Submerged arc welding of titanium flux economics

Tom's first research contract as a young professor, ~1977–78. Calcium fluoride flux at $100/lb, hygroscopic and contamination-prone, with 1.5 lb of flux per lb of titanium weld metal — an order of magnitude worse than steel submerged arc economics.

Let me talk about the Alfa subs and how they might have been built. The first thing I'll pass around is submerged arc welding. What is submerged arc welding? This is a submerged arc weld in titanium that I made about 1977 or '78. It was made with a calcium fluoride flux. We took single crystal optical grade calcium fluoride and crushed it up. Submerged arc welding is a process where you take heavy plate and pour the sand on the surface — it's a granular flux — then you take a bare wire and strike an arc, and the arc is submerged beneath the flux. Not submerged in water, submerged beneath the flux.