Numerical Analysis of Metal Transfer in Gas Metal Arc Welding under Modified Pulsed Current Conditions

A method has been proposed to pulsate current in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) to achieve a specific type of desirable and repeatable metal transfer mode, i.e., one drop per pulse (ODPP) mode. This method uses a peak current lower than the transition current to prevent accidental detachment and takes advantage of the downward momentum of the droplet oscillation to enhance the detachment. A numerical model with advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, such as a two-step projection method, volume of fluid (VOF) method, and continuum surface force (CSF) model, was used to carry out the simulation for the metal transfer process. The Gauss-type current density distribution was assumed as the boundary condition for the calculation of the electromagnetic force. The calculations were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in achieving the desired metal transfer process in comparison with conventional pulsed current GMAW. Also, the critical conditions for effective use of this proposed method were identified by the numerical simulation. Comparison showed good agreement between calculation and experimental results.