Advances of orbital gas tungsten arc welding for Brazilian space applications - experimental setup

Garcia, José A. Orlowski de; Dias, Nilton Souza; Lima, Gérson Luiz de; Pereira, Wilson D. Bocallão; Nogueira, Nívio Fernandes

doi:10.5028/jatm.2010.02026610

Abstract:

The present work describes details of the several steps of the technology involved for the orbital Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process of pure commercially titanium tubes. These pieces will be used to connect the several components of the propulsion system of the China-Brazilian Satellite CBERS, and is part of the Brazilian aerospace industry development. The implantation involved the steps of environment control; cut and facing of the base metal; cleaning procedures; piece alignment; choice of the type, geometry and installation of the tungsten electrode; system for the pressure of the purge gas; manual tack welding; choice of the welding parameters; and, finally, the qualification of welding procedures. Three distinct welding programs were studied, using pulsed current with increasing speed, continuous current and pulsed current with decreasing amperage levels. The results showed that the high quality criteria required to the aerospace segment is such that usual welding operations must be carefully designed and executed. The three welding developed programs generated welds free of defects and with adequate morphology, allowing to select the condition that better fits the Brazilian aerospace segment, and to be implanted in the welding of the CBERS Satellite Propulsion System.

Keywords:
Orbital GTA welding; Titanium; Satellite

Full text is available only in PDF.

REFERENCES

Aerospace Material Specification (AMS), 1991, "AMS 2689A, Fusion welding titanium and titanium alloys".
American Welding Society (AWS), 2000, "AWS D10.6/D10.6M: 2000. Recommended practices for gas tungsten arc welding of titanium piping and tubing", Miami, FL, American Welding Society.
American Welding Society (AWS), 1984, "Metals and their weldability", 7. ed., Vol. 4, Miami: W.H. Kearns.
Arc Machines, Inc., 1991, "Model 207A power supply - operator training guidelines", 2nd. ed, Pacoima..
Boyer, R.R., 1996, "An overview on the use of titanium in the aerospace industry", Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol. 213, No 1-2, pp. 103-114. doi:10.1016/0921-5093(96)10233-1.
» https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-5093(96)10233-1
Boyer R., Welsh G., Collings, E.W., 1998, "Materials properties handbook: titanium alloys". 2nd. ed., ASM International, Ohio, USA.
Brond, A., Henon, B.K., 1996, "Orbital pipe welding technology for the power generation and offshore industries", Proceeding of 22^th National Meeting on Welding Technology, 10^th Latin American Welding Congress, Blumenau, Brazil.
Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST), n.d., "Chinese Standard CBERS propulsion subsystem pipe integrating and welding requirement (specification)".
Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST), n.d., "Chinese Standard CBERS propulsion subsystem pipe leakage check requirement (specification)".
Henon, B.K., n.d., "High technology orbital tube and pipe welding equipment used on pharmaceutical high purity piping installation", Available at: <http://209.35.63.149/appPages/bmw02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://209.35.63.149/appPages/bmw02.html
Henon, B.K., n.d., "Orbital welding of small diameter tubing", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/smalldia02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/smalldia02.html
Henon, B.K., n.d., "Practical application of orbital tube and pipe welding", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/pract02.html>. Access on Nov 17, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/pract02.html
Henon, B.K., White, J., n.d., "Use of ID pressurization to control weld profile in semiconductor ultra-high-purity process gas lines", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/dsi02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/dsi02.html
Kou, S., Le, Y., 1984, "Heat flow during the autogenous GTA welding of pipes". Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 15, No 6, pp. 1165-1171. doi: 10.1007/BF02644711.
» https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02644711
Lathabai, S., Jarvis, B.L., Barton, K.J., 2001, "Comparison of keyhole and conventional gas tungsten arc welds in commercially pure titanium", Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol. 299, No 1-2, pp. 81-93. doi: 10.1016/S0921-5093(00)01408-8.
» https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(00)01408-8
Mannion, B., Heinzman, J., 1999a, "Determining parameters for GTAW: starting points for success", Available at: <http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/pwt-aug99.htm>. Access on Sept 21, 2001.
» http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/pwt-aug99.htm
Mannion, B., Heinzman, J., 1999b "Orbital tube welding", Available at: <http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/articles.htm>. Access on Nov 21, 2001.
» http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/articles.htm
Mannion, B., Heinzman, J., 1999c, "Setting up and determining parameters for orbital tube welding", Available at: <http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/fab-may99.htm>. Access on Sept 24, 2001.
» http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/fab-may99.htm
Morgan, J., Henon, B. K., 1999, "Discovering applications for orbital fusion welding", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/tpj02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/tpj02.html
Orlowski, J.A.G., n.d., "The orbital welding of the CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite) Propulsion System", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/cbers02html>. Access on Jul 30, 2004.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/cbers02html
Purnell, S., n.d., "Assessing developments in orbital welding-part 1: taking the monotony out of tube welding", Available at: <http://www2.thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=59>. Access on Mar 31, 2004.
» http://www2.thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=59
Serafin, M., n.d., "Orbital welding for space program applications", Available at: <http://www.2thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=443>. Access on Mar 31, 2004.
» http://www.2thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=443
Smith, L.S., Threadgill, P., Gittos, M., 2009, "Weldability of materials: titanium and titanium alloys", Available at: <http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk24.html>. Access on Jul 23, 2010.
» http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk24.html

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
May-Aug 2010

History

Received
06 May 2010
Accepted
07 June 2010

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] Aerospace Material Specification (AMS), 1991, "AMS 2689A, Fusion welding titanium and titanium alloys".

[2] American Welding Society (AWS), 2000, "AWS D10.6/D10.6M: 2000. Recommended practices for gas tungsten arc welding of titanium piping and tubing", Miami, FL, American Welding Society.

[3] American Welding Society (AWS), 1984, "Metals and their weldability", 7. ed., Vol. 4, Miami: W.H. Kearns.

[4] Arc Machines, Inc., 1991, "Model 207A power supply - operator training guidelines", 2nd. ed, Pacoima..

[5] Boyer, R.R., 1996, "An overview on the use of titanium in the aerospace industry", Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol. 213, No 1-2, pp. 103-114. doi:10.1016/0921-5093(96)10233-1.
» https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-5093(96)10233-1

[6] Boyer R., Welsh G., Collings, E.W., 1998, "Materials properties handbook: titanium alloys". 2nd. ed., ASM International, Ohio, USA.

[7] Brond, A., Henon, B.K., 1996, "Orbital pipe welding technology for the power generation and offshore industries", Proceeding of 22^th National Meeting on Welding Technology, 10^th Latin American Welding Congress, Blumenau, Brazil.

[8] Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST), n.d., "Chinese Standard CBERS propulsion subsystem pipe integrating and welding requirement (specification)".

[9] Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST), n.d., "Chinese Standard CBERS propulsion subsystem pipe leakage check requirement (specification)".

[10] Henon, B.K., n.d., "High technology orbital tube and pipe welding equipment used on pharmaceutical high purity piping installation", Available at: <http://209.35.63.149/appPages/bmw02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://209.35.63.149/appPages/bmw02.html

[11] Henon, B.K., n.d., "Orbital welding of small diameter tubing", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/smalldia02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/smalldia02.html

[12] Henon, B.K., n.d., "Practical application of orbital tube and pipe welding", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/pract02.html>. Access on Nov 17, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/pract02.html

[13] Henon, B.K., White, J., n.d., "Use of ID pressurization to control weld profile in semiconductor ultra-high-purity process gas lines", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/dsi02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/dsi02.html

[14] Kou, S., Le, Y., 1984, "Heat flow during the autogenous GTA welding of pipes". Metallurgical Transactions A, Vol. 15, No 6, pp. 1165-1171. doi: 10.1007/BF02644711.
» https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02644711

[15] Lathabai, S., Jarvis, B.L., Barton, K.J., 2001, "Comparison of keyhole and conventional gas tungsten arc welds in commercially pure titanium", Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol. 299, No 1-2, pp. 81-93. doi: 10.1016/S0921-5093(00)01408-8.
» https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(00)01408-8

[16] Mannion, B., Heinzman, J., 1999a, "Determining parameters for GTAW: starting points for success", Available at: <http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/pwt-aug99.htm>. Access on Sept 21, 2001.
» http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/pwt-aug99.htm

[17] Mannion, B., Heinzman, J., 1999b "Orbital tube welding", Available at: <http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/articles.htm>. Access on Nov 21, 2001.
» http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/articles.htm

[18] Mannion, B., Heinzman, J., 1999c, "Setting up and determining parameters for orbital tube welding", Available at: <http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/fab-may99.htm>. Access on Sept 24, 2001.
» http://www.pro-fusiononline.com/feedback/fab-may99.htm

[19] Morgan, J., Henon, B. K., 1999, "Discovering applications for orbital fusion welding", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/tpj02.html>. Access on Oct 24, 2001.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/tpj02.html

[20] Orlowski, J.A.G., n.d., "The orbital welding of the CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite) Propulsion System", Available at: <http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/cbers02html>. Access on Jul 30, 2004.
» http://www.arcmachines.com/appPages/cbers02html

[21] Purnell, S., n.d., "Assessing developments in orbital welding-part 1: taking the monotony out of tube welding", Available at: <http://www2.thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=59>. Access on Mar 31, 2004.
» http://www2.thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=59

[22] Serafin, M., n.d., "Orbital welding for space program applications", Available at: <http://www.2thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=443>. Access on Mar 31, 2004.
» http://www.2thefabricator.com/Articles/Tube_and_Pipe_Article.cfm?ID=443

[23] Smith, L.S., Threadgill, P., Gittos, M., 2009, "Weldability of materials: titanium and titanium alloys", Available at: <http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk24.html>. Access on Jul 23, 2010.
» http://www.twi.co.uk/j32k/protected/band_3/jk24.html

Brasil