Feasibility of cold wire gas metal arc welding AA5052 H-32

The feasibility of applying cold wire gas metal arc welding (CW-GMAW) is evaluated by comparison to standard gas metal arc welding (GMAW) 5 mm-thick AA5052 butt-joints. The results show that the variability in porosity (and potentially overall total) is decreased by feeding 20 or 40 % additional cold wire in CW-GMAW welds, and with weld metal microstructures comparable to standard GMAW welds. In terms of nominal heat input, CW-GMAW offers lower values with increased deposition rates, and thermal distortion could be decreased by feeding 20 or 40 % additional cold wire in CW-GMAW welds. The microstructures in CW-GMAW appear to be more refined compared to standard GMAW.