The influence of thermofluids phenomena in gas tungsten arc welds in high and low thermal conductivity metals

Abstract

A comprehensive thermofluids numerical model of stationary gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding has been developed and used to examine the effects of thermofluids phenomena on the temperatures and flow velocities in the weld pool and their impact on the resultant weld dimensions for welds produced in high vs low thermal conductivity metals. A dynamic grid re-mapping technique was used to map a block of finite elements into the liquid weld pool to permit use of a k– ε turbulence model in the liquid. Simulations for low conductivity AISI 304 stainless steel show that good correlation with experimental data was only possible if the effects of fluid flow and turbulent mixing in the weld pool were modeled accurately. Conversely, simulations in higher conductivity metals, 6061 and 1100 aluminum, showed that while the average flow velocities and level of turbulence were higher, their effect on the final temperatures and weld pool dimensions were less significant.