Flash butt welding shield

Abstract: A shield for a flash butt welding apparatus has semi-circular metal plates (40) each secured to a respective electrode portion (16,18,24,26) of two clamping electrodes. A flexible glass fibre wall (46) is secured to the outer periphery of each plate (40) and the outer peripheries of opposing flexible walls (46) are stitched together, thereby forming an envelope having upper and lower portions surrounding a welding area between the electrodes. The upper and lower envelope portions move with the electrode portions to which they are secured. The positioning of two workpieces (20,22) to be joined is permitted by raising the upper electrodes (24,26) and the upper envelope portion, and when the upper electrode portions (24,26) are in their clamping positions, the upper and lower envelope portions form a volume around the welding area. Inert gas is fed to the interior of the envelope via an inlet (52) in order to exclude air from the weld area, and the relative movement of the two electrodes which is essential in flash butt welding is permitted by means of the flexible wall portions (46).

Description: The present invention relates to shields for use in flash butt welding. In flash butt welding, two ends, e.g. two components, to be welded are clamped onto a fixed and a moving platen respectively. Each end has an electrode attached to it, which is also used for clamping purposes. The current is switched on and the moving platen and its associated electrode are displaced towards the fixed electrode until arcing or "flashing" occurs across the gap between the two ends to be joined. During flashing, the ends are heated locally to forging temperature. The gap between the two ends is then closed and the two ends are rapidly forced together, causing plastic metal and impurities to be ejected violently. The resultant product may then be machined to remove excess and unwanted material from its periphery. This is illustrated schematically in Fig. 6, where two workpieces in the form of pipes P1 and P2 are connected to electrodes 1 and 2 respectively. Each electrode 1, 2 is in the form of a fixed lower jaw 1a, 2a and a vertically displaceable upper jaw 1b, 2b. Each jaw is shaped to receive the respective workpiece, and the upper jaw is forced downwardly onto the workpiece by means of an hydraulic ram, thereby clamping the workpieces tightly. The electrode 1 is mounted on a fixed base 3, and the electrode 2 is mounted on a movable platen 4, thereby allowing the spacing of the protruding ends of the workpieces to be adjusted. The resultant weld is very strong. However, without a suitable atmosphere, so-called "penetrators" and/or other imperfections may be formed through the weld plane. The penetrators do not affect the strength excessively for most welded articles, but in certain fields, e.g. in aerospace products which are manufactured from specialist alloys, penetrators can reduce the strength of the weld to an unacceptable level. In SU-A-941070, the ends of two workpieces to be welded are each covered with a housing portion which, when moved together, form a chamber around the welding region. An inert gas can be fed to the chamber during welding. In JP-A-56-39176 a housing is located around a welding region and two objects to be joined extend into the housing through openings. Inert gas can be fed into the housing during welding. The present invention results from the need to reduce oxide inclusions and other impurities at the weld plane to the absolute minimum. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flash butt welding shield which overcomes or alleviates the aforementioned problems. In accordance with of the present invention, there is provided a shield for a flash butt welding apparatus of the type having first and second electrodes, each having relatively displaceable upper and lower electrode portions and thereby being adapted to conductively clamp first and second workpieces respectively, and means for varying the separation of the first and second electrodes, the shield comprising enclosing walls connectible to the two electrodes and adapted to form an enclosed volume surrounding a welding region between the two electrodes, the enclosing walls comprising a deformable wall portion for permitting relative movement of the two electrodes and inlet means for the ingress of gas into the enclosed volume. This forms an enclosed volume around the weld area, into which inert gas may be fed. The gas may be fed through the articles to be joined (e.g. if they are in the form of pipes) and/or there may be other means for supplying gas into the enclosed volume. The deformable wall portion is preferably flexible and advantageously comprises heat-resistant material, e.g. glass fibre. The deformable wall portion advantageously comprises a material which minimises the leakage of gas therethrough. For example, it may comprise a layer of silicon-coated glass fibre. The internal face of the deformable wall portion may be provided with a weld spatter release coating. In one embodiment, the enclosing walls comprise an envelope which comprises two opposed walls jointed together to at least partially define the enclosed volume, each of the opposed walls comprising a deformable wall portion. Each opposing wall is preferably securable to an end face of a respective electrode. In one embodiment, each of the opposed walls comprises a substantially rigid wall portion connectible to a respective one of the electrodes and a deformable wall portion connectible to the periphery of the substantially rigid wall portion. The rigid wall portion and the flexible wall portion both preferably have a generally circular outer periphery. In a preferred embodiment, the shield comprises two separable portions, e.g. upper and lower portions, which are engageable with each other to define the enclosed volume. This facilitates positioning and removal of the workpieces. In one embodiment, the shield comprises a first portion adapted to be connected to the upper electrode portion of each of the electrodes and a second portion adapted to be connected to the lower electrode portion of each of the electrodes. The shield may be further provided with coupling means to facilitate interengagement of the two portions. For example, an engaging edge of one of the portions may be flared outwardly. In one embodiment of the present invention, the enclosing walls comprise an envelope surrounding the welding region between the electrodes, the envelope comprising upper and lower releasably interengageable envelope portions, each of which comprises two substantially rigid wall portions, each connected to a respective one of the electrode portions and a flexible wall portion secured to the periphery of the substantially rigid wall portion, the flexible wall portions of each of the envelope portions being connected together and the upper and lower envelope portions co-operating with each other when the electrode portions are in a workpiece-clamping position to form an enclosed volume around the welding region. The present invention also includes a flash butt welding apparatus fitted with a shield in accordance with the present invention. By way of example only, a specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a side view of a flash butt welding machine fitted with an embodiment of flash butt welding shield in accordance with the present invention, shown in an open position; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the welding shield of Fig. 1, shown in an operative position; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the welding shield of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional side view showing the shield of Fig. 1 in a position in which flashing between two components occurs in a pre-welding condition; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional side view showing the shield of Fig. 1 in a position in which two components have been flash butt welded together; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the general principle of flash butt welding. Referring firstly to Fig. 1, a flash butt welding machine comprises a base 10 upon whose upper surface is mounted a first fixed lower platen 12a and a second movable lower platen 14a which is displaceable in a horizontal plane towards and away from the fixed platen 12, as indicated by the arrow. Each platen is provided with a respective lower copper electrode portion 16, 18 which is shaped to receive the lower half of an article to be welded, e.g. pipes 20, 22. Each platen is also provided with a corresponding upper platen 12b, 14b, each provided with a copper electrode portion 24, 26 which is shaped to receive the upper half of an article to be welded. Each upper electrode portion is displaceable vertically into and out of contact with the corresponding lower electrode portion by displacing the upper platens 12b, 14b by means of hydraulic rams 28, 30, which are linked to operate together and which are also arranged to clamp the respective articles very tightly during flash welding. The upper platens 12b, 14b and their associated hydraulic rams are mounted on the fixed and movable lower platens 12a, 14a by means of support members 32, 34, such that the upper and lower electrode portions 26, 18 of the movable platen are always displaced together in the horizontal direction. It will also be noted that the upper and lower platens are provided with stops 36 at each corner, which are arranged to abut each other in order to prevent excessive movement of the upper platens, which might damage the electrodes and/or the workpieces. The electrodes are also provided with lower and upper halves 38a, 38b of a flash butt welding shield 38. As seen in Figs. 2 to 5, each upper and lower half 38a, 38b is composed of two sides, each fixed to one of the electrodes. Fig. 3 shows one side of the upper half 38b, the other side being a mirror image, and the sides of the lower half 38a generally corresponding to those of the upper half, as will be explained. Each side of the upper and lower halves thus comprises a semicircular steel plate 40 having a central semicircular aperture 42 to permit passage of a workpiece. The shape of the aperture 42 would be altered as appropriate if articles having a differently-shaped cross-section are to be joined. The steel plate 40 is bolted to the end face of upper electrode 24, with a high temperature glass fibre gasket 44 being located between the two components. Radially outward of the steel plate 40 is a flexible, heat resistant, annular membrane 46 constructed from an inner layer of silicon coated high temperature glass fibre, and an outer layer of fibreglass impregnated with silicon, the latter layer providing a relatively gas-impermeable barrier. The radially innermost portion of the membrane 46 overlaps the radially outermost portion of the steel plate 40 and the two are clamped together in the overlapping area by means of a semi-annular clamping ring 48 and three bolt and nut assemblies 50. The clamping ring 48 associated with the particular electrode 24 is also provided with a gas inlet 52 and an air outlet 54, which are aligned with apertures 56, 58 in the membrane. The other three clamping rings, steel plates and membranes do not require these additional features. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the outer peripheries of the two sides of the lower half 38a and of the upper half 38b are stitched together, thereby forming the lower and upper halves of the shield 38. It will also be noted that the lowermost portions of the membranes 46 of the upper half 38b of the shield extend below the steel plates 40 but the stitching does not extend to these portions, thereby enabling the portions of the two membranes to be flared outwardly. The uppermost portions of the membranes 46 of the lower half 38a similarly extend above its steel plates 40, but the stitching extends to the end of these portions. Similarly, the lowermost edges of the steel plates 40 of the upper half 38b are flared outwardly while the uppermost edges of the steel plates 40 of the lower half 38a extend vertically. In this way, as the upper half 38b is lowered, the uppermost portions are received in the outwardly flared portions of the lower half 38a, so that the volumes enclosed by the upper and lower halves are in communication with each other. As indicated above, the components of both sides of both the upper and lower halves are identical to one another, with the exception that the upper most portions of the lower half 38a are not flared outwardly, and that only the side of the upper portion associated with the electrode 24 is provided with the gas inlet 52 and outlet 54 and associated apertures in the membrane 46 and the steel plate 40. It should also be noted that the internal surfaces of the membranes may be coated with a release agent to prevent weld spatter from adhering to the side. More importantly, such adherence may result in subsequent damage to the workpieces and/or the electrodes. It might also cause a short circuit and restrict the flexibility of the membrane. A suitable release agent has been found to be ordinary waterbased paint, such as emulsion paint. In use, the upper platens 12b, 14b are raised into the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of the hydraulic rams 28, 30. The ends of two workpieces (e.g. tubular pipes 20, 22) to be joined are placed in the lower electrode portions 16, 18 and are also supported on the two lower platens 12a, 14a. The ends of the workpieces remote from the electrodes may be placed in contact with incrementally adjustable end stops 60,62 to prevent longitudinal displacement of the workpieces with respect to their associated electrodes. The hydraulic rams 28, 30 are then actuated to lower the upper electrode portions 24, 26 into contact with the respective workpieces and to clamp the workpieces 20,22 tightly between the electrodes 16, 24 and 18, 26. This prevents inadvertent movement of the workpieces with respect to their associated electrodes. Downward displacement of the upper electrode portions 24, 26 also causes engagement of the lower and upper halves 38a, 38b of the shield, with the flared edges of the steel plates 40 and the membranes 46 of the upper half 38b receiving the straight edges of the corresponding components of the lower half 38a. This creates a volume which totally encloses the ends of the workpieces 20, 22 to be joined. The overlap area between the upper and lower portions may also be sealed with industrial adhesive tape to complete the sealing of the enclosed volume. High pressure inert gas, e.g. argon gas, is then allowed to flow through the workpieces 20,22 and thus flows into the volume enclosed by the welding shield 38. If solid components are being joined, then obviously this step is omitted. The volume enclosed by the shield is vented to atmosphere through the outlet 54 of the shield, and the applied pressure is monitored by means of a manometer 64 mounted on the housing which encloses the hydraulic ram 28. After a desired purging time, argon gas is also fed to the gas inlet 52 of the shield 38, the additional pressure being monitored by means of the manometer 64. After a further desired purging time, the exhaust to atmosphere is closed off by means of a valve (not visible in Fig. 1), and the argon supply is maintained. The flash butt welding is then allowed to take place in the conventional manner. Current is applied to the two pairs of electrodes 16, 24 and 18, 26 and at the correct spacing of the exposed ends of the workpieces 20, 22 arcing or flashing occurs between the ends of the workpieces. This causes the ends of the workpieces to be heated locally to their fusion points. After a suitable time, depending upon the workpieces to be joined, the gap between the two components is closed, and the movable platen 14 is displaced hydraulically towards the fixed platen 12 to apply an "upset force" to the components 20, 22. This causes a violent expulsion of plastic metal and impurities formed during flashing, and the clean, molten end surfaces of the two components are plastically deformed, resulting in an extremely strong forged weld. The current can be switched off before, during or after application of the upset force, depending upon the particular circumstances, and the argon is switched off once welding has taken place. As flashing occurs, it is necessary to displace the movable electrode gradually towards the fixed electrode to maintain flashing, since the ends of the workpieces become worn away during flashing. The provision of the flexible walls of the shield allows movement of the electrodes 18, 26 and the workpiece 22, while still providing an enclosed volume comprising an inert argon atmosphere around the weld area throughout the movement of the workpiece. The flexible walls of the shield also permit displacement of the electrode 18, 26 and the workpiece 22 during application of the upset force, while still maintaining the inert atmosphere around the weld region. The provision of an inert atmosphere prevents oxygen from reaching the weld plane, and thereby virtually eliminates the possibility of oxides and other inclusions being present at the weld plane. The present invention enables the formation of inclusion-free welds whose strength can equal, or even exceed, that of the component materials.

Claims: A shield (38) for a flash butt welding apparatus (10) of the type having first and second electrodes (16,24; 18,26), each having relatively displaceable upper (24,26) and lower (16,18) electrode portions and thereby being adapted to conductively clamp first and second workpieces (20,22) respectively, means (14) for varying the separation of the first and second electrodes, enclosing walls (40,46) adapted to form an enclosed volume surrounding a welding region between the two electrodes, and inlet means (52) for the ingress of gas into the enclosed volume, the shield being characterised in that the enclosing walls (40,46) are connectible to the two electrodes and comprise a deformable wall portion (46) for permitting relative movement of the two electrodes. A shield as claimed in claim 1, wherein the enclosing walls comprise an envelope which comprises two opposed walls joined together to at least partially define the enclosed volume, each of the opposed walls comprising a deformable wall portion (46). A shield as claimed in claim 2, wherein each opposed wall is securable to an end face of a respective electrode. A shield as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein each of the opposed walls comprises a substantially rigid wall portion (40) connectible to a respective one of the electrodes and a deformable wall portion (46) connectible to the periphery of the substantially rigid wall portion. A shield as claimed in claim 4, wherein the substantially rigid wall portion (40) is made from metal. A shield as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the substantially rigid wall portion (40) and the deformable wall portion (46) both have a generally circular outer periphery. A shield as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the deformable wall portion (46) is flexible. A shield as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the deformable wall portion (46) comprises heat-resistant material. A shield as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a weld spatter release coating on the internal surface of the deformable wall portion (46) . A shield as claimed in any of the preceding claims, further comprising outlet means (54) for the egress of air and gas from the enclosed volume. A shield as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising two separable portions (38a,38b) which are engageable with each other to define the enclosed volume. A shield as claimed in claim 11, comprising a first portion (38b) adapted to be connected to the upper electrode portion of each of the electrode means and a second portion (38a) adapted to be connected to the lower electrode portion of each of the electrode means. A shield as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, further comprising coupling means for facilitating interengagement of the two portions (38a,38b). A shield as claimed in claim 13, wherein the coupling means comprises an outwardly flaring portion on an engaging edge of one of the portions. A shield as claimed in claim 1 wherein the enclosing walls comprise an envelope surrounding the welding region between the electrodes, the envelope comprising upper (38b) and lower (38a) releasably interengageable envelope portions, each of which comprises two substantially rigid wall portions (40), each connectible to a respective one of the electrode portions and a flexible wall portion (46) secured to the periphery of the substantially rigid wall portion (40), the flexible wall portions (46) of each of the envelope portions being connected together and the upper (38b) and lower (38a) envelope portions co-operating with each other when the electrode portions are in a workpiece-clamping position to form an enclosed volume around the welding region. A flash butt welding apparatus (10) of the type having first and second electrode means, each having relatively displaceable upper and lower electrode portions and thereby being adapted to conductively clamp first and second workpieces respectively, and means for varying the separation of the first and second electrode means, further comprising a shield as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

Inventors: BAILEY RICHARD TREVOR, BAILEY, RICHARD TREVOR
Applicants: BAILEY RICHARD TREVOR, BAILEY, RICHARD TREVOR
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B23K11
IPC codes: B23K11