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Heat input characteristics and weld bead formation in double-wire double-pulsed GMAW of aluminum alloy under different low-frequency phases

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Abstract

Double-wire gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is extensively studied for aluminum (Al) alloy welding due to its high productivity; however, problems such as excessive heat input and porosity remain. In this paper, the low-frequency synchronous (LFS) and low-frequency alternating (LFA) phases based on the double pulse were proposed to improve the heat input of Al alloy double-wire GMAW. Voltage and current waveforms of LFS and LFA phases are acquired, enabling the investigation of heat input characteristics and weld bead formation of LFS and LFA phases. Lastly, the influence of low-frequency phases on weld porosity is assessed. The experimental results have shown that the regular voltage, current waveforms, and continuous weld beads are obtained during LFS and LFA phases. In the LFS phase, the leading and trailing currents simultaneously occur in a strong or weak pulse phase. Further, the heat input fluctuates significantly, causing severe spatter, while fluctuations occur in the weld penetration. Furthermore, weld bead formation quality was poor. Compared with the LFS phase, the leading and trailing currents alternated in a strong or weak pulse phase in the LFA phase. The total LFA phase heat input was smoother, the weld spatter was limited, and the weld width was more uniform. The fish-scale ripples of the LFA phase were more obvious, while the bead formation quality was improved. Additionally, in the LFA phase, the weld pool maintained a fast flow rate and low solidification rate. The geometric parameters of the weld bead were more conducive to the escape of pores. Finally, the LFA phase porosity was notably lower compared with the LFS phase.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51205136), the Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2021A1515010678, 2022A1515010255), the Competitive Allocation Project Special Fund of Guangdong Province Chinese Academy of Sciences Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation (Grant No. 2013B091500082), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Key Program) (Grant No. 2015ZZ084), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou (Grant No. 201604016015), and the China Scholarship Council (Grant No. 201606155058).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Kaiyuan Wu, Taoyuan Tao, Yifei Wang, Peimin Xie & Xiaobin Hong

  2. Engineering Research Center for Special Welding Technology and Equipment of Guangdong Province, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Kaiyuan Wu, Taoyuan Tao, Yifei Wang, Peimin Xie & Xiaobin Hong

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  1. Kaiyuan Wu
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Contributions

Kaiyuan Wu contributed to the study and conception, performed the analysis, and wrote the original manuscript; Taoyuan Tao contributed to the experiments and analyzed the data; Yifei Wang contributed to the experiments and corrected the manuscript; Peimin Xie and Xiaobin Hong helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kaiyuan Wu.

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Wu, K., Tao, T., Wang, Y. et al. Heat input characteristics and weld bead formation in double-wire double-pulsed GMAW of aluminum alloy under different low-frequency phases. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 123, 3995–4008 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-10475-x

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