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- 9 Komponentensicherheit (143)
- 9.3 Schweißtechnische Fertigungsverfahren (140)
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Full penetration laser welding was carried out on a 10 mm steel plate using a 16 kW maximum power continuous wave thin disk laser. Upper surface and lower surface of molten pool were observed synchronously with two high speed CCD cameras during the welding process. The lower surface was much longer and more unstable than the upper one. A three dimensional laser deep penetration welding model in which volume of fluid (VOF) method was combined with a ray-tracing algorithm was used to simulate the dynamic coupling between keyhole and molten pool in laser full penetration welding. The calculated weld cross-section morphology and molten pool length on both upper side and lower side agree well with experimental results. Evolution of molten pool in lower side during full penetration laser welding was analyzed, periodical features of energy coupling, molten pool behavior and keyhole dynamics in laser full penetration welding were identified and discussed.
In todays automotive frame-and-body construction, laser welds are typically carried out as square butt welds in lap joints. These welds are increasingly produced by remote laser welding optics with working distances of 500 mm and more. This enables simple path programming because clamping devices are traversed over and therefore low cycle times with improved productivity is achieved. However, workpiece tolerances lead to part displacements and varying joint positions over time. These displacements have to be acted against by appropriate flange length that contain for positioning deviations. Using this concept, aspired light-weight optimisations, e.g. reducing flange length, are difficult to achieve. By using seam tracking sensors, part tolerances are automatically detected and counteracted for. In addition, joint edge detection allows constructive changes on the type of weld. Fillet welds reduce flange lengths', improve force flow and open up possibilities for visual quality monitoring. Apart from that, vertical displacements in the form of height tolerances still occur. This needs consideration by adapting the set of welding parameter to the current welding situation. In this respect, one main welding parameter is the lateral beam offset to the upper sheet. Since body-in-white welding applications mainly comprise of zinc-coated steel sheets, special requirements for the welding process are given. Especially zero-gap-welding and welding of joints with gaps larger than 0.2 mm are critical. Using a laser beam oscillation process can stabilise these situations. Approaches to finding parameter sets are presented in this paper.
The accurate prediction of the thermal energy generation and distribution in friction stir welding process is of great significance for the optimization of the process parameters and the understanding of the underlying mechanisms. In this study, a new method of integrative calculation and measurement is proposed to obtain the more reasonable values of the frictional coefficient and the slip rate, which are both used to characterize the heat generation rate at the tool-workpiece contact interfaces. A three-dimensional model is established to fully couple the energy generation, heat transfer and material flow in friction stir welding of aluminum alloys. The energy produced by both interfacial friction and plastic deformation are taken into consideration. The analysis accuracy of the thermal energy generation and distribution is improved, and the distribution features of thermal energy density in the vicinity of the tool are elucidated. The predicted peak temperature values at some locations are in agreement with the experimentally measured ones.
Welding is one of the most critical operations for the construction of reliable metal structures in everything from ships to reactor vessels. When welds fail, often the entire structure fails, and expectations on weld quality have never been higher. Any process that uses a localized heat source, such as welding, is likely to result in some distortion. The welding process of very thick metal components is not inherently stable and is barely controllable without external forces.
This paper investigates the numerical simulations of multi-kilowatt disk laser and fiber laser welding, ranging from 6 to 18 kW to study the behavior of molten pool in 20-mm-thick steel plate by using Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) method and several mathematical models like Gaussian heat source, recoil pressure, Marangoni flow, buoyancy force, and additional shear stress and heat source due to the metallic vapor. Vortex flow pattern is observed for higher laser power except for 6-kW case, and the higher the laser power, the bigger the vortex flow pattern. Welding speed has an influence on molten pool in terms of depth of penetration and size of molten pool, but overall shape of molten pool remains the same. The reasons for the vortex flow pattern in high-power laser welding are the absorption of more energy at the bottom of keyhole, which promotes more liquid metal at the bottom, while for lower power with lower speed, the melt formation is more uniform in the thickness direction and most of the molten metal in the lower part of keyhole reaches the top of molten pool, and consequently, no vortex flow pattern is observed in the keyhole bottom.
Im Rahmen eines AiF-Forschungsvorhabens wurde die Beeinflussung des Schweißprozesses mittels generierter Wechselstrom-Magnetfelder (ACMagnetfelder) beim Laserstrahlschweißen von Aluminiumlegierungen untersucht. Das vorrangige Augenmerk galt hierbei der Entfernung von Poren sowie der Stabilisierung der Schweißnahtoberfläche zur Vermeidung von rauen Schweißnähten. Das Schweißen mit Einsatz des AC-Magneten erzeugte im Vergleich zu den Referenznähten deutlich flachere Schweißnähte mit reduzierter Porenanzahl, die typische Schuppenstruktur wurde unterdrückt. Das Magnetfeld bewirkte bei entsprechenden Parametern der magnetischen Flussdichte und der Frequenz eine Halbierung der Rauigkeit der Schweißnahtoberfläche. Neben der Oberflächenberuhigung wurde auch die Verteilung von Poren in der Schmelze beeinflusst. Es konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass bei einer geeigneten Auswahl der Parameter von AC-Magnetfeldern die Porositätsanteile in der Schweißnaht auf ein Zehntel gegenüber den Referenzschweißnähten reduziert werden können.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Within the framework of an AiF research project, investigations were conducted into the influences exerted on the welding process using generated alternating current (AC) magnetic fields during the laser beam welding of aluminium alloys. In this respect, attention was principally paid to removing pores and to stabilising the weld surface in order to avoid rough welds. In comparison with the reference welds, welding utilising the AC magnet produced considerably flatter welds with a reduced number of pores and the typical ripple structure was suppressed. With corresponding parameters for the magnetic flux density and the frequency, the roughness of the weld surface was halved using the magnetic field. In addition to the surface stabilisation, influences were also exerted on the distribution of pores in the molten metal. It was possible to prove that, by selecting suitable parameters for AC magnetic fields, the porosity proportions in the weld can be reduced to one tenth of those in the reference welds.
Laser beam oscillation opens up new possibilities of influencing the welding process in terms of compensation of tolerances and reduction of process emissions that occur in industrial applications, such as in body-in-white manufacturing. The approaches are to adapt the melt pool width in order to generate sufficient melt volume or to influence melt pool dynamics, e.g. for a better degassing. Welding results are highly dependent on the natural frequency of the melt pool, the used spot diameter and the oscillation speed of the laser beam. The conducted investigations with an oscillated 300 µm laser spot show that oscillation strategies, which are adjusted to the joining situation improve welding result for zero-gap welding as well as for bridging gaps to approximately 0.8 mm. However, a complex set of parameters has to be considered in order to generate proper welding results. This work puts emphasize on introducing them.
MAG welding is widely used for thin sheet metal applications such as car body structures due to its ability to tolerate a fair amount of deviation of the components from the ideal shape. In MAG welding, the process window is sufficiently large to accommodate the expected component tolerances. In practice, however, quality control is an issue since most welds are produced with parameters outside of the optimum range, especially in the case of automated MAG welding. To ensure best performance, a robust real-time control law is needed that adapts critical process parameters to the changing conditions, most notably the variation in gap height. Here, the gap-dependent adaptive control algorithm for the deposition of filler material and the related energy input comes into play. With an optical sensor that is mounted in front of the torch, the system measures the actual position of the two components in real-time during the entire welding process and the controller adapts the relevant parameters accordingly using a dynamic process model. This optimization ensures that only the required filler material is used and the associated energy input is tightly controlled to assure best quality even in a fully automated welding process.
The ever larger requirements of the material selection in the range of maritime industry necessitate the application of high-tech materials. Titanium because of its excellent mechanical properties at low weight is an attractive alternative for the construction of ships. The goal of this investigation was to design a welding method for joining samples of 16 mm thick Ti3Al2.5 V. The welding experiments with a 20 kW Yb-fiber laser source and varying combinations of parameters were intended to qualify the laser beam welding process. The welding results were analyzed by non-destructive and destructive testing. In addition, the welding tests were recorded with two high-speed cameras to observe the weld pool and the vapor plume. The evaluation of the high-speed images in correlation with the results of non-destructive testing shows, that a significant improvement of process stability and weld quality can be achieved by the suppression of the vapor plume.
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of externally applied magnetic fields on the weld quality in laser beam welding. The optimization of the process parameters was performed using the results of computer simulations. Welding tests were performed with up to 20 kW laser beam power. It was shown that the AC magnet with 3 kW power supply allows for a prevention of the gravity drop-out for full penetration welding of 20 mm thick stainless steel plates. For partial penetration welding it was shown that an0.5 T DC magnetic field is enough for a suppression of convective flows in the weld pool. Partial penetration welding tests with 4 kW beam power showed that the application of AC magnetic fields can reduce weld porosity by a factor of 10 compared to the reference joints. The weld surface roughness was improved by 50%.
Peculiarities of the process of orbital laser-arc welding of thick-walled large-diameter pipes
(2010)
New brilliant high-power lasers such as disc laser and fibre laser open up new fields of applications for laser-hybrid welding, e.g. power generation, shipbuilding and pipeline construction. For the use of laser-hybrid welding in pipe laying, insensibility towards tolerances and the possibility of orbital welding are very important factors in addition to the weld seam quality.
Within the scope of a basic research project, first promising results for laser-hybrid welding of thick materials could be demonstrated. As base material, the typical pipeline steel API 5L X65 was selected. With the help of a 20 kW fibre laser in combination with an arc-welding process it was possible to produce high-quality welds in plates of up to 20 mm thickness in a single pass and of up to 32 mm in three to five passes, both welded in position PA. Various joint preparations were examined to weld 20 mm thick plates in one pass. Besides different welding positions, gap bridgeability and misalignment were studied. Results for microhardness and Charpy toughness are presented to proof the applicability of laser-hybrid welding for joining in pipe laying.
Continuous cooling transformation (CCT) behavior affects the transient state of
material properties employed in a numerical welding simulation, having a direct influence
on the developing stress state. Three different CCT diagrams for S355J2 steel
were employed to understand the influence of variations in CCT behavior on the numerical
calculation of welding-induced residual stresses. The CCT diagrams were
constructed from transformation data contained in the Sysweld software database,
measured dilatometric data from Gleeble experiments, and transformation data calculated
from the JMatPro software. The calculated transverse and longitudinal residual
stress distributions provided a qualitative correction only in comparison to experimental
measurements, with the largest deviation occurring near the weld
interface. Overall, the results indicate a weak dependency of the calculated residual
stresses due to anticipated CCT variations. The most significant effect on the calculated
residual stresses was shown to be related to the proportion of formed martensite.
It is suggested that CCT data of approximate accuracy is sufficient for reliable
calculation of welding-induced residual stresses.
Numerical simulation of component and assembly behaviour under different loading conditions is a main tool for safety design in automobile body shell mass production. Knowledge of local material behaviour is fundamental to such simulation tests. As a contribution to the verification of simulation results, the local deformation properties of spot-welded similar and dissimilar material joints in shear tension tests were investigated in this study for a TRIP steel (HCT690T) and a micro-alloyed steel (HX340LAD). For this reason, the local strain distribution was calculated by the digital image correlation technique (DIC). On the basis of the hardness values and microstructure of the spot welds, the differences in local strain between the selected material combinations are discussed. Additionally, the retained austenite content in the TRIP steel was analysed to explain the local strain values. Results obtained in this study regarding similar material welds suggest significant lower local strain values of the TRIP steel HCT690T compared to HX340LAD. One reason could be the decrease of retained austenite in the welded area. Furthermore, it has been ascertained that the local strain in dissimilar material welds decreases for each component compared with the corresponding similar material weld.
A method is reported with which heat affected zone (HAZ) cracks in a specific region of spot welded joints, made of advanced high strength steels, could be realised. The influence of HAZ cracks on the fatigue behaviour, which is the focus of the contribution, was studied by evaluating the stiffness characteristics as a function of the number of cycles N in comparison with crack-free specimens, i.e. by analysing HAZ and fatigue cracks on the specimen surface and the surface of fatigue fractures containing beach marks. It was found that the fatigue cracks are not initiated at the HAZ cracks. The number of cycles to failure Nf is not significantly reduced for specimens with HAZ cracks. Overall, the examinations did not reveal any influence of HAZ cracks on the fatigue strength of resistance spot welded joints.
Welding simulation is a powerful, cost-efficient tool to predict welding induced distortion. Nevertheless, effects on calculation result quality are often unknown, thus, sensitivity analyses should be performed to evaluate the influences of certain parameters on distortion development.
In the present paper, a single-layer gas metal arc (GMA) weld of 5 mm thick structural steel S355J2+N is experimentally and numerically investigated. Subsequent to welding, the numerical modeling begins with a mesh analysis based on modal analyses. Hereby, the influence of different coarsening methods and element edge length (EEL) in welding direction on the deformation behavior or the stiffness of the discrete geometry is the focus of the analysis. Secondly, phase transformations in structural steels such as S355J2+N are decisive for final product properties. The sensitivity of welding-induced distortion is examined regarding different continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams for S355J2+N.
The present investigations deal with different relevant influences on numerical calculation of welding-induced distortion. The quality and quantity of these effects are clarified based on the experimental and numerical set-up employed. Consequently, prediction of welding-induced distortion is possible and potential for pre-production optimization is present.
The paper presents bounded volume heat sources and the corresponding functional-analytical expressions for the temperature field. The power density distributions considered here are normal, exponential and parabolic. The sources model real heat sources like the welding arc, laser beam, electron beam, etc., the convection in the weld pool as well as the latent heat due to fusion and solidification. The parameters of the heat source models are unknown a priori and have to be evaluated by solving an inverse heat conduction problem. The functional-analytical technique for calculating 3D temperature fields in butt welding is developed. The proposed technique makes it possible to reduce considerably the total time for data input and solution. It is demonstrated with an example of laser beam welding of steel plates.
The development of high-strength structural steels with yield strengths up to 1000 MPa results in the requirement of suitable filler materials for welding. Recently designed low transformation temperature (LTT) alloys offer appropriate strength. The martensitic phase transformation during welding induces compressive residual stress in the weld zone. Therefore, the mechanical properties of welded joints can be improved. The present paper illustrates numerical simulation of the residual stresses in LTT-welds taking into account the effect of varying Ms/Mf-temperatures, and therefore different retained austenite contents, on the residual stresses. Residual stress distributions measured by synchrotron diffraction are taken as evaluation basis. A numerical model for the simulation of transformation affected welds is established and can be used for identification of appropriate Ms-temperatures considering the content of retained austenite.
Resistance spot welded joints made of two advanced high strength steels (AHSS) and one high strength steel (HSS) were examined. In the high cycle fatigue regime tests were realised for one loading condition, and the load and the displacement were measured. From the load and displacement range, the stiffness was calculated and in situ normalised to its value after 1000 cycles. It was thus possible to use the normalised stiffness evaluated during the experiment as failure criterion for the fatigue test of resistance spot welded joints. In order to evaluate this failure criterion, fatigue cracks were produced in the three different steel grades mentioned above according to user-specified levels of the normalised stiffness. It was found that the fatigue crack area increases linearly and the through-sheet-thickness crack length exponentially with decreasing stiffness. The comparison of the fatigue crack propagation during the fatigue test of the three different tested base metals showed very similar values. The comparability of fatigue tests performed on spot welded joints might thus be improved by the in situ evaluated stiffness as a failure criterion. This can be also used in further work to verify results of computer simulations of the stress intensity factor at spot welds with the help of experimental results.
Die Ermittlung lokaler Werkstoffkennwerte im Schweißbereich ist für die Auslegung sicherheitsrelevanter Bauteile insbesondere durch Finite-Elemente-Berechnungen von großer Bedeutung. Konventionelle Prüfmethoden können lediglich globale Kennwerte bereitstellen, die jedoch gerade für die Berechnung widerstandspunktgeschweißter Bauteile häufig nicht ausreichen, da diese durch das Vorliegen örtlich eng begrenzter Fügezonen gekennzeichnet sind. Moderne Prüfmethoden wie die optische Dehnungsfeldmessung ermöglichen hingegen eine orts- und zeitkonkrete Bestimmung der Werkstoffkenndaten. Um das Potenzial optischer Dehnungsfeldmessungen für das Charakterisieren des lokalen Werkstoffverhaltens von Punktschweißverbindungen zu ermitteln, wurden Scherzugversuche sowie Zugversuche an widerstandspunktgeschweißten hochfesten Stählen durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen das hohe Potenzial dieses Verfahrens sowohl für die Quantifizierung des lokalen Dehnungsverhaltens im Fügebereich als auch für die Ermittlung lokaler Werkstoffkenndaten.
Direct measurement and quantification of phase transformation in a low-alloyed transformation induced plasticity steels depending on the tensile load as well as determination of the real true stress and true strain values were carried out in-situ using high energy synchrotron radiation. Digital image correlation technique was used to quantify more precisely the true strain values. The aim of the work was to obtain a better understanding of the phase transformation of commercial low-alloyed transformation induced plasticity steel depending on the true strain and true stress values.
Peculiarities of the process of orbital laser-arc welding of thick-walled large-diameter pipes
(2010)
Manganese alloyed stainless steels represent a cost-effective alternative to conventional CrNi- stainless steels due to strong fl uctuations 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 benefi ts 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 fi nding 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 confi gurations 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 infl uence of the shielding gas type and fl ow 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.
Grain refinement is an important opportunity to improve mechanical properties of fusion welds and the weldability (susceptibility to solidification cracking) of the base metal. In this study, grain refinement was achieved in aluminium welds through additions of grain refiner to the weld metal. Increasing grain refiner additions led to a decrease of the weld metal mean grain size (down to −86 %). The grain refinement efficiency was the highest in commercial pure Al (Alloy 1050A, Al 99.5), followed by Alloy 6082 (Al Si1MgMn) and Alloy 5083 (Al Mg4.5Mn0.7). To investigate this clear influence of alloy content on grain size, the undercooling parameters P and Q were calculated. Temperature measurements revealed that solidification parameters such as solidification growth rate or cooling rate vary significantly along the solidification front, dependent upon torch speed and alloy. On the basis of this comparison, an analytical approach was used to model the columnar to equiaxed transition (CET). Moreover, wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses revealed particles rich in Ti and B that are probably TiB2 particles coated by Al3Ti nucleating Al grains during solidification. Also, Ti/B contents needed in commercial filler wires to allow optimum weld metal grain refinement were calculated dependent upon base alloy and welding process.
This work addresses the fatigue strength of friction-welded joints for the drive pinion in heavy-duty trucks. Three different friction welding (FW) variants were tested for the joint between the pinion and the bevel of the shaft: (1) conventional FW using series materials, (2) conventional FW from dissimilar materials for every part, and (3) dissimilar joints by applying joint-site structure of FW. Each joint variant was compared to the series production part using a 4-point bending test. Results showed that the higher strength material slightly improved the fatigue strength of the conventional friction-welded joints. Despite the light weight of the component joined structurally at the site, the joint revealed a lower endurance limit compared to other variants. However, there has been little discussion on the weld zone position. The applied equivalent stresses on the weld zone of the joint-site structure are less similar to the position for the conventional FW. Characterization of the failure explains the extraordinary behaviors in relation to S-N curves.
Laser remote welding is a dynamic and flexible joining technology which enables various new approaches in welding sequence and weld position planning. However, the challenge is to find the optimal set-up within this large parameter space. In this article, numerical welding simulation is used to deal with this challenge. For a car door, different welding sequences and weld positions were numerically analyzed and compared with respect to its welding distortion behavior.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) are applied in evaluating possible social and environmental impacts of the state-of-art welding technologies, such as Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW), Manual Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Automatic GMAW and Automatic Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding (LAHW). The LCA results indicate that for 1 meter weld seam, MMAW consumes the largest amount of resources (like filler material and coating on electrodes) and energy, which contributes to comparatively higher environmental impacts in global warming potential, acidification, photochemical ozone creation potential and eutrophication than other chosen processes. With regard to social aspects, the health issues and fair salary are under survey to compare the relative potential risk on human health caused by fumes in different welding technologies, and to indicate the sufficiency of current salary of welders in Germany. The results reflect that the wage status of welders is still fair and sufficient. The manual processes bring much higher potential risk of welders health than the automatic processes, especially MMAW.
Welding is one of the most critical operations for the construction of reliable metal structures in everything from ships to reactor vessels. When welds fail, the entire structure often fails—so expectations on weld quality have never been higher. Any process that uses a localized heat source, such as welding, is likely to result in some distortion. The welding process of very thick metal components is not inherently stable and is barely controllable without external forces.
This paper deals with the use of an adaptive control system for compensating the variation in the gap height of a fillet welded lap joint. Gap bridging requires the input of additional filler material and is related to an increased energy input. Hence, the aim was a compensation of the effect of an increased heat input, in order to maintain the weld pool and excessive penetration, which can prevent consequently root reinforcement and burn-through. The findings achieved in this work show possibilities for a real-time controlled adjustments of the welding parameters in automated metal active gas (MAG) welding for compensating a higher heat input, in particular by means of the torch offset relative to the top sheet at the fillet weld on a lap joint.
Understanding the influence of tool/pin shapes on the thermal and material flow behaviors in friction stir welding is of great significance for the optimal design of tool/pin based on a scientific principle. In this study, a numerical method based on computational fluid dynamics is employed to quantitatively analyze the thermo-physical phenomena in friction stir welding with two tools of different pin shapes (axisymmetrical conical tool and asymmetrical triflat tool). Through combining a steady state model with a transient state model, both the computation efficiency and accuracy are ensured. The boundary conditions of heat transfer and material flow are determined with considering a partial sticking/sliding contact condition at the toolworkpiece interface. The total heat generation, heat density and temperature distribution during the welding process with triflat tool are elucidated and compared with that of conical tool, and the material flow patterns and deformation regions of various pin orientations are illustrated in detail. It is found that the deformation zone caused by triflat tool is larger than that by conical tool, which is validated by the weld macrographs. The computed thermal cycles and peak temperature values at some locations are in good agreement with the experimentally measured ones.
Widerstandspunktschweißen ist insbesondere im Automobilbau eine der wichtigsten Fügetechniken. Bislang erfolgt die Qualitätssicherung überwiegend durch stichprobenartige zerstörende Prüfung. Eine zerstörungsfreie Prüftechnik würde neben der Reduzierung der Prüfkosten auch eine Optimierung des Punktschweißverfahrens bedeuten, da prinzipiell jeder Schweißpunkt geprüft werden könnte und somit auch eine Reduzierung der Anzahl der Schweißpunkte möglich ist.
Es wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt, bei dem die Punktschweißverbindung zwischen zwei Stahlblechen optisch auf einer Blechseite mittels Laser oder Blitzlicht erwärmt wird. Die aufgeschmolzene Zone, die sogenannte Schweißlinse, stellt dabei neben der mechanischen Verbindung auch eine Wärmebrücke zwischen den beiden verschweißten Blechen dar, die bei diesem Verfahren ausgenutzt wird. Durch den verbesserten thermischen Kontakt zwischen den verschweißten Blechen an der Schweißlinse kontrastiert diese deutlich mit dem umgebenden Blechmaterial, bei dem der Wärmeübertrag zwischen den Blechen vergleichsweise gering ist. Dieser Kontrast im thermischen Verhalten kann mittels zeitabhängiger Thermografie gemessen werden.
Durch das hier vorgestellte Verfahren kann mittels aktiver Thermografie sowohl in Transmissions- als auch in Reflexionsanordnung die Größe des thermischen Kontaktes zwischen den beiden Blechen ermittelt werden, welche ein Maß für die Größe der Schweißlinse und damit für die qualitative Güte der Schweißung darstellt. Ein Vorteil des entwickelten Verfahrens ist seine Anwendbarkeit auf Bleche ohne Oberflächenbehandlung.
The presented apparatus enables laser beam welding of thick materials under local reduced pressure conditions, thus improving the quality of welds and reducing the laser beam power necessary for complete penetration welding. The vacuum cap presented in this article uses a local reduced ambient pressure environment in a tight zone around the welding area and, in contrast to a conventional vacuum chamber, it is movable in the welding direction. The mobile installation is very compact and reaches pressure values of around 200 mbar. The reduced pressure in the vacuum cap is sufficient to generate 50 % higher penetration depth in comparison to welding under ambient pressure conditions. The low pressure around the keyhole reduces the vapour-plasma plume and therefore prevents a defocusing and scattering of the laser radiation. This allows to raise the amount of laser beam power entering the keyhole as well as the effective power density.
Surface modification of mild steel was undertaken using two covered electrodes and two tubular electrodes. The two covered electrodes are DIN 8555: E6-UM-60 and E10-UM-60GR; however, the two tubular electrodes are E10-GF-60GR1 and E10-GF-60GR2. Chemical analysis for the weld metal and XRD of the flux covering for covered electrodes and flux core for tubular electrodes were conducted. The most important factor in determining the wear resistance is the microstructure of the deposit layers. In similar carbon equivalent electrodes E10-UM-60GR and E10-GF-60GR1, electrode E10-GF-60GR1 (tubular) shows larger carbides area fraction and better wear resistance than electrode E10-UM-60GR (covered). This could be attributed to a lower dilution associated with tubular electrode compared with covered electrode. The two tubular electrodes showed higher wear resistance than the covered electrodes which is mainly due to the larger Fe-Cr carbide precipitation area fraction.
This paper presents an approach to reconstruct the three-dimensional transient temperature field for fusion welding processes as input data for computational weld mechanics. The methodology to solve this inverse heat conduction problem fast and automatically focuses on analytical temperature field models for volumetric heat sources and application of global optimisation. The important issue addressed here is the question which experimental data is needed to guarantee a unique reconstruction of the experimental temperature field. Different computational-experimental test cases are executed to determine the influence of various sets of discrete experimental data on the solvability of the optimisation problem. The application of energy distributions utilised for laser beam welding allows reconstructing the temperature field efficiently. Furthermore, the heat input into the workpiece determined by the simulation contributes to the evaluation of the thermal efficiency of the welding process.
Die Anwendung der additiven Fertigung nimmt stark zu. Eine neue Designfreiheit erlaubt es hier den Konstrukteurinnen und Konstrukteuren, die Bauteilfunktion in den Vordergrund der Entwicklungen zu stellen. Leichtbaustrukturen sowie Funktionsintegration machen es möglich, vormals Bauteile aus vielen Einzelkomponenten jetzt in einem einzigen Bauteil zu vereinigen. Experten am Fraunhofer IPK qualifizieren das Laser-Pulver-Auftragschweißen für die additive Fertigung und legen dabei besonderen Wert auf die Automatisierung des Verfahrens.
Ob in der Automobilindustrie, beim Rohrleitungs- oder beim Kraftwerksbau – anspruchsvolle und hochwertige Fügeverbindungen entscheiden oft über die Qualität des Endproduktes. Um z. B. das Verzugsverhalten von Karosseriebauteilen vorab einschätzen zu können, setzen Hersteller auf die numerische Simulation der geschweißten Komponenten. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt hier den Fügestellen. Da diese oft nur wenige Millimeter klein sind, kommen konventionelle Prüfverfahren wie der Zugversuch hier jedoch nicht ohne weiteres in Frage.
Forscher des Fraunhofer IPK untersuchen deshalb eine alternative Methode, um die negativen Begleiterscheinungen des thermischen Schweißens im Vorfeld am PC zu analysieren und nötige Gegenmaßnahmen ableiten zu können.
Laser beam processes are increasingly used in the field of additive manufacturing.
Prominent methods are either powderbed-based like Laser Metal Fusion (LMF), or utilizing a powder nozzle like Laser Metal Deposition (LMD). While LMF allows the manufacturing of complex structures, build rate, part volumes and material flexibility are limited. In contrast, LMD is able to operate with high deposition rates on existing parts, and materials can be changed easily during the process. However LMD shape complexity is limited. Utilizing their respective strengths, a combination of these two additive technologies has the potential to produce complex parts with high deposition rates and increased material flexibility. In this paper, combined manufacturing with additive technologies LMF and LMD is described. Its benefit for industry with emphasis on turbomachinery is shown. As reality test for the innovation, an industrial turbine blade is manufactured.
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. SЮТЭКЛХО ПТХХОЫ ЦКЭОЫТКХЬ 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 process of laser metal deposition can be applied in many ways. Mostly, it is relevant to coating, for repair welding and for additive manufacturing. To increase the effectiveness and the productiveness, a good process understanding is necessary. Statistical test planning is effectual and often used for this purpose. For financial and temporal reasons, a restriction of the test space is reasonable. In this case, it is recommended to use a D-optimal experimental design which is practically applied to extend existing test plans or if process Limits are known. This paper investigates the applicability of a D-optimum experimental design for the laser metal deposition. The results are compared to the current results of a full factorial test plan.
Known restrictions are used for the limitation of the test space. Ti6Al4 is utilized as Substrate material and powder. Comparable results of the D-optimal experimental design and of the full factorial test plan can be demonstrated. However, 80 % of time can be saved by the experimental procedure. For this reason, the application of D-optimal experimental design for laser metal deposition is recommend.
Partial penetration welding with fiber laser on 20mm thick plates was carried out in horizontal position to study the role of secondary heating in modeling of high power fiber laser welding. Experiments were carried out using 18.8kW laser with 1.5 m/min welding speed at Ar assist gas flow rates of 0, 17, 29, and 40 l/min, all four cases show similar bead shape with bright emission of vapor plume. Numerical simulations were performed using volume of fluid method by considering three different models as models A–C. Model A considers only Fresnel reflection inside the keyhole using real time tracking of free surface. Model B considers vapor recondensation flux inside keyhole along with model A. Finally, model C is used, which considers vapor plume heating at 4100K temperature along with models A B. Secondary heating by recondensation and vapor plume is vital in modeling of high power fiber laser welding; especially, the upper part of the bead is more influenced due to secondary heating. Tungsten particles are also used to visualize the flow pattern of melt pool.
A three-dimensional multi-physics numerical model was developed for the calculation of an appropriate equivalent volumetric heat source and the prediction of the transient thermal cycle during and after fusion welding. Thus the modelling process was separated into two studies. First, the stationary process simulation of full-penetration keyhole laser beam welding of a 15 mm low-alloyed steel thick plate in flat position at a welding speed of 2 m/min and a laser power of 18 kW was performed. A fixed keyhole with a right circular cone shape was used to consider the energy absorbed by the workpiece and to calibrate the model. In the calculation of the weld pool geometry and the local temperature field, the effects of phase transition, thermo-capillary convection, natural convection and temperature-dependent material properties up to evaporation temperature were taken into account. The obtained local temperature field was then used in a subsequent study as an equivalent heat source for the computation of the transient thermal field during the laser welding process and the cooling stage of the part. The system of partial differential equations, describing the stationary heat transfer and the fluid dynamics, were strongly coupled and solved with the commercial finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0. The energy input in the transient heat transfer simulation was realised by prescription of the nodes temperature. The prescribed nodes reproduced the calculated local temperature field defining the equivalent volumetric heat source. Their translational motion through the part was modelled by a moving mesh approach. An additional remeshing condition and helper lines were used to avoid highly distorted elements. The positions of the elements of the polygonal mesh were calculated with the Laplace’s smoothing approach. Good correlation between the numerically calculated and the experimentally observed weld bead shapes and transient temperature distributions was found.
Recently developed fibre lasers provide multi-kilowatt beam power with high quality at impressive energy efficiency. Combined with gas metal arc welding (GMAW) equipment these lasers can be used in a hybrid process to weld thick-walled constructions single-pass, that are currently welded using multi-pass techniques. The main benefits are a reduction of heat induced distortions, due to the low heat input, as well as savings in filler material and process time. Probable applications can be found in power generation, ship building and pipeline constructions. An orbital (girth) laser-hybrid process using a 20 kW fibre laser and a GMAW torch is currently examined at the BAM, Berlin. The aim of this research is to obtain a stable and crack free girth welding process and to demonstrate its application in pipeline construction. The experiments are carried out on 16 mm thick plates as well pipe rings with 36" (914 mm) pipe diameter of X65. Particular welding parameters, such as welding speed, GMAW power, arc length are varied and their influence on the appearance of the weld in the different welding positions is analyzed. Even though issues remain that demand further research it could already be shown that the rings can be welded using a girth hybrid process that is divided into two half girth processes in downward direction.
One of the main factors affecting the use of lasers in the industry for welding thick structures is the process accompanying solidification cracks. These cracks mostly occurring along the welding direction in the welding center, and strongly affect the safety of the welded components. In the present study, to obtain a better understanding of the relation between the weld pool geometry, the stress distribution and the solidification cracking, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was combined with a thermo-mechanical model. The CFD model was employed to analyze the flow of the molten metal in the weld pool during the laser beam welding process. The weld pool geometry estimated from the CFD model was used as a heat source in the thermal model to calculate the temperature field and the stress development and distributions. The CFD results showed a bulging region in the middle depth of the weld and two narrowing areas separating the bulging region from the top and bottom surface. The thermo-mechanical simulations showed a concentration of tension stresses, transversally and vertically, directly after the solidification during cooling in the region of the solidification cracking.
In recent years, laser beam welding has found wide applications in many industrial fields. Solidification cracks are one of the most frequently encountered welding defects that hinder obtaining a safe weld joint. Decades of research have shown that one of the main causes of such cracks are the strain and the strain rate. Obtaining meaningful measurements of these strains has always been a major challenge for scientists, because of the specific environment of the measurement range and the many obstacles, as well as the high temperature and the plasma plume. In this study, a special experimental setup with a high-speed camera was employed to measure the strain during the welding process. The hot cracking susceptibility was investigated for 1.4301 stainless steel, and the critical strain required for solidification crack formation was locally and globally determined.
Low heat input gas metal arc welding for dissimilar metal weld overlays part II: the transition zone
(2018)
Dissimilar metal weld overlays (DMWOL) of nickel base alloys on low alloy steel components are commonly used in the oil and gas, petrochemical, and power generation industries to provide corrosion and oxidation resistance in a wide range of service environments and temperatures. Traditionally, dissimilar weld overlays are produced using cold or hot wire gas tungsten arc welding. This study aims to identify and evaluate potential advantages of low heat input gas metal arc welding processes over the conventional gas tungsten arc welding in the production of dissimilar weld overlays. In order to evaluate the quality of these overlays regarding resistance against hydrogen-assisted cracking, their transition zone region is investigated in this part of the publication series. Metallurgical characterization, including energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, is performed on Alloy 625/grade 22 steel overlays. The transition zone is characterized by a narrow planar growth zone and steep compositional gradients from the fusion boundary towards the weld metal. Evidence of low carbon contents in the planar growth zone, as well as for carbide precipitation in the cellular growth zone was found. The microstructure in the transition zone region of the fusion zone shows characteristics known to be suitable for good resistance against hydrogen embrittlement.
Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an established technology for two-dimensional surface coatings. It offers high deposition rates, high material flexibility, and the possibility to deposit material on existing components. Due to these features, LMD has been increasingly applied for additive manufacturing of 3D structures in recent years. Compared to previous coating applications, additive manufacturing of 3D structures leads to new challenges regarding LMD process knowledge. In this paper, the process steps for LMD as additive manufacturing technology are described. The experiments are conducted using titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4Vand Inconel 718. Only the LMD nozzle is used to create a shielding gas atmosphere. This ensures the high geometric flexibility needed for additive manufacturing, although issues with the restricted size and quality of the shielding gas atmosphere arise. In the first step, the influence of process parameters on the geometric dimensions of single weld beads is analyzed based on design of experiments. In the second step, a 3D build-up strategy for cylindrical specimen with high dimensional accuracy is described. Process parameters, travel paths, and cooling periods between layers are adjusted. Tensile tests show that mechanical properties in the as-deposited condition are close to wrought material. As practical example, the fir-tree root profile of a turbine blade is manufactured. The feasibility of LMD as additive technology is evaluated based on this component.
Notch impact toughness of laser beam welded thick sheets of cryogenic nickel alloyed steel X8Ni9
(2020)
The paper deals with the investigations of the impact toughness of laser beam welded 14.5 mm thick sheets made of cryogenic steel X8Ni9 as a function of preheating. This 9% nickel alloyed steel is widely used in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. An application of highly efficient welding processes such as high-power laser beam welding (LBW) in LNG sector requires an understanding of the interactions between the LBW process parameters and weld properties, in particular the impact toughness. The results show that the original fine-grained martensitic microstructure of the base metal (BM) is significantly changed by melting and crystallization during the LBW, what can lead to a decrease in the impact toughness of the weld metal (WM) below the required level. An optimal preheating temperature range leads to the favorable thermal welding cycle and is of remarkable importance for maintaining the notch impact toughness of laser beam welded joints of these thick steel sheets. A parameter window was identified in which V-notch impact toughness comparable to that of the BM at -196 °C was achieved.
The study deals with the application of the high-power hybrid-laser arc welding process on up to 15 mm thick pipe segments with the intention to avoid end crater imperfections during closing of the circumferential welds, where the pipes were turned during welding in 1G- and 2Gpositions.
Different techniques such as laser power ramp-down, abrupt switch-off of the laser power and change of the magnification of the laser spot diameter and defocusing of the laser beam relative to the workpiece were tested to remove the laser energy from the process. It could be shown that a high defocusing of the optic system above 40 mm with a resulting beam diameter > 2.9 mm in a short overlap length of approx.
20 mm leads to the formation of a cup-shaped weld seam, which is preferred for avoidance of cracks and pores in the end crater. A laser optics with motor-driven lens system was used for the welding experiments to defocuse the laser beam without changing the position of the arc.
The transport phenomena in the wire feed laser beam welding are investigated numerically. A three-dimensional transient heat transfer and fluid flow model coupled with free surface tracing and element transport is developed. A ray-tracing method with local grid refinement algorithm is used to calculate the multiple reflections and Fresnel absorption on the keyhole wall. The filler material flows backward along the lateral side of the weld pool, and subsequently flows forward along the longitudinal plane. The occurrence of the bulging phenomenon may further prevent the downward transfer of the additional elements to the root of the weld pool.
Recent studies have confirmed the widening of the weld pool interface, known as a bulge effect, during deep penetration high power laser beam welding. The link between such geometric particularities of the weld pool shape and the hot cracking phenomena is significant. The present work seeks to extend the level of understanding by investigating their relationship. A coupled multiphysics, multiscale numerical framework is developed, comprising a series of subsequent analyses. The study examines the influences of the bulge on the three most dominant effects causing hot cracking, namely the thermal cycles, the mechanical loading, and the local microstructure. The bulge in the weld pool shape forms approximately in the middle of the plate, thus correlating with the location of hot cracking. It increases the hot cracking susceptibility by enhancing the three dominant effects. The numerical results are backed up by experimental data.
A self-restraint hot cracking test (free edge test) was used in combination with a novel optical measurement technique to determine the critical straining conditions for solidification cracking for the stainless steel grade 1.4828 (AISI 309). The Lucas-Kanade algorithm for the optical flow (OF) calculation was implemented to obtain the full-field displacement and then the full-field strain.
The use of external laser illumination with appropriate filters allows to obtain good image quality with good contrast. The critical straining conditions required for solidification cracking can be obtained by means the proposed technique in the immediate vicinity of the solidification front. A very good repeatability was demonstrated for the used measurement technique. The critical straining conditions for solidification cracking for the tested steel und under this welding conditions has been detected
Directed energy deposition additive manufactured parts have steep stress gradients and an anisotropic microstructure caused by the rapid thermo-cycles and the layer-upon-layer manufacturing, hence heat treatment can be used to reduce the residual stresses and to restore the microstructure. The numerical simulation is a suitable tool to determine the parameters of the heat treatment process and to reduce the necessary application efforts. The heat treatment simulation calculates the distortion and residual stresses during the process. Validation experiments are necessary to verify the simulation results. This paper presents a 3D coupled thermo-mechanical model of the heat treatment of additive components. A distortion-based validation is conducted to verify the simulation results, using a C-ring shaped specimen geometry. Therefore, the C-ring samples were 3D scanned using a structured light 3D scanner to compare the distortion of the samples with different post-processing histories.
Directed energy deposition is a metal additive manufacturing process that builds parts by joining material in a layer-by-layer fashion on a substrate. Those parts are exposed to rapid thermo-cycles which cause steep stress gradients and the layer-upon-layer manufacturing fosters an anisotropic microstructure, therefore stress relief heat treatment is necessary. The numerical simulation can be used to find suitable parameters for the heat treatment and to reduce the necessary efforts to perform an effective stress relieving. Suitable validation Experiments are necessary to verify the results of the numerical simulation.
In this paper, a 3D coupled thermo-mechanical model is used to simulate the heat treatment of an additive manufactured component to investigate the application of a C-ring geometry for the distortion-based validation of the numerical simulation.
Therefore, the C-ring samples were 3D scanned using a structured light 3D scanner to quantify the distortion after each process step.
Dieser Beitrag stellt Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen zum Auftragschweißen als Plasma-Laserstrahl-Hybrid-Prozess dar. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass ein Laserstrahl, der in einer gemeinsamen Prozesszone mit einem Plasma-Pulver-Auftragschweißprozess vorlaufend angeordnet ist, diesem Prozess eine erhebliche Geschwindigkeitssteigerung sowie eine Verbesserung der Stabilität ermöglicht. Der Hybrid-Prozess konnte mit Verschleißschutzwerkstoffen
sowie dem Korrosionsschutzwerkstoff Inconel 625 bei Vorschubgeschwindigkeiten von bis zu 10 m/min erfolgreich validiert werden.
Im Hinblick auf die aktuellen Entwicklungen zu Hochgeschwindiglceits-Laserstrahlauftragschweißen kann der Plasma-Laserstrahl-Hybrid-Prozess
zwischen diesen und den konventionellen Verfahren eingeordnet werden.
To increase the competitiveness of jacket substructures compared to monopiles a changeover from an individual towards a serial jacket production based on automated manufactured tubular joints combined with standardized pipes has to be achieved. Therefore, this paper addresses fatigue tests of automatically welded tubular X-joints focusing on the location of the technical fatigue crack. The detected location of the technical crack is compared to numerical investigations predicting the most fatigue prone notch considering the structural stress approach as well as the notch stress approach. Besides, the welding process of the automated manufactured tubular X-joints is presented.
Plasma-Transferred-Arc (PTA) welding is a process that enables high deposition rates, but also causes increased thermal load on the component. Laser metal deposition (LMD) welding, on the other hand, reaches a high level of precision and thus achieves comparatively low deposition rates, which can lead to high processing costs. Combining laser and arc energy aims to exploit the respective advantages of both technologies. In this study, a novel approach of this process combination is presented using a PTA system and a 2 kW disk laser. The energy sources are combined in a common process zone as a high-speed plasma laser cladding technology (HPLC), which achieves process speeds of 10 m/min at deposition rates of 6.6 kg/h and an energy per unit length of 39 J/mm.
Resistance spot welding (RSW) is widely used in the automotive industry
as the main joining method. Generally, an automotive body contains
around 2000 to 5000 spot welds. Therefore, it is of decisive importance to characterize the mechanical properties of these areas for the further optimization and improvement of an automotive body structure. The present paper aims to introduce a novel method to investigate the mechanical properties and microstructure of the resistance spot weldment of DP1000 sheet steel. In this method, the microstructure of RSW of two sheets was reproduced on one sheet and on a bigger area by changing of the welding parameters, e. g. welding current, welding time, electrode force and type. Then, tensile tests in combination with digital Image correlation (DIC) measurement were performed on the notched tensile specimens to determine the mechanical properties of the weld metal.
The notch must be made on the welded tensile specimen to force the fracture and elongation on the weld metal, enabling the characterization of its properties. Additionally, the parameters of a nonlinear isotropic material model can be obtained and verified by the simulation of the tensile specimens. The parameters obtained show that the strength of DP1000 steel and the velocity of dislocations for reaching the Maximum value of strain hardening, are significantly increased after RSW. The effect of sample geometry and microstructural inhomogeneity of the welded joint on the constitutive property of the weld metal are presented and discussed.
Liquid metal embrittlement (LME) cracking can occur during resistance spot welding (RSW) in zinc-coated advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) for automotive production. In this study, a methodological variation of hold time is performed to investigate the process-related crack influence factors. A combination of numerical and experimental investigations confirms, that the extent of heat dissipation and re-heating of the sheet surface can be influenced and thus the degree of crack formation can be controlled in a targeted manner by the parameterisation of the hold time. The temperature and stress history of crack-free and crack-afflicted spot welds are analysed and a conclusion on the borders defining the LME active region is derived.
Die numerische Simulation hilft, Probleme bei additiven Bauprozessen früh zu erkennen und Optimierungspotentiale auszuschöpfen. Ziel ist, im additiven Auftragschweißen (DED) die Zahl der nötigen Versuche durch Vorhersagen zu verringern und Prozessgrößen zu visualisieren. Eine besondere Anwendung der Simulation ist die Generierung verzugskompensierter Geometrien: Durch die Berechnung des Bauteilverzugs kann die Geometrie vor dem Bauen so verändert werden, dass sie mit Verzug die gewünschte Toleranz erreicht. So kann Zerspanvolumen und Aufmaß reduziert werden.
In additive manufacturing (AM) directed energy deposition (DED), parts are built by welding layers of powder or wire feedstock onto a substrate with applications for steel powders in the fields of forging tools, spare parts, and structural components for various industries. For large and bulky parts, the choice of toolpaths influences the build rate, the mechanical performance, and the distortions in a highly geometry-dependent manner. With weld-path lengths in the range of hundreds of meters, a reliable, automated tool-path generation is essential for the usability of DED processes. This contribution presents automated tool-path generation approaches and discusses the results for arbitrary geometries. Socalled “zig-zag” and “contour-parallel” processing strategies are investigated and the tool-paths are automatically formatted into machine-readable g-code for experimental validation to build sample geometries. The results are discussed in regard to volume-fill, microstructure, and porosity in dependence of the path planning according to photographs and metallographic cross-sections.
The additional element from the filler wire in the laser beam welding is usually distributed inhomogeneously in the final weld due to the high solidification rate of weld pool. It has been found that the electromagnetic stirring produced by an external oscillating magnetic field can enhance the material mixing in the weld pool to achieve a more uniform element distribution. However, the magnetic field has a highly nonlinear and multicoupled interaction with the weld pool behavior, which makes the quantitative explanation of the physical mechanism difficult. In this study, the effect of electromagnetic stirring on the transport phenomena in the wire feed laser beam welding is investigated by a numerical modeling. A 3D transient multiphysical model considering the magnetohydrodynamics, heat transfer, fluid flow, keyhole dynamics, and element transport is developed. The multiple reflections and the Fresnel absorption of the laser on the keyhole wall are calculated using the ray tracing method. The numerical results show that a Lorentz force produced by the oscillating magnetic field and its induced eddy current gives significant influence on the transport phenomena in the molten pool. The forward and downward flow is enhanced by the electromagnetic stirring, which homogenizes the distribution of the additional elements from a nickel-based filler wire in a steel weld pool. The numerical results show a good agreement with the high-speed images of the molten pool, the fusion line from the optical micrograph, and the element distribution from the energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. This work provides a physical base for the electromagnetic-controlled laser beam welding and some guidance for the selection of electromagnetic parameters.
Components distort during directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) due to the repeated localised heating. Changing the geometry in such a way that distortion causes it to assume the desired shape – a technique called distortion-compensation – is a promising method to reach geometrically accurate parts. Transient numerical simulation can be used to generate the compensated geometries and severely reduce the amount of necessary experimental trials. This publication demonstrates the simulation-based generation of a distortioncompensated DED build for an industrial-scale component. A transient thermo-mechanical approach is extended for large parts and the accuracy is demonstrated against 3d-scans. The calculated distortions are inverted to derive the compensated geometry and the distortions after a single compensation iteration are reduced by over 65%.
Full penetration high power bead-on-plate laser beam welding tests of up to 20 mm thick 2205 duplex steel plates were performed in PA position. A contactless inductive electromagnetic (EM) weld pool support system was used to prevent gravity drop-out of the melt. Welding experiments with 15 mm thick plates were carried out using IPG fiber laser YLR 20000 and Yb:YAG thin disk laser TruDisk 16002. The laser power needed to achieve a full penetration was found to be 10.9 and 8.56 kW for welding velocity of 1.0 and 0.5 m min−1, respectively. Reference welds without weld pool support demonstrate excessive root sag. The optimal value of the alternating current(AC) power needed to completely compensate the sagging on the root side was found to be ≈1.6 kW for both values of the welding velocity. The same EM weld pool support system was used in welding tests with 20 mm thick plates. The laser beam power (TRUMPF Yb:YAG thin disk laser TruDisk 16002) needed to reach a full penetration for 0.5 m min−1 was found to be 13.9 kW. Full penetration welding without EM weld pool support is not possible—the surface tension cannot stop the gravity drop-out of the melt. The AC power needed to completely compensate the gravity was found to be 2 kW.
An electromagnetic weld pool support system for 20 mm thick duplex stainless steel AISI 2205 was investigated numerically and compared to experiments. In our former publications, it was shown how an alternating current (AC) magnetic field below the process zone directed perpendicular to the welding direction can induce vertically directed Lorentz forces. These can counteract the gravitational forces and allow for a suppression of material drop-out for austenitic stainless steels and aluminum alloys. In this investigation, we additionally adopted a steady-state complex magnetic permeability model for the consideration of the magnetic hysteresis behavior due to the ferritic characteristics of the material. The model was calibrated against the Jiles–Atherton model. The material model was also successfully tested against an experimental configuration before welding with a 30 mm diameter cylinder of austenitic stainless steel sur-rounded by duplex stainless steel. Thereby, the effects of the Curie temperature on the magnetic characteristics in the vicinity of the later welding zone were simulated. The welding process was modeled with a three-dimensional turbulent steady-state model including heat transfer and fluid dy-namics as well as the electromagnetic field equations. Main physical effects, the thermo-capillary (Marangoni) convection at the weld pool boundaries, the natural convection due to gravity as well as latent heat of solid–liquid phase transitions at the phase boundaries were accounted for in the model. The feedback of the electromagnetic forces on the weld pool was described in terms of the electromagnetic-induced pressure. The finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2 was used in this investigation. It is shown that the gravity drop-out associated with the welding of 20 mm thick duplex stainless steel plates due to the hydrostatic pressure can be prevented by the application of AC magnetic fields between around 70 and 90 mT. The corresponding oscillation frequencies were between 1 and 10 kHz and the electromagnetic AC powers were between 1 and 2.3 kW. In the experiments, values of the electromagnetic AC power between 1.6 and 2.4 kW at os-cillation frequencies between 1.2 and 2.5 kHz were found to be optimal to avoid melt sagging or drop-out of melt in single pass full-penetration laser beam welding of 15 and 20 mm thick AISI 2205.
Impiego di un dispositivo per il vuoto locale di tipo mobile nell'applicazione del processo laser.
(2016)
Lo sviluppo del pennacchio di vapore durante la saldatura laser
di metalli con direzioni di propagazione lungo l'asse del
fascio laser comporta una riduzione della potenza del laser
assorbita nel keyhole. Questi effetti negativi possono essere
notevolmente attenuati mediante l'applicazione di una ridotta
pressione ambientale, diminuendo così l'interazione
tra il fascio laser ed i prodotti dell'evaporazione, condizione
che favorisce la stabilità del processo di saldatura e si traduce
in una maggiore profondità di penetrazione. Una tecnica
convenzionale utilizza il principio della camera a vuoto, simile
a quello utilizzato per la saldatura a fascio elettronico.
L'applicazione di questa tecnica è limitata dalle dimensioni
della camera e riduce quindi i vantaggi di questo approccio,
particolarmente per componenti di grandi dimensioni. Abbiamo
dimostrato la possibilità di applicazione del vuoto in
forma localizzata con apparecchiature mobili, che consentono
di generare una pressione ridotta solo in una piccola zona
attorno al keyhole. Utilizzando un dispositivo di chiusura
appositamente progettato per la pressione, di tipo mobile,
che può essere spostato lungo l'asse del giunto è possibile ottenere
una pressione assoluta di circa 200 mbar. Questo è
sufficiente per aumentare la profondità di penetrazione di
circa il 50%. I campioni di acciaio grado S355 sono stati
saldati con una potenza laser incrementale da 5 kW a 12
kW a pressione atmosferica e confrontati con quelli saldati
a pressione ambiente di 200 mbar. La valutazione della sezione
longitudinale ha rivelato un aumento della profondità
di penetrazione dei giunti di circa il 35%. Inoltre, sono stati
eseguiti test di saldatura in configurazione di giunti testa a
testa con lamiere di 15 mm di spessore con diverse potenze
associate al fascio laser eseguiti a pressione atmosferica ed
a pressione ambiente ridotta di circa 200 mbar. L'aumento
nella profondità di penetrazione fino al 40% è relativo alla
pressione ridotta. In particolare, basse velocità di saldatura
con pressione ridotta si sono rivelate particolarmente vantaggiose
in termini di aumento della penetrazione.
In this paper, the friction stir welding process was numerically investigated for 6 mm thick aluminum alloy AA2024-T3. The finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics was used to calculate the transient thermal field during welding and the mechanical reaction depending on different mechanical clamping conditions and hardening models subsequently. A thermal pseudo-mechanical (TPM) heat source was implemented.
Softening effects of the material due to precipitation hardening dissolution caused by the frictional heat were accounted for. The transient temperature evolution measured by thermocouple elements at various locations was compared to the numerical results. A good agreement was found for the thermal field. A sensitivity study of the mechanical models showed the strong influence of the clamping conditions and the softening model.
Numerical sensitivity analysis of TRIP-parameter K on weld residual stresses for steel S355J2+ N
(2016)
A combined experimental numerical approach is applied for sensitivity analysis of the transformation induced plasticity (TRIP)-parameter K on weld residual stresses for welding of structural steel of grade S355J2+N. K was determined experimentally using the Gleeble 3500 facility. A thermomechanical FE model of the real welding process was experimentally validated against temperature field and X-ray stress measurements. Within sensitivity analyses K was varied by several orders of magnitude and the influence on the calculated residual stresses is evaluated by performing corresponding FEA. The correct order of magnitude is sufficient to reproduce the residual stresses qualitatively and quantitatively.
Controlling the dynamics in the weld pool is a highly demanding challenge in deep-penetration laser beam welding with modern high power laser systems in the multi kilowatt range. An approach to insert braking forces in the melt which is successfully used in large-scaled industrial applications like casting is the so-called Hartmann effect due to externally applied magnetic fields. Therefore, this study deals with its adaptation to a laser beam welding process of much smaller geometric and time scale. In this paper, the contactless mitigation of fluid dynamic processes in the melt by steady magnetic fields was investigated by numerical simulation for partial penetration welding of aluminium. Three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics including phase transition and electromagnetic field partial differential equations were solved based on temperature-dependent material properties up to evaporation temperature for two different penetration depths of the laser beam. The Marangoni convection in the surface region of the weld pool and the natural convection due to the gravitational forces were identified as main driving forces in the weld pool. Furthermore, the latent heat of solide-liquid phase transition was taken into account and the solidification was modelled by the Carman-Kozeny equation for porous medium morphology. The results show that a characteristic change of the flow pattern in the melt can be achieved by the applied steady magnetic fields depending on the ratio of magnetic induced and viscous drag. Consequently, the weld bead geometry was significantly influenced by the developing Lorentz forces. Welding experiments with a 16 kW disc laser with an applied magnetic flux density of around 500 mT support the numerical results by showing a dissipating effect on the weld pool dynamics.
Partial penetration welding with a fiber laser at a 9-kW laser power was carried out on 20-mm-thick plates at different positions and analyzed by both experimental and numerical methods. Experiments were carried out for four different angular positions at 1.5 m/min welding speed. All four cases showed a tail-like structure of molten pool on the top surface. The in-depth mechanisms of the energy input characteristics in fiber laser position welding for eight different positions were studied by numerical simulation using the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. Experimental and numerical results were compared for four cases and showed fair agreement. Observation of flow pattern and bead shape revealed that gravity had little influence on bead shape and flow structure, but changed the pore structure considerably. Flow structure showed a periodic behavior which probably nullified the effect of gravity in position welding. Most of the laser rays reached the bottom of the keyhole without interruption and then multiple reflections started within the keyhole. The first five reflections inside the keyhole delivered around 70 % of the total energy.
In einem Forschungsvorhaben wurde der Einfluss von fertigungsbedingten Spalten von bis zu 3 mm auf das Tragverhalten der Widerstandspunktschweißverbindungen aus Stählen am Beispiel von HX340LAD+Z (Werkstoffnummer 1.0933), HCT780X+Z (1.0943), HCT980C (1.0955) und 22MnB5+AS140 untersucht. Neben spaltabhängigen Schweißbereichen wurden auch statische Festigkeit, dynamische Festigkeit sowie Schwingfestigkeit betrachtet. Schließlich wurden ein Prozesssicherheitskoeffizient sowie eine Prozess-Festigkeits-Kenngröße abgeleitet, mit deren Hilfe der Anwender das Verhalten der Punktschweißverbindungen unter Spalteinfluss beurteilen kann.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is applied in evaluating environmental impacts of state-of-the-art welding technologies. Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW), Laser Arc-Hybrid Welding (LAHW) and two Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) variants are used to join a plate of 20 mm thick structural steel. The LCA results indicate that for 1 m weld seam, MMAW causes the highest environmental impacts in global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication potential (EP), acidification potential (AP), and photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) among the selected processes, and the LAHW variant performances the least. Filler material and electricity consumptions generally dominate the impacts and reach shares of up to 80% and 61% in the respective impact categories. However, electrode coating consumption in MMAW remarkably contributes impacts on AP and EP, for instance 52% of AP and 76% of EP. Strategies for improvement of the applied welding technologies are discussed.
In welding experiments conducted on heavy wall pipes, the penetration mode (full or partial penetration) occurred to be a significant factor influencing appearance of solidification cracks. To explain the observed phenomena and support further optimization of manufacturing processes, a computational model was developed, which used a sophisticated strategy to model the material. High stresses emerged in the models in regions which showed cracking during experiments. In partial penetration welding, they were caused by the prevention of weld shrinkage due to the cold and strong material below the joint. Another identified factor having an influence on high stress localization is bulging of the weld.
Laser GMA hybrid welds, producing partial penetration, were conducted on stiff tubes made of S460NH. Experiments, using a design-of-experiments plan were conducted to examine the influence of the welding parameters on the occurrence of solidification cracks. Results say that cracks diminish, when high levels of arc power are applied, while their number increases with rising laser beam power. The weld velocity had no measurable impact.
Bei der thermografischen Prüfung von Widerstandspunktschweißverbindungen wird die Emissivität der Fügeverbindung bisher als Störgröße angesehen und – wenn möglich – unterdrückt. Nachfolgende Arbeit untersucht, ob eine für diese Prüfung nutzbare Korrelation zwischen Emissionsgrad des Kappenabdrucks und Schweißpunktdurchmesser besteht. Dazu werden 60 Blechproben in drei praxisrelevanten Materialkombinationen und mit unterschiedlicher Anbindungsqualität vermessen. Über die thermografische Grundgleichung kann die Emissivität bestimmt werden. Der Punktdurchmesser wird zerstörend ermittelt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine Korrelation der beiden Messwerte auf, die umso höher ausfällt, je geringer die Emissivität des Grundwerkstoffes ist. Abschließend wird ein Ausblick auf die Verwendbarkeit dieses Zusammenhangs in der thermografischen Schweißpunktprüfung gegeben.
High-power laser welding of austenitic stainless steel with electromagnetic control of weld pool
(2014)
Laser deep-penetration welding became a widely applied tool in industrial applications due to available laser power of 20 kW and more for the single-pass welding of steel plates of up to 20 mm thikness. Above a critical limit, liquid metal tends to drop out of the bead due to hydrostatic pressure. Laser welding, in contrast to electron beam welding technique, allows for an electromagnetic manipulation of fluid flow in the weld pool. AC electromagnetic system for compensation of the hydrostatic pressure by induced Lorentz forces in the melt was experimentally and numerically investigated for single-pass full-penetration welding of up to 20 mm thikness austenitic stainless steel plates of grade AISI 304. It was shown that the application of 200-234 mT magnetic fields at oscillation frequency of around 2.6 kHZ lead to a full compensation of hydrostatic forces in the melt for plate 10-20 mm thick, respectively. Coupled fluid flow, thermal and electromagnetic finite element simulations were done with different applied magnetic flux densities and oscillation frequencies calculating for the optimal magnetic field strength to avoid melt sagging in the weld pool. The simulation results point to a lower magnetic field density needed for that purpose. The reason for that can lie in the magnetic properties of the material not being totally non-ferromagnetic. 17 Ref., 1 Table, 5 Figures.
In this study, the influence of the welding speed, the arc power, and the laser focal position on the solidification crack formation for partial penetration laser hybrid–welded thick-walled plates was investigated.
The solidification cracking in the weld root is a result of interaction between metallurgical and geometrical and thermomechanical factors.
Experimentally, a direct correlation between the welding speed and the crack number was observed. That is by reducing the welding velocity, the crack number was decreased. The focal position shows also a significant influence on the crack number. By focusing the laser on the specimen surface, the crack number has been significantly diminished.
The wire feed speed showed a very slight influence on the crack formation. That is due to the large distance between the critical region for cracking and the arc region.
The numerical model shows a high stress concentration in the weld root for both components (vertical and transversal).
Numerically, the reduced welding speed showed a strong impact on stress, as the model demonstrated a lower stress amount by decreasing the welding speed.
The metallurgical factors, such as the assumed accumulation of the low-melting eutectics in the weld root, should be a contribution for solidification cracking, where the tensile stress is acting.
Among the various welding technologies, resistance spot welding (RSW) and laser beam welding (LBW) play a significant role as joining methods for the automobile industry. The application of RSW and LBW for the automotive body alters the microstructure in the welded areas. It is necessary to identify the mechanical properties of the welded material to be able to make a reliable statement about the material behavior and the strength of welded components. This study develops a method by which to determine the mechanical properties for the weldment of RSW and LBW for two dual phase (DP) steels, DP600 and DP1000, which are commonly used for the automotive bodies. The mechanical properties of the resistance spot weldment were obtained by performing tensile tests on the notched tensile specimen to cause an elongation of the notched and welded area in order to investigate its properties. In order to determine the mechanical properties of the laser beam weldment, indentation tests were performed on the welded material to calculate its force-penetration depth-curve. Inverse numerical simulation was used to simulate the indentation tests to determine and verify the parameters of a nonlinear isotropic material model for the weldment of LBW. Furthermore, using this method, the parameters for the material model of RSW were verified. The material parameters and microstructure of the weldment of RSW and LBW are compared and discussed. The results show that the novel method introduced in this work is a valid approach to determine the mechanical properties of welded high-strength steel structures. In addition, it can be seen that LBW and RSW lead to a reduction in ductility and an increase in the amount of yield and tensile strength of both DP600 and DP1000.
Duplexstähle finden in vielen industriellen Bereichen Anwendung, dies ist nicht zuletzt ihren hervorragenden Eigenschaften, wie einer guten Korrosionsbeständigkeit, einer guten Duktilität bei trotzdem hoher Festigkeit, zuzuschreiben. Diese Eigenschaften werden jedoch durch das Schweißen, vor allem das Laserstrahlschweißen, beeinträchtigt, da die hohen Abkühlraten zu erhöhten Ferritanteilen im Schweißgut führen. Mit Hilfe eines zweistufigen Prozesses, bei dem die Kanten der Fügepartner vor dem Schweißen mit nickelhaltigem Pulver beschichtet werden, soll dieses Problem für dickwandige Bleche gelöst werden.
In diesem Zusammenhang wurden verschiedene Prozessparameter für den Laser-Pulver-Auftragschweiß-Prozess untersucht sowie die defektfreie Schweißung dieser beschichteten Kanten mit unterschiedlichen Prozessgasen.
The introduction of electromagnetic stirring to laser beam welding can bring several beneficial effects e.g. element homogenization and grain refinement. However, the underlying physics has not been fully explored due to the absence of quantitative data of heat and mass transfer in the molten pool. In this paper, the influence of electromagnetic stirring on the thermo-fluid flow and element transport in the wire feed laser beam welding is studied numerically and experimentally. A three-dimensional transient heat transfer and fluid flow model coupled with dynamic keyhole, magnetic induction and element Transport is developed for the first time. The results suggest that the Lorentz force produced by an oscillating magnetic field and its induced eddy current shows an important influence on the thermo-fluid flow and the keyhole stability. The melt flow velocity is increased by the electromagnetic stirring at the rear and lower regions of molten pool. The keyhole collapses more frequently at the upper part. The additional Elements from the filler wire are significantly homogenized because of the enhanced forward and downward flow. The model is well verified by fusion line shape, high-speed images of molten pool and measured element distribution. This work provides a deeper understanding of the transport phenomena in the laser beam welding with magnetic field.
МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ ГИДРОДИНАМИЧЕСКИХ И ТЕПЛОВЫХ ПРОЦЕССОВ ПРИ ЛАЗЕРНОЙ СВАРКЕ СО СКВОЗНЫМ ПРОПЛАВЛЕНИЕМ
(2020)
Разработана модель физических процессов при сварке плавлением на основе концепции эквивалентных источников теплоты. Модель включает в себя две части: термогидродинамику сварочной ванны и теплопроводность свариваемого тела вне ванны. В задаче термогидродинамики учитываются температурные зависимости свойств материала, форма парогазового канала, термокапиллярная и естественная конвекция, фазовые превращения и другие физические явления.Приведено решение задачи термогидродинамики методом конечных элементов на примере сварки стальной пластины толщиной 15 мм со сквозным проплавлением лазерным лучом (по технологии "замочная скважина"). Показано, что термокапиллярная конвекция жидкого металла является основной причиной сложной выпукло-вогнутой формы границы ванны с увеличенными размерами в приповерхностных областях. Получено удовлетворительное совпадение расчетных и экспериментальных размеров сварочной ванны.
Due to rapid, localized heating and cooling, distortions accumulate in additive manufactured laser metal deposition (LMD) components, leading to a loss of dimensional accuracy or even cracking. Numerical welding simulations allow the prediction of these deviations and their optimization before conducting experiments. To assess the viability of the simulation tool for the use in a predictive manner, comprehensive systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to analyze a product or one product family on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and nature of components. This fact impedes an efficient comparison and choice of appropriate product family combinations for the production system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to Cluster these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization.
This paper demonstrates that the instrumented indentation test (IIT), together with a trained artificial neural network (ANN), has the capability to characterize the mechanical properties of the local parts of a welded steel structure such as a weld nugget or heat affected zone.
Aside from force-indentation depth curves generated from the IIT, the profile of the indented surface deformed after the indentation test also has a strong correlation with the materials’ plastic behavior. The profile of the indented surface was used as the training dataset to design an ANN to determine the material parameters of the welded zones. The deformation of the indented surface in three dimensions shown in images were analyzed with the computer vision algorithms and the obtained data were employed to train the ANN for the characterization of the mechanical properties. Moreover, this method was applied to the images taken with a simple light microscope from the surface of a specimen. Therefore, it is possible to quantify the mechanical properties of the automotive steels with the four independent methods: (1) force-indentation depth curve; (2) profile of the indented surface; (3) analyzing of the 3D-measurement image; and (4) evaluation of the images taken by a simple light microscope. The results show that there is a very good Agreement between the material parameters obtained from the trained ANN and the experimental uniaxial tensile test. The results present that the mechanical properties of an unknown steel can be determined by only analyzing the images taken from its surface after pushing a simple indenter into its surface.
The geometrical characteristics of the weld end crater are commonly used as a means of validating numerical results in welding simulations.
In this paper, an analytical model is developed for calculating the cooling stage of the welding process after the moving energy source is turned off. Solutions for various combinations of heat sources and heated bodies are found. It is shown that after turning off the Energy source, additional melting of the base material in the longitudinal direction may occur due to the overheated liquid metal. The developed technique is applied to complete-penetration keyhole laser beam welding of 2 mm thick austenitic stainless-steel plate 316L at a Welding speed of 20 mm/s and a laser power of 2.3 kW. The results show a theoretical increase in the weld end crater length of up to 19% compared to the length of the steady-state weld pool. It is found that at the moment of switch off, the weld end crater center, where solidification of the liquid metal ends, is shifted from the heat source axis toward the weld pool tail. The solidification rate and the direction of crystallization of the molten material during the welding process and those in the weld end crater differ significantly. A good agreement between the computational results and the welding experiments is achieved.
A novel approach for the reconstruction of an equivalent volumetric heat source from a known weld pool shape is proposed. It is based on previously obtained weld pool geometries from a steady-state thermo-fluid dynamics simulation. Hereby, the weld pool dimensions are obtained under consideration of the most crucial physical phenomena, such as phase transformations, thermo-capillary convection, natural convection, and temperature-dependent material properties. The algorithm provides a time and calibration efficient way for the reproduction of the weld pool shape by local Lamé curves. By adjusting their parameters, the identification of the finite elements located within the weld pool is enabled. The heat input due to the equivalent heat source is assured by replacing the detected nodes’ temperature by the melting temperature. The model offers variable parameters making it flexible and adaptable for a wide range of workpiece thicknesses and materials and allows for the investigation of transient thermal effects, e.g., the cooling stage of the workpiece. The calculation times remain acceptably short especially when compared to a fully coupled process simulation. The computational results are in good agreement with performed complete-penetration laser beam welding experiments.
Hybrid laser-arc welding offers many advantages, such as deep penetration, good gap bridge-ability, and low distortion due to reduced heat input. The filler wire which is supplied to the process is used to influence the microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld seam.
A typical problem in deep penetration high-power laser beam welding with filler wire and hybrid laser-arc welding is an insufficient mixing of filler material in the weld pool, leading to a non-uniform element distribution in the seam. In this study, oscillating magnetic fields were used to form a non-conservative component of the Lorentz force in the weld pool to improve the element Distribution over the entire thickness of the material. Full penetration hybrid laser-arc welds were performed on 20-mm-thick S355J2 steel plates with a nickel-based wire for different arrangements of the oscillating magnetic field. The Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data for the distribution of two tracing elements (Ni and Cr) were used to analyze the homogeneity of dilution of the filler wire.
With a 30° turn of the magnetic field to the welding direction, a radical improvement in the filler material distribution was demonstrated. This would lead to an improvement of the mechanical properties with the use of a suitable filler wire.
The advantage of selective laser melting (SLM) is its high accuracy and geometrical flexibility.
Because the maximum size of the components is limited by the process chamber, possibilities must be found to combine several parts manufactured by SLM. An application where this is necessary, is, for example, the components of gas turbines, such as burners or oil return pipes, and inserts, which can be joined by circumferential welds. However, only a few investigations to date have been carried out for the welding of components produced by SLM. The object of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the feasibility of laser beam welding for joining SLM tube connections made of nickel-based alloys.
For this purpose, SLM-manufactured Inconel 625 and Inconel 718 tubes were welded with a Yb:YAG disk laser and subsequently examined for residual stresses and defects. The results showed that the welds had no significant influence on the residual stresses. A good weld quality could be achieved in the seam circumference. However, pores and pore nests were found in the final overlap area, which meant that no continuous good welding quality could be accomplished. Pore formation was presumably caused by capillary instabilities when the laser power was ramped out.
The presented study deals with the performing and mechanical testing of single pass hybrid laser-arc welds (HLAW) on 25 mm thick plates made of steel grade S355J2. One of the challenges have to be solved at full penetration HLAW of thick plates is the drop formation occurring due to the disbalances of the forces acting in the keyhole and on the melt pool surface. Such irregularities mostly limit the use of high-power laser beam welding or HLAW of thick-walled constructions. To overcome this problem, an innovative concept of melt pool support based on generating Lorentz forces in the weld pool is used in this work. This method allows to perform high quality welds without sagging even for welding of 25 mm thick plates in flat position at a welding speed of 0.9 m min-1. For the obtain of full penetrated welds a laser beam power of 19 kW was needed. A high V-impact energy of up to 160 J could be achieved at the test temperature of 0 °C. Even at the most critical part in the weld root an impact energy of 60 J in average could be reached. The tensile strength of the weld reaches that of the base material. An introduce of the HLAW process with electromagnetic support of the melt pool in the industrial practice is an efficient alternative to the time- and cost-intensive arc-based multi-layer welding techniques which are established nowadays for joining of thick-walled constructions.
A numerical framework for simulation of the steady-state thermal behaviour in keyhole mode welding has been developed. It is based on the equivalent heat source concept and consists of two parts: computational thermo-fluid dynamics and heat conduction. The solution of the thermo-fluid dynamics problem by the finite element method for a bounded domain results in a weld pool interface geometry being the input data for a subsequent heat conduction problem solved for a workpiece by a proposed boundary element method. The main physical phenomena, such as keyhole shape, thermo-capillary and natural convection and temperature-dependent material properties are taken into consideration. The developed technique is applied to complete-penetration keyhole laser beam welding of a 15 mm thick low-alloyed steel plate at a welding speed of 33 mm/s and a laser power of 18 kW. The fluid flow of the molten metal has a strong influence on the weld pool geometry. The thermo-capillary convection is responsible for an increase of the weld pool size near the plate surfaces and a bulge formation near the plate middle plane. The numerical and experimental molten pools, cross-sectional weld dimensions and thermal cycles of the heat affected zone are in close agreement.
Advantages such as element homogenization and grain refinement can be realized by introducing electromagnetic stirring into laser beam welding. However, the involved weld pool behavior and its direct role on determining the final microstructure have not been revealed quantitatively. In this paper, a 3D transient heat transfer and fluid flow model coupled with element transport and magnetic induction is developed for wire feed laser beam welding with electromagnetic stirring. The magnetohydrodynamics, temperature profile, velocity field, keyhole evolution and element distribution are calculated and analyzed. The model is well tested against the experimental results. It is suggested that a significant electromagnetic stirring can be produced in the weld pool by the induced Lorentz force under suitable electromagnetic parameters, and it shows important influences on the thermal fluid flow and the solidification parameter. The forward and downward flow along the longitudinal plane of the weld pool is enhanced, which can bring the additional filler wire material to the root of the weld pool. The integrated thermal and mechanical impacts of electromagnetic stirring on grain refinement which is confirmed experimentally by electron backscatter diffraction analysis are decoupled using the calculated solidification parameters and a criterion of dendrite fragmentation.
Dissimilar metal weld overlays of nickel-base alloys on low-alloy steel components are commonly used in the oil and gas, petrochemical, and power generation industries to provide corrosion and oxidation resistance in a wide range of service Environments and temperatures. Traditionally, dissimilar weld overlays are produced using cold or hot wire gas tungsten arc welding.
This study aims to identify and evaluate potential advantages of low heat input gas metal arc welding processes over the conventional gas tungsten arc welding in the production of such overlays. Parts I and II of this publication series described characteristics of the heat-affected zone and the transition zone region of alloy 625 on grade 22 steel overlays. These results indicate a good resistance against hydrogen-assisted cracking, which is being verified within this third part of the publication series. To determine the hydrogen-assisted cracking susceptibility, welded samples are tested using the delayed hydrogen-assisted cracking test. Fractography is performed using scanning electron microscopy along with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results confirm the suitability and efficiency of low heat input gas metal arc welding for dissimilar weld overlays. Variation of the postweld heat treatment procedure bears potential for improvement in this respect.
The development within the offshore wind sector towards more powerful turbines combined with increasing water depth for new wind parks is challenging both the designer as well as the manufacturer of bottom fixed support structures. Besides XL-monopiles, the market developed an innovative and economic jacket support structure which is based on automatically manufactured tubular joints combined with standardized pipes. Besides the improvements for a serial manufacturing process the automatically welded tubular joints show a great potential in terms of fatigue resistance e.g. due to a smooth weld geometry without sharp notches. However, these benefits are not considered yet within the fatigue design process of automatically manufactured jacket substructures according to current standards due to the lack of suitable S-N curves. Therefore, 32 axial fatigue tests on single and double-sided automatically welded tubular X-joints have been performed to determine a new hot spot stress related S-N curve. Based on these constant amplitude fatigue tests a new S-N curve equal to a FAT 126 curve was computed which implicitly includes the benefits of the automatically welding procedure.
Motivated by the tensile strength loss of 9%Ni steel arc welded joints made using Ni-based austenitic filler metals, the feasibility of maintaining the tensile strength using matching ferritic filler metal has been demonstrated. In comparison with shielded metal arc welded joint made using Ni-based austenitic electrode ENiCrMo-6, higher tensile strength comparable to that of the base metal was obtained using matching ferritic electrode. Besides, sufficient impact toughness energies with much lower mismatch were obtained for weld metal and heat-affected zone.
Welded joint with a lower mechanical mismatching is of considerable importance for achieving acceptable combination of tensile strength and impact toughness.Abetter combination of These mechanical properties is ensured by applying a post weld heat treatment.
Bislang kommt das Laserstrahlschweißen bzw. Laserhybridschweißen hauptsächlich bei Dickblechen mit einer Wandstärke von bis zu 15 mm zum Einsatz. Für Anwendungen über 20 mm war dieses Verfahren aufgrund einiger Herausforderungen bisher nur bedingt realisierbar. Eine von der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) entwickelte elektromagnetische Schmelzbadunterstützung ermöglicht nun ein einlagiges Schweißen von bis zu 30 mm Wandstärke.