Abstract
Shielding gas has significant effects on arc stability, metal transfer and weld quality in the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. The double gas-shielded MAG(DMAG) and auxiliary gas-shielded MAG (AMAG) torches are investigated for their capability to provide argon-rich gas mixture using small amount of argon gas through the inner and auxiliary nozzles, respectively. Argon composition with the DMAG torch is calculated numerically, and compared with the measured data using the gas chromatogrphy. Gas flow pattern of the DMAG torch is calculated to change from the laminar to turbulent flow when total gas flow rate becomes larger than 4.5 liter/min at room temperature. While argon-rich shielding gas was obtained using both the AMAG and DMAG torches, the AMAG torch provides higher argon composition than the DMAG torch, which demonstrates that argon gas can be utilized more efficiently with the AMAG torch.
