Analysis of magnetic flux density distribution through magnetically impelled arc butt (MIAB) welding of different steel tube thicknesses of T11 and T91

Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt (MIAB) welding is a solid-state pressure welding for joining tubes and pipes that uses electromagnetic force to produce heat and the upsetting of joining the components. The magnetic flux density is a critical influencing parameter in this welding process since it governs arc rotation and improves the weld quality of the material. Other MIAB welding variables, including the exciting coil current, coil position, and the gap size between the tubes, also influence the magnetic flux density. This work aims to analyze the magnetic flux density distribution in MIAB welding with the different thicknesses (such as 2, 3, 4 and 5 mm) of T11 and T91 tubes with an outer diameter of 45 mm. The finite element method (FEM) utilized for simulating the distribution of magnetic flux density in MIAB welding with the constant input parameters are coil position from the weld region is 20 mm, the air gap distance between the tube is 2 mm, and exciting current on the coil is 2A. From the analysis, the higher magnetic flux density value of 1.9377 T is obtained for the lower thickness of 2 mm. The magnetic flux density values are 1.5166 T, 1.1834 T and 1.0091 T for the tube thickness of 3, 4 and 5 mm, respectively. It is found that the magnetic flux density increases with the lower tube thickness, which leads to improved arc rotation.