The fusion welding process uses gas welding by getting heat for the welding through the combustion of oxygen and any other fuel gas. These fuel gases or welding gases may be acetylene, hydrogen butane, or propane. By using these welding gases, an extremely hot flame can be produced. This will instantly melt the area around the part that needs to be melted, and the molten metal will solidify, thus forming a joint. In Australia, most buildings are made by using gas welding techniques.
Why is gas welding important?
The process of gas welding involves using a filler metal of more than 15 mm to join metals between 1mm and 55mm together. The filler metal or a welding rod is used to fuse the base metal and the metal that must be joined. The filler metal fills the cavity formed during the preparation of the eggs. This flux material is also used for welding in order to remove impurities and oxides that are present inside the base metal or metal surfaces that need to be fused.
Running gas is usually made by using different combinations of gases to produce a flame. Air and acetylene are combined to create a flame, which can rise to a temperature as high as 3200 degrees celsius. This sort of flame produced at this high temperature is known as an oxy-acetylene flame. In the welding industry, the most widely used combination is the oxygen and acetylene combination.
What are the different combinations and the temperatures produced by this combination by using welding gases?
The first and the highest temperature produced by welding gas is the oxy-acetylene flame at 3200 degrees celsius. Following this is a combination of oxygen and hydrogen, known as the oxyhydrogen flame, with a high temperature of 2800 degrees celsius. The next highest temperature is at 2700 degrees celsius, which is produced using an oxy-butane combination. The next highest temperature available is created using an oxy propane combination at 2200 degrees Celsius. A person who is welding can also use an oxy coal gas at 2100 degrees celsius. There are many more combinations using air, like air propane, air hydrogen, and air acetylene.
How does oxy-acetylene welding work?
The oxy-acetylene flame combination is used for welding metals that have an extremely high melting point. This flame is used so that the metal can shape into a molten state to fuse with another matter, such as, in the case of high carbon steel. But flame-like oxyhydrogen is used for welding metals with a much lower melting point, like magnesium or lead.
When oxygen and acetylene are used proportionately to produce a very hot flame, it is known as oxy acetylene welding. This flame can go to a temperature of up to 3200 degrees celsius, thus having the capability to melt any and every available metal in the commercial space.
Even the welding rod used to fill the cavity created by edge preparations must be larger than 15 mm in diameter. So, with flux, it can be used to remove any oxides or impurities which may be present on the surface of the metal to be welded.
Thus, by using the appropriate welding gas, a person or an industry can nearly weld every metal on earth to produce more alloys and other stronger metals. This is why gas welding is so important. To ensure that the welding is done well, a person needs to use the best welding gases available in the market.