Weld World (2017) 61:623633
DOI 10.1007/s40194-017-0444-y
RESEARCH PAPER
Prediction of arc, weld pool and weld properties with a desktop
computer model of metalinert-gas welding
Anthony B. Murphy 1 & David G. Thomas 2
Received: 14 March 2016 / Accepted: 9 February 2017 / Published online: 21 February 2017
# International Institute of Welding 2017
Abstract A three-dimensional computational model of
metalinert-gas welding, which includes the arc, wire and
workpiece self-consistently, is presented. It takes into ac-
count the phenomena including (1) the motion of the arc
relative to the workpiece; (2) the energy, momentum and
mass transported by droplets; (3) flow in the weld pool and
deformation of its surface; (4) effects of metal vapour and
(5) mixing of the wire and workpiece alloys. A graphical
user interface has been added. The model predicts the
depth and shape of the weld and heat-affected zone and
arc and weld pool properties. Thermal histories of the
workpiece, required to calculate residual stress and micro-
structure, are also predicted. Results for welding of alu-
minium alloy sheets in lap fillet geometry are presented.
It is found that the arc temperature is relatively low, due to
the high concentration of aluminium vapour, which radi-
ates strongly. The droplets are predicted to mix fairly thor-
oughly in the weld pool, with the flow in the weld pool
driven downwards by the droplet momentum. The orienta-
tion of the wire electrode strongly influences the shape and
depth of the weld, with a decreased work angle (i.e. further
from vertical) leading to a decreased reinforcement height
and deeper penetration.
Recommended for publication by Study Group 212 - The Physics of
Welding
* Anthony B. Murphy
tony.murphy@csiro.au
1
CSIRO Manufacturing, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070,
Australia
2
CSIRO Data61, Box 312, Clayton South, VIC 3169, Australia
Keywords (IIW Thesaurus) Arc physics . MIG welding .
Mathematical models . Weld shape . Aluminium alloys . Fillet
welds
1 Introduction
Computational models are indispensable design tools in in-
dustry; a well-known application is optimization of the aero-
dynamics of cars. However, despite the very widespread use
of arc welding in the manufacturing industry, the application
of modelling to design and optimization of welding parame-
ters is still quite limited. There are many reasons for this; one
is that arc welding is a highly complex process, in which all
four phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas and plasma) play im-
portant roles. Moreover, particularly in metalinert-gas/met-
alactive-gas (MIG/MAG) welding, the treatment of droplets,
metal vapour production and the shape of the weld pool sur-
face present difficult computational challenges. Therefore, de-
velopment of a reliable predictive model presents severe chal-
lenges, both in incorporating the relevant physics and in
implementing the required numerical approaches.
Most computational models of arc welding simplify the
problem by approximating the influence of the arc plasma
and droplets by boundary conditions for heat transfer, and in
some cases current density, arc pressure and droplet pressure, at
the surface of the workpiece. This means only liquid and solid
phases have to be considered. While good results have been
obtained using this approach, it relies on accurate expressions
for the boundary conditions. These can be obtained by optimi-
zation of the boundary conditions using measurements, for ex-
ample of temperatures in the workpiece, or weld depth and
geometry. The shortcoming of this approach is that this optimi-
zation has to be repeated for every significant change in
624
welding parameters, which means that such models are not able
to predict weld properties over a wide range of parameters.
Including the arc plasma in the computational domain cir-
cumvents this problem, since the heat flux, current density, arc
pressure and droplet pressure at the workpiece surface are all
calculated self-consistently within the model. Therefore,
changes in welding parameters are accommodated within the
model, without the need for detailed measurements. In princi-
ple at least, such an approach can produce a model that is able
to predict weld properties for a wide range of welding
parameters.
In this paper, we present details of a model of MIG welding
of aluminium alloys that predicts weld depth and geometry
and thermal history at every point in the workpiece. The arc
plasma, wire electrode and workpiece are included in the com-
putational domain and phenomena including droplets, weld
pool surface deformation, metal vapour formation, flow in
the weld pool and mixing of the wire and workpiece alloys
are taken into account.
Aluminium was chosen because of its (1) increasingly wide
use in automotive manufacture and in other industries and (2)
because it is appreciably more difficult to weld than steel, so
that use of a model is likely to be of greater assistance in
designing weld schedules.
For a computational model to be useful in an industrial
context, it must produce reliable predictions for a wide range
of parameters, and it must do this reasonably quicklyin
hours rather than dayson a desktop or laptop computer.
Our model fulfils these requirements. Further, a graphical user
interface (GUI) has been added so that the model can be used
by welding engineers or technicians.
In this paper, we start by introducing the methods used in
the computational model and to obtain the required
thermophysical properties of the aluminium alloys and
plasmas. We then present predictions of the model for lap fillet
weld geometry. We consider the properties of the arc, the
mixing of the droplet in the weld pool and the influence of
the orientation of the wire electrode on the weld profile. We
then discuss the GUI and possible extensions of the model.
2 Computational model
A complete computational model of arc welding has to ad-
dress the following features of the process:
& The wire electrode, workpiece (including the weld pool)
and the arc plasma are all integral parts of the process and
so have to be considered in the model [1].
& Energy and momentum transfer across the internal bound-
aries between solid, liquid and gas/plasma phases is im-
portant and has to be carefully treated.
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
& The problem is three-dimensional, since the wire electrode
moves with respect to the workpiece, and since non-
axisymmetric geometries, such as lap fillet geometry, are
widely used.
& The formation of molten droplets, and their transfer
through the plasma and into the weld pool, have strong
effects on the plasma and weld pool.
& The surface of the weld pool is not flat, but is raised by the
transfer of metal into the pool.
& The direction of flow in the weld pool is complex and is
important in determining its shape [2].
& Metal vapour, emanating from the wire electrode, droplet
and weld pool, has major effects on the properties of the
plasma and weld pool [3].
& Different alloys are generally used for the wire and the
workpiece.
Methods have been developed to treat all these phenomena.
However, the implementation of these methods is often diffi-
cult and increases computational times. This has led re-
searchers to make approximations and simplifications.
Examples of such simplified approaches include:
& Excluding the wire electrode and arc plasma from the
computational domain, e.g. [4, 5], instead relying on esti-
mated heat fluxes, current densities and arc pressures at
the weld-pool surface.
& Assuming that the surface of the weld pool is flat, e.g. [2].
& Use of two-dimensional axisymmetric geometry, e.g. [6].
& Modelling of the arc without including the weld pool, e.g.
[7].
& Neglecting the influence of metal vapour, e.g. [8].
We do not adopt any of these approximations. However, as
discussed below, we use a simplified time-averaged approach
to treat the influence of droplets.
Most details of our model have been published [911]; we
summarize them here briefly. The model solves the equations
of conservation of mass, momentum, energy and charge in
three dimensions, using the finite-volume method of
Patankar [12], with pressurevelocity coupling treated using
the SIMPLEC algorithm [13]. A schematic of the computa-
tional domain is shown in Fig. 1. Motion of the wire with
respect to the workpiece is taken into account by transforming
computational domain into the frame of reference of the wire,
using the method presented in [14]. It is assumed that the arc
plasma is in local thermodynamic equilibrium, and the narrow
sheath regions of the plasma adjacent to the electrodes are not
modelled. Instead, internal boundary conditions for momen-
tum and energy are applied at the boundaries between the
plasma and the electrodes [9].
The latent heat of melting is taken into account at the liq-
uidsolid interfaces using the method of Voller et al. [15]. The
Weld World (2017) 61:623633 625

into the weld pool, so the two alloys become mixed. To

model the mixing of the two liquid alloys, it is necessary
to solve an additional conservation equation, for conser-
vation of the mass fraction Y d of the droplet metal. The
equation is
Yd

vYd Dld Yd S d
t

where is the mass density and v is the flow velocity of the

plasma, Dld is the self-diffusion coefficient of the liquid metal
and S d is the droplet alloy source term (the net input of mass
per unit volume and time).

3 Thermophysical properties
Fig. 1 Schematic of the computational domain, showing the wire
electrode, the workpiece and weld pool, the arc plasma and the axes
The calculations presented here were performed for a work-
piece composed of aluminium alloy AA5754 and for an
AA4043 wire. For the purpose of the model, AA5754 was
shape of the free surface between the weld pool and the arc is
assumed to have the composition Al + 3.1 wt% Mg and
calculated by minimizing the total surface energy of the liquid
AA4043 to have the composition Al + 5.3 wt% Si.
metal, using the approach presented by Kim and Na [16] and
Since mixing of the wire and workpiece alloy was taken
Wu et al. [17]. This method takes into account the surface
into account, the thermophysical properties of intermediate
tension and surface curvature, the arc and droplet pressure,
mixtures had to be determined. An analysis of literature data
buoyancy in the weld pool and the volume of metal transferred
was undertaken to determine the properties of liquid and solid
to the weld pool by droplets.
mixtures of Al with small amounts of Mg and Si.
A time-averaged treatment of the influence of the droplets
The solidus temperature as a function of composition was
was developed [10]; this treatment is computationally much
obtained from [2123]. Since the mushy zone is not taken into
faster than the volume-of-fluids method, but still allows the
account in the model, the liquidus temperature was set equal to
influence of the droplets on the arc plasma and the weld pool
the solidus temperature. The latent heat of fusion was obtained
to be determined. The temperature, velocity and diameter of
from [2426].
the droplets are tracked from their detachment from the wire to
Values of the mass density, electrical conductivity, thermal
their impact with the weld pool, with the heat, momentum and
conductivity, viscosity, surface tension and diffusion coeffi-
mass transfer determined using the methods of Crowe et al.
cient are required as function of temperature as well as com-
[18]. The effect of the droplets on the plasma and weld pool
position. The first three of these properties are required for
are taken into account using source terms averaged over the
both solid and liquid metals and the latter three only for liquid
spatial extent of the droplets path and over time. The main
metals.
drawback of the approach is that changes in the shape of the
The density, 2705 kg m3, and coefficient of thermal ex-
tip of the wire as droplets form and detach are not considered;
pansion, 0.23 kg m3 K1, of pure aluminium were used for all
in effect, these changes are averaged over time.
solids because of the small differences between these values
The production of metal vapour from both the wire elec-
and those of the alloys. For the liquid alloys, data were ob-
trode and the weld pool, and its transport in the plasma, are
tained from [2729].
included in a self-consistent manner, as described in [11].
Electrical conductivity data for the solid phase were taken
Diffusion is treated using the combined diffusion coefficient
from [3032], and liquid phase data from [28]. The
method [19]. The net mass flux of metal vapour due to evap-
WiedemannFranz law
oration is given by an expression derived from the Hertz
Langmuir equation [20]. The cooling of the electrodes by k LT
the latent heat of vaporization and the energy transferred to
the plasma by the vapour are taken into account in the energy with the Lorentz number L set to the Sommerfeld value
conservation equation. L0 2:445  108 V2 K2 [30], was used to obtain the thermal
The wire and the workpiece are generally composed of conductivity k from the electrical conductivity at temperature
different alloys. The droplets formed from the wire pass T for both solid and liquid phases.
626
Surface tension data were obtained from [27, 33], and the
viscosity from [28]. The self-diffusion coefficient was obtain-
ed from the SutherlandEinstein relation:
kBT
Dld
4ra
where k B is Boltzmanns constant, is the viscosity and ra is
the radius of the moving particle, which was set to 0.121 nm,
the covalent radius of aluminium. Self-diffusion coefficients
for aluminium measured by Kargl et al. [34] conform well to
this expression. The covalent radii of silicon and magnesium
are within 10% of the value for aluminium, so the same value
of ra was used for all mixtures.
The thermodynamic and transport properties of plasmas in
mixtures of argon and aluminium vapour were calculated
using standard methods [3, 35]. Radiative emission coeffi-
cients were taken from the work of Cram [36] for argon, and
Essoltani et al. [37] for aluminium, with data for mixtures
calculated based on mole fractions as recommended by
Gleizes et al. [38].
4 Results
4.1 Parameters
The computational model can be used for both bead-on-plate
(butt) and lap fillet weld geometries. Since results have been
published already for bead-on-plate welding [11, 9], we focus
here on lap fillet geometry. We will investigate in particular
the influence of the wire orientation on the weld depth and
shape. The parameters used in the calculations are given in
Table 1.
We present results for different wire orientations, i.e. for
different work angles and travel angles. These angles are
Table 1 Parameters used in the
calculations Parameter
Arc current (average)
Shielding gas
Distance from wire tip to workpiece (without reinforcement)
Welding speed
Wire diameter
Wire feed rate
Droplet frequency
Wire alloy
Workpiece thickness (each sheet)
Workpiece alloy
Workpiece orientation
Polarity
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
defined in Fig. 2. The wire is directed at the intersection of
the two workpiece sheets, as shown in the figure.
In the next two sub-sections, we present results for a work
angle of 60 and a travel angle of 90. The wire is in the
vertical plane at y = 0.6 mm.
4.2 Arc properties
The temperature and current density distributions in the wire,
arc and workpiece, and the distributions of flow speed and
aluminium vapour mass fraction in the arc, are shown in
Fig. 3. The temperature of the arc reaches 11,900 K and is
highest adjacent to the wire. There is also a region of high
temperature close to where the arc attaches to the workpiece.
The temperature in the weld pool reaches the boiling point of
aluminium (2723 K) close to the attachment point. The arc
temperature is substantially below that predicted and mea-
sured for a pure argon arc; this is due to both the stronger
radiative emission from aluminium vapour and the cooling
due the flux of relatively cool metal vapour into the arc from
the wire tip [11].
The current density in the arc is largest close to the attach-
ment points at the wire and workpiece, as expected. There are
two main attachment regions at the workpiece, a large region
of attachment between x = 0.2 mm and x = 1.8 mm, adjacent
to region of highest temperature in the weld pool, and a small-
er region at x = 2 mm, vertically below the wire. The attach-
ment regions correspond to high metal vapour concentrations.
The metal vapour in the large attachment region is produced
from the weld pool, while that in the smaller region is pro-
duced from the wire, and convected downwards by the plasma
flow. The metal vapour mass fraction is predicted to be very
high, at least 0.9, in the region below the wire. The vapour is
calculated to be produced from the wire at a rate of 4.4 mg s1,
corresponding to about 2% of the wire mass feed rate (the
remainder of the wire is converted to droplets).
Value
95 A
Argon, 14 L min1
5 mm
0.9 m min1 (15 mm s1) in y direction
1.2 mm
4.32 m min1 (72 mm s1)
93 Hz
AA 4043
3 mm
AA 5754
Horizontal
Electrode positive
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
Fig. 2 Schematic of lap fillet weld geometry, showing the work angle,
travel angle and location of the wire. In all calculations presented, the wire
is aligned so that it directed towards the intersection of the two workpiece
sheets, as shown in the left-hand diagram
The flow in the arc deviates significantly from the line
through the centre of the wire electrode. This is a consequence
of the current density being largest at the lowest point of the
wire, which leads to the magnetic pinch force in the region
driving a strong anode jet in the downwards direction.
4.3 Mixing of droplets in the weld pool
The flow in the weld pool depends on the momentum trans-
ferred by the droplets, the Marangoni effect (arising from the
dependence of surface tension on temperature and composi-
tion), the magnetic pinch force and buoyancy. In previous
work, we have shown that the droplet momentum and the
magnetic pinch force are the dominant mechanisms in MIG
welding of aluminium [10].
Fig. 3 Distributions of
temperature, current density, flow
speed and aluminium vapour
mass fraction in the vertical plane
through the wire electrode, for a
work angle of 60 and a travel
angle of 90. Reprinted from [39],
with permission from Elsevier
627
Figure 4 shows the mixing of the droplet into the weld
pool, with both the mass fraction of the droplet alloy and the
flow vectors given. It is clear from Fig. 4a, b that the flow is
strongly downwards at the position of droplet impact. The
droplet alloy follows the flow vectors into the weld pool.
Eventually, the complex flow patterns, and diffusive mixing,
lead to the droplet and workpiece alloys becoming fairly well
mixed, as shown in Fig. 4d, which shows the composition of
the weld after solidification. The composition of the weld pool
and solidified weld can be easily determined from the
droplet alloy mass fraction Yd and the composition of the
workpiece and wire, given in Section 3. The composition is
given by Al 3:11Yd wt%Mg 5:3Yd wt%Si.
4.4 Influence of wire orientation
Calculations were performed for four different orientations of
the wire electrode. The influence of the work angle was inves-
tigated by using work angles of 45, 60 and 75, while keep-
ing the travel angle constant at 90. The influence of the travel
angle was investigated by using a travel angle of 75 for the
work angle of 60.
Predicted weld cross sections for all these wire orientations
are shown in Fig. 5. The fusion zone (bounded by the rein-
forcement height and the weld depth), and heat-affected zones
628
Fig. 4 Fraction of the
droplet alloy in a cross section of
the weld pool, for the a x = 0
plane, b y = 0.2 plane, c
y = 0.6 mm plane, d y = 6 mm
plane, for a work angle of 60 and
a travel angle of 90. Velocity
vectors and temperature contours
for 875, 1000, 1500 and 2000 K
are also shown
for which the temperature reached at least 300, 400 and
500 C, are shown.
It is clear from Fig. 5ac that the work angle is predicted to
have a strong influence on the depth and shape of the weld and
on the extent of the heat-affected zone. As the work angle
increases (i.e. as the wire is oriented closer to vertical), the
reinforcement height becomes larger, but the weld penetration
decreases. Similarly, the heat-affected zone shrinks as the
work angle increases.
Comparing Fig. 5b, d, we can see that decreasing the travel
angle from 90 to 75 (i.e. changing from vertical in the yz
plane to a push angle) is predicted to increase the reinforce-
ment height to decrease the depth of the weld and the heat-
affected zone.
Another representation of the weld geometry is shown in
Fig. 6, which shows a contour map of the reinforcement,
viewed from above. The surface temperature contour lines
within the molten region and the position of droplet impact
on the weld pool surface are also shown.
It is clear from Fig. 6 that as the work angle increases, the
position of droplet impact moves closer to the upper sheet.
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
This is expected from simple trigonometry: since the wire is
directed towards the intersection of the two workpiece sheets,
as shown in Fig. 2, as the wire becomes more vertical, the
intersection of the wire axis and the workpiece moves to the
right (towards the edge of the upper sheet). The wire axis
intersects the reinforcement at heights of 1.3, 1.75 and
2.3 mm for work angles of 45, 60 and 75, respectively.
The droplet trajectory and the direction of the arc current
flow (as shown in Fig. 3) are approximately along the wire
axis. This means that the arc and droplet energy is transferred
to the weld pool at greater heights, and closer to the upper
sheet, as the work angle increases, as is also evident in
Fig. 6. As a consequence, an increasing proportion of the heat
is transferred to the upper sheet and a decreasing proportion to
the lower sheet. Since the power transferred to the weld pool is
approximately the same in each case, the weld penetration is
decreased and the melting of the upper sheet is increased. The
increased heating and melting of the upper sheet is clearly
shown by the temperature contour lines in Fig. 6.
Changing the travel angle from 90 to 75 leads to a
higher reinforcement, with the droplet intersecting the
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
Fig. 5 Weld cross sections,
showing fusion zone and heat-
affected, zones for a work angle
45, travel angle 90; b work
angle 60, travel angle 90; c
work angle 75, travel angle 90;
d work angle 60, travel angle
75. The dotted lines shows the
cross section of the workpiece
sheets before welding
weld pool at a greater height. Since the power transferred
to the weld pool is again similar, the weld penetration is
decreased.
The power balance is similar in all cases, so this is not
responsible for the changes observed. For example, for a work
angle of 60 and travel angle of 75, the column voltage is
calculated to be 11.5 V. A cathode sheath voltage of 12 V,
estimated from experimental values [40], is used in the model,
giving a total arc power of 2230 W. Of this, a total of 1590 W
is transferred to the weld pool, comprising 855 W sheath
heating, 573 W droplet heating, 300 W conductive heating,
less 127 W evaporative cooling and 9 W blackbody cooling.
The efficiency is therefore 71%, with most of the remaining
power being radiated away.
4.5 Comparison with experiment
Measurements of the weld cross section were performed by
welding aluminium sheets along a straight line for about
200 mm. After cooling, the plate was cut at approximately
the midpoint of the welded section. The measured weld
cross section is compared in Fig. 7 to that predicted by
the computational model, both including and neglecting
the production of metal vapour. Parameters are given in
the figure caption.
When metal vapour is neglected, the computational
model predicts that the weld pool is much larger than in-
dicated by the measurements. When metal vapour is taken
629
into account, the weld pool is shallower, in good agreement
with the measured depth and shape. There are two main
reasons for the decrease of the weld pool depth. The first is
that the arc temperature is lower, so the conductive heat
flux to the workpiece is smaller. The second is that the
current density at the upper surface of the workpiece is
lower, owing to the increased electrical conductivity of
the arc plasma at lower temperatures, which leads to a
spreading of the arc attachment regions [3, 11].
Good agreement between predicted and measured weld
cross sections when metal vapour is taken into account
has also be demonstrated for bead-on-plate weld geometry
[11].
The measured composition of the solidified weld has re-
cently been compared with the predicted distribution of the
droplet alloy in the weld, shown in Fig. 4d. Good qualitative
agreement was found; in particular the lack of complete
mixing and the higher concentration of the droplet alloy near
the right-hand bottom edge of the weld were present in the
measured cross section [39].
5 Graphical user interface
To allow the model to be used by engineers or technicians
unfamiliar with computational modelling, a graphical user in-
terface (GUI) has been developed. This allows the user to
select welding parameters (arc current, welding speed, wire
630
Fig. 6 Contours of the height of
the reinforcement (relative to the
top of the lower workpiece sheet)
for a work angle 45, travel angle
90; b work angle 60, travel
angle 90; c work angle 75,
travel angle 90; d work angle
60, travel angle 75. The 875,
1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 K
temperature contours, are also
shown; the latter is not labelled
feed rate, droplet frequency, shielding gas flow rate), geomet-
ric parameters (weld geometry, wire diameter, workpiece
sheet thicknesses, work and travel angles of the wire, arc
length) and the alloys used for the wire and workpiece. One
of the parameter input windows is shown in Fig. 8.
Once the required parameters are entered, the computation
can be started and convergence monitored. When the compu-
tation is complete, graphical representations of the weld pool,
workpiece and arc properties can be viewed.
The model runs on any 64-bit personal computer under
Windows, with each iteration taking less than 30 s on a four-
processor machine. Depending on the chosen parameters, sev-
eral tens to several hundreds of iterations are required for
convergence.
6 Future directions
The weld depth and shape are of critical importance in arc
welding. Nevertheless, there are several other factors that,
depending on the application, can be of similar importance.
These include the residual stress in, and consequent
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
deformation of, the welded metal, and the microstructure of
the metal in the solidified weld pool and the broader heat-
affected zone.
The computational model that has been presented here al-
lows prediction of the thermal histories at every point in the
workpiece. An example is shown in Fig. 9. These are the input
data required for existing models that predict residual stress
and deformation, and microstructure, of the welded metal. It is
reasonable to believe that coupling the arc welding model and
such residual stress and microstructure models will allow ac-
curate prediction of these properties over a wide range of
welding parameters.
An important advantage of models, such as the one pre-
sented here, that include the arc in the computational domain,
is that the welding parameters can be varied without requiring
recalibration of the boundary conditions. This is in contrast to
conventional models in which the arc is only represented as
boundary conditions on the top surface of the workpiece. As
noted in Section 1, such models require recalibration of the
free parameters in the boundary conditions whenever the
welding parameters are varied by a significant amount [41].
There is also the possibility of including calculations of
porosity development in the welding model. This would
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
Fig. 7 Comparison of measured weld cross sections with those predicted
by the computational model. Predictions of the model including and
excluding the influence of metal vapour are shown. The parameters are
as given in 1, except for arc current 104 A, welding speed 10 mm s1 and
wire feed rate 78 mm s1. The work angle is 60 and the travel angle is
90. The dotted lines show the cross section of the workpiece sheets
before welding. Reprinted from [39], with permission from Elsevier
require the inclusion of a treatment of relevant phenomena,
including gas diffusion in molten metal and pore growth; such
treatments have been developed for casting applications (e.g.
[42]).
The model presented here could be extended to allow the
treatment of a greater range of MIG/MAG welding parame-
ters, including the use of active shielding gases, welding of
Fig. 8 View of the graphical user
interface, showing the geometry
input window
631
Fig. 9 Thermal history at different vertical (z) positions at x = 0, for work
angle of 60 and travel angle of 90. The z and x values correspond to
those in Figs. 5b and 6b, respectively, and a time of 0 s corresponds to
y = 32.2 mm in Fig. 6b. Reprinted from [39], with permission from
Elsevier
metals such as steels and titanium, multi-pass welding and
other geometries (e.g. butt welds). It would also be feasible
to adapt the model to related processes such as arc additive
manufacturing.
Finally, the predicted temperatures, flow velocities and
metal vapour distributions in the arc can be coupled to nano-
structure formation models to predict the formation of welding
fume. This has been done previously using a two-dimensional
model [43, 44].
632
7 Conclusions
A three-dimensional computational model of MIG welding, in
which the wire, workpiece and arc plasma are treated self-
consistently, has been developed. The formation of metal va-
pour and the mixing of droplets in the weld pool are both
included in the model.
A graphical user interface has been developed to allow the
model to be used by engineers and technicians unskilled in
computational modelling. The code runs on a standard desk-
top computer and predicts weld depth and shape, as well as
properties such as temperature, current density, flow velocity,
metal vapour mass fraction and droplet alloy mass fraction,
throughout the computational domain.
We have presented predictions of the model for welding of
aluminium sheets in lap fillet geometry. Our results demon-
strate that:
& The arc plasma is cooled by the presence of metal vapour,
which is mainly produced from the wire.
& Flow in the weld pool is driven chiefly by the droplet
momentum and the magnetic pinch force.
& The droplets become fairly well mixed with the workpiece
alloy in the weld pool.
& The shape of the reinforcement and the depth of the weld
depend strongly on the wire angle; decreasing the work
angle (i.e. orienting the wire closer to the horizontal) de-
creases the reinforcement height and increases weld pen-
etration, while decreasing the travel angle has the opposite
effect.
When the effects of metal vapour are taken into account,
the weld cross section predicted by the model agrees well with
the measured cross section.
There is strong potential for the model to be extended and
adapted to a broader range of MIG/MAG welding parameters,
such as welding of different metals and multi-pass welding.
The model predicts thermal histories throughout the work-
piece for a wide range of welding parameters. It is expected
that it will be possible to use this as input data for computer
programs that predict properties such as residual stress and
microstructure. This should allow accurate calculation of these
properties without the need for recalibration of the boundary
conditions, over a wider range of welding parameters than is
currently possible.
Acknowledgements The support provided for the work reported here
by General Motors, General Motors Holden, and the Commonwealth of
Australia, through the AutoCRC, is gratefully acknowledged, as are use-
ful discussions with Drs John Lowke and Eugene Tam of CSIRO, and Dr.
Hui-Ping Wang of General Motors.
Weld World (2017) 61:623633
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