Investigation on Welding Arc Interruptions in the Presence of Magnetic Fields: Welding Current Influence

Arc interruptions and, therefore, oscillation in the amount of energy and molten wire delivered to the plate have been observed during tandem pulsed gas metal arc welding (GMAW). It appears that these instabilities are related to the magnetic interaction between the arcs. In order to clarify the possible mechanisms involved, this paper tries to mimic the tandem GMAW arc interruptions. External magnetic fields were dynamically applied to GTAW arcs in constant current mode to verify their resistance to extinction as a function of current level and direction of deflection. High-speed filming was carried out as an additional tool to understand the extinction mechanism. The influence of the welding current level on the arc resistance to extinction was established: The higher the welding current, the more the arc resists to the extinction. The arc deflection direction has minor effect, but arcs deflected backward have more resistance to extinction.