Metal inert gas (MIG) welding of ASTM A500 Grade B steel pipes: Infrared thermal imaging and analysis.

摘要

Scope and methodology of study. Welding is a complex manufacturing process that generates extremely high temperatures and temperature gradients at and near the weld bead. In this investigation, welding of circular pipes is undertaken. An experimental setup was designed and built to observe the welding process and gather temperature isotherms under different welding conditions.; In the present experimental investigation, thermal images of welding of ASTM A500 Grade B steel pipes are collected using an infrared camera. A V-groove on a single pipe simulates welding of two pipes using a metal inert gas (MIG) welding process as the pipe rotates in a pipe-welding machine. An analytical solution is used to calculate the temperature isotherms for comparison with the experimental data.; The analytical approach, developed by Komanduri and Hou, uses Jaegers moving heat source method, is extended to calculate spot temperature data in pipe welding to determine the temperature profiles under various welding conditions. The analytical and experimental temperature isotherms were compared.; Findings and conclusions. Some differences in the temperature distributions produced by the analytical and experimental results were observed. They include the geometry and magnitude of the temperature distributions. An attempt has been made to explain for these differences.