Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (421) (entfernen)
Schlagworte
- Laser beam welding (95)
- Welding simulation (26)
- Resistance spot welding (22)
- Solidification cracking (21)
- Laser metal deposition (20)
- Additive manufacturing (19)
- Numerical simulation (17)
- Microstructure (16)
- Mechanical properties (15)
- Laser welding (14)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 9 Komponentensicherheit (183)
- 9.3 Schweißtechnische Fertigungsverfahren (178)
- 9.6 Additive Fertigung metallischer Komponenten (3)
- 5 Werkstofftechnik (2)
- 5.2 Metallische Hochtemperaturwerkstoffe (2)
- 7 Bauwerkssicherheit (2)
- 7.7 Modellierung und Simulation (2)
- 9.0 Abteilungsleitung und andere (2)
- 5.5 Materialmodellierung (1)
Eingeladener Vortrag
- nein (25)
Grain refinement is an important possibility to enhance the mechanical properties such as strength, ductility and toughness of aluminium weld metal. In this study, grain refinement was achieved through the addition of commercial grain refiner Al Ti5B1 to gas tungsten arc weld metal of the aluminium alloys 1050A (Al 99.5) and 5083 (Al Mg4.5Mn0.7). The grain refiner additions led to a significant reduction of the weld metal mean grain size (Alloy 1050A, 86 %; Alloy 5083, 44 %) with a change in grain shape from columnar to equiaxed. Tensile tests showed for Alloy 5083 that the weld metal's ductility can be increased through grain refinement. No improvement in weld metal strength (i.e. yield strength and ultimate tensile strength) was observed. Furthermore, tear tests with notched specimens revealed that the resistance against initiation and propagation of cracks in the weld metal can be enhanced through grain refinement. The toughness was observed to increase clearly by grain refinement in weld metal of commercial pure Al (Alloy 1050A). In Alloy 5083 weld metal, the toughness was not improved through grain refinement, likely because of a semi-continuous network of brittle intermetallic phases that facilitate crack propagation.
Modeling of gas metal arc welding process using an analytically determined volumetric heat source
(2013)
High peak temperature and continuous deposition of electrode droplets in the weld puddle inhibit real-time monitoring of thermal cycles and bead dimensions in gas metal arc welding. A three-dimensional numerical heat transfer model is presented here to compute temperature field and bead dimensions considering a volumetric heat source to account for the transfer of arc energy into the weld pool. The heat source dimensions are analytically estimated as function of welding conditions and original joint geometry. The deposition of electrode material is modeled using deactivation and activation of discrete elements in a presumed V-groove joint geometry. The computed values of bead dimensions and thermal cycles are validated with the corresponding measured results. A comparison of the analytically estimated heat source dimensions and the corresponding numerically computed bead dimensions indicate that the former could rightly serve as the basis for conduction heat transfer based models of gas metal arc welding process.
During laser beam welding of aluminum alloys an electromagnetic field may favour pore outgassing through the top oxide layer. High frequencies cause a small penetration depth and thus exert a stabilizing effect on the weld surface. The point at which the laser beam between the two magnetic poles hits the workpiece surface is crucial to the influence of the magnetic field on the weld surface roughness. Using analyzed parameters for different laser points of application cause a change in weld surface roughness could be observed. The weld surface roughness could be reduced by 50%. The outgassing effect in terms of a reduction of pores could be observed for all parameter sets investigated.
In various applications, welding-induced residual stresses have a substantial impact on the integrity of welded constructions. Tensile residual stress can promote stress-corrosion cracking, brittle fracture, and reduces the fatigue life in service, as well as influences component design due to critical stress concentrations within the component.
In the present paper, a six bead multi-pass gas metal arc weld of 20 mm thick structural steel S355J2+N is experimentally and numerically investigated. The studies include transient 2D and 3D numerical calculations which consider temperature-dependent material properties, phase transformations, 'thermal' tempering, transformation plasticity, volume change due to phase transformation, an elasticplastic material model, and isotropic strain hardening. The experimentally determined and calculated residual stresses are in a good agreement. Furthermore, the influence of the preheat and interpass temperature on welding-induced residual stresses is shown in the present investigation.
Longitudinal residual stresses in beam welds ranging at the value of the local yield strength can diminish the lifespan of components. To extend the service life of welds special methods of welding residual stress reduction were developed earlier which are however not effective for beam welds in complex component geometries. Application of beam welding sources for postwelding heat treatment of components has become a flexible tool for reducing longitudinal stresses in beam welds. Such heat treatment in a specific transversal distance to the weld by a defocused beam results in huge stress reductions depending on the used process parameters. Experimental results for ferritic and austenitic steels reveal weld stress reductions to up to compressive stresses. For different materials and diverse material thicknesses special process parameter regions have to be used in this procedure. At a transmission component this procedure shows a stress reduction by >300 MPa.
This article studies the three dimensional transient weld pool dynamics and the influence of groove angle on welding of low carbon structural steel plates using the ForceArc® process. The deformation of the weld bead is also calculated with an accurate coupling of the heat transfer with fluid flow through continuity, momentum and the energy equations combined with the effect of droplet impingement, gravity, electromagnetic force, buoyancy, drag forces and surface tension force (Marangoni effect). Different angles of V groove are employed under the same welding parameters and their influence on the weld pool behavior and weld bead geometry is calculated and analyzed, which is needed for subsequent calculations of residual stress and distortion of the workpiece.
Such a simulation is an effective way to study welding processes because the influence of all welding parameters can be analyzed separately with respect to heat transfer, weld pool dynamic, and microstructure of the weld. Good agreement is found between the predicted and experimentally determined weld bead cross-section and temperature cycles. It is found that the main flow pattern is more or less the same although the groove angle increases, but it will evoke larger amount of fluid to flow downward to get deeper penetration.
In the rough conditions in the fabrication of automobile bodies, it is not always possible to avoid welding-induced imperfections such as cracks during the resistance spot welding of high-strength steels. In this respect, the influence of such cracks on the fatigue strength particularly of modern high-strength austenitic steels is not sufficiently well-known at present. The influence of welding cracks with various positions and formations was therefore investigated within the framework of this paper. In this case, the analysis of the standardised stiffness courses of specimens and the comparison of the numbers of failure stress cycles served to prove that the surface cracks produced without any spatter in the centre, interfacial region and peripheral region of the weld nugget do not have any negative influence on the fatigue strength of the high-strength austenitic material investigated here. Specimens which were manufactured with welding spatter and exhibit cracks in the peripheral region show considerably higher numbers of failure stress cycles than crack-free reference specimens.
Refinement of the weld metal grain structure can improve the mechanical properties of the weld and decrease the susceptibility to solidification cracking of the weld metal. In this study, commercial Al Ti5B1 grain refiner was used to refine the microstructure of LB (laser beam) and GTA (gas tungsten arc) aluminum welds by inoculation. The grain refiner additions led to a significant decrease in the weld metal mean grain size whereby a transition from columnar to equiaxed grain structure (Columnar to Equiaxed Transition, CET) was observed. The development of both grain size and shape depended upon the base metal (Al alloys 1050A, 5083 and 6082) and upon the welding process. The GTA welding process allowed a more pronounced and a more efficient refinement than in LB welds. Furthermore, the influence of the solidification conditions on the CET was investigated through temperature measurements in the weld metal. The temperature profiles revealed a faster solidification of LB welds than in GTA welds. The results from the temperature measurements were also used to estimate (according to an existing model) the critical thermal gradient at which the CET occurs.
IIW-2326
Austenitic and austenitic-ferritic CrMnNi-stainless steels are suitable materials in the transport and automotive industry due to their high corrosion resistance and high strength that allows weight and cost savings. This study focuses on the laser weldability of a commercial lean duplex and an austenitic high manganese stainless steel. The impact of different laser sources, i.e. a 5 kW CO2- and a 4 kW Nd:YAG-laser, and of the main process parameters on the resulting weld quality will be investigated. One important aspect will concern the appearance of weld defects such as pores and hot cracks. The factors causing such internal imperfections will be analysed in order to find effective methods for preventing them. Weld microstructure and the associated corrosion and mechanical properties will be assessed with different techniques and adequate process parameters for high quality welds will be determined. The advantages and limitations of the applied welding processes will be evaluated for future applications.
Influence of solute content and solidification parameters on grain refinement of aluminum weld metal
(2013)
Grain refinement provides an important possibility to enhance the mechanical properties (e.g., strength and ductility) and the weldability (susceptibility to solidification cracking) of aluminum weld metal. In the current study, a filler metal consisting of aluminum base metal and different amounts of commercial grain refiner Al Ti5B1 was produced. The filler metal was then deposited in the base metal and fused in a GTA welding process. Additions of titanium and boron reduced the weld metal mean grain size considerably and resulted in a transition from columnar to equiaxed grain shape (CET). In commercial pure aluminum (Alloy 1050A), the grain-refining efficiency was higher than that in the Al alloys 6082 and 5083. Different welding and solidification parameters influenced the grain size response only slightly. Furthermore, the observed grain-size reduction was analyzed by means of the undercooling parameter P and the growth restriction parameter Q, which revealed the influence of solute elements and nucleant particles on grain size.
For differentiating the applicability of various numerical welding simulation methods as well as unifying the prerequisites and the steps to be taken in simulation, normative codes are required for the user. Since any standard-like documents are currently still lacking in this field, the DIN German Institute for Standardization in partnership with the Research Association of DVS German Welding Society have set up a standards committee dealing with the preparation of respective documents.
This article focuses on the presentation of the new DIN Spec 32534-1 explaining the major simulation steps and specifying the application fields and the key terms of welding simulation. In addition, a generally valid simulation structure has been established which is intended to serve as a recommendation for customers and suppliers in formulating and handling a service order as well as for persons who start doing welding simulation for the first time. It additionally gives an overview of the other subject areas dealt with in the standards committee as well as of the international activities in this field.
In lightweight car body shell mass production, due to requirements on vehicle weight reduction and carbon dioxide emissions, joining of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) with different joining procedures and especially hybrid bonding techniques is becoming more and more important. One of these hybrid bonding techniques is the combination of resistance spot welding and adhesive bonding called weldbonding. One of the important advantages of weldbonded joints in comparison to resistance spot welded joints are the enhanced mechanical properties. To guarantee sufficiently high quality conditions regarding the strength of the weldbonded joints, the influences of the applied adhesive systems and of different base metal combinations are studied. This is carried out for both non-corrosive and corrosive environments and for the choice of different joining parameters settings. In particular, the mechanical behaviour of the weldbonded joints is investigated under quasi-static, impact and fatigue loads. Furthermore, the energy absorption of the weldbonded joints for both non-corrosive and corrosive environments is studied. It is shown that the weldbonded joints possess higher mechanical strengths in all load cases (quasi-static, impact and fatigue). Corrosive attack affects weldbonded joints, and the quasi-static strength is reduced. Resistance spot welded joints are not affected by the corrosive attack, but even after several weeks of corrosive attack, the quasi-static strength of weldbonded joints remains higher than that of resistance spot welded joints.
The results of numerical welding simulations strongly depend on its temperature field. In the present paper, the temperature field of a pulsed gas metal arc weld of structural steel S355J2+N (ASTM A572 Gr. 50) with a thickness of 5 mm is experimentally and numerically investigated. In the case of temperature field validation, volumetric Gauss and double-ellipsoid Goldak heat sources are applied. Additionally, different heat source configurations, including adaptations of thermal conductivity, are analyzed regarding their influence on the calculation of welding-induced distortion.
The investigations clarify the influence of heat source configurations on the calculated results, thus, contribute to an improved prediction of welding-induced distortion.
In-situ analysis of solid state phase transformation in TRIP-aided steels by synchrotron diffraction
(2011)
Energy dispersive synchrotron diffraction (EDXRD) analysis and 3 dimensional digital image correlations were conducted to investigate the stress and strain effected transformation behavior during tensile loading of low alloyed TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel. This technique allowed for phase specific stress measurement during certain tensile load steps in the elastic and also plastic regime. Additionally the simultaneous determination of the load dependent phase content was realized. The results show that the martensite transformation starts only after exceeding the overall yield point and is finished before reaching the uniform elongation, whereas a large portion of the austenite remains unchanged in the structure. Furthermore, the martensite transformation related to the stress in the γ-phase and α-phase was analyzed and quantified.
Fusion welding processes are widely used for joining metal structures, such as pipes, ships, and cars. In general, these joining processes offer a very good compromise between reliability, safety, cost and maintenance which are important issues in the current economical context. The negative heat effects of welding, i.e. distortions and residual stresses of the welded parts, are well known and many researches in this field have already been done in the last decades in order to minimize them. On the experimental side, many sophisticated procedures have become state of the art to deal with this problem. On the computational side, the improvement of the simulation algorithms and the computing power enables the simulations of many physical phenomena occurring during the welding process. The implementation of welding simulation techniques is nevertheless not an easy task and often associated with expert knowledge which hinders their global application in an industrial environment. This paper is focused on the industrial requirements of a welding simulation software with special respect to the needs of the automotive industry. The necessary information to run a welding simulation and the expectations of a weld specialist without deep knowledge in numerical methods are investigated. These expectations are tested on an automotive welded assembly with a commercially available welding simulation software designed especially for the needs of the automotive industry. A welding experiment is done and the measured temperature distributions and distortions serve as reference to validate the simulation results. The result quality of the simulations of temperature fields and distortions is in best agreement with experimental data. The workflow is well adapted for the considered industrial requirements and the time-tosolution as well as the computational costs are acceptable, whereas the efficient calibration of the heat input model is still a point which will be further investigated in current and future research works.
Fast temperature field generation for welding simulation and reduction of experimental effort
(2011)
The quality of welding processes is governed by the occurring induced distortions yielding an increase in production costs due to necessary reworking. Especially for more complex specimens, it is difficult to evaluate the optimal configuration of welding sequences in order to minimize the distortion. Even experienced welding operators can solve this task only by trial and error which is time and cost consuming. In modern engineering the application of welding simulation is already known to be able to analyse the heat effects of welding virtually. However, the welding process is governed by complex physical interactions. Thus, recent weld thermal models are based on many simplifications. The state of the art is to apply numerical methods in order to solve the transient heat conduction equation. Therefore, it is not possible to use the real process parameters as input for the mathematical model. The model parameters which allow calculating a temperature field that is in best agreement with the experiments cannot be defined directly but inversely by multiple simulations runs. In case of numerical simulation software based on finite discretization schemes this approach is very time consuming and requires expert users. The weld thermal model contains an initial weakness which has to be adapted by finding an optimal set of model parameters. This process of calibration is often done against few experiments. The range of model validity is limited. An extension can be obtained by performing a calibration against multiple experiments. The focus of the paper is to show a combined modelling technique which provides an efficient solution of the inverse heat conduction problem mentioned above. On the one hand the inverse problem is solved by application of fast weld thermal models which are closed form solutions of the heat conduction equation. In addition, a global optimization algorithm allows an automated calibration of the weld thermal model. This technique is able to provide a temperature field automatically that fits the experimental one with high accuracy within minutes on ordinary office computers. This fast paradigm permits confirming the application of welding simulation in an industrial environment as automotive industry. On the other hand, the initial model weakness is compensated by calibrating the model against multiple experiments. The unknown relationship between model and process parameters is approximated by a neural network. The validity of the model is increased successively and enables to decrease experimental effort, For a test case, it is shown that this approach yields accurate temperature fields within very short amount of time for unknown process parameters as input data to the model contributing to the requirement to construct a substitute system of the real welding process.
Energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction offers the possibility for measurement and evaluation of diffraction spectra containing information of various diffraction lines of all contributing crystalline phases of a material. Combined strain imaging and diffraction analysis was conducted during the tensile test of a low alloyed transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel in order to investigate the transformation induced plasticity, strain hardening, and load partitioning effects. Optical strain imaging allowed for determination of localized true strains from three-dimensional deformations measured in situ. High-energy synchrotron radiation has permitted diffraction analysis in transmission mode to gather information from the material interior. Phase-specific stress evolution during loading could be observed applying the sin2ψ technique during certain load steps. The strains of the individual lattice planes were determined in different locations under varying angles between loading and perpendicular direction. Using energy-dispersive methods it was also possible to determine the transformation behaviour during elastic and plastic regime taking into account a large number of diffraction lines. The results show that the approach practised here enables one to pull together macroscopic and phase-specific microscopic material behaviour in order to improve existing models for prediction of complex load situations.
Kornfeinung im Schweißgut kann die mechanischen Eigenschaften der Schweißnaht und die Schweißeignung des Grundwerkstoffs deutlich verbessern. Eine Möglichkeit korngefeintes Schweißgut zu erreichen, ist das Versetzen des Schmelzbades mit kornfeinenden Mitteln. In dieser Studie wird gezeigt wie Titan- und Borzusätze Korngröße und -struktur von WIG-Schweißnähten der Al-Legierung 5083 (Al Mg4,5Mn0,7) beeinflussen. Dazu wurden in einem Gießprozess stäbchenförmige Einlagen hergestellt, die aus Grundwerkstoff und definierten Zusätzen der Kornfeinungslegierung Al Ti5B1 bestanden. Sie wurden als Ersatz für einen Schweißzusatzwerkstoff in einer Nut im Grundwerkstoff untergebracht und im WIG-Verfahren überschweißt. Durch die Steigerung des Titan- und Borgehalts im Schweißgut konnte dessen mittlere Korngröße deutlich verringert werden. Außerdem wurde eine Änderung der Kornstruktur beobachtet. Die Ergebnisse können als Grundlage genutzt werden, um die empfohlene chemische Zusammensetzung von Schweißzusätzen für Lichtbogenschweißen von Aluminium anzupassen.
A three-dimensional laminar steady-state numerical model was developed to investigate the influence of an alternating current (ac) magnetic field during high-power full-penetration laser welding on the weld pool dynamics and weld cross section of a 20 mm thick aluminium plate in flat position. Three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics including phase transition and electromagnetic field partial differential equations were solved iteratively with the commercial finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics using temperature-dependent material properties up to evaporation temperature. Thermocapillary convection at the weld pool surfaces, natural convection and latent heat of solid–liquid phase transition were taken into account in this model. Solidification was modelled by the Carman–Kozeny equation for porous media morphology. The ac magnet was mounted on the root side of the weld specimen. The magnetic field was aligned perpendicular to the welding direction. The flow pattern in the melt and thus also the temperature distribution were significantly changed by the application of oscillating magnetic fields. It was shown that the application of an ac magnetic field to laser beam welding allows for a prevention of the gravity drop-out. The simulation results are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.
For spot-welded joints, the resistance to
mechanical stress depends on the local strength properties
and gradients in the weld area. The commonly used
methods for investigating the stress–strain behaviour across
the weld area are connected with a high level of sample
preparation and with considerable limitations in local resolution.
A promising method for determining locally
resolved stress–strain curves is the instrumented indentation
test in connection with the method of representative
stress and strain (RS) and the method of artificial neural
networks (NNs). The stress–strain properties of the weld
nugget and the base metal determined by these two methods
are compared and discussed, additionally in relation to
the stress–strain curves obtained from the tensile test. The
measured Vickers hardness across the weld area is compared
with the evaluated local stress–strain properties.
Three steels used in automobile manufacturing are investigated:
mild steel DC04 and two advanced high-strength
steels (TRIP steel HCT690T and martensitic steel HDT
1200M). The results of the two methods (RS and NN) show
good correspondence for the base metal area but some
significant differences for the weld nugget. Comparing the
data across the weld area, no evidence of the presence of
residual stress (which would influence the results) was
found.
The present investigations cover different relevant influences on the numerical calculation of welding-induced distortion. Therefore, a single-layer pulsed gas metal arc (GMA) weld of structural Steel S355J2+N with a thickness Öf5 mm is experimentally and numerically investigated. The influences of mesh density, tack-welds, and continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams on welding-induced distortion are studied. The quality and quantity of These effects are clarified based on the used experimental and numerical set up. The occurring differences between the investigated cases achieve significant values. Consequently, prediction of welding-induced distortion can be improved considering the present investigations.
Experimental investigation of the laser-plume interaction during high power fiber laser welding
(2011)
The effect of the well-known plasma absorption and refraction in CO2-laser metal welding plumes is in case of high power solid state laser welding negligibly small. By contrast, the diffraction effects of shorter wavelength laser radiation are considerable. According
to the results of preliminary studies, the fine condensed metal particles in the welding plume can lead to essential worsening of the laser beam quality.
This work is devoted to the investigation of the lasermatter interaction during up to 20 kW ytterbium fiber laser welding of thick mild steel plates. The plume attenuation of a probe 1.3 µm wavelength diode laser beam as well as of continuous radiation in 250-600 nm
wavelength range was measured during welding with and without Ar shielding gas supply. The measured results allow it to calculate average size and concentration of fine condensed metal particles in
different plume areas using the multi-wavelength method and the Mie scattering theory. The plume temperature, which determines the condensation conditions, was measured by means of Fe I atom
spectral line emission registration.
The obtained results can be also of interest for remote metal treatment with high-power fiber or disc lasers.
The results of an in-situ plume-laser interaction measurement during welding of mild steel with a 5 kW ytterbium fiber laser are reported. A measurement of the attenuation of probe laser beam passing through the plume has allowed to estimate the plume characteristics like the size of the extinction area and the spatial distribution of the extinction coefficient. The power loss of the fiber laser radiation propagating through the whole plume length was calculated. Together with a measured temporal characteristics of extinction the result indicates a significant decreasing of the laser radiation stability, which can lead to the formation of the macroscopic welding defects.
The residual stresses in narrow electron or laser beam welds with high stress gradients are decreased without any contact surfaces or additional equipment by applying the welding beam after welding in a defocused mode for heating the material regions in a certain distance from the weld on both sides. In case of electron beam application, the beam is positioned and focused by the electromagnetic coil with high frequency. In case of laser beam application a laser scanner optics enables fast positioning by an optomechanic beam deflection, while defocusing of the laser beam is obtained by increasing the distance between scanner optics and workpiece. Dependent on the component geometry and on the beam power different process parameters are used. The adjustable process parameters are the radius and the power of the defocused beam and the transversal and longitudinal distances between the welding and the defocused beam. The mechanism and the influence of the process parameters are investigated by FEM-simulation and a number of experiments on a ferritic steel S355J2+N with 5 mm thickness. FEM-simulation is used to reduce the matrix of process parameters for the experiments. The best experimental result shows a stress reduction of about 70%.
A three-dimensional laminar steady
state numerical model was used to investigate
the influence of an alternating current (ac)
magnetic field during high power laser beam
keyhole welding of 20 mm thick nonferromagnetic
aluminum. COMSOL
Multiphysics was used to calculate the threedimensional
heat transfer, fluid dynamics and
electromagnetic field equations. Most
important physical effects of the process were
taken into account: Thermo-capillary
(Marangoni) convection at the upper and lower
weld pool boundaries, natural convection due
to gravity and latent heat of solid-liquid phase
transition. It is shown that the gravity drop-out
associated with welding of thick plates due to
the hydrostatic pressure can be prevented by
the application of an ac magnetic field. The
application of an oscillating magnetic field of
70 mT was investigated to allow for singlepass
laser beam welding of thick aluminum
plates. The flow pattern in the molten zone and
the temperature distributions are significantly
changed.
A single-layer pulsed gas metal arc weld of structural steel S355J2+N with a thickness of 5 mm is experimentally and numerically investigated. Two tack welds are considered in the numerical simulation into two different ways. First, the tack welds are represented by elements belonging to the initial material. This implies that the 'tack weld material' was not exposed to any thermal load or phase transformation before actual welding was performed. The weld seam is shortened and there is an influence on the stiffness of the whole structure affecting the calculation result. Secondly, the tack welds were simulated as conducted in the experimental welding procedure. The cases considering tack welding are compared to a simulation neglecting tack welding and to the experimental results.
The influence of tack welds on the calculated welding-induced distortion is clarified and a contribution to an improved simulation-based prediction of welding-induced distortion is possible by modeling tack welding according to the realistic fabrication procedure.
Methods to obtain weld discontinuities in spot-welded joints made of advanced high-strength steels
(2011)
Resistance spot welding is the major joining technique in mass car production. This applies in particular to high-strength steel and advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) joining of thin sheet steel components for lightweight body shell structures. Joining of AHSS in mass production might lead to weld discontinuities under certain circumstances. Those discontinuities in form of cracks might be an initial start of cracking in the spot-welded joints regarding fatigue loads. It is of great interest to figure out, if, in comparison to specimens without weld discontinuities, the crack initiating point changes and if the fatigue resistance might be reduced by the discontinuities. In this contribution, an overview of potential discontinuities is given. Their possible causes are discussed and means for their detection are highlighted. Among the possible causes of weld discontinuities, two major groups are distinguished: the welding parameters as primary influences in the welding process, and the production-specific influences as secondary ones. With emphasis on major cracks penetrating the weld nugget, these influences are analysed. Finally, a combination of extreme welding parameters with production-specific influences is chosen in order to establish a method which enables the preparation of fatigue test specimens with reproducible major cracks in different locations of the spot-welded joints. This method is than applied in order to prepare spot weld specimens for fatigue tests.
Welding is a key technology in the area of industrial production due to its flexibility and efficiency. However, new materials and welding techniques necessitate permanent research activities in order to keep up with the demands. A detailed knowledge about the process itself and the heat effects of welding, e.g., temperatures, distortions, and stresses, is the basis for a target-oriented optimization instead of a trial-and-error approach. Numerical welding simulation is a powerful tool to meet these demands. Complementary to an experimental investigation, it enables the analysis of the specimen during the welding process, commonly known as computational welding mechanics (CWM). Whereas simulation is nowadays a common tool in different development processes, the modeling of welding still remains difficult because of the multiple physical effects taking place. One of the most important problems for the user is the lack of knowledge about the material properties as input data for the simulation. Furthermore, any scattering of the data causes uncertainties that can have major effects on the calculations. The objective of this paper is to give an overview about the experimental determination and analysis of the material properties needed as input data for a welding simulation. The measurement techniques and the occurring deviations of the results are discussed. Additionally, the collected data for three representative alloys (dual-phase steel, austenitic steel, precipitation-hardenable aluminum alloy) are analyzed. Finally, the temperature-dependent thermophysical and thermomechanical material properties for these three alloys are given in a ready-to-use format for a numerical welding simulation.
Welding is one of the most widely used joining processes in structural applications, like in car body production in the automotive industry. It is well-known that distortions and residual stresses occur during and after the welding process. Many procedures exist to decrease these negative heat effects of welding, but are often coupled with highly cost intensive experiments. For several decades, simulation models have been developed to understand and predict the heat effects of welding and to reduce experimental effort. In the production planning of various Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), some simulation tools are already well established, e.g. for crash test, forming or casting simulations. For welding, the demand is high but the implementation of welding simulation software is still not established yet. Welding is a complex process and the development of a flexible simulation tool, which produces good simulation results without expert knowledge in simulation, is not an easy task. In this paper, a welded assembly from the automotive industry has been simulated and compared to experimental data. Temperature fields and transient distortion distributions have been measured with thermocouples and with an optical 3D deformations analysis tool, respectively. The simulation has been run with a commercially available welding simulation software. The simulated temperature fields match the numerical ones perfectly. The simulated distortions are also qualitatively in best agreement with the experimental ones. Quantitatively, a difference of approximately 20 % between the simulated and the measured distortions is visible; this is acceptable considering the simplifications and assumptions of the simulation model. The global time to solution to get these results without expert knowledge in welding simulation was between 4 and 6 weeks, which is a reasonable time frame for an industrial application of welding simulation.
During welding, residual stresses build-up created by the steep thermal gradient that occurs in the weld zone from localized heating and cooling, and phase transformations appearing in low-alloyed structural steel is inevitable. Welding of rather simple test plates do not cover the actual structural effects, which have to be considered during real component welding. However, the resulting welding-induced residual stress state is highly influenced by the structural characteristics, i.e. restraint conditions, of the welded construction. Therefore, a unique large-scale testing facility providing a specific shrinkage restraint while welding and subsequent cooling was used for the present investigations. Hereby, a six bead multi-pass gas metal arc weld of 20 mm thick structural steel S355J2 + N was welded under shrinkage restraint. The residual stresses were experimentally and numerically investigated, and compared to an analysis of plates welded under force-free support and free shrinkage conditions.
The experimentally determined and calculated residual stresses using both 2D and 3D numerical models are in a good agreement. Furthermore, the influence of a shrinkage restraint on the residual stress distribution is both experimentally and numerically shown for the present test set-up.
Study of fatigue behavior for spot welded tensile shear specimens of advanced high strength steels
(2012)
For automotive body-in-white applications the influence of manufacture-related gaps between the steel sheets and also of manufacture-related surface cracks on the fatigue behavior of tensile shear specimens for spot welded TRIP steel was analyzed. It was shown that gaps between the steel sheets reduce the fatigue strength, whereas the fatigue behavior is neither influenced by cracks in the electrode indentation area nor in the heat effected zone.
Austenite grain growth during welding is a critical factor for controlling weld microstructure in addition to nominal composition and thermal cycles. Recently, experimental data suggesting a decrease in martensite start temperature with a decrease in prior austenite grain size has been published. However, the actual sensitivity of this phenomenon on residual stresses evolution in the heat-affected zone has not been investigated, yet. Therefore, a numerical model was modified to consider this phenomenon. Numerical simulations were performed for welding of a low-alloy structural steel with minimum yield strength of 355 MPa (S355J2+N) and a heat-resistant steel P91 or 9Cr–1Mo, respectively. The results clarify the influence of prior austenite grain size on the residual stress development and show the importance martensite transformation temperatures and final martensite fraction. Consequently, the residual stress evolution of P91, which completely transforms to martensite while cooling, based on the enhanced model leads to maximum stress differences of 200 MPa in the heat-affected zone.
In this study, the influence of production-related gaps on the shear tension strength and fatigue performance was investigated for resistance spot welded TRIP steel HCT690. Furthermore, the local strain distribution in shear tension test was calculated by the digital image correlation technique (DIC). The static shear tension strength was found to be almost independent of gaps up to 3 mm. The maximum local strain in the spot weld region however decreases depending on which sample side (deformed or undeformed) is considered. In addition, it has been ascertained that gaps of 3 mm lead to a significant drop in fatigue life compared to gap-free shear tension samples. This fact could be attributed to decreased stiffness, higher transverse vibration and higher rotation (θ) between the sheets as well as increased local stress calculated by 2 dimensional FE simulation.
A multi-physics numerical model was developed to investigate the influence of a steady magnetic field aligned perpendicular to the welding direction during partial penetration high power laser beam welding of aluminium in downhand position. Three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics including phase transition and electromagnetic field partial differential equations were successfully solved with the finite element differential equation solver COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2. The implemented material model used temperature-dependent properties up to evaporation temperature. Marangoni convection in the surface region of the weld pool, natural convection due to the gravitational field and latent heat of solidliquid phase transition were taken into account. Solidification was modelled by the CarmanKozeny equation for porous media morphology. The flow pattern in the melt as well as the weld bead geometry were significantly changed by the induced Lorentz force distribution in the liquid metal. It reveals that the application of a steady magnetic field to laser beam welding with corresponding Hartmann numbers Ha2 ≈ 104 allows for a suppression of the characteristic wineglass-shape of the weld cross section caused by thermocapillary flow. The numerical results are in good agreement with experimental results obtained with welding of AlMg3 with a 16 kW disc laser. The steady magnetic field was delivered by permanent magnets mounted on both lateral sides of the weld specimen. The maximum magnetic flux density was around 500 mT. It shows, that the applied magnetic field has a predominant dissipating effect on the weld pool dynamics independently of its polarity.
Resistance spot welds were prepared on 3 mm thick sheets of continuous cast and rolled AZ31 magnesium alloy. The microstructure and composition analysis of weld nugget, heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal were examined using optical and scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM and EDS/X). The resistance spot welded magnesium alloy joints consist mainly of weld nugget and HAZ. The nugget contains two different structures, i.e. the cellular-dendritic structure at the edge of the nugget and the equiaxed dendritic structure in the centre of the nugget. The structure transition is attributed to the changes of solidification conditions. In the HAZ, grain boundary melting occurred and grain boundaries became coarse. It has been shown that hardness reduction in the weld nugget and HAZ compared with base metal is evident due to dendritic microstructure and grain growth, respectively. The results showed that spot welded joints have failed in interfacial mode under torsion and tensile–shear loading conditions. Digital image correlation during tensile–shear testing showed that low surface strains occur in the interfacial failure mode, because fracture and deformation happened primarily in the nugget area.
Full penetration 15 kW Yb fibre laser butt welding of thick AlMg3 (AW 5754) plates was performed in PA position. A contactless inductive electromagnetic weld pool support system was used to prevent gravity dropout of the melt. The welding speed needed to achieve 20 mm penetration was ~0·5 m min-1. An ac power supply of ~244 W at 460 Hz was necessary to completely suppress gravity dropout of the melt and eliminate sagging of the weld pool root side surface. The oscillating magnetic field can suppress the Marangoni convection in the lower part of the weld pool. The system was also successfully used in the full penetration welding of 30 mm thick AlMg3 plates.
The objective of this paper is to demonstrate a new simulation technique which allows fast and automatic generation of temperature fields as input for subsequent thermomechanical welding simulation. The basic idea is to decompose the process model into an empirical part based on neural networks and a phenomenological part that describes the physical phenomena. The strength of this composite modelling approach is the automatic calibration of mathematical models against experimental data without the need for manual interference by an experienced user. As an example for typical applications in laser beam and GMA-laser hybrid welding, it is shown that even 3D heat conduction models of a low complexity can approximate measured temperature fields with a sufficient accuracy. In general, any derivation of model fitting parameters from the real process adds uncertainties to the simulation independent of the complexity of the underlying phenomenological model. The modelling technique presented hybridises empirical and phenomenological models. It reduces the model uncertainties by exploiting additional information which keeps normally hidden in the data measured when the model calibration is performed against few experimental data sets. In contrast, here the optimal model parameter set corresponding to a given process parameter is computed by means of an empirical submodel based on relatively large set of experimental data. The approach allows making a contribution to an efficient compensation of modelling inaccuracies and lack of knowledge about thermophysical material properties or boundary conditions. Two illustrating examples are provided.
Distortion optimisation of beam-welded industrial parts by means of numerical welding simulation
(2008)
We have conducted spectroscopic studies of the welding plasma formed in the process of welding with an ytterbium fiber laser delivering output power of up to 20 kW. The influence of shielding gases (Ar, He) on different parts of the welding plume is investigated. The absorption coefficient of the laser radiation by the welding-plume plasma is estimated. Scattering of 532-nm probe radiation from particles of the condensed metal vapor within the caustic of a high-power fiber laser beam is measured. Based on the obtained results, conclusions are made on the influence of the plasma formation and metal vapor condensation on the radiation of the high-power fiber laser and the stability of the welding process.
Design of experiments for laser metal deposition in maintenance, repair and overhaul applications
(2013)
Modern and expensive parts lead to an increasing demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) technologies. Instead of part replacement, MRO technologies are economically advantageous throughout the life cycle. Laser metal deposition as modern MRO technology can be used to repair cracks or protect damaged surfaces with a hard facing layer. It is necessary to adjust weld bead profile to the specific task. For this purpose, Design of Experiment (DoE) has a high potential to decrease experimental effort. In this paper, a full factorial design is used to determine the effect of process parameters on the geometric dimensions of the weld bead. The paper is of interest to engineers working with laser metal deposition as well as DoE methods.
The aim of the present work was to investigate the possibilities of hybrid laser arc welding regarding reliable production of longitudinal welds of high strength pipe steels X80 and X120 and to evaluate achievable mechanical properties of laser hybrid welds. The study focused on weld toughness examination in low temperature range up to –60°C. Suitable filler materials were identified in the context of this task. It could be shown that metal cored electrodes guaranteed sufficient Charpy impact toughness at low temperature for both investigated materials. Modern arc welding technologies such as modified pulsed spray arc were used to promote deeper penetration of the filler material into the narrow laser welding gap. Edge preparation with a 14 mm deep root face was considered as optimum, because no penetration of the filler material could be detected beyond this depth limit, and therefore, any metallurgical influences on the weld metal properties through the welding wire could be excluded.
The objective of this paper is to demonstrate a new simulation technique which allows the fast and automatic generation to temperature fields based on a combination of empirical and phenomenological modelling techniques. The automatic calibration of the phenomenological model is performed by a multi-variable global optimisation routine which yields the optimal fit between simulated and experimental weld charcteristics without the need for initial model parameters. For exemplary welding processes it is shown that linear 3D heat conduction models can approximate measured temperature fields with a high accuracy. The modelling approach presented comprises the automatic calibration against multiple experiments which permits simulating the temperature field for unknown process parameters. The validation of this composite simulation model is performed for exemplary welding processes and includes the prediction of the fusion line in the cross section and the corresponding thermal cycles.
Fast temperature field generation for welding simulation and reduction of experimental effort
(2009)
The quality of welding processes is governed by the occurring induced distortions yielding an
increase in production costs due to necessary reworking. Especially for more complex specimens
it is difficult to evaluate the optimal configuration of welding sequences in order to
minimise the distortion. Even experienced welding operators can solve this task only by trial
and error which is time and cost consuming.
In modern engineering the application of welding simulation is already known to be able to
analyse the heat effects of welding virtually. However, the welding process is governed by
complex physical interactions. Thus, recent weld thermal models are based on many simplifications.
The state of the art is to apply numerical methods in order to solve the transient heat
conduction equation. Therefore, it is not possible to use the real process parameters as input
for the mathematical model. The model parameters which allow calculating a temperature
field that is in best agreement with the experiments cannot be defined directly but inversely by
multiple simulations runs. In case of numerical simulation software based on finite discretisation
schemes this approach is very time consuming and requires expert users. The weld
thermal model contains an initial weakness which has to be adapted by finding an optimal set
of model parameters. This process of calibration is often done against few experiments. The
range of model validity is limited. An extension can be obtained by performing a calibration
against multiple experiments.
The focus of the paper is to show a combined modelling technique which provides an efficient
solution of the inverse heat conduction problem mentioned above. On the one hand the inverse
problem is solved by application of fast weld thermal models which are closed form
solutions of the heat conduction equation. In addition, a global optimisation algorithm allows
an automated calibration of the weld thermal model. This technique is able to provide a temperature
field automatically that fits the experimental one with high accuracy within minutes
on ordinary office computers. This fast paradigm permits confirming the application of welding
simulation in an industrial environment as automotive industry.
On the other hand, the initial model weakness is compensated by calibrating the model
against multiple experiments. The unknown relationship between model and process parameters
is approximated by a neural network. The validity of the model is increased successively
and enables to decrease experimental effort. For a test case it is shown, that this approach
yields accurate temperature fields within very short amount of time for unknown process parameters
as input data to the model contributing to the requirement to construct a substitute
system of the real welding process.
Distortion optimisation of beam-welded industrial parts by means of numerical welding simulation
(2010)
The non-uniform heat input during the welding process leads to problematic permanent deformations of welded parts. The control of these welding distortions is, with the absence of the knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms responsible for these deformations, an extremely time and cost consuming iterative “trial-and-error” optimization process. The visualization of the involved physical phenomena, like temperature and distortions, .is an indispensable tool to clearly identify these mechanisms in order to adapt the welding parameters and clamping conditions target-oriented. Both experimental and virtual methods exist to obtain these physical data, however the possibilities to visualize them with experimental methods are laborious, expensive and limited in their application. Welding Simulation using finite element analysis (FEA) offers many benefits and has a great potential to reduce the experimental effort. Nevertheless, the industrial application of welding Simulation is not yet established widely because of reservations regarding the computation costs and the resulting accuracy for instance. In this paper, the results of a case study for a welding Simulation with an industrial background are presented. A welded assembly from the automotive industry has been investigated with numerical and experimental methods. A comparison between both methods demonstrates the Potentials of welding Simulation in terms of visualization. Furthermore, the numerical results reveal the possibilities of current resources. regarding calculation time and result accuracy of an industrial applied welding Simulation.
For differentiating the applicability of various numerical welding Simulation methods as well as unifying the prerequisites and the Steps to be taken in Simulation, normative codes are required for the user. Since any standard-like documents are currently still lacking in this field, DIN German Institute for Standardization has set up the Standards Committee NA 092-00-29-AA "Welding Simulation" dealing with the preparation of respective documents. This committee was initiated in partnership with the joint committee FA 12 "Weld Simulation on Application" of the Research Association of DVS German Welding Society.
The objective of this Standardization work in the field of numerical welding Simulation is to prepare a DIN SPEC with a view to standardizing the approaches to the Simulation of various welding phenomena and processes over the long run. In a draft version of DIN SPEC 32534 that has already been prepared by the above mentioned Committee, the structure of the primary document was stated. The primary document specifies the application fields and the key terms of welding Simulation. In addition, the generally valid Simulation structure has been established which is intended to serve as a recommendation for customers and suppliers in formulating and handling a Service order as well as for persons who Start doing welding Simulation for the first time.
This article focuses on the presentation of the new DIN SPEC 32534-1 explaining the major Simulation Steps. It additionally addresses the Classification of the secondary documents depending on the welding process and on the desired Simulation result. Finally, it gives an overview of the other subject areas dealt with in the Standards Committee NA 092-00-29-AA "Welding Simulation" as well as of the international activities in this field.
Simulation based approach for distortion analysis and optimisation of beam welded automotive parts
(2009)
Analytical and numerical methods are used to estimate the temperature field due to the heat effects of welding. Numerical techniques are more adapted for industrial complex applications where analytical solutions do not exist yet. However, computational time is much lower with analytical models and a combination of both methods is investigated. Therefore, the two approaches are introduced and confronted in this paper. The finite-element software Ansys has been used for numerical simulations and Scilab for analytical simulations. In order to get a similar result quality, both methods have to be analysed and compared with respect to boundary conditions. These configurations are presented in this paper. Before starting any analysis, the analytical and numerical models have to be comparable. For the numerical simulation, every in- or output is given in discrete form and, for the analytical simulation, in continuous form. Thus, an analysis of the energy input distribution in both models is compulsory to ensure that the same amount of energy is applied. After this first study, a comparison of the analytical and numerical temperature field simulation is done from a fix point source in an infinite volume in steady state to a moving point source in a finite dimension in a transient state. A good agreement between the analytical and the numerical simulation results is found. However, some techniques, like a consideration of an image heat source for the analytical model or the selection of boundary conditions for the numerical model, need to be taken into consideration when the degree of complexity of the study (finite dimension or cooling time) increases. The limit of the comparison is reached when the geometry becomes too complex and when the effect of variable thermal properties with temperature cannot be neglected.
The results of a collaborative research project on laser beam weldability of carbon steels of high sheet thickness are presented. That includes single and multiple pass welding of 16 mm and 20 mm thick plates, as well as the investigation of acceptable tolerances i.e. gap bridgeability and edge misalignment. For the welding experiments fibre lasers with 8 kW, 20 kW laser power and different GMAW-techniques were used in various applications. With the 20 kW fibre laser 16 mm plates could be welded with a single pass, 20 mm required a seam preparation or alternatively preheating of the material. For multi pass welding with 8 kW laser power a joint preparation with a single V-butt joint with a broad root face (Y-groove) was applied. The root pass was always welded with a hybrid process, the filler passes with a hybrid process as well as a GMAW process which produced the best results.
For the designing of safety-relevant components particularly by means of finite element calculations, great significance is attached to the determination of local material parameters in the welding region. Conventional test methods can merely provide global parameters which, however, are frequently not sufficient precisely for the calculation of resistance-spot-welded components since these are characterised by the existence of joining zones with tight local limitations. In contrast, modern test methods such as optical strain field measurement permit the determination of the characteristic material data for concrete locations and times. In order to establish the potential of optical strain field measurements for the characterisation of the local material behaviour of spotwelded joints, tensile shear tests as well as tensile tests were carried out on resistance-spot-welded high-strength steels. The results show the high potential of this procedure not only for the quantification of the local strain behaviour in the joining region but also for the determination of local characteristic material data.
In the lightweight body shell mass production of automobiles, the application of hybrid bonding techniques becomes more and more important. Especially the combination of adhesive bonding and resistance spot welding called weldbonding is of great importance. The target of this contribution is to show the influence of medium-viscosity and low-viscosity structural adhesives on the process reliability of the weldbonding process and the mechanical properties of the hybrid bonded joints. The given results are based on the application of an epoxy PUR-based, an epoxy resin-based and a rubber-based adhesive system for joining a mild and some different advanced high strength steels (AHSS). It will be shown that both the process reliability of the weldbonding process and the mechanical behaviour of the weldbonded joints are influenced by the combinations of the base metals, the applied adhesive systems and the choice of the joining parameters. The behaviour of the weldbonded joints will be studied under quasi-static and impact loads. The discussion of the metallurgical structure of the weldbonded joints depending on the joining parameters will be given, too. Furthermore, the fatigue behaviour of the weldbonded joints will be studied.
The usage of continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams in numerical welding simulations is state of the art. Nevertheless, specifications provide limits in chemical composition of materials which result in different CCT behavior and CCT diagrams, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the influence of variations in CCT diagrams on the developing residual stresses. In the present paper, four CCT diagrams and their effect on numerical calculation of residual stresses are investigated for the widely used structural steel S355J2 + N welded by the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. Rather than performing an arbitrary adjustment of CCT behavior, four justifiable data sets were used as input to the numerical calculation: data available in the Sysweld database, experimental data acquired through Gleeble dilatometry tests, and TTT/CCT predictions calculated from the JMatPro and Edison Welding Institute (EWI) Virtual Joining Portal software. The performed numerical analyses resulted in noticeable deviations in residual stresses considering the different CCT diagrams. Furthermore, possibilities to improve the prediction of distortions and residual stress based on CCT behavior are discussed.
High welding residual stresses can cause service life reducing consequences. Even though many processes have been developed to reduce these stresses, they are only applicable for wider welds and simple component geometries or are cost-intensive, respectively. The presented method uses a defocused beam after welding for heating the material regions on both sides of the weld. In this way, the welding stresses are decreased without contacting the surfaces using the available equipment. Different process parameters could be used depending on the component geometry and the laser power. The mechanism and the influence of the process parameters were investigated by FEM-simulation and experiments on S355J2+N steel and showed a stress reduction of about 73%.
The main characteristic feature of deep penetration laser beam welding is a large temperature difference between the plasma cavity (keyhole) in the centre of the weld pool and the melting/solidification front. Large temperature gradients in the weld pool result in a very intensive thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection. The weld pool surface width becomes very large and unstable. However, an externally applied oscillating magnetic field can stabilize the surface of the melt (the Garnier-Moreau effect, 1983). In the present work this technology was used to stabilize the surface of the weld pool in partial penetration 4.4 kW Nd:YAG laser beam welding of AW-5754 alloyin PA position. The AC magnet was mounted on the laser welding head. The oscillating magnet field was oriented perpendicular to the welding direction. It was found that the AC magnet field can drastically reduce the surface roughness of welds. The analysis of the x-ray images shows a rastic reduction of porosity content in the welds. This effect can be explained as a result of electromagnetic ectification of the melt.
Thick-walled pipes made of steel are the basis of a large number of components in mechanical and installation engineering, e.g. for hydraulic components, in power station technology or in the petroleum industry. Particularly when strict positional and shape tolerances are demanded, the classical manufacturing process is chip-producing machining from the solid material. However, this is time-intensive and material-intensive. The laser/GMA hybrid processes with modern high-power lasers are a suitable alternative. With these processes, it is currently possible to weld components with a wall thickness up to approx. 15 mm with little distortion in one pass. However, in initial experiments, solidification cracks with longitudinal and vertical orientations in relation to the welding direction, so-called central line cracks, were established in welds on pipes. Within the framework of a research project, it was possible to determine the cause of the cracking and to find measures in order to avoid it. The technical boundary conditions could be complied with in this respect. The article gives an overview of the research project and the essential results.
Simulation of an inductive weld pool support for deep penetration laser beam welding of metal parts
(2012)
three-dimensional laminar steady state numerical model was used to investigate the influence of an altemating current (ac) magnetic field during single pass high power laser beam keyhole welding of 20 mm thick aluminum. The three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics and electromagnetic field equations were solved with the commercial finite element package COMSOL Multiphysics. Dominant physical effects of the process were taken into account: Thermo-capillary (Marangoni) convection at the upper and lower weld pool surfaces, natural convection due to the gravity influence and the latent heat of solid-liquid phase transition. Simulations were conducted for several magnetic field strengths and it was found that the gravity drop-out associated with welding of thick plates due to the hydrostatie pressure can be prevented by the application of an ac magnetic field below the weld specimen of around 70 mT (rms) at an oscillation frequency of 450 Hz. The inductive support System allows for single-pass laser beam welding of thick aluminum plates. The flow pattem in the molten zone and the temperature distributions are significantly changed by the application of the electromagnetic forces in the weld pool.
A multi-physics numerical model was developed to investigate the influence of a steady magnetic field during partial penetration keyhole laser beam welding of an aluminum plate in flat position. Three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics including phase transition and electromagnetic field partial differential equations were solved with the finite element differential equation solver COMSOL Multiphysics. The magnetic field was aligned perpendicularly to the welding direction. The main objective of these simulations was to estimate the critical value of the magnetic field needed to suppress convective flows in the weld pool during high-power (up to 20 kW) laser beam welding of aluminum alloys with up to 20 mm deep weld pool. It reveals that steady magnetic fields with corresponding Hartmann numbers Ha^2 ~ 10^4 based on the half-width of the weld pool can effectively suppress convective flows in the weld pool. Moreover, the typically occurring wineglass-shape of the weld cross section caused by thermo-capillary flow is weakened.
Grain refinement is an important possibility to enhance the weldability of aluminium weld metal that is usually defined by its susceptibility to solidification cracking. In this study, grain refinement was achieved through the addition of commercial grain refiner containing titanium and boron to the GTA weld metal of aluminium alloy 6082. The weld metal mean grain size could be reduced significantly from about 70 µm to a saturated size of 21 µm with a change in grain shape from columnar to equiaxed. The grain refinement prevented the formation of centreline solidification cracking that was present only in welds with unrefined grain structure. A variation of torch speed led to a strong change of solidification parameters such as cooling rate that was measured in the weld metal and the corresponding solidification rate and thermal gradient. The ratio thermal gradient/growth rate (G/R) decreased from 50 K s/mm² (high torch speed) to 10 K s/mm² (low torch speed). However, the variation of torch speed did not change the tendency for solidification cracking. The microstructure of unrefined and completely refined weld metal was compared. The observed change in size and distribution of the interdendritic phases was related to the change in susceptibility to solidification cracking.
A three-dimensional turbulent steady state numerical model was used to investigate the influence of a stationary magnetic field during partial penetration high power laser beam keyhole welding of thick aluminum parts. COMSOL Multiphysics was used to calculate the three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics and electromagnetic field equations. Thermo-capillary (Marangoni) convection at the upper weld pool surface, natural convection due to gravity and latent heat of solid-liquid phase transition were taken into account. It shows that the application of steady magnetic fields produces a braking Lorentz force in the melt based on the Hartmann effect. The flow pattern in the weld pool and also the temperature distribution and associated weld pool geometry thus change significantly. Convective flows in the melt can effectively be suppressed and the influence of thermo-capillary flow is diminished to a thin surface layer.
An oscillating (AC) magnet field was used to suppress porosity formation and to stabilize the surface of the weld pool in bead-on-plate partial penetration 4.4 kW Nd:YAG laser beam welding of AW-5754 plates in PA position. The magnet was mounted on the laser welding head. The magnet field (up to 0.4 T and 10 kHz) was oriented perpendicular the welding direction.
The analysis of the weld cross-sections and x-ray images shows a drastic reduction (up to 90%) of porosity contents in the welds. The observed effects can be explained in terms of electromagnetically (EM)
induced 'Archimedes' forces as well as the EM stirring flow in the weld pool. Moreover, usage of AC magnetic fields results in a significant reduction (up to 50%) of the surface roughness of the welds. This effect can be explained in terms of electromagnetic (EM)
contribution to the surface tension (the Garnier-Moreau effect)
This work is devoted to the investigation of the lasermatter interaction during up to 20 kW ytterbium fiber laser welding of thick mild steel plates. The plume attenuation of a probe 1.3 µm wavelength diode laser beam as well as of continuous radiation in the 250–600 nm wavelength range was measured during welding with and without Ar shielding gas supply. The measured results allow the calculation of the average size and concentration of fine condensed metal particles in different plume areas using the multi-wavelength method and the Mie scattering theory. The plume temperature, which determines the condensation conditions, was measured by means of Fe I atom spectral line emission registration. The spatial distribution of the extinction coefficient in the welding plume was measured and the plume attenuation of the high-power fiber laser beam during the welding process was estimated.
Due to significant developments over the last decades, laser beam welding has become a well-established industrial process offering high processing speeds and causing low component distortions. But an important issue currently preventing its intense use, especially in the energy or plant construction sector where high alloy steels are applied, concerns hot crack formation. Although considerable advances in understanding hot cracking mechanisms have been made, most of the known influencing factors are metallurgical in character. The thermo-mechanical effects are barely considered or quantified. Up to the present, there exist numerous hot cracking tests that were however conceived for welding methods other than laser beam welding. Considering the special features of the laser welding process, such as high cooling rates and the narrow process zone, results obtained with other welding techniques and test procedures cannot be transferred to laser beam welding. In this study, the laser beam weldability of various stainless steels was examined in terms of their susceptibility to hot cracking by means of the controlled tensile weldability test, which was proven to be suitable for use in conjunction with CO2 laser welding. This test allows the application of tensile strain at a variable fixed cross-head speed transverse to the welding direction. Full and partial penetration bead-on-plate welds were produced. In a first attempt to determine the impact of the applied external strain on the local transient strains and strain rates near the weld pool, an optical system was used to measure the backside surface of partial penetration welds. The results showed the influence of the strain and the strain rates on hot crack formation. Furthermore, a classification of the studied austenitic, duplex and ferritic stainless steels according to the established test criteria (critical strain and cross-head speed) was conducted.
In a repair process chain, damaged areas or cracks can be removed by milling and subsequently be reconditioned with new material deposition. The use of laser metal deposition has been investigated for this purpose. The material has been deposited into different groove shapes, using both stainless steel and Ti-6Al-4 V. The influence of welding parameters on the microstructure and the heat affected zone has been studied. The parameters have been modified in order to achieve low heat input and consequently low distortion as well as low metallurgical impact. Finally, an evaluation of the opportunities for an automatized repair process is made.
Influence of the main laser welding parameters on process stability and resulting weld quality were investigated. Effects of weld edge preparation on the weld appearance and quality were considered. The obtained welded joints were subjected to radiographic tests for detection of internal imperfections. Metallurgical characterisation of the samples regarding the resulting phase composition and hardness was conducted. Tensile and potentiodynamic tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical and corrosion properties. The results provide an insight into the advantages and limitations of the laser welding process for joining high-manganese alloyed stainless steels. Conditions for the production of defect-free and corrosion-resistant welds having good mechanical properties could be determined.
Manganese alloyed stainless steels represent a cost-effective alternative to conventional CrNi- stainless steels due to strong fluctuations of the market prices for nickel seen during the last years. In CrMnNi steels, nickel is partially replaced by lower-cost manganese and small amounts of nitrogen for stabilization of the austenitic phase. This also brings benefits regarding the mechanical properties, as it results in an increased material strength. Laser beam welding of such materials was investigated for direct comparison with standard CrNi steels. Main emphasis was laid on finding adequate process parameters to achieve a stable welding process and obtain a good weld quality. Two different laser sources, a 4.4 kW Nd:YAG and a 5 kW CO2 laser, were used to weld 1.5 mm stainless steel sheets in continuous wave mode. A high-Mn austenitic (1.4376) and a lean duplex (1.4162) steel, as well as the standard austenitic (1.4301) and duplex (1.4362) grades were selected as test materials. Both butt and lap joint configurations were studied. Experiments were carried out systematically, varying the welding speed, laser power and focal point position in order to determine adequate process windows. The influence of the shielding gas type and flow rate on the process stability and the weld quality were investigated. The effects of weld edge preparation on the weld appearance and quality levels attained were also examined. The obtained welded joints were subjected to radiographic tests for detection of internal imperfections. Also a metallurgical characterization of the samples regarding the resulting phase composition or balance and hardness depending on the welding process parameters was conducted. Furthermore, tensile and potentiodynamic tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical and corrosion properties, respectively. The results provide an insight into the advantages and limitations of the laser beam welding process for joining high-manganese alloyed stainless steels. Conditions for the production of defect-free and corrosion-resistant welds having good mechanical properties could be determined.
Ultrasound propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic materials is difficult to examine because of the directional dependency of elastic properties. Simulation tools play an important role in developing advanced reliable ultrasonic non destructive testing techniques for the inspection of anisotropic materials particularly austenitic cladded materials, austenitic welds and dissimilar welds. In this contribution we present an adapted 2D ray tracing model for evaluating ultrasonic wave fields quantitatively in inhomogeneous anisotropic materials. Inhomogeneity in the anisotropic material is represented by discretizing into several homogeneous layers. According to ray tracing model, ultrasonic ray paths are traced during its energy propagation through various discretized layers of the material and at each interface the problem of reflection and transmission is solved. The presented algorithm evaluates the transducer excited ultrasonic fields accurately by taking into account the directivity of the transducer, divergence of the ray bundle, density of rays and phase relations as well as transmission coefficients. The ray tracing model is able to calculate the ultrasonic wave fields generated by a point source as well as a finite dimension transducer. The ray tracing model results are validated quantitatively with the results obtained from 2D Elastodynamic Finite Integration Technique (EFIT) on several configurations generally occurring in the ultrasonic non destructive testing of anisotropic materials. Finally, the quantitative comparison of ray tracing model results with experiments on 32 mm thick austenitic weld material and 62 mm thick austenitic cladded material is discussed.
Quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic C-scan images in homogeneous and layered anisotropic austenitic materials is of general importance for understanding the influence of anisotropy on wave fields during ultrasonic non-destructive testing and evaluation of these materials. In this contribution, a three dimensional ray tracing method is presented for evaluating ultrasonic C-scan images quantitatively in general homogeneous and layered anisotropic austenitic materials. The directivity of the ultrasonic ray source in general homogeneous columnar grained anisotropic austenitic steel material (including layback orientation) is obtained in three dimensions based on Lamb's reciprocity theorem. As a prerequisite for ray tracing model, the problem of ultrasonic ray energy reflection and transmission coefficients at an interface between (a) isotropic base material and anisotropic austenitic weld material (including layback orientation), (b) two adjacent anisotropic weld metals and (c) anisotropic weld metal and isotropic base material is solved in three dimensions. The influence of columnar grain orientation and layback orientation on ultrasonic C-scan image is quantitatively analyzed in the context of ultrasonic testing of homogeneous and layered austenitic steel materials. The presented quantitative results provide valuable information during ultrasonic characterization of homogeneous and layered anisotropic austenitic steel materials.
TRIP-steels offer a good combination between strength and ductility. Therefore TRIP-steels are widely used in the automobile industries. The aim of this work is to study the stability of involved phases during heating and to identify the kinetics of the occuring phase transformations. For that purpose, in-situ diffraction measurements, using high energy synchrotron radiation were conducted. The analysis revealed the decomposition of the metastable austenitic phase into carbide and ferrite along the heating process and the regeneration of the austenite by further heating of the sample.
A three-dimensional turbulent steady state numerical model was used to investigate the influence of an alternating current (AC) magnetic field during high power laser beam keyhole welding of 20 mm thick stainless steel AISI 304 being modeled as an ideal non-ferromagnetic material. Three-dimensional heat transfer and fluid dynamics as well as the electromagnetic field equations were solved with the finite element package COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2 taking into account the most important physical effects of the process. Namely, the thermo-capillary (Marangoni) convection at the weld pool boundaries, natural convection due to gravity and density differences in the melt volume as well as latent heat of solidliquid phase transitions at the phase boundaries were included in the model.
It is shown that the gravity drop-out associated with the welding of thick plates due to the hydrostatic pressure can be prevented by the application of AC magnetic field between 80 mT and 135 mT for corresponding oscillation frequencies between 1 kHz and 10 kHz below the weld specimen. Experimentally, a value of the magnetic flux density of around 230 mT was found to be necessary to allow for single-pass laser beam welding without sagging or drop-out of melt for a 20 mm thick combination of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 and ferritic construction steel S235JRC at an oscillation frequency of around 2.6 kHz.
Simultaneous measurement of tool torque, traverse force and axial force in friction stir welding
(2013)
Simultaneous measurement of the tool torque, traverse force and axial force during friction stir welding process is of great significance to the understanding of the underlying process mechanism and the optimizing of the process parameters. Different from the traditional measurement methods using load cell or rotating component dynamometer, an indirect but economical methodology is used in this study for the simultaneous measurement of the traverse force, axial force and tool torque by monitoring the output torques of the servo motors and main spindle three-phase AC induction motor inside the FSW machine. The values of the traverse force, axial force and tool torque are determined under different welding conditions, and the influencing factors are examined. The measured results in friction stir welding of AA2024-T4 aluminum alloys at different combinations of tool rotation speed and welding speed lay foundation for process optimization.
High power laser beam welding of austenitic stainless steel with electromagnetic weld pool support
(2013)
Microcrack formation during gas metal arc welding of high-strength fine-grained structural steel
(2014)
The recent development of high-performance-modified spray arc processes in gas metal arc welding due to modern digital control technology and inverter power sources enables a focused spray arc, which results in higher penetration depths and welding speed. However, microcracks occurred in the weld metal while approaching the process limits of the modified spray arc, represented by a 20-mm double layer DV-groove butt-weld. These cracks were detected in structural steel exhibiting a yield strength level of up to 960 MPa and are neither dependent on the used weld power source nor a consequence of the modified spray arc process itself. The metallographic and fractographic investigations of the rather exceptional fracture surface lead to the classification of the microcracks as hot cracks. The effects of certain welding parameters on the crack probability are clarified using a statistical design of experiment. However, these microcracks do not impact the design specification for toughness in the Charpy V-notch test (absorbed energy at -40 °C for the present material is 30 J).
Laser hybrid welding technology provides a number of advantages, which in the previous decade have promoted its implementation in different branches of industry such as automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding and power generation. Some examples of the applications of laser hybrid welding are reviewed to demonstrate the technological and economic potential of this technology. The main objective of this chapter is to show some of the benefits and limitations of the process and to give some examples of how the number of applications could rise, taking into account the advantages of the new laser systems, optical components, arc power sources and sensor systems available nowadays.
Different types of lasers are used nowadays for a number of technological Solutions, Modem high power solid-state lasers with high brightness of Radiation like Fiber or disc lasers find ever more applications in welding technology. Apart from the replacement of the CC>2-iasers traditionaHy used fcr these purposes, they provide new technological possibilities of metal treatment, such as using industrial robots and remote welding with high power laser radiation. The possibility of flexible optical fiber delivery of the radiation to any point gives a great technological advantage and permits welding processes to be realized with complicated weld seam geomelries and different positions using a minimum of additional fixtures. The short wavelength of the high power solid state lasers (1.07 ’m) causes another advantage. The coefflcient of inverse 170
Bremsstrahlung absorption from free electrons in plasma for such radiation is about 100 times lower than for the COi-iaser radiation. Owing to this fact, using the solid state lasers allows it to avoid a negative influence of the welding plume.
However, a short wavelength can lead to another kind of laser Radiation attenuation, which is connected with the formation of a cloud consisting of small metal particles that absorb and scatter laser radiation. This cloud arises due to the condensation of hot metal vapor by flying out from the deep Penetration channel and broadening in relatively cold atmosphere over the metal Surface.
Some theoretical and experimental approaches were made in advance in Order to estimate the influence of the Condensed particles on laser radiation and welding quality.
In this paper a systematic study including the determination of the Cloud size and its dynamical characteristics is presented. The results were obtained within the scope of the first stage of the metal vapor condensation process Investigation during welding with high power fiber lasers.