Model-based parameter optimization for arc welding process simulation

This paper presents a model-based parameter optimization for simulating a metal-inert gas welding process. The computational model used in this study is based on computational fluid dynamics methods and implemented using the finite volume approach on a 3D computational domain. The wire electrode, the arc plasma and the workpiece are treated as a self-consistent system. Important welding parameters, including arc current, wire feed rate, workpiece thickness, welding speed and geometry, as well as the metal alloy types used for the wire and workpiece, were implemented as adjustable parameters. By tuning these parameters, the performance of the arc welding can be predicted, and different settings can be compared to optimize welding performance.A benchmarking study of the arc model against experimental measurements is presented to demonstrate the model's capabilities in the prediction of the weld pool changes and thermal dynamics involved in the welding process. Two numerical case studies are presented to demonstrate the use of the model-based optimization to quantify welding pool variations with the change in welding parameters. The first case study is the determination of the optimal arc current and welding speed settings for different workpiece thicknesses. The optimization process shows that the predictions are not only in agreement with established experimental welding experience on the direct relationship between workpiece thickness and arc current, but more importantly quantify this relationship for a given workpiece thickness. The second case study focuses on the welding parameters optimization for different metal alloys. The comparison suggests that the welding parameters suitable for some aluminium alloys are less likely to be successful in welding magnesium alloys. A further model validation of Mg alloy AZ31 welding shows an agreement with experimental measurements. The work presented shows the potential of model-based parameter optimization to assist process engineers in the practical improvement of the welding process.     

Thermal Residual Stresses and Triaxiality Measures

High performance ceramics have found their way into many highly challenging engineering tasks. For example silicon nitride is one of the best choices, if a material for demanding applications like metal forming and cutting is required. Due to the brittle nature of these hard and strong materials it is useful to know about thermal residual stresses, which can arise during the sintering process. In order to gain insight into the material behaviour, a single grain inclusion is exposed to thermal loads. Due to thermal mismatch, it undergoes a residual stress and strain field. The geometry of the model and the material data are motivated by the properties of silicon nitride. The stress fields are analyzed by three different measures for stress triaxiality. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Un modelo numérico para la simulación de disolución de precipitados en aleaciones de aluminio con endurecimiento utilizando redes neuronales

The motivation of this work is the modeling of the hardening precipitate and hardness evolutions of fully hardened heat treatable aluminium alloys during friction stir welding (FSW) and/or heat treatment processes. The model used is based on the kinetics of dissolution of precipitates model for hardened aluminium alloys given by Myhr and Grong (1991). This model contains a single independent variable, the time, and a single state variable, the volume fraction of hardening precipitates. A key point of this model is the identification of the effective activation energy for precipitates dissolution and the master curve defining the model, which was given by a look-up table. The goal of this work is to find an estimation of the effective activation energy and to model the dissolution rate of hardening precipitate in aluminium alloys using neural networks, avoiding the use of look-up tables. For this purpose a new and more convenient parametrization of the master curve is defined, a neural networks class is proposed, an objective functional is defined and a variational problem including independent parameters is solved. The novel methodology has been applied to different aluminium alloys, including the AA 6005A T6, AA 7449 T79 and AA 2198 T8. Experimental tests have been carried out for those aluminium alloys in order to get the HV1 hardness after isothermal heat treatments at different temperatures and for different treatment time durations. The effective activation energy for hardening precipitates dissolution and the master curve of the model have been obtained, using different network architectures, for the aluminium alloys considered in this work.     

Calculation of shrinkage stresses in fibrous composites with regular structure

The effect of the chemical and thermal shrinkage of the epoxy matrix on the structural residual stresses in plastics reinforced with anisotropic fibers has been investigated. The process of residual stress formation in all stages of a given curing regime is examined with reference to a regular triangular fiber distribution. The model of a hardening hypoviscoelastic medium [8] is used to describe the variation of the rheological properties of the matrix. The effect of the cooling rate on the residual stresses is investigated with reference to a single inclusion.Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 409–415, May–June, 1976.     

A numerical method to compute the dissolution of second phases in ternary alloys

Dissolution of stoichiometric multi-component particles in ternary alloys is an important process occurring during the heat treatment of as-cast aluminium alloys prior to hot extrusion. A mathematical model is proposed to describe such a process. In this model an equation is given to determine the position of the particle interface in time, using two diffusion equations which are coupled by nonlinear boundary conditions at the interface. Some results concerning existence, uniqueness, and monotonicity are given. Furthermore, for an unbounded domain an analytical approximation is derived. The main part of this work is the development of a numerical solution method. Finite differences are used on a grid which changes in time. The discretization of the boundary conditions is important to obtain an accurate solution. The resulting nonlinear algebraic system is solved by the Newton-Raphson method. Numerical experiments illustrate the accuracy of the numerical method. The numerical solution is compared with the analytical approximation.     

A desktop computer model of the arc,weld pool and workpiece in metal inert gas welding

A sophisticated computational model of metal inert gas arc welding of aluminium alloys is presented. The arc plasma, the wire electrode and the workpiece are included in the computational domain self-consistently. The flow in the arc plasma and in the weld pool are calculated in three dimensions using equations of computational fluid dynamics, modified to take into account plasma effects and coupled to electromagnetic equations. The formation of metal vapour from the wire electrode and workpiece is considered, as is the mixing of the wire electrode alloy with the workpiece alloy in the weld pool. A graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed, and the model runs on standard desktop or laptop computers.The computational model is described, and results are presented for lap-fillet weld geometry. The importance of including the arc in the computational domain is shown. The predictions of the model show good agreement with measurements of weld geometry and weld composition. The GUI is introduced, and the application of the model to predicting the thermal history of the workpiece, which is the input information that is required for predicting important weld properties such as residual stress and distortion and weld microstructure, is discussed. Initial predictions of residual stress and distortion of the workpiece are presented.     

Calculation of the residual stresses and strains in wound reinforced-plastic products

A method is proposed for determining the residual stresses and strains in wound glass-reinforced plastic products. The fabrication process is divided into five stages: winding, heating polymerization, cooling, and removal from the mandrel. The initial stresses that develop during winding and the subsequent stress increment associated with heating are taken into account. Polymerization is treated as a process during which the mechanical and thermophysical properties of the material change. Chemical shrinkage of the resin and its filtration through the fiberglass are disregarded. Equations are derived for the residual radial and peripheral stresses in the finished product, for the residual change in inside diameter, and for the temperature at which the product is released from the mandrel during the cooling process. The experimental data relating to two types of wound products are discussed. The results of a computation of the residual stresses and the residual changes in inside diameter are compared with the experimental data.Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 134–139, January–February, 1969.     

Numerical investigation of residual thermal stresses in welded joints of heterogeneous steels with account of technological features of multi-pass welding

The paper describes a two-dimensional mathematical model to evaluate stresses in welded joints formed in multi-pass welding of multi-layered steels. The model is based on a system of equations that includes the Lagrange's variational equation of the incremental theory of plasticity and the Biot's variational principle for heat transfer simulation. In the constitutive equations, the changes in the volume which occur as a result of phase transitions can be taken into account. Therefore, the prehistory and impact of thermal processing of materials on macroscopic properties of the medium can be considered.The variational-difference method is used to solve both the heat transfer equation for calculation of the non stationary temperature field and the quasi-static problem of thermoplasticity at each time-step. The two-dimensional problems were solved to estimate the residual thermal stresses (for the case of plane stress or plane strain) during cooling of welds and assessing their impact on strain localization in the heat-affected zone under tensile and compressive loading considering differences in mechanical properties of welded materials.It is shown that at initial stages of the plastic flow, the residual stresses significantly affect the processes of stress concentration and localization of strains in welded joints. To estimate the model parameters and to verify the modeling results, the available experimental data from scientific literature obtained on the basis of the Satoh test for different welding alloys was used.     

On the Incorporation of Residual Stresses in Arterial Walls

The present work deals with the incorporation of residual stresses existing in circumferential direction of arterial walls. For the consideration of the residual stresses a novel model will be presented. This model is based on the assumption that residual stresses decrease the stress gradients through the thickness of the arterial wall. Since arterial walls exhibit a pronounced material behavior in fiber direction, the radial gradients of the fiber stresses are considered for the definition of the residual stresses. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Delamination of Grain-Interfaces in Silicon Nitride

Intergranular cracking due to delamination of grain interfaces along with the development of bridging grains is the most important mechanism for the high fracture toughness of silicon nitride. In this line, an interface behavior, which is extending the Coulomb friction concept into the tensile domain has been implemented into a thermodynamical consistent frame work of Helmholtz free energy and dissipation. The model is used to describe the fracture process in a simple model geometry with a β-Si₃N₄ grain embedded into a precracked matrix of oxynitride glass. The material model considers the thermoelastic anisotropy of the grain and the thermal residual stresses, which evolve during the cooling of the model from the glass transition temperature to room temperature. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Numerical modelling of melt-conditioned direct-chill casting

Melt conditioned direct-chill (MC-DC) casting is a novel technology which combines direct-chill (DC) casting with a high shear device directly immersed in the sump for in situ microstructural control. A numerical model of melt-conditioned direct-chill casting (MC-DC) is presented in this paper. This model is based on a finite volume continuum model using a moving reference frame (MRF) to enforce fluid rotation inside the rotor-stator region and is numerically stable within the range of processing conditions. The boundary conditions for the heat transfer include the effects of the hot-top, the aluminium mould, and the direct chill. This model is applied to the casting of two alloys: aluminium-based A6060 and magnesium-based AZ31. Results show that MC-DC casting modifies the temperature profile in the sump, resulting in a larger temperature gradient at the solidification front and a shorter local solidification time. The increased heat extraction rate due to forced convection in the sump is expected to contribute to a finer, more uniform grain structure in the as-cast billet.     

玻壳成型过程诱导残余应力的数值预测

建立了玻壳压制成型固化过程中残余应力预测的数值模拟模型,采用平行平板间玻璃熔体的固化问题来描述成型过程中残余应力形成的机理,并假定材料为热流变简单粘弹性材料．基于板壳理论,将产品视为平板单元的组合,并采用有限元法来求解,这种方法可以象全三维计算一样一层层地计算残余应力,非常适合复杂形状的薄压制成型产品．最后通过实验比较验证了所提出的模型和方法．     

Numerical and experimental study of mitigation of welding distortion

Welding stresses and deformations are closely related phenomena. During the heating and cooling cycles thermal strains may occur in the weld and adjacent area. The strains produced during the heating stage of welding are always accompanied by plastic deformation of the metal. The stresses resulting from these strains combine and react to produce internal forces that cause a variety of welding distortions. Welding deformation needs to be minimized and also the designer should know before hand the extent of deformation so that it can be accounted for in the design as well as in the construction stages.In this paper, heat sinking as a method of distortion mitigation has been studied. Heat sinking has been affected by circulating water through channel clamped at the bottom surface of the plates undergoing welding. The pseudolinear equivalent constant rigidity concept has been used in this investigation for thermo-mechanical analysis of plates undergoing welding with simultaneous heat sinking. The initial nonlinear problem with varying modulus dependent on temperature is transformed into a pseudolinear equivalent system of constant rigidity that is solved by linear analysis.The numerical results compared very well with those of the experimental ones. The proposed concept is found to be computationally more efficient and simpler to model compared to FEM for solving similar thermo-elasto-plastic nonlinear problems. The procedure presented in this work and the results thus obtained, holds a great promise for determining the heat sinking parameters for effectively controlling welding distortion.     

Size-dependent pull-in phenomena in electrically actuated nanobeams incorporating surface energies

A modified continuum model of electrically actuated nanobeams is presented by incorporating surface elasticity in this paper. The classical beam theory is adopted to model the bulk, while the bulk stresses along the surfaces of the bulk substrate are required to satisfy the surface balance equations of the continuum surface elasticity. On the basis of this modified beam theory the governing equation of an electrically actuated nanobeam is derived and a powerful technology, analog equation method (AEM) is applied to solve this complex problem. Beams made from two materials: aluminum and silicon are chosen as examples. The numerical results show that the pull-in phenomena in electrically actuated nanobeams are size-dependent. The effects of the surface energies on the static and dynamic responses, pull-in voltage and pull-in time are discussed.     

Residual stress on the run out table accounting for multiphase transitions and transformation induced plasticity

The development of harder and thinner new steel grades requires computationally efficient numerical simulations of forming processes in order to optimize industrial conditions through parametric studies. Within this general framework, the present contribution deals with one particular process, namely the run out table. Thus, this paper focuses on the evolution of residual stresses of thin strips during cooling on the run out table. Due to the fact that the complete problem is a nonlinear multiphysics process, it is known that simulating such processes with fully coupled numerical procedures leads to high computational costs. Therefore, a simplified numerical strategy has been developed. This procedure consists of three steps: (i) solving the thermal problem coupled with multiphase transitions; (ii) computing thermal expansion, metallurgical deformation and transformation induced plasticity and (iii) solving the associated mechanical problem. Residual stress profiles through the strip thickness are also computed in order to evaluate classic flatness defects such as crossbow and longbow. A post-processing is also included in order to quantify out of plane displacements that would take place if the strip was cut off the production line. The post-processing consists in computing at finite strain the relaxation of residual stresses when the tension applied by the coiler is released. The proposed numerical strategy has been tested on common industrial conditions.     

Numerical comparison of merit function with filter criterion in inexact restoration algorithms using hard-spheres problems

Inexact Restoration methods have been introduced for solving nonlinear programming problems. Each iteration is composed of two phases. The first one reduces a measure of infeasibility, while in the second one the objective function value is reduced in a tangential approximation of the feasible set. The point obtained from the second phase is compared with the current point either by means of a merit function or by using a filter criterion. A comparative numerical study about these criteria by using a family of Hard-Spheres Problems is presented.     

Phenomenological and Numerical Simulation of Shape Memory Alloys at Finite Strains

A phenomenological material law for pseudo elastic NiTi shape memory alloys (SMA) is presented. The model was derived from a thermodynamical framework and is well-suited to describe the thermomechanical coupled behaviour of the material. The material law, which was originally derived for small deformations, was extended to finite deformations using the Eulerian frame, in particular Hencky's logarithmic strain and the logarithmic rate. A first emphasis is on the physical interpretation of the material parameters and their identification. A second focus lies in the presentation of a structural example for the implementation of the material law into a commercial Finite Element code. Additionally a comparison of the numerical and experimental data of the presented example is performed. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Determination of the residual stresses in the welded joints of glass structures

We propose a computational model for determining the residual stresses in a welded glass structure taking account of the properties of the formation of residual stresses in glass. The problem is solved in displacements using Galerkin's method in conjunction with a finite-element model. A numerical solution is obtained for the axisymmetric case. Translated fromMatematichni Metodi ta Fiziko-mekhanichni Polya, Vol. 39, No. 1, 1996, pp. 131–134.     

Nonlinear analysis of residual stresses in a rail manufacturing process by FEM

The aim of this paper is to study the residual stresses in an UIC-60 rail and their reduction by means of roller straightening. Both experimental and numerical investigations have been carried out in the past to reveal the formation of dominant longitudinal residual stresses. However, the agreement between both investigations was not particularly good. The finite element method (FEM) has also been used to simulate one, two and three-dimensional analyses of a rail during roller straightening processes. The present model considers the longitudinal movement of a rail through the straightening machine, contact conditions between rail and rollers and kinematic hardening so as to take into account the plastic behaviour of the rail material (steel). These results were compared with the experimental investigations and good agreement was observed. In this respect, this paper presents a novel, more realistic numerical simulation by FEM for the roller straightening process. Finally, an improvement of the straightening process in order to obtain smaller residual stress in the rail section is proposed.     

Results of an experimental investigation of the residual stresses in wound glass-reinforced plastics

The results of an experimental investigation of the residual stresses in wound glass-reinforced plastic rings are presented. The residual stresses were determined by the Davidenkov method. The dependence of the maximum tensile and compressive circumferential stresses on ring thickness and polymerization temperature is investigated. The experimental data are compared with the results of calculations based on the theory proposed in [1, 2].Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1116–1119, November–December, 1970.