Development of plasma-MIG hybrid welding process

Abstract

This investigation aims to develop a new Plasma-MIG hybrid welding process for butting welding joints of large thickness. In this welding process, Plasma torch and MIG torch are connected in electrode negative (EN) and in electrode positive (EP), respectively. Plasma torch is set up in the leading position, meanwhile the MIG torch is set up in the trailing position. The plasma welding is utilized in keyhole model. The results show that the successful single-sided welding in one pass is fully penetrated. The wettability of welding joints is improved and the penetration is increased in comparison with only conventional MIG welding process and only conventional Plasma welding process. In addition, in order to discuss the research results, the temperature field on the surface of weld pool is also measured. As a result, the temperature on the weld pool surface in Plasma-MIG hybrid welding case is higher in comparison with conventional MIG welding case, especially near the leading edge of weld pool.