The Boeing Company
Integrated gas purge path for welded sandwich structure

Abstract:

A method of forming a weld on a work piece is disclosed. The method may include creating an internal cavity along the work piece and extending a conduit having an exit orifice into the internal cavity such that the exit orifice may be positioned adjacent to the weld to be formed. The method may further include supplying a purge gas to the conduit, the purge gas being carried through the conduit and pushed out of the exit orifice so as to displace undesirable gasses away from the weld to be formed and then subsequently forming the weld.