The welding and construction processes for H-type thick-plate bridge steel involve complex multi-pass welding processes, which make it difficult to ensure its welding performance. Accordingly, it is crucial to explore the inherent correlations between the welding process parameters and welding quality, and apply them to welding robots, eliminating the instability in manual welding. In order to improve welding quality, the GMAW (gas metal arc welding) welding process parameters are simulated, using the Q345qD bridge steel flat joint model. Four welds with X-shaped grooves are designed to optimize the parameters of the welding current, welding voltage, and welding speed. The optimal welding process parameters are investigated through thermal–elastic–plastic simulation analysis and experimental verification. The results indicate that, when the welding current is set to 230 A, the welding voltage to 32 V, and the welding speed to 0.003 m/s, the maximum deformation of the welded plate is 0.52 mm, with a maximum welding residual stress of 345 MPa. Both the simulation results of multi-pass welding, and the experimental tests meet the welding requirements, as they show no excessive stress or strain. These parameters can be applied to building large steel-frame bridges using welding robots, improving the quality of welded joints.

The welding and construction processes of H-type thick-plate-bridge steel involve complex multi-pass welding processes, which is difficulty to ensure its welding performance. Accordingly, it is crucial to explore the inherent correlation among the welding processes parameters and welding quality, and applied it into the welding robots, eliminating the instability from manual welding. In order to improve the welding quality, the GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) welding process parameters are simulated using the Q345qD bridge steel flat joint model. Four welds with X-shaped grooves are designed to optimize the parameters of welding current, welding voltage, and welding speed. The optimal welding process parameters are investigated through thermal-elastic-plastic simulation analysis and experimental verification. The results indicate that when the welding current is set to 230A, the welding voltage to 32V, and the welding speed to 0.003m/s, the maximum deformation of the welded plate is 0.52mm, with a maximum welding residual stress of 345MPa. Both the simulation results of multi-pass welding and experimental tests meet the welding requirements, as they show no excessive stress or strain. These parameters can be applied into building large steel frame bridges with welding robots, improving the quality of welded joints.