Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Gas Shield in Welding Processes

Application of gas plays a major role in the welding process. While the ability to cut and heat are very dependent on acetylene, various gas is used as a shielding gas for welding. Shielding gas prevents other gases in the atmosphere from reducing the quality of the welding process. Shielding gas also has an impact on some other aspects of the process, including weld torch travel speed and quality of weld deposit in its finished form.

Type of shielding gas used depends on the method of arc weld is performed and the welded material. Protective gas to meet the needs of specific applications, gas is often conceptualized as a special mixture. Some common elements used in this particular combination of gases including oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide.

Argon
The third most common gas in Earth's atmosphere, argon is heavier than air and has a low level of heat conductivity. This quality allows the argon arc weld to provide solid stability and penetration. Argon is also an inert gas, which allows it to be used without affecting the composition of welded metal.

As a protective gas, argon is used alone for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) on nonferrous metals such as aluminum and copper. It is also used in combination with other agents to GMAW and flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) project that involves the joining of steel.

Oxygen
The addition of oxygen in the shielding gas for GMAW project can improve the stability of the arc. It can also increase the fluidity and wetting characteristics of the weld pool by reducing the surface tension. When used in conjunction with carbon dioxide and argon, oxygen can also provide the flexibility to join some type of carbon steel.

Hydrogen
Used mainly in austenitic and duplex stainless steels, hydrogen is known to increase the weld puddle fluidity and surface cleanliness. When added in small quantities for argon, can also provide an excellent bead appearance and weld travel speed increases GTAW project involving austenitic steel as much as 25 percent.

Nitrogen
This gas can increase the weld penetration and arc stability of austenite and duplex stainless steels. In addition, the shielding gas is used as an additive to improve the mechanical properties and resistance to pitting super austenitic stainless steels and super-duplex. Nitrogen also gives good protection to the metal roots when used with a 10 percent hydrogen.

This is just a small overview of some of the benefits of providing shielding gas to the welding process. For more information on what types of protective gas will work best for your particular welding project, try to contact the supplier of specialty gas equipment.

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