201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 133 WELDING RESEARCH Classification of Metal Transfer Mode in Underwater Wet Welding Experiments were conducted to classify the metal transfer mode in underwater wet welding at shallow water depth BY N. GUO, Y. FU, J. FENG, Y. DU, Z. DENG, M. WANG, AND D. TANG ABSTRACT The metal transfer process of underwater flux­cored wet welding with a water depth of 0.5 m is observed using an x­ray transmission method for arc voltages from 24 to 46 V and a welding current from 237 to 440 A. Four fundamental metal transfer modes are found: the globular repelled transfer mode, the surface tension transfer mode, the explo­ sive short­circuit transfer mode, and the “submerged arc transfer mode,” while the explosive short­circuit transfer mode is rarely observed. In contrast to onshore welding, the metal transfer mode of underwater wet welding is a mixed transfer mode rather than a single transfer mode; this mode mainly consists of two or more fundamental metal transfer modes, including the globular repelled transfer mode, the surface tension trans­ fer mode, and the “submerged arc transfer mode.” The proportion of the fundamental transfer modes constituting the mixed transfer mode changes with variations in the welding current and arc voltage. The mixed mode is divided into four types according to the different categories of fundamental modes in the mixed mode, as represented by a transfer mode map. The metal transfer process of underwater wet welding is unstable, necessitating control by adjusting the composition of welding materials or improvement in the properties of welding equipment. KEYWORDS • Underwater Wet Welding • Metal Transfer • Transfer Mode • X­ray Transmission Method Introduction With the rapid development of marine engineering in recent years, the underwater welding technology mainly containing wet and dry methods has been widely used in the manufacture and maintenance of offshore structures (Refs. 1, 2). Compared with the dry and local cavity methods, the wet method is used directly in the aqueous environment and does not require any mechanical protection measures between the water and welding arc. Due to the simplicity of the welding process, wet welding is considered the most flexible method used to weld even the most geometrically complex constructions (Refs. 3, 4). However, because there is no mechanical barrier between water and the welding arc in the underwater wet method, the ambient pressure leads to unstable burning of the welding arc, resulting in an increased amount of welding spatter. Due to the water dissociation and weld material, the porosity content increases in the weld joint, which causes a reduction of its mechanical properties. Because the cooling rate in the wet method is accelerated by the effect of the surrounding water, the quenching of the structure increases, leading to a decrease in the ductility of the welded metal and the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Furthermore, owing to the oxi- dation of the weld pool, more alloy elements were oxidized and transferred into the slag from the weld pool in wet welding, compared with onshore welding (Refs. 4–7). The water depth is a crucial factor influencing the welding stability, and the maximum depth for using wet welding with covered electrodes or flux-cored wire is 100 meters, because increasing water depth makes the welding arc unstable and the welding process more difficult and complex (Refs. 3, 8). In recent years, many works have been carried out to reveal the welding mechanism and improve the welding quality in underwater wet welding. The joint quality of underwater wet welding was affected by the Ni content in weld metal, which helps decrease the coarse strip PF in the columnar grain zone. Through suitable addition of Ni into the covering of electrodes, the mechanical properties of the joint, such as tensile strength and impact toughness, would be improved (Ref. 9). An oxyrutile electrode used in wet welding was developed to decrease the diffusible hydrogen and improve the mechanical properties of the weld metal, while maintaining its great operability (Ref. 10). Through modification of the composition of electrode coatings, for example, adding manganese, titanium, boron, as well as rare earth metals (REM) to the electrode coatings, it is possible to improve the mechanical properties of welds by controlling the weld metal chemical composition and reducing the negative effects caused by increasing water depth in underwater shielded metal arc weld- N. GUO (gn21c@126.com) and J. FENG are with the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining and the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Spe­ cial Welding Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin and Weihai, China. Y. FU, Y. DU, and M. WANG are also at Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Special Welding Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, China. Z. DENG is with the School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Insti­ tute of Technology, Harbin, China, and D. TANG is with the Department of Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China. APRIL 2016 / WELDING JOURNAL 133-s 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 134 WELDING RESEARCH ing (SMAW) (Ref. 7). A three-dimensional heat transfer simulation model using the finite difference method of wet welding was established, and, consequently, temperature profile, thermal history curves, and cooling time of weldments were obtained (Ref. 11). A heat-assisted method using realtime induction was employed in the wet welding process in such a way as to decrease the cooling rate of the weldment in aqueous environments (Ref. 12). Problems mentioned previously in wet welding are closely related to the particular features of heat and mass transfer that arise from the impact of the water environment and the ambient pressure in underwater wet welding. Metal transfer is a major mass transfer channel in the welding process that plays a significant role in determining the arc stability, welding spatter, welding appearance, and welding quality (Refs. 13, 14). Hence, for the development of underwater wet welding technology, it is important to observe the metal transfer behavior and investigate its mechanism and characteristics. For onshore welding, many studies have been performed to elucidate the metal transfer mode used to define the characteristic behavior of the droplet transfer process (Refs. 15–20), and those studies have generally used highspeed videography with laser backlighting, referred to as the visible light method. A determinant contribution to the classification of metal transfer mode was established in 1976 by the International Institute of Welding (IIW), which was published by Prof. Lancaster (Ref. 15). Three metal transfer modes of self-shielded flux-cored arc welding were observed: bridging transfer without arc interruption in explosive form or by surface tension, globular repelled transfer, and droplet transfer (Ref. 16). It was found that the droplet transition modes of plasma-gas metal arc welding (GMAW) on aluminum alloys included globular transfer, short-circuiting transfer, metastable spray transfer, and projected transfer (Ref. 17). In GMAW, controlled transfer modes were observed, defined as the modes with transfers forced by additional electrical signal or mechanical control in contrast with the natural transfer modes (Ref. 18); the Fig. 1 — Schematic of the x­ray imaging system and electric signal detection system. interchangeable GMAW modes were found, which are composed of two or more natural modes changing periodically according to certain rules (Ref. 19). By applying the bypass current, the metal transfer mode changed from the short-circuiting mode to the globular mode, and the metal transfer frequency increased by about 50% in GMAW-GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding) double-sided arc welding (Ref. 20). However, most of these investigations of metal transfer using the visible light method focused on the onshore welding; the metal transfer process in underwater wet welding cannot be examined by this method due to the reflection and absorption of visible light by the water and perturbation of the bubbles surrounding the arc burning area. To monitor the transfer process and investigate the transfer characteristics in the underwater wet welding, the x-ray transmission method has been developed to obtain the transfer images of wet welding (Refs. 21–23). The non-shortcircuiting transfer mode of a rutile covered electrode was observed during underwater wet welding with x-ray flash (Ref. 21). By using the x-ray transmission method, clear, highspeed images of the droplet transfer process in underwater flux-cored wire wet welding were captured. Consequently, the transfer characteristics and behavior were investigated (Ref. 134-s WELDING JOURNAL / APRIL 2016, VOL. 95 Table 1 — Welding Parameters Welding Parameters Value Arc voltage Welding current Contact tip­to­work distance Travel speed Water depth 24–46 V 237–440 A 20 mm 1.5 mm/s 0.5 m 22). As an example, for an arc voltage of 24 V and a welding current of 240 A in wet welding, the combination transfer mode that includes globular repelled transfer and short-circuit transfer is observed. In this transfer process, repulsive forces, including the electromagnetic force, vaporization force, and gas flow drag force, act on the droplet; the repelled transfer mode is observed for 90% of the droplet transfer (Ref. 23). To date, the metal transfer modes at different welding parameters in underwater wet welding have not been adequately investigated. By using the x-ray transmission method, the objective of this work was to classify the metal transfer modes in underwater wet welding and investigate transfer mode characteristics, such as the transfer frequency and droplet size. The influence of the transfer modes on welding spatter and welding appearance was also investigated to determine the optimal modes and con- 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 135 WELDING RESEARCH A B C D E F tigating the metal transfer mode comprehensively at wide ranges of welding current and arc voltage in underwater wet welding, in which the range of the welding current was from 237 to 440 A, while that of the arc voltage was from 24 to 47 V. Under different combinations of welding current and arc voltage, four fundamental metal transfer modes could be observed during the underwater wet welding: the globular repelled transfer mode, the surface tension transfer mode, the explosive short-circuit transfer mode, and the “submerged arc transfer mode,” while the explosive short-circuit transfer mode is rarely observed. In this paper, these four fundamental modes are described below. Fig. 2 — Metal transfer process of the globular repelled transfer mode. Globular Repelled Transfer Mode Table 2 — Chemical Composition of Q235 Base Metal C Mn Si S P Q235 0.14­0.22 0.30­0.65 ≤0.30 ≤0.05 ≤0.045 trol the droplet transfer behavior. Experimental Procedures Bead-on-plate welding was carried out on carbon structural steel (Q235) with dimensions of 200 × 60 × 18 mm, whose chemical composition is shown in Table 2. The welding material was TiO2-CaF2-CaO-SiO2 slag system selfshielded flux-cored wire with a diameter of 1.6 mm. To observe the metal transfer modes in underwater wet welding, a series of specimens was welded at different combinations of welding current (wire feed speed) and arc voltage with direct current electrode positive (DCEP). A SAF-FRO DIGI@WAVE500 welding power supply was used as the constant voltage welding power source, with the specific welding parameters shown in Table 1. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the x-ray imaging system and electric signal detection system for underwater wet welding. The x-ray imaging system consists of a microfocused x-ray tube, an image intensifier transforming the x-ray transmission images into visible images, and a high-speed camera that operates at a speed of 2000 frames per second; the electric signal detection system is used to collect arc voltage and welding current signals synchronized with the film frames. Because the wavelength of x-rays is considerably shorter than that of visible light, x-rays have higher energy and can therefore traverse relatively thick objects. When traversing the objects, xrays can also be absorbed by the material, and the ability of the material to absorb the x-rays depends on its density and thickness. Due to their transmission and absorption properties, the use of x-rays can overcome the effects of the water and bubble perturbation surrounding the arc burning area and enable the capture of highcontrast images of the droplet transfer process in underwater wet welding. Using this x-ray imaging system, clear images of metal transfer were successfully obtained from welding experiments in wet welding at different combinations of welding current (wire feed speed) and arc voltage. Results and Discussion Fundamental Metal Transfer Modes A series of welding experiments were carried out with the aim of inves- Figure 2 presents a typical example of globular repelled transfer mode in underwater wet welding. During the globular repelled transfer, the droplet formed from the molten metal on the tip of the wire grew and spun around the wire tip. From 2.0245 to 2.1665 s, the droplet went through different steps: an upward rise, a downward drop and a rotation from the right side of the wire to the left side. When the droplet reached its maximum size at 2.1665 s, the droplet separated from the wire tip under the action of its own weight and transferred to the weld pool, and the arc voltage increased from 43.4 to 65.3 V. Meanwhile, the welding current decreased from 290.4 to 138.4 A, as shown in Fig. 3. A longer arc length is clearly beneficial for the formation of the globular repelled transfer. Therefore, the proportion of the globular repelled transfer mode in the mixed mode will rise with increasing arc voltage and/or decreasing welding current. Analysis of the transfer frequency and the droplet diameter of the globular repelled transfer mode for an arc voltage of 24–46 V and a welding current of 237–440 A shows that the average transfer frequency at different welding parameters of the globular repelled transfer mode varies from 5.6 to 18.8 droplets per second, whereas the average droplet diameter of the globular repelled transfer mode varies from 2.8 APRIL 2016 / WELDING JOURNAL 135-s 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 136 WELDING RESEARCH Fig. 3 — Arc voltage and welding current of the globular repelled transfer mode. A B Fig. 4 — Force condition schematic of the globular re­ pelled transfer mode. C Fig. 5 — Globular repelled spatters. A B C Fig. 7 — Force condition schematic of the surface tension transfer mode. D E F Fig. 6 — Metal transfer process of the surface tension transfer mode. to 3.54 mm. Based on the metal transfer static force balance theory, the metal transfer process is determined by forces acting on the droplet. In underwater wet welding, before the molten droplet contacts the weld pool, the droplet is affected by gas flow drag force (FL), 136-s gravitational force (G), plasma drag force (F1), electromagnetic force (Fe), surface tension (Fs), and vaporization force (Fa) (Ref. 23), as shown in Fig. 4. As the bubbles detached and rose up in the water periodically, the gas flow drag force (FL) generated and repelled the droplet when the droplet WELDING JOURNAL / APRIL 2016, VOL. 95 came in contact with gas in the bubble, causing the repulsive force of metal transfer to increase obviously. The droplets tended to be repelled toward one side of the wire tip, as shown in Fig. 2. Because the repulsive force increased obviously, the droplet deviated from the wire axis after it detached from the wire tip. Such strong deviations made it likely that the detached droplet would fall outside the weld pool, producing large-particle spatters, as shown in Fig. 5. Surface Tension Transfer Mode In underwater wet welding, the surface tension transfer mode, characterized by the surface tension, is one of the short-circuit transfer modes. Its representative process is shown in Fig. 6. From 0.6420 to 0.7290 s, the droplet formed on the tip of the wire, 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 137 WELDING RESEARCH Fig. 8 — Arc voltage and welding current of the surface tension transfer mode. A B C D E F Fig. 9 — Metal transfer process of the explosive short­circuit transfer mode. A B C D E F Fig. 10 — Arc voltage and welding current of the explo­ sive short­circuit transfer mode. grew, and spun around the wire axis, similar to the globular repelled transfer mode. As the droplet grew, it bridged the gap between the wire tip and weld pool and finally contacted the pool at 0.7290 s, creating a liquid bridge. The surface tension (Fs) and electromagnetic force (Fe) came into being between the droplet and weld pool, which accelerated the droplet transfer from solid wire to weld pool, as shown in Fig. 7. The metal transfer process then entered the short-circuit stage. When the droplet contacted the weld pool surface, the arc voltage descended from 35.9 to 12.6 V and the welding current rose rapidly from 49.1 to 416.2 A, as shown in Fig. 8. From 0.7290 to 0.7515 s, a necking emerged from the liquid bridge under the combined action of the surface tension and electromagnetic force between the droplet and weld pool; this is the surface tension transfer stage, which is characteristic of the surface tension transfer mode. At 0.7515 s, the liquid bridge was broken, and the droplet Fig. 11 — Metal transfer process of the “submerged arc transfer mode.” was ultimately from the wire axis. At 2.6050 s, the transferred into the weld pool. Statisdroplet contacted the molten pool and tical analysis of the transfer frequency the transfer process entered the shortand droplet diameter shows that for circuit transfer stage, in which a liquid an arc voltage of 24–46 V and a weldbridge was created, and the surface ing current of 237–440 A, the average tension (Fs) and electromagnetic force transfer frequency of this mode varies (Fe) came into being consequently, as from 5.18 to 17.5 droplets per second shown in Fig. 7. and the average droplet diameter From 2.6050 to 2.6325 s, no neckvaries from 2.8 to 3.77 mm. In this ing was present in the liquid bridge, surface tension transfer mode, the and the droplet was not directly transdroplet transferred smoothly and few ferred into the molten pool under the spatters were generated during the combined effect of electromagnetic transfer process; thus, this mode was force and surface tension force. The identified as the ideal mode. electrical signal oscillogram of this transfer process is shown in Fig. 10. Explosive Short­Circuit Transfer Mode When the droplet contacted the weld pool at 2.6050 and 2.6325 s, the The explosive short-circuit transfer welding current increased from 35.6 to mode, characterized by the explosive 339.1 A and from 39.4 to 377.6 A, transfer process, is another short-circuit respectively. transfer mode, as shown in Fig. 9. At 2.6450 s, the liquid bridge exFrom 2.5615 to 2.6050 s, the metal ploded due to the soaring welding curtransfer process was similar to the rent or internal metallurgical reaction, globular repelled transfer mode, in generating explosive spatters and which the growing droplet is repelled APRIL 2016 / WELDING JOURNAL 137-s 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 138 WELDING RESEARCH A B C Fig. 13 — Explosive spatter. Fig. 12 — Arc voltage and welding current of the “submerged arc transfer mode.” causing the droplet to be repelled violently into the weld pool at the same time. Through analysis of the transfer frequency and droplet diameter of the explosive short-circuit transfer mode, it is concluded the average transfer frequency of this mode is approximately 10.04 droplets per second and that the average droplet diameter is approximately 3.03 mm. In underwater wet welding, the explosive shortcircuit transfer mode is seen less, and the dominant short-circuit transfer mode is surface tension transfer mode. Submerged Arc Transfer Mode Owing to the effect of arc force on the molten pool surface, the liquid metal is pushed aside and a depressed cavity forms directly below the arc. Consequently, when the arc length gets shorter, the tip of the wire enters into the depressed cavity. Thus, the metal transfer process could not be observed clearly in the transfer images. This transfer phenomenon is called “submerged arc transfer mode.” The transfer images of this process are shown in Fig. 11. At the beginning of the transfer process (from 1.3865 to 1.3975 s), the solid wire melted and entered into the depressed cavity. From 1.3975 to 1.5125 s, the molten metal was directly transferred into the weld pool, leading to the appearance of the “submerged arc transfer mode.” Obviously, a shorter arc length is favorable for the appearance of the “submerged arc transfer mode.” The electrical signal oscillogram of “submerged arc transfer mode” is shown in Fig. 12; while the wire tip enters into the Fig. 14 — Arc voltage–welding current diagram illustrating the distri­ depressed bution of mixed transfer modes: A — Globular repelled transfer cavity, the mode, surface tension transfer mode; B — globular repelled transfer droplet conmode, surface tension transfer mode, and “submerged arc transfer tacts the weld mode”; C — “submerged arc transfer mode”; D — surface tension pool easily transfer mode and “submerged arc transfer mode”; E — the welding and a succescould not be carried out. sive short-circuit phenommode, surface tension transfer mode, enon occurs, causing the arc voltage and “submerged arc transfer mode.” and welding current to fluctuate The type of mixed transfer mode is acutely. related to the welding parameter valDuring the transfer process of this ues and is typically represented mode, the molten pool easily generthrough the transfer mode map. Figates explosions due to the rising curure 14 shows the distribution diagram rent emerging frequently while the of mixed transfer modes for different wire tip enters the depressed cavity; arc voltages and welding currents. this gives rise to explosive spatter and Based on the different categories of makes the transfer process unstable, the fundamental modes constituting as shown in Fig. 13. the mixed modes, Fig. 14 was divided Mixed Transfer Mode In underwater wet welding, the metal transfer mode under certain welding parameters is not the single transfer mode but the mixed transfer mode. As the explosive short-circuit transfer mode is rarely observed, the mixed transfer mode is mainly composed of three different fundamental modes, i.e., globular repelled transfer 138-s WELDING JOURNAL / APRIL 2016, VOL. 95 into five regions, where every region represents a type of mixed mode, except for region E, where the welding could not be carried out. The relative proportions of the fundamental modes in mixed modes also change with variations in the welding parameters, and their variations are shown in Fig. 15. Due to the large arc voltage or small welding current, the arc length in the region of Fig. 14A is longer, giving the 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 139 WELDING RESEARCH A B C D Fig. 15 — Proportions of fundamental metal transfer modes in mixed transfer modes: RP – globular repelled transfer mode; ST – surface tension transfer mode; S – “sub­ merged arc transfer mode.” A B C D Fig. 16 — Weld appearance for different main fundamental transfer modes in the mixed transfer mode: A — Globular repelled transfer mode; B — surface tension transfer mode; C — surface tension transfer mode and “submerged arc transfer mode”; D — “sub­ merged arc transfer mode.” droplet sufficient time to grow before contacting the weld pool. Therefore, the fundamental modes during this type of mixed transfer mode are the globular repelled transfer mode and the surface tension transfer mode. For an arc voltage of 42 V and a welding current of 290 A, the percentage of the globular repelled transfer mode in this welding process is 68%, considerably higher than that of the surface tension transfer mode; therefore, the globular repelled transfer mode is the main fundamental mode. As shown in Fig. 16A, when the globular repelled transfer mode is the main fundamental mode, large droplets emerge frequently and the welding appearance is nonuniform. With the decrease in the arc voltage and increase in the welding current, the arc becomes shorter and the melting speed of the wire accelerates, making the droplet touch the weld pool more easily so that the proportion of the globular repelled transfer mode decreases and that of the surface tension transfer mode increases, as shown in Fig. 15A and B. At an arc voltage of 34 V and a welding current of 290 A, the surface tension transfer mode is the main fundamental mode, comprising 77% of the welding process, which is considerably higher than the contribution of the globular repelled transfer mode. During this welding process, the droplets transfer steadily and few spatters could be observed, causing the smooth and uniform weld ripples shown in Fig. 16C. When the welding parameters enter the region of Fig. 14B, the type of mixed transfer mode changes and the mixed mode includes all three fundamental modes. For example, the “submerged arc transfer mode” is also observed when the arc voltage decreases from 46 to 42 V at a welding current of 368 A. At an arc voltage of 34 V and a welding current of 368 A, the main fundamental modes are the surface tension transfer mode and the “submerged arc transfer mode,” comprising 49 and 41% of the welding process, respectively. The welding appearance under these welding conditions is shown in Fig. 16C. As the arc voltage decreases further and the welding current increases further, the contributions of the globular repelled transfer mode and the surface tension transfer mode decrease, whereas that of the “submerged arc transfer mode” increase significantly, as shown in Fig. 15C and D. When the welding parameters enter the region of Fig. 14C, the arc length decreases sharply and the mixed transfer mode type changes such that only the “submerged arc transfer mode” is observed in the transfer process. For example, when the arc voltage is 30 V and the welding current is 440 A, the only fundamental metal transfer mode is the “submerged arc transfer mode.” During this transfer mode, explosions of the molten pool occur frequently, causing small explosive spatters and a nonuniform weld appearance, as shown in Fig. APRIL 2016 / WELDING JOURNAL 139-s 201573 Supplement Guo_Layout 1 3/10/16 4:31 PM Page 140 WELDING RESEARCH 16D. When the welding current ranges from 237 to 368 A and the arc voltage decreases to 28 V or less, the welding parameters enter the region of Fig. 14D, where the mixed transfer mode is composed of the surface tension transfer mode and the “submerged arc transfer mode.” Here, the surface tension transfer mode is the main fundamental transfer mode, comprising 75% of the welding process. Conclusions In the present study, the metal transfer mode and the transfer characteristics in underwater wet welding are investigated by the x-ray transmission method. The following conclusions can be drawn based on the obtained results: 1. Using the x-ray transmission method, four of the fundamental metal transfer modes are found in underwater wet welding: the globular repelled transfer mode, the surface tension transfer mode, the explosive short-circuit transfer mode, and the “submerged arc transfer mode,” while the explosive short-circuit transfer mode is rarely observed. 2. Under the same welding parameters, the metal transfer mode is composed of different fundamental transfer modes, defined as the mixed transfer mode. For example, when the welding current is 368 A and the arc voltage is 42 V, the mixed transfer mode consists of 26% globular repelled transfer mode, 61% surface tension transfer mode, and 13% “submerged arc transfer mode.” 3. 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