Jinsong Chen and YuMing Zhang
Center for Manufacturing Department of ECE
University of Kentucky

 Introduction

DSAW (Double-Sided Arc Welding) is a novel arc welding method which disconnects the workpiece from the power supply but uses a second electrode to complete the current loop. Two arcs are established simultaneously by using a power supply. But some properties of the workpiece material welded using DSAW method can not pass the requirement of the welding standard. HDSAW (Hybrid DSAW) is considered and researched.

A HDSAW system is a mixed system with a DSAW system and a GMAW system. DSAW is the main weld device used to weld a thick plate. GMAW is used to fill the wire, which can increase the volume and the toughness of the weld bead.

 Technical Approach

DSAW has its special characteristics: the keyhole establishment and double-sided arc periods. But the filler metals easily block the keyhole and interrupt the welding process. So the effects of filler wire are different from other welding methods. Understanding these effects is the first step to realize the HDSAW process.

In this case, different filler current methods were studied. The welding currents, voltages were recorded. A high speed camera equipped with a narrow-banded filter was used to observe the arc behavior.

 Conclusions

HDSAW has its special functional mechanism. Understanding the effects of each filler wire method is important in achieving a good weld bead, thus good quality. In this study, by considering the combining effects of different welding parameters on the weld bead formation and how they interact with each other, a better filler wire method, continuous pulse filler current method, is determined to be the preferred. As a result, a stable welding process is achieved and the weld bead on both sides is uniformly formed.