Alternating current-gas metal arc welding for application to thin sheets

Abstract

The metal transfer in alternating current-gas metal arc welding (AC-GMAW) was analyzed in order to predict the drop size. The effects of complex waveforms of the process, involving both the electrode positive (EP) and the electrode negative (EN) pulse regions, were investigated analytically. The forcedisplacement model was modified to predict the drop size in AC-GMAW. Experiments were conducted using different types of wires for validating the predicted results. The effect of EN pulse parameters on the drop size was modeled, eliminating the need for experimental trial and error. The drop size information can be used to predict the range of the joint gap that can be bridged effectively. The proposed technique was found to be equally applicable to both direct current-gas metal arc welding and P-GMAW.