Experimental Investigation of Wire Arrangements for Narrow-Gap Triple-Wire Gas Indirect Arc Welding

A new narrow-gap welding process is proposed by applying triple-wire gas indirect arc (TW-GIA). There are double power supplies and triple wires in this system. Power supplies are only connected between electrode wires and base materials are not linked to power supplies. Since there are different wire arrangements with TW-GIA, this article studies these wire arrangements and their effects on sidewall fusion for narrow-gap welding. Results show that different wire arrangements lead to variant arc behaviors and metal transfer, and consequently they lead to different situation of sidewall fusion. The heat to melt sidewalls is mainly from the indirect arc column and metal transfer with narrow-gap TW-GIA. When side wires deviate from the main wire to opposite directions, heat from arc columns and metal transfer can concentrate toward groove sidewalls. When the whole weld torch is lowered, heat from the indirect arc column and metal transfer increases at the weld bead root.     

粗丝CO_2气体保护焊熔滴过渡与潜弧机理的研究

本文详细分析了粗丝CO_2气体保护潜弧焊熔滴过渡的特点和潜弧机理。潜弧状态可以分为三种类型:半潜弧(熔滴主要以较大的颗粒形式过渡)、临界潜弧(熔滴主要以较小颗粒的射滴形式过渡)和深潜弧(熔滴以细小射滴与射流混和形式过渡)。大电流、低电压、粗焊丝、反极性和氧化性气氛是形成潜弧过程的必要条件,其中电流是最重要的条件。潜弧后弧柱气氛改变,焊丝端部的弧根由集中形态扩展为覆盖整个端部形态,使得熔滴尺寸变得细小,熔滴过渡形式发生变化。采用临界潜弧区域的焊接规范参数施焊,飞溅小,工艺过程稳定,焊缝成形优良。     

Mathematical Modeling of Metal Active Gas (MAG) Arc Welding

In the present paper. a numerical model for MAG (metal active gas) arc welding of thin plate has been developed. In MAG arc welding, the electrode wire is melted and supplied into the molten pool intermittently. Accordingly, it is assumed on the modeling that the thermal energy enters the base-plates through two following mechanisms, i.e., direct heating from arc plasma and "indirect" heating from the deposited metal. In the second part of the paper, MAG arc welding process is numerically-analyzed by using the model. and the calculated weld bead dimension and surface profile have been compared with the experimental MAG welds on steel plate. As the result. it is made clear that the model is capable of predicting the bead profile of thin-plate MAG arc welding, including weld bead with undercutting.     

CMT能量输入特点与熔滴过渡行为

为分析CMT焊接方法的工艺特点,采用高速CCD摄像机建立了电弧形态和熔滴过渡视觉传感系统并且通过电流、电压传感器建立了波形采集系统,以此分析其能量输入特点和熔滴过渡行为.结果显示,CMT焊接波形控制呈现典型的直流脉冲特征,焊接时热输入较低;在CMT短路过渡过程中,熔滴尺寸随焊接电流的增加幅度不大,将熔滴尺寸控制在一定范围内可实现稳定的短路过渡.CMT短路过渡通过焊丝回抽,避免了大的电磁力,有效地消除了飞溅.当电流增大到一定值时,其过渡形式将转变为射滴过渡和短路过渡的混合过渡.     

Mechanism of Metal Transfer in DE-GMAW

Modification of conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is of great potential to achieve high productivity with low cost and strong usability.Double-Electrode GMAW (DE-GMAW) is such a modified arc welding process which is formed by adding a bypass torch (gas tungsten arc welding torch) to a conventional GMAW system.The mechanism of metal transfer in DE-GMAW was proposed and verified in this paper.Experiments show that the critical current is decreased so that spray transfer can be obtained at a lower current level in DE-GMAW.Analysis of this significant change in metal transfer phenomena is conducted, and explanation is given out.It is found that the bypass arc in DE-GMAW lifts the anode point on the droplets such that the electromagnetic force becomes larger and squeezes the droplets so that spray transfer can take place under welding current lower than that in conventional GMAW.     

Metal transfer modes of twin-wire indirect arc welding

Metal transfer modes of twin-wire indirect arc welding are studied and the effects of welding parameters on transfer modes are investigated in this paper. The progress of transition is captured by a high speed camera system with a xenon lamp as light source in order to remove the intense arc light. An oscilloscope is used to record the values of the parameters. Results show that anode and cathode have different transfer modes under certain conditions because of different melting rates. All the transfer modes are classified as short-circuiting transfer and free-flight transfer. The latter could be subdivided into globular transfer, projected transfer, streaming transfer, etc. The metal transfer modes of TWIAW are influenced by the welding current, arc voltage and shielding gas. With an increase in welding current and arc voltage, the transition frequency increases and droplets become smaller. Images indicate that the metal transfer modes influence arc shape periodically because of the detaching force and retainable force changing periodically.     

Metal transfer modes of twin-wire indirect arc welding

Metal transfer modes of twin-wire indirect arc welding are studied and the effects of welding parameters on transfer modes are investigated in this paper. The progress of transition is captured by a high speed camera system with a xenon lamp as light source in order to remove the intense arc light. An oscilloscope is used to record the values of the parameters. Results show that anode and cathode have different transfer modes under certain conditions because of different melting rates. All the transfer modes are classified as short-circuiting transfer and free-flight transfer. The latter could be subdivided into globular transfer, projected transfer, streaming transfer, etc. The metal transfer modes of TWIAWare influenced by the welding current, arc voltage and shielding gas. With an increase in welding current and arc voltage, the transition frequency increases and droplets become smaller. Images indicate that the metal transfer modes influence arc shape periodically because of the detaching force and retainable force changing periodically.     

Determining the critical transition current for metal transfer in gas metal arc welding (GMAW)

It is of great significance to determine the critical transition current from globular transfer to spray transfer in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) because metal transfer modes affect the weld quality and welding productivity. In this study, a simple model is developed to calculate the critical transition current based on the analysis of various forces exerted on a pendent droplet at the electrode tip. It is found that the force exerted by the incoming molten metal from the wire on the drop, i.e., the term ṁ _c v _c, plays an important role in determining the critical transition current. For mild steel wires and argon shielding gas, the critical transition current is predicted with different levels of wire diameter and extensions. The calculated results match the experimental ones.     

Tri-Arc与Tandem双丝电弧焊的工作原理对比分析

目的 介绍一种称为Tri-Arc的新型双丝电弧焊接方法。方法 将Tri-Arc双丝电弧焊与应用较广的Tandem双丝电弧焊的系统构成和焊接电流波形进行对比分析。结果 Tri-Arc和Tandem两种双丝电弧焊接方法所使用的双丝焊枪相近,双电源相位同步控制和U/I脉冲控制方式类似。Tri-Arc和Tandem两种双丝电弧焊接方法的差异在于:Tandem双丝电弧焊的2个电弧是相对独立的,而Tri-Arc双丝电弧焊的2个电弧是相互耦合的,因此Tri-Arc双丝电弧焊又具有旁路耦合电弧的某些特点。结论 这种新型的Tri-Arc双丝电弧焊不仅具有与Tandem双丝电弧焊一样的高焊丝熔敷率,而且具有比Tandem双丝电弧焊更低的焊接热输入。     

Determining the critical transition current for metal transfer in gas metal arc welding (GMAW)

It is of great significance to determine the critical transition current from globular transfer to spray transfer in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) because metal transfer modes affect the weld quality and welding productivity. In this study, a simple model is developed to calculate the critical transition current based on the analysis of various forces exerted on a pendent droplet at the electrode tip. It is found that the force exerted by the incoming molten metal from the wire on the drop, i.e., the term 相似文献   

Numerical investigations of arc behaviour in gas metal arc welding using ANSYS CFX

Current numerical models of gas metal arc welding (GMAW) are trying to combine magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models of the arc and volume of fluid (VoF) models of metal transfer. They neglect vaporization and assume an argon atmosphere for the arc region, as it is common practice for models of gas tungsten arc welding. These models predict temperatures above 20 000 K and a temperature distribution similar to tungsten inert gas (TIG) arcs. However, current spectroscopic temperature measurements in GMAW arcs demonstrate much lower arc temperatures. In contrast to TIG arcs they found a central local minimum of the radial temperature distribution. The paper presents a GMAW arc model that considers metal vapour and which is in a very good agreement with experimentally observed temperatures. Furthermore, the model is able to predict the local central minimum in the radial temperature and the radial electric current density distributions for the first time. The axially symmetric model of the welding torch, the work piece, the wire and the arc (fluid domain) implements MHD as well as turbulent mixing and thermal demixing of metal vapour in argon. The mass fraction of iron vapour obtained from the simulation shows an accumulation in the arc core and another accumulation on the fringes of the arc at 2000 to 5000 K. The demixing effects lead to very low concentrations of iron between these two regions. Sensitive analyses demonstrate the influence of the transport and radiation properties of metal vapour, and the evaporation rate relative to the wire feed. Finally the model predictions are compared with the measuring results of Zielińska et al.     

Study on welding process and prosperities of AA5754 Al-alloy welded by double pulsed gas metal arc welding

In this paper, the effect of double pulsed gas metal arc welding (DP-GMAW) on metal droplet transfer, weld pool profile, weld bead geometry and weld joint mechanical properties of Al alloy AA5754 are presented. A high speed camera was utilized to reveal the metal transfer behavior and weld pool profile. A self-developed electrical signal acquire system was adopted to record the current waveform during welding process. The results indicated that the metal transfer, weld pool profile and weld bead geometry in DP-GMAW significantly differ with P-GMAW. The microstructure showed that grain size of the weld bead decreased with increasing of thermal pulse frequency, and the eutectic precipitates Mg₂Si were homogeneously distributed at fusion zone. The mechanical properties of welded joints were improved.     

Arc ignition of CWW CO2 welding in A36 steel

In gas metal arc welding, arc ignition significantly influences arc stability, droplet transfer, and the quality of welded joints. Cable-type welding wire (CWW) CO₂ welding is an innovative welding method. This paper analyzes the arc ignition procedure for this type of welding based on experiments with three different wire end conditions: an unsmooth wire end, a smooth wire end, and a preheated smooth wire end. Smaller contact areas between the CWW and the workpiece led to higher arc ignition currents, and higher wire tip temperatures led to shorter arc ignition times (AITs) with the same chemical composition, diameter, and extension. Based on the characteristics of the welding wire end structures and the contact resistance between the CWW and workpiece, a suitable mathematical model of the AIT was developed. The model was validated using experimental arc ignition images. The AITs for the unsmooth smooth and preheated smooth wire ends were 14, 20, and 11?ms, respectively, essentially consistent with the model calculations.     

Welding current influences on Inconel 625/X65 cladding interface

The pulsed gas tungsten arc welding with hot wire was used to clad Inconel 625 on the surface of X65 steel. The influences of welding current in horizontal welding position on the dilution, in further the composition, microstructure, and property of the Inconel 625/X65 cladding interface were investigated. Experimental results show that with the increase in welding current, namely, in heat input and arc force, dilution rate increased; the composition transition region in the cladding layer close to the fusion line, controlled by the cladding temperature, would be widen; in further, the microstructure would be different due to the heat transfer and composition change; the precipitates were niobium-rich MC carbide with a low welding current, but tended to be the intermetallic compounds, Laves phase, with a high welding current; the highest and lowest hardness values appeared on the heat-affected zone and cladding layer next to the bonding interface, respectively.     

Spatter and blowhole formation phenomena in pulsed gas shielded metal arc welding

Abstract

This paper investigates systematically the effect of pulse conditions, type of shielding gas, and wire composition on blowhole and spatter formation and on wire melting rate to obtain guidelines for selection of welding conditions. It was found that spatter formation can be reduced significantly by using a shielding gas of composition Ar + 2·4%O₂ +20% CO₂ for pulsed gas shielded metal arc (MAG) welding. It was also found that it is possible to reduce blowhole formation using pulsed MAG welding. However, blowhole formation is affected greatly by variations of pulse condition and by shielding gas composition.

MST/1423     

Development of EPRI P87 solid wire

Abstract

Dissimilar metal welds (DMW’s) between ferritic and austenitic materials at elevated temperatures have concerned boiler manufacturers and operators for decades because of the proven potential for premature failure. The industry has desired an improved filler metal that would minimize or eliminate DMW failures and, with the current trend toward higher boiler steam pressures and temperatures, have suitable creep strength for joining higher strength materials such as Grade 91 steels After years of research, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) concluded the development and commercialization of a nickel-based filler metal, EPRI P87, for application in shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). This work describes the subsequent development of an EPRI P87 solid wire welding product for application in gas tungsten arc and gas metal arc welding (GTAW and GMAW) processes, and the initial research into the performance of DMWs produced with the new solid wire P87 product. A 135 kg heat of solid wire was produced and tested using various welding processes and evaluation methods to ensure that the material would meet required weldability and design specifications. Welding methods included GMAW-P, GTAW and hot-wire GTAW in welds up to 50mm in thickness. The weld joint tested was a dissimilar metal weld of grade 91 to 347H, which was assessed using microstructure evaluation, creep testing, hot tensile testing, circular patch, and edge build-up investigations to examine hot-cracking susceptibility. This paper summarizes the research completed to date on the EPRI 87 filler wire which supports the acceptability of this material for its intended use in high-temperature power generation applications.     

Virtual welding equipment for simulation of GMAW processes with integration of power source regulation

A two dimensional transient numerical analysis and computational module for simulation of electrical and thermal characteristics during electrode melting and metal transfer involved in Gas-Metal-Arc-Welding (GMAW) processes is presented. Solution of non-linear transient heat transfer equation is carried out using a control volume finite difference technique. The computational module also includes controlling and regulation algorithms of industrial welding power sources. The simulation results are the current and voltage waveforms, mean voltage drops at different parts of circuit, total electric power, cathode, anode and arc powers and arc length. We describe application of the model for normal process (constant voltage) and for pulsed processes with U/I and I/I-modulation modes. The comparisons with experimental waveforms of current and voltage show that the model predicts current, voltage and electric power with a high accuracy. The model is used in simulation package SimWeld for calculation of heat flux into the work-piece and the weld seam formation. From the calculated heat flux and weld pool sizes, an equivalent volumetric heat source according to Goldak model, can be generated. The method was implemented and investigated with the simulation software SimWeld developed by the ISF at RWTH Aachen University.     

Investigation on various welding consumables on properties of carbon steel material in gas metal arc welding under constant voltage mode

In this present work, the influence of different consumables on weld properties of carbon steel plate was studied by automatic gas metal arc welding under constant voltage mode. For all experiments, the process parameters such as welding current of 200 A, voltage of 28 V and welding speed of 200 mm/min were kept constant. The results indicate that the angular distortion remained higher for solid wire, whereas it was minimum for flux-cored wire and the lowest in metal-cored wire. Mechanical properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, elongation and joint efficiency remained high for solid wire relative to cored wire. Excellent impact toughness of the weld metal and heat-affected zone was reported for the flux-cored welds compared with solid wire and metal-cored welds.     

TIG电弧热丝对铜、钢堆焊的工艺研究

针对某产品铜带焊接工艺,提出了一种电弧热丝方式应用于TIG堆焊铜、钢工艺的研究。电弧热丝可有效预热低电阻率的焊接材料,如铜;传统的电阻热丝只能加热具有高电阻率的焊接材料,如钢。采用电弧热丝系统,热丝电流小于50A时即可有效预热焊丝,与电阻热丝电流400A相当。在相同焊接电流下,能够大大提高焊接熔敷速度;在相同送丝速度下,降低焊接电流,大大降低焊接设备功率。同时证明2种热丝加热方式对钢基体、铜合金的影响相同,特别是对堆焊层铜合金中泛铁量的影响相当。     

Welding of aluminium by the MIG process with indirect electric arc (MIG-IEA)

A novel modification of the metal inert gas (MIG) welding method, which was developed to weld metal matrix composites, was applied to join plates of aluminium 12.5 mm thick. The plates were prepared with square edges and with a small single-V preparation with an angle of 45° in the upper part. The electric arc was indirectly applied on the single-V butt weld over strips of Al-2024 placed on top of the joint. Thermal analysis showed that the efficiency of the MIG process with indirect electric arc (IEA) is increased due to the reduction of heat losses and fully penetrated welds with a high depth-to-width ratio can be produced as compared to plain MIG welding in which partial penetration and lack of lateral fusion were observed. Microstructural examination of the welds revealed distinct characteristics such as partially melted grains trapped within the weld next to the fusion line for IEA welds and the typical epitaxial and columnar growth from the base metal partially melted grains for plain welds, i.e. direct application of the electric arc (DEA).