Experimental and numerical study of the effects of deposition speed and arc power on a single AISI 308L WAAM bead

This paper investigates the impact of deposition speed and arc power on the geometry of a single AISI 308L bead deposited by wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). The study reveals that bead width and wetting angles are significantly influenced by arc power. Optimal bead geometry, with good wetting angle and aspect ratio, was achieved by 1700 W arc power and 9 mm/s deposition speed. The complex dynamics of the process are probably too intricate and cannot be adequately captured by a second-order polynomial in the response surface methodology. Otherwise, the numerical model introduced in this paper accurately simulates the drop formation and its influence on bead geometry under various process conditions. It suggests that high arc power enhances the melt rate and drop growth, causing better melt pool spreading and improving bead geometry. The numerical model was calibrated by thermography and shows that the deposition speed affects the dependency thermal curves.