Publications

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Careful characterization of laser beams used in materials processing such as welding and drilling is necessary to obtain robust, reproducible processes and products. Recently, equipment and techniques have become available which make it possible to rapidly and conveniently characterize the size, shape, mode structure, beam quality (Mz), and intensity of a laser beam (incident power/unit area) as a function of distance along the beam path. This facilitates obtaining a desired focused spot size and also locating its position. However, for a given position along the beam axis, these devices typically measure where the beam intensity level has been reduced to I/ez of maximum intensity at that position to determine the beam size. While giving an intuitive indication of the beam shape since the maximum intensity of the beam varies greatly, the contour so determined is not an iso-contour of any parameter related to the beam intensity or power. In this work we shall discuss an alternative beam shape formulation where the same measured information is plotted as contour intervals of intensity.

Computational materials simulations have traditionally focused on individual phenomena: grain growth, crack propagation, plastic flow, etc. However, real materials behavior results from a complex interplay between phenomena. In this project, the authors explored methods for coupling mesoscale simulations of microstructural evolution and micromechanical response. In one case, massively parallel (MP) simulations for grain evolution and microcracking in alumina stronglink materials were dynamically coupled. In the other, codes for domain coarsening and plastic deformation in CuSi braze alloys were iteratively linked. this program provided the first comparison of two promising ways to integrate mesoscale computer codes. Coupled microstructural/micromechanical codes were applied to experimentally observed microstructures for the first time. In addition to the coupled codes, this project developed a suite of new computational capabilities (PARGRAIN, GLAD, OOF, MPM, polycrystal plasticity, front tracking). The problem of plasticity length scale in continuum calculations was recognized and a solution strategy was developed. The simulations were experimentally validated on stockpile materials.

Evaporation is a classical physics problem which, because of its significant importance for many engineering applications, has drawn considerable attention by previous researchers. Classical theoretical models [Ta. I. Frenkel, Kinetic Theory of Liquids, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1946] represent evaporation in a simplistic way as the escape of atoms with highest velocities from a potential well with the depth determined by the atomic binding energy. The processes taking place in the gas phase above the rapidly evaporating surface have also been studied in great detail [S.I.Anisimov and V. A. Khokhlov, Instabilities in Lasser-Matter Interaction, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1995]. The description of evaporation utilizing these models is known to adequately characterize drilling with high beam intensity, e.g., >10{sup 7} W/cm{sup 2}. However, the interaction regimes when beam intensity is relatively low, such as during welding or cutting, lack both theoretical and experimental consideration of the evaporation. It was shown recently that if the evaporation is treated in accordance with Anisimov et.al.'s approach, then predicted evaporation recoil should be a substantial factor influencing melt flow and related heat transfer during laser beam welding and cutting. To verify the applicability of this model for low beam intensity interaction, the authors compared the results of measurements and calculations of recoil pressure generated during laser beam irradiation of a target. The target material used was water ice at {minus}10 C. The displacement of a target supported in a nearly frictionless air bearing under irradiation by a defocused laser beam from a 14 kW CO{sub 2} laser was recorded and Newton's laws of motion used to derive the recoil pressure.

Most engineering alloys contain numerous alloying elements and their solidification behavior can not typically be modeled with existing binary and ternary phase diagrams. There has recently been considerable progress in the development of thermodynamic software programs for calculating solidification parameters and phase diagrams of multi-component systems. These routines can potentially provide useful input data that are needed in multi-component solidification models. However, these thermodynamic routines require validation before they can be confidently applied to simulations of alloys over a wide range of composition. In this article, a preliminary assessment of the accuracy of the Thermo-Calc NiFe Superalloy database is presented. The database validation is conducted by comparing calculated phase diagram quantities to experimental measurements available in the literature. Comparisons are provided in terms of calculated and measured liquidus and solidus temperatures and slopes, equilibrium distribution coefficients, and multi-component phase diagrams. Reasonable agreement is observed among the comparisons made to date. Examples are provided which illustrate how the database can be used to approximate the solidification sequence and final segregation patterns in multi-component alloys. An additional example of the coupling of calculated phase diagrams to solute redistribution computations in a commercial eight component Ni base superalloy is also presented.

The Gleeble is an oft-used tool for welding metallurgy research. Besides producing synthetic weld specimens, it is used to determine phase transformation temperatures and kinetics via dilatometry. Experimental data and an FEM model are used to examine measured dilatation errors because of non-uniform heating of the dilatometer and other sources such as sample elastic and plastic deformation. Both isothermal and constant heating/cooling rate scenarios are considered. Further errors which may be introduced when the dilatation is incorrectly assumed to be linearly related to the volume fraction transformed are also discussed.

Parametric weld size predictions, in which weld size and shape are predicted given a knowledge of material and process parameters, offer a great deal of benefit to the welding engineer. This is so because the technique promises to replace expensive and time-consuming lab or shop activity followed by destructive examination with simple numeric or nomographic calculations. The work to be presented here uses a simple two-dimensional axisymmetric spot-on-plate computer simulation in which thermal diffusivity vs temperature is varied.

Resistance Welding (RW) has been known for about a century and in common use for much of that time. Much knowledge has been accumulated concerning many aspects of the process. However, upon examining contemporary RW handbooks, a few subjects that have been overlooked'' were found. Usually, this oversight will not be important; however, when the RW process is being applied at its limits, these factors may become critical. In this paper we will discuss such overlooked'' factors as the Peltier and Thomson effects, and the dynamics of welding head motions and how they are affected by the current pulse. Examples taken from sheet metal and microwelding applications will be given as examples. 12 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.

An initial feasibility study has been completed on the ultrasonic welding of Tophet C (Ni-24 Fe-16 Cr) bridgewire to Hastelloy C-276 (Ni-16 Cr-15 Mo-4 W) pin material. A key feature of this work is that it employed a hybrid microcircuitry ultrasonic wire bonder. Much greater productivity can be expected from this process compared with traditional bridgewire welding methods. Three different ultrasonic tool designs were investigated. After selection of the best design, pull test data were acquired for both the 1st and 2nd weld locations in both heel and toe directions. Values up to 94% of the bridgewire tensile strength were obtained. With the equipment used both raised and flat bridgewire configurations are possible. While much work is still necessary to prove in the process for production applications, the work completed to date indicates the ultrasonic welding process merits further investigation. 6 figs.

Measurements of arc and melting efficiencies have been made for pulsed and continuous mode Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) and Plasma Arc Welding (PAW) processes. Welds were made on 2.5 mm total thickness pure Ni and 304 Stainless Steel in a standing edge weld geometry at constant nominal machine output settings which varied average current with travel speed. Under continuous current conditions, the measured heat input remained approximately constant for the conditions examined (250-1250 mm/min), while melting efficiency increased dramatically (0-/approximately/0.4). Arc efficiencies were relatively constant, remaining in the range of /approximately/0.75-0.85 for GTAW and somewhat less for PAW. Values of melting efficiency for Ni were slightly less than those for 304 when compared at similar travel speeds, though both tended toward the same limit (/approximately/0.4). The PAW results were not appreciably higher than the GTAW. In addition to melting efficiency the centerline depth of penetration was also measured. In contrast to the GTAW results, which increased with speed at lower travel speeds and then plateaued at 0.8 mm, the PAW results increased monotonically with speed to a maximum of 1.0 mm. In conclusion, calorimetric measurements of nonconsumable arc welding processes have been found helpful in understanding conditions under which efficient arc welds with minimal heat inputs for a desired weld penetration can be made. 10 figs.