Keyhole Double-sided Arc Welding Process for Deep Narrow Penetration

In regular arc welding, the arc heat is transferred from the surface of the workpiece to melt it. In keyhole plasma arc welding, the workpiece is melted by the plasma jet which heats the wall of the keyhole along the thickness direction. Penetration is achieved with reduced heat input. However, the plasma jet only gains its energy in the arc before reaching the keyhole. In the keyhole where no current/arc is present, the plasma jet consumes its energy without compensation. This heat generation/consumption mechanism limits its penetration capability. In the proposed method, the current/arc is guided through the keyhole so that the energy of the plasma jet is compensated while it is consumed in heating the workpiece along the keyhole. As a result, deep narrow penetration has been achieved on 12.7 mm (1/2") thick stainless steel plates using 70 A welding current.