Effect of weld microstructure on weld properties in A-TIG welding of titanium alloy

Conventional TIG welding is known as its low productivity and limited weld depth in a single pass. Activating TIG welding (A-TIG) can greatly improve the penetration when compared with the conventional TIG welding. The effects of five kinds of activating fluxes with single component (NaF, CaF2, AlF3, NaCl or CaCl2) on penetration, microstructure and weld mechanical properties during the TIG welding of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V were studied. Compared with the conventional TIG welding, the experimental results show that the fluxes can greatly improve the penetration at the same welding specifications. This is because of the constriction of anode spots and the change of surface tension grads. Among them the effect of flux NaF is the best in the weld tensile strength, and the effect of flux CaF2 on the weld bend intension is the best. The appearance of inferior crystal grains and the structure of trident crystal grains are the main reasons that the performance of weld with fluoride is improved. These experimental results can be used as an aid for selecting suitable activating flux for titanium alloy.