Effects of the use of a flat wire electrode in gas metal arc welding and fuzzy logic model for the prediction of weldment shape profile

Abstract

This paper describes the relationships between the macrostructural characteristics of weld beads and the welding parameters in Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) using a flat wire electrode. Bead-on-plate welds were produced with a flat wire electrode and different combinations of input parameters (i.e., welding current, welding speed, and flat wire electrode orientation). The macrostructural characteristics of the weld beads, namely, deposition, bead width, total bead width, reinforcement height, penetration depth, and depth of HAZ were investigated. A mapping technique was employed to measure these characteristics in various segments of the weldment zones. Results show that the use of a flat wire electrode improves the depth-to-width (D/W) ratio by 16.5 % on average compared with the D/W ratio when a regular electrode is used in GMAW. Furthermore, a fuzzy logic model was established to predict the effects of the use of a flat electrode on the weldment shape profile with varying input parameters. The predictions of the model were compared with the experimental results.