Abstract
ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF SAFE WELDING FUMES IN TIG WELDING
Eki M. U., Achebo J. I. and Ozigagun A.*
ABSTRACT
The TIG welding processes are accompanied by some toxic aero-disperse particles which can affect the lungs and respiratory system of welders. This paper has developed a near optimal solution to minimize the fume concentration in TIG welding by systematically applying the genetic algorithm approach. A set of individual solutions characterized by genes such as current, voltage and gas flow rate has been considered. Optimal solution was achieved by population, selection, rossover and mutation procedures. The iteration was performed over 450 generations and 100 stall generations with function and constraint tolerances of 1e-06 and 1e-04 respectively. The genealogy, selection and rank histogram shows the parents contributing to each generation. The pareto optimal solution was obtained and the 10th individual was selected as the fittest. With a current of 170.20 amps, voltage of 19 volts and gas flow rate of 11.31 lit/min will produce a weld with minimum fume concentration of 2.99. The Genetic Algorithm optimal solution can help fabrication experts to reduce the hazards exposed to welders and improve their health integrity.
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