Mapping transfer modes for stainless steel gas metal arc welding

Abstract

A methodology for the construction of transfer mode maps for stainless steel gas metal arc welding, with argon and argon–oxygen shielding gases, is presented. A back lighting laser and high speed video camera were used for visualisation and measurement of droplets and electrode extension. The reasons for the use of a groove, instead of the traditional bead on plate method, and of same volume beads are discussed and the results assessed. Unlike in other mapping procedures, mapping was conducted as a function of welding current and arc length. In addition, transfer rate v. welding current or wire feedrate curves were plotted. The results show the importance of the use of both maps and curves for identification and quantification of the shielding gas effects on the transfer mode. The results also suggest that an increase in oxygen content in the shielding gas reduces the values of transition current and transition wire feedrate (as expected), but also that it reduces the transfer rate and droplet size at the globular–spray transition.     

Effects of shielding gas composition on arc characteristics and droplet transfer in tandem narrow gap GMA welding

The effects of shielding gas composition in tandem narrow gap gas metal arc welding were studied. The shielding gas included argon, carbon dioxide and helium. The arc characteristics and droplet transfer process were analysed. The results show that in the same welding parameters, the trail wire welding current is higher than the lead wire welding current. With the increase of carbon dioxide content, the welding currents of two wires decrease, and the trail wire droplet transfer mode transforms from spray transfer to projected transfer. With the increase of helium content, the welding currents increase and the lead wire droplet transfer mode transforms from projected transfer to spray transfer. The weld width is the largest when the shielding gas mixture is 80%Ar10%CO₂10%He.     

铝合金三元气体保护焊温度场及接头组织特征

针对铝合金三元气体保护焊力学性能提升原因分析的需求,使用测温系统采集铝合金纯氩气体保护、三元气体保护焊接的热循环曲线,分析焊接温度场特征的差异. 研究发现三元气体保护焊温度场更加集中,峰值温度更高,降温速率更快. 对纯氩气体保护、三元气体保护焊接头进行染色法观察发现,三元气体保护堆焊时晶粒更大,气孔率更低;对接焊时,三元气体保护焊接头的半熔化区存在晶界液化现象,三元气体保护焊的晶界液化现象更加严重,半熔化区宽度更窄. 结果表明,焊接温度场是引起焊接接头力学性能提升的根本原因.     

Visualization of gas metal arc welding on globular to spray transition current

The transfer modes in gas metal arc welding have important effects on welding quality. However, present study of metal transfer modes is not yet fully understood. In this study, welding arcs was visualised using the optical emission spectroscopy technique. The carbon steel wire electrode was used for welding with 80% Ar?+?20% CO₂ shielding gas. The results showed that the globular to spray transition current was 330–350?A. During globular to spray transition, argon,CO₂ and Fe plasma tended to gradually change from localising near the arc axis to a two-layer structure having 11,000?K in high-temperature region away from the arc axis and around 7000?K in low-temperature region near the arc axis.     

Arc pressure and weld metal fluid flow while using alternating shielding gases. Part 1: arc pressure measurement

Abstract

As part of an ongoing process to fully evaluate the effects of an alternating shielding gas supply on gas shielded welding processes, a comparison between the arc pressures generated using argon, helium, alternating shielding gases and pulsed gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) has been conducted. Arc pressure variation and peaking are two of the fundamental phenomena produced during the alternating shielding gas process and are said to help create a stirring action within the liquid weld metal. However, there are no published data on arc pressure measurements during an alternating shielding gas supply, and consequently, these phenomena are based solely on theoretical assumptions. The experimental measurements made have shown that alternating shielding gases produce considerably higher arc pressures than argon, helium and pulsed GTAW due to a surge at weld initiation. The transient arc pressure measurements made when using alternating shielding gases are also considerably different from the theoretical assumptions previously reported.     

Effects of ac arc ultrasonic on plasma arc in situ welding of SiCp/6061Al MMCs

Abstract

The isolation coupling device is designed based on the principle of high pass filter circuit, which can achieve isolation and coupling between ac welding power and ultrasonic frequency excitation source. In addition, ac arc ultrasonic vibration is obtained successfully. The plasma arc in situ welding of SiCp/6061Al was performed using two different processes. The first process is that the plasma gas is argon nitrogen mixture and the filler material is flux cored wire (Al–5Ti–5Si); the other process is that the plasma gas is argon and the filler material is flux cored wire (Al–15Ti–3Si). The two joints are respectively enhanced by nitride and Al₃Ti, which were obtained in these processes. After arc ultrasonic vibrations were imposed on the two welding processes, it was revealed that arc ultrasonic improved the distribution of the new nitride phases and optimised the morphology of Al₃Ti to improve the mechanical properties of joints that reached 246 and 263 MPa. Fracture analysis showed that the improvement of the mechanical properties resulting from Al₃Ti is better than that from nitride under the effect of arc ultrasonic.     

药芯焊丝混合气体保护焊的熔敷特性研究

以Ar+CO2作为保护气体,研究了药芯焊丝混合气体保护焊的混合气体配比、焊接电流、电弧电压和气体流量对熔敷速度、熔敷系数和熔敷效率的影响。试验结果表明,Ar+CO2混合气体保护焊比CO2焊的熔敷效率高,Ar气比例达到60%以上,熔敷效率显著增加。焊接工艺参数选择合适时,可以获得较高的熔敷速度、熔敷系数和熔敷效率。     

Welding current prediction in GMAW and UGMAW processes using response surface methodology

Abstract

Among all process variables in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process, welding current is the most influential variable affecting heat input and weld quality. Its dependence on other process variables in GMAW and universal gas metal arc welding (UGMAW) processes (which makes use of a specially designed torch to preheat the filler wire independently, before its emergence from the torch) has been investigated using four factor five level central composite rotatable design to develop relationship for predicting welding current, which enables to quantify the direct and interactive effects of four numeric factors, namely wire feedrate, open circuit voltage, welding speed and electrode stickout and one categorical factor preheat current. Mathematical models developed show that welding current increased linearly with increaseing wire feedrate and open circuit voltage, whereas it decreased with increasing electrode stickout and preheat current. Numerical optimisation was carried out, and the optimal solutions generated indicate that under the same input conditions higher deposition rates are achievable in UGMAW process.     

Effect of shielding gas and activating flux on weld bead geometry in tungsten inert gas welding of austenitic stainless steels

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of three shielding gases (argon and argon–hydrogen and argon–helium mixtures) and two activating fluxes (a commercial flux and a TiO₂ based flux) on the geometry of welds produced by the tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process on several casts of austenitic stainless steel AISI 316, using currents ranging from 100 to 300 A. Penetration depth increases with increasing current for all shielding gases, but weld depth to width ratio is higher for argon than for argon–hydrogen shielded welds. Both activating fluxes produce a substantial increase in penetration depth and in depth to width ratio of the welds. No correlation was found between penetration depth and oxygen content in the melted material. Some interaction exists between activating fluxes and shielding gases, which can affect the weld geometry and/or the defect formation in the welds.     

电弧气氛对CO2激光与TIG电弧相互作用的影响

采用激光功率计、光束光斑质量诊断仪及高速摄像仪,对比研究了氩和氦气氛下CO2激光与直流TIG电弧垂直相互作用时的光束特性和电弧特性.结果表明,氩气氛时,激光功率显著衰减,光束散焦,功率密度分布严重劣化;与此同时,电弧电压降低,体积膨胀,甚至产生激光支持的燃烧波;而氦气氛时,激光电弧相互作用时光束特性及电弧特性变化很小.不同气氛时激光电弧相互作用的差异源于气体的电离能不同,电弧等离子体的电子数密度存在很大差异:氦弧的电子数密度较氩弧低一个数量级,因而氦弧对CO2激光的逆韧致吸收系数比氩弧低两个数量级.同时,氦弧的折射率与大气相比较差异很小,因而对激光束的折射效应弱.     

Distribution of temperature fields in welding in a gas mixture with pulsed electrode wire feed

The results of evaluation of the efficiency of using mechanized welding with pulsed electrode wire feed in a mixture of gases Ar + CO₂ are presented. The results show that the addition of argon to the composition of the shielding medium reduces the heat input in the parent metal by 5–10%.     

高铬镍奥氏体焊丝Ar/He/CO2保护脉冲GMAW电弧形态与熔滴过渡

为解决高强度Cr-Ni奥氏体焊丝脉冲GMAW电弧挺度不足,熔滴过渡不稳定的问题,文中采用高速摄像手段对Ar/He/CO₂不同组合气体保护下的脉冲GMAW电弧形态与熔滴过渡进行了对比研究,以期优化混合气体成分.结果表明,氩气弧熔滴过渡容易,但电弧漂移、挺度差;氦气和CO₂气体的加入可提高电弧挺度、增大电弧能量、熔滴过渡变为1脉多滴,先一个大滴,接着几个小滴;氦气的比例越大,第一个熔滴的尺寸越大;CO₂气体可克服阴极斑点漂移,但比例不能超过5%;40% Ar+58% He+2% CO₂三元组合的电弧挺度大,熔滴过渡均匀平稳,是奥氏体焊丝脉冲GMAW厚板焊接较理想的混合气体组分.     

保护气体对金红石型药芯焊丝电弧行为影响分析

采用高速摄像装置及汉诺威弧焊分析仪分析了金红石型药芯焊丝在100% CO₂及80% Ar+20% CO₂气体保护焊时的熔滴过渡模式及电弧形态.结果表明,100% CO₂气体保护焊时小、中、大参数均出现排斥过渡特征,随电弧电压与焊接电流增加,熔滴尺寸减小,过渡频率增加,出现滴状过渡,波形呈锯齿状;80% Ar+20% CO₂气体保护焊时以滴状过渡为主,大参数时出现射滴过渡,波形近似直线.前者渣柱仅出现于熔滴形成长大的初期,后者在熔滴过渡全过程均有渣柱存在,且对熔滴过渡有一定的导向与稳定作用.这与电弧形态不同,熔滴与渣柱受电弧热作用的效果不同有关.     

Application of grey relational analysis to determine welding parameters for Nd:YAG laser GMA hybrid welding of aluminium alloy

Abstract

Grey relational analysis is carried out to develop a new approach for optimization of Nd:YAG laser and gas metal arc hybrid welding parameters. The qualities of a welded material depend on various welding parameters. The parameters chosen for the current study include wire type, shielding gas, laser power, laser focus, travelling speed and wire feedrate. The welding experiments are performed on 6K21-T4 Al alloy sheet which are mostly used in automotive industries. The ultimate tensile stress, the bead width, and the penetration are chosen as the criterion for optimising the welding parameters. The method based on an orthogonal array following Taguchi's recommendation is adopted in the present study. Based on the results of grey relational analysis, a set of optimal welding parameters are obtained. The results show that the optimal welding parameters determined by the grey relational analysis are much improved compared to those from the preliminary set of experimental parameters.     

Effect of power source characteristic on CO2 short circuiting arc welding

Abstract

Some problems are reported concerning the observation of the weld pool and effects of the power source characteristic on arc stability in CO₂ short circuiting arc welding. First, the effect of a power source with a constant voltage characteristic on CO₂ short circuiting arc welding is investigated by analysing the behaviour of the voltage and the current. From the results of this analysis, the cause of spatter generation is identified. A new power source characteristic is then proposed to improve the stability and the self-regulation of the arc. By adjusting the power source characteristic, the metal transfer can be stabilised in the CO₂ short circuiting arc welding process, i.e. the present authors have developed a power source having a non-linear characteristic. Its performance is verified by carrying out experiments.     

Microstructures of gas metal arc weld metal of 950 MPa class steel

Abstract

The effects of shielding gas composition on the properties and microstructure of single pass weld metals produced by GMA (gas metal arc) groove welding of 950 MPa class steel plates have been investigated. The shielding gas employed was a mixture of argon (Ar) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) (0–25%), and the weld heat input was ～3 kJ mm. With increasing CO₂ content, the hardness of the weld metal decreased from 380 HV to 280 HV, and the absorbed energy of the Charpy impact test decreased from 130 J to 90 J. The microstructures of the weld metal, consisting primarily of low carbon martensite and carbide free bainite, became more bainitic as the CO₂ content of the shielding gas was increased. It was also found that the MA constituent, embrittling microstructure, was formed in the granular bainitic area, the volume fraction of which increased with the CO₂ content of the shielding gas.     

保护气体成分对双丝旁路耦合电弧GMAW旁路熔滴过渡形式的影响

双丝旁路耦合电弧GMAW的旁路焊枪选择了正极性接法即焊丝接电源负极,旁路熔滴仅依靠重力向熔池过渡,旁路熔滴尺寸较大且过渡过程并不稳定.针对这一问题,采用已建立的双丝旁路耦合电弧焊接过程信号控制与高速摄像采集系统,采集了纯氩气保护时旁路熔滴过渡形式,并分析了旁路熔滴尺寸较大且过渡过程不稳定的原因.在此基础上,采用80% Ar+20% CO₂为保护气体进行了焊接试验.结果表明,焊接过程中,保护气体中的O元素在旁路熔滴表面形成了氧化膜,旁路电弧在旁路熔滴表面的氧化膜上稳定燃烧,从而使电磁收缩力重新作用在旁路熔滴上并促进旁路熔滴向熔池过渡,因此焊接过程中旁路熔滴尺寸明显减小,熔滴过渡过程更加稳定.     

Thermal elastic‐plastic stress‐strain analysis considering temperature rise due to plastic deformation under dynamic loading in undermatched joints study of dynamic deformation and fracture properties of welded joints with strength heterogeneity (Report 1)

Summary

This paper describes an automatic welding system that can simultaneously control the bead height and back bead shape during one‐sided MAG welding with a backing plate. The system uses a high‐speed rotating arc welding process together with an arc sensing technique for seam tracking and torch height control.

The arc sensing technique is also used to detect variations in the groove shape. The detection mechanism is described in detail in this paper.

The system further uses a newly developed welding parameter control method in which only the wire feedrate and welding voltage are adaptively controlled, the other welding conditions being kept constant. This method is able to keep the bead height constant and retain the back bead shape even if the groove shape changes.

Initial welding experimental results have shown the system to be effective and satisfactory for controlling the weld bead shape in one‐sided GMAW (MIG/MAG) with a backing plate.     

Alternative current flux zoned tungsten inert gas welding process for aluminium alloys

Abstract

A new variant of activating flux tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process called flux zoned TIG (FZ-TIG) welding is proposed to weld aluminium alloys based on the mechanism of activating flux constricting welding arc. This process can not only increase weld penetration but also obtain perfect weld surface appearance simultaneously. An alternative current FZ-TIG welding is made using SiO₂ as the side region material and flux FZ108 developed by the authors with uniform design method as the central region coat material. The weld penetration can reach above three times that of the conventional alternative current TIG welding. All the weld shape, weld microstructure and weld mechanical properties are fine. Except for argon shielding gas flowrate, other welding parameters, including welding current, welding speed, central coat width, central coat content and solvent, have great effect on the weld penetration of alternative current FZ-TIG welding for aluminium alloys.     

Repair welding of cracked turbine shroud using matching composition consumables

Abstract

Repair welding of a crack in the III-stage shroud of a high pressure turbine, was carried out using matching composition ER 410 filler wire by the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process with ultra high purity argon as shielding and backing gas. The development of the repair welding procedure involved laboratory studies for the selection of a suitable ER410 filler wire, optimisation of welding parameters and PWHT. Mock up welding under simulated on-site constraints confirmed the feasibility to produce in situ sound weld joint. In situ repair welding and localised PWHT was carried out successfully. NDT and in situ metallography of the repair-welded region confirmed adequate tempering of the martensitic weldment during the localised PWHT.