Research on the Morphology, Heat Transfer, and Metal Flow Behavior of MIG-based Wire Arc Additively Manufactured Single-pass Aluminum Alloy via Integrated Model

doi:10.3901/JME.2025.22.097

Abstract

Abstract: An in-depth understanding of the inherent influence mechanism between process parameters, complex physical phenomena and forming quality is an important prerequisite for obtaining high-quality arc additively manufactured parts with reasonable structure, reliable performance and no defects. In this paper, a 3D arc plasma-droplet-molten pool integrated transient model of wire arc additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy is developed, which simultaneously considers the heating of arc plasma, droplet transfer, the vaporization of metal, the deformation of molten pool free surface, the convection of molten pool metal, the melting and solidification of metal, and the relative movement between wire and substrate. In this model, the volume of fluid（VOF） method is used to track the gas-liquid free interface, the complex thermal effect of the sheath is considered based on the “local thermodynamic equilibrium（LTE）-diffusion approximation” model, and the moving reference frame is utilized to handle the relative motion between the wire and the substrate. The accuracy of the integrated model was verified by the experimentally measured droplet transfer and deposited layer profile. Based on the established model, the influence mechanisms of welding current and travel speed on the deposited layer morphology evolution and the metal heat transfer and fluid flow behavior were analyzed. The results show that with the increase of welding current, the cross-section of deposited layer changes from arc-shaped to flattened, the temperature gradient and the flow rate of the molten pool metal increase, but the change in flow pattern is relatively small. With the increase of travel speed, the cross-section of deposited layer changes from flattened to arc-shaped, the depth and the metal temperature gradient of the molten pool decrease, and the flow behavior transition of the molten metal as a whole towards the rear of the molten pool accelerates.

Key words: wire arc additive manufacturing, numerical simulation, multi physics field coupling, heat transfer and fluid flow

CLC Number:

TG442

ZHAO Wenyong, WEI Yanhong, XU Guoxiang, HU Qingxian, WANG Yaowei. Research on the Morphology, Heat Transfer, and Metal Flow Behavior of MIG-based Wire Arc Additively Manufactured Single-pass Aluminum Alloy via Integrated Model[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2025, 61(22): 97-108.

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