The Formation Mechanism and Suppression Strategies of Spatter in Pulsed Gas Metal Arc Welding for Titanium Alloy

The GMAW process for titanium alloy is not commonly applied within the industry due to the occurrence of severe spatter. This research endeavors to elucidate the mechanism underlying spatter formation and explore efficacious strategies to suppress spatter. The experimental results demonstrated the existence of two distinct spatter types: large and small spatter particles. The high- speed images and synchronous electrical signals were utilized for determining the spatter formation mechanism, with force analysis serving to mutually validate the inferences. The large spatter particles originated from the whole transitional molten droplet as it descended within the arc space, while the small spatter particles were formed by the partial transitional molten droplet as it contacted the weld pool. The cathode jet force accounted for the formation of large spatter particles, whereas the electromagnetic force was responsible for the small spatter particles. To suppress spatter, increasing detachment current and decreasing pulsing frequency were employed. Consequently, the spatter rate witnessed a remarkable decrease from 14.00% to 3.33% with a progressive increment in detachment current from 100 A to 300 A, and a corresponding decline from 12.67% to 1.33% upon decrementing the pulsing frequency from 90 Hz to 50 Hz. This research suggests that a judicious increase in the detachment current can effectively decrease the spatter rate while concurrently preserving welding efficiency.