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Effect of pulsed power ultrasonic vibration on keyholing/penetrating capability in waveform-controlled plasma arc welding

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Abstract

Enhancing the keyholing capability of the plasma arc is of great significance for the welding of medium-thick plate structures. A novel new process of pulsed power ultrasonic vibration assisted plasma arc welding was proposed to realize the effective use of ultrasonic energy and the effective improvement of the plasma arc keyholing ability. Three kinds of plasma arc welding (PAW) experiments without ultrasonic vibration (UV), with continuous power UV and with pulsed power UV were conducted on stainless steel plates to compare the difference of keyholing/penetrating capability of plasma arc. It was found that under the same welding conditions, PAW without UV could not form open keyhole, UV-assisted PAW (U-PAW) could not produce sustainable open keyhole, and pulsed power UV-assisted PAW (PU-PAW) could ensure establishment of open keyhole. And compared to PAW, PU-PAW was able to form an open keyhole even if the welding speed was increased by 10%. The pulsed power UV induced further constriction of plasma arc, and the plasma arc pressure was increased from 955 Pa in PAW to 1391 Pa in PU-PAW, so that the keyholing/penetrating ability of plasma arc was enhanced.

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Funding

This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51775312).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOE Key Lab for Liquid-Solid Structure Evolution and Materials Processing, Institute of Materials Joining, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, People’s Republic of China

    Junnan Qiao, Baoxing Fang & ChuanSong Wu

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  1. Junnan Qiao
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  2. Baoxing Fang
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  3. ChuanSong Wu
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Correspondence to ChuanSong Wu.

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Recommended for publication by Commission XII - Arc Welding Processes and Production Systems

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Qiao, J., Fang, B. & Wu, C. Effect of pulsed power ultrasonic vibration on keyholing/penetrating capability in waveform-controlled plasma arc welding. Weld World 66, 529–539 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-021-01226-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-021-01226-9

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