Abstract: In this paper,a two dimensional steady numerical model is developed for the heat transfer in stationary plasma arc welding process.The model considers the radiant heat loss and the heat exchange between the workpiece surface and the ambience,and takes the Joule heat,resulted from the welding current flowing through the workpiece,as the source term of the energy equation.Based on the developed model,the large commercial software PHOENICS is employed to simulate the temperature and current density distribution in the workpiece.Using the software,it's conveniently and highly active to operate the independent variables and the boundary conditions.The comparisons show that the simulated results agree well with the experimentally measured results.