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Magnetic-enhanced keyhole TIG welding process

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Abstract

Improving of K-TIG welding process with a cusp magnetic field was experimentally tested. A cusp magnetic field setup was designed with water-cooled permanent magnetic poles. Stationary welding experiments were carried out to test the influence of magnetic field to the arc shape. Bead-on-plate welding processes were carried out to test the influence of magnetic field to the arc voltage and weld shape. Keyhole exit image sequence was captured with a vision system. It was found that, in the magnetic-enhanced K-TIG welding process, (1) the arc was constrained and changed into oval shape; (2) arc voltage was increased, front weld was narrowed and backside weld was widened; (3) keyhole exit shape also changed; (4) threshold current for fully penetrated keyhole was decreased and (5) the stainless steel weld microstructure experienced invisible change. The results show that the cusp magnetic field is feasible to improve the K-TIG arc behaviour and reduce the heat input.

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Funding

Financial support for this research was from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51505329), Tianjin Research Program of Application Foundation and Advanced Technology (No. 15JCQNJC03400) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (General Program, No. BK20161475); the research is also supported by State Key Lab of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology and Tianjin University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Advanced Joining Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    ZuMing Liu, ShiYu Chen, Xin Yuan, AnQi Zuo & Zhen Luo

  2. Nanjing Institute of Advanced Laser Technology, Nanjing, 210038, China

    Tao Zhang

Authors
  1. ZuMing Liu
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  2. ShiYu Chen
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  3. Xin Yuan
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  4. AnQi Zuo
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  5. Tao Zhang
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  6. Zhen Luo
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to ZuMing Liu or Zhen Luo.

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Liu, Z., Chen, S., Yuan, X. et al. Magnetic-enhanced keyhole TIG welding process. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 99, 275–285 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2501-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2501-0

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