Polarity, Pulsing, Gas, and Fluxes in the Welding Arc

Patricio Mendez- Professor: Weldco/Industry Chair in Welding and Joining Director, CCWJ - University of Alberta

Presented At: 
CanWeld Conference 2024

This presentation will discuss the deposition rate, and penetration in arc welding. What we call 鈥淰oltage鈥 during welding is in reality the combination of many voltages. Voltage loss is not proportional through the arc, with the largest fraction of voltage drop concentrated at the electrode surface and the plate surface. Polarity, pulsing, shielding gas selection, and flux chemistry have much influence on these voltages; and understanding them will help answer the questions such as 鈥渨hy DCEP in GTAW can melt the tungsten?鈥, 鈥渨hy AC can result in higher deposition rate in SAW and GMAW?鈥, 鈥渨hy does reverse polarity increase penetration in stick welding?鈥, and 鈥渨hy 6010 works with DCEP and 6011 with AC?鈥

Ultimately, it will be clear that there is much more than heat input to make sense of arc welding. The good news is that a few additional concepts can help make sense of most of it.

  This content is only available to CWB Association Members.

Become a member of the CWB Association by following these simple steps! Membership is Free.

Log In

Have a myCWB account?

Log In

You will be redirected back to this page once you've logged in successfully.

Don't have a myCWB account yet?

Register Now

Register for an account and you can join the CWB Association during the registration process!