99

Modelling the transient behaviours of

a fully penetrated gastungsten arc
weld pool with surface deformation
P C Zhao1 , C S Wu1 *, and Y M Zhang2
1
Institute of Materials Joining, MOE Key Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials, Shandong
University, Jinan, Peoples Republic of China
2
Centre for Manufacturing and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky,
Lexington, Kentucky, USA

The MS was received on 30 December 2003 and was accepted after revision for publication on 2 September 2004.

DOI: 10.1243/095440505X8073

Abstract: Numerical analysis of the dynamic behaviours of a gastungsten arc (GTA) weld pool
with full penetration is of great significance to designing the process control algorithm. In this
paper, a three-dimensional transient numerical model is developed to investigate the dynamic
behaviours of a fully penetrated GTA weld pool with surface deformation. A body-fitted
coordinate system is used to transform the complex physical boundaries resulted from the
surface deformation into regular boundaries. A separated algorithm is employed to solve the
strongly coupling problems between the surface deformation, fluid flow, and heat transfer. By
using the model, the whole gastungsten arc welding (GTAW) process (including arc ignition,
weld pool formation and growth, penetration, quasi-steady state, and arc extinguishments) are
simulated, and the transient development of a three-dimensional weld pool shape and fluid
flow inside the pool are obtained. The predicted weld geometry matches the experimental
results. It provides useful basic data for the development of sensing and control systems of GTAW.

Keywords: transient behaviours, weld pool, full penetration, surface deformation, numerical
simulation

1 INTRODUCTION parameters, fixture, joint geometry, etc., based on

Gastungsten arc welding (GTAW) has become indis-
pensable as a tool for many industries because of the
high-quality welds produced and the basic role of
materials joining in manufacturing industry. This
process is typically used for critical and accurate join-
ing where the weld quality must be ensured, such as
for the root pass and for the welding of advanced
materials, thin and ultra-thin section materials, and
pressure vessels, because of its capability in precision
control of the welding fusion process [1]. Accurate
welding and production of quality welds will involve
a complex operation. Typical practice is first to
select and design the welding process, welding
*Corresponding author: Institute of Materials Joining, MOE Key
Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials,
Shandong University, 73 Jingshi Road, Jinan 250061, Peoples
Republic of China; email: wucs@sdu.edu.cn
materials used and the specified requirements.
However, for GTAW, simply following the established
procedure is not adequate because normally 100 per
cent of full penetration must be ensured without
burn-through or over-penetration which damages
materials properties. To this end, automated sensing
and control of GTAW process must be realized [2].
The design of the control algorithm requires that
the underlying process be described using a dynamic
model such as a transfer function. However, the
welding process is an extremely complex process in
which different types of phenomenon occur in a
coupled way. Thus, numerical analysis for modelling
the dynamic behaviour of the GTAW process is of
great significance to designing the process control
algorithm.
Although there have been significant advances
in the numerical simulation of the GTAW process
[35], most studies have entailed general simulation

B24203 # IMechE 2005 Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
100 P C Zhao, C S Wu, and Y M Zhang

of the process under constant welding parameters where Parc is the arc pressure,  is the density, g is
and a quasi-steady state, and little attention has the gravitational acceleration,  is the surface tension,
been paid to the transient dynamics of the weld C1 is a constant, x q=qx, xx q2 =qx2 , xy
pool. Zacharia et al. developed a three-dimensional q2 =qx qy, and so on. At the other area of the top
transient model for the arc welding process [6], but surface, x y 0. Because the total volume of the
it either was only concerned with partial penetration weld pool is not changed before or after the surface
or did not consider the weld pool surface deformation deformation, there is the constraint
in the full penetration. Wu and Yan conducted
numerical simulation of transient development and x y dx dy 0 2
decrease in the gastungsten arc (GTA) weld pool, 1
but they assumed flat surfaces at both the front and
where 1 is the surface area of weld pool at the top
the back sides of the weld pool [7]. In fact, the weld
surface. The arc pressure can be expressed as [9, 10]
pool surfaces at both the front and the back sides  
are depressed under the condition of full penetration,  I2 r2
Parc 02 2 exp  2 3
and the amplitude of this depression could be 8p j 2j
considered to reflect the penetration extent. For
dynamic control, models are required to reveal how where 0 is permeability in free space, I is the welding
the process variables (weld pool geometry and sur- current, j is the current
p
distribution parameter, and
2 2
face depression) change with the welding parameters r x  u0 t y , where u0 is the welding speed
(welding current and velocity). In this paper, a and t is the time.
numerical model is developed to describe the transi- For a fully penetrated weld pool [Fig. 1(b)], two
ent behaviour of a three-dimensional GTA weld pool equations are required to describe the configuration
with full penetration and surface deformation. of the top and bottom surfaces respectively, namely

Parc  g C2
2 FORMULATION 1 2y xx  2x y xy 1 2x yy
 4a
2.1 Surface deformation 1 2x 2y 3=2

The weld pool surface is deformed under the action of g L  C2

the arc pressure, surface tension, gravity, and so on. 2 2
When full penetration is established, pool surfaces 1 y xx 2 x y xy 1 x yy
 2 2 3=2
4b
at both the top and the bottom are deformed. As 1 x y
shown in Fig. 1, the functions Ztop x y and
Zbottom x y are used to describe the configura- where L is the thickness of the workpiece, C2 is a con-
tion of the top and bottom surfaces respectively of stant, x q =qx, xx q2 =qx2 , xy q2 =qx qy,
the weld pool. and so on. At the other area out of the weld pool,
In the case of partial penetration [Fig. 1(a)], the x y 0 and x y 0. The total volume of the
surface deformation occurs only at the top surface weld pool does not vary in full penetration. Therefore
of the workpiece. The top surface of the weld pool is
governed by the equation [8] x y dx dy x y dx dy 5
1 2
Parc  g C1
1 2y xx  2x y xy 1 2x yy where 1 is the surface area of the weld pool at the
 1 top surface, while 2 is the surface area of the weld
1 2x 2y 3=2 pool at the bottom surface.

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the weld pool surface deformation

Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture B24203 # IMechE 2005
 Modelling the transient behaviours of a fully penetrated GTA weld pool 101

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of the GTA process system

C1 and C2 are the total sum of other forces that act found by solving equations (6) and (7). Based on the
on the weld pool surface except for arc pressure, new values of C1 and C2 , equations (1) and (4) are
gravity, and surface tension. In the calculation, C1 is solved again to obtain the improved functions
derived from equations (1) and (2) while C2 is derived x y and x y. The above procedure is repeated
from equations (4) and (5) according to until it meets the criterion of convergence and the
constraint conditions are satisfied. In addition, the
C1 dx dy functions x y and x y are calculated in Carte-
1
sian coordinates.
During the transient development of the weld pool,
Parc dx dy 1 and 2 , i.e. the action areas of the arc pressure and
surface tension, change with time. The volume of the
1
weld pool varies with time, and so does the gravity.

1 2y xx  2x y xy 1 2x yy Thus, the configurations of the weld pool surfaces
  dx dy x y and x y change with time until the quasi-
1 2x 2y 3=2
1 steady state of the weld pool is achieved.
6
  2.2 Governing equations
C2 dx dy dx dy A schematic sketch of a typical GTAW process system
1 2 is shown in Fig. 2. In order to describe the develop-
ment of the weld pool shape, surface deformation,
Parc dx dy thermal field, and fluid flow field, a time-dependent
1 model is required. Therefore, it is a transient problem.
For a three-dimensional transient problem, the
1 2y xx  2x y xy 1 2x yy governing equations include the energy, momentum,
  dx dy
1 2x 2y 3=2 and continuity equations. Because of the surface
1
deformation, some newly added boundaries appear
at both the top and the bottom surfaces, and their
 g L  dx dy
positions change with time. Therefore, the calculated
2 domain is no longer a perfect cube for bead-on-plate
2 2 welding, which causes some boundary conditions
1 y xx 2 x y xy 1 x yy
  dx dy that are difficult to deal with. In this study, based on
1 2 2 3=2
2
x y the Cartesian coordinate, the body-fitted coordinate
system (x y z ) is introduced [Fig. 1(b)] to trans-
7 form the deformed domain to a regular domain
according to
The iterative method is used to calculate the surface
deformation of the weld pool. Firstly, the guessed z  x y
values of C1 and C2 are employed. Then x y and x x y y z
L x y  x y
x y are obtained through solving equations (1)
and (4) and the improved values of C1 and C2 are 8

B24203 # IMechE 2005 Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
102 P C Zhao, C S Wu, and Y M Zhang

Thus, the governing equations in body-fitted coor-  2 

q T qz q2 T qz
dinate are expressed as CT 2 12d
  qz qx qx qz qy qy
qT qT qT qT  2 
Cp U V Wt  q U qz q2 U qz
qt qx qy qz CU 2 12e
      qz qx qx qz qy qy
q qT q qT q qT
k k S  k   2 
qx qx qy qy qz qz q V qz q2 V qz
CV 2 12f
kCT 9 qz qx qx qz qy qy
   2 
qU qU qU qU q W qz q2 W qz
 U V W1  CW 2 12g
qt qx qy qz qz qx qx qz qy qy
   
qP qP qz q2 U q2 U q2 U qU qz qV qz
  2 S 2 Cm 12h
qx qz qx qx2 qy qz qz qx qz qy
CU Fx 10a
where qz =qx, qz =qy, and qz =qz can be obtained
  from equation (8).
qV qV qV qV
 U V W1  Although using the body-fitted coordinates can
qt qx qy qz
    completely avoid the newly added boundaries result-
qP qP qz q2 V q2 V q2 V ing from the surface deformation, the governing
   S equations in the body-fitted coordinate system are
qy qz qy qx2 qy2 qz2
quite complex, which causes many difficulties in the
CV Fy 10b discretization of governing equations. Some special
  techniques are employed to overcome these difficul-
qW qW qW qW
 U V W1  ties.
qt qx qy qz
 
qP qz q2 W q2 W q2 W 2.3 Boundary conditions
   S 2
qz qx qx2 qy2 qz
Owing to the energy transferred from the arc (qarc ) to
CW Fz 10c the workpiece, the weld pool forms and grows subse-
quently. At the same time, some energy is transferred
qU qV qW qz into the solid metal out of the weld pool, and some is
Cm 0 11
qx qy qz qz lost into the ambient medium by radiation (qrad ) and
convection (qconv ). Also evaporation (qevap ) occurs at
where T is the temperature, U , V , and W are the
the surface of the weld pool.
three components of velocity in the x, y, and z direc-
The net heat transfer input at the top surface is
tions respectively, t is the time,  is the density, Cp is
the specific heat, k is the thermal conductivity, P is q qarc  qconv  qrad  qevap 13
the pressure in the liquid, L is the thickness of the At the symmetric surface, both sides have no net heat
workpiece, Fx , Fy , and Fz are the components of surplus. Therefore
body forces in the x, y, and z directions respectively,
and  is the dynamic viscosity of liquid metal. Some qT
0 14
terms in governing equations are defined as qy
qz qz qz At all other surfaces, there are only convection, radia-
Wt U V W
qx qy qz tion, and evaporation losses. Thus,
 2  
k q z q2 z q2 z q qconv  qrad  qevap 15
 2 2 12a
Cp qx2 qy qz
For the heat source, an elliptical thermal flux distri-
qz qz qz bution was used in this study, which can be written as
W1 U V W
qx qy qz follows [11]: when x  u0 t 5 0
 2    
 qz q2 z q2 z 6 EI 3x  u0 t2
 2 2 12b qarc x y exp 
 qx2 qy qz pab1 b2 b21
  2   2   2  
qz qz qz 3y2
S 12c  exp  2 16a
qx qy qz a

Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture B24203 # IMechE 2005
 Modelling the transient behaviours of a fully penetrated GTA weld pool 103

and, when x  u0 t < 0 2.4 Numerical method

  An implicit control volume-based finite difference
6 EI 3x  u0 t2
qarc x y exp  method combined with the SIMPLEC algorithm [16,
pab1 b2 b22 17] is used for the solution of equations (9) to (11).
  A special grid system is utilized for discretization of
3y2
 exp  2 16b the welding domain. A uniform grid is used in the z
a
direction because of the thin plate, while grids of
where is the efficiency of the arc power, E is the arc variable spacing are used in the x direction and y
voltage, I is the welding arc current, and b1 , b2 , and a direction, i.e. finer spacing near the heat source
are the parameters related to the welding process. because of the higher temperature and velocity
The constraint gradients, and coarser away from it. The governing
equations with the boundary conditions are trans-
ab1 b2 122q 17 formed into finite difference equations. To deal with
the boundary conditions conveniently, the so-called
exists where q is the characteristic radius of the arc inner grid node method is employed to discretize
heat flux. In this research, a 1:87q , b1 2:51q , the welding domain; i.e. the nodes are located at
and b2 3:91q . the centre of the control volumes, and grid lines
The heat loss includes convection, radiation, and constitute the faces of the control volumes. The
evaporation losses. They are in the forms [12] staggered grid where the velocity components U ,
V , and W are calculated for the points that lie on
qconv hc T  T0 18a the faces of the control volumes for temperature T
and pressure P is required for numerical stability in
qrad "T 4  T04 18b
fluid flow calculations. The additional source term
qevap Wv Hv 18c method [18] is applied to process the boundary
conditions.
where hc is the convective heat-transfer coefficient, The calculation of the fluid flow field has to be
T is the temperature of the workpiece, T0 is the made first in order to solve the thermal energy
ambient temperature,  is the StefanBoltzmann equation. The velocity components are governed by
constant, " is the radiation emissivity, Wv is the the momentum equations. Since the pressure
liquid-metal evaporation rate, and Hv is the latent gradient forms a term for a momentum equation,
heat of evaporation. For the materials SS304, an and there is no obvious equation for obtaining
approximate equation for Wv in equation (18c) [13, pressure, the difficulty in the calculation of the
14] is given by velocity field lies in the unknown pressure field. The
  pressure field is indirectly specified via the continuity
18 836 equation. When the correct pressure field is substi-
log Wv 2:52 6:121   0:5 log T
T tuted into the momentum equation, the resulting
19 field satisfies the continuity equation. The SIMPLEC
algorithm converts the indirect information in the
The required boundary conditions for the solution continuity equation into direct information for the
of equation (10) are calculation of pressure [16, 17]. The alternative direc-
tion iteration method [19] is used in the solutions of
qU qz q qT discretized equations, and so the time step must
 
qz qz qT qx satisfy the criterion
qV qz 
q qT  
   at z 0 z 1 20 k 1 1 1
qz qz qT qy dt 4 1:5 23
Cp dx2 dy2 dy2
where  is the surface tension of liquid metal, and where dt is the time step, and dx, dy, and dz are the
spacing of grid along the x, y, and z directions respec-
qU qV
V 0 0 0 at y 0 21 tively. In this study, the time step is 0.001 s.
qy qy In order to implement the calculations men-
tioned above, the computer program is designed
U 0 V 0 W 0 at other boundaries
and debugged. As mentioned above, since the
22 surface deformation of the weld pool and the
introduction of the body-fitted coordinate system,
The components of the body forces, Fx , Fy , and Fz , the calculation of heat and fluid flow fields in
may be obtained from reference [15]. transient state are much more complex than in

B24203 # IMechE 2005 Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
104 P C Zhao, C S Wu, and Y M Zhang

steady and quasi-steady conditions. A separated  103 kg=m s

algorithm is employed to solve the surface defor- 8
mation, fluid flow, and heat transfer in transient >
> 37:203  0:0176T 1713 K 4 T 4 1743 K
>
>
conditions; i.e. these three problems are calculated >
< 20:354  0:008T
separately and improved in turn. In this way the 1743 K 4 T 4 1763 K

strongly coupling problems between the surface >
> 34:849  0:0162T 1763 K 4 T 4 1853 K
>
>
deformation, fluid flow, and heat transfer are >
:
13:129  0:0045T 1853 K 4 T 4 1873 K
solved successfully. The code is written as a modu-
lar structure. The whole calculation procedure con- 25
sists of the following main steps:
Cp J=kg
(a) performing domain discretization and grid 8
system formation; >
> 438:95 0:198T T 4 773 K
>
>
(b) calculating the temperature distribution based on >
< 137:93 0:59T 773 K 4 T 4 873 K
the initial conditions;
(c) determining the three-dimensional weld pool >
> 871:25  0:25T 873 K 4 T 4 973 K
>
>
geometry based on the temperature profiles; >
:
555:2 0:0775T 973 K 4 T
(d) calculating the surface deformation of the weld
26
pool;
(e) conducting the coordinate system transforma- For Q235 steel
tion;
(f) calculating the fluid velocity field inside the weld k W=m K
pool under the body-fitted coordinate system and 8
obtaining convergent results; > 60:719  0:027 857T T 4 851 K
>
>
>
>
(g) calculating the temperature field over the < 78:542  0:0488T 851 K 4 T 4 1082 K
whole domain and obtaining the convergent
results; >
> 15:192 0:0097T 1082 K 4 T 4 1768 K
>
>
(h) repeating steps (c) to (g) and improving the
>
:
349:99  0:1797T 1768 K 4 T 4 1798 K
calculation accuracy until the convergent
criterion for the weld pool surface deformation, 27
fluid flow field, and temperature distribution are
all met;  103 kg=m s
(i) going to the next time step, and repeating steps 8
>
> 119:00  0:061T 1823 K 4 T 4 1853 K
(c) to (h). <
10:603  0:025T 1853 K 4 T 4 1873 K
>
>
:
36:263  0:0162T 1873 K 4 T 4 1973 K
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
28
Numerical simulations are performed for GTAW Cp J=kg
on type 304 stainless steel and low-carbon steel
8 513:76  0:335T
Q235. A half-workpiece with a welding domain of > T 4 973 K
>
>
200 mm  50 mm  3 or 2 mm is divided into a mesh >
>
> 6:89  104 T 2
of 352  60  10 grid points. A finer grid spacing is >
>
> 10 539 11:7T
< 973 K 4 T 4 1023 K
utilized in the molten region. The specific heat Cp ,
1023 K 4 T 4 1100 K
dynamic viscidity , and thermal conductivity k are >
> 11 873  10:2T
>
>
temperature dependent, and can be expressed as >
> 644 1100 K 4 T 4 1379 K
>
>
follows [15, 20]. For type 304 stainless steel >
:
354:34 0:21T 1379 K 4 T
k W=m K 29
8
>
> 10:717 0:014 955T T 4 780 K
>
> Other thermophysical properties and parameters
>
< 12:076 0:013 213T used in the calculation are summarized in Table 1.
780 K 4 T 4 1672 K
The development of the weld pool includes the
>
> 217:12  0:1094T 1672 K 4 T 4 1727 K
>
> following stages: the weld pool forming after the arc
>
:
8:278 0:0115T 1727 K 4 T ignition, the pool expanding, and the pool reaching
the quasi-steady state. Figure 3 shows the transient
24 development of the weld pool geometry and fluid

Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture B24203 # IMechE 2005
 Modelling the transient behaviours of a fully penetrated GTA weld pool 105

Table 1 Other thermophysical properties and parameters used in the calculation

Value

Property or parameter (units) Symbol 304 stainless steel Q235 steel

Melting point (K) Tm 1763 1789

Density (kg/m3 )  7200 6900
Ambient temperature (K) T1 293 293
Convective heat-transfer coefficient (W/m2 K) Hc 80 80
Latent heat of vaporization (J/kg) Hv 73:43  105 73:43  105
StefanBoltzmann constant (W/m2 K4 )  5:67  108 5:67  108
Current flux radius parameter (mm) j 1.5 1.5
Heat flux radius parameter (mm) q 2.25 2.25
Surface radiation emissivity " 0.4 0.4
Magnetic permeability (H/m) 0 1:66  106 1:66  106
Surface tension (N/m)  1.0 1.0
Arc power efficiency 0.65 0.65
Gravitational acceleration (m/s2 ) g 9.8 9.8

flow field inside the pool. Figures 3(a), (b), and (c) are
the top surface, longitudinal section, and transverse
cross-section respectively of the weld pool. The
width and length of the weld pool at the top surface
increase quickly after the arc ignition [Fig. 3(a)].
When the weld pool reaches the quasi-steady state,
the pool geometry is kept nearly constant. When the
workpiece is partially penetrated, the penetration
depth increases with time. After the workpiece is
fully penetrated, the lower part of the weld pool
expands quickly, and the expanding rate of both
pool width and pool length at the top surface slows
down [Fig. 3(b)]. Figure 3(c) is the cross-section of
the weld pool 1.2 mm behind the arc centre-line.
The maximum fluid velocity is at the region near
the electrode centre-line (x 0), and the value is
0.007 m/s at t 2:0 s and 0.040 m/s at t 4:12 s.
Figure 4 demonstrates the variations in the pool
length, width, and depth with time. For the used
welding conditions (workpiece, Q235; thickness,
2 mm; arc voltage, 16 V; welding current, 110 A; weld-
ing speed, 160 mm/min), the weld pool emerges at
t 1:62 s, the workpiece is penetrated at t 2:88 s,
and the quasi-steady state is reached at t 4:20 s.
The transient behaviours of the weld pool when the
arc is extinguished is also calculated. This process is
actually the cooling and solidifying of the weld pool.
For the used welding conditions (workpiece, type
304 stainless steel; thickness, 3 mm; arc voltage,
14 V; welding current, 100 A; welding speed,
120 mm/s), the quasi-steady state is achieved at
t 4:0 s; then the arc is intentionally extinguished
and both the welding current and the speed
become zero. Because there is no heat input, the
weld pool decreases very quickly. The calculation
result shows that the weld pool disappears totally at
t 4:6 s. Figure 5 illustrates the transient contraction
behaviour of the weld pool geometry at the top
surface, bottom surface, longitudinal section, and
transverse cross-section. During the cooling process,
the weld pool moves backwards relative to the
electrode centre-line (x 0). The penetration depth
changes slowly at first and then more rapidly than
the pool width and length. Figure 6 shows the transi-
ent variation in the fluid flow field after the arc has
been extinguished. Because of the disappearance of
the arc pressure and electromagnetic forces, the
fluid flow is driven only by the surface tension gradi-
ent and buoyancy; therefore it lasts a very short time,
and the amplitude of flow velocity is much lower than
in the quasi-steady state.
Experimental measurements are made to validate
the model. The common commercial charge-coupled
device camera combined with a special narrow-band
filter is used to capture the images of the weld pool
during the GTAW process. Once the image of the
weld pool captured by the camera is digitized through
a frame grabber, it is stored in a computer as a matrix
in which one element represents a dot of image. A
special image-processing algorithm has been devel-
oped to extract the weld pool edges so that the weld
pool geometry of the top side is determined [21].
Figure 7 shows the comparison of the experimental
and predicted results. It can be seen that the pre-
dicted weld pool surface geometry generally agrees
with the measured geometry except for the trailing
part. Because the latent heat is not considered in
the model, the calculated weld pool trail is not elon-
gated. Figure 8 shows a comparison of the calculated
and experimentally observed geometries of the weld
pool in cross-section. The experimental and the pre-
dicted cross-section configurations of the weld are
consistent with each other although the weld width
has a slight difference. Further studies are continuing
to improve the accuracy of simulation.
4 CONCLUSIONS
1. A three-dimensional transient numerical model is
developed to investigate the dynamic behaviours
of the weld pool geometry, surface deformation,

B24203 # IMechE 2005 Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
 106

Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture

P C Zhao, C S Wu, and Y M Zhang

Fig. 3 Transient variation in the three-dimensional weld pool shape and fluid flow field (workpiece,
Q235; thickness, 2 mm; arc voltage, 16 V; welding current, 110 A; welding speed, 160 mm/min)

B24203 # IMechE 2005

 Modelling the transient behaviours of a fully penetrated GTA weld pool 107

Fig. 4 The weld pool dimensions versus time (workpiece, Q235; thickness, 2 mm; arc voltage, 16 V;
welding current, 110 A; welding speed, 160 mm/min)

heat transfer, and fluid flow in a fully penetrated
GTA weld pool. The simulation results lay the
foundation for process control of the GTAW
process.
2. For GTAW on a low-carbon steel Q235 plate of
2 mm thickness with an arc voltage of 16 V, a
welding current of 110 A, and a welding speed
of 160 mm/min, the weld pool emerges at
t 1.62 s, the workpiece is penetrated at
t 2:88 s, and the quasi-steady state is reached
at t 4:20 s. The maximum fluid velocity is in
the region near the electrode centre-line (x 0),
and the value is 0.007 m/s at t 2:0 s and
0.040 m/s at t 4:12 s.
3. For the welding conditions used (type 304 stainless
steel plate with a thickness of 3 mm, a welding

Fig. 5 Transient variation in the three-dimensional shape of a weld pool after the arc has been extin-
guished (workpiece, type 304 stainless steel; thickness, 3 mm; arc voltage, 14 V; welding current,
100 A; welding speed, 120 mm/s)

B24203 # IMechE 2005 Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture
108 P C Zhao, C S Wu, and Y M Zhang

Fig. 6 (continued over)

current of 100 A, an arc voltage of 14 V, and a and the welding speed become zero. The transient
welding speed of 120 mm/s), the quasi-steady behaviours of the weld pool when the arc is
state is achieved at t 4:0 s; then the arc is inten- extinguished are also calculated. It is found that
tionally extinguished and both the welding current the weld pool disappears totally at t 4:6 s.

Proc. IMechE Vol. 219 Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture B24203 # IMechE 2005
 Modelling the transient behaviours of a fully penetrated GTA weld pool
Fig. 6 Transient variation in the fluid flow field after the arc
has been extinguished (workpiece, type 304 stainless
steel; thickness, 3 mm; arc voltage, 14 V; welding
current, 100 A; welding speed, 120 mm/s)
Fig. 7 Comparison between the predicted and experi-
mental surface geometry of the weld pool (work-
piece, type 304 stainless steel; thickness, 3 mm; arc
voltage, 16 V; welding current, 100 A; welding
speed, 125 mm/s)
B24203 # IMechE 2005
109
Fig. 8 Comparison between the calculated and experi-
mental cross-sections of the weld (workpiece, type
304 stainless steel; thickness, 3 mm; arc voltage,
12 V; welding current, 110 A; welding speed,
125 mm/min)
4. GTAW experiments are carried out to obtain the
cross-section of weld. The predicted and
measured data are in agreement.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful for financial support for this
project from the US National Science Foundation
under Grant DMI-0114982, and the National Natural
Science Foundation of China under Grant 57405131.
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