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TC Curie temperature, K
A model has been developed that correlates the anode Tm melting temperature, K
temperature pro®le with the dynamic melting rate in T0 initial temperature, K
gas metal arc welding. The components of this model v wire feedrate, mm s21
are the electrode melting rate, the temperature vm melting rate, mm s21
dependent resistivity of the electrode, and the arc v0 steady state value of v at tv0, mm s21
voltage. The differential equations describing the Varc arc voltage drop, V
dynamic behaviour of the electrode extension were VL voltage drop along electrode extension, V
derived from the mass continuity and energy relations. V0 constant in arc voltage drop equation, V
The temperature of the electrode extension was W action, J V21 mm24
determined by analysing conductive heat transfer and z length direction in electrode
Joule heating effects. One-dimensional solutions for the
temperature and heat content were used to obtain d relative proportion of solid in two phase
the dynamic melting rate equation. The purpose of zone
the present paper is to provide quantitative analyses, l thermal conductivity, W mm21 K21
concentrating on the thermal behaviour and the r density, g mm23
electrical characteristics of the arc welding system, to w work function, V
aid in achieving a fundamental understanding of the W resistivity of wire, V mm
process, and to develop a dynamic model that can be
used in adaptive control. The model is tested by
comparison with experimental results.
INTRODUCTION
The authors are in the Welding Automation Labora-
Determining the process variables in arc welding plays an
tory, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235,
important role in modelling, since modelling of the process
USA. Manuscript received 23 May 2000; accepted
30 June 2000. is based on these variables and the process models relate
these variables to one another. The gas metal arc welding
# 2001 IoM Communications Ltd. (GMAW) process forms a rather complex, non-linear
multivariable system. The variables of the welding process
can be separated into two categories:2 direct weld
parameters (DWPs) and indirect weld parameters (IWPs)
as shown in Fig. 1. The disturbance parameters can be
LIST OF SYMBOLS varied online during welding, causing changes in the DWPs,
a1,2,b1,2 coef®cients of resistivity so they must be controlled by the other indirect welding
A cross-sectional area of electrode, mm2 parameters to minimise the effect of such disturbances.
c constant, s21 Since a non-linear relationship exists between the highly
Cp speci®c heat capacity, J g21 K21 coupled direct and indirect weld parameters, the coef®cients
Ea length dependency of arc voltage, V mm21 of the differential equations that relate the direct and
g action integral, J V21 mm24 indirect weld parameters vary as a function of operating
H heat content, J mm23 conditions.
Ha anode heating content, J mm23
HC heat content at Curie temperature
(~4 J mm23)
HL Joule heating energy per unit volume of
wire, J mm23
H0 melting heat content, J mm23
I current, A
J current density, A mm22
J0 steady state value of J at tv0, A mm22
k constant
k1,2 coef®cients of Lesnewich equation1
l arc length, mm
L electrode length, mm
r radial direction in electrode
Ra current dependency of arc voltage, V A21
RL resistance, V
t time, s IWP indirect weld parameters; DWP direct weld parameters;
tT transition time, s CTWD contact tube ± work distance
T temperature, K 1 Input and output variables for welding process
ISSN 1362 ± 1718 Science and Technology of Welding and Joining 2001 Vol. 6 No. 1 41
42 Bingul et al. Dynamic model for electrode melting in GMAW
Resistivity (V m m )
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 2 4 6 8
Heat Content (J mm_3)
Si–Mn stainless mild
where 0fd(T)f1. The physical meaning of the negative state at J~J0 and v~v0 (tv0)
sign in equation (19) is that the droplet must supply thermal dH
energy to decrease the temperature difference. After ~{(J 2 {J02 ) : : : : : : : : : : (29)
substituting for HL and Ha from equations (14) and (20), dt
the ®nal form of the heat content is The conditions in this case assume that the heat content
8 9 at the electrode tip is greater than 4 J mm23, but using
> Jw(T) b1 a1 W > the reverse condition also produces the same results.
>
< z (e {1) H¦H C >
=
vm a1 Combining the above equation and equation (43) below
H~ (21)
>
> Jw(T) b2 > yields
: z (kea2 W {1) H > HC > ;
vm a2 dH
~{kb2 ea2 W (J 2 {J02 ) : : : : : : : : (30)
The results of wire melting experiments show that the heat dt
content can be described by the exponential relationship Inserting equation (21) into the above equation gives
H~H0 (1{e{ct ) : : : : : : : : : : : (22)
dvm vm dJ v2m J 1 dW J02
~ z kb2 ea2 W z1{ (31)
Differentiating this equation gives the dynamic nature of dt J dt w J 2 dt J2
the heat content as represented in the following equation
To differentiate the action with respect to time, it is
dH necessary to use the de®nition of the transition time tT, the
~c(H0 {H) : : : : : : : : : : : (23)
dt time required for the electrode element which is at the
The dynamic melting rate for the condition in which the contact tube at t~0 to reach the electrode tip. For twtT,
heat content is above 4 J mm23 can then be derived. the action can be expressed as
Differentiating equation (21) and substituting this into the J02
above equation yields W~ L : : : : : : : : : : : : : (32)
v0
1 dJ dw(T) Jw(T) dvm Taking the differential of the action gives
w(T) zJ zcJw(T){
vm dt dt vm dt
dW J02 dL
b2 c dW ~ : : : : : : : : : : : : (33)
~c H0 z {b2 kea2 W z : : : (24) dt v0 dt
a2 a2 dt
Equation (6) is substituted into the above equation to
It is evident that give
dJ dw(T) Jw(T) dvm dW J02
cJw(T)zw(T) zJ { ~ (v0 {vm ) : : : : : : : : : : (34)
dt dt vm dt dt v0
vm ~ (25)
b2 a2 W c dW
c H0 z {b2 ke z With this substitution, the dynamic melting rate equation is
a2 a2 dt
expressed as
The above equation includes highly complex and coupled
dvm vm dJ
non-linear terms. To reduce the complexity of the melting ~ z
rate, it is therefore necessary to make simplifying assump- dt J dt
tions which do not limit the practical utility of the equation.
v2m J 1 J2 J2
The term (dvm/dt)/vm is assumed to be zero since it is very kb2 ea2 W 2 0 (v0 {vm )z1{ 02 (35)
small. Hence, the following equation is obtained, describing w J v0 J
a simpli®ed model of the dynamic melting rate Simplifying the above equation yields
8 9 2
>
> LJ Lw(T) >
> dvm vm dJ v2m J J v0 {J02 vm
>
> cw(T)Jzw(T) zJ >
> ~ z kb2 ea2 W (36)
>
> Lt
Lt H¦H >
> dt J dt w J 2 v0
>
> C >
>
>
> c LW b1 >
>
>
< {b1 e
a1 W z zc zH0 >
= Solving equation (36) for vm gives
a1 Lt a1
vm ~ dvm vm dJ v2m J v3 J 2
>
> LJ Lw(T) >
> ~ z kb2 ea2 W { m 0 kb2 ea2 W (37)
>
> cw(T)Jzw(T) zJ >
>
>
> Lt Lt >
> dt J dt w Jv0 w
>
> H > H C>
>
>
> c LW b2 >
> To derive a direct relation between current density and
>
: {b2 ea2 W z zc zH0 >
;
a2 Lt a2 electrode extension, equation (6) is rewritten as
: : : : : : : : :
26 dL
vm ~v0 { : : : : : : : : : : : : : (38)
3
The Shepard burnoff rate model can be derived from this dt
equation under appropriate simplifying assumptions. She- This equation can be differentiated with respect to time,
pard assumed that the work function is constant and the giving
heat content for the wire is above HC (4 J mm23). It is
dvm d2 L
concluded from these assumptions that the power is ~{ 2 : : : : : : : : : : : : (39)
dissipated in a constant potential drop in the arc. Using dt dt
these assumptions, the equation reduces to Combining equations (37) ± (39) gives the following dif-
ferential equation relating electrode extension and the
k1 J
vm ~ H > HC : : : : : : : : (27) other variables, namely, action, current density, and wire
1{k2 W feedrate
Under steady state conditions, this equation reduces to the
Lesnewich1 equation dL dL 2
2 v0 { v0 { J
d L dt dJ dt
vm ~k1 Jzk2 LJ 2 : : : : : : : : : : : (28) { 2~ z kb2 ea2 W
dt J dt w
As a consequence of changing the partial derivatives to
dL 3 2
ordinary derivatives in equation (11), the rate of change of v0 { J0
the heat content with time can be obtained for the case of dt
{ kb2 ea2 W : : : : : : : : (40)
step changes in current density and the existence of a steady Jv0 w
Resistivity model into three voltage drops for three regions of the arc: anode
To derive the relationship between the action and resistivity, voltage, cathode voltage, and plasma voltage. For a given
an empirical resistivity model is used in the present work. wire size, shielding gas, and welding process, the anode
Considering the heat content expression, the total heat voltage and cathode voltage characteristics remain steady
content along the electrode extension (not at the end of the and plasma voltage is a function of the actual arc length and
electrode) should be equal to the Joule heating (HL). This arc resistance. For the high current region (spray transfer
leads to the following expression, which is obtained by mode), the relationship between the voltage and current is
substituting equation (10) into equation (11) approximately linear. The arc voltage drop can be modelled
according to the following relationship
dH
~{J 2 (a2 HL zb2 ) H > 4 J mm{1 : : : (41) Varc ~V0 zRa IzEa l : : : : : : : : : : (46)
dt
Equation (14) is substituted into this equation and the total For a 1.2 mm diameter wire and Arz5%CO2 shielding gas,
expression is simpli®ed to give these constants were determined as follows: V0~15.1 V;
dH Ra~0.025 V A21; Ea~1 V mm21.
~{J 2 b2 kea2 W : : : : : : : : : : : (42) The total voltage can be obtained by adding the electrode
dt and arc voltage drops. It should be noted that at suf®ciently
It is observed from this expression and equation (11) that low currents a negative resistance term must be added to
( ) equation (46) to model the low current region accu-
b1 ea1 W H¦HC
(W )~ : : : : : : (43) rately.6,28 This term is neglected in the present development.
b2 kea2 W H > HC
which accurately describes the relationship between the
resistivity and action. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Welding experiments were structured to examine the
dynamic nature of the electrode extension and arc length
Electrode voltage model from both electrical signal measurements and a high speed
The current changes in the GMAW process cause video system. A 1.2 mm (0.045in) diameter ER705 ± 2 steel
signi®cant temperature changes along the electrode exten- wire and Ar ± 5%CO2 shielding gas were used. The CTWD
sion. These changes lead to a temperature dependent was 20 mm (0.8 in) and the travel speed was set at
resistance which produces the electrode voltage drop. The 6 mm s21. The current and voltage signals were collected
basic equation for the resistance is given by at 5000 Hz. Using a constant current power source with the
electrode positive, both square wave and sinusoidal
(T) perturbations of variable amplitude (20, 30, and 40 A
RL ~ L : : : : : : : : : : : : (44)
A peak to peak), were superimposed on the current to allow
The voltage drop is the product of the welding current and measurement of changes in the electrode extension, arc
resistance of the electrode extension length, and total voltage. The square wave perturbations
provided a direct measure of the time response of the
VL ~IRL : : : : : : : : : : : : : : (45) electrode melting.
A macrocamera imaging system (Fig. 7) was developed as
a real time monitoring technique. To record the video
Arc voltage model images of the electrode extension and droplets, a high speed
There have been a number of models for the arc voltage in digital frame grabber and camera were combined in a
the gas tungsten arc welding and GMAW processes. These computer environment. The digitised image is displayed in
models show that potential across the arc can be divided real time on a computer monitor and can be recorded to a
the same analysis for the arc current. The high speed video
system has been shown to be capable of capturing the
dynamics of the power supply and the process itself, and it
can also be used to detect the droplet transfer frequency.
CONCLUSIONS
1. A dynamic model of the GMAW process has been
developed and several aspects of the dynamic relations in
the process investigated using this model. Furthermore, the
complex interrelation among welding parameters has been
quanti®ed. This research provides a fundamental under-
standing of the coupling between mass ¯ow and heat
transfer (energy), and the melting process in the electrode
extension.
2. Quantitative analyses concentrating on the thermal
behaviour and the electrical characteristics of the arc
welding system were performed, and experiments providing
information related to direct measurement of electrode
extension and its dynamic variations were conducted to
validate the dynamic model. Comparing simulations with
experimental results exhibited very good agreement between
the model and the experiments. The model is applicable to
both constant potential and constant current (including
pulsed current) modes of the GMAW process.
3. The droplet volume and transfer rate are directly
related to a balance between energy and mass entering into
the electrode. Any change to the energy or the mass entering
into the electrode must be accompanied by a corresponding
change in the electrode temperature gradient, temperature
dependent parameters of the wire, and droplet volume and
transfer rate. Ignoring these changes in process control
causes the droplet transfer to become chaotic and the
droplet volume to become unpredictable. The energy per
unit volume of the electrode was found to be proportional
to droplet transfer frequency and diameter for each
different transfer mode. These results indicate that it is
possible to predict droplet transfer frequency and diameter 14 Phase plane analysis and variation of dynamic melting
from the electrical parameters and the wire feedrate for a rate as function of time for 30 A increase in arc cur-
speci®c electrode diameter and shielding gas composition in rent
all the transfer modes.
4. During drop spray transfer, the droplet size and temperature leading to uniform droplet formation and
frequency remain fairly constant. The reason for this is that detachment.
the temperature at the electrode tip is constant for a limited 5. The experimental results on the droplet detachment
range of energy input to the electrode and hence it does not mechanism support the conclusion that the droplet transfer
affect the temperature dependent variables, namely, droplet rate during the transition between spray and globular
formation and melting time. It is believed that the combined transfer modes changes abruptly. These results are in
effects of the energy and mass balance, thermal properties agreement with one of the early studies by Lesnewich,1 but
of the wire, and the shielding gas determine the constant they differ from subsequent results obtained by Eager29 and
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