Impact of the wire temperature on the weld formation in SAW process

A hot wire SAW method using a TIG arc to preheat the wire is proposed and the corresponding experimental system is developed. The temperature of the wire under different TIG heating current is monitored by an infrared thermometer, and welding experiments with different couple of preheating and welding current are conducted to analyze the impact pattern of the wire temperature on the weld formation. The results demonstrate that the wire temperature can be effectively controlled by adjusting the TIG preheating current. The welding deposit rate will significantly increase in TIG preheated hot wire SAW process at same welding current, the wire temperature is higher, and the increase is greater. When welding at same wire feeding speed to achieve equal deposit rate, the welding current declines along with the rise of the wire temperature in TIG preheated hot wire SAW process, which means the heat input is reduced and better welding quality can be achieved.