Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fuzzy control of backside weld width in cold metal transfer welding of X65 pipeline in the vertical-up position

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Welding in the World Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Reasonable backside weld geometry of the root-pass welding is the basic guarantee for good fatigue performance of the weld joints. In the vertical-up (3G) position welding, the change in the force direction on the molten pool makes the degree of penetration reduced, such that a small disturbance in the welding process will lead to uneven weld geometry and discontinuous weld penetration states. In order to obtain a good weld penetration state for root pass by cold metal transfer (CMT) welding in the vertical-up position, a control strategy applicable to CMT root-pass welding was proposed. The backside weld width (Wb) is related to the welding heat input (q) and the peak current time ratio (PTR). As per that base current almost does not affect the long period, and the long period tends to disappear in the range with small peak current or wire feed speed, a welding program with a stable PTR was designed, and the Wb prediction model was simplified to be only related to q. Based on the simplified model, a fuzzy controller was designed and its control effects for Wb in the CMT root-pass welding were tested. The test results proved the validity of the control strategy under normal fit-up conditions and the condition with varying misalignments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

The codes are not publicly available due to the commercial restriction.

Abbreviations

e :

Error between \(\widehat{q}\) and q* in the control system, J/mm

E :

Fuzzy variable for e

ec :

The change in error, J/(mm·s)

E C :

Fuzzy variable for ec

I :

Welding current, A

\(\widehat{\text{I}}\) :

Welding current data by Hall sensor, A

I b :

Welding current in base current stage, A

I p :

Welding current in peak current stage, A

I sc :

Welding current in short-circuiting current stage, A

L PR :

Long period ratio, i.e., the ratio of the number for long periods over the number for all periods, %

n :

Total number of periods (or cycles) in the calculation

PTR :

Peak current time ratio, i.e., the average ratio of peak current time over the welding time, %

q :

Welding heat input, J/mm

\(\widehat{\text{q}}\) :

Output of the control system, J/mm

q * :

Reference (or expected output) of the control system, J/mm

\({q}_{\mathrm{b}}\) :

Heat input for a base current stage, J/mm

\({q}_{i}\) :

Heat input in period i, J/mm

\({q}_{\mathrm{p}}\) :

Heat input for a peak current stage, J/mm

\({q}_{\mathrm{sc}}\) :

Heat input for a short-circuiting current stage, J/mm

t :

Time, s

t b :

Base current time, ms

t p :

Peak current time, ms.

t sc :

Short-circuiting current time, ms

U :

Arc voltage, V

\(\widehat{\text{U}}\) :

Arc voltage data by Hall sensor, V

U b :

Arc voltage in base current stage, V

U p :

Arc voltage in peak current stage, V

U sc :

Arc voltage in short-circuiting current stage, V

u c :

The input of control system, i.e., the increment of vf, m/min

U C :

Fuzzy variable for uc

v :

Welding speed, m/min

v f :

Wire feed speed, m/min

W b :

Backside weld width, mm

W b * :

Expected backside weld width, mm

References

  1. Kumar NP, Devarajan PK, Vendan SA et al (2017) Prediction of bead geometry in cold metal transfer welding using back propagation neural network. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 93:385–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Nandan G, Kumar G, Arora KS et al (2022) MIG and CMT brazing of aluminum alloys and steel: a review. Mater Today: Process 56(1):481–488

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Selvi S, Vishvaksenan A, Rajasekar E (2018) Cold metal transfer (CMT) technology – an overview. Def Technol 14(1):28–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kim JS, Lee JP, Park MH et al (2014) A study on prediction of the optimal process parameters for GMA root-pass welding in pipeline. Procedia Eng 97:723–731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Chen ZD, Wang ZJ, Wang FR et al (2023) Feasibility study on sensing and prediction of backside weld geometry in cold metal transfer welding of X65 pipeline in vertical-up position. J Manuf Processes 85:1173–1186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Fan CJ, Lv FL, Chen SB (2009) Visual sensing and penetration control in aluminum alloy pulsed GTA welding. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 42(1–2):126–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Chen H, Lv F, Lin T et al (2009) Closed-loop control of robotic arc welding system with full-penetration monitoring. J Intell Robot Syst 56(5):565–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wang ZJ, Zhang YM, Wu L (2012) Adaptive interval model control of weld pool surface in pulsed gas metal arc welding. Automatica 48(1):233–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Zou SY, Wang ZJ, Hu SS et al (2020) Control of weld penetration depth using relative fluctuation coefficient as feedback. J Intell Manuf 31:1203–1213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cao Y, Wang ZJ, Hu SS et al (2021) Modeling of weld penetration control system in GMAW-P using NARMAX methods. J Manuf Process 65:512–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Lv N, Xu YL, Li SC et al (2017) Automated control of welding penetration based on audio sensing technology. J Mater Process Technol 250:81–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Aviles-Vias JF, Rios-Cabrera R, Lopez-Juarez I (2016) On-line learning of welding bead geometry in industrial robots. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 83(1):217–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Lou YJ (1998) Intelligent control for pulsed GTAW dynamic process based on image sensing of weld pool. Dissertation, Harbin Institute of Technology (in Chinese)

  14. Chen SB, Lou YJ, Wu L et al (2000) Intelligent methodology for sensing, modeling and control of pulsed GTAW: part 1 - bead-on-plate welding. Weld J 79(6):151s–163s

    Google Scholar 

  15. Tsai CH, Hou KH, Chuang HT (2006) Fuzzy control of pulse GTA welds by using real-time root bead image feedback. J Mater Process Technol 176(1–3):158–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Gao XD, Huang SS, Yu YL (2000) Fuzzy neural networks for control of penetration depth during GTAW. China Weld 9(1):1–8

    Google Scholar 

  17. Wang ZJ, Zeng ZT, Wu SJ et al (2023) Weld penetration control of wire-filled pulsed gas tungsten arc welding of pipe in the horizontal position. Weld World 67:1793–1807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Li XR, Shao Z, Zhang YM et al (2013) Monitoring and control of penetration in GTAW and pipe welding. Weld J 92:190s–196s

    Google Scholar 

  19. Li XR, Zhang YM (2014) Predictive control for manual plasma arc pipe welding. J Manuf Sci Eng 136(4):041017

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.: 52375374).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Advanced Joining Technology, Tianjin, 150004, China

    Zhijiang Wang, Zhendong Chen, Shaojie Wu, Caiyan Deng & Zhichen Lin

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 150004, China

    Zhijiang Wang, Zhendong Chen, Shaojie Wu, Caiyan Deng & Zhichen Lin

Authors
  1. Zhijiang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhendong Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shaojie Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Caiyan Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhichen Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Zhijiang Wang: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, resources, writing (review and editing), funding acquisition, project administration.

Zhendong Chen: methodology, software, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, visualization, writing—original draft.

Shaojie Wu: formal analysis, validation, writing—review and editing.

Caiyan Deng: formal analysis, validation, supervision.

Zhichen Lin: software, formal analysis, data curation, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhijiang Wang.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

The authors give their consent for the publication of identifiable details, which can include photograph(s) and/or videos and/or case history and/or details within the text to be published in Welding in the World.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, Z., Chen, Z., Wu, S. et al. Fuzzy control of backside weld width in cold metal transfer welding of X65 pipeline in the vertical-up position. Weld World 68, 829–842 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-023-01649-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-023-01649-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation