Appearance and characteristics of non explosive short circuit transfer using basic electrodes

By means of high-speed photograph and synchronous oscillograph, the appearance and technical features of non-explosive short circuiting transfer using basic electrodes are investigated, and the conditions to form this metal transfer mode are discussed. It is shown that the metal transfer mode has its high frequency of droplet, short period of arc extinguishing and long arc igniting period. This metal transfer mode is expected for basic electrodes for its less spatter and higher deposition efficiency.     

Simulation of Metal Transfer in GMAW Based on FLUENT

A new numerical approach is presented, which is used to simulate the dynamic process of metal transfer. The process of metal transfer in gas metal arc welding is simulated based on FLUENT. A two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical model is developed using volume of fluid method and the distributions of physical quantities including pressure, current density, electric potential in the droplet are investigated. For improving the veracity of the simulated results and decreasing the effect of the uncertain surface tension coefficient on the simulated results, the relationship between the welding current and surface tension coefficient is modified by analysis of regression. Meanwhile for testing the accuracy of simulated results, the welding experiments are performed and the high-speed photography system is used to record the real process of metal transfer. The results show that the simulated results are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental ones.     

Analysis of metal transfer during electron beam welding with filler wire

The metal transfer mode of electron beam welding （EBW） with filler wire was studied experimentally. The spatial position between the electron beam and the filler wire was defined. Basing on the charge coupled device （CCD） visual sensing system, the metal transfer mode of filler wire was investigated. The results showed that there were five transfer modes during EBW process due to different wire feed rates and spatial positions between beam and filler wire, such as short-circuiting mode, molten metal bridge mode, small droplet mode, big droplet mode and mixed mode. By comparing the weld appearance of different transfer modes, the molten metal bridge transfer was proved to be the best transfer mode.     

Research on droplet transfer in oscillating arc narrow gap GMA welding

In this paper, the droplet transfer in oscillating arc narrow gap gas metal arc （ GMA ） welding was studied. According to the experimental results, the oscillating arc has effect on the droplet transfer mode. The droplet transfer frequency in narrow gap groove is higher than that in bead-on-plate welding. Because of the change of arc location in narrow gap groove, the droplet transfer in oscillating arc narrow gap changes regularly. The droplet transfer frequency near groove sidewall is higher than that at the middle of narrow gap groove.     

Metal transfer characteristics of tandem narrow gap GMAW for flat welding position

A series of experiments of tandem narrow gap GMAW for flat welding position were carried out. The arc behavior and metal transfer process were observed by a high-speed photography system. The effects of the welding parameters on the metal transfer were investigated. The results show that the arc behavior and metal transfer process of tandem narrow gap GMAW are different from these of bead-on-plate tandem GMAW. The arc behavior and metal transfer process are influenced by the distance between the two wires, the peak voltage, the pulse frequency and the peak time. With the increase of the distance between the two wires, the metal transfer mode gradually transforms from one pulse-multi droplets into one pulse-one droplet, and the average welding current increases. With the increase of the peak voltage, pulse frequency or peak time, the metal transfer mode transforms from one pulse-one droplet into one pulse-multi droplets, and the arc tends to occur between the wire and the sidewall.     

Droplet transition for plasma-MIG welding on aluminium alloys

The synchronous acquisition system of droplet image inspection and arc electric signals were established and the droplet transition characteristics of aluminum alloys were researched in the plasma-MIG welding process.Typical droplet transition modes include globular transfer mode,short circuiting transfer mode,metastable spray transfer mode and projected transfer mode.The result indicates that MIG droplet transfer frequency and droplet transfer modes are changed by introducing the plasma arc in the plasma-MIG welding process compared with the MIG welding on the aluminum alloys,which broadens the range of welding parameters when the stable welding process proceeds.The metastable spray transfer and projected transfer mode are proved to be the most optimal modes by comparing the stability of electronic signal,droplet transition,weld appearance and weld penetration.     

Hybrid Laser-GMAW Welding of High Strength Quenched-Tempered Steels

High-strength quenched and tempered (HSQT) steels have been widely used in structural applications where light weight is of primary design interest.Gas metal arc welding is a common way to join QT steels.When GMAW is used to join the HSQT steel,multi-pass is usually required to achieve full penetration.In addition,weld crack is often observed because of HSQT steel’s high susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement.In addition,due to the large amount of heat input from the arc,the heat affected zone is often softened.This reduces the ductility and strength of welds and makes the weld weaker than the base metal.In this study,a hybrid laser/GMAW process is proposed to produce butt joint for 6.5mm thick HSQT A514 steel plate.Hydrogen diffusion mechanism is first discusses for GMAW and hybrid laser-GMAW welding processes.Metal transfer mode during the hybrid laser/GMAW welding process is also analyzed.A high speed CCD camera with 4000 frame/second is used to monitor the welding process in real time.Welds obtained by GMAW and hybrid laser/GMAW techniques are compared and tested by static lap shear and dynamic impact.Effects of gap between two metal plates and laser beam/GMAW torch spacing on weld property are studied.By appropriately choosing these two parameters,crack-free butt joints with full penetration can be successfully obtained by the hybrid laser/GMAW welding process for HSQT A514 steel plate.     

Determining the boundaries of globular-to-spray transfer in robotic GMAW

Robotic gas metal arc welding （GMAW） experiments were conducted using an ERTOS-1 electrode with Ar ＋ 10% CO2 shielding gas, and the welding current and arc voltage signals were collected by a data acquisition system. The boundaries between globular transfer and spray transfer in terms of the welding current and arc voltage were determined according to the waveform of electric signals and the Fourier transform results of arc voltage. The optimum welding parameters for the two transfer modes were obtained, which laid a foundation for the numerical simulation and control of GMAW process.     

Numerical analysis of arc-droplet behavior in thin wire high current MAG welding with magnetic control

High efficiency welding has always been one of the hot research subjects at home and overseas. Aiming at the problem of unstable droplet rotating spray transfer process in 450 A thin wire metal active gas arc(MAG) welding, a three-dimensional arc-droplet coupled model is established in this paper on the base of fluid dynamics to conduct numerical analysis for droplet transfer behavior with external magnetic controlled MAG welding, and used high-speed camera system to verify the simulation result...     

An initial study on welding procedure using tandem MIG welding of high strength aluminum alloy

The high-speed camera system and data acquisition system of welding parameters were created in tandem MIG welding of high strength aluminum alloy. The experiments were carried out in order to obtain the photos of droplet transfer under different welding parameters in pulsed mode. The droplet transfer mode of ““one pulse one droplet““ becomes the preferred selection during welding process because of its stable procedure and sound weld form. The parameter ranges for corresponding transfer mode were experimentally achieved, among which the stable droplet transfer mode of ““one pulse one droplet““ can be realized. These efforts brave the way for control weld heat input and weld formation in the future.     

Characteristics of TIG arc-assisted laser welding–brazing joint of aluminum to galvanized steel with preset filler powder

Tungsten inert gas(TIG) arc-assisted laser welding–brazing was used for the butt joining of 5A06 aluminum alloy to the galvanized steel by preset filler powder without groove. The spreading behavior of liquid metal on the back of the galvanized steel at different assisted welding currents was also investigated. The results show that the assisted TIG arc optimizes the interface reaction temperature, enhances the wettability of liquid metal on the steel side, and forms a sound butt joint at an appropriate welding current. A non-uniform intermetallic compound is formed at the interfacial layer, which is composed of Fe2Al5 close to the steel substrate and Fe4Al13 close to the solidified aluminum. The superior tensile strength of joint is indicated when the welding current ranges from 13 to 16 A. The average tensile strength can reach 151 MPa at the welding current of 16 A, and the corresponding fracture belongs to the ductile and brittle hybrid mode.     

Edge location in the automatic track system of NGW with small slope angle

Based on the analysis of the groove images in gas metal are welding with small slope angle, a new algorithm of the groove edge location is presented. The groove edge was effectively detected by combining Roberts Detector with the general nonlinear gradient operator. In addition, using Norton Quadratic Polynomial Interpolation, the edge location precision reached sub-pixd level. The experimental results show that the edge detection system works well under the condition of short transfer are welding.     

Formative mechanism of the undercut defect in horizontal variable polarity plasma arc welding

Abstract Horizontal welding is important for heavy or huge welding structures. Keyhole mode variable polarity plasma arc welding of aluminum alloy plates with medium thickness was carried out in horizontal position. The characteristic of welding defects was introduced. Preliminary experiments indicated that the undercut defect could not be eliminated easily. The relationship between welding parameters and the undercut defect showed that this deject could be lessened by using higher heat input. The fluid flow of weld pool was observed by a high speed camera. The fluid flow in weld pool was not symmetric and much of molten metal gathered in the lower part. The fluid flow velocity in the lower part was bigger than that in the upper part. To this end, the formative mechanism of the undercut defect was proposed. The flowability of the molten metal was an influential factor for the undercut defect. A preheating method was designed to verify the formative mechanism.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar joint between aluminum and aluminum-coated steel by cold metal transfer process

Two dissimilar materials, aluminum alloy and aluminum-coated steel, were joined by cold metal transfer process using AlSi₅ filler wire. To this end, the steel was coated with Al-Si. The steel did not melt and aluminum was melt to form the joint during the process, it was actually cold metal transfer welding-brazing. The macrostructure, microstructure, alloy element distribution, and inter-metallic compounds were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. It was found that the Al-Si coating dissolved into the weld metal. The pre-existing thin Fe-Al-Si ternary inter-metallic compounds in the interface between the Al-Si coating layer and base metal steel also partially dissolved into the weld zone, tending to reduce the thickness of inter-metallic compounds. Approximate 3 μm thick undissolved inter-metallic compound was found at the interface after welding which could guarantee sound bonding strength in dissimilar materials joining. The sample was fractured at the fusion zone near the aluminum side in the tensile test. The ultimate tensile strength was about 156 MPa, and the fracture mode is ductile failure in nature according to its morphology.     

Numerical simulation of gas metal arc welding temperature field

The infrared camera is used to investigate the temperature field of gas metal arc welding.The results show that the temperature distribution of weld pool and adjacent area appears cone shape.A new heat source model combined by Gaussian distribution heat source of the arc and conical distribution heat source of the droplet is set up based on the experimental results, and with the combined boundary conditions,the temperature field of gas metal arc welding is simulated using finite element method.According to the comparison between the results of experiment and simulation in temperature field shows that the new combined heat source model is more accurate and effective than the Gauss heat source model.     

Effect of laser characteristics on the weld shape and properties of penetration laser weld of BT20 titanium alloy

The laser beam welding of BT20 titanium alloy was conducted to investigate the weld shape, microstructures and properties. The full penetration weld characteristics produced by CO2 laser and by YAG laser were compared. The results show that the full penetration weld of YAG laser welding closes to “X” shape, and weld of CO2 laser welding is “nail-head” shape.Those result from special heating mode of laser deep penetration welding. The tension strength of CO2 laser and YAG laser joints equal to that of the base metal, but the former has better ductility. All welds consist mainly of the acicular a phase and a few β phase in microstructure. The dendritic crystal of CO2 laser weld is a littlefiner than YAG laser weld. According theresearch CO2 laser is better than YAG laser for welding of BT20 titanium alloy.     

Comparison of Microstructure and Residual Stress Between TIG and MAG Welding Using Low Transformation Temperature Welding Filler

A Cr–Ni type of low transformation temperature(LTT) welding filler was devised in the present study. The LTT weld microstructures of the tungsten inert gas(TIG) and metal active gas(MAG) weldings were investigated by using electron-backscattered diffraction and orientation imaging microscopy. The results showed that the LTT weld microstructures prepared by TIG and MAG weldings were primarily martensite with 17.5% and 8.0% retained austenite,respectively. The LTT weld metal using TIG welding had larger grain size than using MAG. In addition, based on the Taylor factor calculation, the weld metal using MAG welding was more competent in repressing fatigue crack initiation.Meanwhile, the high angle and coincidence site lattice grain boundaries were dominant in the LTT weld metal using MAG welding. Moreover, the hardness of the LTT weld metal using MAG welding was higher than that of using TIG. Based on heat input and phase transformation, finite element method was applied to analyzing the tensile residual stress(RS)reduction in welded joints prepared by both conventional and LTT welding fillers, respectively. The corresponding outcome confirmed that the LTT weld metal using MAG welding was more beneficial to tensile RS reduction.     

Effects of welding voltage on process stability in hyperbaric gas metal arc welding

Based on hyperbaric gas metal arc welding （GMAW） experiments at ambient pressure of 0. 8 MPa, the process stability of different welding voltages was studied. The experiments were carried out with a high speed camera system including infrared laser backlight and electric signal acquisition system. Keeping wire feed speed at 8 m/min, arc length increases linearly with the increase of welding voltage in O. 8 MPa argon environment. Under this condition, all the metal transfer modes are droplet repelled transfer and the transfer frequency increases with increasing welding voltage. The number of deviating spatter is less with relatively high welding voltage. The results of electric signal waveforms show that the probabilities of short circuit and arc interruption decrease firstly and then increase with increasing welding voltage. When the welding voltage is 37 V, the hyperbaric welding process is the most stable with no probability of short circuit and arc interruption.     

Influence of Vanadium Element on Microstructure of Electron Beam Welded Titanium Alloy to Stainless Steel Joint

Electron beam welding experiments of titanium alloys with different vanadium content to stainless steel,as well as alpha titanium to stainless steel using vanadium sheets as filler metal and transition portion were carried out.Microstructures of the joints were examined by scanning electron microscope.The properties were evaluated by microhardness and tensile strength.It was shown that electron beam welding is not feasible due to the brittle Ti-Fe intermetallics with high hardness.Increase of vanadium content in base metal can restrain but can’t avoid the formation of cracks.When vanadium content was too large,the joint was embrittled by FeTi compound with supersaturated V and also cracked after welding.Crack free joint was achieved by using vanadium transition portion which can prevent the contact of Ti and Fe elements.However,the formation of brittle σ intermetallics reduced the tensile strength of the joint,only up to 134MPa.     

Study on DC welding parameters of Al-alloy shaping based on arc-welding robot

The Al-alloy arc-welding shaping system based on arc-welding robot is established, and the Al-alloy shaping manufacture is realized with the DC （direct current） gas metal arc welding （GMAW）. The research indicates that the metal transfer type of DC GMA W, heat input and the initial temperature of the workpiece greatly affect the Al-alloy shaping based on arc welding robot. On the penetration, the weld width and the reinforcement, the influence of welding parameters is analyzed by generalized regression neural network （GRNN） fitting.