ENHANCING TIG WELD PERFORMANCE THROUGH FLUX APPLICATION ATIG AND FBTIG PROCESSES

The penetration potential of TIG welding in one single run is limited, though the process itself generates high quality welds with good weld cosmetics. This is one of the main reasons, which has contributed to its development in high duty applications such as those encountered in aeronautical, aerospace, nuclear & power plant applications. For these applications, stainless steels, titanium k nickel based alloys are most often used. As these materials remain very sensible to weld heat input k atmospheric pollution, stringent processing conditions are imposed. For example welding of titanium alloys requires argon shielding of weld zone and for 5 mm thick plates multi-pass runs & filler additions are required. This multi-run operation not only raises the welding cost, but also increases defect risks. In recent years, extensive interest has been raised by the possibility to increase weld penetrations through flux applications & the process is designated ATIG-activated TIG, or FBTIG-flux bounded TIG. The improved welding performance of such flux assisted TIG is related to arc constriction and surface tension effects on weld pool. The research work by authors has lead to the formulation of welding fluxes for stainless steels k titanium alloys with TIG Process. These fluxes are now commercialized & some applications in industry have already been carried out. FBTIG for aluminum has been proposed with silica application for AC mode TIG welding. The paper highlights the fundamentals of flux role in TIG welding and illustrates some industrial applications.