Arc Technological Characteristics and Metal Transfer Behavior of Twin Electrode GMAW Deposition

Abstract

Experiments proved that the arc voltage influences its spatial form and electrode metal transfer behavior characteristics during twin electrode GMAW with a single power source. Two specific arc forms were revealed for two corresponding types of metal transfer. The V-shaped arc exists on the melt drop common to the two consumable wires at voltage rate 24-27 V. The columnar shaped arc is formed due to voltage increase up to 34-36 V, which results in increased mobility of the cathode spot in the weld pool surface. As a result, the arc travels between the ends of two electrode wires, and the metal is transferred in drops of small size. It was demonstrated that for the common drop formation the gas mixture of 82% Ar+18% CO2 is preferable to pure argon. It decreases the surface tension on the boundary between the melted electrode metal and the vapor-gas mixture, resulting in the increased volume of the common drop. It was found that a consistent common arc from two electrode wires decreases dilution is made up 43%, which is 1,65 times more and improves the deposited metal formation quality.