Abstract
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This study considers the use of the gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding process in
conjunction with ‘cold’ wire addition to give layer-wise build-up of thin walled structures,
simulating those commonly found in aerospace applications, which may in the future be
manufactured by additive means. Taguchi DOE and multiple regression analysis methods have
been applied to quantitatively establish relationships between common process parameters
including arc length, arc current, travel speed and wire feed speed and resulting weld bead
geometries and actual metal deposition rates. Mathematical expressions for build-up height,
thickness and surface roughness are presented and evaluated against experimental data, with
observations related to physical phenomena.