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STEEL CONSTRUCTION:
FABRICATION AND ERECTION

Lecture 3.4: Welding Processes

OBJECTIVE/SCOPE
To review the welding processes commonly used in construction and to highlight some
practical considerations.
PREREQUISITES
Lectures 3.3: Principles of Welding
SUMMARY
This lecture describes the welding processes commonly used in construction: Manual
Metal Arc Welding, Dip and Spray Transfer Metal Active Gas Welding, Submerged Arc
Welding and Stud Welding. Each process is briefly described and its advantages,
disadvantages and limitations of use are summarised. Choice of welding process for a
particular situation is discussed.
ABBREVIATIONS
MAG Metal Active Gas Welding (sometimes referred to as MIG: Metal Inert Gas
Welding)
MMA Manual Metal Arc Welding
SAW Submerged Arc Welding

1. INTRODUCTION - HEAT SOURCES AND

METHODS OF SHIELDING
There are three principal methods used to generate the heat required for welding:

oxygen-acetylene flame.
resistance to the passage of a current.
electric arc.

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Each method produces a pool of molten steel which must be protected against atmospheric
contamination. The method used to achieve this, i.e. the shielding technique, has a major
influence on the characteristics of the process. For constructional steelwork, the processes
used are usually based upon the electric arc.
In arc welding, a flux or a non-reactive (inert) gas can be used to 'blanket' the weld pool
and thus exclude air. This lecture is particularly concerned with the four arc welding
processes commonly used in structural work.

2. MANUAL METAL ARC WELDING

This manual method is one of the most widely used arc welding processes (see Figure 1).
It requires considerable skill to produce good quality welds. The electrode consists of a
steel core wire and a covering flux containing alloying elements, e.g. manganese and
silicon. The arc melts the parent metal and the electrode. As metal is transferred from the
end of the core wire to the weld pool, the welder moves the electrode to keep the arc
length constant. This is essential as the width of the weld run is largely governed by the
arc length. The flux melts with the core wire and flows over the surface of the pool to
form a slag, which must be removed after solidification.
MMA has many advantages as follows:

Low capital cost.

Freedom of movement; it can be used up to 20m from the power supply (useful on
site).
It can be used in all positions.
It is suitable for structural and stainless steels (but not aluminium).

Its main drawback is a low duty cycle, i.e. only a small volume of metal is deposited
before the welder has to stop and insert another electrode. This is not a problem on short
welds but becomes a consideration on long welds, especially when labour costs are high.
The operating characteristics of the electrode are controlled by the composition of the flux
covering. A variety of electrodes are available to suit different applications. The current
used is chosen to match the diameter of wire being used. When low hydrogen contents in
the weld pool are necessary to avoid cracks in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) on cooling,
MMA electrodes must be baked and stored at temperatures and times recommended by the
manufacturer. These procedures ensure that the electrodes deposit weld metal with
appropriate low levels of diffusible hydrogen.

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3. METAL ACTIVE GAS (MAG) WELDING

This process is sometimes referred to as Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding, although
strictly

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speaking the term MIG should be limited to the use of pure argon as a shielding gas,
which is not used for carbon steel. MAG is a semi-automatic process where the welding
gun at the end of a flexible conduit can be hand held and manipulated, but all other
operations are automatic (see Figure 2).
The arc and weld pool are shielded by a gas which does not react with molten steel; in
current practice the shielding gas is carbon dioxide, or a mixture of argon and carbon
dioxide. No flux is necessary to shield the pool since the alloying elements are in the
electrode wire, but sometimes a flux-cored electrode is used to produce a slag which
controls the weld profile and reduces the liability of lack of fusion defects and the
incidence of porosity. The arc length is controlled by the power supply unit. Although
MAG welding is somewhat easier to use than MMA, skill is required to set up the correct
welding conditions.
The way in which metal is transferred from the electrode wire to the molten pool depends
upon current, voltage and shielding gas composition. As the current is increased the form
of the transfer changes abruptly to a stream of fine drops which are propelled across the
arc gap by the electro-magnetic forces in the arc. This is called spray transfer and it
enables welding to be carried out against gravity. Changing the shielding gas to carbon
dioxide (assuming steel electrodes) causes the transfer to become more globular and less
well directed; however, the situation can be reversed by using a mixture of inert gas and
carbon dioxide.

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When using steel electrodes, decreasing the arc voltage markedly and also reducing
current (by reducing the wire feed rate) results in a form of transfer known as dip transfer
or short-circuit transfer. In this mode of transfer metal is fused directly into the pool
without passing freely across the arc gap. At slightly higher voltages the transfer is across
a gap but is in larger globules without the pronounced directionality of the spray transfer.
The globular to spray change is less marked with steel than with certain other metals.
Welds in steel are sometimes made in which this type of transfer predominates. It is also
possible to control the type of metal transfer at low to medium currents by using a special
power source which delivers pulsed current to the arc.
For 'positional' welding, i.e. vertical and overhead, the current must be kept below 180
amp (so that welding takes place in the 'Dip Transfer' mode) and welding speeds are
comparable with MMA. Overall times for a joint, and hence productivity, are better since
there is no need to deslag or change electrode. In the flat position, currents up to 400 amp
('Spray Transfer') can be used to give high welding speeds. MAG welding is especially
suitable for fillet welded joints, e.g. beam to column and stiffener to panel connections. It
is not easy to use on site because of problems of equipment movement and the need to
provide screens to avoid loss of the gas shield in draughty conditions.

4. SUBMERGED ARC WELDING (SAW)

This is a fully mechanised process in which the welding head travels along the joint
automatically (Figure 3). The electrode is a bare wire which is advanced by a governed
motor. The voltage and current are selected at the beginning of the weld and are
maintained at the pre-selected values by feed-back systems which, in practice, vary in
sophistication. The flux is in the form of particles and is placed on the surface of the joint.
The arc operates below the surface of the flux, melting a proportion of it to form a slag.
Unfused flux is collected and may be re-used for the next weld.
Submerged arc welding is generally operated at currents of between 400 and 1000 amps.
This means that weld pools are large and can only be controlled in the flat position,
although fillets can be deposited in the horizontal-vertical position up to 10mm leg length
in one run. Where it is difficult to control penetration in a root run a backing strip may be
used; alternatively, the root run can be made by MMA or MAG and the groove filled with
SAW. SAW offers considerable advantages when welding long joints (i.e. those in excess
of one metre in length). The high welding speeds and continuous operation lead to high
productivity. An accurate joint fit-up is, however, a prime requirement.

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5. STUD WELDING
This is a variation of arc welding in which studs are welded to plane surfaces
automatically (Figure 4). The stud, which may be a plain or threaded bar (if plain it will
have a head) is the electrode and it is held in the chuck of a welding gun which is

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connected to the power supply. The stud is first touched onto the surface of the steel plate
or section. As soon as the current is switched on, the stud is moved away automatically to
establish an arc. When a weld pool has formed and the end of the stud is molten, the latter
is automatically forced into the steel plate and the current is switched off. The molten
metal which is expelled from the interface is formed into a fillet by a ceramic collar which
is placed around the stud arc at the beginning of the operation. This ferrule also provides
sufficient protection against atmospheric contamination.

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Stud welding offers an accurate and fast method of attaching shear connectors, etc., with
the minimum of distortion. Whilst it requires some skill to set up the weld parameters
(voltage, current, arc time and force), the operation of the equipment is relatively
straightforward.

6. CHOICE OF PROCESS
When choosing a welding process a number of factors must be taken into account:

Thickness of the material to be welded.

Where the welding is to be carried out. SAW and MAG are best carried out in the
protected environment of the fabrication shop. MMA may more readily be used on
site.
Accuracy of fit-up and possibility of misalignment. SAW and Spray Transfer
MAG require good fit-up; they are particularly sensitive to variation in root gap
and/or root face dimensions.
Access to joint. It is necessary to ensure that both the welding plant and the
welding torch or head can be properly positioned.

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Position of welding. SAW and Spray Transfer MAG are not suitable for vertical or
overhead positions. Dip transfer MAG is acceptable for vertical and overhead
welding, but MMA is probably best for overhead work, especially on site.
Steel composition. Steels with lower carbon equivalent values are more readily
welded and require lower preheat levels.
Comparative cost. The cost per unit length of weld can be calculated, but depends
upon the burn-off rate of the process and must allow for differences in duty cycle
(idle time between electrodes for MMA, etc.), Figure 5.

7. CONCLUDING SUMMARY

The welding processes commonly used in constructional steelwork are: Manual

Metal Arc Welding, Dip and Spray Transfer Metal Active Gas Welding,
Submerged Arc Welding and Stud Welding.
Stud welding is used for attaching shear connectors and other studs to structural
steelwork.
The correct choice of process depends on: situation, fit-up, access, position, steel
composition and economic factors.

8. ADDITIONAL READING
1. Gourd, L. M., "Principles of Welding Technology", E. Arnold, 1980.
description of processes.
2. Houldcroft, P. T., and Robert, "Welding and Cutting - A Guide to Fusion Welding
and Associated Cutting Processes", Woodhead and Faulkner, 1988.
details of individual processes.
3. Structural Welding Code - Steel, American Welding Society, 1992.
4. EN 24063: 1992 (ISO 4063: 1990) Welding, Brazing, Soldering and Braze
Welding of Metals - Nomenclature of Processes and Reference of Numbers for
Symbolic Representation on Drawings.
5. EN 288: Part 1: 1992, Welding Procedures Metallic Materials, Part 1: General
Rules for Fusion Welding.
6. EN 288: Part 2: 1992, Welding Procedures Metallic Materials, Part 2: Welding
Procedure Specification for Arc Welding.
7. EN 288: Part 3: 1992, Welding Procedures Metallic Materials, Part 3: Welding
Procedure Tests for Arc Welding of Steels.
8. EN 288: Part 4: 1992, Welding Procedures Metallic Materials, Part 4: Tests for the
Arc Welding of Aluminium and its Alloys.
9. Pratt, J. L., "Introduction to the Welding of Structural Steelwork", SCI P-014, 3rd
Revised Edition, 1989, Steel Construction Institute.