A submerged arc welding apparatus includes a first wire feeder feeding a first hot wire towards a work piece; a first contact tube transferring current to the first hot wire for arc generation to create a weld puddle; a second wire feeder feeding a cold wire at a variable feed speed towards the weld puddle; one or more sensors configured to continuously measure, during a welding phase, at least a first active welding parameter related to at least the first hot wire; and a control unit. The control unit is configured to determine different target values for the variable feed speed of the cold wire based on different values of the at least a first active welding parameter such that a different target value for the variable feed speed of the cold wire is determined according to a different value of the at least a first active welding parameter.

An arc electric welding head comprising a first contact device housing a first duct for feeding a first electrode and providing electrical contact between a first power source and said first electrode, a second contact device housing a second duct for feeding a second electrode and providing electrical contact between a second power source and said second electrode, said first and second contact devices being electrically insulated from each other, said first and second ducts being parallel.

Embodiments of additive manufacturing systems are disclosed. In one embodiment, an additive manufacturing system includes an array of multiple electrodes for sequentially depositing material layer-by-layer to form a three-dimensional (3D) part. The system includes a power source to provide electrical power for establishing a welding arc for each electrode. The system includes a drive roll to drive each electrode. The system also includes a controller to operate the system at a first deposition rate to form first resolution contour portions of a layer of the part. The controller also operates the system at a second deposition rate to form second resolution fill portions of the layer of the part. The system provides variable width deposition at the second deposition rate using a variable number of the electrodes. The first deposition rate is lower than the second deposition rate, and the first resolution is higher than the second resolution.

Systems for multi-wire submerged arc welding including a flux-cored wire electrode comprising an internal flux, the internal flux comprising about 5% to about 70% of a carbonate compound and less than 25% of calcium fluoride (CaF.sub.2) by weight of the flux; an external flux for submerged arc welding, are provided such that, after a submerged arc welding process, the systems provide a weld metal comprising nitrogen in an amount of less than 100 ppm. Methods of performing multi-wire submerged arc welding using a flux-cored electrode and an external flux are also described.

A method comprising an arc ignition phase (IP), an arc-stabilizing phase (AP) and a stable arc phase (SP). The arc stabilizing phase comprises an initial sub-phase (IS) comprising the step of feeding at least one hot wire (4, 12) at constant feed speed and a main sub-phase (MS) comprising the steps of feeding said hot wire at constant feed speed and feeding at least one cold wire (22) at constant feed speed. The stable arc phase comprises the steps of continuously adjusting the feed speed of the hot wire and continuously adjusting the feed speed of the cold wire. The invention also relates to a welding apparatus (1) for carrying out the method. The welding apparatus comprises a hot wire feeding means (150), a contact means (2), a cold wire feeding means (35) and a control unit (31). The control unit is adapted to control said hot wire feeding means to feed the hot wire at a constant feed speed during the initial sub-phase, feed the hot wire at a constant feed speed during the main sub-phase and to continuously during the stable arc phase adjust the feed speed of the hot wire. The control unit is adapted to control said cold wire feeding means to feed the cold wire at a constant feed speed during the main sub-phase and continuously during the stable arc phase adjust the cold wire feed speed.

An arc electric welding head comprising a first contact device housing a first duct for feeding a first electrode and providing electrical contact between a first power source and said first electrode, a second contact device housing a second duct for feeding a second electrode and providing electrical contact between a second power source and said second electrode, said first and second contact devices being electrically insulated from each other, said first and second ducts being parallel.

A method comprising an arc ignition phase (IP), an arc-stabilizing phase (AP) and a stable arc phase (SP). The arc stabilizing phase comprises an initial sub-phase (IS) comprising the step of feeding at least one hot wire (4, 12) at constant feed speed and a main sub-phase (MS) comprising the steps of feeding said hot wire at constant feed speed and feeding at least one cold wire (22) at constant feed speed. The stable arc phase comprises the steps of continuously adjusting the feed speed of the hot wire and continuously adjusting the feed speed of the cold wire. The invention also relates to a welding apparatus (1) for carrying out the method. The welding apparatus comprises a hot wire feeding means (150), a contact means (2), a cold wire feeding means (35) and a control unit (31). The control unit is adapted to control said hot wire feeding means to feed the hot wire at a constant feed speed during the initial sub-phase, feed the hot wire at a constant feed speed during the main sub-phase and to continuously during the stable arc phase adjust the feed speed of the hot wire. The control unit is adapted to control said cold wire feeding means to feed the cold wire at a constant feed speed during the main sub-phase and continuously during the stable arc phase adjust the cold wire feed speed.

A one-side submerged arc welding method includes setting: a welding speed transition section, in which welding is performed such that a welding speed is lowered from a welding speed of main welding to a welding speed being 80% or less of the welding speed of main welding; and a low welding speed section, in which welding is performed at a welding speed being 80% or less of the welding speed of main welding. A length of the welding speed transition section is set to be more than 200 mm and 1,000 mm or less. The low welding speed section is set as a section from a position of 100 mm or more and less than 1,000 mm in front of the end part of the steel plates to the end part.

A method for producing a steel material for line pipes which has a tensile strength of 570 MPa or more, a compressive strength of 440 MPa or more, and a thickness of 30 mm or more, the method including heating a steel having a specific composition to a temperature of 1000 C. to 1200 C.; performing hot rolling such that a cumulative rolling reduction ratio in a non-recrystallization temperature range is 60% or more, a cumulative rolling reduction ratio in a temperature range of (a rolling finish temperature +20 C.) or less is 50% or more, and a rolling finish temperature is the Ar.sub.3 transformation point or more and 790 C. or less; and subsequently performing accelerated cooling from a cooling start temperature of the Ar.sub.3 transformation point or more, at a cooling rate of 10 C./s or more, until the temperature of a surface of a steel plate reaches 300 C. to 500 C.

A one-side submerged arc welding method, includes joining two steel plates butted against each other by submerged arc welding from one side using a plurality of electrodes. During the submerged arc welding, at least one of electrode distances between adjacent electrodes in an end part region of the steel plates is reduced to be smaller than the at least one of electrode distances in a region in front of the end part region. Variation in heat input into the electrode moved so as to reduce the at least one of electrode distances in a transitional region in which the at least one of electrode distances is reduced is within 20% relative to the heat input at a starting point of the transitional region.