Effects of activating flux on arc phenomena in gas tungsten arc welding

Dramatic increases in the depth of weld bead penetration have been demonstrated by welding stainless steel using the gas tungsten are (GTA) process with activating fluxes consisting of oxides and halides. However, there is no commonly agreed mechanism for the effect of flux on the process. In order to clarify the mechanism, behaviour of the arc and weld pool in the GTA process with activating flux was observed in comparison with a conventional GTA process. A constricted anode root was found in the GTA process with activating flux, while a diffuse anode root was found in the conventional process. Furthermore, it is suggested that these anode roots are strongly related to metal vapour from the weld pool, which is also related to temperature distributions on the weld pool surface. (C) 2000 IoM Communications Ltd.