Modeling and simulation of wire feed rate for steady current and pulsed current gas metal arc welding using 317L flux cored wire

Wire feed rate plays a vital role in determining the weld characteristics in gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The wire feed rate is affected by any change in welding current in the case of steady current GMA welding and by any change in frequency, peak current, base current and duration of peak and base currents in the case of pulsed GMA welding. To predict the wire feed rate for any set of these parameters, a mathematical model was developed from the results obtained by conducting experiments. Electrode resistance heating constant and arc resistance heating constant were also determined by fitting a regression model. The above parametric constants have been used to simulate the wire feed rates for pulsed GMA welding for different pulse parameters using MATLAB. The effects of pulse parameters on the burnoff factor and burnoff rates were also analysed. The investigation was carried out using AWS 5.22-95 filler wire of size 1.2 mm diameter and the base metal used was IS:2062 structural steel plate of 20 mm thickness. An argon and 5% CO2 gas mixture at a flow rate of 16 l/min was used for shielding throughout the welding.