Numerical analysis of double-electrode gas metal arc welding process

With consideration of process characteristics of the newly developed DE-GMAW (double-electrode gas metal arc welding), a finite element analysis (FEA) model is developed to numerically analyze this novel process. To this end, the authors have extended the functions of SYSWELD, a standard software package for numerical analysis of welding processes; simplified the method for processing the weld reinforcement; and proposed an appropriate mode for the welding heat source in this novel process. Based on the FEA results of temperature profile in DE-GMAW, the weld dimension at cross section and temperature distribution are obtained. The predicted and experimentally measured results match satisfactorily. The results show that DE-GMAW has advantages in terms of increasing deposition rate, lowering heat input to base metal, reducing residual stress and distortion. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.