Effect of activating fluxes on weld mechanical properties in TIG welding

Activating TIG (A-TIG) welding has received many attentions worldwide since the end of 1990s. Compared with conventional TIG welding A-TIG welding can greatly improve the welding productivity and reduce the welding cost without altering the equipments under the same welding procedures and is considered as a innovative variant of conventional TIG welding. The materials applied by A-TIG welding have ranged from original titanium alloy to stainless steel, carbon steel, high temperature alloy steel and so forth. The effects of activating fluxes with single component on weld mechanical properties such as tensile strength, hardness and elastics during A-TIG welding of stainless steel are discussed in this paper. The experimental results show that different fluxes have different effects on the weld mechanical properties. Among these fluxes the flux SiO₂ is the best in the performance of tensile strength and ductility, while flux Cr₂O₃ is the best in the performance of weld hardness compared with conventional TIG welding. These experiments provide the foundation for selecting the most suitable fluxes for stainless steel in practical welding production.