EFFECTS OF WELDING CURRENT AND ARC VOLTAGE ON FCAW WELD BEAD GEOMETRY

Flux cored arc welding(FCAW) process is characterized with its high deposition rate and productivity. Control of the operating parameters in FCAW is essential to obtain high production rates and good quality welds. Bead on plate welds were carried out on mild steel plates to study the influence of welding current and arc voltage on weld bead geometry parameters. The weld bead coss-sections were metallographically investigated. The effects of these welding parameters were evaluated by measuring penetration depth, reinforcement height, bead width, wetting angle, electrod deposit area and plate fusion area. The bead crosssection area and the weld shape factor were calculated from the measured results. The effects of welding parameters on weld bead geometry have been presented by histograms.