Development of ultra-narrow gap welding with constrained arc by flux band

0 IntroductionThe merits of narrow gap welding (NGW) such ashigh productivity and quantity, minimal distortion, highcost-effectiveness, and all position capability are wellknown. The narrower the gap, the more significant the a-bove merits. Moreover, while an ultra-narrowgap welding(UNGW) process with less than 5 mm gap width is used,its some advantages are very useful for preventing thestress corrosion crack in austenitic steel piping, and forwelding some update steels. For example, in aus…

Development of ultra-narrow gap welding with constrained arc by flux band

Narrow gap welding has merits of lower residual stress and distortion, and superior mechanical properties of joints. A major problem of this process is the lack of fusion in sidewalls, hence many methods of weaving arc have been developed to increase heating effect of arc to the sidewalls. In this work, a new approach Without weaving arc is attempted to ensure the penetration of sidewall, and ultra-narrow gap welding with the gap of less than 5 mm was executed successfully. In this approach, the width of gap is decreased further, so that the sidewalls are made within range of arc heating to obtain the enough heat. In order to prevent the arc from being attracted by sidewall and going up along the sidewalls, two pieces of flux bands consisting of the specified aggregates are adhered to the sidewalls to constrain the arc. In addition, when flux band being heated by the arc, slag and gases are formed to shield the arc and the weld pool. This technique was tested on the welding experiment of pipeline steel with thickness of 20 mm. The involved welding parameters were obtained, that is, the width of gap is 4 mm, the welding current 250 A, and the heat input 0. 5 kJ/mm, the width of heat-affected zone is 1 -2 mm.