CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The work aims at the detailed study of heat source models to simulate welding process.

With this the temperature profile and temperature history plot of the welding process is obtained using different weld models with help of C programming. Two experimental works where conducted to obtain the weld bead profile. Then the prediction of bead profile is carried out using SYSWELD and is also validated empirically with the available heat source 1.1 JOINING TECHNOLOGY Historians can trace welding techniques back to prehistoric days. Men were soldering with copper-gold and lead-tin alloys before 3000 B.C However, the only sources of heat available until around 1850 were wood and coal. Because of the relatively low temperature available, the joining processes used were limited to soldering, brazing and forging. A number of new welding processes have been developed during the last 30 years. They include: CO2 -gas shielded arc, electro slag, electro gas, ultrasonic, friction, electron beam, plasma arc and laser welding process. As a result, most metals used in present-day applications can be welded. 1.2 WELDING TECHNOLOGY Welding has been for many years a big part of the manufacturing process in many industries around the world. Welding, among all mechanical joining processes, has been employed at an increasing rate for its advantages in design flexibility, cost savings, reduced overall weight and enhanced structural performance. The advantages of welding do not need further exemplification. Unfortunately the welding process induces also few problems that need to be more accurately identified and after that minimized as much as possible. Among the welding typical problems and most important are the residual stress/strain and the induced distortions in structures. In order to better understand the welding process and its effects on structures, engineers and researchers around the world, covering a large number of industries, have been trying to create algorithms and methodologies to simulate the complete process or just individual phases (e.g. the cooling

phase). In recent years, due to the high expansion of computers computations possibilities, many researchers identified the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) as a reliable method for this purpose. ADVANTAGE OF WELDED STRUCTURE OVER RIVETED STRUCTURE. The joint efficiency is defined as the ratio of the Fracture strength of a joint to Fracture strength of the base plate. Values of joint efficiency of welded joints are higher than those of most riveted joints. It is very difficult to maintain complete water and air tightness in a riveted structure during service, but a welded structure is ideal for structure which requires water and air tightness such as submarine hulls and storage tanks. The weight of a hull structure can be reduced as much as 10% to 20 % if welding is used. It is very difficult to rivet plates that are more than 2 inches thick. In welded structure there is virtually no limits to that thickness that may be employed. Joint designs in welded structures can be much simpler than those in riveted structure. In welded structure, members can be simply butted together or fillet welded. In riveted structure, complex joints are required. By utilizing module construction techniques in which many subassemblies are prefabricated in a plant and are assembled later on sites, a welded structure can be fabricated in a short period of time. 1.3 GAS TUNGSTEN ARC WELDING (GTAW) Gas tungsten arc welding formerly known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is a process that relies upon the formation of an arc between a non-consumable tungsten electrode and the work piece.

Figure: 1.1 Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Process

OPERATION The arc is generally initiated by a high-frequency unit and protected by an inert-gas shroud. The electrode-tip angle determines the spread of the welding arc contained within an envelope of the protective (argon) gas. The gas generates a plasma arc and also protects the molten pool from undesirable oxidation effects from surrounding atmosphere as shown in Figure 1.1. The GTAW process is one of the most versatile welding processes but it requires a high level of welder skill for manual application. It can be used at current less than 1 A for components up to 0.1 mm thick as well as at higher current for thicker section. GTAW offers great potential in applications where there are arc high demands on weld integrity. Its relatively low deposition rate makes it uneconomic. Deposition rates can be improved buy using hot-wire techniques and narrow-gap preparation. The advantages of the GTAW process are: The process offers good control for root pass welding It can be used at low currents for thin component applications as wells as for welding of dissimilar materials It provides far greater control of penetration for welded component geometry. It produces clean welds with low inclusion contents. It can be mechanized for orbital-tube welding and other operation applications The disadvantages of the GTAW process are: It has low deposition rate It has a limited range of application in terms of material thickness

APPLICATIONS While the aerospace industry is one of the primary users of gas tungsten arc welding, the process is used in a number of other areas. Many industries use GTAW for welding thin work pieces, especially nonferrous metals. It is used extensively in the manufacture of space vehicles, and is also frequently employed to weld small-diameter, thin-wall tubing. In addition, GTAW is often used to make root or first pass welds for piping of various sizes. In maintenance and repair work, the process is commonly used to repair

tools and dies, especially components made of aluminum and magnesium. Because the welds it produces are highly resistant to corrosion and cracking over long time periods, GTAW is the welding procedure of choice for critical welding operations like sealing spent nuclear fuel canisters before burial. Currently, manual GTAW welding is usually only used for roots passes in fabricating thick sections where good control is essential. Mechanized GTAW is widely used for welding thin tubes in power plants where high-quality welds are need.