Arc Welding

Mohak Patel

19th August, 2011 9003045

Background
Manual metal arc welding (MMAW) or shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), is a manual arc, is most widely used process for fabrication. An arc is struck between a flux covered consumable electrode and workpiece to be joined. As the weld is laid, the flux coating of the electrode disintegrates, releasing shielding gas and providing a layer of slag, which protect the weld region from oxidation.

Figure 1 SMAW weld area

As shown in the figure, the flux melts along with the metallic core wire and goes to weld pool where it reacts with molten metal forming slag which floats on the top of molten weld pool and solidifies after solidification of molten metal and can be removed by chipping and brushing. Welding power sources may be transformer or rectifier for AC or DC supply. The requirement depends on the type of electrode coating and the material to be welded. The constant-current or drooping type of power source is preferred for MMAW since it is difficult to hold a constant arc length. The changing arc length causes arc voltage to increase or decrease, which in turn produces a change in welding current. The steeper the slope of the volt-ampere curve within the welding range, the smaller the current change for a given

change in arc voltage. This results in stable arc, uniform penetration and better weld seam in-spite of fluctuation of arc length. The simplicity of operation and cheap equipment makes it one of the most popular welding processes. It is primarily used to weld iron and steels (including stainless steel) but aluminium, nickel and copper alloys can also be welded with this method.

Aim
To study the influence of process parameters on weld geometry and melting efficiency in SMAW with DCEP polarity.

Procedure
1. Wear the protective gear for welding 2. The transformer is switched on with appropriate current rating. 3. Insert the new electrode stick to the electrode holder and practise making a straight weld on the sample metal sample. 4. Measure the weight of the given metal sample. 5. Set the current and voltage rating on the transformer. 6. Perform the welding operation on the transverse cut made on the metal plate. 7. Measure the weight of the slab after welding. 8. Cut the slab equally in 3 parts and measure the bead width, height and penetration. 9. Perform the welding operation for 2 different sets of current and voltage.

Experimental Data
Open Circuit Voltage, OCV = 75 Volts Sr. Current(A) Voltage(V) No. 1 110 23 2 120 22 3 132 24 Time(s) 16.11 12.92 14 Mass Deposited (g) 4.69 4.31 5.61 Width (mm) 6.53 5.49 7.74 Height (mm) 1.85 1.46 1.28 Penetration (mm) 3.74 3.30 1.82

Analysis

Where, Ein is the effective energy input

effective = 0.55 V is the measured voltage in Volts. I is the measured current in Ampere.

Where, Eutilised is the effective energy utilised in melting the electrode and base material m1 is rate of melting of mass of base material (kg/s). m2 is rate of melting of electrode mass (kg/s). L1, L2 are latent heat of melting (~2.65x105 J/kg for steel). C is specific heat (~622 J/kg K for steel). T1Melt, T2Melt are melting temperature of base material and electrode (~1800K for steel). Tamb is ambient Temperature (~300K). And,

Sr. No. 1 2 3

Cross-sectional area(mm2) 28.65 20.51 18.83

Ein 1319.5 1452 1716

Eutilised 348.766 399.642 480.05

melt 0.2506 0.2752 0.2755

Efficiency vs Current
0.285 0.28 0.275 0.27 0.265 0.26 0.255 0.25 0.245 105 110 115 120 Current (A)
Graph 1 Efficiency vs Current

Efficiency (melt)

125

130

135

Cross-sectional area vs. Current

35

Cross-sectional area (mm2)

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

105

110

115

120
Current (A)

125

130

135

Figure 2 Cross-sectional area vs Current

Conclusion
The variation of process parameters with change in current was studied. Melting efficiency was found to increase with the current. Higher rate of metal deposition was found to increase with current. The variation of weld geometry with current was tabulated.

Sources of Error
1. The accuracy of the weld made is low because of the fact that weld made is highly dependent on the skill of the welder. 2. The penetration depth was not clearly visible. 3. The cross-sectional area was assumed to be elliptical, whereas it is not uniform everywhere. 4. The calculation of the rate of melting of base metal is very rough.

Suggestions to improve the experiment

1. More time should be given for practising the welding operation. 2. The weld bead was not clearly visible. Some chemical method should be used for the same.