Numerical simulation for welding pool and welding arc with variable active element and welding parameters

Abstract

A numerical modelling of the welding arc and weld pool is established for moving argon shielded gas tungsten arc welding to systematically investigate the effect of the active element oxygen and the welding parameters on the Marangoni convection and the weld shape using FLUENT software. The different welding parameters will change the temperature distribution and gradient on the pool surface, and affect the strength of Marangoni convection and the weld shape. Under high oxygen content, the weld depth/width (D/W) ratio substantially depends on the welding parameters. A high welding speed or large electrode gap (arc length) will make the weld D/W ratio decrease. The weld D/W ratio initially increases and then remains constant around 0·5 with the increasing welding current. When the oxygen content is lower, the weld D/W ratio decreases with the increasing welding current. However, the weld D/W ratio is not sensitive to the welding speed or electrode gap. The predicted weld D/W ratio agrees well with the experimental results.     

Study of the law between the weld pool shape variations with the welding parameters under two TIG processes

A double-shielded TIG method was proposed to improve weld penetration and has been compared with the traditional TIG welding method under different welding parameters (i.e., speed, arc length and current). The strength of the Marangoni convection was calculated to estimate the influence of the welding parameters on the variations in weld pool shapes. The results show that the changes in the welding parameters directly impact the oxygen concentration in the weld pool and the temperature distribution on the pool surface. The oxygen content and heat distribution on the weld pool surface are determinants of the pattern and strength of the Marangoni convection. For a negative temperature coefficient of surface tension (∂σ/∂T < 0), an outward Marangoni convection leads to a wide and shallow weld pool shape. The narrow and deep weld pool shape occurs when the Marangoni convection flows along an inward direction (∂σ/∂T > 0). The oxide layer that may appear with the relatively high oxygen content in the weld pool is harmful for the heat flow along the pool surface so as to reduce the welding efficiency especially in the double shielded TIG process.     

Weld shape comparison with iron oxide flux and Ar–O2 shielding gas in gas tungsten arc welding

Abstract

The influence of iron oxide flux and O₂–Ar mixed shielding gas on weld shape and penetration in gas tungsten arc welding is investigated by bead-on-plate welding on SUS 304 stainless with low oxygen and low sulphur contents. The oxygen content in the weld metal is measured using a HORIBA EMGA-520 oxygen/nitrogen analyzer. The results show that both the iron oxide flux and the O₂–Ar mixed shielding gas can significantly modify the weld shape from shallow wide to deep narrow. A large weld depth/width ratio around of 0.5 is obtained when the oxygen content in the shielding gas is in the range of 3000–6000 vol. ppm. Oxygen over a certain critical value, i.e. 70 wt. ppm, in the weld pool alters the temperature coefficient of the surface tension on the pool surface, and hence changes the Marangoni convection. A thick oxide layer on the weld pool surface is generated when the oxygen content in the shielding gas is over 6000 vol. ppm, which becomes a barrier for the oxygen conveyance to the liquid pool and prevents the liquid pool from freely moving, and therefore, decreases the intensity of the Marangoni convection on the pool surface.     

Effect of oxygen content in He–O2 shielding gas on weld shape in ultra deep penetration TIG

Abstract

The effect of the shielding gas concentration on the weld shape was studied for the moving bead on plate TIG welding of SUS304 stainless steel under He–O₂ mixed shielding. The small addition of oxygen to the helium base shielding gas can precisely control the oxygen content in a liquid pool and the weld shape. Oxygen is a surface active element for stainless steel. When the oxygen content in the liquid pool is above the critical value of ～ 70 ppm, the weld shape suddenly changes from a wide shallow type to a deep narrow one due to the change in the Marangoni convection from the outward to inward direction on the liquid pool surface. Weld shape variations influenced by the welding parameters including welding speed, welding current and electrode tip work distance under pure He and He–0.4%O₂ mixed gas shielding were systematically investigated. The investigation results showed that the final shape of the TIG weld depends to a large extent on the pattern and magnitude of the Marangoni convection on the pool surface, which is governed by the combined effect of the oxygen content in a liquid pool, temperature coefficient of the surface tension (dσ s/dT) and the temperature gradient on the pool surface (dT/dr, r is the radius of the weld pool surface). It is considered that the change in welding parameters alters the temperature distribution and gradient on the pool surface, and thus, affects the magnitude of the Marangoni convection and final weld shape.     

微量活性组元氧对焊接熔池Marangoni对流和熔池形貌影响的数值模拟

针对SUS304不锈钢的定点钨极惰性气体保护焊过程,建立三维瞬态定点热源作用下的焊接熔池数学模型,系统研究了不同氧含量下的熔池温度场、速度场以及熔池形貌演变过程.结果表明:随着熔池中活性组元氧的增加,熔池内的对流模式经历了以外对流为主、内外对流共存到以内对流为主的演变过程,熔池形貌由浅且宽形、"勺"形变成深且窄形.熔池中微量氧直接影响熔池表面张力温度梯度系数,改变熔池表面Marangoni对流模式和熔池最终形貌.当氧含量低于80×10-6时,熔池表面以外向Marangoni对流为主,熔池形貌宽且浅;当氧含量超过120×10-6时,熔池表面以内向Marangoni对流为主,熔池形貌窄且深;当氧含量处于(80-120)×10-6之间时,熔池形貌为"勺"形,并且随时间的增加,熔池内外对流区域逐渐变小,内对流区域逐渐变大.定点联合保护焊实验结果表明,熔池形貌变化规律的模拟结果与实验结果吻合.     

TIG焊接过程中熔池对流形式的示踪分析

为验证传统钨极惰性气体保护焊接过程和双层气流保护焊接过程的熔池表面对流形式,确定双层气流保护焊接方法的熔池深度增加机理,试验研究以钨颗粒为示踪相,焊前将300～500μm的钨颗粒均匀涂覆于焊件表面,同时在熔池底部两侧插入钨板,将焊接熔池中心区域和边缘区域阻隔开.传统钨极惰性气体保护焊接方法在熔池表面产生外向对流,钨颗粒...     

Weld shape variation and electrode protection under Ar–(Ar–O2) double shielded GTA welding

Abstract

Double shielded gas tungsten arc welding (GTA welding or TIG welding) of an SUS304 stainless steel with pure inert argon as the inner layer shielding and the Ar–O₂ active gas as the outer layer shielding is proposed in this study in order to investigate its effect on the tungsten electrode protection and the weld shape variation. The experimental results show that the inner inert argon gas can successfully prevent the outer layer active gas from contacting and oxidising the tungsten electrode during the welding process. The active gas, oxygen, in the outer layer shielding is decomposed in the arc and dissolves in the liquid pool, which effectively adjusts the active element, oxygen, content in the weld metal. When the weld metal oxygen content is over 70 ppm, the surface tension induced Marangoni convection changes from outward into inward, and the weld shape varies from a wide shallow one to a narrow deep one. The effect of the inner layer gas flowrate on the weld bead morphology and the weld shape is investigated systematically. The results showed that when the flowrate of the inner argon shielding gas is too low, the weld bead is easily oxidised and the weld shape is wide and shallow. A heavy continuous oxide layer on the liquid pool is a barrier to the liquid pool movement.     

焊接电弧与活性组元对TIG焊熔池形貌影响的数值模拟

通过对FLUENT软件进行二次开发,建立了焊接电弧和焊接熔池模型,模拟分析了不同活性组元O元素含量下定点和移动TIG焊熔池形貌变化,对比了氩弧和氦弧的电弧参量及其对熔池形貌的影响.结果表明,由活性组元O元素含量变化导致的熔池内Marangoin对流变化是熔深增加的主要因素;在氩弧下,来自于电弧的气体剪切力对熔池形貌有较大影响;与氩弧相比,氦弧明显收缩,电流密度更大,更多的热量传递到熔池,增大了电磁力引起的内对流运动,可获得更深熔深.焊缝深宽比的模拟结果与试验结果吻合较好.

Abstract：

Welding arc and weld pool modeh were established by FLUENT software for spot and moving TIG welding of SUS304 stainless steel to investigate the effect of the surface-activating element oxygen on the weld shape and analyze the properties of argon arc and helium arc and their effects on the weld shape. The results show that the change of the Marangoni convection induced by different oxygen contents can be considered as one of the principal factors to increase penetration. The plasma drag force from the argon arc has obvious effect on the weld shape. Compared with the argon arc, the hehum arc is more constricted, the welding current density is much greater and the much more heat flux is transferred into the weld pool, which increase the inward convection induced by the electromagnetic force, thus the deeper weld depth can be obtained.The calculated weld D/W ratio agrees with that of the experiment.     

Modeling of the Weld Shape Development During the Autogenous Welding Process by Coupling Welding Arc with Weld Pool

A numerical model of the welding arc is coupled to a model for the heat transfer and fluid flow in the weld pool of a SUS304 stainless steel during a moving GTA welding process. The described model avoids the use of the assumption of the empirical Gaussian boundary conditions, and at the same time, provides reliable boundary conditions to analyze the weld pool. Based on the two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical modeling of the argon arc, the heat flux to workpiece, the input current density, and the plasma drag stress are obtained. The arc temperature contours, the distributions of heat flux, and current density at the anode are in fair agreement with the reported experimental results. Numerical simulation and experimental studies to the weld pool development are carried out for a moving GTA welding on SUS304 stainless steel with different oxygen content from 30 to 220 ppm. The calculated result show that the oxygen can change the Marangoni convection from outward to inward direction on the liquid pool surface and make the wide shallow weld shape become narrow deep one. The calculated result for the weld shape and weld D/W ratio agrees well with the experimental one.     

PA position full penetration high power laser beam welding of up to 30 mm thick AlMg3 plates using electromagnetic weld pool support

Abstract

Full penetration 15 kW Yb fibre laser butt welding of thick AlMg3 (AW 5754) plates was performed in PA position. A contactless inductive electromagnetic weld pool support system was used to prevent gravity dropout of the melt. The welding speed needed to achieve 20 mm penetration was ～0·5 m min^?1. An ac power supply of ～244 W at 460 Hz was necessary to completely suppress gravity dropout of the melt and eliminate sagging of the weld pool root side surface. The oscillating magnetic field can suppress the Marangoni convection in the lower part of the weld pool. The system was also successfully used in the full penetration welding of 30 mm thick AlMg3 plates.     

YAG laser welding with surface activating flux

YAG laser welding with surface activating flux has been investigated, and the influencing factors and mechanism are discussed. The results show that both surface activating flux and surface active element S have fantastic effects on the YAG laser weld shape, that is to obviously increase the weld penetration and D/W ratio in various welding conditions. The mechanism is thought to be the change of weld pool surface tension temperature coeffwient, thus, the change of fluid flow pattern in weld pool due to the flux.     

Effect of Active Gas on Weld Shape and Microstructure of Advanced A-TIG-Welded Stainless Steel

Advanced A-TIG method was conducted to increase the weld penetration and compared with the conventional TIG welding process.A two-pipeline setup was designed to apply Ar + CO_2 mixed gas as the outer layer,while pure argon was applied as the inner layer to prevent any consumption of the tungsten electrode.The results indicate that the presence of active gas in the molten pool led to the change in the temperature coefficient of surface tension so that the Marangoni convection turns inward and forms a deep weld zone.The increase in gas flow rate causes a decrease in the weld efficiency which is attributed to the increase in oxygen content in the weld pool and the formation o f a thicker oxide layer on the weld surface.Moreover,the stir and the temperature fluctuation,led by double shielding gas,create more homogeneous nucleation sites in the molten pool so that a fine grain micros true ture was obtained.     

He与He＋CO_2双层气流保护TIG焊工艺

以0Cr13Ni5Mo水轮机转轮用低碳马氏体不锈钢为母材,开展了内层为氦,外层为He＋CO2的双层气流保护TIG焊工艺研究.内层通纯氦避免电极直接接触外层CO2而氧化烧损,外层添加活性气体CO2向熔池溶解活性元素氧改变熔池表面张力对流模式,进而增加熔深和焊缝深宽比.研究了外层气体中CO2含量的变化对电极保护和焊缝形貌的...     

Highly efficient TIG welding of Cr13Ni5Mo martensitic stainless steel

A double-shielded TIG welding process using pure He gas as the inner shielding layer and He and CO₂ mixed gas as the outer shielding layer was proposed for the welding of Cr13Ni5Mo martensitic stainless steels. This proposed welding process can successfully address the problem of electrode oxidation with mixed-gas TIG welding and the issue of low weld depth and welding efficiency of traditional TIG welding. A change in the direction of the surface tension convection mode was the primary mechanism that affected the fusion zone profile. When the oxygen content in the weld pool was in the range of 80–120 ppm, the surface tension convection direction changed from outward to inward, resulting in both a larger weld depth and a larger weld depth/width ratio. This process not only allows for a high welding efficiency comparing with traditional TIG welding but also produces better weld impact properties than those of MAG welding (metal active gas welding).     

氧元素分布模式与AA-TIG焊熔池形貌的数值模拟

文中结合电弧辅助活性TIG焊熔池氧元素分布的试验研究结果,提出焊接熔池表面氧元素分别与熔池表面温度和位置相关两种分布模式,建立了更完善的电弧辅助活性TIG焊熔池模型,求解结果与已有的试验结果和理论研究吻合良好. 结合求解结果,利用格拉晓夫数G_r,磁雷诺数R_m和表面张力雷诺数M_a分析了浮力、电磁力和表面张力的相对作用大小; 利用Peclet数分析了熔池热对流和热传导的相对强弱. 结果表明,电弧辅助活性TIG 焊熔池表面张力作用远大于电磁力和浮力,并决定熔池流动形式;熔池热对流主导熔池的传热过程,揭示了不锈钢活性TIG焊活性元素决定深而窄的熔池形貌的内在本质.     

不同驱动力对熔池表面变形行为影响的数值模拟

基于流体动力学方程，采用焓-孔隙度法来处理液-固相变，采用VOF方法追踪熔池自由表面变形，建立了固定电弧下的三维瞬态TIG焊熔池数学模型，求解获得了在浮力、Marangoni力、电磁力和电弧压力单独作用时的熔池表面变形行为及其温度场与速度场的分布.模拟结果表明，在大电流（I≥250 A）时，在浮力、表面张力温度系数为正时的Marangoni力、电磁力单独作用于熔池上表面将会产生凸起变形，在电弧压力、表面张力温度系数为负时的Marangoni力单独作用下，熔池上表面将会产生凹陷变形.在大电流下，TIG焊和活性TIG焊熔池均产生凹陷变形.TIG焊熔池的中心区域形成向内的涡流，边缘部位形成向外的涡流，而活性TIG熔池在熔池中心和熔池边缘则分别形成两种成因不同的内向涡流.熔池表面变形量并不是各个驱动力作用的简单叠加.     

On the effects of gravity and sulfur content on the weld shape in horizontal narrow gap GTAW of stainless steels

A simplified 2D axisymmetric model and a comprehensive 3D weld pool model, accounting for the free surface deformation and the filler metal addition, have been developed to investigate the factors that lead to asymmetric bead shapes in horizontal GTA welding of stainless steels. Buoyancy-induced flow and the sagging of the pool free surface, under the action of gravity, are found to be responsible for the weld asymmetry and the decrease in the weld penetration at the bottom sidewall. The numerical results clearly emphasized the beneficial role of the Marangoni shear stress in limiting the asymmetry of horizontal GTA welds. An additional experimental investigation showed that the asymmetry in the weld shape can be reduced when placing the lowest sulfur content component at the bottom side.     

5056铝合金稳恒磁控激光深熔焊接过程熔池流动与传热行为分析

针对外加稳恒磁场条件下6 mm厚度5056铝合金激光深熔焊接过程,建立了热场—流场—电磁场耦合熔池瞬态动力学数值模型,求解了特定时刻温度场、速度场与电磁场分布,建立了熔池沿不同方向的Peclet数模型,分析了不同磁场感应强度对熔池流动与传热行为的影响.结果表明,稳恒磁场条件下熔池中产生显著的哈特曼效应,表现为液态金属M...     

CuZnSnSi合金钎料相变过程的热分析动力学

CuZnSnSi合金钎料在钎焊钢工件中具有良好的综合性能.为进一步探究其合金性能,借助差示扫描分析(DSC)和热重分析(TG)技术,分别采用微分非等温法和积分非等温法分析了CuZnSnSi合金钎料相变过程的热分析动力学.结果表明,CuZnSnSi合金的相变温度范围为1150.5~1221.5 K,吸热峰温度为1174.46 K,在相变过程中没有化学反应,但出现升温段的吸热峰温度滞后于降温段的放热峰,说明了合金钎料在结晶过程需要一定的过冷度;非等温分析法计算得到合金钎料相变表观活化能为615.72 kJ/mol;由Arrhenius公式得出合金钎料相变速率常数k的变化规律为1.71×1027exp(-6.16×10⁵/RT).     

Measurement of surface temperature of weld pools by infrared two colour pyrometry

Abstract

In this research, two colour pyrometry was conducted to obtain the surface temperature of weld pools, in which the weld pool was photographed by a high speed camera during arc welding. Two wavelengths (950 and 980 nm) of light in the infrared range were selected from the thermal radiation light emitted from the weld pool at the instant when the arc was extinguished, using an imaging spectroscope. Consequently, in gas tungsten arc welding, it was shown that the surface temperature distribution of a weld pool is affected by the sulphur content in the base metal. It is thought that this temperature distribution is determined by the balance between the driving forces of viscous drag from the cathode jet of plasma and Marangoni surface tension. In gas metal arc welding, it was seen that the surface temperature distribution becomes uniform and the temperature is 1715–1845 K, which is obviously lower than that of the metal droplet.