Effects of melt pool flow on porosity levels in arc welding

Abstract

Arc welding is one of the widely used approaches for joining metals. During the arc welding process, an electric arc creates intense heat to fuse metals that forms the melt pool between the parts to be welded together. Intensive flow fields are observable within the fusion weld pools as a result of multiple driving forces. The flow patterns within the melt pool significantly determine the shape of the weld joint and other attributes of the solidified joint, such as microstructure and defects. Porosity is one of the solidification-related defects that can bring a detrimental impact. During the formation and solidification of weld pools, gas bubbles that are formed can be driven in or out from the pool by the flow. In this work, employing in situ synchrotron X-rays, we have observed how different flow conditions and air-liquid interface are contributed to retaining and releasing the gas bubbles that formed during the arc welding. The results suggest that underpinning driving forces, such as electromagnetic forces, act on molten metal to retain the pores inside the weld joints; but, gravity-driven effects can contribute to reduce the porosity, with appropriate process conditions.