Autogenous gas tungsten arc weldability of cast alloy Ti−48Al−2Cr−2Nb (Atomic percent) versus extruded alloy Ti−46Al−2Cr−2Nb−0.9Mo (Atomic percent)

This study examines procedures for consistently producing sound (crack and void free) welds using the autogenous (without filler metal) gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding process. Cast alloy Ti−48Al−2Cr−2Nb (at. pct) and extruded alloy Ti−46Al−2Cr−2Nb−0.9Mo (at. pct) have been examined to determine if sound welds can be produced using autogenous GTA welding without any preheat. Experimentation consisted of GTA spot welding samples of gamma titanium aluminide at weld current levels of 45, 55, 65, and 75 A for a duration of 3 seconds. For the cast alloy, current levels of 45, 55, and 65 A for 3 seconds produced similar fusion zone microstructures, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructure of the 75A for 3 seconds current level differed significantly from the lower current levels. It also consisted of a dendritic solidification structure; however, the morphology was quite different. For the extruded alloy, current levels of 45 and 55 A for 3 seconds produced fusion zone microstructures similar to the lower current level samples of the cast γ-TiAl, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructures of the 65 and 75 A samples were similar to each other, but they had a dendritic solidification structure of a different morphology than that of the 45 and 55 A samples. For both alloys at all current levels, microhardness profiles showed an increase in hardness from the base metal to the fusion zone. There were no significant differences in the average fusion zone hardness as a function of increasing current level. However, nanoindentation testing did show that certain phases and microconstituents in the fusion zone did have significant variations in hardness in relation to the enrichment and depletion of chromium. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium “Fundamentals of Gamma Titanium Aluminides,” presented at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 10–12, 1997, Orlando, Florida, under the auspices of the ASM/MSD Flow & Fracture and Phase Transformations Committees.     

Computational modeling of stationary gastungsten-arc weld pools and comparison to stainless steel 304 experimental results

A systematic study was carried out to verify the predictions of a transient multidimensional computational model by comparing the numerical results with the results of an experimental study. The welding parameters were chosen such that the predictions of the model could be correlated with the results of an earlier experimental investigation of the weld pool surface temperatures during spot gas-tungsten-arc (GTA) welding of Type 304 stainless steel (SS). This study represents the first time that such a comprehensive attempt has been made to experimentally verify the predictions of a numerical study of weld pool fluid flow and heat flow. The computational model considers buoyancy and electromagnetic and surface tension forces in the solution of convective heat transfer in the weld pool. In addition, the model treats the weld pool surface as a truly deformable surface. Theoretical predictions of the weld pool surface temperature distributions, the cross-sectional weld pool size and shape, and the weld pool surface topology were compared with corresponding experimental measurements. Comparison of the theoretically predicted and the experimentally obtained surface temperature profiles indicated agreement within ±8 pct for the best theoretical models. The predicted surface profiles were found to agree within ±20 pct on dome height and ±8 pct on weld pool diameter for the best theoretical models. The predicted weld cross-sectional profiles were overlaid on macrographs of the actual weld cross sections, and they were found to agree very well for the best theoretical models.     

Autogenous gas tungsten arc weldability of cast alloy Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb (atomic percent) versus extruded alloy Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.9Mo (atomic percent)

This study examines procedures for consistently producing sound (crack and void free) welds using the autogenous (without filler metal) gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding process. Cast alloy Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb (at. pct) and extruded alloy Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb-0.9Mo (at. pct) have been examined to determine if sound welds can be produced using autogenous GTA welding without any preheat. Experimentation consisted of GTA spot welding samples of gamma titanium aluminide at weld current levels of 45, 55, 65, and 75 A for a duration of 3 seconds. For the cast alloy, current levels of 45, 55, and 65 A for 3 seconds produced similar fusion zone microstructures, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructure of the 75 A for 3 seconds current level differed significantly from the lower current levels. It also consisted of a dendritic solidification structure; however, the morphology was quite different. For the extruded alloy, current levels of 45 and 55 A for 3 seconds produced fusion zone microstructures similar to the lower current level samples of the cast γ-TiAl, which consisted of a dendritic solidification structure. The fusion zone microstructures of the 65 and 75 A samples were similar to each other, but they had a dendritic solidification structure of a different morphology than that of the 45 and 55 A samples. For both alloys at all current levels, microhardness profiles showed an increase in hardness from the base metal to the fusion zone. There were no significant differences in the average fusion zone hardness as a function of increasing current level. However, nanoindentation testing did show that certain phases and microconstituents in the fusion zone did have significant variations in hardness in relation to the enrichment and depletion of chromium. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium “Fundamentals of Gamma Titanium Aluminides,” presented at the TMS Annual Meeting, February 10–12, 1997, Orlando, Florida, under the auspices of the ASM/MSD Flow & Fracture and Phase Transformations Committees.     

Dynamic deformation and damage in cast <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-TiAl during taylor cylinder impact: Experiments and model validation

The dynamic deformation, damage evolution, and cracking in four cast gamma titanium aluminide alloys have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. In this study, the dynamic compressive constitutive properties of several cast TiAl alloys were measured at quasi-static and dynamic rates. Using the measured high-strain-rate constitutive properties, the deformation, damage evolution, and postmortem specimen geometries observed in Taylor cylinder experiments were predicted using the mechanical threshold stress (MTS) constitutive model. The utility of the Taylor impact test for validation of high-rate constitutive models for intermetallics is discussed. This article is based on a presentation given in the symposium “Dynamic Deformation: Constitutive Modeling, Grain Size, and Other Effects: In Honor of Prof. Ronald W. Armstrong,” March 2–6, 2003, at the 2003 TMS/ASM Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, under the auspices of the TMS/ASM Joint Mechanical Behavior of Materials Committe.     

Calculation of weld metal composition change in high-power conduction mode carbon dioxide laser-welded stainless steels

The use of high-power density laser beam for welding of many important alloys often leads to appreciable changes in the composition and properties of the weld metal. The main difficulties in the estimation of laser-induced vaporization rates and the resulting composition changes are the determination of the vapor condensation rates and the incorporation of the effect of the welding plasma in suppressing vaporization rates. In this article, a model is presented to predict the weld metal composition change during laser welding. The velocity and temperature fields in the weld pool are simulated through numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equation and the equation of conservation of energy. The computed temperature fields are coupled with ve-locity distribution functions of the vapor molecules and the equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and the translational kinetic energy in the gas phase for the calculation of the evap-oration and the condensation rates. Results of carefully controlled physical modeling experi-ments are utilized to include the effect of plasma on the metal vaporization rate. The predicted area of cross section and the rates of vaporization are then used to compute the resulting com-position change. The calculated vaporization rates and the weld metal composition change for the welding of high-manganese 201 stainless steels are found to be in fair agreement with the corresponding experimental results.     

High-temperature deformation behavior of a gamma TiAl alloy—Microstructural evolution and mechanisms

The present investigation was carried out in the context of the internal-variable theory of inelastic deformation and the dynamic-materials model (DMM), to shed light on the high-temperature deformation mechanisms in TiAl. A series of load-relaxation tests and tensile tests were conducted on a fine-grained duplex gamma TiAl alloy at temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 1050 °C. Results of the load-relaxation tests, in which the deformation took place at an infinitesimal level (ε ≅ 0.05), showed that the deformation behavior of the alloy was well described by the sum of dislocation-glide and dislocation-climb processes. To investigate the deformation behavior of the fine-grained duplex gamma TiAl alloy at a finite strain level, processing maps were constructed on the basis of a DMM. For this purpose, compression tests were carried out at temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 1250 °C using strain rates ranging from 10 to 10⁻⁴/s. Two domains were identified and characterized in the processing maps obtained at finite strain levels (0.2 and 0.6). One domain was found in the region of 980 °C and 10⁻³/s with a peak efficiency (maximum efficiency of power dissipation) of 48 pct and was identified as a domain of dynamic recrystallization (DRx) from microstructural observations. Another domain with a peak efficiency of 64 pct was located in the region of 1250 °C and 10⁻⁴/s and was considered to be a domain of superplasticity. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Fundamentals of Structural Intermetallics,” presented at the 2002 TMS Annual Meeting, February 21–27, 2002, in Seattle, Washington, under the auspices of the ASM and TMS Joint Committee on Mechanical Behavior of Materials.     

Effect of Welding Speed on Gas Metal Arc Weld Pool in Commercially Pure Aluminum: Theoretically and Experimentally

Temperature and velocity fields, and weld pool geometry during gas metal arc welding (GMAW) of commercially pure aluminum were predicted by solving equations of conservation of mass, energy and momentum in a three-dimensional transient model. Influence of welding speed was studied. In order to validate the model, welding experiments were conducted under the similar conditions. The calculated geometry of the weld pool were in good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. It was found that an increase in the welding speed results in a decrease peak temperature and maximum velocity in the weld pool, weld pool dimensions and width of the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Dimensionless analyses were employed to understand the importance of heat transfer by convection and the roles of various driving forces in the weld pool. According to dimensionless analyses droplet driving force strongly affected fluid flow in the weld pool.     

Grain Refinement of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Weldments by AC Pulsing Technique

The current study has investigated the influence of alternating current pulsing on the structure and mechanical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy gas tungsten arc (GTA) weldments. Autogenous full penetration bead-on-plate GTA welds were made under a variety of conditions including variable polarity (VP), variable polarity mixed (VPM), alternating current (AC), and alternating current pulsing (ACPC). AC pulsing resulted in significant refinement of weld metal when compared with the unpulsed conditions. AC pulsing leads to relatively finer and more equiaxed grain structure in GTA welds. In contrast, VP, VPM, and AC welding resulted in predominantly columnar grain structures. The reason for this grain refinement may be attributed to the periodic variations in temperature gradient and solidification rate associated with pulsing as well as weld pool oscillation observed in the ACPC welds. The observed grain refinement was shown to result in an appreciable increase in fusion zone hardness, tensile strength, and ductility.     

Factors Influencing Stress-Corrosion Cracking of High-Strength Steel Weld Metals

The stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of high-strength steel weld metals, as indexed by K_Iscc, was examined with emphasis on the relative influences of yield strength, electrochemical potential, welding process, and weld metal composition. The weld metals were from weldments fabricated by the gas metal arc (GMA) or gas tungsten arc (GTA) process. Filler metals with four different compositions—designated 120S, 140S, AX140 and HY-130—were used. The multi-pass welding procedures and their associated thermal cycles produced very complex martensitic-bainitic type microstructures. The GTA weld metals were considerably more fine-grained and more highly tempered than the GMA weld metals. This enhanced the fracture toughness of all four of the higher strength GTA weld metals but improved the SCC properties of only two GTA weld metals—HY-130 and 140S. The effectiveness of microstructural influences on SCC behavior is correlated with the sulfur content of the weld metals assuming that hydrogen is the cause of SCC in these materials. The role of sulfur is presumed to be that of catalytic poison for the hydrogen recombination reaction which increases opportunities for nascent hydrogen absorption. The results show that the weld metals with improved SCC properties contain the lower concentrations of sulfur.     

Effect of evaporation and temperature-dependent material properties on weld pool development

This paper evaluates the effect of weld pool evaporation and thermophysical properties on the development of the weld pool. An existing computational model was modified to include vaporization and temperature-dependent thermophysical properties. Transient, convective heat transfer during gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding with and without vaporization effects and variable properties was studied. The present analysis differs from earlier studies that assumed no vaporization and constant values for all of the physical properties throughout the range of temperature of interest. The results indicate that consideration of weld pool vaporization effects and variable physical properties produce significantly different weld model predictions. The calculated results are consistent with previously published experimental findings.     

On the calculation of the free surface temperature of gas-tungsten-arc weld pools from first principles: Part II. modeling the weld pool and comparison with experiments

By combining a mathematical model of the welding arc and of the weld pool, calculations are presented to describe the free surface temperature of weld pools for spot welding operations. The novel aspects of the treatment include the calculation of the heat and current fluxes falling on the free weld pool surface from first principles, a realistic allowance for heat losses due to vaporization, and a realistic allowance for the temperature dependence of the surface tension. The most important finding reported in this article is that the free surface temperature of weld pools appears to be limited by Marangoni convection, rather than heat losses due to vaporiza-tion. Furthermore, it was found that once thermocapillary flow can produce high enough surface velocities (>25 cm/s), the precise nature of the relationship between temperature and surface tension will become less important.     

Effects of surface active elements on weld pool fluid flow and weld penetration in gas metal arc welding

This article presents a mathematical model simulating the effects of surface tension (Maragoni effect) on weld pool fluid flow and weld penetration in spot gas metal arc welding (GMAW). Filler droplets driven by gravity, electromagnetic force, and plasma arc drag force, carrying mass, thermal energy, and momentum, periodically impinge onto the weld pool. Complicated fluid flow in the weld pool is influenced by the droplet impinging momentum, electromagnetic force, and natural convection due to temperature and concentration gradients, and by surface tension, which is a function of both temperature and concentration of a surface active element (sulfur in the present study). Although the droplet impinging momentum creates a complex fluid flow near the weld pool surface, the momentum is damped out by an “up-and-down” fluid motion. A numerical study has shown that, depending upon the droplet’s sulfur content, which is different from that in the base metal, an inward or outward surface flow of the weld pool may be created, leading to deep or shallow weld penetration. In other words, it is primarily the Marangoni effect that contributes to weld penetration in spot GMAW.     

A mathematical model of gas tungsten arc welding considering the cathode and the free surface of the weld pool

A two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical model, including the influence of the cathode and the free surface of the weld pool, is developed to describe the heat transfer and fluid flow in gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding. In the model, a boundary-fitted coordinate system is adopted to precisely describe the cathode shape and deformed weld-pool surface. The current continuity equation has been solved with the combined arc plasma-cathode system, independent of the assumption of current density distribution on the cathode surface, which was essential in the previous studies of arc plasma. It has been shown that the temperature profile, the current, and the heat flux to the anode show good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the current and the heat-flux distributions may be affected by the shape of the cathode and the free surface of the weld pool.     

A unified numerical modeling of stationary tungsten-inert-gas welding process

In order to clarify the formative mechanism of weld penetration in an arc welding process, the development of a numerical model of the process is quite useful for understanding quantitative values of the balances of mass, energy, and force in the welding phenomena because there is still lack of experimentally understanding of the quantitative values of them because of the existence of complicated interactive phenomena between the arc plasma and the weld pool. The present article is focused on a stationary tungsten-inert-gas (TIG) welding process for simplification, but the whole region of TIG arc welding, namely, tungsten cathode, arc plasma, workpiece, and weld pool is treated in a unified numerical model, taking into account the close interaction between the arc plasma and the weld pool. Calculations in a steady state are made for stationary TIG welding in an argon atmosphere at a current of 150 A. The anode is assumed to be a stainless steel, SUS304, with its negative temperature coefficient of surface tension. The two-dimensional distributions of temperature and velocity in the whole region of TIG welding process are predicted. The weld-penetration geometry is also predicted. Furthermore, quantitative values of the energy balance for the various plasma and electrode regions are given. The predicted temperatures of the arc plasma and the tungsten-cathode surface are in good agreement with the experiments. There is also approximate agreement of the weld shape with experiment, although there is a difference between the calculated and experimental volumes of the weld. The calculated convective flow in the weld pool is mainly dominated by the drag force of the cathode jet and the Marangoni force as compared with the other two driving forces, namely, the buoyancy force and the electromagnetic force.     

Modeling of inclusion growth and dissolution in the weld pool

The composition, size distribution, and number density of oxide inclusions in weld metal are critical factors in determining weldment properties. A computational model has been developed to understand these factors, considering fluid flow and the temperature field in the weld pool during submerged are (SA) welding of low-alloy steels. The equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are solved in three dimensions to calculate the velocity and temperature fields in the weld pool. The loci and corresponding thermal cycles of thousands of oxide inclusions are numerically calculated in the weld pool. The inclusions undergo considerable recirculatory motion and experience strong temperature gyrations. The temperature-time history and the computed time-temperature-transformation (TTT) behavior of inclusions were then used to understand the growth and dissolution of oxide inclusions in the weld pool. The statistically meaningful characteristics of inclusion behavior in the weld pool, such as the residence time, number of temperature peaks, etc., were calculated for several thousand inclusions. The calculated trends agree with experimental observations and indicate that the inclusion formation can be described by combining thermodynamics and kinetics with the fundamentals of transport phenomena.     

On the calculation of the free surface temperature of gas-tungsten-arc weld pools from first principles: Part I. modeling the welding arc

A mathematical formulation has been developed and computed results are presented describing the temperature profiles in gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) arcs and, hence, the net heat flux from the welding arc to the weld pool. The formulation consists of the statement of Maxwell's equations, coupled to the Navier-Stokes equations and the differential thermal energy balance equation. The theoretical predictions for the heat flux to the workpiece are in good agreement with experimental measurements — for long arcs. The results of this work provide a fundamental basis for predicting the behavior of arc welding systems from first principles.     

Marangoni convection in weld pool in CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-Ar-shielded gas thermal arc welding

Small CO₂ additions of 0.092 to 10 vol pct to the Ar shielding gas dramatically change the weld shape and penetration from a shallow flat-bottomed shape, to a deep cylindrical shape, to a shallow concave-bottomed shape, and back to the shallow flat-bottomed shape again with increasing CO₂ additions in gas thermal arc (GTA) welding of a SUS304 plate. Oxygen from the decomposition of CO₂ transfers and becomes an active solute element in the weld pool and reverses the Marangoni convection mode. An inward Marangoni convection in the weld pool occurs when the oxygen content in the weld pool is over 80 ppm. Lower than 80 ppm, flow will change to the outward direction. An oxide layer forms on the weld pool in the welding process. The heavy oxide layer on the liquid-pool surface will inhibit the inward fluid flow under it and also affects the oxygen transfer to the liquid pool. A model is proposed to illustrate the interaction between the CO₂ gas and the molten pool in the welding process.     

Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)-Based Models for Predicting the Weld Bead Width and Depth of Penetration from the Infrared Thermal Image of the Weld Pool

Type 316 LN stainless steel is the major structural material used in the construction of nuclear reactors. Activated flux tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) welding has been developed to increase the depth of penetration because the depth of penetration achievable in single-pass TIG welding is limited. Real-time monitoring and control of weld processes is gaining importance because of the requirement of remoter welding process technologies. Hence, it is essential to develop computational methodologies based on an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) or artificial neural network (ANN) for predicting and controlling the depth of penetration and weld bead width during A-TIG welding of type 316 LN stainless steel. In the current work, A-TIG welding experiments have been carried out on 6-mm-thick plates of 316 LN stainless steel by varying the welding current. During welding, infrared (IR) thermal images of the weld pool have been acquired in real time, and the features have been extracted from the IR thermal images of the weld pool. The welding current values, along with the extracted features such as length, width of the hot spot, thermal area determined from the Gaussian fit, and thermal bead width computed from the first derivative curve were used as inputs, whereas the measured depth of penetration and weld bead width were used as output of the respective models. Accurate ANFIS models have been developed for predicting the depth of penetration and the weld bead width during TIG welding of 6-mm-thick 316 LN stainless steel plates. A good correlation between the measured and predicted values of weld bead width and depth of penetration were observed in the developed models. The performance of the ANFIS models are compared with that of the ANN models.