Heat transfer enhancement in gas tungsten arc welding using azimuthal magnetic fields generated by external current

This paper proposes the idea to enhance the heat transfer in Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) by using the azimuthal magnetic field. The azimuthal magnetic field generated by the external currents makes the Lorentz force stronger, and consequently improves the heat transfer by the faster flow movement. The enhanced heat transfer might improve the welding performance by increasing the temperature at the workpiece. To validate the proposed idea, a two-dimensional axi-symmetric model of GTAW is built, and the multiphysics simulation of GTAW is carried out. As the analysis result, the distributions of electric current, electromagnetic fields, arc flow velocity, and temperature are investigated. Then, the proposed idea for heat transfer enhancement is validated by comparing the Lorentz force, flow velocity, and temperature distribution with and without azimuthal magnetic fields.