a member of the IGM-group

[ Hot wire - narrow gap welding ]

Z.I. du Bois Briand

2, rue Paul Beaupère
F 44300 NANTES
FRANCE

Hot wire rev 3

1
 Hot wire narrow gap welding
a member of the IGM-group

Hot wire welding with narrow gap

preparation permits :

Increase of productivity up to a factor of 9

compared to standard TIG welding

Maintain the best affordable quality produced

by the TIG process

2
 Hot wire narrow gap welding
a member of the IGM-group

Other advantages of the TIG hot wire process:

Can be used on root, filling and finish passes

As the TIG process, the TIG HW offers the great

advantage to control separately the energy in the
arc and the quantity of metal in the weld pool:

• easy to control the starting and down slope stages

• control of welding energy permits to weld delicate

materials as duplex, super duplex, titanium…

• fusion operations for repair are simplified

3
 Hot wire technique
a member of the IGM-group

Hot wire welding principle

4
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Welding deposit rates for TIG cold and hotwire

Wide bevel /Building up Narrow gap

Position TIG Cold TIG Hold TIG Cold TIG Hold
Wire Wire Wire Wire
(Kg/h) (Kg/h) (Kg/h) (Kg/h)

1G 0.5 to 1.0 3.5 0.5 2 to 2.5

2G 0.5 to 0.7 2.5 0.5 1.5 to 2.0

3G1 0.5 to 1.0 1 to 1.5 0.4 1 to 1.5

5GT (4G, 3G2) 0.3 to 0.4 1 to 1.5 0.3 to 0.4 1 to 1.5

5
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Influence of the variation of stick-out on the

theoretical heating length of filler wire
L1

L1.3 L1.2
L set

L1
HW current
(A)

H1

Wire speed (m/mn)

6
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Influencing parameters of TIG hot wire

welding
Influencing parameters:
(Except Vs = constant)

• I arc
• h (electrode/work piece)
• gas (type)
•Hot wire current, Wire
speed and associated L1
• Torch inclination angle
Welding direction
•Filler wire / torch angle
h
Length h and L1 correspond to
theoretical adjustment made
before welding. Their
adjustments characterise the
mechanical parameters
directly associated to the
welding parameters
7
 Hot wire Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Different type of narrow gap technique

Advantages Disadvantages

Welding with tungsten oscillation

Good torch accessibility Lower productivity

Easy for wide range Sophisticated torch
Less side wall penetration
Welding with two passes per layer
Lower productivity
Good torch accessibility Two positions for the tungsten
Easy for wide range Problem for AVC
Difficult in orbital configuration
Welding with one pass per layer

High productivity
Less tolerance for the prep.
Easy to operate Sophisticated weld procedure
Good side penetration

8
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Surface comparisons between std and narrow

gap bevel
6° 37°+10°

60 mm 60 mm

Narrow gap bevel 6° Compound bevel 37°+10°

SCB = 498 mm² SNG = 1617 mm²
SNG
= 3.2
SCB

9
 Hot wire Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Welding procedure for hot wire narrow gap

Base Weld
Joint configuration material material
(un-restrained shrinkage ?) Weld
position

Weld configuration Operating

Shrinkage
result weldability

Groove design Weld

Weld test objective
(shape and tolerances) parameters
(for each sequence)

Groove Pass
Weld procedure width thickness
control (LB) control
10
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Definition of the bevel design

LB LB LB

 “LB” must be constant for the complete weld

 For orbital and fixed station welding: 7.5 mm < LB < 10 mm

The groove angle is adjusted according to

thickness, material and welding parameters
11
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Definition of the bevel design (cont.)

Th

 “Th” must be constant for the complete weld

 For orbital welding: 2.0 mm < Th < 2.5 mm
 For fixed station welding: 2.0 mm < Th < 3.5 mm

The wire preheating and wire speed is adjusted for

a constant heat input (+/- 10%)
12
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Different type of welding torches

> 40 mm
PIPE THICKNESS < 40 mm > 70 mm
< 70 mm
WP27 Weldcraft
torch

WP27 Weldcraft
torch with the
narrow gap
nozzle

Narrow gap
toch (150mm &
200 mm)

13
 Narrow gap technique
a member of the IGM-group

Welding sequences
S4: Cap sequence
For reinforcement and cosmetic
appearance
S3: Final passes
Cooling of side walls is lower (edge effect
cooling), therefore heat input will be less

S2: Filler passes with high productivity

Each filler pass in the same condition

S1b: Root reinforcing (1 or 3 passes)

S1a: Root

S5: Weld programs for repair according to

the requirements of each sequences

14
 Welding cycle comparison
a member of the IGM-group

Welding cycle compari mm pipeson between TIG

cold wire and TIG hot wire for 168 mm pipe :
Wall Thickness : 12 / 13 mm
Tube material : Mild Steel (C/Mn) or Stainless Steel
Welding position : 5GT, tube axis Horizontal
Welding process Orbital Cold Wire TIG Orbital Hot Wire TIG Welding
Filler wire: 0.8 mm Welding
Number of passes 8-9 5-6
Time for root pass* 9-11 min 5 min
Time for filler pass* 11-13 min 5 min
Time for final pass* 15-18 min 5 min
Total welding cycle 105-120 min 27-32 min
time*
Example of welding parameters for a filler pass :

Welding current 130 Amps 250 / 150 Amps

Welding speed 40-50 mm/min 120 mm/min

Time for preflow of shielding gas, arc time and maintenance of shielding gas after a
weld pass are taken into consideration. Time to re-coil hoses, to change electrode
and to respect interpasses temperature (when applied) are not considered.
15
 Hot wire welding procedure example
a member of the IGM-group

3.3 0.1 mm
CAPPING
1.5mm
6
13 mm 5
4
3
2
ROOT

2 0/+0.2 mm

BASE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT

Pipe Power source Autotig 600PC

Carbon steel Wire feeder Polyfil 7929
Diameter 168mm x 13mm AVC /BL Auto 1500
Wire Standard WP27 weldcraft torch
Carbon steel
Type SG2, diameter 1mm
Gas Argon
Travel Wire Speed Cycle
Pass Weld current (A)
speed (m/ mn) time
Type
High Base (mm/ mn) High Base (Secondes)
ROOT 160/ 105 115 --- 1.25 280
2 235/ 135 120 3 1.8 280
3 265/ 165 115 3.2 1.9 300
4-5-6 275/ 175 115 3.5 2 310 x 3
CAPPING 230/ 140 100 --- 2.8 380
TOTAL 36 minutes
17
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

Application examples

18
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

TOSHIBA on site Orbital TIG Hot wire welding

Narrow gap (5GT)

Carbon steel STPG38

508 x 50 mm
356 x 54 mm

24 layers

19
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

TOSHIBA on site (cont.)

20
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

TODEN - Japan Orbital TIG Hot wire welding

Narrow gap (5GT)

508 x 70 mm

21
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

HOLMING WORKS Fix station TIG Hot wire welding

FINLAND Narrow gap
Carbon steel
280 x 100 mm
460 x 85 mm

22
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

SIEMENS KWU Orbital TIG Hot wire welding

Narrow gap

Application: 250 bars / 600°C

 X10CrMoVNb91
 700 mm x 180 mm
 Position 5GT
 Total arc time: 40 hours

23
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

SIEMENS KWU (cont.)

24
 Narrow gap TIG welding
a member of the IGM-group

SCHWING - Austria Welding of Cardan shafts for

concrete mixing vehicles
Material:
carbon steel 1.5217 / St 690.

Dimensions:
O.D.: 50 - 450 mm
Wall thickness: 5 - 40 mm
Length: 500 - 4000 mm

Equipment:
Power source: 600 PC TIG hot wire
Precision TIG Welding Lathe with AVC
(control distance: 350 mm) with
motorized, programmable AVC-slide
running gear for the complete length.

25
a member of the IGM-group

Narrow gap hot wire

TIG welding: The
solution for the best
Quality with the
highest productivity
level !

26