Robotic and automatic welding development at the Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, C. S.; Jackson, M. E.; Flanigan, L. A.

1988-01-01

Welding automation is the key to two major development programs to improve quality and reduce the cost of manufacturing space hardware currently undertaken by the Materials and Processes Laboratory of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Variable polarity plasma arc welding has demonstrated its effectiveness on class 1 aluminum welding in external tank production. More than three miles of welds were completed without an internal defect. Much of this success can be credited to automation developments which stabilize the process. Robotic manipulation technology is under development for automation of welds on the Space Shuttle's main engines utilizing pathfinder systems in development of tooling and sensors for the production applications. The overall approach to welding automation development undertaken is outlined. Advanced sensors and control systems methodologies are described that combine to make aerospace quality welds with a minimum of dependence on operator skill.

Robotic Assistance by Impedance Compensation for Hand Movements While Manual Welding.

PubMed

Erden, Mustafa Suphi; Billard, Aude

2016-11-01

In this paper, we present a robotic assistance scheme which allows for impedance compensation with stiffness, damping, and mass parameters for hand manipulation tasks and we apply it to manual welding. The impedance compensation does not assume a preprogrammed hand trajectory. Rather, the intention of the human for the hand movement is estimated in real time using a smooth Kalman filter. The movement is restricted by compensatory virtual impedance in the directions perpendicular to the estimated direction of movement. With airbrush painting experiments, we test three sets of values for the impedance parameters as inspired from impedance measurements with manual welding. We apply the best of the tested sets for assistance in manual welding and perform welding experiments with professional and novice welders. We contrast three conditions: 1) welding with the robot's assistance; 2) with the robot when the robot is passive; and 3) welding without the robot. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the assistance through quantitative measures of both task performance and perceived user's satisfaction. The performance of both the novice and professional welders improves significantly with robotic assistance compared to welding with a passive robot. The assessment of user satisfaction shows that all novice and most professional welders appreciate the robotic assistance as it suppresses the tremors in the directions perpendicular to the movement for welding.

A Weld Position Recognition Method Based on Directional and Structured Light Information Fusion in Multi-Layer/Multi-Pass Welding.

PubMed

Zeng, Jinle; Chang, Baohua; Du, Dong; Wang, Li; Chang, Shuhe; Peng, Guodong; Wang, Wenzhu

2018-01-05

Multi-layer/multi-pass welding (MLMPW) technology is widely used in the energy industry to join thick components. During automatic welding using robots or other actuators, it is very important to recognize the actual weld pass position using visual methods, which can then be used not only to perform reasonable path planning for actuators, but also to correct any deviations between the welding torch and the weld pass position in real time. However, due to the small geometrical differences between adjacent weld passes, existing weld position recognition technologies such as structured light methods are not suitable for weld position detection in MLMPW. This paper proposes a novel method for weld position detection, which fuses various kinds of information in MLMPW. First, a synchronous acquisition method is developed to obtain various kinds of visual information when directional light and structured light sources are on, respectively. Then, interferences are eliminated by fusing adjacent images. Finally, the information from directional and structured light images is fused to obtain the 3D positions of the weld passes. Experiment results show that each process can be done in 30 ms and the deviation is less than 0.6 mm. The proposed method can be used for automatic path planning and seam tracking in the robotic MLMPW process as well as electron beam freeform fabrication process.

Technological Advances in Joining

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-08-01

automotive industry, and similar robots are being equipped to perform many arc welding functions in areas where high production rates must be...nonvacuum electron-beam welding favor the use of this process by the automotive industry. For example, this process has been used to join the component...metal additions were not needed. This process has been also used to weld various assemblies for automotive transmissions (e.g., annulus gear assemblies

Sensor Control of Robot Arc Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sias, F. R., Jr.

1983-01-01

The potential for using computer vision as sensory feedback for robot gas-tungsten arc welding is investigated. The basic parameters that must be controlled while directing the movement of an arc welding torch are defined. The actions of a human welder are examined to aid in determining the sensory information that would permit a robot to make reproducible high strength welds. Special constraints imposed by both robot hardware and software are considered. Several sensory modalities that would potentially improve weld quality are examined. Special emphasis is directed to the use of computer vision for controlling gas-tungsten arc welding. Vendors of available automated seam tracking arc welding systems and of computer vision systems are surveyed. An assessment is made of the state of the art and the problems that must be solved in order to apply computer vision to robot controlled arc welding on the Space Shuttle Main Engine.

Robotic Manufacturing of 5.5 Meter Cryogenic Fuel Tank Dome Assemblies for the NASA Ares I Rocket

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Ronald E.

2012-01-01

The Ares I rocket is the first launch vehicle scheduled for manufacture under the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's (NASA's) Constellation program. A series of full-scale Ares I development articles have been constructed on the Robotic Weld Tool at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Robotic Weld Tool is a 100 ton, 7-axis, robotic manufacturing system capable of machining and friction stir welding large-scale space hardware. This presentation will focus on the friction stir welding of 5.5m diameter cryogenic fuel tank components; specifically, the liquid hydrogen forward dome (LH2 MDA), the common bulkhead manufacturing development articles (CBMDA) and the thermal protection system demonstration dome (TPS Dome). The LH2 MDA was the first full-scale, flight-like Ares I hardware produced under the Constellation Program. It is a 5.5m diameter elliptical dome assembly consisting of eight gore panels, a y-ring stiffener and a manhole fitting. All components are made from aluminumlithium alloy 2195. Conventional and self-reacting friction stir welding was used on this article. An overview of the manufacturing processes will be discussed. The LH2 MDA is the first known fully friction stir welded dome ever produced. The completion of four Common Bulkhead Manufacturing Development Articles (CBMDA) and the TPS Dome will also be highlighted. Each CBMDA and the TPS Dome consists of a 5.5m diameter spun-formed dome friction stir welded to a y-ring stiffener. The domes and y-rings are made of aluminum 2014 and 2219 respectively. The TPS Dome has an additional aluminum alloy 2195 barrel section welded to the y-ring. Manufacturing solutions will be discussed including "fixtureless" welding with self reacting friction stir welding.

Plasma arc welding repair of space flight hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, David S.

1993-01-01

A technique to weld repair the main combustion chamber of Space Shuttle Main Engines has been developed. The technique uses the plasma arc welding process and active cooling to seal cracks and pinholes in the hot-gas wall of the main combustion chamber liner. The liner hot-gas wall is made of NARloy-Z, a copper alloy previously thought to be unweldable using conventional arc welding processes. The process must provide extensive heat input to melt the high conductivity NARloy-Z while protecting the delicate structure of the surrounding material. The higher energy density of the plasma arc process provides the necessary heat input while active water cooling protects the surrounding structure. The welding process is precisely controlled using a computerized robotic welding system.

Evaluation of Distortion in Welding Unions of 304 Stainless Steel with Elliptic Trajectory Using a Welding Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrasco-González, L. A.; Hurtado-Delgado, E.; Reyes-Valdés, F. A.

The aim of this investigation is to evaluate the distortions generated in welding unions of stainless steel 304 by effect of the welding temperature and the microestructural changes. The joint design is a 100 × 100 mm steel plate of 3 mm thickness. The plate was joined to a tube of 50 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness, which has a defined angular cut; therefore, the trajectory followed by the seam has an elliptic form. Temperature data acquisition was developed by type K thermocouples, placed in pairs at 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° along the welding trajectory and connected to a data acquisition device yo obtain the measures to generate time-temperature plots. The welding process was executed by a KUKA ®; KR16 welding robot with an integrated GMAW (Gas metal arc welding) process where the input parameters of voltage, wire feed and travel speed are set to constant. The distortion of the work piece was measured using a laser scanning technique that generates a point cloud with the VXelements TM software for comparison between the pre and post-weld condition. Microstructural evaluation was performed on transversal sections of the seam, at the mentioned angles for correlation.

Fundamentals and advances in the development of remote welding fabrication systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agapakis, J. E.; Masubuchi, K.; Von Alt, C.

1986-01-01

Operational and man-machine issues for welding underwater, in outer space, and at other remote sites are investigated, and recent process developments are described. Probable remote welding missions are classified, and the essential characteristics of fundamental remote welding tasks are analyzed. Various possible operational modes for remote welding fabrication are identified, and appropriate roles for humans and machines are suggested. Human operator performance in remote welding fabrication tasks is discussed, and recent advances in the development of remote welding systems are described, including packaged welding systems, stud welding systems, remotely operated welding systems, and vision-aided remote robotic welding and autonomous welding systems.

Modeling of weld bead geometry for rapid manufacturing by robotic GMAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Tao; Xiong, Jun; Chen, Hui; Chen, Yong

2015-03-01

Weld-based rapid prototyping (RP) has shown great promises for fabricating 3D complex parts. During the layered deposition of forming metallic parts with robotic gas metal arc welding, the geometry of a single weld bead has an important influence on surface finish quality, layer thickness and dimensional accuracy of the deposited layer. In order to obtain accurate, predictable and controllable bead geometry, it is essential to understand the relationships between the process variables with the bead geometry (bead width, bead height and ratio of bead width to bead height). This paper highlights an experimental study carried out to develop mathematical models to predict deposited bead geometry through the quadratic general rotary unitized design. The adequacy and significance of the models were verified via the analysis of variance. Complicated cause-effect relationships between the process parameters and the bead geometry were revealed. Results show that the developed models can be applied to predict the desired bead geometry with great accuracy in layered deposition with accordance to the slicing process of RP.

Design of a welded joint for robotic, on-orbit assembly of space trusses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rule, William K.

1992-12-01

In the future, some spacecraft will be so large that they must be assembled on-orbit. These spacecraft will be used for such tasks as manned missions to Mars or used as orbiting platforms for monitoring the Earth or observing the universe. Some large spacecraft will probably consist of planar truss structures to which will be attached special purpose, self-contained modules. The modules will most likely be taken to orbit fully outfitted and ready for use in heavy-lift launch vehicles. The truss members will also similarly be taken to orbit, but most unassembled. The truss structures will need to be assembled robotically because of the high costs and risks of extra-vehicular activities. Some missions will involve very large loads. To date, very few structures of any kind have been constructed in space. Two relatively simple trusses were assembled in the Space Shuttle bay in late 1985. Here the development of a design of a welded joint for on-orbit, robotic truss assembly is described. Mechanical joints for this application have been considered previously. Welded joints have the advantage of allowing the truss members to carry fluids for active cooling or other purposes. In addition, welded joints can be made more efficient structurally than mechanical joints. Also, welded joints require little maintenance (will not shake loose), and have no slop which would cause the structure to shudder under load reversal. The disadvantages of welded joints are that a more sophisticated assembly robot is required, weld flaws may be difficult to detect on-orbit, the welding process is hazardous, and welding introduces contamination to the environment. In addition, welded joints provide less structural damping than do mechanical joints. Welding on-orbit was first investigated aboard a Soyuz-6 mission in 1969 and then during a Skylab electron beam welding experiment in 1973. A hand held electron beam welding apparatus is currently being prepared for use on the MIR space station.

Problem of quality assurance during metal constructions welding via robotic technological complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fominykh, D. S.; Rezchikov, A. F.; Kushnikov, V. A.; Ivashchenko, V. A.; Bogomolov, A. S.; Filimonyuk, L. Yu; Dolinina, O. N.; Kushnikov, O. V.; Shulga, T. E.; Tverdokhlebov, V. A.

2018-05-01

The problem of minimizing the probability for critical combinations of events that lead to a loss in welding quality via robotic process automation is examined. The problem is formulated, models and algorithms for its solution are developed. The problem is solved by minimizing the criterion characterizing the losses caused by defective products. Solving the problem may enhance the quality and accuracy of operations performed and reduce the losses caused by defective product

High Rotation Speed Friction Stir Welding for 2014 Aluminum Alloy Thin Sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shujin; Zhou, Yang; Xue, Junrong; Ni, Ruiyang; Guo, Yue; Dong, Jianghui

2017-03-01

In this study, 2014 aluminum alloy sheets with 1 mm thickness are welded successfully by friction stir welding (FSW) robot under the condition of high rotation speed. When the high rotation speed of 10,000-16,500 rpm is applied, the lower axial pressure (less than 200 N) is obtained, which reduces stiffness requirements for equipment. Welding deformation is inevitable because high rotation speed can easily result in rapid heating rate and uneven heat input. The welding distortion caused by two cooling methods is measured, respectively, by laser range finder. The experimental results show that the welding distortion is smaller under the condition of water cooling. When the rotation speed is up to 15,000 rpm and welding speed 50-170 mm/min, the whole welding process is controllable. Under the higher rotation speed condition, the welding defects disappear gradually and more stable mechanical properties can be obtained up to 75% of base metal (ω = 16,000 rpm, ν = 110 mm/min). The results of different welding parameters demonstrate that the high rotation speed can increase material mixing and reduce the axial force (z force), and it can benefit lightweight sheet welding by using FSW robot.

Plasma arc welding repair of space flight hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, David S.

1993-01-01

Repair and refurbishment of flight and test hardware can extend the useful life of very expensive components. A technique to weld repair the main combustion chamber of space shuttle main engines has been developed. The technique uses the plasma arc welding process and active cooling to seal cracks and pinholes in the hot-gas wall of the main combustion chamber liner. The liner hot-gas wall is made of NARloyZ, a copper alloy previously thought to be unweldable using conventional arc welding processes. The process must provide extensive heat input to melt the high conductivity NARloyZ while protecting the delicate structure of the surrounding material. The higher energy density of the plasma arc process provides the necessary heat input while active water cooling protects the surrounding structure. The welding process is precisely controlled using a computerized robotic welding system.

Real-time control for manufacturing space shuttle main engines: Work in progress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruokangas, Corinne C.

1988-01-01

During the manufacture of space-based assemblies such as Space Shuttle Main Engines, flexibility is required due to the high-cost and low-volume nature of the end products. Various systems have been developed pursuing the goal of adaptive, flexible manufacturing for several space applications, including an Advanced Robotic Welding System for the manufacture of complex components of the Space Shuttle Main Engines. The Advanced Robotic Welding System (AROWS) is an on-going joint effort, funded by NASA, between NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, and two divisions of Rockwell International: Rocketdyne and the Science Center. AROWS includes two levels of flexible control of both motion and process parameters: Off-line programming using both geometric and weld-process data bases, and real-time control incorporating multiple sensors during weld execution. Both control systems were implemented using conventional hardware and software architectures. The feasibility of enhancing the real-time control system using the problem-solving architecture of Schemer is investigated and described.

Design, construction, and characterization of a novel robotic welding fume generator and inhalation exposure system for laboratory animals.

PubMed

Antonini, James M; Afshari, Aliakbar A; Stone, Sam; Chen, Bean; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Fletcher, W Gary; Goldsmith, W Travis; Vandestouwe, Kurt H; McKinney, Walter; Castranova, Vincent; Frazer, David G

2006-04-01

Respiratory effects observed in welders have included lung function changes, metal fume fever, bronchitis, and a possible increase in the incidence of lung cancer. Many questions remain unanswered regarding the causality and possible underlying mechanisms associated with the potential toxic effects of welding fume inhalation. The objective of the present study was to construct a completely automated, computer-controlled welding fume generation and inhalation exposure system to simulate real workplace exposures. The system comprised a programmable six-axis robotic welding arm, a water-cooled arc welding torch, and a wire feeder that supplied the wire to the torch at a programmed rate. For the initial studies, gas metal arc welding was performed using a stainless steel electrode. A flexible trunk was attached to the robotic arm of the welder and was used to collect and transport fume from the vicinity of the arc to the animal exposure chamber. Undiluted fume concentrations consistently ranged from 90-150 mg/m(3) in the animal chamber during welding. Temperature and humidity remained constant in the chamber during the welding operation. The welding particles were composed of (from highest to lowest concentration) iron, chromium, manganese, and nickel as measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Size distribution analysis indicated the mass median aerodynamic diameter of the generated particles to be approximately 0.24 microm with a geometric standard deviation (sigma(g)) of 1.39. As determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, the generated aerosols were mostly arranged as chain-like agglomerates of primary particles. Characterization of the laboratory-generated welding aerosol has indicated that particle morphology, size, and chemical composition are comparable to stainless steel welding fume generated in other studies. With the development of this novel system, it will be possible to establish an animal model using controlled welding exposures from automated gas metal arc and flux-cored arc welding processes to investigate how welding fumes affect health.

Research on Kinematic Trajectory Simulation System of KUKA Arc Welding Robot System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Min

2017-10-01

In this paper, the simulation trajectory simulation of KUKA arc welding robot system is realized by means of VC platform. It is used to realize the teaching of professional training of welding robot in middle school. It provides teaching resources for the combination of work and study and integration teaching, which enriches the content of course teaching.

Influence of control parameters on the joint tracking performance of a coaxial weld vision system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gangl, K. J.; Weeks, J. L.

1985-01-01

The first phase of a series of evaluations of a vision-based welding control sensor for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Robotic Welding System is described. The robotic welding system is presently under development at the Marshall Space Flight Center. This evaluation determines the standard control response parameters necessary for proper trajectory of the welding torch along the joint.

Real-time seam tracking control system based on line laser visions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yanbiao; Wang, Yanbo; Zhou, Weilin; Chen, Xiangzhi

2018-07-01

A set of six-degree-of-freedom robotic welding automatic tracking platform was designed in this study to realize the real-time tracking of weld seams. Moreover, the feature point tracking method and the adaptive fuzzy control algorithm in the welding process were studied and analyzed. A laser vision sensor and its measuring principle were designed and studied, respectively. Before welding, the initial coordinate values of the feature points were obtained using morphological methods. After welding, the target tracking method based on Gaussian kernel was used to extract the real-time feature points of the weld. An adaptive fuzzy controller was designed to input the deviation value of the feature points and the change rate of the deviation into the controller. The quantization factors, scale factor, and weight function were adjusted in real time. The input and output domains, fuzzy rules, and membership functions were constantly updated to generate a series of smooth bias robot voltage. Three groups of experiments were conducted on different types of curve welds in a strong arc and splash noise environment using the welding current of 120 A short-circuit Metal Active Gas (MAG) Arc Welding. The tracking error was less than 0.32 mm and the sensor's metrical frequency can be up to 20 Hz. The end of the torch run smooth during welding. Weld trajectory can be tracked accurately, thereby satisfying the requirements of welding applications.

Optically controlled welding system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Stephen S. (Inventor)

1988-01-01

An optically controlled welding system wherein a welding torch having through-the-torch viewing capabilities is provided with an optical beam splitter to create a transmitted view and a reflective view of a welding operation. These views are converted to digital signals which are then processed and utilized by a computerized robotic welder to make the welding torch responsive thereto. Other features include an actively cooled electrode holder which minimizes a blocked portion of the view by virtue of being constructed of a single spoke or arm, and a weld pool contour detector comprising a laser beam directed onto the weld pool with the position of specular radiation reflected therefrom, being characteristic of a penetrated or unpenetrated condition of the weld pool.

Robotic Manufacturing of 18-ft (5.5m) Diameter Cryogenic Fuel Tank Dome Assemblies for the NASA Ares I Rocket

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Ronald E.; Carter, Robert W.

2012-01-01

The Ares I rocket was the first launch vehicle scheduled for manufacture under the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's Constellation program. A series of full-scale Ares I development articles were constructed on the Robotic Weld Tool at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Robotic Weld Tool is a 100 ton, 7- axis, robotic manufacturing system capable of machining and friction stir welding large-scale space hardware. This paper will focus on the friction stir welding of 18-ft (5.5m) diameter cryogenic fuel tank components; specifically, the liquid hydrogen forward dome and two common bulkhead manufacturing development articles.

Manufacturing of 5.5 Meter Diameter Cryogenic Fuel Tank Domes for the NASA Ares I Rocket

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Ronald E.; Carter, Robert W.

2012-01-01

The Ares I rocket is the first launch vehicle scheduled for manufacture under the National Aeronautic and Space Administration s (NASA s) Constellation program. A series of full-scale Ares I development articles have been constructed on the Robotic Weld Tool at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Robotic Weld Tool is a 100 ton, 7-axis, robotic manufacturing system capable of machining and friction stir welding large-scale space hardware. This presentation will focus on the friction stir welding of 5.5m diameter cryogenic fuel tank components; specifically, the liquid hydrogen forward dome (LH2 MDA) and the common bulkhead manufacturing development articles (CBMDA). The LH2 MDA was the first full-scale, flight-like Ares I hardware produced under the Constellation Program. It is a 5.5m diameter elliptical dome assembly consisting of eight gore panels, a y-ring stiffener and a manhole fitting. All components are made from aluminum-lithium alloy 2195. Conventional and self-reacting friction stir welding was used on this article. Manufacturing solutions will be discussed including the implementation of photogrammetry, an advanced metrology technique, as well as fixtureless welding. The LH2 MDA is the first known fully friction stir welded dome ever produced. The completion of four Common Bulkhead Manufacturing Development Articles (CBMDA) will also be highlighted. Each CBMDA consists of a 5.5m diameter spun-formed dome friction stir welded to a y-ring stiffener. The domes and y-rings are made of aluminum 2014 and 2219 respectively. An overview of CBMDA manufacturing processes and the effect of tooling on weld defect formation will be discussed.

Manufacturing process applications team (MATeam)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bangs, E. R.

1980-01-01

The objectives and activities of an aerospace technology transfer group are outlined and programs in various stages of progress are described including the orbital tube flaring device, infrared proximity sensor for robot positioning, laser stripping magnet wire, infrared imaging as welding process tracking system, carbide coating of cutting tools, nondestructive fracture toughness testing of titanium welds, portable solar system for agricultural applications, and an anerobic methane gas generator.

Programmable Automated Welding System (PAWS): Control of welding through software and hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kline, Martin D.; Doyle, Thomas E.

1994-01-01

The ATD phase of the PAWS program ended in November 1992 and the follow-on ManTech program was started in September 1993. The system will be industrially hardened during the first year of this program. Follow-on years will focus upon the transition into specific end-user sites. These implementations will also expand the system into other welding processes (e.g. FCAW, GTAW, PAW). In addition, the architecture is being developed for application to other non-welding robotic processes (e.g. inspection, surface finishing). Future development is anticipated to encompass hardening for extreme environments, expanded exception handling techniques, and application to a range of manipulators.

Improving the Quality of Welding Seam of Automatic Welding of Buckets Based on TCP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Min

2018-02-01

Since February 2014, the welding defects of the automatic welding line of buckets have been frequently appeared. The average repair time of each bucket is 26min, which seriously affects the production efficiency and welding quality. We conducted troubleshooting, and found the main reasons for the welding defects of the buckets were the deviations of the center points of the robot tools and the poor quality of the locating welding. We corrected the gripper, welding torch, and accuracy of repeat positioning of robots to control the quality of positioning welding. The welding defect rate of buckets was reduced greatly, ensuring the production efficiency and welding quality.

Optimization of the A-TIG welding for stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jurica, M.; Kožuh, Z.; Garašić, I.; Bušić, M.

2018-03-01

The paper presents the influence of the activation flux and shielding gas on tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) welding of the stainless steel. In introduction part, duplex stainless steel was analysed. The A-TIG process was explained and the possibility of welding stainless steels using the A-TIG process to maximize productivity and the cost-effectiveness of welded structures was presented. In the experimental part duplex, 7 mm thick stainless steel has been welded in butt joint. The influence of activation flux chemical composition upon the weld penetration has been investigated prior the welding. The welding process was performed by a robot with TIG equipment. With selected A-TIG welding technology preparation of plates and consumption of filler material (containing Cr, Ni and Mn) have been avoided. Specimens sectioned from the produced welds have been subjected to tensile strength test, macrostructure analysis and corrosion resistance analysis. The results have confirmed that this type of stainless steel can be welded without edge preparation and addition of filler material containing critical raw materials as Cr, Ni and Mn when the following welding parameters are set: current 200 A, welding speed 9,1 cm/min, heat input 1,2 kJ/mm and specific activation flux is used.

Industrial robots in Europe - market, applications and developments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schraft, R. D.

1975-01-01

Different companies involving a wide range of products and manufacturing processes were studied to define the requirements for industrial robots. A survey of all such automatic units offered on the world market was made to establish a data base. Principal applications include coating, spot welding, and loading and unloading operations.

Sensor control of robot arc welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sias, F. R., Jr.

1985-01-01

A basic problem in the application of robots for welding which is how to guide a torch along a weld seam using sensory information was studied. Improvement of the quality and consistency of certain Gas Tungsten Arc welds on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) that are too complex geometrically for conventional automation and therefore are done by hand was examined. The particular problems associated with space shuttle main egnine (SSME) manufacturing and weld-seam tracking with an emphasis on computer vision methods were analyzed. Special interface software for the MINC computr are developed which will allow it to be used both as a test system to check out the robot interface software and later as a development tool for further investigation of sensory systems to be incorporated in welding procedures.

Optically controlled welding system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Stephen S. (Inventor)

1989-01-01

An optically controlled welding system (10) wherein a welding torch (12) having through-the-torch viewing capabilities is provided with an optical beam splitter (56) to create a transmitted view and a reflective view of a welding operation. These views are converted to digital signals which are then processed and utilized by a computerized robotic welder (15) to make the welding torch responsive thereto. Other features includes an actively cooled electrode holder (26) which minimizes a blocked portion of the view by virtue of being constructed of a single spoke or arm (28) and a weld pool contour detector (14) comprising a laser beam directed onto the weld pool with the position of specular radiation reflected therefrom being characteristic of a penetrated or unpenetrated condition of the weld pool.

A Generalized Method for Automatic Downhand and Wirefeed Control of a Welding Robot and Positioner

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fernandez, Ken; Cook, George E.

1988-01-01

A generalized method for controlling a six degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot and a two DOF positioner used for arc welding operations is described. The welding path is defined in the part reference frame, and robot/positioner joint angles of the equivalent eight DOF serial linkage are determined via an iterative solution. Three algorithms are presented: the first solution controls motion of the eight DOF mechanism such that proper torch motion is achieved while minimizing the sum-of-squares of joint displacements; the second algorithm adds two constraint equations to achieve torch control while maintaining part orientation so that welding occurs in the downhand position; and the third algorithm adds the ability to control the proper orientation of a wire feed mechanism used in gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding operations. A verification of these algorithms is given using ROBOSIM, a NASA developed computer graphic simulation software package design for robot systems development.

Development of a semi-autonomous service robot with telerobotic capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, J. E.; White, D. R.

1987-01-01

The importance to the United States of semi-autonomous systems for application to a large number of manufacturing and service processes is very clear. Two principal reasons emerge as the primary driving forces for development of such systems: enhanced national productivity and operation in environments whch are hazardous to humans. Completely autonomous systems may not currently be economically feasible. However, autonomous systems that operate in a limited operation domain or that are supervised by humans are within the technology capability of this decade and will likely provide reasonable return on investment. The two research and development efforts of autonomy and telerobotics are distinctly different, yet interconnected. The first addresses the communication of an intelligent electronic system with a robot while the second requires human communication and ergonomic consideration. Discussed here are work in robotic control, human/robot team implementation, expert system robot operation, and sensor development by the American Welding Institute, MTS Systems Corporation, and the Colorado School of Mines--Center for Welding Research.

Oxygen-Free Welding Contact Tips

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pike, James F.

1993-01-01

Contact tips for gas/metal arc welding (GMAW) fabricated from oxygen-free copper. Prototype tips tested in robotic welding, for which application intended. Reduces electrical erosion, increases electrical conductivity, and reduces mechanical wear. Productivity of robotic welding increases while time during welding interrupted for removal and replacement of contact tips minimal. Improves alignment of joints and filler metal, reducing rate of rejection and repair of unacceptable weldments. Utility extends beyond aerospace industry to mass production of various types of hardware, including heavy off-highway construction equipment.

Adjustable Bracket For Entry Of Welding Wire

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, Jeffrey L.; Gutow, David A.

1993-01-01

Wire-entry bracket on welding torch in robotic welding system provides for adjustment of angle of entry of welding wire over range of plus or minus 30 degrees from nominal entry angle. Wire positioned so it does not hide weld joint in view of through-the-torch computer-vision system part of robot-controlling and -monitoring system. Swiveling bracket also used on nonvision torch on which wire-feed-through tube interferes with workpiece. Angle simply changed to one giving sufficient clearance.

Robotic tool positioning process using a multi-line off-axis laser triangulation sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinto, T. C.; Matos, G.

2018-03-01

Proper positioning of a friction stir welding head for pin insertion, driven by a closed chain robot, is important to ensure quality repair of cracks. A multi-line off-axis laser triangulation sensor was designed to be integrated to the robot, allowing relative measurements of the surface to be repaired. This work describes the sensor characteristics, its evaluation and the measurement process for tool positioning to a surface point of interest. The developed process uses a point of interest image and a measured point cloud to define the translation and rotation for tool positioning. Sensor evaluation and tests are described. Keywords: laser triangulation, 3D measurement, tool positioning, robotics.

Dummy Cup Helps Robot-Welder Programmers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Stephen S.

1990-01-01

Dummy gas cup used on torch of robotic welder during programming and practice runs. Made of metal or plastic, dummy cup inexpensive and durable. Withstands bumps caused by programming errors, and is sized for special welding jobs within limited clearances. After robot satisfactorily programmed, replaced by ceramic cup of same dimensions for actual welding.

Information flow analysis and Petri-net-based modeling for welding flexible manufacturing cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, T.; Chen, Shanben; Wang, Y. T.; Wu, Lin

2000-10-01

Due to the development of advanced manufacturing technology and the introduction of Smart-Manufacturing notion in the field of modern industrial production, welding flexible manufacturing system (WFMS) using robot technology has become the inevitable developing direction on welding automation. In WFMS process, the flexibility for different welding products and the realizing on corresponding welding parameters control are the guarantees for welding quality. Based on a new intelligent arc-welding flexible manufacturing cell (WFMC), the system structure and control policies are studied in this paper. Aiming at the different information flows among every subsystem and central monitoring computer in this WFMC, Petri net theory is introduced into the process of welding manufacturing. With its help, a discrete control model of WFMC has been constructed, in which the system status is regarded as place and the control process is regarded as transition. Moreover, grounded on automation Petri net principle, the judging and utilizing of information obtained from welding sensors are imported into net structure, which extends the traditional Petri net concepts. The control model and policies researched in this paper have established foundation for further intelligent real-time control on WFMC and WFMS.

In situ post-weld heat treatment on martensitic stainless steel turbine runners using a robotic induction heating process to control temperature distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boudreault, E.; Hazel, B.; Côté, J.; Godin, S.

2014-03-01

A new robotic heat treatment process is developed. Using this solution it is now possible to perform local heat treatment on large steel components. Crack, cavitation and erosion repairs on turbine blades and Pelton buckets are among the applications of this technique. The proof of concept is made on a 13Cr-4Ni stainless steel designated "CA6NM". This alloy is widely used in the power industry for modern system components. Given the very tight temperature tolerance (600 to 630 °C) for post-weld heat treatment on this alloy, 13Cr-4Ni stainless steel is very well suited for demonstrating the possibilities of this process. To achieve heat treatment requirements, an induction heating system is mounted on a compact manipulator named "Scompi". This robot moves a pancake coil in order to control the temperature distribution. A simulator using thermal finite element analysis is first used for path planning. A feedback loop adjusts parameters in function of environmental conditions.

Temperature and Material Flow Prediction in Friction-Stir Spot Welding of Advanced High-Strength Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, M.; Karki, U.; Hovanski, Y.

2014-10-01

Friction-stir spot welding (FSSW) has been shown to be capable of joining advanced high-strength steel, with its flexibility in controlling the heat of welding and the resulting microstructure of the joint. This makes FSSW a potential alternative to resistance spot welding if tool life is sufficiently high, and if machine spindle loads are sufficiently low that the process can be implemented on an industrial robot. Robots for spot welding can typically sustain vertical loads of about 8 kN, but FSSW at tool speeds of less than 3000 rpm cause loads that are too high, in the range of 11-14 kN. Therefore, in the current work, tool speeds of 5000 rpm were employed to generate heat more quickly and to reduce welding loads to acceptable levels. Si3N4 tools were used for the welding experiments on 1.2-mm DP 980 steel. The FSSW process was modeled with a finite element approach using the Forge® software. An updated Lagrangian scheme with explicit time integration was employed to predict the flow of the sheet material, subjected to boundary conditions of a rotating tool and a fixed backing plate. Material flow was calculated from a velocity field that is two-dimensional, but heat generated by friction was computed by a novel approach, where the rotational velocity component imparted to the sheet by the tool surface was included in the thermal boundary conditions. An isotropic, viscoplastic Norton-Hoff law was used to compute the material flow stress as a function of strain, strain rate, and temperature. The model predicted welding temperatures to within 4%, and the position of the joint interface to within 10%, of the experimental results.

Temperature and Material Flow Prediction in Friction-Stir Spot Welding of Advanced High-Strength Steel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miles, Michael; Karki, U.; Hovanski, Yuri

Friction-stir spot welding (FSSW) has been shown to be capable of joining advanced high-strength steel, with its flexibility in controlling the heat of welding and the resulting microstructure of the joint. This makes FSSW a potential alternative to resistance spot welding if tool life is sufficiently high, and if machine spindle loads are sufficiently low that the process can be implemented on an industrial robot. Robots for spot welding can typically sustain vertical loads of about 8 kN, but FSSW at tool speeds of less than 3000 rpm cause loads that are too high, in the range of 11–14 kN.more » Therefore, in the current work, tool speeds of 5000 rpm were employed to generate heat more quickly and to reduce welding loads to acceptable levels. Si3N4 tools were used for the welding experiments on 1.2-mm DP 980 steel. The FSSW process was modeled with a finite element approach using the Forge* software. An updated Lagrangian scheme with explicit time integration was employed to predict the flow of the sheet material, subjected to boundary conditions of a rotating tool and a fixed backing plate. Material flow was calculated from a velocity field that is two-dimensional, but heat generated by friction was computed by a novel approach, where the rotational velocity component imparted to the sheet by the tool surface was included in the thermal boundary conditions. An isotropic, viscoplastic Norton-Hoff law was used to compute the material flow stress as a function of strain, strain rate, and temperature. The model predicted welding temperatures to within percent, and the position of the joint interface to within 10 percent, of the experimental results.« less

MODELING OF HIGH SPEED FRICTION STIR SPOT WELDING USING A LAGRANGIAN FINITE ELEMENT APPROACH

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miles, Michael; Karki, U.; Woodward, C.

2013-09-03

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) has been shown to be capable of joining steels of very high strength, while also being very flexible in terms of controlling the heat of welding and the resulting microstructure of the joint. This makes FSSW a potential alternative to resistance spot welding (RSW) if tool life is sufficiently high, and if machine spindle loads are sufficiently low so that the process can be implemented on an industrial robot. Robots for spot welding can typically sustain vertical loads of about 8kN, but FSSW at tool speeds of less than 3000 rpm cause loads that aremore » too high, in the range of 11-14 kN. Therefore, in the current work tool speeds of 3000 rpm and higher were employed, in order to generate heat more quickly and to reduce welding loads to acceptable levels. The FSSW process was modeled using a finite element approach with the Forge® software package. An updated Lagrangian scheme with explicit time integration was employed to model the flow of the sheet material, subjected to boundary conditions of a rotating tool and a fixed backing plate [3]. The modeling approach can be described as two-dimensional, axisymmetric, but with an aspect of three dimensions in terms of thermal boundary conditions. Material flow was calculated from a velocity field which was two dimensional, but heat generated by friction was computed using a virtual rotational velocity component from the tool surface. An isotropic, viscoplastic Norton-Hoff law was used to model the evolution of material flow stress as a function of strain, strain rate, and temperature. The model predicted welding temperatures and the movement of the joint interface with reasonable accuracy for the welding of a dual phase 980 steel.« less

Robotics in space-age manufacturing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Chip

1991-01-01

Robotics technologies are developed to improve manufacturing of space hardware. The following applications of robotics are covered: (1) welding for the space shuttle and space station Freedom programs; (2) manipulation of high-pressure water for shuttle solid rocket booster refurbishment; (3) automating the application of insulation materials; (4) precision application of sealants; and (5) automation of inspection procedures. Commercial robots are used for these development programs, but they are teamed with advanced sensors, process controls, and computer simulation to form highly productive manufacturing systems. Many of the technologies are also being actively pursued in private sector manufacturing operations.

A Cross Structured Light Sensor and Stripe Segmentation Method for Visual Tracking of a Wall Climbing Robot

PubMed Central

Zhang, Liguo; Sun, Jianguo; Yin, Guisheng; Zhao, Jing; Han, Qilong

2015-01-01

In non-destructive testing (NDT) of metal welds, weld line tracking is usually performed outdoors, where the structured light sources are always disturbed by various noises, such as sunlight, shadows, and reflections from the weld line surface. In this paper, we design a cross structured light (CSL) to detect the weld line and propose a robust laser stripe segmentation algorithm to overcome the noises in structured light images. An adaptive monochromatic space is applied to preprocess the image with ambient noises. In the monochromatic image, the laser stripe obtained is recovered as a multichannel signal by minimum entropy deconvolution. Lastly, the stripe centre points are extracted from the image. In experiments, the CSL sensor and the proposed algorithm are applied to guide a wall climbing robot inspecting the weld line of a wind power tower. The experimental results show that the CSL sensor can capture the 3D information of the welds with high accuracy, and the proposed algorithm contributes to the weld line inspection and the robot navigation. PMID:26110403

A generalized method for multiple robotic manipulator programming applied to vertical-up welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fernandez, Kenneth R.; Cook, George E.; Andersen, Kristinn; Barnett, Robert Joel; Zein-Sabattou, Saleh

1991-01-01

The application is described of a weld programming algorithm for vertical-up welding, which is frequently desired for variable polarity plasma arc welding (VPPAW). The Basic algorithm performs three tasks simultaneously: control of the robotic mechanism so that proper torch motion is achieved while minimizing the sum-of-squares of joint displacement; control of the torch while the part is maintained in a desirable orientation; and control of the wire feed mechanism location with respect to the moving welding torch. Also presented is a modification of this algorithm which permits it to be used for vertical-up welding. The details of this modification are discussed and simulation examples are provided for illustration and verification.

Novel low-cost vision-sensing technology with controllable of exposal time for welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenzeng; Wang, Bin; Chen, Nian; Cao, Yipeng

2005-02-01

In the process of robot Welding, position of welding seam and welding pool shape is detected by CCD camera for quality control and seam tracking in real-time. It is difficult to always get a clear welding image in some welding methods, such as TIG welding. A novel idea that the exposal time of CCD camera is automatically controlled by arc voltage or arc luminance is proposed to get clear welding image. A set of special device and circuits are added to a common industrial CCD camera in order to flexibly control the CCD to start or close exposal by control of the internal clearing signal of the accumulated charge. Two special vision sensors according to the idea are developed. Their exposal grabbing can be triggered respectively by the arc voltage and the variety of the arc luminance. Two prototypes have been designed and manufactured. Experiments show that they can stably grab clear welding images at appointed moment, which is a basic for the feedback control of automatic welding.

Acoustic-Emission Weld-Penetration Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maram, J.; Collins, J.

1986-01-01

Weld penetration monitored by detection of high-frequency acoustic emissions produced by advancing weld pool as it melts and solidifies in workpiece. Acoustic emission from TIG butt weld measured with 300-kHz resonant transducer. Rise in emission level coincides with cessation of weld penetration due to sudden reduction in welding current. Such monitoring applied to control of automated and robotic welders.

Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding of the High-Strength Shipbuilding Steels: Equipment and Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turichin, G.; Kuznetsov, M.; Tsibulskiy, I.; Firsova, A.

Hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) allows getting weld joints with thickness up to 35 mm for one pass, provide good quality formation of joints, minimal thermal deformations, the productivity in 10 times more in comparison with arc welding. In addition, replacement arc welding to the HLAW allows economizing filler materials, shielding gas and consumable electricity more than 4 times. Therefore, HLAW is actually technology for basic engineering branches and especially for shipbuilding. The Institute of Laser and Welding Technologies (ILWT) developed laser and hybrid laser-arc welding technologies for different type of steels and alloys including high-strength shipbuilding steels. Also ILWT produced portal and robotic systems for HLAW process realization. Portal system for hybrid laser-arc welding of panels with dimensions 6x6 m using at the manufacturing of flat curvilinear sections in the shipbuilding is depicted in the article. Results of experimental researches of the hybrid laser-arc welding parameters influence on the formation and mechanical properties of weld joint are described at the publication also. Experimental part was made with using of the portal system.

Ultrasonic Real-Time Quality Monitoring Of Aluminum Spot Weld Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez Regalado, Waldo Josue

The real-time ultrasonic spot weld monitoring system, introduced by our research group, has been designed for the unsupervised quality characterization of the spot welding process. It comprises the ultrasonic transducer (probe) built into one of the welding electrodes and an electronics hardware unit which gathers information from the transducer, performs real-time weld quality characterization and communicates with the robot programmable logic controller (PLC). The system has been fully developed for the inspection of spot welds manufactured in steel alloys, and has been mainly applied in the automotive industry. In recent years, a variety of materials have been introduced to the automotive industry. These include high strength steels, magnesium alloys, and aluminum alloys. Aluminum alloys have been of particular interest due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. Resistance spot welding requirements for aluminum vary greatly from those of steel. Additionally, the oxide film formed on the aluminum surface increases the heat generation between the copper electrodes and the aluminum plates leading to accelerated electrode deterioration. Preliminary studies showed that the real-time quality inspection system was not able to monitor spot welds manufactured with aluminum. The extensive experimental research, finite element modelling of the aluminum welding process and finite difference modeling of the acoustic wave propagation through the aluminum spot welds presented in this dissertation, revealed that the thermodynamics and hence the acoustic wave propagation through an aluminum and a steel spot weld differ significantly. For this reason, the hardware requirements and the algorithms developed to determine the welds quality from the ultrasonic data used on steel, no longer apply on aluminum spot welds. After updating the system and designing the required algorithms, parameters such as liquid nugget penetration and nugget diameter were available in the ultrasonic data acquired during the aluminum welding process. Finally, a fuzzy system was designed to receive these parameters and determine the weld quality.

Truss Assembly and Welding by Intelligent Precision Jigging Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komendera, Erik; Dorsey, John T.; Doggett, William R.; Correll, Nikolaus

2014-01-01

This paper describes an Intelligent Precision Jigging Robot (IPJR) prototype that enables the precise alignment and welding of titanium space telescope optical benches. The IPJR, equipped with micron accuracy sensors and actuators, worked in tandem with a lower precision remote controlled manipulator. The combined system assembled and welded a 2 m truss from stock titanium components. The calibration of the IPJR, and the difference between the predicted and the truss dimensions as-built, identified additional sources of error that should be addressed in the next generation of IPJRs in 2D and 3D.

Design of a welded joint for robotic, on-orbit assembly of space trusses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rule, W. K.; Thomas, F. P.

1992-10-01

A preliminary design for a weldable truss joint for on-orbit assembly of large space structures is described. The joint was designed for ease of assembly, for structural efficiency, and to allow passage of fluid (for active cooling or other purposes) along the member through the joint. The truss members were assumed to consist of graphite/epoxy tubes to which were bonded 2219-T87 aluminum alloy end fittings for welding on-orbit to truss nodes of the same alloy. A modified form of gas tungsten arc welding was assumed to be the welding process. The joint was designed to withstand the thermal and structural loading associated with a 120-ft diameter tetrahedral truss intended as an aerobrake for a mission to Mars.

Design of a welded joint for robotic, on-orbit assembly of space trusses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rule, W. K.; Thomas, F. P.

1992-01-01

A preliminary design for a weldable truss joint for on-orbit assembly of large space structures is described. The joint was designed for ease of assembly, for structural efficiency, and to allow passage of fluid (for active cooling or other purposes) along the member through the joint. The truss members were assumed to consist of graphite/epoxy tubes to which were bonded 2219-T87 aluminum alloy end fittings for welding on-orbit to truss nodes of the same alloy. A modified form of gas tungsten arc welding was assumed to be the welding process. The joint was designed to withstand the thermal and structural loading associated with a 120-ft diameter tetrahedral truss intended as an aerobrake for a mission to Mars.

Welding--Trade or Profession?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albright, C. E.; Smith, Kenneth

2006-01-01

This article discusses a collaborative program between schools with the purpose of training and providing advanced education in welding. Modern manufacturing is turning to automation to increase productivity, but it can be a great challenge to program robots and other computer-controlled welding and joining systems. Computer programming and…

Robotics: An Introduction to Today’s Robot and Future Trends.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

trial applications." What qualities define a machine as a robot? The Robot Institute of Amer- ica defines a robot as follows: "A robot is a reprogrammable ...manufactures a robot with a spin- ning wrist. Second, and this is the key feature, robots are reprogrammable and hence versatile. An automatic lathe is not...robot spot-welds an automobile frame. In Figure 8, a single robot transferring a transmission case is shown, but a total of eight robots are

The National Shipbuilding Research Program: Evaluation of the Cincinnati Milacron T-3 Robot for Shipbuilding Welding

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

acknowledgement is extended to the members of Welding Panel SP-7 of the SNAME Ship Production Committee, who served as technical advisors in the preparation...Binzel Robo 450. . . . . . 4.4.4.1.3 Hobart WCG 600 . . . . . . 4.4.4.2 Maintenance and Service . . . . . . . 4.4.4.3 Recommendation...Machine Specialties D & F - Welding . . . Torch Binzel Robo 450 - Welding Torch. Hobart WCG - 600 - Welding Torch. Binzel Nozzle Cleaner

Proton-irradiation technology for high-frequency high-current silicon welding diode manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagov, P. B.; Drenin, A. S.; Zinoviev, M. A.

2017-05-01

Different proton irradiation regimes were tested to provide more than 20 kHz-frequency, soft reverse recovery “snap-less” behavior, low forward voltage drop and leakage current for 50 mm diameter 7 kA/400 V welding diode Al/Si/Mo structure. Silicon diode with such parameters is very suitable for high frequency resistance welding machines of new generation for robotic welding.

Characteristics of AZ31 Mg alloy joint using automatic TIG welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hong-tao; Zhou, Ji-xue; Zhao, Dong-qing; Liu, Yun-teng; Wu, Jian-hua; Yang, Yuan-sheng; Ma, Bai-chang; Zhuang, Hai-hua

2017-01-01

The automatic tungsten-inert gas welding (ATIGW) of AZ31 Mg alloys was performed using a six-axis robot. The evolution of the microstructure and texture of the AZ31 auto-welded joints was studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction. The ATIGW process resulted in coarse recrystallized grains in the heat affected zone (HAZ) and epitaxial growth of columnar grains in the fusion zone (FZ). Substantial changes of texture between the base material (BM) and the FZ were detected. The {0002} basal plane in the BM was largely parallel to the sheet rolling plane, whereas the c-axis of the crystal lattice in the FZ inclined approximately 25° with respect to the welding direction. The maximum pole density increased from 9.45 in the BM to 12.9 in the FZ. The microhardness distribution, tensile properties, and fracture features of the AZ31 auto-welded joints were also investigated.

An anatomy of industrial robots and their controls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luh, J. Y. S.

1983-02-01

The modernization of manufacturing facilities by means of automation represents an approach for increasing productivity in industry. The three existing types of automation are related to continuous process controls, the use of transfer conveyor methods, and the employment of programmable automation for the low-volume batch production of discrete parts. The industrial robots, which are defined as computer controlled mechanics manipulators, belong to the area of programmable automation. Typically, the robots perform tasks of arc welding, paint spraying, or foundary operation. One may assign a robot to perform a variety of job assignments simply by changing the appropriate computer program. The present investigation is concerned with an evaluation of the potential of the robot on the basis of its basic structure and controls. It is found that robots function well in limited areas of industry. If the range of tasks which robots can perform is to be expanded, it is necessary to provide multiple-task sensors, or special tooling, or even automatic tooling.

Optimization of robotic welding procedures for maintenance repair of hydraulic turbines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lamarche, L.; Galopin, M.; Simoneau, R.

1996-12-31

A six axes super-compact robot is used for field repair of cavitation damages found on the discharge ring of hydraulic turbines. Optimization of overlay welding procedures to minimize surface distortion and reduce tearing forces on anchors in concrete, were studied through experimentation and FEM modelling. Planned experimentation has been used to develop optimum pulsed GMAW schedules of stainless steel overlays in 2G position. Best welding sequence was resolved through over lay welding of free plates. Each overlay consisted in one or two layers which were welded in the longitudinal and/or transverse direction of the rectangular plate. A bidirectional welding mode,more » a longitudinal layer followed by a transverse layer position and no cooling between the two layers, were found to be most effective in reducing distortion. The optimized 2G welding procedure was applied to a simulated field repair. Plate was anchored on a massive iron bracket with a set of instrumented bolts, to understand how normal tearing forces in anchors evolve. Preliminary results on FEM modelling of lateral force on anchors indicate good correlation with experiments, for an elementary design.« less

Manufacturing Methods and Technology Project Summary Reports

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

Computer -Aided Design (CAD)/ Computer -Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Process for the Production of Cold Forged Gears Project 483 6121 - Robotic Welding and...Caliber Projectile Bodies Project 682 8370 - Automatic Inspection and 1-I1 Process Control of Weapons Parts Manufacturing METALS Project 181 7285 - Cast...designed for use on each project. Experience suggested that a general purpose computer interface might be designed that could be used on any project

Robot welding process control development task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romine, Peter L.

1992-01-01

The completion of, and improvements made to, the software developed during 1990 for program maintenance on the PC and HEURIKON and transfer to the CYRO, and integration of the Rocketdyne vision software with the CYRO is documented. The new programs were used successfully by NASA, Rocketdyne, and UAH technicians and engineers to create, modify, upload, download, and control CYRO NC programs.

Coordinated Control Of Mobile Robotic Manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, Homayoun

1995-01-01

Computationally efficient scheme developed for on-line coordinated control of both manipulation and mobility of robots that include manipulator arms mounted on mobile bases. Applicable to variety of mobile robotic manipulators, including robots that move along tracks (typically, painting and welding robots), robots mounted on gantries and capable of moving in all three dimensions, wheeled robots, and compound robots (consisting of robots mounted on other robots). Theoretical basis discussed in several prior articles in NASA Tech Briefs, including "Increasing the Dexterity of Redundant Robots" (NPO-17801), "Redundant Robot Can Avoid Obstacles" (NPO-17852), "Configuration-Control Scheme Copes With Singularities" (NPO-18556), "More Uses for Configuration Control of Robots" (NPO-18607/NPO-18608).

A Review of Similar and Dissimilar Micro-joining of Nitinol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deepan Bharathi Kannan, T.; Ramesh, T.; Sathiya, P.

2016-04-01

NiTinol belongs to a class of smart materials which has a wide range of applications in the field of automotive, aerospace, biomedical, robotics, etc., owing to the growing trend in miniaturization of components. Micro-joining is becoming one of the important and familiar processes in the fabrication of miniaturized components. Recently, effective micro-joining of thin sheets has been gaining a lot of interest among researchers. In this article, the research and progress in micro-joining of NiTinol to itself and other metals are reviewed at different aspects. To date, laser welding, tungsten inert gas welding, and resistance welding have been used to a large extent in investigating the weldability of NiTinol alloys. Some important welding parameters used in micro joining by various researchers and their effects on weld qualities are detailed in this review. Metallurgical aspects, mechanical properties and corrosion aspects of micro-joined NiTinol sheets/wires are discussed. The aim of this report is to review the recent progress in micro-joining of NiTinol and to provide a basis for follow-on research.

A robotic platform for laser welding of corneal tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, Francesca; Micheletti, Filippo; Magni, Giada; Pini, Roberto; Menabuoni, Luca; Leoni, Fabio; Magnani, Bernardo

2017-07-01

Robotic surgery is a reality in several surgical fields, such as in gastrointestinal surgery. In ophthalmic surgery the required high spatial precision is limiting the application of robotic system, and even if several attempts have been designed in the last 10 years, only some application in retinal surgery were tested in animal models. The combination of photonics and robotics can really open new frontiers in minimally invasive surgery, improving the precision, reducing tremor, amplifying scale of motion, and automating the procedure. In this manuscript we present the preliminary results in developing a vision guided robotic platform for laser-assisted anterior eye surgery. The robotic console is composed by a robotic arm equipped with an "end effector" designed to deliver laser light to the anterior corneal surface. The main intended application is for laser welding of corneal tissue in laser assisted penetrating keratoplasty and endothelial keratoplasty. The console is equipped with an integrated vision system. The experiment originates from a clear medical demand in order to improve the efficacy of different surgical procedures: when the prototype will be optimized, other surgical areas will be included in its application, such as neurosurgery, urology and spinal surgery.

Theory research of seam recognition and welding torch pose control based on machine vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Qiang; Zhai, Peng; Liu, Miao; He, Kai; Wang, Chunyang

2017-03-01

At present, the automation requirement of the welding become higher, so a method of the welding information extraction by vision sensor is proposed in this paper, and the simulation with the MATLAB has been conducted. Besides, in order to improve the quality of robot automatic welding, an information retrieval method for welding torch pose control by visual sensor is attempted. Considering the demands of welding technology and engineering habits, the relative coordinate systems and variables are strictly defined, and established the mathematical model of the welding pose, and verified its feasibility by using the MATLAB simulation in the paper, these works lay a foundation for the development of welding off-line programming system with high precision and quality.

Industrial robots: Handbook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozyrev, Iu. G.

Topics covered include terms, definitions, and classification; operator-directed manipulators; autooperators as used in automated pressure casting; construction and application of industrial robots; and the operating bases of automated systems. Attention is given to adaptive and interactive robots; gripping mechanisms; applications to foundary production, press-forging plants, heat treatment, welding, and assembly operations. A review of design recommendations includes a determination of fundamental structural and technological indicators for industrial robots and a consideration of drive mechanisms.

An Overview of the National Shipbuilding Industrial Base,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-04-01

increased use of modular construction. In the near future, laser welding and alignment, plasma cutting, air-cushion and water bearing materials handling...of computer graphics for design and lofting, laser alignment and welding , and robotization also will be adoptable by shipyards in the near future...introduced the "roll over" ship construction technique to maximize the use of down-hand welding with smooth production flow; modular construction

Ares I Upper Stage Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Daniel J.

2010-01-01

These presentation slides review the progress in the development of the Ares I upper stage. The development includes development of a manufacturing and processing assembly that will reduce the time required over 100 days, development of a weld tool that is a robotic tool that is the largest welder of its kind in the United States, development of avionics and software, and development of logisitics and operations systems.

Robotic weld overlay coatings for erosion control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The erosion of materials by the impact of solid particles has received increasing attention during the past twenty years. Recently, research has been initiated with the event of advanced coal conversion processes in which erosion plays an important role. The resulting damage, termed Solid Particle Erosion (SPE), is of concern primarily because of the significantly increased operating costs which result in material failures. Reduced power plant efficiency due to solid particle erosion of boiler tubes and waterfalls has led to various methods to combat SPE. One method is to apply coatings to the components subjected to erosive environments. Protective weld overlay coatings are particularly advantageous in terms of coating quality. The weld overlay coatings are essentially immune to spallation due to a strong metallurgical bond with the substrate material. By using powder mixtures, multiple alloys can be mixed in order to achieve the best performance in an erosive environment. However, a review of the literature revealed a lack of information on weld overlay coating performance in erosive environments which makes the selection of weld overlay alloys a difficult task. The objective of this project is to determine the effects of weld overlay coating composition and microstructure on erosion resistance. These results will lead to a better understanding of erosion mitigation in CFB's.

AUTOGEN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2003-05-29

AUTOGEN computes collision-free sequences of robot motion instructions to permit traversal of three-dimensional space curves. Order and direction of curve traversal and orientation of end effector are constraided by a set of manufacturing rules. Input can be provided as a collection of solid models or in terms of wireframe objects and structural cross-section definitions. Entity juxtaposition can be inferred, with appropriate structural features automatically provided. Process control is asserted as a function of position and orientation along each space curve, and is currently implemented for welding processes.

I-PFO: the new technology for simple and flexible implementation of high productive on-the-fly remote processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müllegger, Andreas; Ryba, Tracey

2017-02-01

Standardized production systems which can be implemented, programmed, maintained and sourced in a simple and efficient way are key for a successful global production of automobiles or related parts at component suppliers. This is also valid for systems, which are built by laser based processes. One of the key applications is remote laser welding (RLW) of "Body in White" (BIW) parts (such as hang-on parts, B-Pillars, side frames, etc.), but also builtin components (such as car seats, batteries, etc.). The majority of RLW applications are based on the implementation of a 3-D scanner optic (e.g. the PFO 3D from TRUMPF) which positions the laser beam on the various component surfaces to be welded. Over the past 10 years it has been proven that the most efficient way to build up the RLW process is to have a system where an industrial robot and a scanner optic are combined in one production cell. They usually cooperate within an "On-The-Fly" (OTF) process as this ensures minimum cycle times. Until now there are several technologies on the market which can coordinate both the robot and scanner in the OTF mode. But none of them meet all requirements of global standardized production solutions. With the introduction of the I-PFO (Intelligent Programmable Focusing Optics) technology the situation has changed. It is now possible to program or adopt complex remote processes in a fast and easy way by the "Teach-in" function via the robot teach pendant. Additionally a 3D offline designer software is an option for this system. It automatically creates the ideal remote process based on the part, fixture, production cell and required process parameters. The I-PFO technology doesn't need additional hardware due to the fact that it runs on the controller within the PFO 3D. Furthermore it works together with different types of industrial robots (e.g. ABB, Fanuc and KUKA) which allow highest flexibility for the production planning phase. Finally a single TRUMPF laser source can supply up to six I-PFOs. This guarantees maximum beam-on time at the production line. Within this report the concept of the I-PFO technology (with mentioned functions) is described and is compared to the other existing ways for Remote Laser processing.

Robotic Inspection System for Non-Destructive Evaluation (nde) of Pipes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackenzie, L. D.; Pierce, S. G.; Hayward, G.

2009-03-01

The demand for remote inspection of pipework in the processing cells of nuclear plant provides significant challenges of access, navigation, inspection technique and data communication. Such processing cells typically contain several kilometres of densely packed pipework whose actual physical layout may be poorly documented. Access to these pipes is typically afforded through the radiation shield via a small removable concrete plug which may be several meters from the actual inspection site, thus considerably complicating practical inspection. The current research focuses on the robotic deployment of multiple NDE payloads for weld inspection along non-ferritic steel pipework (thus precluding use of magnetic traction options). A fully wireless robotic inspection platform has been developed that is capable of travelling along the outside of a pipe at any orientation, while avoiding obstacles such as pipe hangers and delivering a variety of NDE payloads. An eddy current array system provides rapid imaging capabilities for surface breaking defects while an on-board camera, in addition to assisting with navigation tasks, also allows real time image processing to identify potential defects. All sensor data can be processed by the embedded microcontroller or transmitted wirelessly back to the point of access for post-processing analysis.

Computer Programs For Automated Welding System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agapakis, John E.

1993-01-01

Computer programs developed for use in controlling automated welding system described in MFS-28578. Together with control computer, computer input and output devices and control sensors and actuators, provide flexible capability for planning and implementation of schemes for automated welding of specific workpieces. Developed according to macro- and task-level programming schemes, which increases productivity and consistency by reducing amount of "teaching" of system by technician. System provides for three-dimensional mathematical modeling of workpieces, work cells, robots, and positioners.

CO2 lasers and applications II; Proceedings of the Third European Congress on Optics, The Hague, Netherlands, Mar. 12-14, 1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opower, Hans (Editor)

1990-01-01

Recent advances in CO2 laser technology and its applications are examined. Topics discussed include the excitation of CO2 lasers by microwave discharge, a compact RF-excited 12-kW CO2 laser, a robotic laser for three-dimensional cutting and welding, three-dimensional CO2-laser material processing with gantry machine systems, and a comparison of hollow metallic waveguides and optical fibers for transmitting CO2-laser radiation. Consideration is given to an aerodynamic window with a pump cavity and a supersonic jet, cutting and welding Al using a high-repetition-rate pulsed CO2 laser, speckle reduction in CO2 heterodyne laser radar systems, high-power-laser float-zone crystal growth, melt dynamics in surface processing with laser radiation, laser hardfacing, surface melting of AlSi10Mg with CO2 laser radiation, material processing with Cu-vapor lasers, light-induced flow at a metal surface, and absorption measurements in high-power CW CO2-laser processing of materials.

Welding deviation detection algorithm based on extremum of molten pool image contour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Yong; Jiang, Lipei; Li, Yunhua; Xue, Long; Huang, Junfen; Huang, Jiqiang

2016-01-01

The welding deviation detection is the basis of robotic tracking welding, but the on-line real-time measurement of welding deviation is still not well solved by the existing methods. There is plenty of information in the gas metal arc welding(GMAW) molten pool images that is very important for the control of welding seam tracking. The physical meaning for the curvature extremum of molten pool contour is revealed by researching the molten pool images, that is, the deviation information points of welding wire center and the molten tip center are the maxima and the local maxima of the contour curvature, and the horizontal welding deviation is the position difference of these two extremum points. A new method of weld deviation detection is presented, including the process of preprocessing molten pool images, extracting and segmenting the contours, obtaining the contour extremum points, and calculating the welding deviation, etc. Extracting the contours is the premise, segmenting the contour lines is the foundation, and obtaining the contour extremum points is the key. The contour images can be extracted with the method of discrete dyadic wavelet transform, which is divided into two sub contours including welding wire and molten tip separately. The curvature value of each point of the two sub contour lines is calculated based on the approximate curvature formula of multi-points for plane curve, and the two points of the curvature extremum are the characteristics needed for the welding deviation calculation. The results of the tests and analyses show that the maximum error of the obtained on-line welding deviation is 2 pixels(0.16 mm), and the algorithm is stable enough to meet the requirements of the pipeline in real-time control at a speed of less than 500 mm/min. The method can be applied to the on-line automatic welding deviation detection.

High productivity mould robotic milling in Al-5083

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urresti, Iker; Arrazola, Pedro Jose; Ørskov, Klaus Bonde; Pelegay, Jose Angel

2018-05-01

Industrial serial robots were usually limited to welding, handling or spray painting operations until very recent years. However, some industries have already realized about their important capabilities in terms of flexibility, working space, adaptability and cost. Hence, currently they are seriously being considered to carry out certain metal machining tasks. Therefore, robot based machining is presented as a cost-saving and flexible manufacturing alternative compared to conventional CNC machines especially for roughing or even pre-roughing of large parts. Nevertheless, there are still some drawbacks usually referred as low rigidity, accuracy and repeatability. Thus, the process productivity is usually sacrificed getting low Material Removal Rates (MRR), and consequently not being competitive. Nevertheless, in this paper different techniques to obtain increased productivity are presented, though an appropriate selection of cutting strategies and parameters that are essential for it. During this research some rough milling tests in Al-5083 are presented where High Feed Milling (HFM) is implemented as productive cutting strategy and the experimental modal analysis named Tap-testing is used for the suitable choice of cutting conditions. Competitive productivity rates are experienced while process stability is checked through the cutting forces measurements in order to prove the effectiveness of the experimental modal analysis for robotic machining.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program. 1995 Ship Production Symposium. Paper No. 10: Robot Technology in the Shipyard Production Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-01-01

CHALLENGE It is possible to divide the shipyard industry into three categories the yards which have no experience whatsoever with robot production...INNOVATION MARINE INDUSTRY STANDARDS WELDING INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND TRAINING THE NATIONAL SHIPBUILDING RESEARCH PROGRAM January, 1995 NSRP 0439...1995 Ship Production Symposium Paper No . 10: Robot Technology in the Shipyard Production Environ- ment U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY CARDEROCK DIVISION

Study on laser welding of austenitic stainless steel by varying incident angle of pulsed laser beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Nikhil; Mukherjee, Manidipto; Bandyopadhyay, Asish

2017-09-01

In the present work, AISI 304 stainless steel sheets are laser welded in butt joint configuration using a robotic control 600 W pulsed Nd:YAG laser system. The objective of the work is of twofold. Firstly, the study aims to find out the effect of incident angle on the weld pool geometry, microstructure and tensile property of the welded joints. Secondly, a set of experiments are conducted, according to response surface design, to investigate the effects of process parameters, namely, incident angle of laser beam, laser power and welding speed, on ultimate tensile strength by developing a second order polynomial equation. Study with three different incident angle of laser beam 89.7 deg, 85.5 deg and 83 deg has been presented in this work. It is observed that the weld pool geometry has been significantly altered with the deviation in incident angle. The weld pool shape at the top surface has been altered from semispherical or nearly spherical shape to tear drop shape with decrease in incident angle. Simultaneously, planer, fine columnar dendritic and coarse columnar dendritic structures have been observed at 89.7 deg, 85.5 deg and 83 deg incident angle respectively. Weld metals with 85.5 deg incident angle has higher fraction of carbide and δ-ferrite precipitation in the austenitic matrix compared to other weld conditions. Hence, weld metal of 85.5 deg incident angle achieved higher micro-hardness of ∼280 HV and tensile strength of 579.26 MPa followed by 89.7 deg and 83 deg incident angle welds. Furthermore, the predicted maximum value of ultimate tensile strength of 580.50 MPa has been achieved for 85.95 deg incident angle using the developed equation where other two optimum parameter settings have been obtained as laser power of 455.52 W and welding speed of 4.95 mm/s. This observation has been satisfactorily validated by three confirmatory tests.

Precise Truss Assembly using Commodity Parts and Low Precision Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komendera, Erik; Reishus, Dustin; Dorsey, John T.; Doggett, William R.; Correll, Nikolaus

2013-01-01

We describe an Intelligent Precision Jigging Robot (IPJR), which allows high precision assembly of commodity parts with low-precision bonding. We present preliminary experiments in 2D that are motivated by the problem of assembling a space telescope optical bench on orbit using inexpensive, stock hardware and low-precision welding. An IPJR is a robot that acts as the precise "jigging", holding parts of a local assembly site in place while an external low precision assembly agent cuts and welds members. The prototype presented in this paper allows an assembly agent (in this case, a human using only low precision tools), to assemble a 2D truss made of wooden dowels to a precision on the order of millimeters over a span on the order of meters. We report the challenges of designing the IPJR hardware and software, analyze the error in assembly, document the test results over several experiments including a large-scale ring structure, and describe future work to implement the IPJR in 3D and with micron precision.

Hexavalent chromium content in stainless steel welding fumes is dependent on the welding process and shield gas type.

PubMed

Keane, Michael; Stone, Samuel; Chen, Bean; Slaven, James; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Antonini, James

2009-02-01

Occupational exposure to welding fumes is a known health hazard. To isolate elements in stainless steel welding fumes with high potential for adverse health outcomes, fumes were generated using a robotic gas metal arc system, using four shield gases of varying oxygen content. The objective was to measure Cr(VI) concentrations in a broad spectrum of gas metal arc welding processes, and identify processes of exceptionally high or low Cr(VI) content. The gases used were 95% Ar/5% O(2), 98% Ar/2% O(2), 95% Ar/5%CO(2), and 75% He/25% Ar. The welder was operated in axial spray mode (Ar/O(2), Ar/CO(2)), short-circuit (SC) mode (Ar/CO(2) low voltage and He/Ar), and pulsed axial-spray mode (98% Ar/2% O(2)). Results indicate large differences in Cr(VI) in the fumes, with Ar/O(2) (Pulsed)>Ar/O(2)>Ar/CO(2)>Ar/CO(2) (SC)>He/Ar; values were 3000+/-300, 2800+/-85, 2600+/-120, 1400+/-190, and 320+/-290 ppm respectively (means +/- standard errors for 2 runs and 3 replicates per run). Respective rates of Cr(VI) generation were 1.5, 3.2, 4.4, 1.3, and 0.46 microg/min; generation rates were also calculated in terms of microg Cr(VI) per metre of wire used. The generation rates of Cr(VI) increased with increasing O(3) concentrations. Particle size measurements indicated similar distributions, but somewhat higher >0.6 microm fractions for the short-circuit mode samples. Fumes were also sampled into 2 selected size ranges, a microspatter fraction (>or=0.6 microm) and a fine (<0.6 microm) fraction; analysis indicated that Cr(VI) is primarily associated with particles <0.6 microm. The conclusion of the study is that Cr(VI) concentrations vary significantly with welding type and shield gas type, and this presents an opportunity to tailor welding practices to lessen Cr(VI) exposures in workplaces by selecting low Cr(VI)-generating processes. Short-circuit processes generated less Cr(VI) than axial-spray methods, and inert gas shielding gave lower Cr(VI) content than shielding with active gases. A short circuit He/Ar shielded process and a pulsed axial spray Ar/O(2) process were both identified as having substantially lower Cr(VI) generation rates per unit of wire used relative to the other processes studied.

Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers for Robotic Nondestructive Inspection in Harsh Environments.

PubMed

Choi, Sungho; Cho, Hwanjeong; Lindsey, Matthew S; Lissenden, Cliff J

2018-01-11

Elevated temperature, gamma radiation, and geometric constraints inside dry storage casks for spent nuclear fuel represent a harsh environment for nondestructive inspection of the cask and require that the inspection be conducted with a robotic system. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) using non-contact ultrasonic transduction based on the Lorentz force to excite/receive ultrasonic waves are suited for use in the robotic inspection. Periodic permanent magnet EMATs that actuate/receive shear horizontal guided waves are developed for application to robotic nondestructive inspection of stress corrosion cracks in the heat affected zone of welds in stainless steel dry storage canisters. The EMAT's components are carefully selected in consideration of the inspection environment, and tested under elevated temperature and gamma radiation doses up to 177 °C and 5920 krad, respectively, to evaluate the performance of the EMATs under realistic environmental conditions. The effect of gamma radiation is minimal, but the EMAT's performance is affected by temperatures above 121 °C due to the low Curie temperature of the magnets. Different magnets are needed to operate at 177 °C. The EMAT's capability to detect notches is also evaluated from B-scan measurements on 304 stainless steel welded plate containing surface-breaking notches.

3D Laser Processing : The Renault Rl5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rolland, Olivier C.; Meyer, Bernard D.

1986-11-01

The RL5, a five-axis robot, is designed to steer a powerful laser beam on 3 dimensional (3D) trajectories with a great accuracy. Cutting and welding with a CO2 laser beam, drilling with a YAG laser beam are some applications of this machine which can be integrated in a production line. Easy management and modifications of trajectories, obtained either in a teaching mode or by a CAD-CAM system, give the laser tool its main interest : flexibility.

Automatic Welding System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-01-01

Robotic welding has been of interest to industrial firms because it offers higher productivity at lower cost than manual welding. There are some systems with automated arc guidance available, but they have disadvantages, such as limitations on types of materials or types of seams that can be welded; susceptibility to stray electrical signals; restricted field of view; or tendency to contaminate the weld seam. Wanting to overcome these disadvantages, Marshall Space Flight Center, aided by Hayes International Corporation, developed system that uses closed-circuit TV signals for automatic guidance of the welding torch. NASA granted license to Combined Technologies, Inc. for commercial application of the technology. They developed a refined and improved arc guidance system. CTI in turn, licensed the Merrick Corporation, also of Nashville, for marketing and manufacturing of the new system, called the CT2 Optical Trucker. CT2 is a non-contracting system that offers adaptability to broader range of welding jobs and provides greater reliability in high speed operation. It is extremely accurate and can travel at high speed of up to 150 inches per minute.

Submillimeter bolt location in car bodywork for production line quality inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altamirano-Robles, Leopoldo; Arias-Estrada, Miguel; Alviso-Quibrera, Samuel; Lopez-Lopez, Aurelio

2000-03-01

In the automotive industry, a vehicle begins with the construction of the vehicle floor. Later on, several robots weld a series of bolts to this floor which are used to fix other parts. Due to several problems, like welding tools wearing, robot miscalibration or momentary low power supply, among others, some bolts are incorrectly positioned or are not present at all, bringing problems and delays in the next work cells. Therefore, it is of importance to verify the quality of welded parts before the following assembly steps. A computer vision system is proposed in order to locate autonomously the presence and quality of the bolts. The system should carry on the inspection in real time at the car assembly line under the following conditions: without touching the bodywork, with a precision in the submillimeter range and in few seconds. In this paper we present a basic computer vision system for bolt location in the submillimeter range. We analyze three arrangements of the system components (camera and illumination sources) that produce different results in the localization. Results are presented and compared for the three approaches obtained under laboratory conditions. The algorithms were tested in the assembling line. Variations up to one millimeter in the welded position of the bolts were observed.

Small Business Innovations (Robotic Wrist)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Under a Langley Research Center Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, Ross-Hime Designs, Inc. Minneapolis, MN, developed the Omni-Wrist actuator, which has a 25-pound capacity, 180 degrees of pitch/yaw, and 360 degrees of roll. Company literature calls it "the first successful singularity-free high-precision (robotic) wrist." Applications include spray painting, sealing, ultrasonic testing, welding and a variety of nuclear industry, aerospace and military uses.

Precise Truss Assembly Using Commodity Parts and Low Precision Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komendera, Erik; Reishus, Dustin; Dorsey, John T.; Doggett, W. R.; Correll, Nikolaus

2014-01-01

Hardware and software design and system integration for an intelligent precision jigging robot (IPJR), which allows high precision assembly using commodity parts and low-precision bonding, is described. Preliminary 2D experiments that are motivated by the problem of assembling space telescope optical benches and very large manipulators on orbit using inexpensive, stock hardware and low-precision welding are also described. An IPJR is a robot that acts as the precise "jigging", holding parts of a local structure assembly site in place, while an external low precision assembly agent cuts and welds members. The prototype presented in this paper allows an assembly agent (for this prototype, a human using only low precision tools), to assemble a 2D truss made of wooden dowels to a precision on the order of millimeters over a span on the order of meters. The analysis of the assembly error and the results of building a square structure and a ring structure are discussed. Options for future work, to extend the IPJR paradigm to building in 3D structures at micron precision are also summarized.

Remote reactor repair: GTA (gas tungsten Arc) weld cracking caused by entrapped helium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kanne, Jr, W R

1988-01-01

A repair patch was welded to the wall of a nuclear reactor tank using remotely controlled thirty-foot long robot arms. Further repair was halted when gas tungsten arc (GTA) welds joining type 304L stainless steel patches to the 304 stainless steel wall developed toe cracks in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). The role of helium in cracking was investigated using material with entrapped helium from tritium decay. As a result of this investigation, and of an extensive array of diagnostic tests performed on reactor tank wall material, helium embrittlement was shown to be the cause of the toe cracks.

Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers for Robotic Nondestructive Inspection in Harsh Environments

PubMed Central

Choi, Sungho; Cho, Hwanjeong; Lindsey, Matthew S.; Lissenden, Cliff J.

2018-01-01

Elevated temperature, gamma radiation, and geometric constraints inside dry storage casks for spent nuclear fuel represent a harsh environment for nondestructive inspection of the cask and require that the inspection be conducted with a robotic system. Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) using non-contact ultrasonic transduction based on the Lorentz force to excite/receive ultrasonic waves are suited for use in the robotic inspection. Periodic permanent magnet EMATs that actuate/receive shear horizontal guided waves are developed for application to robotic nondestructive inspection of stress corrosion cracks in the heat affected zone of welds in stainless steel dry storage canisters. The EMAT’s components are carefully selected in consideration of the inspection environment, and tested under elevated temperature and gamma radiation doses up to 177 °C and 5920 krad, respectively, to evaluate the performance of the EMATs under realistic environmental conditions. The effect of gamma radiation is minimal, but the EMAT’s performance is affected by temperatures above 121 °C due to the low Curie temperature of the magnets. Different magnets are needed to operate at 177 °C. The EMAT’s capability to detect notches is also evaluated from B-scan measurements on 304 stainless steel welded plate containing surface-breaking notches. PMID:29324721

OpenLMD, multimodal monitoring and control of LMD processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Araújo, Jorge; García-Díaz, Antón

2017-02-01

This paper presents OpenLMD, a novel open-source solution for on-line multimodal monitoring of Laser Metal Deposition (LMD). The solution is also applicable to a wider range of laser-based applications that require on-line control (e.g. laser welding). OpenLMD is a middleware that enables the orchestration and virtualization of a LMD robot cell, using several open-source frameworks (e.g. ROS, OpenCV, PCL). The solution also allows reconfiguration by easy integration of multiple sensors and processing equipment. As a result, OpenLMD delivers significant advantages over existing monitoring and control approaches, such as improved scalability, and multimodal monitoring and data sharing capabilities.

Robotic arm

DOEpatents

Kwech, Horst

1989-04-18

A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel.

Aerospace Robotic Implementations: An Assessment and Forecast. Phase 2,

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-09-01

Spray Painting Robotic spray painting is a mature technology, and has been in use for several decades in places such as the automobile industry. The...to reprogrammability in applications where hard automation is too expensive for the volume. 3.2 Hybrid Circuit Assembly * Hybrid circuits require...1.1.1.2 2.1.4 Task Performed : LIGHT-STRIP ASSISTED ARC WELD DRILL,GRIND, INSPCOMPOSITES Other Comments • AUTOMOBILE TRAILING AXLEAPPL. CASPIN MANTECH

Human Factors and Robotics: Current Status and Future Prospects.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-01

relatively simple "pick and place" machines which have mechanical arms and hands for transferring workpieces, and may be reprogrammable . Japan’s...tasks can consist of self-monitoring of activity or the control of other machines. Spot welding in the manufacture of automobiles represents probably...application alone. On an automobile production line, the robot must be able to remember several different body styles (e.g., 2-door versus 4-door) with

Friction Stir Weld Application and Tooling Design for the Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle Stage Adapter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alcorn, John

2013-01-01

The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), commonly known as the Orion capsule, is planned to be the United States' next manned spacecraft for missions beyond low earth orbit. Following the cancellation of the Constellation program and creation of SLS (Space Launch System), the need arose for the MPCV to utilize the Delta IV Heavy rocket for a test launch scheduled for 2014 instead of the previously planned Ares I rocket. As a result, an adapter (MSA) must be used in conjunction with the MPCV to account for the variation in diameter of the launch vehicles; 5.5 meters down to 5.0 meters. Prior to ight article fabrication, a path nder (test article) will be fabricated to ne tune the associated manufacturing processes. The adapter will be comprised of an aluminum frustum (partial cone) that employs isogrid technology and circumferential rings on each end. The frustum will be fabricated by friction stir welding (FSW) three individual panels together on a Vertical Weld Tool (VWT) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Subsequently, each circumferential ring will be friction stir welded to the frustum using a Robotic Weld Tool (RWT). The irregular geometry and large mass of the MSA require that extensive tooling preparation be put into support structures for the friction stir weld. The tooling on the VWT will be comprised of a set of conveyors mounted on pre-existing stanchions so that the MSA will have the ability to be rotated after each of the three friction stir welds. The tooling requirements to friction stir weld the rings with the RWT are somewhat more demanding. To support the mass of the MSA and resist the load of the weld tool, a system of mandrels will be mounted to stanchions and assembled in a circle. The goal of the paper will be to explain the design, fabrication, and assembly of the tooling, to explain the use of friction stir welding on the MSA path nder, and also to discuss the lessons learned and modi cations made in preparation for ight article fabrication in support of the 2014 launch of the Orion MPCV.

Onorbit electron beam welding experiment definition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The proposed experiment design calls for six panels to be welded, each having unique characteristics selected to yield specific results and information. The experiment is completely automated and the concept necessitated the design of a new, miniaturized, self-contained electron beam (EB) welding system, for which purpose a separate IR and D was funded by the contractor, Martin Marietta Corporation. Since future tasks beyond the proposed experiment might call for astronauts to perform hand-held EB gun repairs or for the gun to be interfaced with a dexterous robot such as the planned flight telerobotic servicer (FTS), the EB gun is designed to be dismountable from the automated system. In the experiment design, two separate, identical sets of weld panels will be welded, one on earth in a vacuum chamber and the other onorbit in the aft cargo bay of an orbiter. Since the main objective of the experiment is to demonstrate that high quality welds can be achieved under onorbit conditions, the welds produced will be subjected to a wide range of discriminating non-destructive Q.C. procedures and destructive physical tests. However, advantage will be taken of the availability of a fairly large quantity of welded material in the two series of welded specimens to widen the circle of investigative talent by providing material to academic and scientific institutions for examination.

ROBOSIM: An intelligent simulator for robotic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fernandez, Kenneth R.; Cook, George E.; Biegl, Csaba; Springfield, James F.

1993-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present an update of an intelligent robotics simulator package, ROBOSIM, first introduced at Technology 2000 in 1990. ROBOSIM is used for three-dimensional geometrical modeling of robot manipulators and various objects in their workspace, and for the simulation of action sequences performed by the manipulators. Geometric modeling of robot manipulators has an expanding area of interest because it can aid the design and usage of robots in a number of ways, including: design and testing of manipulators, robot action planning, on-line control of robot manipulators, telerobotic user interface, and training and education. NASA developed ROBOSIM between 1985-88 to facilitate the development of robotics, and used the package to develop robotics for welding, coating, and space operations. ROBOSIM has been further developed for academic use by its co-developer Vanderbilt University, and has been in both classroom and laboratory environments for teaching complex robotic concepts. Plans are being formulated to make ROBOSIM available to all U.S. engineering/engineering technology schools (over three hundred total with an estimated 10,000+ users per year).

Monitoring robot actions for error detection and recovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gini, M.; Smith, R.

1987-01-01

Reliability is a serious problem in computer controlled robot systems. Although robots serve successfully in relatively simple applications such as painting and spot welding, their potential in areas such as automated assembly is hampered by programming problems. A program for assembling parts may be logically correct, execute correctly on a simulator, and even execute correctly on a robot most of the time, yet still fail unexpectedly in the face of real world uncertainties. Recovery from such errors is far more complicated than recovery from simple controller errors, since even expected errors can often manifest themselves in unexpected ways. Here, a novel approach is presented for improving robot reliability. Instead of anticipating errors, researchers use knowledge-based programming techniques so that the robot can autonomously exploit knowledge about its task and environment to detect and recover from failures. They describe preliminary experiment of a system that they designed and constructed.

Modern fiber laser beam welding of the newly-designed precipitation-strengthened nickel-base superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naffakh Moosavy, Homam; Aboutalebi, Mohammad-Reza; Seyedein, Seyed Hossein; Goodarzi, Massoud; Khodabakhshi, Meisam; Mapelli, Carlo; Barella, Silvia

2014-04-01

In the present research, the modern fiber laser beam welding of newly-designed precipitation-strengthened nickel-base superalloys using various welding parameters in constant heat input has been investigated. Five nickel-base superalloys with various Ti and Nb contents were designed and produced by Vacuum Induction Melting furnace. The fiber laser beam welding operations were performed in constant heat input (100 J mm-2) and different welding powers (400 and 1000 W) and velocities (40 and 100 mm s-1) using 6-axis anthropomorphic robot. The macro- and micro-structural features, weld defects, chemical composition and mechanical property of 3.2 mm weldments were assessed utilizing optical and scanning electron microscopes equipped with EDS analysis and microhardness tester. The results showed that welding with higher powers can create higher penetration-to-width ratios. The porosity formation was increased when the welding powers and velocities were increased. None of the welds displayed hot solidification and liquation cracks in 400 and 1000 W welding powers, but liquation phenomenon was observed in all the heat-affected zones. With increasing the Nb content of the superalloys the liquation length was increased. The changing of the welding power and velocity did not alter the hardness property of the welds. The hardness of welds decreased when the Ti content declined in the composition of superalloys. Finally, the 400 and 1000 W fiber laser powers with velocity of 40 and 100 m ms-1 have been offered for hot crack-free welding of the thin sheet of newly-designed precipitation-strengthened nickel-base superalloys.

Low Reynolds Number Bacterial Robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giesbrecht, Grant; Ni, Katha; Vock, Isaac; Rodenborn, Bruce

The dynamics of prokaryotic motility in a fluid is important in a wide range of fields. Our experiment models the locomotion of bacteria with a robotic swimmer made using a computer controlled DC motor that drives a helical flagellum formed from welding wire. Because of its small size, a bacterium swimming in water is like our robot swimming in corn syrup. We compensate for the size difference by placing the robot in highly viscous silicone oil. Previous research measured helical propulsion of a swimmer far from a boundary. However proximity to a boundary strongly affects bacterial swimming. We have designed a system to precisely control the distance from the flagellum to the tank wall, and have made some of the first macroscopic measurements of boundary effects on helical propulsion.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-01

assertibly, seam welding and surface finishing, have clearly revealed the inabilities of current robots. Research prototypes have explored the use of...oriletats SysCtes fhat sae iuch representaios iay’n riot be ca al~esr todn solt ion givn roemes Teeaifch userr a complete ear pronsldurens and...rangle of1 possible (sequences of) *(4411pli:4444 4140 \\ -s. that r( ima rarlteed to achieve the goal, llotwitlhst and ing errors. lProt:4hli1)"i~ bv fh

Method and apparatus for assessing weld quality

DOEpatents

Smartt, Herschel B.; Kenney, Kevin L.; Johnson, John A.; Carlson, Nancy M.; Clark, Denis E.; Taylor, Paul L.; Reutzel, Edward W.

2001-01-01

Apparatus for determining a quality of a weld produced by a welding device according to the present invention includes a sensor operatively associated with the welding device. The sensor is responsive to at least one welding process parameter during a welding process and produces a welding process parameter signal that relates to the at least one welding process parameter. A computer connected to the sensor is responsive to the welding process parameter signal produced by the sensor. A user interface operatively associated with the computer allows a user to select a desired welding process. The computer processes the welding process parameter signal produced by the sensor in accordance with one of a constant voltage algorithm, a short duration weld algorithm or a pulsed current analysis module depending on the desired welding process selected by the user. The computer produces output data indicative of the quality of the weld.

Upgrade of a GEP50 robot control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alounai, Ali T.; Gharsalli, Imed

2000-03-01

Recently the ASL at Tennessee Technological University was donated a GEP50 welder. The welding is done via off line point-to-point teaching. A state of the art robot was needed for research but because money was not available to purchase such an expensive item. It was therefore decided to upgrade the GEP50 control system to make the welder a multitasking robot. The robot has five degrees of freedom can be sufficient to pursue some research in robotics control. The problem was that the control system of the welder is limited to point-to-point control, using off-line teaching. To make the GEP50 a multitasking robot that can be controlled using different control strategies, the existing control system of the welder had to be replaced. The upgrade turned to be a low cost operation. This robot is currently in sue to test different advanced control strategies in the ASL. This work discusses all the steps and tasks undertaken during the upgrade operation. The hardware and software required or the upgrade are provided in this paper. The newly developed control system has been implemented and tested successfully.

Welding fumes from stainless steel gas metal arc processes contain multiple manganese chemical species.

PubMed

Keane, Michael; Stone, Samuel; Chen, Bean

2010-05-01

Fumes from a group of gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes used on stainless steel were generated using three different metal transfer modes and four different shield gases. The objective was to identify and measure manganese (Mn) species in the fumes, and identify processes that are minimal generators of Mn species. The robotic welding system was operated in short-circuit (SC) mode (Ar/CO2 and He/Ar), axial spray (AXS) mode (Ar/O2 and Ar/CO2), and pulsed axial-spray (PAXS) mode (Ar/O2). The fumes were analyzed for Mn by a sequential extraction process followed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analysis, and by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Total elemental Mn, iron (Fe), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) were separately measured after aqua regia digestion and ICP-AES analysis. Soluble Mn2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Ni2+ in a simple biological buffer (phosphate-buffered saline) were determined at pH 7.2 and 5.0 after 2 h incubation at 37 C by ion chromatography. Results indicate that Mn was present in soluble form, acid-soluble form, and acid-soluble form after reduction by hydroxylamine, which represents soluble Mn0 and Mn2+ compounds, other Mn2+ compounds, and (Mn3+ and Mn4+) compounds, respectively. The dominant fraction was the acid-soluble Mn2+ fraction, but results varied with the process and shield gas. Soluble Mn mass percent in the fume ranged from 0.2 to 0.9%, acid-soluble Mn2+ compounds ranged from 2.6 to 9.3%, and acid plus reducing agent-soluble (Mn3+ and Mn4+) compounds ranged from 0.6 to 5.1%. Total Mn composition ranged from 7 to 15%. XRD results showed fumes had a crystalline content of 90-99% Fe3O4, and showed evidence of multiple Mn oxides, but overlaps and weak signals limited identification. Small amounts of the Mn2+ in the fume (<0.01 to ≈ 1% or <0.1 to ≈ 10 microg ml(-1)) and Ni2+ (<0.01 to ≈ 0.2% or <0.1 to ≈ 2 mg ml(-1)) ions were found in biological buffer media, but amounts were highly dependent on pH and the welding process. Mn generation rates for the fractions were tabulated, and the influence of ozone is discussed. The conclusions are that exposures to welding fumes include multiple Mn species, both soluble and insoluble, and that exposures to Mn species vary with specific processes and shield gases.

Characterizing Shipyard Welding Emissions and Associated Control Options (The National Shipbuilding Research Program)

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-08-01

TRl) Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Air Quality Legislation Hexavalent Chromium and the Legislation List-of-list Chemicals and...2.2.7 2.2.8 Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) Gas Tungsten Arc Welding ( GTAW ) Flux Core Arc... GTAW Welding Processes Advantages and Disadvantages of FCAW Welding Processes Welding Process Comparison Matrix Diagram of SMAW Welding Process

Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welding for Aluminum Alloy Circumferential Weld Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bjorkman, Gerry; Cantrell, Mark; Carter, Robert

2003-01-01

Friction stir welding is an innovative weld process that continues to grow in use, in the commercial, defense, and space sectors. It produces high quality and high strength welds in aluminum alloys. The process consists of a rotating weld pin tool that plasticizes material through friction. The plasticized material is welded by applying a high weld forge force through the weld pin tool against the material during pin tool rotation. The high weld forge force is reacted against an anvil and a stout tool structure. A variation of friction stir welding currently being evaluated is self-reacting friction stir welding. Self-reacting friction stir welding incorporates two opposing shoulders on the crown and root sides of the weld joint. In self-reacting friction stir welding, the weld forge force is reacted against the crown shoulder portion of the weld pin tool by the root shoulder. This eliminates the need for a stout tooling structure to react the high weld forge force required in the typical friction stir weld process. Therefore, the self-reacting feature reduces tooling requirements and, therefore, process implementation costs. This makes the process attractive for aluminum alloy circumferential weld applications. To evaluate the application of self-reacting friction stir welding for aluminum alloy circumferential welding, a feasibility study was performed. The study consisted of performing a fourteen-foot diameter aluminum alloy circumferential demonstration weld using typical fusion weld tooling. To accomplish the demonstration weld, weld and tack weld development were performed and fourteen-foot diameter rings were fabricated. Weld development consisted of weld pin tool selection and the generation of a process map and envelope. Tack weld development evaluated gas tungsten arc welding and friction stir welding for tack welding rings together for circumferential welding. As a result of the study, a successful circumferential demonstration weld was produced leading the way for future circumferential weld implementation.

Effect of Welding Processes on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Residual Stresses of Plain 9Cr-1Mo Steel Weld Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagaraju, S.; Vasantharaja, P.; Brahadees, G.; Vasudevan, M.; Mahadevan, S.

2017-12-01

9Cr-1Mo steel designated as P9 is widely used in the construction of power plants and high-temperature applications. It is chosen for fabricating hexcan fuel subassembly wrapper components of fast breeder reactors. Arc welding processes are generally used for fabricating 9Cr-1Mo steel weld joints. A-TIG welding process is increasingly being adopted by the industries. In the present study, shielded metal arc (SMA), tungsten inert gas (TIG) and A-TIG welding processes are used for fabricating the 9Cr-1Mo steel weld joints of 10 mm thickness. Effect of the above welding processes on the microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and residual stresses of the weld joints has been studied in detail. All the three weld joints exhibited comparable strength and ductility values. 9Cr-1Mo steel weld joint fabricated by SMAW process exhibited lower impact toughness values caused by coarser grain size and inclusions. 9Cr-1Mo steel weld joint fabricated by TIG welding exhibited higher toughness due to finer grain size, while the weld joint fabricated by A-TIG welding process exhibited adequate toughness values. SMA steel weld joint exhibited compressive residual stresses in the weld metal and HAZ, while TIG and A-TIG weld joint exhibited tensile residual stresses in the weld metal and HAZ.

Welding of Thin Steel Plates by Hybrid Welding Process Combined TIG Arc with YAG Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Taewon; Suga, Yasuo; Koike, Takashi

TIG arc welding and laser welding are used widely in the world. However, these welding processes have some advantages and problems respectively. In order to improve problems and make use of advantages of the arc welding and the laser welding processes, hybrid welding process combined the TIG arc with the YAG laser was studied. Especially, the suitable welding conditions for thin steel plate welding were investigated to obtain sound weld with beautiful surface and back beads but without weld defects. As a result, it was confirmed that the shot position of the laser beam is very important to obtain sound welds in hybrid welding. Therefore, a new intelligent system to monitor the welding area using vision sensor is constructed. Furthermore, control system to shot the laser beam to a selected position in molten pool, which is formed by TIG arc, is constructed. As a result of welding experiments using these systems, it is confirmed that the hybrid welding process and the control system are effective on the stable welding of thin stainless steel plates.

Industrial Robots For Measurement And Inspection Purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahlers, R.-J.

1989-02-01

The use of industrial robots for measuring and testing is becoming increasingly significant as a component of flexible production. In the early stages of their development robots were used mainly for monotonous and repetitive tasks such as handling and spot welding. Thanks to improvements in the precision with which they work and also in control and regulation technologies, it is possible today to employ robots as flexible, sensor-assisted and even "intellligent" tools for measuring and testing. As a result, however, much higher accuracy is demanded of the robots used for such purposes. In addition, robot measurement and acceptance test requirements have become more exacting. The present paper is based on recommendations that have been developed by cooperative work of the Association of German-Engineers (VDI/GMA). The appropriate working group is entitled "Industrial Robots -Measurement and Inspection". The author is the chairman of this working group. Apart from the technical equipment involved, the use of industrial robots for measuring purposes also calls for the devi-sing and programming of appropriate measuring strategies. In this context the planning and implementation of measuring projects have to be discussed along with software reliability and on-line/off-line programming strategies. Four different utilizations of robots for measuring and testing are presented and illustrated by examples.

Application of YAG Laser TIG Arc Hybrid Welding to Thin AZ31B Magnesium Alloy Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Taewon; Kim, Jongcheol; Hasegawa, Yu; Suga, Yasuo

A magnesium alloy is said to be an ecological material with high ability of recycling and lightweight property. Especially, magnesium alloys are in great demand on account of outstanding material property as a structural material. Under these circumstances, research and development of welding process to join magnesium alloy plates are of great significance for wide industrial application of magnesium. In order to use it as a structure material, the welding technology is very important. TIG arc welding process is the most ordinary process to weld magnesium alloy plates. However, since the heat source by the arc welding process affects the magnesium alloy plates, HAZ of welded joint becomes wide and large distortion often occurs. On the other hand, a laser welding process that has small diameter of heat source seems to be one of the possible means to weld magnesium alloy in view of the qualitative improvement. However, the low boiling point of magnesium generates some weld defects, including porosity and solidification cracking. Furthermore, precise edge preparation is very important in butt-welding by the laser welding process, due to the small laser beam diameter. Laser/arc hybrid welding process that combines the laser beam and the arc is an effective welding process in which these two heat sources influence and assist each other. Using the hybrid welding, a synegistic effect is achievable and the disadvantages of the respective processes can be compensated. In this study, YAG laser/TIG arc hybrid welding of thin magnesium alloy (AZ31B) sheets was investigated. First of all, the effect of the irradiation point and the focal position of laser beam on the quality of a weld were discussed in hybrid welding. Then, it was confirmed that a sound weld bead with sufficient penetration is obtained using appropriate welding conditions. Furthermore, it was made clear that the heat absorption efficiency is improved with the hybrid welding process. Finally, the tensile tests of welded joints were performed, and it was confirmed that they have sufficient mechanical properties. As a result of this study, it is confirmed that, if the appropriate welding conditions are selected, sound welded joints of AZ31B magnesium alloy are obtainable by the YAG laser/TIG arc hybrid welding process.

Friction Stir Process Mapping Methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kooney, Alex; Bjorkman, Gerry; Russell, Carolyn; Smelser, Jerry (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

In FSW (friction stir welding), the weld process performance for a given weld joint configuration and tool setup is summarized on a 2-D plot of RPM vs. IPM. A process envelope is drawn within the map to identify the range of acceptable welds. The sweet spot is selected as the nominal weld schedule. The nominal weld schedule is characterized in the expected manufacturing environment. The nominal weld schedule in conjunction with process control ensures a consistent and predictable weld performance.

A Brief Introduction to the Theory of Friction Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

2008-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process invented in 1991 at The Welding Institute in the United Kingdom. A weld is made in the FSW process by translating a rotating pin along a weld seam so as to stir the sides of the seam together. FSW avoids deleterious effects inherent in melting and is already an important welding process for the aerospace industry, where welds of optimal quality are demanded. The structure of welds determines weld properties. The structure of friction stir welds is determined by the flow field in the weld metal in the vicinity of the weld tool. A simple kinematic model of the FSW flow field developed at Marshall Space Flight Center, which enables the basic features of FSW microstructure to be understood and related to weld process parameters and tool design, is explained.

Advanced fusion welding processes, solid state joining and a successful marriage. [production of aerospace structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, F. R.

1972-01-01

Joining processes for aerospace systems combine fusion welding and solid state joining during production of metal structures. Detailed characteristics of electron beam welding, plasma arc welding, diffusion welding, inertia welding and weldbond processes are discussed.

Thermal Stir Welding: A New Solid State Welding Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey

2003-01-01

Thermal stir welding is a new welding process developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Thermal stir welding is similar to friction stir welding in that it joins similar or dissimilar materials without melting the parent material. However, unlike friction stir welding, the heating, stirring and forging elements of the process are all independent of each other and are separately controlled. Furthermore, the heating element of the process can be either a solid-state process (such as a thermal blanket, induction type process, etc), or, a fusion process (YG laser, plasma torch, etc.) The separation of the heating, stirring, forging elements of the process allows more degrees of freedom for greater process control. This paper introduces the mechanics of the thermal stir welding process. In addition, weld mechanical property data is presented for selected alloys as well as metallurgical analysis.

Thermal Stir Welding: A New Solid State Welding Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey; Munafo, Paul M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Thermal stir welding is a new welding process developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Thermal stir welding is similar to friction stir welding in that it joins similar or dissimilar materials without melting the parent material. However, unlike friction stir welding, the heating, stirring and forging elements of the process are all independent of each other and are separately controlled. Furthermore, the heating element of the process can be either a solid-state process (such as a thermal blanket, induction type process, etc), or, a fusion process (YG laser, plasma torch, etc.) The separation of the heating, stirring, forging elements of the process allows more degrees of freedom for greater process control. This paper introduces the mechanics of the thermal stir welding process. In addition, weld mechanical property data is presented for selected alloys as well as metallurgical analysis.

Multi-mode ultrasonic welding control and optimization

DOEpatents

Tang, Jason C.H.; Cai, Wayne W

2013-05-28

A system and method for providing multi-mode control of an ultrasonic welding system. In one embodiment, the control modes include the energy of the weld, the time of the welding process and the compression displacement of the parts being welded during the welding process. The method includes providing thresholds for each of the modes, and terminating the welding process after the threshold for each mode has been reached, the threshold for more than one mode has been reached or the threshold for one of the modes has been reached. The welding control can be either open-loop or closed-loop, where the open-loop process provides the mode thresholds and once one or more of those thresholds is reached the welding process is terminated. The closed-loop control provides feedback of the weld energy and/or the compression displacement so that the weld power and/or weld pressure can be increased or decreased accordingly.

Laser assisted robotic surgery in cornea transplantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, Francesca; Micheletti, Filippo; Magni, Giada; Pini, Roberto; Menabuoni, Luca; Leoni, Fabio; Magnani, Bernardo

2017-03-01

Robotic surgery is a reality in several surgical fields, such as in gastrointestinal surgery. In ophthalmic surgery the required high spatial precision is limiting the application of robotic system, and even if several attempts have been designed in the last 10 years, only some application in retinal surgery were tested in animal models. The combination of photonics and robotics can really open new frontiers in minimally invasive surgery, improving the precision, reducing tremor, amplifying scale of motion, and automating the procedure. In this manuscript we present the preliminary results in developing a vision guided robotic platform for laser-assisted anterior eye surgery. The robotic console is composed by a robotic arm equipped with an "end effector" designed to deliver laser light to the anterior corneal surface. The main intended application is for laser welding of corneal tissue in laser assisted penetrating keratoplasty and endothelial keratoplasty. The console is equipped with an integrated vision system. The experiment originates from a clear medical demand in order to improve the efficacy of different surgical procedures: when the prototype will be optimized, other surgical areas will be included in its application, such as neurosurgery, urology and spinal surgery.

Welding Development: Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, Jeff

2007-01-01

This paper presents the basic understanding of the friction stir welding process. It covers process description, pin tool operation and materials, metal flow theory, mechanical properties, and materials welded using the process. It also discusses the thermal stir welding process and the differences between thermal stir and friction stir welding. MSFC weld tools used for development are also presented.

Friction Stir Process Mapping Methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bjorkman, Gerry; Kooney, Alex; Russell, Carolyn

2003-01-01

The weld process performance for a given weld joint configuration and tool setup is summarized on a 2-D plot of RPM vs. IPM. A process envelope is drawn within the map to identify the range of acceptable welds. The sweet spot is selected as the nominal weld schedule The nominal weld schedule is characterized in the expected manufacturing environment. The nominal weld schedule in conjunction with process control ensures a consistent and predictable weld performance.

Interaction of both plasmas in CO2 laser-MAG hybrid welding of carbon steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kutsuna, Muneharu; Chen, Liang

2003-03-01

Researches and developments of laser and arc hybrid welding has been curried out since in 1978. Especially, CO2 laser and TIG hybrid welding has been studied for increasing the penetration depth and welding speed. Recently laser and MIG/MAG/Plasma hybrid welding processes have been developed and applied to industries. It was recognized as a new welding process that promote the flexibility of the process for increasing the penetration depth, welding speed and allowable joint gap and improving the quality of the welds. In the present work, CO2 Laser-MAG hybrid welding of carbon steel (SM490) was investigated to make clear the phenomenon and characteristics of hybrid welding process comparing with laser welding and MAG process. The effects of many process parameters such as welding current, arc voltage, welding speed, defocusing distance, laser-to-arc distance on penetration depth, bead shape, spatter, arc stability and plasma formation were investigated in the present work. Especially, the interaction of laser plasma and MAG arc plasma was considered by changing the laser to arc distance (=DLA).

Precise 3D Lug Pose Detection Sensor for Automatic Robot Welding Using a Structured-Light Vision System

PubMed Central

Park, Jae Byung; Lee, Seung Hun; Lee, Il Jae

2009-01-01

In this study, we propose a precise 3D lug pose detection sensor for automatic robot welding of a lug to a huge steel plate used in shipbuilding, where the lug is a handle to carry the huge steel plate. The proposed sensor consists of a camera and four laser line diodes, and its design parameters are determined by analyzing its detectable range and resolution. For the lug pose acquisition, four laser lines are projected on both lug and plate, and the projected lines are detected by the camera. For robust detection of the projected lines against the illumination change, the vertical threshold, thinning, Hough transform and separated Hough transform algorithms are successively applied to the camera image. The lug pose acquisition is carried out by two stages: the top view alignment and the side view alignment. The top view alignment is to detect the coarse lug pose relatively far from the lug, and the side view alignment is to detect the fine lug pose close to the lug. After the top view alignment, the robot is controlled to move close to the side of the lug for the side view alignment. By this way, the precise 3D lug pose can be obtained. Finally, experiments with the sensor prototype are carried out to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed sensor. PMID:22400007

Analysis of droplet transfer mode and forming process of weld bead in CO 2 laser-MAG hybrid welding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shuangyu; Liu, Fengde; Zhang, Hong; Shi, Yan

2012-06-01

In this paper, CO 2 laser-metal active gas (MAG) hybrid welding technique is used to weld high strength steel and the optimized process parameters are obtained. Using LD Pumped laser with an emission wavelength of 532 nm to overcome the strong interference from the welding arc, a computer-based system is developed to collect and visualize the waveforms of the electrical welding parameters and metal transfer processes in laser-MAG. The welding electric signals of hybrid welding processes are quantitatively described and analyzed using the ANALYSATOR HANNOVER. The effect of distance between laser and arc ( DLA) on weld bead geometry, forming process of weld shape, electric signals, arc characteristic and droplet transfer behavior is investigated. It is found that arc characteristic, droplet transfer mode and final weld bead geometry are strongly affected by the distance between laser and arc. The weld bead geometry is changed from "cocktail cup" to "cone-shaped" with the increasing DLA. The droplet transfer mode is changed from globular transfer to projected transfer with the increasing DLA. Projected transfer mode is an advantage for the stability of hybrid welding processes.

Thermal Stir Welding: A New Solid State Welding Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffery; Munafo, Paul M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Thermal Stir Shielding is a revolutionary new welding process developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Thermal stir welding is similar to friction stir welding in that it joins similar or dissimilar materials without melting the parent material. However, unlike friction stir welding, the heating and stirring functions are independent allowing more degrees of freedom for greater process control. This paper introduces the mechanics of the thermal stir welding process. In addition, weld mechanical property data is presented for selected alloys as well as metallurgical analysis.

Number size distribution of fine and ultrafine fume particles from various welding processes.

PubMed

Brand, Peter; Lenz, Klaus; Reisgen, Uwe; Kraus, Thomas

2013-04-01

Studies in the field of environmental epidemiology indicate that for the adverse effect of inhaled particles not only particle mass is crucial but also particle size is. Ultrafine particles with diameters below 100 nm are of special interest since these particles have high surface area to mass ratio and have properties which differ from those of larger particles. In this paper, particle size distributions of various welding and joining techniques were measured close to the welding process using a fast mobility particle sizer (FMPS). It turned out that welding processes with high mass emission rates (manual metal arc welding, metal active gas welding, metal inert gas welding, metal inert gas soldering, and laser welding) show mainly agglomerated particles with diameters above 100 nm and only few particles in the size range below 50 nm (10 to 15%). Welding processes with low mass emission rates (tungsten inert gas welding and resistance spot welding) emit predominantly ultrafine particles with diameters well below 100 nm. This finding can be explained by considerably faster agglomeration processes in welding processes with high mass emission rates. Although mass emission is low for tungsten inert gas welding and resistance spot welding, due to the low particle size of the fume, these processes cannot be labeled as toxicologically irrelevant and should be further investigated.

Detection and Sizing of Defects in Structural Components of a Nuclear Power Plant by ECT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen Zhenmao; Miya, Kenzo

2005-04-09

In this paper, progress of ECT technique for inspection of stress corrosion cracks in a structural component of a nuclear power plant is reported. Access and scanning vehicle (robot), advanced probes for SG tube inspection, development and evaluation of new probes for welding joint, and ECT based crack sizing technique are described respectively. Based on these new techniques, it is clarified that ECT can play as a supplement of UT for the welding zone inspection. It is also proved in this work that new ECT sensors are efficient even for a stainless plate as thick as 15mm.

Effects on the efficiency of activated carbon on exposure to welding fumes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghosh, D.

1995-02-01

It is the intention of this paper to document that certain types of welding fumes have little or no effect on the effectiveness of the carbon filter air filtration efficiency when directly exposed to a controlled amount of welding fumes for a short-term period. The welding processes studied were restricted to shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes. Contrary to the SMAW and FCAW processes, the GTAW (or TIG) and the GMAW (or MIG) welding processes do not require the use of flux as partmore » of the overall process. Credit was taken for these processes occurring in inert gas environments and producing minimal amount of smoke. It was concluded that a study involving the SMAW process would also envelop the effects of the TIG and MIG welding processes. The quantity of welding fumes generated during the arc welding process is a function of the particular process, the size and type of electrode, welding machine amperage, and operator proficiency. For this study, the amount of welding for specific testing was equated to the amount of welding normally conducted during plant unit outages. Different welding electrodes were also evaluated, and the subsequent testing was limited to an E7018 electrode which was judged to be representative of all carbon and stainless steel electrodes commonly used at the site. The effect of welding fumes on activated charcoal was tested using a filtration unit complete with prefilters, upstream and downstream high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and a carbon adsorber section. The complete system was field tested in accordance with ANSI N510 standards prior to exposing the filters and the adsorber bed to welding fumes. The carbon samples were tested at an established laboratory using ASTM D3803-1989 standards.« less

Friction Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

2008-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process invented in 1991 at The Welding Institute in the United Kingdom. A weld is made in the FSW process by translating a rotating pin along a weld seam so as to stir the sides of the seam together. FSW avoids deleterious effects inherent in melting and promises to be an important welding process for any industries where welds of optimal quality are demanded. This article provides an introduction to the FSW process. The chief concern is the physical effect of the tool on the weld metal: how weld seam bonding takes place, what kind of weld structure is generated, potential problems, possible defects for example, and implications for process parameters and tool design. Weld properties are determined by structure, and the structure of friction stir welds is determined by the weld metal flow field in the vicinity of the weld tool. Metal flow in the vicinity of the weld tool is explained through a simple kinematic flow model that decomposes the flow field into three basic component flows: a uniform translation, a rotating solid cylinder, and a ring vortex encircling the tool. The flow components, superposed to construct the flow model, can be related to particular aspects of weld process parameters and tool design; they provide a bridge to an understanding of a complex-at-first-glance weld structure. Torques and forces are also discussed. Some simple mathematical models of structural aspects, torques, and forces are included.

A Non-Intrusive GMA Welding Process Quality Monitoring System Using Acoustic Sensing.

PubMed

Cayo, Eber Huanca; Alfaro, Sadek Crisostomo Absi

2009-01-01

Most of the inspection methods used for detection and localization of welding disturbances are based on the evaluation of some direct measurements of welding parameters. This direct measurement requires an insertion of sensors during the welding process which could somehow alter the behavior of the metallic transference. An inspection method that evaluates the GMA welding process evolution using a non-intrusive process sensing would allow not only the identification of disturbances during welding runs and thus reduce inspection time, but would also reduce the interference on the process caused by the direct sensing. In this paper a nonintrusive method for weld disturbance detection and localization for weld quality evaluation is demonstrated. The system is based on the acoustic sensing of the welding electrical arc. During repetitive tests in welds without disturbances, the stability acoustic parameters were calculated and used as comparison references for the detection and location of disturbances during the weld runs.

A Non-Intrusive GMA Welding Process Quality Monitoring System Using Acoustic Sensing

PubMed Central

Cayo, Eber Huanca; Alfaro, Sadek Crisostomo Absi

2009-01-01

Most of the inspection methods used for detection and localization of welding disturbances are based on the evaluation of some direct measurements of welding parameters. This direct measurement requires an insertion of sensors during the welding process which could somehow alter the behavior of the metallic transference. An inspection method that evaluates the GMA welding process evolution using a non-intrusive process sensing would allow not only the identification of disturbances during welding runs and thus reduce inspection time, but would also reduce the interference on the process caused by the direct sensing. In this paper a nonintrusive method for weld disturbance detection and localization for weld quality evaluation is demonstrated. The system is based on the acoustic sensing of the welding electrical arc. During repetitive tests in welds without disturbances, the stability acoustic parameters were calculated and used as comparison references for the detection and location of disturbances during the weld runs. PMID:22399990

Welding parameter optimization of alloy material by friction stir welding using Taguchi approach and design of experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karwande, Amit H.; Rao, Seeram Srinivasa

2018-04-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) a welding process in which metals are joint by melting them at their solid state. In different engineering areas such as civil, mechanical, naval and aeronautical engineering beams are widely used of the magnesium alloys for different applications and that are joined by conventional inert gas welding process. Magnesium metal has less density and low melting point for that reason large heat generation in the common welding process so its necessity to adapt new welding process. FSW process increases the weld quality which observed under various mechanical testing by using different tool size.

Intelligent Modeling Combining Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System and Genetic Algorithm for Optimizing Welding Process Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gowtham, K. N.; Vasudevan, M.; Maduraimuthu, V.; Jayakumar, T.

2011-04-01

Modified 9Cr-1Mo ferritic steel is used as a structural material for steam generator components of power plants. Generally, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is preferred for welding of these steels in which the depth of penetration achievable during autogenous welding is limited. Therefore, activated flux TIG (A-TIG) welding, a novel welding technique, has been developed in-house to increase the depth of penetration. In modified 9Cr-1Mo steel joints produced by the A-TIG welding process, weld bead width, depth of penetration, and heat-affected zone (HAZ) width play an important role in determining the mechanical properties as well as the performance of the weld joints during service. To obtain the desired weld bead geometry and HAZ width, it becomes important to set the welding process parameters. In this work, adaptative neuro fuzzy inference system is used to develop independent models correlating the welding process parameters like current, voltage, and torch speed with weld bead shape parameters like depth of penetration, bead width, and HAZ width. Then a genetic algorithm is employed to determine the optimum A-TIG welding process parameters to obtain the desired weld bead shape parameters and HAZ width.

The Influence of Friction Stir Weld Tool Form and Welding Parameters on Weld Structure and Properties: Nugget Bulge in Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Judy; Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.; Brendel, Michael S.

2010-01-01

Although friction stir welding (FSW) was patented in 1991, process development has been based upon trial and error and the literature still exhibits little understanding of the mechanisms determining weld structure and properties. New concepts emerging from a better understanding of these mechanisms enhance the ability of FSW engineers to think about the FSW process in new ways, inevitably leading to advances in the technology. A kinematic approach in which the FSW flow process is decomposed into several simple flow components has been found to explain the basic structural features of FSW welds and to relate them to tool geometry and process parameters. Using this modelling approach, this study reports on a correlation between the features of the weld nugget, process parameters, weld tool geometry, and weld strength. This correlation presents a way to select process parameters for a given tool geometry so as to optimize weld strength. It also provides clues that may ultimately explain why the weld strength varies within the sample population.

Survey of welding processes.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-07-01

The current KYTC SPECIAL PROVISION NO. 4 WELDING STEEL BRIDGES prohibits the use of welding processes other than shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and submerged arc welding (SAW). Nationally, bridge welding is codified under ANSI/AASHTO/AWS D1....

Generation rate of carbon monoxide from CO2 arc welding.

PubMed

Ojima, Jun

2013-01-01

CO poisoning has been a serious industrial hazard in Japanese workplaces. Although incomplete combustion is the major cause of CO generation, there is a risk of CO poisoning during some welding operations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the generation rate of CO from CO2 arc welding under controlled laboratory conditions and estimate the ventilation requirements for the prevention of CO poisoning. Bead on plate welding was carried out with an automatic welding robot on a rolled steel base metal under several conditions. The concentration of emitted CO from the welding was measured by a real-time CO monitor in a well-ventilated laboratory that was free from ambient CO contamination. The generation rate of CO was obtained from the three measurements-the flow rate of the welding exhaust gas, CO concentration in the exhaust gas and the arcing time. Then the ventilation requirement to prevent CO poisoning was calculated. The generation rate of CO was found to be 386-883 ml/min with a solid wire and 331-1,293 ml/min with a flux cored wire respectively. It was found that the CO concentration in a room would be maintained theoretically below the OSHA PEL (50 ppm) providing the ventilation rate in the room was 6.6-25.9 m3/min. The actual ventilation requirement was then estimated to be 6.6-259 m3/min considering incomplete mixing. In order to prevent CO poisoning, some countermeasures against gaseous emission as well as welding fumes should be taken eagerly.

Creep rupture strength of activated-TIG welded 316L(N) stainless steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakthivel, T.; Vasudevan, M.; Laha, K.; Parameswaran, P.; Chandravathi, K. S.; Mathew, M. D.; Bhaduri, A. K.

2011-06-01

316L(N) stainless steel plates were joined using activated-tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) welding and conventional TIG welding process. Creep rupture behavior of 316L(N) base metal, and weld joints made by A-TIG and conventional TIG welding process were investigated at 923 K over a stress range of 160-280 MPa. Creep test results showed that the enhancement in creep rupture strength of weld joint fabricated by A-TIG welding process over conventional TIG welding process. Both the weld joints fractured in the weld metal. Microstructural observation showed lower δ-ferrite content, alignment of columnar grain with δ-ferrite along applied stress direction and less strength disparity between columnar and equiaxed grains of weld metal in A-TIG joint than in MP-TIG joint. These had been attributed to initiate less creep cavitation in weld metal of A-TIG joint leading to improvement in creep rupture strength.

An evaluation of GTAW-P versus GTA welding of alloy 718

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gamwell, W. R.; Kurgan, C.; Malone, T. W.

1991-01-01

Mechanical properties were evaluated to determine statistically whether the pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW-P) process produces welds in alloy 718 with room temperature structural performance equivalent to current Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) welds manufactured by the constant current GTAW-P process. Evaluations were conducted on two base metal lots, two filler metal lots, two heat input levels, and two welding processes. The material form was 0.125-inch (3.175-mm) alloy 718 sheet. Prior to welding, sheets were treated to either the ST or STA-1 condition. After welding, panels were left as welded or heat treated to the STA-1 condition, and weld beads were left intact or machined flush. Statistical analyses were performed on yield strength, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and high cycle fatigue (HCF) properties for all the post welded material conditions. Analyses of variance were performed on the data to determine if there were any significant effects on UTS or HCF life due to variations in base metal, filler metal, heat input level, or welding process. Statistical analyses showed that the GTAW-P process does produce welds with room temperature structural performance equivalent to current SSME welds manufactured by the GTAW process, regardless of prior material condition or post welding condition.

Thermal Stir Welding Development at Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, Robert J.

2008-01-01

Solid state welding processes have become the focus of welding process development at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Unlike fusion weld processes such as tungsten inert gas (TIG), variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA), electron beam (EB), etc., solid state welding processes do not melt the material during welding. The resultant microstructure can be characterized as a dynamically recrystallized morphology much different than the casted, dentritic structure typical of fusion weld processes. The primary benefits of solid state processes over fusion weld processes include superior mechanic properties and the elimination of thermal distortion and residual stresses. These solid state processes attributes have profoundly influenced the direction of advanced welding research and development within the NASA agency. Thermal Stir Welding (TSW) is a new solid state welding process being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Unlike friction stir welding, the heating, stirring and forging elements of the weld process can be decoupled for independent control. An induction coil induces energy into a workpiece to attain a desired plastic temperature. An independently controlled stir rod, captured within non-rotating containment plates, then stirs the plasticized material followed by forging plates/rollers that work the stirred weld joint. The independent control (decoupling) of heating, stirring and forging allows, theoretically, for the precision control of microstructure morphology. The TSW process is being used to evaluate the solid state joining of Haynes 230 for ARES J-2X applications. It is also being developed for 500-in (12.5 mm) thick commercially pure grade 2 titanium for navy applications. Other interests include Inconel 718 and stainless steel. This presentation will provide metallurgical and mechanical property data for these high melting temperature alloys.

Evaluation of the AISI 904L Alloy Weld Overlays Obtained by GMAW and Electro-Slag Welding Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jorge, Jorge C. F.; Meira, O. G.; Madalena, F. C. A.; de Souza, L. F. G.; Araujo, L. S.; Mendes, M. C.

2017-05-01

The use of superaustenitic stainless steels (SASS) as an overlay replacement for nickel-based alloys can be an interesting alternative for the oil and gas industries, due to its lower cost, when compared to superalloys. Usually, the deposition is made with several welding passes by using conventional arc welding processes, such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes. In this respect, electro-slag welding (ESW), which promotes high heat inputs and low dilution of the welds, can also be attractive for this application, as it provides a higher productivity, once only one layer is needed for the deposition of the minimum thickness required. The present work evaluates the behavior of an AISI 904L SASS weld overlay deposited on a carbon steel ASTM A516 Grade 70 by ESW and GMAW processes. Both as-welded and heat-treated conditions were evaluated and compared. A multipass welding by GMAW process with three layers and 48 passes was performed on 12.5 × 200 × 250 mm steel plates with average welding energy of 1.0 kJ/mm. For ESW process, only one layer was deposited on 50 × 400 × 400 mm steel plates with average welding energy of 11.7 kJ/mm. After welding, a post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) at 620 °C for 10 h was performed in half of the steel plate, in order to allow the comparison between this condition and the as-welded one. For both processes, the austenitic microstructure of the weld deposits was characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with electron backscatter diffraction. A low proportion of secondary phases were observed in all conditions, and the PWHT did not promote significant changes on the hardness profile. Martensite for GMAW process and bainite for ESW process were the microstructural constituents observed at the coarse grain heat-affected zone, due to the different cooling rates. For ESW process, no evidences of partially diluted zones were found. As a consequence of the microstructural findings, the hardness results for ESW were lower than those usually observed for other electric arc welding processes. In addition, specimens subject to bending tests performed in accordance with the current standards used for qualification of welding procedures were approved. These evidences allow the conclusion that the ESW process can provide deposits with high quality despite the high welding energy levels, in order to achieve the desired productivity, being an interesting alternative for AISI 904L weld overlays.

State-of-technology for joining TD-NiCr sheet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holko, K. H.; Moore, T. J.; Gyorgak, C. A.

1972-01-01

At the current state-of-technology there are many joining processes that can be used to make sound welds in TD-NiCr sheet. Some of these that are described in this report are electron beam welding, gas-tungsten arc welding, diffusion welding, resistance spot welding, resistance seam welding, and brazing. The strengths of the welds made by the various processes show considerable variation, especially at elevated temperatures. Most of the fusion welding processes tend to give weak welds at elevated temperatures (with the exception of fusion-type resistance spotwelds). However, solid-state welds have been made with parent metal properties. The process used for a specific application will be dictated by the specific joint requirements. In highly stressed joints at elevated temperatures, one of the solid-state processes, such as DFW, RSW (solid-state or fusion), and RSEW, offer the most promise.

Automatic hot wire GTA welding of pipe offers speed and increased deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sykes, I.; Digiacomo, J.

1995-07-01

Heavy-wall pipe welding for the power and petrochemical industry must meet code requirements. Contractors strive to meet these requirements in the most productive way possible. The challenge put to orbital welding equipment manufacturers is to produce pipe welding equipment that cost-effectively produces code-quality welds. Orbital welding equipment using the GTA process has long produced outstanding quality results but has lacked the deposition rate to compete cost effectively with other manual and semiautomatic processes such as SMAW, FCAW and GMAW. In recent years, significant progress has been made with the use of narrow-groove weld joint designs to reduce weld joint volumemore » and improve welding times. Astro Arc Polysoude, an orbital welding equipment manufacturer based in Sun Valley, Calif., and Nantes, France, has combined the hot wire GTAW process with orbital welding equipment using a narrow-groove weld joint design. Field test results show this process and procedure is a good alternative for many heavy-wall-pipe welding applications.« less

Optimization of hybrid laser - TIG welding of 316LN steel using response surface methodology (RSM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ragavendran, M.; Chandrasekhar, N.; Ravikumar, R.; Saxena, Rajesh; Vasudevan, M.; Bhaduri, A. K.

2017-07-01

In the present study, the hybrid laser - TIG welding parameters for welding of 316LN austenitic stainless steel have been investigated by combining a pulsed laser beam with a TIG welding heat source at the weld pool. Laser power, pulse frequency, pulse duration, TIG current were presumed as the welding process parameters whereas weld bead width, weld cross-sectional area and depth of penetration (DOP) were considered as the process responses. Central composite design was used to complete the design matrix and welding experiments were conducted based on the design matrix. Weld bead measurements were then carried out to generate the dataset. Multiple regression models correlating the process parameters with the responses have been developed. The accuracy of the models were found to be good. Then, the desirability approach optimization technique was employed for determining the optimum process parameters to obtain the desired weld bead profile. Validation experiments were then carried out from the determined optimum process parameters. There was good agreement between the predicted and measured values.

Experimental investigations of tungsten inert gas assisted friction stir welding of pure copper plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Constantin, M. A.; Boșneag, A.; Nitu, E.; Iordache, M.

2017-10-01

Welding copper and its alloys is usually difficult to join by conventional fusion welding processes because of high thermal diffusivity of the copper, alloying elements, necessity of using a shielding gas and a clean surface. To overcome this inconvenience, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), a solid state joining process that relies on frictional heating and plastic deformation, is used as a feasible welding process. In order to achieve an increased welding speed and a reduction in tool wear, this process is assisted by another one (WIG) which generates and adds heat to the process. The aim of this paper is to identify the influence of the additional heat on the process parameters and on the welding joint properties (distribution of the temperature, hardness and roughness). The research includes two experiments for the FSW process and one experiment for tungsten inert gas assisted FSW process. The outcomes of the investigation are compared and analysed for both welding variants. Adding a supplementary heat source, the plates are preheated and are obtain some advantages such as reduced forces used in process and FSW tool wear, faster and better plasticization of the material, increased welding speed and a proper weld quality.

46 CFR 154.650 - Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. 154.650... Equipment Construction § 154.650 Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. (a) Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding must meet Subpart 54.05 and Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Welding consumables used...

46 CFR 154.650 - Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. 154.650... Equipment Construction § 154.650 Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. (a) Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding must meet Subpart 54.05 and Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Welding consumables used...

46 CFR 154.650 - Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. 154.650... Equipment Construction § 154.650 Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. (a) Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding must meet Subpart 54.05 and Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Welding consumables used...

46 CFR 154.650 - Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. 154.650... Equipment Construction § 154.650 Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. (a) Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding must meet Subpart 54.05 and Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Welding consumables used...

46 CFR 154.650 - Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. 154.650... Equipment Construction § 154.650 Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding. (a) Cargo tank and process pressure vessel welding must meet Subpart 54.05 and Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Welding consumables used...

Ultrasonic Welding of Thermoplastic Composite Coupons for Mechanical Characterization of Welded Joints through Single Lap Shear Testing.

PubMed

Villegas, Irene F; Palardy, Genevieve

2016-02-11

This paper presents a novel straightforward method for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic-composite coupons in optimum processing conditions. The ultrasonic welding process described in this paper is based on three main pillars. Firstly, flat energy directors are used for preferential heat generation at the joining interface during the welding process. A flat energy director is a neat thermoplastic resin film that is placed between the parts to be joined prior to the welding process and heats up preferentially owing to its lower compressive stiffness relative to the composite substrates. Consequently, flat energy directors provide a simple solution that does not require molding of resin protrusions on the surfaces of the composite substrates, as opposed to ultrasonic welding of unreinforced plastics. Secondly, the process data provided by the ultrasonic welder is used to rapidly define the optimum welding parameters for any thermoplastic composite material combination. Thirdly, displacement control is used in the welding process to ensure consistent quality of the welded joints. According to this method, thermoplastic-composite flat coupons are individually welded in a single lap configuration. Mechanical testing of the welded coupons allows determining the apparent lap shear strength of the joints, which is one of the properties most commonly used to quantify the strength of thermoplastic composite welded joints.

Ultrasonic Welding of Thermoplastic Composite Coupons for Mechanical Characterization of Welded Joints through Single Lap Shear Testing

PubMed Central

Villegas, Irene F.; Palardy, Genevieve

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel straightforward method for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic-composite coupons in optimum processing conditions. The ultrasonic welding process described in this paper is based on three main pillars. Firstly, flat energy directors are used for preferential heat generation at the joining interface during the welding process. A flat energy director is a neat thermoplastic resin film that is placed between the parts to be joined prior to the welding process and heats up preferentially owing to its lower compressive stiffness relative to the composite substrates. Consequently, flat energy directors provide a simple solution that does not require molding of resin protrusions on the surfaces of the composite substrates, as opposed to ultrasonic welding of unreinforced plastics. Secondly, the process data provided by the ultrasonic welder is used to rapidly define the optimum welding parameters for any thermoplastic composite material combination. Thirdly, displacement control is used in the welding process to ensure consistent quality of the welded joints. According to this method, thermoplastic-composite flat coupons are individually welded in a single lap configuration. Mechanical testing of the welded coupons allows determining the apparent lap shear strength of the joints, which is one of the properties most commonly used to quantify the strength of thermoplastic composite welded joints. PMID:26890931

Status analysis of keyhole bottom in laser-MAG hybrid welding process.

PubMed

Wang, Lin; Gao, Xiangdong; Chen, Ziqin

2018-01-08

The keyhole status is a determining factor of weld quality in laser-metal active gas arc (MAG) hybrid welding process. For a better evaluation of the hybrid welding process, three different penetration welding experiments: partial penetration, normal penetration (or full penetration), and excessive penetration were conducted in this work. The instantaneous visual phenomena including metallic vapor, spatters and keyhole of bottom surface were used to evaluate the keyhole status by a double high-speed camera system. The Fourier transform was applied on the bottom weld pool image for removing the image noise around the keyhole, and then the bottom weld pool image was reconstructed through the inverse Fourier transform. Lastly, the keyhole bottom was extracted from the de-noised bottom weld pool image. By analyzing the visual features of the laser-MAG hybrid welding process, mechanism of the closed and opened keyhole bottom were revealed. The results show that the stable opened or closed status of keyhole bottom is directly affected by the MAG droplet transition in the normal penetration welding process, and the unstable opened or closed status of keyhole bottom would appear in excessive penetration welding and partial penetration welding. The analysis method proposed in this paper could be used to monitor the keyhole stability in laser-MAG hybrid welding process.

Metal flow of a tailor-welded blank in deep drawing process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Qi; Guo, Ruiquan

2005-01-01

Tailor welded blanks were used in the automotive industry to consolidate parts, reduce weight, and increase safety. In recent years, this technology was developing rapidly in China. In Chinese car models, tailor welded blanks had been applied in a lot of automobile parts such as rail, door inner, bumper, floor panel, etc. Concerns on the properties of tailor welded blanks had become more and more important for automobile industry. A lot of research had shown that the strength of the welded seam was higher than that of the base metal, such that the weld failure in the aspect of strength was not a critical issue. However, formability of tailor welded blanks in the stamping process was complex. Among them, the metal flow of tailor welded blanks in the stamping process must be investigated thoroughly in order to reduce the scrap rate during the stamping process in automobile factories. In this paper, the behavior of metal flow for tailor welded blanks made by the laser welding process with two types of different thickness combinations were studied in the deep drawing process. Simulations and experiment verification of the movement of weld line for tailor welded blanks were discussed in detail. Results showed that the control on the movement of welded seam during stamping process by taking some measures in the aspect of blank holder was effective.

Mechanical Properties of Aluminum-Based Dissimilar Alloy Joints by Power Beams, Arc and FSW Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okubo, Michinori; Kon, Tomokuni; Abe, Nobuyuki

Dissimilar smart joints are useful. In this research, welded quality of dissimilar aluminum alloys of 3 mm thickness by various welding processes and process parameters have been investigated by hardness and tensile tests, and observation of imperfection and microstructure. Base metals used in this study are A1050-H24, A2017-T3, A5083-O, A6061-T6 and A7075-T651. Welding processes used are YAG laser beam, electron beam, metal inert gas arc, tungsten inert gas arc and friction stir welding. The properties of weld zones are affected by welding processes, welding parameters and combination of base metals. Properties of high strength aluminum alloy joints are improved by friction stir welding.

Welding Penetration Control of Fixed Pipe in TIG Welding Using Fuzzy Inference System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

This paper presents a study on welding penetration control of fixed pipe in Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding using fuzzy inference system. The welding penetration control is essential to the production quality welds with a specified geometry. For pipe welding using constant arc current and welding speed, the bead width becomes wider as the circumferential welding of small diameter pipes progresses. Having welded pipe in fixed position, obviously, the excessive arc current yields burn through of metals; in contrary, insufficient arc current produces imperfect welding. In order to avoid these errors and to obtain the uniform weld bead over the entire circumference of the pipe, the welding conditions should be controlled as the welding proceeds. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position using the AC welding machine. The monitoring system used a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Simulation of welding control using fuzzy inference system was constructed to simulate the welding control process. The simulation result shows that fuzzy controller was suitable for controlling the welding speed and appropriate to be implemented into the welding system. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of the fuzzy controller. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the control system that is confirmed by sound welds.

Advances in Solid State Joining of High Temperature Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, Jeff; Schneider, Judy

2011-01-01

Many of the metals used in the oil and gas industry are difficult to fusion weld including Titanium and its alloys. Solid state joining processes are being pursued as an alternative process to produce robust structures more amenable to high pressure applications. Various solid state joining processes include friction stir welding (FSW) and a patented modification termed thermal stir welding (TSW). The configuration of TSWing utilizes an induction coil to preheat the material minimizing the burden on the weld tool extending its life. This provides the ability to precisely select and control the temperature to avoid detrimental changes to the microstructure. The work presented in this presentation investigates the feasibility of joining various titanium alloys using the solid state welding processes of FSW and TSW. Process descriptions and attributes of each weld process will be presented. Weld process set ]up and welding techniques will be discussed leading to the challenges experienced. Mechanical property data will also be presented.

An evaluation of welding processes to reduce hexavalent chromium exposures and reduce costs by using better welding techniques.

PubMed

Keane, Michael J

2014-01-01

A group of stainless steel arc welding processes was compared for emission rates of fume and hexavalent chromium, and costs per meter length of weld. The objective was to identify those with minimal emissions and also compare relative labor and consumables costs. The selection included flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), shielded-metal arc welding (SMAW), and multiple gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes. Using a conical chamber, fumes were collected, and fume generation rates and hexavalent chromium (Cr(6+)) were measured. GMAW processes used were short-circuit (SC) and pulsed-spray modes. Flux-cored welding used gas shielding. Costs were estimated per meter of a 6.3-mm thick horizontal butt weld. Emission rates of Cr(6+) were lowest for GMAW processes and highest for SMAW; several GMAW processes had less than 2% of the SMAW generation rate. Labor and consumable costs for the processes studied were again highest for SMAW, with those of several GMAW types about half that cost. The results show that use of any of the GMAW processes (and flux-cored welding) could substantially reduce fume and Cr(6+) emissions, and greatly reduce costs relative to SMAW.

An Evaluation of Welding Processes to Reduce Hexavalent Chromium Exposures and Reduce Costs by Using Better Welding Techniques

PubMed Central

Keane, Michael J

2014-01-01

A group of stainless steel arc welding processes was compared for emission rates of fume and hexavalent chromium, and costs per meter length of weld. The objective was to identify those with minimal emissions and also compare relative labor and consumables costs. The selection included flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), shielded-metal arc welding (SMAW), and multiple gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes. Using a conical chamber, fumes were collected, and fume generation rates and hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) were measured. GMAW processes used were short-circuit (SC) and pulsed-spray modes. Flux-cored welding used gas shielding. Costs were estimated per meter of a 6.3-mm thick horizontal butt weld. Emission rates of Cr6+ were lowest for GMAW processes and highest for SMAW; several GMAW processes had less than 2% of the SMAW generation rate. Labor and consumable costs for the processes studied were again highest for SMAW, with those of several GMAW types about half that cost. The results show that use of any of the GMAW processes (and flux-cored welding) could substantially reduce fume and Cr6+ emissions, and greatly reduce costs relative to SMAW. PMID:25574138

Machine Vision For Industrial Control:The Unsung Opportunity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falkman, Gerald A.; Murray, Lawrence A.; Cooper, James E.

1984-05-01

Vision modules have primarily been developed to relieve those pressures newly brought into existence by Inspection (QUALITY) and Robotic (PRODUCTIVITY) mandates. Industrial Control pressure stems on the other hand from the older first industrial revolution mandate of throughput. Satisfying such pressure calls for speed in both imaging and decision making. Vision companies have, however, put speed on a backburner or ignore it entirely because most modules are computer/software based which limits their speed potential. Increasingly, the keynote being struck at machine vision seminars is that "Visual and Computational Speed Must Be Increased and Dramatically!" There are modular hardwired-logic systems that are fast but, all too often, they are not very bright. Such units: Measure the fill factor of bottles as they spin by, Read labels on cans, Count stacked plastic cups or Monitor the width of parts streaming past the camera. Many are only a bit more complex than a photodetector. Once in place, most of these units are incapable of simple upgrading to a new task and are Vision's analog to the robot industry's pick and place (RIA TYPE E) robot. Vision thus finds itself amidst the same quandries that once beset the Robot Industry of America when it tried to define a robot, excluded dumb ones, and was left with only slow machines whose unit volume potential is shatteringly low. This paper develops an approach to meeting the need of a vision system that cuts a swath into the terra incognita of intelligent, high-speed vision processing. Main attention is directed to vision for industrial control. Some presently untapped vision application areas that will be serviced include: Electronics, Food, Sports, Pharmaceuticals, Machine Tools and Arc Welding.

Automatic Welding System of Aluminum Pipe by Monitoring Backside Image of Molten Pool Using Vision Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

An automatic welding system using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding with vision sensor for welding of aluminum pipe was constructed. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position and moving welding torch with the AC welding machine. The monitoring system consists of a vision sensor using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Neural network model for welding speed control were constructed to perform the process automatically. From the experimental results it shows the effectiveness of the control system confirmed by good detection of molten pool and sound weld of experimental result.

Comparison of joining processes for Haynes 230 nickel based super alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williston, David Hugh

Haynes 230 is a nickel based, solid-solution strengthened alloy that is used for high-temperature applications in the aero-engine and power generation industries. The alloy composition is balanced to avoid precipitation of undesirable topologically closed-packed (TCP) intermetallic phases, such as Sigma, Mu, or Laves-type, that are detrimental to mechanical and corrosion properties. This material is currently being used for the NASA's J2X upper stage rocket nozzle extension. Current fabrication procedures use fusion welding processes to join blanks that are subsequently formed. Cracks have been noted to occur in the fusion welded region during the forming operations. Use of solid state joining processes, such as friction stir welding are being proposed to eliminate the fusion weld cracks. Of interest is a modified friction stir welding process called thermal stir welding. Three welding process: Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Electron Beam Welding (EBW), and Thermal Stir Welding (TSWing) are compared in this study.

Recent Developments and Research Progress on Friction Stir Welding of Titanium Alloys: An Overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karna, Sivaji; Cheepu, Muralimohan; Venkateswarulu, D.; Srikanth, V.

2018-03-01

Titanium and its alloys are joined by various welding processes. However, Fusion welding of titanium alloys resulted solidification problems like porosity, segregation and columnar grains. The problems occurred in conventional welding processes can be resolved using a solid state welding i.e. friction stir welding. Aluminium and Magnesium alloys were welded by friction stir welding. However alloys used for high temperature applications such as titanium alloys and steels are arduous to weld using friction stir welding process because of tool limitations. Present paper summarises the studies on joining of Titanium alloys using friction stir welding with different tool materials. Selection of tool material and effect of welding conditions on mechanical and microstructure properties of weldments were also reported. Major advantage with friction stir welding is, we can control the welding temperature above or below β-transus temperature by optimizing the process parameters. Stir zone in below beta transus condition consists of bi-modal microstructure and microstructure in above β-transus condition has large prior β- grains and α/β laths present in the grain. Welding experiments conducted below β- transus condition has better mechanical properties than welding at above β-transus condition. Hardness and tensile properties of weldments are correlated with the stir zone microstructure.

Hybrid laser arc welding: State-of-art review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acherjee, Bappa

2018-02-01

Hybrid laser arc welding simultaneously utilizes the arc welding and the laser welding, in a common interaction zone. The synergic effects of laser beam and eclectic arc in the same weld pool results in an increase of welding speed and penetration depth along with the enhancement of gap bridging capability and process stability. This paper presents the current status of this hybrid technique in terms of research, developments and applications. Effort is made to present a comprehensive technical know-how about this process through a systematic review of research articles, industrial catalogues, technical notes, etc. In the introductory part of the review, an overview of the hybrid laser arc welding is presented, including operation principle, process requirements, historical developments, benefits and drawbacks of the process. This is followed by a detailed discussion on control parameters those govern the performance of hybrid laser arc welding process. Thereafter, a report of improvements of performance and weld qualities achieved by using hybrid welding process is presented based on review of several research papers. The succeeding sections furnish the examples of industrial applications and the concluding remarks.

Sustainability of Welding Process through Bobbin Friction Stir Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sued, M. K.; Samsuri, S. S. M.; Kassim, M. K. A. M.; Nasir, S. N. N. M.

2018-03-01

Welding process is in high demand, which required a competitive technology to be adopted. This is important for sustaining the needs of the joining industries without ignoring the impact of the process to the environment. Friction stir welding (FSW) is stated to be benefitting the environment through low energy consumption, which cannot be achieved through traditional arc welding. However, this is not well documented, especially for bobbin friction stir welding (BFSW). Therefore, an investigation is conducted by measuring current consumption of the machine during the BFSW process. From the measurement, different phases of BFSW welding process and its electrical demand are presented. It is found that in general total energy in BFSW is about 130kW inclusive of all identified process phases. The phase that utilise for joint formation is in weld phase that used the highest total energy of 120kWs. The recorded total energy is still far below the traditional welding technology and the conventional friction stir welding (CFSW) energy demand. This indicates that BFSW technology with its vast benefit able to sustain the joining technology in near future.

Analysis and Comparison of Friction Stir Welding and Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloy

PubMed Central

Campanelli, Sabina Luisa; Casalino, Giuseppe; Casavola, Caterina; Moramarco, Vincenzo

2013-01-01

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process; i.e., no melting occurs. The welding process is promoted by the rotation and translation of an axis-symmetric non-consumable tool along the weld centerline. Thus, the FSW process is performed at much lower temperatures than conventional fusion welding, nevertheless it has some disadvantages. Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding (LAFSW) is a combination in which the FSW is the dominant welding process and the laser pre-heats the weld. In this work FSW and LAFSW tests were conducted on 6 mm thick 5754H111 aluminum alloy plates in butt joint configuration. LAFSW is studied firstly to demonstrate the weldability of aluminum alloy using that technique. Secondly, process parameters, such as laser power and temperature gradient are investigated in order to evaluate changes in microstructure, micro-hardness, residual stress, and tensile properties. Once the possibility to achieve sound weld using LAFSW is demonstrated, it will be possible to explore the benefits for tool wear, higher welding speeds, and lower clamping force. PMID:28788430

Analysis and Comparison of Friction Stir Welding and Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloy.

PubMed

Campanelli, Sabina Luisa; Casalino, Giuseppe; Casavola, Caterina; Moramarco, Vincenzo

2013-12-18

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process; i.e. , no melting occurs. The welding process is promoted by the rotation and translation of an axis-symmetric non-consumable tool along the weld centerline. Thus, the FSW process is performed at much lower temperatures than conventional fusion welding, nevertheless it has some disadvantages. Laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding (LAFSW) is a combination in which the FSW is the dominant welding process and the laser pre-heats the weld. In this work FSW and LAFSW tests were conducted on 6 mm thick 5754H111 aluminum alloy plates in butt joint configuration. LAFSW is studied firstly to demonstrate the weldability of aluminum alloy using that technique. Secondly, process parameters, such as laser power and temperature gradient are investigated in order to evaluate changes in microstructure, micro-hardness, residual stress, and tensile properties. Once the possibility to achieve sound weld using LAFSW is demonstrated, it will be possible to explore the benefits for tool wear, higher welding speeds, and lower clamping force.

Automated Fabrication of High Performance Composites: An Overview of Research at the Langley Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, N. J.; Towell, T. W.; Marchello, J. M.; Grenoble, R. W.

1997-01-01

Automated heated placement of consolidated fiber reinforced polymer ribbon/tape is a rapid, cost effective technique for net shape fabrication of high performance composites. Several research efforts in the United States are developing the heated head robotic hardware and associated software needed to bring this technology into widespread use for building aircraft parts. These efforts emphasize the use of pre-consolidated thermoplastic ribbon or tape which is thermally welded on-the-fly . The approach provides in-situ consolidation and obviates the need for autoclave processing and massive debulking, thereby reducing costs. Addressed in this paper are some key issues being pursued at NASA Langley related to this technology. These include: (a) preparation of high quality intermediate materials forms such as thermoplastic powders, powder-coated towpreg and consolidated ribbon/tape and (b) achievement of precise control of the following: robot head positioning on the tool; material placement; heat delivery to the lay-down zone; and cut/add, start/stop capability. Heated head development has dealt with the use of hot gases alone and in combination with focused infrared radiation as heat sources.

Influence of tool geometry and processing parameters on welding defects and mechanical properties for friction stir welding of 6061 Aluminium alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daneji, A.; Ali, M.; Pervaiz, S.

2018-04-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a form of solid state welding process for joining metals, alloys, and selective composites. Over the years, FSW development has provided an improved way of producing welding joints, and consequently got accepted in numerous industries such as aerospace, automotive, rail and marine etc. In FSW, the base metal properties control the material’s plastic flow under the influence of a rotating tool whereas, the process and tool parameters play a vital role in the quality of weld. In the current investigation, an array of square butt joints of 6061 Aluminum alloy was to be welded under varying FSW process and tool geometry related parameters, after which the resulting weld was evaluated for the corresponding mechanical properties and welding defects. The study incorporates FSW process and tool parameters such as welding speed, pin height and pin thread pitch as input parameters. However, the weld quality related defects and mechanical properties were treated as output parameters. The experimentation paves way to investigate the correlation between the inputs and the outputs. The correlation between inputs and outputs were used as tool to predict the optimized FSW process and tool parameters for a desired weld output of the base metals under investigation. The study also provides reflection on the effect of said parameters on a welding defect such as wormhole.

Ultrashort pulse laser micro-welding of cyclo-olefin copolymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, Gian-Luca; Rung, Stefan; Hellmann, Ralf

2017-06-01

We report on the joining of transparent thermoplastic polymers using infrared femtosecond laser pulses. Due to nonlinear absorption, the developed micro-welding process for cyclo-olefin copolymers does not require any intermediate absorbing layers or any surface pre-processing of the welding partners. In view of an optimized and stable micro-welding process, the influence of the welding speed and focal position on both, the quality and shear force strength are investigated. We highlight that welding seam widths of down to 65 μm are feasible for welding speeds of up to 75 mm/s. However, a variation of the welding speed affects the required focal position for a successful joining process. The shear force strength of the welding seam is determined to 37 MPa, which corresponds to 64% of the shear strength of the bulk material and is not affected by the welding speed.

Lateral position detection and control for friction stir systems

DOEpatents

Fleming, Paul; Lammlein, David; Cook, George E.; Wilkes, Don Mitchell; Strauss, Alvin M.; Delapp, David; Hartman, Daniel A.

2010-12-14

A friction stir system for processing at least a first workpiece includes a spindle actuator coupled to a rotary tool comprising a rotating member for contacting and processing the first workpiece. A detection system is provided for obtaining information related to a lateral alignment of the rotating member. The detection system comprises at least one sensor for measuring a force experienced by the rotary tool or a parameter related to the force experienced by the rotary tool during processing, wherein the sensor provides sensor signals. A signal processing system is coupled to receive and analyze the sensor signals and determine a lateral alignment of the rotating member relative to a selected lateral position, a selected path, or a direction to decrease a lateral distance relative to the selected lateral position or selected path. In one embodiment, the friction stir system can be embodied as a closed loop tracking system, such as a robot-based tracked friction stir welding (FSW) or friction stir processing (FSP) system.

Influence of Filler Wire Feed Rate in Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding of T-butt Joint in Shipbuilding Steel with Different Optical Setups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unt, Anna; Poutiainen, Ilkka; Salminen, Antti

In this paper, a study of laser-arc hybrid welding featuring three different process fibres was conducted to build knowledge about process behaviour and discuss potential benefits for improving the weld properties. The welding parameters affect the weld geometry considerably, as an example the increase in welding speed usually decreases the penetration and a larger beam diameter usually widens the weld. The laser hybrid welding system equipped with process fibres with 200, 300 and 600 μm core diameter were used to produce fillet welds. Shipbuilding steel AH36 plates with 8 mm thickness were welded with Hybrid-Laser-Arc-Welding (HLAW) in inversed T configuration, the effects of the filler wire feed rate and the beam positioning distance from the joint plane were investigated. Based on the metallographic cross-sections, the effect of process parameters on the joint geometry was studied. Joints with optimized properties (full penetration, soundness, smooth transition from bead to base material) were produced with 200 μm and 600 μm process fibres, while fiber with 300 μm core diameter produced welds with unacceptable levels of porosity.

Assessment of Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of Activated Tungsten Inert Gas-Welded Duplex Stainless Steel Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alwin, B.; Lakshminarayanan, A. K.; Vasudevan, M.; Vasantharaja, P.

2017-12-01

The stress corrosion cracking behavior of duplex stainless steel (DSS) weld joint largely depends on the ferrite-austenite phase microstructure balance. This phase balance is decided by the welding process used, heat input, welding conditions and the weld metal chemistry. In this investigation, the influence of activated tungsten inert gas (ATIG) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance of DSS joints was evaluated and compared. Boiling magnesium chloride (45 wt.%) environment maintained at 155 °C was used. The microstructure and ferrite content of different weld zones are correlated with the outcome of sustained load, SCC test. Irrespective of the welding processes used, SCC resistance of weld joints was inferior to that of the base metal. However, ATIG weld joint exhibited superior resistance to SCC than the TIG weld joint. The crack initiation and final failure were in the weld metal for the ATIG weld joint; they were in the heat-affected zone for the TIG weld joint.

Process modeling and parameter optimization using radial basis function neural network and genetic algorithm for laser welding of dissimilar materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Yuewei; Shao, Xinyu; Jiang, Ping; Li, Peigen; Liu, Yang; Yue, Chen

2015-11-01

The welded joints of dissimilar materials have been widely used in automotive, ship and space industries. The joint quality is often evaluated by weld seam geometry, microstructures and mechanical properties. To obtain the desired weld seam geometry and improve the quality of welded joints, this paper proposes a process modeling and parameter optimization method to obtain the weld seam with minimum width and desired depth of penetration for laser butt welding of dissimilar materials. During the process, Taguchi experiments are conducted on the laser welding of the low carbon steel (Q235) and stainless steel (SUS301L-HT). The experimental results are used to develop the radial basis function neural network model, and the process parameters are optimized by genetic algorithm. The proposed method is validated by a confirmation experiment. Simultaneously, the microstructures and mechanical properties of the weld seam generated from optimal process parameters are further studied by optical microscopy and tensile strength test. Compared with the unoptimized weld seam, the welding defects are eliminated in the optimized weld seam and the mechanical properties are improved. The results show that the proposed method is effective and reliable for improving the quality of welded joints in practical production.

Plasma Processes of Cutting and Welding

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-02-01

TIG process. 2.2.2 Keyhole Welding In plasma arc welding , the term...Cutting 3 3 4 4 4 2.2 Plasma Arc Welding 5 2.2.1 Needle Arc Welding 2.2.2 Keyhole Welding 5 6 3. Applications 8 93.1 Economics 4. Environmental Aspects of...Arc Lengths III. Needle Arc Welding Conditions IV. Keyhole Welding Conditions v. Chemical Analyses of Plates Used - vii - 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Research on High-Strength Steels with an Improved Resistance against Weld Cracking.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

rate. The cooling rate is also dependent upon the welding process selected. Gas Tungsten Arc Welding ( GTAW ), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), and Shielded...displacement (COD) was used to measure the magnitude 45 GTAW , GMAW, SMAW - SAW j ESW APPROXIMATE RANGES FOR WELDING PROCESSES Increased Martensite...following processes when joining metal, in order of decreasing frequency: GMAW, SMAW, GTAW , SAW, FCAW, and Electrogas welding. 0 The various regulatory

Automatic welding of stainless steel tubing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clautice, W. E.

1978-01-01

The use of automatic welding for making girth welds in stainless steel tubing was investigated as well as the reduction in fabrication costs resulting from the elimination of radiographic inspection. Test methodology, materials, and techniques are discussed, and data sheets for individual tests are included. Process variables studied include welding amperes, revolutions per minute, and shielding gas flow. Strip chart recordings, as a definitive method of insuring weld quality, are studied. Test results, determined by both radiographic and visual inspection, are presented and indicate that once optimum welding procedures for specific sizes of tubing are established, and the welding machine operations are certified, then the automatic tube welding process produces good quality welds repeatedly, with a high degree of reliability. Revised specifications for welding tubing using the automatic process and weld visual inspection requirements at the Kennedy Space Center are enumerated.

Integrated optical sensor

DOEpatents

Watkins, Arthur D.; Smartt, Herschel B.; Taylor, Paul L.

1994-01-01

An integrated optical sensor for arc welding having multifunction feedback control. The sensor, comprising generally a CCD camera and diode laser, is positioned behind the arc torch for measuring weld pool position and width, standoff distance, and post-weld centerline cooling rate. Computer process information from this sensor is passed to a controlling computer for use in feedback control loops to aid in the control of the welding process. Weld pool position and width are used in a feedback loop, by the weld controller, to track the weld pool relative to the weld joint. Sensor standoff distance is used in a feedback loop to control the contact tip to base metal distance during the welding process. Cooling rate information is used to determine the final metallurgical state of the weld bead and heat affected zone, thereby controlling post-weld mechanical properties.

Integrated optical sensor

DOEpatents

Watkins, A.D.; Smartt, H.B.; Taylor, P.L.

1994-01-04

An integrated optical sensor for arc welding having multifunction feedback control is described. The sensor, comprising generally a CCD camera and diode laser, is positioned behind the arc torch for measuring weld pool position and width, standoff distance, and post-weld centerline cooling rate. Computer process information from this sensor is passed to a controlling computer for use in feedback control loops to aid in the control of the welding process. Weld pool position and width are used in a feedback loop, by the weld controller, to track the weld pool relative to the weld joint. Sensor standoff distance is used in a feedback loop to control the contact tip to base metal distance during the welding process. Cooling rate information is used to determine the final metallurgical state of the weld bead and heat affected zone, thereby controlling post-weld mechanical properties. 6 figures.

Weld bonding of titanium with polyimide adhesives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, R. W.; Sheppard, C. H.; Orell, M. K.

1975-01-01

A conductive adhesive primer and a capillary flow adhesive were developed for weld bonding titanium alloy joints. Both formulations contained ingredients considered to be non-carcinogenic. Lap-shear joint test specimens and stringer-stiffened panels were weld bonded using a capillary flow process to apply the adhesive. Static property information was generated for weld bonded joints over the temperature range of 219K (-65 F) to 561K (550 F). The capillary flow process was demonstrated to produce weld bonded joints of equal strength to the weld through weld bonding process developed previously.

Ultrasonic Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nabors, Sammy

2015-01-01

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Ultrasonic Stir Welding (USW) to join large pieces of very high-strength metals such as titanium and Inconel. USW, a solid-state weld process, improves current thermal stir welding processes by adding high-power ultrasonic (HPU) energy at 20 kHz frequency. The addition of ultrasonic energy significantly reduces axial, frictional, and shear forces; increases travel rates; and reduces wear on the stir rod, which results in extended stir rod life. The USW process decouples the heating, stirring, and forging elements found in the friction stir welding process allowing for independent control of each process element and, ultimately, greater process control and repeatability. Because of the independent control of USW process elements, closed-loop temperature control can be integrated into the system so that a constant weld nugget temperature can be maintained during welding.

Comparison of stainless and mild steel welding fumes in generation of reactive oxygen species.

PubMed

Leonard, Stephen S; Chen, Bean T; Stone, Samuel G; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Kenyon, Allison J; Frazer, David; Antonini, James M

2010-11-03

Welding fumes consist of a wide range of complex metal oxide particles which can be deposited in all regions of the respiratory tract. The welding aerosol is not homogeneous and is generated mostly from the electrode/wire. Over 390,000 welders were reported in the U.S. in 2008 while over 1 million full-time welders were working worldwide. Many health effects are presently under investigation from exposure to welding fumes. Welding fume pulmonary effects have been associated with bronchitis, metal fume fever, cancer and functional changes in the lung. Our investigation focused on the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species from stainless and mild steel welding fumes generated by a gas metal arc robotic welder. An inhalation exposure chamber located at NIOSH was used to collect the welding fume particles. Our results show that hydroxyl radicals (.OH) were generated from reactions with H2O2 and after exposure to cells. Catalase reduced the generation of .OH from exposed cells indicating the involvement of H2O2. The welding fume suspension also showed the ability to cause lipid peroxidation, effect O2 consumption, induce H2O2 generation in cells, and cause DNA damage. Increase in oxidative damage observed in the cellular exposures correlated well with .OH generation in size and type of welding fumes, indicating the influence of metal type and transition state on radical production as well as associated damage. Our results demonstrate that both types of welding fumes are able to generate ROS and ROS-related damage over a range of particle sizes; however, the stainless steel fumes consistently showed a significantly higher reactivity and radical generation capacity. The chemical composition of the steel had a significant impact on the ROS generation capacity with the stainless steel containing Cr and Ni causing more damage than the mild steel. Our results suggest that welding fumes may cause acute lung injury. Since type of fume generated, particle size, and elapsed time after generation of the welding exposure are significant factors in radical generation and particle deposition these factors should be considered when developing protective strategies.

Comparison of stainless and mild steel welding fumes in generation of reactive oxygen species

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Welding fumes consist of a wide range of complex metal oxide particles which can be deposited in all regions of the respiratory tract. The welding aerosol is not homogeneous and is generated mostly from the electrode/wire. Over 390,000 welders were reported in the U.S. in 2008 while over 1 million full-time welders were working worldwide. Many health effects are presently under investigation from exposure to welding fumes. Welding fume pulmonary effects have been associated with bronchitis, metal fume fever, cancer and functional changes in the lung. Our investigation focused on the generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species from stainless and mild steel welding fumes generated by a gas metal arc robotic welder. An inhalation exposure chamber located at NIOSH was used to collect the welding fume particles. Results Our results show that hydroxyl radicals (.OH) were generated from reactions with H2O2 and after exposure to cells. Catalase reduced the generation of .OH from exposed cells indicating the involvement of H2O2. The welding fume suspension also showed the ability to cause lipid peroxidation, effect O2 consumption, induce H2O2 generation in cells, and cause DNA damage. Conclusion Increase in oxidative damage observed in the cellular exposures correlated well with .OH generation in size and type of welding fumes, indicating the influence of metal type and transition state on radical production as well as associated damage. Our results demonstrate that both types of welding fumes are able to generate ROS and ROS-related damage over a range of particle sizes; however, the stainless steel fumes consistently showed a significantly higher reactivity and radical generation capacity. The chemical composition of the steel had a significant impact on the ROS generation capacity with the stainless steel containing Cr and Ni causing more damage than the mild steel. Our results suggest that welding fumes may cause acute lung injury. Since type of fume generated, particle size, and elapsed time after generation of the welding exposure are significant factors in radical generation and particle deposition these factors should be considered when developing protective strategies. PMID:21047424

Method for enhanced control of welding processes

DOEpatents

Sheaffer, Donald A.; Renzi, Ronald F.; Tung, David M.; Schroder, Kevin

2000-01-01

Method and system for producing high quality welds in welding processes, in general, and gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding, in particular by controlling weld penetration. Light emitted from a weld pool is collected from the backside of a workpiece by optical means during welding and transmitted to a digital video camera for further processing, after the emitted light is first passed through a short wavelength pass filter to remove infrared radiation. By filtering out the infrared component of the light emitted from the backside weld pool image, the present invention provides for the accurate determination of the weld pool boundary. Data from the digital camera is fed to an imaging board which focuses on a 100.times.100 pixel portion of the image. The board performs a thresholding operation and provides this information to a digital signal processor to compute the backside weld pool dimensions and area. This information is used by a control system, in a dynamic feedback mode, to automatically adjust appropriate parameters of a welding system, such as the welding current, to control weld penetration and thus, create a uniform weld bead and high quality weld.

A laser-based vision system for weld quality inspection.

PubMed

Huang, Wei; Kovacevic, Radovan

2011-01-01

Welding is a very complex process in which the final weld quality can be affected by many process parameters. In order to inspect the weld quality and detect the presence of various weld defects, different methods and systems are studied and developed. In this paper, a laser-based vision system is developed for non-destructive weld quality inspection. The vision sensor is designed based on the principle of laser triangulation. By processing the images acquired from the vision sensor, the geometrical features of the weld can be obtained. Through the visual analysis of the acquired 3D profiles of the weld, the presences as well as the positions and sizes of the weld defects can be accurately identified and therefore, the non-destructive weld quality inspection can be achieved.

A Laser-Based Vision System for Weld Quality Inspection

PubMed Central

Huang, Wei; Kovacevic, Radovan

2011-01-01

Welding is a very complex process in which the final weld quality can be affected by many process parameters. In order to inspect the weld quality and detect the presence of various weld defects, different methods and systems are studied and developed. In this paper, a laser-based vision system is developed for non-destructive weld quality inspection. The vision sensor is designed based on the principle of laser triangulation. By processing the images acquired from the vision sensor, the geometrical features of the weld can be obtained. Through the visual analysis of the acquired 3D profiles of the weld, the presences as well as the positions and sizes of the weld defects can be accurately identified and therefore, the non-destructive weld quality inspection can be achieved. PMID:22344308

Application of TRIZ Methodology in Diffusion Welding System Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravinder Reddy, N.; Satyanarayana, V. V.; Prashanthi, M.; Suguna, N.

2017-12-01

Welding is tremendously used in metal joining processes in the manufacturing process. In recent years, diffusion welding method has significantly increased the quality of a weld. Nevertheless, diffusion welding has some extent short research and application progress. Therefore, diffusion welding has a lack of relevant information, concerned with the joining of thick and thin materials with or without interlayers, on welding design such as fixture, parameters selection and integrated design. This article intends to combine innovative methods in the application of diffusion welding design. This will help to decrease trial and error or failure risks in the welding process being guided by the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) design method. This article hopes to provide welding design personnel with innovative design ideas under research and for practical application.

Control of Gas Tungsten Arc welding pool shape by trace element addition to the weld pool

DOEpatents

Heiple, C.R.; Burgardt, P.

1984-03-13

An improved process for Gas Tungsten Arc welding maximizes the depth/width ratio of the weld pool by adding a sufficient amount of a surface active element to insure inward fluid flow, resulting in deep, narrow welds. The process is especially useful to eliminate variable weld penetration and shape in GTA welding of steels and stainless steels, particularly by using a sulfur-doped weld wire in a cold wire feed technique.

Study on Dynamic Development of Three-dimensional Weld Pool Surface in Stationary GTAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jiankang; He, Jing; He, Xiaoying; Shi, Yu; Fan, Ding

2018-04-01

The weld pool contains abundant information about the welding process. In particular, the type of the weld pool surface shape, i. e., convex or concave, is determined by the weld penetration. To detect it, an innovative laser-vision-based sensing method is employed to observe the weld pool surface of the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). A low-power laser dots pattern is projected onto the entire weld pool surface. Its reflection is intercepted by a screen and captured by a camera. Then the dynamic development process of the weld pool surface can be detected. By observing and analyzing, the change of the reflected laser dots reflection pattern, for shape of the weld pool surface shape, was found to closely correlate to the penetration of weld pool in the welding process. A mathematical model was proposed to correlate the incident ray, reflected ray, screen and surface of weld pool based on structured laser specular reflection. The dynamic variation of the weld pool surface and its corresponding dots laser pattern were simulated and analyzed. By combining the experimental data and the mathematical analysis, the results show that the pattern of the reflected laser dots pattern is closely correlated to the development of weld pool, such as the weld penetration. The concavity of the pool surface was found to increase rapidly after the surface shape was changed from convex to concave during the stationary GTAW process.

Influence of shielding gas pressure on welding characteristics in CO2 laser-MIG hybrid welding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yanbin; Lei, Zhenglong; Li, Liqun; Wu, Lin

2006-01-01

The droplet transfer behavior and weld characteristics have been investigated under different pressures of shielding gas in CO2 laser and metal inert/active gas (laser-MIG) hybrid welding process. The experimental results indicate that the inherent droplet transfer frequency and stable welding range of conventional MIG arc are changed due to the interaction between CO2 laser beam and MIG arc in laser-MIG hybrid welding process, and the shielding gas pressure has a crucial effect on welding characteristics. When the pressure of shielding gas is low in comparison with MIG welding, the frequency of droplet transfer decreases, and the droplet transfer becomes unstable in laser-MIG hybrid welding. So the penetration depth decreases, which shows the characteristic of unstable hybrid welding. However, when the pressure of shielding gas increases to a critical value, the hybrid welding characteristic is changed from unstable hybrid welding to stable hybrid welding, and the frequency of droplet transfer and the penetration depth increase significantly.

Monitoring the quality of welding based on welding current and ste analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazlan, Afidatusshimah; Daniyal, Hamdan; Izzani Mohamed, Amir; Ishak, Mahadzir; Hadi, Amran Abdul

2017-10-01

Qualities of welding play an important part in industry especially in manufacturing field. Post-welding non-destructive test is one of the importance process to ensure the quality of welding but it is time consuming and costly. To reduce the chance of defects, online monitoring had been utilized by continuously sense some of welding parameters and predict welding quality. One of the parameters is welding current, which is rich of information but lack of study focus on extract them at signal analysis level. This paper presents the analysis of welding current using Short Time Energy (STE) signal processing to quantify the pattern of the current. GMAW set with carbon steel specimens are used in this experimental study with high-bandwidth and high sampling rate oscilloscope capturing the welding current. The results indicate welding current as signatures have high correlation with the welding process. Continue with STE analysis, the value below 5000 is declare as good welding, meanwhile the STE value more than 6000 is contained defect.

Effect of Welding Process on Microstructure, Mechanical and Pitting Corrosion Behaviour of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, Raffi; Madhusudhan Reddy, G.; Srinivasa Rao, K.

2018-03-01

An attempt has been made to weld 2205 Duplex stainless steel of 6mm thick plate using conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and activated gas tungsten arc welding (A- GTAW) process using silica powder as activated flux. Present work is aimed at studying the effect of welding process on depth of penetration, width of weld zone of 2205 duplex stainless steel. It also aims to observe the microstructural changes and its effect on mechanical properties and pitting corrosion resistance of 2205 duplex stainless steel welds. Metallography is done to observe the microstructural changes of the welds using image analyzer attached to the optical microscopy. Hardness studies, tensile and ductility bend tests were evaluated for mechanical properties. Potentio-dynamic polarization studies were carried out using a basic GillAC electro-chemical system in 3.5% NaCl solution to observe the pitting corrosion behaviour. Results of the present investigation established that increased depth of penetration and reduction of weld width in a single pass by activated GTAW with the application of SiO2 flux was observed when compared with conventional GTAW process. It may be attributed to the arc constriction effect. Microstructure of the weld zones for both the welds is observed to be having combination of austenite and delta ferrite. Grain boundary austenite (GBA) with Widmanstatten-type austenite (WA) of plate-like feature was nucleated from the grain boundaries in the weld zone of A-GTAW process. Mechanical properties are relatively low in activated GTAW process and are attributed to changes in microstructural morphology of austenite. Improved pitting corrosion resistance was observed for the welds made with A-GTAW process.

Experimental investigation on the weld pool formation process in plasma keyhole arc welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Anh, Nguyen; Tashiro, Shinichi; Van Hanh, Bui; Tanaka, Manabu

2018-01-01

This paper seeks to clarify the weld pool formation process in plasma keyhole arc welding (PKAW). We adopted, for the first time, the measurement of the 3D convection inside the weld pool in PKAW by stereo synchronous imaging of tungsten tracer particles using two sets of x-ray transmission systems. The 2D convection on the weld pool surface was also measured using zirconia tracer particles. Through these measurements, the convection in a wide range of weld pools from the vicinity of the keyhole to the rear region was successfully visualized. In order to discuss the heat transport process in a weld pool, the 2D temperature distribution on the weld pool surface was also measured by two-color pyrometry. The results of the comprehensive experimental measurement indicate that the shear force due to plasma flow is found to be the dominant driving force in the weld pool formation process in PKAW. Thus, heat transport in a weld pool is considered to be governed by two large convective patterns near the keyhole: (1) eddy pairs on the surface (perpendicular to the torch axis), and (2) eddy pairs on the bulk of the weld pool (on the plane of the torch). They are formed with an equal velocity of approximately 0.35 m s-1 and are mainly driven by shear force. Furthermore, the flow velocity of the weld pool convection becomes considerably higher than that of other welding processes, such as TIG welding and GMA welding, due to larger plasma flow velocity.

Conceptual design of modular fixture for frame welding and drilling process integration case study: Student chair in UNS industrial engineering integrated practicum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darmawan, Tofiq Dwiki; Priadythama, Ilham; Herdiman, Lobes

2018-02-01

Welding and drilling are main processes of making chair frame from metal material. Commonly, chair frame construction includes many arcs which bring difficulties for its welding and drilling process. In UNS industrial engineering integrated practicum there are welding fixtures which use to fixing frame component position for welding purpose. In order to achieve exact holes position for assembling purpose, manual drilling processes were conducted after the frame was joined. Unfortunately, after it was welded the frame material become hard and increase drilling tools wear rate as well as reduce holes position accuracy. The previous welding fixture was not equipped with clamping system and cannot accommodate drilling process. To solve this problem, our idea is to reorder the drilling process so that it can be execute before welding. Thus, this research aims to propose conceptual design of modular fixture which can integrate welding and drilling process. We used Generic Product Development Process to address the design concept. We collected design requirements from 3 source, jig and fixture theoretical concepts, user requirements, and clamping part standards. From 2 alternatives fixture tables, we propose the first which equipped with mounting slots instead of holes. We test the concept by building a full sized prototype and test its works by conducting welding and drilling of a student chair frame. Result from the welding and drilling trials showed that the holes are on precise position after welding. Based on this result, we conclude that the concept can be a consideration for application in UNS Industrial Engineering Integrated Practicum.

Influence of Processing Parameters on the Flow Path in Friction Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, J. A.; Nunes, A. C., Jr.

2006-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid phase welding process that unites thermal and mechanical aspects to produce a high quality joint. The process variables are rpm, translational weld speed, and downward plunge force. The strain-temperature history of a metal element at each point on the cross-section of the weld is determined by the individual flow path taken by the particular filament of metal flowing around the tool as influenced by the process variables. The resulting properties of the weld are determined by the strain-temperature history. Thus to control FSW properties, improved understanding of the processing parameters on the metal flow path is necessary.

Peculiarities of metal welding process modelling for the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagunov, Alexey; Fofanov, Andrey; Losunov, Anton

2017-09-01

M etal being rather tough has been used in the Arctic for a long time. In severe weather conditions metal construction is subject to strong corrosion and erosion. These processes affect the welds particular strongly. Violation of weld integrity leads to the different industrial accidents. Therefore, the welding quality is given such a strong focus. M ost high-quality welding is obtained if welding zone is provided with gas what eliminates the influence of oxygen on the process. But in this case it is very difficult to find the right concentration, gas pressure, direction of the jet. Study of the welding process using video and photography is expensive, in terms of money and time. Mathematical modelling of welding process using the program FlowVision enables to solve this issue at less cost. It's essential that obtained results qualitatively conform to the experimental ones and can be used in real application.

Nondestructive Evaluation of the Friction Weld Process on 2195/2219 Grade Aluminum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suits, Michael W.; Clark, Linda S.; Cox, Dwight E.

1999-01-01

In 1996, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center began an ambitious program designed to find alternative methods of repairing conventional TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welds and VPPA (Variable Polarity Plasma Arc) welds on the Space Shuttle External Tank without producing additional heat-related anomalies or conditions. Therefore, a relatively new method, invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in Cambridge, England, called Friction Stir Welding (FSW), was investigated for use in this application, as well as being used potentially as an initial weld process. As with the conventional repair welding processes, nondestructive evaluation (NDE) plays a crucial role in the verification of these repairs. Since it was feared that conventional NDE might have trouble with this type of weld structure (due to shape of nugget, grain structure, etc.) it was imperative that a complete study be performed to address the adequacy of the NDE process. This paper summarizes that process.

Method for controlling gas metal arc welding

DOEpatents

Smartt, Herschel B.; Einerson, Carolyn J.; Watkins, Arthur D.

1989-01-01

The heat input and mass input in a Gas Metal Arc welding process are controlled by a method that comprises calculating appropriate values for weld speed, filler wire feed rate and an expected value for the welding current by algorithmic function means, applying such values for weld speed and filler wire feed rate to the welding process, measuring the welding current, comparing the measured current to the calculated current, using said comparison to calculate corrections for the weld speed and filler wire feed rate, and applying corrections.

Towards Real Time Diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Timothy Mcjunkin; Dennis C. Kunerth; Corrie Nichol

2013-07-01

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defectsmore » or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.« less

Towards real time diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McJunkin, T. R.; Kunerth, D. C.; Nichol, C. I.

2014-02-18

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defectsmore » or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.« less

Towards real time diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McJunkin, T. R.; Kunerth, D. C.; Nichol, C. I.; Todorov, E.; Levesque, S.

2014-02-01

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defects or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.

Friction Stir Welding of Steel Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey; Munafo, Paul M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The friction stir welding process has been developed primarily for the welding of aluminum alloys. Other higher melting allows such, as steels are much more difficult to join. Special attention must be given to pin tool material selection and welding techniques. This paper addresses the joining of steels and other high melting point materials using the friction stir welding process. Pin tool material and welding parameters will be presented. Mechanical properties of weldments will also be presented. Significance: There are many applications for the friction stir welding process other than low melting aluminum alloys. The FSW process can be expanded for use with high melting alloys in the pressure vessel, railroad and ship building industries.

Computational simulation of weld microstructure and distortion by considering process mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mochizuki, M.; Mikami, Y.; Okano, S.; Itoh, S.

2009-05-01

Highly precise fabrication of welded materials is in great demand, and so microstructure and distortion controls are essential. Furthermore, consideration of process mechanics is important for intelligent fabrication. In this study, the microstructure and hardness distribution in multi-pass weld metal are evaluated by computational simulations under the conditions of multiple heat cycles and phase transformation. Because conventional CCT diagrams of weld metal are not available even for single-pass weld metal, new diagrams for multi-pass weld metals are created. The weld microstructure and hardness distribution are precisely predicted when using the created CCT diagram for multi-pass weld metal and calculating the weld thermal cycle. Weld distortion is also investigated by using numerical simulation with a thermal elastic-plastic analysis. In conventional evaluations of weld distortion, the average heat input has been used as the dominant parameter; however, it is difficult to consider the effect of molten pool configurations on weld distortion based only on the heat input. Thus, the effect of welding process conditions on weld distortion is studied by considering molten pool configurations, determined by temperature distribution and history.

Friction Stir Welding Development at NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGill, Preston; Gentz, Steve (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state process that pan be used to join materials without melting. The process was invented by The Welding Institute (TWI), Cambridge, England. Friction stir welding exhibits several advantages over fusion welding in that it produces welds with fewer defects and higher joint efficiency and is capable of joining alloys that are generally considered non-weldable with a fusion weld process. In 1994, NASA-Marshall began collaborating with TWI to transform FSW from a laboratory curiosity to a viable metal joining process suitable for manufacturing hardware. While teamed with TWI, NASA-Marshall began its own FSW research and development effort to investigate possible aerospace applications for the FSW process. The work involved nearly all aspects of FSW development, including process modeling, scale-up issues, applications to advanced materials and development of tooling to use FSW on components of the Space Shuttle with particular emphasis on aluminum tanks. The friction stir welding process involves spinning a pin-tool at an appropriate speed, plunging it into the base metal pieces to be joined, and then translating it along the joint of the work pieces. In aluminum alloys the rotating speed typically ranges from 200 to 400 revolutions per minute and the translation speed is approximately two to five inches per minute. The pin-tool is inserted at a small lead angle from the axis normal to the work piece and requires significant loading along the axis of the tool. An anvil or reaction structure is required behind the welded material to react the load along the axis of the pin tool. The process requires no external heat input, filler material, protective shielding gas or inert atmosphere typical of fusion weld processes. The FSW solid-state weld process has resulted in aluminum welds with significantly higher strengths, higher joint efficiencies and fewer defects than fusion welds used to join similar alloys.

Dredge Mooring Study Recommended Design, Phase 2 Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-01

processes are acceptable under this Specification: a. Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW). b. Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding ( GTAW or TIG). c. Gas Metal-Arc...the GTAW process. 11.3.9.3 For welding of stainless steel pipe, the GTAW process shall be used on the root pass of open butt joints welded from one...whichever is greater, from each edge of the weld (t = wall thickness of the thickest part being welded). 11.3.11.5 Postweld heat treatment for chromium

Process Parameter Optimization for Wobbling Laser Spot Welding of Ti6Al4V Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vakili-Farahani, F.; Lungershausen, J.; Wasmer, K.

Laser beam welding (LBW) coupled with "wobble effect" (fast oscillation of the laser beam) is very promising for high precision micro-joining industry. For this process, similarly to the conventional LBW, the laser welding process parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of a weld joint. Consequently, four process parameters (laser power, wobble frequency, number of rotations within a single laser pulse and focused position) and 5 responses (penetration, width, heat affected zone (HAZ), area of the fusion zone, area of HAZ and hardness) were investigated for spot welding of Ti6Al4V alloy (grade 5) using a design of experiments (DoE) approach. This paper presents experimental results showing the effects of variating the considered most important process parameters on the spot weld quality of Ti6Al4V alloy. Semi-empirical mathematical models were developed to correlate laser welding parameters to each of the measured weld responses. Adequacies of the models were then examined by various methods such as ANOVA. These models not only allows a better understanding of the wobble laser welding process and predict the process performance but also determines optimal process parameters. Therefore, optimal combination of process parameters was determined considering certain quality criteria set.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Korinko, P.; Howard, S.; Maxwell, D.

During final preparations for start of the PDCF Inner Can (IC) qualification effort, welding was performed on an automated weld system known as the PICN. During the initial weld, using a pedigree canister and plug, a weld defect was observed. The defect resulted in a hole in the sidewall of the canister, and it was observed that the plug sidewall had not been consumed. This was a new type of failure not seen during development and production of legacy Bagless Transfer Cans (FB-Line/Hanford). Therefore, a team was assembled to determine the root cause and to determine if the process couldmore » be improved. After several brain storming sessions (MS and T, R and D Engineering, PDC Project), an evaluation matrix was established to direct this effort. The matrix identified numerous activities that could be taken and then prioritized those activities. This effort was limited by both time and resources (the number of canisters and plugs available for testing was limited). A discovery process was initiated to evaluate the Vendor's IC fabrication process relative to legacy processes. There were no significant findings, however, some information regarding forging/anneal processes could not be obtained. Evaluations were conducted to compare mechanical properties of the PDC canisters relative to the legacy canisters. Some differences were identified, but mechanical properties were determined to be consistent with legacy materials. A number of process changes were also evaluated. A heat treatment procedure was established that could reduce the magnetic characteristics to levels similar to the legacy materials. An in-situ arc annealing process was developed that resulted in improved weld characteristics for test articles. Also several tack welds configurations were addressed, it was found that increasing the number of tack welds (and changing the sequence) resulted in decreased can to plug gaps and a more stable weld for test articles. Incorporating all of the process improvements for the actual can welding process, however, did not result in an improved weld geometry. Several possibilities for the lack of positive response exist, some of which are that (1) an insufficient number of test articles were welded under prototypic conditions, (2) the process was not optimized so that significant improvements were observable over the 'noise', and (3) the in-situ arc anneal closed the gap down too much so the can was unable to exhaust pressure ahead of the weld. Several operational and mechanical improvements were identified. The weld clamps were changed to a design consistent with those used in the legacy operations. A helium puff operation was eliminated; it is believed that this operation was the cause of the original weld defect. Also, timing of plug mast movement was found to correspond with weld irregularities. The timing of the movement was changed to occur during weld head travel between tacks. In the end a three sequential tack weld process followed by a pulse weld at the same current and travel speed as was used for the legacy processes was suggested for use during the IC qualification effort. Relative to legacy welds, the PDC IC weld demonstrates greater fluctuation in the region of the weld located between tack welds. However, canister weld response (canister to canister) is consistent and with the aid of the optical mapping system (for targeting the cut position) is considered adequate. DR measurements and METs show the PDC IC welds to have sufficient ligament length to ensure adequate canister pressure/impact capacity and to ensure adequate stub function. The PDC welding process has not been optimized as a result of this effort. Differences remain between the legacy BTC welds and the PDC IC weld, but these differences are not sufficient to prevent resumption of the current PDC IC qualification effort. During the PDC IC qualification effort, a total of 17 cans will be welded and a variety of tests/inspections will be performed. The extensive data collected during that qualification effort should be of a sufficient population to determine if additional weld process optimization is necessary prior to production release.« less

An optimization method for defects reduction in fiber laser keyhole welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Yuewei; Jiang, Ping; Shao, Xinyu; Wang, Chunming; Li, Peigen; Mi, Gaoyang; Liu, Yang; Liu, Wei

2016-01-01

Laser welding has been widely used in automotive, power, chemical, nuclear and aerospace industries. The quality of welded joints is closely related to the existing defects which are primarily determined by the welding process parameters. This paper proposes a defects optimization method that takes the formation mechanism of welding defects and weld geometric features into consideration. The analysis of welding defects formation mechanism aims to investigate the relationship between welding defects and process parameters, and weld features are considered to identify the optimal process parameters for the desired welded joints with minimum defects. The improved back-propagation neural network possessing good modeling for nonlinear problems is adopted to establish the mathematical model and the obtained model is solved by genetic algorithm. The proposed method is validated by macroweld profile, microstructure and microhardness in the confirmation tests. The results show that the proposed method is effective at reducing welding defects and obtaining high-quality joints for fiber laser keyhole welding in practical production.

Effects of Flux Precoating and Process Parameter on Welding Performance of Inconel 718 Alloy TIG Welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Hsuan-Liang; Wu, Tong-Min; Cheng, Ching-Min

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of activating flux on the depth-to-width ratio (DWR) and hot cracking susceptibility of Inconel 718 alloy tungsten inert gas (TIG) welds. The Taguchi method is employed to investigate the welding parameters that affect the DWR of weld bead and to achieve optimal conditions in the TIG welds that are coated with activating flux in TIG (A-TIG) process. There are eight single-component fluxes used in the initial experiment to evaluate the penetration capability of A-TIG welds. The experimental results show that the Inconel 718 alloy welds precoated with 50% SiO2 and 50% MoO3 flux were provided with better welding performance such as DWR and hot cracking susceptibility. The experimental procedure of TIG welding process using mixed-component flux and optimal conditions not only produces a significant increase in DWR of weld bead, but also decreases the hot cracking susceptibility of Inconel 718 alloy welds.

Mathematical Model Of Variable-Polarity Plasma Arc Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, R. J.

1996-01-01

Mathematical model of variable-polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding process developed for use in predicting characteristics of welds and thus serves as guide for selection of process parameters. Parameters include welding electric currents in, and durations of, straight and reverse polarities; rates of flow of plasma and shielding gases; and sizes and relative positions of welding electrode, welding orifice, and workpiece.

Study of issues in difficult-to-weld thick materials by hybrid laser arc welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazar Atabaki, Mehdi

There is a high interest for the high strength-to-weight ratio with good ductility for the welds of advanced alloys. The concern about the welding of thick materials (Advanced high strength steels (AHSS) and 5xxx and 6xxx series of aluminum alloys) has stimulated the development of manufacturing processes to overcome the associated issues. The need to weld the dissimilar materials (AHSS and aluminum alloys) is also required for some specific applications in different industries. Hence, the requirement in the development of a state-of-the-art welding procedure can be helpful to fulfill the constraints. Among the welding methods hybrid laser/arc welding (HLAW) has shown to be an effective method to join thick and difficult-to-weld materials. This process benefits from both advantages of the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and laser welding processes. The interaction of the arc and laser can help to have enough penetration of weld in thick plates. However, as the welding of dissimilar aluminum alloys and steels is very difficult because of the formation of brittle intermetallics the present work proposed a procedure to effectively join the alloys. The reports showed that the explosively welded aluminum alloys to steels have the highest toughness, and that could be used as an "insert" (TRICLAD) for welding the thick plates of AHSS to aluminum alloys. Therefore, the HLAW of the TRICLAD-Flange side (Aluminum alloy (AA 5456)) to the Web side (Aluminum alloys (AA 6061 and AA 5456)) and the TRICLAD-Flange side (ASTM A516) to the Web side (AHSS) was studied in the present work. However, there are many issues related to HLAW of the dissimilar steels as well as dissimilar aluminum alloys that have to be resolved in order to obtain sound welds. To address the challenges, the most recent welding methods for joining aluminum alloys to steels were studied and the microstructural development, mechanical properties, and on-line monitoring of the welding processes were discussed as well. The heat and mass transfer and the issues in joining of dissimilar alloys by the hybrid laser/arc welding process (HLAW) were explicitly explained in details. A finite element model was developed to simulate the heat transfer in HLAW of the aluminum alloys. Two double-ellipsoidal heat source models were considered to describe the heat input of the gas metal arc welding and laser welding processes. An experimental procedure was also developed for joining thick advanced high strength steel plates by using the HLAW, by taking into consideration different butt joint configurations. The geometry of the weld groove was optimized according to the requirements of ballistic test, where the length of the softened heat affected zone should be less than 15.9 mm measured from the weld centerline. Since the main issue in HLAW of the AHSS was the formation of the pores, the possible mechanisms of the pores formation and their mitigation methods during the welding process were investigated. Mitigation methods were proposed to reduce the pores inside in the weld area and the influence of each method on the process stability was investigated by an on-line monitoring system of the HLAW process. The groove angle was optimized for the welding process based on the allowed amount of heat input along the TRICLADRTM interface generated by an explosive welding. The weld was fractured in the heat affected zone of the aluminum side in the tensile test. The microharness was shown that the temperature variation caused minor softening in the heat affected zone satisfying the requirement that the width of the softened heat affected zone in the steel side falls within 15.9 mm far away from the weld centerline. The microstructure analysis showed the presence of tempered martensite at the vicinity of the weld area, which it was a cause of softening in the heat affected zone.

Studies on A-TIG welding of Low Activation Ferritic/Martensitic (LAFM) steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasantharaja, P.; Vasudevan, M.

2012-02-01

Low Activation Ferritic-Martensitic steels (LAFM) are chosen as the candidate material for structural components in fusion reactors. The structural components are generally fabricated by welding processes. Activated Tungsten Inert Gas (A-TIG) welding is an emerging process for welding of thicker components. In the present work, attempt was made to develop A-TIG welding technology for LAFM steel plates of 10 mm thick. Activated flux was developed for LAFM steel by carrying out various bead-on-plate TIG welds without flux and with flux. The optimum flux was identified as one which gave maximum depth of penetration at minimum heat input values. With the optimized flux composition, LAFM steel plate of 10 mm thickness was welded in square butt weld joint configuration using double side welding technique. Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy was used for characterizing the microstructures. Microhardness measurements were made across the weld cross section for as welded and post weld heat treated samples. Tensile and impact toughness properties were determined. The mechanical properties values obtained in A-TIG weld joint were comparable to that obtained in weld joints of LAFM steel made by Electron beam welding process.

A Study to Increase Weld Penetration in P91 Steel During TIG Welding by using Activating Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Akhilesh Kumar; Kumar, Mayank; Dey, Vidyut; Naresh Rai, Ram

2017-08-01

Activated Flux TIG (ATIG) welding is a unique joining process, invented at Paton Institute of electric welding in 1960. ATIG welding process is also known as flux zoned TIG (FZTIG). In this process, a thin layer of activating flux is applied along the line on the surface of the material where the welding is to be carries out. The ATIG process aids to increase the weld penetration in thick materials. Activating fluxes used in the literature show the use of oxides like TiO2, SiO2, Cr2O3, ZnO, CaO, Fe2O3, and MnO2 during welding of steels. In the present study, ATIG was carried out on P-91 steel. Though, Tungsten Inert Gas welding gives excellent quality welds, but the penetration obtained in such welding is still demanding. P91 steel which is ferritic steel is used in high temperature applications. As this steel is, generally, used in thick sections, fabrication of such structures with TIG welding is limited, due to its low depth of penetration. To increase the depth of penetration in P91while welding with ATIG, the role of various oxides were investigated. Apart from the oxides mentioned above, in the present study the role of B2O3, V2O5 and MgO, during ATIG welding of P91 was investigated. It was seen that, compared to TIG welding, there was phenomenal increase in weld penetration during ATIG welding. Amongst all the oxides used in this study, maximum penetration was achieved in case of B2O3. The measurements of weld penetration, bead width and heat affected zone of the weldings were carried out using an image analysis technique.

Variable polarity arc welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bayless, E. O., Jr.

1991-01-01

Technological advances generate within themselves dissatisfactions that lead to further advances in a process. A series of advances in welding technology which culminated in the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) Welding Process and an advance instituted to overcome the latest dissatisfactions with the process: automated VPPA welding are described briefly.

Comparative study of pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding of AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Nikhil; Mukherjee, Manidipto; Bandyopadhyay, Asish

2017-02-01

Laser welding is a potentially useful technique for joining two pieces of similar or dissimilar materials with high precision. In the present work, comparative studies on laser welding of similar metal of AISI 304SS and AISI 316SS have been conducted forming butt joints. A robotic control 600 W pulsed Nd:YAG laser source has been used for welding purpose. The effects of laser power, scanning speed and pulse width on the ultimate tensile strength and weld width have been investigated using the empirical models developed by RSM. The results of ANOVA indicate that the developed models predict the responses adequately within the limits of input parameters. 3-D response surface and contour plots have been developed to find out the combined effects of input parameters on responses. Furthermore, microstructural analysis as well as hardness and tensile behavior of the selected weld of 304SS and 316SS have been carried out to understand the metallurgical and mechanical behavior of the weld. The selection criteria are based on the maximum and minimum strength achieved by the respective weld. It has been observed that the current pulsation, base metal composition and variation in heat input have significant influence on controlling the microstructural constituents (i.e. phase fraction, grain size etc.). The result suggests that the low energy input pulsation generally produce fine grain structure and improved mechanical properties than the high energy input pulsation irrespective of base material composition. However, among the base materials, 304SS depict better microstructural and mechanical properties than the 316SS for a given parametric condition. Finally, desirability function analysis has been applied for multi-objective optimization for maximization of ultimate tensile strength and minimization of weld width simultaneously. Confirmatory tests have been conducted at optimum parametric conditions to validate the optimization techniques.

Optimization of Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) Process for Maximum Ballistic Limit in MIL A46100 Steel Welded All-Metal Armor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grujicic, M.; Ramaswami, S.; Snipes, J. S.; Yavari, R.; Yen, C.-F.; Cheeseman, B. A.

2015-01-01

Our recently developed multi-physics computational model for the conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW) joining process has been upgraded with respect to its predictive capabilities regarding the process optimization for the attainment of maximum ballistic limit within the weld. The original model consists of six modules, each dedicated to handling a specific aspect of the GMAW process, i.e., (a) electro-dynamics of the welding gun; (b) radiation-/convection-controlled heat transfer from the electric arc to the workpiece and mass transfer from the filler metal consumable electrode to the weld; (c) prediction of the temporal evolution and the spatial distribution of thermal and mechanical fields within the weld region during the GMAW joining process; (d) the resulting temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the material microstructure throughout the weld region; (e) spatial distribution of the as-welded material mechanical properties; and (f) spatial distribution of the material ballistic limit. In the present work, the model is upgraded through the introduction of the seventh module in recognition of the fact that identification of the optimum GMAW process parameters relative to the attainment of the maximum ballistic limit within the weld region entails the use of advanced optimization and statistical sensitivity analysis methods and tools. The upgraded GMAW process model is next applied to the case of butt welding of MIL A46100 (a prototypical high-hardness armor-grade martensitic steel) workpieces using filler metal electrodes made of the same material. The predictions of the upgraded GMAW process model pertaining to the spatial distribution of the material microstructure and ballistic limit-controlling mechanical properties within the MIL A46100 butt weld are found to be consistent with general expectations and prior observations.

Optimization of laser welding thin-gage galvanized steel via response surface methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yangyang; Zhang, Yansong; Hu, Wei; Lai, Xinmin

2012-09-01

The increasing demand of light weight and durability makes thin-gage galvanized steels (<0.6 mm) attractive for future automotive applications. Laser welding, well known for its deep penetration, high speed and small heat affected zone, provides a potential solution for welding thin-gage galvanized steels in automotive industry. In this study, the effect of the laser welding parameters (i.e. laser power, welding speed, gap and focal position) on the weld bead geometry (i.e. weld depth, weld width and surface concave) of 0.4 mm-thick galvanized SAE1004 steel in a lap joint configuration has been investigated by experiments. The process windows of the concerned process parameters were therefore determined. Then, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to develop models to predict the relationship between the processing parameters and the laser weld bead profile and identify the correct and optimal combination of the laser welding input variables to obtain superior weld joint. Under the optimal welding parameters, defect-free weld were produced, and the average aspect ratio increased about 30%, from 0.62 to 0.83.

Multiphysics Modeling and Simulations of Mil A46100 Armor-Grade Martensitic Steel Gas Metal Arc Welding Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grujicic, M.; Ramaswami, S.; Snipes, J. S.; Yen, C.-F.; Cheeseman, B. A.; Montgomery, J. S.

2013-10-01

A multiphysics computational model has been developed for the conventional Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) joining process and used to analyze butt-welding of MIL A46100, a prototypical high-hardness armor martensitic steel. The model consists of five distinct modules, each covering a specific aspect of the GMAW process, i.e., (a) dynamics of welding-gun behavior; (b) heat transfer from the electric arc and mass transfer from the electrode to the weld; (c) development of thermal and mechanical fields during the GMAW process; (d) the associated evolution and spatial distribution of the material microstructure throughout the weld region; and (e) the final spatial distribution of the as-welded material properties. To make the newly developed GMAW process model applicable to MIL A46100, the basic physical-metallurgy concepts and principles for this material have to be investigated and properly accounted for/modeled. The newly developed GMAW process model enables establishment of the relationship between the GMAW process parameters (e.g., open circuit voltage, welding current, electrode diameter, electrode-tip/weld distance, filler-metal feed speed, and gun travel speed), workpiece material chemistry, and the spatial distribution of as-welded material microstructure and properties. The predictions of the present GMAW model pertaining to the spatial distribution of the material microstructure and properties within the MIL A46100 weld region are found to be consistent with general expectations and prior observations.

Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welding for Aluminum Complex Curvature Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Randy J.; Martin, W.; Schneider, J.; Hartley, P. J.; Russell, Carolyn; Lawless, Kirby; Jones, Chip

2003-01-01

This viewgraph representation provides an overview of sucessful research conducted by Lockheed Martin and NASA to develop an advanced self-reacting friction stir technology for complex curvature aluminum alloys. The research included weld process development for 0.320 inch Al 2219, sucessful transfer from the 'lab' scale to the production scale tool and weld quality exceeding strenght goals. This process will enable development and implementation of large scale complex geometry hardware fabrication. Topics covered include: weld process development, weld process transfer, and intermediate hardware fabrication.

Development of an ultrasonic inspection robot using an electromagnetic acoustic transducer for a Lamb wave and an SH-plate wave.

PubMed

Murayama, Riichi; Makiyama, Shunnichi; Kodama, Mitutoshi; Taniguchi, Yasutoshi

2004-04-01

For inspection of a storage tank and pipeline in service, the application of an automatic inspection system (nondestructive inspection robot) is desirable, because manual inspection is difficult to perfectly and exactly perform due to the enormous amount of inspection needed. However, an ultrasonic nondestructive inspection robot with a piezoelectric oscillator needs to touch only the material surface to be directly inspected using a coupling medium. That is, the material surface and the sensor must always be held by constant pressure in the vertical direction on the material side. Actually, it is difficult to overcome these problems; thus an ultrasonic inspection robot could not be widely applied. We then tried to develop an ultrasonic inspection robot with an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) which did not require a coupling medium to inspect the circumferential pipe parts. We developed a special EMAT that could transmit and receive alternately a Lamb wave with high sensitivity and a SH-plate wave without influence by the welded part. The method by which the inspection robot turned around the direction of the steel pipe surroundings was executed by observing the tape pasted in the direction of the steel pipe surroundings with an installed CCD camera. In this report, the basic mechanism of this inspection robot and an examination of results are described.

Physics-based process model approach for detecting discontinuity during friction stir welding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shrivastava, Amber; Pfefferkorn, Frank E.; Duffie, Neil A.

2015-02-12

The goal of this work is to develop a method for detecting the creation of discontinuities during friction stir welding. This in situ weld monitoring method could significantly reduce the need for post-process inspection. A process force model and a discontinuity force model were created based on the state-of-the-art understanding of flow around an friction stir welding (FSW) tool. These models are used to predict the FSW forces and size of discontinuities formed in the weld. Friction stir welds with discontinuities and welds without discontinuities were created, and the differences in force dynamics were observed. In this paper, discontinuities weremore » generated by reducing the tool rotation frequency and increasing the tool traverse speed in order to create "cold" welds. Experimental force data for welds with discontinuities and welds without discontinuities compared favorably with the predicted forces. The model currently overpredicts the discontinuity size.« less

Examination of the physical processes associated with the keyhole region of variable polarity plasma arc welds in aluminum alloy 2219

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, Daniel W.

1987-01-01

The morphology and properties of the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) weld composite zone are intimately related to the physical processes associated with the keyhole. This study examined the effects of oxide, halide, and sulfate additions to the weld plate on the keyhole and the weld pool. Changes in both the arc plasma character and the bead morphology were correlated to the chemical environment of the weld. Pool behavior was observed by adding flow markers to actual VPPA welds. A low temperature analog to the welding process was developed. The results of the study indicate that oxygen, even at low partial pressures, can disrupt the stable keyhole and weld pool. The results also indicate that the Marangoni surface tension driven flows dominate the weld pool over the range of welding currents studied.

Real-Time Measurement of Width and Height of Weld Beads in GMAW Processes.

PubMed

Pinto-Lopera, Jesús Emilio; S T Motta, José Mauricio; Absi Alfaro, Sadek Crisostomo

2016-09-15

Associated to the weld quality, the weld bead geometry is one of the most important parameters in welding processes. It is a significant requirement in a welding project, especially in automatic welding systems where a specific width, height, or penetration of weld bead is needed. This paper presents a novel technique for real-time measuring of the width and height of weld beads in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) using a single high-speed camera and a long-pass optical filter in a passive vision system. The measuring method is based on digital image processing techniques and the image calibration process is based on projective transformations. The measurement process takes less than 3 milliseconds per image, which allows a transfer rate of more than 300 frames per second. The proposed methodology can be used in any metal transfer mode of a gas metal arc welding process and does not have occlusion problems. The responses of the measurement system, presented here, are in a good agreement with off-line data collected by a common laser-based 3D scanner. Each measurement is compare using a statistical Welch's t-test of the null hypothesis, which, in any case, does not exceed the threshold of significance level α = 0.01, validating the results and the performance of the proposed vision system.

Friction Pull Plug Welding in Aluminum Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooke, Shane A.; Bradford, Vann

2012-01-01

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has recently invested much time and effort into the process development of Friction Pull Plug Welding (FPPW). FPPW, is a welding process similar to Friction Push Plug Welding in that, there is a small rotating part (plug) being spun and simultaneously pulled (forged) into a larger part. These two processes differ, in that push plug welding requires an internal reaction support, while pull plug welding reacts to the load externally. FPPW was originally conceived as a post proof repair technique for the Space Shuttle fs External Tank. FPPW was easily selected as the primary weld process used to close out the termination hole on the Constellation Program's ARES I Upper Stage circumferential Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welds (SR-FSW). The versatility of FPPW allows it to also be used as a repair technique for both SR-FSW and Conventional Friction Stir Welds. To date, all MSFC led development has been concentrated on aluminum alloys (2195, 2219, and 2014). Much work has been done to fully understand and characterize the process's limitations. A heavy emphasis has been spent on plug design, to match the various weldland thicknesses and alloy combinations. This presentation will summarize these development efforts including weld parameter development, process control, parameter sensitivity studies, plug repair techniques, material properties including tensile, fracture and failure analysis.

Process Optimization of Dual-Laser Beam Welding of Advanced Al-Li Alloys Through Hot Cracking Susceptibility Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Yingtao; Robson, Joseph D.; Riekehr, Stefan; Kashaev, Nikolai; Wang, Li; Lowe, Tristan; Karanika, Alexandra

2016-07-01

Laser welding of advanced Al-Li alloys has been developed to meet the increasing demand for light-weight and high-strength aerospace structures. However, welding of high-strength Al-Li alloys can be problematic due to the tendency for hot cracking. Finding suitable welding parameters and filler material for this combination currently requires extensive and costly trial and error experimentation. The present work describes a novel coupled model to predict hot crack susceptibility (HCS) in Al-Li welds. Such a model can be used to shortcut the weld development process. The coupled model combines finite element process simulation with a two-level HCS model. The finite element process model predicts thermal field data for the subsequent HCS hot cracking prediction. The model can be used to predict the influences of filler wire composition and welding parameters on HCS. The modeling results have been validated by comparing predictions with results from fully instrumented laser welds performed under a range of process parameters and analyzed using high-resolution X-ray tomography to identify weld defects. It is shown that the model is capable of accurately predicting the thermal field around the weld and the trend of HCS as a function of process parameters.

Method for controlling gas metal arc welding

DOEpatents

Smartt, H.B.; Einerson, C.J.; Watkins, A.D.

1987-08-10

The heat input and mass input in a Gas Metal Arc welding process are controlled by a method that comprises calculating appropriate values for weld speed, filler wire feed rate and an expected value for the welding current by algorithmic function means, applying such values for weld speed and filler wire feed rate to the welding process, measuring the welding current, comparing the measured current to the calculated current, using said comparison to calculate corrections for the weld speed and filler wire feed rate, and applying corrections. 3 figs., 1 tab.

The algorithm of verification of welding process for plastic pipes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rzasinski, R.

2017-08-01

The study analyzes the process of butt welding of PE pipes in terms of proper selection of connector parameters. The process was oriented to the elements performed as a series of types of pipes. Polymeric materials commonly referred to as polymers or plastics, synthetic materials are produced from oil products in the polyreaction compounds of low molecular weight, called monomers. During the polyreactions monomers combine to build a macromolecule material monomer named with the prefix poly polypropylene, polyethylene or polyurethane, creating particles in solid state on the order of 0,2 to 0,4 mm. Finished products from polymers of virtually any shape and size are obtained by compression molding, injection molding, extrusion, laminating, centrifugal casting, etc. Weld can only be a thermoplastic that softens at an elevated temperature, and thus can be connected via a clamp. Depending on the source and method of supplying heat include the following welding processes: welding contact, radiant welding, friction welding, dielectric welding, ultrasonic welding. The analysis will be welding contact. In connection with the development of new generation of polyethylene, and the production of pipes with increasing dimensions (diameter, wall thickness) is important to select the correct process.

Real time computer controlled weld skate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wall, W. A., Jr.

1977-01-01

A real time, adaptive control, automatic welding system was developed. This system utilizes the general case geometrical relationships between a weldment and a weld skate to precisely maintain constant weld speed and torch angle along a contoured workplace. The system is compatible with the gas tungsten arc weld process or can be adapted to other weld processes. Heli-arc cutting and machine tool routing operations are possible applications.

Workcell calibration for effective offline programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stiles, Roger D.; Jones, Clyde S.

1989-01-01

In the application of graphics systems for off-line programming (OLP) of robotic systems, the inevitability of errors in the model representation of real-world situations requires that a method to map these differences is incorporated as an integral part of the overall system progamming procedures. This paper discusses several proven robot-to-positioner calibration techniques necessary to reflect real-world parameters in a work-cell model. Particular attention is given to the procedures used to adjust a graphics model to an acceptable degree of accuracy for integration of OLP for the Space Shuttle Main Engine welding automation. Consideration is given to the levels of calibration, requirements, special considerations for coordinated motion, and calibration procedures.

Process stability during fiber laser-arc hybrid welding of thick steel plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunaziv, Ivan; Frostevarg, Jan; Akselsen, Odd M.; Kaplan, Alexander F. H.

2018-03-01

Thick steel plates are frequently used in shipbuilding, pipelines and other related heavy industries, and are usually joined by arc welding. Deep penetration laser-arc hybrid welding could increase productivity but has not been thoroughly investigated, and is therefore usually limited to applications with medium thickness (5-15 mm) sections. A major concern is process stability, especially when using modern welding consumables such as metal-cored wire and advanced welding equipment. High speed imaging allows direct observation of the process so that process behavior and phenomena can be studied. In this paper, 45 mm thick high strength steel was welded (butt joint double-sided) using the fiber laser-MAG hybrid process utilizing a metal-cored wire without pre-heating. Process stability was monitored under a wide range of welding parameters. It was found that the technique can be used successfully to weld thick sections with appropriate quality when the parameters are optimized. When comparing conventional pulsed and the more advanced cold metal transfer pulse (CMT+P) arc modes, it was found that both can provide high quality welds. CMT+P arc mode can provide more stable droplet transfer over a limited range of travel speeds. At higher travel speeds, an unstable metal transfer mechanism was observed. Comparing leading arc and trailing arc arrangements, the leading arc configuration can provide higher quality welds and more stable processing at longer inter-distances between the heat sources.

Optimization of hybrid laser arc welding of 42CrMo steel to suppress pore formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yan; Chen, Genyu; Mao, Shuai; Zhou, Cong; Chen, Fei

2017-06-01

The hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW) of 42CrMo quenched and tempered steel was conducted. The effect of the processing parameters, such as the relative positions of the laser and the arc, the shielding gas flow rate, the defocusing distance, the laser power, the wire feed rate and the welding speed, on the pore formation was analyzed, the morphological characteristics of the pores were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the majority of the pores were invasive. The pores formed at the leading a laser (LA) welding process were fewer than those at the leading a arc (AL) welding process. Increasing the shielding gas flow rate could also facilitate the reduction of pores. The laser power and the welding speed were two key process parameters to reduce the pores. The flow of the molten pool, the weld cooling rate and the pore escaping rate as a result of different parameters could all affect pore formation. An ideal pore-free weld was obtained for the optimal welding process parameters.

Vacuum vapor deposition: A spinoff of space welding development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poorman, R. M.

1991-01-01

A vapor deposition process has been defined through a spinoff effort of space welding development. In this development for welding in a space environment, a hollow electrode was used to add gas precisely at the welding arc. This provides gas for ionization which carries the welding arc current. During this welding development metal vapor coatings were observed. These coatings are unique in that they are produced by a new process. Some coatings produced and the potential of this new and innovative vapor deposition process are characterized. Advantages over prior art are discussed.

Real-time nondestructive monitoring of the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process by combined airborne acoustic emission and non-contact ultrasonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lu; Basantes-Defaz, Alexandra-Del-Carmen; Abbasi, Zeynab; Yuhas, Donald; Ozevin, Didem; Indacochea, Ernesto

2018-03-01

Welding is a key manufacturing process for many industries and may introduce defects into the welded parts causing significant negative impacts, potentially ruining high-cost pieces. Therefore, a real-time process monitoring method is important to implement for avoiding producing a low-quality weld. Due to high surface temperature and possible contamination of surface by contact transducers, the welding process should be monitored via non-contact transducers. In this paper, airborne acoustic emission (AE) transducers tuned at 60 kHz and non-contact ultrasonic testing (UT) transducers tuned at 500 kHz are implemented for real time weld monitoring. AE is a passive nondestructive evaluation method that listens for the process noise, and provides information about the uniformity of manufacturing process. UT provides more quantitative information about weld defects. One of the most common weld defects as burn-through is investigated. The influences of weld defects on AE signatures (time-driven data) and UT signals (received signal energy, change in peak frequency) are presented. The level of burn-through damage is defined by using single method or combine AE/UT methods.

Automatic welding systems for large ship hulls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arregi, B.; Granados, S.; Hascoet, JY.; Hamilton, K.; Alonso, M.; Ares, E.

2012-04-01

Welding processes represents about 40% of the total production time in shipbuilding. Although most of the indoor welding work is automated, outdoor operations still require the involvement of numerous operators. To automate hull welding operations is a priority in large shipyards. The objective of the present work is to develop a comprehensive welding system capable of working with several welding layers in an automated way. There are several difficulties for the seam tracking automation of the welding process. The proposed solution is the development of a welding machine capable of moving autonomously along the welding seam, controlling both the position of the torch and the welding parameters to adjust the thickness of the weld bead to the actual gap between the hull plates.

73rd American Welding Society annual meeting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1992-01-01

The volume includes the abstracts of papers presented at the 73rd American Welding Society Annual Meeting. Detailed summaries are given for 118 technical sessions papers discussing computer and control applications in welding, stainless steel, nickel and nickel alloys, weld metal microstructure, shipbuilding, consumables, structural welding, investigations in arc welding and cutting, arc welding processes, weldability testing, piping and tubing, high energy beam welding processes, welding metallurgy of structural steels, new applications, weld metal behavior, NDT certification, aluminum welding, submerged arc welding, modeling studies, resistance welding, friction welding, and safety and health. The 23rd International AWS Brazing and Soldering Conference wasmore » also held during this meeting. The topics presented in 24 papers included recent developments in soldering technology, brazing of stainless steel, brazing of ceramics and nickel material, filler metal developments for torch brazing, and developments in diffusion and induction brazing.« less

Parametric study in weld mismatch of longitudinally welded SSME HPFTP inlet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Min, J. B.; Spanyer, K. L.; Brunair, R. M.

1991-01-01

Welded joints are an essential part of pressure vessels such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Turbopumps. Defects produced in the welding process can be detrimental to weld performance. Recently, review of the SSME high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) titanium inlet x rays revealed several weld discrepancies such as penetrameter density issues, film processing discrepancies, weld width discrepancies, porosity, lack of fusion, and weld offsets. Currently, the sensitivity of welded structures to defects is of concern. From a fatigue standpoint, weld offset may have a serious effect since local yielding, in general, aggravates cyclic stress effects. Therefore, the weld offset issue is considered. Using the finite element method and mathematical formulations, parametric studies were conducted to determine the influence of weld offsets and a variation of weld widths in longitudinally welded cylindrical structures with equal wall thickness on both sides of the joint. From the study, the finite element results and theoretical solutions are presented.

Investigation of Laser Welding of Ti Alloys for Cognitive Process Parameters Selection.

PubMed

Caiazzo, Fabrizia; Caggiano, Alessandra

2018-04-20

Laser welding of titanium alloys is attracting increasing interest as an alternative to traditional joining techniques for industrial applications, with particular reference to the aerospace sector, where welded assemblies allow for the reduction of the buy-to-fly ratio, compared to other traditional mechanical joining techniques. In this research work, an investigation on laser welding of Ti⁻6Al⁻4V alloy plates is carried out through an experimental testing campaign, under different process conditions, in order to perform a characterization of the produced weld bead geometry, with the final aim of developing a cognitive methodology able to support decision-making about the selection of the suitable laser welding process parameters. The methodology is based on the employment of artificial neural networks able to identify correlations between the laser welding process parameters, with particular reference to the laser power, welding speed and defocusing distance, and the weld bead geometric features, on the basis of the collected experimental data.

Investigation of Laser Welding of Ti Alloys for Cognitive Process Parameters Selection

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Laser welding of titanium alloys is attracting increasing interest as an alternative to traditional joining techniques for industrial applications, with particular reference to the aerospace sector, where welded assemblies allow for the reduction of the buy-to-fly ratio, compared to other traditional mechanical joining techniques. In this research work, an investigation on laser welding of Ti–6Al–4V alloy plates is carried out through an experimental testing campaign, under different process conditions, in order to perform a characterization of the produced weld bead geometry, with the final aim of developing a cognitive methodology able to support decision-making about the selection of the suitable laser welding process parameters. The methodology is based on the employment of artificial neural networks able to identify correlations between the laser welding process parameters, with particular reference to the laser power, welding speed and defocusing distance, and the weld bead geometric features, on the basis of the collected experimental data. PMID:29677114

An Evaluation of Former Soviet Union Welding Processes on Commercially Pure Titanium

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-12-01

welding (GTAW), gas metal arc welding ( GMAW ), and plasma arc welding (PAW) being the most widely used techniques. Of these, the GTAW process is much...quality welds, is free of the spatter that may occur with GMAW , and can be used with or without filler material, depending on the specific application

The Mechanical Metallurgy of Armour Steels

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

21 7.A. Cracking associated with Welding ...associated with Welding A range of defects, including cracks can be caused by welding processes, examples of which are shown in Figure 19, many of...which can lead to structural cracking problems. The avoidance of weld defects, particularly cracking, is the reason why armour steel welding processes

Numerical simulation of the laser welding process for the prediction of temperature distribution on welded aluminium aircraft components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsirkas, S. A.

2018-03-01

The present investigation is focused to the modelling of the temperature field in aluminium aircraft components welded by a CO2 laser. A three-dimensional finite element model has been developed to simulate the laser welding process and predict the temperature distribution in T-joint laser welded plates with fillet material. The simulation of the laser beam welding process was performed using a nonlinear heat transfer analysis, based on a keyhole formation model analysis. The model employs the technique of element ;birth and death; in order to simulate the weld fillet. Various phenomena associated with welding like temperature dependent material properties and heat losses through convection and radiation were accounted for in the model. The materials considered were 6056-T78 and 6013-T4 aluminium alloys, commonly used for aircraft components. The temperature distribution during laser welding process has been calculated numerically and validated by experimental measurements on different locations of the welded structure. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements.

Development of low-cost welding procedures for thick sections of HY-150 steel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, P. M.; Snow, R. S.

1972-01-01

Low cost welding procedures were developed for welding 6-inch thick HY-150 steel to be used in the manufacture of large diameter motor case Y rings and nozzle attachment flanges. An extensive investigation was made of the mechanical and metallurgical properties and fracture toughness of HY-150 base plate and welds made with manual shielded metal arc process and semi-automatic gas metal arc process in the flat position. Transverse tensiles, all-weld metal tensiles, Charpy V-notch specimens and edge notched bend specimens were tested in the course of the program. In addition metallographic studies and hardness tests were performed on the weld, weld HAZ and base metal. The results of the work performed indicate that both the shielded metal arc and gas metal arc processes are capable of producing consistently sound welds as determined by radiographic and ultrasonic inspection. In addition, the weld metal, deposited by each process was found to exhibit a good combination of strength and toughness such that the selection of a rolled and welded procedure for fabricating rocket motor case components would appear to be technically feasible.

Optimization of Gas Metal Arc Welding Process Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Amit; Khurana, M. K.; Yadav, Pradeep K.

2016-09-01

This study presents the application of Taguchi method combined with grey relational analysis to optimize the process parameters of gas metal arc welding (GMAW) of AISI 1020 carbon steels for multiple quality characteristics (bead width, bead height, weld penetration and heat affected zone). An orthogonal array of L9 has been implemented to fabrication of joints. The experiments have been conducted according to the combination of voltage (V), current (A) and welding speed (Ws). The results revealed that the welding speed is most significant process parameter. By analyzing the grey relational grades, optimal parameters are obtained and significant factors are known using ANOVA analysis. The welding parameters such as speed, welding current and voltage have been optimized for material AISI 1020 using GMAW process. To fortify the robustness of experimental design, a confirmation test was performed at selected optimal process parameter setting. Observations from this method may be useful for automotive sub-assemblies, shipbuilding and vessel fabricators and operators to obtain optimal welding conditions.

Experimental study of hot cracking at circular welding joints of 42CrMo steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yan; Chen, Genyu; Chen, Binghua; Wang, Jinhai; Zhou, Cong

2017-12-01

The hot cracking at circular welding joints of quenched and tempered 42CrMo steel were studied. The flow of the molten pool and the solidification process of weld were observed with a high-speed video camera. The information on the variations in the weld temperature was collected using an infrared (IR) thermal imaging system. The metallurgical factors of hot cracking were analyzed via metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The result shows that leading laser laser-metal active gas (MAG) hybrid welding process has a smaller solid-liquid boundary movement rate (VSL) and a smaller solid-liquid boundary temperature gradient (GSL) compared with leading arc laser-MAG hybrid welding process and laser welding process. Additionally, the metal in the molten pool has superior permeability while flowing toward the dendritic roots and can compensate for the inner-dendritic pressure balance. Therefore, leading laser laser-MAG hybrid welding process has the lowest hot cracking susceptibility.

Evaluation of the Low Heat Input Process for Weld Repair of Nickel-Base Superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durocher, J.; Richards, N. L.

2011-10-01

The repair of turbine blades and vanes commonly involves gas tungsten arc welding or an equivalent process, but unfortunately these components are often susceptible to heat-affected zone (HAZ) cracking during the weld repair process. This is a major problem especially in cast alloys due to their coarse-grain size and where the (Al + Ti) contents is in excess of 3-4%; vacuum brazing is also used but mainly on low stress non-rotating components such as vanes. Micro-welding has the potential to deposit small amounts of filler at low heat input levels with minimum HAZ and thus is an attractive process for depositing a quality weld. As with conventional fusion processes, the filler alloy is deposited by the generation of a low power arc between a consumable electrode and the substrate. The low heat input of this process offers unique advantages over more common welding processes such as gas tungsten arc, plasma arc, laser, and electron beam welding. In this study, the low heat input characteristic of micro-welding has been used to simulate weld repair using Inconel (IN) (Inconel and IN are trademarks of INCO Alloys International) 625, Rene (Rene is a trademark of General Electric Company) 41, Nimonic (Nimonic is a trademark of INCO Alloys International) 105 and Inconel 738LC filler alloys, to a cast Inconel 738LC substrate. The effect of micro-welding process parameters on the deposition rate, coating quality, and substrate has been investigated.

Thermo-Mechanical Processing in Friction Stir Welds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Judy

2003-01-01

Friction stir welding is a solid-phase joining, or welding process that was invented in 1991 at The Welding Institute (TWI). The process is potentially capable of joining a wide variety of aluminum alloys that are traditionally difficult to fusion weld. The friction stir welding (FSW) process produces welds by moving a non-consumable rotating pin tool along a seam between work pieces that are firmly clamped to an anvil. At the start of the process, the rotating pin is plunged into the material to a pre-determined load. The required heat is produced by a combination of frictional and deformation heating. The shape of the tool shoulder and supporting anvil promotes a high hydrostatic pressure along the joint line as the tool shears and literally stirs the metal together. To produce a defect free weld, process variables (RPM, transverse speed, and downward force) and tool pin design must be chosen carefully. An accurate model of the material flow during the process is necessary to guide process variable selection. At MSFC a plastic slip line model of the process has been synthesized based on macroscopic images of the resulting weld material. Although this model appears to have captured the main features of the process, material specific interactions are not understood. The objective of the present research was to develop a basic understanding of the evolution of the microstructure to be able to relate it to the deformation process variables of strain, strain rate, and temperature.

Friction stir welding tool and process for welding dissimilar materials

DOEpatents

Hovanski, Yuri; Grant, Glenn J; Jana, Saumyadeep; Mattlin, Karl F

2013-05-07

A friction stir welding tool and process for lap welding dissimilar materials are detailed. The invention includes a cutter scribe that penetrates and extrudes a first material of a lap weld stack to a preselected depth and further cuts a second material to provide a beneficial geometry defined by a plurality of mechanically interlocking features. The tool backfills the interlocking features generating a lap weld across the length of the interface between the dissimilar materials that enhances the shear strength of the lap weld.

Fusion welding process

DOEpatents

Thomas, Kenneth C.; Jones, Eric D.; McBride, Marvin A.

1983-01-01

A process for the fusion welding of nickel alloy steel members wherein a ferrite containing pellet is inserted into a cavity in one member and melted by a welding torch. The resulting weld nugget, a fusion of the nickel containing alloy from the members to be welded and the pellet, has a composition which is sufficiently low in nickel content such that ferrite phases occur within the weld nugget, resulting in improved weld properties. The steel alloys encompassed also include alloys containing carbon and manganese, considered nickel equivalents.

49 CFR 195.222 - Welders: Qualification of welders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... under that earlier edition. (b) No welder may weld with a welding process unless, within the preceding 6 calendar months, the welder has— (1) Engaged in welding with that process; and (2) Had one welded tested...

Mutagenicity of fume particles from metal arc welding on stainless steel in the Salmonella/microsome test.

PubMed

Maxild, J; Andersen, M; Kiel, P

1978-01-01

Mutagenic activity of fume particles produced by metal arc welding on stainless steel (ss) is demonstrated by using the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test described by Ames et al., with strain TA100 (base-pair substitution) and TA98 (frame-shift reversion). Results of a representative but limited selection of processes and materials show that mutagenic activity is a function of process and process parameters. Welding on stainless steel produces particles that are mutagenic, whereas welding on mild steel (ms) produces particles that are not. Manual metal arc (MMA) welding on stainless steel produces particles of higher mutagenic activity than does metal inert gas (MIG) welding, and fume particles produced by MIG welding under short-arc transfer. Further studies of welding fumes (both particles and gases) must be performed to determine process parameters of significance for the mutagenic activity.

Quality status display for a vibration welding process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spicer, John Patrick; Abell, Jeffrey A.; Wincek, Michael Anthony

A method includes receiving, during a vibration welding process, a set of sensory signals from a collection of sensors positioned with respect to a work piece during formation of a weld on or within the work piece. The method also includes receiving control signals from a welding controller during the process, with the control signals causing the welding horn to vibrate at a calibrated frequency, and processing the received sensory and control signals using a host machine. Additionally, the method includes displaying a predicted weld quality status on a surface of the work piece using a status projector. The methodmore » may include identifying and display a quality status of a suspect weld. The laser projector may project a laser beam directly onto or immediately adjacent to the suspect welds, e.g., as a red, green, blue laser or a gas laser having a switched color filter.« less

Analysis And Control System For Automated Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Bradley W.; Burroughs, Ivan A.; Kennedy, Larry Z.; Rodgers, Michael H.; Goode, K. Wayne

1994-01-01

Automated variable-polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding apparatus operates under electronic supervision by welding analysis and control system. System performs all major monitoring and controlling functions. It acquires, analyzes, and displays weld-quality data in real time and adjusts process parameters accordingly. Also records pertinent data for use in post-weld analysis and documentation of quality. System includes optoelectronic sensors and data processors that provide feedback control of welding process.

A mathematical model of the chevron-like wave pattern on a weld piece

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dowden, J.; Kapadia, P.

1996-12-31

In welding processes in general the surface of a metallic weld displays a chevron-like pattern. Such a pattern is also clearly seen to be present if welding is carried out using a laser beam. In the welding process a laser beam is directed normally on the metal undergoing translation and usually penetrates it to form a keyhole. The keyhole is surrounded by a molten region, the weld pool. Even if a CO{sub 2} laser is used, there are numerous fluctuations and instabilities that occur, so that the keyhole imposes forcing frequencies on the molten weld pool, additional to vibrations attendantmore » on the process of translation. The weld pool in turn responds by supporting a spectrum of waves of different frequencies involving the natural frequency of the weld pool as well as various forcing frequencies. These waves are surface tension-type capillary waves and previous publications have attempted to model their behavior mathematically, although not all aspects of the problem have always been included. The wave pattern that is manifested in the chevron-like pattern seen on the weld piece is, however, not necessarily identical to the wave pattern present in the weld pool. This is because the chevron-like wave pattern forms as a result of several complicating effects that arise as the weld specimen cools on its surface immediately after the weld has been formed. This process involves the waves on the surface of the weld pool freezing to form the chevron-like wave pattern. A feature that is often ignored is the fact that the waves on the weld pool can only be regarded as irrotational if the translation speed is sufficiently low. This paper describes mathematically the formation of the chevron-like wave pattern based on suitable simplifying assumptions to model the process. The mathematical description of the way in which this chevron-like pattern forms is a step toward a more comprehensive understanding of this process.« less

Adaptive weld control for high-integrity welding applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Bradley W.

1993-01-01

An advanced adaptive control weld system for high-integrity welding applications is presented. The system consists of a state-of-the-art weld control subsystem, motion control subsystem, and sensor subsystem which closes the loop on the process. The adaptive control subsystem (ACS), which is required to totally close the loop on weld process control, consists of a multiprocessor system, data acquisition hardware, and three welding sensors which provide measurements from all areas around the torch in real time. The ACS acquires all 'measurables' and feeds offset trims back into the weld control and motion control subsystems to modify the 'controllables' in order to maintain a previously defined weld quality.

Evaluation of Weldability for MAG and LASER with Galvannealed Steel.

PubMed

Kim, Jong-Hee; Bang, Han-Sur; Bang, Hee-Seon

2018-03-01

Lower-arm, one of the components in automotive suspension module, has been fabricated by MAG welding in general which is lap jointed with 2 mm thick galvannealed steel sheet (SGAPH440). This welding process produces some problems such as significantly much spatters and weld defects of porosity in welded joint, which degrades productivity and weldability. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, this study has been tried to apply two types of solid wires with different chemical composition rate of Si and Mn, in MAG welding process. Moreover, the laser welding process has been adopted to fabricate the low-arm and compared with those of MAG welding, in terms of mechanical and metallurgical characteristics. It was observed that in MAG welded joints, much more spatters were occurred in using solid wire with higher Si and Mn contains. The maximum tensile-shear strength in laser welded joints was approximately 16.7 kN, which was almost equal to that of in MAG welded joints. The microstructure showed ferrite and martensite in weld metal in MAG and laser welded joints indicating no significantly grain size change.

Process Stability of Ultrasonic-Wave-Assisted Gas Metal Arc Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Chenglei; Xie, Weifeng; Yang, Chunli; Lin, Sanbao; Fan, Yangyang

2017-10-01

As a newly developed arc welding method, ultrasonic-wave-assisted arc welding successfully introduced power ultrasound into the arc and weld pool, during which the ultrasonic acts on the top of the arc in the coaxial alignment direction. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by using an additional ultrasonic field. Compared with the conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW), the welding arc is compressed, the droplet size is decreased, and the droplet transfer frequency is increased significantly in ultrasonic-wave-assisted GMAW (U-GMAW). However, the stability of the metal transfer has deep influence on the welding quality equally, and the ultrasonic wave effect on the stability of the metal transfer is a phenomenon that is not completely understood. In this article, the stabilities of the short-circuiting transfer process and globular transfer process are studied systematically, and the effect of ultrasonic wave on the metal transfer is analyzed further. The transfer frequency and process stability of the U-GMAW process are much higher than those of the conventional GMAW. Analytical results show that the additional ultrasonic wave is helpful for improving welding stability.

Welded joints integrity analysis and optimization for fiber laser welding of dissimilar materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Yuewei; Shao, Xinyu; Jiang, Ping; Li, Peigen; Liu, Yang; Liu, Wei

2016-11-01

Dissimilar materials welded joints provide many advantages in power, automotive, chemical, and spacecraft industries. The weld bead integrity which is determined by process parameters plays a significant role in the welding quality during the fiber laser welding (FLW) of dissimilar materials. In this paper, an optimization method by taking the integrity of the weld bead and weld area into consideration is proposed for FLW of dissimilar materials, the low carbon steel and stainless steel. The relationships between the weld bead integrity and process parameters are developed by the genetic algorithm optimized back propagation neural network (GA-BPNN). The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is taken for optimizing the predicted outputs from GA-BPNN for the objective. Through the optimization process, the desired weld bead with good integrity and minimum weld area are obtained and the corresponding microstructure and microhardness are excellent. The mechanical properties of the optimized joints are greatly improved compared with that of the un-optimized welded joints. Moreover, the effects of significant factors are analyzed based on the statistical approach and the laser power (LP) is identified as the most significant factor on the weld bead integrity and weld area. The results indicate that the proposed method is effective for improving the reliability and stability of welded joints in the practical production.

Guidelines in the Choice of Parameters for Hybrid Laser Arc Welding with Fiber Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eriksson, I.; Powell, J.; Kaplan, A.

Laser arc hybrid welding has been a promising technology for three decades and laser welding in combination with gas metal arc welding (GMAW) has shown that it is an extremely promising technique. On the other hand the process is often considered complicated and difficult to set up correctly. An important factor in setting up the hybrid welding process is an understanding of the GMAW process. It is especially important to understand how the wire feed rate and the arc voltage (the two main parameters) affect the process. In this paper the authors show that laser hybrid welding with a 1 μm laser is similar to ordinary GMAW, and several guidelines are therefore inherited by the laser hybrid process.

Cold pressure welding of aluminium-steel blanks: Manufacturing process and electrochemical surface preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Hans Christian; Homberg, Werner; Orive, Alejandro Gonzalez; Grundmeier, Guido; Hordych, Illia; Maier, Hans Jürgen

2018-05-01

In this study the manufacture of aluminium-steel blanks by cold pressure welding and their preparation for a welding process through electrochemical surface treatment are investigated and discussed. The cold pressure welding process was done with an incremental rolling tool that allows for the partial pressure welding of two blanks along a prepared path. The influence of the surface preparation by electrochemical deposition of bond promoting organosilane-based agents and roughening on a nano-scale is investigated and compared to conventional surface treatments. Coating the surfaces with a thin organosilane-based film incorporating specific functional groups should promote additional bonding between the mating oxide layers; its influence on the total weld strength is studied. Pressure welding requires suitable process strategies, and the current advances in the proposed incremental rolling process for the combination of mild steel and aluminium are presented.

Intelligent Weld Manufacturing: Role of Integrated Computational Welding Engineering

DOE PAGES

David, Stan A.; Chen, Jian; Feng, Zhili; ...

2017-12-02

A master welder uses his sensory perceptions to evaluate the process and connect them with his/her knowledge base to take the necessary corrective measures with his/her acquired skills to make a good weld. All these actions must take place in real time. Success depends on intuition and skills, and the procedure is labor-intensive and frequently unreliable. The solution is intelligent weld manufacturing. The ultimate goal of intelligent weld manufacturing would involve sensing and control of heat source position, weld temperature, weld penetration, defect formation and ultimately control of microstructure and properties. This involves a solution to a problem (welding) withmore » many highly coupled and nonlinear variables. The trend is to use an emerging tool known as intelligent control. This approach enables the user to choose a desirable end factor such as properties, defect control, or productivity to derive the selection of process parameters such as current, voltage, or speed to provide for appropriate control of the process. Important elements of intelligent manufacturing are sensing and control theory and design, process modeling, and artificial intelligence. Significant progress has been made in all these areas. Integrated computational welding engineering (ICWE) is an emerging field that will aid in the realization of intelligent weld manufacturing. The paper will discuss the progress in process modeling, microstructure, properties, and process control and automation and the importance of ICWE. Also, control and automation strategies for friction stir welding will be discussed.« less

Intelligent Weld Manufacturing: Role of Integrated Computational Welding Engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David, Stan A.; Chen, Jian; Feng, Zhili

A master welder uses his sensory perceptions to evaluate the process and connect them with his/her knowledge base to take the necessary corrective measures with his/her acquired skills to make a good weld. All these actions must take place in real time. Success depends on intuition and skills, and the procedure is labor-intensive and frequently unreliable. The solution is intelligent weld manufacturing. The ultimate goal of intelligent weld manufacturing would involve sensing and control of heat source position, weld temperature, weld penetration, defect formation and ultimately control of microstructure and properties. This involves a solution to a problem (welding) withmore » many highly coupled and nonlinear variables. The trend is to use an emerging tool known as intelligent control. This approach enables the user to choose a desirable end factor such as properties, defect control, or productivity to derive the selection of process parameters such as current, voltage, or speed to provide for appropriate control of the process. Important elements of intelligent manufacturing are sensing and control theory and design, process modeling, and artificial intelligence. Significant progress has been made in all these areas. Integrated computational welding engineering (ICWE) is an emerging field that will aid in the realization of intelligent weld manufacturing. The paper will discuss the progress in process modeling, microstructure, properties, and process control and automation and the importance of ICWE. Also, control and automation strategies for friction stir welding will be discussed.« less

Socket welds in nuclear facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, P.A.; Torres, L.L.

1995-12-31

Socket welds are easier and faster to make than are butt welds. However, they are often not used in nuclear facilities because the crevices between the pipes and the socket sleeves may be subject to crevice corrosion. If socket welds can be qualified for wider use in facilities that process nuclear materials, the radiation exposures to welders can be significantly reduced. The current tests at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) are designed to determine if socket welds can be qualified for use in the waste processing system at a nuclear fuel processing plant.

The variable polarity plasma arc welding process: Its application to the Space Shuttle external tank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, A. C., Jr.; Bayless, O. E., Jr.; Jones, C. S., III; Munafo, A. P.; Wilson, W. A.

1983-01-01

The technical history of the variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding process being introduced as a partial replacement for the gas shielded tungsten arc process in assembly welding of the space shuttle external tank is described. Interim results of the weld strength qualification studies, and plans for further work on the implementation of the VPPA process are included.

Friction Stir Welding in Wrought and Cast Aluminum Alloys: Weld Quality Evaluation and Effects of Processing Parameters on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Yi; Lados, Diana A.

2017-04-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state process widely used for joining similar and dissimilar materials for critical applications in the transportation sector. Understanding the effects of the process on microstructure and mechanical properties is critical in design for structural integrity. In this study, four aluminum alloy systems (wrought 6061-T651 and cast A356, 319, and A390) were processed in both as-fabricated and pre-weld heat-treated (T6) conditions using various processing parameters. The effects of processing and heat treatment on the resulting microstructures, macro-/micro-hardness, and tensile properties were systematically investigated and mechanistically correlated to changes in grain size, characteristic phases, and strengthening precipitates. Tensile tests were performed at room temperature both along and across the welding zones. A new method able to evaluate weld quality (using a weld quality index) was developed based on the stress concentration calculated under tensile loading. Optimum processing parameter domains that provide both defect-free welds and good mechanical properties were determined for each alloy and associated with the thermal history of the process. These results were further related to characteristic microstructural features, which can be used for component design and materials/process optimization.

Saturn S-2 production operations techniques: Production welding. Volume 1: Bulkhead welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abel, O. G.

1970-01-01

The complex Saturn S-2 welding processes and procedures required considerable development and refinement to establish a production capability that could consistently produce aluminum alloy welds within specified requirements. The special processes and techniques are defined that were established for the welding of gore-to-gore and manhole- or closeout-to-gore.

An Approach to Maximize Weld Penetration During TIG Welding of P91 Steel Plates by Utilizing Image Processing and Taguchi Orthogonal Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Akhilesh Kumar; Debnath, Tapas; Dey, Vidyut; Rai, Ram Naresh

2017-10-01

P-91 is modified 9Cr-1Mo steel. Fabricated structures and components of P-91 has a lot of application in power and chemical industry owing to its excellent properties like high temperature stress corrosion resistance, less susceptibility to thermal fatigue at high operating temperatures. The weld quality and surface finish of fabricated structure of P91 is very good when welded by Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG). However, the process has its limitation regarding weld penetration. The success of a welding process lies in fabricating with such a combination of parameters that gives maximum weld penetration and minimum weld width. To carry out an investigation on the effect of the autogenous TIG welding parameters on weld penetration and weld width, bead-on-plate welds were carried on P91 plates of thickness 6 mm in accordance to a Taguchi L9 design. Welding current, welding speed and gas flow rate were the three control variables in the investigation. After autogenous (TIG) welding, the dimension of the weld width, weld penetration and weld area were successfully measured by an image analysis technique developed for the study. The maximum error for the measured dimensions of the weld width, penetration and area with the developed image analysis technique was only 2 % compared to the measurements of Leica-Q-Win-V3 software installed in optical microscope. The measurements with the developed software, unlike the measurements under a microscope, required least human intervention. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) confirms the significance of the selected parameters. Thereafter, Taguchi's method was successfully used to trade-off between maximum penetration and minimum weld width while keeping the weld area at a minimum.

Study of weld offset in longitudinally welded SSME HPFTP inlet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Min, J. B.; Spanyer, K. S.; Brunair, R. M.

1992-01-01

Welded joints are an essential part of rocket engine structures such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbopumps. Defects produced in the welding process can be detrimental to weld performance. Recently, review of the SSME high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) titanium inlet X-rays revealed several weld discrepancies such as penetrameter density issues, film processing discrepancies, weld width discrepancies, porosity, lack of fusion, and weld offsets. Currently, the sensitivity of welded structures to defects is of concern. From a fatigue standpoint, weld offset may have a serious effect since local yielding, in general, aggravates cyclic stress effects. Therefore, the weld offset issue is considered in this report. Using the FEM and beamlike plate approximations, parametric studies were conducted to determine the influence of weld offsets and a variation of weld widths in longitudinally welded cylindrical structures with equal wall thicknesses on both sides of the joint. Following the study, some conclusions are derived for the weld offsets.

VPPA weld model evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccutcheon, Kimble D.; Gordon, Stephen S.; Thompson, Paul A.

1992-01-01

NASA uses the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc Welding (VPPAW) process extensively for fabrication of Space Shuttle External Tanks. This welding process has been in use at NASA since the late 1970's but the physics of the process have never been satisfactorily modeled and understood. In an attempt to advance the level of understanding of VPPAW, Dr. Arthur C. Nunes, Jr., (NASA) has developed a mathematical model of the process. The work described in this report evaluated and used two versions (level-0 and level-1) of Dr. Nunes' model, and a model derived by the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) from Dr. Nunes' level-1 model. Two series of VPPAW experiments were done, using over 400 different combinations of welding parameters. Observations were made of VPPAW process behavior as a function of specific welding parameter changes. Data from these weld experiments was used to evaluate and suggest improvements to Dr. Nunes' model. Experimental data and correlations with the model were used to develop a multi-variable control algorithm for use with a future VPPAW controller. This algorithm is designed to control weld widths (both on the crown and root of the weld) based upon the weld parameters, base metal properties, and real-time observation of the crown width. The algorithm exhibited accuracy comparable to that of the weld width measurements for both aluminum and mild steel welds.

Manufacturing Methods and Technology Application of High Energy Laser Welding Process.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

surface appearance and the lowest porosity of the three beam shapes evaluated. Welds made with the pure annular beam resembled a TIG weld in both surface...improper starts and stops when welding with a conventional MIG or TIG process. Figure 16 left and center illustrates cracking due to fast freezing conditions...REPORT RL-82-2 0 MANUFACTURING METHODS AND TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION _OF HIGH ENERGY LASER WELDING PROCESS 0John V. Melonas Structures Directorate, U S

Effect of welding process on the microstructure and properties of dissimilar weld joints between low alloy steel and duplex stainless steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jing; Lu, Min-xu; Zhang, Lei; Chang, Wei; Xu, Li-ning; Hu, Li-hua

2012-06-01

To obtain high-quality dissimilar weld joints, the processes of metal inert gas (MIG) welding and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding for duplex stainless steel (DSS) and low alloy steel were compared in this paper. The microstructure and corrosion morphology of dissimilar weld joints were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); the chemical compositions in different zones were detected by energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS); the mechanical properties were measured by microhardness test, tensile test, and impact test; the corrosion behavior was evaluated by polarization curves. Obvious concentration gradients of Ni and Cr exist between the fusion boundary and the type II boundary, where the hardness is much higher. The impact toughness of weld metal by MIG welding is higher than that by TIG welding. The corrosion current density of TIG weld metal is higher than that of MIG weld metal in a 3.5wt% NaCl solution. Galvanic corrosion happens between low alloy steel and weld metal, revealing the weakness of low alloy steel in industrial service. The quality of joints produced by MIG welding is better than that by TIG welding in mechanical performance and corrosion resistance. MIG welding with the filler metal ER2009 is the suitable welding process for dissimilar metals jointing between UNS S31803 duplex stainless steel and low alloy steel in practical application.

Real-Time Measurement of Width and Height of Weld Beads in GMAW Processes

PubMed Central

Pinto-Lopera, Jesús Emilio; S. T. Motta, José Mauricio; Absi Alfaro, Sadek Crisostomo

2016-01-01

Associated to the weld quality, the weld bead geometry is one of the most important parameters in welding processes. It is a significant requirement in a welding project, especially in automatic welding systems where a specific width, height, or penetration of weld bead is needed. This paper presents a novel technique for real-time measuring of the width and height of weld beads in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) using a single high-speed camera and a long-pass optical filter in a passive vision system. The measuring method is based on digital image processing techniques and the image calibration process is based on projective transformations. The measurement process takes less than 3 milliseconds per image, which allows a transfer rate of more than 300 frames per second. The proposed methodology can be used in any metal transfer mode of a gas metal arc welding process and does not have occlusion problems. The responses of the measurement system, presented here, are in a good agreement with off-line data collected by a common laser-based 3D scanner. Each measurement is compare using a statistical Welch’s t-test of the null hypothesis, which, in any case, does not exceed the threshold of significance level α = 0.01, validating the results and the performance of the proposed vision system. PMID:27649198

The effect of the welding direction on the plasma and metal transfer behavior of CO2 laser+GMAW-P hybrid welding processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wang; Hua, Xueming; Liao, Wei; Li, Fang; Wang, Min

2014-07-01

During laser-arc hybrid welding, the welding direction exerts direct effects on the plasma properties, the transient behavior of the droplet, the weld pool behavior, and the temperature field. Ultimately, it will affect the welding process and the weld quality. However, the behavior of the CO2 laser+GMAW-P hybrid welding process has not been systematically studied. In this paper, the current-voltage characteristics of different welding processes were analyzed and compared. The dynamics of the droplet transfer, the plasma behavior, and the weld pool behavior were observed by using two high-speed camera systems. Moreover, an optical emission spectroscopy was applied to analyze the plasma temperature and the electron number density. The results indicated that the electrical resistance of the arc plasma reduced in the laser leading mode. For the same pulse duration, the metal transfer mode was the spray type with the laser leading arrangement. The temperature and electron density distribution showed bimodal behavior in the case of arc leading mode, while this phenomenon does not exist in the caser of laser leading mode. The double elliptic-planar distribution which conventional simulation process used was not applicable in the laser leading mode.

Sensor Fusion to Estimate the Depth and Width of the Weld Bead in Real Time in GMAW Processes

PubMed Central

Sampaio, Renato Coral; Vargas, José A. R.

2018-01-01

The arc welding process is widely used in industry but its automatic control is limited by the difficulty in measuring the weld bead geometry and closing the control loop on the arc, which has adverse environmental conditions. To address this problem, this work proposes a system to capture the welding variables and send stimuli to the Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) conventional process with a constant voltage power source, which allows weld bead geometry estimation with an open-loop control. Dynamic models of depth and width estimators of the weld bead are implemented based on the fusion of thermographic data, welding current and welding voltage in a multilayer perceptron neural network. The estimators were trained and validated off-line with data from a novel algorithm developed to extract the features of the infrared image, a laser profilometer was implemented to measure the bead dimensions and an image processing algorithm that measures depth by making a longitudinal cut in the weld bead. These estimators are optimized for embedded devices and real-time processing and were implemented on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device. Experiments to collect data, train and validate the estimators are presented and discussed. The results show that the proposed method is useful in industrial and research environments. PMID:29570698

Sensor Fusion to Estimate the Depth and Width of the Weld Bead in Real Time in GMAW Processes.

PubMed

Bestard, Guillermo Alvarez; Sampaio, Renato Coral; Vargas, José A R; Alfaro, Sadek C Absi

2018-03-23

The arc welding process is widely used in industry but its automatic control is limited by the difficulty in measuring the weld bead geometry and closing the control loop on the arc, which has adverse environmental conditions. To address this problem, this work proposes a system to capture the welding variables and send stimuli to the Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) conventional process with a constant voltage power source, which allows weld bead geometry estimation with an open-loop control. Dynamic models of depth and width estimators of the weld bead are implemented based on the fusion of thermographic data, welding current and welding voltage in a multilayer perceptron neural network. The estimators were trained and validated off-line with data from a novel algorithm developed to extract the features of the infrared image, a laser profilometer was implemented to measure the bead dimensions and an image processing algorithm that measures depth by making a longitudinal cut in the weld bead. These estimators are optimized for embedded devices and real-time processing and were implemented on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device. Experiments to collect data, train and validate the estimators are presented and discussed. The results show that the proposed method is useful in industrial and research environments.

Design of a robust fuzzy controller for the arc stability of CO(2) welding process using the Taguchi method.

PubMed

Kim, Dongcheol; Rhee, Sehun

2002-01-01

CO(2) welding is a complex process. Weld quality is dependent on arc stability and minimizing the effects of disturbances or changes in the operating condition commonly occurring during the welding process. In order to minimize these effects, a controller can be used. In this study, a fuzzy controller was used in order to stabilize the arc during CO(2) welding. The input variable of the controller was the Mita index. This index estimates quantitatively the arc stability that is influenced by many welding process parameters. Because the welding process is complex, a mathematical model of the Mita index was difficult to derive. Therefore, the parameter settings of the fuzzy controller were determined by performing actual control experiments without using a mathematical model of the controlled process. The solution, the Taguchi method was used to determine the optimal control parameter settings of the fuzzy controller to make the control performance robust and insensitive to the changes in the operating conditions.

49 CFR 178.61 - Specification 4BW welded steel cylinders with electric-arc welded longitudinal seam.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

.... Cylinders closed in by spinning process are not authorized. (b) Authorized steel. Steel used in the.... Cylinders must be manufactured using equipment and processes adequate to ensure that each cylinder produced... seams must be of the butt welded type. Welds must be made by a machine process including automatic feed...

49 CFR 178.61 - Specification 4BW welded steel cylinders with electric-arc welded longitudinal seam.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

.... Cylinders closed in by spinning process are not authorized. (b) Authorized steel. Steel used in the.... Cylinders must be manufactured using equipment and processes adequate to ensure that each cylinder produced... seams must be of the butt welded type. Welds must be made by a machine process including automatic feed...

49 CFR 178.61 - Specification 4BW welded steel cylinders with electric-arc welded longitudinal seam.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

.... Cylinders closed in by spinning process are not authorized. (b) Authorized steel. Steel used in the.... Cylinders must be manufactured using equipment and processes adequate to ensure that each cylinder produced... seams must be of the butt welded type. Welds must be made by a machine process including automatic feed...

Study on the special vision sensor for detecting position error in robot precise TIG welding of some key part of rocket engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenzeng; Chen, Nian; Wang, Bin; Cao, Yipeng

2005-01-01

Rocket engine is a hard-core part of aerospace transportation and thrusting system, whose research and development is very important in national defense, aviation and aerospace. A novel vision sensor is developed, which can be used for error detecting in arc length control and seam tracking in precise pulse TIG welding of the extending part of the rocket engine jet tube. The vision sensor has many advantages, such as imaging with high quality, compactness and multiple functions. The optics design, mechanism design and circuit design of the vision sensor have been described in detail. Utilizing the mirror imaging of Tungsten electrode in the weld pool, a novel method is proposed to detect the arc length and seam tracking error of Tungsten electrode to the center line of joint seam from a single weld image. A calculating model of the method is proposed according to the relation of the Tungsten electrode, weld pool, the mirror of Tungsten electrode in weld pool and joint seam. The new methodologies are given to detect the arc length and seam tracking error. Through analyzing the results of the experiments, a system error modifying method based on a linear function is developed to improve the detecting precise of arc length and seam tracking error. Experimental results show that the final precision of the system reaches 0.1 mm in detecting the arc length and the seam tracking error of Tungsten electrode to the center line of joint seam.

A Decade of Friction Stir Welding R and D at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and a Glance into the Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, Jeff; Carter, Bob; Lawless, Kirby; Nunes, Arthur; Russell, Carolyn; Suites, Michael; Schneider, Judy

2006-01-01

Welding at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, Alabama, has taken a new direction through the last 10 years. Fusion welding processes, namely variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) were once the corner stone of welding development in the Space Flight Center's welding laboratories, located in the part of MSFC know as National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCM). Developed specifically to support the Shuttle Program's External Tank and later International Space Station manufacturing programs, was viewed as the paragon of welding processes for joining aluminum alloys. Much has changed since 1994, however, when NASA's Jeff Ding brought the FSW process to the NASA agency. Although, at that time, FSW was little more than a "lab curiosity", NASA researchers started investigating where the FSW process would best fit NASA manufacturing programs. A laboratory FSW system was procured and the first welds were made in fall of 1995. The small initial investment NASA made into the first FSW system has certainly paid off for the NASA agency in terms of cost savings, hardware quality and notoriety. FSW is now a part of Shuttle External Tank (ET) production and the preferred weld process for the manufacturing of components for the new Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV) that will take this country back to the moon. It is one of the solid state welding processes being considered for on-orbit space welding and repair, and is of considerable interest for Department of Defense @OD) manufacturing programs. MSFC involvement in these and other programs makes NASA a driving force in this country's development of FSW and other solid state welding technologies. Now, a decade later, almost the entire on-going welding R&D at MSFC now focuses on FSW and other more advanced solid state welding processes.

Evaluation Of Four Welding Arc Processes Applied To 6061 Aluminium Alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Benoit, A.; Laboratoire de Genie des Materiaux et Procedes Associes; Paillard, P.

At a time when greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced, the use of the aluminium alloys is expanding, in particular in the transportation industry. In order to extend the possibilities of aluminium assembly design, new Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding processes have been conceived. They work at lower temperatures than usual arc processes (classic MIG or Tungsten Inert Gas). This study compares four arc welding processes, applied to the 6061 aluminium alloy. These four weld processes have been studied through the metallurgical analysis of the weld beads. Metallography, micro-hardness testings, X Ray radiography have been carried out on the producedmore » weld beads. The processes are classified according to the quality of the beads like geometry of beads, size of the heat affected zone and presence of defects.« less

Prediction of Weld Penetration in FCAW of HSLA steel using Artificial Neural Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asl, Y. Dadgar; Mostafa, N. B.; Panahizadeh R., V.; Seyedkashi, S. M. H.

2011-01-01

Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) is a semiautomatic or automatic arc welding process that requires a continuously-fed consumable tubular electrode containing a flux. The main FCAW process parameters affecting the depth of penetration are welding current, arc voltage, nozzle-to-work distance, torch angle and welding speed. Shallow depth of penetration may contribute to failure of a welded structure since penetration determines the stress-carrying capacity of a welded joint. To avoid such occurrences; the welding process parameters influencing the weld penetration must be properly selected to obtain an acceptable weld penetration and hence a high quality joint. Artificial neural networks (ANN), also called neural networks (NN), are computational models used to express complex non-linear relationships between input and output data. In this paper, artificial neural network (ANN) method is used to predict the effects of welding current, arc voltage, nozzle-to-work distance, torch angle and welding speed on weld penetration depth in gas shielded FCAW of a grade of high strength low alloy steel. 32 experimental runs were carried out using the bead-on-plate welding technique. Weld penetrations were measured and on the basis of these 32 sets of experimental data, a feed-forward back-propagation neural network was created. 28 sets of the experiments were used as the training data and the remaining 4 sets were used for the testing phase of the network. The ANN has one hidden layer with eight neurons and is trained after 840 iterations. The comparison between the experimental results and ANN results showed that the trained network could predict the effects of the FCAW process parameters on weld penetration adequately.

Possibilities in optical monitoring of laser welding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horník, Petr; Mrňa, Libor; Pavelka, Jan

2016-11-01

Laser welding is a modern, widely used but still not really common method of welding. With increasing demands on the quality of the welds, it is usual to apply automated machine welding and with on-line monitoring of the welding process. The resulting quality of the weld is largely affected by the behavior of keyhole. However, its direct observation during the welding process is practically impossible and it is necessary to use indirect methods. At ISI we have developed optical methods of monitoring the process. Most advanced is an analysis of radiation of laser-induced plasma plume forming in the keyhole where changes in the frequency of the plasma bursts are monitored and evaluated using Fourier and autocorrelation analysis. Another solution, robust and suitable for industry, is based on the observation of the keyhole inlet opening through a coaxial camera mounted in the welding head and the subsequent image processing by computer vision methods. A high-speed camera is used to understand the dynamics of the plasma plume. Through optical spectroscopy of the plume, we can study the excitation of elements in a material. It is also beneficial to monitor the gas flow of shielding gas using schlieren method.

Automatic Control Of Length Of Welding Arc

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iceland, William F.

1991-01-01

Nonlinear relationships among current, voltage, and length stored in electronic memory. Conceptual microprocessor-based control subsystem maintains constant length of welding arc in gas/tungsten arc-welding system, even when welding current varied. Uses feedback of current and voltage from welding arc. Directs motor to set position of torch according to previously measured relationships among current, voltage, and length of arc. Signal paths marked "calibration" or "welding" used during those processes only. Other signal paths used during both processes. Control subsystem added to existing manual or automatic welding system equipped with automatic voltage control.

Friction Pull Plug Welding in Aluminum Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooke, Shane A.; Bradford, Vann; Burkholder, Jonathon

2011-01-01

NASA fs Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has recently invested much time and effort into the process development of Friction Pull Plug Welding (FPPW). FPPW, is a welding process similar to Friction Push Plug Welding in that, there is a small rotating part (plug) being spun and simultaneously pulled (forged) into a larger part. These two processes differ, in that push plug welding requires an internal reaction support, while pull plug welding reacts to the load externally. FPPW was originally conceived as a post proof repair technique for External Tank. FPPW was easily selected as the primary process used to close out the termination hole on the Constellation Program fs ARES I Upper Stage circumferential Self ] Reacting Friction Stir Welds (SR ]FSW). The versatility of FPPW allows it to also be used as a repair technique for both SR ]FSW and Conventional Friction Stir Welds. To date, all MSFC led development has been concentrated on aluminum alloys (2195, 2219, and 2014). Much work has been done to fully understand and characterize the process fs limitations. A heavy emphasis has been spent on plug design, to match the various weldland thicknesses and alloy combinations. This presentation will summarize these development efforts including weld parameter development, process control, parameter sensitivity studies, plug repair techniques, material properties including tensile, fracture and failure analysis.

Effect of Mg and Cu on mechanical properties of high-strength welded joints of aluminum alloys obtained by laser welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annin, B. D.; Fomin, V. M.; Karpov, E. V.; Malikov, A. G.; Orishich, A. M.

2017-09-01

Results of experimental investigations of welded joints of high-strength aluminum-lithium alloys of the Al-Cu-Li and Al-Mg-Li systems are reported. The welded joints are obtained by means of laser welding and are subjected to various types of processing for obtaining high-strength welded joints. A microstructural analysis is performed. The phase composition and mechanical properties of the welded joints before and after heat treatment are studied. It is found that combined heat treatment of the welded joint (annealing, quenching, and artificial ageing) increases the joint strength, but appreciably decreases the alloy strength outside the region thermally affected by the welding process.

An OSEE Based Portable Surface Contamination Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perey, Daniel F.

1997-01-01

Many industrial and aerospace processes involving the joining of materials, require sufficient surface cleanliness to insure proper bonding. Processes as diverse as painting, welding, or the soldering of electronic circuits will be compromised if prior inspection and removal of surface contaminants is inadequate. As process requirements become more stringent and the number of different materials and identified contaminants increases, various instruments and techniques have been developed for improved inspection. One such technique based on the principle of Optically Stimulated Electron Emission (OSEE) has been explored for a number of years as a tool for surface contamination monitoring. Some of the benefits of OSEE are: it's non-contacting; requires little operator training; and has very high contamination sensitivity. This paper describes the development of a portable OSEE based surface contamination monitor. The instrument is suitable for both hand-held and robotic inspections with either manual or automated control of instrument operation. In addition, instrument output data is visually displayed to the operator and may be output to an external computer for archiving or analysis.

3D finite element simulation of TIG weld pool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, X.; Asserin, O.; Gounand, S.; Gilles, P.; Bergheau, J. M.; Medale, M.

2012-07-01

The aim of this paper is to propose a three-dimensional weld pool model for the moving gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process, in order to understand the main factors that limit the weld quality and improve the productivity, especially with respect to the welding speed. Simulation is a very powerful tool to help in understanding the physical phenomena in the weld process. A 3D finite element model of heat and fluid flow in weld pool considering free surface of the pool and traveling speed has been developed for the GTAW process. Cast3M software is used to compute all the governing equations. The free surface of the weld pool is calculated by minimizing the total surface energy. The combined effects of surface tension gradient, buoyancy force, arc pressure, arc drag force to drive the fluid flow is included in our model. The deformation of the weld pool surface and the welding speed affect fluid flow, heat flow and thus temperature gradients and molten pool dimensions. Welding trials study is presented to compare our numerical results with macrograph of the molten pool.

Experimental design approach to the process parameter optimization for laser welding of martensitic stainless steels in a constrained overlap configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, M. M. A.; Romoli, L.; Fiaschi, M.; Dini, G.; Sarri, F.

2011-02-01

This paper presents an experimental design approach to process parameter optimization for the laser welding of martensitic AISI 416 and AISI 440FSe stainless steels in a constrained overlap configuration in which outer shell was 0.55 mm thick. To determine the optimal laser-welding parameters, a set of mathematical models were developed relating welding parameters to each of the weld characteristics. These were validated both statistically and experimentally. The quality criteria set for the weld to determine optimal parameters were the minimization of weld width and the maximization of weld penetration depth, resistance length and shearing force. Laser power and welding speed in the range 855-930 W and 4.50-4.65 m/min, respectively, with a fiber diameter of 300 μm were identified as the optimal set of process parameters. However, the laser power and welding speed can be reduced to 800-840 W and increased to 4.75-5.37 m/min, respectively, to obtain stronger and better welds.

Welding arc plasma physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cain, Bruce L.

1990-01-01

The problems of weld quality control and weld process dependability continue to be relevant issues in modern metal welding technology. These become especially important for NASA missions which may require the assembly or repair of larger orbiting platforms using automatic welding techniques. To extend present welding technologies for such applications, NASA/MSFC's Materials and Processes Lab is developing physical models of the arc welding process with the goal of providing both a basis for improved design of weld control systems, and a better understanding of how arc welding variables influence final weld properties. The physics of the plasma arc discharge is reasonably well established in terms of transport processes occurring in the arc column itself, although recourse to sophisticated numerical treatments is normally required to obtain quantitative results. Unfortunately the rigor of these numerical computations often obscures the physics of the underlying model due to its inherent complexity. In contrast, this work has focused on a relatively simple physical model of the arc discharge to describe the gross features observed in welding arcs. Emphasis was placed of deriving analytic expressions for the voltage along the arc axis as a function of known or measurable arc parameters. The model retains the essential physics for a straight polarity, diffusion dominated free burning arc in argon, with major simplifications of collisionless sheaths and simple energy balances at the electrodes.

Quality status display for a vibration welding process

DOEpatents

Spicer, John Patrick; Abell, Jeffrey A.; Wincek, Michael Anthony; Chakraborty, Debejyo; Bracey, Jennifer; Wang, Hui; Tavora, Peter W.; Davis, Jeffrey S.; Hutchinson, Daniel C.; Reardon, Ronald L.; Utz, Shawn

2017-03-28

A system includes a host machine and a status projector. The host machine is in electrical communication with a collection of sensors and with a welding controller that generates control signals for controlling the welding horn. The host machine is configured to execute a method to thereby process the sensory and control signals, as well as predict a quality status of a weld that is formed using the welding horn, including identifying any suspect welds. The host machine then activates the status projector to illuminate the suspect welds. This may occur directly on the welds using a laser projector, or on a surface of the work piece in proximity to the welds. The system and method may be used in the ultrasonic welding of battery tabs of a multi-cell battery pack in a particular embodiment. The welding horn and welding controller may also be part of the system.

The effects of welded joint characteristics on its properties in HDPE thermal fusion welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Hongbin; Peng, Jun

2017-05-01

In this paper, PE100 pipes with the diameter of 200 mm and the thickness of 11.9 mm were used as material. The welded joints were obtained in different welding pressures with the optimal welding temperature of 220∘C. Reheating process on the welded joints with the temperature of 130∘C was carried out. The joints exhibited X-type, and the cause of X-type joints was discussed. The temperature field in the forming process of welded joints was measured, and tensile and bending tests on welded joints were carried out. The fracture surface of welded joints was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and crystallinity calculation was taken by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanism of X-type weld profile effects on welded joints properties was analyzed. It was concluded that the mechanical properties of welded joints decrease with the reduced X distance between lines.

Optimization and Prediction of Angular Distortion and Weldment Characteristics of TIG Square Butt Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narang, H. K.; Mahapatra, M. M.; Jha, P. K.; Biswas, P.

2014-05-01

Autogenous arc welds with minimum upper weld bead depression and lower weld bead bulging are desired as such welds do not require a second welding pass for filling up the upper bead depressions (UBDs) and characterized with minimum angular distortion. The present paper describes optimization and prediction of angular distortion and weldment characteristics such as upper weld bead depression and lower weld bead bulging of TIG-welded structural steel square butt joints. Full factorial design of experiment was utilized for selecting the combinations of welding process parameter to produce the square butts. A mathematical model was developed to establish the relationship between TIG welding process parameters and responses such as upper bead width, lower bead width, UBD, lower bead height (bulging), weld cross-sectional area, and angular distortions. The optimal welding condition to minimize UBD and lower bead bulging of the TIG butt joints was identified.

Optimization of process parameters of pulsed TIG welded maraging steel C300

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deepak, P.; Jualeash, M. J.; Jishnu, J.; Srinivasan, P.; Arivarasu, M.; Padmanaban, R.; Thirumalini, S.

2016-09-01

Pulsed TIG welding technology provides excellent welding performance on thin sections which helps to increase productivity, enhance weld quality, minimize weld costs, and boost operator efficiency and this has drawn the attention of the welding society. Maraging C300 steel is extensively used in defence and aerospace industry and thus its welding becomes an area of paramount importance. In pulsed TIG welding, weld quality depends on the process parameters used. In this work, Pulsed TIG bead-on-plate welding is performed on a 5mm thick maraging C300 plate at different combinations of input parameters: peak current (Ip), base current (Ib) and pulsing frequency (HZ) as per box behnken design with three-levels for each factor. Response surface methodology is utilized for establishing a mathematical model for predicting the weld bead depth. The effect of Ip, Ib and HZ on the weld bead depth is investigated using the developed model. The weld bead depth is found to be affected by all the three parameters. Surface and contour plots developed from regression equation are used to optimize the processing parameters for maximizing the weld bead depth. Optimum values of Ip, Ib and HZ are obtained as 259 A, 120 A and 8 Hz respectively. Using this optimum condition, maximum bead depth of the weld is predicted to be 4.325 mm.

Study of Gravity Effects on Titanium Laser Welding in the Vertical Position

PubMed Central

Yuan, Zhang; Pu, Haitao; Li, Haigang; Cheng, Hao; Du, Dong; Shan, Jiguo

2017-01-01

To obtain satisfactory welds in positional laser beam welding, it is necessary to know how process parameters will influence the quality of welds in different welding positions. In this study, the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V sheets were laser welded in two vertical welding positions (vertical up and vertical down), and the appearance, porosity, strength, and ductility of the laser joints were evaluated. Results show that undercuts of the vertical up welds were greater than that of vertical down welds, while the porosity contents were much higher in vertical down welds than that in vertical up welds. When welding with a higher heat input, the vertical up welding position resulted in poor weld profiles (undercuts and burn-through holes), whereas the vertical down welding position led to excessive porosity contents in welds. Both severe undercut and excessive porosity were detrimental to the tensile properties of the welds. Weld appearance was improved and porosity contents were reduced by using a lower heat input, achieving better weld quality. Therefore, it is suggested that process parameter settings with relatively high laser powers and welding speeds, which can result in lower heat inputs, are used when laser welding the Ti6Al4V titanium alloys vertically. PMID:28885573

Study of Gravity Effects on Titanium Laser Welding in the Vertical Position.

PubMed

Chang, Baohua; Yuan, Zhang; Pu, Haitao; Li, Haigang; Cheng, Hao; Du, Dong; Shan, Jiguo

2017-09-08

To obtain satisfactory welds in positional laser beam welding, it is necessary to know how process parameters will influence the quality of welds in different welding positions. In this study, the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V sheets were laser welded in two vertical welding positions (vertical up and vertical down), and the appearance, porosity, strength, and ductility of the laser joints were evaluated. Results show that undercuts of the vertical up welds were greater than that of vertical down welds, while the porosity contents were much higher in vertical down welds than that in vertical up welds. When welding with a higher heat input, the vertical up welding position resulted in poor weld profiles (undercuts and burn-through holes), whereas the vertical down welding position led to excessive porosity contents in welds. Both severe undercut and excessive porosity were detrimental to the tensile properties of the welds. Weld appearance was improved and porosity contents were reduced by using a lower heat input, achieving better weld quality. Therefore, it is suggested that process parameter settings with relatively high laser powers and welding speeds, which can result in lower heat inputs, are used when laser welding the Ti6Al4V titanium alloys vertically.

Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Welded High Strength Steel Plate Using SMAW and SAW Method for LPG Storage Tanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winarto, Winarto; Riastuti, Rini; Kumeidi, Nur

2018-03-01

Indonesian government policy to convert energy consumption for domestic household from kerosene to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) may lead to the increasing demand for LPG storage tank. LPG storage tank with a large capacity generally used the HSLA steel material of ASTM A516 Grade 70 joined by SMAW or combination between SMAW and SAW method. The heat input can affect the microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld area. The input heat is proportional to the welding current and the arc voltage, but inversely proportional to its welding speed. The result shows that the combination of SMAW-SAW process yield the lower hardness in the HAZ and the fusion zone compared to the singe SMAW process. PWHT mainly applied to reduce residual stress of welded joint. The result shows that PWHT can reduce the hardness in the HAZ and the fusion zone in comparing with the singe SMAW process. The microstructure of weld joint shows a coarser structure in the combined welding process (SMAW-SAW) comparing with the single welding process (SMAW).

A hot-cracking mitigation technique for welding high-strength aluminum alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Y.P.; Dong, P.; Zhang, J.

2000-01-01

A hot-cracking mitigation technique for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) of high-strength aluminum alloy 2024 is presented. The proposed welding technique incorporates a trailing heat sink (an intense cooling source) with respect to the welding torch. The development of the mitigation technique was based on both detailed welding process simulation using advanced finite element techniques and systematic laboratory experiments. The finite element methods were used to investigate the detailed thermomechanical behavior of the weld metal that undergoes the brittle temperature range (BTR) during welding. As expected, a tensile deformation zone within the material BTR region was identified behind the weldmore » pool under conventional GTA welding process conventional GTA welding process conditions for the aluminum alloy studied. To mitigate hot cracking, the tensile zone behind the weld pool must be eliminated or reduce to a satisfactory level if the weld metal hot ductility cannot be further improved. With detailed computational modeling, it was found that by the introduction of a trailing heat sink at some distance behind the welding arc, the tensile strain rate with respect to temperature in the zone encompassing the BTR region can be significantly reduced. A series of parametric studies were also conducted to derive optimal process parameters for the trailing heat sink. The experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the trailing heat sink technique. With a proper implementation of the trailing heat sink method, hot cracking can be completely eliminated in welding aluminum alloy 2024 (AA 2024).« less

Effect of Process Variables on the Inertia Friction Welding of Superalloys LSHR and Mar-M247

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahaffey, D. W.; Senkov, O. N.; Shivpuri, R.; Semiatin, S. L.

2016-08-01

The effect of inertia friction welding process parameters on microstructure evolution, weld plane quality, and the tensile behavior of welds between dissimilar nickel-base superalloys was established. For this purpose, the fine-grain, powder metallurgy alloy LSHR was joined to coarse-grain cast Mar-M247 using a fixed level of initial kinetic energy, but different combinations of the flywheel moment of inertia and initial rotation speed. It was found that welds made with the largest moment of inertia resulted in a sound bond with the best microstructure and room-temperature tensile strength equal to or greater than that of the parent materials. A relationship between the moment of inertia and weld process efficiency was established. The post-weld tensile behavior was interpreted in the context of observed microstructure gradients and weld-line defects.

The variable polarity plasma arc welding process: Characteristics and performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, R. J.; Zhu, G. J.

1991-01-01

Significant advantages of the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) Welding Process include faster welding, fewer repairs, less joint preparation, reduced weldment distortion, and absence of porosity. The power distribution was analyzed for an argon plasma gas flow constituting the fluid in the VPPA Welding Process. The major heat loss at the torch nozzle is convective heat transfer; in the space between the outlet of the nozzle and the workpiece; radiative heat transfer; and in the keyhole in the workpiece, convective heat transfer. The power absorbed at the workpiece produces the molten puddle that solidifies into the weld bead. Crown and root widths, and crown and root heights of the weld bead are predicted. The basis is provided for an algorithm for automatic control of VPPA welding machine parameters to obtain desired weld bead dimensions.

Welding of 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel with Activated Tungsten Inert Gas Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadi, E.; Ebrahimi, A. R.

2015-02-01

The use of activating flux in TIG welding process is one of the most notable techniques which are developed recently. This technique, known as A-TIG welding, increases the penetration depth and improves the productivity of the TIG welding. In the present study, four oxide fluxes (SiO2, TiO2, Cr2O3, and CaO) were used to investigate the effect of activating flux on the depth/width ratio and mechanical property of 316L austenitic stainless steel. The effect of coating density of activating flux on the weld pool shape and oxygen content in the weld after the welding process was studied systematically. Experimental results indicated that the maximum depth/width ratio of stainless steel activated TIG weld was obtained when the coating density was 2.6, 1.3, 2, and 7.8 mg/cm2 for SiO2, TiO2, Cr2O3, and CaO, respectively. The certain range of oxygen content dissolved in the weld, led to a significant increase in the penetration capability of TIG welds. TIG welding with active fluxes can increase the delta-ferrite content and improves the mechanical strength of the welded joint.

Selecting Processes to Minimize Hexavalent Chromium from Stainless Steel Welding: Eight welding processes/shielding gas combinations were assessed for generation of hexavalent chromium in stainless steel welding fumes.

PubMed

Keane, M; Siert, A; Stone, S; Chen, B; Slaven, J; Cumpston, A; Antonini, J

2012-09-01

Eight welding processes/shielding gas combinations were assessed for generation of hexavalent chromium (Cr 6+ ) in stainless steel welding fumes. The processes examined were gas metal arc welding (GMAW) (axial spray, short circuit, and pulsed spray modes), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), and shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). The Cr 6+ fractions were measured in the fumes; fume generation rates, Cr 6+ generation rates, and Cr 6+ generation rates per unit mass of welding wire were determined. A limited controlled comparison study was done in a welding shop including SMAW, FCAW, and three GMAW methods. The processes studied were compared for costs, including relative labor costs. Results indicate the Cr 6+ in the fume varied widely, from a low of 2800 to a high of 34,000 ppm. Generation rates of Cr 6+ ranged from 69 to 7800 μg/min, and Cr 6+ generation rates per unit of wire ranged from 1 to 270 μg/g. The results of field study were similar to the findings in the laboratory. The Cr 6+ (ppm) in the fume did not necessarily correlate with the Cr 6+ generation rate. Physical properties were similar for the processes, with mass median aerodynamic diameters ranging from 250 to 336 nm, while the FCAW and SMAW fumes were larger (360 and 670 nm, respectively). The pulsed axial spray method was the best choice of the processes studied based on minimal fume generation, minimal Cr 6+ generation, and cost per weld. This method is usable in any position, has a high metal deposition rate, and is relatively simple to learn and use.

An investigation into underwater wet welding using the flux cored arc welding process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brydon, A.M.; Nixon, J.H.

1995-12-31

For the last two years, Cranfield has been carrying out a program of process investigations into wet underwater welding (Graham and Nixon 1993, Nixon and Webb 1994), and has demonstrated that it is possible to markedly improve the stability and consistency of the process by using control techniques developed for hyperbaric welding. In the project reported below, an initial evaluation of wet flux cored arc welding was undertaken. Although there continues to be considerable resistance to the use of wet welding on structures in the North Sea, continued pressure to reduce repair and maintenance costs is causing the industry tomore » re-examine techniques previously discounted, such as wet welding (Anon 1993).« less

Weld defect identification in friction stir welding using power spectral density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Bipul; Pal, Sukhomay; Bag, Swarup

2018-04-01

Power spectral density estimates are powerful in extraction of useful information retained in signal. In the current research work classical periodogram and Welch periodogram algorithms are used for the estimation of power spectral density for vertical force signal and transverse force signal acquired during friction stir welding process. The estimated spectral densities reveal notable insight in identification of defects in friction stir welded samples. It was observed that higher spectral density against each process signals is a key indication in identifying the presence of possible internal defects in the welded samples. The developed methodology can offer preliminary information regarding presence of internal defects in friction stir welded samples can be best accepted as first level of safeguard in monitoring the friction stir welding process.

Diode laser welding of polypropylene: investigations of the microstructures in the welded seam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abed, S.; Laurens, Patricia; Carretero, C.; Deschamps, J. R.; Duval, C.

2003-03-01

Laser welding of thermoplastic polymers is a non-contact process especially efficient for joining thermoplastic polymers. This innovative technology is already used for industrial series production in different sectors (automobile, packaging,...). The majority of the basic research concerns the weld strength depending on polymer nature, optical properties, butt design and process parameters. Nevertheless, a lack of knowledge concerning the influence of thermal history of the weld seam on morphology of semicrystalline polymer still exists, when this parameter strongly influences the strength of the weld. Actual results of diode laser transmission welding (LTW) experiments on polypropylene, a semicrystalline polymer widely used in industry, could contribute to a better understanding of the process itself and to success in practical applications.

Effect of Activated Flux on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Residual Stresses of Modified 9Cr-1Mo Steel Weld Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maduraimuthu, V.; Vasudevan, M.; Muthupandi, V.; Bhaduri, A. K.; Jayakumar, T.

2012-02-01

A novel variant of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding called activated-TIG (A-TIG) welding, which uses a thin layer of activated flux coating applied on the joint area prior to welding, is known to enhance the depth of penetration during autogenous TIG welding and overcomes the limitation associated with TIG welding of modified 9Cr-1Mo steels. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a specific activated flux for enhancing the depth of penetration during autogeneous TIG welding of modified 9Cr-1Mo steel. In the current work, activated flux composition is optimized to achieve 6 mm depth of penetration in single-pass TIG welding at minimum heat input possible. Then square butt weld joints are made for 6-mm-thick and 10-mm-thick plates using the optimized flux. The effect of flux on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and residual stresses of the A-TIG weld joint is studied by comparing it with that of the weld joints made by conventional multipass TIG welding process using matching filler wire. Welded microstructure in the A-TIG weld joint is coarser because of the higher peak temperature in A-TIG welding process compared with that of multipass TIG weld joint made by a conventional TIG welding process. Transverse strength properties of the modified 9Cr-1Mo steel weld produced by A-TIG welding exceeded the minimum specified strength values of the base materials. The average toughness values of A-TIG weld joints are lower compared with that of the base metal and multipass weld joints due to the presence of δ-ferrite and inclusions in the weld metal caused by the flux. Compressive residual stresses are observed in the fusion zone of A-TIG weld joint, whereas tensile residual stresses are observed in the multipass TIG weld joint.

Laser welding of fused quartz

DOEpatents

Piltch, Martin S.; Carpenter, Robert W.; Archer, III, McIlwaine

2003-06-10

Refractory materials, such as fused quartz plates and rods are welded using a heat source, such as a high power continuous wave carbon dioxide laser. The radiation is optimized through a process of varying the power, the focus, and the feed rates of the laser such that full penetration welds may be accomplished. The process of optimization varies the characteristic wavelengths of the laser until the radiation is almost completely absorbed by the refractory material, thereby leading to a very rapid heating of the material to the melting point. This optimization naturally occurs when a carbon dioxide laser is used to weld quartz. As such this method of quartz welding creates a minimum sized heat-affected zone. Furthermore, the welding apparatus and process requires a ventilation system to carry away the silicon oxides that are produced during the welding process to avoid the deposition of the silicon oxides on the surface of the quartz plates or the contamination of the welds with the silicon oxides.

Space Shuttle ET Friction Stir Weld Machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Jack M.

2003-01-01

NASA and Lockheed-Martin approached the FSW machine vendor community with a specification for longitudinal barrel production FSW weld machines and a shorter travel process development machine in June of 2000. This specification was based on three years of FSW process development on the Space Shuttle External Tank alloys, AL2 195-T8M4 and AL22 19-T87. The primary motivations for changing the ET longitudinal welds from the existing variable polarity Plasma Arc plasma weld process included: (1) Significantly reduced weld defect rates and related reduction in cycle time and uncertainty; (2) Many fewer process variables to control (5 vs. 17); (3) Fewer manufacturing steps; (4) Lower residual stresses and distortion; (5) Improved weld strengths, particularly at cryogenic temperatures; (6) Fewer hazards to production personnel. General Tool was the successful bidder. The equipment is at this writing installed and welding flight hardware. This paper is a means of sharing with the rest of the FSW community the unique features developed to assure NASA/L-M of successful production welds.

Syllabus in Trade Welding.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Secondary Curriculum Development.

The syllabus outlines material for a course two academic years in length (minimum two and one-half hours daily experience) leading to entry-level occupational ability in several welding trade areas. Fourteen units covering are welding, gas welding, oxyacetylene welding, cutting, nonfusion processes, inert gas shielded-arc welding, welding cast…

TEM study of the FSW nugget in AA2195-T81

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, J. A.; Nunes, A. C., Jr.; Chen, P. S.; Steele, G.

2004-01-01

During fiiction stir welding (FSW) the material being joined is subjected to a thermal- mechanical process in which the temperature, strain and strain rates are not completely understood. To produce a defect fiee weld, process parameters for the weld and tool pin design must be chosen carefully. The ability to select the weld parameters based on the thermal processing requirements of the material, would allow optimization of mechanical properties in the weld region. In this study, an attempt is made to correlate the microstructure with the variation in thermal history the material experiences during the FSW process.

Method and apparatus for real time weld monitoring

DOEpatents

Leong, Keng H.; Hunter, Boyd V.

1997-01-01

An improved method and apparatus are provided for real time weld monitoring. An infrared signature emitted by a hot weld surface during welding is detected and this signature is compared with an infrared signature emitted by the weld surface during steady state conditions. The result is correlated with weld penetration. The signal processing is simpler than for either UV or acoustic techniques. Changes in the weld process, such as changes in the transmitted laser beam power, quality or positioning of the laser beam, change the resulting weld surface features and temperature of the weld surface, thereby resulting in a change in the direction and amount of infrared emissions. This change in emissions is monitored by an IR sensitive detecting apparatus that is sensitive to the appropriate wavelength region for the hot weld surface.

Vision-based weld pool boundary extraction and width measurement during keyhole fiber laser welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Masiyang; Shin, Yung C.

2015-01-01

In keyhole fiber laser welding processes, the weld pool behavior is essential to determining welding quality. To better observe and control the welding process, the accurate extraction of the weld pool boundary as well as the width is required. This work presents a weld pool edge detection technique based on an off axial green illumination laser and a coaxial image capturing system that consists of a CMOS camera and optic filters. According to the difference of image quality, a complete developed edge detection algorithm is proposed based on the local maximum gradient of greyness searching approach and linear interpolation. The extracted weld pool geometry and the width are validated by the actual welding width measurement and predictions by a numerical multi-phase model.

Deconvoluting the Friction Stir Weld Process for Optimizing Welds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Judy; Nunes, Arthur C.

2008-01-01

In the friction stir welding process, the rotating surfaces of the pin and shoulder contact the weld metal and force a rotational flow within the weld metal. Heat, generated by the metal deformation as well as frictional slippage with the contact surface, softens the metal and makes it easier to deform. As in any thermo-mechanical processing of metal, the flow conditions are critical to the quality of the weld. For example, extrusion of metal from under the shoulder of an excessively hot weld may relax local pressure and result in wormhole defects. The trace of the weld joint in the wake of the weld may vary geometrically depending upon the flow streamlines around the tool with some geometry more vulnerable to loss of strength from joint contamination than others. The material flow path around the tool cannot be seen in real time during the weld. By using analytical "tools" based upon the principles of mathematics and physics, a weld model can be created to compute features that can be observed. By comparing the computed observations with actual data, the weld model can be validated or adjusted to get better agreement. Inputs to the model to predict weld structures and properties include: hot working properties ofthe metal, pin tool geometry, travel rate, rotation and plunge force. Since metals record their prior hot working history, the hot working conditions imparted during FSW can be quantified by interpreting the final microstructure. Variations in texture and grain size result from variations in the strain accommodated at a given strain rate and temperature. Microstructural data from a variety of FSWs has been correlated with prior marker studies to contribute to our understanding of the FSW process. Once this stage is reached, the weld modeling process can save significant development costs by reducing costly trial-and-error approaches to obtaining quality welds.

Resistance spot welding of ultra-fine grained steel sheets produced by constrained groove pressing: Optimization and characterization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khodabakhshi, F.; Kazeminezhad, M., E-mail: mkazemi@sharif.edu; Kokabi, A.H.

2012-07-15

Constrained groove pressing as a severe plastic deformation method is utilized to produce ultra-fine grained low carbon steel sheets. The ultra-fine grained sheets are joined via resistance spot welding process and the characteristics of spot welds are investigated. Resistance spot welding process is optimized for welding of the sheets with different severe deformations and their results are compared with those of as-received samples. The effects of failure mode and expulsion on the performance of ultra-fine grained sheet spot welds have been investigated in the present paper and the welding current and time of resistance spot welding process according to thesemore » subjects are optimized. Failure mode and failure load obtained in tensile-shear test, microhardness, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope images have been used to describe the performance of spot welds. The region between interfacial to pullout mode transition and expulsion limit is defined as the optimum welding condition. The results show that optimum welding parameters (welding current and welding time) for ultra-fine grained sheets are shifted to lower values with respect to those for as-received specimens. In ultra-fine grained sheets, one new region is formed named recrystallized zone in addition to fusion zone, heat affected zone and base metal. It is shown that microstructures of different zones in ultra-fine grained sheets are finer than those of as-received sheets. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Resistance spot welding process is optimized for joining of UFG steel sheets. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Optimum welding current and time are decreased with increasing the CGP pass number. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Microhardness at BM, HAZ, FZ and recrystallized zone is enhanced due to CGP.« less

The technology and welding joint properties of hybrid laser-tig welding on thick plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shenghai, Zhang; Yifu, Shen; Huijuan, Qiu

2013-06-01

The technologies of autogenous laser welding and hybrid laser-TIG welding are used on thick plate of high strength lower alloy structural steel 10CrNiMnMoV in this article. The unique advantages of hybrid laser-TIG welding is summarized by comparing and analyzing the process parameters and welding joints of autogenous laser welding laser welding and hybrid laser-TIG welding. With the optimal process parameters of hybrid welding, the good welding joint without visible flaws can be obtained and its mechanical properties are tested according to industry standards. The results show that the hybrid welding technology has certain advantages and possibility in welding thick plates. It can reduce the demands of laser power, and it is significant for lowering the aspect ratio of weld during hybrid welding, so the gas in the molten pool can rise and escape easily while welding thick plates. Therefore, the pores forming tendency decreases. At the same time, hybrid welding enhances welding speed, and optimizes the energy input. The transition and grain size of the microstructure of hybrid welding joint is better and its hardness is higher than base material. Furthermore, its tensile strength and impact toughness is as good as base material. Consequently, the hybrid welding joint can meet the industry needs completely.

Particulate and gaseous emissions when welding aluminum alloys.

PubMed

Cole, Homer; Epstein, Seymour; Peace, Jon

2007-09-01

Fabrication and repair of aluminum components and structures commonly involves the use of electric arc welding. The interaction of the arc and the metal being welded generates ultraviolet radiation, metallic oxides, fumes, and gases. Aluminum is seldom used as the pure metal but is often alloyed with other metals to improve strength and other physical properties. Therefore, the exact composition of any emissions will depend on the welding process and the particular aluminum alloy being welded. To quantify such emissions, The Aluminum Association sponsored several studies to characterize arc welding emissions by the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) processes for various combinations of base and filler alloys. In all cases, the tests were conducted under conditions that could be found in a production weld shop without forced ventilation. The concentrations of each analyte that a welder could be exposed to were greatly affected by the welding process, the composition of the base and filler alloys, the position of the welder, and the welding helmet. The results obtained can be used by employers to identify and control potential hazards associated with the welding of aluminum alloys and can provide the basis for hazard communication to employees involved in the welding of these alloys.

Online quality monitoring of welding processes by means of plasma optical spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrara, Michele; Ancona, Antonio; Lugara, Pietro M.; Sibilano, Michele

2000-02-01

An optical monitoring system for the welding process has been developed; it is based on the study of the optical emission of the welding plasma plume, created during the welding of stainless steels and other iron-based materials. In the first approach a continuous wave CO2 laser of 2500-Watt maximum power, available at the INFM Research Unit labs in Bari University, has been used as welding source. A detailed spectroscopic study of the visible and UV welding plasma emission has been carried out; many transition lines corresponding to the elements composing the material to be welded have been found. By means of an appropriate selection of these lines and suitable algorithms, the electronic temperature of the plasma plume has been calculated and its evolution recorded as a function of several welding parameters. The behavior of the registered signal has resulted to be correlated to the welded joint quality. These findings have allowed to design and assemble a portable, non-intrusive and real-time welding quality optical sensor which has been successfully tested for laser welding of metals in different geometrical configurations; it has been capable of detecting a wide range of weld defects normally occurring during industrial laser metal-working. This sensor has also been tested in arc welding industrial processes (TIG) with promising results.

Friction Stir Welding of Large Scale Cryogenic Tanks for Aerospace Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Carolyn; Ding, R. Jeffrey

1998-01-01

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has established a facility for the joining of large-scale aluminum cryogenic propellant tanks using the friction stir welding process. Longitudinal welds, approximately five meters in length, have been made by retrofitting an existing vertical fusion weld system, designed to fabricate tank barrel sections ranging from two to ten meters in diameter. The structural design requirements of the tooling, clamping and travel system will be described in this presentation along with process controls and real-time data acquisition developed for this application. The approach to retrofitting other large welding tools at MSFC with the friction stir welding process will also be discussed.

Energy reduction for the spot welding process in the automotive industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cullen, J. D.; Athi, N.; Al-Jader, M. A.; Shaw, A.; Al-Shamma'a, A. I.

2007-07-01

When performing spot welding on galvanised metals, higher welding force and current are required than on uncoated steels. This has implications for the energy usage when creating each spot weld, of which there are approximately 4300 in each passenger car. The paper presented is an overview of electrode current selection and its variance over the lifetime of the electrode tip. This also describes the proposed analysis system for the selection of welding parameters for the spot welding process, as the electrode tip wears.

Infrared Thermography For Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, Jeffrey L.; Lucky, Brian D.; Spiegel, Lyle B.; Hudyma, Russell M.

1992-01-01

Infrared imaging and image-data-processing system shows temperatures of joint during welding and provides data from which rates of heating and cooling determined. Information used to control welding parameters to ensure reliable joints, in materials which microstructures and associated metallurgical and mechanical properties depend strongly on rates of heating and cooling. Applicable to variety of processes, including tungsten/inert-gas welding; plasma, laser, and resistance welding; cutting; and brazing.

In-house welding studies supporting the prelaunch assessment of the STS-6 main engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hawkins, L. L.

1983-01-01

Welding studies were undertaken as a result of problems with the Challenger engines. The process used to perform these welds on heat exchanger coils, and sample test data, are described. Recommendations for process improvement are included. Effort to simulate problem welds, as well as good welds, test data, and conclusions for the high pressure fuel turbopump are also are discussed.

Damage Tolerance Assessment of Friction Pull Plug Welds in an Aluminum Alloy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGill, Preston; Burkholder, Jonathan

2012-01-01

Friction stir welding is a solid state welding process used in the fabrication of cryogenic propellant tanks. Self-reacting friction stir welding is one variation of the friction stir weld process being developed for manufacturing tanks. Friction pull plug welding is used to seal the exit hole that remains in a circumferential self-reacting friction stir weld. A friction plug weld placed in a self-reacting friction stir weld results in a non-homogenous weld joint where the initial weld, plug weld, their respective heat affected zones and the base metal all interact. The welded joint is a composite plastically deformed material system with a complex residual stress field. In order to address damage tolerance concerns associated with friction plug welds in safety critical structures, such as propellant tanks, nondestructive inspection and proof testing may be required to screen hardware for mission critical defects. The efficacy of the nondestructive evaluation or the proof test is based on an assessment of the critical flaw size. Test data relating residual strength capability to flaw size in an aluminum alloy friction plug weld will be presented.

European Science Notes. Volume 40, number 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaffer, L. E.

1986-01-01

European Science Notes is a monthly publication with brief articles on recent developments in European scientific research. Partial contents: Shallow Water Acoustic at the UK's Royal Aircraft Establishment; Immunology Research in Israel; Life Sciences Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science; Symposium on Macromolecules; Mass Spectrometry Meetings; Automation and Robotization in the Welding Industry; 3rd International Conference on Composite Structures; Conference on Quantum Electronics; Very Short Laser Pulse Research.

FBIS report. Science and technology: Japan, February 20, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-02-20

;Partial Contents: Energy (Japan: MHI Discovers Maritime Photo Plankton that Produces Ethanol from CO2, Japan: Tokyo Electric Power Co.`s PAFC Development); Telecommunications (Japan: Report on 1st Asian Telecommunications Industry Exchange, Japan: MPT Reports Test Evaluation Results for PHS); Defense Industries (Japan: Expert on Shipbuilding, Welding Technology, Japan: Komatsu R&D Chief on Dream of Ground Robots; Japan: Defense Simulator Series, Part 7: Torpedo Simulator).

Development of an intelligent system for cooling rate and fill control in GMAW. [Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Einerson, C.J.; Smartt, H.B.; Johnson, J.A.

1992-01-01

A control strategy for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is developed in which the welding system detects certain existing conditions and adjusts the process in accordance to pre-specified rules. This strategy is used to control the reinforcement and weld bead centerline cooling rate during welding. Relationships between heat and mass transfer rates to the base metal and the required electrode speed and welding speed for specific open circuit voltages are taught to a artificial neural network. Control rules are programmed into a fuzzy logic system. TRADITOINAL CONTROL OF THE GMAW PROCESS is based on the use of explicit welding proceduresmore » detailing allowable parameter ranges on a pass by pass basis for a given weld. The present work is an exploration of a completely different approach to welding control. In this work the objectives are to produce welds having desired weld bead reinforcements while maintaining the weld bead centerline cooling rate at preselected values. The need for this specific control is related to fabrication requirements for specific types of pressure vessels. The control strategy involves measuring weld joint transverse cross-sectional area ahead of the welding torch and the weld bead centerline cooling rate behind the weld pool, both by means of video (2), calculating the required process parameters necessary to obtain the needed heat and mass transfer rates (in appropriate dimensions) by means of an artificial neural network, and controlling the heat transfer rate by means of a fuzzy logic controller (3). The result is a welding machine that senses the welding conditions and responds to those conditions on the basis of logical rules, as opposed to producing a weld based on a specific procedure.« less

Development of the weld-braze joining process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bales, T. T.; Royster, D. M.; Arnold, W. E., Jr.

1973-01-01

A joining process, designated weld-brazing, was developed which combines resistance spot welding and brazing. Resistance spot welding is used to position and aline the parts, as well as to establish a suitable faying-surface gap for brazing. Fabrication is then completed at elevated temperature by capillary flow of the braze alloy into the joint. The process was used successfully to fabricate Ti-6Al-4V alloy joints by using 3003 aluminum braze alloy and should be applicable to other metal-braze systems. Test results obtained on single-overlap and hat-stiffened panel specimens show that weld-brazed joints were superior in tensile shear, stress rupture, fatigue, and buckling compared with joints fabricated by conventional means. Another attractive feature of the process is that the brazed joint is hermetically sealed by the braze material, which may eliminate many of the sealing problems encountered with riveted or spot welded structures. The relative ease of fabrication associated with the weld-brazing process may make it cost effective over conventional joining techniques.

Welding of hermetic connectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hieber, D.E.

1976-08-01

Certain systems use hermetically-sealed multipin connectors welded into a stainless steel support ring. Failure of these hermetic seals during welding continues to be a problem, and similar problems are anticipated on advanced systems. Since the assembly is expensive, and the detection, prevention, and repair of hermetic seal failures is costly, development of an improved welding process is important. Extended service life also requires a lower system leak rate, thus causing an increased need for maintaining the hermetic seal without supplemental epoxy sealing and repair. Experience shows that up to 70 percent of the 10-pin SA1810-2 connectors have gross leaks (greatermore » than 0.003 mm/sup 3//s Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP)) after being welded using established welding processes and without using the epoxy pre-seal process. Acceptable leak rates of less than 0.00001 mm/sup 3//s STP were achieved from 20 SA1810-2 10-pin connectors using heat sinks and an intermittent gas-tungsten-arc (GTA) weld technique. The process developed consists of using a massive copper heat sink with silicon thermal joint compound to maintain control of temperature in the hermetic seal area and using a 12-segment GTA weld with compressed argon gas cooling between weld segments. The process and techniques developed are considered acceptable for welding the SA1810 family of connectors.« less

Hot cracking of Structural Steel during Laser Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineda Huitron, Rosa M.; Vuorinen, Esa

2017-10-01

Laser welding is an important technique in many industries due to its high precision in operation, its local and fast processing, narrow welds and its good weld surface quality. However, the process can involve some complications due to the rapid heating and cooling of the material processed, resulting in physical and metallurgical effects as thermal contraction during solidification, giving as a result the presence of residual stresses in the narrow weld. Formation of defects during the process is an important topic to be evaluated in order to achieve better performance of the steels in use. In the present work, defects formed during laser welding of a structural steel have been investigated. The defects formed have been identified and the causes of the defects are discussed. Possible strategies for improvement of the welding procedure and final weld result are proposed. The defects were analysed by optical and scanning electron microscopy and hardness measurement. Cracks were located in the middle of the fusion zone and followed both inter-granular and trans-granular paths. Impurities as manganese sulphides were found along the welding direction, and could act as sites for crack formation. The cracks formed during solidification of the weld are identified as solidification cracks. This kind of cracks is usually caused by solidification shrinkage and thermal contractions during the process, which appear in the fusion zone and sometimes in the heat affected zone.

Process Studies on Laser Welding of Copper with Brilliant Green and Infrared Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engler, Sebastian; Ramsayer, Reiner; Poprawe, Reinhart

Copper materials are classified as difficult to weld with state-of-the-art lasers. High thermal conductivity in combination with low absorption at room temperature require high intensities for reaching a deep penetration welding process. The low absorption also causes high sensitivity to variations in surface conditions. Green laser radiation shows a considerable higher absorption at room temperature. This reduces the threshold intensity for deep penetration welding significantly. The influence of the green wavelength on energy coupling during heat conduction welding and deep penetration welding as well as the influence on the weld shape has been investigated.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tube to tube-sheet joints in heat exchangers are currently welded by the orbital TIG process characterized by very high quality of the weld beads and good repeatability. However, due to high number of welds, a reduction in the welding cycle time would have an interesting impact on manufacturing costs and delays and laser welding technology is aimed to improve this factor. The main disadvantage is the positioning accuracy required by the laser welding process since beam deviations from real joint cause lack of penetration. It is expected that the Orbital laser welding head developed under the European project ORBITAL will avoid this drawback.

Sustainability assessment of shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alkahla, Ibrahim; Pervaiz, Salman

2017-09-01

Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process is one of the most commonly employed material joining processes utilized in the various industrial sectors such as marine, ship-building, automotive, aerospace, construction and petrochemicals etc. The increasing pressure on manufacturing sector wants the welding process to be sustainable in nature. The SMAW process incorporates several types of inputs and output streams. The sustainability concerns associated with SMAW process are linked with the various input and output streams such as electrical energy requirement, input material consumptions, slag formation, fumes emission and hazardous working conditions associated with the human health and occupational safety. To enhance the environmental performance of the SMAW welding process, there is a need to characterize the sustainability for the SMAW process under the broad framework of sustainability. Most of the available literature focuses on the technical and economic aspects of the welding process, however the environmental and social aspects are rarely addressed. The study reviews SMAW process with respect to the triple bottom line (economic, environmental and social) sustainability approach. Finally, the study concluded recommendations towards achieving economical and sustainable SMAW welding process.

Cutting velocity accuracy as a criterion for comparing robot trajectories and manual movements for medical industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorotnikov, A. A.; Klimov, D. D.; Romash, E. V.; Bashevskaya, O. S.; Poduraev, Yu. V.; Bazykyan, E. A.; Chunihin, A. A.

2018-03-01

Industrial robots perform technological operations, such as spot and arc welding, machining and laser cutting along different trajectories within their performance characteristics. The evaluation of these characteristics is carried out according to the criteria of the standard ISO 9283. The criteria of this standard are applicable in industrial manufacturing, but not in the medical industry, as they are not developed in the framework of medical tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate according to criteria built on different principles. In this article, the question of comparative evaluation of trajectories from program movements of a robot and manual movements of a surgeon, arising during the development of robotic medical complexes using industrial robots, is considered. A comparative evaluation is required to prove the expediency of automating medical operations in maxillofacial surgery. This study focuses on the estimation of velocity accuracy of a medical instrument. To obtain the velocity of the medical instrument, coordinates of the trajectory points from the program movements of the robot KUKA LWR4+ and trajectories from the manual movements of a professional surgeon have been measured. The measurement was carried out using a coordinate measuring machine, the laser tracker Leica LTD800. The accuracy estimation was carried out by two criteria: the criterion set out in the ISO 9283 standard, and the developed alternative criterion, the description of which is presented in this article. A quantitative comparative evaluation of the trajectories of a robot and a surgeon was obtained.

Non Destructive Analysis of Fsw Welds using Ultrasonic Signal Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavan Kumar, T.; Prabhakar Reddy, P.

2017-08-01

Friction Stir Welding is an evolving metal joining technique and is mostly used in joining materials which cannot be easily joined by other available welding techniques. It is a technique which can be used for welding dissimilar materials also. The strength of the weld joint is determined by the way in which these material are mixing with each other, since we are not using any filler material for the welding process the intermixing has a significant importance. The complication with the friction stir welding process is that there are many process parameters which effect this intermixing process such as tool geometry, rotating speed of the tool, transverse speed etc., In this study an attempt is made to compare the material flow and weld quality of various weldments by changing the parameters. Ultrasonic signal Analysis is used to characterize the microstructure of the weldments. use of ultrasonic waves is a non destructive, accurate and fast way of characterization of microstructure. In this method the relationship between the ultrasonic measured parameters and microstructures are evaluated using background echo and backscattered signal process techniques. The ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements are dependent on the elastic modulus and any change in the microstructure is reflected in the ultrasonic velocity. An insight into material flow is essential to determine the quality of the weld. Hence an attempt is made in this study to know the relationship between tool geometry and the pattern of material flow and resulting weld quality the experiments are conducted to weld dissimilar aluminum alloys and the weldments are characterized using and ultra Sonic signal processing. Characterization is also done using Scanning Electron Microscopy. It is observed that there is a good correlation between the ultrasonic signal processing results and Scanning Electron Microscopy on the observed precipitates. Tensile tests and hardness tests are conducted on the weldments and compared for determining the weld quality.

Experimental and numerical studies on the issues in laser welding of light-weight alloys in a zero-gap lap joint configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harooni, Masoud

It is advantageous for the transportation industry to use lightweight components in the structure in order to save mass and reduce CO2 emissions. One of the lightest structural metals, magnesium, fulfills the need for mass reduction within the automotive industry. Many of the body structure components in the automotive industry are assembled using joining processes such as fusion welding. Furthermore, laser welding offers a low heat impact, high process rate, joining method which is becoming increasingly popular as the cost for laser systems continues to decrease. However, there is a limited body of work investigating the laser welding of magnesium and therefore, in the current study, different techniques and methods for laser welding of magnesium alloys are numerically and experimentally studied in order to optimize process parameters to achieve high quality welds. A feasibility study was designed in order to study the effect of various laser welding process parameters (such as laser power levels and welding speeds) on weld quality. Three regression models were developed to find the best fit model that relates process parameters to the shear load of the weld. Furthermore, to understand the effect of laser welding parameters on temperature distribution in laser welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy, a numerical model was developed. A rotary Gaussian volumetric body heat source was applied in this study to obtain the temperature history during the laser welding process. Cross-sectional views of the weld beads, temperature history recorded by thermocouples, and temperature history recorded by infrared camera were used to validate the numerical model. In order to study the real-time dynamic behavior of the molten pool and the keyhole during the welding process, a high speed charge-coupled device (CCD) assisted with a green laser as an illumination source was used. In order to observe the presence of pores, prior studies destructively evaluated the weld bead however; in the current study a non-destructive evaluation method based on spectroscopy is proposed to detect the presence of pores in the lap joint of laser welded AZ31B magnesium alloy. The electron temperature that is calculated by the Boltzmann plot method is correlated to the presence of pores in the weld bead. A separate series of experiments was performed to evaluate the effect of an oxide coating layer on the dynamic behavior of the molten pool in the laser welding of an AZ31B magnesium alloy in a zero-gap lap joint configuration. A high speed CCD camera assisted with a green laser as an illumination source was selected to record the weld pool dynamics. Another technique used in this study was two-pass laser welding process to join AZ31B magnesium sheet in a zero-gap, lap-shear configuration. Two groups of samples including one pass laser welding (OPLW) and two pass laser welding (TPLW) were studied. In the two pass laser welding procedure, the first pass is performed by a defocused laser beam on the top of the two overlapped sheets in order to preheat the faying surface prior to laser welding, while the second pass is applied to melt and eventually weld the samples. Tensile and microhardness tests were used to measure the mechanical properties of the laser welded samples. A spectrometer was also used in real-time to correlate pore formation with calculated electron temperature using the Boltzmann plot method. The results of calculated electron temperature confirmed the previous results in earlier chapter. Magnesium and aluminum are two alloys which are used in different industries mainly due to their light weight. The main use of these two alloys is in automotive industry. Since different parts of the automobiles can be manufactured with each of these two alloys, it is essential to evaluate the joining feasibility of dissimilar metals such as aluminum to magnesium. A 4 kW fiber laser is used to join AZ31B magnesium alloy to AA 6014 using an overlap joint configuration. Two different methods including focused beam laser welding (FBLW) and defocused beam laser welding (DBLW) are performed. The cross-sections of the welds were studied using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM) as well as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to reveal the quality of the obtained dissimilar welds. The mechanical properties of the welds were studied using a tensile test and microhardness testing machines. The results show that the defocused laser welding process could help to achieve a better quality of weld. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

U-Groove aluminum weld strength improvement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verderaime, V.; Vaughan, R.

1996-01-01

Though butt-welds are among the most preferred joining methods in aerostructures, their strength dependence on inelastic mechanics is generally the least understood. This study investigated experimental strain distributions across a thick aluminum U-grooved weld and identified two weld process considerations for improving the multipass weld strength. The extreme thermal expansion and contraction gradient of the fusion heat input across the groove tab thickness produces severe peaking, which induces bending under uniaxial loading. The filler strain-hardening decreased with increasing filler pass sequence, producing the weakest welds on the last pass side. Current welding schedules unknowingly compound these effects which reduce the weld strength. A depeaking index model was developed to select filler pass thicknesses, pass numbers, and sequences to improve depeaking in the welding process. The intent is to combine the strongest weld pass side with the peaking induced bending tension to provide a more uniform stress and stronger weld under axial tensile loading.

Thermo-Mechanical Calculations of Hybrid Rotary Friction Welding at Equal Diameter Copper Bars and Effects of Essential Parameters on Dependent Special Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsa, M. H.; Davari, H.; Hadian, A. M.; Ahmadabadi, M. Nili

2007-05-01

Hybrid Rotary Friction Welding is a modified type of common rotary friction welding processes. In this welding method parameters such as pressure, angular velocity and time of welding control temperature, stress, strain and their variations. These dependent factors play an important rule in defining optimum process parameters combinations in order to improve the design and manufacturing of welding machines and quality of welded parts. Thermo-mechanical simulation of friction welding has been carried out and it has been shown that, simulation is an important tool for prediction of generated heat and strain at the weld interface and can be used for prediction of microstructure and evaluation of quality of welds. For simulation of Hybrid Rotary Friction Welding, a commercial finite element program has been used and the effects of pressure and rotary velocity of rotary part on temperature and strain variations have been investigated.

Investigation and development of friction stir welding process for unreinforced polyphenylene sulfide and reinforced polyetheretherketone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Hossain

The joining of thermoplastics through welding, a specific form of fusion bonding, offers numerous advantages over mechanical joining. It eliminates the use of costly fasteners and has only a limited effect on the strength of the parts being joined since it does not require the introduction of holes and loading pins, and it does not create significant stress concentrations. A specific form of welding, Friction Stir Welding, was investigated for the creation of butt joints of unreinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and short carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) plates. Friction stir welding requires a rotating pin, a shoulder arrangement, relative movement between the tool and the weld piece and a clamping mechanism to hold the weld piece in place. Analytical models and experimental results show that the heat generated by the FSW tool is insufficient to produce the heat required to weld thermoplastic materials which makes FSW of polymers different from FSW of metals. A second heat source is required for preheating the thermoplastic parts prior to welding. A resistance type surface heater was placed at the bottom of two identical weld pieces for the experiments. Two types of shoulder design i.e. a rotating shoulder and a stationary shoulder were developed. Taguchi's Design of Experiment method was utilized to investigate the welding process, where duration of heating, process temperature, tool rotational speed and tool traverse speed were used as the welding parameters. The quality of the welding process was assumed to be indicated by the weld strength. DoE revealed that one of the process parameters, tool traverse speed, had significant influence on the tensile strength of PPS samples. While PPS sample showed relatively lower tensile strength with higher traverse speed, short carbon fiber reinforced PEEK samples had higher tensile strength with higher traverse speeds. In addition to tensile tests on dog bone shaped specimen, fracture toughness tests were performed for both PPS and PEEK samples to identify the fracture toughness of these materials. Presence of un-welded section in the welded specimen due to the setup of the experiments yielded notched tensile strengths during the tensile test process. With the help of fracture toughness values of these materials, notched tensile strengths of the welded samples were compared with the notched tensile strengths or residual tensile strengths of the base materials. In this study, residual joint efficiency of PEEK samples was found higher than that of PPS samples. Additionally, notched tensile strengths of the welded samples were compared with un-notched tensile strengths of the materials. The notched tensile strengths of PPS and PEEK were found about 80% and 75% of the respective base materials. Micrographs of PEEK samples showed the presence of more voids and cracks in the weld line compared to the un-welded samples. In this study, continuous friction stir welding process has been developed for butt joining of unreinforced PPS and short carbon fiber reinforced PEEK. The process parameters and the experimental setup can be utilized to investigate the weldability of different types of thermoplastic composites and various types of joint configurations.

Nano-Sized Grain Refinement Using Friction Stir Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

friction stir weld is a very fine grain microstructure produced as a result of dynamic recrystallization. The friction stir ... Friction Stir Processing, Magnesium, Nano-size grains Abstract A key characteristic of a friction stir weld is a very fine grain microstructure...state process developed on the basis of the friction stir welding (FSW) technique invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in 1991 [2]. During

A density-adaptive SPH method with kernel gradient correction for modeling explosive welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, M. B.; Zhang, Z. L.; Feng, D. L.

2017-09-01

Explosive welding involves processes like the detonation of explosive, impact of metal structures and strong fluid-structure interaction, while the whole process of explosive welding has not been well modeled before. In this paper, a novel smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model is developed to simulate explosive welding. In the SPH model, a kernel gradient correction algorithm is used to achieve better computational accuracy. A density adapting technique which can effectively treat large density ratio is also proposed. The developed SPH model is firstly validated by simulating a benchmark problem of one-dimensional TNT detonation and an impact welding problem. The SPH model is then successfully applied to simulate the whole process of explosive welding. It is demonstrated that the presented SPH method can capture typical physics in explosive welding including explosion wave, welding surface morphology, jet flow and acceleration of the flyer plate. The welding angle obtained from the SPH simulation agrees well with that from a kinematic analysis.

Vacuum Compatibility of Flux-Core Arc Welding (FCAW)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arose, Dana; Denault, Martin; Jurcznski, Stephan

2010-11-01

Typically, vacuum chambers are welded together using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or gas metal arc welding (GMAW). This is demonstrated in the vacuum chamber of Princeton Plasma Physics Lab's (PPPL) National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). These processes are slow and apply excess heat to the base metal, which may cause the vacuum chamber to deform beyond designed tolerance. Flux cored arc welding (FCAW) avoids these problems, but may produce an unacceptable amount of outgasing due to the flux shielding. We believe impurities due to outgasing from FCAW will not greatly exceed those found in GTAW and GMAW welding. To test this theory, samples welded together using all three welding processes will be made and baked in a residual gas analyzer (RGA). The GTAW and GMAW welds will be tested to establish a metric for permissible outgasing. By testing samples from all three processes we hope to demonstrate that FCAW does not significantly outgas, and is therefore a viable alternative to GTAW and GMAW. Results from observations will be presented.

State-of-technology for joining TD-NiCr sheet.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holko, K. H.; Moore, T. J.; Gyorgak, C. A.

1972-01-01

At the current state-of-technology there are many joining processes that can be used to make sound welds in TD-NiCr sheet. Some of these that are described in this report are electron beam welding (EBW), gas-tungsten arc welding (GTAW), diffusion welding (DFW), resistance spot welding (RSW), resistance seam welding (RSEW), and brazing. Roll welding (RW) and explosion welding (EXW) have not been developed to the point where they can be used to make sound welds in TD-NiCr. Joining work that has previously been done on TD-NiCr by various organizations, both privately supported and under Air Force and NASA contracts, is described in this summary. Current work is also described that is being done at General Dynamics/Convair (under NASA contract) and at NASA/Lewis to develop and evaluate DFW, RSW, RSEW, and brazing. Preliminary comparisons of joining processes are made for typical applications. A brief description of the manufacture of TD-NiCr sheet by a recently standardized process (under NASA contract) also is given.

Mechanical Property Analysis in the Retracted Pin-Tool (RPT) Region of Friction Stir Welded (FSW) Aluminum Lithium 2195

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey; Oelgoetz, Peter A.

1999-01-01

The "Auto-Adjustable Pin Tool for Friction Stir Welding", was developed at The Marshall Space Flight Center to address process deficiencies unique to the FSW process. The auto-adjustable pin tool, also called the retractable pin-tool (R.PT) automatically withdraws the welding probe of the pin-tool into the pin-tool's shoulder. The primary function of the auto-adjustable pin-tool is to allow for keyhole closeout, necessary for circumferential welding and localized weld repair, and, automated pin-length adjustment for the welding of tapered material thickness. An overview of the RPT hardware is presented. The paper follows with studies conducted using the RPT. The RPT was used to simulate two capabilities; welding tapered material thickness and closing out the keyhole in a circumferential weld. The retracted pin-tool regions in aluminum- lithium 2195 friction stir weldments were studied through mechanical property testing and metallurgical sectioning. Correlation's can be =de between retractable pin-tool programmed parameters, process parameters, microstructure, and resulting weld quality.

Optical sensor for real-time weld defect detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ancona, Antonio; Maggipinto, Tommaso; Spagnolo, Vincenzo; Ferrara, Michele; Lugara, Pietro M.

2002-04-01

In this work we present an innovative optical sensor for on- line and non-intrusive welding process monitoring. It is based on the spectroscopic analysis of the optical VIS emission of the welding plasma plume generated in the laser- metal interaction zone. Plasma electron temperature has been measured for different chemical species composing the plume. Temperature signal evolution has been recorded and analyzed during several CO2-laser welding processes, under variable operating conditions. We have developed a suitable software able to real time detect a wide range of weld defects like crater formation, lack of fusion, excessive penetration, seam oxidation. The same spectroscopic approach has been applied for electric arc welding process monitoring. We assembled our optical sensor in a torch for manual Gas Tungsten Arc Welding procedures and tested the prototype in a manufacturing industry production line. Even in this case we found a clear correlation between the signal behavior and the welded joint quality.

Investigation on edge joints of Inconel 625 sheets processed with laser welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caiazzo, F.; Alfieri, V.; Cardaropoli, F.; Sergi, V.

2017-08-01

Laser welding of Inconel 625 edge joint beads in square groove configuration was investigated. The use of different weld geometries in new aerospace solutions explains research on edge joints. A structured plan was carried out in order to characterize the process defining the influence of laser power and welding speed and to study possible interactions among the governing factors. As weld pool protection is crucial in order to obtain sound joints when processing superalloys, a special glove box for gas supply was designed to upgrade the welding head. Welded joints were characterized referring to bead profile, microstructure and X-rays. It was found that heat input plays an important role as it affects welding stability, porosity content and bead shape. Results suggest operating with low values of heat input to reduce porosity and guarantee stable bead conformation. Furthermore, a decrease in the grain size has been observed as a consequence of decreasing heat input.

46 CFR 56.70-1 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., Assembly and Erection § 56.70-1 General. (a) The following generally applies to all types of welding, such as stud welding, casting repair welding and all processes of fabrication welding. Where the detailed requirements are not appropriate to a particular process, alternatives must be approved by the Marine Safety...

Welding process modelling and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romine, Peter L.; Adenwala, Jinen A.

1993-01-01

The research and analysis performed, and software developed, and hardware/software recommendations made during 1992 in development of the PC-based data acquisition system for support of Welding Process Modeling and Control is reported. A need was identified by the Metals Processing Branch of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, for a mobile data aquisition and analysis system, customized for welding measurement and calibration. Several hardware configurations were evaluated and a PC-based system was chosen. The Welding Measurement System (WMS) is a dedicated instrument, strictly for the use of data aquisition and analysis. Although the WMS supports many of the functions associated with the process control, it is not the intention for this system to be used for welding process control.

Internal Stress Distribution Measurement of TIG Welded SUS304 Samples Using Neutron Diffraction Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muslih, M. Refai; Sumirat, I.; Sairun; Purwanta

2008-03-01

The distribution of residual stress of SUS304 samples that were undergone TIG welding process with four different electric currents has been measured. The welding has been done in the middle part of the samples that was previously grooved by milling machine. Before they were welded the samples were annealed at 650 degree Celsius for one hour. The annealing process was done to eliminate residual stress generated by grooving process so that the residual stress within the samples was merely produced from welding process. The calculation of distribution of residual stress was carried out by measuring the strains within crystal planes of Fe(220) SUS304. Strain, Young modulus, and Poisson ratio of Fe(220) SUS304 were measured using DN1-M neutron diffractometer. Young modulus and Poisson ratio of Fe(220) SUS304 sample were measured in-situ. The result of calculations showed that distribution of residual stress of SUS304 in the vicinity of welded area is influenced both by treatments given at the samples-making process and by the electric current used during welding process.

High-Speed Friction Stir Welding of AA7075-T6 Sheet: Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, Micro-texture, and Thermal History

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Jingyi; Upadhyay, Piyush; Hovanski, Yuri

Friction-stir-welding (FSW) is a cost-effective and high quality joining process for aluminum alloys (especially heat-treatable allo ys) that has been applied successfully in the aerospace industry. However, the full potential of FSW on more cost-sensitive applications is still limited by the production rate, namely the welding speed of the process. The majority of literature evaluating FSW of aluminum alloys is based on welds made in the range of welding speeds around hundreds of millimeters per minute, and only a handful are at a moderate speed of 1 m/min. In this study we present a microstructural analysis of friction stir weldedmore » AA7075-T6 blanks with welding speeds up to 3 m/min. Textures, microstructures, mechanical properties, and weld quality are analyzed using TEM, EBSD, metallographic imaging, and Vickers hardness. Results are coupled with welding parameters to aid in the understanding of the complex material flow and texture gradients within the welds in an effort to optimize welding parameters for high speed processing.« less

Welding wire selection critical to jet engine repair work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-11-01

A review is provided of issues related to the selection of welding wire for aircraft gas-turbine engines emphasizing the importance of cleanliness in the welding wire product. A three-step metallurgical control process is described for the production of welding wire that is clean and suitable for turbine repair. The process is based on: (1) vacuum induction melting; (2) contamination-free processing of the wire; and (3) environmentally controlled packaging. Weld work on aerospace casting is shown to be useful and suitable for many alloy and superalloy materials with various filler materials.

Analysis and Comparison of Aluminum Alloy Welded Joints Between Metal Inert Gas Welding and Tungsten Inert Gas Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Lei; Guan, Yingchun; Wang, Qiang; Cong, Baoqiang; Qi, Bojin

2015-09-01

Surface contamination usually occurs during welding processing and it affects the welds quality largely. However, the formation of such contaminants has seldom been studied. Effort was made to study the contaminants caused by metal inert gas (MIG) welding and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes of aluminum alloy, respectively. SEM, FTIR and XPS analysis was carried out to investigate the microstructure as well as surface chemistry. These contaminants were found to be mainly consisting of Al2O3, MgO, carbide and chromium complexes. The difference of contaminants between MIG and TIG welds was further examined. In addition, method to minimize these contaminants was proposed.

Alternative methods for C.R.A pipeline welding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belloni, A.

1996-12-01

The application of the GTAW process for C.R.A. (Corrosion Resistant Alloy) linepipe welding is a well known practice, nevertheless the high construction costs associated to the use of this process particularly for root pass welding (low welding speed) necessitate consideration of an updated version of the GMAW process (higher welding speed) for the same application. The present paper describes the progress obtained in using alternative welding methods to GTAW Cold wire such as: GTAW hot wire and GMAW to increase the welding speed and consequently reduce the overall project cost. The authors feel that this approach is essential to increasemore » the pipelaying productivity of a C.R.A. linepipe materials, at present still too far from that of the Carbon steel one.« less

Method for defect free keyhole plasma arc welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harwig, Dennis D. (Inventor); Hunt, James F. (Inventor); Ryan, Patrick M. (Inventor); Fisher, Walter J. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A plasma arc welding process for welding metal of increased thickness with one pass includes operating the plasma arc welding apparatus at a selected plasma gas flow rate, travel speed and arc current, to form a weld having a penetration ratio to weld height to weld width, and maintaining the penetration ratio at less than 0.74. Parameters for the plasma gas flow rate, travel speed and arc current are adjusted to a steady state condition during a start up period and maintained during the steady state condition to complete a weld. During a terminal stopping period, the travel speed is stopped and instantaneously replaced by filler wire which adds material to fill the keyhole that had been formed by the welding process. Parameters are subsequently adjusted during the stopping period to terminate the weld in a sound manner.

Upgraded HFIR Fuel Element Welding System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sease, John D

2010-02-01

The welding of aluminum-clad fuel plates into aluminum alloy 6061 side plate tubing is a unique design feature of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) fuel assemblies as 101 full-penetration circumferential gas metal arc welds (GMAW) are required in the fabrication of each assembly. In a HFIR fuel assembly, 540 aluminum-clad fuel plates are assembled into two nested annular fuel elements 610 mm (24-inches) long. The welding process for the HFIR fuel elements was developed in the early 1960 s and about 450 HFIR fuel assemblies have been successfully welded using the GMAW process qualified in the 1960 s. Inmore » recent years because of the degradation of the electronic and mechanical components in the old HFIR welding system, reportable defects in plate attachment or adapter welds have been present in almost all completed fuel assemblies. In October 2008, a contract was awarded to AMET, Inc., of Rexburg, Idaho, to replace the old welding equipment with standard commercially available welding components to the maximum extent possible while maintaining the qualified HFIR welding process. The upgraded HFIR welding system represents a major improvement in the welding system used in welding HFIR fuel elements for the previous 40 years. In this upgrade, the new inner GMAW torch is a significant advancement over the original inner GMAW torch previously used. The innovative breakthrough in the new inner welding torch design is the way the direction of the cast in the 0.762 mm (0.030-inch) diameter aluminum weld wire is changed so that the weld wire emerging from the contact tip is straight in the plane perpendicular to the welding direction without creating any significant drag resistance in the feeding of the weld wire.« less

Development of an intelligent system for cooling rate and fill control in GMAW

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Einerson, C.J.; Smartt, H.B.; Johnson, J.A.

1992-09-01

A control strategy for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is developed in which the welding system detects certain existing conditions and adjusts the process in accordance to pre-specified rules. This strategy is used to control the reinforcement and weld bead centerline cooling rate during welding. Relationships between heat and mass transfer rates to the base metal and the required electrode speed and welding speed for specific open circuit voltages are taught to a artificial neural network. Control rules are programmed into a fuzzy logic system. TRADITOINAL CONTROL OF THE GMAW PROCESS is based on the use of explicit welding proceduresmore » detailing allowable parameter ranges on a pass by pass basis for a given weld. The present work is an exploration of a completely different approach to welding control. In this work the objectives are to produce welds having desired weld bead reinforcements while maintaining the weld bead centerline cooling rate at preselected values. The need for this specific control is related to fabrication requirements for specific types of pressure vessels. The control strategy involves measuring weld joint transverse cross-sectional area ahead of the welding torch and the weld bead centerline cooling rate behind the weld pool, both by means of video (2), calculating the required process parameters necessary to obtain the needed heat and mass transfer rates (in appropriate dimensions) by means of an artificial neural network, and controlling the heat transfer rate by means of a fuzzy logic controller (3). The result is a welding machine that senses the welding conditions and responds to those conditions on the basis of logical rules, as opposed to producing a weld based on a specific procedure.« less

Friction Stir Welding of Tapered Thickness Welds Using an Adjustable Pin Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Glynn; Venable, Richard; Lawless, Kirby

2003-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) can be used for joining weld lands that vary in thickness along the length of the weld. An adjustable pin tool mechanism can be used to accomplish this in a single-pass, full-penetration weld by providing for precise changes in the pin length relative to the shoulder face during the weld process. The difficulty with this approach is in accurately adjusting the pin length to provide a consistent penetration ligament throughout the weld. The weld technique, control system, and instrumentation must account for mechanical and thermal compliances of the tooling system to conduct tapered welds successfully. In this study, a combination of static and in-situ measurements, as well as active control, is used to locate the pin accurately and maintain the desired penetration ligament. Frictional forces at the pin/shoulder interface were a source of error that affected accurate pin position. A traditional FSW pin tool design that requires a lead angle was used to join butt weld configurations that included both constant thickness and tapered sections. The pitch axis of the tooling was fixed throughout the weld; therefore, the effective lead angle in the tapered sections was restricted to within the tolerances allowed by the pin tool design. The sensitivity of the FSW process to factors such as thickness offset, joint gap, centerline offset, and taper transition offset were also studied. The joint gap and the thickness offset demonstrated the most adverse affects on the weld quality. Two separate tooling configurations were used to conduct tapered thickness welds successfully. The weld configurations included sections in which the thickness decreased along the weld, as well as sections in which the thickness increased along the weld. The data presented here include weld metallography, strength data, and process load data.

Study of weld quality real-time monitoring system for auto-body assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jun; Li, Yong-Bing; Chen, Guan-Long

2005-12-01

Resistance spot welding (RSW) is widely used for the auto-body assembly in automotive industry. But RSW suffers from a major problem of inconsistent quality from weld to weld. The major problem is the complexity of the basic process that may involve material coatings, electrode force, electrode wear, fit up, etc. Therefore weld quality assurance is still a big challenge and goal. Electrode displacement has proved to be a particularly useful signal which correlates well with weld quality. This paper introduces a novel auto-body spot weld quality monitoring system which uses electrode displacement as the quality parameter. This system chooses the latest laser displacement sensor with high resolution to measure the real-time electrode displacement. It solves the interference problem of sensor mounting by designing special fixture, and can be successfully applied on the portable welding machine. It is capable of evaluating weld quality and making diagnosis of process variations such as surface asperities, shunting, worn electrode and weld expansion with real-time electrode displacement. As proved by application in the workshop, the monitoring system has good stability and reliability, and is qualified for monitoring weld quality in process.

Hybrid welding of hollow section beams for a telescopic lifter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jernstroem, Petteri

2003-03-01

Modern lifting equipment is normally constructed using hollow section beams in a telescopic arrangement. Telescopic lifters are used in a variety number of applications including e.g. construction and building maintenance. Also rescue sector is one large application field. It is very important in such applications to use a lightweight and stable beam construction, which gives a high degree of flexibility in working high and width. To ensure a high weld quality of hollow section beams, high efficiency and minimal distortion, a welding process with a high power density is needed. The alternatives, in practice, which fulfill these requirements, are laser welding and hybrid welding. In this paper, the use of hybrid welding process (combination of CO2 laser welding and GMAW) in welding of hollow section beam structure is presented. Compared to laser welding, hybrid welding allows wider joint tolerances, which enables joints to be prepared and fit-up less accurately, aving time and manufacturing costs. A prerequisite for quality and effective use of hybrid welding is, however, a complete understanding of the process and its capabilities, which must be taken into account during both product design and manufacture.

Automated Welding System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bayless, E. O.; Lawless, K. G.; Kurgan, C.; Nunes, A. C.; Graham, B. F.; Hoffman, D.; Jones, C. S.; Shepard, R.

1993-01-01

Fully automated variable-polarity plasma arc VPPA welding system developed at Marshall Space Flight Center. System eliminates defects caused by human error. Integrates many sensors with mathematical model of the weld and computer-controlled welding equipment. Sensors provide real-time information on geometry of weld bead, location of weld joint, and wire-feed entry. Mathematical model relates geometry of weld to critical parameters of welding process.

Influence of Welding Process and Post Weld Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Pitting Corrosion Behavior of Dissimilar Aluminium Alloy Welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkata Ramana, V. S. N.; Mohammed, Raffi; Madhusudhan Reddy, G.; Srinivasa Rao, K.

2018-03-01

Welding of dissimilar Aluminum alloy welds is becoming important in aerospace, shipbuilding and defence applications. In the present work, an attempt has been made to weld dissimilar aluminium alloys using conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and friction stir welding (FSW) processes. An attempt was also made to study the effect of post weld heat treatment (T4 condition) on microstructure and pitting corrosion behaviour of these welds. Results of the present investigation established the differences in microstructures of the base metals in T4 condition and in annealed conditions. It is evident that the thickness of the PMZ is relatively more on AA2014 side than that of AA6061 side. In FS welds, lamellar like shear bands are well noticed on the top of the stir zone. The concentration profile of dissimilar friction stir weld in T4 condition revealed that no diffusion has taken place at the interface. Poor Hardness is observed in all regions of FS welds compared to that of GTA welds. Pitting corrosion resistance of the dissimilar FS welds in all regions was improved by post weld heat treatment.

A vision-based weld quality evaluation system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnett, R.J.; Cook, G.E.; Strauss, A.M.

1996-12-31

Inspection of the appearance of weld beads is an integral part of the overall welding process. Lack of satisfactory appearance in itself may be sufficient grounds for part rejection or the lack of satisfactory appearance may be used as an indirect indicator of more substantive problems such as poor fusion or subsurface cracks. In all cases the inspection process tends to be both time and labor intensive. The present research uses a video system and appropriate image capture and processing to determine the quality of the weld based upon surface appearance. This relative quality rating was compared to similar ratingsmore » performed by human inspectors and was found to give very good correlation. The system was implemented for the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) and Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) processes.« less

Weld-brazing - a new joining process. [combination resistance spot welding and brazing of titanium alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bales, T. T.; Royster, D. M.; Arnold, W. E., Jr.

1972-01-01

A joining process designated weld brazing which combines resistance spot welding and brazing has been developed. Resistance spot welding is used to position and align the parts as well as to establish a suitable faying surface gap for brazing. Fabrication is then completed by capillary flow of the braze alloy into the joint. The process has been used successfully to fabricate Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy joints using 3003 aluminum braze alloy. Test results obtained on single overlap and hat-stiffened structural specimens show that weld brazed joints are superior in tensile shear, stress rupture, fatigue, and buckling than joint fabricated by spotwelding or brazing. Another attractive feature of the process is that the brazed joints is hermetically sealed by the braze material.

Improving fatigue performance of rail thermite welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jezzini-Aouad, M.; Flahaut, P.; Hariri, S.; Winiar, L.

2010-06-01

Rail transport development offers economic and ecological interests. Nevertheless, it requires heavy investments in rolling material and infrastructure. To be competitive, this transportation means must rely on safe and reliable infrastructure, which requires optimization of all implemented techniques and structure. Rail thermite (or aluminothermic) welding is widely used within the railway industry for in-track welding during re-rail and defect replacement. The process provides numerous advantages against other welding technology commonly used. Obviously, future demands on train traffic are heavier axle loads, higher train speeds and increased traffic density. Thus, a new enhanced weld should be developed to prevent accidents due to fracture of welds and to lower maintenance costs. In order to improve such assembly process, a detailed metallurgical study coupled to a thermomechanical modelling of the phenomena involved in the thermite welding process is carried out. Obtained data enables us to develop a new improved thermite weld (type A). This joint is made by modifying the routinely specified procedure (type B) used in a railway rail by a standard gap alumino-thermic weld. Joints of type A and B are tested and compared. Based on experimental temperature measurements, a finite element analysis is used to calculate the thermal residual stresses induced. In the vicinity of the weld, the residual stress patterns depend on the thermal conditions during welding as it also shown by litterature [1, 2]. In parallel, X-Ray diffraction has been used to map the residual stress field that is generated in welded rail of types A and B. Their effect on fatigue crack growth in rail welds is studied. An experimental study based on fatigue tests of rails welded by conventional and improved processes adjudicates on the new advances and results will be shown.

ARC+(Registered Trademark) and ARC PC Welding Simulators: Teach Welders with Virtual Interactive 3D Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choquet, Claude

2011-01-01

123 Certification Inc., a Montreal based company, has developed an innovative hands-on welding simulator solution to help build the welding workforce in the most simple way. The solution lies in virtual reality technology, which has been fully tested since the early 90's. President and founder of 123 Certification Inc., Mr. Claude Choquet Ing. Msc. IWE. acts as a bridge between the welding and the programming world. Working in these fields for more than 20 years. he has filed 12 patents world-wide for a gesture control platform with leading edge hardware related to simulation. In the summer of 2006. Mr Choquet was proud to be invited to the annual IIW International Weld ing Congress in Quebec City to launch the ARC+ welding simulator. A 100% virtual reality system and web based training center was developed to simulate multi process. multi-materiaL multi-position and multi pass welding. The simulator is intended to train welding students and apprentices in schools or industries. The welding simulator is composed of a real welding e[eetrode holder (SMAW-GTAW) and gun (GMAW-FCAW). a head mounted display (HMD), a 6 degrees of freedom tracking system for interaction between the user's hands and head. as well as external audio speakers. Both guns and HMD are interacting online and simultaneously. The welding simulation is based on the law of physics and empirical results from detailed analysis of a series of welding tests based on industrial applications tested over the last 20 years. The simulation runs in real-time, using a local logic network to determine the quality and shape of the created weld. These results are based on the orientation distance. and speed of the welding torch and depth of penetration. The welding process and resulting weld bc.1d are displayed in a virtual environment with screenplay interactive training modules. For review. weld quality and recorded process values can be displayed and diagnosed after welding. To help in the le.tming process, a learning curve for each student and each Virtual Welding Class'" can be plotted, for an instructor's review or a required third party evaluation.

Experiments and simulation for 6061-T6 aluminum alloy resistance spot welded lap joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florea, Radu Stefanel

This comprehensive study is the first to quantify the fatigue performance, failure loads, and microstructure of resistance spot welding (RSW) in 6061-T6 aluminum (Al) alloy according to welding parameters and process sensitivity. The extensive experimental, theoretical and simulated analyses will provide a framework to optimize the welding of lightweight structures for more fuel-efficient automotive and military applications. The research was executed in four primary components. The first section involved using electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) scanning, tensile testing, laser beam profilometry (LBP) measurements, and optical microscopy(OM) images to experimentally investigate failure loads and deformation of the Al-alloy resistance spot welded joints. Three welding conditions, as well as nugget and microstructure characteristics, were quantified according to predefined process parameters. Quasi-static tensile tests were used to characterize the failure loads in specimens based upon these same process parameters. Profilometer results showed that increasing the applied welding current deepened the weld imprints. The EBSD scans revealed the strong dependency between the grain sizes and orientation function on the process parameters. For the second section, the fatigue behavior of the RSW'ed joints was experimentally investigated. The process optimization included consideration of the forces, currents, and times for both the main weld and post-heating. Load control cyclic tests were conducted on single weld lap-shear joint coupons to characterize the fatigue behavior in spot welded specimens. Results demonstrate that welding parameters do indeed significantly affect the microstructure and fatigue performance for these welds. The third section comprised residual strains of resistance spot welded joints measured in three different directions, denoted as in-plane longitudinal, in-plane transversal, and normal, and captured on the fusion zone, heat affected zone and base metal of the joints. Neutron diffraction results showed residual stresses in the weld are approximately 40% lower than the yield strength of the parent material, with maximum variation occurring in the vertical position of the specimen because of the orientation of electrode clamping forces that produce a non-uniform solidification pattern. In the final section a theoretical continuum modeling framework for 6061-T6 aluminum resistance spot welded joints is presented.

Automated data acquisition technology development:Automated modeling and control development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romine, Peter L.

1995-01-01

This report documents the completion of, and improvements made to, the software developed for automated data acquisition and automated modeling and control development on the Texas Micro rackmounted PC's. This research was initiated because a need was identified by the Metal Processing Branch of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for a mobile data acquisition and data analysis system, customized for welding measurement and calibration. Several hardware configurations were evaluated and a PC based system was chosen. The Welding Measurement System (WMS), is a dedicated instrument strickly for use of data acquisition and data analysis. In addition to the data acquisition functions described in this thesis, WMS also supports many functions associated with process control. The hardware and software requirements for an automated acquisition system for welding process parameters, welding equipment checkout, and welding process modeling were determined in 1992. From these recommendations, NASA purchased the necessary hardware and software. The new welding acquisition system is designed to collect welding parameter data and perform analysis to determine the voltage versus current arc-length relationship for VPPA welding. Once the results of this analysis are obtained, they can then be used to develop a RAIL function to control welding startup and shutdown without torch crashing.

Hybrid Welding of 45 mm High Strength Steel Sections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunaziv, Ivan; Frostevarg, Jan; Akselsen, Odd M.; Kaplan, Alexander F.

Thick section welding has significant importance for oil and gas industry in low temperature regions. Arc welding is usually employed providing suitable quality joints with acceptable toughness at low temperatures with very limited productivity compared to modern high power laser systems. Laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) can enhance the productivity by several times due to higher penetration depth from laser beam and combined advantages of both heat sources. LAHW was applied to join 45 mm high strength steel with double-sided technique and application of metal cored wire. The process was captured by high speed camera, allowing process observation in order to identify the relation of the process stability on weld imperfections and efficiency. Among the results, it was found that both arc power and presence of a gap increased penetration depth, and that higher welding speeds cause unstable processing and limits penetration depth. Over a wide range of heat inputs, the welds where found to consist of large amounts of fine-grained acicular ferrite in the upper 60-75% part of welds. At the root filler wire mixing was less and cooling faster, and thus found to have bainitic transformation. Toughness of deposited welds provided acceptable toughness at -50 °C with some scattering.

Identification of the Thickness of Nugget on Worksheet Spot Welding Using Non Destructive Test (NDT) - Effect of Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sifa, A.; Baskoro, A. S.; Sugeng, S.; Badruzzaman, B.; Endramawan, T.

2018-02-01

Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) is a process of connecting between two worksheet with thermomechanical loading process, RSW is widely used in automotive industry, the quality of splicing spot welding is influenced by several factors. One of the factors at the time of the welding process is pressure. The quality of welding on the nuggets can be determined by undertaking non-destructive testing by using Non Destructive Test (NDT) - Ultrasonic Test. In the NDT test is done by detecting the thickness of the nugget area, the purpose of research conducted to determine the effect of pressure to welding quality with Nugget thickness gauge measurement with Non Destructive Test method and manual measurement with micrometer, Experimental welding process by entering the welding parameters that have been specified and pressure variables 1 -5 bars on the worksheet thickness of 1 mm. The results of testing with NDT show there is addition of thickness in nugget superiority after compare with measurement result of thickness of nugget with micrometer which slightly experience thickness in nugget area, this indicates that the welding results have a connection between worksheet 1 and worksheet 2.

A comparison of LBW and GTAW processes in miniature closure welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knorovsky, G. A.; Fuerschbach, P. W.; Gianoulakis, S. E.; Burchett, S. N.

When small electronic components with glass-to-metal seals are closure welded, the residual stresses that develop in the glass are of concern. If these stresses exceed allowable tensile levels' the resulting weld-induced seal failure may cause the entire component to be scrapped or reworked at a substantial cost. Conventional wisdom says the best welding process for these applications is that which provides the least heat input, and so in that respect, Laser Beam Welding (LBW) provides less heat input than Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), however, other concerns, such as weld fit-up, part variability, and material weldability, can modify the final choice of a welding process. In this paper, we compare the characteristic levels of heat input and the residual stresses generated in glass seals for two processes (as calculated by a 3D Finite Element Analysis) as a function of heat input and travel speed, and contrast some of the other manufacturing decisions that must be made in choosing a production process. The geometry chosen is that of a standing edge corner weld in a cylindrical container about 20 mm diameter by 35 mm tall. Four metal pins are glassed into the part lid. The stresses calculated from the resulting from continuous wave CO2 LBW are compared with those resulting from GTAW. The total energy required by the laser weld is significantly less than that needed for the equivalent size GTA weld. The energy input requirements for a given size weld is inversely proportional to the travel speed, but approaches a saturation level as the travel speed increases. LBW travel speeds ranging from 10 mm/s to 50 mm/s were examined.

Hardness variation of welded boron steel using continuous wave (CW) and pulse wave (PW) mode of fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaakob, K. I.; Ishak, M.; Idris, S. R. A.; Aiman, M. H.; Khalil, N. Z.

2017-09-01

Recent car manufacturer requirement in lightweight and optimum safety lead to utilization of boron steel with tailor welded blank approach. Laser welding process in tailor welded blank (TWB) production can be applied in continuous wave (CW) of pulse wave (PW) which produce different thermal experience in welded area. Instead of microstructure identification, hardness properties also can determine the behavior of weld area. In this paper, hardness variation of welded boron steel using PW and CW mode is investigated. Welding process is conducted using similar average power for both welding mode. Hardness variation across weld area is observed. The result shows similar hardness pattern across weld area for both welding mode. Hardness degradation at fusion zone (FZ) is due to ferrite formation existence from high heat input applied. With additional slower cooling rate for CW mode, the hardness degradation is become obvious. The normal variation of hardness behavior with PW mode might lead to good strength.

A Fundamental Study of Laser Beam Welding Aluminum-Lithium Alloy 2195 for Cryogenic Tank Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martukanitz, R. P.; Jan. R.

1996-01-01

Based on the potential for decreasing costs of joining stiffeners to skin by laser beam welding, a fundamental research program was conducted to address the impediments identified during an initial study involving laser beam welding of aluminum-lithium alloys. Initial objectives of the program were the identification of governing mechanism responsible for process related porosity while establishing a multivariant relationship between process parameters and fusion zone geometry for laser beam welds of alloy 2195. A three-level fractional factorial experiment was conducted to establish quantitative relationships between primary laser beam processing parameters and critical weld attributes. Although process consistency appeared high for welds produced during partial completion of this study, numerous cracks on the top-surface of the welds were discovered during visual inspection and necessitated additional investigations concerning weld cracking. Two experiments were conducted to assess the effect of filler alloy additions on crack sensitivity: the first experiment was used to ascertain the effects of various filler alloys on cracking and the second experiment involved modification to process parameters for increasing filler metal dilution. Results indicated that filler alloys 4047 and 4145 showed promise for eliminating cracking.

Parametric Optimization Of Gas Metal Arc Welding Process By Using Grey Based Taguchi Method On Aisi 409 Ferritic Stainless Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Nabendu; Kumar, Pradip; Nandi, Goutam

2016-10-01

Welding input process parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of the welded joint. Only by properly controlling every element of the process can product quality be controlled. For better quality of MIG welding of Ferritic stainless steel AISI 409, precise control of process parameters, parametric optimization of the process parameters, prediction and control of the desired responses (quality indices) etc., continued and elaborate experiments, analysis and modeling are needed. A data of knowledge - base may thus be generated which may be utilized by the practicing engineers and technicians to produce good quality weld more precisely, reliably and predictively. In the present work, X-ray radiographic test has been conducted in order to detect surface and sub-surface defects of weld specimens made of Ferritic stainless steel. The quality of the weld has been evaluated in terms of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and percentage of elongation of the welded specimens. The observed data have been interpreted, discussed and analyzed by considering ultimate tensile strength ,yield strength and percentage elongation combined with use of Grey-Taguchi methodology.

Vacuum Deposition From A Welding Torch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poorman, R. M.

1993-01-01

Process derived from arc welding produces films of high quality. Modified gas/tungsten-arc welding process developed for use in outer space. Welding apparatus in process includes hollow tungsten electrode through which inert gas flows so arc struck between electrode and workpiece in vacuum of space. Offers advantages of fast deposition, possibility of applying directional impetus to flow of materials, very low pressure at surface being coated, and inert environment.

Prediction of Tensile Strength of Friction Stir Weld Joints with Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Neural Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dewan, Mohammad W.; Huggett, Daniel J.; Liao, T. Warren; Wahab, Muhammad A.; Okeil, Ayman M.

2015-01-01

Friction-stir-welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process where joint properties are dependent on welding process parameters. In the current study three critical process parameters including spindle speed (??), plunge force (????), and welding speed (??) are considered key factors in the determination of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of welded aluminum alloy joints. A total of 73 weld schedules were welded and tensile properties were subsequently obtained experimentally. It is observed that all three process parameters have direct influence on UTS of the welded joints. Utilizing experimental data, an optimized adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model has been developed to predict UTS of FSW joints. A total of 1200 models were developed by varying the number of membership functions (MFs), type of MFs, and combination of four input variables (??,??,????,??????) utilizing a MATLAB platform. Note EFI denotes an empirical force index derived from the three process parameters. For comparison, optimized artificial neural network (ANN) models were also developed to predict UTS from FSW process parameters. By comparing ANFIS and ANN predicted results, it was found that optimized ANFIS models provide better results than ANN. This newly developed best ANFIS model could be utilized for prediction of UTS of FSW joints.

Joining precipitation-hardened nickel-base alloys by friction welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, T. J.

1972-01-01

Solid state deformation welding process, friction welding, has been developed for joining precipitation hardened nickel-base alloys and other gamma prime-strengthened materials which heretofore have been virtually unweldable. Method requires rotation of one of the parts to be welded, but where applicable, it is an ideal process for high volume production jobs.

Manufacturing of hybrid aluminum copper joints by electromagnetic pulse welding - Identification of quantitative process windows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Psyk, Verena; Scheffler, Christian; Linnemann, Maik; Landgrebe, Dirk

2017-10-01

Compared to conventional joining techniques, electromagnetic pulse welding offers important advantages especially when it comes to dissimilar material connections as e.g. copper aluminum welds. However, due to missing guidelines and tools for process design, the process has not been widely implemented in industrial production, yet. In order to contribute to overcoming this obstacle, a combined numerical and experimental process analysis for electromagnetic pulse welding of Cu-DHP and EN AW-1050 was carried out and the results were consolidated in a quantitative collision parameter based process window.

Manufacture of thin-walled clad tubes by pressure welding of roll bonded sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Hans Christian; Grydin, Olexandr; Stolbchenko, Mykhailo; Homberg, Werner; Schaper, Mirko

2017-10-01

Clad tubes are commonly manufactured by fusion welding of roll bonded metal sheets or, mechanically, by hydroforming. In this work, a new approach towards the manufacture of thin-walled tubes with an outer diameter to wall thickness ratio of about 12 is investigated, involving the pressure welding of hot roll bonded aluminium-steel strips. By preparing non-welded edges during the roll bonding process, the strips can be zip-folded and (cold) pressure welded together. This process routine could be used to manufacture clad tubes in a continuous process. In order to investigate the process, sample tube sections with a wall thickness of 2.1 mm were manufactured by U-and O-bending from hot roll bonded aluminium-stainless steel strips. The forming and welding were carried out in a temperature range between RT and 400°C. It was found that, with the given geometry, a pressure weld is established at temperatures starting above 100°C. The tensile tests yield a maximum bond strength at 340°C. Micrograph images show a consistent weld of the aluminium layer over the whole tube section.

Microscopic Evaluation of Friction Plug Welds- Correlation to a Processing Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rabenberg, Ellen M.; Chen, Poshou; Gorti, Sridhar

2017-01-01

Recently an analysis of dynamic forge load data from the friction plug weld (FPW) process and the corresponding tensile test results showed that good plug welds fit well within an analytically determined processing parameter box. There were, however, some outliers that compromised the predictions. Here the microstructure of the plug weld material is presented in view of the load analysis with the intent of further understanding the FPW process and how it is affected by the grain structure and subsequent mechanical properties.

Automatic, nondestructive test monitors in-process weld quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deal, F. C.

1968-01-01

Instrument automatically and nondestructively monitors the quality of welds produced in microresistance welding. It measures the infrared energy generated in the weld as the weld is made and compares this energy with maximum and minimum limits of infrared energy values previously correlated with acceptable weld-strength tolerances.

Thermal Insulation of Wet Shielded Metal Arc Welds

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-06-01

not as versatile as dry underwater welding with respect to the variety of processes that can be performed (i.e., GMAW, GTAW , SMAW). However, since...deposition rate processes are required for underwater welding. Therefore, even in enclosures where GMAW and GTAW could be used, SMAW is the most frequently...welding steel in a dry environment: GMAW. GTAW , SMAW and submerged arc welding. Because of their relatively low metal deposition rates for manual

Tape-Drop Transient Model for In-Situ Automated Tape Placement of Thermoplastic Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Costen, Robert C.; Marchello, Joseph M.

1998-01-01

Composite parts of nonuniform thickness can be fabricated by in-situ automated tape placement (ATP) if the tape can be started and stopped at interior points of the part instead of always at its edges. This technique is termed start/stop-on-the-part, or, alternatively, tape-add/tape-drop. The resulting thermal transients need to be managed in order to achieve net shape and maintain uniform interlaminar weld strength and crystallinity. Starting-on-the-part has been treated previously. This paper continues the study with a thermal analysis of stopping-on-the-part. The thermal source is switched off when the trailing end of the tape enters the nip region of the laydown/consolidation head. The thermal transient is determined by a Fourier-Laplace transform solution of the two-dimensional, time-dependent thermal transport equation. This solution requires that the Peclet number Pe (the dimensionless ratio of inertial to diffusive heat transport) be independent of time and much greater than 1. Plotted isotherms show that the trailing tape-end cools more rapidly than the downstream portions of tape. This cooling can weaken the bond near the tape end; however the length of the affected region is found to be less than 2 mm. To achieve net shape, the consolidation head must continue to move after cut-off until the temperature on the weld interface decreases to the glass transition temperature. The time and elapsed distance for this condition to occur are computed for the Langley ATP robot applying PEEK/carbon fiber composite tape and for two upgrades in robot performance. The elapsed distance after cut-off ranges from about 1 mm for the present robot to about 1 cm for the second upgrade.

Sensoring fusion data from the optic and acoustic emissions of electric arcs in the GMAW-S process for welding quality assessment.

PubMed

Alfaro, Sadek Crisóstomo Absi; Cayo, Eber Huanca

2012-01-01

The present study shows the relationship between welding quality and optical-acoustic emissions from electric arcs, during welding runs, in the GMAW-S process. Bead on plate welding tests was carried out with pre-set parameters chosen from manufacturing standards. During the welding runs interferences were induced on the welding path using paint, grease or gas faults. In each welding run arc voltage, welding current, infrared and acoustic emission values were acquired and parameters such as arc power, acoustic peaks rate and infrared radiation rate computed. Data fusion algorithms were developed by assessing known welding quality parameters from arc emissions. These algorithms have showed better responses when they are based on more than just one sensor. Finally, it was concluded that there is a close relation between arc emissions and quality in welding and it can be measured from arc emissions sensing and data fusion algorithms.

Effect of Multipass TIG and Activated TIG Welding Process on the Thermo-Mechanical Behavior of 316LN Stainless Steel Weld Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesh, K. C.; Balasubramanian, K. R.; Vasudevan, M.; Vasantharaja, P.; Chandrasekhar, N.

2016-04-01

The primary objective of this work was to develop a finite element model to predict the thermo-mechanical behavior of an activated tungsten inert gas (ATIG)-welded joint. The ATIG-welded joint was fabricated using 10 mm thickness of 316LN stainless steel plates in a single pass. To distinguish the merits of ATIG welding process, it was compared with manual multipass tungsten inert gas (MPTIG)-welded joint. The ATIG-welded joint was fabricated with square butt edge configuration using an activating flux developed in-house. The MPTIG-welded joint was fabricated in thirteen passes with V-groove edge configuration. The finite element model was developed to predict the transient temperature, residual stress, and distortion of the welded joints. Also, microhardness, impact toughness, tensile strength, ferrite measurement, and microstructure were characterized. Since most of the recent publications of ATIG-welded joint was focused on the molten weld pool dynamics, this research work gives an insight on the thermo-mechanical behavior of ATIG-welded joint over MPTIG-welded joint.

Analysis of Welding Zinc Coated Steel Sheets in Zero Gap Configuration by 3D Simulations and High Speed Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, Holger; Kägeler, Christian; Otto, Andreas; Schmidt, Michael

Welding of zinc coated sheets in zero gap configuration is of eminent interest for the automotive industry. This Laser welding process would enable the automotive industry to build auto bodies with a high durability in a plain manufacturing process. Today good welding results can only be achieved by expensive constructive procedures such as clamping devices to ensure a defined gad. The welding in zero gap configuration is a big challenge because of the vaporised zinc expelled from the interface between the two sheets. To find appropriate welding parameters for influencing the keyhole and melt pool dynamics, a three dimensional simulation and a high speed imaging system for laser keyhole welding have been developed. The obtained results help to understand the process of the melt pool perturbation caused by vaporised zinc.

Process Simulation of Gas Metal Arc Welding Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murray, Paul E.

2005-09-06

ARCWELDER is a Windows-based application that simulates gas metal arc welding (GMAW) of steel and aluminum. The software simulates the welding process in an accurate and efficient manner, provides menu items for process parameter selection, and includes a graphical user interface with the option to animate the process. The user enters the base and electrode material, open circuit voltage, wire diameter, wire feed speed, welding speed, and standoff distance. The program computes the size and shape of a square-groove or V-groove weld in the flat position. The program also computes the current, arc voltage, arc length, electrode extension, transfer ofmore » droplets, heat input, filler metal deposition, base metal dilution, and centerline cooling rate, in English or SI units. The simulation may be used to select welding parameters that lead to desired operation conditions.« less

Friction Stir Welding Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romine, Peter L.

1998-01-01

The research of this summer was a continuation of work started during the previous summer faculty fellowship period. The Friction Stir Welding process (FSW) patented by The Welding Institute (TWI), in Great Britain, has become a popular topic at the Marshall Space Flight Center over the past year. Last year it was considered a novel approach to welding but few people took it very seriously as a near term solution. However, due to continued problems with cracks in the new aluminum-lithium space shuttle external tank (ET), the friction stir process is being mobilized at full speed in an effort to mature this process for the potential manufacture of flight hardware. It is now the goal of NASA and Lockheed-Martin Corporation (LMC) to demonstrate a full-scale friction stir welding system capable of welding ET size barrel sections. The objectives this summer were: (1) Implementation and validation of the rotating dynamometer on the MSFC FSW system; (2) Collection of data for FSW process modeling efforts; (3) Specification development for FSW implementation on the vertical weld tool; (4) Controls and user interface development for the adjustable pin tool; and (5) Development of an instrumentation system for the planishing process. The projects started this summer will lead to a full scale friction stir welding system that is expected to produce a friction stir welded shuttle external tank type barrel section. The success of this could lead to the implementation of the friction stir process for manufacturing future shuttle external tanks.

Linear friction weld process monitoring of fixture cassette deformations using empirical mode decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakker, O. J.; Gibson, C.; Wilson, P.; Lohse, N.; Popov, A. A.

2015-10-01

Due to its inherent advantages, linear friction welding is a solid-state joining process of increasing importance to the aerospace, automotive, medical and power generation equipment industries. Tangential oscillations and forge stroke during the burn-off phase of the joining process introduce essential dynamic forces, which can also be detrimental to the welding process. Since burn-off is a critical phase in the manufacturing stage, process monitoring is fundamental for quality and stability control purposes. This study aims to improve workholding stability through the analysis of fixture cassette deformations. Methods and procedures for process monitoring are developed and implemented in a fail-or-pass assessment system for fixture cassette deformations during the burn-off phase. Additionally, the de-noised signals are compared to results from previous production runs. The observed deformations as a consequence of the forces acting on the fixture cassette are measured directly during the welding process. Data on the linear friction-welding machine are acquired and de-noised using empirical mode decomposition, before the burn-off phase is extracted. This approach enables a direct, objective comparison of the signal features with trends from previous successful welds. The capacity of the whole process monitoring system is validated and demonstrated through the analysis of a large number of signals obtained from welding experiments.

Influencing the arc and the mechanical properties of the weld metal in GMA-welding processes by additive elements on the wire electrode surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesling, V.; Schram, A.; Müller, T.; Treutler, K.

2016-03-01

Under the premise of an increasing scarcity of raw materials and increasing demands on construction materials, the mechanical properties of steels and its joints are gaining highly important. In particular high- and highest-strength steels are getting in the focus of the research and the manufacturing industry. To the same extent, the requirements for filler metals are increasing as well. At present, these low-alloy materials are protected by a copper coating (<1μm) against corrosion. In addition, the coating realizes a good ohmic contact and good sliding properties between the welding machine and the wire during the welding process. By exchanging the copper with other elements it should be possible to change the mechanical properties of the weld metal and the arc stability during gas metal arc welding processes and keep the basic functions of the coating nearly untouched. On a laboratory scale solid wire electrodes with coatings of various elements and compounds such as titanium oxide were made and processed with a Gas Metal Arc Welding process. During the processing a different process behavior between the wire electrodes, coated and original, could be observed. The influences ranges from greater/shorter arc-length over increasing/decreasing droplets to larger/smaller arc foot point. Furthermore, the weld metal of the coated electrodes has significantly different mechanical and technological characteristics as the weld metal from the copper coated ground wire. The yield strength and tensile strength can be increased by up to 50%. In addition, the chemical composition of the weld metal was influenced by the application of coatings with layer thicknesses to 15 microns in the lower percentage range (up to about 3%). Another effect of the coating is a modified penetration. The normally occurring “argon finger” can be suppressed or enhanced by the choice of the coating. With the help of the presented studies it will be shown that Gas Metal Arc Welding processes are significantly affected by thin film coatings on solid wire electrodes for Gas Metal Arc welding. The influences are regarding the stability of the arc, the properties of the weld metal in terms of geometric expression, chemical composition and mechanical properties, the composition of the arc-plasma and the dynamics of the molten metal.

Modeling of laser transmission contour welding process using FEA and DoE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acherjee, Bappa; Kuar, Arunanshu S.; Mitra, Souren; Misra, Dipten

2012-07-01

In this research, a systematic investigation on laser transmission contour welding process is carried out using finite element analysis (FEA) and design of experiments (DoE) techniques. First of all, a three-dimensional thermal model is developed to simulate the laser transmission contour welding process with a moving heat source. The commercial finite element code ANSYS® multi-physics is used to obtain the numerical results by implementing a volumetric Gaussian heat source, and combined convection-radiation boundary conditions. Design of experiments together with regression analysis is then employed to plan the experiments and to develop mathematical models based on simulation results. Four key process parameters, namely power, welding speed, beam diameter, and carbon black content in absorbing polymer, are considered as independent variables, while maximum temperature at weld interface, weld width, and weld depths in transparent and absorbing polymers are considered as dependent variables. Sensitivity analysis is performed to determine how different values of an independent variable affect a particular dependent variable.

Friction stir welding process to repair voids in aluminum alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, Charles D. (Inventor); Litwinski, Edward (Inventor); Valdez, Juan M. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

The present invention provides an in-process method to repair voids in an aluminum alloy, particularly a friction stir weld in an aluminum alloy. For repairing a circular void or an in-process exit hole in a weld, the method includes the steps of fabricating filler material of the same composition or compatible with the parent material into a plug form to be fitted into the void, positioning the plug in the void, and friction stir welding over and through the plug. For repairing a longitudinal void (30), the method includes machining the void area to provide a trough (34) that subsumes the void, fabricating filler metal into a strip form (36) to be fitted into the trough, positioning the strip in the trough, and rewelding the void area by traversing a friction stir welding tool longitudinally through the strip. The method is also applicable for repairing welds made by a fusing welding process or voids in aluminum alloy workpieces themselves.

Application of lap laser welding technology on stainless steel railway vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongxiao; Wang, Chunsheng; He, Guangzhong; Li, Wei; Liu, Liguo

2016-10-01

Stainless steel railway vehicles with so many advantages, such as lightweight, antirust, low cost of maintenance and simple manufacturing process, so the production of high level stainless steel railway vehicles has become the development strategy of European, American and other developed nations. The current stainless steel railway vehicles body and structure are usually assembled by resistance spot welding process. The weak points of this process are the poor surface quality and bad airtight due to the pressure of electrodes. In this study, the partial penetration lap laser welding process was investigated to resolve the problems, by controlling the laser to stop at the second plate in the appropriate penetration. The lap laser welding joint of stainless steel railway vehicle car body with partial penetration has higher strength and surface quality than those of resistance spot welding joint. The biggest problem of lap laser welding technology is to find the balance of the strength and surface quality with different penetrations. The mechanism of overlap laser welding of stainless steel, mechanical tests, microstructure analysis, the optimization of welding parameters, analysis of fatigue performance, the design of laser welding stainless steel railway vehicles structure and the development of non-destructive testing technology were systematically studied before lap laser welding process to be applied in manufacture of railway vehicles. The results of the experiments and study show that high-quality surface state and higher fatigue strength can be achieved by the partial penetration overlap laser welding of the side panel structure, and the structure strength of the car body can be higher than the requirements of En12663, the standard of structural requirements of railway vehicles bodies. Our company has produced the stainless steel subway and high way railway vehicles by using overlap laser welding technology. The application of lap laser welding will be a big change of railway vehicles manufacturing technology.

High-Speed Friction Stir Welding of AA7075-T6 Sheet: Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, Micro-texture, and Thermal History

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jingyi; Upadhyay, Piyush; Hovanski, Yuri; Field, David P.

2018-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a cost-effective and high-quality joining process for aluminum alloys (especially heat-treatable alloys) that is historically operated at lower joining speeds (up to hundreds of millimeters per minute). In this study, we present a microstructural analysis of friction stir welded AA7075-T6 blanks with high welding speeds up to 3 M/min. Textures, microstructures, mechanical properties, and weld quality are analyzed using TEM, EBSD, metallographic imaging, and Vickers hardness. The higher welding speed results in narrower, stronger heat-affected zones (HAZs) and also higher hardness in the nugget zones. The material flow direction in the nugget zone is found to be leaning towards the welding direction as the welding speed increases. Results are coupled with welding parameters and thermal history to aid in the understanding of the complex material flow and texture gradients within the welds in an effort to optimize welding parameters for high-speed processing.

Non-destructive Magnetic Evaluation of Laser Weld Quality in Hot Rolled Coils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohapatra, J. N.; Chakradhar, I.; Rao, K. R. C.; Rao, V. V. L.; Kaza, Marutiram

2015-06-01

Weld quality evaluation was conducted on laser welded thin sectsions (2 mm) of hot-rolled (HR) low-carbon steel coils during cold rolling process. The analysis revealed that the poor welds consisting of the weld defects like incomplete fusion, cluster of porosity, and large difference in hardness between the weld zone and base metal were responsible for the weld failures. Experiments were conducted by varying the welding parameters; laser power and welding speed to optimize the parameters for minimizing the weld defects. The optimized weld process parameters have helped elimination of weld defects and the results are verified with microscopy and microhardness measurements. As destructive evaluation techniques are time consuming and not always permitted in industrial applications, attempts have been made in the present investigation for the utilization of suitable non-destructive techniques for the evaluation of weld quality. Non-destructive magnetic techniques of magnetic hysteresis loop and magnetic Barkhausen emissions were used in the present investigation to establish possible correlations of magnetic properties across the weld seam with the mechanical property (microhardness) for evaluation of weld quality. It is inferred that the magnetic properties of coercivity and inverse of root mean square voltage can be effectively utilized to determine weld quality in HR steel coils.

Profiling mild steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions and costs in the workplace.

PubMed

Keane, Michael J; Siert, Arlen; Chen, Bean T; Stone, Samuel G

2014-05-01

To provide quantitative information to choose the best welding processes for minimizing workplace emissions, nine gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes for mild steel were assessed for fume generation rates, normalized fume generation rates (milligram fume per gram of electrode consumed), and normalized generation rates for elemental manganese, nickel, and iron. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and flux-cored arc-welding (FCAW) processes were also profiled. The fumes were collected quantitatively in an American Welding Society-type fume chamber and weighed, recovered, homogenized, and analyzed by inductively coupled atomic emission spectroscopy for total metals. The processes included GMAW with short circuit, globular transfer, axial spray, pulsed spray, Surface Tension Transfer™, Regulated Metal Deposition™, and Cold Metal Transfer™ (CMT) modes. Flux-cored welding was gas shielded, and SMAW was a single rod type. Results indicate a wide range of fume emission factors for the process variations studied. Fume emission rates per gram of electrode consumed were highest for SMAW (~13 mg fume g(-1) electrode) and lowest for GMAW processes such as pulsed spray (~1.5mg g(-1)) and CMT (~1mg g(-1)). Manganese emission rates per gram of electrode consumed ranged from 0.45 mg g(-1) (SMAW) to 0.08 mg g(-1) (CMT). Nickel emission rates were generally low and ranged from ~0.09 (GMAW short circuit) to 0.004 mg g(-1) (CMT). Iron emission rates ranged from 3.7 (spray-mode GMAW) to 0.49 mg g(-1) (CMT). The processes studied have significantly different costs, and cost factors are presented based on a case study to allow comparisons between processes in specific cost categories. Costs per linear meter of weld were $31.07 (SMAW), $12.37 (GMAW short circuit), and $10.89 (FCAW). Although no single process is the best for minimizing fume emissions and costs while satisfying the weld requirements, there are several processes that can minimize emissions. This study provides information to aid in those choices. Suggestions for overcoming barriers to utilizing new and less hazardous welding processes are also discussed.

Profiling Mild Steel Welding Processes to Reduce Fume Emissions and Costs in the Workplace

PubMed Central

Keane, Michael J.; Siert, Arlen; Chen, Bean T.; Stone, Samuel G.

2015-01-01

To provide quantitative information to choose the best welding processes for minimizing workplace emissions, nine gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes for mild steel were assessed for fume generation rates, normalized fume generation rates (milligram fume per gram of electrode consumed), and normalized generation rates for elemental manganese, nickel, and iron. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and flux-cored arc-welding (FCAW) processes were also profiled. The fumes were collected quantitatively in an American Welding Society-type fume chamber and weighed, recovered, homogenized, and analyzed by inductively coupled atomic emission spectroscopy for total metals. The processes included GMAW with short circuit, globular transfer, axial spray, pulsed spray, Surface Tension Transfer™, Regulated Metal Deposition™, and Cold Metal Transfer™ (CMT) modes. Flux-cored welding was gas shielded, and SMAW was a single rod type. Results indicate a wide range of fume emission factors for the process variations studied. Fume emission rates per gram of electrode consumed were highest for SMAW (~13 mg fume g−1 electrode) and lowest for GMAW processes such as pulsed spray (~1.5 mg g−1) and CMT (~1 mg g−1). Manganese emission rates per gram of electrode consumed ranged from 0.45 mg g−1 (SMAW) to 0.08 mg g−1 (CMT). Nickel emission rates were generally low and ranged from ~0.09 (GMAW short circuit) to 0.004 mg g−1 (CMT). Iron emission rates ranged from 3.7 (spray-mode GMAW) to 0.49 mg g−1 (CMT). The processes studied have significantly different costs, and cost factors are presented based on a case study to allow comparisons between processes in specific cost categories. Costs per linear meter of weld were $31.07 (SMAW), $12.37 (GMAW short circuit), and $10.89 (FCAW). Although no single process is the best for minimizing fume emissions and costs while satisfying the weld requirements, there are several processes that can minimize emissions. This study provides information to aid in those choices. Suggestions for overcoming barriers to utilizing new and less hazardous welding processes are also discussed. PMID:24515891

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paillard, Pascal

Two try-out campaigns of friction stir welding (FSW) were performed with different friction parameters to join S690QL high yield strength steel. The welds were investigated at macroscopic and microscopic scales using optical and electronic microscopy and microhardness mapping. Welds of the second campaign exhibit microstructures and mechanical properties in accordance with requirements for service use. Microtexture measurements were carried out in different zones of welds by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). It is shown that that texture of the bottom of the weld is similar to that of the base metal, suggesting a diffusion bonding mechanism. Finally, the mechanical properties (tensilemore » strength, resilience, bending) were established on the most promising welds. It is shown that it is possible to weld this high yield strength steel using FSW process with satisfactory geometric, microstructural and mechanical properties. - Highlights: •1000 mm ∗ 400 mm ∗ 8 mm S690QL steel plates are joined by friction stir welding (FSW). •Maximum hardness is reduced by optimization of process parameters. •Various microstructures are formed but no martensite after process optimization. •Texture is modified in mechanically affected zones of the weld. •Texture in the bottom of the weld is preserved, suggesting diffusion bonding.« less

Ultrasonic Spot and Torsion Welding of Aluminum to Titanium Alloys: Process, Properties and Interfacial Microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balle, Frank; Magin, Jens

Hybrid lightweight structures shape the development of future vehicles in traffic engineering and the aerospace industry. For multi-material concepts made out of aluminum and titanium alloys, the ultrasonic welding technique is an alternative effective joining technology. The overlapped structures can be welded in the solid state, even without gas shielding. In this paper the conventional ultrasonic spot welding with longitudinal oscillation mode is compared to the recent ultrasonic torsion welding with a torsional mode at 20 kHz working frequency. For each technique the process parameters welding force, welding energy and oscillation amplitude were optimized for the hybrid joints using design of experiments. Relationships between the process parameters, mechanical properties and related welding zone should be understood. Central aspects of the research project are microscopic studies of the joining zone in cross section and extensive fracture surface analysis. Detailed electron microscopy and spectroscopy of the hybrid interface help to understand the interfacial formation during ultrasonic welding as well as to transfer the gained knowledge for further multi-metal joints.

Experimental investigation and optimization of welding process parameters for various steel grades using NN tool and Taguchi method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soni, Sourabh Kumar; Thomas, Benedict

2018-04-01

The term "weldability" has been used to describe a wide variety of characteristics when a material is subjected to welding. In our analysis we perform experimental investigation to estimate the tensile strength of welded joint strength and then optimization of welding process parameters by using taguchi method and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) tool in MINITAB and MATLAB software respectively. The study reveals the influence on weldability of steel by varying composition of steel by mechanical characterization. At first we prepare the samples of different grades of steel (EN8, EN 19, EN 24). The samples were welded together by metal inert gas welding process and then tensile testing on Universal testing machine (UTM) was conducted for the same to evaluate the tensile strength of the welded steel specimens. Further comparative study was performed to find the effects of welding parameter on quality of weld strength by employing Taguchi method and Neural Network tool. Finally we concluded that taguchi method and Neural Network Tool is much efficient technique for optimization.

Determination of a temperature sensor location for monitoring weld pool size in GMAW

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boo, K.S.; Cho, H.S.

1994-11-01

This paper describes a method of determining the optimal sensor location to measure weldment surface temperature, which has a close correlation with weld pool size in the gas metal arc (GMA) welding process. Due to the inherent complexity and nonlinearity in the GMA welding process, the relationship between the weldment surface temperature and the weld pool size varies with the point of measurement. This necessitates an optimal selection of the measurement point to minimize the process nonlinearity effect in estimating the weld pool size from the measured temperature. To determine the optimal sensor location on the top surface of themore » weldment, the correlation between the measured temperature and the weld pool size is analyzed. The analysis is done by calculating the correlation function, which is based upon an analytical temperature distribution model. To validate the optimal sensor location, a series of GMA bead-on-plate welds are performed on a medium-carbon steel under various welding conditions. A comparison study is given in detail based upon the simulation and experimental results.« less

Nuclear Technology. Course 28: Welding Inspection. Module 28-2, Shielded Metal Arc and Oxyacetylene Welding.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espy, John; Selleck, Ben

This second in a series of ten modules for a course titled Welding Inspection describes the key features of the oxyacetylene and shielded metal arc welding process. The apparatus, process techniques, procedures, applications, associated defects, and inspections are presented. The module follows a typical format that includes the following…

UAH mathematical model of the variable polarity plasma ARC welding system calculation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, R. J.

1994-01-01

Significant advantages of Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) welding process include faster welding, fewer repairs, less joint preparation, reduced weldment distortion, and absence of porosity. A mathematical model is presented to analyze the VPPA welding process. Results of the mathematical model were compared with the experimental observation accomplished by the GDI team.

Profiling stainless steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions, hexavalent chromium emissions and operating costs in the workplace

PubMed Central

Keane, Michael; Siert, Arlen; Stone, Samuel; Chen, Bean T.

2016-01-01

Nine gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes for stainless steel were assessed for fume generation rates, fume generation rates per g of electrode consumed, and emission rates for hexavalent chromium (Cr6+). Elemental manganese, nickel, chromium, iron emissions per unit length of weld and labor plus consumables costs were similarly measured. Flux-cored arc welding and shielded metal arc (SMAW) processes were also studied. The objective was to identify the best welding processes for reducing workplace exposures, and estimate costs for all processes. Using a conical chamber, fumes were collected, weighed, recovered and analyzed by inductively-coupled atomic emission spectroscopy for metals, and by ion chromatography for Cr6+. GMAW processes used were Surface Tension Transfer™, Regulated Metal Deposition™, Cold Metal Transfer™, short-circuit, axial spray, and pulsed spray modes. Flux-cored welding used gas shielding; SMAW used E308 rods. Costs were estimated as dollars per m length of a ¼ in (6.3 mm) thick horizontal butt weld; equipment costs were estimated as ratios of new equipment costs to a 250 ampere capacity SMAW welding machine. Results indicate a broad range of fume emission factors for the processes studied. Fume emission rates per g of electrode were lowest for GMAW processes such as pulsed-spray mode (0.2 mg/g), and highest for SMAW (8 mg fume/g electrode). Emission rates of Cr6+ ranged from 50 to 7800 μg/min, and Cr6+ generation rates per g electrode ranged from 1 to 270μg/g. Elemental Cr generation rates spanned 13 to 330μg/g. Manganese emission rates ranged from 50 to 300μg/g. Nickel emission rates ranged from 4 to140 μg/g. Labor and consumables costs ranged from $3.15 (GMAW pulsed spray) to $7.40 (SMAW) per meter of finished weld, and were measured or estimated for all 11 processes tested. Equipment costs for some processes may be as much as 5 times the cost of a typical SMAW welding machine. The results show that all of the GMAW processes in this study can substantially reduce fume, Cr6+, manganese and costs relative to SMAW, the most commonly used welding process, and several have exceptional capabilities for reducing emissions. PMID:26267301

Profiling stainless steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions, hexavalent chromium emissions and operating costs in the workplace.

PubMed

Keane, Michael; Siert, Arlen; Stone, Samuel; Chen, Bean T

2016-01-01

Nine gas metal arc welding (GMAW) processes for stainless steel were assessed for fume generation rates, fume generation rates per g of electrode consumed, and emission rates for hexavalent chromium (Cr(6+)). Elemental manganese, nickel, chromium, iron emissions per unit length of weld, and labor plus consumables costs were similarly measured. Flux-cored arc welding and shielded metal arc (SMAW) processes were also studied. The objective was to identify the best welding processes for reducing workplace exposures, and estimate costs for all processes. Using a conical chamber, fumes were collected, weighed, recovered, and analyzed by inductively coupled atomic emission spectroscopy for metals, and by ion chromatography for Cr(6+). GMAW processes used were Surface Tension Transfer, Regulated Metal Deposition, Cold Metal Transfer, short-circuit, axial spray, and pulsed spray modes. Flux-cored welding used gas shielding; SMAW used E308 rods. Costs were estimated as dollars per m length of a ¼ in (6.3 mm) thick horizontal butt weld; equipment costs were estimated as ratios of new equipment costs to a 250 ampere capacity SMAW welding machine. Results indicate a broad range of fume emission factors for the processes studied. Fume emission rates per g of electrode were lowest for GMAW processes such as pulsed-spray mode (0.2 mg/g), and highest for SMAW (8 mg fume/g electrode). Emission rates of Cr(6+) ranged from 50-7800 µg/min, and Cr(6+) generation rates per g electrode ranged from 1-270 µg/g. Elemental Cr generation rates spanned 13-330 µg/g. Manganese emission rates ranged from 50-300 µg/g. Nickel emission rates ranged from 4-140 µg/g. Labor and consumables costs ranged from $3.15 (GMAW pulsed spray) to $7.40 (SMAW) per meter of finished weld, and were measured or estimated for all 11 processes tested. Equipment costs for some processes may be as much as five times the cost of a typical SMAW welding machine. The results show that all of the GMAW processes in this study can substantially reduce fume, Cr(6+), manganese and costs relative to SMAW, the most commonly used welding process, and several have exceptional capabilities for reducing emissions.

Phenomenological Models and Animations of Welding and their Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DebRoy, Tarasankar

Professor Robertson's recognized research on metallurgical thermodynamics and kinetics for over 40 years facilitated the emergence of rigorous quantitative understanding of many complex metallurgical processes. The author had the opportunity to work with Professor Robertson on liquid metals in the 1970s. This paper is intended to review the advances in the quantitative understanding of welding processes and weld metal attributes in recent decades. Over this period, phenomenological models have been developed to better understand and control various welding processes and the structure and properties of welded materials. Numerical models and animations of melting, solidification and the evolution of micro and macro-structural features will be presented to critically examine their impact on the practice of welding and the underlying science.

The effect of welding parameters on surface quality of AA6351 aluminium alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yacob, S.; MAli, M. A.; Ahsan, Q.; Ariffin, N.; Ali, R.; Arshad, A.; Wahab, M. I. A.; Ismail, S. A.; Roji, NS M.; Din, W. B. W.; Zakaria, M. H.; Abdullah, A.; Yusof, M. I.; Kamarulzaman, K. Z.; Mahyuddin, A.; Hamzah, M. N.; Roslan, R.

2015-12-01

In the present work, the effects of gas metal arc welding-cold metal transfer (GMAW-CMT) parameters on surface roughness are experimentally assessed. The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the effects of welding speed, material thickness and contact tip to work distance on the surface roughness. Experiments are conducted using single pass gas metal arc welding-cold metal transfer (GMAW-CMT) welding technique to join the material. The material used in this experiment was AA6351 aluminum alloy with the thickness of 5mm and 6mm. A Mahr Marsuft XR 20 machine was used to measure the average roughness (Ra) of AA6351 joints. The main and interaction effect analysis was carried out to identify process parameters that affect the surface roughness. The results show that all the input process parameters affect the surface roughness of AA6351 joints. Additionally, the average roughness (Ra) results also show a decreasing trend with increased of welding speed. It is proven that gas metal arc welding-cold metal transfer (GMAW-CMT)welding process has been successful in term of providing weld joint of good surface quality for AA6351 based on the low value surface roughness condition obtained in this setup. The outcome of this experimental shall be valuable for future fabrication process in order to obtained high good quality weld.

10-kW-class YAG laser application for heavy components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishide, Takashi; Tsubota, S.; Nayama, Michisuke; Shimokusu, Yoshiaki; Nagashima, Tadashi; Okimura, K.

2000-02-01

The authors have put the YAG laser of the kW class to practical use for repair welding of nuclear power plant steam generator heat exchanger tubes, all-position welding of pipings, etc. This paper describes following developed methods and systems of high power YAG laser processing. First, we apply the 6 kW to 10 kW YAG lasers for welding and cutting in heavy components. The beam guide systems we have used are optical fibers which core diameter is 0.6 mm to 0.8 mm and its length is 200 m as standard one. Using these system, we can get the 1 pass penetration of 15 mm to 20 mm and multi pass welding for more thick plates. Cutting of 100 mm thickness plate data also described for dismantling of nuclear power plants. In these systems we carried out the in-process monitoring by using CCD camera image processing and monitoring fiber which placed coaxial to the YAG optical lens system. In- process monitoring by the monitoring fiber, we measured the light intensity from welding area. Further, we have developed new hybrid welding with the TIG electrode at the center of lens for high power. The hybrid welding with TIG-YAG system aims lightening of welding groove allowances and welding of high quality. Through these techniques we have applied 7 kW class YAG laser for welding in the components of nuclear power plants.

U-Groove Aluminum Weld Strength Improvement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verderaime, V.; Vaughan, R.

1997-01-01

Though butt-welds are among the most preferred joining methods in aerostructures, their strength dependence on inelastic mechanics is generally the least understood. This study investigated experimental strain distributions across a thick aluminum U-grooved weld and identified two weld process considerations for improving the multipass weld strength. One is the source of peaking in which the extreme thermal expansion and contraction gradient of the fusion heat input across the groove tab thickness produces severe angular distortion that induces bending under uniaxial loading. The other is the filler strain hardening decreasing with increasing filler pass sequences, producing the weakest welds on the last weld pass side. Both phenomena are governed by weld pass sequences. Many industrial welding schedules unknowingly compound these effects, which reduce the weld strength. A depeaking index model was developed to select filler pass thickness, pass numbers, and sequences to improve depeaking in the welding process. The result was to select the number and sequence of weld passes to reverse the peaking angle such as to combine the strongest weld pass side with the peaking induced bending tension component side to provide a more uniform stress and stronger weld under axial tensile loading.

Study the Effect of SiO2 Based Flux on Dilution in Submerged Arc Welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

kumar, Aditya; Maheshwari, Sachin

2017-08-01

This paper highlights the method for prediction of dilution in submerged arc welding (SAW). The most important factors of weld bead geometry are governed by the weld dilution which controls the chemical and mechanical properties. Submerged arc welding process is used generally due to its very easy control of process variables, good penetration, high weld quality, and smooth finish. Machining parameters, with suitable weld quality can be achieved with the different composition of the flux in the weld. In the present study Si02-Al2O3-CaO flux system was used. In SiO2 based flux NiO, MnO, MgO were mixed in various proportions. The paper investigates the relationship between the process parameters like voltage, % of flux constituents and dilution with the help of Taguchi’s method. The experiments were designed according to Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, while varying the voltage at two different levels in addition to alloying elements. Then the optimal results conditions were verified by confirmatory experiments.

Coupling of Laser with Plasma Arc to Facilitate Hybrid Welding of Metallic Materials: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhiyong, Li; Srivatsan, T. S.; Yan, LI; Wenzhao, Zhang

2013-02-01

Hybrid laser arc welding combines the advantages of laser welding and arc welding. Ever since its origination in the late 1970s, this technique has gained gradual attention and progressive use due to a combination of high welding speed, better formation of weld bead, gap tolerance, and increased penetration coupled with less distortion. In hybrid laser arc welding, one of the reasons for the observed improvement is an interaction or coupling effect between the plasma arc, laser beam, droplet transfer, and the weld pool. Few researchers have made an attempt to study different aspects of the process to facilitate a better understanding. It is difficult to get a thorough understanding of the process if only certain information in a certain field is provided. In this article, an attempt to analyze the coupling effect of the process was carried out based on a careful review of the research work that has been done which provides useful information from a different prospective.

Emission of nanoparticles during friction stir welding (FSW) of aluminium alloys.

PubMed

Gomes, J F; Miranda, R M; Santos, T J; Carvalho, P A

2014-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is now well established as a welding process capable of joining some different types of metallic materials, as it was (1) found to be a reliable and economical way of producing high quality welds, and (2) considered a "clean" welding process that does not involve fusion of metal, as is the case with other traditional welding processes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the emission of particles during FSW in the nanorange of the most commonly used aluminum (Al) alloys, AA 5083 and AA 6082, originated from the Al alloy itself due to friction of the welding tool against the item that was being welded. Another goal was to measure Al alloys in the alveolar deposited surface area during FSW. Nanoparticles dimensions were predominantly in the 40- and 70-nm range. This study demonstrated that microparticles were also emitted during FSW but due to tool wear. However, the biological relevance and toxic manifestations of these microparticles remain to be determined.

The effects of welding parameters on ultra-violet light emissions, ozone and CrVI formation in MIG welding.

PubMed

Dennis, J H; Mortazavi, S B; French, M J; Hewitt, P J; Redding, C R

1997-01-01

This paper describes the relationships between ultra-violet emission, ozone generation and CrVI production in MIG welding which were measured as a function of shield gas flow rate, welding voltage, electrode stick-out and shield gas composition using an automatic welding rig that permitted MIG welding under reproducible conditions. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of the physico-chemical processes occurring in the micro- and macro-environments of the arc as part of research into process modification to reduce occupational exposure to ozone and CrVI production rates in MIG welding. We believe the techniques described here, and in particular the use of what we have termed u.v.-ozone measurements, will prove useful in further study of ozone generation and CrVI formation and may be applied in the investigation of engineering control of occupational exposure in MIG and other welding process such as Manual Metal Arc (MMA) and Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG).

Comparing Laser Welding Technologies with Friction Stir Welding for Production of Aluminum Tailor-Welded Blanks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hovanski, Yuri; Carsley, John; Carlson, Blair

2014-01-15

A comparison of welding techniques was performed to determine the most effective method for producing aluminum tailor-welded blanks for high volume automotive applications. Aluminum sheet was joined with an emphasis on post weld formability, surface quality and weld speed. Comparative results from several laser based welding techniques along with friction stir welding are presented. The results of this study demonstrate a quantitative comparison of weld methodologies in preparing tailor-welded aluminum stampings for high volume production in the automotive industry. Evaluation of nearly a dozen welding variations ultimately led to down selecting a single process based on post-weld quality and performance.

Alternate Welding Processes for In-Service Welding

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-24

Conducting weld repairs and attaching hot tap tees onto pressurized pipes has the advantage of avoiding loss of service and revenue. However, the risks involved with in-service welding need to be managed by ensuring that welding is performed in a rep...

Ballistic-Failure Mechanisms in Gas Metal Arc Welds of Mil A46100 Armor-Grade Steel: A Computational Investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grujicic, M.; Snipes, J. S.; Galgalikar, R.; Ramaswami, S.; Yavari, R.; Yen, C.-F.; Cheeseman, B. A.

2014-09-01

In our recent work, a multi-physics computational model for the conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW) joining process was introduced. The model is of a modular type and comprises five modules, each designed to handle a specific aspect of the GMAW process, i.e.: (i) electro-dynamics of the welding-gun; (ii) radiation-/convection-controlled heat transfer from the electric-arc to the workpiece and mass transfer from the filler-metal consumable electrode to the weld; (iii) prediction of the temporal evolution and the spatial distribution of thermal and mechanical fields within the weld region during the GMAW joining process; (iv) the resulting temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the material microstructure throughout the weld region; and (v) spatial distribution of the as-welded material mechanical properties. In the present work, the GMAW process model has been upgraded with respect to its predictive capabilities regarding the spatial distribution of the mechanical properties controlling the ballistic-limit (i.e., penetration-resistance) of the weld. The model is upgraded through the introduction of the sixth module in the present work in recognition of the fact that in thick steel GMAW weldments, the overall ballistic performance of the armor may become controlled by the (often inferior) ballistic limits of its weld (fusion and heat-affected) zones. To demonstrate the utility of the upgraded GMAW process model, it is next applied to the case of butt-welding of a prototypical high-hardness armor-grade martensitic steel, MIL A46100. The model predictions concerning the spatial distribution of the material microstructure and ballistic-limit-controlling mechanical properties within the MIL A46100 butt-weld are found to be consistent with prior observations and general expectations.

Friction Stir Spot Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hovanski, Yuri; Grant, Glenn J.; Santella, M. L.

Friction stir spot welding techniques were developed to successfully join several advanced high strength steels. Two distinct tool materials were evaluated to determine the effect of tool materials on the process parameters and joint properties. Welds were characterized primarily via lap shear, microhardness, and optical microscopy. Friction stir spot welds were compared to the resistance spot welds in similar strength alloys by using the AWS standard for resistance spot welding high strength steels. As further comparison, a primitive cost comparison between the two joining processes was developed, which included an evaluation of the future cost prospects of friction stir spotmore » welding in advanced high strength steels.« less

Effect of Weld Tool Geometry on Friction Stir Welded AA2219-T87 Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Querin, Joseph A.; Schneider, Judy A.

2008-01-01

In this study, flat panels of AA2219-T87 were friction stir welded (FSWed) using weld tools with tapered pins The three pin geometries of the weld tools included: 0 (straight cylinder), 30 , and 60 angles on the frustum. For each weld tool geometry, the FSW process parameters were optimized to eliminate defects. A constant heat input was maintained while varying the process parameters of spindle rpm and travel speed. This provided a constant heat input for each FSW weld panel while altering the hot working conditions imparted to the workpiece. The resulting mechanical properties were evaluated from tensile test results of the FSW joint.

Pearson's Functions to Describe FSW Weld Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacombe, D.; Gutierrez-Orrantia, M. E.; Coupard, D.; Tcherniaeff, S.; Girot, F.

2011-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining technique particularly for aluminium alloys that are difficult to fusion weld. In this study, the geometry of the weld has been investigated and modelled using Pearson's functions. It has been demonstrated that the Pearson's parameters (mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis and geometric constant) can be used to characterize the weld geometry and the tensile strength of the weld assembly. Pearson's parameters and process parameters are strongly correlated allowing to define a control process procedure for FSW assemblies which make radiographic or ultrasonic controls unnecessary. Finally, an optimisation using a Generalized Gradient Method allows to determine the geometry of the weld which maximises the assembly tensile strength.

Modelling and control for laser based welding processes: modern methods of process control to improve quality of laser-based joining methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zäh, Ralf-Kilian; Mosbach, Benedikt; Hollwich, Jan; Faupel, Benedikt

2017-02-01

To ensure the competitiveness of manufacturing companies it is indispensable to optimize their manufacturing processes. Slight variations of process parameters and machine settings have only marginally effects on the product quality. Therefore, the largest possible editing window is required. Such parameters are, for example, the movement of the laser beam across the component for the laser keyhole welding. That`s why it is necessary to keep the formation of welding seams within specified limits. Therefore, the quality of laser welding processes is ensured, by using post-process methods, like ultrasonic inspection, or special in-process methods. These in-process systems only achieve a simple evaluation which shows whether the weld seam is acceptable or not. Furthermore, in-process systems use no feedback for changing the control variables such as speed of the laser or adjustment of laser power. In this paper the research group presents current results of the research field of Online Monitoring, Online Controlling and Model predictive controlling in laser welding processes to increase the product quality. To record the characteristics of the welding process, tested online methods are used during the process. Based on the measurement data, a state space model is ascertained, which includes all the control variables of the system. Depending on simulation tools the model predictive controller (MPC) is designed for the model and integrated into an NI-Real-Time-System.

Identification of the Quality Spot Welding used Non Destructive Test-Ultrasonic Testing: (Effect of Welding Time)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sifa, A.; Endramawan, T.; Badruzzaman

2017-03-01

Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) is frequently used as one way of welding is used in the manufacturing process, especially in the automotive industry [4][5][6][7]. Several parameters influence the process of welding points. To determine the quality of a welding job needs to be tested, either by damaging or testing without damage, in this study conducted experimental testing the quality of welding or identify quality of the nugget by using Non-Destructive Test (NDT) -Ultrasonic Testing (UT), in which the identification of the quality of the welding is done with parameter thickness of worksheet after welding using NDT-UT with use same material worksheet and have more thickness of worksheet, the thickness of the worksheet single plate 1mm, with the capability of propagation Ultrasonic Testing (UT) standard limited> 3 mm [1], welding process parameters such as the time difference between 1-10s and the welding current of 8 KV, visually Heat Affected Zone ( HAZ ) have different results due to the length of time of welding. UT uses a probe that is used with a frequency of 4 MHz, diameter 10 mm, range 100 and the couplant used is oil. Identification techniques using drop 6dB, with sound velocity 2267 m / s of Fe, with the result that the effect of the Welding time affect the size of the HAZ, identification with the lowest time 1s show results capable identified joined through NDT - UT.

Development of a Fiber Laser Welding Capability for the W76, MC4702 Firing Set

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samayoa, Jose

2010-05-12

Development work to implement a new welding system for a Firing Set is presented. The new system is significant because it represents the first use of fiber laser welding technology at the KCP. The work used Six-Sigma tools for weld characterization and to define process performance. Determinations of workable weld parameters and comparison to existing equipment were completed. Replication of existing waveforms was done utilizing an Arbitrary Pulse Generator (APG), which was used to modulate the fiber laser’s exclusive continuous wave (CW) output. Fiber laser weld process capability for a Firing Set is demonstrated.

Nickel aluminide-copper backing for butt joint welding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raghavan, S.; Muszynski, M.; Chin, B.A.

1996-12-31

Single-side full penetration welding is the primary welding process in shipbuilding. This process requires the use of a backing to support the molten metal. Conventionally, copper has been used as the backing material in the shop and ceramic tiles for jobs on the field. However, copper has shown to contaminate the weld and produce adverse effects and ceramics have shown to produce porosities in the weld. A new backing with an intermetallic layer (NiAl) on the copper surface has been fabricated. The results indicate that this backing could alleviate the contamination problems and produce quality welds.

Camera Based Closed Loop Control for Partial Penetration Welding of Overlap Joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abt, F.; Heider, A.; Weber, R.; Graf, T.; Blug, A.; Carl, D.; Höfler, H.; Nicolosi, L.; Tetzlaff, R.

Welding of overlap joints with partial penetration in automotive applications is a challenging process, since the laser power must be set very precisely to achieve a proper connection between the two joining partners without damaging the backside of the sheet stack. Even minor changes in welding conditions can lead to bad results. To overcome this problem a camera based closed loop control for partial penetration welding of overlap joints was developed. With this closed loop control it is possible to weld such configurations with a stable process result even under changing welding conditions.

Narrow gap laser welding

DOEpatents

Milewski, John O.; Sklar, Edward

1998-01-01

A laser welding process including: (a) using optical ray tracing to make a model of a laser beam and the geometry of a joint to be welded; (b) adjusting variables in the model to choose variables for use in making a laser weld; and (c) laser welding the joint to be welded using the chosen variables.

Narrow gap laser welding

DOEpatents

Milewski, J.O.; Sklar, E.

1998-06-02

A laser welding process including: (a) using optical ray tracing to make a model of a laser beam and the geometry of a joint to be welded; (b) adjusting variables in the model to choose variables for use in making a laser weld; and (c) laser welding the joint to be welded using the chosen variables. 34 figs.

A study of narrow gap laser welding for thick plates using the multi-layer and multi-pass method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ruoyang; Wang, Tianjiao; Wang, Chunming; Yan, Fei; Shao, Xinyu; Hu, Xiyuan; Li, Jianmin

2014-12-01

This paper details a new method that combines laser autogenous welding, laser wire filling welding and hybrid laser-GMAW welding to weld 30 mm thick plate using a multi-layer, multi-pass process. A “Y” shaped groove was used to create the joint. Research was also performed to optimize the groove size and the processing parameters. Laser autogenous welding is first used to create the backing weld. The lower, narrowest part of the groove is then welded using laser wire filling welding. Finally, the upper part of the groove is welded using laser-GMAW hybrid welding. Additionally, the wire feeding and droplet transfer behaviors are observed by high speed photography. The two main conclusions from this work are: the wire is often biased towards the side walls, resulting in a lack of fusion at the joint and the creation of other defects for larger groove sizes. Additionally, this results in the droplet transfer behavior becoming unstable, leading to a poor weld appearance for smaller groove sizes.

Solid state welding processes for an oxide dispersion strengthened nickel-chromium-aluminum alloy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, T. J.

1975-01-01

Solid-state welding processes were evaluated for joining TD-NiCrAl (Ni-16Cr-4Al-2ThO2) alloy sheet. Both hot-press and resistance spot welding techniques were successfully applied in terms of achieving grain growth across the bond line. Less success was achieved with a resistance seam welding process. In stress-rupture shear and tensile shear tests of lap joints at 1100 C, most failures occurred in the parent material, which indicates that the weld quality was good and that the welds were not a plane of weakness. The overall weld quality was not as good as previously attained with TD-NiCr, probably because the presence of alumina at the faying surfaces and the developmental TD-NiCrAl sheet, which was not of the quality of the TD-NiCr sheet in terms of surface flatness and dimensional control.

Process control of GMAW by detection of discontinuities in the molten weld pool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlson, N.M.; Kunerth, D.C.; Johnson, J.A.

1988-01-01

The use of ultrasonic sensors to detect discontinuities associated with the molten pool is one phase of a project to automate the welding process. In this work, ultrasonic sensors were used to interrogate the region around the molten/solid interface during gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The ultrasonic echoes from the interface and the molten pool provide information about the quality of the fusion zone and the molten pool. This information can be sent to a controller that can vary the welding parameters to correct the process. Previously ultrasonic shear waves were used to determine if the geometry of the molten/solidmore » interface was indicative of an acceptable weld. In this work, longitudinal waves were used to interrogate the molten weld pool for discontinuities. Unacceptable welding conditions that can result in porosity, incomplete penetration, or undercut were detected. 8 refs., 4 figs.« less

2195 Aluminum-Copper-Lithium Friction Plug Welding Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takeshita, Rike P.; Hartley, Paula J.; Baker, Kent S.

1997-01-01

Technology developments and applications of friction plug welding is presented. This friction repair welding technology is being studied for implementation on the Space Transportation System's Super Light Weight External Tank. Single plug repairs will be used on a vast majority of weld defects, however, linear defects of up to several inches can be repaired by overlapping plug welds. Methods and results of tensile, bend, simulated service, surface crack tension and other tests at room and cryogenic temperatures is discussed. Attempts to implement Friction Plug Welding has led to both tool and process changes in an attempt to minimize expansive tooling and lengthy implementation times. Process control equipment and data storage methods intended for large scale production will also be addressed. Benefits include increased strength and toughness, decreased weld repair time, automated and highly reliable process, and a lower probability of having to re-repair defect locations.

Welding processes for Inconel 718- A brief review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tharappel, Jose Tom; Babu, Jalumedi

2018-03-01

Inconel 718 is being extensively used for high-temperature applications, rocket engines, gas turbines, etc. due to its ability to maintain high strength at temperatures range 450-700°C complimented by excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance and its outstanding weldability in either the age hardened or annealed condition. Though alloy 718 is reputed to possess good weldability in the context of their resistance to post weld heat treatment cracking, heat affected zone (HAZ) and weld metal cracking problems persist. This paper presents a brief review on welding processes for Inconel 718 and the weld defects, such as strain cracking during post weld heat treatment, solidification cracking, and liquation cracking. The effect of alloy chemistry, primary and secondary processing on the HAZ cracking susceptibility, influence of post/pre weld heat treatments on precipitation, segregation reactions, and effect of grain size etc. discussed and concluded with future scope for research.

Automatic Welding of Stainless Steel Tubing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clautice, W. E.

1978-01-01

To determine if the use of automatic welding would allow reduction of the radiographic inspection requirement, and thereby reduce fabrication costs, a series of welding tests were performed. In these tests an automatic welder was used on stainless steel tubing of 1/2, 3/4, and 1/2 inch diameter size. The optimum parameters were investigated to determine how much variation from optimum in machine settings could be tolerate and still result in a good quality weld. The process variables studied were the welding amperes, the revolutions per minute as a function of the circumferential weld travel speed, and the shielding gas flow. The investigation showed that the close control of process variables in conjunction with a thorough visual inspection of welds can be relied upon as an acceptable quality assurance procedure, thus permitting the radiographic inspection to be reduced by a large percentage when using the automatic process.

Electron Beam Welding: study of process capability and limitations towards development of nuclear components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vadolia, Gautam R.; Premjit Singh, K.

2017-04-01

Electron Beam Welding (EBW) technology is an established and widely adopted technique in nuclear research and development area. Electron beam welding was thought of as a candidate process for ITER Vacuum Vessel Fabrication. Dhruva Reactor at BARC, Mumbai and Niobium superconducting accelerator cavity at BARC has adopted the EB welding technique as a fabrication route. Study of process capability and limitations based on available literature is consolidated in this short review paper.

Effects of thread interruptions on tool pins in friction stir welding of AA6061

DOE PAGES

Reza-E-Rabby, Md.; Tang, Wei; Reynolds, Anthony P.

2017-06-21

In this paper, effects of pin thread and thread interruptions (flats) on weld quality and process response parameters during friction stir welding (FSW) of 6061 aluminium alloy were quantified. Otherwise, identical smooth and threaded pins with zero to four flats were adopted for FSW. Weldability and process response variables were examined. Results showed that threads with flats significantly improved weld quality and reduced in-plane forces. A three-flat threaded pin led to production of defect-free welds under all examined welding conditions. Spectral analyses of in-plane forces and weld cross-sectional analysis were performed to establish correlation among pin flats, force dynamics andmore » defect formation. Finally, the lowest in-plane force spectra amplitudes were consistently observed for defect-free welds.« less

Effects of thread interruptions on tool pins in friction stir welding of AA6061

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reza-E-Rabby, Md.; Tang, Wei; Reynolds, Anthony P.

In this paper, effects of pin thread and thread interruptions (flats) on weld quality and process response parameters during friction stir welding (FSW) of 6061 aluminium alloy were quantified. Otherwise, identical smooth and threaded pins with zero to four flats were adopted for FSW. Weldability and process response variables were examined. Results showed that threads with flats significantly improved weld quality and reduced in-plane forces. A three-flat threaded pin led to production of defect-free welds under all examined welding conditions. Spectral analyses of in-plane forces and weld cross-sectional analysis were performed to establish correlation among pin flats, force dynamics andmore » defect formation. Finally, the lowest in-plane force spectra amplitudes were consistently observed for defect-free welds.« less

Aluminum U-groove weld enhancement based on experimental stress analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verderaime, V.; Vaughan, R.

1995-01-01

Though butt-welds are among the most preferred joining methods in aerostructures because of their sealing and assembly integrity and general elastic performance; their inelastic mechanics are generally the least understood. This study investigated experimental strain distributions across a thick aluminum U-grooved weld and identified two weld process considerations for improving the multipass weld strength. The extreme thermal expansion and contraction gradient of the fusion heat input across the tab thickness between the grooves produce severe peaking, which induces bending moment under uniaxial loading. The filler strain hardening decreased with increasing filler pass sequence. These combined effects reduce the weld strength, and a depeaking index model was developed to select filler pass thicknesses, pass numbers, and sequences to improve the welding process results over the current normal weld schedule.

Parameter Design in Fusion Welding of AA 6061 Aluminium Alloy using Desirability Grey Relational Analysis (DGRA) Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adalarasan, R.; Santhanakumar, M.

2015-01-01

In the present work, yield strength, ultimate strength and micro-hardness of the lap joints formed with Al 6061 alloy sheets by using the processes of Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding and Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding were studied for various combinations of the welding parameters. The parameters taken for study include welding current, voltage, welding speed and inert gas flow rate. Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array was used to conduct the experiments and an integrated technique of desirability grey relational analysis was disclosed for optimizing the welding parameters. The ignored robustness in desirability approach is compensated by the grey relational approach to predict the optimal setting of input parameters for the TIG and MIG welding processes which were validated through the confirmation experiments.

49 CFR 178.59 - Specification 8 steel cylinders with porous fillings for acetylene.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... welded; (2) Attachment of heads by welding or by brazing by dipping process; or (3) A welded... oxygen process steel of uniform quality must be used. Content percent may not exceed the following... the heat number. (d) Manufacture. Cylinders must be manufactured using equipment and processes...

49 CFR 178.59 - Specification 8 steel cylinders with porous fillings for acetylene.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... welded; (2) Attachment of heads by welding or by brazing by dipping process; or (3) A welded... oxygen process steel of uniform quality must be used. Content percent may not exceed the following... the heat number. (d) Manufacture. Cylinders must be manufactured using equipment and processes...

49 CFR 178.59 - Specification 8 steel cylinders with porous fillings for acetylene.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... welded; (2) Attachment of heads by welding or by brazing by dipping process; or (3) A welded... oxygen process steel of uniform quality must be used. Content percent may not exceed the following... the heat number. (d) Manufacture. Cylinders must be manufactured using equipment and processes...

A Combined Experimental and Analytical Modeling Approach to Understanding Friction Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.; Stewart, Michael B.; Adams, Glynn P.; Romine, Peter

1998-01-01

In the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process a rotating pin tool joins the sides of a seam by stirring them together. This solid state welding process avoids problems with melting and hot-shortness presented by some difficult-to weld high-performance light alloys. The details of the plastic flow during the process are not well understood and are currently a subject of research. Two candidate models of the FSW process, the Mixed Zone (MZ) and the Single Slip Surface (S3) model are presented and their predictions compared to experimental data.

Influence of M-TIG and A-TIG Welding Process on Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of 409 Ferritic Stainless Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidyarthy, R. S.; Dwivedi, D. K.; Vasudevan, M.

2017-03-01

The current study investigates the effects of activating flux tungsten inert gas welding (A-TIG) and multipass tungsten inert gas welding (M-TIG) on the weld morphology, angular distortion, microstructures and mechanical properties when welding 8-mm-thick 409 ferritic stainless steel (FSS). SiO2 was used as activating flux for A-TIG welding, while SUPERTIG ER309L was used as filler for M-TIG welding. Bead-on-plate weld trials were carried out to obtain the full penetration by using different combinations of flux coating density, welding speed and welding current. An optical microscope, field emission scanning microscope (FESEM), and x-ray diffractometer were used for the metallurgical characterizations. Vickers hardness, tensile test, Charpy toughness test, and creep behavior test were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the base and weld metals. Experimental results indicate that the A-TIG process can increase the joint penetration and tends to reduce the angular distortion of the 409 FSS weldment. The A-TIG welded joint also exhibited greater mechanical strength. However, a critically low Charpy toughness was measured for the A-TIG weld fusion zone, which was later sufficiently improved after post weld heat treatment (PWHT). It was concluded that PWHT is mandatory for A-TIG welded 409 FSS.

Repair welding of cast iron coated electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Żuk, M.; Górka, J.; Dojka, R.; Czupryński, A.

2017-08-01

Welding cast iron is a complex production procedure. Repair welding was used to repair damaged or poorly made castings. This is due to a tendency to cracking of the material during welding as well as after it. Welding cast iron can be carried out on hot or on cold. Hot welding requires high heat material and the use of welding material in the form of cast iron. In the case of cold welding, it is possible to use different materials. Mostly used filler metals are nickel and copper based. The work shows the course of research concerning repairmen of ductile iron with arc welding method. For the reparation process four types of ESAB company coated electrodes dedicated for cast iron were used with diameter 3.2 and 4 mm: ES 18-8-6B (4mm), EB 150 (4mm), OK NiCl, EŻM. In the cast iron examined during the testing grooves were made using plasma methods, in order to simulate the removed casting flaws. Then the welding process with coated electrodes was executed. The process utilized low welding current row of 100A, so there would only be a small amount of heat delivered to the heat affected zone (HAZ). Short stitches were made, after welding it was hammered, in order to remove stresses. After the repair welding the part of studies commenced which purpose was finding surface defects using visual testing (VT) and penetration testing (PT). In the second part, a series of macro and microscopic studies were executed witch the purpose of disclosuring the structure. Then the hardness tests for welds cross sections were performed. An important aspect of welding cast iron is the colour of the padding weld after welding, more precisely the difference between the base material and padding weld, the use of different materials extra gives the extra ability to select the best variant. The research of four types of coated electrode was executed, based on the demands the best option in terms of aesthetic, strength and hardness.

Unraveling the Processing Parameters in Friction Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Judy; Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

2005-01-01

In friction stir welding (FSW), a rotating threaded pin tool is translated along a weld seam, literally stirring the edges of the seam together. To determine optimal processing parameters for producing a defect free weld, a better understanding of the resulting metal deformation flow path or paths is required. In this study, various markers are used to trace the flow paths of the metal. X-ray radiographs record the segmentation and position of the wire. Several variations in the trajectories can be differentiated within the weld zone.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Welded Titanium 6Al-4V

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazumder, J.; Steen, W. M.

1982-05-01

Laser butt welds were fabricated in a titanium alloy (Ti-6A1-4V, AMS 4911-Tal0 BSS, annealed) using a Control Laser 2 kW CW CO2 laser. The relationships between the weld microstructure and mechanical properties are described and compared to the theoretical thermal history of the weld zone as calculated from a three-dimensional heat transfer model of the process. The structure of the weld zone was examined by radiography to detect any gross porosity as well as by both optical and electron microscopy in order to identify the microstructure. The oxygen pick-up during gas shielded laser welding was analyzed to correlate further with the observed mechanical properties. It was found that optimally fabricated laser welds have a very good combination of weld microstructure and mechanical properties, ranking this process as one which can produce high quality welds.

Real-time monitoring of the laser hot-wire welding process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei; Liu, Shuang; Ma, Junjie; Kovacevic, Radovan

2014-04-01

The laser hot-wire welding process was investigated in this work. The dynamics of the molten pool during welding was visualized by using a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera assisted by a green laser as an illumination source. It was found that the molten pool is formed by the irradiation of the laser beam on the filler wire. The effect of the hot-wire voltage on the stability of the welding process was monitored by using a spectrometer that captured the emission spectrum of the laser-induced plasma plume. The spectroscopic study showed that when the hot-wire voltage is above 9 V a great deal of spatters occur, resulting in the instability of the plasma plume and the welding process. The effect of spatters on the plasma plume was shown by the identified spectral lines of the element Mn I. The correlation between the Fe I electron temperature and the weld-bead shape was studied. It was noted that the electron temperature of the plasma plume can be used to real-time monitor the variation of the weld-bead features and the formation of the weld defects.

Development of Weld Inspection of the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Sam; Ezell, David

2010-01-01

NASA is designing a new crewed launch vehicle called Ares I to replace the Space Shuttle after its scheduled retirement in 2010. This new launch vehicle will build on the Shuttle technology in many ways including using a first stage based upon the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster, advanced aluminum alloys for the second stage tanks, and friction stir welding to assemble the second stage. Friction stir welding uses a spinning pin that is inserted in the joint between two panels that are to be welded. The pin mechanically mixes the metal together below the melting temperature to form the weld. Friction stir welding allows high strength joints in metals that would otherwise lose much of their strength as they are melted during the fusion welding process. One significant change from the Space Shuttle that impacts NDE is the implementation of self-reacting friction stir welding for non-linear welds on the primary metallic structure. The self-reacting technique differs from the conventional technique because the load of the pin tool pressing down on the metal being joined is reacted by a nut on the end of the tool rather than an anvil behind the part. No spacecraft has ever flown with a self-reacting friction stir weld, so this is a major advancement in the manufacturing process, bringing with it a whole new set of challenges for NDE to overcome. The metal microstructure and possible defects are different from other weld processes. Friction plug welds will be used to close out the hole remaining in the radial welds when friction stir welded. This plug welding also has unique challenges in inspection. The current state of development of these inspections will be presented, along with other information pertinent to NDE of the Ares I.

Modeling of plasma and thermo-fluid transport in hybrid welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribic, Brandon D.

Hybrid welding combines a laser beam and electrical arc in order to join metals within a single pass at welding speeds on the order of 1 m min -1. Neither autonomous laser nor arc welding can achieve the weld geometry obtained from hybrid welding for the same process parameters. Depending upon the process parameters, hybrid weld depth and width can each be on the order of 5 mm. The ability to produce a wide weld bead increases gap tolerance for square joints which can reduce machining costs and joint fitting difficulty. The weld geometry and fast welding speed of hybrid welding make it a good choice for application in ship, pipeline, and aerospace welding. Heat transfer and fluid flow influence weld metal mixing, cooling rates, and weld bead geometry. Cooling rate affects weld microstructure and subsequent weld mechanical properties. Fluid flow and heat transfer in the liquid weld pool are affected by laser and arc energy absorption. The laser and arc generate plasmas which can influence arc and laser energy absorption. Metal vapors introduced from the keyhole, a vapor filled cavity formed near the laser focal point, influence arc plasma light emission and energy absorption. However, hybrid welding plasma properties near the opening of the keyhole are not known nor is the influence of arc power and heat source separation understood. A sound understanding of these processes is important to consistently achieving sound weldments. By varying process parameters during welding, it is possible to better understand their influence on temperature profiles, weld metal mixing, cooling rates, and plasma properties. The current literature has shown that important process parameters for hybrid welding include: arc power, laser power, and heat source separation distance. However, their influence on weld temperatures, fluid flow, cooling rates, and plasma properties are not well understood. Modeling has shown to be a successful means of better understanding the influence of processes parameters on heat transfer, fluid flow, and plasma characteristics for arc and laser welding. However, numerical modeling of laser/GTA hybrid welding is just beginning. Arc and laser welding plasmas have been previously analyzed successfully using optical emission spectroscopy in order to better understand arc and laser plasma properties as a function of plasma radius. Variation of hybrid welding plasma properties with radial distance is not known. Since plasma properties can affect arc and laser energy absorption and weld integrity, a better understanding of the change in hybrid welding plasma properties as a function of plasma radius is important and necessary. Material composition influences welding plasma properties, arc and laser energy absorption, heat transfer, and fluid flow. The presence of surface active elements such as oxygen and sulfur can affect weld pool fluid flow and bead geometry depending upon the significance of heat transfer by convection. Easily vaporized and ionized alloying elements can influence arc plasma characteristics and arc energy absorption. The effects of surface active elements on heat transfer and fluid flow are well understood in the case of arc and conduction mode laser welding. However, the influence of surface active elements on heat transfer and fluid flow during keyhole mode laser welding and laser/arc hybrid welding are not well known. Modeling has been used to successfully analyze the influence of surface active elements during arc and conduction mode laser welding in the past and offers promise in the case of laser/arc hybrid welding. A critical review of the literature revealed several important areas for further research and unanswered questions. (1) The understanding of heat transfer and fluid flow during hybrid welding is still beginning and further research is necessary. (2) Why hybrid welding weld bead width is greater than that of laser or arc welding is not well understood. (3) The influence of arc power and heat source separation distance on cooling rates during hybrid welding are not known. (4) Convection during hybrid welding is not well understood despite its importance to weld integrity. (5) The influence of surface active elements on weld geometry, weld pool temperatures, and fluid flow during high power density laser and laser/arc hybrid welding are not known. (6) Although the arc power and heat source separation distance have been experimentally shown to influence arc stability and plasma light emission during hybrid welding, the influence of these parameters on plasma properties is unknown. (7) The electrical conductivity of hybrid welding plasmas is not known, despite its importance to arc stability and weld integrity. In this study, heat transfer and fluid flow are analyzed for laser, gas tungsten arc (GTA), and laser/GTA hybrid welding using an experimentally validated three dimensional phenomenological model. By evaluating arc and laser welding using similar process parameters, a better understanding of the hybrid welding process is expected. The role of arc power and heat source separation distance on weld depth, weld pool centerline cooling rates, and fluid flow profiles during CO2 laser/GTA hybrid welding of 321 stainless steel are analyzed. Laser power is varied for a constant heat source separation distance to evaluate its influence on weld temperatures, weld geometry, and fluid flow during Nd:YAG laser/GTA hybrid welding of A131 structural steel. The influence of oxygen and sulfur on keyhole and weld bead geometry, weld temperatures, and fluid flow are analyzed for high power density Yb doped fiber laser welding of (0.16 %C, 1.46 %Mn) mild steel. Optical emission spectroscopy was performed on GTA, Nd:YAG laser, and Nd:YAG laser/GTA hybrid welding plasmas for welding of 304L stainless steel. Emission spectroscopy provides a means of determining plasma temperatures and species densities using deconvoluted measured spectral intensities, which can then be used to calculate plasma electrical conductivity. In this study, hybrid welding plasma temperatures, species densities, and electrical conductivities were determined using various heat source separation distances and arc currents using an analytical method coupled calculated plasma compositions. As a result of these studies heat transfer by convection was determined to be dominant during hybrid welding of steels. The primary driving forces affecting hybrid welding fluid flow are the surface tension gradient and electromagnetic force. Fiber laser weld depth showed a negligible change when increasing the (0.16 %C, 1.46 %Mn) mild steel sulfur concentration from 0.006 wt% to 0.15 wt%. Increasing the dissolved oxygen content in weld pool from 0.0038 wt% to 0.0257 wt% increased the experimental weld depth from 9.3 mm to 10.8 mm. Calculated partial pressure of carbon monoxide increased from 0.1 atm to 0.75 atm with the 0.0219 wt% increase in dissolved oxygen in the weld metal and may explain the increase in weld depth. Nd:YAG laser/GTA hybrid welding plasma temperatures were calculated to be approximately between 7927 K and 9357 K. Increasing the Nd:YAG laser/GTA hybrid welding heat source separation distance from 4 mm to 6 mm reduced plasma temperatures between 500 K and 900 K. Hybrid welding plasma total electron densities and electrical conductivities were on the order of 1 x 1022 m-3 and 3000 S m-1, respectively.

Flexural strength of pure Ti, Ni-Cr and Co-Cr alloys submitted to Nd:YAG laser or TIG welding.

PubMed

Rocha, Rick; Pinheiro, Antônio Luiz Barbosa; Villaverde, Antonio Balbin

2006-01-01

Welding of metals and alloys is important to Dentistry for fabrication of dental prostheses. Several methods of soldering metals and alloys are currently used. The purpose of this study was to assess, using the flexural strength testing, the efficacy of two processes Nd:YAG laser and TIG (tungsten inert gas) for welding of pure Ti, Co-Cr and Ni-Cr alloys. Sixty cylindrical specimens were prepared (20 of each material), bisected and welded using different techniques. Four groups were formed (n=15). I: Nd:YAG laser welding; II- Nd:YAG laser welding using a filling material; III- TIG welding and IV (control): no welding (intact specimens). The specimens were tested in flexural strength and the results were analyzed statistically by one-way ANOVA. There was significant differences (p<0.001) among the non-welded materials, the Co-Cr alloy being the most resistant to deflection. Comparing the welding processes, significant differences (p<0.001) where found between TIG and laser welding and also between laser alone and laser plus filling material. In conclusion, TIG welding yielded higher flexural strength means than Nd:YAG laser welding for the tested Ti, Co-Cr and Ni-Cr alloys.

Influence of the arc plasma parameters on the weld pool profile in TIG welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toropchin, A.; Frolov, V.; Pipa, A. V.; Kozakov, R.; Uhrlandt, D.

2014-11-01

Magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of the arc and fluid simulations of the weld pool can be beneficial in the analysis and further development of arc welding processes and welding machines. However, the appropriate coupling of arc and weld pool simulations needs further improvement. The tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process is investigated by simulations including the weld pool. Experiments with optical diagnostics are used for the validation. A coupled computational model of the arc and the weld pool is developed using the software ANSYS CFX. The weld pool model considers the forces acting on the motion of the melt inside and on the surface of the pool, such as Marangoni, drag, electromagnetic forces and buoyancy. The experimental work includes analysis of cross-sections of the workpieces, highspeed video images and spectroscopic measurements. Experiments and calculations have been performed for various currents, distances between electrode and workpiece and nozzle diameters. The studies show the significant impact of material properties like surface tension dependence on temperature as well as of the arc structure on the weld pool behaviour and finally the weld seam depth. The experimental weld pool profiles and plasma temperatures are in good agreement with computational results.

Hot-crack test for aluminium alloys welds using TIG process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niel, A.; Deschaux-Beaume, F.; Bordreuil, C.; Fras, G.

2010-06-01

Hot cracking is a critical defect frequently observed during welding of aluminium alloys. In order to better understand the interaction between cracking phenomenon, process parameters, mechanical factors and microstructures resulting from solidification after welding, an original hot-cracking test during welding is developed. According to in-situ observations and post mortem analyses, hot cracking mechanisms are investigated, taking into account the interaction between microstructural parameters, depending on the thermal cycles, and mechanical parameters, depending on geometry and clamping conditions of the samples and on the thermal field on the sample. Finally, a process map indicating the limit between cracking and non-cracking zones according to welding parameters is presented.

Probing heat transfer, fluid flow and microstructural evolution during fusion welding of alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei

The composition, geometry, structure and properties of the welded joints are affected by the various physical processes that take place during fusion welding. Understanding these processes has been an important goal in the contemporary welding research to achieve structurally sound and reliable welds. In the present thesis research, several important physical processes including the heat transfer, fluid flow and microstructural evolution in fusion welding were modeled based on the fundamentals of transport phenomena and phase transformation theory. The heat transfer and fluid flow calculation is focused on the predictions of the liquid metal convection in the weld pool, the temperature distribution in the entire weldment, and the shape and size of the fusion zone (FZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ). The modeling of microstructural evolution is focused on the quantitative understanding of phase transformation kinetics during welding of several important alloys under both low and high heating and cooling conditions. Three numerical models were developed in the present thesis work: (1) a three-dimensional heat transfer and free surface flow model for the gas metal arc (GMA) fillet welding considering the complex weld joint geometry, (2) a phase transformation model based on the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) theory, and (3) a one-dimensional numerical diffusion model considering multiple moving interfaces. To check the capabilities of the developed models, several cases were investigated, in which the predictions from the models were compared with the experimental results. The cases studied are the follows. For the modeling of heat transfer and fluid flow, the welding processes studied included gas tungsten arc (GTA) linear welding, GTA transient spot welding, and GMA fillet welding. The calculated weldment geometry and thermal cycles was validated against the experimental data under various welding conditions. For the modeling of microstructural evolution, the welded materials investigated included AISI 1005 low-carbon steel, 1045 medium-carbon steel, 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) and Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The calculated phase transformation kinetics were compared with the experimental results obtained using an x-ray diffraction technique by Dr. John W. Elmer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Selecting Processes to Minimize Hexavalent Chromium from Stainless Steel Welding

PubMed Central

KEANE, M.; SIERT, A.; STONE, S.; CHEN, B.; SLAVEN, J.; CUMPSTON, A.; ANTONINI, J.

2015-01-01

Eight welding processes/shielding gas combinations were assessed for generation of hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) in stainless steel welding fumes. The processes examined were gas metal arc welding (GMAW) (axial spray, short circuit, and pulsed spray modes), flux cored arc welding (FCAW), and shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). The Cr6+ fractions were measured in the fumes; fume generation rates, Cr6+ generation rates, and Cr6+ generation rates per unit mass of welding wire were determined. A limited controlled comparison study was done in a welding shop including SMAW, FCAW, and three GMAW methods. The processes studied were compared for costs, including relative labor costs. Results indicate the Cr6+ in the fume varied widely, from a low of 2800 to a high of 34,000 ppm. Generation rates of Cr6+ ranged from 69 to 7800 μg/min, and Cr6+ generation rates per unit of wire ranged from 1 to 270 μg/g. The results of field study were similar to the findings in the laboratory. The Cr6+ (ppm) in the fume did not necessarily correlate with the Cr6+ generation rate. Physical properties were similar for the processes, with mass median aerodynamic diameters ranging from 250 to 336 nm, while the FCAW and SMAW fumes were larger (360 and 670 nm, respectively). Conclusion: The pulsed axial spray method was the best choice of the processes studied based on minimal fume generation, minimal Cr6+ generation, and cost per weld. This method is usable in any position, has a high metal deposition rate, and is relatively simple to learn and use. PMID:26690276

Parameter optimization of flux-aided backing-submerged arc welding by using Taguchi method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Juan; Yu, Shengfu; Li, Yuanyuan

2017-07-01

Flux-aided backing-submerged arc welding has been conducted on D36 steel with thickness of 20 mm. The effects of processing parameters such as welding current, voltage, welding speed and groove angle on welding quality were investigated by Taguchi method. The optimal welding parameters were predicted and the individual importance of each parameter on welding quality was evaluated by examining the signal-to-noise ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA) results. The importance order of the welding parameters for the welding quality of weld bead was: welding current > welding speed > groove angle > welding voltage. The welding quality of weld bead increased gradually with increasing welding current and welding speed and decreasing groove angle. The optimum values of the welding current, welding speed, groove angle and welding voltage were found to be 1050 A, 27 cm/min, 40∘ and 34 V, respectively.

The Strength and Characteristics of VPPA Welded 2219-T87 Aluminum Alloy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jemian, W. A.

1985-01-01

A study of the variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding process and those factors that control the structure and properties of VPPA welded aluminum alloy 2219-T87 was conducted. The importance of joint preparation, alignment of parts and welding process variables are already established. Internal weld defects have been eliminated. However, a variation of properties was found to be due to the size variation of interdendritic particles in the fusion zone. These particles contribute to the void formation process, which controls the ultimate tensile strength of the welded alloy. A variation of 150 microns in particle size correlated with a 10 ksi variation of ultimate tensile strength. It was found that all fracture surfaces were of the dimple rupture type, with fracture initiating within the fusion zone.

Laser heat treatment of welds for various stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dontu, O.; Ganatsios, S.; Alexandrescu, N.; Predescu, C.

2008-03-01

The paper presents a study concerning the post - weld heat treatment of a duplex stainless steel. Welded joint samples were surface - treated using the same laser source adopted during welding in order to counterbalance the excess of ferrite formed in the welding process.

Welding and Weldability of AZ31B by Gas Tungsten Arc and Laser Beam Welding Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lathabai, S.; Barton, K. J.; Harris, D.; Lloyd, P. G.; Viano, D. M.; McLean, A.

Welding will play an important role in the fabrication of modular lightweight structures based on magnesium alloy die castings, extrusion profiles and wrought products. Minimisation of rejection rates during fabrication requires that satisfactory weldability be established for a particular combination of materials and welding procedures. In this paper, we present the results of a study to quantify the weldability of wrought alloy AZ31B by gas tungsten arc (GTA) and laser beam (LB) welding processes. The susceptibility to weld metal solidification cracking was evaluated using the Circular Patch weldability test. Operating windows of welding parameters for crack-free and porosity-free GTA and LB welding were identified, based on which welding procedures were developed for sheet and plate AZ31B. The microstructure and mechanical properties of welded test plates were assessed, leading to a better understanding of microstructurat development and structure-property relationships in GTA and LB weldments in AZ31B.

Butt Welding Joint of Aluminum Alloy by Space GHTA Welding Process in Vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suita, Yoshikazu; Shinike, Shuhei; Ekuni, Tomohide; Terajima, Noboru; Tsukuda, Yoshiyuki; Imagawa, Kichiro

Aluminum alloys have been used widely in constructing various space structures including the International Space Station (ISS) and launch vehicles. For space applications, welding experiments on aluminum alloy were performed using the GHTA (Gas Hollow Tungsten Arc) welding process using a filler wire feeder in a vacuum. We investigated the melting phenomenon of the base metal and filler wire, bead formation, and the effects of wire feed speed on melting characteristics. The melting mechanism in the base metal during the bead on a plate with wire feed was similar to that for the melt run without wire feed. We clarified the effects of wire feed speed on bead sizes and configurations. Furthermore, the butt welded joint welded using the optimum wire feed speed, and the joint tensile strengths were evaluated. The tensile strength of the square butt joint welded by the pulsed DC GHTA welding with wire feed in a vacuum is nearly equal to that of the same joint welded by conventional GTA (Gas Tungsten Arc) welding in air.

Method and apparatus for in-process sensing of manufacturing quality

DOEpatents

Hartman, Daniel A [Santa Fe, NM; Dave, Vivek R [Los Alamos, NM; Cola, Mark J [Santa Fe, NM; Carpenter, Robert W [Los Alamos, NM

2005-02-22

A method for determining the quality of an examined weld joint comprising the steps of providing acoustical data from the examined weld joint, and performing a neural network operation on the acoustical data determine the quality of the examined weld joint produced by a friction weld process. The neural network may be trained by the steps of providing acoustical data and observable data from at least one test weld joint, and training the neural network based on the acoustical data and observable data to form a trained neural network so that the trained neural network is capable of determining the quality of a examined weld joint based on acoustical data from the examined weld joint. In addition, an apparatus having a housing, acoustical sensors mounted therein, and means for mounting the housing on a friction weld device so that the acoustical sensors do not contact the weld joint. The apparatus may sample the acoustical data necessary for the neural network to determine the quality of a weld joint.

Sensoring Fusion Data from the Optic and Acoustic Emissions of Electric Arcs in the GMAW-S Process for Welding Quality Assessment

PubMed Central

Alfaro, Sadek Crisóstomo Absi; Cayo, Eber Huanca

2012-01-01

The present study shows the relationship between welding quality and optical-acoustic emissions from electric arcs, during welding runs, in the GMAW-S process. Bead on plate welding tests was carried out with pre-set parameters chosen from manufacturing standards. During the welding runs interferences were induced on the welding path using paint, grease or gas faults. In each welding run arc voltage, welding current, infrared and acoustic emission values were acquired and parameters such as arc power, acoustic peaks rate and infrared radiation rate computed. Data fusion algorithms were developed by assessing known welding quality parameters from arc emissions. These algorithms have showed better responses when they are based on more than just one sensor. Finally, it was concluded that there is a close relation between arc emissions and quality in welding and it can be measured from arc emissions sensing and data fusion algorithms. PMID:22969330

Method and Apparatus for In-Process Sensing of Manufacturing Quality

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hartman, D.A.; Dave, V.R.; Cola, M.J.

2005-02-22

A method for determining the quality of an examined weld joint comprising the steps of providing acoustical data from the examined weld joint, and performing a neural network operation on the acoustical data determine the quality of the examined weld joint produced by a friction weld process. The neural network may be trained by the steps of providing acoustical data and observable data from at least one test weld joint, and training the neural network based on the acoustical data and observable data to form a trained neural network so that the trained neural network is capable of determining themore » quality of a examined weld joint based on acoustical data from the examined weld joint. In addition, an apparatus having a housing, acoustical sensors mounted therein, and means for mounting the housing on a friction weld device so that the acoustical sensors do not contact the weld joint. The apparatus may sample the acoustical data necessary for the neural network to determine the quality of a weld joint.« less

Evaluating the SCC resistance of underwater welds in sodium tetrathionate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, R.A.; Angeliu, T.M.

1997-12-01

The susceptibility of welds to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is enhanced by the surface residual tensile stresses generated by the typical welding process. However, underwater plasma transferred arc (PTA) welding has been shown to produce compressive surface residual stresses, an encouraging result if repairs of cracked boiling water reactor (BWR) components are to be made without further endangering them to SCC. This program was designed to verify that underwater PTA welds are resistant to SCC and to determine if underwater PTA welding could mitigate SCC in potentially susceptible welds. This was achieved by exposing various welds on solution annealed (SA)more » and SA + thermally sensitized 304 stainless steel at 25 C in a solution of 1.5 gm/liter of sodium sulfide added to 0.05M sodium tetrathionate, titrated to a pH of 1.25 with H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}. The autogeneous welds were produced using gas tungsten arc (GTA) and plasma transferred arc (PTA) welding under atmospheric conditions, and PTA welding underwater. After 1 hour of sodium tetrathionate exposure, GTA and air PTA welds exhibited SCC while the underwater PTA weld heat affected zones were more resistant. Underwater PTA welds bisecting a GTA weld eliminated the cracking in the GTA weld heat affected zone under certain conditions. The lack of IG cracking in the region influenced by the underwater PTA weld is consistent with the measurement of compressive surface residual stresses inherent to the underwater welding process.« less

High-Powered, Ultrasonically Assisted Thermal Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, Robert

2013-01-01

This method is a solid-state weld process capable of joining metallic alloys without melting. The weld workpieces to be joined by thermal stir welding (TSW) are drawn, by heavy forces, between containment plates past the TSW stir tool that then causes joining of the weld workpiece. TSW is similar to friction stir welding (FSW) in that material is heated into a plastic state (not melted) and stirred using a stir rod. The FSW pin tool is an integrated geometrical structure consisting of a large-diameter shoulder, and a smaller-diameter stir pin protruding from the shoulder. When the pin is plunged into a weld workpiece, the shoulder spins on the surface of the weld workpiece, thus inducing frictional heat into the part. The pin stirs the fraying surfaces of the weld joint, thus joining the weld workpiece into one structure. The shoulder and stir pin of the FSW pin tool must rotate together at a desired rotational speed. The induced frictional energy control and stir pin control of the pin tool cannot be de-coupled. The two work as one integrated unit. TSW, on the other hand, de-couples the heating and stirring of FSW, and allows for independent control of each process element. A uniquely designed induction coil heats the weld workpiece to a desired temperature, and once heated, the part moves into a stir rod whose RPM is also independently controlled. As the weld workpiece moves into the stir rod, the piece is positioned, or sandwiched, between upper and lower containment plates. The plate squeezes together, thus compressing the upper and lower surfaces of the weld workpiece. This compressive force, also called consolidation force, consolidates the plastic material within the weld nugget material as it is being stirred by the stir rod. The stir rod is positioned through the center of the top containment plate and protrudes midway through the opposite lower containment plate where it is mechanically captured. The upper and lower containment plates are separated by a distance equal to the thickness of the material being welded. The TSW process can be significantly improved by reducing the draw forces. This can be achieved by reducing the friction forces between the weld workpieces and the containment plates. High-power ultrasonic (HPU) vibrations of the containment plates achieve friction reduction in the TSW process. Furthermore, integration of the HPU energy into the TSW stir rod can increase tool life of the stir rod, and can reduce shear forces to which the stir rod is subjected during the welding process. TSW has been used to successfully join 0.500-in (˜13-mm) thick commercially pure (CP) titanium, titanium 6AL- 4V, and titanium 6AL-4V ELI in weld joint lengths up to 9 ft (˜2.75-m) long. In addition, the TSW process was used to fabricate a sub-scale hexagonally shaped gun turret component for the U.S. Navy. The turret is comprised of six 0.5000-in (˜13-mm) thick angled welds. Each angled weld joint was prepared by machining the mating surfaces to 120deg. The angled weld joint was then fixtured using an upper and lower containment plate of the same geometry of the angled weld joint. The weld joint was then stirred by the stir rod as it and the upper and lower containment plates traverse through the angled joint prep.

Portable spectrometer monitors inert gas shield in welding process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grove, E. L.

1967-01-01

Portable spectrometer using photosensitive readouts, monitors the amount of oxygen and hydrogen in the inert gas shield of a tungsten-inert gas welding process. A fiber optic bundle transmits the light from the welding arc to the spectrometer.

Welding abilities of UFG metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morawiński, Łukasz; Chmielewski, Tomasz; Olejnik, Lech; Buffa, Gianluca; Campanella, Davide; Fratini, Livan

2018-05-01

Ultrafine Grained (UFG) metals are characterized by an average grain size of <1 µm and mostly high angle grain boundaries. These materials exhibit exceptional improvements in strength, superplastic behaviour and in some cases enhanced biocompatibility. UFG metals barstock can be fabricated effectively by means of Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) methods. However, the obtained welded joints with similar properties to the base of UFG material are crucial for the production of finished engineering components. Conventional welding methods based on local melting of the joined edges cannot be used due to the UFG microstructure degradation caused by the heat occurrence in the heat affected zone. Therefore, the possibility of obtaining UFG materials joints with different shearing plane (SP) positions by means of friction welded processes, which do not exceed the melting temperature during the process, should be investigated. The article focuses on the Linear Friction Welding (LFW) method, which belongs to innovative welding processes based on mixing of the friction-heated material in the solid state. LFW is a welding process used to joint bulk components. In the process, the friction forces work due to the high frequency oscillation and the pressure between the specimens is converted in thermal energy. Character and range of recrystallization can be controlled by changing LFW parameters. Experimental study on the welded UFG 1070 aluminum alloy by means of FLW method, indicates the possibility of reducing the UFG structure degradation in the obtained joint. A laboratory designed LFW machine has been used to weld the specimens with different contact pressure and oscillation frequency.

Friction-Stir Welding of Aluminum For the Space Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Clyde S.; Smelser, Jerry W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Marshall Space Flight Center is developing and characterizing the friction stir welding process for the Space Shuttle and other space programs. This revolutionary process, invented and patented by The Weld Institute in England, offers tremendous advantages for joining aluminum for high performance applications. It is particularly suited for advanced aluminum-lithium alloys, such as 2195, the primary structural alloy used in the External Tank. The friction stir welding process joins metals with minimal heat input, resulting in high-strength joints with high ductility. It is a simple process to demonstrate using a common milling machine for sample parts, but relatively expensive to implement on large-scale hardware, due to the high cost of tooling needed to handle the high forging pressures characteristic of the process. Recent developments at the Marshall Space Flight Center have demonstrated friction stir welding on linear joints up to 5 meters (15 ft.), with material thickness ranging between 2.5 mm and 16.5 mm (0.100" to 0.650"). High efficiency weld joints have been produced in aluminum from the 2000, 5000, and 6000 series alloy systems. A "retractable pin tool" system was patented by MSFC that allows use of friction stir welding for joints with changing material thickness, and with less rigid tooling than previously considered. This presentation will describe the details of alloys welded to-date and technical advances under development at MSFC. These developments could have substantial benefit to industrial applications for welding aluminum.

Advanced concepts in joining by conventional processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edwards, G.R.; Fasching-James, A.A.; Onsoien, M.I.

1994-12-31

Innovations which can be made to conventional arc welding processes so that advanced materials can be more efficiently joined are considered. Three examples are discussed: (1) GTA welding of iron aluminides, (2) GMA welding of advanced steels, and (3) SMA welding of structural steels. Advanced materials present new challenges for the materials joining specialist. The three examples discussed in this paper demonstrate, however, that modest but creative alterations of conventional GTAW, GMAW, or SMAW processes can provide new and better controls for solving advanced materials joining problems.

Weld Wire Investigation Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cunningham, M.A.

1999-03-22

After GTA welding reservoir A production/process prove-in assemblies, X-ray examination detected a lack of sidewall fusion. After examining several possible causes, it was determined that the weld wire filler metal was responsible, particularly the wire cleaning process. The final conclusion was that the filler wire must be abrasively cleaned in a particular manner to perform as required. The abrasive process was incorporated into the wire material specification, ensuring consistency for all reservoir GTA welding at AlliedSignal Federal Manufacturing and Technologies (FM and T).

Friction-Stir Welding and Mathematical Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rostant, Victor D.

1999-01-01

The friction-stir welding process is a remarkable way for making butt and lap joints in aluminum alloys. This process operates by passing a rotating tool between two closely butted plates. Through this process it generates a lot of heat and heated material is stirred from both sides of the plates in which the outcome will one high quality weld. My research has been done to study the FSW through mathematical modeling, and using modeling to better understand what take place during the friction-stir weld.

SLI Complex Curvature Friction Stir Weld Risk Reduction Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, Paula J.; Schneider, Jules; Jones, Chip; Lawless, Kirby; Russell, Carolyn

2003-01-01

The Space Launch Initiative Program (SLI) in conjunction with the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM) will demonstrate the ability to produce large-scale complex curvature hardware using the self-reacting friction stir welding process. This multi-phased risk reduction program includes friction stir welding process development and manufacture of a 22-ft diameter quarter dome using a conventional tooling approach; it culminates in a 27.5-ft diameter quarter dome demonstration performed on a 5-axis Universal Weld System. The design, fabrication, and installation of the Universal Weld System is made possible through a collaboration between the State of Louisiana, NASA, and the University of New Orleans. The Universal Weld System, manufactured by MTS Systems Corporation, will be installed at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, and will be capable of manufacturing domes up to 30 ft in diameter. All welding will be accomplished using the Adaptable Adjustable Pin Tool (AdAPT) weld head and controller manufactured by MTS. Weld parameters will be developed for an aluminum alloy in gauges ranging from 0.320 to 0.400 in. thick. Weld quality will be verified through radiography, mechanical property testing at ambient and LN2 temperatures, and metallurgical analysis. The AdAPT weld head will then be mounted on a 22-ft diameter dome tool, which will be modified to include a welding track and drive system for moving the AdAPT weld head along the weld joint. This tool will then be used to manufacture a 22-ft diameter dome of an aluminum alloy, with 0.320-in. constant thickness joints, consisting of three individual gore panels. Finally, the 27.5-ft diameter quarter dome will be welded on the Universal Weld System. The quarter dome will consist of three individual gore panels with weld lands tapering from 0.320 to 0.360 in. in thickness. With the demonstration of these welds, the ability to manufacture large diameter domes using the friction stir weld process in conjunction with a universal weld system provides a low risk approach to the fabrication of aluminum tanks for future launch vehicle applications.

Experimental study on the healing process following laser welding of the cornea.

PubMed

Rossi, Francesca; Pini, Roberto; Menabuoni, Luca; Mencucci, Rita; Menchini, Ugo; Ambrosini, Stefano; Vannelli, Gabriella

2005-01-01

An experimental study evaluating the application of laser welding of the cornea and the subsequent healing process is presented. The welding of corneal wounds is achieved after staining the cut walls with a solution of the chromophore indocyanine green, and irradiating them with a diode laser (810 nm) operating at low power (60 to 90 mW). The result is a localized heating of the cut, inducing controlled welding of the stromal collagen. In order to optimize this technique and to study the healing process, experimental tests, simulating cataract surgery and penetrating keratoplasty, were performed on rabbits: conventional and laser-induced suturing of corneal wounds were thus compared. A follow-up study 7 to 90 days after surgery was carried out by means of objective and histological examinations, in order to optimize the welding technique and to investigate the subsequent healing process. The analyses of the laser-welded corneas evidenced a faster and more effective restoration of the architecture of the stroma. No thermal damage of the welded stroma was detected, nor were there foreign body reactions or other inflammatory processes. Copyright 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Complete Report on the Development of Welding Parameters for Irradiated Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frederick, Greg; Sutton, Benjamin J.; Tatman, Jonathan K.

The advanced welding facility at the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which was conceived to enable research and development of weld repair techniques for nuclear power plant life extension, is now operational. The development of the facility and its advanced welding capabilities, along with the model materials for initial welding trials, were funded jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program, the Electric Power Research Institute, Long Term Operations Program and the Welding and Repair Technology Center, with additional support from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Welding of irradiatedmore » materials was initiated on November 17, 2017, which marked a significant step in the development of the facility and the beginning of extensive welding research and development campaigns on irradiated materials that will eventually produce validated techniques and guidelines for weld repair activities carried out to extend the operational lifetimes of nuclear power plants beyond 60 years. This report summarizes the final steps that were required to complete weld process development, initial irradiated materials welding activities, near-term plans for irradiated materials welding, and plans for post-weld analyses that will be carried out to assess the ability of the advanced welding processes to make repairs on irradiated materials.« less

Measurement of Laser Weld Temperatures for 3D Model Input

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dagel, Daryl; Grossetete, Grant; Maccallum, Danny O.

Laser welding is a key joining process used extensively in the manufacture and assembly of critical components for several weapons systems. Sandia National Laboratories advances the understanding of the laser welding process through coupled experimentation and modeling. This report summarizes the experimental portion of the research program, which focused on measuring temperatures and thermal history of laser welds on steel plates. To increase confidence in measurement accuracy, researchers utilized multiple complementary techniques to acquire temperatures during laser welding. This data serves as input to and validation of 3D laser welding models aimed at predicting microstructure and the formation of defectsmore » and their impact on weld-joint reliability, a crucial step in rapid prototyping of weapons components.« less

Effect of process parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wanare, S. P.; Kalyankar, V. D.

2018-04-01

Friction stir welding is emerging as a promising technique for joining of lighter metal alloys due to its several advantages over conventional fusion welding processes such as low thermal distortion, good mechanical properties, fine weld joint microstructure, etc. This review article mainly focuses on analysis of microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints. Various microstructure characterization techniques used by previous researchers such as optical microscopes, x-ray diffraction, electron probe microscope, transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscopes with electron back scattered diffraction, electron dispersive microscopy, etc. are thoroughly overviewed and their results are discussed. The effects of friction stir welding process parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, tool plunge depth, axial force, tool shoulder diameter to tool pin diameter ratio, tool geometry etc. on microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints are studied and critical observations are noted down. The microstructure examination carried out by previous researchers on various zones of welded joints such as weld zone, heat affected zone and base metal are studied and critical remarks have been presented. Mechanical performances of friction stir welded joints based on tensile test, micro-hardness test, etc. are discussed. This article includes exhaustive literature review of standard research articles which may become ready information for subsequent researchers to establish their line of action.

Decreasing biotoxicity of fume particles produced in welding process.

PubMed

Yu, Kuei-Min; Topham, Nathan; Wang, Jun; Kalivoda, Mark; Tseng, Yiider; Wu, Chang-Yu; Lee, Wen-Jhy; Cho, Kuk

2011-01-30

Welding fumes contain heavy metals, such as chromium, manganese, and nickel, which cause respiratory diseases and cancer. In this study, a SiO(2) precursor was evaluated as an additive to the shielding gas in an arc welding process to reduce the biotoxicity caused by welding fume particles. Transmission electron micrographic images show that SiO(2) coats on the surface of welding fume particles and promotes particle agglomeration. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy further shows that the relative amount of silicon in these SiO(2)-coated agglomerates is higher than in baseline agglomerates. In addition, Escherichia coli (E. coli) exposed to different concentrations of pure SiO(2) particles generated from the arc welding process exhibits similar responses, suggesting that SiO(2) does not contribute to welding fume particle toxicity. The trend of E. coli growth in different concentrations of baseline welding fume particle shows the most significant inhibition occurs in higher exposure concentrations. The 50% lethal logarithmic concentrations for E. coli in arc welding particles of baseline, 2%, and 4.2% SiO(2) precursor additives were 823, 1605, and 1800 mg/L, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that using SiO(2) precursors as an additive to arc welding shielding gas can effectively reduce the biotoxicity of welding fume. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysing the Friction Stir Welded Joints of AA2219 Al-Cu Alloy in Different Heat-Treated-State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkateswarlu, D.; Cheepu, Muralimohan; Kranthi kumar, B.; Mahapatra, M. M.

2018-03-01

Aluminium alloy AA2219 is widely used in light weight structural applications where the good corrosion resistance and specific weight required. The fabrication of this alloy using friction stir welding process is gaining interest towards finding the characteristics of the weld metal properties, since this process involved in the welded materials does not melt and recast. In the present investigation, friction stir welding process was used for different heat treated conditions of 2219-T87 and 2219-T62 aluminium alloys to find the influence of base metal on characteristics of the joints. The experimental output results exhibited that, mechanical properties, weld metal characteristics and joint failure locations are significantly affected by the different heat treatment conditions of the substrate. The joints tensile and yield strength of the 2219-T87 welds was higher than the 2219-T62 welds. Hardness distribution in the stir zone was significantly varied between two different heat treaded material conditions. The microstructural features of the 2219-T62 welds reveal the coarse grains formation in the thermo-mechanically affected zone and heat affected zone. The joint efficiency of the 2219- T82 welds is 59.87%, while that of 2219-T62 welds is 39.10%. In addition, the elongation of the joint also varied and the joints failure location characteristics are different for two different types heat treated condition joints.

The Mechanical Behavior of Friction-Stir Spot Welded Aluminum Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Güler, Hande

2014-10-01

Aluminum and alloys are widely used in the automotive industry due to the light weight, good formability, and malleability. Spot welding is the most commonly used joining method of these materials, but the high current requirements and the inconsistent quality of the final welds make this process unsuitable. An alternative welding technique, the friction-stir spot welding process, can also be successfully used in joining of aluminum and alloys. In this study, 1-mm-thick AA5754 Al-alloy plates in the H-111 temper conditions were joined by friction-stir spot welding using two different weld parameters such as tool rotational speed and dwell time. Mechanical properties of the joints were obtained with extensive hardness measurements and tensile shear tests. The effect of these parameters on the failure modes of welded joints was also determined.

Factors affecting weld root morphology in laser keyhole welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frostevarg, Jan

2018-02-01

Welding production efficiency is usually optimised if full penetration can be achieved in a single pass. Techniques such as electron and laser beam welding offer deep high speed keyhole welding, especially since multi-kilowatt lasers became available. However, there are limitations for these techniques when considering weld imperfections such as weld cap undercuts, interior porosity or humps at the root. The thickness of sheets during full penetration welding is practically limited by these root humps. The mechanisms behind root morphology formation are not yet satisfactory understood. In this paper root humping is studied by reviewing previous studies and findings and also by sample examination and process observation by high speed imaging. Different process regimes governing root quality are presented, categorized and explained. Even though this study mainly covers laser beam and laser arc hybrid welding, the presented findings can generally be applied full penetration welding in medium to thick sheets, especially the discussion of surface tension effects. As a final result of this analysis, a map of methods to optimise weld root topology is presented.

A Review on Inertia and Linear Friction Welding of Ni-Based Superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamanfar, Ahmad; Jahazi, Mohammad; Cormier, Jonathan

2015-04-01

Inertia and linear friction welding are being increasingly used for near-net-shape manufacturing of high-value materials in aerospace and power generation gas turbines because of providing a better quality joint and offering many advantages over conventional fusion welding and mechanical joining techniques. In this paper, the published works up-to-date on inertia and linear friction welding of Ni-based superalloys are reviewed with the objective to make clarifications on discrepancies and uncertainties reported in literature regarding issues related to these two friction welding processes as well as microstructure, texture, and mechanical properties of the Ni-based superalloy weldments. Initially, the chemical composition and microstructure of Ni-based superalloys that contribute to the quality of the joint are reviewed briefly. Then, problems related to fusion welding of these alloys are addressed with due consideration of inertia and linear friction welding as alternative techniques. The fundamentals of inertia and linear friction welding processes are analyzed next with emphasis on the bonding mechanisms and evolution of temperature and strain rate across the weld interface. Microstructural features, texture development, residual stresses, and mechanical properties of similar and dissimilar polycrystalline and single crystal Ni-based superalloy weldments are discussed next. Then, application of inertia and linear friction welding for joining Ni-based superalloys and related advantages over fusion welding, mechanical joining, and machining are explained briefly. Finally, present scientific and technological challenges facing inertia and linear friction welding of Ni-based superalloys including those related to modeling of these processes are addressed.

Prediction of the Grain-Microstructure Evolution Within a Friction Stir Welding (FSW) Joint via the Use of the Monte Carlo Simulation Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grujicic, M.; Ramaswami, S.; Snipes, J. S.; Avuthu, V.; Galgalikar, R.; Zhang, Z.

2015-09-01

A thermo-mechanical finite element analysis of the friction stir welding (FSW) process is carried out and the evolution of the material state (e.g., temperature, the extent of plastic deformation, etc.) monitored. Subsequently, the finite-element results are used as input to a Monte-Carlo simulation algorithm in order to predict the evolution of the grain microstructure within different weld zones, during the FSW process and the subsequent cooling of the material within the weld to room temperature. To help delineate different weld zones, (a) temperature and deformation fields during the welding process, and during the subsequent cooling, are monitored; and (b) competition between the grain growth (driven by the reduction in the total grain-boundary surface area) and dynamic-recrystallization grain refinement (driven by the replacement of highly deformed material with an effectively "dislocation-free" material) is simulated. The results obtained clearly revealed that different weld zones form as a result of different outcomes of the competition between the grain growth and grain refinement processes.

The Effect of Process Parameters and Tool Geometry on Thermal Field Development and Weld Formation in Friction Stir Welding of the Alloys AZ31 and AZ61

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zettler, R.; Blanco, A. C.; dos Santos, J. F.; Marya, S.

An increase in the use of magnesium (Mg) in the car manufacturing industry has raised questions concerning its weldability. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has the advantage of achieving metallic bonding below that of the melting point of the base material thus avoiding many of the metallurgical problems associated with the solidification process. The present study presents the results of a development program carried out to investigate the response of Mg alloys AZ31 and AZ61 to different FSW tool geometries and process parameters. Temperature development across the weld zone was monitored and the produced welds have been subjected to microstructural analysis and mechanical testing. Defect free welds have been produced with optimised FSW-tool and parameters. The micro structure of the welded joint resulted in similar ductility and hardness levels as compared to that of the base material. The results also demonstrated that tool geometry plays a fundamental role in the response of the investigated alloys to the FSW process.

The Influence of Welding Parameters on the Nugget Formation of Resistance Spot Welding of Inconel 625 Sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rezaei Ashtiani, Hamid Reza; Zarandooz, Roozbeh

2015-09-01

A 2D axisymmetric electro-thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) model is developed to investigate the effect of current intensity, welding time, and electrode tip diameter on temperature distributions and nugget size in resistance spot welding (RSW) process of Inconel 625 superalloy sheets using ABAQUS commercial software package. The coupled electro-thermal analysis and uncoupled thermal-mechanical analysis are used for modeling process. In order to improve accuracy of simulation, material properties including physical, thermal, and mechanical properties have been considered to be temperature dependent. The thickness and diameter of computed weld nuggets are compared with experimental results and good agreement is observed. So, FE model developed in this paper provides prediction of quality and shape of the weld nuggets and temperature distributions with variation of each process parameter, suitably. Utilizing this FE model assists in adjusting RSW parameters, so that expensive experimental process can be avoided. The results show that increasing welding time and current intensity lead to an increase in the nugget size and electrode indentation, whereas increasing electrode tip diameter decreases nugget size and electrode indentation.

Improving Processes of Mechanized Pulsed Arc Welding of Low-Frequency Range Variation of Mode Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraev, Yu N.; Solodskiy, S. A.; Ulyanova, O. V.

2016-04-01

A new technology of low-frequency modulation of the arc current in MAG and MIG welding is presented. The technology provides control of thermal and crystallization processes, stabilizes the time of formation and crystallization of the weld pool. Conducting theoretical studies allowed formulating the basic criteria for obtaining strong permanent joints for high-duty structures, providing conditions for more equilibrium structure of the deposited metal and the smaller width of the HAZ. The stabilization of time of the formation and crystallization of the weld pool improves the formation of the weld and increases productivity in welding thin sheet metal.

Microstructural Aspects in FSW and TIG Welding of Cast ZE41A Magnesium Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlone, Pierpaolo; Astarita, Antonello; Rubino, Felice; Pasquino, Nicola

2016-04-01

In this paper, magnesium ZE41A alloy plates were butt joined through friction stir welding (FSW) and Tungsten Inert Gas welding processes. Process-induced microstructures were investigated by optical and SEM observations, EDX microanalysis and microhardness measurements. The effect of a post-welded T5 heat treatment on FSW joints was also assessed. Sound joints were produced by means of both techniques. Different elemental distributions and grain sizes were found, whereas microhardness profiles reflect microstructural changes. Post-welding heat treatment did not induce significant alterations in elemental distribution. The FSW-treated joint showed a more homogeneous hardness profile than the as-welded FSW joint.

On the determination of the origin of linear anomaly in the macrostructure of VPPA welded 2219-T87 aluminum alloy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jemian, W. A.

1986-01-01

The objective was to determine the cause and significance of the weld radiograph enigma, which is a linear anomaly in the features of the X-ray film. By observing features on available radiographs and in studying published reports of similar features it was possible to conclude that there are many manifestations of the enigma, and that they are all specific features of fine structure in radiographs due to natural processes connected with welding and to specific X-ray absorption and diffraction phenomena. These processes include the thermal distribution and liquid metal flow in welding, the development of microstructure, morpohology, second phase particles and porosity due to the solidification process and to the pattern of residual stresses after the weld metal has cooled to the ambient temperature. Microdensitometer traces were made across weld radiographs of standard and enigmatic types. Similar patterns were produced by computer simulation. These show that the enigma is a relatively low contrast feature compared to real weld defects, such as undercuts or centerline cracks. The enigma can be distinguished from weld defects by these microdensitometer traces. The enigma effect on weld properties is not known but is expected to be minor.

On the determination of the origin of linear anomaly in the macrostructure of VPPA welded 2219-T87 aluminum alloy: Preliminary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jemian, W. A.

1986-01-01

The cause and significance of the weld radiograph enigma, which is a linear anomaly in the features of the X-ray film is examined. By observing features on available radiographs and in studying published reports of similar features, it was possible to conclude that there are many manifestations of the enigma, and that they are all specific features of fine structure in radiographs due to natural processes connected with welding and to specific X-ray absorption and diffraction phenomena. These processes include the thermal distribution and liquid metal flow in welding, the development of microstructure, morphology, second phase particles and porosity due to the solidification process, and to the pattern of residual stresses after the weld metal has cooled to the ambient temperature. Microdensitometer traces were made across weld radiographs of standard enigmatic types. Similar patterns were produced by computer simulation. These show that the enigma is a relatively low contrast feature compared to real weld defects, such as undercuts or centerline cracks. The enigma can be distinguished from weld defects by these microdensitometer traces. The enigma effect on weld properties is not known but is expected to be minor.

Nuclear Technology. Course 28: Welding Inspection. Module 28-3, Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG), Metal Inert Gas (MIG) and Submerged Arc Welding.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espy, John

This third in a series of ten modules for a course titled Welding Inspection presents the apparatus, process techniques, procedures, applications, associated defects, and inspection for the tungsten inert gas, metal inert gas, and submerged arc welding processes. The module follows a typical format that includes the following sections: (1)…

Prolegomena to the Study of Friction Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

2010-01-01

The literature contains many approaches toward modeling of the friction stir welding (FSW) process with varying treatments of the weld metal properties. It is worthwhile to consider certain fundamental features of the process before attempting to interpret FSW phenomena: Because of the unique character of metal deformation (as opposed to, say, viscous deformation) a velocity "discontinuity" or shear surface occurs in FSW and determines much of the character of the welding mechanism. A shear surface may not always produce a sound bond. Balancing mechanical power input against conduction and convection heat losses yields a relation, a "temperature index", between spindle speed and travel speed to maintain constant weld temperature. But many process features are only weakly dependent upon temperature. Thus, unlike modeling of metal forming processes, it may be that modeling the FSW process independently of the material conditions has some merit.

Defense Waste Processing Facility Canister Closure Weld Current Validation Testing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Korinko, P. S.; Maxwell, D. N.

Two closure welds on filled Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) canisters failed to be within the acceptance criteria in the DWPF operating procedure SW4-15.80-2.3 (1). In one case, the weld heat setting was inadvertently provided to the canister at the value used for test welds (i.e., 72%) and this oversight produced a weld at a current of nominally 210 kA compared to the operating procedure range (i.e., 82%) of 240 kA to 263 kA. The second weld appeared to experience an instrumentation and data acquisition upset. The current for this weld was reported as 191 kA. Review of the datamore » from the Data Acquisition System (DAS) indicated that three of the four current legs were reading the expected values, approximately 62 kA each, and the fourth leg read zero current. Since there is no feasible way by further examination of the process data to ascertain if this weld was actually welded at either the target current or the lower current, a test plan was executed to provide assurance that these Nonconforming Welds (NCWs) meet the requirements for strength and leak tightness. Acceptance of the welds is based on evaluation of Test Nozzle Welds (TNW) made specifically for comparison. The TNW were nondestructively and destructively evaluated for plug height, heat tint, ultrasonic testing (UT) for bond length and ultrasonic volumetric examination for weld defects, burst pressure, fractography, and metallography. The testing was conducted in agreement with a Task Technical and Quality Assurance Plan (TTQAP) (2) and applicable procedures.« less

Fast, Nonspattering Inert-Gas Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, Jeffrey L.

1991-01-01

Proposed welding technique combines best features of metal (other than tungsten)/inert-gas welding, plasma arc welding, and tungsten/inert-gas welding. Advantages include: wire fed to weld joint preheated, therefore fed at high speed without spattering; high-frequency energy does not have to be supplied to workpiece to initiate welding; size of arc gap not critical, power-supply control circuit adjusts voltage across gap to compensate for changes; only low gas-flow rate needed; welding electrode replaced easily as prefabricated assembly; external wire-feeding manipulator not needed; and welding process relatively forgiving of operator error.