Mathematical Modeling of Melting Rates

for Submerged Arc Welding

Models of melting rates take into account the effects of
welding variables
BY R. S. CHANDEL
ABSTRACT. The effects of welding cur-
rent, arc voltage, wire diameter, elec-
trode extension (EE), electrode polarity,
power source type and flux classification
on melting rates (MR) have been evalu-
ated for the submerged arc welding pro-
cess. The results show that for a given
heat input, greater melting rates are
obtained when higher current, longer
electrode extension, smaller diameter
electrodes and electrode negative polari-
ty are used. Arc voltage, power source
type and flux classification do not have
any significant influence on melting rates.
Mathematical models to correlate pro-
cess variables and melting rates have
been computed from the data.
Introduction
Researchers and welding engineers
have been trying to increase productivity
by increasing melting rates since the
inception of the submerged arc welding
process. Historically, welding current has
been found to have the greatest influ-
ence on the melting rate and wel d bead
geometry (Refs. 1-4). However, it is also
recognized that when welding current is
increased to enhance the melting rate,
there is a corresponding increase in heat
input, which may influence the weld
metal toughness. Alternatively, travel
speed can be increased to maintain the
same heat input; however, this can
increase the propensity for defects such
as centerline cracking and incomplete
penetration (Ref. 5). However, melting
rate can be increased for a given heat
input and welding current by using elec-
trode negative polarity, longer electrode
extension, and smaller diameter elec-
trodes (Refs. 6-9). In order to predict and
control the melting rate, the quantitative
effect of all the variables must be known.
Wilson and Jackson (Ref. 9) formulated
R. S. CHANDEL is with Physical Metallurgy
Research Laboratories, Canada Center for
Mineral and Energy Technology, Ottawa, Can-
ada.
the following mathematical relationship
between welding variables and melting
rate in Imperial units, which are con-
verted here to the following SI units:
MR (for DCEN)
10001
(3)
MR (kg/h) = 9.45 +
10001
0.042 D
2
+ 2.906 X 10~
4
IL 122 -,
(1)
D
2
J
where I = welding current (A)
D = wire diameter (mm)
L = electrode extension (mm)
Such a relationship is very useful, as it
enables the preselection of welding vari-
ables for a particular melting rate. How-
ever, it has some drawbacks, as it does
not take into account the effect of volt-
age, polarity, the type of power source
and flux basicity.
Robinson (Ref. 10) observed that Equa-
tion 1 was not valid for alternating cur-
rent (AC) or direct current electrode
negative (DCEN), so he modified it to
take the effect of electrode polarity into
consideration. His modified equations,
originally in Imperial units, are converted
to SI units as follows:
MR (for DCEP) =
10001
(2)
0.042d
2
+ 2.906 X 10"
4
' ^ 1
d
2
J
+ [ 4.5 X 10~
5
(I)
1686
+ 3.565 1
KEY WORDS
SAW Electrode Melting
Melting Rate Models
Mathematical Modelling
SAW Heat Input
SAW Process Variables
Heat vs. Wel d Current
Electrode Polarity
Electrode Extension
Melt Rate Equation
SAW Polarity Effects
0.042d
2
+ 2.906 X 10~
4

1 22
1
d
2
J
+ [ 3. 071 X 10-
4
( l )
1
-
513
]
MR (for AC) =
1000
[
(4)
0.042d
2
+ 2.906 X 10
. IL
d
2
-I
(I)
2 721
+ 3.565 ] + [ 3.485 X 10"
8
where MR = melting rate
(kg/h)
I = welding current
(A)
d = electrode diameter
(mm)
L = electrode extension
(mm)
Martin (Ref. 11) and Jackson (Ref. 12)
had observed that arc voltage also has an
influence on the melting rate. Robinson
(Ref. 10) reported that for direct current
electrode negative, an increase in arc
voltage resulted in a decrease in melting
rate. However, neither Wilson's nor Rob-
inson's equations reflect this. Mantal (Ref.
13) reported that for arc welding the
melting rate for AC is the geometric
mean of the melting rates for DCEN and
DCEP. Lesnewich (Ref. 14) also compared
the melting rates for AC, DCEN and DCEP
and observed that the melting rate during
AC is the arithmetic mean of melting rates
during DCEN and DCEP. Robinson's
experimental results and theoretical cal-
culations show that for welding currents
of up to 750 A, direct current electrode
positive (DCEP) gives higher melting rates
than DCEN. Thus, in the light of this
controversy, the validity of Robinson's
(Ref. 10) equations becomes question-
able.
There have been a f ew other attempts
to formulate mathematical relationships
between welding variables and melting
rates (Refs. 15-18). However, most of
these models are useful only for particu-
WELDI NG RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1135-s
Table 1Welding Variables and Mel ti ng Rates for DC Welds
Melting rate (kg/h)
Constant voltage Constant current
Wi re dia.
(mm)
4.00
E.E.W
(mm)
25.4
Current
(A)
400
400
400
600
600
600
800
800
800
1000
1000
1000
Voltage
(A)
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
Flux A Flux Flux A Flux B
DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN
4.91
4.9
4.9
7.16
7.16
7.16
10.18
10.20
10.17
13.74
13.74
13.74
6.30
6.30
6.30
10.94
10.94
10.94
15.13
15.13
15.13
18.59
18.59
18.59
4.0 76.2 400
400
400
600
600
600
800
800
800
1000
1000
1000
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
5.22
5.22
5.23
9.4
9.4
9.4
16.40
16.40
16.40
20.61
20.61
20.61
6.44
6.44
6.44
12.43
12.43
12.43
18.13
18.13
18.13
25.47
25.47
25.47
2.4 25.4 300
300
300
400
400
400
475
475
475
550
550
550
$2
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
3.71
3.71
3.71
4.93
4.93
4.93
6.20
6.20
6.20
7.80
7.80
7.80
4.88
4.88
4.88
7.05
7.05
7.05
8.75
8.75
8.75
10.61
10.61
10.61
(a)
Electrode extension
lar situations and are thus not applicable
to shop floor welding. Therefore, the aim
of this work was twofol d: 1) t o study the
effect of welding current, arc voltage,
electrode diameter, electrode extension,
electrode polarity, type of power source,
and flux classification on the melting rate
for submerged arc welding, and 2) to
develop mathematical models to corre-
late the melting rates wi th the welding
variables.
Experimental Work
The base material used for the experi-
mental work was a 19-mm (0.75-in.) thick
ASTM A36 steel plate. This plate was cut
into 600- X 150-mm (24- X 6-in.) pieces,
and both surfaces were cleaned (sand
blasted) to remove dirt and oxides. AWS
EL12 electrodes of 2.4-, 3.2- and 4-mm
(%2-, Va- and %2-in.) diameter were used,
along wi th Fluxes A and B. Flux A was a
fused acid flux wi th a basicity index of 1,
while Flux B was an agglomerated basic
flux with a basicity index of 3.
DC 1500 and AC square wave 1000
power sources were used. The DC 1500
can be operated on both constant cur-
rent and constant voltage modes, while
the AC square wave 1000 is designed for
the constant vcltage mode only. The
experimental work was designed to
study the effect of welding current, volt-
age, electrode extension, electrode diam-
eter, polarity, type of power source, and
flux classification on melting rate. The
welding current and arc voltage were
recorded on a chart recorder for each
deposit, while the corresponding wire
feed speed (which was converted into
melting rate) was read from a digital wire
feed tachometer. A total of 336 welds
were made, and their welding variables
and corresponding melting rates are giv-
en in Table 1.
Results
The results of the investigation are
given in Figs. 1-4 and Tables 1 and 2.
Figure 1 shows the effect of welding
current and wire diameter on the melting
rate. It can be seen that for a given wire
diameter, melting rate increases wi th
welding current. However, for a given
welding current, the melting rate is higher
when a smaller diameter electrode is
used. Figure 1 also indicates that the
difference in melting rate due to wire
diameter is greater at higher currents.
Varying the voltage between 30 and
38 V did not have any effect on the
melting rate.
The effects of polarity and electrode
extension on the melting rate are shown
in Fig. 2. For the same welding variables,
DCEN results in a higher melting rate than
DCEP When AC is used, the melting
rates are slightly higher than those of
DCEP and significantly lower than DCEN
when a 25.4-mm (1-in.) electrode exten-
sion is used. However, when a 76.2-mm
(3.0-in.) electrode extension is used, the
melting rates with AC become similar t o
those of DCEP.
The effects of power source type
(constant voltage and constant current)
and flux classification on the melting rate
136-s I MAY 1987
Table 1Welding Variables and Melting Rates for DC Welds (continued)
Melting rate (kg/h)
Constant voltage Constant current
Wi re dia. E.E>>
(mm) (mm)
2.4 76.2
3.2 25.4
3.2 76.2
(a)
Electrode extension
are shown in Figs. 3
The results i ndi cat e
Current
(A)
300
300
300
400
400
400
475
475
475
550
550
550
300
300
300
450
450
450
600
600
600
750
750
750
300
300
300
450
450
450
600
600
600
750
750
750
Voltage
(A)
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
32
35
38
and 4, respect i vel y.
that p o we r source
t ype and fl ux cl assi fi cati on di d not have
Flux A
DCEP
4.92
4.92
4.92
8.27
8.27
8.27
10.71
10.71
10.71
15.10
15.10
15.10
3.83
3.83
3.83
5.56
5.56
5.56
7.38
7.38
7.38
9.87
9.87
9.87
4.79
4.79
4.79
7.57
7.57
7.57
11.80
11.80
11.80
16.40
16.40
16.40
DCEN
6.42
6.42
6.42
9.76
9.76
9.76
12.92
12.92
12.92
17.06
17.06
17.06
4.98
4.98
4.98
8.16
8.16
8.16
11.70
11.70
11.70
14.29
14.29
14.29
5.65
5.65
5.65
10.35
10.35
10.35
15.05
15.05
15.05
20.60
20.60
20.60
FluxB
DCEP






-
-
-

-
-
3.53
3.53
3.53
5.18
5.18
5.18
7.00
7.00
7.00
9.78
9.78
9.78
4.41
4.41
4.41
8.15
8.15
8.15
12.08
12.08
12.08
19.00
19.00
19.00
DCEN


-


-


-


-
6.14
6.14
6.14
8.72
8.72
8.72
11.44
11.44
11.44
14.86
14.86
14.86
6.33
6.33
6.33
10.07
10.07
10.07
14.19
14.19
14.19
20.77
20.77
20.77
Flux A
DCEP
-
-
-
-
-

-
-
-
-

-
3.74
3.74
3.74
5.66
5.66
5.66
7.86
7.86
7.86
10.35
10.35
10.35
4.51
4.51
4.51
7.19
7.19
7.19
11.51
11.51
11.51
17.74
17.74
17.74
DCEN

-

-
-
-
-


-

-
4.98
4.98
4.98
8.53
8.53
8.53
11.70
11.70
11.70
14.29
14.29
14.29
5.75
5.75
5.75
10.17
10.17
10.17
14.67
14.67
14.67
20.58
20.58
20.58
Flux B
DCEP

-

-
-

-
-
-

-
-
3.64
3.64
3.64
5.65
5.65
5.65
7.86
7.86
7.86
10.35
10.35
10.35
4.31
4.31
4.31
7.67
7.67
7.67
12.56
12.56
12.56
17.84
17.84
17.84
DCEN

-
-
-

-

-

-
-
-
6.23
6.23
6.23
8.82
8.82
8.82
11.41
11.41
11.41
14.58
14.58
14.58
6.45
6.45
6.45
10.64
10.64
10.64
14.48
14.48
14.48
20.58
20.58
20.58
any significant effect on melting rates.
Table 2Welding Variables and Melting Rates for AC Welds
Mathematical Model
The above results have shown that the
melting rate during submerged arc weld-
ing is affected by welding current, elec-
trode diameter, electrode extension and
electrode polarity. To present the above
results in a meaningful mathematical
expression, some fundamental concepts
of melting during arc welding have to be
considered. It is well understood that the
total melting is composed of melting due
to arc energy and melting due to resis-
tance heating ()oule heating effect) (Refs.
9, 10 and 15-18). Arc heat is proportional
to welding current, while the Joule heat-
ing effect is proportional to the (current)
2
and electrode extension, and inversely
proportional to (electrode diameter)
2
. An
equation to correlate melting rate and
welding variables and incorporating arc
Melting rate (kg/h)
Wi re dia
4.00
3.2
""Electrode
Current
(A)
450
450
550
550
650
650
750
750
400
400
500
500
600
600
700
700
extension.
Voltage
(V)
32
36
32
36
32
36
32
36
30
34
30
34
30
34
30
34
25.4 mm
E.E>>
5.44
5.46
7.05
7.00
8.50
8.50
10.57
10.53
4.74
4.75
5.99
6.00
8.52
8.51
10.80
10.76
Flux A
76.2 mm
E.E.<*>
5. 93
5.96
8.14
8.14
10.25
10.05
13.41
13.38
5.5
5.5
8.14
8.17
11.24
11.24
15.37
15.37
25.4 mrr
E.E.<
a
>


-


-
-
-
5.26
5.26
6.70
6.71
8.64
8.64
10.52
10.50
Flux B
76.2 mm
E.E.<
a
>


-




-
6.33
6.34
8.6
8.5
11.72
11.71
15.83
15.83
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1137-s
<
cr
o
z
I -
_l
LU
POLARI TY- DCEP
0 2.4mm WI RE
A 3.2mm WI RE
D 4.0mm WI RE
<
rr
CD
z
WI RE DI A.- 3.2mm
O DCEP
A DCEN
D AC
25.4mm EE
76.2mm EE
300 400 500 600 700 S00 900 1000 300 400 500 600 700 BOO 900 1000
WELDI NG CURRENT (A)
Fig. 1-Effect of welding current and wire diameter on the melting rate
(Flux A, 25.4-mm electrode extension)
WELDI NG CURRENT (A)
Fig. 2 Effect of electrode polarity and electrode extension on the
melting rate (Flux A)
<
cr
CD
z
_ i
w
r
<
rr
CD
z
300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
WELDI NG CURRENT (A)
Fig. 3 Effect of power source type on the melting rate (Flux A,
25.4-mm electrode extension)
WELDI NG CURRENT (A)
Fig. 4 Effect of flux type on the melting rate (25.4-mm electrode
extension)
138-s | MAY 1987
O)
u
I -
i
CD
Z
Kj
a
HI
o
I-H
a
0-
20 -
I B -
1G -
12 -
10
B -
6 -
4 -
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 I B 20
OBSERVED MELTING RATE ( kg/ h)
Fig. 5 Relationship between measured and calculated melting rates
energy and Joule heating effect was con-
ceived in the following form:
l
2
L
MR = Al + B + C
d
2
where A, B and C are constants which
depend upon the polarity and electrode
material and I, L and d are welding
current, electrode extension and elec-
trode diameter, respectively.
In order to compute the values of A, B
and C, multiple regression analyses of the
experimental data were carried out and
the following equations were obtained:
MR (for AC) = 0.01523 I +
J
2
L
1.6882 X I O"
6
- 2. 396
d
2
(R = 0.991, SE = 0.435)
MR (for DCEN) = 0.016178 I +
J
2
L
2.087 X 10"
6
- 0.643
d
2
(R = 0.996, SE = 0.5)
MR for (DCEP) = 0.01037 I +
J
2
L
2.2426 X 10"
6
- 0. 462
d^
(R = 0.993, SE = 0.56)
where R is the coefficient of multiple
correlation and SE is the standard error.
The validity of the above equations
can be judged from their high coefficients
of correlation (>0.99) and Fig. 5, which
shows the relationship between mea-
sured and computed melting rates. Com-
pared with other equations referred to
earlier (Refs. 9,10), these equations are
simpler, maintain mathematical uniformity
and show a better relationship between
measured and calculated melting rates
Fig. 6. The important feature of the
above equations is that the coefficients
for the second term, l
2
L/d
2
, are similar for
electrode negative and electrode posi-
tive, which agrees wi th the findings of
Demyantsevich (Ref. 18) and Chandel
and Malik (Ref. 19). This implies that
resistance heating is not influenced by the
polarity during direct current arc welding.
However, this coefficient is smaller for
AC, which indicates that melting due t o
resistance heating is smaller during AC
welding. This discrepancy in the resis-
tance heating during AC and DC welding
is difficult to explain at this stage, and it is
recommended that further work be car-
ried out. The regression coefficient for
the first term, i.e., arc heat, is highest
when the electrode is negative and l ow-
est when the electrode is positive,
because during arc welding, more heat is
liberated at the cathode, which for elec-
trode negative is the electrode tip. The
value of this coefficient for AC is higher
than when the electrode is positive, but
smaller than when the electrode is nega-
tive.
The effect of current, wire diameter,
electrode extension and polarity on the
melting rates can be explained by the
equations above. As explained earlier,
the total melting is composed of melting
due to arc heat and resistance heat. Thus,
O)
UJ
tr
CD
z
_J
UJ

uJ

<
2 0
1 8
1 6
1 4
1 2
10
8
6
4
-
-
/
O
A
THI S WORK
ROBINSON
0 /
A
A i
/o
A
ry
A
1
A
1 1
<p/
A A
1 1
* 6 8 10 12 14 16 IB 20
D C E N MEASURED MELTI NG RATE (kg/h)
JC
tu
<
CD
_J
UJ
Z
Q
LU
I -
<
_ l
CJ
_ l
<
2 0
1 8
16
14
12
1 0
a
G
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
O
A

A
A O'
So
i
THI S WORK
ROBINSON
UILSON
{ya
i l l
/
' A
1 1
O

A
1 1
/ a
'
4 E S 10 12 1+ 16 IS 20
D C E P MEASURED MELTI NG RATE (kg/h)
Fig. 6 Comparison of various mathematical models to calculate melting rates
WELDI NC RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1139-s
wi th an increase in welding current, there
is a linear increase in arc heat, while the
resistance heat increases exponentially.
The rate of increase in arc heat and
resistance heat wi th current also depends
upon the coefficients. Thus, for the same
increase in welding current, there is a
larger increase in melting from arc heat
when DCEN is used.
Conclusions
1. Submerged arc welding variables
such as current, polarity, wire diameter
and electrode extension have an influ-
ence on the melting rate.
2. For a given wi re diameter, elec-
trode polarity and electrode extension,
there is an increase in melting rate with an
increase in welding current.
3. For a given welding current, higher
melting rates are obtained when longer
electrode extension and electrode nega-
tive and smaller wire diameter electrodes
are used. For the same welding variables,
melting rate for AC is slightly higher than
that for DC electrode positive.
4. Arc voltage and power source type
do not show any significant effect on
melting rate.
References
1. Apps, R. L., Gourd, L M., and Nelson, K.
A. 1963. Welding and Metal Fabrication
31:453.
2. Metals Handbook, Vol. 6, 9th edition.
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Park, Ohio.
3. McGlone, |. C, and Chadwick, D. B.
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4. Salter, G. R and Doherty,). 1981. Metal
Construction 9:20.
5. Chandel, R. S. 1981. Optimization of
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Int. Conf. on Advances in Welding, Harrow-
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Construction 3:128.
16. Halmoy, E. 1979. Wire melting rate,
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Welding Production 3:34.
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Welding 8:47.
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Relationship between wire feed speed and
submerged arc welding parameters. Proc. of
Int. Conf. on Welding for Challenging Environ-
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WRC Bulletin 319
November 1986
Sensitization of Austenitic Stainless Steels: Effect of Welding Variables on HAZ Sensitization of AISI 304
and HAZ Behavior of BWR Alternative Alloys 316NG and 347
By C. D. Lundin, C. H. Lee, R. Menon and E. E. Stansbury
The research descri bed in t hi s r epor t was undert aken t o deri ve a bet t er underst andi ng of t he HAZ
sensi ti zati on response of 304, 304LN, 316NG and 347 austeni ti c stainless steel s. The resul ts are di rect l y
appl i cabl e t o bot h t he as-wel ded and l ong-t i me service behavi or of t hese austeni ti c stainless steel s.
Publ i cati on of thi s r epor t was sponsored by t he Subcommi t t ee on Wel di ng Stainless Steel of t he High
Alloys Commi t t ee of t he Wel di ng Research Counci l . The pri ce of WRC Bul l eti n 319 is $24. 00 per copy,
plus $5. 00 f or postage and handl i ng. Orders shoul d be sent wi t h payment t o t he Welding Research
Counci l , Suite 1301, 345 E. 47t h St., New York, NY 10017.
WRC Bulletin 320
December 1986
Welding Metallurgy and Weldability of High Strength Aluminum Alloys
By S. Kou
A l i t erat ure survey was conduct ed t o gat her t he i nf ormat i on available on t he wel di ng met al l urgy of
high st rengt h al umi num al l oys, and its effect on t hei r wel dabi l i ty. Bot h convent i onal high st rengt h
al umi num al l oys and newer product s, e.g., powder met al l urgy al umi num alloys, Al-Li alloys and Al -matri x
composi t es, are i ncl uded in thi s report .
Publ i cati on of t hi s report was sponsored by t he Al umi num Alloys Commi t t ee of t he Welding Research
Counci l . The pri ce of WRC Bul l eti n 320 is $12. 00 per copy, plus $5. 00 for postage and handl i ng. Orders
shoul d be sent wi t h payment t o t he Welding Research Counci l , Suite 1301, 345 E. 47t h St., New York, NY
10017.
140-s I MAY 1987