Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

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Journal of Materials Processing Technology

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A study on V-groove GMAW for various welding positions

D.W. Cho a , S.J. Na a, , M.H. Cho b , J.S. Lee b
a
b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea
Technical Research Laboratories, POSCO, Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-Do 790-300, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 15 October 2012
Received in revised form 29 January 2013
Accepted 24 February 2013
Available online 13 April 2013
Keywords:
Gas metal arc welding
V-groove
Computational uid dynamics
Overow
Volume of uid
Welding position

a b s t r a c t
This study performed three-dimensional transient numerical simulations using the volume of uid
method in a gas metal arc V-groove welding process with and without root gap for at, overhead, and
vertical welding positions. The elliptically symmetric arc models for arc heat ux, electromagnetic force
and arc pressure were used to describe the more accurate molten pool behaviors. The numerical models
not only formed a stable weld bead but also simulated the dynamic molten pool behaviors such as overow which was not described before. This study analyzed these molten pool ow patterns for various
welding positions and validated the numerical models used by comparing the simulation results with
experimental ones.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
A circumferential welding process is widely used in shipbuilding and construction industries to transport the important uids,
such as, water and oil. Even though the circumferential welding
process is very signicant in many industrial elds, installation of a
circumferential welding automation system is challenging because
it requires the accurate seam-tracking equipment, precise pipeline
alignment, and optimization of welding parameters. Among several difculties faced, the optimization of welding parameters in
circumferential welding requires an enormous effort to obtain the
sound and uniform weld beads owing to the various effects of
gravity in different welding positions. Therefore, the weld defects
can occur in some welding positions, even with the same welding
parameters being used along the circumferential welding.
With the aim of reducing the weld defects in the welding process, statistical experimental designs, linear regression modeling,
and neural networks have been used to analyze and optimize the
welding process parameters on weld bead geometry. Tay and Bulter
(1997) optimized the welding parameters by using neural networks
and the Taguchi method in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) on beadon-plate (BOP). Kim et al. (2005) predicted the weld bead geometry
by adopting neural networks and regression models for GMA Vgroove welding. Cho et al. (2009) predicted the surface prole of
weld beads in ux cored arc welding (FCAW) processes for variable

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 42 350 3216; fax: +82 42 350 3256.
E-mail address: sjoona@kaist.ac.kr (S.J. Na).
0924-0136/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2013.02.015

welding positions with the Taguchi method and non-linear regression. These works show that the welding process parameters are
strongly correlated to the weld bead geometry. Thus, it is quite
important to select the accurate welding process parameters for
optimal weld beads.
Even though these methods could extract the optimal welding
parameters, they do not yield the fundamental reasoning behind
the molten pool formation behavior and the resultant weld bead
shape. To overcome this shortcoming, a numerical simulation
should be applied to describe the heat ow patterns and weld bead
formations. In most cases, the nite element method (FEM), which
considered only conduction heat transfer, was used to predict the
molten zone and welding distortions. However, the convection heat
transfer was added to predict the molten zone and heat affected
zone (HAZ) in the welding process more accurately. Kim and Na
(1989) analyzed the molten pool behaviors such as buoyancy, electromagnetic force (EMF), drag force and surface tension in a gas
tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process with boundary tted coordinates. In addition, Kim and Na (1992) studied the weld pool surface
deformation by using the arc pressure in GTAW. Fan et al. (2000)
described the molten pool ow patterns in a partially and fully
penetrated weld pool in GTAW with a boundary-tted coordinate.
The GMAW process is superior to the GTAW process because
of higher productivity resulted from the molten wire droplet. Kim
and Na (1994) performed a three-dimensional (3D) quasi-steadystate GMAW simulation by the nite difference method (FDM) to
calculate the temperature distribution and convective heat transfer with ow patterns. They found that the ngertip molten zone
could be predicted by a convective heat transfer. To calculate the

D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

simulation in detail, the heat and mass transfer of droplets on the

weld pool should be considered. Tsao and Wu (1998) and Kim and
Basu (1998) considered the momentum and enthalpy of droplets
in GMAW and analyzed the droplet effect on weld pool behaviors.
Kim et al. (2003) combined the arc and droplet heat sources as a
volumetric heat source model in GMA V-groove welding. Kumar
and Debroy (2007) simulated the molten pool ow in let GMAW
for different welding positions and assumed the welding process
as being quasi-steady-state. To satisfy this assumption, however,
welding positions in the simulation should be limited and near to
the at position. Therefore, a quasi-steady-state numerical simulation cannot predict the dynamic molten pool ows such as spherical
droplet impingent and unstable weld beads.
The volume of uid (VOF) simulation technique was used to
track the deformation of the weld pool surface due to variable arc
forces that were mathematically modeled and implemented in the
numerical simulation. This method adopts the transient analysis,
which can detect the free surface variation from the simulation
time. Therefore, it can predict the unstable weld beads, such as
humping and burn-through, as well as stable weld beads. Cao et al.
(2004) described the droplet impingent on a free surface and the
resultant weld bead formation in the GMAW process by commercial
software (Flow3D).
Additionally, a more complex welding process can also be calculated by VOF. Cho and Na (2006) performed the simulation of laser
welding, which includes very complex physical phenomena such
as multiple reection and keyhole formation. Moreover, Cho et al.
(2009) performed the 3D laser-GMA hybrid welding, which adopts
the characteristics of laser welding and GMAW with the following
assumptions: the interaction between the laser and the arc could
be negligible. The VOF method could be also applied to describe
the alloying element distributions and pore generation in the GMA
hybrid welding process (Cho et al., 2010, 2012). This study analyzed
the molten pool behaviors and weld beads in V-groove GMAW with
and without root gap for various welding positions.

1641

2. Mathematical formulation
2.1. Material shape and mesh size
This study describes the molten pool dynamics for various welding positions. First, the molten pool analysis without a root gap is
performed, after which the analysis with a 1-mm root gap is performed. Fig. 1 shows a schematic sketch of V-groove materials and
3D xyz coordinate system.
This study used the mesh density as 0.25 mm/mesh. Cho et al.
(2013a) found that if the mesh size is larger than 0.25 mm, the
volume of droplet can be lost so that molten pool dynamics as
well as droplet impingent cannot be described accurately. Moreover, many previous researches adopt the size of droplet between
0.2 mm/mesh and 0.25 mm/mesh in arc welding, laser welding and
laser-arc hybrid welding (Cho and Na, 2009; Cho and Farson, 2007;
Cho et al., 2012, 2013a).
2.2. Governing equations
The governing equations used in this study for computational
uid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a weld pool are the continuity equation, the momentum equation (referred from the
NavierStokes equation), and the energy equation (Cho and Na,
2009; Cho et al., 2010, 2013b). The commercial package Flow-3D is
used for the simulation with a VOF equation. The material properties and variables are summarized in Table 1.
- Momentum equation:


V
+ (V )V = p + 2 V + fb
t

(1)

- Continuity equation:

V = 0

Fig. 1. Schematic sketch of V-groove shapes (a) without root gap and (b) with 1-mm root gap.

(2)

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D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

Table 1
Prosperities used in simulation.
Symbol

Nomenclature

Symbol

Nomenclature

k

n

Arc GMAW
V
I
J
x
y
fd
WFR
rw
rd
0
m
qd
PA
VX

Thermal conductivity
Normal vector to free surface
Surface tension
Arc efciency in GMAW, 0.56
Welding voltage
Welding current
Current density (I/mm2 )
Effective radius of arc in x-direction, 1.54 mm
Effective radius of arc in y-direction, 0.90 mm
Droplet frequency (Hz)
Wire feed rate, 7.5 m/min
Wire diameter in GMAW, 1.2 mm
Droplet diameter in GMAW, 1.2 mm
Permeability of vacuum, 1.26 106 H/m
Material permeability, 1.26 106 H/m
Heat input from droplet
Arc pressure
Velocity of uid in x-direction, mm/s

Rc

Cs
Cl
Ts
Tl
Td
To
hsl
d
z1
Jze
Jre
Be
J0
J1
Cy

Radius of the surface curvature

Density (solid: 7.8, liquid: 6.9, g/cm3 )
Specic heat of solid, 7.26 106 erg/g s K
Specic heat of liquid, 7.32 106 erg/g s K
Solidus temperature, 1768 K
Liquidus temperature, 1798 K
Droplet temperature, 2400 K
Room temperature, 298 K
Latent heat of fusion, 2.77 109 erg/g s
Droplet efciency in GMAW, 0.24
Vertical distance from top surface
Vertical component of the current density
Radial component of the current density
Angular component of the magnetic eld
First kind of Bessel function of zero order
First kind of Bessel function of rst order
Thickness of the workpiece

- Energy equation:
h
1
+ (V )h = ( T ),

t

where h = Cp T + f (T )Lf

T Ts
Tl Ts (Ts < T < Tl )

dF
F
+ (V )F = 0
=
dt
t

(5)

2.3. Boundary conditions

The energy on the top free surface is balanced among the arc
heat ux (QA ), heat dissipation by convection (Qconv ) and radiation
(Qrad ), and heat loss due to evaporation (Qevap ). The energy balance
on the top surface is expressed as the following equation:
T
= QA Qconv Qrad Qevap .

n

(6)

Many previous researches applied axisymmetric Gaussian distributed arc models (Cao et al., 2004; Cho and Na, 2009; Cho and
Farson, 2007; Cho et al., 2010). However, Cho et al. (2013b) used
the elliptically symmetric arc heat ux and arc pressure models in
V-groove GMA welding and found that the models were valid for
application to the simulation. Therefore, this study also applies the
elliptically symmetric model that contains two different effective
radii ( x = 1.50 mm,  y = 0.90 mm) of the arc plasma in Eq. (7).
Arc GMAW VI
exp
2
x y

 

x2
2x2

 

y2
2y2



(7)

Previous researchers such as Cho and Na (2009), Dupont and

Marder (1995), and Cho et al. (2013b), used a total GMAW arc efciency of 0.8 which includes the heat transfer by arc and molten
droplets; moreover, the heat input efciency of the droplets was
found to be 0.24 from Eqs. (8)(11). Therefore, an arc efciency of
0.56 is used in this study, together with the droplet efciency of
0.24 by the droplet transfer. The energy balance on the bottom free
surface is expressed in a manner similar to Eq. (7), but the arc heat
ux model should be ignored.
2 WFR
3rw

4rd3

qd
,
VI

Arc
(4)

- VOF equation:

fd =

d =

(3)

(Tl T )

QA (x, y) =

4 3

r  [Cs (Ts To ) + Cl (Td Ts ) + hsl ] fd ,

3 d

(T Ts )

f (T ) =

qd =

(8)

GMAW

(9)
(10)

= 0.8 d .

(11)

For the pressure boundary conditions, the following Eq. (12) is

used at the free surface.

p = pA +
,
(12)
Rc
pA =

0 IJ
,
4

0 I 2
exp
pA (x, y) =
4
2 x y

(13)

 

x2
2x2

 

y2
2y2


,

(14)

Lin and Eagar (1986) found that the current and current density are linearly proportional to the arc pressure (pA ) in Eq. (13).
Therefore, this study assumes that the distribution of the arc pressure follows the distribution of the current density. The elliptically
symmetric arc plasma pressure can therefore be modeled as shown
in Eq. (14).
2.4. Electromagnetic force
Cho et al. (2013b) calculated the EMF distribution by mapping
coordinates on V-groove welding processes. They concluded that
the coordinates mapping of EMF is necessary in GTAW; however, it
not useful in GMAW. The axisymmetric EMF model must be modied because the arc heat ux model is elliptically symmetric in
V-groove welding. Eqs. (15)(17) can be used to formulate Eq. (18),
which is a simple elliptically symmetric model that contains an
effective radius of the welding arc for the x-direction as well as the
elliptical radius (re ). This model modies the current density and
electromagnetic eld and ultimately determines the EMF for the x,
y, and z directions (Fx , Fy , Fz ).
x2
y2
+ 2 = 1,
2
a
b

(15)

y
b
=
,
a
x

(16)

k1 =

x2 +

y2
k12

= re2 ,

(17)

D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652
Table 2
Common welding conditions (with or without root gap).

Table 3
Welding positions (without root gap).

Variable

Value

Wire feed rate

Voltage
Electrode
Current
Welding speed
CTWD
Torch angle
Shielding gas

7.5 m/min
25 V
YGW15, = 1.2 mm
255 A
10 mm/s (cases 17), 20 mm/s (case 8)
20 mm
90
80%Ar20%CO2 , 20 l/min

x2

exp

Jze =

I
2

Jre =

Be =

2x2

I
2

y2
2y2


= exp

J0 (re ) exp
0

J1 (re ) exp
0

m I
2

2 x2
12
2 x2
12

J1 (re ) exp
0

r2
e2
2x

2 x2
12

Welding position

(18)

sinh[(cy z1 )]
d,
sinh(cy )

(19)

cosh[(cy z1 )]
d,
sinh(cy )

(20)

sinh[(cy z1 )]
d,
sinh(cy )

(21)

Fx = Jze Be

x
,
re

(22)

Fy = Jze Be

y
,
re

(23)

Fz = Jze Be .

1643

(24)

2.5. Other welding models

In this study, the same models as those used in previous studies
(Cho and Na, 2009; Cho et al., 2010, 2013b), such as buoyancy force
and drag force of arc plasma are used.
3. Results and discussion
In this paper, all the simulation were conducted by transient
numerical analysis for 3 s after beginning except case 8 in Table 5.
Cho et al. (2013b) performed the numerical simulation of V-groove
GMAW in a at position under the following conditions (see
Table 2). This study uses the same welding conditions with varying
welding positions and analyzes not only the bead formation in the
at position but also that in different welding positions.

Case 1
Case 2
Case 3

Flat
Overhead
Vertical-up

3.1. Without root gap

Table 3 lists the different welding positions used in the simulation without the root gap. In case 1, a uniform and incompletely
penetrated weld bead can be formed for a three-dimensional weld
bead, a transverse cross section, and a transverse cross section at
the center line, as shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 3 describes the stable molten pool ow patterns on a longitudinal cross section where the maximum velocity of ow toward
the rear welding direction is 210 mm/s, which is not enough to
make a weld bead with complete penetration. In addition, the
sloped surface of the V-groove melts earlier than the weld seam
owing to the geometrical shape of the V-groove as shown in Fig. 4.
These molten pool ow patterns also disturb a fully penetrated
weld bead, even though EMF and arc pressure from arc plasma
tend to penetrate the weld pool downward. Finally, the molten
pool ows can be circulated on the V-groove slope and, in turn,
can induce the incomplete penetration in case 1.
In case 2 (overhead position), uniform and stable molten pool
ow patterns are described, although the reverse gravity vector
affects the molten pool (see Figs. 57). These ow patterns are very
similar to case 1; moreover, they form the incompletely penetrated
weld bead in case 2. By comparing the case 1 with case 2, it is possible to understand that a gravity vector in the z direction has only a
weak effect on the molten pool and the nal bead formation. Fig. 6
describes the stable molten pool ow patterns on a longitudinal
cross section where the maximum velocity of ow toward the rear
welding direction is 215 mm/s, which is insufcient to make a fully
penetrated weld bead in case 2.
Looking at the cross section of molten pool ow patterns shows
the similarities in case 1 and case 2, where both show the formation of a incompletely penetrated weld bead (see Fig. 7). However,
bead widths and reinforcement heights between case 1 and case
2 are different owing to the direction of gravity force, as shown
in Table 4. In case 2, the gravity force draws the molten pool to
the top of weld bead, causing a narrower bead width and higher
reinforcement than that formed in case 1.
In the vertical position, the welding direction is the same as
or opposite to the direction of gravity according to the verticaldown or vertical-up position respectively, so that the molten

Fig. 2. Simulation result in case 1 (a) 3D bead shape and (b) experiment and simulation (Cho et al., 2013b).

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D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

Fig. 3. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a longitudinal cross-section in case 1.

Fig. 4. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a transverse cross-sectional (x = 3.0 cm) in case 1.

Fig. 5. Simulation result in case 2 (a) 3D bead shape and (b) experiment and simulation.

Fig. 6. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a longitudinal cross-section in case 2.

D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

1645

Fig. 7. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a transverse cross-section (x = 3.0 cm) in case 2.
Table 4
Comparision of simulation result with experiment.
Experiment

Case 1
Case 2

Simulation result

Reinforcement hight (mm)

Bead width (mm)

Reinforcement hight (mm)

Bead width (mm)

0.86
0.97

5.53
5.13

0.8
0.95

5.28
5.02

Fig. 8. Simulation and experiment result in case 3.

pool behavior can be very sensitive and dynamic compared to

other welding positions. This study adopts the vertical-up position,
referred to as case 3, which induces the dynamic weld beads such
as humping on the top surface and melt-through on the bottom
surface, as shown in Fig. 8. In case 1 and case 2, the molten pool
ows can be circulated in a clockwise direction to form the stable
weld beads as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, respectively. On the contrary,
the molten pool can be accelerated to the rear welding direction in
line with the direction of gravity in the case of vertical-up position.
Fig. 9(a) describes the unstable ow patterns in the longitudinal
cross section where the maximum velocity of molten pool ow

toward the rear welding direction is 390 mm/s, which results in

the partial circulation and the formation of a humping bead on the
top surface. Thus, a more active convection heat transfer can melt
the V-groove material and form a fully penetrated weld bead. The
dashed circle region in Fig. 9(b) solidies earlier because the heat
is dissipated by a conduction transfer. This solidied region breaks
the molten pool channel and heads to the top surface; therefore,
the rest of the molten pool ows to the bottom surface and forms
a melt-through bead. The numerical models used in the simulation can be validated by comparing the simulation results with the
experimental ones. However, the welding conditions presented in

Fig. 9. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a longitudinal cross-section in case 3.

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D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

Fig. 10. Simulation result of fusion zone on a longitudinal cross-section in case 3.

Table 5
Welding positions (1 mm root gap).
Position (torch angle)
Case 4
Case 5
Case 6
Case 7
Case 8

Flat (90 )
Flat (45 , front direction)
Overhead (90 )
Vertical downward (90 )
Vertical downward (90 ), welding speed (20 mm/s)
Fig. 11. Burn-through bead in case 4 (top surface).

Table 2 are not suitable for applying the V-groove GMAW without a root gap because these conditions result in weld defects such
as incomplete penetration, humping and melt-through beads for
various welding positions (Fig. 10). Resultantly, it is necessary to
optimize the welding parameters in V-groove GMAW for various
welding positions.
Several studies focused humping bead formation in high speed
GMAW. Cho and Farson (2007) calculated the humping bead
formation in high-speed GMAW by VOF method. They claried
the physical mechanisms of the humping phenomenon from the
molten pool uid patterns and molten pool solidication. Chen and
Wu (2010) observed molten pool behaviors of humping bead with
a high speed camera in high-speed GMAW. Those studies were
conducted in high speed welding only for at welding position.
However, this study also obtained humping bead and melt through
bead not in at position but in vertical upward positions, therefore,
the mechanism to make the humping bead is also different from
previous studies.
3.2. With 1-mm root gap
In order to prevent the weld defects and obtain a sound weld
bead, the V-groove joint between the plates is opened with a 1-mm
root gap. The welding conditions are the same as those in previous
cases (see Table 2); however, the torch angles and welding positions
are varied, as given in Table 5.
In case 4, droplets from the molten wire impinge perpendicularly on the weld pool surface. Under this condition, the surface
tension on the bottom surface hardly sustains the variable forces
such as droplet impingement, EMF, and arc pressure. Thus, the
molten pool can leak from the bottom surface where a burnthrough bead is formed, as shown in Fig. 11. However, Fig. 12 shows
that the stable weld beads can be formed on the top and bottom
surfaces as in case 5.
Droplets are added to the weld pool so that the molten uids
can accumulate completely (see Fig. 13(a)). Next, droplets slantly

impact and push the small amount of weld pool to penetrate into
the root gap. As shown in Fig. 13(b), the penetrated molten pool
solidied earlier owing to conduction heat transfer. When the center of the arc plasma reaches the pre-solidied region (see Fig. 13(c)
and (d)), it can be melted again owing to EMF and arc pressure
suppressing the molten pool downward, making a fully penetrated
weld bead. Meanwhile, the molten uid ows to the rear and
downward direction because the pre-solidied region reected the
molten pool. Thus, the downward momentum of the molten pool
became smaller than in case 4, so the fully penetrated molten pool
could not leak from the bottom surface and the surface tension
could sustain the variable arc forces in case 5. Finally, this condition resulted in the formation of a uniform, fully penetrated, and
sound weld bead.
Fig. 14(a)(f) shows the temperature proles and the molten
pool ow patterns on a transverse cross-section in case 5. The overowed molten pool penetrates into the root gap (see Fig. 14(a))
and then solidies as shown in Fig. 14(b). Next, this pre-solidied
region melts again (Fig. 14(c)) and forms a fully penetrated weld
bead (Fig. 14(d)). At the bottom surface, the molten pool exists
while the upper part is solidied by conduction heat transfer;
therefore, the gravity pulls the molten metal downward to result
in a higher back-bead height (Fig. 14(e)). Finally, a fully penetrated molten pool spreads outside owing to the surface tension
(Fig. 14(f)).
The molten pool overow phenomenon can be observed by a
high-speed camera as shown in Fig. 15. Just before overow, the
molten pool has fully accumulated in the V-groove and the arc
plasma is located in a higher position. After overow, however,
the molten pool penetrates in the root gap; thus, the arc plasma
is located in a lower position. If there is no overow pattern in Vgroove welding, however, the arc position can be stable during the
welding process. Fig. 16 compares the simulation results of the weld
bead cross section with the experimental results to verify the welding models and algorithms used in this work. Until now, there was
no research which described the molten pool overow behavior.

Fig. 12. Stable weld bead in case 5.

D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

1647

Fig. 13. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a longitudinal cross-section in case 5.

Fig. 14. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a transverse cross-section (x = 2.7 cm) in case 5.

This paper rstly observed and described the molten pool overow
behavior in welding simulation area.
In case 6, the molten pool overow pattern is observed by CFD
simulation, which is similar to case 5. The penetrated molten pool
solidies in the root gap, and then melts again by the arc heat source

and arc forces to form a stable bead. In overhead welding, the direction of gravity is opposite to the direction of at position welding;
therefore, different molten pool ow patterns and the resultant
bead shapes can be formed. Fig. 17(a) and (b) shows the temperature proles and the molten pool ow patterns on a longitudinal

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D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

Fig. 19. Fusion zone proles in case 6.

Fig. 15. Molten pool overow from a high speed camera.

Fig. 16. Fusion zone proles (case 5).

cross-section in case 6. The dashed region is far from the arc center, so arc forces such as EMF and arc pressure prevent the molten
pool from owing downward. On the contrary, the molten pool is
stretched at the upper part owing to the gravity force, so the dashed
molten region can remain as a molten uid for a longer time.

Fig. 18 shows the temperature proles and the molten pool

ow patterns on a transverse cross-section in case 6. After the
molten pool overows, a small amount of molten uid penetrates into the root gap and solidies as shown in Fig. 18(a). This
region can be melted again when the arc center reaches it, and
forms a fully penetrated weld bead as shown in Fig. 18(b). Even
though the molten pool fully penetrates the root gap, it is difcult
to achieve the sufcient back-bead height, because gravity force
extracts the molten pool upward while surface tension pulls the
uid to the outside on the bottom surface. However, a convex top
weld bead can be formed owing to the gravity force, as shown in
Fig. 18(c). The splashed molten pool during welding process can be
attached in the bottom surface; however, it hardly affects the overall weld bead shape because the amount of splashed molten pool
is very tiny. The simulation model can be validated by comparing the simulation result with that of the experiment, as shown in
Fig. 19.
Weld defects such as humping and melt-through beading are
clearly observed in a vertical-upward position in case 3 owing to the
gravity force, as mentioned above. To prevent these weld defects,
the vertical-downward position is used, as given in Table 4, with

Fig. 17. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a longitudinal cross-section in case 6.

Fig. 18. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a transverse cross-section (x = 2.6 cm) in case 6.

D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

1649

Fig. 20. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a longitudinal cross-section in case 7.

Fig. 21. Detailed ow patterns which produce a lack of penetration in case 7.

a 1-mm root gap. In case 7, the direction of gravity force is the

same as the welding direction, so that it can induce a molten pool
overow pattern in a vertical-down welding position as shown in
Fig. 20(a)(d). The penetrated molten pool in the root gap is solidied early (Fig. 20(c)); however, it cannot be melted again even
though the arc center reaches the solidied region. This is due to
the size of the circulating molten pool being smaller than that in
other cases because of the direction of gravity force. The maximum
velocity of the molten pool ow toward the rear welding direction is 130 mm/s, which is insufcient to melt the penetrated solid
region again. Moreover, case 7 cannot induce a uniform weld bead
but results in the formation of two weld defects: lack of penetration (A) and lack of fusion (B) on the longitudinal cross-section, as
shown in Fig. 20(d).
Figs. 21(a) and (b) and 22 show the cross-sectional views of
molten pool ow patterns that induce a lack of penetration. The
reason for this lack of penetration is that the solid region in the red
boxed area reects the molten uid, so that it goes upward without penetrating (Figs. 21(a) and 22(a)). Although the arc forces are

acting on the region to make the molten pool ow downward, as

shown in Fig. 22(b), the forces are insufcient to cause the penetration into the root gap and result in a incompletely penetrated
region.
Fig. 23 shows the molten pool ow patterns on a transverse
cross-section for the lack of fusion. The penetrated molten pool
barely melts the root face and then solidies quickly. Additionally,
this part cannot be melted again as mentioned above; therefore, a
welding defect, such as lack of fusion, can occur. Fig. 24 compares
the simulation results with the experimental results for two weld
defect regions, with the aim of validating the models used in the
simulation. By observing both the top and bottom surface of welding experimental specimen, it is also possible to conclude that the
lack of penetration and the lack of fusion regions can coexist under
the same welding condition of the case 7, as shown in Fig. 25.
To prevent the formation of weld defects in the verticaldownward position, it is necessary to change the welding
parameters to avoid the molten pool overow. One of the reasons for generating the overow pattern in a vertical-downward

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D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

Fig. 22. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns which produce a lack of penetration (part A) in case 7.

position is the accumulation of the molten pool. Thus, this study

adopted a welding speed twice (20 mm/s) that in other cases
(17) to reduce the accumulated molten pool. Simulation results
show that overow patterns are not observed on the longitudinal and transverse cross-sections, as shown in Figs. 26 and 27. The
higher welding speed causes a greater molten pool circulation as
can be observed on the longitudinal cross-section. Moreover, the
maximum velocity of ow toward the rear welding direction is
400 mm/s, which is enough to melt the root face and form a fully
penetrated weld bead. Finally, a uniform and stable weld bead can

be formed in the vertical-down position with a 1-mm root gap.

Fig. 28 compares the simulation result with the experimental one
with the aim of validating the models used in the simulation for
higher welding speed in the vertical-down position.
All the simulations were conducted by transient numerical
analysis which described dynamic molten pool behavior such as
humping and overow. Even though it is also meaningful to compare the temperature contours at the same time instant for several
cases, it is more effective to show the dynamic molten pool formation separately.

Fig. 23. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns which produce a lack of fusion (part B) in case 7.

Fig. 24. Fusion zone proles from experiment and simulation in case 7.

D.W. Cho et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 213 (2013) 16401652

Fig. 25. Weld bead surfaces in case 7.

Fig. 26. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns from a cross-sectional side view in case 8.

Fig. 27. Calculated temperature proles and ow patterns on a transverse cross-section (x = 2.6 cm) in case 8.

Fig. 28. Fusion zone proles from experiment and simulation in case 8.

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4. Conclusions
This study demonstrated the dynamic molten pool behaviors
such as humping, melt-through, and overow for various welding positions in V-groove GMAW. The results of this work can be
summarized as follows:
(a) Without the root gap, it is difcult to form a fully penetrated
weld bead in the at and overhead positions, while humping
and melt-through beads are formed in the vertical-upward
position under the same welding condition.
(b) With a 1-mm root gap, the molten pool overow patterns can
be described for various welding positions under the given
welding conditions. The overow patterns in some welding
positions do not induce the weld defects, while a weld bead
with incomplete penetration can be formed in the verticaldownward position. Thus, it is necessary to avoid the overow
patterns in such a case by increasing the welding speed.
Previous studies could obtain weld defects such as humping and lack of penetration by numerical simulation. However,
they performed welding simulations and experiments only in the
at position. This study performed the positional welding process in V-groove GMAW by transient analysis. Therefore, dynamic
molten pool behaviors such as humping in vertical upward welding positions and overow molten pool behavior with a 1 mm root
gap in various welding positions were rstly introduced in this
paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Brain
Korea 21 project, POSCO and the grant (No. 2010-0027749) from
the National Research Foundation of Korea, which is funded by the
Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
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