Effects of Welding Time and Electrical Power on Thermal Characteristics of Welding Spatter for Fire Risk Analysis

Abstract

To predict the fire risk of spatter generated during shielded metal arc welding, the thermal characteristics of welding spatter were analyzed according to different welding times and electrical powers supplied to the electrode. An experimental apparatus for controlling the contact angle between the electrode and base metal as well as the feed rate was prepared. Moreover, the correlations among the volume, maximum diameter, scattering velocity, maximum number, and maximum temperature of the welding spatter were derived using welding power from 984–2067 W and welding times of 30 s, 50 s, and 70 s. It was found that the volume, maximum diameter, and maximum number of welding spatters increased proportionally as the welding time and electrical power increased, but the scattering velocity decreased as the particle diameter increased regardless of the welding time and electrical power. When the measured maximum temperature of the welding spatter was compared with an empirical formula, the accuracy of the results was confirmed to be within ±7% of the experimental constant C=112.414×Pe−0.5045. Results of this study indicate quantitatively predicting the thermal characteristics of welding spatter is possible for minimizing the risk of fire spread when the electrode type and welding power is known.