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Technical Know ledge > Technical Know ledge > Job Know ledge > W elding consumables - part 1 Share:

Job Know ledge

Welding consumables - Part 1
Job Knowledge 82
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
The next series of articles w ill cover w elding electrodes and filler metals, beginning w ith a brief look at the
requirements for a flux. W hether a flux is in an electrode coating or is in granular form, as in a submerged arc
flux, the requirements are the same.

The flux must be capable of providing a protective shield to

prevent atmospheric contamination of the electrode tip,
the filler metal as it is transferred across the arc and the
molten w eld pool. Generally, it does this by decomposing
in the heat of the arc to form a protective gaseous shield.
It must be capable of removing any oxide film (failure to do
so w ill result in lack of fusion defects and oxide
entrapment). It does this by reacting chemically w ith the
oxide.
It should improve mechanical properties by providing
clean, high quality w eld metal and perhaps by transferring alloying elements across the arc.
It must be capable of providing the desired w eld metal composition, again by transferring alloying elements
across the arc.
It should aid arc striking and arc stability.
It should produce a slag that w ill shape the molten pool and hold the pool in place during positional w elding
if required.
Any slag should be readily removable and preferably self-detaching.
It should not produce large amounts of fume and any that it does should not be harmful to the w elder.

These requirements have resulted in a multitude of different consumables, many being apparently identical, and
this can make filler metal selection a difficult and confusing task. This article attempts to give some insight into
the various types of flux coated manual metal arc (MMA) electrodes before moving on in later articles to look at
other types of w elding fluxes.
Most MMA electrodes can be conveniently divided into three groups by their coating composition. These are
cellulosic, rutile and basic coatings, each of w hich gives the electrode a distinctive set of characteristics.
Cellulosic electrodes contain a large proportion of cellulose, over 30% and generally in the form of w ood flour.
This is mixed w ith rutile (titanium dioxide, TiO 2 ), manganese oxide and ferro-manganese and is bonded onto
the core w ire w ith sodium or potassium silicate. Moisture content of these electrodes is quite high, typically 4 to
5%. The cellulose burns in the arc to form a gas shield of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and, in conjunction
w ith the moisture in the coating, produces a large amount of hydrogen, typically 30 to 45ml hydrogen/100gm
w eld metal.
The hydrogen raises arc voltage and gives the electrodes their characteristics of deep penetration and high
deposition rates. The high voltage requires a high open circuit voltage of around 70 volts to allow easy arc
striking and to maintain arc stability. The forceful arc also results in appreciable amounts of w eld spatter and
this limits the maximum current that can be used on the larger diameter electrodes. A thin, friable and easily
removed slag is produced, giving a rather coarsely rippled w eld profile. The slag is also fast freezing so that,
unlike most other electrodes, they can be used in the vertical dow n position - 'stove piping'.
Electrodes w ith a sodium silicate binder can be used only on DC electrode positive (reverse polarity). Those w ith
a potassium silicate binder can be used either DC electrode positive or on AC. The electrodes require some
moisture in the coating to aid the running characteristics and they must never be baked, as may be done on
basic coated electrodes. This has the advantage that the electrodes are tolerant to site conditions. If they
become damp, drying at a temperature of around 120C w ill be sufficient.

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 Electrode compositions are only available for w elding low carbon non-alloyed steels although nickel additions
may be made to improve notch toughness. Charpy-V values of around 27J at -20C are possible in the
unalloyed electrodes. The high hydrogen level means that any steel w elded w ith these electrodes should be
selected to have a very high resistance to hydrogen induced, cold cracking (see Connect articles numbers 45
and 46). They should not be used w ithout giving due consideration to the steel composition, restraint and the
need for preheat. The characteristics of deep penetration, high deposition rates and the ability to be used
vertically dow n means that the main use for these electrodes is for cross country pipelining although they are
used to a more limited extent for w elding storage tanks.
Rutile coatings, as the name suggests, contain a large amount of rutile, titanium dioxide, typically around 50%,
in addition to cellulose, limestone (calcium carbonate), silica (SiO 2 ) mica (potassium aluminium silicate), ferro-
manganese and some moisture, around 1 to 2%. Binders are either sodium or potassium silicate. The cellulose
and the limestone decompose in the arc to form a gas shield containing hydrogen (around 20ml/100gm w eld
metal) carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The electrodes have medium penetration characteristics, a soft,
quiet but stable arc and very little spatter, making them a 'w elder friendly' electrode. Striking and re-striking is
easy and the electrodes w ill run on very low open circuit voltages. The electrodes produce a dense covering of
slag that is easily removed and gives a smooth evenly rippled w eld profile.
The presence of cellulose and moisture means that the electrodes produce relatively high levels of hydrogen,
perhaps 20 to 25ml/100gm w eld metal. This restricts their use to mild steels less than 25mm thickness and thin
section low alloy steels of the C/Mo and 1Cr1/2Mo type. Mechanical properties are good and Charpy-V notch
toughnesses of 40J at -20C are possible. They are probably the most w idely used general purpose electrode.
Rutile coated austenitic stainless steel electrodes can be obtained and can be used in all thicknesses as cold
cracking is not a problem w ith these alloys.
Rutile electrodes, like cellulosic electrodes, require some moisture in the coating and they should not be baked.
If they become damp, re-drying at around 120C should be sufficient. Those electrodes w ith a sodium silicate
binder can be used on DC electrode negative or AC. Electrodes w ith the potassium silicate binder can be used
on both polarities and on AC. The potassium silicate binder electrodes generally have better arc striking and
stability characteristics than the sodium silicate binder types and a more readily detachable slag.
The next article w ill look at the basic, low hydrogen electrodes and some of the other less common types of
coatings.
This article w as w ritten by Gene Mathers.

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