Effects of Arc Voltage and Welding Current on the Arc Length of Tungsten Inert Gas Welding (TIG)

Abstract

The effects of welding current and arc voltage on arc length was investigated. Mild steel plates of 10mm thickness and 50mm x 100mm diameter were joined together through Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process for four (4) different intervals and the welding arc lengths were measured consecutively. The measured arc length for each welding interval increased from 1.19mm, 1.93mm, 2.54mm and 3.12mm as the current increased from 50A, 100A, 150A to 190A while the voltage also maintained the same increasing trend from 200V, 240V, 280V to 320V. The minimum arc length values measured for each welding interval with the aforementioned current and voltage range also maintained an increasing trend, and that led to the conclusion that the higher the welding current and arc voltage, the longer and wider the arc length which is an influential factor to other welding attributes.