2007 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 3-9
Since Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) arc enables to produce arc plasma with high energy density, it is suitable as a heat source especially for processes to require concentrating the heat input at a point. On the other hand, Tube Cathode Arc (TCA) to be a kind of TIG produces the arc plasma by introducing shielding gas through the central hole of the tube cathode. In the present paper, basic heat source property of argon TCA at the atmospheric pressure was numerically analyzed and compared with that for the conventional TIG arc. As a result, it was found that TCA is suitable for processes such as brazing or buildup, since it enables to heat a target material uniformly by controlling inner shielding gas flow rate. Furthermore, TCA is expected to realize high-speed welding because the arc pressure to a base metal reaches only 30% of TIG due to lower current density.
