A. Sharma, Institute of Petroleum Technology, Gandhinagar, India; N. Arora, B. K. Mishra, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
The present paper deals with flux consumption in twin-wire submerged arc welding. Twin-wire submerged arc welding is an important variant of conventional single wire welding. Use of twin wires results in higher deposition rate. In general, higher deposition rate is also associated with higher flux consumption. Experimental evaluation during the present investigation into flux consumption during twin-wire welding resulted in an important observation. Unequal wire diameters at lead and trail wire resulted in lesser flux consumption. The result has been attributed to the magnetic field in the surrounding of the arc. Mathematical formulation of distribution of magnetic field in the surrounding of welding wires has been made. It has been found that the magnetic field varies with the position of the welding wire as well as the wire diameters also play important role. In turn, unequal wire diameters result in directional stability of the arc which reduces the flux consumption.
Summary: Twin wire welding is meant for higher deposition rates, however, increase in deposition rate results in increase in flux consumption during submerged arc welding. A vital observation has been made in connection to the flux consumption in the twin-wire welding. Unequal wire diameter at the lead and the trail wires resulted in lesser flux consumption. The observation has been analyzed with help of mathematical formulation.
