FLAME ADJUSTMENT WELDING

Flare Adjustment.

(1) Torches should be lighted with a friction lighter or a pilot flame. The instructions of the equipment manufacturer should be observed when adjusting operating pressures at the gas regulators and torch valves before the gases issuing from the tip are ignited.

(2) The neutral flame is obtained most easily by adjustment from an excess-acetylene flame, which is recognized by the feather extension of the inner cone. The feather will diminish as the flow of acetylene is decreased or the flow of oxygen is increased. The flame is neutral just at the point of disappearance of the "feather" extension of the inner cone. This flame is actually reducing in nature but is neither carburizing or oxidizing.

(3) A practical method of determining the amount of excess acetylene in a reducing flame is to compare the length of the feather with the length of the inner cone, measuring both from the torch tip. A 2X excess-acetylene flame has an acetylene feather that is twice the length of the inner cone. Starting with a neutral flame adjustment, the welder can produce the desired acetylene feather by increasing the acetylene flow (or by decreasing the oxygen flow). This flame also has a carburizing effect on steel.

(4) The oxidizing flame adjustment is sometimes given as the amount by which the length of a neutral inner cone should be reduced, for example, one tenth. Starting with the neutral flare, the welder can increase the oxygen or decrease the acetylene until the length of the inner cone is decreased the desired amount. See figure 11-1.

WORKING PRESSURES FOR WELDING OPERATIONS

The required working pressure increases as the tip orifice increases. The relation between the tip number and the diameter of the orifice may vary with different manufacturers. However, the smaller number always indicates the smaller diameter. For the approximate relation between the tip number and the required oxygen and acetylene pressures, see tables 11-1 and 11-2.

Oxygen pressures are approximately the same as acetylene pressures in the balanced pressure type torch. Pressures for specific types of mixing heads and tips are specified by the manufacturer.

OXYFUEL WELDING RODS

a. The welding rod, which is melted into the welded joint, plays an important part in the quality of the finished weld. Good welding rods are designed to permit free flowing metal which will unite readily with the base metal to produce sound, clean welds of the correct composition.

b. Welding rods are made for various types of carbon steel, aluminum, bronze, stainless steel, and other metals for hard surfacing.

OXYFUEL WELDING FLUXES

a. General.

(1) Oxides of all ordinary commercial metals higher melting points than the metals and alloys (except steel) have themselves. They are usually pasty when the metal is quite fluid and at the proper welding temperature. An efficient flux will combine with oxides to form a fusible slag. The slag will have a melting point lower than the metal so it will flow away from the immediate field of action. It combines with base metal oxides and removes them. It also maintains cleanliness of the base metal at the welding area and helps remove oxide film on the surface of the metal. The welding area should be cleaned by any method. The flux also serves as a protection for the molten metal against atmospheric oxidation.

(2) The chemical characteristics and melting points of the oxides of different metals vary greatly. There is no one flux that is satisfactory for all metals, and there is no national standard for gas welding fluxes. They are categorized according to the basic ingredient in the flux or base metal for which they are to be used.

(3) Fluxes are usually in powder form. These fluxes are often applied by sticking the hot filler metal rod in the flux. Sufficient flux will adhere to the rod to provide proper fluxing action as the filler rod is melted in the flame.

(4) Other types of fluxes are of a paste consistency which are usually painted on the filler rod or on the work to be welded.

(5) Welding rods with a covering of flux are also available. Fluxes are available from welding supply companies and should be used in accordance with the directions accompanying them.

b. The melting point of a flux must be lower than that of either the metal or the oxides formed, so that it will be liquid. The ideal flux has exactly the right fluidity when the welding temperature has been reached. The flux will protect the molten metal from atmospheric oxidation. Such a flux will remain close to the weld area instead of flowing all over the base metal for some distance from the weld.

c. Fluxes differ in their composition according to the metals with which they are to be used. In cast iron welding, a slag forms on the surface of the puddle. The flux serves to break this up. Equal parts of a carbonate of soda and bicarbonate of soda make a good compound for this purpose. Nonferrous metals usually require a flux. Copper also requires a filler rod containing enough phosphorous to produce a metal free from oxides. Borax which has been melted and powdered is often used as a flux with copper alloys. A good flux is required with aluminum, because there is a tendency for the heavy slag formed to mix with the melted aluminum and weaken the weld. For sheet aluminum welding, it is customary to dissolve the flux in water and apply it to the rod. After welding aluminum, all traces of the flux should be removed.

FOREHAND WELDING

a. In this method, the welding rod precedes the torch. The torch is held at approximately a 45 degree angle from the vertical in the direction of welding, as shown in figure 11-4. The flame is pointed in the direction of welding and directed between the rod and the molten puddle. This position permits uniform preheating of the plate edges immediately ahead of the molten puddle. By moving the torch and the rod in opposite semicircular paths, the heat can be carefully balanced to melt the end of the rod and the side walls of the plate into a uniformly distributed molten puddle. The rod is dipped into the leading edge of the puddle so that enough filler metal is melted to produce an even weld joint. The heat which is reflected backwards from the rod keeps the metal molten. The metal is distributed evenly to both edges being welded by the motion of the tip.

b. In general, the forehand method is recommended for welding material up to 1/8 in. (3.2 mm) thick, because it provides better control of the small weld puddle, resulting in a smoother weld at both top and bottom. The puddle of molten metal is small and easily controlled. A great deal of pipe welding is done using the forehand technique, even in 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) wall thick-nesses. In contrast, some difficulties in welding heavier plates using the forehand method are:

(1) The edges of the plate must be beveled to provide a wide V with a 90 degree included angle. This edge preparation is necessary to ensure satisfactory melting of the plate edges, good penetration, and fusion of the weld metal to the base metal.

(2) Because of this wide V, a relatively large molten puddle is required. It is difficult to obtain a good joint when the puddle is too large.

BACKHAND WELDING

a. In this method, the torch precedes the welding rod, as shown in figure 11-5. The torch is held at approximately a 45 degree angle from the vertical away from the direction of welding, with the flame directed at the molten puddle. The welding rod is between the flame and the molten puddle. This position requires less transverse motion than is used in forehand welding.

b. Increased speeds and better control of the puddle are possible with backhand technique when metal 1/8 in. (3.2 mm) and thicker is welded, based on the study of speeds normally achieved with this technique and on greater ease of obtaining fusion at the weld root. Backhand welding may be used with a slightly reducing flame (slight acetylene feather) when desirable to melt a minimum amount of steel in making a joint. The increased carbon content obtained from this flame lowers the melting point of a thin layer of steel and increases welding speed. This technique increases speed of making pipe joints where the wall thickness is 1/4 to 5/16 in. (6.4 to 7.9 mm) and groove angle is less than normal. Backhand welding is sometimes used in surfacing operations.

FILLET WELDING

a. General.

(1) The fillet weld is the most popular of all types of welds because there is normally no preparation required. In some cases, the fillet weld is the least expensive, even though it might require more filler metal than a groove weld since the preparation cost would be less. It can be used for the lap joint, the tee joint, and the corner joint without preparation. Since these are extremely popular, the fillet has wide usage. On corner joints, the double fillet can actually produce a full-penetration weld joint. The use of the fillet for making all five of the basic joints is shown by figure 11-6. Fillet welds are also used in conjunction with groove welds, particularly for corner and tee joints.

(2) The fillet weld is expected to have equal length legs and thus the face of the fillet is on a 45 degree angle. This is not always so, since a fillet may be designed to have a longer base than height, in which case it is specified by the two leg lengths. On the 45 degree or normal type of fillet, the strength of the fillet is based on the short

est or throat dimension which is 0.707 x the leg length. For fillets having unequal legs, the throat length must be calculated and is the shortest distance between the root of the fillet and the theoretical face of the fillet. In calculating the strength of fillet welds, the reinforcement is ignored. The root penetration is also ignored unless a deep penetrating process is used. If semi-or fully-automatic application is used, the extra penetration can be considered. See figure 11-7 for details about the weld.

(3) Under these circumstances, the size of the fillet can be reduced, yet equal strength will result. Such reductions can be utilized only when strict welding procedures are enforced. The strength of the fillet weld is determined by its failure area, which relates to the throat dimension. Doubling the size or leg length of a fillet will double its strength, since it doubles the throat dimension and area. However, doubling the fillet size will increase its cross-sectional area and weight four times. This illustrated in figure 11-8, which shows the relationship to throat-versus-cross-sectional area, or weight, of a fillet weld. For example, a 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) fillet is twice as strong as a 3/16 in. (4.8 mm) fillet; however, the 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) fillet requires four times as much weld metal.

(4) In design work, the fillet size is sometimes governed by the thickness of the metals joined. In some situations, the minimum size of the fillet must be based on practical reasons rather than the theoretical need of the design. Intermittent fillets are sometimes used when the size is minimum, based on code, or for practical reasons, rather than because of strength requirements. Many intermittent welds are based on a pitch and length so that the weld metal is reduced in half. Large intermittent fillets are not recommended because of the volume-throat dimension relationship mentioned previously. For example, a 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) fillet 6 in. (152.4 mm) long on a 12 in. (304.8 mm) pitch (center to center of intermittent welds) could be reduced to a continuous 3/16 in. (4.8 mm) fillet, and the strength would be the same, but the amount of weld metal would be only half as much.

(5) Single fillet welds are extremely vulnerable to cracking if the root of the weld is subjected to tension loading. This applies to tee joints, corner joints, and lap joints. The simple remedy for such joints is to make double fillets, which prohibit the tensile load from being applied to the root of the fillet. This is shown by figure 11-6. Notice the F (force) arrowhead.

b. A different welding technique is required for fillet welding than for butt joints because of the position of the parts to be welded. When welding is done in the horizontal position, there is a tendency for the top plate to melt before the bottom plate because of heat rising. This can be avoided, however, by pointing the flame more at the bottom plate than at the edge of the upper plate. Both plates must reach the welding temperature at the same time.

c. In making the weld, a modified form of backhand technique should be used. The welding rod should be kept in the puddle between the completed portion of the weld and the flame. The flame should be pointed ahead slightly in the direction in which the weld is being made and directed at the lower plate. To start welding, the flame should be concentrated on the lower plate until the metal is quite red. Then the flame should be directed so as to bring both plates to the welding temperature at the same time. It is important that the flame not be pointed directly at the inner corner of the fillet. This will cause excessive amount of heat to build up and make the puddle difficult to control.

d. It is essential in this form of welding that fusion be obtained at the inside corner or root of the joint.