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Concept
Gas metal arc welding
Summary
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), sometimes referred to by its subtypes metal inert gas (MIG) and metal active gas (MAG) is a welding process in which an electric arc forms between a consumable MIG wire electrode and the workpiece metal(s), which heats the workpiece metal(s), causing them to fuse (melt and join). Along with the wire electrode, a shielding gas feeds through the welding gun, which shields the process from atmospheric contamination.
The process can be semi-automatic or automatic. A constant voltage, direct current power source is most commonly used with GMAW, but constant current systems, as well as alternating current, can be used. There are four primary methods of metal transfer in GMAW, called globular, short-circuiting, spray, and pulsed-spray, each of which has distinct properties and corresponding advantages and limitations.
Originally developed in the 1940s for welding aluminium and other non-ferrous materials, GMAW was soon applied to steels because it provided faster welding time compared to other welding processes. The cost of inert gas limited its use in steels until several years later, when the use of semi-inert gases such as carbon dioxide became common. Further developments during the 1950s and 1960s gave the process more versatility and as a result, it became a highly used industrial process. Today, GMAW is the most common industrial welding process, preferred for its versatility, speed and the relative ease of adapting the process to robotic automation. Unlike welding processes that do not employ a shielding gas, such as shielded metal arc welding, it is rarely used outdoors or in other areas of moving air. A related process, flux cored arc welding, often does not use a shielding gas, but instead employs an electrode wire that is hollow and filled with flux.
The principles of gas metal arc welding began to be understood in the early 19th century, after Humphry Davy discovered the short pulsed electric arcs in 1800. Vasily Petrov independently produced the continuous electric arc in 1802 (followed by Davy after 1808).
Official source
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Related publications (1)
Experimental investigation of the cyclic properties of welds in mild structural steels
Structural steels have long been used in construction applications. Their mechanical properties and behavior under seismic loading or under fatigue design are of considerable interest for researchers and engineers. Although extensive studies have been conducted on the cyclic behavior of structural steels, they mostly focus on base material responses. However, base material response can be affected by changes in microstructural properties of steels. In steel construction this situation often arises in welding different components where due to thermal loading certain regions change their crystallographic phases and consequently their mechanical properties. This master's thesis is dedicated to the investigation of the lesser known large amplitude cyclic material behavior of these regions termed Heat Affected Zones (HAZ). The behavior of welded connections is of paramount importance for structural integrity. Their behavior under extreme loading conditions can be the determining factors for the failure of joints and subsequent structural collapse. Field observations following significant earthquake events (e.g. 1994 Northrigde incident) has shown that the assumed ductility of the steel construction can be put into question when poorly executed welded structural joints suffer premature fracture. The head-boomed experience from these suggests that failures often arise from combination of ill-conceived detailing and insufficient weld quality (e.g. large defects on low thoughness). As the understanding of this problem progressed, better detailing properties and quality controls have been proposed to avoid brittle nature of joint failure. In this master’s thesis the author investigates the behavior of S355J2+N structural steel as HAZ of welded material and base material subjected to uniaxial cyclic loading and large inelastic strain demands under seismic loading in the experimental and numerical level. HAZ at welded specimens is obtained through thermal loading in the laboratory environment. Uniaxial cyclic loading tests are performed in the laboratory as well. In addition, comparisons between the base and welded metals for the steel class of S355J2+N are provided as well including material parameters for Voce-Chaboche and Updated Voce-Chaboche models. Results of this study reveal that under cyclic loading welded material hardens more than base material. In addition, plateau region exercised in base material disappears in welded material and welded specimens experience rounding around the yield stress which is not the case for base material. Accuracy of simulation of welded material and correctness of model parameters greatly depend on whether Voce-Chaboche or Updated Voce-Chaboche model is applied to the right material being investigated.
2021Related concepts (21)
Arc welding
Arc welding is a welding process that is used to join metal to metal by using electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, and the melted metals, when cool, result in a binding of the metals. It is a type of welding that uses a welding power supply to create an electric arc between a metal stick ("electrode") and the base material to melt the metals at the point of contact. Arc welding power supplies can deliver either direct (DC) or alternating (AC) current to the work, while consumable or non-consumable electrodes are used.
Gas metal arc welding
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), sometimes referred to by its subtypes metal inert gas (MIG) and metal active gas (MAG) is a welding process in which an electric arc forms between a consumable MIG wire electrode and the workpiece metal(s), which heats the workpiece metal(s), causing them to fuse (melt and join). Along with the wire electrode, a shielding gas feeds through the welding gun, which shields the process from atmospheric contamination. The process can be semi-automatic or automatic.
Oxy-fuel welding and cutting
Oxy-fuel welding (commonly called oxyacetylene welding, oxy welding, or gas welding in the United States) and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases (or liquid fuels such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, bio diesel, kerosene, etc) and oxygen to weld or cut metals. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903. Pure oxygen, instead of air, is used to increase the flame temperature to allow localised melting of the workpiece material (e.
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