Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79

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Powder Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/powtec

Development and application of oxide-based flux powder for tungsten inert gas
welding of austenitic stainless steels
Kuang-Hung Tseng ⁎
Institute of Materials Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The experiments reported in this study involved using a new activated flux developed by the National
Received 7 July 2012 Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) to systematically investigate the influence of
Received in revised form 28 August 2012 oxide-based flux powder and carrier solvent composition on the surface appearance, geometric shape, angu-
Accepted 31 August 2012
lar distortion, and ferrite content of austenitic 316L stainless steel tungsten inert gas (TIG) welds. The flux
Available online 7 September 2012
powders comprising oxide, fluoride, and sulfide mixed with methanol or ethanol achieved good spreadabil-
Keywords:
ity. For the investigated currents of 125 to 225 A, the maximum penetration of stainless steel activated TIG
Oxide-based flux powder weld was obtained when the coating density was between 0.92 and 1.86 mg/cm2. The depth of finger-like
Alcohol solvent profile in the conventional TIG weld increased in conjunction with the current because of the induced strong
Coating density arc pressure. The arc pressure also raised the penetration capability of activated TIG welds at high currents.
Arc pressure The results show that higher current levels have lower ferrite content of austenitic 316L stainless steel
Finger-like penetration profile weld metal than lower current levels.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction times for a given level of heat input. The earliest reference to activated
flux assisted TIG (activated TIG) welding was published in 1965 and
TIG welding is considered a reliable process for welding numerous discussed using an activated flux to improve the penetration depth of ti-
metals and alloys to ensure superior and almost defect-free weld qual- tanium alloy welds [6]. This flux comprised fluorides and chlorides of al-
ity because the electrode, arc, and molten metal are shielded by an inert kali and alkali-earth metals. Activated fluxes have recently become
envelope of argon or helium gas. It has become a popular choice for arc commercially available for industrial applications. Commercially avail-
welding processes when high-quality welds are required. TIG welding able fluxes are claimed to be suitable for the welding of various mate-
applications include welding of sheet, plate, tube, and castings for use rials, including C–Mn steels, Cr–Mo steels, Ni–Cr–Mo steels, stainless
in nuclear, aerospace, power generation, shipbuilding, and other indus- steels, nickel-based alloys, and titanium alloys.
tries. TIG welding can be operated using filler metals to produce thick An activated flux is a mixture of flux powder suspended in carrier
section welds. Autogenous welds (welds without the addition of any solvent. The composition of flux powder has a critical function in in-
filler metals) can be applied for thin sections. The primary limitation creasing the penetration depth of activated TIG welds. Although sev-
of TIG welding is low productivity because of its low deposition rate eral mechanisms have been postulated that explain why an activated
and shallow joint penetration. The inability for TIG welding to produce flux achieves increased weld penetration [7], extant literature on flux
deep penetration welds limits the thickness of workpieces that can be formulations for activated TIG welding is rare, possibly because of
reliably joined to less than approximately 3 mm [1,2]. Workpieces commercial reasons. Moreover, the few formulations that have been
greater than 3 mm typically require joint edge preparation and multiple identified are complex [8]. In addition to TIG welding parameters
passes to completely fill the joint. TIG welds are also affected by being the primary factors in determining the level of quality and pro-
heat-to-heat compositional variation in the base metal being welded. ductivity, they affect the penetration improvement function of the ac-
The depth and consistency of penetration in TIG welds can be im- tivated flux. High-quality welds can be achieved by meeting quality
proved by applying a thin layer of activated flux in the form of thin requirements such as weld geometry, which is highly influenced by
paste to the workpiece surface prior to welding [3–5]. The heat of the various TIG welding process parameters [9]. Inadequate weld geome-
TIG arc melts and vaporizes part of the flux as arc passes over the flux. try may contribute to the failure of a welded structure [10].
Consequently, the penetration depth can be increased up to three Despite the productivity benefits of activated TIG welding, the in-
dustry has been slow to exploit this process, partially because activat-
⁎ No. 1, Hseuhfu Rd., Neipu, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 8 7703202; fax: +886
ed TIG welding tends to produce an inferior surface finish compared
8 7740552. to conventional TIG welding. Moreover, knowledge on the relation-
E-mail address: tkh@mail.npust.edu.tw. ship between process parameters and weld quality is essential for

0032-5910/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2012.08.038
 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79 73

2. Experimental details

Austenitic 316L stainless steel with the chemical composition (in

wt.%) of 0.019% C, 0.49% Si, 1.76% Mn, 0.031% P, 0.002% S, 17.11% Cr,
10.10% Ni, 2.04% Mo, 0.042% N, and balance Fe was used as base
metal. Plates 6 mm in thickness were cut into strips of size
100 × 100 mm, which were roughly grinded with 240 grit silicon car-
bide abrasive paper to remove all impurities, and were subsequently
cleaned with acetone prior to welding.
A commercial flux powder comprising silicon dioxide (SiO2), titani-
um dioxide (TiO2), chromium oxide (Cr2O3), molybdenum trioxide
(MoO3), nickel fluoride (NiF2), and molybdenum disulphide (MoS2)
has been developed by the NPUST, Taiwan [11]. Fig. 1 shows an original
appearance of oxide-based flux powder. Table 1 lists the composition of
the flux powder. Prior to welding, the flux powder was uniformly mixed
with carrier solvent to form a paint-like consistency, and was subse-
quently manually applied with a paintbrush as a sufficient layer thick
Fig. 1. Original appearance of oxide-based flux powder.
to prevent visual observation of the base metal beneath.
A direct-current, electrode-negative power supply device was
used with a mechanized operation system in which the welding
Table 1 torch traveled at a constant speed. Single-pass, autogenous TIG
Composition of oxide-based flux.
welding was performed along the centerline of the test specimen to
SiO2 TiO2 Cr2O3 MoO3 NiF2 MoS2 produce a bead-on-plate weld. A water-cooled torch with a standard
30 wt.% 25 wt.% 25 wt.% 10 wt.% 5 wt.% 5 wt.%
2% thoriated tungsten electrode rod with a 3.2 mm diameter was
used. The electrode tip was a blunt point with a 45° angle. Argon of
99.99% purity was used as shielding gas. Table 2 lists the process pa-
rameters used in TIG welding experiments. The tip angle of electrode
Table 2
rod was grounded, and the electrode gap was measured for each new
Process parameters of TIG welding experiment.
weld prior to welding to ensure that the welding experiment was
Weld current 125 A, 150 A, 175 A, 200 A, 225 A performed under the same operating conditions. During welding, a
Travel speed 175 mm/min
digital data acquisition system with a sampling rate of 120 samples
Electrode gap 3 mm
Shielding gas Argon
per second was used to continuously measure the weld current and
Gas flow rate 12 l/min the arc voltage.
All test specimens were constraint-free during welding to avoid
the influence of reaction stresses. Following welding, experiments
were conducted to measure the angular distortion in a bead-on-
controlling the quality and performance in the activated TIG welds. plate welded plate. The angular distortion of the weldment was mea-
The experiments reported in this study used a novel activated flux de- sured using the mean vertical displacement, as Fig. 2 illustrates. A
veloped by the NPUST to systematically investigate the influence of hole was drilled from the back at points P1, P2, and P3, and a pillar
oxide-based flux powder and carrier solvent composition on the sur- was inserted into each hole. These three pillars (one stable, the
face appearance, geometric shape, angular distortion, and ferrite con- other two adjustable) were used to adjust the horizontal level, and
tent of austenitic 316L stainless steel TIG welds. This study also the distance from each point to the horizontal surface was then
discusses the relationship between the process parameters and the recorded. Measurements were taken before and after welding. The
quality performances of activated TIG welding. differences in measurements before and after welding revealed the

8 5
P1
5
22.5
P2 P3
A
C
D B

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of distortion measurement.

74 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79

a) Methanol Table 3
Characteristic of carrier solvent.

Carrier solvent Methanol Ethanol Acetone

Viscosity (20 °C, mPa·s) 0.817 1.770 0.389

Vapor pressure (20 °C, mm Hg) 96 44 184

Ferrite number (FN) is an arbitrary standardized value designating

the ferrite content in the austenitic stainless steel weld metal or base
metal. In this study, FN was measured using a ferritoscope. This de-
vice detects phases such as ferrite according to the magnetic suscep-
tibility, which differs from that of paramagnetic austenite. To
minimize measurement errors resulting from inhomogeneity in the
weld metals, the average value of seven measurements from various
locations along the as-welded surface was calculated.
In this study, the surface appearance and geometric shape of
the welds were photographed with a stereomicroscope. The trans-
b) Ethanol verse sections were made at various locations along the welds,
whereas samples for metallographic examination were prepared
using standard procedures, including sectioning, mounting, grind-
ing, and polishing to a 0.3 μm finish, followed by electrolytic etch-
ing in an electrolyte solution consisting of 10 g oxalic acid and
100 ml water. Each sample was examined with a toolmaker's mi-
croscope to measure the penetration depth and bead width. Each
data point represents the average of three samples.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Evaluation on carrier solvent of activated flux

The oxide-based flux is provided as a fine powder that is mixed

with a suitable solvent. In this experiment, methanol, ethanol, and ac-
etone were used as a carrier solvent. Furthermore, the 1500 mg flux
powder was uniformly mixed with 1.5 ml of carrier solvent to form
a paste and applied to a stainless steel plate surface (the ratio of
c) Acetone flux powder to carrier solvent is not critical, although it must be
mixed to a consistency that can be “painted” on). The result in Fig. 3
clearly shows that the oxide-based flux powder mixed with methanol
or ethanol provides good spreadability and coverability. Table 3 lists
the characteristics of the experimental solvents. The viscosity of
methanol or ethanol is substantially higher than that of acetone and
promotes the cohesive force of the mixture. Consequently, the flux
powder mixed with methanol or ethanol has a uniform coating distri-
bution. Moreover, a substance with a high vapor pressure at normal

Fig. 3. Effect of carrier solvent on spreadability of activated flux.

vertical displacement caused by welding, and the angular distortion

(θ) was derived using the following equation.

−1 jðA þ BÞ−ðC þ DÞj

θ ¼ 2  tan ð1Þ
50

where A, B, C, and D represent the mean vertical displacement values

of each point. Fig. 4. Activated flux applied with a paintbrush.
 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79 75

temperatures is frequently described as volatile. The vapor pressure appearance of stainless steel activated TIG welds can be achieved
of methanol is higher than that of ethanol and promotes the drying when using the flux powders comprising oxide, fluoride, and sulfide
time of the mixture. Based on the results, the oxide-based flux pow- mixed with a methanol.
der should be mixed with alcohol solvent (preferably methanol) to
form a paste that is easy to apply with a paintbrush to the parts to 3.2. Evaluation on coating density of activated flux
be welded (Fig. 4).
Chern et al. reported that the use of the activated fluxes tends to The activated flux coating density has a highly significant effect on
create excessive residual slag and spatters on the surface of the the penetration depth of the stainless steel activated TIG welds
activated TIG welds [4]. Fig. 5 shows that a smooth, clean surface (Fig. 6). The penetration depth initially increases sharply with coating
density before becoming approximately constant and subsequently
decreases. The penetration depth of conventional TIG welds corre-
a) Weld Current: 125 A sponds to zero coating density and ranges from 0.80 to 2.85 mm at
the investigated currents (125 to 225 A). Depending on the weld cur-
rent, the maximum penetration depth of stainless steel activated TIG
weld is obtained when the coating density ranges from 0.92 to
1.86 mg/cm 2. The measured maximum penetration depths are 2.55
and 7.13 mm at 125 and 225 A, respectively. This result indicates
that the optimal activated flux coating density increases with the cur-
rent. Beyond the optimal coating density, the penetration depth re-
mains approximately constant before decreasing. This reduction is
attributable to the higher arc heat energy consumption required to
melt the thick flux barrier.

3.3. Effect of process parameter on geometric shape of weld

Fig. 7 shows the effect of process parameters on the geometric

shape of stainless steel TIG welds produced with and without an acti-
vated flux. A series of experiments were conducted at various weld
currents from 125 to 225 A. All remaining process parameters were
b) Weld Current: 175A constant. In addition, the coating density of the activated flux was ap-
proximately 3.64 mg/cm 2. Significant variation in the penetration
depth and bead width of the TIG weld occurred. As the current in-
creased from 125 to 225 A, the penetration depth of the conventional
TIG weld increased from 0.80 to 2.85 mm and the bead width in-
creased from 6.47 to 11.02 mm. This result indicates that TIG welds
produced without an activated flux result in a wide, shallow shape.
However, as the current increased from 125 to 225 A, the penetration
depth increased from 2.51 to 7.08 mm and the bead width increased
from 4.88 to 6.92 mm. This result indicates that activated TIG welds
exhibit a narrow, deep shape.
A fusion zone geometry schematic diagram was developed to clarify
the relationship between weld geometry and the applied activated flux.
Fig. 8 shows that the weld geometry in this study is characterized using

c) Weld Current: 225 A 8 Weld Current: 225 A

7
Penetration Depth ( mm )

4
Weld Current: 125 A
3

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Coating Density of Activated Flux ( mg/cm2 )

Fig. 5. Surface appearance of activated TIG welds at different current levels. Fig. 6. Effect of coating density on penetration depth of TIG weld.
76 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79

Weld Current Without Activated Flux With Activated Flux Geometric Size
12
W D
10

Geometric Size ( mm )
8

6
125 A 4

0
Without With
Flux Flux
12
W D
10

Geometric Size ( mm )
8

6
150 A 4

0
Without With
Flux Flux
12
W D
10

Geometric Size ( mm )
8

6
175 A 4

0
Without With
Flux Flux
12
W D
10

Geometric Size ( mm )
8

6
200 A 4

0
Without With
Flux Flux
12
W D
10
Geometric Size ( mm )

6
225 A 4

0
Without With
Flux Flux

Fig. 7. Effect of weld current on geometric shape of TIG weld.

the following three parameters: penetration depth D, bead width W, and Ka is the D/W of activated TIG welding. Larger Ka/Kc values repre-
and reinforcement R. Moreover, the weld depth-to-width ratio is de- sent greater improvements in weld geometry function of the applied
fined as K = (R+ D) / W. Kc is the D/W of conventional TIG welding, activated flux. Fig. 9 shows that the activated flux can significantly in-
crease the D/W of stainless steel TIG welds, in which the degree of im-
W provement depends on the weld current. When the current is 125 A,
Ka= 0.51, and Kc= 0.12, the weld depth-to-width ratio increases to a
R maximum of 425% of that for conventional TIG welding. When the cur-
rent is 175 A, Ka= 0.75, and Kc= 0.15, the weld depth-to-width ratio
increases to a maximum of 500% of that for conventional TIG welding.
When the current is 225 A, Ka= 1.02, and Kc= 0.26, the weld
D depth-to-width ratio increases to a maximum of 392% of that for con-
ventional TIG welding. These results show that the penetration im-
provement of the activated flux initially increases with the weld
current before decreasing, implying that there is a critical point at
which an optimal penetration improvement is achieved. In this experi-
Fig. 8. Schematic representation of weld geometry. ment, when the current is 175 A, the penetration improvement of the
 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79 77

1.4 For higher current activated TIG welding processes, the constricted
Autogenous Bead-on-Plate Welds arc column raises the energy density of the heat source and generates
Weld Depth-to-Width Ratio, Ka and Kc

1.2 Activated TIG Welding a high current density at the molten pool surface. The resulting large
Conventional TIG Welding electromagnetic force and high arc pressure contribute a forceful down-
1.0 ward flow of heat within the molten pool (the arc pressure is generated
when the plasma jet is arrested on the molten pool surface). Further-
more, the inward radial flow of the centripetal Marangoni convection
0.8
further promotes the transfer of arc heat from the surface to the bottom
700 of the molten pool and results in a higher weld depth-to-width ratio.
0.6 600 However, the lower current activated TIG welding process cannot in-
Ka

Ka/Kc ( % )
500 crease the current density significantly in the arc column. Thus, the elec-
0.4 Ka/Kc 400 tromagnetic force and arc pressure become very small, which has not
300 led to a significant increase in the penetration capability of activated
TIG welds. Although further investigation is required to understand
0.2 200
the mechanisms, this study potentially shows the effect of current levels
Kc 100
on the penetration capability of activated TIG weld.
0.0 0
100 125 150 175 200 225 250 3.4. Effect of arc pressure on weld geometry
Weld Current ( A )
Arc pressure also has a critical function in affecting the geometric
Fig. 9. Effect of weld current on depth-to-width ratio of TIG weld. shape of TIG welds [12]. Fig. 7 shows that a finger-like profile occurs
in conventional TIG welds at currents greater than 200 A. This result
is attributable to the arc pressure action. Arc pressure in TIG welding
activated flux can be increased to a maximum of 500%. However, when is caused by the momentum transfer of the impinging plasma jet on
the current is greater than 200 A, the penetration improvement of the the molten pool surface and has been considered by numerous stud-
activated flux decreases. This decrease is attributable to the higher cur- ies to be a major factor in producing surface depression, humping,
rents forming a deep finger-like profile in conventional TIG welds, and undercutting [13]. Arc pressure distribution on the molten pool
resulting in deeper penetration. This study proposes that the activated surface in TIG welding processes has been investigated [14], and char-
flux penetration improvement at higher currents is critical for activated acterized as a Gaussian function (Fig. 11). This indicates that the max-
TIG welding. imum arc pressure is at the center of the molten pool surface. The
Although there is no consensus on the mechanism for increased electromagnetically induced arc pressure increases with the weld
penetration depth of the activated TIG weld, activated TIG welding is current. Consequently, the depth of the finger-like penetration in-
known to show a constriction of the arc column compared with the creases with the weld current because of the induced strong arc pres-
more diffuse conventional TIG welding at identical current levels. In ad- sure acting on the center of the molten pool surface. This result
dition, the oxygen from the decomposition of the oxide-based flux pow- indicates that the finger-like profile of TIG weld is dominated by the
der in the molten pool is known to induce the centripetal Marangoni
convection by inverting the surface tension gradient of the molten
pool. Tseng et al. made and compared experimental observations of in-
teractive phenomena between the weld arc and the molten pool in ac-
tivated and conventional TIG welding processes [1,2,4,5]. Fig. 10
illustrates a summary of the mechanism underlying the increased pen-
etration capability of TIG weld produced with an activated flux.

Conventional TIG Welding Activated TIG Welding

Activated Flux

r
Fig. 10. Mechanism for increased penetration capability of activated TIG weld. Fig. 11. Schematic representation of arc pressure distribution.
78 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79

arc pressure. Moreover, the arc pressure induced by the plasma jet 10
arrested on the center of the molten pool surface also enhances the cen- Autogenous Bead-on-Plate Welds
9
tripetal Marangoni convection and increases the penetration capability Activated TIG Welding
of activated TIG welds. For a travel speed of 175 mm/min, full penetra- 8 Conventional TIG Welding
tion of stainless steel TIG weld produced with oxide-based activated

Ferrite Content ( FN )
7
flux is achieved using currents greater than 200 A.
6
3.5. Effect of process parameter on angular distortion of weldment
5
Fig. 12 shows the effect of process parameters on the angular dis- 4
tortion of stainless steel TIG weldments produced with and without
an activated flux. The results show that activated TIG welding is capa- 3
ble of reducing the angular distortion of stainless steel weldments.
2
For conventional TIG welding, the angular distortion of stainless
steel weldment increases with the weld current. This indicates that 1 Base Metal: 0.34 FN
increasing the weld current to improve the penetration capability of
the conventional TIG weld causes the weld shape to become exces- 0
sively wide with a relatively minor increase in depth, resulting in a 100 125 150 175 200 225 250
greater angular distortion of the weldment. For activated TIG weld- Weld Current ( A )
ments produced at a 125 A current, its penetration depth is less
than half of the plate thickness. The shallow depth causes lower angu- Fig. 13. Effect of weld current on ferrite content of TIG weld metal.
lar distortion of the weldment, and with increasing penetration depth
to plate thickness ratio, the angular distortion of the activated TIG
weldment at 150 A increases to a critical point (penetration depth most of the weld metal of austenitic stainless steels solidifies as the
to plate thickness ratio equivalent to 0.5), and when the penetration delta-ferrite phase. During welding, the cooling rate of the weld
depth exceeds half of the plate thickness, the angular distortion of metal is so rapid that the phase transformation of delta-ferrite
the activated TIG weldment decreases at currents greater than phase to austenite phase is incomplete. Consequently, more delta-
175 A. Activated TIG welding increases the penetration depth and ferrite is retained in the weld metal after solidification. In addition,
weld depth-to-width ratio, which indicates the arc with a higher en- the ferrite content of stainless steel TIG welds produced with and
ergy density [5]. As the arc energy density increases, the overall heat without an activated flux decreases when the weld current increases.
required per unit length of weld deposit decreases. This contributes to This is related to the magnitude of the heat input because a higher
a reduction in the quantity of supplied heat, thereby preventing the heat input can increase the peak temperature of weld metal and re-
base material from overheating and reducing the incidence of ther- duce its cooling rate. In other words, the most significant characteris-
mal stress and incompatible strain caused by shrinkage in thickness. tic of heat input is how it influences the cooling rate in the weld
Consequently, activated TIG welding is capable of significantly reduc- metal, thereby affecting the solidification structures of the weld
ing the angular distortion of weldments. metal. The heat input per unit length of a weld increases with the
weld current. High heat input results in a slow cooling rate and fur-
3.6. Effect of process parameter on ferrite content of weld ther promotes the transformation from the delta-ferrite phase to
the austenite phase in the stainless steel weld metal. Consequently,
Fig. 13 shows the effect of process parameters on the ferrite con- higher current levels have lower ferrite content than lower current
tent of stainless steel TIG weld metal produced with and without an levels. Under the same TIG welding process parameters, furthermore,
activated flux. The weld metal of austenitic 316L stainless steel con- activated TIG welds have a higher ferrite content than conventional
tains higher ferrite content than the base metal. This is because TIG welds. Activated TIG welding has a higher arc energy density,
which is characterized by a lower heat input and a consequently
rapid cooling rate. Thus, stainless steel activated TIG welds retain
1.0 higher ferrite contents.
Autogenous Bead-on-Plate Welds
0.9 Activated TIG Welding
0.8 Conventional TIG Welding 4. Conclusions
Angular Distortion ( degree )

0.7 In this study, a novel activated flux that is easy to apply and pro-
0.6 vides good spreadability was developed; furthermore, it provides
increased penetration capability and reduced angular distortion
0.5 substantially independent of heat-to-heat compositional variations
in austenitic 316L stainless steels. The results are summarized as
0.4
follows:
0.3
1. In this study, the flux powders comprising oxide, fluoride, and sul-
0.2
fide mixed with methanol or ethanol provides good spreadability
0.1 and coverability. A satisfactory surface appearance of the stainless
steel activated TIG weld was obtained with the use of the discussed
0.0 novel activated flux developed by the NPUST.
100 125 150 175 200 225 250 2. For the investigated currents of 125 to 225 A, the maximum pene-
Weld Current ( A ) tration of stainless steel activated TIG weld is obtained for the coat-
ing density ranging between 0.92 and 1.86 mg/cm 2. The optimal
Fig. 12. Effect of weld current on angular distortion of TIG weldment. coating density of activated flux increases with the weld current.
 K.-H. Tseng / Powder Technology 233 (2013) 72–79 79

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