Droplet transfer plays a crucial role in welding stability and quality of pulsed gas metal arc weld (GMAW), referring to the process of heat and mass transition. In this work, the appearance, microstructure, microhardness, tensile properties, and impact toughness with three typical modes of droplet transfer in pulsed GMAW (ODMP: one drop per multiple pulses; ODPP: one drop per pulse; MDPP: multiple drops per pulse) were studied and compared. The results showed that the better welding appearance, the deeper penetration, and the less fume covered on the steel plate could be found during the ODPP welding process. At the same wire feeding speed and arc length, the average current was similar in ODPP and MDPP conditions. However, the average current in the ODMP condition was about 15 A larger than the other two, contributing to the higher heat input. Compared with MDPP and ODMP, the longest elongation and impact energy of the welded joint were found in the ODPP condition. Furthermore, the decrease of elongation and impact toughness in the ODMP condition might result from the higher heat input and the coarsen microstructure, like the proeutectoid ferrite and ferrite side plate.

In order to study internal relation among the behavior of the weld pool, the microstructure of weld bead and the waveform of short-circuiting gas metal arc welding (S-GMAW), a high speed photograph-images analysis system was formed to extract characteristics of weld pool behavior. Three representative waveform control methods were used to provide partly and fully penetrated weld pools and beads. It was found that the behavior of the weld pool was related to the instantaneous power density of the liquid bridge at the break-up time. Weld pool oscillation was triggered by the explosion of the liquid bridge, the natural oscillation frequencies were derived by the continuous wavelet transform. The change of weld pool state caused the transition of oscillation mode, and it led to different nature oscillation frequencies between partial and full penetration. Slags flow pattern could be an indication of the weld pool flow. Compared with the scattered slags on fully penetrated weld pool, slag particles accumulated on partially penetrated weld pools. The oscillating promoted the convection of the welding pool and resulted in larger melting width and depth, the grain size, and the content of pro-eutectoid ferrite in the weld microstructure of S235JR increased, the content of acicular ferrite decreased.

The characteristics of weld bead formation and droplet transfer in pulsed gas metal arc weld (GMAW) with different arc lengths were studied by changing the base current time in this work. The results showed that it was easier to cause short circuits and spatters with a short arc. However, the deviation between the deepest point of penetration and the center of bead will be aggravated with the increase of arc length. In addition, more than 90% “one drop per pulse” (ODPP) transfer mode can be obtained when the pulse parameters were selected properly. However, the short arc trended to rise the proportion of “multiple drops per pulse” (MDPP), and the long arc trended towards increasing the proportion of “one drop per multiple pulses” (ODMP). Additionally, with the growth of the arc in the projected transfer zone, the penetration tended to become shallower because of the increase of arc heat dissipation, the fall of arc energy density, and droplet impact force. Overall, the strategy of choosing suitable arc length of pulsed GMAW was summarized: in order to obtain high-quality bead formation and weld joints, a shorter arc in the projected transfer zone was recommended.

The influence of heat and droplet transfer into weld pool dynamic behavior and weld metal microstructure in double-pulsed gas metal arc welding (DP-GMAW) was investigated by the self-designed high-speed welding photography system. The heat input, the arc pressure, the droplet momentum and impingement pressure were measured and calculated. It was found that the arc pressure is far less than the droplet impingement pressure. The heat input and droplet impingement pressure per unit time acting on weld pool were proportional to the current pulse frequency, which fluctuated with thermal pulse. The size and oscillation amplitude of the weld pool had noticeable periodic changes synchronized with the process of heat input and droplet impingement. Compared to the microstructure of pulsed gas metal arc welding (P-GMAW) weld metal, that of DP-GMAW weld metal was significantly refined. High oscillation amplitude assisted the enhancement of weld pool convection, which leads to more constitutional supercooling. The heat input and shear force during the peak of thermal pulse causing dendrite fragmentation which provided sufficient crystal nucleus for the growth of equiaxed grains and the possibility of grain refinement. The effects of current parameters on welding behavior and weld metal grain size are investigated for further understanding of DP-GMAW.

The internal relations among the oscillation characteristics of the weld pool, the voltage signal curve and the penetration status of the weld joint in pulsed gas metal arc welding were investigated by using high-speed camera and image analysis system to extract characteristics of weld pool oscillation. The results show that the amplitude of weld pool oscillation decreased with decreasing weld penetration. An abrupt change occurred in the frequency components and amplitude of weld pool oscillation, accompanying the transition from partial to full penetration. The voltage signal curve lost the oscillation frequency characteristic of the pool, due to the curvature of the weld pool surface. While similar to the oscillation amplitude, the fluctuation of the voltage signal caused by the weld pool oscillation reflected the penetration of the weld pool. The abrupt transition in the fluctuation amplitude of the voltage signal in the base duration from partial penetration to full penetration may be used to sense the penetration of the weld pool in real time.

Pulsed gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is widely applied in industrial manufacturing. The use of pulsed GMAW was found superior to the traditional direct-current (DC) welding method with respect to spatter, welding performance, and adaptability of all-position welding. These features are closely related to the special pulsed projected metal transfer process. In this paper, a monitoring system based on a high-speed camera and laser backlight is proposed. High-quality images with clear droplets and a translucent arc can be obtained at the same time. Furthermore, a novel image-processing algorithm is proposed in this paper, which was successfully applied to remove the interference of the arc. As a result, the edge and region of droplets were precisely extracted, which is not possible using only the threshold method. Based on the algorithm, centroid coordinates of undetached and detached droplets can be calculated, and more parameters of the kinematic characteristics of droplets can be derived, such as velocity, acceleration, external force, and momentum. The proposed monitoring system and image-processing algorithm give a simple and feasible way to investigate kinematic characteristics, which can provide a new method for possible applications in studying mathematic descriptions of droplet flight trajectory and developing a precise automatic welding system.