Cutting and Gouging

Job knowledge 50:

Cutting Processes
Application of Oxyfuel Cutting
Oxyfuel is one of the most widely used cutting processes with the following
benefits:
Low cost equipment
Basic equipment suitable for cutting,
gouging and other jobs such as welding
and heating
Portable, suitable for site work
Manual and mechanised operations
Mild and low alloy steels (but not
aluminium or stainless steel)
Wide range of thickness (typically from
1mm to 1000mm)
It is therefore not surprising that the process
can be used for a diverse range of
applications from manual rough severing and
scrap cutting to precision contour cutting in
fully automated systems. Here, the process
application is described including the choice
of fuel gas and nozzle design to maximise performance. Best practice to ensure
adequate quality of the cut surface is also included.
Choice of fuel gas
Basically, a mixture of oxygen and a fuel gas (acetylene, propane, MAPP propylene
or methane) is used to preheat the metal to its 'ignition' temperature which is well
below its melting point. A jet of pure oxygen is then directed into the preheated area
which burns through the spot and the resulting molten metal and slag are removed
by the high velocity oxygen stream. The cutting speed is primarily determined by the
oxygen jet but as the outer fuel gas/oxygen flame determines the rate of preheating,
the choice of fuel gas has a significant influence on the time taken to initiate the
cutting operation. This is especially important if the designed cut begins by piercing.
The choice of fuel gas is largely made on cost, performance, ease of use and
whether it is a manual or mechanised operation. However, in making the choice it
should be noted that in a typical application the cost is made up of approximately:
50% overheads
30% handling labour
18% cutting labour
1-2% gas
Rough-cut gear wheel cut by
oxyacetylene



Consideration should, therefore, be given to the choice of fuel gas type and nozzle
design to speed up the initiation of the cutting operation. Labour costs can be
reduced by decreasing the pierce time and/or increasing the cutting speed. Typical
flame temperatures and fuel gas to oxygen ratios are shown in Fig. 1. Generally,
fuel gases which generate a higher flame temperature and require a lower oxygen
to fuel gas ratio, will speed up the cutting operation.

Fig. 1. Flame temperature and the fuel gas to
oxygen ratio
Acetylene
Acetylene produces the highest flame temperature of all the fuel gases and
generates a highly focused flame. As the pierce time is approximately one third that
achieved with propane, it should be used when the pierce time is a significant
proportion of the total cutting time, for example, short cuts and multi-pierce cutting
operations
The high temperature, highly focused flame makes the oxyacetylene process ideal
for cutting thin sheets with minimum distortion and for bevel cutting. However,
the high cost and low heat generation make it less suitable for general heating of
large plates.
Propane
Propane is low cost and has the advantage of being available in bulk supplies. The
flame temperature is lower than for acetylene (the maximum flame temperature in
oxygen is 2810C compared with 3160C for acetylene) which makes piercing much
slower. However, it can tolerate a greater nozzle to workpiece distance which
reduces the risk of molten metal splashing back onto the nozzle and causing a
'backfire'.
For similar nozzle designs, cutting speeds for oxypropane and oxyacetylene are
similar. Advantages claimed for propane are smooth cut edge, less slag adhesion


and lower plate edge hardening because of the lower flame temperature. The heat
affected zone is much wider than for oxyacetylene.
MAPP
MAPP gas, which is a mixture of various hydrocarbons, principally, methylacetylene
and propadiene, produces a relatively hot flame (2927C). However, the lower
calorific value of the inner cone compared with acetylene gives a slightly slower
pierce time.
The gas is seen as an alternative to acetylene with greater tolerance to torch
distance variation because of the more uniformly distributed heat between the
inner and the outer cones.
Only acetylene, hydrogen and MAPP have sufficiently high flame temperature for
underwater cutting. But as acetylene has a limited outlet pressure, MAPP is the
only gas other than hydrogen that can be used for cutting in deep water.
Propylene
Propylene is a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) product and has a similar flame
temperature to MAPP (2896C compared to 2976C for MAPP). It gives off a high
heat release in the outer cone (72,000 kJ/m3) but, like propane, it has the
disadvantage of having a high stoichiometric oxygen requirement (oxygen to fuel gas
ratio of approximately 3.7 to 1 by volume).
Methane
Methane has the lowest flame temperature similar to propane and the lowest total
heat value of the commonly used fuel gases. Consequently, natural gas is the
slowest for piercing.
Cutting torch
The cutting torch design can be either nozzle mix or injector. In the nozzle mix torch,
the fuel gas and pre-heat oxygen are mixed in the nozzle. In the injector torch, the
pre-heat gases mix either in the body of the torch, within the gas delivery tubes, or
within the head of the torch. Injector torches have the advantage of being able to
use the higher pressure of oxygen to pull the fuel into the torch. This allows the
torch to be used at low fuel gas pressures or with large pressure drops such as those
experienced through long hose lengths.
Nozzle
The primary functions of the nozzle are to provide:
a method of preheating the metal to its ignition temperature
a jet of oxygen to react with the material to be cut and at a flow rate
sufficient to blow away the slag


Each torch should be fitted with the appropriate nozzle for the type of fuel gas.
Nozzles can be of a one- or two-piece design. The nozzle type will depend on:
fuel gas
manual or machine operation
manufacturer's preference
Acetylene nozzles are usually one-piece but two-piece nozzles similar to those for
other fuel gases are produced for machine cutting.
The diameter of the cutting oxygen hole is selected according to the material
thickness. There are two types of nozzle; standard and high speed. The standard
nozzle usually has a parallel sided, central bore for the oxygen jet, which is
surrounded by an annulus or a ring of smaller diameter ports for the pre-heating
gas mixture, Fig. 2. There are many designs and arrangements of the preheating
ports that focus the flame for heating and to protect the oxygen jet from air
entrainment.

Fig. 2. Standard nozzle with central
bore for oxygen jet and a ring of
ports for the pre-heating gas mixture
High-speed nozzles are capable of being used with higher oxygen pressures, up to
10 bar. The essential difference is that the cutting oxygen is forced through a
convergent / divergent orifice which speeds up the gas flow rate to near
supersonic levels. High-speed nozzles are primarily used in mechanised equipment
to exploit the higher speeds for cutting long lengths.
Best practice
Cutting conditions are normally set to produce an acceptable cut surface finish for
the application but at the highest cutting speed. It is, therefore, essential that
consideration is given to the following settings for the material thickness and the
cutting speed:
nozzle distance - too high or too low will disturb oxygen flow
preheat flame - too high a flow can cause top edge melting
cutting oxygen - too low a flow can cause poor slag removal - too high a flow can
result in poor cut finish
The typical appearances of a good and poor quality cut surface for manual cutting
are shown in Fig.3. The principal features are described together with their cause
and remedial measures necessary to produce the ideal square edge, smooth
surface cut.



Fig. 3. Best practice guide for hand cutting
Surface Appearance Features Cause
Ideal Cut Profile

Square edge,
smooth cut
surface, underside
free of slag, small
drag lines

Cutting Too Fast

Coarse drag lines
at angle to
surface with
excessive amount
of slag sticking to
bottom edge of
plate

Oxygen jet
trailing with
insufficient
oxygen reaching
bottom of the
cut
Too high nozzle to plate distance

Uneven cut
surface with
heavy melting of
top edge, coarse
drag lines at
bottom cut
surface

Preheat is not
focused on plate
surface, oxygen
jet easily
disturbed
Too High Oxygen Flow

Excessive slag
adhering to cut
face, local
gouging,
excessive top
edge melting

Turbulence
between the
preheat flame
and the cutting
jet

For further information contact arc@twi.co.uk
This Job Knowledge article was originally published in Connect, November/December 2000. It
has been updated so the web page no longer reflects exactly the printed version.
Copyright 2004 TWI Ltd