Effects of shielding gas temperature and flow rate on the welding fume particle size distribution

The disperse composition of welding fume from gas metal arc welding with various shielding gas temperatures and flow rates is studied. The dependencies of bimodal particle size distribution on the shielding gas temperature in range of 300-600 K and flow rate in range of 6-12 Lpm are demonstrated. It is shown that the shielding gas temperature increase leads to condensed material between modes redistribution and to total integration of inhalable particles.