The first results of the research of the distribution of welding aerosol nano- and microparticles in the working area based on substance and morphological analysis are presented in the paper. A 3D-model of the welding aerosol cloud demonstrating the distribution of nano- and microparticles in the working area of the welder was created using the granulometric data of the samples. The most dangerous area with maximum density of nano- and microparticles of welding fumes was singled out: 1.3 m in height and 5 meters in all directions.Welding aerosol is a disperse system in which the solid component of the welding aerosol (SCWA) acts as the phase, and the mixture of gases (gaseous component of welding aerosol, or GCWA) – as the medium. SCWA stays suspended in the air for a long time spreading far beyond the working area of a welder [1].The aim of this work was to create a 3D-model of a welding aerosol cloud, demonstrating the spread of nano- and microparticles of welding aerosol in the working area of a welder. The 3D model was created using granulometric data of samples collected by the author’s method.

Arc welding operations are considered to be risky procedures by generating hazardous welding fume for human health. This study focuses on the key characteristics, as well as dispersion models, of welding fumes within a work zone. Commercial and widely used types of electrodes with various types of covering (rutile, basic, acidic and rutile-cellulose) were used in a series of experiments on arc welding operations, under 100 and 150 amps of electric current. According to the results of this study, maximum levels of pollution with particles of PM10 fraction occur in the workspace during arc welding operations. Disregarding the types of electrodes used, the 3D models of dispersion of the РМ10 particles at the floor plane exhibit corrugated morphologies while also demonstrate high concentrations of the РМ10 particles at distances 0–3 m and 4–5 m from the emission source. The morphology of these particles is represented by solid and hollow spheres, ‘nucleus-shell’ structures, perforated spheres, sharp-edged plates, agglomerates of the tree-like (coral) shape. At last the bifractional mechanism of fume particle formation for this type of electrodes is also shown and described. In this article results are reported, which demonstrate the hazards of the arc welding process for human health. The results of the characterization of WFs reported improve our understanding of risks that these operations pose to human health and may strengthen the need for their control and mitigation.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract