Effect of ZnCl₂ and TiO₂ flux on TIG welding of magnesium alloys

In order to analyze the effect of activating fluxes on the weld bead and the arc shape, activating flux tungsten inert gas (TIG)welding of magnesium alloy has been studied by using single side coated flux and bounded coated flux.It has been found that, the weld penetration with ZnCl₂ flux was much deeper than that with TiO₂ flux in both single side coated flux and bounded coated flux TIG welding.For both ZnCl₂ and TiO₂ flux, the weld penetration decreased with the increasing flux gap.In the single side coated flux TIG welding, the deflection effect of ZnCl₂ flux on molten pool was greater than the one of TiO₂ flux.ZnCl₂ flux with low thermal stability changed current channel conductive of the arc, so the arc shape was changed significantly.TiO₂ flux with high thermal stability could not change the current channel conductive of the arc, so the arc shape was not changed significantly.