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Arc instabilities during split anode calorimetry with the TIG welding process

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Abstract

Split anode calorimetry investigations of tungsten inert gas (TIG) arcs were conducted using a large-diameter shielding gas nozzle. Some conditions displayed arc symmetry whilst others proved distinctly asymmetric. The variation of welding current and electrode tip to workpiece distance (ETWD) was studied. Decreasing the ETWD was found to increase the current density towards the arc axis but similar to a previous study of the authors, Gaussian distributions were not observed. The gas nozzle was designed to produce laminar gas flow and sound shielding behaviour; however, anode surface oxidation was found after welding, presumably caused by shielding gas contaminated with oxygen through the welding sequence. Therefore, axial arc symmetry was influenced by random effects. The conditions and reasons for the observed phenomena are explored within this paper.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Mr Andreas Leonhartsberger and Mr Daniel Angermayr, both with FRONIUS International’s Research and Development Department, for their unselfish assistance in respectively producing the gas nozzles and modifying the CMOS camera software. Finally, our special thanks shall be devoted to the peer reviewers for spending their valuable time to thoroughly read and comment on the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FRONIUS International GmbH, 4600, Wels, Austria

    Stephan Egerland

  2. Department of Welding Engineering and Laser Processing, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford, MK43 0AL, UK

    Stephan Egerland, Paul Colegrove & Stewart Williams

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  1. Stephan Egerland
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  2. Paul Colegrove
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  3. Stewart Williams
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Correspondence to Stephan Egerland.

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Recommended for publication by Commission XII - Arc Welding Processes and Production Systems

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Egerland, S., Colegrove, P. & Williams, S. Arc instabilities during split anode calorimetry with the TIG welding process. Weld World 62, 831–845 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-018-0588-4

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