Welding technology is one of the important fields of science in the manufacturing and construction industry. Welding joints have high flexibility so that they are still the prima donna in the manufacturing and construction fields. There are many things that may not be understood by welders ranging from welders, welding inspectors to welding engineers regarding the causes of various defects and failures of welding joints even though the welding process has been designed and carried out according to procedures.

One of the technological developments in welding is using EMF or External Magnetic Flux. This technology provides a solution to overcome these problems. The advantage of EMF is that it can increase the electromagnetic force without increasing the welding current and welding heat input. The greater the electromagnetic force, the faster the movement of the molten weld metal.

“Increasing the electromagnetic force causes the molten metal to move faster and the process of stirring the molten weld metal is more effective. The impact is that the peak temperature decreases, the cooling rate decreases, porosity and weld defects decrease, the weld structure becomes more homogeneous, the unmixed zone (UMZ) becomes narrower, the weld bevel becomes narrower and deeper and the mechanical strength of the weld joint increases,” he said.

Another advantage of EMF technology is that it can reduce the welding temperature and cooling rate, and improve the quality of the joint. The disadvantage is that EMF technology is only effective when applied to ferromagnetic metals, and can cause the welding arc to deflect.

“We also hope that this EMF technology can be applied in real terms to the manufacturing and construction industries which have so far relied on the preheating and Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) processes to solve complex welding problems,” he explained.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Sugiarto, S.T., M.T. is the 32nd professor in the field of Materials and Manufacturing Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering. He is also the 422nd professor produced by Brawijaya University. (drn/vq)