A penetration enhancing flux formulation for tungsten inert gas(TIG) welding of austenitic stainlesssteel and its application

摘要

A Penetration Enhancing Activating Flux (PEAF) in paste form for autogenous TIG welding of austenitic stainless steels adapted for ready application with a brush on top weld surface prior to conducting autogenous TIG welding to favor single weld pass, of austenitic stainless steels of AISI 304LN and AISI 316LN varieties with weld bead penetration up to a section thickness of 12 mm. Importantly, the (PEAF) paste based TIG welding of the invention achieves an increase in weld bead penetration of about 300% over the conventional TIG process without activating flux. The PEAF paste based TIG welding also favors higher productivity and high quality apart from being cost-effective due to less requirement of consumables and controlled heat input to arrest distortion, making it widely acceptable for variety of industrial applications for welding of austenitic stainless steel.