Effect of pin penetration depth on double-sided friction stir welded joints of AA6061-T913 alloy

Friction stir welding (FSW) of aluminum alloys is currently utilized in several modern industries. The joints must have sufficient elastic?plastic response and formability levels similar to that of the base metal. In this work, double-sided FSW of AA6061 sheet was compared with its conventional single-sided one. An adjustable tool with different pin lengths (50%?95% of the sheet thickness) was used to perform the double-sided welds. Macro- and micro-structures, strength, and hardness of the joints were investigated to determine the optimum pin penetration depth. The best results were obtained for a double-sided joint made by a pin length equal to 65% of the sheet thickness, which showed an increase of 41% in the ultimate tensile strength compared with the single-sided joint.

Penetration mechanism of aluminum alloy in double-sided GTAW process

The penetration mechanism of aluminum alloy in double-sided gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process was probed by means of theoretical analysis, experimentation and numerical simulation. The results show that, firstly, the welding current goes straight through the weld zone, forms a stronger electromagnetic force field, and causes a stronger fluid flow in the weld pool. Secondly, during double-sided GTAW process, when the weld is partial penetrated, a heat-congregated zone forms between the bottoms of the two weld pools, where the temperature can increase quickly even though only a small amount of heat is input. Thirdly, the buoyancy force causes an inward flow in the bottom weld pool, which can drive the hot liquid on the surface to the bottom of the pool.

Monitoring of weld joint penetration by sensing double-side vision images of weld pool

In order to emulate a skilled human operator determining weld penetration from feature sizes of weld pool,such us topside maximum width and half-length of weld pool, a CCD camera assisted with electronic shutter and composed filter system is used to simultaneously capture topside and backside images of weld pool in the same frame. Neural networks are used to investigate the complicated relationships between the weld penedrion and different parameters, they are capabe of modeling complicated nonlinear functions. Bead-on-plate welding experiments and simulations show that a neural network model has adequate accuracy required for monitoring full penetration duringpulsed GTAW dynamic process.

Formation, microstructure and mechanical properties of double-sided laser beam welded Ti-6Al-4V T-joint

The T-joints of Ti?6Al?4V alloy were manufactured by double-sided synchronized laser beam welding with the homologous filler wire. The formation, microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints as well as the correlations of each other were investigated. The results indicate that the quality of weld seams is good without defects such as discontinuity, beading, visible cracks or porosity, which is linked to the steady molten pool behavior and droplet transition. The morphologies of the heat affected zone (HAZ) located on the skin and stringer are disparate. The microstructure of the HAZ and fusion zone (FZ) is mainly comprised of acicular martensiticα′ phases. The microhardness of the HAZ and FZ is higher than that of the base metal (BM) and reaches a maximum value at the HAZ near FZ on the stringer. The tensile specimens along the skin and stringer fractured at the BM with ductile fracture surfaces.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLUID FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN TIG WELD POOL WITH FULL PENETRATION

A model is established to analyze three-dimensional fluid flow and heat transfer in TICweld pools with full penetration.It considers the deformation of the molten pool surfaceat the condition of full penetrated workpieees,takes the are pressure as the drivingforce of the pool surface deformation,and determines the surface configuration of weldpool based on the dynamic balance of arc pressure,pool gravity and surface tension atdeformed weld pool surface. The SIMPLER algorithm is used to calculate the fluid flowfield and temperature distribution in TIG weld pools of stainless steel workpieces.TIGwelding experiments are made to verify the validity of the model.It shows the calculatedresults by the model are in good agreement with experimental measurements. professor,Dept of Welding Engineering,Harbin Institute of Technology,Harbin 150006,China

Effects of pulse parameters on arc characteristics and weld penetration in hybrid pulse VP-GTAW of aluminum alloy

A novel ultrafast-convert hybrid pulse variable polarity gas tungsten arc welding process （HPVP-GTAW） is developed. High frequency pulse square-wave current which has a frequency of more than 20 kHz is exactly integrated in the positive polarity current duration. The effects of pulse current parameters on arc characteristics and weld penetration have been studied during the HPVP-GTAW process using Al-5. 8 Mg alloy plates. The arc characteristics studied by arc voltage and its profile, weld penetration noted by the ratio of weld depth to width have been found to be influenced significantly by the pulse current. The experimental results show that the HPVP-GTA W process can improve the arc profile predominantly and obtain the higher weld penetration with lower heat input. The observation may help in understanding the weld characteristics with respect to variation in the pulse current parameters which may be beneficial in using the novel HPVP-GTAW process to produce the better weld quality of aluminum alloy plates.

Effects of weld penetration on tensile properties of 2219 aluminum alloy TIG-welded joints

Numerical simulation and experimental methods were used to investigate the effects of weld penetration on tensile properties of 2219 aluminum alloy tungsten inert gas(TIG)welded joints.The results show that when other geometric parameters are consistent,within a certain range,the deeper the weld penetration of the capping weld is,the lower the tensile strength of the j oint is.The deeper weld penetration of the capping weld can cause the more concentrated stress at the weld toe and the joint is more likely to crack accordingly.Based on necessary assumptions,a model for analyzing the mathematical relation between the weld penetration of the capping weld and the tensile strength of the joint was proposed to validate the experimental results. The decrease of weld penetration of capping weld can be controlled by decreasing welding current,helium content or increasing welding voltage.

Feature Extraction and Dimensionality Reduction of Arc Sound under Typical Penetration Status in Metal Inert Gas Welding

Arc sound is well known as the potential and available resource for monitoring and controlling of the weld penetration status,which is very important to the welding process quality control,so any attentions have been paid to the relationships between the arc sound and welding parameters.Some non-linear mapping models correlating the arc sound to welding parameters have been established with the help of neural networks.However,the research of utilizing arc sound to monitor and diagnose welding process is still in its infancy.A self-made real-time sensing system is applied to make a study of arc sound under typical penetration status,including partial penetration,unstable penetration,full penetration and excessive penetration,in metal inert-gas（MIG） flat tailored welding with spray transfer.Arc sound is pretreated by using wavelet de-noising and short-time windowing technologies,and its characteristics,characterizing weld penetration status,of time-domain,frequency-domain,cepstrum-domain and geometric-domain are extracted.Subsequently,high-dimensional eigenvector is constructed and feature-level parameters are successfully fused utilizing the concept of primary principal component analysis（PCA）.Ultimately,60-demensional eigenvector is replaced by the synthesis of 8-demensional vector,which achieves compression for feature space and provides technical supports for pattern classification of typical penetration status with the help of arc sound in MIG welding in the future.

Experimental determination of the weld penetration evolution in keyhole plasma arc welding

Keyhole plasma arc welding experiments are conducted to measure the weld geometry and penetration at different moments during the initial phase from igniting arc to quasi-steady state. Indirect information on keyhole formation and evolution in plasma arc welding can be extracted based on the weld macrophotograph at cross section. It has laid foundation to verify the mathematical models of keyhole plasma arc welding.

Real-time measurement of welding temperature field and closed loop control of penetration

Colormetric method of images by using two different wavelength images is a new measuring method for welding temperature field on the basis of ordinary colorimetric method, which depends little on the measuring distance, emissivity of body etc. In this paper the real time measuring system and measuring principle of welding temperature field are described, the whole welding temperature field is real time measured, so the temperature distribution at the welding direction and its cross section is obtained, then parameters of thermal cycle. With data from the temperature closed loop control system of the parameters of temperature field is developed and tested. Experimental results prove that it has high measurement speed (time of a field within 0.5 s ) and good dynamic response quality. Weld penetration can be controlled satisfactorily under the variation of welding condition such as welding thickness, welding speed and weldment gap etc.

Numerical Simulation of Current Density Distribution in Keyhole Double-Sided Arc Welding

In the double-sided arc welding system (DSAW) composing of PAW+TIG arcs, the PAW arc is guided by the TIG arc so that the current mostly flows through the direction of the workpiece thickness and the penetration is greatly improved. To analyze the current density distribution in DSAW is beneficial to understanding of this process. Considering all kinds of dynamic factors acting on the weldpool, this paper discusses firstly the surface deformation of the weldpool and the keyhole formation in PAW+TIG DSAW process on the basis of the magnetohydrodynamic theory and variation principles. Hence, a model of the current density distribution is developed. Through numerical simulation, the current density distribution in PAW+TIG DSAW process is quantitatively analyzed. It shows that the minimal radius of keyhole formed in PAW+TIG DSAW process is 0.5 mm and 89.5 percent of current flows through the keyhole.

Keyhole Double-Sided Arc Welding Process

In the proposed method, the current/arc is guided through the keyhole so that the energy of the plasma jet is compensated while it is consumed in heating the workpiece along the keyhole. As a result, deep narrow penetration has been achieved on 12.7 mm (1/2') thick stainless steel plates using 70 A welding current.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLASMA OPTIC SIGNAL AND PENETRATION DEPTH FOR PARTIAL-PENETRATION LASER WELDING

Through sampling and analyzing of plasma optic signals of 400-600 nm emitted from partial-penetration laser welding processes, how the penetration depth is related to the welding parameter and the plasma optic signal is studied, Under the experimental conditions, the plasma optic signal has good response to variety of the weld penetration, and the signal＇s RMS value increases with the penetration in a quadratic curve mode. The inherent relation between the plasma optic signal and the penetration depth is also analyzed. It is also found that, between the two common parameters of laser power and welding speed, laser power has more influence on penetration while welding speed has more influence on weld width. The research results provide theoretic and practical bases for penetration real-time monitoring or predicting in partial-penetration laser welding,

A NEURAL NETWORK FOR WELD PENETRATION CONTROL IN GAS TUNGSTEN ARC WELDING

Realizing of weld penetration control in gas tungsten arc welding requires establishment of a model describing the relationship between the front-side geometrical parameters of weld pool and the back-side weld width with sufficient accuracy. A neural network model is developed to attain this aim. Welding experiments are conducted to obtain the training data set （including 973 groups of geometrical parameters of the weld pool and back-side weld width） and the verifying data set （108 groups）. Two data sets are used for training and verifying the neural network, respectively. The testing results show that the model has sufficient accuracy and can meet the requirements of weld penetration control.

Prediction and verification of melting front in GTA weld pool of full-penetration

A thermal conduction model is applied to speed up the numerical analysis of the temperature distribution and the weld pool geometry of full penetration in gas tungsten arc （GTA） welding. With considering both top and bottom flee surface deformation of full-penetrated weld pool, three-dimensional weld pool with melting front and solidification front is predicted. Welding experiments are conducted to measure the melting front curves at the top surface and the longitudinal section of the weld. It shows that the predicted and measured results are in good agreement.

Effects of output waveforms on penetration for Nd :YAG laser welding

By using a Nd: YAG laser welding system devised for transmitting continuous, rectangular and pulsed waveforms, comprehensive and deep investigation is focused on the effects of several parameters of rectangular waveform and pulsed output wave superimposed on a rectangular waveform on the penetration depth of weld. Research results indicate that the average power, duty cycle, frequency and peak power of rectangular wave affect the weld penetration depth to different extent. Results of experiments and analysis also indicate that the pulse delay time, pulse width and the power ratio of pulse to rectangular waveform seriously influence the penetration when the pulsed wave is superimposed on a rectangular waveform.

Critical power of keyhole formation in CW Nd:YAG laser deep penetration welding

The energy model was founded to calculate the critical power of keyhole formation by using the limit principle in CW （ continuous wave ） Nd： YAG laser deep penetration welding process. The model was validated by experiments. The results show that ＇.there are two errors between the calculated critical power of keyhole formation and that of experiments ： one is that the calculated results is less than those of experiments, which is caused by not considering the energy loss by heat conduction in the model of keyhole formation. The other is that there is 0. 9 mm error between the axis of the calculated curve of critical power with location of laser focus and that of experimental curve, which is induced by the excursion of laser focus in laser deep penetration welding. At last, the two errors were revised according to the analyses of the errors.

Numerical simulation of temperature field in deep penetration laser welding of 5A06 aluminum cylinder

Deep penetration laser welding temperature field of 5A06 aluminum alloy canister structure was simulated using the surface-body combination heat source model by ANSYS, which was made up of Gauss surface heat source model and Gauss revolved body heat source model. Convection, radiation and conduction were all con,sidereal during the simulation process. The thermal cycle curves of the points both on the shell outer surface and in the seam thickness direction were calculated. Simulated results agreed well with the experiment results. It concluded that the surface-body combination heat source model was fit for the temperature field simulation of deep penetration laser welding of the aluminum alloy canister structure. This method was proved to be an efficient way to predict the shape and dimension of welded joint for deep penetration laser welding of the aluminum alloy canister structure.

Fatigue Resistance and Failure Behavior of Penetration and Non-Penetration Laser Welded Lap Joints

Penetration and non-penetration lap laser welding is the joining method for assembling side facade panels of railway passenger cars,while their fatigue performances and the difference between them are not completely understood.In this study,the fatigue resistance and failure behavior of penetration 1.5+0.8-P and non-penetration 0.8+1.5-N laser welded lap joints prepared with 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm cold-rolled 301L plates were investigated.The weld beads showed a solidification microstructure of primary ferrite with good thermal cracking resistance,and their hardness was lower than that of the plates.The 1.5+0.8-P joint exhibited better fatigue resistance to low stress amplitudes,whereas the 0.8+1.5-N joint showed greater resistance to high stress amplitudes.The failure modes of 0.8+1.5-N and 1.5+0.8-P joints were 1.5 mm and 0.8 mm lower lap plate fracture,respectively,and the primary cracks were initiated at welding fusion lines on the lap surface.There were long plastic ribs on the penetration plate fracture,but not on the non-penetration plate fracture.The fatigue resistance stresses in the crack initiation area of the penetration and non-penetration plates calculated based on the mean fatigue limits are 408 MPa and 326 MPa,respectively,which can be used as reference stress for the fatigue design of the laser welded structures.The main reason for the difference in fatigue performance between the two laser welded joints was that the asymmetrical heating in the non-penetration plate thickness resulted in higher residual stress near the welding fusion line.

Closed-loop control of weld penetration in keyhole plasma arc welding

To improve the penetrating ability and the welding quality of keyhole plasma arc welding, a novel penetration closed loop control system was established. In the system, welding current and plasma gas flow rate were selected as adjusting variables. The wavelet method was used to detect penetration status from welding arc voltage in real time. The control strategy of one keyhole per pulse was adapted to fulfill stable and high quality welding process. Experimental results show that the developed system can apparently increase the penetrating force of plasma arc and keyhole plasma arc welding is realized successfully in stainless steel with 10 mm in thickness. Moreover, the disturbances of gradual change and break change from 3 mm to 6 mm in thickness are come over due to the good response property of the developed system.