12 Welding Technology and Design

Submerged arc welding can be carried out with DC source of constant voltage
or constant current type and AC power sources of constant current type. The main
requirement of SAW power source is that it should be capable of supplying heavy
current at high duty cycle. D.C. power can give easy and accurate arc start. Control
of bead shape is best with DC with electrode positive, while high deposition rate is
obtained with electrode negative, though the penetration will be shallow. DC power
source also gives good depth of penetration and weld speed and good
manoeuverability to weld difficult contours at high speed. DC with electrode
positive (reverse polarity) can also ensure stable arc and small weld puddle. AC is
generally preferred for larger diameter (> 4 mm) wires.
The power source should be rated at 100% duty cycle and not at 60% as required
for manual welding. Most SAW operation is done in the current range of 200 -
1000 amps. Because of the flux cover, arc starting can be difficult in SAW; however,
several starting techniques like molten flux start, sharp wire start, high frequency
start etc., can be adopted to initiate the welding process.
Bare wires are used as electrodes; but in recent times flux cored wires (tubular
wires carrying flux in the core) have been introduced. Since the electrodes are
mechanically driven, they have to be properly tempered. American Welding Society
Standards AWS A. 5.17, A 5.23 and Indian Standards IS 7280 give the required
specifications for carbon steel and low alloy steel electrodes.
The flux used in SAW should not evolve appreciable amount of gases under
intense heat of the welding zone. It should be of granular form and capable of free
flow through the feeding tubes. Agglomerated fluxes and sintered fluxes are
commonly used. Width and depth of flux will affect the shape and penetration of
the weld. If the flux layer is shallow, porous weld will result. If the layer is too
deep, the weld will be rough and uneven. All fluxes produce some changes in the
chemical composition as the electrode is melted and deposited as weld metal. Some
fluxes add alloying elements (such as moly and Nb) deliberetely.
Quality of the weld deposit depends on the type of flux, the electrode, the welding
current, arc voltage, speed of arc and heat input rate. Thus the process variables
are:
(a) Welding current and voltage.
(b) Welding speed and electrode stick out
(c) Width and depth of flux
(d) Joint design
Welding current controls the rate of electrode melting, the depth of fusion and
the amount of base metal melted. Excessively high current will produce a digging
arc and the weld may melt through the backing. At high currents drops begin to
transfer directly through the arc cavity into the weld pool. Other side effects are
undercuts, highly narrow weld seam and a large HAZ. At low currents large droplets
form on the electrode tip which get transferred to the weld pool through the slag at
the periphery of the arc cavity. Too low a current will produce an unstable arc. The
optimum ranges of current for different wire diameters are given Table 1.3.