A Study on the Effect of Welding Conditions on Fume Generation Rate in $CO_2$ Flux Cored Arc Welding

$CO_2$ FCAW에서 용접조건이 Fume발생량에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

The use of flux cored arc welding(FCAW) process has grown dramatically since it has been developed because of the remarkable operating characteristics and the resulting weld properties. The feature that distinguishes the FCAW process from other arc welding processes is the enclosure of fluxing ingredients within a continuously fed tubular electrode. The benefits of FCAW process are the increased productivity due to continuous wire feeding, the metallurgical effects derived from the reactions with flux, and the shapes of weld bead formed by slag. However, FCAW process causes the problem in working environment because it generates much more fume than other welding processes. Recently, the welding fume became a hot issue in the field after some welders were diagnosed as manganese toxcosis and siderosis. This study was started to investigate the characteristics of welding fume and utilize the results from the investigation to protect the welders from welding fume. As a first step, the effect of welding conditions on the fume generation rate(FGR) were investigated during FCAW process with $CO_2$ shielding. The considered welding conditions were welding current, arc voltage, travel speed, contact tube to work distance, and torch angle. The results showed that FGR was affected by all of these factors.