Mathematical Modeling of Melting Rates
for Submerged Arc Welding
Models of melting rates take into account the effects of
welding variables
ABSTRACT. The effects of welding cur-
rent, arc voltage, wire diameter, elec-
trode extension (EE), electrode polarity,
power source type and flux classification
on melting rates (MR) have been evalu-
ated for the submerged arc welding pro-
cess. The results show that for a given
heat input, greater melting rates are
obtained when higher current, longer
electrode extension, smaller diameter
electrodes and electrode negative polari-
ty are used. Arc voltage, power source
type and flux classification do not have
any significant influence on melting rates.
Mathematical models to correlate pro-
cess variables and melting rates have
been computed from the data.
Introduction
Researchers and welding engineers
have been trying to increase productivity
by increasing melting rates since the
inception of the submerged arc welding
process. Historically, welding current has
been found to have the greatest influ-
ence on the melting rate and weld bead
geometry (Refs. 1-4). However, it is also
recognized that when welding current is
increased to enhance the melting rate,
there is a corresponding increase in heat
input, which may influence the weld
metal toughness. Alternatively, travel
speed can be increased to maintain the
same heat input; however, this can
increase the propensity for defects such
as centerline cracking and incomplete
penetration (Ref. 5). However, melting
rate can be increased for a given heat
input and welding current by using elec-
trode negative polarity, longer electrode
extension, and smaller diameter elec-
trodes (Refs. 6-9). In order to predict and
control the melting rate, the quantitative
effect of all the variables must be known.
Wilson and Jackson (Ref. 9) formulated
R. S. CHANDEL is with Physical Metallurgy
Research Laboratories, Canada Center for
Mineral and Energy Technology, Ottawa, Can-
ada.
BY R. S. CHANDEL
the following mathematical relationship
between welding variables and melting
rate in Imperial units, which are con-
verted here to the following SI units:
MR (kg/h) = 9.45 + (1)
10001
0.042 D + 2.906 X 10~4
2
IL 122 -,
2
D J
where I = welding current (A)
D = wire diameter (mm)
L = electrode extension (mm)
Such a relationship is very useful, as it
enables the preselection of welding vari-
ables for a particular melting rate. How-
ever, it has some drawbacks, as it does
not take into account the effect of volt-
age, polarity, the type of power source
and flux basicity.
Robinson (Ref. 10) observed that Equa-
tion 1 was not valid for alternating cur-
rent (AC) or direct current electrode
negative (DCEN), so he modified it to
take the effect of electrode polarity into
consideration. His modified equations,
originally in Imperial units, are converted
to SI units as follows:
MR (for DCEP) = (2)
10001
0.042d 2 + 2.906 X 10" 4 —2 ' ^ 1
d J
+ [ 4.5 X 10~5 (I) 1686 + 3.565 1
KEY W O R D S
SAW Electrode Melting
Melting Rate Models
Mathematical Modelling
SAW Heat Input
SAW Process Variables
Heat vs. Weld Current
Electrode Polarity
Electrode Extension
Melt Rate Equation
SAW Polarity Effects
WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1135-s
MR (for DCEN) (3)
10001
0.042d 2 + 2.906 X 10~4 —2 1 22 1
d J
+ [ 3 . 0 7 1 X 10- 4 (l) 1 - 5 1 3 ]
MR (for AC) =
1000 [ (4)
. IL
0.042d2 + 2.906 X 10
d2 -I
8 2 721
+ [ 3.485 X 10" (I) + 3.565 ]
where MR = melting rate
(kg/h)
I = welding current
(A)
d = electrode diameter
(mm)
L = electrode extension
(mm)
Martin (Ref. 11) and Jackson (Ref. 12)
had observed that arc voltage also has an
influence on the melting rate. Robinson
(Ref. 10) reported that for direct current
electrode negative, an increase in arc
voltage resulted in a decrease in melting
rate. However, neither Wilson's nor Rob-
inson's equations reflect this. Mantal (Ref.
13) reported that for arc welding the
melting rate for AC is the geometric
mean of the melting rates for DCEN and
DCEP. Lesnewich (Ref. 14) also compared
the melting rates for AC, DCEN and DCEP
and observed that the melting rate during
AC is the arithmetic mean of melting rates
during DCEN and DCEP. Robinson's
experimental results and theoretical cal-
culations show that for welding currents
of up to 750 A, direct current electrode
positive (DCEP) gives higher melting rates
than DCEN. Thus, in the light of this
controversy, the validity of Robinson's
(Ref. 10) equations becomes question-
able.
There have been a few other attempts
to formulate mathematical relationships
between welding variables and melting
rates (Refs. 15-18). However, most of
these models are useful only for particu-
Table 1—Welding Variables and Melting Rates for DC Welds

Melting rate (kg/h)

Constant voltage Constant current
Flux A Flux Flux A Flux B
Wire dia. E.E.W Current Voltage
(mm) (mm) (A) (A) DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN

4.00 25.4 400 32 4.91 6.30

400 35 4.9 6.30
400 38 4.9 6.30
600 32 7.16 10.94
600 35 7.16 10.94
600 38 7.16 10.94
800 32 10.18 15.13
800 35 10.20 15.13
800 38 10.17 15.13
1000 32 13.74 18.59
1000 35 13.74 18.59
1000 38 13.74 18.59

4.0 76.2 400 32 5.22 6.44

400 35 5.22 6.44
400 38 5.23 6.44
600 32 9.4 12.43
600 35 9.4 12.43
600 38 9.4 12.43
800 32 16.40 18.13
800 35 16.40 18.13
800 38 16.40 18.13
1000 32 20.61 25.47
1000 35 20.61 25.47
1000 38 20.61 25.47
2.4 25.4 300 $2 3.71 4.88
300 35 3.71 4.88
300 38 3.71 4.88
400 32 4.93 7.05
400 35 4.93 7.05
400 38 4.93 7.05
475 32 6.20 8.75
475 35 6.20 8.75
475 38 6.20 8.75
550 32 7.80 10.61
550 35 7.80 10.61
550 38 7.80 10.61
(a)
Electrode extension

lar situations and are thus not applicable
to shop floor welding. Therefore, the aim
of this work was twofold: 1) to study the
effect of welding current, arc voltage,
electrode diameter, electrode extension,
electrode polarity, type of power source,
and flux classification on the melting rate
for submerged arc welding, and 2) to
develop mathematical models to corre-
late the melting rates with the welding
variables.
Experimental Work
The base material used for the experi-
mental work was a 19-mm (0.75-in.) thick
ASTM A36 steel plate. This plate was cut
into 600- X 150-mm (24- X 6-in.) pieces,
and both surfaces were cleaned (sand
blasted) to remove dirt and oxides. AWS
EL12 electrodes of 2.4-, 3.2- and 4-mm
(%2-, Va- and %2-in.) diameter were used,
along with Fluxes A and B. Flux A was a
fused acid flux with a basicity index of 1,
while Flux B was an agglomerated basic
flux with a basicity index of 3.
DC 1500 and AC square wave 1000
power sources were used. The DC 1500
can be operated on both constant cur-
rent and constant voltage modes, while
the AC square wave 1000 is designed for
the constant vcltage mode only. The
experimental work was designed to
study the effect of welding current, volt-
age, electrode extension, electrode diam-
eter, polarity, type of power source, and
flux classification on melting rate. The
welding current and arc voltage were
recorded on a chart recorder for each
deposit, while the corresponding wire
feed speed (which was converted into
melting rate) was read from a digital wire
feed tachometer. A total of 336 welds
were made, and their welding variables
and corresponding melting rates are giv-
en in Table 1.
Results
The results of the investigation are
given in Figs. 1-4 and Tables 1 and 2.
Figure 1 shows the effect of welding
current and wire diameter on the melting
rate. It can be seen that for a given wire
diameter, melting rate increases with
welding current. However, for a given
welding current, the melting rate is higher
when a smaller diameter electrode is
used. Figure 1 also indicates that the
difference in melting rate due to wire
diameter is greater at higher currents.
Varying the voltage between 30 and
38 V did not have any effect on the
melting rate.
The effects of polarity and electrode
extension on the melting rate are shown
in Fig. 2. For the same welding variables,
DCEN results in a higher melting rate than
DCEP When AC is used, the melting
rates are slightly higher than those of
DCEP and significantly lower than DCEN
when a 25.4-mm (1-in.) electrode exten-
sion is used. However, when a 76.2-mm
(3.0-in.) electrode extension is used, the
melting rates with AC become similar to
those of DCEP.
The effects of power source type
(constant voltage and constant current)
and flux classification on the melting rate

136-s I MAY 1987

Table 1—Welding Variables and Melting Rates for DC Welds (continued)

Melting rate (kg/h)

Constant voltage Constant current
Flux A FluxB Flux A Flux B
Wire dia. E.E>> Current Voltage
(mm) (mm) (A) (A) DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN DCEP DCEN

2.4 76.2 300 32 4.92 6.42 — — - — — —

300 35 4.92 6.42 — — - - - -
300 38 4.92 6.42 — - - — — -
400 32 8.27 9.76 — — - - - -
400 35 8.27 9.76 — — - - - —
400 38 8.27 9.76 — - — - — -
475 32 10.71 12.92 - — - - - —
475 35 10.71 12.92 - — - — - -
475 38 10.71 12.92 - - - — - —
550 32 15.10 17.06 — — - - — -
550 35 15.10 17.06 - — — — - -
550 38 15.10 17.06 - - - - - -
3.2 25.4 300 32 3.83 4.98 3.53 6.14 3.74 4.98 3.64 6.23
300 35 3.83 4.98 3.53 6.14 3.74 4.98 3.64 6.23
300 38 3.83 4.98 3.53 6.14 3.74 4.98 3.64 6.23
450 32 5.56 8.16 5.18 8.72 5.66 8.53 5.65 8.82
450 35 5.56 8.16 5.18 8.72 5.66 8.53 5.65 8.82
450 38 5.56 8.16 5.18 8.72 5.66 8.53 5.65 8.82
600 32 7.38 11.70 7.00 11.44 7.86 11.70 7.86 11.41
600 35 7.38 11.70 7.00 11.44 7.86 11.70 7.86 11.41
600 38 7.38 11.70 7.00 11.44 7.86 11.70 7.86 11.41
750 32 9.87 14.29 9.78 14.86 10.35 14.29 10.35 14.58
750 35 9.87 14.29 9.78 14.86 10.35 14.29 10.35 14.58
750 38 9.87 14.29 9.78 14.86 10.35 14.29 10.35 14.58
3.2 76.2 300 32 4.79 5.65 4.41 6.33 4.51 5.75 4.31 6.45
300 35 4.79 5.65 4.41 6.33 4.51 5.75 4.31 6.45
300 38 4.79 5.65 4.41 6.33 4.51 5.75 4.31 6.45
450 32 7.57 10.35 8.15 10.07 7.19 10.17 7.67 10.64
450 35 7.57 10.35 8.15 10.07 7.19 10.17 7.67 10.64
450 38 7.57 10.35 8.15 10.07 7.19 10.17 7.67 10.64
600 32 11.80 15.05 12.08 14.19 11.51 14.67 12.56 14.48
600 35 11.80 15.05 12.08 14.19 11.51 14.67 12.56 14.48
600 38 11.80 15.05 12.08 14.19 11.51 14.67 12.56 14.48
750 32 16.40 20.60 19.00 20.77 17.74 20.58 17.84 20.58
750 35 16.40 20.60 19.00 20.77 17.74 20.58 17.84 20.58
750 38 16.40 20.60 19.00 20.77 17.74 20.58 17.84 20.58
(a)
Electrode extension

are s h o w n in Figs. 3 and 4 , respectively.

T h e results indicate that p o w e r source
t y p e a n d flux classification d i d n o t have
any significant effect on melting rates. Table 2—Welding Variables and Melting Rates for AC Welds

Melting rate (kg/h)

Mathematical Model
Flux A Flux B
The above results have shown that the Current Voltage 25.4 mm 76.2 mm 25.4 mrr 76.2 mm
melting rate during submerged arc weld- Wire dia (A) (V) E.E>> E.E.<*> E.E.<a> E.E.<a>
ing is affected by welding current, elec-
trode diameter, electrode extension and 4.00 450 32 5.44 5.93 — —
450 36 5.46 5.96 — —
electrode polarity. To present the above
550 32 7.05 8.14 - -
results in a meaningful mathematical
550 36 7.00 8.14 — —
expression, some fundamental concepts 650 32 8.50 10.25 — —
of melting during arc welding have to be 650 36 8.50 10.05 - —
considered. It is well understood that the 750 32 10.57 13.41 - —
total melting is composed of melting due 750 36 10.53 13.38 - -
to arc energy and melting due to resis- 3.2 400 30 4.74 5.5 5.26 6.33
tance heating ()oule heating effect) (Refs. 400 34 4.75 5.5 5.26 6.34
9, 10 and 15-18). Arc heat is proportional 500 30 5.99 8.14 6.70 8.6
to welding current, while the Joule heat- 500 34 6.00 8.17 6.71 8.5
ing effect is proportional to the (current)2 600 30 8.52 11.24 8.64 11.72
and electrode extension, and inversely 600 34 8.51 11.24 8.64 11.71
proportional to (electrode diameter) 2 . An 700 30 10.80 15.37 10.52 15.83
equation to correlate melting rate and 700 34 10.76 15.37 10.50 15.83
welding variables and incorporating arc ""Electrode extension.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1137-s

 POLARITY- DCEP WIRE DIA.-3.2mm

O DCEP
A DCEN
0 2.4mm WIRE D AC
A 3.2mm WIRE — 25.4mm EE
D 4.0mm WIRE — 76.2mm EE

< <
cr rr
CD
o
z z
I-
_l
LU

300 400 500 600 700 S00 900 1000 300 400 500 600 700 BOO 900 1000

WELDING CURRENT (A) WELDING CURRENT (A)

Fig. 1-Effect of welding current and wire diameter on the melting rate Fig. 2 —Effect of electrode polarity and electrode extension on the
(Flux A, 25.4-mm electrode extension) melting rate (Flux A)

< <
cr
CD
rr
CD

z z
_i
w
r

300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

WELDING CURRENT (A) WELDING CURRENT (A)

Fig. 3 —Effect of power source type on the melting rate (Flux A, Fig. 4 —Effect of flux type on the melting rate (25.4-mm electrode
25.4-mm electrode extension) extension)

138-s | MAY 1987

 where R is the coefficient of multiple
20 - correlation and SE is the standard error.
The validity of the above equations
can be judged from their high coefficients
IB - of correlation (>0.99) and Fig. 5, which
O)
shows the relationship between mea-
sured and computed melting rates. Com-
1G -
pared with other equations referred to
u earlier (Refs. 9,10), these equations are
I- simpler, maintain mathematical uniformity
and show a better relationship between
i measured and calculated melting rates —
Fig. 6. The important feature of the
CD 12 -
Z above equations is that the coefficients
for the second term, l 2 L/d 2 , are similar for
10 electrode negative and electrode posi-
Kj tive, which agrees with the findings of
a B -
Demyantsevich (Ref. 18) and Chandel
HI and Malik (Ref. 19). This implies that
o resistance heating is not influenced by the
I-H
6 - polarity during direct current arc welding.
a However, this coefficient is smaller for
AC, which indicates that melting due to
0- 4 - resistance heating is smaller during AC
welding. This discrepancy in the resis-
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 IB 20
tance heating during AC and DC welding
is difficult to explain at this stage, and it is
OBSERVED MELTING RATE (kg/h) recommended that further work be car-
Fig. 5 — Relationship between measured and calculated melting rates ried out. The regression coefficient for
the first term, i.e., arc heat, is highest
when the electrode is negative and low-
energy and Joule heating effect was con- MR (for AC) = 0.01523 I + est when the electrode is positive,
ceived in the following form: J2L because during arc welding, more heat is
1.6882 X I O " 6 —2 - 2 . 3 9 6 liberated at the cathode, which for elec-
l2L d trode negative is the electrode tip. The
MR = Al + B —2 + C (R = 0.991, SE = 0.435)
d value of this coefficient for AC is higher
MR (for DCEN) = 0.016178 I + than when the electrode is positive, but
where A, B and C are constants which J2L smaller than when the electrode is nega-
depend upon the polarity and electrode 2.087 X 10" 6 —2 - 0.643 tive.
material and I, L and d are welding d
(R = 0.996, SE = 0.5)
current, electrode extension and elec- The effect of current, wire diameter,
trode diameter, respectively. MR for (DCEP) = 0.01037 I + electrode extension and polarity on the
In order to compute the values of A, B J2L melting rates can be explained by the
and C, multiple regression analyses of the 2.2426 X 10" 6 — - 0 . 4 6 2 equations above. As explained earlier,
d^
experimental data were carried out and the total melting is composed of melting
the following equations were obtained: (R = 0.993, SE = 0.56) due to arc heat and resistance heat. Thus,

20 20
/ a
O) O THIS WORK <p/ O T H I S WORK
JC
18 A ROBINSON 18 A ROBINSON

UJ tu • UILSON
16 16 -
< O
tr
CD
14 AA
CD
14 •
A
z ry / •
12 12 - ' A
_J _J
UJ UJ
/o
10 - A
Z 10 - {ya
• Q
uJ A LU
8 I- a -
0 / <
_l
A
6 - A
G -
§ A
CJ
_l
<
AO'

< 4 4 - So
/ A i 1 1 1 1 1 i i l l 1 1 1 1 '
* 6 8 10 12 14 16 IB 20 4 E S 10 12 1+ 16 IS 20
DCEN MEASURED MELTING RATE (kg/h) DCEP MEASURED MELTING RATE (kg/h)
Fig. 6 — Comparison of various mathematical models to calculate melting rates

WELDINC RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 1139-s

with an increase in welding current, there
is a linear increase in arc heat, while the
resistance heat increases exponentially.
The rate of increase in arc heat and
resistance heat with current also depends
upon the coefficients. Thus, for the same
increase in welding current, there is a
larger increase in melting from arc heat
when DCEN is used.
Conclusions
1. Submerged arc welding variables
such as current, polarity, wire diameter
and electrode extension have an influ-
ence on the melting rate.
2. For a given wire diameter, elec-
trode polarity and electrode extension,
there is an increase in melting rate with an
increase in welding current.
3. For a given welding current, higher
melting rates are obtained when longer
electrode extension and electrode nega-
tive and smaller wire diameter electrodes
are used. For the same welding variables,
melting rate for AC is slightly higher than
that for DC electrode positive.
4. Arc voltage and power source type
do not show any significant effect on
melting rate.
References
1. Apps, R. L., Gourd, L M., and Nelson, K.
A. 1963. Welding and Metal Fabrication
31:453.
2. Metals Handbook, Vol. 6, 9th edition.
1982. American Society for Metals, Metals
Park, Ohio.
3. McGlone, |. C, and Chadwick, D. B.
1978. The submerged arc butt welding of mild
steel: part 2. The Welding Institute, Abington,
Cambridge, England, Report R/RB/PE 26/78.
4. Salter, G. R„ and Doherty,). 1981. Metal
Construction 9:20.
5. Chandel, R. S. 1981. Optimization of
groove angles. AMCA International, Report
No. 1-R78-016/7.
6. Thomas, W. |. F., and Apps, R. L. 1978.
The influence of electrode extension and cold
filler wire additions on the deposition rates and
properties of submerged arc welds. Proc. of
Int. Conf. on Advances in Welding, Harrow-
gate, England.
7. Reynolds, D. E. H. 1978. High deposition
rate submerged arc welding. Submerged Arc
Welding, Chapter 7, The Welding Institute,
Abington, Cambridge, England.
8. Renwick, B. G., and Patchett, B. M. 1976.
Welding lournal 55(3):69-s to 76-s.
9. Wilson,). L, Claussen, G. E., and lackson,
C. E. 1956. Welding lournal35(1): 1-s to 8-s.
10. Robinson, M. H. 1961. Welding lournal
40(11):503-s to 515-s.
11. Martin, D. C, Rieppel, P. (., and Vol-
drich, C. B. May 1949. Welding Research
Council Bulletin, Series No. 3.
12. lackson, C. E., and Shrubsall, A. E. 1950.
Welding lournal 29(5):231-s to 241-s.
13. Mantal, W. 1956. Schweissen und
Schneiden 8:280.
14. Lesnewich, A. 1958. Welding journal
37(8):343-s to 353-s.
15. Thorn, K., Feenstra, M., Yound, |. C,
Lawson, W. H. S., and Kerr, H. W. 1982. Metal
Construction 3:128.
16. Halmoy, E. 1979. Wire melting rate,
droplet temperature and effective anode melt-
ing potential. Proc. of Int. Conf. on Arc Physics
and Weld Pool Behavior, London, England.
17. Mazel, A. G., and Gorarev, L. A. 1970.
Welding Production 3:34.
18. Demyantsevich, V. P. 1974. Automatic
Welding 8:47.
19. Chandel, R. S., and Malik, L. M. 1985.
Relationship between wire feed speed and
submerged arc welding parameters. Proc. of
Int. Conf. on Welding for Challenging Environ-
ments, Toronto, Canada.

WRC Bulletin 319

November 1986
Sensitization of Austenitic Stainless Steels: Effect of Welding Variables on HAZ Sensitization of AISI 304
and HAZ Behavior of BWR Alternative Alloys 316NG and 347
By C. D. Lundin, C. H. Lee, R. Menon and E. E. Stansbury

The research described in this report was undertaken to derive a better understanding of t h e HAZ
sensitization response of 3 0 4 , 3 0 4 L N , 316NG and 347 austenitic stainless steels. The results are directly
applicable t o both the as-welded and long-time service behavior of these austenitic stainless steels.
Publication of this report was sponsored by the S u b c o m m i t t e e on Welding Stainless Steel of t h e High
Alloys C o m m i t t e e of the Welding Research Council. The price of WRC Bulletin 319 is $24.00 per copy,
plus $5.00 for postage and handling. Orders should be sent with payment to t h e Welding Research
Council, Suite 1 3 0 1 , 345 E. 4 7 t h St., New York, NY 10017.

WRC Bulletin 320

December 1986
Welding Metallurgy and Weldability of High Strength Aluminum Alloys
By S. Kou
A literature survey was conducted to gather the information available on the welding metallurgy of
high strength aluminum alloys, and its effect on their weldability. Both conventional high strength
aluminum alloys and newer products, e.g., powder metallurgy aluminum alloys, Al-Li alloys and Al-matrix
composites, are included in this report.
Publication of this report was sponsored by the Aluminum Alloys C o m m i t t e e of the Welding Research
Council. The price of WRC Bulletin 3 2 0 is $12.00 per copy, plus $5.00 for postage and handling. Orders
should be sent with payment to the Welding Research Council, Suite 1 3 0 1 , 345 E. 4 7 t h St., New York, NY
10017.

140-s I M A Y 1987