Roadmap proposal for determining the variables of pulsed TIG welding process applied to welding of thin plates

Abstract

In pulsed TIG welding, the current varies between two well-defined energy levels in a given frequency, thus being necessary to regulate a set of variables consisting of the peak current, peak time, background current, background time and the welding speed. Yet despite being a widespread technique, in practice, these welding variables are often regulated arbitrarily. This can lead to inefficient use of the pulsed current regarding the end result of the weld and aspects of productivity. This paper aims to present a roadmap developed in order to meet the practical need to establish criteria to assist in the determination of pulsed TIG welding variables, taking as its premise the desired width of the weld bead, overlap between the weld points comprising the weld bead and the welding speed. Finally, one application of this roadmap is presented in bead on plate welding of stainless steel plates with 1.2-mm thickness.

Keywords::

• roadmap
• variables
• pulsed TIG

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), the Program of Human Resources in Mechanical Engineering for Oil & Gas (MECPETRO) and the Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering (POSMEC) at the Federal University of Santa Catarina.