Thermal analysis of horizontal fillet joints by considering bead shape in gas metal arc welding

Abstract

In gas metal arc (GMA) welding, the weld size, that is, the locally melted area of a workpiece, is one of the most important factors determining the strength of a welded structure. Variations in the welding power and the welding heat flux may affect the weld pool formation and ultimately the size of the weld. Therefore, an accurate prediction of the weld size requires a precise analysis of the weld thermal cycle. In the present study, a model that can estimate the weld bead geometry and a method for thermal analysis, including the model, are suggested. To analyse the weld bead geometry, a mathematical model was developed with transformed coordinates to apply to horizontal fillet joints. A heat flow analysis was performed using a two-dimensional finite element model that was adopted to compute the base metal melting zone. The reliability of the proposed model and the thermal analysis was evaluated through experiments, and the results showed that the proposed model was highly effective in predicting the weld bead shape, and that the predicted melting zone of the base metal also corresponded well with the experimental profile.