Numerical analysis of plasma arc physical characteristics under additional constraint of keyhole

The physical characteristics of a plasma arc affect the stability of the keyhole and weld pool directly during keyhole plasma arc welding(KPAW).There will be significant change for these characteristics because of the interaction between the keyhole weld pool and plasma arc after penetration.Therefore,in order to obtain the temperature field,flow field,and arc pressure of a plasma arc under the reaction of the keyhole,the physical model of a plasma arc with a pre-set keyhole was established.In addition,the tungsten and base metal were established into the calculated domain,which can reflect the effect of plasma arc to weld pool further.Based on magneto hydrodynamics and Maxwell equations,a twoSdimensional steady state mathematical model was established.Considering the heat production of anode and cathode,the distribution of temperature field,flow field,welding current density,and plasma arc pressure were solved out by the finite difference method.From the calculated results,it is found that the plasma arc was compressed a second time by the keyhole.This additional constraint results in an obvious rise of the plasma arc pressure and flow velocity at the minimum diameter place of the keyhole,while the temperature field is impacted slightly.Finally,the observational and metallographic experiments are conducted,and the shapes of plasma arc and fusion line agree with the simulated results generally.

Numerical Simulation of Molten Metal Droplet Behavior in Gas Metal Arc Welding by Three-Dimensional Incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Method

The numerical model was developed using a SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) method and the projected transfer phenomena during a GMA (Gas Metal Arc) welding were simulated by the model to clarify mechanisms of the phenomena. As a result, the droplet transfer mode obtained from this calculation was regarded as a projected transfer mode in which the liquid column grew about 1 mm and a droplet grew up until its diameter became large the same as a wire diameter,?after that it was detached from the tip of the column. In addition, 10 droplets were formed for 0.1 s through these growth and detachment processes at the tip of a wire. To compare with the numerical results, actual GMA welding was carried out and molten metal droplet transfers were taken by high speed camera. The diameter of a wire, the length of a liquid column, the velocity of a droplet right before it reached a weld pool obtained by simulation showed good agreement with experiment.