Science and Technology of Welding and Joining

ISSN: 1362-1718 (Print) 1743-2936 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ystw20

Investigation into arc constriction by active fluxes

for tungsten inert gas welding

D.S. Howse & W. Lucas

To cite this article: D.S. Howse & W. Lucas (2000) Investigation into arc constriction by active
fluxes for tungsten inert gas welding, Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, 5:3,
189-193

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/136217100101538191

Published online: 08 Oct 2015.

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 Investigation into arc constriction by active
uxes for tungsten inert gas welding
D. S. Howse and W. Lucas
Mechanisms by which active uxes increase the
penetration of conventional tungsten inert gas (TIG)
welds (so called A-TIG welds) are reviewed. The
most dominant mechanism for increased penetration is
considered to be arc constriction rather than a change
in the surface tension of the molten pool. An
experimental programme of work was carried out
using A-TIG ux in combination with a number of
welding processes. The plasma process was investigated
as it gives greater penetration than conventional TIG
welding by increasing current density. The CO2 laser
and electron beam processes which do not rely on a
current carrying arc as the heat source for welding were
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also investigated. Macrosections taken from the welds
made by these processes showed that the A-TIG ux
was only effective when the weld pool was produced by
an arc or plasma. Where there was no arc or plasma
present, the ux had little effect.
The authors are in the Arc, Laser and Sheet Processes
Department, TWI, Granta Park, Great Abington,
Cambridge CB1 6AL, UK. Manuscript received
13 May 1999; accepted 26 July 1999.
# 2000 IoM Communications Ltd.
INTRODUCTION
Activated uxes that increase the penetration of tungsten
inert gas (TIG) welds (A-TIG uxes) offer a means of
signicantly increasing the productivity of the welding
process. The rst use of A-TIG uxes was in the late 1950s
by the E. O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding in the
former Soviet Union. The rst published papers,1,2 which
described the use of the uxes for welding titanium alloys,
appeared in the mid-1960s and the rst reference to the use
of the technology for steels was in 1968.3 Use of these uxes
both reduces the need for edge preparations and increases
productivity owing to the reduction in the number of weld
passes required to make the joint. It is possible using this
approach to achieve full penetration TIG welds in 12 mm
material with a single pass.4 These uxes have been
introduced recently to the West and have generated a
great deal of interest in how the uxes can increase
penetration in TIG welds. A number of mechanisms have
been proposed to account for the observation that the arc
visibly constricts in the presence of an activating ux. At the
onset of the present research it was considered that the
concentrated arc energy might increase weld penetration
through either an arc or weld pool ow mechanism.
REVIEW OF MECHANISMS
The rst published reference found by the present authors
which relates to activated uxes for TIG welding dates from
19651 and refers to the improvement in the penetration of
titanium alloys using an oxygen free activated ux. The
ISSN 1362 1718
effect and physical characteristics of the process, such as a
drop in the welding current and an increase in the welding
voltage associated with the ux, are also noted in at least
one more published study.2 The rst reference to a similar
effect for steels was published in 1968.3
A number of observations have been made on the effect
of the uxes on the TIG arc for titanium alloys and stainless
steels. It is claimed that the ability of the ux to wet the
surface of the molten pool has an effect on suitability for the
process and that the composition can be altered to modify
the surface tension and produce better wetting.5 However,
it is not entirely clear how this wetting of the surface
contributes to the effectiveness of the ux other than that it
must (when liquid) cover the surface of the molten pool.6
This wetting of the surface of the weld and altered surface
tension of the ux itself is not believed to be related to the
Marangoni uid ow effect in the weld pool. A change in
Marangoni ow has been used to explain variable
penetration in welds.7 This change in uid ow is related
the thermal coefcient of surface tension (TCST) of the
molten pool. If the TCST is negative, the cooler peripheral
regions of the pool will have a higher surface tension than
the centre of the weld pool and the ow will be outwards,
creating a wide, shallow weld pool. In materials with a
positive gradient, this ow is reversed towards the centre of
the weld pool and in the centre the molten material ows
downwards.8,9 This creates a narrower deeper weld pool for
exactly the same welding conditions (Fig. 1).
Other mechanisms for altered weld bead penetration have
been proposed and the use of oxide coatings to improve
weldability in steels is also a recognised practice.10 This
technique is thought to stabilise the arc roots in TIG
welding but could be a similar effect to that produced by the
A-TIG uxes.
In terms of the A-TIG uxes themselves, A. G. Simonik
described11.the welding of titanium with uxes made up of
CaF2 and AlF3. He proposed a theory for the effectiveness
of the uxes based on an arc constriction mechanism.
Simonik also demonstrated that the effectiveness of a ux
constituent in constricting the arc was linked to a higher
temperature of molecule formation and this was proved by
experimental work.
In reviewing the above literature, although Simonik's
theory appears plausible and does concur with his
experimental observations, the model proposed for the
TIG arc does not agree with current theory in which the arc
is comprised of a central ionised (plasma) column rather
than neutral atoms.
The present authors, in earlier work,12 applied Simonik's
principle of electron absorption to account for the observed
constriction of the arc and the increased weld pool
penetration. The mechanism is based on the concept that
the TIG arc is comprised of four regions (Fig. 2):
(i) the plasma column, current carried by the electrons
and ions produced by the thermal ionisation of the
shielding gas
(ii) the anode/cathode, with a high potential drop to
maintain the current ow as the gas is cooled by the
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2000 Vol. 5 No. 3 189
 190 Howse and Lucas Arc constriction by active uxes for TIG welding
(a)
(b)
a negative coefcient giving shallow penetration; b positive
coefcient giving deep penetration
1 Marangoni ow: s is surface tension, T is temperature..
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electrode (the plasma temperature is much greater
than that of the electrode)
(iii) the cathode, where under bombardment by positive
ions, the high temperature creates the conditions for
thermionic emission of electrons
(iv) the anode, where under the inuence of the anode
potential drop, the electrons accelerate but then the
kinetic energy is transferred to the anode.
Thus, the heat required to form the weld pool is principally
derived from the transfer of the kinetic energy of the
electrons as they are absorbed into the surface. The amount
of heat produced at the surface is determined by the energy
acquired on accelerating across the anode drop and the heat
of condensation. Constriction of the arc will increase the
temperature at the anode because of the increase in current
density and the higher arc voltage.
It is considered that the vaporised ux will constrict the
arc by capturing electrons in the outer regions of the arc in a
similar manner to that proposed by Simonik. Electron
absorption is effected by the attachment of electrons
to vaporised molecules and dissociated atoms to form
negatively charged particles. Electron attachment can only
take place in the cooler peripheral regions where the
electrons have low energy in a weak electric eld. Towards
the centre of the arc, where there is a strong electric eld,
temperature is high, and there are very high energy
electrons, ionisation will dominate. Thus, restricting current
ow to the central region of the arc will increase the current
density in the plasma and at the anode, resulting in a
narrower arc and a deeper weld pool.
The mechanism proposed by the present authors is
supported by the relative effectiveness of the ux constitu-
ents observed by Simonik. For example, arc constriction
will be promoted by ux constituent molecules or atoms
that have a large electron attachment cross-section. Thus,
halogen compounds, which have a large electron attach-
ment cross-section when dissociated, will have a strong
afnity for electrons. Other compounds, such as metal
oxides, which have a lower electron attachment diameter
but a higher dissociation temperature, are equally effective
in constricting the arc as they can provide a greater number
of vaporised molecules and atoms in the outer regions of the
arc.
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2000 Vol. 5 No. 3
2 Mechanism proposed by present authors for A-TIG
process
Based on the above, a practical experimental procedure
was devised to conrm the proposed mechanism for the A-
TIG ux. This programme of work provided a comparison
of the A-TIG effect with other arc/plasma techniques which
achieve deep penetration by increasing the ionisation
potential of the shielding gas (argon helium mixtures)
and using a higher current density heating source (plasma
welds). Laser and electron beam welds were included to
investigate how the A-TIG ux would affect the weld bead
shape in a weld made with no current carrying arc or
plasma. It was intended that in the latter welds the effect of
any arc or plasma and any possible effect of change in
thermal coefcient of surface tension would be distinguish-
able.
EXPERIMENTAL
Materials
The material used during trials was a single cast of
austenitic stainless steel type AISI 316L of thickness
6 mm. The chemical composition of this material was
0.02C 0.40Si 1.29Mn 0.028P 0.005S 17.0Cr 2.16Mo
11.2Ni 0.22Co 0.22Cu v0.01Nb v0.01Sn v0.01Ti
0.03V v0.001Ca (wt-%..). The ux composition used
throughout these trials was that produced by the Paton
Institute for stainless steels identied as AFP SS1.., which is
made up of a mixture of metal oxides.
Welding procedures
In order to investigate the effect of the ux and to provide a
comparison with the other processes used in the present
work, the ux was rst used to produce a melt run weld with
a conventional TIG torch. The uxes are supplied in
powder form and were mixed with acetone and painted on
to the surface to be welded. The acetone evaporated, leaving
a layer of the ux adhering to the surface of the material to
be welded. In the rst instance a weld was made on a single
plate half coated with the ux and the arc was moved from
an uncoated region to a coated region. Weld parameters
were monitored with a QA Weldcheck arc monitoring
 Howse and Lucas Arc constriction by active uxes for TIG welding 191

system. The shielding gas used was industrially pure argon

(w99.9%).
Another weld was then made using a similar procedure.
This weld was made with a 75% helium 25% argon mixture
but with the same welding current as the weld made with the
pure argon shielding gas. Again, this weld was made by
moving the welding head from an uncoated region of the
plate into a region coated by the ux.
The effect of the ux was also investigated for plasma
welding. Two keyhole welds were made, again both with
and without the ux, using both pulsed and continuous
welding current. Again, melt run welds were made.
A number of laser welds were made with varying power
and travel speed on the stainless steel. The intention was to
produce deep penetration laser welds with the keyhole
mechanism, to defocus the beam to give a similar weld pool a
size to a TIG weld, and to investigate whether the uxes
affected the shape of the weld bead.
Welds were also made using electron beam welding. The
ux used for this exercise, although of the same composition
as AFP SS1, was applied by an aerosol applicator which
used a lacquer binder to attach the ux to the surface. It was
thought that if the powder form was used for these welds,
the ux could lift off the surface without being melted.
Macrosections were taken of all the welds, made both
with and without the A-TIG ux.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

TIG welds
The welds with argon as shielding gas were made with a
xed standoff distance of 0.8 mm from the tip of the
tungsten to the workpiece. The rst published work which
discusses the phenomenon of increased penetration of these
uxes in some detail identies an increase in arc voltage
associated with the uxes and also a reduction in the
welding current.2 The initial TIG welding trials carried out
at TWI also showed an increase in the arc voltage of
typically 0.5 V but not a reduction in the welding current.
It can clearly be seen from Fig. 3 that the A-TIG ux
causes increased penetration and a reduced width of bead.
For these TIG welds, the weld cross-sectional area was also
increased by 30 80%. Although some of this can be
attributed to the increase in voltage and the change in
cooling rate owing to the surrounding material, it is also
possible that the ux had increased the efciency factor of
the process, i.e. more of the arc energy was transmitted as
heat input to the parent material.
The welds with 75He 25Ar as the shielding gas were also
made with a xed standoff of 0.8 mm (Fig. 4). It is well
known that the use of helium as a shielding gas will give a
greater arc voltage than pure argon at a given arc length.13
However, it can be seen from these welds that the increase in
arc voltage of 1.0 V caused by using helium in the shielding
gas did not have the same effect as the increase in arc
voltage noted when A-TIG ux was used. If Fig. 3 is
compared with Fig. 4 it can be seen that the two effects,
increased voltage owing to the higher ionisation potential of
the helium causing a wider weld bead, and increased voltage
to the A-TIG ux causing a deeper weld bead, gave very
different results. The welds made with the helium based gas
mixture, although showing an increased heat input, were
not affected in terms of penetration in the same way as those
made with A-TIG uxes. It can clearly be seen that the
increase in arc voltage for the helium rich shielding gas also
led to a spreading of the arc and an increase in the width of
the bead, rather than a reduction in the width of the bead
which is characteristic of A-TIG ux welds. When the
helium rich shielding gas and the uxes were used together,
it can clearly be seen that the combined effects were
cumulative and appear to be independent of one another.
b
a without A-TIG ux at 187 A, 9.5 V, 100 mm min21,
1.07 kJ mm21 arc energy; b with A-TIG ux at 187 A,
10 V, 100 mm min21, 1.12 kJ mm21 arc energy
3 Macrosections of TIG welds made with Ar shielding:
6 mm thick stainless steel
Plasma welds
Macrosections of the continuous current plasma welds are
shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that the ux had increased
the width of the penetration bead and increased the cross-
sectional area, producing a weld bead shape very similar to
that of the A-TIG ux TIG weld. The plasma welds showed
that the effect was not restricted entirely to TIG welds.
Clearly, the mechanisms acting to cause increased penetra-
tion in the TIG welds with the uxes had some effect on
plasma welds also. The effect of the ux on the plasma weld
was not as pronounced as in the case of the TIG welds, but
this was to be expected. The plasma welds were made in the
keyhole mode. Any constriction of the plasma arc would
not have increased the penetration of the weld as the arc
was producing a fully penetrating weld already. For TIG
welding, the mechanism is very different: the arc is
`softer' than for plasma and does not penetrate the
workpiece; the weld is made in a conduction limited
mode and any constriction of the arc will increase the
penetrating power of the arc. These results indicate that the
ux had an effect on the plasma process and the reduced cap
width indicates that the plasma arc was constricted by the
ux.
CO2 laser welds
Macrosections of two of the CO2 laser welds are shown in
Fig. 6. Again, the weld bead shape was changed when it
moved into the A-TIG ux AFP SS1. These welds were
made to investigate the effect of the A-TIG uxes on the
molten pool without the inuence of a current carrying
welding arc. It can clearly be seen that the A-TIG uxes also
had an effect on the penetration of the weld in the

Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2000 Vol. 5 No. 3

 192 Howse and Lucas Arc constriction by active uxes for TIG welding
a a
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b b
a without A-TIG ux at 187 A, 11 V, 100 mm min ,
1.23 kJ mm21 arc energy; b with A-TIG ux at 187 A,
11.8 V, 100 mm min21, 1.32 kJ mm21 arc energy
4 Macrosections of TIG welds made with 75He 25Ar
shielding: 6 mm thick stainless steel
conduction limited mode and some effect in the deep
penetration mode. There is, however, a plasma associated
with CO2 laser welds and it is thought that the wider top
portion of the laser weld prole is caused by the heating
effect of the plasma rather than the effect of the laser beam
itself. It was noted while welding that the plasma visibly
constricted when the weld moved into the ux coated
region. It is possible that the uxes could have caused a
constriction of the non-current carrying plasma associated
with the laser in the manner originally proposed by Simonik
for the TIG arc. This constriction would lead to a lesser
effect of the laser beam being scattered and hence produce a
greater power density beam. It may then also be assumed
that the higher density beam could produce a depressed
molten pool which would cause increased activity and
enhanced ow in the weld pool. It has been noted that for
the TIG welds made with A-TIG uxes in the present
programme of work, in some instances, the arc did appear
to submerge slightly, also giving a depressed molten pool.
Electron beam welds
Electron beam melt runs were made to investigate welding
without the usual arc or plasma in order to attempt to
separate any effects of arc or plasma constriction and
surface tension caused by the ux. The welds were made as
melt runs, using three heat inputs successively on the same
plate. In order to assess the effect of any heat buildup in
the plate, the last melt runs repeated the heat input of the
rst. By using a combination of beam defocus and beam
deection, the beam's power density was modied to
simulate that of a typical TIG arc. Again, two of the
weld sections are shown both with and without the A-TIG
Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2000 Vol. 5 No. 3
21
a without A-TIG ux at 177 A, 26.5 V, 210 mm min21,
1.34 kJ mm21 arc energy; b with A-TIG ux at 177 A,
26.5 V, 210 mm min21, 1.34 kJ mm21 arc energy
5 Macrosections of continuous current plasma welds:
6 mm thick stainless steel
ux in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the electron beam melt runs
did not show major increases in penetration as a result of
the A-TIG uxes. There was some difference between the
larger of the weld beads compared with and without ux but
this was not observed in the other melt runs made.
It was concluded that the A-TIG ux AFP SS1 had a
minor effect on the melt run bead shape in some cases.
However, overall there was no consistent, major effect on
the penetration of any of the electron beam melt runs when
compared to the other welding processes investigated in the
present work.
CONCLUSIONS
The proposed fundamental mechanisms for weld pool
penetration in TIG welding involve arc effects, electro-
magnetic effects, and weld pool ow and it is likely that
most of these effects exist in an equilibrium condition in
TIG welding. However, in comparing the TIG, plasma, and
CO2 laser welds with the electron beam welds, it is possible
to say that the effect of the A-TIG uxes is clearly a very
separate effect from the changes in weld pool ow caused by
an altered surface tension effect proposed by Heiple and
Roper. The theoretical explanation proposed by the present
authors suggests an arc constriction effect, which is given
further credence in that this constriction was clearly visible
during welding. It is thought that this constriction of the arc
leads to an increase in current density, which in turn leads to
greater arc forces acting on the molten pool which produce
the increase in penetration depth. Work carried out by
Paton et al.14 has also shown that the uxes reduce the effect
of poor weld bead penetration caused by cast to cast
variation in stainless steels. This in itself indicates that the

a a
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b
a without A-TIG ux; b with A-TIG ux
6 Macrosections of CO2 laser welds at 2.4 kW,
1.0 m min21: 6 mm thick stainless steel
proposed arc effect is a different and dominant mechanism
from the Marangoni/surface tension ow effect and shows
that the problem of cast to cast variation could be overcome
by using these A-TIG uxes.
The most plausible mechanism at present is that the arc
or plasma is constricted by the action of the A-TIG uxes
and that the associated increase in current density results in
increased forces which alter the molten pool ow to give
increased penetration. Although there are a number of
effects resulting from the use of activating uxes it is
thought that the increased penetration associated with the
uxes is not caused by a change in the thermal coefcient of
surface tension (Marangoni ow).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was carried out within the Core Research
Programme of TWI and was funded by Industrial Members
of TWI. The authors would like to thank C. Hardy for
carrying out the TIG and plasma welds, M. Hardy for
carrying out the laser welds, and B. Dance for his advice
and assistance in producing the electron beam welds. The
Howse and Lucas Arc constriction by active uxes for TIG welding 193
b
a without A-TIG ux; b with A-TIG ux
7 Macrosections of electron beam welds at 16.0 mA,
6.5 kHz: 6 mm thick stainless steel
authors would also like to thank colleagues at TWI for their
advice during the work.
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