The molten weld and the arc zone are protected from atmospheric contamination by being "submerged" under a blanket of granular fusible flux consisting of lime, silica, manganese oxide, calcium fluoride, and other compounds.OverviewSubmerged arc welding (SAW) is a common process. The first SAW patent was taken out in 1935. The process requires a continuously fed consumable solid or tubular (metal cored) electrode. The molten wel. It feeds flux and filler metal to the welding joint. The electrode (filler metal) gets energized here. It stores the flux and controls the rate of flux deposition on the welding joint. The granul. The flux starts depositing on the joint to be welded. Since the flux is not electrically conductive when cold, the arc may be struck either by touching the electrode with the work piece or by placing steel wool between el.