Applications of computer and numerical analysis techniques in welding research

In recent years, computer technology has made remarkable progress and a computer has become an indispensable tool for both engineers and scientists. In this article, utilization of computers in welding research is briefly summarized. Their use in numerical analysis is particularly discussed and applied to physical phenomena in molten pool, hydrogen diffusion and residual stresses due to welding. A comparison is made between theoretical and experimental results.     

Simulation of ultrasonic-vibration drawing using the finite element method (FEM)

In ultrasonic-vibration drawing, wires are drawn while ultrasonic vibration is applied to a drawing die. Prior studies provide experimental proof that ultrasonic-vibration drawing reduces drawing resistance, improves lubrication and prevents wire breakage. In the future, ultrasonic-vibration drawing is expected to contribute to the drawing of difficult-to-draw materials and operations, such as shaped wires, ultrafine wires, and the wire drawing operation in semidry or dry condition. However, a detailed analysis and understanding of the mechanism of improvement is not possible on the basis of conventional experimental observations because the ultrasonic-vibration processing phenomenon occurs at high speed. Therefore, we attempted to understand the processing mechanism of ultrasonic-vibration drawing using the finite element method (FEM). ABAQUS was used for the FEM. Drawing force and stress–strain distributions in drawn wires were analyzed. From these studies, we quantitatively clarified the mechanism of improved drawing characteristics, such as decreased drawing force.     

Investigation on twisting distortion of thin plate stiffened structure under welding

The welding distortion of thin plate was selected as research subject, which causes loss of dimensional control, structural integrity and increases fabrication costs for straightening. To study the characteristic of the welding distortion on thin plate structures, experiments were conducted. The test model was a thin plate stiffened structure and a large twisting distortion was observed. The welding distortion of the same structure was analyzed as a large deformation problem using a thermal elastic plastic FEM and an elastic FEM based on the concept of inherent deformation. The computed results by both methods showed the twisting distortion which is a typical buckling type deformation and the magnitude of this distortion agreed well with the experimental measurement.     

Shear strength of CMT brazed lap joints between aluminum and zinc-coated steel

Higher shear strength and fusion line failure were measured in CMT brazed lap joint of aluminum alloy 6061 and zinc coated steels with high strength (DP600) or thick plate (1.2 mm). Lower shear strength and interface failure were observed only if aluminum was brazed with low strength (270 MPa) and thin steel sheet (0.7 mm). A numerical model was developed for the prediction of shear strength and failure modes of the CMT lap joints. The maximum principle stress and deformation energy at the interface layer of the CMT joints were adopted as failure criteria for interface failure prediction. The equivalent plastic strain in the weld metal, HAZ and base metal of aluminum side of the CMT brazed joints was used as a criterion for failure prediction occurred on the fusion line. The shear strength of CMT joints and the two failure modes can be accurately estimated by the developed numerical model.     

Numerical and experimental study on nugget formation in resistance spot welding for three pieces of high strength steel sheets

A resistance spot welding for three pieces of high strength steel sheets was selected as a research subject and the nugget formation processes at the various welding conditions were investigated by both experimental measurement and FEM simulation. The FEM program developed by the authors considered the coupling of the electrical field, thermal field and mechanical field. The interface elements were used to model the transient contact states between two worksheets or between a worksheet and an electrode. The electrical resistance and thermal–mechanical properties of the interface elements change with the contact state, and can have different values from the worksheets and electrodes. The nugget sizes and its formation process predicted by FEM agreed very well with experimental results. The welding conditions (current, cycles and force) to produce sound nuggets for both two pieces and three pieces of high strength steel sheets were accurately estimated by the simulation.     

Surface acoustic wave based sensors employing ionic liquid for hydrogen sulfide gas detection

This paper describes a new type hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas sensor using ionic liquid (IL). In this sensor, a reservoir for the IL was integrated on a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator. The IL serves as an absorber for H₂S gas. Mass change due to this absorption is detected as shift in the resonant frequency. In this study, we fabricated and demonstrated the sensor using the lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) SAW resonator with the resonant frequency of 38 MHz. The integrated reservoir was filled by the IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim]-[PF₆]). As an experimental result, we observed the linear correlation between the frequency-shift and the exposure time of the sensor to the H₂S gas.     

Measurements of water distribution in through-plane direction of PEFC by using neutron radiography

Fuel gas (hydrogen gas) and oxidant gas (air) are supplied to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). Protons pass through the electrolyte membrane, and combine with oxygen to form water in the cathode reaction site. The generated water must be supplied appropriately to the membrane for proton conduction. On the other hand, the generated water may affect the fuel cell performances because of the blocking of oxygen from reaching the cathode reaction site. Therefore, water management in the PEFC is important, and water distribution during the operation in the through-plane direction has been of wide concern. In order to obtain the water distributions in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and a gas diffusion layer (GDL), a borescope system was newly employed using neutron radiography. The system could obtain the water distribution in the MEA and the GDL, and pixel size of 6.5 μm was achieved. Furthermore, the system was applied for a tilted converter system. The pixel of 1.0 μm at an angle of 81° was achieved, and improvement of the spatial resolution was confirmed.     

Surgical management of late esophageal perforation

A simple and rapid high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) method for the determination of 2-mercaptopyridine-1-oxide (pyrithione) was developed. After addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), pyrithione was determined in the form of the free anion using 50 mM borate (pH 9.2) as background electrolyte and was detected at 244 nm with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.636 ppm (S/N = 3). The method was used to check the purity of pyrithione preparations and for the determination of pyrithione in shampoo.     

Prediction and measurement of welding distortion of a spherical structure assembled from multi thin plates

A spherical structure assembled from 14 thin bent plates and two circular polar plates was taken as the research object and its welding distortion was investigated in this study. Firstly, the welding distortion due to each welding line is measured by experiment. Then, the spherical structure was modeled by shell element and its welding distortion produced by each welding line was evaluated using the inherent deformation method proposed by authors. The computational process requires a short time when the inherent deformation method is employed. To determine the inherent deformation existing in the welding lines, a computed model with 3D solid element for a typical butt welded joint was applied and one case of the detail transient analysis by Thermal Elastic Plastic Finite Element Method was performed.