Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding

Instructions:
1. Shoes are mandatory for the laboratory.
2. Report for laboratory to be submitted on the same day.
3. Carry a printout of this manual, writing sheets, 3 graph sheets, 1 transparency sheet and
a CD marker for this laboratory.

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

Apparatus to be used:
1. DC GMAW power source
2. Electrode feeder and electrode wire spool
3. Flexible air-cooled welding torch
4. Inert Gas Cylinder
5. Workpiece (150 x 100 x 10 mm)

Procedure:
1. Produce weld bead-on-plate at 4 different power settings for DCEP polarity.
2. Observe the mode of metal transfer.
3. Record the mean voltage (V) and current (I) for each setting.
4. Cut transverse section on each weld sample.
5. Etch exposed section with nital (5% nitric acid and ethanol) solution; measure bead
width (w), penetration (p) and reinforcement height (h).
6. Calculate approximate cross sectional area, A, of the weld (mm2)
7. Plot p, w, h, A and melt as a function of I for DCEP polarity.
8. Prepare in tabular format the results as:

Welding Velocity (v) (mm/s) =_________________

Sr. Volt, V Current, I p w h A R T

No (V) (A) (mm) (mm) (mm) mm
melt (mm) (K)
1
2
3
4
Calculation Procedure:
Ein = Effective energy input
process V I (1)
where, process = 0.60, V= measured voltage (V); I = measured current (A)

Eutilized = Effective energy utilized in melting electrode and base material

m1C1( TMelt
1
TAmb ) m2C2 ( TMelt
2
TAmb ) m1 L1 m2 L2
(2)

( m1 m2 ) C( TMelt TAmb ) ( L )
( m1 m2 ) Av (3)

where
m1 = Rate of melting of mass of base material (kg/s)
m2 = Rate of melting of electrode mass (kg/s)
L1 = L2 = L = Latent heat of melting (~ 2.65 x 105 J/kg for steel)
C1 = C2 = C = Specific heat (~ 622 J/kg.K for steel)
1
TMelt TMelt
2
TMelt = Melting temperature of base material and electrode (~ 1800 K)
TAmb = Ambient temperature (~ 300 K)
= 8000 kg / m3

Next,
Eutilized = melt * Ein (4)

Further, the temperature (T) at any point (x, y, z) at a distance R from the center (xc, yc, zc) of
the weld pool during linear welding can be calculated analytically as,

E 1 vR
T T Amb in exp (5)
2k R 2 k
C

where
k = Thermal conductivity (~ 60 W/m.K for steel)
R= ( x xc ) 2 ( y y c ) 2 ( z z c ) 2

Plots:
1. p, w, h v/s I.
2. A v/s I.
3. melt v/s I.