Prediction of transverse and angular distortions of gas tungsten arc bead-on-plate welding using artificial neural network

The angular distortion and transverse shrinkage are often generated in gas tungsten arc (GTA) bead-on-plate welding process, which leads to additional costs of rework. Therefore, it is beneficial to estimate the welding deformations prior to bead-on-plate welding in terms of several process parameters. This paper presents the development of a back propagation neural (BPN) network model for the prediction of angular distortion and transverse shrinkage generated in GTA bead-on-plate welding process. The model is based on the results from finite element (FE) simulations. The GTA bead-on-plate welding for S304L stainless steel was simulated using finite element method, and experiments were conducted to verify the accuracy of the FE model. The experimental results were also used as testing samples for the BPN model. Welding speed, current and voltage were considered as the input parameters and the angular distortion and transverse shrinkage were the output parameters in the development of the BPN model. The correlation coefficients and percentage errors for all the samples were calculated to evaluate the prediction accuracy of BPN model. The results show that the BPN model developed in this study can predict the angular distortion and transverse shrinkage with reasonable accuracy.     

Hybrid fiber laser – Arc welding of thick section high strength low alloy steel

Hybrid laser – metal active gas (MAG) arc welding is an emerging joining technology that is very promising for shipbuilding applications. This technique combines the synergistic qualities of the laser and MAG arc welding techniques, which permits a high energy density process with fit-up gap tolerance. As the heat input of hybrid laser – arc welding (HLAW) is greater than in laser welding, but much smaller than in MAG arc welding, a relatively narrow weld and restricted heat affected zone (HAZ) is obtained, which can minimize the residual stress and distortion. Furthermore, adding MAG arc can increase the penetration depth for a given laser power, which can translate to faster welding speeds or fewer number of passes necessary for one-sided welding of thick plates. In this work, a new hybrid fiber laser – arc welding system was successfully applied to fully penetrate 9.3 mm thick butt joints using a single-pass process through optimization of the groove shape, size and processing parameters.     

Effect of heat input and weld chemistry on mechanical and microstructural aspects of double side welded austenitic stainless steel 321 grade using tungsten inert gas arc welding process

Stainless steel 321 is a stabilized austenitic grade that prevents the formation of chromium carbides at the grain boundaries and subsequently reduces the risk of corrosion attack at the weld surface by forming titanium carbide. It is primarily used in industries such as pressure vessels, boilers, nuclear reactors, carburetors and car exhaust systems. In order to assess the effect of gas tungsten arc welding process parameters on weld penetration, the proposed Taguchi L₉ orthogonal matrix has been selected with two factors and three levels for welding austenitic stainless steel 321 by adjusting the welding current and welding speed. Bead-on-plate experiments were performed on base metal of 6 mm thick plate by changing the process parameters, and corresponding weld bead measurement and macrostructure images are examined. Maximum depth of penetration −3.3017 mm is achieved with a heat input −1.4058 kJ/mm, i. e., welding current-220 A and welding speed-120 mm/min. Double-side arc welding technique is used to obtain full penetration on 6 mm thick plate. The quality of the weldment was assessed using non-destructive radiography inspection. Mechanical integrity and microstructural characteristics of the weldments were studied using tensile (transverse and longitudinal), bend, impact, microhardness, optical microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction analysis, ferrite number measurement and scanning electron microscope. The results reveal that the double side-tungsten inert gas weldment have better mechanical properties. It is corroborated from the weld metal microstructure that it contains γ-austenite, δ-ferrite and titanium carbides (intermetallic compounds). X-ray diffraction analysis and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy plots confirm the increase in the ferrite phase in weld metal. The ferrite measurement results show that the ferrite volume in the base metal and weld metal is 1.2 percent and 6.1 percent respectively. In addition, the higher δ-ferrite volume in the weldment helps in attaining superior mechanical integrity. Fractography shows that the failure mode of the weld metal and the base metal is ductile.     

Dissimilar Joining Between Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steel in Double-Shielded GMAW: A Comparative Study

In the present work, the effect of double-layer shielding and five other process parameters, namely welding voltage, current, primary shielding gas type, its flow rate, and filler material, is studied during dissimilar gas metal arc welding (GMAW) between austenitic and duplex stainless steels (SSs). A simple modification over the GMAW setup is made for additional supply of secondary shielding gas at different flow rates. Two different sets of welding are performed between austenitic and duplex SSs, i.e., AISI 304 with Duplex 2205 and AISI 316 with Duplex 2205, and the contributions of process parameters, their interactions on joint distortion, tensile strength, toughness, and fusion zone microhardness are evaluated. Improvements in joint quality due to the double-shielding environment are also highlighted. Double-layer shielding with secondary shielding by CO₂ supply significantly improves tensile strength and toughness and reduces distortion. Fusion and interface zone microstructures are observed by scanning electron microscopy to study the metallurgical behavior of joints fabricated under single- and double-layer shielding environment.     

A comparative study on welding temperature fields,residual stress distributions and deformations induced by laser beam welding and CO2 gas arc welding

Welding-induced distortion in thin-plate structure is a serious problem which not only hinders the assembling process but also negatively affects the performance of product. Therefore, how to control welding deformation is a key issue both at design stage and at manufacturing stage. During welding process, there are a number of factors which can significantly affect manufacturing accuracy. Among these factors, the heat input is one of the largest contributors to the final deformation. Generally, when laser beam welding (LBW) is used to join parts the total heat input is far less than that used in a conventional welding method such as gas metal arc welding, so it is expected that LBW can significantly reduce welding distortion especially for thin-plate joints. As a fundamental research, we investigated the welding deformations in low carbon steel thin-plate joints induced by LBW and CO₂ gas arc welding by means of both numerical simulation technology and experimental method in the current study. Based on the experimental measurements and simulation results, we quantitatively compared the welding deformation as well as residual stress induced by LBW and those due to CO₂ gas arc welding. The results indicate that the out-of-plane deformation of thin-plate joint can be largely reduced if CO₂ gas arc welding method is replaced by LBW. Moreover, the numerical results indicate that the residual stresses induced by LBW are superior to those produced by CO₂ gas arc welding both in distribution and in magnitude.     

基于机器学习的薄板等离子弧搭接焊的熔深预测

在等离子弧搭接焊中,搭接焊接头的焊缝熔深是评价焊接质量的关键指标之一,而焊接过程中的热输入信息和熔池图像信息都与焊缝熔深有密切关系。本文通过建立304L不锈钢薄板等离子弧搭接焊数据采集系统,利用LabVIEW实时检测电信息,采用视觉传感技术实时获取薄板等离子弧搭接焊过程中的熔池图像,并通过图像处理方法获得熔池的几何参数信息,结合焊接工艺参数,选择峰值电流、峰值电压、焊接速度、离子气流量、保护气流量、熔池宽度和熔池后端长度作为输入量,焊缝熔深作为输出量,建立了基于支持向量机回归和BP神经网络的熔深预测模型。实验验证表明,采用径向基函数的支持向量机回归模型可以有效地对焊缝熔深进行预测,并具有很好的泛化能力,可为进一步实现在线优化焊接工艺参数提供依据。     

TC4钛合金激光焊接应力变形有限元分析

基于ANSYS有限元分析软件,采用三维移动热源,对TC4钛合金激光焊接残余应力和变形进行了数值模拟和实验研究.结果表明:钛合金激光焊接产生很大的纵向残余应力,而横向残余应力较小.激光焊接线能量增加时,纵向残余应力拉伸区域变宽,峰值应力降低;而横向残余应力随线能量的增加而升高.在临界焊透规范以上焊接时,随焊接线能量的增大,角变形随之而减小,而横向收缩变形增大.焊件被完全穿透时,线能量对角变形的影响作用降低.钛合金激光焊接变形和残余应力实验结果与数值计算结果吻合性较好.通过焊缝金相实验分析了焊接残余应力和变形与线能量的内在关系.     

Optimization of laser welding process parameters for super austenitic stainless steel using artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm

The laser welding input parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of a weld joint. The quality of the joint can be defined in terms of properties such as weld bead geometry, mechanical properties and distortion. In particular mechanical properties should be controlled to obtain good welded joints. In this study, the weld bead geometry such as depth of penetration (DP), bead width (BW) and tensile strength (TS) of the laser welded butt joints made of AISI 904L super austenitic stainless steel are investigated. Full factorial design is used to carry out the experimental design. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) program was developed in MatLab software to establish the relationship between the laser welding input parameters like beam power, travel speed and focal position and the three responses DP, BW and TS in three different shielding gases (argon, helium and nitrogen). The established models are used for optimizing the process parameters using genetic algorithm (GA). Optimum solutions for the three different gases and their respective responses are obtained. Confirmation experiment has also been conducted to validate the optimized parameters obtained from GA.     

A study of cold metal transfer clads in nickel-base INCONEL 718 superalloy

A study of microstructural and geometrical characteristics of cold metal transfer (CMT) clads in nickel-base INCONEL 718 superalloy was carried out. The CMT process was demonstrated to be suitable for low-dilution cladding of INCONEL 718 superalloy, with the ability to produce defect-free clads, and has a great potential to be used as a repair method for the alloy. Microstructural study revealed that the clads were free from porosity and cracking, and complete bonding of the clads with the substrate was achieved in all weldments. Results from statistical analysis by using 3-level full factorial design showed the relationship between the selected welding parameters and the geometrical characteristics of the clads. Regression models were developed for predicting weld characteristics. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the adequacy of the regression models, which showed that the models are useful for optimizing the welding parameters. Also, the wire feed speed appeared to be linearly related with heat input based on the parameters used during the synergic CMT welding, which consequently influenced the shape and size of the weld beads and the extent of dilution of the weld metal with the substrate when other parameters were kept constant. Additionally, the ease of adding successive weld passes for material build-up depends significantly on the contact angle between the weld bead and the substrate. The result showed that the closer the contact angle is to 90°, the more difficult it is to add successive passes to existing clads. A contact angle greater than 115° appears to be more convenient for adding successive passes. The outcome of this work showed that the relatively new CMT process, with the choice of suitable welding parameters, is useful for repair build-up of affected areas of worn-out and service-damaged components of gas turbines and other high-temperature equipment that are manufactured from nickel-base superalloys.     

T型接头搅拌摩擦焊接的研究进展

T型接头是满足轻量化需求的关键结构之一,但传统熔化焊在T型构件焊接方面并无优势。作为一种固相焊接技术,搅拌摩擦焊采用特殊的焊接夹具,对中、薄板T型构件实行单面焊三面成型技术,显著降低焊接热输入、减少焊接变形,因此T型接头搅拌摩擦焊可能是一种极具发展前景的工艺方法。从搅拌摩擦焊接T型接头(FSW-T)的焊接工艺、焊接缺陷、显微硬度、力学性能与数值模拟方面概述了国内外研究现状,揭示了FSW-T焊接领域尚需解决的关键科学问题,对该领域未来的研究方向提出了展望。     

Influences of heat source model on welding residual stress and distortion in a multi-pass J-groove joint

Welding mechanical behaviors including residual stress and distortion are highly non-linear phenomena in nature. When numerical simulation methods such as thermal elastic plastic finite element method (FEM) are used to quantitatively predict welding residual stress and distortion, a long computational time is required especially for multi-pass joints. In real engineering structures, many weldments have large dimensions and complex shapes, and they are usually assembled by a multi-pass welding process. Therefore, it is necessary to develop time-effective computational approaches for practice engineering analysis. In this study, a method based on variable length heat sources was proposed for the analysis of thermo-mechanical behaviors for multi-pass joints. The welding residual stress field in a dissimilar metal J-groove joint with axis-symmetric geometrical shape, which was performed by a semi-circle balanced welding process, was investigated using the proposed method. The simulation results were compared with the measured data as well as the simulation results computed by a moving heat source. Meanwhile, the instantaneous line heat source was also employed to estimate the welding residual stresses in the same joint in an extreme case. The influences of heat source model (type) on welding residual stress and distortion were discussed.     

OPTIMIZATION OF WELD BEAD DIMENSIONS IN GTAW OF ALUMINUM-MAGNESIUM ALLOY

The Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process is frequently used in welding of aluminum alloys, because of its possible heat input control. This control can be utilized through a good selection of the process variables, which in turn results in optimizing the bead dimensions. The object of this investigation was to study the effect of TIG process parameters on weld bead dimensions. Suitable combinations of tungsten electrode parameters and process variables can lead to optimum GTAW bead dimensions. With alternative current (AC) polarity, a weld bead may be formed between two 3-mm thick pieces of 5005 aluminum-magnesium alloy sheets. The effect of electrode diameter, vertex angle, and the welding current and speed on the bead dimensions were investigated. Results revealed that the rate of increase of bead width with current increase is greater than that produced by decreasing travel speed, and means that the bead width can be controlled more efficiently by welding current rather than by welding speed. For example, bead width can be reduced by half by increasing the welding travel speed three times, whereas it can be doubled when the current has is doubled. In contrast, bead depth is found to be more sensitive to welding speed rather than to the welding current. One of the important results of the present investigation was that the average heat-affected zone width decreased as the welding current and/or speed increased. On the other hand, it was found that the influences of electrode diameter and apex angle on the bead width were similar to their effects on the arc size. The bead width was found to decrease with an increase in the electrode diameter to a certain extent, and increase slightly with an increase of the apex angle.     

FEM prediction of buckling distortion induced by welding in thin plate panel structures

Welding distortion generated during assembly process has a strongly nonlinear feature, which includes material nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity, and contact nonlinearity. In order to obtain a precise prediction of welding distortion, these nonlinear phenomena should be carefully considered. In this study, firstly, a prediction method of welding distortion, which combines thermo-elastic-plastic finite element method (FEM) and large deformation elastic FEM based on inherent strain theory and interface element method, was developed. Secondly, the inherent deformations of two typical weld joints involved in a large thin plate panel structure were calculated using the thermo-elastic-plastic FEM and their characteristics were also examined. Thirdly, using the developed elastic FEM and the inherent deformations, the usefulness of the proposed elastic FEM was demonstrated through the prediction of welding distortion in the large thin plate panel structures. Finally, the influences of heat input, welding procedure, welding sequence, thickness of plate, and spacing between the stiffeners on buckling propensity were investigated. The numerical simulation method developed in this study not only can be used to predict welding distortion in manufacturing stage but also can be employed in design or planning stage.     

Thermal and mechanical evolution of welding‐induced buckling distortion

Abstract

The evolution of the buckling phenomenon starts during the weld cooling cycle, caused by an onset inelastic strain incompatibility condition. This initial bifurcation phenomenon may continue to grow until the completion of the cooling cycle, which results in the final buckling distortion of the plate. With lower heat input and/or smaller plate dimensions this initial instability may stop during the cooling cycle due to diminishing strain incompatibility and recovering of the plate rigidity. The buckling evolution process is complex due to the highly nonlinear nature of the welding problem. This paper studies this buckling evolution process using an integrated experimental and numerical approach. Bead‐on‐plate welds of AH36 steel were experimentally studied. The welding process was numerically simulated and analyzed using a three‐dimensional, thermo‐elastic‐plastic, large deformation model. The transient stress bifurcation phenomenon and the displacement evolution process were analyzed to understand the critical weld conditions causing the final buckling distortion of the weldment. The critical weld conditions were evaluated on the longitudinal inherent shrinkage (plastic) strain distribution in the weldment.     

A Novel Method of Triple-Wire Gas Indirect Arc Welding

This paper proposes a novel triple-wire gas indirect arc welding process. The welding system consists of two power sources and three wires. The effects of the power source mode and the wire configuration on arc stability and behavior are studied. The metal transfer is analyzed and bead-on-plate welding is employed. Results show that two direct current power sources cannot produce a stable process, but the combination of a direct current with a pulsed direct current can produce a stable process. The reason is that the pulsed direct current can boost and stabilize the metal transfer. For the wire configuration, a smaller contact angle between the main wire and the side wire is more desirable. Compared with the traditional gas metal arc welding, this novel process has the advantages of high wire melting rate, low penetration depth, and low dilution rate. Compared with twin-wire gas indirect arc welding, it provides a broader range of applicable currents with sufficient heat input.     

Effects of activating flux on the welded joint characteristics in gas metal arc welding

This paper presents the effect of each welding parameter on the weld bead geometry, and then sets out to determine the optimal process parameters using the Taguchi method to determine the parameters. Three kinds of oxides, Fe₂O₃, SiO₂, and MgCO₃, were used to investigate the effect of activating flux aided gas metal arc welding (GMAW) on weld bead geometry, angular distortion and mechanical properties in AISI 1020 carbon steel. During welding, a charge coupled device (CCD) camera system was used to observe and record images of the welding arc and analyze the relationship between penetration increase and arc profile. The experimental results showed that activating flux aided GMAW increased the weld area and penetration and tended to reduce the angular distortion of the weldment. The MgCO₃ flux produced the most noticeable effect. Furthermore, the welded joint presented better tensile strength and hardness.     

Numerical simulation of explosive welding using the material point method

Explosive welding involves detonation of explosive, interactions of fluid-structure and plastic deformations of metal plates at the instant of the explosion. Conventional mesh-based methods such as the finite element method (FEM) and finite difference method (FDM), are limited in simulation of the explosive welding when mesh distortion and interaction of different materials occur. In order to describe process of the explosive welding and accurately predict physical parameters for the explosive welding, numerical simulation of the explosive welding which involves multi-physical phenomenon is performed by using material point method (MPM). Not only can major physical phenomena of explosion impact be well captured, but also some important technical parameters for the explosive welding can be attained based on the MPM simulation. Through the comparison with the experimental results, it is shown that the MPM is a robust tool in simulation of the explosive welding.     

Effect of welding wire and groove angle on mechanical properties of high strength steel welded joints

Mechanical properties of high strength steel welded joints strictly depend on the welding process, the filler material composition and the welding geometry. This study investigates the effects of using cored and solid welding wires and implementing various groove angles on the mechanical performance of weld joints which were fabricated employing the gas metal arc welding process. It was found that weld joints of low alloy, high strength steels using low alloy steel cored welding wires exhibited higher tensile strength than that of low alloy steel solid wire and chromium‐nickel steel bare welding wire when the method of gas metal arc welding is employed. The effect of groove angle on the strength and toughness of V‐groove and double V‐groove butt‐joints was investigated. V‐groove joints, with higher tensile strength than double V‐groove joints in the whole range of groove angles, were superior in toughness for small groove angles, but impact toughness values of both joints were comparable for large angles. The effect of heat input and cooling rate on the weld microstructure and weld strength was also investigated by performing thermal analysis employing the commercial software ANSYS. It was concluded that cooling rate and solidification growth rate determined the microstructure of the weld zone which had great consequences in regard to mechanical properties.     

Distortion Analysis of Single V-groove Butt Welding on Heat Treatable Aluminum Alloys

In this study we conducted single V-groove butt welding (GTAW) on three types of heat treatable aluminum alloys 2024-T351, 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 and compared the angular distortion levels of the three aluminum alloys at different Vee preparation angles with or without restraint. Experimental results demonstrated that when the Vee preparation angle was 0° (I-shaped groove), the angular distortion level of the restrained weldment can exceed that of the unrestrained weldments. Moreover, when the Vee preparation angle was 45°, 60° or 90°, the restrained weldment had lower angular distortion than the unrestrained weldments. The single Vee preparation angle (amount of filler metal) in butt welding affected the angular distortion of the weldment. Without restraint, the angular distortion tended to increase with the single Vee preparation angle. Meanwhile, the angular distortion tended to decrease when the single Vee preparation angle was 60°. Additionally, a restrained weldment had high angular distortion when the single Vee preparation angle was 0°. Notably, the angular distortion tended to reduce with increasing single Vee preparation angle. The angular distortion of the weldment was minimized at an angle of 60°. However, the angular distortion increased when the Vee preparation angle exceeded 60°. The high-temperature yield strength of a material also affected its angular distortion. Angular distortion increased with high-temperature yield strength. Experimental results also showed that, from the strongest to the weakest, the high-temperature yield strength of the three types of aluminum alloys followed the order 6061-T6 and 2024-T351>7075-T6.     

Solidification behaviour in plasma are welding

Melting and solidification behaviour in the deep penetrution welding process is different from that in conventional welding process in deep penetration processes there is keyhole formation and the full thickness of the plate receives the are heat input unlike conventional processes in which the heat input is received only by the surface nodes. In the present study, the thermal analysis of molten pool formation and solidification keyhole welding using plasma are welding has been done using the finite element method. The model accounts for the several phenomena associated with welding, like the distributed are heat input over the top surface and along the thickness, the temperature-dependent material properties. convection and radiation heat losses etc. The analysis is performed for different combinations of parameters. viz welding current and welding speed, which have the maximum influence on molten pool shape and solidification behaviour. The model has also been validated by conducting experimental measurement of thermal cycles experienced by the plate for different welding parameters. The weld pool dimensions. viz. the length and widlh are found to increase with inincreasing current and decereasing welding speed. Thermal cycles at locations close to the weld reach a higher value of temperature and the time for peak temperature is also less but at farther locations the peak temperature reached is lower and the time for peak temperature is higher. Details of the model, the experimental results obtained and the solidifications charateristics of the pool are discussed in this paper.