Materials

& Design
Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656
www.elsevier.com/locate/matdes

The effect of process parameters on penetration in

gas metal arc welding processes
a,*
Erdal Karadeniz , Ugur Ozsarac b, Ceyhan Yildiz c

a
Sakarya University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Esentepe Campus, 54187 Sakarya, Turkey
b
Sakarya University, Technical Education Faculty, Department of Metal Education, 54187 Sakarya, Turkey
c
ISE Automotive Company, Aksaray, Turkey

Received 11 January 2005; accepted 12 July 2005

Available online 12 September 2005

Abstract

In this study, the effects of various welding parameters on welding penetration in Erdemir 6842 steel having 2.5 mm thickness
welded by robotic gas metal arc welding were investigated. The welding current, arc voltage and welding speed were chosen as var-
iable parameters. The depths of penetration were measured for each specimen after the welding operations and the effects of these
parameters on penetration were researched.
The welding currents were chosen as 95, 105, 115 A, arc voltages were chosen as 22, 24, and 26 V and the welding speeds were
chosen as 40, 60 and 80 cm/min for all experiments. As a result of this study, it was obvious that increasing welding current increased
the depth of penetration. In addition, arc voltage is another parameter in incrimination of penetration. However, its effect is not as
much as currentÕs. The highest penetration was observed in 60 cm/min welding current.
 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Welding parameters; Gas metal arc welding; Penetration

1. Introduction parameters affecting the arc and welding bath should

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is an impor-
tant component in many industrial operations. The re-
search on controlling GMAW metal transfer modes is
essential to high quality welding procedures. The
GMA welding parameters are the most important fac-
tors affecting the quality, productivity and cost of weld-
ing joint [1,2]. Weld bead size and shape are important
considerations for design and manufacturing engineers
in the fabrication industry. In fact, weld geometry di-
rectly affects the complexity of weld schedules and there-
by the construction and manufacturing costs of steel
structures and mechanical devices [3]. Therefore, these
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 264 346 0353/90 00; fax: +90 264
346 0351.
E-mail address: erdalk@sakarya.edu.tr (E. Karadeniz).
be estimated and their changing conditions during pro-
cess must be known before in order to obtain optimum
results; in fact a perfect arc can be achieved when all the
parameters are in conformity [4]. These are combined in
two groups as first order adjustable and second order
adjustable parameters defined before welding process.
Former are welding current, arc voltage and welding
speed, and later are torch angle, free wire length, nozzle
distance, welding direction, position and the flow rate of
gas [3,5]. However, wire electrode diameter and its com-
position, type of protective gas are the defined parame-
ters before starting welding and cannot be changed
during the process.
The enough penetration, high heating rate and right
welding profile occur the quality of welding joint. These
are affected from welding current, arc voltage, welding
speed and protective gas parameters [2,4–6]. Among

0261-3069/$ - see front matter  2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2005.07.014
650 E. Karadeniz et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656
all, welding current intensity has the strongest effect on
melting capacity, weld sealÕs size and geometry and
depth of penetration. It must be well determined in thin
parts, because excessive amounts of welding current and
a large welding bath cause high penetration depths. In
contrast to this, very low welding current causes inade-
quate penetration and so accumulation of welding metal
on base metal. When all parameters are held constant,
weld seal area expands with increasing voltage. Rela-
tively low welding speeds cause accumulation of welding
metal, large welding bath and so low penetration. The
deepest penetration values are obtained in optimum
values of welding speed [5]. Ar is the most common pro-
tective gas used in GMA welding and by mixing with
15–25 wt% CO2 gas the depth of penetration and size
and geometry of weld seal are reached the desired forms.
Therefore, the preferred protective gas is Ar + CO2 gas
mixture in industry.
Investigation into the relationship between the weld-
ing process parameters and bead geometry began in the
mid 1900s and regression analysis was applied to weld-
ing geometry research by Lee and Raveendra [7,8].
Many efforts have been carried out development of var-
ious algorithms in the modelling of arc welding process
[9,10]. McGlone and Chadwick [11] have reported a
mathematical analysis correlating process variables
and bead geometry for the submerged arc welding of
square edge close butts. Similar mathematical relation-
ship between welding variables and fillet weld geometry
for gas metal arc (GMA) welding using flux cored wires
have also been reported [12]. Chandel [13] first applied
this technique to the GMA welding process and investi-
gated relationship between process variables and bead
geometry. These results showed that arc current has
the greatest influence on bead geometry, and that math-
ematical models derived from experimental results can
be used to predict bead geometry accurately. Yang
et al. [14] has extended their study to the weld deposit
area and presented the effects of electrode polarity,
extension and diameter, welding current, arc voltage,
travel speed, power source setting and flux basicity on
the weld deposited area [2,15].
In present work, the effects of welding parameters like
welding current, arc voltage and welding speed on the
penetration of Erdemir 6842 steel welded by GMA weld-
ing process. In the light of obtained results, the appropri-
ate welding parameters were advised for the production
of air-pressure tubes from Erdemir 6842 steel sheets hav-
ing 2.5 mm thicknesses by using robotic arc welding.
Table 1
The chemical compositions of the specimens, wt%
C Mn
Base-metal (Erdemir 6842- DIN EN 10120) 0.16
Wire electrode (G3Si 1-DIN EN 440) 0.077
2. Experimental
The GMA welding process is a welding process which
yields coalescence of metals by heating with a welding
arc between a continuous filler metal electrode and the
workpiece. The continuous wire electrode which is
drawn from a reel by an automatic wire feeder and then
fed through the contact tip inside the welding torch is
melted by the internal resistive power and heat trans-
ferred from the welding arc. Heat is concentrated by
the welding arc from the end of the melting electrode
to the molten weld pool and by the molten metal that
is being transferred to the weld pool [16,17].
For the experimental studies, Erdemir 6842 steel
(DIN EN 10120) specimens having 60 · 30 · 2.5 sizes
were used as base-metal. This unalloyed steel is used
in the production of pressure-tubes. In addition, G3Si
l (SG2) wire electrode having 1 mm diameter was used
as filling metal. The spectrometric analysis of the speci-
mens was done via a Beirth Spectrometer and the chem-
ical compositions of both base-metal and wire electrode
were given in Table 1.
GMA welding operations were performed by means
of a DAIHEN Model DR Series ARK ROBO 1100
welding robot having a working capacity of 0–500 A
and 0–50 V ranges. The welding opening was fixed as
0.8 mm and the torch was centred. The welding robot
and its apparatus were shown in Fig. 1.
The constant parameters during welding process: The
thickness of base-metal is 2.5 mm, wire electrode diam-
eter is 1.0 mm, protective gas is 82 wt% Ar + 18 wt%
Fig. 1. The welding robot and its apparatus used in experiments.
Si S P
0.72 0.07 0.004 0.013
1.41 0.86 0.012 0.014
 E. Karadeniz et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656 651

Table 2
The depth of penetration results of welding operations
Welding current Arc voltage Welding speed Penetration
(A) (V) (cm/min) (mm)
95 22 40 2.46
60 2.51
80 2.36
24 40 2.61
60 2.67
80 2.56
26 40 2.64
Fig. 2. A schematic illustration of bead geometry [14]. 60 2.69
80 2.59

CO2 mixture, nozzle opening is 10 mm, the free wire 105 22 40 2.84
length is 15 mm wire feeding rate is 12 m/min, arc dis- 60 2.92
80 2.79
tance is 3 mm and the torch angle is 5. The variable 24 40 2.89
parameters are; welding current (I) as 95, 105 and 60 2.97
115 A, arc voltage (V) as 22, 24 and 26 V, the welding 80 2.84
speed (S) as 40, 60 and 80 cm/min selected for the weld- 26 40 2.98
ing experiments. 60 3.01
80 2.91
Having finished the welding processes, the specimens
were cut perpendicular to welding direction by using a 115 22 40 3.02
60 3.06
closed circuit saw cooled by boron oil in order to mea-
80 2.94
sure the depth of penetration. The cut surfaces were 24 40 3.11
grained with 600, 800 and 1200 numbered grinding pa- 60 3.14
per and etched with 10% HNO3 solution. The macro- 80 3.04
structure photos were taken from these etched surfaces 26 40 3.19
60 3.24
by means of a Nikon Stereo Zoom optical microscope
80 3.16
in 10· magnification. The penetration measurements
were done from macro-structure photos by using a
new vision program. A schematic illustration of bead
3.3
penetration in welding applications was shown in Fig. 2.
3.1
Penetration(mm)

3. Results and discussion 2.9

Totally 27 experiments with different welding current, 2.7

arc voltage and welding speed combinations were per-

2.5
formed and the depth of penetration was measured for
all cases. The results were tabulated as in Table 2. 2.3
90 95 100 105 110 115 120
3.1. The effect of welding current on penetration Welding Current (A)
22V 24V 26V
The effect of welding current on penetration was com-
mented according to the results shown in Table 2 and Fig. 3. Penetration vs. welding current diagram for 40 cm/min welding
Figs. 3–5. speed.
In Fig. 3, the welding speed was fixed as 40 cm/min
and the change in depth of penetration was drawn with increasing welding current for 22, 24 and 26 V. The big-
increasing welding current for 22, 24 and 26 V values. gest penetration value was obtained in 115 A and 26 V,
The biggest penetration value was obtained as 3.19 mm while the smallest one in 95 A and 22 V. The change is
in 115 A and 26 V condition, while the smallest one as similar to the conditions observed in 40 cm/min welding
2.46 mm in 95 A and 22 V. In all three conditions, the speed, the depth of penetration increases with increasing
depth of penetration increases with increasing welding welding current, especially in between 95 and 105 A.
current. This rise is linear for 24 and 26 V arc voltages, When we look Fig. 5, the change in depth of penetra-
whereas it is stronger for 22 V in between 95 and 105 A. tion exhibits same manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The
In Fig. 4, the welding speed was fixed as 60 cm/min biggest penetration value was measured as 3.16 mm in
and the change in depth of penetration was drawn with 115 A and 26 V, where the welding speed was fixed as
652 E. Karadeniz et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656

3.3 3.3

Pm(noitartenem)
3. 2
3.1
3.1
Penetration (mm)

3 2.9
2.9
2.7
2.8
2.7 2.5
2.6 2.3
2.5 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
2.4 Arc Voltage (V)
2.3
90 95 100 105 110 115 120 95 A 105 A 115 A

Welding Current (A)

Fig. 6. Penetration vs. arc voltage diagram for 40 cm/min constant
22V 24V 26V welding speed.

Fig. 4. Penetration vs. welding current diagram for 60 cm/min welding

speed.
3.3

Penetration(mm)
3.1

3.3 2.9
3.2
2.7
3.1
Penetration(mm)

3 2.5
2.9
2.3
2.8
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
2.7
2.6 Arc Voltage (V)
2.5 95 A 105 A 115 A
2.4
2.3 Fig. 7. Penetration vs. arc voltage diagram for 60 cm/min constant
90 95 100 105 110 115 120 welding speed.
Welding Current (A)
22V 24V 26V
3.3
Fig. 5. Penetration vs. welding current diagram for 80 cm/min welding
Penetration(mm)

3.1
speed.
2.9

2.7
80 cm/min this range was higher in between 95 and
2.5
105 A. After 105 A, it shows a linear increment trend
as in Figs. 3 and 4. This situation is convenient with 2.3
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
the literature [2,18]. Arc Voltage (V)
A linear increase in depth of penetration with increas-
95 A 105 A 115 A
ing welding current was observed commonly in all three
different welding speeds. These measured values in pen- Fig. 8. Penetration vs. arc voltage diagram for 80 cm/min constant
etration for each 1 A current rise in 40, 60 and 80 cm/ welding speed.
min were 0.0235, 0.0217 and 0.0225 mm, respectively.
voltages between 22 and 26 volt range and increase in
3.2. The effect of arc voltage on penetration depth of penetration is 0.18 mm for 95 A, 0.09 mm
for 105 A and 0.18 mm for 115 A.
The effect of arc voltage on penetration was com- In Fig. 8, there is a similar trend observed in Figs. 6
mented to the results shown in Table 2 and Figs. 6–8. and 7. Increased penetration values were 0.23, 0.12 and
It was seen in Fig. 6 that the depth of penetration val- 0.22 mm in 95, 105 and 115 A, respectively. The depth of
ues were increased with increasing arc voltages for 95, penetration increases with increasing arc voltage linearly
105 and 115 A and these were 0.18, 0.14 and 0.17 mm in three figures; however, these values are very low com-
in 95, 105 and 115 A, respectively, for a 4 V increment paring to welding current vs. penetration figures.
between 22 and 26 V arc voltages. However, these are
very low values for 40 cm/min constant welding speed. 3.3. The effect of welding speed on penetration
This situation was approximately same for a 60 cm/
min constant welding speed given in Fig. 7. A linear The graphs of penetration vs. welding speed were
penetration increase was observed with increasing arc drawn in 22, 24 and 26 V constant arc voltages for 95,
 E. Karadeniz et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656 653

105 and 115 A values. These were shown in Figs. 9–11.
The depth of penetration increases with increasing weld-
ing speed up to 60 cm/min point which was the optimum
value to obtain maximum penetration, because it begins
to decreasing after this point again linearly. This condi-
tion is convenient with the literature [5,18].
sured by a new vision program in 10· magnification.
The resulted photographs were given in Figs. 12–21.
In the light of macro-structure photos; reliable bead
heights and depth of penetration values were obtained

3.4. Macrostructure

The gas metal arc welded specimens were exposed to

metallographic investigation prior to macro-structure
survey which was the tool for the penetration measure-
ments. Bead height and depth of penetration were mea-

3.1
Penetration(mm)

2.9

2.7

2.5
Fig. 12. 95 A, 24 V, 60 cm/min condition. Depth of penetration,
P = 2.67 mm.
2.3
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Welding Speed (cm/min)

95 A 105 A 115 A

Fig. 9. Penetration vs. welding speed diagram for 22 V constant arc

voltage.

3.3
Penetration(mm)

3.1

2.9

2.7

2.5

2.3
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fig. 13. 95 A, 26 V, 40 cm/min condition. P = 2.64 mm.
Welding Speed (cm/min)
95 A 105 A 115 A

Fig. 10. Penetration vs. welding speed diagram for 24 V constant arc
voltage.

3.3
Penetration(mm)

3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
2.3
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Welding Speed (cm/min)

95 A 105 A 115 A

Fig. 11. Penetration vs. welding speed diagram for 26 V constant arc
voltage. Fig. 14. 95 A, 26 V, 60 cm/min condition. P = 2.69 mm.
654 E. Karadeniz et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656

Fig. 15. 105 A, 24 V, 80 cm/min condition. P = 2.84 mm.

Fig. 18. 95 A, 24 V, 40 cm/min condition. P = 2.61 mm. Not enough

penetration occured.

Fig. 16. 105 A, 26 V, 40 cm/min condition. P = 2.98 mm.

Fig. 19. 95 A, 26 V, 80 cm/min condition. P = 2.59 mm. Similar
situation with Figs. 17 and 18.

Fig. 17. 95 A, 22 V, 80 cm/min condition. P = 2.36 mm. It is obvious

that there is lack of penetration in root pass.
Fig. 20. 115 A, 26 V, 40 cm/min condition. P = 3.19 mm. An over-
penetrated weld joint.

in configurations shown in Figs. 12–16. Its measured

value changes from 2.64 to 2.98 mm for penetration. in these figures. Depth of penetration varies from 2.36 to
However, some configurations were not enough to 2.61 mm which are lower than that of others. We can
obtain a perfect weld seam like in Figs. 17–19. It is obvi- easily say that 95 A welding current is not enough to
ous that there is lack of penetration in root pass shown get good weld seam in root pass properly, so lower
 E. Karadeniz et al. / Materials and Design 28 (2007) 649–656
Fig. 21. 115 A, 26 V, 60 cm/min. P = 3.24 mm. Over-penetration in
bead geometry.
penetration values are measured and the strength of
weld joint decreases. In contrast to this situation, over-
penetrated specimens were given in Figs. 20 and 21 hav-
ing depth of penetration values as 3.19 and 3.24 mm,
respectively. Over-penetration is an unnecessary situa-
tion and waste of material, production costs rise. It
means weight increase in construction and structure be-
comes heavier. These are undesired events, so it is essen-
tial to prevent from over-penetration.
4. Conclusion
Automated robotic welding systems have received a
great deal of attention, since they are highly appropriate
both to increase production rate and quality and to de-
crease cost and production time for a desired product.
In order to obtain them, a complete control over the rel-
evant process parameters to get the required bead geom-
etry and which is also based on weldability is
indispensable. According to the results obtained from
robotic GMA welding applied to Erdemir 6842 steel
sheets having 2.5 mm thickness:
(1) The depth of penetration increases linearly with
increasing welding current between 95 and 115 A
and the average penetration rise was measured as
0.0225 mm for each 1 A current increment.
(2) In addition to welding current, arc voltage also
increases the penetration value by 0.02–0.12 mm
for 22–26 V, respectively. However, its effect is
not as much as welding currentÕs.
(3) When the welding speed was taken as a parameter,
the deepest penetration was obtained in 60 cm/min
one. The penetration values increases from 0.03 to
0.08 mm between 40 and 60 cm/min. Its value
decreases after this top point.
655
(4) In the light of macro-structure photos; reliable
bead heights and depth of penetration values were
obtained in configurations shown in Figs. 12–16.
The optimum configuration seems to be 105 A–
24 V–80 cm/min welding parameters to get appro-
priate penetration and weld joint.
(5) The effect of welding current approximately 2.5
times greater than that of arc voltage and welding
speed on penetration.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the supports of ISE, Inno-
vation Systems Europe Automotive Co. and Mercedes
Benz-Turk, Aksaray, Turkey.
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