Flow dynamics in arc welding

The state of the art for numerical computations has now advanced so that the capability is within sight of calculating weld shapes for any arc current, welding gas, welding material or configuration. Inherent in these calculations is "flow dynamics" applied to plasma flow in the arc and liquid metal flow in the weld pool. Examples of predictions which are consistent with experiment are discussed for (1) conventional tungsten inert gas welding (2) the effect of a fraction of a percent of sulfur in steel, which can increase weld depth by more than a factor of two through changes in the surface tension (3) the effect of a flux, which can produce increased weld depth due to arc constriction (4) use of aluminium instead of steel, when the much larger thermal conductivity of aluminium greatly reduces the weld depth and (5) addition of a few percent of hydrogen to argon, which markedly increases weld depth.