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The effect of flux ratio on metal transfer behavior during metal-cored arc welding was elucidated through investigation using a standard solid wire and three metal-cored wires with flux mass ratios of (2-2) 10%, 15%, and 20%. Investigation was performed using a shadowgraph technique based on images recorded with a high-speed camera equipped with back-laser illumination. We observed that the droplet transfer frequency increased with both the welding current and flux ratio, with the effect of flux ratio being more dominant at low currents. We surmise that this is because the wire sheath area decreases as the flux ratio is increased. Hence, when the welding current is the same, a reduction in the sheath area (i.e., an increase in flux content) leads to an increase in the current density in the sheath, which enlarges the electromagnetic force at the tip of the wire and aids droplet detachment. Conversely, Joule heating is higher at high welding currents than at low currents. This increased temperature shortens the flux column inside the wire, such that the current flow into the molten droplets is more uniform. Hence, the droplet transfer frequency does not increase significantly if the flux ratio is increased in the high current range.

The metal transfer behavior of gas metal arc welding in a pure argon shielding gas was evaluated through experiments using a standard solid wire and a metal-cored wire. The investigation was conducted using observation techniques based on recording images by a high-speed camera equipped with laser assistance and bandpass filters in a range of welding currents. It was observed that the metal transfer mode became a streaming transfer mode when the welding current increased in the solid wire. Meanwhile, in the metal-cored wire, the droplet transfer frequency increased, and the droplet diameter decreased without changing the metal transfer mode in the globular transfer mode. We surmised that the streaming transfer in the solid wire would be caused by the spread of argon plasma at the wire tip, which decreases the effect of the electromagnetic force on droplet detachment. Conversely, due to the presence of flux inside the metal-cored wire, the argon plasma could not spread and was attached close to the iron vapor plasma at the overhead of the droplet. Hence, the electromagnetic force acting on the side of the unmelted flux was ineffective at promoting droplet detachment, preventing the transition to a streaming transfer mode. Furthermore, weld bead formation in the metal-cored wire was better than that in a conventional solid wire.

This study aimed to clarify the effect of wire structure and alkaline elements in wire composition on metal transfer behavior in metal-cored arc welding (MCAW). A comparison of metal transfer in pure argon gas was carried out using a solid wire (wire 1), a metal-cored wire without an alkaline element (wire 2), and another metal-cored wire with 0.084 mass% of sodium (wire 3). The experiments were conducted under 280 and 320 A welding currents, observed by high-speed imaging techniques equipped with laser assistance and bandpass filters. At 280 A, wire 1 showed a streaming transfer mode, while the others showed a projected one. When the current was 320 A, the metal transfer of wire 2 changed to streaming, while wire 3 remained projected. As sodium has a lower ionization energy than iron, the mixing of sodium vapor into the iron plasma increases its electrical conductivity, raising the proportion of current flowing through metal vapor plasma. As a result, the current flows to the upper region of the molten metal on the wire tip, with the resulting electromagnetic force causing droplet detachment. Consequently, the metal transfer mode in wire 3 remained projected. Furthermore, weld bead formation is the best for wire 3.