Closed-loop control system design and experimental study for controlled pulse keyhole plasma arc welding

The controlled pulse waveform is newly applied in keyhole plasma arc welding process. Two additional descending slopes can guarantee stable and smooth transition of keyhole closing and opening periodically. To develop a closed-loop control system for this special welding process, the key point is the determination of system input and output variables. The averaged efflux plasma voltage during a pulse cycle is defined as the characteristic variable reflecting the real keyhole dimension. Research and experiments are conducted to explore the relationship between the characteristic variable and weld pe^Cormance. Results show that alternated peak current can significantly change the keyhole dimension and the penetration. It is proposed that the keyhole average dimension is taken as the controlled variable, and the peak pulse current value and slopes are taken as control variables.

System Identification of Controlled Pulse Keyhole Plasma Arc Welding Process

The development of closed-loop control systems is one of the most effective ways to improve the stability of the keyhole status during keyhole plasma arc welding （K-PAW）. Due to the disadvantages of the ＂one-pulse-one-keyhole＂ technology based on the conventional square current waveform, the controlled pulse welding current waveform is newly applied to control the keyhole open and close periodically. In order to realize the real-time control on the keyhole behavior with this advanced current waveform, welding experiments and system identification are conducted based on the classical control theory. One complete welding cycle can be divided into 3 periods. The keyhole establishing time is the most important time variable, which determines the keyhole behavior and welding process stability. At the same time, the averaged effiux plasma arc voltage during one pulse cycle can reflect the real keyhole dimension and status in a real-time manner. Therefore, two single-input-single-output （SISO） systems are proposed, in which keyhole establishing time and keyhole average dimension are taken as the system controlled variables respectively. Welding experiments are designed with the peak current varying randomly. Experiments show that the keyhole establishing time changes in an opposite direction to the varied peak current, and the averaged efflux plasma arc voltage varies with the same trend as the peak current. Based on the least squares technique and F test of classical system identification, second order difference equation for keyhole establishing time/peak current system and first order difference equation for keyhole average dimension/peak current system are obtained. It is proved that the calculated data by the two mathematical expressions are well matched with the measured data. The proposed research provides mathematical expressions and theoretical analysis to develop closed-loop systems for the controlled pulse K-PAW.

Effects of controlled pulse current waveform on key-holing condition in plasma arc welding

To overcome the shortcomings of conventional plasma arc welding （ PAW）, the ＇ controlled pulse key-holing＇ strategy is proposed and the keyhole PAW experiment system is developed. ＇The efflux plasma voltage signal is detected in realtime to characterize the keyhole size and dimension. The welding current waveform for controlled pulse key-holing strategy is implemented, and two slow-decreasing slopes are added at the dropping point from peak current to base current to further reduce both heat input and arc force so that the controllability of keyhole dynamics is improved. Two kinds of PAW tests are conducted, anti the different parameters of the controlled pulse current and the relevant efflux plasma voltage are measured in real-time to investigate ihe effects of welding current waveform parameters on the key-holing condition.

Sensing controlled pulse key-holing condition in plasma arc welding

According to the strategy of controlled pulse key-holing,a new sensing and control system was developed for monitoring and controlling the keyhole condition during plasma arc welding(PAW). Through sensing and processing the efflux plasma voltage signals,the quantitative relationship among the welding current,efflux plasma voltage and backside weld width of the weld was established. PAW experiments show that the efflux plasma voltage can reflect the state of keyhole and backside weld width accurately. The closed-loop control tests validate the stability and reliability of the developed keyhole PAW system.

A computer-based control system for keyhole plasma arc welding

A new kind of control system for keyhole plasma arc welding （K-PAW） was developed based on the computer and the Graphics Language--LabVIEW. It can set and output the required current waveforms with desired decreasing slopes so that the corresponding ＂opening and closing＂ of keyhole can occur periodically. With this control strategy of welding current waveforms, the workpiece is fully penetrated while no burn-through Occurs. Keyhole plasma arc welding experiments were conducted to verify the stability and reliability of the developed system.

INTELLIGENT CONTROL SYSTEM OF PULSED MAG WELDING INVERTER BASED ON DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR

A fuzzy logic intelligent control system of pulsed MAG welding inverter based on digital signal processor （DSP） is proposed to obtain the consistency of arc length in pulsed MAG welding. The proposed control system combines the merits of intelligent control with DSP digital control. The fuzzy logic intelligent control system designed is a typical two-input-single-output structure, and regards the error and the change in error of peak arc voltage as two inputs and the background time as single output. The fuzzy logic intelligent control system is realized in a look-up table （LUT） method by using MATLAB based fuzzy logic toolbox, and the implement of LUT method based on DSP is also discussed. The pulsed MAG welding experimental results demonstrate that the developed fuzzy logic intelligent control system based on DSP has strong arc length controlling ability to accomplish the stable pulsed MAG welding process and controls pulsed MAG welding inverter digitally and intelligently.

Closed-loop control of weld penetration in keyhole plasma arc welding

To improve the penetrating ability and the welding quality of keyhole plasma arc welding, a novel penetration closed loop control system was established. In the system, welding current and plasma gas flow rate were selected as adjusting variables. The wavelet method was used to detect penetration status from welding arc voltage in real time. The control strategy of one keyhole per pulse was adapted to fulfill stable and high quality welding process. Experimental results show that the developed system can apparently increase the penetrating force of plasma arc and keyhole plasma arc welding is realized successfully in stainless steel with 10 mm in thickness. Moreover, the disturbances of gradual change and break change from 3 mm to 6 mm in thickness are come over due to the good response property of the developed system.

Digital close loop control system for current-programmed mode arc welding inverter

A small-signal model of current programmed mode pulse width modulation converter including the equivalent sampling effect is introduced and analyzed. In this model, an addition pole is brought out by the sampling effect in the current loop gain, and it affects dynamic bandwidth and stability of the inner current loop. By selecting the appropriate stability parameter which determines the additional pole and describes the degree of peaking in closed loop transfer function, a control model of current programmed full bridge arc welding inverter with maximum frequency bandwidth and stability can be obtained. Small and large amplitude pulse current outputs are employed in simulations and experiments and results validate the design method.

Study on welding power source used in intelligent control system for weld pool shape in pulsed GTAW

This paper analyses the performance request of arc welding power source used in intelligent control of weld pool shape in pulsed GTAW, and develops a sample power source. The main circuit of the power source takes the structure of single ended inverter with two switches, and takes IGBTs as power switches. The working frequency of the inverter is set at 20 kHz. The control circuit takes PWM circuit as center, and uses single chip computer to complete the manage functions such as the control of working sequence, setting and changing of the welding parameters, sensing of the welding states and communication with outside computer etc. The dynamic reacting time of the whole power is 1 ms, the range of the output current is 5～250 A, the precision of the output current reaches to 1 A. The power strikes arc by contacting workpiece under 5 A, and have convenient interface with system computer. All above shows this power source is one with high performance.

Realizing precision pulse TIG welding with arc length control and visual image sensing based weld detection

Methods of arc length control and visual image based weld detection for precision pulse TIG welding were investigated. With a particular all hardware circuit, arc voltage during peak current stage is sampled and integrated to indicate arc length, deviation of arc length and adjusting parameters are calculated and output to drive a step motor directly. According to the features of welding image grabbed with CCD camera, a special algorithm was developed to detect the central line of weld fast and accurately. Then an application system were established, whose static arc length error is ±0.1 mm with 20 A average current and 1 mm given arc length, static detection precision of weld is 0.01 mm , processing time of each image is less than 120 ms . Precision pulse TIG welding of some given thin stainless steel components with complicated curved surface was successfully realized.

Modeling, Simulation and Control of Pulsed DE-GMA Welding Process for Joining of Aluminum to Steel

Joining of aluminum to steel has attracted significant attention from the welding research community,automotive and rail transportation industries.Many current welding methods have been developed and applied,however,they can not precisely control the heat input to work-piece,they are high costs,low efficiency and consist lots of complex welding devices,and the generated intermetallic compound layer in weld bead interface is thicker.A novel pulsed double electrode gas metal arc welding（Pulsed DE-GMAW）method is developed.To achieve a stable welding process for joining of aluminum to steel,a mathematical model of coupled arc is established,and a new control scheme that uses the average feedback arc voltage of main loop to adjust the wire feed speed to control coupled arc length is proposed and developed.Then,the impulse control simulation of coupled arc length,wire feed speed and wire extension is conducted to demonstrate the mathematical model and predict the stability of welding process by changing the distance of contact tip to work-piece（CTWD）.To prove the proposed PSO based PID control scheme’s feasibility,the rapid prototyping experimental system is setup and the bead-on-plate control experiments are conducted to join aluminum to steel.The impulse control simulation shows that the established model can accurately represent the variation of coupled arc length,wire feed speed and the average main arc voltage when the welding process is disturbed,and the developed controller has a faster response and adjustment,only runs about 0.1 s.The captured electric signals show the main arc voltage gradually closes to the supposed arc voltage by adjusting the wire feed speed in 0.8 s.The obtained typical current waveform demonstrates that the main current can be reduced by controlling the bypass current under maintaining a relative large total current.The control experiment proves the accuracy of proposed model and feasibility of new control scheme further.The beautiful and smooth weld beads are also obtained by this method.Pulsed DE-GMAW can thus be considered as an alternative method for low cost,high efficiency joining of aluminum to steel.

Research and engineering application of the arc welding pulsed controller technology

The tenacity of heat-affected zone （HAZ） will decline and the size of grains will increase, because of the overheating on HAZ when submerged are welding （SAW） is ased to thick plate with high heat input. The shaping will worsen when SAW is used to thin plate with high current at high speed. A new SAW technology, the pulsed direct current （DC） automatic SAW, will be put forward in this paper in order to overcome the above shortcomings. And a pulsed controller with micro-controller unit （MCU） as the core, nixie tube （NT） and keyboard as the man-machine conversation interface is developed. The main functions of the pulsed controller include the output of pulsed welding current and the working with twinwire. The research has widely prospects in application with significant meanings in theory and practical engineering.

Digital control of pulsed gas metal arc welding inverter using TMS320LF2407A

A digital control of pulsed gas metal arc welding inverter was proposed. A control system consisting of analogue parts was replaced with a new digital control implemented in a TMS320LF2407A DSP chip. The design and constructional features of the whole digital control were presented. The resources of the DSP chip were efficiently utilized and the circuits are very concise, which can enhance the stability and reliability of welding inverter. Experimental results demonstrate that the developed digital control has the ability to accomplish the excellent pulsed gas metal arc welding process and the merits of the developed digital control are stable welding process, little spatter and perfect weld appearance.

A twin-electrode alternating current to direct current synergetic pulsed arc welding control method

A novel synergetic arc control method was used to control twin-electrode alternating current （ AC） to direct current （DC） pulsed arc welding and the mechanism of poor sidewall fusion in narrow gap welding was investigated. The synergetic arc control method easured that the arc voltage of DC welding source could switch in phase with the AC welding source. To test the reliability and operability of this method, a twin-electrode AC to DC pulsed arc welding system was set up and data was acquired through high-speed photography and electrical signal measurement system. The results show that the interactions between the two arcs can be controlled effectively and the control method is a sensitive and efficient control method.

Correction factor based double model fuzzy logic control strategy of arc voltage in pulsed MIG welding

According to the feature of arc voltage control in welding steel using pulsed MIG welding, a correction factor based double model fuzzy logic controller (FLC) was developed to realize the arc voltage control by means of arc voltage feedback. When the error of peak arc voltage was great, a coarse adjusting fuzzy logic control rules with correction factor was designed, in the controller, the peak arc voltage was controlled by the wire feeding speed by means of arc voltage feedback. When the error of peak arc voltage was small, a fine adjusting fuzzy logic control rules with correction factor was designed, in this controller, the peak arc voltage was controlled by the background time by means of arc voltage feedback. The FLC was realized in a Look-Up Table (LUT) method. Experiments had been carried out aiming at implementing the control strategy to control the arc length change in welding process. Experimental results show that the controller proposed enables the consistency of arc length and the stability of arc voltage and welding process to be achieved in pulsed MIG welding process.

Digital pulsed MIG welding machine based on adaptive fuzzy controller

Digital pulsed metal inert gas welding machine with double closed-loop control mode is designed and implemented. It realizes precision control for real time energy and demonstrates the flexibility of digital control. Test results of design prototype show that the designed control strategy can effectively adapt to the change of arc length and achieve ideal droplet transfer via one drop per pulse mode. Thus the welding process is stable and the weld bead is good.

Novel hybrid method: pulse CO_2 laser-TIG hybrid welding by coordinated control

In continuous wave CO2 laser-TlG hybrid welding process, the laser energy is not fully utilized because of the absorption and defocusing by plasma in the arc space. Therefore, the optimal welding result can only be achieved in a limited energy range. In order to improve the welding performance further, a novel hybrid welding method--pulse CO2 laser-TIG arc hybrid welding by coordinated control is proposed and investigated. The experimental results indicate that, compared with continuous wave CO2 laser-TIG hybrid welding, the absorption and defocusing of laser energy by plasma are decreased further, and at the same time, the availability ratio of laser and arc energy can be increased when a coordinated frequency is controlled. As a result, the weld appearance is also improved as well as the weld depth is deepened. Furthermore, the effect of frequency and phase of pulse laser and TIG arc on the arc images and welding characteristics is also studied. However, the novel hybrid method has great potentials in the application of industrials from views of techniques and economy.

Study on gas metal arc welding of two types of TMCP steels

Gas metal arc welding experiments were conducted on two types of steels with 0.41% carbon equivalent(Ceq) and 0.31% Cequsing WER70T wire and 20% CO_(2)and 80% Ar as shielding gas.The two types of steels show satisfactory weldability.The transition temperatures of 50% upper shelf energy(Tk0.5) for Charpy-V impact test of both the welded joints are below-40 ℃.However, the toughness of the fusion line zone and heat-affected zone(HAZ) of the two steel joints exhibits differences, with the toughness of 0.41% Ceqsteel being better than that of 0.31% Ceqsteel.The Tk0.5of the fusion line zone and the HAZ of 0.41% Ceqsteel is below-60℃,whereas that of 0.31% Ceqsteel is above-40℃.The welded joint of 0.41% Ceqsteel has low hardness fluctuation, while that of 0.31% Ceqsteel exhibits a narrow, softened zone, which has no obvious influence on the tested tensile strength.The coarse grain heat-affected zone(CGHAZ)microstructure of 0.41% Ceqsteel is bainite, while that of 0.31% Ceqsteel is bainite with ferrite and minor pearlite.

BASIC THEORY AND APPLICATIONS OF WELDING ARC SPECTRAL INFORMATION

Welding arc spectral information is a rising welding information source. In some occasion, it can reflect many physical phenomena of welding process and solve many problems that cannot be done with arc electric information, acoustic information and other arc information. It is of important significance in developing automatic control technique of welding process and other similar process. Many years study work on welding arc spectral information of the anthor are discussed from three aspects of theory, method and application. Basic theory, view and testing methods of welding arc spectral information has been put forward. In application aspects, many applied examples, for example, monitoring of harmful gases in arc （such as hydrogen and nitrogen） with the method of welding arc spectral information; welding arc spectral imaging of the welding pool which is used in automatic seam tracking; controlling of welding droplet transfer with welding arc spectral information and so on, are introduced. Especially, the successful application in real time controlling of welding droplet transfer in pulsed GMAW is introduced too. These application examples show that the welding arc spectral information has great applied significance and development potentialities. These .content will play an important role in applying and spreading welding arc spectral informarion technology.

BASIC THEORY AND METHOD OF WELDING ARC SPECTRAL INFORMATION

Arc spectral information is a rising information source which can solve manyproblems that can not be done with arc electric information and other arc information. It is ofimportant significance to develop automatic control technique of welding process. The basic theoryand methods on it play an important role in expounding and applying arc spectral information. Usingconcerned equation in plasma physics and spectrum theory, a system of equations including 12equations which serve as basic theory of arc spectral information is set up. Through analyzing ofthe 12 equations, a basic view that arc spectral information is the reflection of arc state andstate variation, and is the most abundant information resource reflecting welding arc process isdrawn. Furthermore, based on the basic theory, the basic methods of test and control of arc spectralinformation and points out some applications of it are discussesed.