Numerical Simulation of Current Density Distribution in Keyhole Double-Sided Arc Welding

In the double-sided arc welding system (DSAW) composing of PAW+TIG arcs, the PAW arc is guided by the TIG arc so that the current mostly flows through the direction of the workpiece thickness and the penetration is greatly improved. To analyze the current density distribution in DSAW is beneficial to understanding of this process. Considering all kinds of dynamic factors acting on the weldpool, this paper discusses firstly the surface deformation of the weldpool and the keyhole formation in PAW+TIG DSAW process on the basis of the magnetohydrodynamic theory and variation principles. Hence, a model of the current density distribution is developed. Through numerical simulation, the current density distribution in PAW+TIG DSAW process is quantitatively analyzed. It shows that the minimal radius of keyhole formed in PAW+TIG DSAW process is 0.5 mm and 89.5 percent of current flows through the keyhole.

Keyhole Double-Sided Arc Welding Process

In the proposed method, the current/arc is guided through the keyhole so that the energy of the plasma jet is compensated while it is consumed in heating the workpiece along the keyhole. As a result, deep narrow penetration has been achieved on 12.7 mm (1/2") thick stainless steel plates using 70 A welding current.

Effect of arc distance on temperature field and weld shape during double-sided arc welding

A new high efficiency welding method, double-sided double arc welding with double powers （DSAW-D）, is developed for thick plate of low alloy high strength steel in this study. It is well known that the thermal cycles have an important influence on the microstructure, shape, stress, distortion and mechanical property. The DSA W-D method can control the temperature field on a wide range by regulating the distance between two arcs, improve the microstructure and prevent hot and cold cracking of high strength steel. But at present, the effect of arc distance on the temperature field and shape is not clear. Therefore, the paper researches the effect of arc distance on the temperature field and weld pool during DSAW-D using finite element method. The transient temperature field of different arc distance in DSAW-D is calculated. To verify the numerical results, the temperature is measured by the thermo-couple and the calculated results agree approximately with experimental data. Farther, the thermal property and mutual effect of double-sided arcs are investigated. The temperature distributions and weld pool profile at different arc distances are obtained. The results show that arc distance is a very important factor to affect the heat process.

Microstructure of stainless steel weld in double-sided arc welding

Double-sided arc welding with a single power source can effectively increase the weld penetration, diminish distortion, improve welding speed and save energy. Compared to conventional arc welding processes, double-sided arc welding can generate a penetrating electromaguetic field to help to form fine dendritic microstrueture in the weld due to the symmetry of heating. Type 1Cr1SNi9Ti aastenitic stainless steel was bead-on-plate welded with double-sided arc welding and conventional plasma arc welding processes, respectively, and microstructure in the weld, heat-affected zone and base metal were examined. After analyzing the black carbon-enriched band in the weld during plasma arc welding with electron probe microanalyzer （ EPMA ） and X-ray diffraction （XRD） technology, it was found that the black band was shaped from the aggregation of ferrite in the fasion boundary. Hardness measurement showed that this black band does not apparently affect the microhardncss distribution in the weld.

Microstructures and hardness of flat-overhead weld of the high strength steel thick plate using double-sided arc welding

High strength steel thick plate is widely used in shipbuilding, pressure vessels, etc. , the balance between weld quality and welding efficiency is becoming a research focus. In this paper, double-sided double arc fiat-overhead welding experiments for high strength steel thick plate were conducted. Microstructures of weld have been observed through optical microscope （OM） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）. Transformation of microstructures under thermal cycles of multi peaks was analyzed. Macro and micro hardness were also tested. The results show that the heat-affected zone （HAZ） near the fusion line experiences thermal cycles up to three times. The microstructures there are the most complex, including coarse lath martensite in original coarse-grained zone, and net-like structure along grain boundaries in critical reheat coarse-grained zone. After several times of tempering for bucking welding, the features of acicula and lath are weakened. Its microstructure approaches to the microstructure of base metal which is tempering sorbite. The hardness test shows that the maximum hardness occurs at critical reheat coarse-grained zone, the hardness of reticulation structure at grain boundary can be up to 450 HV.

Numerical Simulation of Electromagnetic Force in Double-Sided Arc Welding Process

Up till now, most of the researchers believe that there are four kinds of forces in the weld pool convection, they aresurface tension, electromagnetic force, buoyancy and gas shear stress. So electromagnetic force is very important,especially when large current is applied. In most of previous models, the electromagnetic force is calculated analytically,in which only the axial component of current is considered. Actually the radial component of current has thesame effect, and may be advanced in some locations. In double-sided arc welding process, instead of the earthclamp, another torch is placed on the opposite side; the current will go from one torch, through the weld zone,to another torch. In this case, the current is more concentrated in the weld zone; the electromagnetic force willhave significant effect compared with conventional welding process. In this paper, a new method of numericalcalculation for electromagnetic force is developed, in which both axial and radial components are considered. And asan example, the distribution of electromagnetic force in double-sided arc welding is calculated. It demonstrates thatthis new method could give more accurate simulation of electromagnetic force, and is close to the actual process.

Double-sided gas tungsten arc welding process on TC4 titanium alloy

TC4 titanium alloy was welded by double-sided gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW) process in comparison with conventional GTAW process, the microstructure and mechanical performance of weld were also studied. The results indicate that double-sided GTAW is superior over regular single-sided GTAW on the aspects of increasing penetration, reducing welding deformation and improving welding efficiency. Good weld joint was obtained, which can reach 96.14% tensile strength and 70.85% elongation percentage of the base metal. The grains in heat-affected zone(HAZ) are thin and equiaxed and the degree of grain coarsening increases as one moves to the weld center line, and the interior of grains are α and α′ structures. The coarse columned and equiaxed grains, which interlace martensitic structures α′ and acicular α structures, are observed in weld zone. The fracture mode is ductile fracture.

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.

Effect of laser parameters on arc behavior of laser-TIG double-side welding for aluminum alloy

The influence of laser parameters on are beharior of laser-TIC, dauble-side welding was investigated by utilizing CCD sensor and intage processing methods. It was found that are images had an obvious transformation from laser preheating to laser plasma ejected from the keyhole bottom, resulting in the phenomena of arc column convergence and arc root constrictian. The attraction phenomenon of the laser and the arc is also found in laser-TIG double-side welding. More noteworthy is that the behavior of arc attraction or constriction became much obvious at a lower current or laser plasma ejected from the keyhole bottom. The decrease in arc voltage had a certain relation u＇ith the improvement of arc stabilio.

Effects of welding wire composition and welding process on the weld metal toughness of submerged arc welded pipeline steel

The effects of alloying elements in welding wires and submerged arc welding process on the microstructures and low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals have been investigated. The results indicate that the optimal contents of alloying elements in welding wires can improve the low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals because the proeutectoid ferrite and bainite formations can be suppressed, and the fraction of acicular ferrite increases. However, the contents of alloying elements need to vary along with the welding heat input. With the increase in welding heat input, the contents of alloying elements in welding wires need to be increased accordingly. The microstructures mainly consisting of acicular ferrite can be obtained in weld metals after four-wire submerged arc welding using the wires with a low carbon content and appropriate contents of Mn, Mo, Ti-B, Cu, Ni, and RE, resulting in the high low-temperature impact toughness of weld metals.

COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH ON SOFT-SWITCHING ARC WELDING INVERTER POWER SOURCE

Based on the existing component models in the Pspice software package, a combined model for Insulat- ed the Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) is established, in which a non - linear is introduced to represent the parasitic capacitance. Using this model, computerized simulation is conducted for the FB - ZVZCS - PWM soft - ewitching converter,the switching and energy-transferring characteristics of the components are analyzed.The simulation results are testified by experiments.It is proved that by abopting appropriate models,computerized simulation becomes an effective tool for investigation of arc welding inverter power source.

The arc characteristic of ultrasonic assisted TIG welding

Many applications of ultrasonic-assisted methods were used during metal solidification, but they could not be introduced into weld pool. In this paper, a way of ultrasonic assisted TIG welding is introduced. By directly imposed ultrasonic vibration on welding arc, the vibration interacts with arc plasma and passes to the weld pool. Measurement results show that arc pressure is significantly increased with the ultrasonic vibration and the arc pressure distribution models are changed. Bead-on-plate welding tests on SUS304 confirm that this technology can influence the style of metal melting and increase weld penetration depth.

Relationship between sound signal and weld pool status in plasma arc welding

The sound features of the weld pool status in plasma arc welding were systematically investigated after the sound signal was collected with a microphone. The results show that it is difficult to extract information about the weld pool status directly in time domain although the sound signal varies with the weld pool behaviors to some extent. The frequency spectra of the sound signal contain plenty of information about the weld pool behaviors. It is shown from the analysis of the sound generation mechanism that the sound signal of plasma arc welding is mainly caused by the weld pool oscillation, the power source fluctuation and so on. R S algorithm is designed to determine the weld pool status, and it is able to offer the feedback information for the closed loop control of the penetration quality of plasma arc welding. [

Electromagnetic Characteristic of Twin-wire Indirect Arc Welding

Traditional welding methods are limited in low heat input to workpiece and high welding wire melting rate. Twin-wire indirect arc（TWIA） welding is a new welding method characterized by high melting rate and low heat input. This method uses two wires one connected to the negative electrode and another to the positive electrode of a direct-current（DC） power source. The workpiece is an independent, non-connected unit. A three dimensional finite element model of TWIA is devised. Electric and magnetic fields are calculated and their influence upon TWIA behavior and the welding process is discussed. The results show that with a 100 A welding current, the maximum temperature reached is 17 758 K, arc voltage is 14.646 V while maximum current density was 61 A/mm2 with a maximum Lorene force of 84.5 ~tN. The above mentioned arc parameters near the cathode and anode regions are far higher than those in the arc column region. The Lorene force is the key reason for plasma velocity direction deviated and charged particles flowed in the channel formed by the cathode, anode and upper part of arc column regions. This led to most of the energy being supplied to the polar and upper part of arc column regions. The interaction between electric and magnetic fields is a major determinant in shaping TWIA as well as heat input on the workpiece. This is a first study of electromagnetic characteristics and their influences in the TWIA welding process, and it is significant in both a theoretical and practical sense.

Arc characteristics of GMA welding in high-pressure air condition

Gas metal arc （ GMA ） welding process can be fluently executed under the range of 0. 1 - 0. 7 MPa air pressure shielded by C02 and ArS0% ＋ CO220% gases, which were tested by the igniting and exploding experiments using a hyperbaric chamber to simulate the underwater conditions. The arc voltage characteristics of the GMA welding were tested in hyperbaric conditions to discover the law of the welding arc affected by environmental pressure, welding current, stick-out, gas type and gas-flow. The experimental results and related discussion are also given in this paper. Finally, a mathematical model was calculated under high-pressure air condition based on the experimental data with the least square approximation method.

FRACTAL RESEARCH ON CRACKS PROPAGATION OF GAS PIPELINE X52 STEEL WELDING LINE UNDER HYDROGEN ENVIRONMENT

Based on the theory of hydrogen enhanced localized plasticity of the hydrogen induced cracking and the consideration of the effect of the residual stress produced by eliminated stress heat-treatment, a fractal model of hydrogen induced cracking was presented, and the relationships among the effective surface energy (H), fractal dimension D and stress intensity factor of hydrogen induced cracking, KIH, for welding pipeline under hydrogen environment was set up, from which the relationship of D and KISCC was obtained. The model has been verified experimentally to be correct.

Experimental investigation and optimization of weld bead characteristics during submerged arc welding of AISI 1023 steel

Submerged arc welding(SAW), owing to its high deposition rate and high welding quality, is widely used in the fabrication of pressure vessel, marine vessel, pipelines and offshore structures. However, selection of an optimum combination of welding parameters is critical in achieving high weld quality and productivity. In this work, initially, the SAW experiments were performed using fractional factorial design to analyze the effect of direct and indirect input parameters, namely, welding voltage, wire feed rate,welding speed, nozzle to plate distance, flux condition, and plate thickness on weld bead geometrical responses viz. bead width, reinforcement, and penetration. The bead on plate technique was used to deposit weld metal on AISI 1023 steel plates. The effect of SAW input parameters on response variables were analyzed using main and interaction effects. The linear regression was used to develop the mathematical models for the response variable. Then, the multi-objective optimization of input parameters was carried out using desirability approach, genetic algorithm and Jaya algorithm. The Jaya algorithm offered better optimization results as compared to desirability approach, genetic algorithm.

Optimizing the Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Parameters

The selection of process parameter in the gas tungsten arc （GTA） welding of titanium alloy was presented for obtaining optimum grain size and hardness. Titanium alloy （Ti-6Al-4V） is one of the most important non-ferrous metals which offers great potential application in aerospace, biomedical and chemical industries, because of its low density （4.5 g/cm^3）, excellent corrosion resistance, high strength, attractive fracture behaviour and high melting point （1678℃）. The preferred welding process for titanium alloy is frequent GTA welding due to its comparatively easier applicability and better economy. In the case of single pass （GTA） welding of thinner section of this alloy, the pulsed current has been found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current process. Many considerations come into the picture and one needs to carefully balance various pulse current parameters to reach an optimum combination. Four factors, five level, central composite, rotatable design matrix were used to optimize the required number of experimental conditions. Mathematical models were developed to predict the fusion zone grain size using analysis of variance （ANOVA） and regression analysis. The developed models were optimized using the traditional Hooke and Jeeve＇s algorithm. Experimental results were provided to illustrate the proposed approach.

Research on the Mechanism of Penetration Increase by Flux in A-TIG Welding

The mechanism of penetration depth increased by activating flux in activating tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) weldingwas studied by measuring the distribution of trace element Bi in the weld and monitoring the change of arc voltageduring A-TIG welding of stainless steel 0Crl8Ni9 with fluxes SiO2 and TiO2. The results show that the mechanismof penetration depth in A-TIG welding depends on the sort of flux used. The weld pool convection after coating theflux SiO2 and flux TiO2 is changed inversely compared with convectional TIG welding without flux. The arc voltageis increased by flux SiO2 whilst flux TiO2 does not have effect on the arc voltage. The reason of penetration depthincrease for SiO2 is due to the constriction of arc plasma and the change of surface tension gradient. The increaseof weld penetration depth with TiO2 only ascribes to the change of surface tension gradient.

Seam Tracking and Visual Control for Robotic Arc Welding Based on Structured Light Stereovision

A real-time arc welding robot visual control system based on a local network with a multi-level hierarchy is developed in this paper. It consists of an intelligence and human-machine interface level, a motion planning level, a motion control level and a servo control level. The last three levels form a local real-time open robot controller, which realizes motion planning and motion control of a robot. A camera calibration method based on the relative movement of the end-effector connected to a robot is proposed and a method for tracking weld seam based on the structured light stereovision is provided. Combining the parameters of the cameras and laser plane, three groups of position values in Cartesian space are obtained for each feature point in a stripe projected on the weld seam. The accurate three-dimensional position of the edge points in the weld seam can be calculated from the obtained parameters with an information fusion algorithm. By calculating the weld seam parameter from position and image data, the movement parameters of the robot used for tracking can be determined. A swing welding experiment of type V groove weld is successfully conducted, the results of which show that the system has high resolution seam tracking in real-time, and works stably and efficiently.