brazing and soldering community. For years, the
IBSC has provided professionals, scientists, and engineers
November 12 involved in the research, development, and application of
Room C201 brazing and soldering, a unique networking and idea-
exchange forum. This three-day conference provides
This conference is aimed at exploring the many facets of cutting-edge education and technical programming for the
thermal spray, including advanced uses of robotics in brazing and soldering community, as well as peer-network-
thermal spray, improving coating yield through powder feed ing and a full exhibit program, showcasing the latest trends,
optimization, recycling thermal spray overspray dust, and products, processes, and techniques.
applying thermal spray anodic coatings to less than ideally
prepared surfaces.

For more information, please contact the AWS Conferences and Seminars Business Unit at (800) 443­9353, ext. 234, or e­mail
[email protected]. You can also visit the Conference Department website at www.aws.org/conferences for upcoming conferences and regis­
tration information.

Call for Presentations

National Robotic Arc Welding Conference
The National Robotic Arc Welding Conference will take your presentation title, short paragraph discussing what it
place June 1–3, 2015, in Milwaukee, Wis. This year’s theme is about, and who will give the 30-min talk to j.noruk@ser-
is “Future Tools — Future Workforce” in recognition of the vorobot.com. Deadline for consideration is December 15,
fact that new technology will not work well without trained 2014.
and motivated people. This premier conference traces its roots to 1983 when
We are looking for speakers who have addressed robotic John Hinrichs, who passed away in 2012, started it with the
and automatic arc welding-related challenges and succeeded purpose of helping the fledgling robotic welding industry
through innovation in part design, tooling, process opti- grow by sharing new technology and ideas. Proceeds from
mization, workforce training, or other means. Submissions the conference will go to the John Hinrichs Memorial En-
are welcomed from end users, equipment suppliers, or a dowment, which is currently funded in an amount to pro-
combination of both. If you are interested, please submit vide more than $10,000 annually in scholarships.

86 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
WELDING WORKBOOK
DATASHEET 352

Submerged Arc Welding Fundamentals

Submerged arc welding (SAW) produces the coalescence required of the final weld deposit,
of metals by heating them with an arc or arcs between one 2) Thickness of base metal and alloy to be welded,
or more bare metal electrodes and the workpieces. The arc 3) Joint accessibility,
and molten metal are submerged in a blanket of granular 4) Length of the joint,
fusible flux on the workpiece. Pressure is not used, and filler 5) Position in which the weld is to be made,
metal is obtained from the electrode and sometimes from a 6) Frequency and volume of welding to be performed,
supplemental source such as a welding rod, flux, or metal and
granules. The process is shown schematically in Fig. 1. 7) The availability of capital for the SAW equipment
The fact that the flux covers the arc and prevents fumes, expenditure.
sparks, spatter, and radiation from escaping is the distin-
guishing feature of this process. Flux is fundamental to the
process in that the stability of the arc is dependent on the Advantages and Limitations
flux; the flux can control the mechanical and chemical prop-
erties of the final weld deposit, and the quality of the weld High quality and productivity are the main advantages of
can be affected by the control and handling of the flux. using the SAW process. Also, the process can be implement-
This versatile production welding and cladding process ed in three different operational modes: semiautomated,
operates on alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) mechanized, and automated.
up to 2000 A. Both AC and DC power sources may be used The main disadvantage of the process is that it can only
on the same weld simultaneously when using a multiple- be used in the flat or horizontal welding positions (test posi-
wire technique with wires of the same or different chemisty. tions 1G or 2G) for plate and pipe welding. WJ
In the SAW process, the end of a continuous bare wire is
inserted into a mound of flux that covers the area or joint
to be welded. An arc is initiated and a wire feeding mecha-
nism then begins to feed the electrode toward the joint at a
controlled rate. The feeder is moved manually or automati-
cally along the weld joint. In mechanized or automated
welding, the workpiece is moved under a stationary wire
feeder or the welding head moves over the stationary
workpiece.
Additional flux is continuously fed either in front of or
all around the electrodes and continuously distributed over
the joint. The heat evolved by the electrode arc progres-
sively melts some of the flux, the end of the wire, and the
adjacent edges of the base metal, creating a pool of molten
metal (the weld pool) beneath a layer of liquid slag and un-
melted flux. The melted bath near the arc is in a highly tur-
bulent state because of the arc pressure. Gas bubbles are
quickly swept to the surface of the weld pool. The main
portion of the liquid flux-slag floats on the molten metal
and completely shields the welding zone from the
atmosphere.
The liquid slag may conduct some electric current be-
tween the wire and base metal, but the electric arc is in a
gaseous environment and is the predominant heat source.
The flux blanket prevents atmospheric gases from contam-
inating the weld metal and dissolves impurities in the base
metal and electrode, then floats them to the surface. The
flux can also add or remove certain alloying elements to or
from the weld metal.
Consider the following factors when you are determining
whether SAW can or should be used for your application.
1) The chemical composition and mechanical properties Fig. 1 — Schematic view of submerged arc welding.

Excerpted from the Welding Handbook, 9th Edition, Volume 2.

88 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index
BY HOWARD WOODWARD — [email protected]
SOCIETY NEWS
AWS and Malasian Construction Industry Board Confer in Miami

From left are AWS staff members Linda Henderson, Cassie Burrell, Emil Pagoaga, Dennis Harwig, John Gayler, and Ray Shook; and
CIDB representatives The Honorable Datuk Fadillah bin Hj. Yusof, Dato’ Sri Prof. Ir. Dr. Judin bin Abdul Karim, Dato’ Ir. Ismail bin Haji
Mohd Salleh, Datuk Lim Keng Cheng, Dato’ Rohaizi bin Mohd Jusoh, Barry Edmonds, Dr. Jamilah binti Mohd Marjan, Ahmad Wafi Harus­
sani, Safrizan Abdul Karim, and Mohammad Faizal Abdul Hamid.

Ten executives representing Ekovest Berhad; Dato’ Rohaizi

the interests of the Construction bin Mohd Jusoh, general manag-
Industry Development Board er of CIDB Malaysia; Barry Ed-
Malaysia (CIDB) met with AWS monds, director, United Technol-
staff at the Society’s World Head- ogy (M) Sdn Bhd; Dr. Jamilah
quarters in Miami, Fla., Sept. 9, binti Mohd Marjan, director of
10, to formulate and sign a two- Highway Planning Division, Min-
year Memorandum of Under- istry of Works Malaysia; Ahmad
standing. The objective is for the Wafi Harussani, senior private
two organizations to cooperate secretary to minister of works;
on the certification of profession- Safrizan Abdul Karim, third sec-
al welders in Malaysia, enhance retary, Embassy of Malaysia; and
relations between the two organi- Mohammad Faizal Abdul Hamid,
zations, and explore other areas special officer to chief executive –
of mutual cooperation. CIDB.
Ray Shook (left), AWS executive director, is Representing CIDB Malaysia Representing AWS were Ray
shown with Dato’ Sri Prof. Ir. Dr. Judin bin were The Honorable Datuk Fadil- Shook, executive director; Cassie
Abdul Karim, chief executive, CIDB, at the
signing of the memorandum.
lah bin Hj. Yusof, Minister of Burrell, senior associate executive
Works Malaysia; Dato’ Sri Prof. Ir. director; Dennis Harwig, chief
Dr. Judin bin Abdul Karim, chief technology officer; John Gayler,
executive CIDB Malaysia; Dato’ managing director, Certification
Ir. Ismail bin Haji Mohd Salleh, Services; Linda Henderson, direc-
director general of Malaysia tor, accreditation programs; and
Highway Authority; Datuk Lim Emil Pagoaga, senior program co-
Keng Cheng, managing director, ordinator.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 91

SOCIETY NEWS
TECH TOPICS
New Standards Projects Technical Committee Meetings Mill Cranes. E. Abrams, ext. 307,
[email protected].
Development work has begun to All Nov. 10–13 meetings will be Nov. 12. D14I Subcommittee on
revise the following standard. Affect- held at FABTECH in Atlanta, Ga. Hydraulic Cylinders. E. Abrams, ext.
ed individuals are invited to con- Nov. 10. B1 Committee on Meth- 307, [email protected].
tribute to this work. Participation on ods of Inspection. E. Abrams, ext. Nov. 12. D16 Committee on Ro-
all AWS Technical Committees is 307, [email protected]. botic and Automatic Welding. C.
open to all persons. Nov. 10. B1A Subcommittee on Lewis, ext. 306, [email protected].
D14.4/D14.4M:201X, Specification Nondestructive Examination of Nov. 12. D17K Subcommittee on
for the Design of Welded Joints in Ma- Fusion Welding. J. Molin, ext. 304,
Welds. E. Abrams, ext. 307,
chinery and Equipment, defines the re- [email protected].
[email protected].
quirements for allowable stresses, Nov. 13. C6D Subcommittee on
Nov. 10. C2 Committee on Ther- Friction Stir Welding. C. Lewis, ext.
welded joint design, workmanship,
mal Spraying. J. Rosario, ext. 308, 306, [email protected].
procedure and performance qualifica-
[email protected]. Nov. 13. D14C Subcommittee on
tions, inspection, repair and postweld
treatments of welded connections Nov. 10. C2F Subcommittee on Earthmoving and Construction
used in machinery and equipment Thermal Spray Operator Qualifica- Equipment. E. Abrams, ext. 307,
subject to static and cyclic loading. tion. J. Rosario, ext. 308, [email protected].
Stakeholders: The machinery and [email protected]. Nov. 13. D14 Committee on Ma-
equipment community. E. Abrams, Nov. 10. C2G Subcommittee on chinery and Equipment. E. Abrams,
ext. 307, [email protected]. Thermal Spray Equipment. J. Rosario, ext. 307, [email protected].
ext. 308, [email protected]. Nov. 13. D17 Committee on Weld-
Nov. 10. C2J Subcommittee on ing in the Aircraft and Aerospace In-
Revised Standards Approved Feedstock for Thermal Spray. J. dustries. J. Molin, ext. 304,
by ANSI Rosario, ext. 308, [email protected]. [email protected].
Nov. 10. C6D Subcommittee on Nov. 13. D17K Subcommittee on
B1.11M/B1.11:2014, Guide for the Friction Stir Welding. C. Lewis, ext. Fusion Welding. J. Molin, ext. 304,
Visual Examination of Welds. Approved 306, [email protected]. [email protected].
9/8/14. Nov. 10. C7 Committee on High Nov. 20. B2F Subcommittee on
D8.8M:2014, Specification for Auto- Energy Beam Welding and Cutting. C. Welding Technicians,Tulsa, Okla. S.
motive Weld Quality-Arc Welding of Hedrick, ext. 305, [email protected].
Lewis, ext. 306, [email protected].
Steel. Approved 9/9/14. Nov. 20, G1A Subcommittee on
Nov. 10. C7B Subcommittee on
Hot Gas Welding and Extrusion
Electron Beam Welding and Cutting.
Welding, Tulsa, Okla. S. Hedrick, ext.
Three Revised Standards C. Lewis, ext. 306, [email protected].
305; [email protected].
Submitted for Public Review Nov. 10. C7C Subcommittee on Dec. 3, 4. Safety and Health Com-
Laser Beam Welding and Cutting. C. mittee, Miami, Fla. S. Hedrick, ext.
C1.4/C1.4M:201X, Specification for Lewis, ext. 306, [email protected]. 305, [email protected].
Resistance Welding of Carbon and Low- Nov. 10. C7D Subcommittee on
Alloy Steels. $25. E. Abrams, ext. 307, Hybrid Welding. C. Lewis, ext. 306,
[email protected]. [email protected].
C1.5:201X, Specification for the
Nominate Your Candidate for
Nov. 11. D9 Committee on the
Qualification of Resistance Welding Welding, Brazing, and Soldering of
MIT Masubuchi Award
Technicians. $25. E. Abrams, ext. 307, Sheet Metal. J. Molin, ext. 304,
[email protected]. The Prof. Koichi Masubuchi award,
[email protected]. with a $5000 honorarium, is presented
D17.3/D17.3M:20XX, Specification Nov. 11. D15C Subcommittee on
for Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum to one person, 40 or younger, who has
Track Welding. J. Rosario, ext. 308, made significant contributions to the
Alloys for Aerospace Applications. $36. [email protected].
J. Molin, ext. 304, [email protected]. advancement of materials joining
Nov. 11. D17D Subcommittee on through research and development.
AWS was approved as an accredit-
Resistance Welding. J. Molin, ext. Send a list of your candidate’s expe-
ed standards-preparing organization
by the American National Standards 304, [email protected]. rience, publications, honors, awards,
Institute (ANSI) in 1979. AWS rules, Nov. 11. D17J Subcommittee on and at least three letters of recommen-
as approved by ANSI, require that all Friction Stir Welding for Aerospace. J. dation from fellow researchers to Prof.
standards be open to public review Molin, ext. 304, [email protected]. Todd Palmer, [email protected].
for comment during the approval Nov. 11. D20 Committee on Addi- This award is sponsored annually by
process. The review for these three tive Manufacturing. A. Alonso, ext. the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
standards expired Oct. 27, 2014. A 299, [email protected]. nology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering.
draft copy may be requested from the Nov. 12. D14E Subcommittee on
staff contact listed. Welding of Presses and Industrial and

92 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 SOCIETY NEWS
MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES
District Director Awards tests this year. He also participated E. Donaldson, Cumberland Valley — 24
Presented in the school’s holiday fund-raising S. Miner, San Francisco — 22
project to help those in need, built R. Zabel, Southeast Nebraska — 22
Jerry Knapp, Dist. 17 director, has tables for the Ivy Tech Technology J. Foley, Pittsburgh — 21
named the following for this award. department and a BBQ grill for a lo- C. Bridwell, Ozark — 20
Ralph Johnson, Ray Wilsdorf, and cal company. D. Galiher, Detroit — 19
Rich Howard (Tulsa Section). Andrew Houghton served as the D. Lynnes, Northern Plains — 19
Nan Samanich, Dist. 21 director, Chapter’s 2014 vice chair and a pro- R. Munns, Utah — 19
has nominated the following in the gram committee member. He is a M. Haggard, Inland Empire — 19
Nevada Section. Sheet Metal Union straight-A student who passed all J. Kline, Northern New York — 18
Local 88; Ironworkers Local 433; XL eight welding certification tests, and is D. Saunders, Lakeshore — 18
Steel, Inc.; Southwest Steel; Plumbers on the Dean’s List. He is active in G. Smith, Lehigh Valley — 17
& Pipefitters Local 525; Clark County many community projects, made a flag A. Theriot, New Orleans — 17
Building Dept.; and DeCall Thomas. pole for his local community, and has G. Deem, Columbia — 15
Also named are Bert Callender (San presented a blacksmithing demo at an R. Farquhar, Cleveland — 15
Fernando Valley); Inspectesting; Jeff AWS Indiana Section meeting J. Tso, L.A./Inland Empire — 15
Davis; Jim Watson; and Joan Butler R. Eckstein, Northwest — 14
(San Diego Section); and Fran John- C. Lariche, Cleveland — 14
ston (Arizona Section), Chelsie Colvin- J. Russell, Fox Valley — 14
with Lincoln Electric Co., and Becky Member­Get­a­Member Update R. Polito, Spokane — 13
White and Beth Casey with Girls S. Robeson, Cumberland Valley — 13
Scouts of America. Listed below are the members with C. Wolfman, Sacramento — 12
points earned in the 2014 campaign. R. Bubb, Philadelphia — 11
Five points are awarded for each Indi- C. Ortega, North Texas — 11
vidual Member and one point for each
Student Chapter Member Student Member recruited. For cam-
Awards Presented paign rules and a prize list, see page 97
of this Welding Journal. Standings as of
Robert Richwine, Dist. 14 director Sept. 21. If you have any questions re- AWS Member Counts
and advisor to the AWS Ivy Tech Com- garding your member proposer points, October 1, 2014
munity College Student Chapter with call the AWS Membership Department
the Indiana Section, has selected (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 480. Sustaining.................................589
Austin Creamer and Andrew J. Morris, Mobile — 230 Supporting .............................350
Houghton to receive the Student M. Pelegrino, Chicago — 40 Educational...............................689
Chapter Member Award. R. Barber, East Texas — 30 Affiliate.....................................586
Austin Creamer served as the Chap- A. Stute, Madison-Beloit — 28 Welding Distributor ...................51
ter’s 2014 chair and program commit- D. Ebenhoe, Kern — 25 Total Corporate ......................2,265
tee chair. A straight-A student and D. Mandina, New Orleans — 25 Individual ...........................60,093
member of the Dean’s List, Austin J. McKenzie, Detroit — 25 Student + Transitional .............9,998
passed all eight welding certification R. Purvis, Sacramento — 25 Total Members ..................70,091

AWS Life Members Offered Free Registration for

FABTECH Professional Program
AWS Life Members are offered the three-day period — a $325 value. Registration” at the top of your Reg-
free admission to the FABTECH The Registration Form is available istration Form. Fax both sides of the
show scheduled for Nov. 11–13, in the Welding Journal and the Ad- form to (305) 443-5647, Attn: Rhen-
2014, at the Georgia World Congress vance Program. You may also call da Kenny, membership director; e-
Center in Atlanta, plus free registra- (800/305) 443-9353, ext. 260, to mail to [email protected]; or mail the
tion for the Professional Program, have the form mailed to you. form to Rhenda Kenny, AWS Mem-
enabling them to attend any of the To obtain your free registration, bership Dept., 8669 NW 36th St.,
technical sessions presented during mark “AWS Life Member — Free Ste. # 130, Miami, FL 33166.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 93

SOCIETY NEWS
NEW AWS SUPPORTERS
Sustaining Company Pemamek Oy, Ltd. Kauai C. C.
Central Piedmont C. C. Lamminkatu 47 3-1901 Kaumualii Hwy.
315 W. Hebron, Charlotte, NC 28278 PO Box 50 Lihue, HI 96766
Representative: Dr. Anver Classens Loimaa 32201, Finland
www.cpcc.edu Petroknowledge
Central Piedmont C. C. offers an as- Proimage Wholesale Signs 8th Fl., Unit 801-A
sociate in applied science degree in PO Box 425 Tower A
welding technology and support Jacksboro, TN 37757 Business Central Tower
courses in metallurgy, QC, NDE, ro- Dubai, UAE
botics, blueprint reading, and auto-
mated welding. It supports an AWS Mudiame Welding Institute Ltd.
Student Chapter and an active black- Supporting Companies Plot 105 1gbo-Etche Rd.
smithing club. Envent Corp. Opposite Enargo, Port Harcourt,
3220 E. 29 St. Rivers, Nigeria
Long Beach, CA 90806
Pierpont Community &
Affiliate Companies Omega Natchiq, Inc. Technical College
Browns Welding and Fabrication 4418 Pesson Rd., 1201 Locust Ave.
3260 Warehouse Rd. New Iberia, LA 70560 Fairmont, WV 26554
Owensboro, KY 42301
Uniarc Filler Metals, LLC Princeton Community H. S.
Capital Robotics 1102 Macy Dr. 1101 N. Main St.
911 U.S. Hwy. 301 S. Roswell, GA 30076 Princeton, IN 47670
Tampa, FL 33619
Princeton H. S.
Eagle Crest Training Institute, LLC 1000 E. Princeton Dr.
3460 Trant Ave., Norfolk, VA 23502 Educational Institutions Princeton, TX 75407
Ben Barber Career
Integrated Mfg. Technologies, Inc. and Technology Academy Pakar Tenaga Bersatu
13930 Immanuel Rd., Ste. B 1120 W. Debbie Ln. Unit 6, 2nd Fl., Bangunan Haji Majid
Pflugerville, TX 78660 Mansfield, TX 76063 Mohammad, Jalan Pasar Baru Gadong
Bandar Seri Begawan, BE 1318
Int’l Corp. of Safety in Drilling Delta College Negara Brunei Darussalam
Republica Del Salvador Y Shyris 1961 Delta Rd.
Edif Dygoil of C 4C, Quito University Center, MI 48710 Washington State C. C.
Pichincha 170150, Ecuador 710 Colegate Dr.
Delgado C. C. Marietta, OH 45750
Jegon Industrial Services, Inc. 5200 Blair Dr.
526 Kentucky St. Metairie, LA 7000 White Mountain C. C.
South Houston, TX 77587 2020 Riverside Dr.
Glasscock County ISD Berlin, NH 03570
Laser Fabrication & Machine Co., Inc. PO Box 9
PO Box 709, Alexandria, AL 36250 Garden City, TX 79739 WW NDT Services, Inc.
945 N. 28th St., Ste. A1
Pacific Bending & Machine Heartland C. C. PO Box 925
23492 River Rd., Maple Ridge 1500 W. Raab Rd. Springfield, OR 97477
BC V2W1B7, Canada Normal, IL 61761

94 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 SECTION NEWS
NORTH FLORIDA
District 1 September 8 District 6
Thomas Ferri, director Speaker: Steve Hidden, business de- Kenneth Phy, director
(508) 527-1884 velopment manager (315) 218-5297
[email protected] Affiliation: Miller Electric Mfg. Co. [email protected]
Topic: The LiveArc™ welding perform-
ance management system NORTHERN NEW YORK
September 4
District 2 Activity: Hidden demonstrated the
system then conducted a virtual weld- Activity: The Section held an execu-
Harland W. Thompson, director tive meeting at Otis and Oliver’s
(631) 546-2903 ing contest for the attendees. Mike
Farr, the winner with a score of 97, Restaurant and Pub in Latham, N.Y.
[email protected]
was awarded an autodarkening hel-
LONG ISLAND met. The event was held at Plumber
September 18 and Pipefitters Local 234 in Jack- District 7
Speaker: Tom Gartland sonville, Fla. Uwe Aschemeier, director
Affiliation: Triology Lab LLC (786) 473-9540
Topic: Tips for passing the AWS alu- [email protected]
minum welding test SOUTH CAROLINA
Activity: The meeting was held in September 18 DAYTON
Wantagh, Long Island, N.Y. Speaker: Sergio Smith, president September 9
Affiliation: Int’l Diving Institute Speaker: Mark Willis
Topic: Underwater welding Affiliation: Miami Valley Career Tech-
PHILADELPHIA Activity: Following the talk, students nology Center
September 4 demonstrated underwater welding. Topic: The SkillsUSA welding contest
Speaker: Bill Mozee, head instructor The event was held at the institute in Activity: The program was held at
Affiliation: Delaware Technical C. C. North Charleston, S.C. Asian Buffet in Dayton, Ohio.
Topic: Welding programs offered at
the college
Activity: Following the talk, Mozee
conducted a tour of the college’s facili-
ties, located in Newcastle, Del.

District 3
Michael Wiswesser, director
(610) 820-9551
[email protected]

PHILADELPHIA — From left are Howard Miller, presenter Bill Mozee, Chair Sal Russo-
District 4 manno, Dist. 2 Director Harland Thompson, Frank Srogota, and Ken Temme.
Stewart A. Harris, director
(919) 824-0520
[email protected]

TIDEWATER
September 11
Speaker: Mike Novak
Affiliation: Miller Electric Co.
Topic: Induction heating
Activity: The program was held for 36
attendees at Smoke BBQ in Newport
News, Va.

District 5
Carl Matricardi, director
(770) 356-2107
[email protected] LONG ISLAND — From left are Chair Brian Cassidy, Deborah McInnis, speaker Tom
Gartland, Dist. 2 Director Harland Thompson, Jack Billig, Alex Duschere, and Ray
O’Leary.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 95

SECTION NEWS
PITTSBURGH
September 3
Activity: The executive board mem-
bers met at Springfield Grill in Mars,
Pa., to plan next season’s programs.
Attending were Chair George Kirk,
Bill Kashin, Jim Sekely, Don Stoll,
John Menhart, Chris Rossell, John
Foley, Ray Knobbs, Carl Spaeder, and
Carl Ott.

District 8
D. Joshua Burgess, director
(931) 260-7039
[email protected] NORTHERN NEW YORK — From left are Bruce LaVallee, Dave Parker, Larry Hidde,
Chair Patrick McDonnell, Bob Christoffel, and Bob Strugar.
NASHVILLE
September 11
Activity: The Section members toured
the Trinity Industries’ barge-building
facility in Ashland City, Tenn. The
program was led by Joey Lloyd, LEAN
coordinator. The company later host-
ed the group to a barbecue dinner and
a slide show presentation on welding
procedures used in the industry.

District 9 SOUTH CAROLINA — At left, Sergio Smith (left) is shown with Chair Gale Mole. At
George Fairbanks Jr., director
right, a student suits up to demonstrate underwater welding.
(225) 473-6362
fi[email protected]

BATON ROUGE
September 18
Speaker: Carey Dupuy, territory sales
manager
Affiliation: ESAB Welding & Cutting
Products
Topic: The ICE™ integrated cold elec-
trode welding system
Activity: ESAB hosted a jambalaya
dinner with door prizes at River
Parish C. C. in Gonzales, La. TIDEWATER — Speaker Mike Novak DAYTON — Larry Barley (left) is shown
(left) is shown with Chair Wayne Smith. with speaker Mark Willis.

PITTSBURGH — From left are Bill Kashin, Chair George Kirk, Jim Sekely, Don Stoll, John Menhart, Chris Rossell, John Foley, Ray
Knobbs, Carl Spaeder, and Carl Ott.

96 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 AWS MEMbERShIp ApplICATIOn
4 Easy Ways to Join or Renew:
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Miami, FL 33166-6672
Fax: Completed form to (305) 443-5647 Online: www.aws.org/membership Telephone (800) 443-9353
FAX (305) 443-5647
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A.) OPTIONAL book Selection (Choose from 25 titles; up to a $192 value; includes shipping & handling) 09 q Welder, welding or cutting operator
q Individual Members in the U.S..................................................................................................................................$35 11 q Consultant
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IndIvIduAl MEMbERShIp TOTAl pAYMEnT..................................................................................$_____________ E q Ceramics
NOTE: Dues include $18.70 for Welding Journal subscription and $4.00 for the AWS Foundation. F q High energy beam processes
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è Please check each box that applies to the Membership or service you’d like, and then add the cost together to get your Total Payment. J q Thermal spray
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Note: Hard copy option applies to students in U.S., Canada and Mexico. Digital delivery of magazine is standard benefit for all student members.
N q Bending and shearing
STudEnT MEMbERShIp TOTAl pAYMEnT......................................................................................$_____________ O q Roll forming
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Payment can be made (in U.S. dollars) by check or money order (international or foreign), payable to the American Welding Society, or by charge card. S q Machinery
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Signature of Applicant:_________________________________________ Application Date:_______________________
Y q Other
Z q Automation
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REV. 11/13
 SECTION NEWS

NASHVILLE — Members are shown during their tour of Trinity Industries’ barge-building operations.

BATON ROUGE — Attendees are shown at the ESAB-sponsored event.

CENTRAL LOUISIANA — Attendees are shown at the August 28 program.

MOBILE — At left, presenters Bill Frye and Lesleigh Smith are shown with Chair Michael CLEVELAND — Chair Paul Revolinsky
Zoghby. At right, William Lee (left) and Terrance Taylor display their door prizes. (left) is shown with speaker Harry Sadler.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 99

SECTION NEWS
CENTRAL LOUISIANA Activity: The Section’s tour of Mani-
August 28
District 11 towoc Cranes in Manitowoc, Wis., in-
Robert P. Wilcox, director cluded the expanded weld school fea-
Speaker: Derrick Mayo, president
(734) 721-8272 turing virtual weld training technolo-
Affiliation: Mayo Consulting Services
[email protected] gy. The guides included Josh Baldwin,
Topic: Ultrasonic shear wave inspec-
tion of welds manager of manufacturing engineer-
Activity: Mayo demonstrated the UT
DETROIT ing; Matt Remiker, manufacturing en-
September 11 gineer; and weld technicians Todd
process and how to interpret the sig-
Speaker: Dean Wilson, AWS president Gilbert and Don Wensink. The busi-
nals. The program was held in
Affiliation: Welldean Enterprises ness meeting was held at Knox’s Silver
Pineville, La.
Topic: What AWS is doing to trans- Valley Sports Bar and Banquet Hall.
form professional welding careers
Activity: This students’ night pro-
gram was held at the VisTaTech build-
MOBILE
September 11 ing of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, District 13
Mich. This year, the Section has John Willard, director
Speakers: Lesleigh Smith (Perfor- (815) 954-4838
mance Contractors) and Bill Frye awarded $35,000 in scholarships to
28 welding students. [email protected]
(Austal USA)
Topic: The Real World of Welding: CHICAGO
Qualifications for Employment September 17
Activity: Sixty-one members, stu-
dents, and guests attended the pro-
District 12 Activity: The Section and welding stu-
Daniel J. Roland, director dents from Moraine Valley Communi-
gram held at The Original Oyster (920) 241-1542 ty College toured Nelson Stud Weld-
House in Spanish Fort, Ala. All stu- [email protected] ing in Tinley Park, Ill. Don Sues,
dents received a pair of welding north region director, conducted the
gloves. LAKESHORE tour and demonstrated the stud weld-
September 11 ing process for the 45 attendees.

District 10
Robert E. Brenner, director
(330) 484-3650

CLEVELAND
September 9
Speaker: Harry Sadler, manager of
shipbuilding/military sales
Affiliation: The Lincoln Electric Co.
Topic: The history of steelmaking
Activity: The meeting was held at
Toscana Party Center in Cleveland,
Ohio. LAKESHORE — From left are Manitowoc Cranes tour guides Josh Baldwin, Don
Wensink, Todd Gilbert, and Matt Remiker.

DETROIT — AWS President Dean Wilson (far left) and Bob Wilcox (far right), Dist. 11 director, pose with the scholarship recipients.

100 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 SECTION NEWS
Awards from Dist. 19 Director Ken
District 14 District 18 Johnson. The event was held at Seat-
Robert L. Richwine, director John Stoll, director tle Area Pipe Trades Education Cen-
(765) 606-7970 (713) 724-2350 ter, hosted by UA Local 32. Training
[email protected] [email protected] Coordinator Eric Ercanbrack and
Phillip Martin, UA national headquar-
INDIANA ters representative, discussed opera-
September
Activity: The Section held its annual
District 19 tions and training at the facility.
Ken Johnson, director
camp out and officers’ meeting at Mc- September 7
(425) 957-3553
Cormick’s Creek State Park camp- Activity: The Puget Sound Olympic
[email protected]
ground in Spencer, Ind. Chefs Bennie Section’s golf outing, organized by
Flynn and Tony Brosio prepared the PUGET SOUND OLYMPIC Sjon Delmore and Marvin Nitta for 41
meals. participants, raised $3100 for the Sec-
September 4
Speaker: Dean Wilson, AWS president tion’s scholarship fund. The event
Affiliation: Welldean Enterprises sponsors included ALT Welding Sup-
District 15 Topic: AWS update plies, American Equipment, Arcos/Se-
David Lynnes, director Activity: Welding Engineer Jay lect Arc, Central/Pacific Welding Sup-
(701) 365-0606 Dwight, a welding engineer and own- ply, CK Worldwide, Jesse Engineer-
[email protected] er of Dwight Co., discussed welder ing, Miller Electric, N.W. Welding &
certification. Art Schnitzer, Jeff Gases, Omni Fabrication, Praxair, Ra-
Owen, and Marty Yellam received zor Weld/JASIC, and Weldor’s Equip-
District 16 District Meritorious Achievement ment Repair.
Karl Fogleman, director
(402) 677-2490
[email protected]

KANSAS CITY
September 11
Activity: The Section visited South-
west Steel Fabricators in Bonner
Springs, Kan., to study its operations.
Kirk Nelson, production manager,
conducted the tour. Chair Tim Gill
presented Fred Sarrach a certificate of
appreciation for his contributions to
the Section-sponsored CWI seminar
held last July.

District 17
Jerry Knapp, director
(918) 224-6455
[email protected]
CHICAGO — Don Sues (left) demonstrates stud welding for (front row, from left) Craig
Tichelar, Cliff Iftimie, and the Moraine Valley Community College students.

KANSAS CITY — The Section members are shown during their tour of Southwest Steel Fabricators.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 101

SECTION NEWS
District 20
Pierrette H. Gorman, director
(505) 284-9644
[email protected]

COLORADO
May 8
Speakers: Jesse Grantham, Gene Law-
son
Topic: Jobs in the welding industry
Activity: The Section held its annual
awards-presentation ceremony at Ra-
mada Inn in Denver, Colo. Recipients PUGET SOUND OLYMPIC — From left are Dist. 19 Director Ken Johnson; awardees Jeff
included Mike Heaton, Adam Chavez, Owen, Marty Yellam, and Phillip Martin; Dean Wilson, AWS president; Jay Dwight; and
Alan Barber, Shannon Baade, Paul Eric Ercanbrack.
Sturgill, Allen Honneger, Austin
Nicodemus, Richard Keeler, Joe Fergu-
son, Farren Elwood, and Jeff Oliver.

August 16
Activity: R. H. Wood received his Gold
Member certificate for 50 years of
service to the Society. Bob Teuscher,
Section vice chair and a past AWS
president, made the presentation in
Fort Collins, Colo. Attending were
Mrs. Wood; Hugh Adams, a past Sec-
tion chair; Welding Instructor Glenn
Ashley; and Lindsey McNamara, a
welder and business owner. KANSAS CITY — Chair Tim Gill (left)
presents a certificate of appreciation to PUGET SOUND OLYMPIC — Art Schnitzer
Fred Sarrach. displays his District 19 Meritorious Award.

COLORADO — From left are (front row) Mike Heaton, Adam Chavez, Alan Barber, Shannon Baade, Paul Sturgill, (back row) Allen Hon-
neger, Austin Nicodemus, Richard Keeler, Joe Ferguson, Farren Elwood, Jeff Oliver, and Bob Teuscher.

PUGET SOUND OLYMPIC — Left photo: Sjon Delmore (left) and Marvin Nitta organized the golf tournament..At right, the many win-
ners hold their trophies on high.

102 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 SECTION NEWS
IDAHO/MONTANA
September 13
Activity: The Section hosted a CWI ex-
amination administered by Michael
Yung with Belco Mfg. Co. of Portland,
Ore. The event was held at Hilton Gar-
den Inn in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Assisting
were Paul Tremblay, Nancy Carlson, and
Ofilia Tremblay.

District 21 COLORADO — From left are R. H. Wood, Hugh Adams, Mrs. Wood, Bob Teuscher,
Nanette Samanich, director Glenn Ashley, and Lindsey McNamara.
(702) 429-5017
[email protected]

ARIZONA
May 13
Activity: The officers met for a business
meeting in Tempe, Ariz. Attending were
Chair Brent Boling, Gary Gardner, Jerry
Siko, Paul Moreno, John Weber, Buddy
May, Andrew Lamer, Nick Martinez,
John Kunch, and Fran Johnston.

June 25
Activity: The Arizona Section visited the
state’s first Accredited Testing Facility
(ATF) established at Mohave College in
Kingman, Ariz. Buddy May, director of IDAHO/MONTANA — Michael Yung
SACRAMENTO VALLEY — Chair Bill
the facility and Section SENSE and stu- Wenzel (left) and Joshua Schohn. conducted the CWI exam.
dent affairs chairman, led the program.

District 22
Kerry E. Shatell, director
(925) 866-5434
[email protected]

SACRAMENTO VALLEY
September 17
Speaker: Joshua Schohn, sales director
for cutting systems
Affiliation: The Lincoln Electric Co.
Topic: CNC plasma cutting ARIZONA — Shown at the May 13 meeting are (from left) Gary Gardner, Jerry Siko,
Activity: More than 100 Section mem- Paul Moreno, John Weber, Buddy May, Chair Brent Boling, Andrew Lamer, Nick Mar-
bers and guests visited Yuba College in tinez, and John Kunch.
Marysville, Calif., for a presentation and
demonstration of Torchmate™ CNC
plasma cutting system and software.

SAN FRANCISCO
September 3
Activity: The Section held its past chair-
men’s night event for 85 attendees at
Spenger’s Restaurant in Berkeley, Calif.
Speakers included Aziza Tarin, Pierre Bi-
gras, and Mike Hernandez from Pacific
Gas & Electric Co. Also in attendance
were Dist. 22 Director Kerry Shatell and SAN FRANCISCO — From left are Aziza Tarin, Pierre Bigras, Mike Hernandez, Chair
Chair Mike Zinser. Mike Zinser, and Kerry Shatell, Dist. 22 director.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 103

 Guide to American Welding Society® Services
American Welding Society® Operations Manager TECHNICAL SERVICES
8669 NW 36th St., #130 Natasha Alexis [email protected] (401) Dept. information (340)
Miami, FL 33166-6672 Managing Director
(800/305) 443-9353; Fax: (305) 443-7559 INTERNATIONAL SALES Technical Services Development & Systems
Phone extensions are in parentheses. Managing Director of North American Sales Andrew Davis [email protected] (466)
Joe Krall [email protected] (297) International Standards Activities, American
AWS PRESIDENT Council of the International Institute of Welding
Dean Wilson [email protected] Corporate Director, International Sales
Welldean Enterprises Jeff Kamentz [email protected] (233) Director, Operations
151 Oak Tree Cir., Glendora, CA 91741 Oversees international business activities; cer- Annette Alonso [email protected] (299)
tification, publications, and membership. Technical Committee Activities, Welding Quali-
ADMINISTRATION fication
Executive Director PUBLICATION SERVICES
Ray Shook [email protected] (210) Dept. information (275) Manager, Safety and Health
Managing Director Stephen Hedrick [email protected] (305)
Sr. Associate Executive Director Andrew Cullison [email protected] (249) Metric Practice, Safety and Health, Joining of
Cassie Burrell [email protected] (253) Plastics and Composites, Personnel and Facili-
Welding Journal ties Qualification, Mechanical Testing of Welds
Chief Financial Officer Publisher
Gesana Villegas [email protected] (252) Andrew Cullison [email protected] (249) Program Managers II
Stephen Borrero [email protected] (334)
Chief Technology Officer Editor Brazing and Soldering, Brazing Filler Metals and
Dennis Harwig [email protected] (213) Mary Ruth Johnsen [email protected] (238) Fluxes, Brazing Handbook, Soldering Hand-
book, Definitions and Symbols, Structural Sub-
National Sales Director
Chief Information Officer committees on Bridge Welding, Stainless Steel,
Rob Saltzstein [email protected] (243)
Emilio Del Riego [email protected] (247) and Reinforcing Steel
Society and Section News Editor
Associate Director of Board and Howard Woodward [email protected] (244) Rakesh Gupta [email protected] (301)
Executive Director Services Filler Metals and Allied Materials, International
Alex Diaz [email protected] (294) Welding Handbook Filler Metals, UNS Numbers Assignment, Arc
Editor Welding and Cutting Processes, Computeriza-
Administrative Services Annette O’Brien [email protected] (303) tion of Welding Information
Managing Director
Jim Lankford [email protected] (214) MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Brian McGrath [email protected] (311)
Director Structural Welding, Welding in Marine Con-
Director Lorena Cora [email protected] (417) struction
Hidail Nuñez [email protected] (287)
Public Relations Manager Program Managers
HUMAN RESOURCES Cindy Weihl [email protected] (416) Efram Abrams [email protected] (307)
Director Automotive, Resistance Welding, Machinery and
Gricelda Manalich [email protected] (266) Webmaster Equipment, Methods of Inspection
Jose Salgado [email protected] (456)
Associate Director Chelsea Lewis [email protected] (306)
Patrick Henry [email protected] ( 211) Section Web Editor Friction Welding, Oxyfuel Gas Welding and Cut-
Henry Chinea [email protected] (452) ting, High-Energy Beam Welding, Robotics
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WELDING Welding, Welding in Sanitary Applications, Ad-
Senior Coordinator MEMBER SERVICES ditive Manufacturing
Sissibeth Lopez [email protected] (319) Dept. information (480)
Liaison services with other national and interna- Sr. Associate Executive Director Jennifer Molin [email protected] (304)
tional societies and standards organizations. Cassie Burrell [email protected] (253) Sheet Metal Welding, Welding and Brazing in
Aerospace, Ti and Zr Filler Metals, Joining of
GOVERNMENT LIAISON SERVICES Director Metals and Alloys, Piping and Tubing
Hugh Webster [email protected] Rhenda Kenny [email protected] (260)
Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, Washington, Serves as a liaison between members and AWS Jennifer Rosario [email protected] (308)
D.C. (202) 785-9500; F: (202) 835-0243. headquarters. Railroad Welding, Thermal Spraying, Welding
Monitors federal issues of importance to the in- Iron Castings, Welding Qualification
dustry. CERTIFICATION SERVICES
Dept. information (273)
CONVENTION AND EXPOSITIONS Managing Director AWS FOUNDATION, INC.
Director, Convention and Meeting Services John Gayler [email protected] (472) www.aws.org/w/a/foundation
Matthew Rubin [email protected] (239) Oversees all certification activities. General Information
(800/305) 443-9353, ext. 212, [email protected]
ITSA — INTERNATIONAL THERMAL Director, Certification Operations Chairman, Board of Trustees
SPRAY ASSOCIATION Terry Perez [email protected] (470) Gerald Uttrachi
Senior Manager and Editor Application processing, renewals, and exams.
Kathy Dusa [email protected] (232) Executive Director, Foundation
Director, Accreditation Programs Sam Gentry [email protected] (331)
RWMA — RESISTANCE WELDING MANUFAC­ Linda Henderson [email protected] (298)
TURING ALLIANCE Oversees the development of new certification Corporate Director, Workforce Development
Management Specialist programs, as well as AWS-Accredited Test Facili- Monica Pfarr [email protected] (461)
Keila DeMoraes [email protected] (444) ties, and AWS Certified Welding Fabricators.
Associate Director of Scholarships
WEMCO — ASSOCIATION OF WELDING MANU­ EDUCATION SERVICES Vicki Pinsky [email protected] (212)
FACTURERS Director, Operations
Management Specialist Martica Ventura [email protected] (224) The AWS Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) chari-
Keila DeMoraes. [email protected] (444) table organization established to provide support for the
Director, Development and Systems educational and scientific endeavors of the American
BRAZING AND SOLDERING David Hernandez [email protected] (219) Welding Society. Promote the Foundation’s work with
MANUFACTURER’S COMMITTEE your financial support.
Stephen Borrero [email protected] (334) AWS AWARDS, FELLOWS, COUNSELORS
Senior Manager
GAWDA — GASES AND WELDING Wendy Sue Reeve [email protected] (293)
DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION Coordinates AWS awards and Fellow and
Executive Director Counselor nominations.
John Ospina [email protected] (462)

104 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

Where is the welding
industry headed?
The CEO of Lincoln knows. Economist Alan Beaulieu knows.

Head to WEMCO’s
annual meeting
or be left behind.
Non-member executives are encouraged to participate.
 MEET THE SPEAKERS

An Association of Welding Manufacturers

2015 Annual Meeting

Feb. 25–27 Chris Mapes
Chairman, President, and CEO
Lincoln Electric

Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club Chris Mapes was appointed chairman of Lincoln Electric in
December 2013, and president and chief executive officer in
December 2012. Previously, Chris was Lincoln’s chief operating

St. Petersburg, Fla. officer, the position he was appointed to when he joined the
company in 2011. He was elected to the Lincoln Board in 2010
while serving as executive vice president of A.O. Smith Corporation
and president of its electrical products unit. Prior to his career at
Theme: Welding Industry A.O. Smith, Chris was president, motor sales and marketing of
Regal Beloit Corporation and had also served as president of the
Consolidation and Globalization Global OEM Business Group of Superior Essex, Inc.

Jack Keough
Contributing Editor and Associate Publisher
Industrial Distribution Magazine

T
he WEMCO Annual Meeting is filled with Jack Keough has been researching and writing about the
unparalleled networking opportunities and distribution/manufacturing sector for 30 years. He’s been serving
as contributing editor and associate publisher for Industrial
enlightening presentations. Renowned economist Distribution Magazine of Madison, Wis. for 26 of those years. Jack
is also the president of his own marketing and consulting firm,
Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trend Research will Keough Business Communications, and the contributing editor for
Electrical Distributor magazine and its website. He has written
again be our keynote speaker. Network with additional extensively about distribution management, sales and technology
issues that have changed industrial distribution in the past three
speakers such as Lincoln Electric CEO Chris Mapes decades.
and Industrial Distribution Magazine’s Jack Keough.
Non-members are welcome to attend and
experience the full benefits of networking
with your industry peers!

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Alan Beaulieu
Economist and President
Institute for Trend Research
One of the country’s most informed economists, Alan Beaulieu is a
principal of ITR Economics, where he serves as president. He is
co-author of Make Your Move, a book on how to increase profits
through business cycle changes. Alan is also the senior economic
Registration opens mid-December. For more advisor to the NSW, chief forecaster for the European Power Train
Distributors Association, and the chief economist for HARDI.
information, please contact Keila DeMoraes at Pronouncements from the Institute for Trend Research and/or Mr.
Beaulieu have appeared in/on the Wall Street Journal, New York
[email protected] or 800-443-9353, ext. 444 Times, USA Today, Knight Ridder News Services, Business Week,
Associated Press, Washington Times, CBS Radio, CNN Radio, Sirius
talk radio, KABC, NPR affiliate WLRN, and numerous other outlets.
PERSONNEL

President Named at Airgas Hobart Institute Announces American Crane Appoints VP

Staff Additions
Airgas, Inc., Radnor, Pa., a supplier American Crane & Equipment
of industrial and specialty gases, has Corp., Douglassville, Pa., a supplier of
named Jack Appolonia president, Air- overhead electric cranes and hoists,
gas East division. Since 2008, Appolo- has promoted Karen Norheim to exec-
nia has served as vice president of the utive vice president. Norheim, who
Airgas Construction segment. joined the company in 2002, has
served as vice president of marketing
Channellock Installs President and information technology for the
past six years.
Channellock, Inc., Meadville, Pa., a
family-owned plier Cee Kay Supply Promotes Two
and hand tool man- to Regional Managers
ufacturer, has
named Jonathan S. Shanda Allen Fred Henman
DeArment presi-
dent and chief op- Hobart Institute of Welding Tech-
erating officer, to nology, Troy, Ohio, has named Shanda
succeed his father, Allen registrar/bursar, and Fred Hen-
William S. DeAr- man a technical training instructor.
ment, who will con- Allen previously served 19 years in
tinue as CEO and various education fields from teaching
board chairman. elementary school to college level
J. S. DeArment Jonathan, with the courses and serving as student servic-
company for nearly es coordinator and registrar. Henman
20 years, most re- is an AWS Certified Welding Inspector Keith Meuser Brian Reutiman
cently served as vice president of man- with more than 25 years’ welding su-
ufacturing and engineering. pervision and inspection experience. Cee Kay Supply, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.,
a supplier of industrial gases and cut-
ting equipment, has promoted Keith
Meuser and Brian Reutiman to region-
COR-MET al managers. Meuser, previously Illi-
nois-area manager, will oversee the
Missouri region. Reutiman, previously
COR-MET TQQWP
QW Stainless
tainless Steel
S a territory manager in the St. Louis
area, will have responsibilities for
Flux Coated TIG Wire.
W
Wi branch stores in Wood River, O’Fallon,
and Centralia, Ill.
Eliminate the need for
or gas purging and backing
backing for
f TIG
pipe welding.
elding. The QWP Flux Coated
Coat TIG rod for forms
orms a slag
NAWIC Fills National Offices
on the backside of the
he pipe protecting
pr the weld
eld from
fr
oxidation (sugaring). The National Association of
Women in Construction (NAWIC),
Grades
G d A Available
il bl
308H, 308L, 309L, 316L, 347, 2209,
Fort Worth, Tex., recently installed
16-8-2, 625. Sandy K. Field, national, president;
Available in 3/32” and Riki F. Lovejoy, president-elect; Connie
1/8” diameters. M. Leipard, vice president; Stephanie
K. Crane, treasurer; Amy Berg, secre-
Call for special tary; and Yasmine A. Branden, past
chemistry and president. New regional directors in-
diameter requests. clude Debbie Speake, Midwest; Anne
Pfleger, north-central; Catherine D.
Schoenenberger, northeast; Rachel
Stroup, Pacific northwest; and Lorelee
Langworthy, Pacific southwest.

Fronius Builds Its Sales Team

Manufactur
Manufactured
ctured by COR-MET INC.,
Brighton, Mi
Michigan
chigan USA 800-848-27
800-848-2719
719 Fronius USA, LLC has hired Ian
www.cor-met.com
www.cor-me
-met.com / [email protected]
t.com Patrick as a sales/systems engineer in
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index — continued on page 110
108 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014
 Atlanta • Nov. 11–13

Check out these AWS programs at the show.

So You’re the New “Welding Engineer” • Tues. (Nov. 11) & Wed. (Nov. 12)
How to get “up to speed” quickly. How to ask the right questions. How to get the results needed, save money, and
stay out of trouble! Two-day program for managers, engineers, designers, and others with welding
responsibility but limited exposure/background in welding.
Thermal Spray Technology: High Performance Surfaces • Wed. (Nov. 12)
The International Thermal Spray Association, a standing committee of AWS, has organized this coatings conference
to introduce and highlight various advantages of the thermal spray process. This conference will benefit both
potential users and those actively involved with thermal spray coatings, as it will focus on actual applications and
new developments in thermal spray technology.
Resistance Welding School • Wed. (Nov. 12) & Thurs. (Nov. 13)
The Resistance Welding Manufacturing Alliance, a standing committee of AWS, offers a two-day program conducted
by industry specialists with extensive resistance welding experience. The basics of resistance welding and real-
life application of the process are covered. Each participant may learn at their own pace, and discuss specific
welding concerns with the instructors. You are invited to bring your own samples for discussion.
Additive Manufacturing Conference • Thurs. (Nov. 13)
Additive manufacturing represents the realization of the ideal of “on-demand manufacturing.” Without molds or dies,
additive manufacturing enables production of parts and prototypes on demand. Design improvements can be made
and tested rapidly without tooling and machining constraints. Come and learn from the experts about additive
manufacturing processes such as powder bed fusion, material extrusion, directed energy deposition, material
jetting, and more.
…plus dozens of other educational sessions.

Explore all the educational opportunities and register at www.fabtechexpo.com

Earn PDHs toward your AWS recertification or renewal when you attend these programs!
PERSONNEL and executive leadership teams.
Wieder previously worked with Illinois
Rocky Mountain Energy. Adams, an
Honorary Kentucky Colonel, was a
— continued from page 108 Tool Works. long-time member of the AWS Col-
orado Section and was active with sev-
its Tech Support Dept. at its head- Aerodyne Alloys Hires Territory eral charitable organizations, includ-
quarters in Portage, Ind., and Andrea Manager for ing the Rocky Mountain Foundation,
Pack to provide inside sales support Southeast Re­ Colorado Deaf and Blind School, Hop-
for its Chattanooga, Tenn., office. per Foundation for Gospel Quartets,
Patrick previously was an electronics
gion
and Toastmasters International.
technician in the U.S. Navy. Pack has Aerodyne Alloys,
more than ten years of inside sales LLC, Windsor, James Edward
and customer service experience. Conn., a supplier of Redman
high-temperature
alloys and cutting James “Jim” Ed-
technologies, has ward Redman, 86,
hired Mike Mills as an AWS Life Mem-
territory manager ber, died Sept. 7 at
for its southeastern his home in Placen-
Mike Mills tia, Calif. Originally
region, based in
Greenville, S.C. from Perrysburg,
Mills has 14 years of sales experience Ohio, he served in
in the aerospace and industrial metals the U.S. Air Force
industries. just after WW II
James Redman then obtained his
Ian Patrick Andrea Pack Obituaries engineering degree
at Purdue. He joined Haynes Stellite,
Hugh Barnett where he worked more than 40 years
Bunting® Magnetics Names Adams as a metallurgist at the Kokomo, Ind.,
General Manager and Sante Fe Springs, Calif., facilities.
Hugh Barnett His work contributed the ablative
Bunting® Mag- Adams, 75, died metal heat shield used on spacecraft,
netics Co., Newton, Aug. 31 in North- high-temperature auto exhaust valves,
Kan., a supplier of glenn, Colo. He be- and the high-alloy cutting teeth for
precision magnetic gan his welding ca- the Big Bertha that dug the Chunnel
products for the au- reer at an atomic from England to France. For many
tomobile and other energy plant in years, he was active in athletic and ed-
industries, has Kevil, Ky., where he ucational activities with his sons and
named Alicia became a master the El Dorado High School football
Wieder general Hugh Adams welder and taught team.
manager of the welding in a com-
Magnet Materials munity college. He worked in the oil William Thomas
division in Elk and gas industry in BatonRouge, La., Johnson Jr.
Alicia Wieder Grove Village, Ill., before moving to Denver, Colo., in
and she will serve 1965 where he completed his master’s William Thomas
on the corporate strategic planning degree in education and worked for Johnson Jr., 86,
died August 28. An
AWS member for
25 years, he served
a term as chair of
the San Antonio
Section. During his
27 years in the mil-
itary, Johnson
William Johnson served in the U.S.
Army during WW II
and later as a commissioned officer in
the U.S. Air Force. He earned his mas-
ter’s in civil engineering in 1955 and
PhD in engineering in 1981 from
Texas A&M University. In 1971, he re-
tired from the Air Force where he held
the rank of lieutenant colonel and re-
ceived many awards, including the Le-
For info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index — continued on page 117

110 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

BRAZING AND SOLDERING PROFILES (ADVERTISEMENTS)

Aimtek, Inc.
Established in 1973, Aimtek
is a manufacturer and value-
added supplier of Aerospace-
grade Brazing and Welding
Alloys. Aimtek specializes in
precious metal-based brazing New Improved Workhorse
alloys, as well as nickel,
titanium, and high tempera- 2nd GENERATION
ture superalloys. Aimtek is Vacuum Brazing
the exclusive North American Vacuum Diffusion Bonding Furnaces.
distributor for Soudax, a respected European manufacturer of
resistance microwelding equipment and hand tools for ball tack
• All Stainless Steel chamber.
welding, honeycomb, and numerous other set-up operations.
• Larger high-vacuum pumping system.
Aimtek’s quality certifications include AS9100, ISO9001, Pratt &
• Improved hot zone design.
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(508) 832­5035
[email protected]
Centorr Vacuum Industries manufactures
www.aimtek.com
custom vacuum furnaces for High-
Bellman Melcor Inc. performance sintering, pressure
densification, and heat-treat of alloy
Founded by Richard Campbell, steels, stainless steels, high-speed steels,
Bellman-Melcor, LLC was hardmetals and ceramics.
created with one goal: to pro- Vacuum furnaces can be designed
vide high quality products and with Graphite or carbon-free hot zones
deliver them at a lower overall with Sweepgas™ synthetic or natural
cost than any other supplier of brazing and soldering alloys. binder and lubricant removal systems
Since our inception in 1963, we have worked closely with the available for pressed or injection molded
engineering staff at some of the world’s largest companies to design Over 400 metal and ceramic parts.
and fabricate custom preforms and comprehensive solutions for Workhorse Furnaces
use in a wide range of brazing applications. Focusing on process Built Since 1954
improvement and cost-saving solutions, we routinely provide
support on the entire brazing process.
Centorr Vacuum Industries, Inc.
7575 West 183rd St 55 Northeastern Blvd., Nashua NH
Tinley Park, IL 60477 Toll free: 800-962-8631
1­800­367­6024 603-595-7233
Fax: 1.888.BRAZE­IT­272.9348 Fax: 603-595-9220 • [email protected]
www.bellmanmelcor.com

Fusion, Inc. GeoCorp, Inc.

Fusion produces a wide We are a direct manufacturer
variety of brazing and of thermocouples and thermo-
soldering alloys in paste couple wire. Material can be
form. Each contains supplied with temperature
atomized filler metal, calibration traceable to N.I.S.T.
appropriate flux, and special We stock a large inventory so
binders which facilitate orders ship in days-not weeks.
automatic application. Thus, All material meets AMS 2750
all the ingredients for a strong, reliable brazed or soldered joint are REV.E and Boeing BAC 5621 K requirements.
delivered in one step. Fusion also designs and builds automatic
brazing and soldering machines. These custom-built systems convey 9010 River Rd
fixtured parts through a timed sequence of filler metal application, Huron, OH 44839
heating, and cooling. Typically, 200-700 assemblies per hour can be (419) 433­1101
joined with just one operator. [email protected]
www.geocorpinc.com
4658 E 355th St
Willoughby, OH 44094
www.fusion­inc.com

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 113

BRAZING AND SOLDERING PROFILES (ADVERTISEMENTS)

Harris Products Group Saint­Gobain

Founded 1920
The Harris Products Group
has been manufacturing Saint-Gobain is a world class
quality braze filler metals in manufacturer of equipment and
the United States for over consumables for the thermal
50 years. We are leaders in spray coatings industry. Our
developing brazing and expansive equipment experience
soldering products to meet the industry needs for new metal joining dates back to 1920 with the
methods. We are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14000, and have development of the first oxyacteylene flame wire gun followed by
developed proprietary manufacturing technology to ensure the Rokide® Spray Systems, Plasma Spray Systems, PTA and many
highest standards of quality and traceability. Our experienced sales innovative materials. We offer a wide range of consumables in the
and technical personnel are trained to assist you in producing form of powder, flexible cords, Rokide® rods and wire for use in
sound, cost effective brazed assemblies. many different applications and industries. We supply our own raw
materials and this enables us to develop a product to meet your
4501 Quality Pl exact needs.
Mason, OH 45040
1­800­733­4043 1 New Bond Street,
www.harrisproductsgroup.com Worcester, MA 01615
See us at FABTECH booth C2044
(800) 243­0028 • (508) 795­2380
coatingsolutions@saint­gobain.com
www.coatingsolutions.saint­gobain.com

Lucas Milhaupt, Victor TechnologiesTM

Global Brazing Solutions
TurboTorch® is the most
Lucas-Milhaupt is your single requested brand in brazing and
supplier for the most comprehensive soldering. TurboTorch is the
selection of silver, gold, copper, professional’s choice for all your
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supplies. We can provide you a full line of air fuel and oxy fuel
technical support and materials torches, equipment and accessories.
globally, wherever your company TurboTorch is one of the Victor TechnologiesTM portfolio
manufactures your product. We are of brands that offers superior solutions for cutting, gas control and
your one source for brazing materials including Handy One® specialty welding. Look for us at www.VictorTechnologies.com, or
flux cored products, silver and aluminum coated products, Sil-Fos®, TurboTorch.com.
Easy-Flo®, Braze™, Silvaloy®, Silvabrite®, Ultra Flux®, and
Handy® Flux.
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5656 S. Pennsylvania Ave. Chesterfield, MO 63017
Milwaukee, WI 53110 U.S.A. (800) 426­1888
(414) 769­6000 Fax: (800) 535­0557
[email protected] [email protected]
www.lucasmilhaupt.com www.VictorTechnologies.com/TurboTorch

Oerlikon Metco Victor TechnologiesTM

Oerlikon Metco’s innovative Since 1967, TurboTorch® has

solutions improve the life, set the highest standard for
reliability, and performance manufacturers of Air fuel
of your manufactured equipment. TurboTorch is
components and industrial the professional's choice for
processes. Customers benefit from a broad range of surface all your brazing and soldering
solutions, including advanced thermal spray materials, integrated needs, offering equipment
systems, and equipment for all thermal spray processes, specialized and accessories for the
coating and surfacing services, high quality braze and weld Plumbing and HVAC/R
hardfacing materials, laser cladding systems, materials, and services. industries including the all new G Series Nitrogen Purge regulator.
Our state-of-the-art products, solutions, and services are delivered Look for us at TurboTorch.com.
through a global sales, customer support, and manufacturing
network.
1101 Prospect Ave. 16052 Swingley Ridge Road, Suite 300
Westbury, NY 11590 Chesterfield, MO 63017
(516) 334­1300 (800) 426­1888
Fax: (516) 338­2414 Fax: (800) 535­0557
www.oerlikon.com/metco [email protected]
www.VictorTechnologies.com/TurboTorch
See us at FABTECH booth C1108

114 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

PERSONNEL ries for several years before joining
Raba Kistner, an engineering consult-
cluding the KCI Tower and the Frost
Bank Building. Among his may feats,
— continued from page 110 ing firm. He also served as a laborato- he accurately analyzed the chemical
ry inspector for American Association composition of lunar soil through
gion of Merit for his services in Viet- of Laboratory Accreditation. He was spectroscopic analysis of moon light,
nam. He then managed the San Anto- involved with the construction of and performed X-ray analysis of the
nio office of Texas Testing Laborato- many buildings in San Antonio, in- entire length of the Armistad Dam. WJ

Call for Papers JOM­18

18th International Conference on Joining Materials
Institute for the Joining of Materials in association with IIW
Helsingør, Denmark, April 26–29, 2015
Download the brochure detailing topics, expenses, and registration form at:
www.aws.org/wj/JOM-18-CallForPapers.pdf
Review the brochure for conference topics. E-mail a title and short abstract of your paper before Nov. 2, 2014. You
will receive author guidelines for preparation of the full paper by Nov. 30. The full paper for publication in the Conference
Proceedings must be received by Jan. 15, 2015. E-mail to [email protected].

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation for U.S. Postal Service (Required by U.S.C. 3685)

1. TITLE OF PUBLICATION: Welding Journal 2. PUBLICATION NO.: ISSN 0043-2296

3 DATE OF FILING: September 26, 2014 4. FREQUENCY OF ISSUE: Monthly
5. NO. OF ISSUES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY: 12 6. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: $120.00
7. MAILING ADDRESS OF KNOWN OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: 8669 NW 36 St., #130, Miami, Florida 33166
8. MAILING ADDRESS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OR GENERAL BUSINESS OFFICES OF THE PUBLISHERS:
8669 NW 36 St., #130, Miami, Florida 33166
9. NAMES AND COMPLETE ADDRESS OF PUBLISHER, EDITOR AND MANAGING EDITOR:
PUBLISHER: Andrew Cullison, AWS, 8669 NW 36 St., #130, Miami, Florida 33166
EDITOR: Mary Ruth Johnsen, AWS, 8669 NW 36 St., #130, Miami, Florida 33166
10. OWNER: NAME: American Welding Society, Inc. ADDRESS: AWS, 8669 NW 36 St., #130, Miami, Florida 33166
11. KNOWN BONDHOLDERS, MORTGAGEES, AND OTHER SECURITY HOLDERS OWNING OR HOLDING 1 PERCENT OR MORE
OF TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONDS, MORTGAGES OR OTHER SECURITIES: None
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Has not changed during preceding 12 months
13. Publication Title: Welding Journal 14. Issue date for Circulation Data Below: October 2014
15. EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION:
Average No. Copies Each Actual No. Copies of
Issue During Preceding Single Issue Published
12 Months Nearest to Filing Date

A. Total No. Copies Printed (Net Press Run) 51,875 55,300

B. Paid and/or Requested Circulation
1. Paid / Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 49,660 50,774
2. Paid In-County Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 None None
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Street Vendor, Counter Sales, and other Non-USPS Paid Distribution
4. Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS None None
C. Total Paid / Requested Circulation 49,660 50,774
D. Free Distribution by Mail (Samples, complimentary and other free)
1. Outside-County as State on Form 3541 171 176
2. In-County as Stated on Form 3541 None None
3. Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS None None
4. Free Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means) None None
E. Total Free Distribution 171 176
F. Total Distribution 49,831 50,950
G. Copies not Distributed 2,044 4,350
H. Total 51,875 55,300
I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 99.7% 99.7%
16. Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November 2014 issue of this publication.
I certify that the statements made by above are correct and complete:
Mary Ruth Johnsen, Editor

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 117

CLASSIFIEDS

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Business Development Manager –

Southern States Place Your
Classified Ad Here!
CM Industries, Lake Zurich, IL,
seeks a proven and sales oriented Call the AWS sales team at:
business development manager to (800) 443-9353
Regional Sales Manager
expand its automation related Rob Saltzstein, ext. 243
Gopher Industrial is the premier products in the Southern U.S. [email protected]
industrial supplier in the Southeast
Texas region that also has a web based Ability to work independently, Sandra Jorgensen, ext. 254
business that also serves all 50 states negotiate and manage contracts, [email protected]
and several countries. Gopher sells
welding supplies, hose products, PVF, communicate well and think
lubricants, safety products, and strategically plus 5 years of welding Annette Delagrange, ext. 332
integrated supply solutions. This a new related work experience required. [email protected]
position that will manage, coach, and
grow our sales team. Very competitive salary and
Bachelor’s degree in marketing, incentives plus health benefits.
business, or industrial distribution is Please send résumé to:
preferred; or a minimum of ten years of [email protected]
related experience in industrial sales
and management; or the equivalent
combination of formal education and
experience.
Visit
FOR SALE OR RENT
www.gopherindustrial.com/careers for
more details.
®
E-mail résumé to Hawkeye
Hawkeye Borescopes
Borescopes
[email protected]

Put Your Products and

Services to Work in
January 2015 80
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d, Flexible
Video
scopes
ock!

gradientlens.com/welding 800.536.0790
Generate new sales leads by showcasing
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exposure for just pennies per contact.

Closing date is
November 21, 2014
Call the AWS sales team at:
(800) 443-9353
Rob Saltzstein at ext. 243
[email protected]
Sandra Jorgensen at ext. 254
[email protected]
Annette Delagrange, ext. 332
[email protected]

118 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 CLASSIFIEDS

FOR SALE OR RENT (CONTINUED)

MITROWSKI RENTS JOE FULLER LLC

Made in U.S.A.
We manufacture tank turning rolls
Welding Positioners 3-ton through 120-ton rolls
1­Ton thru 60­Ton www.joefuller.com
Tank Turning Rolls

Rentals, Lease and Sales

email: [email protected]
Phone: (979) 277-8343
Welders Fax: (281) 290-6184
Our products are made in the USA

Used Equipment for Sale

www.mitrowskiwelding.com
Weld CHRISTMAS CARDS
Automation Over 35 Whimsical Welding
cards available at
pauloxmanpublishing.com/welding
Gen
ne
Generators 1-800-228-0787

1-866-733-3272
1-866-7
7
[email protected]
(800) 218-9620
(713) 943-8032

CERTIFICATION & TRAINING

Professionals Sought for

IIW Training Courses
2014
The American Welding Society, the
Gesellschaft für Schweisstechnik
International (German Welding
Institute, GSI), and the National CWI PREPARATORY
Center for Welding Education and 80+ HOUR COURSE
Training (Weld-Ed) are seeking
candidates interested in obtaining the MORE HANDS–ON/PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
IIW International Welding Houston, TX Oct. 6–17
Engineer or International Welding Ellijay, GA Nov. 24–Dec. 5
Technologist diploma. Courses are Pascagoula, MS Sep. 8–19
Port Arthur, TX Sep. 22–Oct. 3
being planned that will blend Baytown, TX Oct. 20–31
Internet-delivered training with class- Houma, LA Nov. 10–21
room training conducted in the United
States. + Includes additional self study for weekend
FOR DETAILS CALL OR E­MAIL:
The 440-hour course will be offered
during the next two summers and (800) 489­2890
is designed to promote career [email protected]
development for busy welding
professionals. Also offering: RT Film Interpretation, MT/PT/UT
Thickness, CWS, SCWI,
Please contact Jeff Hufsey at: Welding Procedure Fundamentals,
[email protected] for more details. And Advanced Inspection Courses

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 119

ADVERTISER INDEX
Abicor Binzel 121 ESAB Welding & Cutting 22­23
www.binzel­abicor.com (800) 542­4867 www.esabna.com (800) 372­2123

American Torch Tip 28 Fischer Engineering Co. 110

www.AmericanTorchTip.com (800) 342­8477 www.fischerengr.com (937) 754­1754

Anderson Laboratories, Inc. 32 Fronius USA, LLC 12

www.andersonlabs.com (800) 950­6330 www.fronius­usa.com (877) 376­6487

Arcos Industries, LLC Inside Back Cover Fusion, Inc. 75

www.arcos.us (800) 233­8460 www.fusion­inc.com (800) 626­9501

Astaras 15 Greiner Industries 17

www.e3tungsten.com web contac only www.greinerindustries.com (800) 782­2110

Atlas Welding Accessories, Inc. 76 Gullco International, Inc. ­ U.S.A. 79

www.atlaswelding.com (800) 962­9353 www.gullco.com (440) 439­8333

AWS Certification Services 30­31, 90, 116 Harris Products Group 89

www.aws.org/certification/ (800) 443­9353, ext. 273 www.harrisproductsgroup.com (800) 733­4043

AWS Education Services 109 HBD/Thermoid, Inc. 79

www.aws.org/education/ (800) 443­9353, ext. 455 www.hbdthermoid.com (800) 543­8070

AWS Foundation 105 Hi TecMetal Group 36

www.aws.org/foundation/ (800) 443­9353, ext. 250 www.htg.cc (216) 881­8100

AWS Membership Services 112, 115 Hobart Inst. of Welding Technology 82

www.aws.org/membership/ (800) 443­9353, ext. 480 www.welding.org (800) 332­9448

AWS Publications 72­73, 82 Hodgson Custom Rolling, Inc. 5

www.aws.org/wj/ (800) 443­9353 www.hcrsteel.com (905) 356­6025

Brazing and Joining Consultant, LLC/Anatol Rabinkin, Ph. D. 77 Hypertherm 39

E­mail: [email protected] (973) 993­9546 www.hypertherm.com/quality (800) 643­0030
Camfil Air Pollution Control 2 Intercon Enterprises, Inc. 34
www.camfilapc.com (800) 479­6801 www.intercon1978.com (800) 665­6655

Carell Corp. 81 International Thermal Spray Association 111

www.carellcorp.com (251) 937­0948 www.thermalspray.org (440) 357­5400

CDA Technical Institute 35 J. P. Nissen Co. 87

www.commercialdivingacademy.com (888) 974­2232 www.nissenmarkers.com (215) 886­2025

Champion Welding Alloys 21 K.I.W.O.T.O., Inc. 78

www.championwelding.com (800) 321­9353 www.rodguard.net (269) 944­1552

Cole­Tuve, Inc. 85 Lincoln Electric Co. Outside Back Cover

www.coletube.com (877) 989­0700 www.lincolnelectric.com (216) 481­8100

Colorado School of Mines 32 Lucas­Milhaupt, Inc. 61

www.inside.mines.edu/HR­Academic­Faculty web contact only www.lucasmilhaupt.com (414) 679­6000
Cor­Met 24, 108 Mathey Dearman 33
www.cor­met.com (800) 848­2719 www.matheycnc.com (918) 447­1288
Detroit Torch and Mfg. Co. 38 Maverick Testing Laboratories 78
www.detroittorch.com (248) 499­8122 www.mavericktestinglabs.com (281)­ 888­8210
Diamond Ground Products, Inc. 35, 37 Midalloy 34
www.diamondground.com (805) 498­3837 www.midalloy.com (800) 776­3300
Digicon LLC 24 Netbraze 70
E­mail [email protected] (337) 442­5324 www.NetBraze.com (855) 444­1440
Divers Academy International 49 OTC Daihen, Inc. 29
www.diversacademy.edu (800) 238­3483 www.daihen­usa.com (888) 682­7626
Donaldson Torit 71 Prince & Izant Companies 74
www.donaldsontorit.com (800) 365­1331 www.princeizant.com (216) 362­7000
E. H. Wachs 57 Revco Industries, Inc. 27
www.ehwachs.com (847) 537­8800 www.BlackStallion.com/www.BSXgear.com (800) 527­3826

120 WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014

 ADVERTISER INDEX
Schaefer Ventilation Equipment 80 Triangle Engineering, Inc. 82
www.schaeferfan.com (800) 779­3267 www.trieng.com (781) 878­1500

Select Arc, Inc. Inside Front Cover TRUMPF 65

www.select­arc.com (937) 295­5215 www.us.trumpf.com web contact only

SK Brazing USA, LLC 74 TWI North America 83

www.skbrazing.com (414) 628­0584 www.twosoftware.com (281)680­2000

Special Metals Welding Products Co. 43 Uniweld Products, Inc. 37

www.specialmetalswelding.com (800) 624­3411 www.uniweld.com (800) 323­2111

Sumner Mfg. Co., Inc. 14 voestalpine Bohler Welding USA Inc. 9

www.sumner.com (888) 999­6910 www.voestalpine.com/welding (800) 527­0791

Superflash Compressed Gas Equipment/IBEDA, Inc. 25 Weld Aid 13

www.oxyfuelsafety.com (888) 327­7306 www.weldaid.com (800) 935­3243

TEC Welding Products, Inc. 79, 81 Weld Engineering 7

www.tectorch.com (760) 747­3700 www.weldengineering.com (508) 842­2224

Thermal Dynamics/Victor Technologies 19 WEMCO/An Association of Welding Manufacturers 106­107

www.Thermal­Dynamics.com (800) 569­0547 www.aws.org/wemco (800) 443­9353, ext. 444

Thermatool 1
www.thermatool.com (203) 468­4100 BRAZING PROFILES 113­114

Thermo­Calc Software AB 20
www.thermocalc.com (724) 731­0074

Tokin Corp. 80
www.tokinarc.com +81­53­485­5252

Tri Tool 11
Visit the AWS Interactive Ad Index: www.aws.org/ad­index
www.tritool.com (800) 968­2605

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE WELDER’S WORLD.

MORE THAN WELDING.

METAL JOINING, SAFETY & EFFICIENCY

Booth C1344
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For Info, go to www.aws.org/ad­index

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 121
 WELDING RESEARCH
SUPPLEMENT TO THE WELDING JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 2014
Sponsored by the American Welding Society and the Welding Research Council

Effect of Inserted Strips on Electrode Degradation

in Resistance Spot Welding
Test results indicated the insertion of a Cu55Ni45 metal strip showed the most promise
for extending electrode life

BY Y. Y. ZHAO, Y. S. ZHANG, X. M. LAI, AND PEI-CHUNG WANG

substrates, and thus the contact resist-

ABSTRACT ance at the faying interfaces accounts
for larger proportion of the total joule
Recent trends toward economically fabricating lightweight vehicle structures while
ensuring structural performance have led to the implementation of thin sheet steels in heat generation. In other words, as the
the automotive industry. However, one of the main challenges in resistance spot weld­ material gets thinner, the contact
ing of ultra­thin steel (e.g., < 0.6 mm) is the extraordinarily short electrode life caused characteristics at the solid-solid inter-
by the elevated electrode tip temperature. A method of inserting flexible strips be­ faces dominate the process (Ref. 2).
tween the electrode and workpiece has been proposed to reduce the electrode tip Since the weld size strongly relates to
temperature, and consequently to prolong the electrode life. the contact status, it can be expected
In the present investigation, resistance spot welding of 0.4­mm­thick galvanized low­ that the weldability in welding of thin-
carbon steel with various inserted strips was experimentally investigated with a particular gauge steels would be poorer than that
emphasis on the influence of inserted strips on the electrode degradation. Test results of thicker gauge. Furthermore, an ex-
showed that by inserting metal strips between the electrode and workpiece, the elec­
traordinarily high temperature at the
trode life was prolonged by about 300%. The electrode face diameter was no longer an
effective indicator for the electrode degradation in resistance spot welding with inserted electrode surface can be developed due
strips. Surface alloying and recrystallization of the material near the electrode face to the rapid heat transfer from the
formed and played significant roles. Furthermore, the effects of the electro­thermal prop­ weld zone to electrode surface when
erties and compositions of the inserted strips on the electrode tip temperature and de­ the workpieces become thinner. This
gree of surface alloying were also evaluated. Among all the strips investigated in this excessively high temperature signifi-
study, 0.12­mm­thick Cu55Ni45 metal strip exhibited the most promising results in allevi­ cantly accelerates the electrode degra-
ating the electrode degradation. dation and eventually results in a re-
duction in electrode life by 40–60%
compared to ordinary gauge sheet
KEYWORDS (Refs. 3, 4).
Recently, resistance spot welding
• Resistance Welding • Thin­Gauge Steel • Automotive • Galvanized Steel with metal strips/cover plates/process
tapes inserted between the workpiece
and electrode has been adopted to join
vantages over the use of aluminum in aluminum, magnesium, and ultrathin
Introduction gauge steels (Refs. 3, 5–11). The in-
terms of manufacturing cost (Ref. 1).
However, resistance spot welding serted strip favors joule heat genera-
Nowadays, light-weighting is an in- (RSW), which is still the predominant tion during the welding process and
evitable trend in the automotive in- joining technique in vehicle assembly, meanwhile shields the heat transfer
dustry. Usually, the mass reduction of confronts two main difficulties in join- from the weld zone to the electrode
vehicles is achieved either by the use ing thin-gauge steels, especially the surface, which eventually reduces the
of lighter, thinner, and stronger mate- ones thinner than 0.6 mm. These diffi- electrode tip temperature, and conse-
rials and/or by optimization of design culties arise from primarily two rea- quently prolongs the electrode life
throughout the vehicle structure. sons. First, the decrease in steel thick- (Refs. 5, 6). Kolarik successfully joined
Thin-gauge steels might have some ad- ness leads to lower resistance of the 2-mm-thick low-carbon steel to

Y. Y. ZHAO ([email protected]), Y. S. ZHANG, and X. M. LAI are with Shanghai Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacture for Thin­Walled Structures,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, PR China. PEI­CHUNG WANG is with Manufacturing Systems Research Lab, General Motors Research & Development
Center, Mound Road, Warren, Mich.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 411-s

WELDING RESEARCH

A C A

B C D

Fig. 1 — Resistance welding with inserted flexible strips. A — Fig. 2 — Function of number of welds during electrode wear
Schematic; B — experiment setup; C — configuration of the elec­ testing of 0.4­mm­thick galvanized steel without inserted strips.
trode (dimension in mm). A — Electrode face diameter. Carbon imprints of electrode face
under the weld conditions of 1.8 kN, 5.7 kA, and 160 ms. B —
After 200 welds; C — after 400 welds; D — after 600 welds.
austenitic CrNi stainless steel by using heat with higher
a DeltaSpot™ (Ref. 6) welding gun with density in the alu-
a process tape (Ref. 7). Qiu and Abdo minum side during resistance spot joining of magnesium alloy (e.g., a
found the process tape/cover plate welding aluminum-to-steel (Refs. 8, comparable welding current condition
technique to be effective in correcting 9). Satonaka also reported the advan- to that for RSW of steel sheet) and
the heat imbalance and generating tages of RSW with cover plates for found a weld diameter that is larger
than the electrode diameter (Refs. 10,
11). Zhao investigated the effect of the
Table 1 — Chemical Compositions (wt­%) and Mechanical Properties of Galvanized Low­Carbon Steel
(DC51D+Z from Bao Steel)
inserted strips on the electrode tip
temperature and weld quality during
Chemical Composition Mechanical Properties RSW of ultrathin-gauge galvanized
steels and found that the effect of the
C Si Mn P S Fe Coating Wt. Yield Strength Tensile Strength Elongation inserted metal strip strongly depended
(g/m2) (MPa) (MPa) (%)
on its material properties (i.e., resis-
0.04 0.01 0.23 0.01 0.001 balance 43–46 256 359 36 tivity and thermal conductivity) and
thickness. With the proper selection of
the metal strip, the electrode wear was
Table 2 — Nominal Chemical Compositions of Strip Materials (wt­%) reduced significantly (Ref. 3).
To date, most of the published
Cu Cr Ni Zn Mn Fe studies focus on investigating the ef-
AISI 304 — 19 9 — <2 balance fect of the inserted strips on heat gen-
Cu55Ni45 balance — 44 — 0.5–2.0 <0.5 eration and temperature distribution,
CuNi18Zn20 balance — 18 20 <0.7 — nugget formation, and joint strength,
Copper >99.0 — — — — —
and there is little information regard-
ing the role of the inserted strips on
Table 3 — Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Strip Materials the microstructure evolution at the
electrode surface.
Mechanical Properties AISI 304 Cu55Ni45 CuNi18Zn20 Copper The present study was undertaken to
experimentally study resistance welding
Tensile strength (MPa) 505 480 450 258 of 0.4-mm-thick galvanized low-carbon
Yield strength (MPa) 215 240 229 120 steel with various inserted strips. The
Elongation (%) 70 45 40 48 objective of this work was to gain a bet-
Modulus of elasticity (GPa) 193–200 170 133 120
Shear modulus (GPa) 86 62 49 45 ter understanding of the effect of the
Resistivity (μOhm cm) 68 55 29 2 strips on the electrode degradation
from a metallurgical perspective, with a

412-s WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014, VOL. 93

 WELDING RESEARCH

A B

C D
Fig. 4 — Electrode face diameter as a func­
tion of number of welds during RSW of 0.4­
mm­thick galvanized steel with 0.1­mm­
thick copper, CuNi18Zn20, and 304 stain­
less steel strips.

minimum weld nugget size (i.e., 2.5 mm

of 0.4-mm thick sheet) (Ref. 12). To
monitor electrode diameter and rate of
electrode degradation, carbon imprints
(Ref. 13) of electrode diameter were tak-
en at the start of the electrode life test.
Fig. 3 — Examination of the tested electrode after 600 resistance spot welds on 0.4­mm­ Thereafter, imprints were taken at 100-
thick galvanized low­carbon steel without strips. A — Cross section; B — enlarged view of
the dashed box in A; C — SEM of tested electrode; D — EDS scan of the alloying layer shown
weld increments. Peel specimens were
in square C at the electrode surface. generated at every 100-weld interval to
monitor the nugget diameters. The
weld nugget size was estimated by
particular emphasis on the electrode alloy, and 0.12-mm-thick Cu55Ni45 al- measuring the diameter of pullout but-
surface alloying. The effects of the strip loy. Chemical compositions and me- tons during the peel tests.
material, thickness, and alloy element chanical and electrical properties of
on the electrode degradation were in- these metal strips are listed in Tables 2
vestigated and discussed. Finally, based and 3, respectively.
Microscopic Analysis
on the test results, a preferable strip
material for resistance welding of 0.4- To examine the changes at the elec-
Welding Procedure trode face during the degradation
mm-thick galvanized low-carbon steel
was proposed. process, cross sections of the worn
Electrode wear testing was per- electrodes were prepared and exam-
formed using a mid-frequency DC weld- ined. The polished samples were
Experimental Procedures ing machine, and the welding setup is etched in with a solution consisting of
shown in Fig. 1A. Electrodes with a 5.0- 10-g iron (III) nitrate in 100 mL of dis-
Materials mm-diameter flat tip made of Cr-Zr-Cu tilled water. The microstructures of
alloy (compositions in wt-%: 0.2% Zr, the electrodes were examined by opti-
The steel selected in this study was 0.5% Cr, 0.01% Al, and the rest is Cu), cal microscope and scanning electron
0.4-mm-thick hot-dipped galvanized shown in Fig. 1B and C, were used. Test microscope (SEM) equipped with En-
low-carbon steel (i.e., DC51D+Z from welds were made on a 38 × 100-mm ergy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS)
Bao Steel). Per manufacturer’s data sheet of the material. The metal strips analysis. Detailed experimental pa-
sheet, chemical compositions and me- with the same size, 38 × 100 mm, were rameters for SEM are listed in Table 5.
chanical properties are listed in Table 1. prepared. Table 4 lists the welding pa-
The metal strips used in this study are rameters. Electrode wear tests were con-
0.05-, 0.10-, 0.15-mm-thick AISI 304 ducted under a single set of welding pa- Results
stainless steel, 0.10-mm-thick commer- rameters and at a welding rate of 30
cially available pure copper (hereinafter welds per minute. The test was termi- Electrode life tests on RSW of 0.4-
referred to as “copper”) and CnNi18Zn nated once the weld size fell below the mm-thick galvanized low-carbon steel

Table 4 — Welding Parameters

Parameters Electrode Force (kN) Welding Current (kA) Squeeze Time (ms) Weld Time (ms) Hold Time (ms) Cooling Water Flow Rate (L/min)
Value 1.8 5.7 200 160 40 3

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 413-s

WELDING RESEARCH

degraded significantly.
Microscopic examinations of the
worn electrodes after 600 welds were
performed and the results are shown
in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3A, the
cross section of the worn electrodes
exhibited a rough surface profile. After
etching, a dark layer, about 25~30 mm
thick, was revealed at the electrode
surface, shown in Fig. 3B and C. EDS
analysis of the region labeled by a
square in Fig. 3C was performed and
the results are presented in Fig. 3D. As
shown, the layer contains about 86%
iron, 11% copper, and 2% zinc (at.-%).
Compared to the compositions of the
as-received electrode material (i.e.,
Fig. 5 — Electrode surfaces after 200, 400, and 600 welds in resistance welding of 0.4­ 0.2% Zr, 0.5% Cr, 0.01% Al, and the
mm­thick galvanized steel using 0.1­mm­thick copper, CuNi18Zn20, and 304 stainless
steel strips.
rest Cu), the difference in composition
is primarily caused by the sticking of
workpiece and zinc coating onto the
A B electrode surface under the high tem-
perature and the exertion of electrode
force. Formation of this alloy layer and
its high iron content indicated that se-
vere electrode degradation occurred.

Electrode Degradation in RSW

of Ultrathin Steel with Inserted
Strip
To minimize the electrode degrada-
Fig. 6 — Grain structure in resistance welding of 0.4­mm­thick galvanized low­carbon tion, a metal strip was introduced in
steel with 0.10­mm­thick 304 stainless steel strip. A — Original copper electrode; B — between the electrode and workpiece.
recrystallized electrode. It has been reported that the presence
of strip material strongly affected the
heat generation and temperature dis-
Table 5 — Experimental Parameters for SEM
tribution during the welding process
Parameters Accelerating Spot Size Detectors Working Distance (mm)
(Ref. 3). In this study, three strip ma-
Voltage (kV) (nm) terials (i.e., commercially pure copper,
CuNi18Zn20 alloy, and 304 stainless
Value 5.00 4/5 SE 4.5~5.5
steel strips) that have lower, compara-
ble, and higher electrical resistivity
without and with various inserted mm-thick galvanized low-carbon steel than that of the workpieces were se-
strips were conducted. There are three without inserted strips were terminat- lected to assess their influences on the
main parts in the test results. First, ed after 600 welds because the weld growth of electrode face diameter, re-
the electrode degradation process size decreased to 2.4 mm, which is be- crystallization, and surface alloying of
without inserted strip was evaluated. low the minimum acceptable size of copper electrode. To study the influ-
This was followed by assessing the ef- 2.5 mm (Ref. 12). Figure 2A presents ence of the strip materials on the elec-
fects of resistivity and thickness of the the measured face diameters as a func- trode degradation process, the thick-
inserted strip on the electrode life. Fi- tion of weld number. As shown, elec- ness of these strips was fixed at 0.10
nally, we discuss the combined effects trode face diameter increased from 5 mm.
of resistivity, thickness, and alloy con- to 6 mm after 600 continuous welds.
tent of the inserted strip on the elec- The imprints of the electrode face af-
Electrode Face Diameter
trode degradation. ter 200, 400, and 600 welds are shown
in Fig. 2B, C, and D, respectively. Care-
ful examinations of the worn elec- Electrode life testing was performed,
Electrode Degradation in RSW trodes with 600 welds, shown in Fig. and the weld size was still acceptable af-
of Ultrathin Steel 2D, indicated that severe cavitation ter 2000 welds by making use of the in-
developed at the electrode face. These serted strips. Compared to the electrode
Electrode life tests on RSW of 0.4- results suggest that the electrodes had life of 600 welds in welding without

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 WELDING RESEARCH

strips, it was prolonged by about 300%

A B C
with using inserted strips.
The growth of electrode face diame-
ter has been commonly used to assess
the extent of the electrode degrada-
tion (Ref. 13). The changes in elec-
trode face diameter are shown in Fig.
4. For the purpose of comparison, test
results for the case without the strip
are also included. As shown in Fig. 4,
all electrode face diameters increased
with increasing number of welds and
reached a face diameter of about 5.3
mm after 600 welds. Electrode face di- Fig. 7 — Effect of 0.10­mm strip material on the electrodes after 600 continuous resist­
ameter for the case without a strip is ance spot welds on 0.4­mm­thick galvanized low­carbon steel. A — Copper strip; B —
larger than those with the presence of CuNi18Zn20 strip; C — 304 stainless steel strip.
the strips by ~0.7 mm. The strip mate-
rials used in this study had little influ-
ence on the electrode face diameter. To A
understand the effect of strip material
on the electrode degradation mecha-
nism, the appearances of the worn
electrodes were analyzed.
Figure 5 presents the effect of the
strip material on the electrode appear-
ances after 200, 400, and 600 continu-
ous welds for copper, CuNi18Zn20, and
304 strips. As shown, except the elec-
trodes used with copper strip, all elec-
trode faces exhibited little pitting or
cavitation and mushrooming after 600
welds. Previous studies suggested that a
number of different damage processes B C
developed during the degradation of
electrodes when welding zinc-coated
steel, namely: recrystallization of the
electrode material, mushrooming or
growth of electrode face, and surface al-
loying and pitting/cavitation (Ref. 14).
However, careful examinations of the
worn electrodes indicated that this is Fig. 8 — Electrode after 600 resistance spot welds on 0.4­mm­thick galvanized low­car­
not what we have observed in RSW of bon steel with 0.10­mm­thick strip. A — SEM observation with CuNi18Zn20 strip; B and
thin steel with inserted strips. Test re- C — EDS scan of the area shown in A.
sults indicated that in RSW of thin steel
with inserted strips, the most promi-
nent change in the electrode face was were cross-sectioned and examined mi- Recrystallization of Electrode Material
that a convex surface was formed at the croscopically to see if they were recrys-
tallized and surface alloyed during the Published results (Refs. 15, 16)
center and expanded toward the edge.
welding process. Test results are de- showed that recrystallization of the
Since there is little difference in elec-
scribed next. electrode below the electrode surface
trode face diameter, the worn electrodes

Table 6 — Effect of Strips on the Recrystallization and Surface Alloying of the Electrode in RSW of 0.4­mm­thick Galvanized Low­Carbon Steel

Strip Surface Alloy Layer

Material Thickness (mm) Recrystallization Layer (m) Thickness (m) Composition (at.­%)
AISI 304 0.05 — — —
0.10 252.9 6 87% Cu, 7% Fe, 6% Ni
0.15 435.3 10 81% Cu, 16% Fe, 1.5% Ni
Copper 0.10 509.4 >100
CuNi18Zn20 0.10 329.4 6.5 inner: 68% Cu, 31% Zn, 1% Ni
outer: 57% Cu, 40% Zn, 3% Ni
Cu55Ni45 0.12 94.1 2 92% Cu, 8% Ni

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WELDING RESEARCH

B
Fig. 10 — Effect of the thickness of 304 stainless steel strip on the
electrode degradation in resistance welding of 0.4­mm­thick gal­
vanized low­carbon steel.

A B

Fig. 9 — Electrode after 600 resistance spot welds on 0.4­mm­

thick galvanized low­carbon steel with 0.10­mm­thick strip. A —
SEM with 304 stainless steel strip; B — EDS scan of the square
shown in A.

frequently occurred due to high temper- crystallized layer is

ature, and it is usually accompanied by a more than ~500
marked reduction in the strength and mm with a 0.1- Fig. 11 — Effect of strip thickness on the recrystallization of the
electrode surface after 600 continuous resistance spot welds on
hardness of the material. It was report- mm-thick copper 0.4­mm­thick galvanized low­carbon steel with the presence of
ed that a decrease in hardness from 176 strip, it reduced 304 strips. A — 0.10 mm thick; B — 0.15 mm thick.
to 70–90 HV occurred within the re- to ~330 and ~250
crystallized zone (Ref. 4). Since elec- mm for the 0.1-
trode softening is one of the dominant mm-thick CuNi18Zn20 and 0.1-mm- thick alloying layer on the electrode
damage processes, the depth of recrys- thick AISI 304 strips, respectively. surface after 600 welds in RSW of 0.4-
tallization layer could be an effective in- These results inferred that the elec- mm-thick galvanized low-carbon steel
dication of electrode degradation. Once trode tip temperature with with the presence of CuNi18Zn20
recrystallization occurred, a pro- CuNi18Zn20 strip is likely lower than strip was formed. As shown, this alloy-
nounced change in grain structure was that with copper strip but higher than ing layer was composed of two sublay-
observed. Figure 6A and B present the that with 304 stainless strip. ers. EDS analysis results of these sub-
microstructures of the as-received and layers shown in Fig. 8B and C revealed
copper electrodes after 600 welds in re- Surface Alloying that they mainly contained copper,
sistance welding of 0.4-mm-thick galva- zinc, and a trace of nickel. These re-
nized low-carbon steel with 0.10-mm- During resistance welding, surface sults suggest that zinc in the strip is
thick 304 strip, respectively. As shown, coatings often alloy with the electrode most likely to alloy with the copper
while as-received copper electrode con- material due to the high temperature electrode due to its lower melting
sisted of elongated grains, the recrystal- experienced at the electrode surface. point and higher chemical activity
lized regions of the worn electrode were This alloying makes a significant con- compared to nickel and copper.
composed of primarily fine grains. tribution to the overall electrode dam- Similar analyses were conducted on
Due to this difference in mi- age process (Ref. 4). To assess if the the worn electrodes with the use of
crostructures of as-received and re- surface alloying would form with the 304 stainless steel strip and the re-
crystallized electrodes, the thickness presence of metal strips, SEM and EDS sults are shown in Fig. 9. As shown in
of the recrystallized layer of the worn were employed to investigate the mi- Fig. 9A, the alloying layer with the use
electrodes was examined. Figure 7A, B, crostructure and chemical composi- of 304 strip had a thickness of ~6.6
and C shows the recrystallized layers tions of the alloying layer on the elec- mm, which is close to that (i.e., 6.5 mm
for copper, CuNi18Zn20, and 304 trode surface and the results are thick) of using CuNi18Zn20 strip.
stainless steel strips, respectively. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9. However, the copper content in the al-
shown, while the thickness of the re- As shown in Fig. 8A, a ~6.5-mm- loying layer with 304 strip is (~ 87%)

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 WELDING RESEARCH

A A B

C D

Fig. 13 — Resistance spot weld on 0.4­mm­thick galvanized low­

carbon steel with 0.12­mm­thick Cu55Ni45 alloy strips after 600
welds. A, B — Optical observation; C — SEM observation of the
electrode; D — EDS scan of the alloying layer.

Fig. 12 — Electrode after 600 resistance spot welds on 0.4­mm­

thick galvanized low­carbon steel with 0.15­mm­thick 304 stain­
less steel. A — SEM observation; B — EDS scan of the region
shown in the square in A.

far higher than that with CuNi18Zn20 effect of its thick-

strip. Therefore, although the thick- ness on the elec-
nesses of the alloying layers are similar trode wear and
with these two strips, the higher cop- surface alloying
per content in the alloying layer with was examined
304 strip indicates a lower extent of next. The 304
surface alloying. stainless steel Fig. 14 — Calculated R value of different strips in resistance spot
welding of ultrathin gauge steel.
Based on the aforementioned re- with the thick-
sults, we can conclude that pure copper nesses of 0.05,
is a less desirable choice than 304 steel 0.10, and 0.15 using these two strip thicknesses was
and CuNi18Zn20 because of its extraor- mm was selected. Figure 10 presents the diameter of the convexity being
dinary high thermal conductivity. More- the effect of the thickness of 304 stain- smaller for the thicker strip. Increased
over, a suitable strip should not contain less steel strip on the changes to the stiffness of the thicker strip led to a
Zn, owing to its low melting point and electrode surface. As shown, due to se- smaller contact radius at the
active chemical property. Desired strips vere pitting occurring at the electrode electrode/strip and strip/workpiece in-
incline to be copper-nickel based alloy surface using a 0.05-mm-thick 304 terfaces, which further resulted in the
and stainless steel. Within the selected strip, tests were terminated after 200 concentration of current density and
strips studied here, due to the lowest welds. Since a 0.05-mm-thick strip is heat generation at the contacting area.
degree of electrode recrystallization and quite thin, the asperities on the elec- Therefore, the size of the convexity be-
the highest content of copper in the al- trode face or workpieces occasionally came smaller using thicker strips. More-
loying layer formed at the electrode sur- perforated through the strip under the over, the worn electrodes were exam-
face by making use of 304 strips, 304 exertion of electrode force and led to ex- ined to assess the degree of recrystal-
stainless steel had the most promising treme current concentration, and conse- lization and surface alloying.
performance in lowering electrode tem- quently resulted in severe surface expul- Figure 11A and B shows the cross
perature and alleviating electrode sion and severe pitting on the electrode sections of the electrodes with 0.10-
degradation. surface. For 0.10- and 0.15-mm-thick and 0.15-mm-thick 304 strip after 600
strips, a convex surface was formed at continuous welds, respectively. As
Effect of Strip Thickness the center of the electrode and expand- shown, recrystallized grains were
ed toward the edge. Comparisons of the formed beneath the electrode face.
After 304 stainless steel was identi- worn electrodes shown in Fig. 10 indi- While the thickness of the recrystal-
fied as the preferred strip material, the cated that the difference resulting from lized layer was ~250 mm with a 0.10-

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WELDING RESEARCH

A B

C Fig. 15 — Binary phase diagrams (Ref. 20). A — Cu­Zn; B — Cu­Ni;

C — Cu­Fe.

The increase in al- 0.12-mm-thick Cu55Ni45 strip. As

loying layer thick- shown, a layer of recrystallized grains
ness and iron con- with ~100-mm-thickness was observed
tent was likely at- in the area near the electrode surface,
tributed to the in- which was far thinner than that (~250
crease in joule heat mm) of the electrodes with a 0.1-mm-
generation with the thick 304 strip. Besides, the thickness
use of the thicker of the alloying layer shown in Fig. 13C
strip. Combination at the electrode surface decreased to
of the results of re- ~2 mm. EDS analysis results of the al-
crystallization and loying layer shown in Fig. 13D re-
mm-thick 304 strip, it increased to surface alloying vealed that the composition of the lay-
~435 mm when the strip was thickened shown above indicated that 0.10-mm- er is 91.9% Cu and the rest is Ni. All
to 0.15 mm. These results suggested thick 304 stainless steel strip is more these results indicated a lower extent
that the temperature at the electrode favorable than 0.15-mm-thick 304 of electrode degradation with 0.12-
face with a 0.15-mm-thick strip is strip to prolong the electrode life in mm-thick Cu55Ni45 strip.
higher than that with a 0.10-mm-thick RSW of 0.4-mm-thick galvanized low- To sum up all the test results pre-
strip. Thicker strip possesses higher carbon steel. sented above, Table 6 lists the effect of
electrical bulk resistance, and there- all strips used in this study on the re-
fore is more favorable to heat genera- Comparison of Strip Material crystallization and surface alloying in
tion and especially since the resistivity resistance welding of 0.4-mm-thick gal-
of 304 stainless steel is much higher The aforementioned results of ef- vanized low-carbon steel. It can be seen
than that of steel sheets. Therefore, a fect of strip material on electrode wear that the thicknesses of recrystallized
higher temperature would develop at indicated that the desired strips in- and alloying layers were the thinnest,
the electrode face with thicker 304 cline to be copper-nickel alloy and and the alloying layer contained also the
stainless steel strips. stainless steel. Therefore, it would be highest copper content (~ 92%) with
SEM and EDS analysis results of interesting to compare copper-nickel the 0.12-mm-thick Cu55Ni45 strip
the worn electrodes after 600 welds in alloy strip to 304 stainless steel. To among all strips selected in this study.
RSW of 0.4-mm-thick galvanized low- make a fair comparison, Cu55Ni45 These results suggested that 0.12-mm-
carbon steel with 0.15-mm-thick 304 was selected because its mechanical thick Cu55Ni45 is the most desired
steel, shown in Fig. 12, further validat- properties are similar to that of 304. strip choice. And yet for all that, 0.10-
ed the above results. After etching, a The thickness of Cu55Ni45 alloy strip mm 304 stainless steel exhibited the
10-mm-thick alloying layer emerged was determined as 0.12 mm to ensure second-least electrode wear.
loosely at the electrode surface. This that its electrical resistance is compa-
alloying layer contained ~81% copper, rable to that of 0.10-mm-thick 304 Discussions
~16% iron, and traces of Ni and Cr steel strip (i.e., resistivities of 304
(at.-%). Comparing the results shown steel and Cu55Ni45 are 68 and 55 Electrode Tip Temperature
in Figs. 9B and 12B indicates that the mOhm/cm, respectively). Electrode life
iron content in the alloying layer in- tests were conducted and Fig. 13A and Experimental results showed that
creased from ~7 to ~16% with an in- B presents the cross sections of the the extent of the electrode degradation
crease in thickness to the 304 strip worn electrode after 600 continuous with the presence of a metal strip was
from 0.10 to 0.15 mm, which suggest- RSW of 0.4-mm-thick galvanized low- quite different from that without the
ed a higher degree of surface alloying. carbon steel with the presence of a metal strip in resistance welding of 0.4-

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mm-thick galvanized low-carbon steel. where P is the peak temperature in slightly greater than that without
The effect of the inserted strips on the the spot weld, x is the thickness of strip. These results suggest that the
electrode tip temperature can be ex- the workpiece, xE is the electrode face joule heat generated at the weld zone
plained from two aspects. One is “heat- thickness (i.e., distance between the can readily transfer through the cop-
ing effect” caused by the resistance of face and underside of the electrode), kE per strip to the electrode surface, and
the strip itself and contact resistance of and kS are the thermal conductivities consequently result in high electrode
additional faying interfaces, and the of the electrode material (Cu) and tip temperature. The calculated R val-
other is “insulation effect” that the strip workpiece, respectively, and x is the ues for 0.1-mm-thick 304 and 0.12-
acts as a heat shield between the work- distance from the weld faying surface mm-thick Cu55Ni45 strips are the two
piece and electrode to insulate heat toward the electrode face. kStrip and highest, and consequently lower elec-
transfer from the weld zone to the cop- xstrip are the thermal conductivity trode tip temperature can be expected.
per electrode. Since it is difficult to and thickness of the inserted strip, re- Test results showed that the electrode
measure the electrode tip temperature spectively, and S is the temperature wear with 0.12-mm-thick Cu55Ni45
experimentally, an analytical model at the workpiece/strip interface. Com- was less than that with 0.1-mm-thick
(Refs. 17, 18) was employed here to es- bining the function of temperature 304, shown in Table 3, even though
timate the electrode tip temperature distribution and boundary conditions the R value with 0.1-mm-thick 304 is
and analyze the effects of metal strip (i.e., in Equation 1), and then, the E greater than that with 0.12-mm-thick
and its properties on the temperature at of RSW with the inserted strip can be Cu55Ni45. This disagreement likely is
the electrode-to-workpiece interface. estimated as attributed to two reasons. First, it is
This analytical analysis has the follow- ΘP difficult to estimate P quantitatively
ing assumptions: ΘE = by the analytical method due to a se-
⎛ k ⎞ ⎛ Δx Strip ⎞ ⎛ 2 ⎞ ⎛ k ⎞ ⎛ Δx ⎞
1) Heat flow from the workpiece 1+ ⎜ E ⎟ ⎜ E
⎟ +⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜
S
⎟ ries of assumptions and simplifica-
⎝ kStrip ⎠ ⎝ Δx E ⎠ ⎝ π ⎠ ⎝ kS ⎠ ⎝ Δx E ⎠
into the electrodes is simplified to one tions made in the formulations. Fur-
dimension. (2) thermore, temperature is not the only
2) The peak temperature distribu- In sum, the temperature developed at factor affecting the electrode wear;
tion in the resistance spot weld can be the electrode surface E can be ex- metallurgical factor is another impor-
described by a sine wave half period, pressed as tant aspect and will be discussed in the
with the peak at the faying interface of section below.
the workpieces. ⎧ ΘP
⎪ ;
2 ⎞ ⎛ kE ⎞ ⎛ Δx ⎞
3) It is assumed that the thermal ⎛
⎪ 1+ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ Alloying Element
gradient in the electrode is linear, ex- ⎪ ⎝ π ⎠ ⎝ kS ⎠ ⎝ Δx E ⎟⎠
tending from electrode tip tempera- ⎪
⎪traditional RSW (Re fs. 17 , 18) In this part, the alloying compounds
ture E to the temperature of the cool- ΘE = ⎨
ΘP formed between the electrode and in-
⎪ ;
ing water (assumed to be room tem- ⎪ ⎛ kE ⎞ ⎛ Δx Strip ⎞ ⎛ 2 ⎞ ⎛ kE ⎞ ⎛ Δx S ⎞ serted strips and their influences on the
perature for this analysis). ⎪ ⎜
1 + ⎟⎜ +
⎟ ⎝⎜ π ⎠⎟ ⎜⎝ k ⎟⎠ ⎜⎝ Δx ⎟⎠
⎪ ⎝ kStrip ⎠ ⎝ Δx E ⎠ S E hardness and electrical properties of the
4) Thermal gradient in the strip is ⎪ RSW with strips copper electrode are discussed by refer-
linear as well, extending from elec- ⎩
ring to binary phase diagrams. To ex-
trode tip temperature E to tempera- plain the effect of CuNi18Zn20 strip on
(3)
ture strip/workpiece interface temper-
To define an R for the ratio of P/E, the electrode wear protection, the Cu-
ature S. Zn binary phase diagram shown in Fig.
Equation 3 can be rewritten as
5) The top and bottom electrodes 15A is referred to. As shown, there are
are essentially straight sided. ⎧ ⎛ 2 ⎞ ⎛ kE ⎞ ⎛ Δx ⎞ several intermetallic compounds (IMC)
⎪1 + ⎜⎝ ⎟⎠ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ; traditional RSW
The function of temperature distribu- ⎪ π ⎝ kS ⎠ ⎝ Δx E ⎟⎠ (e.g., a phase Cu3Zn and Cu9Zn solid
tion in the workpiece and boundary ⎪ ⎛
Θ ⎪ k ⎞ ⎛ Δx ⎞
R = P = ⎨1 + ⎜ E ⎟ ⎜ Strip ⎟ + ⎛⎜ ⎞⎟ E
2 ⎛ k ⎞ ⎛ Δx S ⎞ solution, b phase CuZn base solid solu-
condition can be summarized as Θ E ⎪ ⎝ kStrip ⎠ ⎝ Δx E ⎠ ⎝ π ⎠ ⎜⎝ kS ⎟⎠ ⎜⎝ Δx E ⎟⎠
;
tion, and g phase Cu5Zn8 base solid so-
⎪ lution) formed. With the presence of
⎧ ⎛ π ⎞ ⎪ RSW with strips
⎪Θ = ( Θ P − ΘS ) cos ⎜⎝ 2 Δx x ⎟⎠ + ΘS ; ⎪⎩ CuNi18Zn20 strips, as shown in Fig. 8,
⎪ the alloying compounds contained two
⎪temperature distribution in workpiece (4) sublayers that had 40 and 30% zinc, re-
⎪ dΘ k ΘE
⎪ x = Δx Strip = − E ; The ratio R can quantitatively evaluate spectively. Based on EDS analysis re-
⎪ dx kStrip Δx E the “insulation effect” of the inserted sults of the composition in the alloying
⎪⎪ strips, and a greater R value indicates layer shown in Fig. 8 and the Cu-Zn
⎨boundary condition at electrode / the lower electrode tip temperature if phase diagram, the outer layer should
⎪ strip int erface be a +b phase while the inner layer is
⎪ the value of P is constant. Plugging
⎪ dΘ kStrip ( ΘS − Θ E ) the material properties (Ref. 19) into composed of a phase. Because b phase
⎪ dx x = Δx = − k ; Equation 4, the calculated results are IMC is quite soft (Ref. 20), it is unfavor-
Δx Strip
⎪ s
shown in Fig. 14. able for the electrode performance.
⎪boundary condition at workpiece / As shown, the temperature ratio R To assess Cu-Ni alloying compounds,
⎪
⎪⎩ strip int erface increases with the presence of the see the Cu-Ni phase diagram in Fig.
strips. For a given sheet stack-up, the 15B. As shown, Cu and Ni elements are
(1) completely soluble in each other and
calculated R value with copper strip is

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 419-s

WELDING RESEARCH

form a continuous solid solution. Thus, properties of the strips on the elec- IIW Doc.III-1381-06.
the alloying compounds would be a Cu- trode tip temperature and surface al- 7. Kolarik, L., Sahul, M., Kolarikova, M.,
Ni solid solution with different propor- loying were analyzed. Strips with com- Sahul, M., Turna, M., and Felix, M. 2012. Re-
tions of the two elements. Similar paratively higher electrical resistivity sistance spot welding of dissimilar steels.
Acta Polytechnica 52(3): 43–47.
analysis was performed for Cu-Fe alloy- (e.g., 304 stainless steel and
8. Qiu, R. F., Iwamoto, C., and Satonaka,
ing compounds with the Cu-Fe phase di- Cu55Ni45) lowered the electrode tip S. 2009. Interfacial microstructure and
agram shown in Fig. 15C. As shown, the temperature compared to the strips strength of steel/aluminum alloy joints
solid solubility of iron in copper or cop- with higher thermal/electrical conduc- welded by resistance spot welding with cover
per in iron is extremely low (i.e., <2%), tivity (e.g., commercially pure copper). plate. Journal of Materials Processing Technol-
and there is no intermediate phase 3) Analysis of the effect of the strip ogy 209: 4186–4193.
formed between Cu-Fe. Therefore, Cu- compositions on the electrode surface 9. Abdo, A., Harraz, M., Reisgen, U.,
Fe alloy with various components is all alloying revealed that the alloying com- Schleser, M., and Schiebahn, A. 2013. Resist-
made of the mixture of solid solutions pounds produced with the introduction ance spot welding of aluminum alloy 5182
at both ends. In sum, Cu-Ni and Cu-Fe of Cu-Ni alloy strip had the least impact to zinc coated DP600 steel using process
tape technique. International Journal for Sci-
systems are not likely to form inter- on the hardness/strength and electrical
entific Research and Development 1(10):
metallic compounds, and therefore, the conductivity of a copper electrode. 2212–2216.
surface alloying layer would affect little 4) Among all strips investigated in 10. Qiu, R. F., Satonaka, S., and Iwamoto,
the hardness of the copper electrode. this study, 0.12-mm-thick Cu55Ni45 C. 2009. Mechanical properties and mi-
Published results (Ref. 21) indicat- alloy strip provided the best protec- crostructures of magnesium alloy AZ31B
ed that the alloying element in copper- tion of the electrode degradation in re- joint fabricated by resistance spot welding
based solid solution exerted a signifi- sistance welding of 0.4-mm-thick galva- with cover plates. Science and Technology of
cant influence on the electrical con- nized low-carbon steel. Welding and Joining 14(8): 691–697.
ductivity. Due to the extraordinary 11. Satonaka, S., Iwamoto, C., Murakami,
electrical conductivity of pure copper, G.-i., and Matsumoto, Y. 2012. Resistance
Acknowledgments spot welding of magnesium alloy sheets with
addition of almost all other elements
cover plates. Welding in the World 56(7-8):
into copper would lead to a decrease in 44–50.
electrical conductivity. It is noted that This research was supported by the 12. American Welding Society. 2012. Test
addition of Fe into copper caused a General Motors Collaborative Research Methods for Evaluating the Resistance Spot
dramatic decrease in electrical conduc- Laboratory at Shanghai Jiao Tong Uni- Welding Behavior of Automotive Sheet Steel
tivity (Ref. 21). Therefore, Fe-rich al- versity. This research was also spon- Materials. AWS D8.9M:2012.
loying layer deposited at the electrode sored by Shanghai Rising-Star Program 13. Zhang, X. Q., Chen, G. L., and Zhang,
surface would significantly increase (11QA1403600) and Project 51275304 Y. S. 2008. Characteristics of electrode wear
the electrical resistance at the elec- supported by National Natural Science in resistance spot welding dual-phase steels.
trode surface, and consequently en- Foundation of China. Materials & Design 29(1): 279–283.
14. Holliday, R. J., Parker, J. D., and
hance the joule heating, which would
Williams, N. T. 1996. Relative contribution
further exacerbate the electrode degra- References of electrode tip growth mechanism in spot
dation. Therefore, considering the ef- welding zinc coated steels. Welding in the
fect of alloying on the electrical char- World 37(4): 186–193.
acteristics of copper electrode, an al- 15. Dong, S. J., and Zhou, Y. 2003. Ef-
1. Pecas, P., Henrique, M., Miranda, R.
loying product between Cu-Ni alloy M., and Quintino, L. 1995. Laser welding of fects of TiC composite coating on electrode
strip and the electrode provides the low-thickness zinc-coated and uncoated car- degradation in microresistance welding of
least impact on the hardness and elec- bon steel sheets. Optical and Quantum Elec- nickel-plated steel. Metallurgical and Materi-
trical conductivity of the electrode. tronics 27(12): 1193–1201. als Transactions A 34(7): 1501–1511.
This is consistent with the experimen- 2. Calva, C. M., and Eagar, T. W. 1990. 16. Chatterjee, K. L., and Waddell, W.
Enhancement of the weldability in resist- 1996. Electrode wear during spot welding of
tal observations in this study.
ance spot welding. AWS Detroit Section Sheet coated steels. Welding and Metal Fabrication
Metal Welding Conference IV, Southfield, 64: 110–114.
Conclusions Mich. 17. Chuko, W., and Gould, J. E. 2002. De-
velopment of appropriate resistance spot
3. Zhao, Y. Y., Zhang, Y. S., Lai, X. M., and
Wang, P.-C. 2013. Resistance spot welding of welding practice for transformation-hard-
1) The presence of inserted metal ultrathin automotive steel. ASME Journal of ened steels — Phase 2: Evaluation of post-
strips alleviated the extent and rate of Manufacturing Science and Engineering weld cooling rate techniques. Report to the
electrode degradation in resistance spot 135(4): 021012.1–10. American Iron and Steel Institute.
welding of 0.4-mm-thick galvanized 4. Williams, N. T., and Parker, J. D. 2004. 18. Gould, J. E., Khurana, S. P., and Li, T.
Review of resistance spot welding of steel 2006. Predictions of microstructures when
low-carbon steel. The process of elec-
sheets Part 2 Factors influencing electrode welding automotive advanced high-strength
trode degradation was different from steels. Welding Journal 85(5): 111-s to 116-s.
that of traditional resistance spot weld- life. International Materials Reviews 49(2):
77–108. 19. ASM Metals Handbook. 2001. Desk
ing. Alloying and recrystallization still edition. ASM International.
5. Trommer, G. 2009. Resistance spot
occurred at the electrode surface, but welding using continuous tape. Welding Jour- 20. ASM Metals Handbook. 1992. Vol. 3,
the growth in electrode surface diame- nal 88(12): 20-s to 22-s. Alloy Phase Diagrams. ASM International.
ter was significantly reduced. 6. Stieglbauer, W. 2006. Delta spot — 21. ASM Specialty Handbook: Copper and
2) The effects of the electrothermal Spot welding with process tape. Copper Alloys. 2001. ASM International.

420-s WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014, VOL. 93

 WELDING RESEARCH

Material Strength Effect on Weld Shrinkage

and Distortion
The effects of material strength and heat input on in­plane shrinkage and out­of­plane dis­
tortion were studied by welding and measuring 44 small­scale panels in the laboratory

BY Y. P. YANG, R. DULL, H. CASTNER, T. D. HUANG, AND D. FANGUY

try and variable quality of products.

ABSTRACT Preventive and corrective actions have
to be taken in order to avoid degraded
High­strength steels have been increasingly used to reduce thickness and weight dimensional quality induced by distor-
in cars, trucks, cranes, bridges, ships, and other structures that are designed to han­ tion. These actions are time consuming
dle large amounts of stress or need a good strength­to­weight ratio. However, thinner and associated with significant costs.
structures are more likely to deform during welding because of a lack of rigidity. Welding distortions can be classi-
Welding shrinkage and distortion become major issues during fabrication of welded fied into transverse and longitudinal
structures made of high­strength steels. Manufacturers are interested in estimating shrinkage, angular distortion, longitu-
shrinkages and compensate for them by starting with bigger parts. However, there dinal bowing, and buckling (Ref. 3).
are no accurate empirical formulas to calculate weld shrinkage for thin structures
Transverse and longitudinal shrink-
made of high­strength steel since the weld shrinkage allowance data and formulas
developed by world­wide researchers are primarily for thick plate and low­strength ages are the in-plane modes, and buck-
steels. The effects of material strength and heat input on in­plane shrinkage and out­ ling, longitudinal bowing, and angular
of­plane distortion were studied by welding and measuring 44 small­scale panels in change are out-of-plane modes (Ref.
the laboratory. It was found that in­plane weld shrinkage is lower for high­strength 4). In general, in-plane distortion is
steels (HSLA­80, HY­80, and HY­100) than for the typical hull structural steel (ABS negligible in small parts. In large com-
Grade DH­36) at normal welding heat input. Higher strength HY­80 and HY­100 steels ponents, such as shipbuilding, in-
have less out­of­plane distortion than lower strength DH36 steel while HSLA­80 steel plane distortion can be significant so
has similar out­of­plane distortion compared to DH­36. As welding heat input that manufacturers have to use theo-
increases, shrinkage and distortion are increased for both lower and higher strength retical and empirical formulas (Refs.
materials. For the same heat input, as thickness increases, both shrinkage and distor­
5–8) and shrinkage data models (Refs.
tion are reduced.
9, 10) to estimate shrinkages and com-
pensate for them by starting with big-
ger parts. Out-of-plane distortion
KEYWORDS modes, often observed in a thin-
walled structure where fusion welding
• High­Strength Steels • Residual Stress • Distortion • Flux Cored Arc Welding
is applied, are very common and need
• Weld Shrinkage • Heat Input
special techniques (Refs. 4, 11–15) to
control. This paper concentrates on in-
plane shrinkage and briefly discusses
Introduction From the point of view of structural in- out-of-plane distortions.
tegrity, welding distortion acts as an ini- A large number of factors affect the
Welding distortion, a result of the tial imperfection of welded compo- type and extent of in-plane shrinkage
nonuniform expansion and contraction nents. These initial imperfections can and out-of-plane distortion due to
of weld metal and adjacent base metal have a significant influence on the be- welding. The magnitude and distribu-
during the heating and cooling cycle of havior of the structure under variable tion of shrinkage and distortion in a
the welding process, is a major concern loading (Ref. 1) and reduce the buckling welded structure are dependent on
during the fabrication of a welded struc- strength of the structure (Ref. 2). From geometric parameters, material prop-
ture. Welding distortion causes complex the perspective of manufacturing tech- erties, welding process parameters,
consequences, most of which are detri- nology, the consequences of welding and the degree of restraint during
mental during fabrication and service. distortion are out-of-tolerance geome- welding. Geometric parameters such

Y. P. YANG ([email protected]), R. DULL, and H. CASTNER are with Edison Welding Institute (EWI), Columbus, Ohio. T. D. HUANG is with Ingalls Shipbuilding,
Pascagoula, Miss. D. FANGUY is with Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 421-s

WELDING RESEARCH

Fig. 1 — Double V­groove joint design.

as the dimensions of the structure and In recent years, high-

the type and size of welded joints, and strength steels have
welding parameters such as heat in- been increasingly used Fig. 2 — Table, clamps, and measurement points.
put, welding sequence, preheating, to reduce thickness and
and postheating will affect weld weight in cars, trucks, for high-strength steels.
shrinkage and distortion. cranes, bridges, ships, and other struc-
Watanabe and Satoh (Ref. 16) used tures that are designed to handle large
a combination of empirical and ana- amounts of stress or need a good Technical Approach
lytical methods to study the effects of strength-to-weight ratio. However,
welding conditions on the distortion thinner structures are more likely to Three high-strength steels and one
in welded structures. Gunaraj and deform because of lack of rigidity. The typical grade of hull structural steel
Murugan (Ref. 17) studied the effect shrinkage allowance data and formu- were used to compare weld shrinkage
of process parameters on angular dis- las developed by world-wide re- and distortion among the different
tortion in gas metal arc welding of searchers are primarily for thick plate materials. A mockup panel was de-
structural steel plates. Sadat et al. and low-strength steels (Refs. 6–8). To signed with a double-sided butt joint
(Ref. 18) modeled the effects of pre- investigate the effect of material and welded by flux cored arc welding
heating on angular distortions in strength on shrinkage and distortion, (FCAW). Weld consumables and
one-sided fillet weld joints. Welding 44 small-scale specimens made from grooves were selected based on mate-
fixtures are widely used to control both high-strength steels (HSLA-80, rial and thickness, respectively. The
distortion by providing restraint HY-80, and HY-100) and the typical deformation induced by welding was
against thermal expansion and con- hull structural steel (DH-36) were fab- measured, and the data were
traction (Ref. 19). Material properties ricated under laboratory conditions. processed to obtain weld shrinkage
such as temperature-dependent ther- This paper describes controlled weld- and distortion for each panel.
mophysical and mechanical properties ing and shrinkage measurement trials
also contribute to the magnitude of on these small-scale specimens. The Materials and Mockup Panel
shrinkage and distortion, although data gathered were used to determine Geometry
there is little published information in the effect of material type and heat in-
this regard (Ref. 20). put on weld shrinkage and distortion The steel plate materials evaluated

Table 1 — Experimental Matrix

Material Nominal Thickness (mm) Total Heat Input (kJ/mm) Groove Root Opening (mm) Number of Panel Panel
4.76 1.14 Square 0 3 43,44,45
1.57 0 3 40,41,42
2.09 0 3 46,47,48
HSLA­80 6.35 1.14 Square 0 3 25,26,27
1.69 0 5 8,9,10,17,18
2.13 0 3 28,29,30
9.53 1.65 Double V 0 3 34,35,36
2.20 0 3 31,32,33
2.56 0 3 37,38,39
DH­36 6.35 1.14 Square 0 3 19,20,21
1.65 0 3 2,3,4
2.09 0 3 22,23,24
HY­80 6.35 1.65 Square 0 3 5,6,7
HY­100 6.35 1.65 Square 0 3 11,12,13

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 WELDING RESEARCH

Fig. 3 — Measurement point locations. Fig. 4 — Coordinate measuring machine measurement repeatability.

Fig. 6 — Panel deformed shape.

3
⁄16 in. (4.76 mm) and ¼ in. Fixturing and Clamping
(6.35 mm) thick plates
were double-sided welds A fixture was designed to restrain
on square groove joints the plates adjacent to the weld joint and
with no root opening. The along the edges as shown in Fig. 2. A
edges of the plates to be table was used to support the plate with
Fig. 5 — Data pairs used to calculate in­plane shrinkage. welded were machined to a 4-in. (101.6 mm) wide slot centered
provide a tight fit, i.e., along the weld joint. A bridge was fabri-
minimum root opening cated from 2-in. (50.8-mm) square steel
in this task were DH-36, HSLA-80, HY- along the length of the weld. The weld tubing and welded to the table. Clamp-
80, and HY-100. The DH-36 plate was joint design for the 3⁄8-in. (9.53-mm) ing was provided by means of four 12⁄ -in.
used to compare shrinkage and distor- plate was a double-sided V-groove (12.7-mm) threaded rods on each side
tion with the high-strength materials with no root opening as shown in Fig. of the joint spaced approximately 15 in.
(HSLA-80, HY-80, and HY-100) and 1. It should be pointed out that the (381 mm) apart.
also called low-strength steel in the fol- 9.53 mm is a nominal thickness. The The first plate was located length-
lowing discussion. The plate size was real plate thickness used in the experi- wise on the table by means of a locat-
24  48 in. (610  1219 mm), providing ment was about 10 mm. Three replicas ing bar that was tack welded to the
a 48-in. (1219-mm) square mockup were conducted for each experimental table. The joint length was aligned
panel when welded with a single butt condition to ensure the reliability of with two spacer blocks located at the
joint. Plate thickness was nominally ¼ measured data. machined plate edge to the center of
in. (6.35 mm) for panels fabricated to
compare the effects of material type.
Additional HSLA-80 panels were weld- Table 2 — Material Strength Properties
ed using nominally 31⁄ 6 in. (4.76 mm)
and 38⁄ in. (9.53 mm) thick plates. Material Property DH­36 HSLA­80 HY­80 HY­100
0.2% Yield Strength MPa 423.9 607.4 629.2 751.0
Joint Design Ultimate Strength MPa 553.1 646.7 713.6 828.3
Elongation % 33.0 25.2 22.8 18.9
Most of the butt-joint welds on the

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WELDING RESEARCH

electrodes used were

• AWS E81T1-Ni1MJDH4 for DH-36,
HSLA 80, and HY80
• AWS E111T1-K3M for HY100.
The shielding gas was 75% Ar and
25% CO2. The welding equipment con-
sisted of a welding power source, elec-
trode wire feeder, welding gun, and a
side-beam carriage.
The welding parameters were nomi-
nally as follows. After welding, all
plates were allowed to cool down to
less than 100°F (38°C) while still being
clamped. Three travel speeds were
used to achieve high, middle, and low
heat input.
• Travel angle: 15-deg dragging
• Work angle: 90 deg
• Contact tip-to-work distance: ¾ in.
(19 mm)
• Electrode wire feed speed (WFS): 233
mm/s
• Voltage setting: 33.3 V
• Welding current: 290 A
Fig. 7 — Comparison of weld cross sections of different materials. • Travel speed: 9.0, 11.6, 16.2 mm/s
• Gas flow rate: 40 ft3/h.
the 4-in. (101.6 mm) wide slot. This genous gas tungsten arc welding Experimental Matrix
provided consistent alignment with (GTAW).
the weld axis for each plate. After the Table 1 shows the experimental ma-
first plate was located, it was clamped Welding Equipment, trix for the mockup panels that were
by means of four C-clamps along the Consumables, and Parameters fabricated. The mockup panels includ-
outer edge and four threaded rods on ed four different materials, three
the bridge. The spacer blocks were re- Equipment was set up and welding thicknesses, three heat inputs (low,
moved and the second plate was parameters were adjusted to provide medium, and high), and two groove
butted against the first and clamped the appropriate welding conditions de- types. Three replicas were made for
down in the same manner as the first. scribed in the following sections. The each condition. The total heat input
The clamped plates were tack welded welding process used for fabricating all was the sum of heat input for welding
together in four locations using auto- of the panels was FCAW. The welding both sides of the joint.

Table 3 — Across­Weld and Along­Weld Shrinkage Data (DH­36, HY­80, and HY­100)

Plate Material Thickness Total Heat Input Average Across­Weld Shrinkage (mm) Average Along­Weld Shrinkage (mm/m)
(mm) (kJ/mm)
A­H B­G C­F Av Avm I­Q J­P K­O Av Avm

19 DH­36 6.30 6.31 1.16 1.2 0.37 0.34 0.29 0.34 0.25 0.33 0.24 0.45 0.34 0.24
20 DH­36 6.28 1.14 0.19 0.16 0.12 0.16 0.23 0.21 0.09 0.18
21 DH­36 6.33 1.16 0.37 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.22 0.19 0.16 0.19
2 DH­36 6.30 6.31 1.62 1.6 0.45 0.50 0.40 0.45 0.46 0.63 0.61 0.38 0.54 0.49
3 DH­36 6.31 1.63 0.39 0.33 0.30 0.34 0.33 0.24 0.21 0.26
4 DH­36 6.33 1.67 0.83 0.49 0.45 0.59 0.67 0.60 0.70 0.66
22 DH­36 6.31 6.40 2.10 2.1 0.98 0.58 0.58 0.71 0.67 0.61 0.54 0.50 0.55 0.51
23 DH­36 6.59 2.13 1.02 0.65 0.56 0.74 0.53 0.51 0.41 0.48
24 DH­36 6.30 2.08 0.73 0.47 0.49 0.56 0.52 0.49 0.50 0.50
5 HY­80 6.71 6.70 1.67 1.7 0.25 0.26 0.24 0.23 0.26 0.32 0.35 0.24 0.30 0.34
6 HY­80 6.67 1.65 0.25 0.23 0.24 0.24 0.35 0.31 0.25 0.30
7 HY­80 6.72 1.65 0.31 0.32 0.27 0.30 0.48 0.38 0.39 0.42
11 HY­100 6.77 6.77 1.61 1.6 0.30 0.21 0.20 0.25 0.26 0.38 0.35 0.25 0.33 0.29
12 HY­100 6.77 1.63 0.34 0.31 0.30 0.30 0.31 0.23 0.16 0.23
13 HY­100 6.78 1.64 0.15 0.23 0.26 0.22 0.36 0.24 0.32 0.31

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The 6.35-mm materials were used

to study the effect of material strength
on shrinkage and distortion. The ef-
fect of heat input on shrinkage and
distortion was studied with materials
HSLA-80 and DH-36. The combina-
tion effect of thickness and heat input
was studied with material HSLA-80,
which has three thicknesses and three
heat inputs were used.

Measurements
Each mockup panel was measured
with a coordinate measuring machine
(CMM) prior to and after welding the
butt joints. Data were recorded for
each set of measurements. Flat plate
specimens were prepared and marked
with the locations of data points Fig. 8 — Effect of material on out­of­plane distortion.
where shrinkage measurements would
be taken, as shown in Fig. 3. Plate were taken after each side was welded. points
specimens were fit up and tack welded The detailed panel fabrication and • Measurement 1
in preparation for welding of the sin- measurement processes used were as • Clamp down
gle butt joint with the plates re- follows: • Weld first side and keep clamped
strained at the edges. Butt-joint welds • Clamp down and tack weld • Release fixture and clamp at three
were produced and measurements • Release clamps and clamp at three points

Table 4 — Across­Weld and Along­Weld Shrinkage Data (HSLA­80)

Plate Material Thickness Total Heat Input Average Across­Weld Shrinkage (mm) Average Along­Weld Shrinkage (mm/m)
(mm) (kJ/mm) A­H B­G C­F Av Avm I­Q J­P K­O Av Avm
43 HSLA­80 5.10 5.08 1.14 1.1 0.60 0.33 0.26 0.34 0.29 0.27 0.32 0.26 0.28
44 HSLA­80 5.12 1.13 0.46 0.26 0.30 0.30 0.35 0.30 0.21 0.29 0.30
45 HSLA­80 5.01 1.13 0.25 0.28 0.25 0.23 0.38 0.27 0.32 0.32
†
40 HSLA­80 5.07 5.06 1.60 1.6 0.64 0.51 0.52 0.53 0.60 0.56 0.36 0.25 0.39
41 HSLA­80 5.07 1.53 0.87 0.56 0.50 0.60 0.75 0.57 0.36 0.56 0.44
42 HSLA­80 5.04 1.55 1.07 0.64 0.53 0.67 0.45 0.38 0.30 0.38
46 HSLA­80 5.03 5.05 2.11 2.1 1.23 0.81 0.70 0.86 0.77 0.64 0.56 0.30 0.50
47 HSLA­80 5.09 2.08 0.88 0.73 0.62 0.70 0.73 0.57 0.37 0.56 0.55
48 HSLA­80 5.03 2.12 0.93 0.71 0.75 0.77 0.82 0.60 0.38 0.60
25 HSLA­80 6.17 6.19 1.14 1.1 0.10 0.09 0.05 0.07 0.10 0.20 0.15 0.13 0.16
26 HSLA­80 6.22 1.15 0.15 0.15 0.14 0.15 0.19 0.19 0.20 0.19 0.18
27 HSLA­80 6.17 1.15 0.13 0.13 0.08 0.09 0.24 0.17 0.16 0.19
8 HSLA­80 6.41 6.48 1.68 1.7 0.55 0.37 0.31 0.38 0.31 0.47 0.56 0.57 0.53
9 HSLA­80 6.52 1.68 0.07 0.23 0.32 0.23 0.34 0.34 0.24 0.31
10 HSLA­80 6.54 1.72 0.62 0.24 0.32 0.32 0.57 0.50 0.30 0.46 0.36
17 HSLA­80 6.46 1.63 0.68 0.24 0.22 0.34 0.21 0.23 0.15 0.20
18 HSLA­80 6.50 1.66 0.32 0.28 0.24 0.27 0.33 0.23 0.29 0.28
28 HSLA­80 6.24 6.19 2.11 2.1 1.10 0.71 0.57 0.71 0.66 0.38 0.43 0.34 0.38
29 HSLA­80 6.18 2.13 1.04 0.60 0.49 0.64 0.45 0.42 0.37 0.41 0.39
30 HSLA­80 6.15 2.14 0.87 0.63 0.54 0.62 0.39 0.33 0.39 0.37
34 HSLA­80 9.86 9.90 1.62 1.6 0.30 0.19 0.19 0.22 0.17 0.13 0.15 0.15 0.14
35 HSLA­80 9.96 1.67 0.13 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.13 0.18 0.10 0.14 0.14
36 HSLA­80 9.87 1.66 0.22 0.21 0.19 0.19 0.16 0.15 0.15 0.15
31 HSLA­80 9.98 9.96 2.21 2.2 0.58 0.35 0.33 0.41 0.42 0.25 0.28 0.31 0.28
32 HSLA­80 10.07 2.22 0.67 0.38 0.44 0.47 0.16 0.31 0.41 0.29 0.29
33 HSLA­80 9.83 2.14 0.51 0.37 0.32 0.37 0.28 0.29 0.31 0.29
37 HSLA­80 9.88 9.89 2.63 2.6 0.70 0.43 0.44 0.50 0.45 0.32 0.32 0.30 0.31
38 HSLA­80 9.87 2.54 0.68 0.45 0.36 0.44 0.43 0.47 0.46 0.45 0.34
39 HSLA­80 9.92 2.53 0.59 0.36 0.30 0.40 0.25 0.27 0.27 0.26

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WELDING RESEARCH

A B

C Fig. 9 — Out­of­plane distortion distributions: A — Low heat

input (1.14 kJ/mm); B — middle heat input (1.65 kJ/mm); C
— high heat input (2.09 kJ/mm).

transverse materials will be contour plotted with

shrinkage. the data points shown in Fig. 5.
Across-weld
and along-weld Results and Discussion
shrinkage were
calculated by The results of this work are pre-
subtracting the sented in the following sections with
distance between respect to welded panel shape, weld
pairs of points af- macrographs, measured shrinkage and
ter welding from distortion data, material type, and
• Measurement 2 the distance before welding as shown in
• Turn panel over, clamp down, weld heat input.
Fig. 5. The data pairs used for calculat-
second side ing across-weld shrinkage were the dis-
• Turn panel back, align the panel close tances between rows A-H, B-G, and C-F,
Welded Panels and
to the original coordinate system (not respectively. The data pairs used for cal- Macrographs
exact), and clamp at three points culating along-weld shrinkage were the
• Measurement 3 (final). distances between columns I-Q, J-P, and All panels listed in Table 1 were weld-
A series of measurements was taken K-O, respectively. The L-N data pairs ed with the fixture and procedures dis-
using the portable coordinate measur- were not used for calculating shrinkages cussed in the previous section. Figure 6
ing machine to determine measurement because the L-N measurements are rela- shows a typical panel deformed shape
repeatability. The results of this study tively less accurate than the I-Q, J-P, for all materials. The panel edges at
are shown in Fig. 4. The mean measure- and K-O. Generally, the points in a data weld start and weld stop were pulled up
ment error is 0.026 mm. pair are far away from each other. The while the middle of panel edges along
measurement has high accuracy. the welding direction were pushed
Shrinkage and Distortion While weld shrinkage and distortion down. The deformation was a typical
Calculation were calculated after welding side 1 and saddle buckling distortion, which is of-
after welding side 2, only the total ten observed in bead-on-plate welding
Corresponding to the welding direc- shrinkage and distortion (after welding (Refs. 11, 21).
tion, weld shrinkages include along- side 2) are discussed in this paper. The change in buckling distortion
weld shrinkage and across-weld Out-of-plane distortion was calcu- mode was observed after welding ¼-in.-
shrinkage. Along-weld shrinkage is lated by taking the Z-coordinate dif- (6.4 mm) thick HSLA-80 with high heat
also called longitudinal shrinkage and ference before welding and after weld- input (Panels 28–30). After the first side
across-weld shrinkage is also called ing. The distortion maps for the four was welded and the clamps were loos-
ened, the panel distorted such that the
middle of the panel rose up while both
Table 5 — Effect of Materials on Across­Weld and Along­Weld Shrinkage ends of the weld curved down. Measure-
ments were taken in this configuration.
Panel Material Thickness Total Heat Across­Weld Along­Weld When the panel was moved to turn it
(mm) Input (kJ/mm) Shrinkage (mm) Shrinkage (mm) over, it was noticed that the buckling
2, 3, 4 DH­36 6.31 1.64 0.46 0.49
mode was changed to the opposite
5, 6, 7 HY­80 6.70 1.66 0.26 0.34 shape. For a thin sheet, the mode could
8, 9, 10, 17, 18 HSLA­80 6.48 1.68 0.31 0.36 be readily changed and there was no
11, 12, 13 HY­100 6.77 1.62 0.26 0.29 preference for one mode over the other.

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 WELDING RESEARCH

A B

C Fig. 10 — Effect of heat input on in­plane shrinkage and out­of­

plane distortion for DH­36: A — Across­weld shrinkage; B —
along­weld shrinkage; C — maximum out­of­plane distortion.

Measured Panel to develop the relationships between

Shrinkages and material strength and distortion and
between heat input and distortion.
Distortion Data
Across-weld and Material Strength Effect on
along-weld shrink- Shrinkage and Distortion
age data are shown
in Table 3 for the The effect of material strength on
DH-36, HY-80, and shrinkage and distortion can be deter-
HY-100 panels, and mined from the data from Tables 3
A small force or pressure change on the in Table 4 for the and 4 for the same nominal thickness
plate can change the buckling mode HSLA-80 panels. In the tables, Avm is (6.35 mm) for the four materials.
shape. After turning the plate over, the the averages values for a material.
plate weight could result in the change Each table includes the measured plate Shrinkage
of buckling mode. After welding the sec- thickness and total heat input. Total
ond side, the buckling was locked in heat input is the sum of side-1 and Table 5 lists the weld shrinkage
with the middle of the plate low, and side-2 heat input. data for DH-36, HY-80, HSLA-80, and
the ends of the weld up. In Table 3, the values in column Av HY-100 with a nominal ¼ in. (6.35
Weld cross-section macrographs are the average values of column A-H, mm) thickness and welded with medi-
were prepared to investigate the weld B-G, and C-F, which are the across- um heat input. The shrinkage data
bead profiles for materials of DH-36, weld shrinkages for panels. The val- were extracted from Tables 3 and 4.
HSLA-80, HY-80, and HY-100 at the ues in the column Avm are the aver- The average thickness was 6.31 mm
same thickness and heat input. Three age of values in the column Av, which for DH-36, 6.70 mm for HY-80, 6.48
macrographs taken in the middle of are the average across-weld shrink- mm for HSLA-80, and 6.77 mm for
three welded panels were prepared for ages for materials. HY-100. The average total heat input
each material. Representative cross In Table 4, the values in column Av was 1.64 kJ/mm for DH-36, 1.66
sections of double-sided square groove is the average values of column I-Q, kJ/mm for HY-80, 1.68 kJ/mm for
welds on the different materials are J-P, and K-O, which are the along- HSLA-80, and 1.62 kJ/mm for HY-
shown in Fig. 7. The similar weld-bead weld shrinkages for panels. The val- 100. Both the thicknesses and heat in-
shapes were found among the four ues in the column AVM are the aver- puts between the four materials have
materials. HSLA-80 had slightly more age of values in the column Av, which some differences. These differences
penetration than DH-36 and HY-80. are the average along-weld shrinkages will be considered in the comparison
HY-100 had the least penetration for materials. of weld shrinkage between the four
among the four materials. By processing and understanding materials.
Tensile tests were conducted to the measured shrinkage data, the re- It should be noted that data varia-
check the material strength of DH-36, lationships between material tions were observed on the HSLA-80
HSLA-80, HY-80, and HY-100. Table 2 strength and shrinkage and between steel. Therefore, two additional panels
shows the average values of three heat input and shrinkage were estab- were welded to ensure the reliability of
replicas. It was found that HSLA-80 lished. This relationship will be dis- the measured shrinkage data.
has lower strength than HY-80. All cussed in the following sections. By comparing the across-weld
materials met the minimum required The out-of-plate distortion data shrinkage and along-weld shrinkages
strength for the material class. for each panel are discussed in the among the four materials in Table 5, it
following section using contour plots was found that the higher strength

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WELDING RESEARCH

A B

C
Fig. 11 — Effect of heat input on in­plane shrinkage and out­of­
plane distortion for HSLA­80: A — Across­weld shrinkage; B —
along­weld shrinkage; C — maximum out­of­plane distortion.

has lower the section titled Shrinkage and Distor-

strength than tion Calculation and were contour plot-
HY-80, as shown ted as shown in Fig. 8. Figure 8 shows
in Table 2, and the typical out-of-plane distortion dis-
HSLA-80 has tributions for each material. All four
slightly more materials have the same buckling mode.
weld penetration The numbers in Fig. 8 are the highest
than HY-80, as and lowest distortion magnitude for the
materials (HY-80, HSLA-80, and HY- shown in Fig. 7. materials. The maximum distortions
100) shrink less than the lower The measured and normalized can be calculated by taking the differ-
strength material (DH-36). However, along-weld shrinkage data are shown ence between the highest and lowest
the higher strength materials are in Table 7. The shrinkage ratio relative distortion. It can be found that the
slightly thicker than the lower to DH-36 was calculated, which was maximum distortion magnitude is 19.1
strength materials when welded using used as a multiplier in the shrinkage mm for DH-36, 16.7 mm for HY-80,
the same conditions, including weld- models developed for a uniform panel 20.4 mm for HSLA-80, and 14 mm for
ing heat input. Thus, normalized (Ref. 9) and a complex panel (Ref. 10). HY-100, respectively. HY-80 and HY-
shrinkage was calculated with Equa- HY-80, HSLA-80, and HY-100 have 76, 100 material had lower magnitudes of
tion 1 to take into account the minor 79, and 63% of along-weld shrinkage out-of-plane distortion than DH-36 ma-
variations of thickness and heat input of DH-36, respectively. terial, while HSLA-80 has slightly high-
in order to compare shrinkage be- er distortion magnitude than DH-36.
tween the higher strength materials Out­of­Plane Distortion
and the lower strength material. Discussion
Out-of-plane distortions were calcu-
t q
δn = δ (1) lated based on the method discussed in The data show that higher strength
tn qn

where  is shrinkage, n is the normal- Table 6 — Effect of Materials on Across­Weld Shrinkage

ized shrinkage, t is thickness, tn is the
normalized thickness 0.25 in. (6.35 Across­Weld Shrinkage (mm)
Material Shrinkage After normalized Ratio
mm), q is total heat input, and qn is the both thickness and heat input
normalized total heat input 1.68
kJ/mm. DH­36 0.46 0.47 1.00
HY­80 0.26 0.28 0.60
The measured and normalized HSLA­80 0.31 0.32 0.67
across-weld shrinkage data are shown HY­100 0.26 0.28 0.60
in Table 6. The shrinkage ratio relative
to DH-36 was calculated, which was
Table 7 — Effect of Materials on Along­Weld Shrinkage
used as a multiplier in the shrinkage
models developed for a uniform panel
Along­Weld Shrinkage (mm)
(Ref. 9) and a complex panel (Ref. 10).
Material Shrinkage After normalized both thickness and heat input Ratio
HY-80, HSLA-80, and HY-100 have 60,
67, and 60% of across-weld shrinkage DH­36 0.49 0.47 1.00
of DH-36, respectively. HSLA-80 has HY­80 0.34 0.36 0.76
more shrinkage than HY-80. This may HSLA­80 0.36 0.37 0.79
be the result of two factors: HSLA-80 HY­100 0.29 0.30 0.63

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 WELDING RESEARCH

A B

Fig. 12 — Comparison of shrinkage between material DH­36

C and HSLA­80: A — Across­weld shrinkage ( t = 6.35 mm); B—
along­weld shrinkage (t = 6.35 mm); C — maximum out­of­
plane distortion.

middle heat input ure 10C plots the Delta values (maxi-
of 1.6 kJ/mm, and mum out-of-plane distortion) in Fig. 9.
panels 22–24 with After heat input increases beyond 1.65
high heat input of kJ/mm, along-weld shrinkage and out-
2.1 kJ/mm. The of-plane distortion increase slowly.
measured data for
the nine panels HSLA­80 Steel
were processed to
steels (HY-80, HSLA-80, and HY-100) calculate the across-weld shrinkage and The effect of heat input on shrink-
shrink less than the lower strength along-weld shrinkage with the same age and distortion for 4.76-, 6.35-, and
steel (DH-36). This fact could be ex- method illustrated in Table 3. 9.53-mm-thick HSLA-80 was studied
plained by material strength differ- The typical out-of-plane distortions by welding 29 panels as shown in
ences between these materials. for low, middle, and high heat input Table 1. The measured data for the 29
Higher strength materials will have were contour plotted, as shown in Fig. panels, as shown in Table 4, were
less along-weld shrinkage than lower 9. As heat input increases, out-of-plane processed to calculate the across-weld
strength materials if applying the distortion increases. Note that the dis- shrinkage and along-weld shrinkage
same force because more plastic strain tortions were magnified five times to with the same method illustrated in
will be induced in the lower strength better visualize the distortion shape. Table 3. Only the average across-weld
material. Since shrinkage is the out- The maximum distortion was also cal- shrinkage and average along-weld
come of plastic strains, lower strength culated as shown in each figure. Panel shrinkage were plotted in Fig. 11A, B.
materials will have more shrinkage. 19 with low heat input had 12.9-mm As shown in Fig. 11A, across-weld
maximum distortion, panel 2 with mid- shrinkages for 4.76-, 6.4-, and 9.53-
Heat­Input Effect on Shrinkage dle heat input had 19.1-mm maximum mm-thick HSLA-80 increases as heat
and Distortion distortion, and panel 22 with high heat input increases. When heat input in-
input had 21.4-mm maximum distor- creases beyond 2.2 kJ/mm, the across-
A comparison of the in-plane tion. The maximum distortions for all weld shrinkage increases slowly. For
shrinkages and out-of-plane distor- nine panels were plotted in Fig. 10C. the same heat input, as the plate thick-
tions as a function of heat input for Only the average across-weld ness increases, across-weld shrinkage
DH-36 and HSLA-80 material was in- shrinkage and average along-weld reduces. This is because material melt-
vestigated. One thickness (6.35 mm) shrinkage for each panel were plotted, ing area will be reduced when material
was conducted for DH-36 and three as shown in Fig. 10. Figure 10 shows thickness increases.
thicknesses (4.76, 6.35, and 9.53 mm) the relationships between across-weld Figure 11B shows that along-weld
were conducted for HSLA-80. shrinkage, along-weld shrinkage, and shrinkage increases almost linearly as
out-of-plane distortion and heat in- heat input increases. For the same heat
DH­36 Steel puts, respectively, for DH-36. This re- input, as the plate thickness increases,
lationship will be implemented in the along-weld shrinkage reduces. This is
The effect of heat input on shrinkage shrinkage model developed for uni- because shrinkage resistance increases
and distortion for 6.35-mm-thick DH- form panel (Ref. 9) and complex panel as material thickness increases.
36 was studied by processing the data of (Ref. 10). Across-weld shrinkage (Fig. Figure 11C plots the maximum out-
nine panels (panels 19–21, 2–4, and 10A) increases linearly as heat input of-plane distortion that was calculated
22–24). As shown in Table 3, panels increases. Along-weld shrinkage and with the same method used in Figs. 9
19–21 were welded with a low heat in- out-of-plane distortion do not increase and 10C. The contour plots similar to
put of 1.2 kJ/mm, panels 2–4 with a linearly, as shown in Fig. 10B, C. Fig- Fig. 9 were omitted in this paper and

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 429-s

WELDING RESEARCH

only the maximum out-of-plane distor- • HY-80 and HY-100 steels have construction ship design engineering.
tion in panels were plotted, as shown in lower out-of-plane distortion than Journal of Ship Production and Design 29(1):
Fig. 11C. Figure 11C shows that maxi- lower strength EH36 steel, while 1–16.
mum out-of-plane distortion increases HSLA-80 steel has similar out-of-plane 10. Yang, Y. P., Castner, H., Dull R., Dydo,
J., Huang, T. D., Fanguy, D., Dlugokecki, V.,
linearly as heat input increases. High distortion compared to DH-36. For
and Hepinstall, L. 2014. Complex-panel weld
heat input induces high out-of-plane high heat input (larger than 2 shrinkage data model for neat construction
distortion. For the same heat input, as kJ/mm), HSLA-80 steel has slightly ship design engineering. Journal of Ship Pro-
the plate thickness increases, out-of- higher out-of-plane distortion than duction and Design 30(1): 1–24.
plane distortion reduces. This is because lower strength EH36 steel. 11. Yang, Y. P., and Dong, P. 2012. Buck-
structural rigidity increases as material • Shrinkage and out-of-plane distor- ling distortions and mitigation techniques
thickness increases. tion increase as heat input increases. for thin-section structures. Journal of Ma-
Overall, in all cases, the extent of • For the same heat input, as thick- terials Engineering and Performance 21(2):
shrinkage and distortion increase as a ness increases, both shrinkage and 153–160.
function of heat input. This relationship out-of-plane distortion decreases. 12. Conrardy, C., Huang, T. D., Harwig,
D., Dong, P., Kvidahl, L., Evans, N., and
will be implemented in the shrinkage
Treaster, A. 2006. Practical welding tech-
model developed for the uniform (Ref. niques to minimize distortion in light-
Acknowledgments
9) and complex panels (Ref. 10). weight ship structures. Journal of Ship Pro-
duction 22(4): 239–247.
Comparison of DH­36 and HSLA­80 The results of this paper were from 13. Yang, Y. P., Dull, R., Conrardy, C.,
Steels the project Weld Shrinkage and Dis- Porter, N., Dong, P., and Huang, T. D. 2008.
tortion Allowance Data Model for Neat Transient thermal tensioning and numerical
The effect of heat input on shrinkage Construction Ship Design Engineer- modeling of thin steel ship panel structures.
and distortion was conducted on both ing, funded by the National Shipbuild- Journal of Ship Production 24(1): 37–49.
DH-36 and HSLA-80 materials with a ing Research Program Advanced Ship- 14. Huang, T. D., Harwig, D. D., Dong,
P., and DeCan, L. A. 2005. Engineering and
nominal thickness of 6.35 mm. By com- building Enterprise (NSRP-ASE). The
ship production technology for lightweight
paring the shrinkage and distortion for authors thank NSRP-ASE for support- structures. Technology Review Journal
the two materials, it was found that ing this study. 13(1): 1–22.
HSLA-80 had less shrinkage than DH- 15. Huang, T. D., Conrardy, C., Dong, P.,
36 at low and middle heat inputs. References Keene, P., Kvidahl, L., and DeCan, L. 2007.
For high heat input, HSLA-80 and Engineering and production technology
DH-36 have similar across-weld shrink- for lightweight ship structures, Part II: Dis-
age, as shown in Fig. 12A. Therefore, tortion mitigation technique and imple-
1. Gurney, T. R. 1979. Fatigue of Welded mentation. J. Ship Production, The Society
the ratio of HSLA-80 and DH-36 in Structures, 2nd Ed. Cambridge, UK: Cam-
Table 6 depends on the heat input. It of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
bridge University Press. pp. 226–243. 23(2): 82–93.
was found that HSLA-80 has less along- 2. Yin, D., and Qiang, S. 1991. Influence 16. Watanabe, M., and Satoh, K. 1961.
weld shrinkage than DH-36 for all heat of residual stresses and deformation on Effect of welding conditions on the shrink-
inputs, as shown in Fig. 12B. Figure 12C buckling behaviour of plates. Mechanical age and distortion in welded structures.
shows that HSLA-80 has similar maxi- Effects of Welding (Eds. L. Karlsson, L. E. Welding Journal 40(8): 377-s to 384-s.
mum out-of-distortion as DH-36 at low Lindgren, and M. Jonsson). IUTAM Sym- 17. Gunaraj, V., and Murugan, V. V. 2005.
and middle heat inputs. At high heat in- posium, Sweden. pp. 269–276. Effect of process parameters on angular dis-
put, HSLA-80 has higher maximum 3. Masubuchi, K. 1980. Analysis of Weld- tortion of GMAW structural steel plates.
ed Structures. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press. Welding Journal 84(11): 165-s to 171-s.
out-of-plane distortion than DH-36. 4. Michaleris, P. 2011. Minimization of 18. Sadat, A. M., Rao, S., and Rao, N.
Welding Distortion and Buckling: Modeling 2012. Modelling the effects of preheating
Conclusions and Implementation. Cambridge, UK: on angular distortions in one sided fillet
Woodhead Publishing Limited. welds. Journal of Achievements in Materials
5. Feng, Z. 2005. Processes and Mecha- and Manufacturing Engineering 55(2):
The following conclusions could be nisms of Welding Residual Stress and Distor-
drawn based on the weld shrinkage 578–582.
tion. Woodhead Publishing Limited and 19. Vural, M., Muzafferoglu, H. F., and
and distortion data gathered in this CRC Press LLC: 13–24. Tapici, U. C. 2007. The effect of welding
paper: 6. Verhaeghe, G. 1998. Predictive for- fixtures on welding distortions. Journal of
• High-strength steels (HSLA-80, mula for weld distortion — A critical re- Achievements in Materials and Manufactur-
HY-80, and HY-100) have less across- view. TWI Research Document, PRAD NO. ing Engineering 20(1-2): 511–514.
weld shrinkage than low-strength 7346.02/97/961.3. 20. Zhu, X. K., and Chao, Y. J. 2002. Ef-
steel (DH-36) for normal heat input. 7. Spraragen, W., and Ettinger, W. G. fects of temperature-dependent material
For high heat input (larger than 2 1950. Shrinkage distortion in welding. properties on welding simulation. Comput-
kJ/mm), high-strength steel (HSLA- Welding Journal 29(6): 292-s to 294-s. ers and Structures 80: 967–976.
8. White, J. D., Leggatt, R. H., and 21. Wang, J., Yin, X., and Murakawa, H.
80) has similar across-weld shrinkage Dwight, J. B. 1980. Weld shrinkage predic-
as low-strength steel (DH-36). 2013. Experimental and computational
tion. Welding and Metal Fabrication 11: analysis of residual buckling distortion of
• Higher strength steels have less 587–596. bead-on-plate welded joint. Journal of Ma-
along-weld shrinkage than low- 9. Yang, Y. P., Castner, H., Dull, R., terials Processing Technology 213(8): 1447–
strength steels for all heat inputs stud- Dydo, J., and Fanguy, D. 2013. Uniform- 1458.
ied when the thickness is the same. panel weld shrinkage data model for neat

430-s WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014, VOL. 93

 WELDING RESEARCH

Metal Transfer with Force Analysis in Consumable

and Nonconsumable Indirect Arc Welding Process

At a certain welding current level, there was an optimized wire feed speed
to achieve a higher metal transfer rate and smaller droplet size

BY J. WANG, Y. HUANG, J. XIAO, J. FENG, C. Y. TIAN, AND J. WANG

from the weld pool and cause melt-

ABSTRACT through (in complete joint penetration
applications) (Refs. 7, 8). Cold metal
This paper proposes an indirect arc welding process that uses a consumable and non­ transfer (CMT), developed at and
consumable electrode to establish an arc. Because there is no welding current passing patented by Fronius, Inc., is a process
through the workpiece, the heat input is reduced. The consumable electrode is a weld­ that utilizes a fast mechanical move-
ing wire and the nonconsumable is a tungsten electrode. The wire feed speed and weld­
ing current are two main parameters determining the metal transfer in the process, and
ment to draw the welding wire back
their effects are experimentally examined in this paper. It was found that at a certain such that the liquid metal can be sepa-
welding current level, there was an optimized wire feed speed to achieve a higher metal rated from the wire to transfer the
transfer rate and smaller droplet size. When the current increases, the transfer with the metal at a current much lower than
optimized feed speed would change from globular to spray transfer. Forces acting on the the transition current. As a result,
droplet were analyzed to explain phenomena experimentally observed from the metal both the total heat input and current
transfer process. The arc behavior was also analyzed to better understand this welding levels can be much reduced (Refs. 9,
process and its metal transfer. 10). However, the complicated device
for the mechanical movement intro-
duces disadvantages affecting its wider
KEYWORDS acceptance.
The patented surface tension trans-
• Metal Transfer • Force Analysis • Indirect Arc Welding fer (STT) (Refs. 11–13) process is an-
other effective method to reduce spat-
ter to a minimum with low heat input
Introduction droplet transfer process, a certain level and arc pressure, but its effective
of welding current should be used. range for the average current is re-
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is However, higher welding current will stricted by the mandatory need for the
currently one of the most widely used apply higher heat input into the work- particular current waveform/range
welding methods due to its productivi- piece, which may be unnecessary or needed to reduce spatter and may not
ty (Refs. 1, 2) and convenience for au- undesirable in certain applications. always be most desirable for certain
tomatic and semiautomatic welding Hence, research has been conducted to applications.
applications. The transfer of the melt- explore welding methods to reduce Zhang et al. proposed a patented
ed wire (electrode) onto the base metal welding current and achieve stable free method (Refs. 14, 15) to use a peak
forms a process referred to as metal metal transfer at the same time. current much lower than the transi-
transfer. Metal transfer plays an es- Pulsed gas metal arc welding tion current to produce the desired
sential role in determining the process (GMAW-P) has been proved as an ef- spray transfer by taking advantage of
stability, welding productivity, and so fective method to achieve the desirable the momentum of a downward (away
on, plus it has been an active field of free transfer/spray transfer at a need- from the gun) droplet.
research and application in the weld- ed heat input determined by the aver- Recently, laser-enhanced GMAW,
ing community (Refs. 3–6). The metal age current, but the peak current must which utilizes a low-power laser to
transfer depends significantly on the be higher than the transition current, provide an additional detaching force
welding current levels. To obtain a free which may blow the liquid metal away to transfer droplet, was developed to

J. WANG ([email protected]), J. XIAO, and J. FENG are with the National Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin In­
stitute of Technology, Harbin, China. Y. HUANG is with the Center for Sustaining Manufacturing and Department of Electrical Engineering,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. In addition, WANG, C. Y. TIAN, and J. WANG are with the School of Materials Science and Engineer­
ing, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 431-s

WELDING RESEARCH

the two electrodes produces continu-

ously transferred molten droplets. The
base metal is independent of the indi-
rect arc and not connected to the weld-
ing power supply. The welding current
flows from the positive terminal to the
welding wire and then to the indirect
arc ignited between the two dissimilar
electrodes.
Through the tungsten electrode, the
welding current flows back into the neg-
ative terminal of the welding power
source. The heat input can be controlled
by adjusting the distance between the
welding torches and base metal, which
is none of polarities of the arc. With the
synchronous forward movement of the
two torches or movement of the work-
piece, the deposited metal solidifies into
a weld joining the two members of the
Fig. 1 — Schematic diagram of the experimental configuration. workpiece being joined. The metal
transfer is imaged using a high-speed
achieve free metal transfer with low material as in conventional arc weld- camera and backlighting, as can be seen
welding current (Refs. 16–20). The ing. The main heat input to the work- in Fig. 1.
droplet size and trajectory were well piece would be only from the molten Figure 2 shows the main important
controlled by the laser power intensi- droplets. Unfortunately, while this parameters needed to set up the experi-
ty. Pulsing current was also combined process provides unique and distin- mental system to conduct the CNC-IAW
with this method to reduce the heat guished properties, it lacks under- process as expected. In this study, the
input, and the patented droplet oscil- standing at fundamental levels. GMAW gun and tungsten torch stayed
lating method was also introduced to This paper denotes to enhance un- stationary while the workpiece moved
this process to further control the be- derstanding the CNC-IAW process at a constant speed. The high-speed
havior of the metal transfer (Ref. 21). from its metal transfer, which funda- camera was placed at a distance about
Double electrode GMAW (DE- mentally affects any arc welding 1.0 m from the welding torches. The
GMAW) and double bypass GMAW process with a consumable electrode. contact tube-to-workpiece distance d1,
(DB-GMAW) are arc welding processes which plays an important role in deter-
that adopted one or two bypass guns Experimental Setup and mining process stability, was set at 20
to reduce the total heat input to the Conditions mm. Both torches were set about 30 deg
workpieces (Refs. 4, 5, 22). The current with the perpendicular line such that
through the main gun was decoupled In the CNC-IAW process, compared the angle between the two torches was
to two or three parts with only one of to the conventional GMAW process, about 60 deg. The wire extension length
them to be passed through the base the welding current through the weld- was hard to set exactly as it would vary
metal. Pulsing current can be used to ing wire will not pass into the base ma- depending on the current level in rela-
further reduce heat input. terial back to the power supply. In- tion to the wire feed speed.
Development for various low-heat- stead, a secondary tungsten torch is However, the approximate value of
input arc welding methods suitable for adopted as the negative terminal that d2 from the cross point, where the wire
various applications has been a major is directly connected to the negative and tungsten extension intersect as
continuous effort in the welding re- terminal of the power supply. In this shown in Fig. 2, to the contact tube
search community. To contribute to case, no welding current would pass was about 15 mm. The horizontal dis-
this effort, the consumable and non- through the base material, and the tance between the welding wire and
consumable electrodes indirect arc heat input into the workpiece is main- tungsten electrode d3 defined in Fig. 2
welding (CNC-IAW) was developed to ly from the molten droplet whose heat was the most important parameter to
provide an alternative way to reduce should be relatively small. The total determine arc stability. From the ex-
heat input in the arc welding process heat input to the workpiece in CNC- perimental results, 1–2 mm was found
(Refs. 23–26). In the CNC-IAW IAW will be reduced. to be the acceptable value for this dis-
process, the welding current through Figure 1 shows the schematic con- tance, which ensured arc stability.
the conventional GMAW gun will di- figuration of the proposed system for The welding power source used in
rectly pass to another tungsten torch, CNC-IAW. The tungsten nonconsum- this study was a Fronius MW2200,
considered as a nonconsumable gas able electrode and welding wire are and it was operated in constant cur-
tungsten arc (GTA) electrode, back to connected to the power supply’s nega- rent (CC) mode. Pure argon was used
the power supply. Instead, the current tive and positive terminals, respective- as the shielding gas for the welding
will no longer pass through the base ly. The indirect arc generated between wire as well as for the tungsten elec-

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CV mode, the welding current can au-

tomatically change with the variation
of the arc length. When the arc length
increases, the welding current would
decrease, and vice versa.
Furthermore, the arc will distinguish
for the large decreasing welding current
as shown in Fig. 3A. When the CC mode
was used, as shown in Fig. 3C, D, the
standard deviation for the welding volt-
age was around 0.6 V for lower wire feed
speed (5.0 m/min). The fluctuation in
the welding current was not significant.
When the wire feed speed was increased
(also increasing the current level accord-
ingly), similar results were obtained.
Fig. 2 — System installation parameters. Hence, to reduce fluctuations in the
welding voltage and current during the
welding process that directly affect arc
trode. The flow rate was about 15 Results and Discussions stability, the CC mode was chosen to
L/min for both torches. The filler met-
conduct CNC-IAW.
al was 1.0-mm-diameter CuSi3 weld-
ing wire, and the base metal was 3.0-
Effect of Voltage­Ampere
mm-thick 30CrMnSi steel. The high- Characteristic Effect of Wire Feed Speed on
speed camera recorded the welding Metal Transfer
process for the later analysis at 1000 The power supply’s voltage-ampere
f/s. When observing the metal trans- characteristic has a significant effect Metal transfer plays an essential
fer, the droplet could not be clearly ob- on the stability of the welding process role in determing the process stability
served for the influence of the arc and metal transfer, and should be dis- and weld bead formation. The wire
light. A continuous xenon lamp could cussed first. Hence, the constant volt- feed speed and welding current were
produce the high-intensity white light age (CV) and constant current (CC) identified as two main parameters to
created by the ionized xenon gas arc. modes were compared in the prelimi- affect metal transfer. To explore these
Its intensity is bright enough that the nary study for selection of further two parameters’ influences, one pa-
light could penetrate the indirect arc. study. By comparing the welding cur- rameter was set as constant and an-
However, it could not penetrate the rent and arc voltage waveforms during other to be changed. To this end, the
droplet. When recording the metal welding with the two voltage-ampere welding current was first set as con-
transfer, the xenon lamp was used as characteristics, the power supply’s ef- stant at 110 A. Experiments were con-
the backlighting source to shine on the fect on this process could be obtained. ducted with different wire feed speeds
droplet. The camera could clearly In particular, when the CV mode at the same welding current to investi-
record the projector of the droplet in was adopted, as shown in Fig. 3A, B, gate their effect on metal transfer
the arc. When recording the arc behav- the standard deviations (square roots characteristics.
ior, the xenon lamp was not used to fil- of the variances) for the welding volt- Figure 4 shows the typical metal
ter the disturbance of the arc. The real- age and current were about 2.2 V and transfer processes under different wire
time welding voltages and currents 37.5 A, respectively, for the lower wire feed speeds for the same welding cur-
were acquired by the data acquisition feed speed (4.0 m/min). Increasing the rent of 110 A. Each image series in Fig.
system shown in Fig. 1. The wire feed wire feed to a higher level (9.0 m/min) 4 shows a complete transfer cycle with
speeds and welding current setting resulted in similar results. This result different interval times between im-
values used in the experiments are could be explained by the CV mode arc ages. As shown in Fig. 4, different met-
listed in Table 1. length self-regulation mechanism. In al transfer phenomena were observed

Table 1 — Welding Parameters in CNC-IAW Experiments

WFS (m/min)
4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 10

Welding Current (A)

90 √ √ √ √
110 √ √ √ √
130 √ √ √ √ √
150 √ √ √ √ √ √
170 √ √ √ √ √

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WELDING RESEARCH

A C

Fig. 3 — Effect of welding power voltage­ampere characteristic

with different wire feed speeds. A — 4.0 m/min, 18 V, CV mode;
B — 9.0 m/min, 18 V, CV mode; C — 5.0 m/min, 90 A, CC mode;
D — 8.5 m/min, 150 A, CC mode.
with different wire feed speeds. force (Refs. 27–29).
When the wire feed speed was at 5.0 To be simple, the dy-
m/min, as shown in Fig. 4A, the droplet namic-force balance theory (DFBM) where 0 is the magnetic permittivity,
was usually detached at the position (Ref. 30) is used in this paper to conduct I is the welding current, and  is the
when the wire was above the cross preliminary analysis on the forces in the half-angle subtended by the arc root at
point of the welding wire and tungsten. CNC-IAW process. the center of the droplet. The increase
The metal transfer frequency was about The force due to the gravity can be of Fem accelerates and the detachment
8 Hz. When the wire feed speed in- expressed as is completed rapidly. In the conven-
creased to 6.0 m/min, as shown in Fig. 4 tional GMAW process, the droplet is
4C, the droplet would be detached be- Fg = md g = πrd 3ρg (1) not detached when the retaining force
3 F is still sufficient to balance the de-
low the cross, but the metal transfer
rate was still about 8 Hz. However, where md is the mass of the droplet, rd taching force Ft
when the wire feed speed was set at 5.5 is the droplet radius,  is the droplet
m/min, as shown in Fig. 4B, the detach- density, and g is the acceleration of the Ft = Fg + Fd + Fm + Fem (6)
ing position was just at the cross posi- gravity.
tion. The metal transfer frequency in- The surface tension is given as
creased to about 16 Hz. The droplet was In Ref. 19, all these forces were ap-
easy to detach the tip of the wire com- Fσ = 2πrw σ (2) proximately calculated and estimated.
pared with the metal transfer in Fig. The results show that the aerodynamic
where rw is the electrode radius while drag force and momentum force were
4A, C. The main heat input to the work-  is the surface tension coefficient.
piece in this process was mainly from relatively small compared to other
The aerodynamic drag force can be forces. In this case, they would be neg-
the heat in the droplet. This is the main expressed as
difference between this process and the lected in the later analysis. The main
traditional one. The metal transfer fre- 1 detaching forces, gravitational and
Fd = Cd Ad ρp v 2p (3) electromagnetic, are shown in Fig. 5.
quency changes as the wire extension 2
length changes such that the wire tip The surface tension force is the main
where Cd is the aerodynamic drag coef- retaining force. The aerodynamic drag
changes its position in the arc zone. It ficient, Ad is the area of the drop seen
appears that the cross point provides a force and momentum force are not in-
from above, and p and vp are the den- cluded in Fig. 5 as aforementioned.
condition to favor detachment. The sta- sity and fluid velocity of the plasma.
bility of the metal transfer was im- For the constant current in the
The momentum force can be ex- CNC-IAW process shown in Fig. 4,
proved. When the metal transfer fre- pressed as
quency increases, the droplet size will when the wire feed speed is low or
. high, the arc shape would be elongat-
also be reduced. It will benefit the Fm = ve m d (4)
process stability. ed. In these cases, the main part of
. electromagnetic force as one of de-
To understand the peak phenome- where ve is the wire feed speed and md
non observed on the metal transfer fre- is the change of the droplet mass. taching force, Fem,H, is not large
quency, forces acting on the droplet The electromagnetic force, Fem, is enough to balance out the main part
need to be analyzed. It is well known given by of the retaining surface tension. The
that in conventional GMAW, the major ⎛ rd 1 1 ⎞ droplet would grow to a larger size to
ln sinθ − − achieve a larger gravitational force to
forces acting on the droplet include the μ 0 I 2 ⎜ rw 4 1 − cos θ ⎟
gravitational force, electromagnetic Fem = ⎜ ⎟ (5) detach from the solid wire. The metal
4π ⎜ 2 2 ⎟ transfer frequency would be lower
force (Lorentz force), aerodynamic drag + ln
⎜⎝ (1- cos θ)2 1+ cos θ ⎟⎠
force, surface tension, and momentum than the one with the droplet right de-

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 WELDING RESEARCH

C
Fig. 5 — The main forces acting on the
droplet.

form also decreased. As the droplet

was detached just beside the tungsten
Fig. 4 — Effect of wire feed speed on metal transfer. A — 5.0 m/min; B — 5.5 m/min; tip, the arc was not so long that it en-
C — 6.0 m/min. wrapped the whole droplet although
the arc shape was asymmetric. There
was no need for a larger gravitational
A B detaching force, and in this case, the
droplet was detached at a relatively
small size. It would, in turn, reduce the
opening and time interval of the volt-
age variation. The metal transfer was
relatively stable.
When the wire feed speed increased
to about 6.0 m/min, the average voltage
increased again. As the arc was elongat-
ed again, the arc could not enwrap the
whole droplet. As aforementioned, the
droplet would grow to a larger size to
C Fig. 6 — Welding current and arc voltage obtain a larger detaching force.
waveforms of different wire feed speeds. As such, for a fixed welding current
level, there was an optimal wire feed
wire feed speed affects the welding volt- speed range to minimize the length of
age to a certain degree. the indirect arc and achieve a stable
When the wire feed speed was 5.0 metal transfer process. By selecting
m/min, the average voltage was about the optimized one, the droplet could
25 V, and a relatively large fluctuation be detached at a small size that may
in the voltage waveform could be ob- benefit the stability of the metal trans-
served. The reason was obvious. As the fer and arc as well as the formation of
taching from the crossing point of the larger size droplet was needed to in- the weld bead.
welding wire and tungsten shown in crease the gravitational detaching
Fig. 4B. force, and there was an elongated arc, Effect of Welding Current on
The stability of the metal transfer there would be a great opening for the Metal Transfer
with different wire feed speeds could droplet to grow and detach. The root
also be illustrated by the welding cur- of the indirect arc did not enwrap the After selecting the optimized wire
rent and arc voltage waveform as shown whole droplet, which would lead to the feed speed for each welding current
in Fig. 6. The welding current and volt- larger fluctuation of the arc voltage. level, the welding current effect on
age significantly reflect stability of the When the wire feed speed was in- metal transfer could be conducted. As
metal transfer and arc behavior. The creased to 5.5 m/min, the opening be- shown in Fig. 7, it was found that the
fluctuations in the current and voltage tween the wire tip and tungsten tip welding current had a significant influ-
contain important information about decreased. So, the average welding ence on the metal transfer modes, fre-
the stability of the metal transfer. In the voltage decreased to about 20 V, and quency, and droplet size.
CNC-IAW process with CC mode, the the fluctuation in the voltage wave- When the wire feed speed and weld-

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WELDING RESEARCH

A trajectory of the detached droplet was

not along with the axis of the welding
wire. When the wire feed speed and
corresponding current increased, as
shown in Fig. 7C–E, the droplet was
transferred to the weld pool almost
along with the feed direction of the
B
welding wire. In fact, as shown in Fig.
5, the gravitational force can be de-
composed to two parts: one along the
axis of welding wire Fg,H, which would
detach the droplet, and another verti-
cal to the wire filling direction Fg,V,
C which would cause the oscillation of
the droplet. The electromagnetic force
could also be decomposed into two
parts similarly as the gravitational
force, Fem,H and Fem,V, which tend to
cause the droplet to detach and oscil-
late, respectively. As the direction of
D
aerodynamic drag force and momen-
tum force along with the welding wire
feeding direction, the main forces to
affect the droplet trajectory would be
gravitational force vertical component
E Fg,V and electromagnetic force vertical
component Fem,V.
When the wire feed speed and corre-
sponding welding current were low, a
larger-sized droplet was obtained. The
gravitational force’s vertical component
Fig. 7 — The effect of different welding currents on metal transfer. A — 90 A, 4.5 m/min;
Fg,V was larger than the electromagnetic
B — 110 A, 5.5 m/min; C — 130 A, 7.0 m/min; D — 150 A, 8.0 m/min; E — 170 A, 10 m/min. force’s vertical component Fem,V. In this
case, the droplet detaching direction
would not be along the wire feed direc-
ing current were low, as shown in Fig. higher than previous ones, and it tion, and that tends toward the gravita-
7A, the diameter of the droplet was reached a certain level, the electro- tional force direction. When increasing
much larger than that of the welding magnetic force was large enough to the welding current, the electromagnet-
wire diameter. The corresponding provide a detaching force combined ic force’s vertical component Fem,V
transfer could be considered the globu- with the effect of the gravitational would also increase, and it could balance
lar metal transfer. The transfer fre- force. A larger droplet size to obtain a out the gravitational force vertical com-
quency was low, which was usually 5–6 large gravitational force was not need- ponent Fg,V. The droplet would be de-
Hz. For these experimental conditions, ed any more. As the time to form a tached at the direction of the wire axle.
the electromagnetic force, one of the droplet was reduced, the metal trans-
main detaching forces, was small be- fer frequency also increased. Arc Behavior
cause of low welding current, the The metal transfer frequency and
droplet would grow to a larger size to droplet size are shown in Figs. 8 and 9. When the droplet formed, de-
gain a large enough gravitational force In this case, a conclusion could be tached, and transferred into the weld
to balance out the surface tension. As reached that when increasing wire feed pool, the arc would be changed corre-
it needed some time interval to achieve speed and the corresponding welding spondingly. Analysis of the arc behav-
a larger-sized droplet, the metal trans- current, the metal transfer mode ior would benefit the understanding of
fer frequency was relatively low. would be changed from the globular the metal transfer phenomenon in the
Increasing the wire feed speed and metal transfer to the projected spray CNC-IAW process.
welding current to a higher level transfer, and then to the stream spray As discussed previously, the arc
(5.5–10.0 m/min and 110–170 A), as one. The metal transfer frequency also shape has a significant effect on the
shown in Fig. 7B–E, the droplet size increased with the droplet diameter magnitude of the electromagnetic force.
was reduced. The diameter of the decrease. The arc shape changes with the welding
droplet size was almost the same as When the wire feed speed and cor- current and would influence the droplet
that of the welding wire, and the metal responding welding current increased, detachment position. With the lower
transfer could be considered as spray the droplet trajectory also changed wire feed speed, the droplet is detached
mode. As the welding current was gradually. As shown in Fig. 7A, B, the above the tungsten electrode tip. When

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Fig. 8 — Metal transfer frequency in CNC­IAW. Fig. 9 — Droplet size in CNC­IAW.

increasing the wire feed speed to a high- A B C

er level, the droplet is detached under
the tungsten electrode tip. When using
the medium and optimized wire feed
speed, the droplet is detached in the
vicinity of the tungsten electrode tip, as
illustrated in Fig. 10. When the detach-
ment occurs above the tungsten tip, as
Fig. 10 — Arc shape in CNC­IAW. A — Y shape; B — heart shape; C — pencil shape.
shown in Fig. 10A, the arc shape is char-
acterized as a Y shape, and the arc size is
large and its brightness is not intensive sumable electrode. The elongated arc tance between the consumable and
enough. The distance between the two could be observed. In the last stage nonconsumable electrodes was only 1–2
electrodes is large, and the arc looks to after the droplet detached (30–33 mm. The arc length in CNC-IAW was
be elongated. As analyzed in the previ- ms), the elongated arc went back to much shorter than that in conventional
ous section, the electromagnetic force its original shape. GMAW. In this case, the arc intrinsic
was not large in this situation. The arc had an intrinsic self-regula- self-regulation ability would be obvious
When the droplet was detached un- tion mechanism when the arc length and important to maintaining a certain
der the tungsten tip as shown in Fig. was short (Ref. 31). The arc intrinsic arc length. It could benefit the stability
10C, the arc shape was characterized regulation was closely related to the of the metal transfer process, and thus
as a pencil shape. The elongated arc instantaneous wire melting rate, of the welding process.
may be the reason for the reduced arc which would fluctuate depending on
brightness. When the detachment oc- the different heating positions of the
arc (Ref. 32). In the CNC-IAW process,
Conclusions
curred in the vicinity of the tungsten
tip as shown in Fig. 10B, the arc shape the instantaneous wire feed speed
was considered a heart shape. The dis- could fluctuate within a small range • An indirect arc welding process
tance between the welding wire tip because of the characteristics of the with consumable and nonconsumable
and tungsten tip was approximately wire feeder. It could lead to arc length electrodes was proposed, and parame-
minimized. This position is considered fluctuations. ters that determine a stable process
to be optimal. When the instantaneous wire feed were identified;
The arc shape gradually changed in speed was lower than the setting one, • For a given welding current, there
the metal transfer process, as shown the arc length would increase, as was an optimal wire feed speed that
in Fig. 11. The periodic change of the shown in Fig. 12A. The indirect arc could maintain a stable metal transfer
arc shape was just correlated with dif- could not enwrap the whole pending process for higher metal transfer
ferent stages of droplet detachment. droplet before detaching, and the in- frequency and smaller droplet size;
During the initial period (0–9 ms), stantaneous melting rate of welding • The welding current mainly deter-
the droplet began to form at the tip wire decreased a little. In this case, mines the metal transfer mode,
of the welding wire, and the arc evi- more solid wire would appear in the droplet size, and metal transfer fre-
dently did not change. When the arc zone to maintain a stable arc quency;
droplet grew (9–21 ms), since the arc length. If the instantaneous wire feed • The forces acting on the droplet in
always searched for the shortest was higher than the setting one, as the proposed CNC-IAW were analyzed
channel for the minimal energy con- shown in Fig. 12C, the melting speed to explain and understand the metal
sumption, the position of the arc root would increase and then the length of transfer phenomena observed;
on the droplet changed gradually. the solid wire would reduce. The arc • The arc shape had a significant ef-
When the droplet grew to a certain would go back to the previous balanc- fect on the droplet transfer, and it was
size (21–30 ms), the arc was squeezed ing position, as shown in Fig. 12B. related to the wire feed speed and
between the consumable and noncon- As mentioned previously, the dis- welding current.

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18. Huang, Y., and Zhang, Y. M. 2011.

Laser enhanced metal transfer: Part II
analysis and influence factors. Welding
Journal 90(11): 205-s to 210-s.
19. Huang, Y., and Zhang, Y. M. 2012.
Nonlinear modeling of dynamic metal
transfer process in laser enhanced GMAW.
Welding Journal 91(5): 140-s to 148-s.
20. Wang, X., Huang, Y., and Zhang, Y.
M. 2013. Droplet transfer model for laser
enhanced GMAW. International Journal of
Advanced Manufacturing Technology 64(1):
207–217.
Fig. 11 — Periodic change in the indirect arc shape (150 A, 8.0 m/min). 21. Xiao, J., Zhang, G. J., Chen, S. J., Wu,
L., and Zhang, Y. M. 2013. Active droplet os-
A B C cillation excited by optimized waveform.
Welding Journal 92(7): 205-s to 217-s.
22. Li, K. H. Sept. 2007. Double-elec-
trode gas metal arc welding: Process, mod-
eling and control. PhD dissertation, Uni-
versity of Kentucky.
23. Wang, J., Cao, J., and Feng, J. C.
2010. Microstructure and mechanical per-
formance of depositing CuSi3 alloy onto
Fig. 12 — The schematic of an arc intrinsic self­regulation mechanism. A — Lower in­
30CrMnSi steel plate by the novel consum-
stantaneous welding wire; B — normal instantaneous welding wire; C — higher instan­
able and nonconsumable electrodes indi-
taneous welding wire.
rect arc welding. Material and Design 31(7):
2253 to 2258.
droplet in GMAW. Journal of Mechanical 24. Wang, J., Wang, Y. X., and Feng, J.
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The Effect of Materials on Radiation Exposure

during the GTAW Process
The study clearly exhibited the effects of materials on the arc light
and electric current on photon energy

BY A. GURSEL AND A. KURT

ent study focused only on GTAW and

ABSTRACT three materials commonly used in in-
dustry: aluminum, stainless steel, and
In this study, the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) technique was used to weld low-carbon steel.
samples of three materials: SS304­type stainless steel, A36 low­carbon steel, and The materials, SS30-type stainless
T6061 aluminum. The welding was applied at 200 A, and the radiation types and lu­
minosities were measured for each material. During the welding processes, UV radia­
steel, A36 low-carbon steel, and T6061
tion was the most frequently observed in all parameters; in addition, visible light and aluminum, were prepared as 5 × 50 ×
IR radiation, 200–1000 nm on an optical scale, were recorded. The effects of electric 200 millimeter (mm) samples, and
currents on the photon energy rates were clearly exhibited. The production and type GTAW was applied using a 200-A elec-
of radiation (photon energy and high­frequency energy) were affected by the GTAW tric current. During the welding
applications using tungsten electrodes containing 2% thorium, thus corroborating process, the different radiation types
previous findings in the literature. were measured in terms of their wave-
lengths. A high amount of UV expo-
sure was detected. Optical radiation
covering the entire ultraviolet band
KEYWORDS (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C), visible light
(VIS), and infrared (high-energy IR-A)
• Radiation • Arc Welding • Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
were observed for each sample
material.
Most arc welding and cutting
Introduction welders have a higher than average processes, laser and torch welding,
risk of developing biologically effective cutting, brazing, and soldering pro-
skin cancer and cataracts. Although it duce quantities of radiation requiring
Research has shown that welding is known that welding arcs produce ra- precautionary measures. Some
arcs produce radiation; however, not diation, sufficiently detailed research processes, such as resistance welding
enough detailed studies have been car- has not been done on radiation from and cold pressure welding, ordinarily
ried out based on parameters such as welding parameters (Ref. 1). produce negligible quantities of radi-
welding techniques, welded materials, Recent studies on welding radiation ant energy (Refs. 3, 4).
and welding currents (Refs. 1–3). have provided data covering some Both ionizing radiation and non-
Radiation from welding arcs has di- welding parameters by measuring the ionizing radiation are produced by
rect adverse effects, including eye and energy, radiation dose, and limitations welding arcs (Ref. 4).
skin damage, on operators and nearby for health institutes (Refs. 1, 6). Only Ionizing radiation:
workers (Refs. 4–6). This is due to the a few have analyzed the light produced • Produced by the electron beam weld-
fact that arc welding produces optical by welding arcs. As a welding arc is not ing process.
radiation in the 200–1400 nanometer a steady source of radiation, this re- • Controlled within acceptable limits
(nm) wavelength band as ultraviolet sults in calibration difficulties. Future by using suitable shielding around
(UV), visible light (VIS), and infrared welding radiation studies are needed the electron beam welding area.
(IR). Ultraviolet radiation, with a in order to accurately cover all welding • Produced during grinding (pointing)
200–400 nm wavelength, is the most parameters, including materials and of thoriated-tungsten electrodes for
effectual among them. Consequently, welding techniques (Ref. 2). The pres- the GTAW process, where the grind-

A. GURSEL ([email protected]) is with Duzce University Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Dept., Düzce, Turkey.
A. KURT ([email protected]) is with Gazi University Faculty of Technology, Materials and Metallurgy Dept., Ankara, Turkey.

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 439-s

WELDING RESEARCH

Fig. 1 — View of the screen showing measured values as Fig. 2 — Optical radiation values for A36 low­carbon steel at
recorded by the software. a 200­A electric current.

Table 1 — Chemical Composition of SS304 Stainless Steel

Element Cr Ni Mn Si C P S Fe

% 18.0–20.0 8.0–10.50 2.0 max 1.0 max 0.08 max 0.045 max 0.030 max Remainder

Table 2 — Chemical Composition of A36 (ATSM) Low­Carbon Steel

Element Mn Si C Cu S P Fe

% 1.03 max 0.280 max 0.25–0.290 0.20 max 0.050 max 0.040 max Remainder

Table 3 — Chemical Composition of T6061 Aluminum

Element Ma Fe Si Zn Cu Mn Ti Cr Other Al
% 0.8–1.2 0.7 max 0.4–0.8 0.25 max 0.15–0.4 0.15 max 0.15 max 0.04–0.35 0.15 max Remainder

ing dust is radioactive. These include UV radiation (200–400 The previously mentioned informa-
• Controlled by using local exhaust nm), VIS (400–700 nm), and IR radia- tion is discussed in many scientific ar-
and, if necessary, an approved respi- tion (700–1400 nm). There are three ticles, but without providing detailed
rator (Ref. 4). types of UV radiation: UV-A (400–315 classification based on welding param-
Nonionizing radiation: nm), UV-B (315–280 nm), and UV-C eters. In this study, analysis of radia-
• The intensity and wavelength of the (280–100 nm) (Ref. 8). tion type and range was carried out for
energy produced depend on the Radiation given off by the arc or GTAW applications on stainless steel,
process, welding parameters, elec- flame is electromagnetic energy that low-carbon steel, and aluminum
trode and base metal composition, may damage eyes and burn skin (Refs. samples.
fluxes, and any coatings or plating 4, 5). Broad-spectrum UVR is known
on the base material. to be a human carcinogen (Ref. 9). UV-
• Ultraviolet radiation increases ap- C radiation from welding arcs can Experimental Procedure —
proximately as the square of the cause ocular cancer and skin cancer as Materials and Equipment
welding current. well as chromosomal and DNA damage
• Visible brightness (luminance) of the (Refs. 10–12). An operator sees visible Sample materials of SS304-type
arc increases at a much lower rate light radiation. However, he does not stainless steel, A36 low-carbon steel,
(Refs. 1, 4). see ultraviolet or infrared radiation. and T6061 aluminum were used in
The welding arc is a significant arti- UV-A, VIS, and IR radiation may reach this study; their chemical composi-
ficial source of radiation, mainly pro- the retina and can cause ocular injury tions are given in Tables 1–3.
ducing optical radiation (Ref. 7). Weld- (Refs. 13, 14). UV radiation also tar- The test materials were prepared as
ing arcs generate radiation over a gets anterior parts of the eye and may 5 × 50 × 200-mm samples and welded
broad range, 200–1400 nm (0.2–1.4 be associated with the development of using the GTAW method. A WT20
micrometers (μm)), of wavelengths. acute and chronic effects. tungsten electrode (with 2% thorium)

440-s WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014, VOL. 93

 WELDING RESEARCH

Fig. 3 — Optical radiation values for T6061 aluminum at a Fig. 4 — Optical radiation values for SS304 stainless steel
200­A electric current. at a 200­A electric current.

Fig. 5 — Comparison of values for the three sample Fig. 6 — The radiation values of the SS304 sample at a
materials. 2­m distance and a 200­A electric current.

and having dimensions of 0.40 × 0.187

× 7 in. was employed for welding. As Table 4 — ZEISS MCS 501 UV­NIR Spectrometer
added metal, wires with a thickness of
1 Type Resolution Accurancy Pixel No. λ ­ Range
⁄16 in. were used: Lincoln ER 4043L for
the aluminum and Lincoln ER 308L MCS 501 UV­NIR 2.4 nm 0.3 nm 512/1024 190–1015 nm
for the stainless steel. The samples
were welded using a Miller Millermatic
250X welding machine with an argon ed by means of AspectPlus, ZEISS values are seen in Figs. 2–5 as dia-
gas shield. MCS 501 UV-NIR software. The screen grams based on the materials and the
During the welding process, the view showing measured and recorded electric current values.
light values were measured using a data can be seen in Fig. 1. The lumi- The light was converted to an opti-
ZEISS MCS 501 UV-NIR spectrometer, nosity is seen on the vertical line as lu- cal scale; the intensity, which was
the features of which are given in men (lm) and the wavelength is seen measurable in this study, was in a
Table 4. on the horizontal line as nanometer wavelength range of 200–400 nm. It
In this study, the UV source was the (nm). was assumed that GTAW produces
welding arc; therefore, the photometer Three lines are seen in Fig. 1. The lower-wavelength light.
and spectrometer parts of the ZEISS observed maximum and minimum op- The UV band is known to be
MCS 501 UV-NIR, which sense and tic radiation rates are indicated by the 200–400 nm and is shown in Fig. 2.
analyze the light, were used. For meas- two green lines, and the average rate, The highest intensity of light was
uring the 200–1000 nm wavelengths, which is taken into consideration, is 200–300 nm, which is the UV-C, the
a 1⁄3-s integration period was deter- shown by the red line. highest energy of the UV band, and
mined. The probe was positioned at a some of the UV-B band. The VIS and
distance of 1 m from the arc and was Results and Discussion IR, at 750–840 nm, were above the
connected to the spectrometer by measurable 400-nm value.
fiber-optic cable. In this study, radiation values were As seen in Fig. 3, the optical radia-
The spectral irradiance from the obtained from GTAW applications on tion values for Al are very different
welding arc were observed and record- three types of test materials. These from those of the low-carbon steel

NOVEMBER 2014 / WELDING JOURNAL 441-s

WELDING RESEARCH

GTAW applications. The light is dis- were welded with the GTAW process,
References
persed over the 200–900 nm wave- at the same electric current, and us-
length range. These scattered wave ing an argon gas shield. However, the
ranges cover UV-A, UV-B, UV-C, visi- resulting types and amounts of radia- 1. Gursel, A. 2010. Analysis of optical
ble light, and IR radiation. The lumi- tion for each sample differed signifi- radiation emitted from electric arc weld-
ing. PhD thesis. Gazi University Institute
nosity reached 25,000 lm on the Al cantly. The stainless steel sample of Science and Technology, Ankara, Turkey.
sample. During electron beam welding caused much more radiation energy 2. Gursel, A., and Kurt, A. 2009. Value in
and when grinding GTAW thoriated to be produced. emerging electric arc welding of ultraviolet
tungsten electrodes, ionized radiation radiation effects on human and environ-
may be generated (Ref. 4). Conclusions mental health. International Conference on
As seen in Fig. 4, the highest energy Welding Technology, Ankara, Turkey.
level of radiation was observed on the This study has attempted to deter- 3. ANSI Z49.1-1999, Safety in Welding,
stainless steel samples. The highest in- mine the radiation emissions from Cutting, and Allied Processes. Miami, Fla.:
tensity of radiation was 200–300 nm, welding arcs on test materials. From American Welding Society.
which is in the UV-B and UV-C bands; the values obtained for each of the pa- 4. AWS Safety and Health Fact Sheet
No. 2. 2003. Miami, Fla.: American Weld-
the luminosity reached more than rameters, the following results and ing Society. www.aws.org/technical/facts/
25,000 lm. conclusions were observed: fact-02.pdf.
Figure 5 shows that the highest en- 1. Optical radiation, including UV- 5. Dixon, A. J., and Dixon, B. F. 2004.
ergy was obtained from the stainless A, UV-B, UV-C, visible light, and IR, is Ultraviolet radiation from welding and
steel sample as luminosity and fre- produced by GTAW arcs. possible risk of skin and ocular malignan-
quency. The lowest rates were ob- 2. Energy input, which is based on cy. The Medical Journal of Australia 181(3):
tained from the low-carbon A36 steel the thermal conduction and fusion 155–157.
sample. The energy rates from the alu- levels of the materials, also affects the 6. Emission of UV radiation during arc
minum sample were dispersed all over radiation emissions. So long as the en- welding. 2011. IFA-Institutfür Arbeitss-
the optical scale, but mostly concen- ergy input increases, the photon in- chutz der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfal-
lversicherung.
trated in the UV and IR bands. tensity and radiation emissions also 7. Assessment of and Protection from
The calibration of the ZEISS MCS increase (Ref. 15). Higher light inten- Welding Arc Radiant Hazards. 2006. Jeffer-
501 UV-NIR spectrometer is not very sity was observed with the increase in son Lab, ESH&Q Manual, Rev. 8.7–7.
sensitive over 25,000 lm. Therefore, the the electric current. 8. Repacholi, M. H. 1996. Introduction
position of the probe was changed to a 3. Since the chemical composition to Non-Ionizing Radiations. ICNIRP Third
distance of 2 m to accommodate the of the welded materials was seen to af- International Non-Ionizing Radiation
role of distance on radiation with values fect the production and emission of ra- Workshop, pp. 3–12. Beden, Austria.
of more than 25,000 lm — Fig. 6. diation, further research, including 9. Report on Carcinogens, Twelfth Edi-
According to the Inverse-Square studies of other welding techniques, is tion. 2011. U.S. National Toxicology Pro-
Law (radiation intensity with dis- needed to investigate this aspect. gram, pp. 1–5.
10. Cieminis, K., Ranceliene, V.,
tance), the radiation intensity decreas- 4. During welding on the stainless Slekyte, K., and Tiunaitiene, N. 2001. In-
es with the inverse square of the dis- steel sample, a high intensity of radia- dustion of DNA and chromosomal dam-
tance. This relationship indicates that tion was observed over a wide area of ages by UV-C and solar and its photoreacti-
doubling the distance from a radiation the electromagnetic spectrum. vation in crepis calpillaris cells. 2001. Lab.
source decreases the radiation level by 5. Obtained values from GTAW on of Cell Engineering, Institute of Botany.
a factor of four. With the increasing Al ranged throughout the entire opti- ISNN 1392-0146. Biologia, Nr. 1.
distance, the emission diverges to an cal scale. The highest graphic peaks 11. Lyon, T. L. 2002. Knowing the dan-
area four times the original area. were seen in the UV and IR bands. Ad- gers of actinic ultraviolet emissions. Weld-
The measuring of 27,000 lm at a 2- ditionally, the form of the Al graphic ing Journal 2(12): 28–30.
m distance means that the optic radia- exhibited a different pattern from 12. IARC Monographs on the Evalua-
tion of Carcinogenic Risk to Humans,
tion luminosity is approximately four those of the values for the other Chromium, Nickel and Welding. 1990.
times more at the 1-m distance, i.e., materials. World Health Organization — Internation-
108,000 lm. 6. High optical radiation energy lev- al Agency for Research on Cancer. Volume
For this study, the distance of the els were displayed with low-carbon 49. IARC, Lyon, France.
probe from the welding arc was 1 m, steel, stainless steel, and aluminum 13. Radiation and the Effects on Eyes and
whereas an operator is only a few cen- samples welded using the GTAW Skin. 2001. Canadian Centre for Occupa-
timeters away from the welding arc. process. With the aluminum and stain- tional Health and Safety (CCOHS).
Therefore, the influence of radiation en- less steel samples, the intensity was 14. Ultraviolet Radiation, Environmental
ergy for an operator and his/her skin is higher than with the low-carbon steel. Health Criteria 160. 1994. World Health
much higher than that measured here. However, the highest optical radiation Organization. pp. 1–263.
15. AWS Safety and Health Fact Sheet
This measurement was applied for energy (108,000 lm at 200–300 nm) No. 26. 2004. Miami, Fla.: American Weld-
comparing and analyzing the radia- was obtained from stainless steel in ing Society. www.aws.org/technical/facts/
tion level of stainless steel and the the form of high-frequency and pho- FACT-26_2014.pdf.
other materials. All three materials ton energy.

442-s WELDING JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 2014, VOL. 93

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