Numerical analysis of the heat and fluid flow in a weld pool with a dynamic keyhole

In keyhole plasma arc welding, the interaction between the keyhole and the weld pool occurs when the keyhole appears inside the weld pool. The change of the keyhole shape and dimensions has direct effect on the heat and fluid flow in the weld pool, and the latter will also influence the keyhole geometry. In this study, the coupled behaviors of weld pool and keyhole are treated to develop a three-dimensional model for analyzing the heat and fluid flow inside a weld pool with a dynamic keyhole. In view of the characteristics of PAW process, a combined volumetric heat source model (double-ellipsoid plus conic body source) is established, and one of its distribution parameters is adjusted dynamically with the variation of the depth of keyhole. The physical phenomena, such as the weld pool development, the keyhole formation, the evolution of fluid flow and thermal field, the full-penetration of the test plates, and the transformation from a blind keyhole to an open keyhole, are quantitatively analyzed. The numerical results reveal the regularity of fluid flow in weld pool with a keyhole. The calculated keyhole shape and the fusion zone of plasma arc welds are compared with the experimental measurements. Both agree with each other generally. It lays foundation for optimizing the welding process parameters and improving the stability of plasma arc welding process.

► A model is developed to simulate the weld pool with a dynamic keyhole.
► The heat and fluid flow in such a moving plasma arc weld pool is analyzed.
► A combined volumetric heat source is established for such a model.
► The heat source height is adjusted by the keyhole depth at each time step.