Gas metal arc weld (GMAW), also known under the names metal inert gas, MIG welding, or semi-automatic welding, uses a continuous wire feed to serve as an electrode. An inert or semi inert gas mixture protects the weld from contamination. GMAW has a faster welding speed than SMAW, because the electrode is continuously fed. Similar equipment is used in flux-cored (FCAW), which uses a wire with a steel electro and a fill of powder material. Although cored wire is more costly than the standard wire and can cause fumes, slag and/or smoke, it also allows for higher welding speeds and greater metal penetration. Gas tungsten (GTAW) welding or tungsten Inert Gas (TIG), is an manual welding process that uses non-consumable electrodes, an inert/semi-inert mixture of gases, and a separate, filler material. This method is great for welding thin materials. Although it produces a stable and high-quality arc, it requires extensive operator skill and cannot be done at very low speeds.
The heat-affected area (HAZ), which is the area around the weld, in which the temperature and stresses of uneven heating/cooling alter the alloy's heat-treatment properties, is known as the heat-affected circle. The effects of welding on the material surrounding the weld can be detrimental--depending on the materials used and the heat input of the welding process used, the HAZ can be of varying size and strength. The thermal diffusivity (or heat transfer) of the base material is important. If the diffusivity is high the material cooling rate will be high and the HAZ will be small. Low diffusivity results in slower cooling and a greater HAZ. A key factor in the process of welding is the amount of heat being injected. Processes like oxyacetylene weld have a high heat input, which increases the HAZ. Laser beam welding is a process that produces a high concentration of heat with a limited amount of heat. This results in a small HAZ. Arc welding lies between these two extremes. However, each process has a slightly different heat input. This formula can be used for calculating the heat input required to arc weld.
The history and practice of joining metals has been around for many millennia. This technique was first demonstrated in Europe and Middle East during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Herodotus an ancient Greek historian stated in The Histories of 2005 BC that Glaucus of Chios invented iron welding. Welding was used during the construction the Iron pillar Delhi. It was erected at Delhi, India, in around 310 AD. It weighed approximately 5.4 tonnes. A variety of energy sources are available for welding: a gas fire (chemical), an electricity arc (electrical), and a laser. An electron beam, friction, as well as ultrasound. While welding is often an industrial process it can also be done outdoors, in the open, in water, or in outer space. Welding can be dangerous and requires careful precautions to avoid burns and electric shocks, vision damage, inhalation and inhalation toxic gases and fumes, as well as exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Three of the most commonly used crystal lattice structures in metals are the body-centred cubic, face-centred cubic and close-packed hexagonal. Ferritic steel has a body-centred cubic structure and austenitic steel, non-ferrous metals like aluminium, copper and nickel have the face-centred cubic structure. Ductility is an important factor in ensuring the integrity of structures by enabling them to sustain local stress concentrations without fracture. In addition, structures are required to be of an acceptable strength, which is related to a material's yield strength. In general, as the yield strength of a material increases, there is a corresponding reduction in fracture toughness.
Many power supplies are available for providing the electrical power required to arc weld. Two types of power supplies that are most commonly used for welding are constant current power supply and constant voltage power supply. The length of an arc depends on the voltage. Heat input and current are directly related. Constant current power supplies, which can sustain a relatively constant current despite the fluctuating voltage, are commonly used for manual welding processes. This is crucial because manual welding can make it difficult to hold an electrode in a steady position. Therefore, the arc length, and therefore the voltage, will fluctuate. This is why constant voltage power supplies are often used for automated welding processes, including gas metal arc, flux-cored or submerged. Since the current is rapidly changing, any change in the distance between the wires, base material, or wire is quickly corrected. For example, if wire and base material are too closely together, current will rapidly rise, which causes heat to increase and tip of wire melt. It then returns to its original separation distance.
In the final decades, 19th century, resistance welding was also developed. Elihu T. Thomson, who received the first patents for the invention in 1885, made further advances over 15 years. In 1893, thermite was discovered and another process, oxyfuel welding, was created. Edmund Davy discovered Acetylene on 1836. However, its practical use for welding was not possible until around 1900 when a suitable torch developed. Oxyfuel welding was at first a very popular method due to its portability as well as low cost. As the 20thcentury progressed, however it lost its popularity in industrial applications. It was replaced by arc welding, which made use of advances in metal covers (also known as flux). Flux that covers an electrode protects it from impurities. However, it can stabilize the arc.
Many distinct factors influence the strength of welds and the material around them, including the welding method, the amount and concentration of energy input, the weldability of the base material, filler material, and flux material, the design of the joint, and the interactions between all these factors. For example, the factor of welding position influences weld quality, that welding codes & specifications may require testing—both welding procedures and welders—using specified welding positions: 1G (flat), 2G (horizontal), 3G (vertical), 4G (overhead), 5G (horizontal fixed pipe), or 6G (inclined fixed pipe). To test the quality of a weld, either destructive or nondestructive testing methods are commonly used to verify that welds are free of defects, have acceptable levels of residual stresses and distortion, and have acceptable heat-affected zone (HAZ) properties. Types of welding defects include cracks, distortion, gas inclusions (porosity), non-metallic inclusions, lack of fusion, incomplete penetration, lamellar tearing, and undercutting.
Covalent bonding is when one of the component atoms loses one to more electrons. The electrons are then gained by the other atom, creating an electron cloud that is shared with the whole molecule. Both covalent and inionic bonding are characterised by brittleness because of their constrained locations. Metallic bonding refers to a type or covalent bonding where the constituent atoms do not mix with each other to form a chemical link. A number of positive ions can be formed when an atom loses an electron. These electrons will be shared by the Lattice. This makes the electron cluster mobile because the electrons and ions are free to move. It is responsible for metals' high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity.
Many millennia ago, the history of joining metals can be traced back. This is evident in the Bronze and Iron Ages of Europe and the Middle East. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, states that Glaucus of Chios was the one who invented iron welding. The Iron pillar of Delhi was constructed using welding. It was erected in Delhi in India in 310 AD. It weighed 5.4 metric tons. There are many energy sources that can be used to weld, including gas flames (chemical), electric arcs (electrical), lasers, electron beams, friction and ultrasound. Although welding is often used in industry, it can also be done in open space, under water and even in outer space. It is dangerous work and you should take precautions to avoid electric shock, vision damage and inhalation poisonous gases and fumes.
GTAW can be used to weld almost any metal, but it is most commonly used to stainless steel or light metals. This is used where quality welds are critical, such as for aircraft, bicycles, and naval applications. Plasma arc welding is a similar process that uses a tungsten-electrod but uses plasma gas for the arc. Because the arc is stronger than the GTAW, transverse control is more important and the technique can only be used in a controlled manner. The method is stable and can be used with a wider variety of material thicknesses than the GTAW process. It also runs much faster. The process can be used on all materials except magnesium. Automated welding of stainless steel is an important application. Plasma cutting, a more efficient method of cutting steel, is another variation.
Explosion welding, which is another common process involves the joining and pushing materials together under very high pressure. Although the impact only produces a very small amount heat, the energy produced plasticises the materials. The process is often used for welding dissimilar materials. This includes bonding aluminum and carbon steels in ship hulls and stainless or titanium to steel in petrochemical Pressure vessels. As spot welding does, seam welding uses two electrodes that apply pressure and current in order to join metal sheet. However, instead of using pointed electrodes to join metal sheets, seam welding uses wheel-shaped electrodes that move along the workpiece and often feed it. This allows you to make long continuous welded. Although it was once used in the manufacture and sale of beverage containers, the use of this process is much less common. Other resistance welding methods are flash welding and projection welding.