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BASIC GUIDE TO WELDING
Welding is a process of joining two metal elements by the application of
heat. This heat may be applied different form (by Gas flame or by electric
arc or by electric resistance or by gas plazma). Welding are widely used in
industries for manufacturing/fabrication of pipe works, structures, vessels,
tanks and various repairing works. Welding has become a very important
process in any industry. Welding of Critical components should be done by
competent welders according to various standards (e.g. IBR approved or
AWS-American Welding Society).
The AWS has defined master charts of welding procedures for different
materials and applications. These are called WPS(Welding procedure
specifications).WPS covers the design of the joint, base metals, filler wire
or electrodes and their domestic name with AWS numbers, amount of
current, technique of welding, heat treatment if any, pre- heating post
heating etc. Once the WPS is selected it should be followed in toto for the
particular welding system. For different materials different WPS shall be
required. Proper welding electrodes or filler metal wires shall be used for
specific base metal. Size (Diameter) of the electrode or filler wire is very
important as the welding current and OCVs are accordingly selected. If the
correct welding rod or filler metal wire is not selected then welding joint
produce between two elements may not of full strength and quality, which
may fail in the destructive testing. Welding joints are designed for 100%
equivalent to the base metals.
Non-destructive testing of welding joints is done by Radiography, Die
Penetrating Test and Ultra Sonic flaw detective techniques. According to
criticality of the service welding joint quality is ensured. This is called QAP
or quality assurance plan. QAP gives the total requirement of the NDTs
and DTs for the particular job. Destructive tests are performed on the
samples or production coupens.
There are many welding process in applications in industries. e.g. Metal
Arc Welding,(MMAW and AMAW) Oxy-acetylene gas Welding, Tungsten
Inert gas Arc Welding (TIGAW), Metal inert gas Arc Welding (MIGAW),
electreon beam welding, Electric resistance welding, Plasma Welding etc.
In any welding process basically the metal parts at the joint are heated
over a range of fusion temperature, which cause moten metal to flow in
presence of flux or inert gas to prevent of oxidation, and the two molten
metal elements get fused along with the filler metal if any. The heating
and cooling rate of the metal parts affects the metallurgical and
mechanical properties of the base metals as well as the weld met. In
critical application where alloying elements are present in the metal to be
welded, to re-gain the properties at par with the parent metal, welding
joints passes through pre-heat treatment or post weld heat treatments so
that detrimental effects of welding procedure are nullify and to restore the
original properties of the base metal.
Distortion and residual stresses developed during welding procedures and
their magnitude depends upon the metal and welding procedures. Due to

welding heat and followed by cooling, internal stresses get developed

within the weld met and the heat affected zones (HAZ). These stresses are
required to be relieved by proper heat treatment after completion of the
welding. In very thick sections, some times for half filled joints,
intermediate stress relieving is recommended depending on the presence
of alloying elements.
The weld metal when it is in molten state, can dissolved many gases and
when it gets cooled dissolved gases tends to get escape from the metal
matrix which left many gas pockets and porosity in the weld met. To avoid
this, inert gases are used to envelop the weld met and the surrounding
area while in molten stage.
Welding of forging (Carbon steel or Alloy Steel) and Cast iron are very
critical in nature and special care is required on job basis. Welding shall be
done strictly as per approved procedure.
To meet the stringent requirement various grades of electrodes have been
desined and manufactured as per recommendations of AWS. In general
supiriour quality electrodes are preferred over the normal grade if choice
is available, however required properties shall always be kept in mind.
Proper grade carbon steel welding rods shall be used for specific carbon
steel. Similarly suitable Stainless steel(Austenite)welding electrodes shall
be used for specific Stainless Steel grade. Special welding electrode shall
be used for welding two dissimilar metal. There are various grade and size
(cross sectional dia of welding/filler rod) of welding electrodes available in
market. Instructions of the manufacturer shall always be read and
understand before usage.
Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) :In manual metal arc welding the
heat is generated from electric arc formed between the work (base
metal)and the metal welding electrode through flow of electric current.
The welding rod is coated with special flux as a shield (Non oxidizing gas
or molten slag) to protect the metal. Metal arc welding can be of AC or DC
type depending on the source of current. DC current can be straight
polarity (electrode negative) or reversed polarity (electrode positive). In
case of DC reversed the weld penetration will be deep and in case of DC
straight the weld will have a faster deposit rate with medium penetration.
Low carbon steel and Austenite steels are suitable for Metal Arc welding.
Current in amperes plays an important role in Metal Arc Welding and flow
of current is controlled to maintain the quality of welding.

Metal Innert Gas Welding(MIG): Metal inert gas

welding process uses an arc between a metal
electrode and the work piece just like Manual Metal
arc welding but, in this case the electrode is in form
of continuous wire fed from a spool and an externally inert shielding gas
(Argon,N2 or CO2) is introduced over the metal electrode and hot metal
work piece. This welding process is also called semi-automatic welding.
There are three main principles for metal transfer in MIG process from the
metal electrode and the metal work piece
-Short-circuiting
-Droplet/spray
-Pulsed
Short circuiting or pulsed metal transfer are used for low current operation
while spray/droplet(<200A) metal transfer is only used with high welding
current (>200A)
The inert gas or shielding gas performs a number of important function in
MIG welding i.e. It forms the arc plasma, It stabilizes the arc root on the
material surface and It ensure smooth transfer of molten metal droplets
from the filler wire to the weld pool. Thus the shielding gas have a
substantial effect on the stability of the welding quality. This process is
used where heavy deposits are needed. This faster than MMAW.

Tungsten Inert Gas Welding(TIG):

In this welding process the arc is formed between a
non consuming tungsten electrode and the work piece and a shield inert
gas of Argon or Helium is introduced over the electrode and the weld
pool. The small intense arc provided by the pointed tungsten electrode
and is ideal for high quality and precision welding. Filler wire is fed
separately between the arc and inert gas. In case of MIG welding the
electrode itself is the filler wire but in case of TIG welding electrode is of
Tungsten tip which is non-consuming and filler wire is fed separately. Inert
gas or shield gas is introduced in both the cases. TIG is operated on
constant current either DC or AC. In case of DC welding electrodes are
normally pure tungsten and in case of AC tungsten with Zirconia electrode
are used as in case of AC welding much higher temperatures are
produced.

Gas Welding:
In case of gas welding temperature is generated with Oxyacetylene gas
torch flame and filler wire is fed separately.
Oxyacetylene welding is commonly referred as gas welding in which hot
flame is produced of about 3200 degree Cent. There are three type of
flame setting as neutral, oxidizing and carburising which can be set by
varying the proportion of Oxygen and Acetylene. The oxidizing flame is
obtained by increasing the oxygen flow and carburizing flame is set
through in acetylene flow. The action of the oxyacetylene flame on the
surface of the material to be welded can be adjusted to produce a soft,
harsh or violent reaction by varying the gas flows.
Welding of Different Material:
Welding of Cast Iron:
Cast Iron is suppose to be difficult to weld material as the carbon content
in cast iron is high as 2~4%. Generally cast iron parts involves repair
(cracks) and rarely joining of two cast iron parts. The widely used grade of
cast iron is grey cast iron which is present in most of the machine parts.
The high carbon contents(roughly 10 times as compare to most steel

grades ) of the material tends to form flakes of graphite in place of

alloying with iron. The critical temperature of most cast iron is 1450
degree Fahrenheit. The welding arc will heat the casting to temperature
above this limit and hence dissociation takes place. That is the reason why
castings should not to be held at and above this temperaure for long
period of time. Special procedure and care is required for welding of cast
irons. Pre-heating the cast iron will slow the cooling rate of the weld and
thus stablises the weld joint. High nickel content electrodes are used for
welding of cast iron due to low shrinkage allowance. It is always preferred
to pre-heat cast iron to 500~1200 degree F which is near to critical
temperature. Perform the welding at high temperature and after welding
allow the part to cool down slowly by wrapping it with blanket or sand
which will reduce cracking tendencies.
Sealing cracks: Because of the nature and structure of the cast iron, tiny
cracks tend to appear next to the weld even when good procedures are
followed. Some times in pressure containing parts these cracks are
required to be sealed. There are several sealing procedures available in
the market. One generally followed is a kind of soldering. Solder flux is
applied and after heating, special filler solder in tiny pieces is spread over
the area to be sealed and flame heating is done. Solder material fills the
micro cracks in the cast iron structure.
Studding Method: This procedure is known as Casto-Guna method of
welding of cast iron. This is generally employed in the repair of the bigger
parts or castings. In this procedure, Small holes are drilled and taped over
the surface that have to receive repair weld metal. Un-hardened Steel
studs are screwed into the threaded holes leaving 5~6 mm studs above
the surface. Then welding is done over these exposed studs to cover the
entire surface of the crack with metal deposit.
Welding of Steels:
Almost 85% of the total metal produced and used in the world are steel.
Steel is made principally of iron and carbon mainly with other alloying
elements such as manganese, silicon, phosphorous, nickel, chromium,
vanadium, cobalt etc. are added according to the special requirements.
Steel are given name on their principal alloying elements such as carbon
steel, Nickel-chrome steel, chrome-moly steel, chrome-manganese steel
etc. Different grades of steel requires different procedure of weldings and
depending on the alloying elements, welding procedure and electrodes
are made and selected.
Low carbon steel: In these grades of steels carbon content ranges from
0.10~0.25% and manganese ranges from 0.25~1.5%. These steels are
widely used in industrial fabrication and construction and can be easily
welded with any procedure like arc welding, gas welding and Electric
resistance welding etc.
If the carbon content is not more than 0.15% then pre-heat is not
necessary except for extremely heavy section. If the carbon exceeds

0.15% then pre-heat is required up to 250 degree C depending on the

thickness and alloying elements.
Medium carbon steel: In these grades of steels carbon content is in
range of 0.25~0.50% and manganese 0.60~1.60%. With moderate carbon
and manganese the low hydrogen type electrodes are recommended for
welding. Pre-heating and post heating are generally required depending
upon the thickness. Low hydrogen electrodes are generally backed in the
ovens before using. This required to eliminate any moisture in the
electrode flux.
High carbon steel: In these grades of steels here carbon content ranges
from 0.30~1.00%. Special precautions must be taken when welding these
classes of steels and low hydrogen type electrodes are mandatory to be
used. Pre-heating from 250~320 degree C is necessary followed by post
heating. During welding also in thick sections the inter pass temperature
is required to be monitored and maintained.
Low alloy or Low Nickel chrome steel: These grades contains carbon
ranges from 0.14~0.34%, manganese from 0.40~0.90%, silicon
0.20~0.35%, nickel 1.10~3.70%, chromium 0.55~0.75% and Molybdenum
from 0.5 to 1.0 %. Thin Section of these steel in the lower carbon ranges
can be welded without pre-heat but if the carbon content is more than
0.20 then low pre-heat is required. The weld-met must be stress relieved
by post weld heating. In thick sections, inter pass temperatures shall also
be monitored and maintained. Electrodes shall be suitable for the
particular grade of steel. In case of dissimilar grades electrodes suitable to
superior grade shall be selected.
Low manganese steel: These are hardened steels and carbon content
ranges from 0.18~0.48% manganese from 1.60~1.90% and silicon
0.20~0.35%. Extra care is required for welding of these steels. These are
not crack resistance type of steels. In these steels pre-heat is required but
cooling rate is more important. Job should never be quenched. Cooling
rate depends on the cross section area of the job.
Alloy steels or Chromium steel: In these steels carbon content is
0.12~1.10%, manganese 0.30~1.00%, CHROMIUM 0.20~2.25%, and
silicon 0.20~0.30%. Thin sections with carbon content on lower side,
these steels can be welded without special pre-heat condition. As the
carbon and chromium increases high harden ability results and pre-heat of
as high as 400 degree C is required. In these steels if a low alloy high
strength steels is to be welded to lower strength grades, the electrodes
should be selected should preferably be suitable to high strength steel.
Also the welding procedure shall also be suitable to high strength steel.
In high alloy steels, pre-heat is required according to the alloying element
content and thickness of the section. Post-weld-heat-treatment is required
to relieve the internal residual stresses developed during the welding. The
composition of the welding electrode should be designed to produce weld

deposit similar or better then the base metal and to responds to post-heat
treatment in some manner as the base metal.
Some common welding electrodes AWS (American welding Society)
numbers are given below for ready reference:
AWS
AWS
AWS
AWS
AWS
AWS
AWS

E
E
E
E
E
E
E

27: For welding cast iron non machineable

223,224,2240,2242, 242: For welding cast iron machineable
6013, 7018, 8016:For welding carbon steel
7010:For welding carbon steel high-pressure pipe
7016:For welding medium tensile strength carbon steel
308L, 316L, 310H, 347H : For welding SS
Ni Cr Fe-2, 3: For welding incoalloy