Showing papers on "Electric resistance welding published in 2009"

Effect of welding processes on tensile properties of AA6061 aluminium alloy joints

Abstract: The present investigation is aimed at to study the effect of welding processes such as GTAW, GMAW and FSW on mechanical properties of AA6061 aluminium alloy. The preferred welding processes of these alloys are frequently gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) due to their comparatively easier applicability and better economy. In this alloy, the weld fusion zones typically exhibit coarse columnar grains because of the prevailing thermal conditions during weld metal solidification. This often causes inferior weld mechanical properties and poor resistance to hot cracking. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid phase welding technique developed primarily for welding metals and alloys that heretofore had been difficult to weld using more traditional fusion techniques. Rolled plates of 6 mm thickness have been used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. The filler metal used for joining the plates is AA4043 (Al-5Si (wt%)) grade aluminium alloy. In the present work, tensile properties, micro hardness, microstructure and fracture surface morphology of the GMAW, GTAW and FSW joints have been evaluated, and the results are compared. From this investigation, it is found that FSW joints of AA6061 aluminium alloy showed superior mechanical properties compared with GTAW and GMAW joints, and this is mainly due to the formation of very fine, equiaxed microstructure in the weld zone.

Ultrasonic Metal Welding of Aluminium Sheets to Carbon Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites

Abstract: The ultrasonic welding technology is an innovative method to produce hybrid joints for multi-material components. The investigations described in this paper were carried out using the ultrasonic metal welding technique for joining carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRP) with sheet metals like aluminium alloys or aluminium-plated steels. The achievable mechanical properties as a function of the process parameters are presented. Additionally, microscopic investigations of the bonding zone are discussed. One important advantage of ultrasonic metal welding is the possibility to realise a direct contact between the load bearing fibres of the reinforced composite and the metallic surface without destroying the carbon fibres.

Problems and issues in laser-arc hybrid welding

Abstract: Hybrid welding, using the combination of a laser and an electrical arc, is designed to overcome problems commonly encountered during either laser or arc welding such as cracking, brittle phase formation and porosity. When placed in close contact with each other, the two heat sources interact in such a way as to produce a single high intensity energy source. This synergistic interaction of the two heat sources has been shown to alleviate problems commonly encountered in each individual welding process. Hybrid welding allows increased gap tolerances, as compared to laser welding, while retaining the high weld speed and penetration necessary for the efficient welding of thicker workpieces. A number of simultaneously occurring physical processes have been identified as contributing to these unique properties obtained during hybrid welding. However, the physical understanding of these interactions is still evolving. This review critically analyses the recent advances in the fundamental understa...

High quality welding of stainless steel with 10 kW high power fibre laser

Abstract: The objectives of this research are to investigate penetration characteristics, to clarify welding phenomena and to develop high quality welding procedures in bead on plate welding of type 304 austenitic stainless steel plates with a 10 kW fibre laser beam. The penetration depth reached 18 mm at the maximum at 5 mm s−1. At 50 mm s−1 or lower welding speeds, however, porosity was generated at any fibre laser spot diameter. On the other hand, at 100 mm s−1 or higher welding speeds, underfilling and humping weld beads were formed under the conventionally and tightly focused conditions respectively. The generation of spatters was influenced mainly by a strong shear force of a laser induced plume and was greatly reduced by controlling direction of the plume blowing out of a keyhole inlet. The humping formation was dependent upon several dynamic or static factors, such as melt volume above the surface, strong melt flow to the rear molten pool on the top surface, solidification rate and narrow molten poo...

Dissimilar friction stir spot welding of low carbon steel and Al–Mg alloy by formation of IMCs

Abstract: Dissimilar lap joints of low carbon steel and Al–Mg alloy were obtained by friction stir spot welding. Mechanically mixed layer between top and bottom plates was not formed at the weld nugget due to the limited tool penetration and the pin height of welding tool lower than the thickness of Al plate laid in top side. These welding conditions made it possible to weld steel plate using welding tools made out of a general tool steel. With increasing tool penetration depth (TPD), tensile shear force of joint increased and maximum value of 3·0 kN was obtained at the TPD of 0·5 mm, but excessive tool penetration beyond 0·5 mm was caused in a deformation of Al plate of top side. In the result of interface observation, interaction layer was formed between Fe and Al alloy, which was constituted by various intermetallic compounds (IMCs). Consequently, the size of strongly bonded area containing Fe3Al and Fe4Al13 IMCs increased with TPD, which resulted in the increase in joint strength under the limited TPD.

Welding process impact on residual stress and distortion

Abstract: Residual stress and distortion continue to be important issues in shipbuilding and are still subject to large amounts of research. This paper demonstrates how the type of welding process influences the amount of distortion. Many shipyards currently use submerged arc welding (SAW) as their welding process of choice. In this manuscript, the authors compare welds made by SAW with DC gas metal arc welding, pulsed gas metal arc welding, Fronius cold metal transfer (CMT), autogenous laser and laser hybrid welding on butt welds in 4 mm thick DH36 ship plate. Laser and laser hybrid welding were found to produce the lowest distortion. Nevertheless, a considerable improvement can be achieved with the pulsed gas metal arc welding and CMT processes. The paper seeks to understand the relationship between heat input, fusion area, measured distortion and the residual stress predicted from a simple numerical model, and the residual stresses validated with experimental data.

Visual sensing and penetration control in aluminum alloy pulsed GTA welding .

Abstract: In this paper, visual sensing and penetration control in aluminum (Al) alloy pulse gas tungsten arc welding were researched. Firstly, a three-optical-route visual sensor was designed. The sensor can capture the weld pool from three directions at the same time. After analyzing the influences of different factors on weld pool image, serials of clear and stable weld pool images were obtained. Then, image processing technologies were developed to compute back topside weld pool geometry parameters. Wavelet transform and Canny operator were synthesized to get all edges in the weld pool image. After noise removal and calibration, the breaking edges of weld pool were obtained, and then piecewise curve fitting based on polynomial function were used to recover the whole weld pool edge. Lastly, proportional-integral-differential and a multiplex controller were designed to control penetration in welding process. Experiments proved that visual-based penetration control can insure welding quality well from weld pool width and reinforcement.

Hybrid laser-arc welding

Abstract: Part 1 Characteristics of hybrid laser-arc welding: Advantages and disadvantages of arc and laser welding Fundamentals of hybrid laser-arc welding Heat sources of hybrid laser-arc welding processes Effect of shielding gas on hybrid laser-arc welding Properties of joints produced by hybrid laser-arc welding Quality control and assessing weld quality in hybrid laser-arc welding. Part 2 Applications of hybrid laser-arc welding: Hybrid welding of magnesium alloys Shipbuilding applications of hybrid laser-arc welding Industrial robotic application of laser-GMAW and laser-Tandem hybrid welding Hybrid laser-arc welding of aluminium Hybrid laser-arc welding of dissimilar metals. Part 3 Hybrid laser-arc welding of steel: Hybrid laser-arc welding of steel.

Joining of stainless-steel and aluminium materials by friction welding

Abstract: The joining of dissimilar materials is of great importance in industry. Especially, if it is used as the lightest part of the machine parts, materials such as aluminium and magnesium can be joined with different steels. Therefore, in this study, austenitic stainless-steel and aluminium materials were welded using the friction welding method. Optimum parameters for joints were obtained by using a statistical approach, and tensile and micro-hardness tests were applied to the joints. Subsequently, the micro and macro photos of the joints were examined. The joints were examined with EDX (energy dispersive X-ray) analysis in order to determine the phases that occurred during welding. Some of the welds had poor strength due to the accumulation of alloying elements at the joint interface. The obtained results were compared to the results of previous studies.

Effect of welding speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction-stir-welded aluminum

Abstract: The weld properties remain an area of uncertainty with respect to the effect of different speeds of friction stir welding (FSW). For this purpose, hardened steel tool of FSW was used, which consists of the shoulder and pin. The shoulder of the tool not only provides additional heat generated by friction but also prevents plasticized material to escape. In the present investigation, aluminum welds were made at various welding speed using the FSW technique. The welds were characterized for mechanical properties and microstructural investigation. It is observed that good correlation exists between the mechanical properties and welding speeds. The best mechanical properties were obtained at lower welding speed.

Optimizing friction stir welding parameters to maximize tensile strength of AA2219 aluminum alloy joints

Abstract: AA2219 aluminium alloy (Al-Cu-Mn alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of lightweight structures requiring a high strength-to-weight ratio and good corrosion resistance. In contrast to the fusion welding processes that are routinely used for joining structural aluminium alloys, the friction stir welding (FSW) process is an emerging solid state joining process in which the material that is being welded does not melt and recast. This process uses a non-consumable tool to generate frictional heat in the abutting surfaces. The welding parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, axial force etc., and the tool pin profile play a major role in determining the joint strength. An attempt has been made here to develop a mathematical model to predict the tensile strength of friction stir welded AA2219 aluminium alloy by incorporating FSW process parameters. A central composite design with four factors and five levels has been used to minimize the number of experimental conditions. The response surface method (RSM) has been used to develop the model. The developed mathematical model has been optimized using the Hooke and Jeeves search technique to maximize the tensile strength of the friction stir welded AA2219 aluminium alloy joints.

Penetration increase of AISI 304 using ultrasonic assisted tungsten inert gas welding

Abstract: Ultrasonic assisted tungsten inert gas (U-TIG) welding method was developed. Both U-TIG and conventional TIG welding of AISI 304 stainless steel with 5 mm thickness were experimentally studied in this paper. The results show that the penetration depth is increased up to 300% for weld made with U-TIG welding compared with conventional TIG welding. Ultrasonic energy enhances arc push force, causes a continual high frequency oscillation in the arc plasma and increases welding penetration. These effects are thought to be responsible for enhancing the welding efficiency and improving the appearance of stainless steel weld joints.

Laser Beam Welding of AA5052, AA5083, and AA6061 Aluminum Alloys

Abstract: The present investigation was mainly concerned with characteristics of autogeneous laser butt welding of 2 mm thickness nonheat treatableAA5052-H12,AA5083-H12 and 2 mm, 3 mm thickness heat treatableAA6061-T6aluminum alloys. The effect of laser welding parameters, surface cleaning, filler wire addition, and backing strip on quality of laser welded joints was clarified using 5 kW C O 2 laser machine. It was found that all the investigated alloys showed tendencies for porosity and solidification cracking, particularly, at high welding speed ( ≥ 4 m/min). Porosity was prevented by accurate cleaning of the base metal prior to welding and optimizing the flow rate of argon shielding gas. Solidification cracking was avoided through two different approaches. The first one is based on the addition of filler metal as reported in other research works. The other new approach is concerned with autogeneous welding using a backing strip from the same base metal, and this could be applicable in production. Preventing solidification cracking in both cases was related mainly to a considerable decrease in the stress concentration at the weld metal center as a result of improving the fusion zone profile. The implementation of the new approach could help in producing weldments with a better quality due to the absence of the filler metal, which is known as a source for hydrogen-related porosity. It can also have a positive economic aspect concerning the manufacturing cost since welding is done without the addition of filler metal. Not only quality and economic positive aspects could be achieved, but also high productivity is another feature since high quality autogeneous weldments were produced with high welding speed, 6 m/min. Hardness measurements and tensile test of AA6061 alloy welds indicated a remarkable softening of the fusion zone due to dissolution of the strengthening precipitates, and this was recovered by aging treatment after welding. For alloys AA5052 and AA5083, softening of the fusion zone due to the loss of its work-hardened condition was much less in comparison with AA6061 alloy.

A thermal model of friction stir welding applied to Sc-modified Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy extrusions

Abstract: A thermal model of friction stir welding is presented that proposes an energy-based formulation of the Johnson–Cook plasticity model in order to account for heat generation due to plastic deformation. The proposed formulation is derived from an empirical, linear relationship observed between the ratio of the maximum welding temperature to the solidus temperature of the alloy and the welding energy. The thermal model is applied to Sc-modified Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy extrusions joined by friction stir welding at 225, 250, 300 and 400 RPM (all other weld parameters held constant). With the incorporation of heat generation due to plastic deformation, the thermal model accurately predicts the maximum weld temperatures and temperature profiles at the higher energy weld conditions, i.e. 300 and 400 RPM. At the lower energy welds (i.e. 225 and 250 RPM) where plastic deformation contributes a larger portion to the total heat generation, the model under-predicts the maximum weld temperatures under the tool shoulder but shows good agreement with the remaining experimental temperature data.

Formable light weight composites

Abstract: The present invention relates to light weight composite materials which comprise a metallic layer and a polymeric layer, the polymeric layer containing a filled thermoplastic polymer which includes a thermoplastic polymer and a metallic fiber. The composite materials of the present invention may be formed using conventional stamping equipment at ambient temperatures. Composite materials of the present invention may also be capable of being welded to other metal materials using a resistance welding process such as resistance spot welding.

Electromagnetic impact welding of Mg to Al sheets

Abstract: Magnesium (Mg) and aluminium (Al) alloys have been lap welded using an electromagnetic impact welding technique. Metallographic examination of the welds has revealed sound and defect free interfaces. Complete metal continuity has been observed with a characteristic wavy interface. X-ray diffraction analysis has shown no intermetallic phases and suggested that this electromagnetic technique is a solid state welding process. All the shear strength samples welded with discharge energy of 6·7 kJ failed away from weld either in the plastically deformed zone or in the base metal. Optimum discharge energy has been determined as 6·7 kJ based on the shear strength results of the welds.