Effect of active gas on weld shape and microstructure of advanced A-TIG-welded stainless steel

Abstract

Advanced A-TIG method was conducted to increase the weld penetration and compared with the conventional TIG welding process. A two-pipeline setup was designed to apply Ar + CO2 mixed gas as the outer layer, while pure argon was applied as the inner layer to prevent any consumption of the tungsten electrode. The results indicate that the presence of active gas in the molten pool led to the change in the temperature coefficient of surface tension so that the Marangoni convection turns inward and forms a deep weld zone. The increase in gas flow rate causes a decrease in the weld efficiency which is attributed to the increase in oxygen content in the weld pool and the formation of a thicker oxide layer on the weld surface. Moreover, the stir and the temperature fluctuation, led by double shielding gas, create more homogeneous nucleation sites in the molten pool so that a fine grain microstructure was obtained.