Characterization of the effects of high-intensity negative current pulses on metal transfer and melting rate in the AC-GMAW process

The use of variants of the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process has become an affordable option in industry. Alternating current–gas metal arc welding (AC-GMAW) arises as one of them, providing additional degrees of freedom for process controllability and versatility. This study focused on the analysis of a complex waveform of the AC-GMAW process for welding stainless steel, employed in modern synergic programs, which has not been widely disseminated in the technical literature and assessed scientifically. The main objective was to characterize the effects of high-intensity pulses in negative polarity over the process and to discuss the potential of this strategy, since it has not been used in conventional AC synergic programs. In order to bring to light information on the phenomena involved, such as the arc climbing on the wire electrode, advanced techniques of high-speed videography were used, synchronized with the acquisition of electrical welding process signals, as well as infrared thermography, to verify the evolution of the cooling of the piece after welding. The results grounded discussions on different AC-GMAW waveforms. The process’ electrical data, along with images of the arc and analysis of the wire melting and workpiece thermal behavior, showed that there was a significant visible increase in wire melting during the negative pulse. In addition, it evidenced how the negative electrode increment contributed to the increase in wire melting even at lower power and also showed the thermal effects on the workpiece.