Measurement and Control of Dynamic Weld Pool Surface in Gas Metal Arc Welding

本研究的目的是(1)同时测量熔池表面的三维形状和熔滴在熔化极气体保护焊过程中的生长、剥离和运动轨迹；(2)用同步测量的方法验证熔池表面受电弧和熔滴特征参数控制的假设。该方法是：(1)对从熔池表面投射的激光的镜面反射成像，同时测量熔池表面和熔滴特征参数；(2)利用电弧和熔滴特征参数调整熔池表面形状；(3)根据所需的电弧和熔滴特征参数确定如何改变焊接参数。气体保护焊是自动焊接中应用最广泛的工艺。该研究的完成将有助于更好地理解这一复杂的过程，并为开发下一代智能焊机提供基础。多学科研究和协作活动将为参与的研究生和本科生提供机会，引领制造业从低技术产业向高科技产业转变。此外，高中生也会加入这项具有挑战性的研究，因此可能会被工程领域所吸引。这项研究还将为高级设计项目提供极好的材料。该专题网站的开发将提供一个循序渐进的程序，指导世界各地的研究人员为他们的研究建造传感器。

The objective of this research is to (1) simultaneously measure the three-dimensional shape of weld pool surface and the growth, detachment and trajectory of molten metal droplets in gas metal arc welding, and (2) use the simultaneous measurements to test the hypothesis that the weld pool surface is controlled by the arc and droplet characteristic parameters. The approach is to (1) image the specular reflection of a projected laser from the weld pool surface to simultaneously measure the weld pool surface and droplet characteristic parameters, (2) use the arc and droplet characteristic parameters to adjust the weld pool surface shape, and (3) use the required arc and droplet characteristic parameters to determine how to change the welding parameters.Gas metal arc welding is the most widely used process in automatic welding. The completion of the research will be of significant help in better understanding this complex process and provide the foundation to develop next generation intelligent welding machines. The multi-disciplinary research and collaborative activities will provide participating graduate and undergraduate students with opportunities to lead the change of manufacturing industry from being a "low-tech" to high-tech industry. Also, a high school senior would join in the challenging research and thus may be attracted to the engineering field. The research would also provide excellent materials for senior design projects. The development of the special website will provide a step-by-step procedure to guide researchers around the world to build the sensor for their research.