Application of Cold Wire Gas Metal Arc Welding for Narrow Gap Welding (NGW) of High Strength Low Alloy Steel

Narrow gap welding is a prevalent technique used to decrease the volume of molten metal and heat required to fill a joint. Consequently, deleterious effects such as distortion and residual stresses may be reduced. One of the fields where narrow groove welding is most employed is pipeline welding where misalignment, productivity and mechanical properties are critical to a successful final assemblage of pipes. This work reports the feasibility of joining pipe sections with 4 mm-wide narrow gaps machined from API X80 linepipe using cold wire gas metal arc welding. Joints were manufactured using the standard gas metal arc welding and the cold wire gas metal arc welding processes, where high speed imaging, and voltage and current monitoring were used to study the arc dynamic features. Standard metallographic procedures were used to study sidewall penetration, and the evolution of the heat affected zone during welding. It was found that cold wire injection stabilizes the arc wandering, decreasing sidewall penetration while almost doubling deposition. However, this also decreases penetration, and incomplete penetration was found in the cold wire specimens as a drawback. However, adjusting the groove geometry or changing the welding parameters would resolve this penetration issue.