We present two schemes for transforming bipartite non-maximally entangled states into a W state in cavity QED system, by using highly detuned interactions and the resonant interactions between two-level atoms and a single-mode cavity field. A tri-atom W state can be generated by adjusting the interaction times between atoms and the cavity mode. These schemes demonstrate that two bipartite non-maximally entangled states can be merged into a maximally entangled W state. So the scheme can, in some sense, be regarded as an entanglement concentration process. The experimental feasibility of the schemes is also discussed.
