Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com
,-:^..I

5' ScienceDirect
JOURNAL OF IRON AND STEEL RESEARCH, INTERNATIONAL. 2013, 20(4): 81-86

Comparative Study on Processing Property Between CWW C02 Gas

Shielded Welding and SAW
FANG Chen-fu' , HE Bin', ZHAO Zhong-chao' , HU Xiao-guang' ,
JIANG Jia-zhong' , S H I Zhen3
(1. Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003,
Jiangsu, China; 2. CSC Jinling Shipyard, Nanjing 210015, Jiangsu, China; 3. Jiangsu Kewei Welding Industry
Co. , Ltd. , Jiangyin 214400, Jiangsu, China)

Abstract: Cable welding wire (CWW) CO, gas shielded welding is an innovative process arc welding with high effi-
ciency, high quality and low consumption, in which cable wire is used as consumable electrode. CWW CO, gas shiel-
ded welding and submerged arc welding (SAW) are used for contrast studies on processing property of high strength
steel A36 used in ship structure. The results show that the shapes of weld seam, using CWW COZ gas shielded weld-
ing and SAW, are good and no weld defect such as air hole, flaw, slag inclusion, incomplete fusion, lack of penetra-
tion and so on are found in the weld seam. Because the rotating of arc during CWW COZ gas shielded welding process
has a strong stirring effect on molten pool, the grain in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the joints, using CWW COz
gas shielded welding, is small. Tensile failure positions of joints by CWW COZ gas shielded welding and SAW are all
in the base metal, but tensile strength of CWW COz gas shielded welding joint is higher than that of SAW joint by an
average of 2.3%. The average impact energy of HAZ, using CWW CQ gas shielded welding and SAW, is almost equal,
but the average impact energy of the weld seam using CWW COZ gas shielded welding is increased by 6 % , and the
average impact energy of the fusion line is increased by 7%. The 180" bending tests for the joints of CWW CO, gas
shielded welding and SAW are all qualified, and the joints hardness is all less than H V 355, but hardness of CWW
COz gas shielded welding wire welding joint near the fusion line is obviously lower. It can be concluded that the prop-
erties of CWW COZ gas shielded welding are better than those of the SAW joint, and CWW COZ gas shielded welding
is suitable for welding high strength steel A36 used in ship structure.
Key words: cable welding wire (CWW) ; gas shielded welding; submerged arc welding (SAW) ; processing property

High efficiency, high quality and low energy
consumption welding is the urgent requirements of
the current welding industry['-']. T h e current high
efficient gas metal arc welding ( G M A W ) methods
mainly include twin or multi-wire welding, thick fil-
ament current submerged arc welding ( SAW ) ,
transferred ionized molten energy ( T I M E ) welding
and so onC3-71,but the welding methods mentioned
above are complicated or the equipment used is too
expensive. T h e cable welding wire (CWW) is com-
prised of seven cored or solid welding wires which
are rotated together. One wire lies in the center of
seven wires ( t h e center w i r e ) , and the other six
wires ( t h e peripheral wire) are around the center
wire. T h e CWW CO, gas shielded welding is an in-
novative gas shielded arc welding method, in which
cable wires are used as the consumable electrode,
and it can significantly increase the deposition rate
and also own the ability to improve the efficiency of
the welding production. Compared to the SAW, the
CWW COz gas shielded welding can obtain greater
welding penetration and weld width; the deposition
rate can be increased by nearly 35%, and the amount of
deposited metal can be increased by nearly 28% at
the same power consumptionCB1.In this work, the
comparative study on the processing property of
high strength steel A36 in hull structure between
CWW COz gas shielded welding and the SAW, was

Foundation Item: Item Sponsored by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51275224, 51005106) ; Prospective Joint Research Project of
Jiangsu Province of China (BY2012184)
Biography:FANG Chen-fu(1954-), Male, Doctor, Professor; E-mail: hjfangchenfu@yahoo. corn. cn; Received Date: May 23, 2012
 ‘ 82 - Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International Vol. 20

carried out, and the welding process of CWW CO, steel. Its compositions and mechanical properties are
gas shielded welding was analyzed. shown in Table 1 and Table 2. The size of the speci-
men is 400 mmX 150 mmX 12 mm. T h e filler metal
1 Experimental Materials and Parameters
used in this study is the flux cored wire with the di-
1.1 Experimental materials ameter of 3. 6 mm and the SAW welding wire is H08A
T h e base material used in this study is A36 with the diameter of 4 mm. Shielding gas is 100% CO,.

Table 1 Chemical compositions of A36 steel (mass percent, %)

C Si Mn P S cu Cr Ni Nb V Ti Mo
~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~

GO.18 GO.50 0.9-1.6 0.030 0.030 GO.35 GO.20 GO.40 0.02-0.05 0.05-0.10 GO.02 GO.08

Table 2 Mechanical property of A36 steel

Material Yield strength/MPa Tensile strength/MPa Specific elongation/ % Impact value at 20 C /J

A36 335 490-620 21 247

“Y”and ceramic liner is used on the negative side.

“I” groove form without gap is used for SAW. After
the positive welding, the root of the weld seam on
negative side should be cleaned and then be welded. *

Table 3 Welding parameters

Welding method Current/A Voltage/V Welding speed/(m * min-’ ) Protective medium
CWW COz gas First welding 600 37 6. 7 28 L/min
-shielded welding Second welding 600 38 7. 5 28 L/min
SAW Positive welding 600 37 9. 2 H431
Negative welding 600 37 8. 3 H431

2 Comparative Results on Welding Joints

2.1 Macro and microstructure of welding joints
Fig. 2 shows macro morphology of CWW COz
gas shielded welding joint and SAW joint corroded
by 15% nitric acid alcohol solution corrosion. It can
be seen that neither the CWW CO, gas shielded
welding nor SAW seam has porosity, cracks, slag
inclusion, incomplete fusion and incomplete pene-
tration or other welding defects, and the appearance
of welding seam is beautiful. But compared to
SAW, CWW CO, gas shielded welding head has
large weld width and penetration. Fig. 2 Macro photographs of CWW CO, gas shielded
Fig. 3 shows the microstructure of CWW COz gas welding seam (a) and SAW seam (b)
Is su e 4 P rocessi ng P r o p e r t y B et wee n CWW CO2 G a s Shielded We lding and SAW 83

( a ) Fine grain area of CWW COz gas shielded welding joint; ( b ) Fine grain area of SAW joint; (c) Overheated zone of
CWW COz gas shielded welding joint; (d) Overheated zone of SAW joint; (e) Microstructure of CWW COz gas shielded
welding seam; ( f ) Microstructure of SAW seam.
Fig. 3 Microstructure of CWW C02 gas shielded welding and SAW joint

shielded welding joint and SAW joint corroded by
15% nitric acid alcohol solution. As shown in Fig. 3
( a ) and ( b ) , the fine grain area of welding joints is
comprised of even and small ferrite, pearlite and
granular bainite. As shown in Fig. 3 ( c ) and ( d ) , the
microstructure of overheated zone in welding joint is
white proeutectoid ferrite that precipitates on the
bulky austenitic grain boundaries, and the white ac-
icular Widmannstatten structure ferrite grows up to
transgranular structure that is made up of fine acicu-
lar ferrite, pearlite and granular bainite. As shown
in Fig. 3 ( e l and ( f ) , the microstructure of welding
joint is composed of big columnar crystal. T h e white
proeutectoid ferrite precipitates along the grain
boundary of original columnar austenite, which de-
scribes outline of the columnar crystal. T h e trans-
granular microstructure is composed of fine acicular
ferrite, pearlite and granular bainite.
It can be seen from Fig. 3 that the grain size in
overheated zone and small grain zone of the CWW
CO, gas shielded welding joint is smaller than those
of the SAW. Coarse grains and acicular Widma-
nnstatten structure can increase the brittleness and
reduce the material plasticity and toughness ; the
small grain can increase the grain boundary angle
and interface energy, so each grain boundary of
crack propagation has some side effects. Therefore,
even and small grain can greatly improve the me-
chanical properties of welding joint.
2. 2 Mechanical properties of joints
According to China Classification Society-the
Standard Materials and Welding, the mechanical
properties of welding joints were tested. T h e tensile
test results are shown in Table 4. T h e results show
that the welded joints tensile fracture of CWW COz
gas shielded welding and SAW are both located in base
metal ; the average tensile strength of two samples using
CWW CO, gas shielded welding is 507. 9 MPa, and the
average tensile strength of two samples using SAW
is 496. 5 MPa. The tensile strength of the joints using
CWW CO, gas shielded welding increases by 2. 3%

Table 4 Tensile strength of CWW C 0 2 gas shielded welding and SAW methods
Tensile test
Sample
Welding method numbers Cross-sectional Maximum Tensile Fracture position/
area/(mmX rnrn) load/kN strennth/MPa Characteristic
CWWgas
COZ
~

11 25.10X12.32 156.83 507. 1 Base metal/Ductility

shielded welding 12 25.06 X 12. 32 157.06 508. 7 Base metal/Ductility
21 24.98 X 12. 24 151.9 497 Base metal/Ductility
SAW
22 25.00X12.26 152.0 496 Base metal/Ductility
 - 84 Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International VOl. 20

compared with that using SAW.
T h e test temperature of Charpy V-notched im-
pact test is 20 "C. T h e notches 1ie.in the weld fusion
zone and heat affected zone, and the axis of the not-
ches is perpendicular to the weld surface. T h e im-
pact test results are shown in Table 5. T h e results
show that the average impact energy values of the
CWW CO, gas shielded welding and SAW joints heat
affected zone are almost equal, but the average im-
pact energy value of the CWW COz gas shielded arc
welding increases by 6 % and the average impact en-
ergy value of the fusion line increases by 7%.

Table 5 Impact toughness on CWW COz gas shielded welding and SAW joints
Welding method Sample numbers Gap position A ~ v ( 2 0% ) / J Average/J
CWW COz gas shielded welding 241, 242, 243 Seam center 85 89 73 82. 3
251, 252, 253 Fusion line 94 106 95 98. 3
261, 262, 263 HAZ 107 94 106 102.3
SAW 441. 442, 443 Seam center 68. 3 84. 7 80. 1 77. 7
451, 452, 453 Fusion line 93. 2 83. 9 98. 0 91. 7
461, 462, 463 HAZ 103.9 99.6 102.4 101.97

T h e 180" bending tests for the welding joints of

CWW CQ gas shielded welding and SAW are all qualified.
Vickers hardness test with test load of 98 N and
duration of 15 s was performed and the results are shown
in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. It can be seen that, the hardness
of welding joints using these two kinds of welding
195 - Centerhe
methods are both less than HV 355; but the hard-
ness values of the zone near the fusion line using the 185 -
CWW CO, gas shielded welding are significantly low. &75 -

'-
1
4 165 -
3 Analysis on CWW CO, Gas Shielded Weld-
ing Process 155 -

3.1 Shape of welding arc

1
145
1
~~~

140
T h e shape of welding arc using the CWW CO, gas 0 4 8 12 16 20 24
Test point

(a) Test points; ( b ) Hardness graph.

Fig. 5 Hardness test results of SAW joint

shielded welding is shown in Fig. 6. T h e cable wire

is composed of 6 peripheral wires twisting around
the centre wire. In welding process, the welding arc
\ anode area consists of 7 small anodes area, rotary
.Or ,
coupling into an arc column, thus forming a sarcini-

0 4 8 12 16 20 24
Test point

(a ) Test points; ( b ) Hardness graph.

Fig. 4 Hardness test results of CWW COz
gas shielded welding joint Fig. 6 Welding arc shape of CWW COz gas shielded welding
Issue 4 Processing Property Between CWW COZ Gas Shielded Welding and SAW
form arc. T h e sarciniform arc decreases the relative
heat transfer area, increases the power density and
the relative melting coefficient, and has a better pre-
heating of the welding wire that is out of the conduc-
tive mouth, thus can greatly increase the melting
speed of the cable wire.
3.2 Welding arc coupling
CWW is composed of seven wires. The welding
current flows into the seven small anode zones at the
same time through seven wires respectively. Accord-
ing to the electrotechnics, as for two parallel con-
ductors, the attracted forces between each other are
generated when the current flows in the same direc-
tion. Welding arc beam current can be considered as
the current synthesized, which flows through the
seven parallels. Thus, the attracted forces between
each other are generated, and it can make the arc
section contract into the beam form.
The schematic drawing of arc column current line
for cable wire gas shielded welding is shown in Fig. 7.
(a) Stress analysis of current line 7 ;
(b) Stress analysis of current line 1.
Fig. 7 Schematic about stress of current in
CWW C02 gas welding's arc beam area
Taking the force analysis of current line 7 as an
example, the attraction 8'27 caused by current line 2
acting on current line 7 can be decomposed into the
horizontal and vertical forces, named F27l and F272 ,
respectively; similarly, the attraction force F67 gen-
erated by current line 6 acting on current line 7 can
be decomposed into the horizontal and vertical
forces, named F67l and F 6 7 2 , respectively. As the
current line 2 and current line 6 distribute symmetri-
cally, Fz7z = FB72, which means that the resultant
force of wire 7 in the vertical direction is zero, there-
fore the resultant force of current line 7 acted by
both current line 2 and current line 6 will be only left
with the attractive force pointed to the center wire 1
in the horizontal direction. Also via the same princi-
ple, the force of current line 7 acted by other current
lines which only points t o the center wire 1 in the
85 '
horizontal direction can be easily obtained, as shown
in Fig. 7 (a). So it is for the current lines 2 , 3 , 4, 5
and 6. As the current lines 2 and 6 , 3 and 5 , 4 and 7
lay pair-wise symmetrically relative to current line 1,
the electromagnetic force of current line 1 in magnet-
ic field is zero, as shown in Fig. 7 (b).
During the welding process, since there is a
special electromagnetic coupling procedure for CWW
COz gas shielded welding, which makes the section
of welding arc shrink under the electromagnetic con-
traction forces, the electric arc tends to be stable,
also the energy becomes concentrated, and thus a
larger penetration depth can be obtained.
3.3 Rotation of welding arc
T h e cable wire is made of six peripheral wires
and one center wire; they are twisted together with
each other. In the welding process, as the six pe-
ripheral wires are constantly melted, they can form
the arc shape of rotation around the center wireCg1,
as shown in Fig. 8. Under the effect of rotating arc,
the liquid metal in the weld pool flows in spiral
shape, the strong stirring from the movement of the
liquid metal may favor the heat transfer from the
high temperature zone in the center of the weld pool
to the bottom and both sides of the weld pool, thus
increasing the weld depth and weld width and refi-
ning austenite grains; meanwhile rotating arc may
promote droplet transfer, refine the droplet, and re-
duce the melting heat enthalpy, thereby reduce the
splash and heat input. For the reasons above, CWW
CO, gas shielded welding can get better welded joint
than SAW, and it is suitable for welding high-
strength steel A36 used in ship structures.
-
tl t2 t3 r4 rK 16 t7
Fig. 8 Schematic diagram of CWW CO, gas
shielded welding rotating arc
4 Conclusions
1) CWW CO, gas shielded welding is an innovative
gas shielded arc welding process, in which cable wires
are used as the consumable electrode. Experimental
results prove that this new process can significantly
increase the deposition rate, and also own the ability
 86 - Journal of Iron and Steel Research, International
-
of improving the efficiency of the welding production.
References:
2 ) Because of the special stranded inner sym-
metric structure of CWW, the arc of CWW CO, gas
shielded welding presents a multipolar area of rota-
ting coupling arc, which can improve the melting
speed of CWW, reduce splash, lower the heat input,
decrease the grain sizes, increase the penetration and
fusion width, then get an welding joint with excel-
lent performance.
3) The grain size of CWW CO, gas shielded welding
joint is obviously smaller than that of SAW joint. T h e
tensile strength of CWW CO, gas shielded welding
joint is higher than that of SAW joint by an average
of 2. 3% ; the average impact energy values of heat
affected zones of CWW CO, gas shielded welding and
SAW joints are approximately in accordance, but the
average impact energy value of CWW COz gas shiel-
ded welding seam increases by 6 % , and the average
value of the fusion line impact energy increases by
7%. 180" bending tests of CWW COz gas shielded
welding and SAW joints are all passed, and joint
hardness values are less than HV 355, but hardness
values of CWW CO, gas shielded welding wire weld-
ing joint near the fusion line are obviously low.
VOl. 20
PAN Ji-luan. Prospects for Welding Research in 21-st Century
[J]. China Mechanical Engineering, 2000, 11( 1) : 21 (in Chinese).
FANG Chen-fu, HUANG Guo-jian, JIANG Chen-yu, et al.
Inverter Arc Welding Machine-Inevitable Choice of Ship
Building Welding [J]. Electric Welding Machine, 2000, 30(8) :
7 (in Chinese).
YIN Shu-yan. Research Advance of High Effective Arc Welding
Technique [J]. Welding and Joining, 2006(10): 7 (in Chinese).
Knapp I , Bartosik M. An Investigation of the TlME'Welding
Method [J]. Welding International, 1998, 1 2 ( 1 ) : 25.
Kim I S , Basu A. A,Mathematical Model of Heat Transfer and
Fluid Flow in the Gas Metal Arc Welding Process [J]. Journal
of Materials Processing Technology, 1998, 77(1/2/3) : 17.
ZHANG Ming-xian, WU Chuan-song, LI K e h a i , et al. FEA
Based Prediction of Weld Dimension in New DE-GMAW Process
[J]. Trans China Weld Inst, 2007, 28(2): 33 (in Chinese).
XU Luning, YIN Shu-yan, LU Zhen-yang. T. I. M. E. Process
and Development of High Efficiency MAG Process [J]. Electric
Welding Machine, 2000, 30(5): 3 (in Chinese).
H U Xiao-guang. The Research on the Deposition Characteris-
tics and the Joint Performance of the CWW COz Gas Shielded
Welding [ D]. Zhenjiang: Jiangsu University of Science and
Technology, 2012 (in Chinese).
ZHOU Hang-yu. Study on CWW COz Gas Shielded Welding
Multiple Rotating Coupled Arc and the Temperature Field [D].
Zhenjiang: Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, 2012
(in Chinese).