Investigation and control of factors influencing resistance upset butt welding.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerstens, N.F.H.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this work is to investigate the factors influencing the resistance upset butt welding process to obtain an understanding of the metal behaviour and welding process characteristics, so that new automotive steels can be welded with reduced development time and fewer failures in

76 FR 67473 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and The Philippines; Institution of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-01

... Concerning the Antidumping Duty Orders on Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and... stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines would be likely to lead to... antidumping duty orders on imports of stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the...

77 FR 42697 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Continuation...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-20

...] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Continuation of... from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines.\\2\\ \\1\\ See Antidumping Duty Orders: Stainless Steel Butt...), titled Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Investigation...

A Neural Network Approach for GMA Butt Joint Welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kim Hardam; Sørensen, Torben

2003-01-01

This paper describes the application of the neural network technology for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) control. A system has been developed for modeling and online adjustment of welding parameters, appropriate to guarantee a certain degree of quality in the field of butt joint welding with full...... penetration, when the gap width is varying during the welding process. The process modeling to facilitate the mapping from joint geometry and reference weld quality to significant welding parameters has been based on a multi-layer feed-forward network. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm for non-linear least...

A Neural Network Approach for GMA Butt Joint Welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kim Hardam; Sørensen, Torben

2003-01-01

penetration, when the gap width is varying during the welding process. The process modeling to facilitate the mapping from joint geometry and reference weld quality to significant welding parameters has been based on a multi-layer feed-forward network. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm for non-linear least......This paper describes the application of the neural network technology for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) control. A system has been developed for modeling and online adjustment of welding parameters, appropriate to guarantee a certain degree of quality in the field of butt joint welding with full...

A parametric study of residual stresses in multipass butt-welded stainless steel pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brickstad, B. [SAQ Inspection Ltd., Stockholm (Sweden); Josefson, L. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Div. of Solid Mechanics

1996-06-01

Multipass circumferential butt-welding of stainless steel pipes is simulated numerically in a non-linear thermo-mechanical FE-analysis. In particular, the through-thickness variation at the weld and heat affected zone, of the axial and hoop stresses and their sensitivity to variation in weld parameters are studied. Recommendations are given for the through thickness variation of the axial and hoop stresses to be used when assessing the growth of surface flaws at circumferential butt welds in nuclear piping system. 31 refs, 12 tabs, 54 figs.

Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baikie, B.L.; Wagg, A.R.; Whittle, M.J.; Yapp, D.

1976-01-01

Optical and X-ray metallography combined with ultrasonic testing by compression waves was used for inspection of stainless steel weld metal produced by three different welding techniques. X-ray diffraction showed that each weld possessed a characteristic fibre textured structure which was shown by optical microscopy to be parallel to columnar grain boundaries. Metallographic evidence suggested that the development of fibre texture is due to the mechanism of competitive growth. From observations made as a result of optical metallographic examination the orientation of the fibre axis could be predicted if the weld geometry and welding procedure were known. Ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements as a continuous function of grain orientation, made on cylinders machined from weld samples, showed that attenuation was strongly orientation dependent. It was concluded that the sensitivity of ultrasonic inspection to small defects is unlikely to be as high for austenitic welds as for ferritic even when transmission is improved by modifying the welding procedure to improve the ultrasonic transmission. (U.K.)

Pulsed ultrasonic stir welding system

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2013-01-01

An ultrasonic stir welding system includes a welding head assembly having a plate and a rod passing through the plate. The rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof. During a welding operation, ultrasonic pulses are applied to the rod as it rotates about its longitudinal axis. The ultrasonic pulses are applied in such a way that they propagate parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod.

75 FR 76025 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-07

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-376 and 563-564 (Third Review)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Japan, Korea, and Taiwan AGENCY: United States International... steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan would be likely to lead to continuation or...

Pulsed ultrasonic stir welding method

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A method of performing ultrasonic stir welding uses a welding head assembly to include a plate and a rod passing through the plate. The rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof. In the method, the rod is rotated about its longitudinal axis during a welding operation. During the welding operation, a series of on-off ultrasonic pulses are applied to the rod such that they propagate parallel to the rod's longitudinal axis. At least a pulse rate associated with the on-off ultrasonic pulses is controlled.

Use of pulsed arc welding for butt joint fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merkulov, B.A.

1977-01-01

A technology of pulsed-arc butt welding with periodic wire feed to the welding zone has been developed. The pulsed arc is suitable both for submerged and gas-shielded weldings. The technology proposed has some advantages over the stationary-arc welding. Control of the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the process enables one to affect melting and crystallization conditions of the welding crater, weld shape, relation between melting and deposited metal section areas, etc., as well as to reduce heat contribution to the base metal. The new process is shown to be applicable in power engineering. Automatic submerged welding conditions are given for low-carbon and pearlitic heat-resistant steels

Critical Gap distance in Laser Butt-welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bagger, Claus; Olsen, Flemming Ove

1999-01-01

In a number of systematic laboratory experiments the critical gap distance that results in sound beads in laser butt welding is sought identified. By grinding the edges of the sheets, a number of "reference" welds are made and compared to the sheets with shear cut edges. In the tests the gap...... was set at 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, 0.08 and 0.10 mm. Mild steel (St 1203) with a thickness of 0.75 and 1.25 mm with and without zinc coating were analysed. A total of 120 welds were made at different welding speeds.As quality norm DIN 8563 was used to divide the welds into quality classes. A number of welds...... were also x-ray photographed.Of the weld combinations analysed 80 % were of high quality and 17 % of a non-acceptable quality. 90 % of the bad welds had a gap distance larger than 0.05 mm. The results showed that 85 % of the bad welds were shear cut and only 15 % grinded. Two third of the bad welds...

Equipment for Preparing Pipeline Position Butts for Welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lobanov L.M.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The results of developments of the Ye.O.Paton Electric Welding Institute and its specialized departments on the designing national equipment models for preparation during the assembly the edges and butt ends of pipeline position butts with the diameter from 14 up to 159 mm, repair and modernization of power engineering objects, including the power units of nuclear and heat electric stations, in chemical and machine building, at enterprises of oil-gas complex and other branches of industry are presented.

TIG-dressing of High Strength Steel Butt Welded Connections. Part 1 : Weld Toe Geometry and Local Hardness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Es, S.H.J.; Kolstein, M.H.; Pijpers, R.J.M.; Bijlaard, F.S.K.

2014-01-01

This paper presents the results of extensive measurements on weld toe geometry of as-welded and TIG-dressed butt welded connections in high strength steels S460, S690 and very high strength steels S890 and S1100. Descriptions of the measurement techniques and data analysis are presented. Four weld

TIG-dressing of high strength steel butt welded connections - Part 1: weld toe geometry and local hardness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Es, S.H.J. van; Kolstein, M.H.; Pijpers, R.J.M.; Bijlaard, F.S.K.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the results of extensive measurements on weld toe geometry of as-welded and TIG-dressed butt welded connections in high strength steels S460, S690 and very high strength steels S890 and S1100. Descriptions of the measurement techniques and data analysis are presented. Four weld

77 FR 14002 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Final Results...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-08

...] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Final Results of the... Duty Orders on Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines'' from... Commerce (the Department) initiated sunset reviews of the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel butt...

77 FR 39735 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-05

... revocation of the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings From Italy, Malaysia... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-865-867 (Second Review)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines Determination On the basis of the...

Butt Weldability for SS400 Using Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Do; Myoung, Gi Hoon; Park, Duck; Myoung, Gi Hoon; Park, In Duck

2016-01-01

This study presents results of an experimental investigation of the laser-arc, hybrid, butt welding process of SS400 structural steel. Welding parameters including laser power, welding current and speed were varied in order to obtain one-pass, full-penetration welds without defects. The conditions that resulted in optimal beads were identified. After welding, hardness measurements and microstructure observations were carried out in order to study weld properties. The mechanical properties of both the base material and welded specimen were compared based on the results of tensile strength measurements. The yield and tensile strengths were found to be similar

Butt Weldability for SS400 Using Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jong Do; Myoung, Gi Hoon; Park, Duck [Korea Maritime and Ocean Univ., Busan (Korea, Republic of); Myoung, Gi Hoon; Park, In Duck [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-07-15

This study presents results of an experimental investigation of the laser-arc, hybrid, butt welding process of SS400 structural steel. Welding parameters including laser power, welding current and speed were varied in order to obtain one-pass, full-penetration welds without defects. The conditions that resulted in optimal beads were identified. After welding, hardness measurements and microstructure observations were carried out in order to study weld properties. The mechanical properties of both the base material and welded specimen were compared based on the results of tensile strength measurements. The yield and tensile strengths were found to be similar.

Investigation and control of factors influencing resistance upset butt welding.

OpenAIRE

Kerstens, N.F.H.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this work is to investigate the factors influencing the resistance upset butt welding process to obtain an understanding of the metal behaviour and welding process characteristics, so that new automotive steels can be welded with reduced development time and fewer failures in production. In principle the welding process is rather simple, the materials to be joined are clamped between two electrodes and pressed together. Because there is an interface present with a higher resist...

Ultrasonic testing X gammagraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mello Campos, A.M. de

1989-01-01

The experience of 10 years for substituting gammagraphy tests by ultrasonic tests is related. A comparative evaluation of data obtained from both techniques applied to welded butt joints is presented. (author)

Critical Gap distance in Laser Butt-welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bagger, Claus; Olsen, Flemming Ove

of "reference" welds are made and compared to sheets with the edges shear cut. The gap distance is precisely controlled by inserting spacers between the sheets. In the tests the gap is set at 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, 0.08 and 0.10 mm. Mild steel (St 1203) with thickness? of 0.75 and 1.25 mm with and without zinc......When butt-welding metal sheets with high power lasers the gap distance between the sheets determine the final quality of the seam. In a number of systematic laboratory experiments the critical gap distance that results in sound beads is identified. By grinding the edges of the sheets, a number...... coating were analysed. A total of 120 welds are made at different welding speeds.As quality norm DIN 8563 is used to divide the welds into quality classes. Since this norm only deals with surface defects a number of welds are also x-ray photographed.According to DIN 8563 the welds have classes of either B...

A new method to butt weld pipes with laser at different angles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gualini, M.M.S.

1999-01-01

Laser butt welding of pipes at different angles may be cumbersome and may require very expensive tooling. The pipe size may not allow using the laser for large volume throughputs. We propose a rotary optical head composed by an adjustable focus lens system and two reflecting mirrors. The laser beam is bent at 90 deg. C. so that weld can be performed inwards outwards. The optic head design compensates the rotary backlash and vibrations, like a penta prism thus ensuring a perfect follow up of the weld track. The optic head can be inclined at 45 deg. C. to laser butt weld pipe each other at 90 deg. C. In this case the laser beam focus position is computer controlled in order to keep the focus point always on the elliptical weld profile. The paper covers theoretical and practical aspects of the proposed device. (author)

ANSYS Simulation of Residual Strains in Butt-welded Joints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Atroshenko

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The effect of thermal-strain cycle on residual strains in thin-walled circular seams of cylindrical shells using TIG butt welds was studied. Estimates were calculated using numerical modelling. The structure was made of corrosion-resistant austenitic steels.

Modeling and control of a DC upset resistance butt welding process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Naus, G.J.L.; Meulenberg, R.; Molengraft, van de M.J.G.

2007-01-01

This paper presents the analysis and synthesis of modeling and control of the DC upset resistance butt welding process used in rim production lines. A new control strategy is developed, enabling active control of the welding seam temperature and the upset size. As a result, set-up times and energy

TIG-dressing of High Strength Butt Welded Connection. Part 2 : Physical Testing and Modelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Es, S.H.J.; Kolstein, M.H.; Pijpers, R.J.M.; Bijlaard, F.S.K.

2014-01-01

Weld improvement techniques are aimed at reducing the notch effects of welds and generally focus on two aspects: a change of geometry of the weld toe and a change of the weld residual stresses. In this paper, fatigue tests are discussed, performed on butt welded specimens in steel grades ranging

TIG-dressing of high strength butt welded connection - Part 2: physical testing and modelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Es, S.H.J. van; Kolstein, M.H.; Pijpers, R.J.M.; Bijlaard, F.S.K.

2013-01-01

Weld improvement techniques are aimed at reducing the notch effects of welds and generally focus on two aspects: a change of geometry of the weld toe and a change of the weld residual stresses. In this paper, fatigue tests are discussed, performed on butt welded specimens in steel grades ranging

A Vision-Aided 3D Path Teaching Method before Narrow Butt Joint Welding.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Jinle; Chang, Baohua; Du, Dong; Peng, Guodong; Chang, Shuhe; Hong, Yuxiang; Wang, Li; Shan, Jiguo

2017-05-11

For better welding quality, accurate path teaching for actuators must be achieved before welding. Due to machining errors, assembly errors, deformations, etc., the actual groove position may be different from the predetermined path. Therefore, it is significant to recognize the actual groove position using machine vision methods and perform an accurate path teaching process. However, during the teaching process of a narrow butt joint, the existing machine vision methods may fail because of poor adaptability, low resolution, and lack of 3D information. This paper proposes a 3D path teaching method for narrow butt joint welding. This method obtains two kinds of visual information nearly at the same time, namely 2D pixel coordinates of the groove in uniform lighting condition and 3D point cloud data of the workpiece surface in cross-line laser lighting condition. The 3D position and pose between the welding torch and groove can be calculated after information fusion. The image resolution can reach 12.5 μm. Experiments are carried out at an actuator speed of 2300 mm/min and groove width of less than 0.1 mm. The results show that this method is suitable for groove recognition before narrow butt joint welding and can be applied in path teaching fields of 3D complex components.

A study of weld quality in ultrasonic spot welding of similar and dissimilar metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Sarraf, Z; Lucas, M

2012-01-01

Several difficulties are faced in joining thinner sheets of similar and dissimilar materials from fusion welding processes such as resistance welding and laser welding. Ultrasonic metal welding overcomes many of these difficulties by using high frequency vibration and applied pressure to create a solid-state weld. Ultrasonic metal welding is an effective technique in joining small components, such as in wire bonding, but is also capable of joining thicker sheet, depending on the control of welding conditions. This study presents the design, characterisation and test of a lateral-drive ultrasonic metal welding device. The ultrasonic welding horn is modelled using finite element analysis and its vibration behaviour is characterised experimentally to ensure ultrasonic energy is delivered to the weld coupon. The welding stack and fixtures are then designed and mounted on a test machine to allow a series of experiments to be conducted for various welding and ultrasonic parameters. Weld strength is subsequently analysed using tensile-shear tests. Control of the vibration amplitude profile through the weld cycle is used to enhance weld strength and quality, providing an opportunity to reduce part marking. Optical microscopic examination and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to investigate the weld quality. The results show how the weld quality is particularly sensitive to the combination of clamping force and vibration amplitude of the welding tip.

Analysis and Prediction of the Billet Butt and Transverse Weld in the Continuous Extrusion Process of a Hollow Aluminum Profile

Science.gov (United States)

Lou, Shumei; Wang, Yongxiao; Liu, Chuanxi; Lu, Shuai; Liu, Sujun; Su, Chunjian

2017-08-01

In continuous extrusions of aluminum profiles, the thickness of the billet butt and the length of the discarded extrudate containing the transverse weld play key roles in reducing material loss and improving product quality. The formation and final distribution of the billet butt and transverse weld depend entirely on the flow behavior of the billet skin material. This study examined the flow behavior of the billet skin material as well as the formation and evolution of the billet butt and the transverse weld in detail through numerical simulation and a series of experiments. In practical extrusions, even if the billet skin is removed by lathe turning shortly before extrusion, billet skin impurities are still distributed around the transverse weld and in the billet butt. The thickness of the scrap billet butt and the length of the discarded extrudate containing the transverse weld can be exactly predicted via simulation.

77 FR 10773 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Scheduling of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-23

... Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year... orders on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines would be... certificate of service. Determination.--The Commission has determined to exercise its authority to extend the...

76 FR 67146 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy; Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-475-828] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld... antidumping duty order on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy in the Federal Register. See... preliminary results of this review within the original time frame because it needs to obtain additional...

A Semi-analytical model for creep life prediction of butt-welded joints in cylindrical vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarrabi, K.

2001-01-01

There have been many investigations on the life assessment of high temperature weldments used in cylindrical pressure vessels, pipes and tubes over the last two decades or so. But to the author's knowledge, currently, there exists no practical, economical and relatively accurate model for creep life assessment of butt-welded joints in cylindrical pressure vessels. This paper describes a semi-analytical and economical model for creep life assessment of butt-welded joints. The first stage of the development of the model is described where the model takes into account the material discontinuities at the welded joint only. The development of the model to include other factors such as geometrical stress concentrations, residual stresses, etc will be reported separately. It has been shown that the proposed model can estimate the redistributions of stresses in the weld and Haz with an error of less than 4%. It has also been shown that the proposed model can conservatively predict the creep life of a butt-welded joint with an error of less than 16%

Ultrasonic stir welding process and apparatus

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2009-01-01

An ultrasonic stir welding device provides a method and apparatus for elevating the temperature of a work piece utilizing at least one ultrasonic heater. Instead of relying on a rotating shoulder to provide heat to a workpiece an ultrasonic heater is utilized to provide ultrasonic energy to the workpiece. A rotating pin driven by a motor assembly performs the weld on the workpiece. A handheld version can be constructed as well as a fixedly mounted embodiment.

The microstructure of aluminum A5083 butt joint by friction stir welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jasri, M. A. H. M.; Afendi, M.; Ismail, A.; Ishak, M.

2015-01-01

This study presents the microstructure of the aluminum A5083 butt joint surface after it has been joined by friction stir welding (FSW) process. The FSW process is a unique welding method because it will not change the chemical properties of the welded metals. In this study, MILKO 37 milling machine was modified to run FSW process on 4 mm plate of aluminum A5083 butt joint. For the experiment, variables of travel speed and tool rotational speed based on capability of machine were used to run FSW process. The concentrated heat from the tool to the aluminum plate changes the plate form from solid to plastic state. Two aluminum plates is merged to become one plate during plastic state and return to solid when concentrated heat is gradually further away. After that, the surface and cross section of the welded aluminum were investigated with a microscope by 400 x multiplication zoom. The welding defect in the FSW aluminum was identified. Then, the result was compared to the American Welding Society (AWS) FSW standard to decide whether the plate can be accepted or rejected

The microstructure of aluminum A5083 butt joint by friction stir welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jasri, M. A. H. M.; Afendi, M. [School of Mechatronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Pauh, 02600, Arau, Perlis (Malaysia); Ismail, A. [UniKL MIMET, JalanPantaiRemis, 32200, Lumut, Perak (Malaysia); Ishak, M. [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 02600, Pekan, Pahang (Malaysia)

2015-05-15

This study presents the microstructure of the aluminum A5083 butt joint surface after it has been joined by friction stir welding (FSW) process. The FSW process is a unique welding method because it will not change the chemical properties of the welded metals. In this study, MILKO 37 milling machine was modified to run FSW process on 4 mm plate of aluminum A5083 butt joint. For the experiment, variables of travel speed and tool rotational speed based on capability of machine were used to run FSW process. The concentrated heat from the tool to the aluminum plate changes the plate form from solid to plastic state. Two aluminum plates is merged to become one plate during plastic state and return to solid when concentrated heat is gradually further away. After that, the surface and cross section of the welded aluminum were investigated with a microscope by 400 x multiplication zoom. The welding defect in the FSW aluminum was identified. Then, the result was compared to the American Welding Society (AWS) FSW standard to decide whether the plate can be accepted or rejected.

Microstructure and mechanical performance of autogenously fibre laser beam welded Ti-6242 butt joints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kashaev, Nikolai, E-mail: nikolai.kashaev@hzg.de; Pugachev, Dmitry; Ventzke, Volker; Fomin, Fedor; Burkhardt, Irmela; Enz, Josephin; Riekehr, Stefan

2017-05-10

This work deals with the effects of laser beam power, focus position and advance speed on the geometry, microstructure and mechanical properties such as the tensile strength and microhardness of autogenously fibre laser beam welded Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (denoted as Ti-6242) butt joints used for high temperature applications. The Ti-6242 sheet employed here is characterized by a globular (α+β) microstructure. Laser beam welded butt joints consisted of a martensitic fusion zone, inhomogeneous heat affected zones and equiaxed base materials. The microhardness increased from 330 HV 0.3 in base material to 430 HV 0.3 in fusion zone due to the martensitic transformation. Butt joints showed the base material level of strength in tensile test. The local increase in microhardness provided a shielding effect that protected the Ti-6242 butt joint against mechanical damage during the static tensile load test. The predicted critical total underfill depth that does not reduce the tensile strength of the weld was determined to be 25% of the specimen thickness. - Highlights: • Autogenous fibre LBW of Ti-6242 was successfully achieved. • Butt joints showed low levels of porosity and an appropriate seam geometry. • Base material level of strength achieved for tensile strength. • Predicted critical underfill depth is 25% of the specimen thickness.

Ultrasonic scanner for stainless steel weld inspections. [LMFBR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kupperman, D. S.; Reimann, K. J.

1978-09-01

The large grain size and anisotropic nature of stainless steel weld metal make conventional ultrasonic testing very difficult. A technique is evaluated for minimizing the coherent ultrasonic noise in stainless steel weld metal. The method involves digitizing conventional ''A-scan'' traces and averaging them with a minicomputer. Results are presented for an ultrasonic scanner which interrogates a small volume of the weld metal while averaging the coherent ultrasonic noise.

Computational Modeling of Microstructural-Evolution in AISI 1005 Steel During Gas Metal Arc Butt Welding

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-01

H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia, A Model for the Microstruc- ture of Some Advanced Bainitic Steels , Mater. Trans., 1991, 32, p 689–696 19. G.J. Davies and J.G. Garland...REPORT Computational Modeling of Microstructural-Evolution in AISI 1005 Steel During Gas Metal Arc Butt Welding 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY...Computational Modeling of Microstructural-Evolution in AISI 1005 Steel During Gas Metal Arc Butt Welding Report Title ABSTRACT A fully coupled (two-way

Special metallurgy - the electrical butt-welding by flashing of sintered magnesium-magnesium oxide composites (1963)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charleux, J.

1963-01-01

Electrical resistance welding has become quite important since World War II because of the need of a high yield in aeronautical production. Progress has been due in particular to the improvements made in electronically controlled apparatus making possible the automatic control of welding. For the butt-welding of sections requiring either a high production rate or a high quality weld, the flash butt-welding system has been very much developed these last few years. The use of this welding method is of great importance in the field of the bonding of oxidisable metals such as magnesium or aluminium and its alloys, because the welded joint is free from oxides. This study consists of general considerations on the flash-welding process with regard to temperature distribution in the parts during welding, and to electrical phenomena connected with flashing. Besides this general or theoretical section, we have applied the welding process to the bonding of sintered magnesium, a magnesium-magnesium oxide composite, whose use as a structural element in nuclear reactors is considered. (author) [fr

Features of residual stresses in duplex stainless steel butt welds

Science.gov (United States)

Um, Tae-Hwan; Lee, Chin-Hyung; Chang, Kyong-Ho; Nguyen Van Do, Vuong

2018-04-01

Duplex stainless steel finds increasing use as an alternative to austenitic stainless steel, particularly where chloride or sulphide stress corrosion cracking is of primary concern, due to the excellent combination of strength and corrosion resistance. During welding, duplex stainless steel does not create the same magnitude or distribution of weld-induced residual stresses as those in welded austenitic stainless steel due to the different physical and mechanical properties between them. In this work, an experimental study on the residual stresses in butt-welded duplex stainless steel is performed utilizing the layering technique to investigate the characteristics of residual stresses in the weldment. Three-dimensional thermos-mechanical-metallurgical finite element analysis is also performed to confirm the residual stress measurements.

On detection and automatic tracking of butt weld line in thin wall pipe welding by a mobile robot with visual sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suga, Yasuo; Ishii, Hideaki; Muto, Akifumi

1992-01-01

An automatic pipe welding mobile robot system with visual sensor was constructed. The robot can move along a pipe, and detect the weld line to be welded by visual sensor. Moreover, in order to make an automatic welding, the welding torch can track the butt weld line of the pipes at a constant speed by rotating the robot head. Main results obtained are summarized as follows: 1) Using a proper lighting fixed in front of the CCD camera, the butt weld line of thin wall pipes can be recongnized stably. In this case, the root gap should be approximately 0.5 mm. 2) In order to detect the weld line stably during moving along the pipe, a brightness distribution measured by the CCD camera should be subjected to smoothing and differentiating and then the weld line is judged by the maximum and minimum values of the differentials. 3) By means of the basic robot system with a visual sensor controlled by a personal computer, the detection and in-process automatic tracking of a weld line are possible. The average tracking error was approximately 0.2 mm and maximum error 0.5 mm and the welding speed was held at a constant value with error of about 0.1 cm/min. (author)

Ultrasonically-assisted Thermal Stir Welding System

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A welding head assembly has a work piece disposed between its containment plates' opposing surfaces with the work piece being maintained in a plastic state thereof at least in a vicinity of the welding head assembly's stir rod as the rod is rotated about its longitudinal axis. The welding head assembly and the work piece experience relative movement there between in a direction perpendicular to the rod's longitudinal axis as the work piece is subjected to a compressive force applied by the containment plates. A first source coupled to the first containment plate applies a first ultrasonic wave thereto such that the first ultrasonic wave propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement. A second source coupled to the second containment plate applies a second ultrasonic wave thereto such that the second ultrasonic wave propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement.propagates parallel to the direction of relative movement.

Residual stress in a thick section high strength T-butt weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearce, S.V.; Linton, V.M.; Oliver, E.C.

2008-01-01

Residual stresses in a structure are generated as a result of the various fabrication and welding processes used to make the component. Being able to quantify these residual stresses is a key step in determining the continuing integrity of a structure in service. In this work, the residual stresses around a high strength, quenched and tempered steel T-butt web to curved plate weld have been measured using neutron strain scanning. The results show that the residual stresses near the weld were dominated by the welding residual stresses, while the stresses further from the weld were dominated by the bending residual stresses. The results suggest that the combination of welding-induced residual stress and significant pre-welding residual stress, as in the case of a thick bent section of plate can significantly alter the residual stress profile from that in a flat plate

Vision and spectroscopic sensing for joint tracing in narrow gap laser butt welding

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsen, Morgan; Sikström, Fredrik; Christiansson, Anna-Karin; Ancona, Antonio

2017-11-01

The automated laser beam butt welding process is sensitive to positioning the laser beam with respect to the joint because a small offset may result in detrimental lack of sidewall fusion. This problem is even more pronounced in case of narrow gap butt welding, where most of the commercial automatic joint tracing systems fail to detect the exact position and size of the gap. In this work, a dual vision and spectroscopic sensing approach is proposed to trace narrow gap butt joints during laser welding. The system consists of a camera with suitable illumination and matched optical filters and a fast miniature spectrometer. An image processing algorithm of the camera recordings has been developed in order to estimate the laser spot position relative to the joint position. The spectral emissions from the laser induced plasma plume have been acquired by the spectrometer, and based on the measurements of the intensities of selected lines of the spectrum, the electron temperature signal has been calculated and correlated to variations of process conditions. The individual performances of these two systems have been experimentally investigated and evaluated offline by data from several welding experiments, where artificial abrupt as well as gradual deviations of the laser beam out of the joint were produced. Results indicate that a combination of the information provided by the vision and spectroscopic systems is beneficial for development of a hybrid sensing system for joint tracing.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Effects of Post-Weld Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Toughness of Flash Butt Welded High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Shajan, Nikhil; Arora, Kanwer Singh; Asati, Brajesh; Sharma, Vikram; Shome, Mahadev

2018-04-01

Effect of post-weld heat treatment on the weld microstructure, texture, and its correlation to the toughness of flash butt welded joints were investigated. Upon flash butt welding, the α and γ-fiber in the parent material converted to Goss (110)[001], rotated Goss (110)[1 \\bar{1} 0], and rotated cube (001)[1 \\bar{1} 0], (001)[ \\overline{11} 0] textures along the fracture plane. Formation of these detrimental texture components was a result of shear deformation and recrystallization of austenite at temperatures above T nr resulting in a drop of toughness at the weld zone. Inter-critical and sub-critical annealing cycles proved to be less effective in reducing the Goss (110)[001], rotated Goss (110)[1 \\bar{1} 0], and rotated cube (001)[1 \\bar{1} 0], (001)[ \\overline{11} 0] texture components, and therefore, toughness values remained unaffected. Post-weld heat treatment in the austenite phase field at 1000 °C for 5 seconds resulted in the formation of new grains with different orientations leading to a reduction in the texture intensities of both Goss and rotated Goss components and therefore improved weld zone toughness. Prolonged annealing time was found to be ineffective in improving the toughness due to grain growth.

Grain fragmentation in ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld of pure aluminum.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qihao; Lin, Sanbao; Yang, Chunli; Fan, Chenglei; Ge, Hongliang

2017-11-01

Under the action of acoustic waves during an ultrasonic-assisted tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process, a grain of a TIG weld of aluminum alloy is refined by nucleation and grain fragmentation. Herein, effects of ultrasound on grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of aluminum alloy are investigated via systematic welding experiments of pure aluminum. First, experiments involving continuous and fixed-position welding are performed, which demonstrate that ultrasound can break the grain of the TIG weld of pure aluminum. The microstructural characteristics of an ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld fabricated by fixed-position welding are analyzed. The microstructure is found to transform from plane crystal, columnar crystal, and uniform equiaxed crystal into plane crystal, deformed columnar crystal, and nonuniform equiaxed crystal after application of ultrasound. Second, factors influencing ultrasonic grain fragmentation are investigated. The ultrasonic amplitude and welding current are found to have a considerable effect on grain fragmentation. The degree of fragmentation first increases and then decreases with an increase in ultrasonic amplitude, and it increases with an increase in welding current. Measurement results of the vibration of the weld pool show that the degree of grain fragmentation is related to the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity in the weld pool. The greater the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity, the greater is the degree of grain fragmentation. Finally, the mechanism of ultrasonic grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of pure aluminum is discussed. A finite element simulation is used to simulate the acoustic pressure and flow in the weld pool. The acoustic pressure in the weld pool exceeds the cavitation threshold, and cavitation bubbles are generated. The flow velocity in the weld pool does not change noticeably after application of ultrasound. It is concluded that the high-pressure conditions induced during the occurrence of cavitation, lead to grain

A Study on the compensation margin on butt welding joint of Large Steel plates during Shipbuilding construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J; Jeong, K; Chung, H; Jeong, H; Ji, M; Yun, C; Lee, J

2015-01-01

This paper examines the characteristics of butt welding joint shrinkage for shipbuilding and marine structures main plate. The shrinkage strain of butt welding joint which is caused by the process of heat input and cooling, results in the difference between dimensions of the actual parent metal and the dimensions of design. This, in turn, leads to poor quality in the production of ship blocks and reworking through period of correction brings about impediment on improvement of productivity. Through experiments on butt welding joint's shrinkage strain on large structures main plate, the deformation of welding residual stress in the form of I, Y, V was obtained. In addition, the results of experiments indicate that there is limited range of shrinkage in the range of 1 ∼ 2 mm in 11t ∼ 21.5t thickness and the effect of heat transfer of weld appears to be limited within 1000 mm based on one side of seam line so there was limited impact of weight of parent metal on the shrinkage. Finally, it has been learned that Shrinkage margin needs to be applied differently based on groove phenomenon in the design phase in order to minimize shrinkage. (paper)

Ultrasonic Welding of Thin Alumina and Aluminum Using Inserts

Science.gov (United States)

Ishikuro, Tomoaki; Matsuoka, Shin-Ichi

This paper describes an experimental study of ultrasonic welding of thin ceramics and metals using inserts. Ultrasonic welding has enable the joining of various thick ceramics, such as Al2O3 and ZrO2, to aluminum at room temperature quickly and easily as compared to other welding methods. However, for thin ceramics, which are brittle, welding is difficult to perform without causing damage. In this study, aluminum anodized oxide with different anodizing time was used as thin alumina ceramic. Vapor deposition of aluminum alloys was used to create an effective binder layer for welding at a low pressure and within a short duration in order to prevent damage to the anodic oxide film formed with a short anodizing time. For example, ultrasonic welding of thin Al2O3/Al was accomplished under the following conditions: ultrasonic horn tip amplitude of 30µm, welding pressure of 5MPa, and required duration of 0.1s. However, since the vapor deposition film tends to exfoliate as observed in the anodic oxide film formed with a long anodizing time, welding was difficult.

New developments for the ultrasonic inspection of austenitic stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chassignole, Bertrand; Doudet, Loic; Dupond, Olivier; Fouquet, Thierry; Richard, Benoit

2006-01-01

EDF R and D undertakes studies in non destructive testing (NDT) for better understanding the influence of various parameters (material, type of defect, geometry) on the 'controllability' of the critical components for nuclear safety. In the field of ultrasonic testing, one of the principal research orientations is devoted to the study of the austenitic stainless steel welds of the primary cooling system. Indeed, the structure of these welds present characteristics making difficult their examination, for example: - a strong anisotropy of the properties of elasticity which, coupled with the heterogeneity of the grain orientations, can involve phenomena of skewing, division and distortion of the beam; - a significant scattering of the waves by the grains involving an high attenuation and sometimes backscattered signals. For several years, actions have been launched to improve comprehension of these disturbing phenomena and to evaluate the controllability of those welds. This work is based on the one hand on experimental analyses on representative mock-ups and on the other hand on the developments of modelling codes taking into account the characteristics of the materials. We present in this document a synthesis of this work by developing the following points in particular: - a description of the phenomena of propagation; - the works undertaken to characterize the structure of the welds; - an example of study coupling experimental and modelling analyses for a butt weld achieved by manual arc welding with coated electrodes. The paper has the following contents: 1. Context; 2. Presentation of the problem; 3. Characterization of austenitic welds; 4. From comprehension to industrial application; 5. Conclusion and perspectives; 5. Conclusion and perspectives. This synthesis shows that each austenitic stainless steel weld is a particular case for the ultrasonic testing. This work allowed to better apprehend the disturbances of the ultrasonic propagation in the welds and thus

Ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds and its dependency on the welding process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabatabaeipour, S.M.; Honarvar, F.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds prepared by two different welding processes. The tests were carried out by the ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction (ToFD) technique. Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) are the welding processes used for preparing the specimens. Identical artificial defects were implanted in both welds during the welding process. Both specimens were examined by the ToFD technique under similar conditions. Metallographic images were also obtained from the cross sectional plane of both the SMA and GTA welds. These images show that the grain orientation in the two welded specimens are different. D-scan images obtained by the ToFD technique from these welds indicates that inspecting the specimens prepared by the SMAW process is easier than the one made by the GTAW process. The results also show that the D-scan images cannot reveal the small vertical drilled holes implanted in the specimens. (author)

In-process monitoring and adaptive control for gap in micro butt welding with pulsed YAG laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawahito, Yousuke; Kito, Masayuki; Katayama, Seiji

2007-01-01

A gap is one of the most important issues to be solved in laser welding of a micro butt joint, because the gap results in welding defects such as underfilling or a non-bonded joint. In-process monitoring and adaptive control has been expected as one of the useful procedures for the stable production of sound laser welds without defects. The objective of this research is to evaluate the availability of in-process monitoring and adaptive control in micro butt welding of pure titanium rods with a pulsed neodymium : yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd : YAG) laser beam of a 150 μm spot diameter. It was revealed that a 45 μm narrow gap was detected by the remarkable jump in a reflected light intensity due to the formation of the molten pool which could bridge the gap. Heat radiation signal levels increased in proportion to the sizes of molten pools or penetration depths for the respective laser powers. As for adaptive control, the laser peak power was controlled on the basis of the reflected light or the heat radiation signals to stably produce a sound deeply penetrated weld reduced underfilling. In the case of a 100 μm gap, the underfilling was greatly reduced by half smaller than those made with a conventional rectangular pulse shape in seam welding as well as spot welding with a pulsed Nd : YAG laser beam. Consequently, the adaptive control of the laser peak power on the basis of in-process monitoring could reduce the harmful effects due to a gap in micro butt laser welding with a pulsed laser beam

Creep failure analysis of butt welded tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Browne, R.J.; Parker, J.D.; Walters, D.J.

1981-01-01

As part of a major research programme to investigate the influence of butt welds on the life expectancy of tubular components, a series of internal-pressure, stress-rupture tests have been carried out. Thick walled 1/2Cr 1/2Mo 1/4V tube specimens were welded with mild steel, 1Cr 1/2Mo steel, 2 1/4Cr 1Mo steel or nominally matching 1/2Cr 1/2Mo 1/4V steel to give a wide range of weld metal creep strengths relative to the parent tube. The weldments were tested at 565 0 C at two values of internal pressure, and gave failure lives of up to 44,000 hrs. Finite element techniques have been used to determine the stationary state stress distribution in the weldment which was represented by a three material model. Significant stress redistribution was indicated and these results enabled the position and orientation of cracking and the rupture life to be predicted. The theoretical and experimental results have been used to highlight the limitations of current design methods which are based on the application of the mean diameter hoop stress to the parent material stress rupture data. (author)

Gas metal arc welding of butt joint with varying gap width based on neural networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kim Hardam; Sørensen, Torben

2005-01-01

penetration, when the gap width is varying during the welding process. The process modeling to facilitate the mapping from joint geometry and reference weld quality to significant welding parameters, has been based on a multi-layer feed-forward network. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm for non-linear least......This paper describes the application of the neural network technology for gas metal arc welding (GMAW) control. A system has been developed for modeling and online adjustment of welding parameters, appropriate to guarantee a certain degree of quality in the field of butt joint welding with full...

Comparison radiographic and automated ultrasonic inspection of pipeline tie-in welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Connelly, T.; Gross, B.

2007-01-01

In recent years the use of automated ultrasonic inspection (AUT) for pipeline girth welds has seen rapid growth and is now used almost exclusively for all gas metal arc welding (GMAW) girth weld inspection. The following paper reviews some of the major features of ultrasonic inspection by comparison to conventional Film Radiography (RT) and reviews the use of ultrasonic inspection for pipeline and tie-in welds. (author)

Proceedings of the specialists' meeting on reliability of the ultrasonic inspection of austenitic materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1980-07-01

The contributions of this meeting addressed several topics: the fundamentals of ultrasonic examination of austenitic materials (effect of anisotropy on propagation, improvement of ultrasonic testing to thick bimetallic welds, aspects of the ultrasonic testing of austenitic steel structures, utilization of a Fisher linear discriminant function in intergranular stress corrosion cracking or IGSCC detection, case of coarse grain austenitic welds, efforts of the Argonne National Laboratory), instruments and methods (longitudinal wave ultrasonic inspection, Grass echo suppression technique during the ultrasonic inspection of fuel cladding tubes, inspections of fillet and butt welds, improvement by signal averaging techniques, multiple bearing angle crack detector for cladded pipes examinations, flow-to-grain echo enhancement by split-spectrum processing, ultrasonic imaging techniques, ultrasonic inspection of pipe weldments for IGSCC), industrial practice (ultrasonic testing techniques for fabrication and in-service inspection, experiences in ultrasonic examination of austenitic steel components, experience and practice on nuclear piping in Spain, detection of underclad defects, sizing of cracks perpendicular to stainless overlay), and reliability (survey of ultrasonic testing in austenitic weld material, examination of electron beam welds, factors affecting the reliability of ultrasonic examination, detectability of IGSCC, ultrasonic inspection reliability for primary piping systems)

Proceedings of the specialists' meeting on reliability of the ultrasonic inspection of austenitic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The contributions of this meeting addressed several topics: the fundamentals of ultrasonic examination of austenitic materials (effect of anisotropy on propagation, improvement of ultrasonic testing to thick bimetallic welds, aspects of the ultrasonic testing of austenitic steel structures, utilization of a Fisher linear discriminant function in intergranular stress corrosion cracking or IGSCC detection, case of coarse grain austenitic welds, efforts of the Argonne National Laboratory), instruments and methods (longitudinal wave ultrasonic inspection, Grass echo suppression technique during the ultrasonic inspection of fuel cladding tubes, inspections of fillet and butt welds, improvement by signal averaging techniques, multiple bearing angle crack detector for cladded pipes examinations, flow-to-grain echo enhancement by split-spectrum processing, ultrasonic imaging techniques, ultrasonic inspection of pipe weldments for IGSCC), industrial practice (ultrasonic testing techniques for fabrication and in-service inspection, experiences in ultrasonic examination of austenitic steel components, experience and practice on nuclear piping in Spain, detection of underclad defects, sizing of cracks perpendicular to stainless overlay), and reliability (survey of ultrasonic testing in austenitic weld material, examination of electron beam welds, factors affecting the reliability of ultrasonic examination, detectability of IGSCC, ultrasonic inspection reliability for primary piping systems)

Methodic recommendations on ultrasonic testing of pipeline austenitic butt joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grebennik, V.S.; Lantukh, V.M.; Tajts, M.Z.; Ermolov, I.N.; Volkov, A.S.; Vyatskov, I.A.; Kesler, N.A.; Shchedrin, I.F.

1989-01-01

Recommendations for the application of ultrasonic testing of austenitic welded joints of the Du 500 pipelines with the walls 32-34 mm thick made of steel Kh18N10T are developed. The optimal values of the main parameters of ultrasonic testing are determined experimentally. Principles of calculation of the optimal parameters are considered. 1 ref.; 4 figs

Analytical model of stress field in submerged arc welding butt joint with thorough penetration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Winczek Jerzy

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Analytical model of temporary and residual stresses for butt welding with thorough penetration was described assuming planar section hypothesis and using integral equations of stress equilibrium of the bar and simple Hooke’s law. In solution the effect of phase transformations (structure changes and structural strains has been taken into account. Phase transformations during heating are limited by temperature values at the beginning and at the end of austenitic transformation, depending on chemical composition of steel while the progress of phase transformations during cooling is determined on the basis of TTT-welding diagram. Temperature values at the beginning and at the end of transformation are conditioned by the speed of heating. Kinetics of diffusional transformation is described basing on Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation, while martensitic transformation, basing on Koistinen-Marburger equation. Stresses in elasto-plastic state are determined by iteration, using elastic solutions method with changeable longitudinal modulus of elasticity, conditioned by stress-strain curve. Computations of stress field have been conducted for one-side butt welded of two steel flats made from S235 steel. It has enabled a clear interpretation of influence of temperature field and phase transformation on stresses caused by welding using Submerged Arc Welding (SAW method.

A Precise Visual Method for Narrow Butt Detection in Specular Reflection Workpiece Welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinle Zeng

2016-09-01

Full Text Available During the complex path workpiece welding, it is important to keep the welding torch aligned with the groove center using a visual seam detection method, so that the deviation between the torch and the groove can be corrected automatically. However, when detecting the narrow butt of a specular reflection workpiece, the existing methods may fail because of the extremely small groove width and the poor imaging quality. This paper proposes a novel detection method to solve these issues. We design a uniform surface light source to get high signal-to-noise ratio images against the specular reflection effect, and a double-line laser light source is used to obtain the workpiece surface equation relative to the torch. Two light sources are switched on alternately and the camera is synchronized to capture images when each light is on; then the position and pose between the torch and the groove can be obtained nearly at the same time. Experimental results show that our method can detect the groove effectively and efficiently during the welding process. The image resolution is 12.5 μm and the processing time is less than 10 ms per frame. This indicates our method can be applied to real-time narrow butt detection during high-speed welding process.

Technique for ultrasonic testing of austenitic steel weldments of NPP components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lantukh, V.M.; Grebennik, V.S.; Kordinov, E.V.; Kesler, N.A.; Shchedrin, I.F.

1987-01-01

Special literature on ultrasonic testing of weldments of austenitic steel is analysed. Technique for ultrasonic testing of the ring and longitudinal butt welded joints of NPP components without reinforcing bead removal is described. Special converter design and fabrication practice are described. Results of experimental check of the developed testing technology and its application during NNPs' mounting and operation are presented. Results of ultrasonic and X-ray testing are compared

A Study on the Optimal Welding Condition for Root-Pass in Horizontal Butt-Joint TIG Welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Sung Hun; Kim, Jae-Woong [Yeungnam Univ., Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

In this study, to investigate the shape of the back bead as a weld quality parameter and to select the optimal condition of the root-pass TIG welding of a horizontal butt-joint, an experimental design and the response surface method (RSM) have been employed. Three parameters are used as input variables, which include the base current, peak current, and welding speed. The back bead width is selected as an output variable representing the weld quality, the target value of the width is 5.4 mm. Conducting the experiments according to the Box-Behnken experimental design, a 2nd regression model for the back bead width was made, and the validation of the model was confirmed by using the F-test. The desirability function was designed through the nominal-the-best formula for the appropriate back bead width. Finally, the following optimal condition for welding was selected using the RSM: base current of 0.9204, peak current of 0.8676, and welding speed of 0.3776 in coded values. For verification, a test welding process under the optimal condition was executed and the result showed the back bead width of 5.38 mm that matched the target value well.

A Study on the Optimal Welding Condition for Root-Pass in Horizontal Butt-Joint TIG Welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Sung Hun; Kim, Jae-Woong

2017-01-01

In this study, to investigate the shape of the back bead as a weld quality parameter and to select the optimal condition of the root-pass TIG welding of a horizontal butt-joint, an experimental design and the response surface method (RSM) have been employed. Three parameters are used as input variables, which include the base current, peak current, and welding speed. The back bead width is selected as an output variable representing the weld quality, the target value of the width is 5.4 mm. Conducting the experiments according to the Box-Behnken experimental design, a 2nd regression model for the back bead width was made, and the validation of the model was confirmed by using the F-test. The desirability function was designed through the nominal-the-best formula for the appropriate back bead width. Finally, the following optimal condition for welding was selected using the RSM: base current of 0.9204, peak current of 0.8676, and welding speed of 0.3776 in coded values. For verification, a test welding process under the optimal condition was executed and the result showed the back bead width of 5.38 mm that matched the target value well.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Applying a nonlinear, pitch-catch, ultrasonic technique for the detection of kissing bonds in friction stir welds.

Science.gov (United States)

Delrue, Steven; Tabatabaeipour, Morteza; Hettler, Jan; Van Den Abeele, Koen

2016-05-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a promising technology for the joining of aluminum alloys and other metallic admixtures that are hard to weld by conventional fusion welding. Although FSW generally provides better fatigue properties than traditional fusion welding methods, fatigue properties are still significantly lower than for the base material. Apart from voids, kissing bonds for instance, in the form of closed cracks propagating along the interface of the stirred and heat affected zone, are inherent features of the weld and can be considered as one of the main causes of a reduced fatigue life of FSW in comparison to the base material. The main problem with kissing bond defects in FSW, is that they currently are very difficult to detect using existing NDT methods. Besides, in most cases, the defects are not directly accessible from the exposed surface. Therefore, new techniques capable of detecting small kissing bond flaws need to be introduced. In the present paper, a novel and practical approach is introduced based on a nonlinear, single-sided, ultrasonic technique. The proposed inspection technique uses two single element transducers, with the first transducer transmitting an ultrasonic signal that focuses the ultrasonic waves at the bottom side of the sample where cracks are most likely to occur. The large amount of energy at the focus activates the kissing bond, resulting in the generation of nonlinear features in the wave propagation. These nonlinear features are then captured by the second transducer operating in pitch-catch mode, and are analyzed, using pulse inversion, to reveal the presence of a defect. The performance of the proposed nonlinear, pitch-catch technique, is first illustrated using a numerical study of an aluminum sample containing simple, vertically oriented, incipient cracks. Later, the proposed technique is also applied experimentally on a real-life friction stir welded butt joint containing a kissing bond flaw. Copyright © 2016

Ultrasonic defect detection method for socket welding joint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tominaga, Masaaki; Matsuo, Toshiyuki; Ueno, Akihiro; Watanabe, Kunimichi; Kawamata, Kunio.

1995-01-01

The present invention provides a method of detecting defects over a wide range of a socket weld portion of various kinds of pipelines used, for example, in a nuclear power plant. Namely, an inclined probe is disposed to a jig for detecting defects by ultrasonic waves. This is rotated at least by one turn along the peripheral surface of the material to be detected such as weld tube joints. Defects of weld portion of the material can be detected automatically by using ultrasonic waves during the rotation. The inclined probe for detecting defects by ultrasonic waves comprises a transmission portion having a planar transmittance oscillator disposed to a wedge on the transmission side and a receiving portion comprising a planar receiving oscillator disposed to a wedge on the receiving side. With such a constitution, ultrasonic waves are emitted from the transmission portion to the defect detection portion in the welded portion. If a defect is present, defective echo is reflected to the receiving portion disposed ahead of the probe. Since the defective echo changes depending on the height of the detective portion, the estimation of the height of the defect can be facilitated. (I.S.)

Real-time ultrasonic weld evaluation system

Science.gov (United States)

Katragadda, Gopichand; Nair, Satish; Liu, Harry; Brown, Lawrence M.

1996-11-01

Ultrasonic testing techniques are currently used as an alternative to radiography for detecting, classifying,and sizing weld defects, and for evaluating weld quality. Typically, ultrasonic weld inspections are performed manually, which require significant operator expertise and time. Thus, in recent years, the emphasis is to develop automated methods to aid or replace operators in critical weld inspections where inspection time, reliability, and operator safety are major issues. During this period, significant advances wee made in the areas of weld defect classification and sizing. Very few of these methods, however have found their way into the market, largely due to the lack of an integrated approach enabling real-time implementation. Also, not much research effort was directed in improving weld acceptance criteria. This paper presents an integrated system utilizing state-of-the-art techniques for a complete automation of the weld inspection procedure. The modules discussed include transducer tracking, classification, sizing, and weld acceptance criteria. Transducer tracking was studied by experimentally evaluating sonic and optical position tracking techniques. Details for this evaluation are presented. Classification is obtained using a multi-layer perceptron. Results from different feature extraction schemes, including a new method based on a combination of time and frequency-domain signal representations are given. Algorithms developed to automate defect registration and sizing are discussed. A fuzzy-logic acceptance criteria for weld acceptance is presented describing how this scheme provides improved robustness compared to the traditional flow-diagram standards.

Effect of acoustic softening on the thermal-mechanical process of ultrasonic welding.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kunkun; Zhang, Yansong; Wang, Hongze

2017-03-01

Application of ultrasonic energy can reduce the static stress necessary for plastic deformation of metallic materials to reduce forming load and energy, namely acoustic softening effect (ASE). Ultrasonic welding (USW) is a rapid joining process utilizing ultrasonic energy to form a solid state joint between two or more pieces of metals. Quantitative characterization of ASE and its influence on specimen deformation and heat generation is essential to clarify the thermal-mechanical process of ultrasonic welding. In the present work, experiments were set up to found out mechanical behavior of copper and aluminum under combined effect of compression force and ultrasonic energy. Constitutive model was proposed and numerical implemented in finite element model of ultrasonic welding. Thermal-mechanical analysis was put forward to explore the effect of ultrasonic energy on the welding process quantitatively. Conclusions can be drawn that ASE increases structural deformation significantly, which is beneficial for joint formation. Meanwhile, heat generation from both frictional work and plastic deformation is slightly influenced by ASE. Based on the proposed model, relationship between ultrasonic energy and thermal-mechanical behavior of structure during ultrasonic welding was constructed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pulsed infrared thermography for assessment of ultrasonic welds

Science.gov (United States)

McGovern, Megan E.; Rinker, Teresa J.; Sekol, Ryan C.

2018-03-01

Battery packs are a critical component in electric vehicles. During pack assembly, the battery cell tab and busbar are ultrasonically welded. The properties of the welds ultimately affect battery pack durability. Quality inspection of these welds is important to ensure durable battery packs. Pack failure is detrimental economically and could also pose a safety hazard, such as thermal runaway. Ultrasonic welds are commonly checked by measuring electrical resistance or auditing using destructive mechanical testing. Resistance measurements are quick, but sensitive to set-up changes. Destructive testing cannot represent the entire weld set. It is possible for a weak weld to satisfy the electrical requirement check, because only sufficient contact between the tabs and busbar is required to yield a low resistance measurement. Laboratory techniques are often not suitable for inline inspection, as they may be time-consuming, use couplant, or are only suitable for coupons. The complex surface geometry also poses difficulties for conventional nondestructive techniques. A method for inspection of ultrasonic welds is proposed using pulsed infrared thermography to identify discrepant welds in a manufacturing environment. Thermal measurements of welds were compared to electrical and mechanical measurements. The heat source distribution was calculated to obtain thermal images with high temporal and spatial resolution. All discrepant welds were readily identifiable using two thermographic techniques: pixel counting and the gradient image. A positive relationship between pixel count and mechanical strength was observed. The results demonstrate the potential of pulsed thermography for inline inspection, which can complement, or even replace, conventional electrical resistance measurements.

Welding of Aluminum Alloys to Steels: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

and deformations are a few examples of the unwanted consequences which somehow would lead to brittle fracture, fatigue fracture, shape instability...was made under the copper tips of the spot welding machine. The fatigue results showed higher fatigue strength of the joints with transition layer...kHz ultrasonic butt welding system with a vibration source applying eight bolt-clamped Langevin type PZT transducers and a 50 kW static induction

Testing of electron beam welding by ultrasonic transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Touffait, A.-M.; Roule, M.; Destribats, M.-T.

1978-01-01

Focalized ultrasonic testing is well adapted to the study of electron beam welding. This type of welding leads to narrow weld beads and to small dimension testing zones. Focalized transducers can be used enabling very small defects to be detected [fr

Research of the ultrasonic testing parts reconditioned by welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Petriceanu

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results obtained following the nondestructive ultrasonic testing of crankpin shaft of a crankshaft that were reconditioned by welding. After the ultrasonic testing, the reconditioned samples were cut and subjected to visual testing and microstructure examination. When the results obtained following the nondestructive tests were analyzed, it was observed that the ultrasonic nondestructive testing method is an efficient way to determine the conformity of the areas that were reconditioned by welding.

Ultrasonic Real-Time Quality Monitoring Of Aluminum Spot Weld Process

Science.gov (United States)

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

Microstructure and mechanical properties of resistance upset butt welded 304 austenitic stainless steel joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharifitabar, M.; Halvaee, A.; Khorshahian, S.

2011-01-01

Graphical abstract: Three different microstructural zones formed at different distances from the joint interface in resistance upset butt welding of 304 austenitic stainless steel. Highlights: → Evaluation of microstructure in resistance upset welding of 304 stainless steel. → Evaluation of welding parameters effects on mechanical properties of the joint. → Introducing the optimum welding condition for joining stainless steel bars. -- Abstract: Resistance upset welding (UW) is a widely used process for joining metal parts. In this process, current, time and upset pressure are three parameters that affect the quality of welded products. In the present research, resistance upset butt welding of 304 austenitic stainless steel and effect of welding power and upset pressure on microstructure, tensile strength and fatigue life of the joint were investigated. Microstructure of welds were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to distinguish the phase(s) that formed at the joint interface and in heat affected zone (HAZ). Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) linked to the SEM was used to determine chemical composition of phases formed at the joint interface. Fatigue tests were performed using a pull-push fatigue test machine and the fatigue properties were analyzed drawing stress-number of cycles to failure (S-N) curves. Also tensile strength tests were performed. Finally tensile and fatigue fracture surfaces were studied by SEM. Results showed that there were three different microstructural zones at different distances from the joint interface and delta ferrite phase has formed in these regions. There was no precipitation of chromium carbide at the joint interface and in the HAZ. Tensile and fatigue strengths of the joint decreased with welding power. Increasing of upset pressure has also considerable influence on tensile strength of the joint. Fractography of fractured samples showed that formation of hot spots at

Ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishino, Shunichi; Hida, Yoshio; Yamamoto, Michio; Ando, Tomozumi; Shirai, Tasuku.

1982-05-01

Ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless steel welds has been considered difficult because of the high noise level and remarkable attenuation of ultrasonic waves. To improve flaw detectability in this kind of steel, various inspection techniques have been studied. A series of tests indicated: (1) The longitudinal angle beam transducers newly developed during this study can detect 4.8 mm dia. side drilled holes in dissimilar metal welds (refraction angle: 55 0 from SUS side, 45 0 from CS side) and in cast stainless steel welds (refraction angle: 45 0 , inspection frequency: 1 MHz). (2) Cracks more than 5% t in depth in the heat affected zones of fine-grain stainless steel pipe welds can be detected by the 45 0 shear wave angle beam method (inspection frequency: 2 MHz). (3) The pattern recognition method using frequency analysis technology was presumed useful for discriminating crack signals from spurious echoes. (author)

Requirements to gap widths and clamping for CO2 laser butt welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gong, Hui; Juhl, Thomas Winther

1999-01-01

In the experimental study of fixturing and gap width requirements a clamping device for laser butt welding of steel sheets has been developed and tested. It has fulfilled the work and made the gap width experiments possible.It has shown that the maximum allowable gap width to some extent...... is inversely related to the welding speed. Also larger laser power leads to bigger allowable gap widths. The focal point position, though, has little influence on the maximum allowable gap width.During analysis X-ray photos show no interior porosity in the weld seam. Other methods have been applied to measure...... responses from variations in welding parameters.The table below lists the results of the study, showing the maximum allowable gap widths and some corresponding welding parameters.Maximum allowable Gap Width; Welding Speed; Laser Power:0.10 mm2 m/min2, 2.6 kW0.15 mm1 m/min2 kW0.20 mm1 m/min2.6 kW0.30 mm0.5 m...

The Effect of Welding Energy on the Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Ultrasonic-Welded Copper Joints

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jingwei; Cao, Biao; Lu, Qinghua

2017-01-01

The effects of welding energy on the mechanical and microstructural characteristics of ultrasonic-welded pure copper plates were investigated. Complex dynamic recrystallization and grain growth occurred inside the weld zone during ultrasonic welding. At a low welding energy, a thin band of straight weld interfaces was observed and had an ultra-fine grain structure. With an increase in welding energy, the weld interface progressively changed from flat to sinusoidal, and eventually turned into a convoluted wavy pattern, bearing similarities to shear instabilities, as observed in fluid dynamics. The lap shear load of the joints initially increased and then remained stable as the welding energy increased. The tensile characteristics of the joints significantly depended on the development of plastic deformation at the interface. The influence of the microstructure on the hardness was also discussed. PMID:28772553

Monitoring of PHWR end cap weld quality by ultrasonic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laxminarayana, B.

1996-01-01

In Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor fuel fabrication, the end cap welding is an important process. Till date about 16,000 welds have been studied ultrasonically. This paper discusses the experimental results and the design of a semi automatic ultrasonic equipment incorporating features for both backward and forward integration. (author)

The Effect of Weld Reinforcement and Post-Welding Cooling Cycles on Fatigue Strength of Butt-Welded Joints under Cyclic Tensile Loading.

Science.gov (United States)

Araque, Oscar; Arzola, Nelson; Hernández, Edgar

2018-04-12

This research deals with the fatigue behavior of butt-welded joints, by considering the geometry and post-welding cooling cycles, as a result of cooling in quiet air and immersed in water. ASTM A-36 HR structural steel was used as the base metal for the shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process with welding electrode E6013. The welding reinforcement was 1 mm and 3 mm, respectively; axial fatigue tests were carried out to determine the life and behavior in cracks propagation of the tested welded joints, mechanical characterization tests of properties in welded joints such as microhardness, Charpy impact test and metallographic analysis were carried out. The latter were used as input for the analysis by finite elements which influence the initiation and propagation of cracks and the evaluation of stress intensity factors (SIF). The latter led to obtaining the crack propagation rate and the geometric factor. The tested specimens were analyzed, by taking photographs of the cracks at its beginning in order to make a count of the marks at the origin of the crack. From the results obtained and the marks count, the fatigue crack growth rate and the influence of the cooling media on the life of the welded joint are validated, according to the experimental results. It can be concluded that the welded joints with a higher weld reinforcement have a shorter fatigue life. This is due to the stress concentration that occurs in the vicinity of the weld toe.

The Detection of Burn-Through Weld Defects Using Noncontact Ultrasonics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeynab Abbasi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nearly all manufactured products in the metal industry involve welding. The detection and correction of defects during welding improve the product reliability and quality, and prevent unexpected failures. Nonintrusive process control is critical for avoiding these defects. This paper investigates the detection of burn-through damage using noncontact, air-coupled ultrasonics, which can be adapted to the immediate and in-situ inspection of welded samples. The burn-through leads to a larger volume of degraded weld zone, providing a resistance path for the wave to travel which results in lower velocity, energy ratio, and amplitude. Wave energy dispersion occurs due to the increase of weld burn-through resulting in higher wave attenuation. Weld sample micrographs are used to validate the ultrasonic results.

Phased array ultrasonic testing of dissimilar metal pipe weld joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajeev, J.; Sankaranarayanan, R.; Sharma, Govind K; Joseph, A.; Purnachandra Rao, B.

2015-01-01

Dissimilar metal weld (DMW) joints made of stainless steel and ferritic steel is used in nuclear industries as well as oil and gas industries. These joints are prone to frequent failures which makes the non-destructive testing of dissimilar metal weld joints utmost important for reliable and safe operation of nuclear power plants and oil and gas industries. Ultrasonic inspection of dissimilar metal weld joints is still challenging due to the inherent anisotropic and highly scattering nature. Phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) is an advanced technique and its capability has not been fully explored for the inspection of dissimilar metal welds

Ultrasonic testing of electron beam closure weld on pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrews, R.W.

1975-01-01

One of the special products manufactured at the General Electric Neutron Devices Department (GEND) is a small stainless steel vessel designed to hold a component under high pressure for long periods. The vessel is a thick-walled cylinder with a threaded receptacle into which a plug is screwed and welded after receiving the unit to be tested. The test cavity is then pressurized through a small diameter opening in the bottom and that opening is welded closed. When x-ray inspection techniques did not reveal defective welds at the threaded plug in a pressured vessel, occasional ''leakers'' occurred. With normal equipment tolerances, the electron beam spike tends to wander from the desired path, particularly at the root of the weld. Ultrasonic techniques were used to successfully inspect the weld. The testing technique is based on the observation that ultrasonic energy is reflected from the unwelded screw threads and not from the regions where the threads are completely fused together by welding. Any gas pore or any threaded region outside the weld bead can produce an echo. The units are rotated while the ultrasonic transducer travels in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation and toward the welded end. This produces a helical scan which is converted to a two-dimensional presentation in which incomplete welds can be noted. (U.S.)

Evaluation of the Weldability in Spot Welding using Ultrasonic Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Min Sung; Kim, No Hyu

2005-01-01

Spot welding is the most widely used in automotive and aerospace industries. The quality of weld depends upon the size of nugget between the overlapped steel plates. Recently, the thickness of the steel plates is much thinner and hence, it introduces the smaller size of nugget. Therefore, it is necessary not only to develop the criterion to evaluate the quality of weld but also to obtain the optimal welding conditions for the better performance. In this paper, the steel plates, 0.5 mm through 1.5 mm thickness, have been spot welded at different welding conditions and the nugget sizes are examined by ultrasonic technique (C-scan type). The relationships between the nugget sizes and the weldability have been investigated. The result of ultrasonic technique shows the good agreement with that of the tensile test

Evaluation of the Weldability in Spot Welding using Ultrasonic Technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Min Sung [Ajou University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, No Hyu [Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

2005-06-15

Spot welding is the most widely used in automotive and aerospace industries. The quality of weld depends upon the size of nugget between the overlapped steel plates. Recently, the thickness of the steel plates is much thinner and hence, it introduces the smaller size of nugget. Therefore, it is necessary not only to develop the criterion to evaluate the quality of weld but also to obtain the optimal welding conditions for the better performance. In this paper, the steel plates, 0.5 mm through 1.5 mm thickness, have been spot welded at different welding conditions and the nugget sizes are examined by ultrasonic technique (C-scan type). The relationships between the nugget sizes and the weldability have been investigated. The result of ultrasonic technique shows the good agreement with that of the tensile test

Simulation and experimental study on distortion of butt and T-joints using WELD PLANNER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sulaiman, Mohd Shahar; Manurung, Yupiter HP; Rahim, Mohammad Ridzwan Abdul Mohd; Redza, Ridhwan; Lidam, Robert Ngendang Ak.; Abas, Sunhaji Kiyai; Tham, Ghalib; Haruman, Esa; Chau, Chan Yin

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the capability of linear thermal elastic numerical analysis to predict the welding distortion that occurs due to GMAW process. Distortion is considered as the major stumbling block that can adversely affect the dimensional accuracy and thus lead to expensive corrective work. Hence, forecast of distortion is crucially needed and ought to be determined in advance in order to minimize the negative effects, improve the quality of welded parts and finally to reduce the production costs. In this study, the welding deformation was simulated by using relatively new FEM software WELD PLANNER developed by ESI Group. This novel Welding Simulation Solution was employed to predict welding distortion induced in butt and T-joints with thickness of 4 mm. Low carbon steel material was used for the simulation and experimental study. A series of experiments using fully automated welding process were conducted for verification purpose to measure the distortion. By comparing between the simulation and experimental results, it was found out that this program code offered fast solution analysis time in estimating weld induced distortion within acceptable accuracy

Simulation and experimental study on distortion of butt and T-joints using WELD PLANNER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sulaiman, Mohd Shahar; Manurung, Yupiter HP; Rahim, Mohammad Ridzwan Abdul Mohd; Redza, Ridhwan; Lidam, Robert Ngendang Ak.; Abas, Sunhaji Kiyai; Tham, Ghalib [Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Haruman, Esa [Bakrie University, Jakarta (Indonesia); Chau, Chan Yin [ESI Group, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2011-10-15

This paper investigates the capability of linear thermal elastic numerical analysis to predict the welding distortion that occurs due to GMAW process. Distortion is considered as the major stumbling block that can adversely affect the dimensional accuracy and thus lead to expensive corrective work. Hence, forecast of distortion is crucially needed and ought to be determined in advance in order to minimize the negative effects, improve the quality of welded parts and finally to reduce the production costs. In this study, the welding deformation was simulated by using relatively new FEM software WELD PLANNER developed by ESI Group. This novel Welding Simulation Solution was employed to predict welding distortion induced in butt and T-joints with thickness of 4 mm. Low carbon steel material was used for the simulation and experimental study. A series of experiments using fully automated welding process were conducted for verification purpose to measure the distortion. By comparing between the simulation and experimental results, it was found out that this program code offered fast solution analysis time in estimating weld induced distortion within acceptable accuracy.

Primary water stress corrosion cracking resistance of alloy 690 heat affected zones of butt welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fournier, L.; Calonne, O.; Toloczko, M.B.; Bruemmer, S.M.; Massoud, J.P.; Lemaire, E.; Gerard, R.; Somville, F.; Richnau, A.; Lagerstrom, J.

2015-01-01

A wide V-groove butt weld was fabricated from Alloy 690 plates using Alloy 152 filler material, maximum allowable heat input, and very stiff strong-backs. Alloy 690 heat affected zones (HAZ) was characterized in terms of microstructure and plastic strains induced by weld shrinkage. Crack initiation tests were carried out in pure hydrogenated steam at 400 C. degrees for 4000 h. Crack growth rate tests were performed in simulated PWR primary water at a temperature of 360 C. degrees. A maximum plastic strain around 5% was measured in the vicinity of the fusion line, which decreased almost linearly with the distance from the fusion line. Crack initiation tests on Alloy 690 HAZ specimens as well as on 30% cold-rolled Alloy 690 specimens were performed in pure hydrogenated steam at 400 C. degrees (partial pressure of hydrogen = 0.7 bar) for a total of 4000 h using cylindrical notched tensile specimens, reverse U-bends and flat micro-tensile specimens. No crack initiation was detected. Stress corrosion propagation rates revealed extremely low SCC (Stress Corrosion Cracking) growth rates both in the base metal and in the HAZ region whose magnitudes are of no engineering significance. Overall, the results indicated limited plastic strain induced by weld shrinkage in butt weld HAZ, and to no particular susceptibility of primary water stress corrosion cracking. (authors)

Application of laser ultrasonic method for on-line monitoring of friction stir spot welding process.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Kuanshuang; Zhou, Zhenggan; Zhou, Jianghua

2015-09-01

Application of a laser ultrasonic method is developed for on-line monitoring of the friction stir spot welding (FSSW) process. Based on the technology of FSSW, laser-generated ultrasonic waves in a good weld and nonweld area are simulated by a finite element method. The reflected and transmitted waves are analyzed to disclose the properties of the welded interface. The noncontact-laser ultrasonic-inspection system was established to verify the numerical results. The reflected waves in the good-weld and nonweld area can be distinguished by time-of-flight. The transmitted waves evidently attenuate in the nonweld area in contrast to signal amplitude in the good weld area because of interfacial impedance difference. Laser ultrasonic C-scan images can sufficiently evaluate the intrinsic character of the weld area in comparison with traditional water-immersion ultrasonic testing results. The research results confirm that laser ultrasonics would be an effective method to realize the characterization of FSSW defects.

Ultrasonic creeping wave test technique for dissimilar metal weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Jianzhong; Shang Junmin; Yan Zhi; Yuan Guanghua; Zhang Guofeng

2009-01-01

To solve the problem encountered in the defect inspection of the surface and near-surface of dissimilar metal weld effectively, a new ultrasonic creeping wave test technique is developed. In this paper, the test technique and its experimental verification are mainly described. The verification results show that linear defect, which is similar to the defect found in liquid penetrant test, on the surface and near-surface of dissimilar metal weld can be detected effectively, by using ultrasonic creeping wave test technique. And the depth, length and height of the defect can be determined easily. The effective covering depth of ultrasonic creeping wave test technique will reach 0-9 mm. Meanwhile, the planar defect, with equivalent area more than 3 mm 2 , existed in welds can be detected efficiently. So, accurate measurement, which self height dimension of planar defect is above 2 mm, will be realized. (authors)

Wrought stainless steel butt-welding fittings: including reference to other corrosion resistant materials - approved 1971

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

ANSI B16.9 is the American Standard for steel butt-welding fittings and although not so stated, it is implied that its scope deals primarily with the schedules of wall thicknesses which are common to carbon steel and the grades of alloy steel piping that are selected for pressure and temperature considerations. The purpose of this standard is to provide industry with a set of dimensional standards for butt-welding fittings that can be used with these light wall pipes of corrosion resisting materials. The center-to-end dimensions of all fittings are identical with those in ANSI B16.9 which give to industry the advantage of uniform design room practice and a maximum utilization of existing die equipment. The only departure from this is in the lap-joint stub end where for purposes of economy the face-to-end of the product has been reduced for use with thin wall piping

77 FR 18266 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Revised...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-27

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-865-867 (Second Review)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Revised Schedule for the Subject Reviews AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission. ACTION: Notice. DATES: Effective Date: March...

Weld quality inspection using laser-EMAT ultrasonic system and C-scan method

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lei; Ume, I. Charles

2014-02-01

Laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique has attracted more and more interests in weld quality inspection because of its non-destructive and non-contact characteristics. When ultrasonic techniques are used to detect welds joining relative thin plates, the dominant ultrasonic waves present in the plates are Lamb waves, which propagate all through the thickness. Traditional Time of Flight(ToF) method loses its power. The broadband nature of laser excited ultrasound plus dispersive and multi-modal characteristic of Lamb waves make the EMAT acquired signals very complicated in this situation. Challenge rises in interpreting the received signals and establishing relationship between signal feature and weld quality. In this paper, the laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique was applied in a C-scan manner to record full wave propagation field over an area close to the weld. Then the effect of weld defect on the propagation field of Lamb waves was studied visually by watching an movie resulted from the recorded signals. This method was proved to be effective to detect the presence of hidden defect in the weld. Discrete wavelet transform(DWT) was applied to characterize the acquired ultrasonic signals and ideal band-pass filter was used to isolate wave components most sensitive to the weld defect. Different interactions with the weld defect were observed for different wave components. Thus this C-Scan method, combined with DWT and ideal band-pass filter, proved to be an effective methodology to experimentally study interactions of various laser excited Lamb Wave components with weld defect. In this work, the method was demonstrated by inspecting a hidden local incomplete penetration in weld. In fact, this method can be applied to study Lamb Wave interactions with any type of structural inconsistency. This work also proposed a ideal filtered based method to effectively reduce the total experimental time.

Characterization of magnetically impelled arc butt welded T11 tubes for high pressure applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Sivasankari

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Magnetically impelled arc butt (MIAB welding is a pressure welding process used for joining of pipes and tubes with an external magnetic field affecting arc rotation along the tube circumference. In this work, MIAB welding of low alloy steel (T11 tubes were carried out to study the microstructural changes occurring in thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ. To qualify the process for the welding applications where pressure could be up to 300 bar, the MIAB welds are studied with variations of arc current and arc rotation time. It is found that TMAZ shows higher hardness than that in base metal and displays higher weld tensile strength and ductility due to bainitic transformation. The effect of arc current on the weld interface is also detailed and is found to be defect free at higher values of arc currents. The results reveal that MIAB welded samples exhibits good structural property correlation for high pressure applications with an added benefit of enhanced productivity at lower cost. The study will enable the use of MIAB welding for high pressure applications in power and defence sectors.

Ultrasound influence on materials structure in parts reconditioned by welding with ultrasonic field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Dobrotă

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Research presented in the paper refers to the structural analysis of materials that are thermally influenced for loading by welding of pieces in the classical variant of manual coated electric arc welding and the version that in which the welding bath is activated by ultrasounds. The structural analysis made refer to: the size of the grains of the structure obtained under certain loading conditions through welding, grain size variation on the submission of a single layer in the ultrasonic field, the mode of solidification and fragmentation of grains when loaded in welding in a ultrasonic field, acceleration of the diffusion process for ultrasonic activation, the appearance of hard carbides between grains.

Microstructure feature of friction stir butt-welded ferritic ductile iron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Hung-Tu; Wang, Chaur-Jeng; Cheng, Chin-Pao

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Defect-free ferritic ductile iron joints is fabricated by FSW. • The welding nugget is composed of graphite, martensite, and recrystallized ferrite. • The graphite displays a striped pattern in the surface and advancing side. • The ferritic matrix transforms into martensite structure during welding. • High degree of plastic deformation is found on the advancing side. - Abstract: This study conducted friction stir welding (FSW) by using the butt welding process to join ferritic ductile iron plates and investigated the variations of microsturcture in the joined region formed after welding. No defects appeared in the resulting experimental weld, which was formed using a 3-mm thick ductile iron plate and tungsten carbide alloy stir rod to conduct FSW at a rotational speed of 982 rpm and traveling speed of 72 mm/min. The welding region was composed of deformed graphite, martensite phase, and dynamically recrystallized ferrite structures. In the surface region and on the advancing side (AS), the graphite displayed a striped configuration and the ferritic matrix transformed into martensite. On the retreating side (RS), the graphite surrounded by martensite remained as individual granules and the matrix primarily comprised dynamically recrystallized ferrite. After welding, diffusion increased the carbon content of the austenite around the deformed graphite nodules, which transformed into martensite during the subsequent cooling process. A micro Vickers hardness test showed that the maximum hardness value of the martensite structures in the weld was approximately 800 HV. An analysis using an electron probe X-ray microanalyzer (EPMA) indicated that its carbon content was approximately 0.7–1.4%. The peak temperature on the RS, 8 mm from the center of the weld, measured 630 °C by the thermocouple. Overall, increased severity of plastic deformation and process temperature near the upper stir zone (SZ) resulted in distinct phase transformation

Design and development of Pc-based TOFD ultrasonic scanning system for welds inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suhairy Sani; Mohamad Pauzi Ismai; Muhammad Faiz Mohd Shukri; Amry Amin Abas

2010-01-01

This paper describes the design and development of a portable PC-based ultrasonic scanning system for industrial applications. The system which is called TOFD Ultrasonic Scanning System (TOFUSS) is used to create a gray scale imaging techniques are applied to the RF (AC) signal phase and enables weld integrity to be observed in real time. TOFD consists of a separate ultrasonic transmitter and receiver. The Probes are aimed at the same point in the weld volume. The entire weld is flooded with ultrasound allowing inspection of the weld. With a time of flight path, the ultrasonic velocity and the spatial relationship of the two probes, location and height of the defects can be very accurately calculated. The algorithm and complete system were implemented in a computer software developed using Microsoft Visual BASIC 6.0. (author)

Aluminum 6060-T6 friction stir welded butt joints: fatigue resistance with different tools and feed rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baragetti, S.; D'Urso, G.

2014-01-01

The fatigue behavior of AA6060-T6 friction stir welded butt joints was investigated. The joints were produced by using both a standard and a threaded tri-flute cylindrical-tool with flat shoulder. The friction stir welding process was carried out using different feed rates. Preliminary tensile tests, micrograph analyses and hardness profile measurements across the welds were carried out. Welded and unwelded fatigue samples were tested under axial loading (R = 0.1) with upper limits of 10 4 and 10 5 cycles, using threaded and unthreaded (standard) tools at different feed rates. The best tensile and fatigue performance was obtained using the standard tool at low feed rate.

Phased Array Ultrasonic Evaluation of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Nozzle Weld

Science.gov (United States)

James, Steve; Engel, J.; Kimbrough, D.; Suits, M.; Hopson, George (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of the phased array ultrasonic evaluation of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) nozzle weld. Details are given on the nondestructive testing evaluation approach, conventional shear wave and phased array techniques, and an x-ray versus phased array risk analysis. The field set-up was duplicated to the greatest extent possible in the laboratory and the phased array ultrasonic technique was developed and validated prior to weld evaluation. Results are shown for the phased array ultrasonic evaluation and conventional ultrasonic evaluation results.

Ultrasonic C-scan Technique for Nondestructive Evaluation of Spot Weld Quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Ik Gun

1994-01-01

This paper discusses the feasibility of ultrasonic C-scan technique for nondestructive evaluation of spot weld quality. Ultrasonic evaluation for spot weld quality was performed by immersion method with the mechanical and the electronic scanning of point-focussed ultrasonic beam(25 MHz). For the sake of the approach to the quantitative measurement of nugget diameter and the discrimination of the corona bond from nugget, preliminary infinitesimal gap experiment by newton ring is tried in order to set up the optimum ultrasonic test condition. Ultrasonic image data obtained were confirmed and compared by optical microscope and SAM(Scanning Acoustic Microscope) observation of the spot-weld cross section. The results show that the nugget diameter can be measured with the accuracy of 1.0mm, and voids included in nugget can be detected to 10μm extent with simplicity and accuracy. Finally, it was found that it is necessary to make a profound study of definite discrimination of corona bond from nugget and the approach of quantitative evaluation of nugget diameter by utilizing the various image processing techniques

76 FR 5205 - Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-28

...)] Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand AGENCY: United... Thailand. SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of expedited reviews pursuant to..., Taiwan, and Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a...

75 FR 60814 - Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...)] Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand AGENCY: United... Thailand. SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted reviews pursuant to section... Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section 751...

Experimental assessment of the influence of welding process parameters on Lamb wave transmission across ultrasonically welded thermoplastic composite joints

Science.gov (United States)

Ochôa, Pedro; Fernandez Villegas, Irene; Groves, Roger M.; Benedictus, Rinze

2018-01-01

One of the advantages of thermoplastic composites relative to their thermoset counterparts is the possibility of assembling components through welding. Ultrasonic welding in particular is very promising for industrialization. However, uncertainty in the fatigue and fracture behaviour of composites is still an obstacle to the full utilisation of these materials. Health monitoring is then of vital importance, and Lamb wave techniques have been widely recognised as some of the most promising approaches for that end. This paper presents the first experimental study about the influence of welding travel on the transmission of Lamb waves across ultrasonically welded thermoplastic composite joints in single-lap configuration. The main aim of this research is to start to understand how guided waves interact with the internal structure of ultrasonic welds, so that benign, manufacturing-related structural features can be distinguished from damaging ones in signal interpretation. The power transmission coefficient and the correlation coefficient proved to be suitable for analysing the wave propagation phenomena, allowing quantitative identification of small variations of weld-line thickness and intermolecular diffusion at the weld interface. The conclusions are used to develop a tentative damage detection criterion which can later on assist the design of a Lamb wave based structural health monitoring system for thermoplastic composite structures. The Lamb wave test results are backed up by phased-array inspections, which also provide some extra insight on the internal structure of ultrasonic welds.

Thermo-mechanical FE-analysis of butt-welding of a Cu-Fe canister for spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Josefson, B.L.; Karlsson, L.; Lindgren, L.E.; Jonsson, M.

1992-10-01

In the Swedish nuclear waste program it has been proposed that spent nuclear fuel shall be placed in composite copper-steel canisters. These canisters will be placed in holes in tunnels located some 500 m underground in a rock storage. The canisters consists of two cylinders of 4850 mm length, one inner cylinder made of steel and one outer cylinder made of copper. The outer diameter of the canister is 880 mm and the wall thickness for each cylinder is 50 mm. At the storage, the steel cylinder, which contains the spent nuclear fuel, is placed inside the copper cylinder. Thereafter, a copper end is butt welded to the copper cylinder using electron beam welding. To obtain penetration through the thickness with this weld method a backing ring is placed at the inside of the copper cylinder. In the present paper, the temperature, strain and stress fields present during welding and after cooling after welding are calculated numerically using the FE-code NIKE-2D. The aim is to use the results of the present calculations to estimate the risk for creep fracture during the subsequent design life. A large strain formulation is employed for the calculation of transient and residual stresses in the canister based on the calculated history of the temperature field present in the canister during the welding process. The contact algorithm available in NIKE-2D is used to detect possible contact between the steel and copper cylinders during the welding. To simplify the numerical calculations and reduce the computational time, rotational symmetry is assumed. For large gap distances between the steel and copper cylinders the residual stress field is calculated to have a shape similar to that observed in butt welded pipes with maximum axial stress values at the yield stress level. For small gap distances the backing ring will come in contact with the steel cylinder which leads to large residual stresses in the backing ring. The maximum accumulated plastic strain in the weld metal and

Development of injection moulded, ultrasonically welded immiscible phase filtration devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kistrup, Kasper

for ultrasonic welding, suitable for microfluidic systems. A methodology has been established where energy directors can be quickly added to existing mould inserts, using laser micromachining. The produced device was performance tested by isolating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from bovine whole....... The device appliesmagnetic bead-based solid-phase extraction for nucleic acid extraction from biological samples, using the immiscible phase filtration (IPF) approach. Device development has employed injection moulding for part fabrication and ultrasonic welding for bonding. Rapid prototyping...

Inspection of austenitic welds with ultrasonic phased array technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, A.; Fernandez, F. [Tecnatom (Spain); Dutruc, R.; Ferriere, R. [Metalscan (France)

2011-07-01

This series of slides presents the use of ultrasonic phased array technology in the inspection of austenitic welds. The inspection from outside surface (the inspection is performed in contact using wedges to couple the probe to the outer surface of the component) shows that longitudinal wave is the most adequate for perpendicular scans and transversal ultrasonic wave is the most adequate for parallel scans. Detection and length sizing are performed optimally in perpendicular scans. The inspection from inside surface shows: -) Good results in the detection of defects (Sizing has met the requirements imposed by the Authority of the Russian Federation); -) The new design of the mechanical equipment and of the numerous ultrasonic beams refracted by the array probes has increased the volume inspected. The design of the mechanical equipment has also allowed new areas to be inspected (example a piping weld that was not accessible from the outer surface; -) The ultrasonic procedure and Inspection System developed have been validated by the Authority of the Russian Federation. Phase array technique supplies solutions to solve accessibility concerns and improve the ultrasonic inspections of nuclear components

76 FR 19788 - Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-08

...)] Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand Determinations On... fittings from Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time. \\1...

Automated ultrasonic pipe weld inspection. Part 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karl Deutsch, W.A.; Schulte, P.; Joswig, M.; Kattwinkel, R.

2006-01-01

This article contains a brief overview on automated ultrasonic welded inspection for various pipe types. Some inspection steps might by carried out with portable test equipment (e.g. pipe and test), but the weld inspection in all internationally relevant specification must be automated. The pipe geometry, the production process, and the pipe usage determine the number of required probes. Recent updates for some test specifications enforce a large number of ultrasonic probes, e.g. the Shell standard. Since seamless pipes are sometimes replaced by ERW pipes and LSAW pipes (in both cases to save production cost), the inspection methods change gradually between the various pipe types. Each testing system is unique and shows its specialties which have to be discussed by supplier, testing system user and final customer of the pipe. (author)

Tool material effect on the friction stir butt welding of AA2124-T4 Alloy Matrix MMC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yahya Bozkurt

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present work is to study on the effect of material properties tool on friction stir butt welding of AA2124-T4 alloy matrix MMC. Uncoated tool, coated tool with a CrN, and coated tool with AlTiN were used to weld aluminum MMC plates. Macrostructure and microstructure observations, ultimate tensile strength, wear resistance, and chemical analysis were carried out to determine the appropriate tool for joining these composite plates. Results showed that the good welded joints could be obtained when a tool is coated with AlTiN.

Ultrasonic Spot and Torsion Welding of Aluminum to Titanium Alloys: Process, Properties and Interfacial Microstructure

Science.gov (United States)

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.

TEM analysis of a friction stir-welded butt joint of Al-Si-Mg alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabibbo, M.; Meccia, E.; Evangelista, E.

2003-01-01

The microstructure evolution of a joint of Al-Si-Mg alloys A6056-T4 and A6056-T6 has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Metallurgical investigations, hardness and mechanical tests were also performed to correlate the TEM investigations to the mechanical properties of the produced friction stir-welded butt joint. After friction stir-welding thermal treatment has been carried out at 530 deg. C followed by ageing at 160 deg. C (T6). The base material (T4) and the heat-treated one (T6) were put in comparison showing a remarkable ductility reduction of the joint after T6 treatment

Structural Phase Evolution in Ultrasonic-Assisted Friction Stir Welded 2195 Aluminum Alloy Joints

Science.gov (United States)

Eliseev, A. A.; Fortuna, S. V.; Kalashnikova, T. A.; Chumaevskii, A. V.; Kolubaev, E. A.

2017-10-01

The authors examined the structural and phase state of fixed joints produced by method of friction stir welding (FSW) and ultrasonic-assisted friction stir welding (UAFSW) from extruded profile of aluminum alloy AA2195. In order to identify the role of ultrasonic application in the course of welding, such characteristics, as volume fraction and average size of secondary particles are compared in the base material and stir zones of FSW and UAFSW joints. By applying the methods of SEM and TEM analysis, researchers established the complex character of phase transitions as a result of ultrasonic application.

Ultrasonic test data acquisition and defect verification of stainless-steel welds at 4000F

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mech, S.J.

1983-01-01

This paper describes techniques developed to characterize the features found during ultrasonic examination of stainless steel welds which are indicative of defects. Feature inspection technology allows reliable discrimination weld signals and other noise under remote, automatic, high temperature conditions. Ultrasonic feature inspection techniques have been successfully implemented under 400 0 F (200 0 C) flowing sodium pipe welds. The challenge is to develop techniques which find defects, but ignore variations associated with the normal cast type microstructure of the weld zone. This study was directed at gathering data on a welded pipe section with notches used to simulate defects and is an example of computer acquisition and analysis techniques of ultrasonic data. Various analysis methods were compared to find signal analysis algorithms sensitive to these simulated defects

Ultrasonic inspection of the strength member weld of transit and pioneer heat sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudley, W.A.

1975-01-01

A nondestructive technique was developed which allows ultrasonic inspection of the closure weld for the strength member component in plutonium-238 radioisotopic heat sources. The advantage of the ultrasonic approach, over that of the more commonly used radiographic one, is the recognized superiority of ultrasonic testing for identifying lack-of-weld penetration (LOP) when accompanied by incomplete diffusion bonding. The ultrasonic technique, a transverse mode scan of the weld for detection of LOP, is primarily accomplished by use of a holding fixture which permits the vented heat source to be immersed into an inspection tank. The mechanical portion of the scanning system is a lathe modified with an inspection tank and a manipulator. This scanning system has been used in the past to inspect SNAP-27 heat sources. The analyzer-transducer combination used in the inspection is capable of detecting a channel type flaw with a side wall depth of 0.076 mm (0.003 in.) in a weld standard. (U.S.)

Ultrasonic inspection of AA6013 laser welded joints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriano Passini

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Interest in laser beam welding for aerospace applications is continuously growing, mainly for aluminum alloys. The joints quality is usually assessed by non-destructive inspection (NDI. In this work, bead on plate laser welds on 1.6 mm thick AA6013 alloy sheets, using a 2 kW Yb-fiber laser were obtained and inspected by pulse/echo ultrasonic phased-array technique. Good and poor quality welds were inspected in order to verify the limits of inspection, comparing also to X-ray radiography and metallographic inspections. The results showed that ultrasonic phased array technique was able to identify the presence of grouped porosity, through the attenuation of the amplitude of the echo signal. This attenuation is attributed to the scattering of the waves caused by micro pores, with individual size below the resolution limit of the equipment, but when grouped, can cause a perceptive effect on the reflection spectra.

Spatially resolved ultrasonic attenuation in resistance spot welds: implications for nondestructive testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozurkewich, George; Ghaffari, Bita; Potter, Timothy J

2008-09-01

Spatial variation of ultrasonic attenuation and velocity has been measured in plane parallel specimens extracted from resistance spot welds. In a strong weld, attenuation is larger in the nugget than in the parent material, and the region of increased attenuation is surrounded by a ring of decreased attenuation. In the center of a stick weld, attenuation is even larger than in a strong weld, and the low-attenuation ring is absent. These spatial variations are interpreted in terms of differences in grain size and martensite formation. Measured frequency dependences indicate the presence of an additional attenuation mechanism besides grain scattering. The observed attenuations do not vary as commonly presumed with weld quality, suggesting that the common practice of using ultrasonic attenuation to indicate weld quality is not a reliable methodology.

Advanced ultrasonic techniques for nondestructive testing of austenitic and dissimilar welds in nuclear facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Juengert, Anne; Dugan, Sandra; Homann, Tobias; Mitzscherling, Steffen; Prager, Jens; Pudovikov, Sergey; Schwender, Thomas

2018-04-01

Austenitic stainless steel welds as well as dissimilar metal welds with nickel alloy filler material, used in safety relevant parts of nuclear power plants, still challenge the ultrasonic inspection. The weld material forms large oriented grains that lead, on the one hand, to high sound scattering and, on the other hand, to inhomogeneity and to the acoustic anisotropy of the weld structure. The ultrasonic wave fronts do not propagate linearly, as in ferritic weld joints, but along the curves, which depend on the specific grain structure of the weld. Due to the influence of these phenomena, it is difficult to analyze the inspection results and to classify the ultrasonic indications, which could be both from the weld geometry and from the material defects. A correct flaw sizing is not possible. In an ongoing research project, different techniques to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing at these kinds of welds are investigated. In a first step (in the previous research project) two ultrasonic inspection techniques were developed and validated on plane test specimens with artificial and realistic flaws. In the ongoing project, these techniques are applied to circumferential pipe welds with longitudinal and transverse flaws. The technique developed at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Germany uses a combination of ray tracing and synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). To investigate the unknown grain structure, the velocity distribution of weld-transmitting ultrasound waves is measured and used to model the weld by ray tracing. The second technique, developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing (IZFP) in Germany, uses Sampling Phased Array (Full Matrix Capture) combined with the reverse phase matching (RPM) and the gradient elastic constant descent algorithm (GECDM). This inspection method is able to estimate the elastic constants of the columnar grains in the weld and offers an improvement of the

Prediction of residual stresses and distortions due to laser beam welding of butt joints in pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraitis, G.A.; Labeas, G.N.

2009-01-01

A two-level three-dimensional Finite Element (FE) model has been developed to predict keyhole formation and thermo-mechanical response during Laser Beam Welding (LBW) of steel and aluminium pressure vessel or pipe butt-joints. A very detailed and localized (level-1) non-linear three-dimensional transient thermal model is initially developed, which simulates the mechanisms of keyhole formation, calculates the temperature distribution in the local weld area and predicts the keyhole size and shape. Subsequently, using a laser beam heat source model based on keyhole assumptions, a global (level-2) thermo-mechanical analysis of the LBW butt-joint is performed, from which the joint residual stresses and distortions are calculated. All the major physical phenomena associated to LBW, such as laser heat input via radiation, heat losses through convection and radiation, as well as latent heat are accounted for in the numerical model. Material properties and particularly enthalpy, which is very important due to significant material phase changes, are introduced as temperature-dependent functions. The main advantages of the developed model are its efficiency, flexibility and applicability to a wide range of LBW problems (e.g. welding for pressure vessel or pipework construction, welding of automotive, marine or aircraft components, etc). The model efficiency arises from the two-scale approach applied. Minimal or no experimental data are required for the keyhole size and shape computation by the level-1 model, while the thermo-mechanical response calculation by the level-2 model requires only process and material data. Therefore, it becomes possible to efficiently apply the developed simulation model to different material types and varying welding parameters (i.e. welding speed, heat source power, joint geometry, etc.) in order to control residual stresses and distortions within the welded structure

Developments of modeling tools for the ultrasonic propagation in bimetallic welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardahaut, A.

2013-01-01

This study fits into the field of ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation. It consists in the development of a dynamic ray tracing model to simulate the ultrasonic propagation in bimetallic welds. The approach has been organised in three steps. First of all, an image processing technique has been developed and applied on the macro-graphs of the weld in order to obtain a smooth cartography of the crystallographic orientation. These images are used as input data for a dynamic ray tracing model adapted to the study of anisotropic and inhomogeneous media such as bimetallic welds. Based on a kinematic and a dynamic ray tracing model, usually used in geophysics, it allows the evaluation of ray trajectories between a source point and an observation point, and the computation of the ultrasonic amplitude through the geometrical spreading of an elementary ray tube. This model has been validated in 2D by comparison of the results with a hybrid semi-analytical/finite elements code, then in 3D thanks to experimental results made on the mock-ups of the studied bimetallic welds. (author) [fr

Modification of the grain structure of austenitic welds for improved ultrasonic inspectability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, S.; Dugan, S.; Stubenrauch, S.; Jacobs, O.

2012-01-01

Austenitic stainless steel welds, which are widely used for example in nuclear power plants and chemical installations, present major challenges for ultrasonic inspection due to the grain structure of the weld. Large grains in combination with the elastic anisotropy of the material lead to increased scattering and affect sound wave propagation in the weld. This results in a reduced signal-to-noise ratio, and complicates the interpretation of signals and the localization of defects. The aim of this project is to influence grain growth in the weld during the welding process to produce smaller grains, in order to improve sound propagation through the weld, thus improving inspectability. Metallographic sections of the first test welds have shown that a modification of the grain structure can be achieved by influencing the grain growth with magnetic fields. For further optimization, test blocks for ultrasonic testing were manufactured to study sound propagation through the weld and detectability of test flaws.

Ultrasonic phased array examination of circumferential weld joint in reactor pressure vessel of BWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nanekar, Paritosh, E-mail: pnanekar@barc.gov.in [Quality Assurance Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085 (India); Jothilakshmi, N. [Quality Assurance Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085 (India); Jayakumar, T. [Metallurgy and Materials Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam (India)

2013-12-15

Highlights: • Phased array technique developed for weld joint inspection in BWR pressure vessel. • Simulation studies were carried out for conventional and phased array probe. • Conventional ultrasonic test shows in-adequate weld coverage and poor resolution. • Focused sound beam in phased array results in good resolution and sensitivity. • Ultrasonic phased array technique is validated on mock-up with reference defects. - Abstract: The weld joints in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) are required to be examined periodically for assurance of structural integrity. Ultrasonic phased array examination technique has been developed in authors’ laboratory for inspection of the top flange to shell circumferential weld joint in RPV of BWRs, which are in operation in India since the late 1960s. The development involved detailed simulation studies for computation of focal laws followed by validation on mock-up. The paper brings out the limitations of the conventional ultrasonic technique and how this can be overcome by the phased array approach for the weld joint under consideration. The phased array technique was successfully employed for field examination of this weld joint in RPV during the re-fuelling outage.

The improvement of ultrasonic characteristics in weld metal of austenitic stainless steel using magnetic stirring method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arakawa, T.; Tomisawa, Y.

1988-01-01

The magnetic stirring welding process was tested to save the difficulty of ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless steel overlayed welds, due to grain refinement of weld solidification structure. The testing involved stirring the molten pool with Lorenz force induced by the interaction of welding current and alternative magnetic field applied from the outside magnetic coil. This report summarizes improvement of ultrasonic characteristic in austenitic stainless steel overlayed welds caused by magnetic stirring welding process

Identification of the Quality Spot Welding used Non Destructive Test-Ultrasonic Testing: (Effect of Welding Time)

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Numerical Simulation of Heat and Flow Behaviors in Butt-fusion Welding Process of HDPE Pipes with Curved Fusion Surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Jae Hyun; Ahn, Kyung Hyun [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Sunwoong; Oh, Ju Seok [Hannam University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-08-15

Butt-fusion welding process is used to join the polymeric pipes. Recently, some researchers suggest the curved surface to enhance a welding quality. We investigated how curved welding surface affects heat and flow behaviors of polymer melt during the process in 2D axisymmetric domain with finite element method, and discussed the effect to the welding quality. In this study, we considered HDPE pipes. In heat soak stage, curved phase interface between the melt and solid is shown along the shape of welding surface. In jointing stage, squeezing flow is generated between curved welding surface and phase interface. The low shear rate in fusion domain reduces the alignment of polymer to the perpendicular direction of pipes, and then this phenomenon is expected to help to enhance the welding quality.

Effect of current and speed on porosity in autogenous Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding of aluminum alloys A1100 butt joint

Science.gov (United States)

Milyardi, Indra; Sunar Baskoro, Ario

2018-04-01

Autogenous Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding has been conducted on aluminum alloy A1100. The purpose of this research is to determine the proper current and speed of autogenous TIG welding with butt joint pattern. Variations on welding current are 150 A, 155 A, and 160 A with the variations on welding speed are 1 mm/seconds, 1.1 mm/seconds, 1.2 mm/seconds. The welded results were tested using non-destructive test (NDT) method using X-Ray radiography. After the test, it is found that the appropriate current for the best result without porosity can be achieved using the welding parameter of welding current of 160 A and the welding speed of 1.1 mm seconds.

Modification of the grain structure of austenitic welds for improved ultrasonic inspectability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, Sabine; Dugan, Sandra; Stubenrauch, Steffen; Jacobs, Oliver

2013-01-01

Welding is an essential part of the fabrication of austenitic stainless steel components used in industrial plants, such as those designed for nuclear power generation, chemical processing, conventional power generation and, increasingly, for production of renewable energy. The welded austenitic material presents major challenges for ultrasonic inspection due to the grain structure of the weld metal. The typically coarse grain structure, in combination with the elastic anisotropy of the material, leads to increased scattering and affects sound wave propagation in the weld. These effects result in a reduced signal-to-noise ratio, and complicate the interpretation of signals and the localisation of defects by ultrasonic inspection. This paper presents the results of a research project dealing with efforts to influence grain growth in the weld during the welding process, in particular during the solidification process, in order to produce smaller grains. The objective was to achieve improved sound propagation through the weld, so that inspectability can be improved. The welding process was modified by the application of alternating magnetic fields at different frequencies, as well as different temperature cycles and pulsed arc technology. Metallographic sections of the test welds show that modification of the grain structure can be achieved by the use of these techniques. For further optimisation, test blocks for ultrasonic testing were manufactured with testflaws to study sound propagation through the modified weld and to assess the detectability of test flaws. The results of this investigation are of importance in assessing the integrity of highly stressed components in industrial installations, particularly for those components with stringent requirements on safety and quality.

Characterization of the ultrasonic welding process in the production of women's health devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morales Elizondo, Jenniffer

2014-01-01

The characterization of the ultrasonic welding process in the area of women's health is performed to determine appropriate levels for the critical variables of the process to guarantee the quality specifications of the devices. The handle of the product A is detached. The assembly was made under pressure. Available technologies have been studied to comply with the regulations of medical industry to propose a change in process to a product B. The ultrasonic technology is used to weld the handle of the device to prevent the release of the two parts of the handle of the medical device. A variable characterization process was performed to determine which variables are critical to the process and define the operation parameters of ultrasonic welding. A number of designs of experiments is carried out, first the parameters behavior of the equipment is evaluated to analyze which have greater influence on the quality of the weld. A full factorial design was developed with all process input variables and input variables that are significant was performed another series of designs of experiments to determine the parameters of the process.The conclusion for the ultrasonic welding process in the product B has been that the critical variables or that have had a greater influence on the quality and appearance in experienced designs are: pressure and soldier collapse. The process of ultrasonic welded cycle has started to arrive at the value of driving force that tells the computer. The input variable is recommended to be the lowest possible to weld components using the ordering of particles product of ultrasonic welded avoiding compression component. (author) [es

A Study on the Saving Method of Plate Jigs in Hull Block Butt Welding

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Dae-Eun

2017-11-01

A large amount of plate jigs is used for alignment of welding line and control of welding deformations in hull block assembly stage. Besides material cost, the huge working man-hours required for working process of plate jigs is one of the obstacles in productivity growth of shipyard. In this study, analysis method was proposed to simulate the welding deformations of block butt joint with plate jigs setting. Using the proposed analysis method, an example simulation was performed for actual panel block joint to investigate the saving method of plate jigs. Results show that it is possible to achieve two objectives of quality accuracy of the hull block and saving the plate jig usage at the same time by deploying the plate jigs at the right places. And the proposed analysis method can be used in establishing guidelines for the proper use of plate jigs in block assembly stage.

Influence of the phase morphology on the weldability of PLA/PBAT-blends by using butt-welding

Science.gov (United States)

Goebel, L.; Bonten, C.

2014-05-01

The material development in the field of bioplastics is steadily increasing. It is important to examine the processability but the Investigation of further process steps is also very important. In this paper the weldability of bioplastics is discussed. Compounds of Polylactide (PLA) and Polybutyleneadipate-terephthalate (PBAT) are produced by a twin screw extruder with different mixing ratios. Tensile specimens are produced by injection moulding and the tensile tests are carried out. In order to verify the weldability, some tensile specimens are cut in halfes and butt welded. Afterwards a tensile test is performed with the welded samples and the results are compared with the values of the unwelded samples. For understanding the results, the morphology of the welds were examined and correlated. It has been found that blends with a mixing ratio of 50:50 have the lowest welding factor, because of the immiscibility of PLA and PBAT. Weld images show segregated areas that reduce the force transmission.

Ultrasonic diagnosis of spot welding in thin plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, No You; Hong, Min Sung

2005-01-01

Spot welding widely used in automotive and aerospace industries has made it possible to produce more precise and smaller electric part by robotization and systemization of welding process. The quality of welding depends upon the size of nugget between the overlapped steel plates. Recently, the thickness of the steel plates becomes much thinner and hence, it introduces the smaller size of nugget. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the criterion to evaluate the quality of weld in order to obtain the optimal welding conditions for the better performance. In this paper, a thin steel plates, 0.1 mm through 0.3 mm thickness, have been spot-welded at different welding conditions and the nugget sizes are examined by defocused scanning microscopy. The relationships between nugget sizes and weldability have been investigated experimentally. The result of ultrasonic technique shows the good agreement with that of the tensile test.

Parametric Study of Defect Detection in Pipes with Bend Using Guided Ultrasonic Waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jack Tan Jin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The propagation behaviour of guided ultrasonic waves in a steel pipe with welded bend is studied by finite element simulation. The effectiveness of the longitudinal L(0,2 and torsional T(0,1 guided waves in detecting circumferential cut near the weld is investigated. In order to identify the presence of the defect, the reflection strength due to the cut is studied. The geometry of the weld is constructed based on common V-bevel butt joints and the anisotropy of the 316L stainless steel weld is included to correctly predict the scattering of ultrasonic waves. The finite element model is built to allow high accuracy. Detection of small circumferential cut (up to 60° circumferential extent can be achieved with longitudinal L(0,2 mode. Detection of moderate to large circumferential cut can be achieved by torsional T(0,1 or longitudinal L(0,2 modes, with T(0,1 mode preferred due to its less mode conversion to higher order modes.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Butt Welding of 2205/X65 Bimetallic Sheet and Study on the Inhomogeneity of the Properties of the Welded Joint

Science.gov (United States)

Gou, Ning-Nian; Zhang, Jian-Xun; Wang, Jian-Long; Bi, Zong-Yue

2017-04-01

The explosively welded 2205 duplex stainless steel/X65 pipe steel bimetallic sheets were butt jointed by multilayer and multi-pass welding (gas tungsten arc welding for the flyer and gas metal arc welding for the transition and parent layers of the bimetallic sheets). The microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joint were investigated. The results showed that in the thickness direction, microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joint exhibited obvious inhomogeneity. The microstructures of parent filler layers consisted of acicular ferrite, widmanstatten ferrite, and a small amount of blocky ferrite. The microstructure of the transition layer and flyer layer consisted of both austenite and ferrite structures; however, the transition layer of weld had a higher volume fraction of austenite. The results of the microhardness test showed that in both weld metal (WM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the parent filler layers, the average hardness decreased with the increasing (from parent filler layer 1 to parent filler layer 3) welding heat input. The results of hardness test also indicated that the hardness of the WM and the HAZ for the flyer and transition layers was equivalent. The tensile test combined with Digital Specklegram Processing Technology demonstrated that the fracturing of the welded joint started at the HAZ of the flyer, and then the fracture grew toward the base metal of the parent flyer near the parent HAZ. The stratified impact test at -5 °C showed that the WM and HAZ of the flyer exhibited lower impact toughness, and the fracture mode was ductile and brittle mixed fracture.

Variant selection of martensites in steel welded joints with low transformation temperature weld metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Masaru; Yasuda, Hiroyuki Y.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We examined the variant selection of martensites in the weld metals. ► We also measured the residual stress developed in the butt and box welded joints. ► 24 martensite variants were randomly selected in the butt welded joint. ► High tensile residual stress in the box welded joint led to the strong variant selection. ► We discussed the rule of the variant selection focusing on the residual stress. -- Abstract: Martensitic transformation behavior in steel welded joints with low transformation temperature weld (LTTW) metal was examined focusing on the variant selection of martensites. The butt and box welded joints were prepared with LTTW metals and 980 MPa grade high strength steels. The residual stress of the welded joints, which was measured by a neutron diffraction technique, was effectively reduced by the expansion of the LTTW metals by the martensitic transformation during cooling after the welding process. In the LTTW metals, the retained austenite and martensite phases have the Kurdjumov–Sachs (K–S) orientation relationship. The variant selection of the martensites in the LTTW metals depended strongly on the type of welded joints. In the butt welded joint, 24 K–S variants were almost randomly selected while a few variants were preferentially chosen in the box welded joint. This suggests that the high residual stress developed in the box welded joint accelerated the formation of specific variants during the cooling process, in contrast to the butt welded joint with low residual stress

Improving productivity and quality in plastic and thin metallic plates manufacturing by using ultrasonic welding processes

OpenAIRE

Dehelean,D.; Oanca,O.

2009-01-01

The paper presents an overview of the research done at the Romanian National R&D Institute for Welding and Material Testing ISIM Timisoara in the field of ultrasonic process development. It starts with a general presentation of the value added by the welding sector in Europe. There are presented figures representing the size of the welding sector in Romania. The need of development of new high efficiency welding processes is mentioned, ultrasonic welding being one of the special welding proce...

Technical assistance to AECL: electron beam welding of thick-walled copper containers for nuclear fuel waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maak, P.Y.Y.

1984-01-01

This report describes the results of Phase Two of the copper electron beam welding project for the final closure of copper containers for nuclear fuel waste disposal. It has been demonstrated that single pass, electron beam square butt welds (depth of weld penetration > 25 mm) can be made without preheat in both electrolytic tough-pitch copper and oxygen-free copper plates. The present results show that oxygen-free copper exhibits better weldability than the electrolytic tough-pitch copper in terms of weld penetration and vulnerability to weld defects such as gas porosity, erratic metal overflow and blow holes. The results of ultrasonic inspection studies of the welds are also discussed

Apparatus and process for ultrasonic seam welding stainless steel foils

Science.gov (United States)

Leigh, Richard W.

1992-01-01

An ultrasonic seam welding apparatus having a head which is rotated to form contact, preferably rolling contact, between a metallurgically inert coated surface of the head and an outside foil of a plurality of layered foils or work materials. The head is vibrated at an ultrasonic frequency, preferably along a longitudinal axis of the head. The head is constructed to transmit vibration through a contacting surface of the head into each of the layered foils. The contacting surface of the head is preferably coated with aluminum oxide to prevent the head from becoming welded to layered stainless steel foils.

Comparing weld inspection codes: radiography vs. ultrasonics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moles, M.; Ginzel, E.

2007-01-01

Requirements for weld quality are continually increasing. This is due to a combination of factors: increased public awareness; bigger legal penalties; improved and thinner steels; better analysis techniques such as Engineering Critical Assessment (ECA); higher material costs. Weld quality is primarily dictated by construction codes, which should reflect the needs of society and industry: safety, the environment, society, and cost-effectiveness. As R and D produces new products, techniques and procedures, ideally these developments should be reflected in the codes. While pressure vessel and structural welding are certainly included here, it is really pipeline weld inspections that are setting the pace on new developments. For pipelines, a major shift was made from radiography to ultrasonics in Alberta some decades ago. This was driven by the 'need for speed', plus the requirement to size defects in the vertical plane for ECA (also called Fracture Mechanics or Fitness-For-Purpose). One of the main objectives of ECA was to benefit from the calculated fracture toughness of materials, and not to rely on the overly conservative workmanship criteria in radiography. In practice, performing repairs on higher quality material often does more harm than good; changing the microstructure can seriously compromise the material properties. Rising steel costs are another major driving force, so higher strength, thinner materials are being used. Under these conditions, ECA and defect sizing are critical. This paper compares where the various North American codes for pipelines, pressure vessels and structural welds stand on using advanced inspection techniques: ultrasonics, phased arrays, ECA, sizing techniques. For those codes which are not using the latest technologies, there are typical routes for incorporating them. (author)

76 FR 21331 - Certain Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and the People...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-15

... the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Orders AGENCY: Import Administration... butt-weld pipe fittings from Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and the People's Republic of China (PRC), pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). See Initiation of Five-Year...

3-D Characteristics of the Residual Stress in the Plate Butt Weld Between SA508 and F316L SS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kyoung Soo; Kim, Tae Ryong [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Jai Hak [Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Man Won [GNEC, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Seon Yeong [KLES, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2009-04-15

This study is performed to check the three dimensional characteristics of residual stress in the dissimilar metal weld. Although two dimensional analysis has been widely used for the assessment of weld residual stress, it has limitations to understand the stress distribution of the third direction. 3-D analysis was done to understand residual stress distribution of the welded plate. A simple butt-welded plate was considered to show the stress variation on all direction. A mock-up plate weldment was fabricated with SA-508 and F316L, which are widely used in nuclear power plants. The analysis results were validated with the measured values in the mock-up.

Enhancing reliability of ultrasonic testing of welds of nuclear power plant equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shcherbinskij, V.G.

1981-01-01

Results of investigation of factors influencing the reliability of manual ultrasonic testing of welded joints and weld deposited metal power-generating equipment are presented. Recommendations on the enhancing of reliability are given [ru

Joint formation of dissimilar steels in pressure welding with superposition of ultrasonic oscillations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Surovtsev, A P; Golovanenko, S A; Sukhanov, V E; Kazantsev, V F

1983-12-01

Investigation results of kinetics and quality of carbon steel joints with the steel 12Kh18N10T, obtained by pressure welding with superposition of ultrasonic oscillations with the frequency 16.5-18.0 kHz are given. The effect of ultrasonic oscillations on the process of physical contact development of the surfaces welded, formation of microstructure and impact viscosity of the compound, is shown.

Modelling welded material for ultrasonic testing using MINA: Theory and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Moysan, J.; Corneloup, G.; Chassignole, B.; Gueudré, C.; Ploix, M. A.

2012-05-01

Austenitic steel multi-pass welds exhibit a heterogeneous and anisotropic structure that causes difficulties in the ultrasonic testing. Increasing the material knowledge is a long term research field for LCND laboratory and EDF Les Renardières in France. A specific model has been developed: the MINA model (Modelling an Isotropy from Notebook of Arc welding). Welded material is described in 2D for flat position arc welding with shielded electrode (SMAW) at a functional scale for UT modeling. The grain growth is the result of three physical phenomena: epitaxial growth, influence of temperature gradient, and competition between the grains. The model uses phenomenological rules to combine these three phenomena. A limited number of parameters is used to make the modelling possible from the information written down in a notebook of arc welding. We present all these principles with 10 years' hindsight. To illustrate the model's use, we present conclusions obtained with two recent applications. In conclusion we give also insights on other research topics around this model : inverse problem using a F.E.M. code simulating the ultrasonic propagation, in position welding, 3D prospects, GTAW.

Detection and Sizing of Fatigue Cracks in Steel Welds with Advanced Eddy Current Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Todorov, E. I.; Mohr, W. C.; Lozev, M. G.

2008-02-01

Butt-welded specimens were fatigued to produce cracks in the weld heat-affected zone. Advanced eddy current (AEC) techniques were used to detect and size the cracks through a coating. AEC results were compared with magnetic particle and phased-array ultrasonic techniques. Validation through destructive crack measurements was also conducted. Factors such as geometry, surface treatment, and crack tightness interfered with depth sizing. AEC inspection techniques have the potential of providing more accurate and complete sizing flaw data for manufacturing and in-service inspections.

Feasibility evaluations for the integration of laser butt welding of tubes in industrial pipe coil production lines

Science.gov (United States)

Penasa, Mauro; Colombo, Enrico; Giolfo, Mauro

1994-09-01

Due to the good performance shown by laser welded joints, to the quality and repeatability achievable by this welding technique and to its high process productivity, a feature inherent to the laser technology which, together with its high flexibility, allows different operations to be performed by a single source, consistent savings in a production line may be obtained. Therefore laser welding techniques may be of high relevance for industrial applications, provided that a sufficient attention is paid to avoiding a low utilization time to the operating laser source. The paper describes a feasibility study for the integration of a laser source as an automatic unit for circumferential butt welding of tubes in production lines of pipe coils, just before the cold bending station. Using a 6 kW CO2 source, thickness ranging from 3.5 to 11.2 mm in carbon, low alloyed Cr-Mo and austenitic stainless steels, have been successfully welded. Cr-Mo steels require on line preheating treatment, which however can be achieved by laser defocused passes just before welding. The results of the preliminary qualification performed on laser welded joints of the involved topologies of product (materials, diameters and thicknesses) are described together with technological tests required for approval: laser circumferential butt welding of tubes has proven to be effective, with satisfactory and repeatable results and good joint performances. An exhaustive comparison with current welding techniques (TIG, MIG) is then carried out, along with a detailed analysis of the potential advantages and benefits which may be expected by using the laser welding technique, as well as with a first estimation of the investments and running costs. Since laser productivity is saturated only at a rough 35% during the year, an accurate analysis of other possible applications and of a possible lay out of a laser working cell integrated in the factory production lines is performed. Usually little attention is

Study of ultrasonic characterization and propagation in austenitic welds: The MOSAICS project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chassignole, Bertrand, E-mail: bertrand.chassignole@edf.fr [EDF R and D, MMC department, Les Renardières, 77818 Moret sur Loing (France); Recolin, Patrick, E-mail: patrick.recolin@dcnsgroup.com [DCNS CESMAN, 44620 La montagne (France); Leymarie, Nicolas, E-mail: nicolas.leymarie@cea.fr [CEA LIST, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Gueudré, Cécile, E-mail: cecile.gueudre@univ-amu.fr [LMA, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, UPR 7051, F-13402 Marseille Cedex 20 (France); Guy, Philippe, E-mail: philippe.guy@insa-lyon.fr [INSA Lyon, LVA laboratory, 69621 Villeurbanne (France); Elbaz, Deborah, E-mail: deborah.elbaz@extende.com [Extende, 91400 Orsay (France)

2015-03-31

Regulatory requirements enforce a volumetric inspection of welded components of nuclear equipments. However, the multi-pass austenitic welds are characterized by anisotropic and heterogeneous structures which lead to numerous disturbances of the ultrasonic beam. The MOSAICS project supported by the ANR (French National Research Agency) aims at matching various approaches to improve the prediction of the ultrasonic testing in those welds. The first stage consists in characterizing the weld structure (determination of the columnar grain orientation and measurements of elastic constants and attenuation coefficients). The techniques of characterization provide input data for the modeling codes developed in another task of the project. For example, a 3D version of the finite elements code ATHENA is developed by EDF R and D to take into account anisotropic texture in any direction. Semi-analytical models included in CIVA software are also improved to better predict the ultrasonic propagation in highly anisotropic and heterogeneous structures. The last stage deals with modeling codes validation based on experimental inspections on representative mock-ups containing calibrated defects. The objective of this paper is to give an overview of the MOSAICS project and to present specific results illustrating the various tasks.

Development Of Ultrasonic Testing Based On Delphi Program As A Learning Media In The Welding Material Study Of Detection And Welding Disables In The Environment Of Vocational Education

Science.gov (United States)

Dwi Cahyono, Bagus; Ainur, Chandra

2018-04-01

The development of science and technology has a direct impact on the preparation of qualified workers, including the preparation of vocational high school graduates. Law Number 20 the Year 2003 on National Education System explains that the purpose of vocational education is to prepare learners to be ready to work in certain fields. One of the learning materials in Vocational High School is welding and detecting welding defects. Introduction of welding and detecting welding defects, one way that can be done is by ultrasonic testing will be very difficult if only capitalize the book only. Therefore this study aims to adopt ultrasonic testing in a computer system. This system is called Delphi Program-based Ultrasonic Testing Expert System. This system is used to determine the classification and type of welding defects of the welded defect indicator knew. In addition to the system, there is a brief explanation of the notion of ultrasonic testing, calibration procedures and inspection procedures ultrasonic testing. In this system, ultrasonic input data testing that shows defects entered into the computer manually. This system is built using Delphi 7 software and Into Set Up Compiler as an installer. The method used in this research is Research and Development (R & D), with the following stages: (1) preliminary research; (2) manufacture of software design; (3) materials collection; (4) early product development; (5) validation of instructional media experts; (6) product analysis and revision; (8) media trials in learning; And (9) result of end product of instructional media. The result of the research shows that: (1) the result of feasibility test according to ultrasonic material testing expert that the system is feasible to be used as instructional media in welding material subject and welding defect detection in vocational education environment, because it contains an explanation about detection method of welding defect using method Ultrasonic testing in detail; (2

Determination of Focal Laws for Ultrasonic Phased Array Testing of Dissimilar Metal Welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing, Ye; Kim, Hak Joon; Song, Sung Jin; Song, Myung Ho; Kang, Suk Chull; Kang, Sung Sik; Kim, Kyung Cho

2008-01-01

Inspection of dissimilar metal welds using phased array ultrasound is not easy at all, because crystalline structure of dissimilar metal welds cause deviation and splitting of the ultrasonic beams. Thus, in order to have focusing and/or steering phased array beams in dissimilar metal welds, proper time delays should be determined by ray tracing. In this paper, we proposed an effective approach to solve this difficult problem. Specifically, we modify the Oglivy's model parameters to describe the crystalline structure of real dissimilar metal welds in a fabricated specimen. And then, we calculate the proper time delay and incident angle of linear phased array transducer in the anisotropic and inhomogeneous material for focusing and/or steering phased array ultrasonic beams on the desired position

Inline-process and quality control of spotwelds of car bodies - ultrasonic sensors integrated in resistance welding electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogt, G.; Rieger, D.; Koehler, C. [Vogt Werkstoffpruefsysteme, Burgwedel (Germany)

2006-07-01

The self-developed inline ultrasonic testing system SPOTline is used for inspection and process control of resistant spot weldings. SPOTline provides with directly into the welding tong integrated ultrasonic sensors a 100% inspection during the welding process. The through transmission and pulse echo signals will be collected, stored and evaluated by means of fuzzy-logic and neuronal network technic. The results will be transmitted online from the spotline-client in the sql-data-base of the server for processing. World-wide SPOTline is the only ultrasonic inspection system, which is working under real production conditions in a network of welding robots. Test with 2 and 3 plates, high strength steels and all coatings demonstrate the accurately identification of discrepant welds. (orig.)

Welding characteristics of 27, 40 and 67 kHz ultrasonic plastic welding systems using fundamental- and higher-resonance frequencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsujino, Jiromaru; Hongoh, Misugi; Yoshikuni, Masafumi; Hashii, Hidekazu; Ueoka, Tetsugi

2004-04-01

The welding characteristics of 27, 40 and 67 kHz ultrasonic plastic welding systems that are driven at only the fundamental-resonance frequency vibration were compared, and also those of the welding systems that were driven at the fundamental and several higher resonance frequencies simultaneously were studied. At high frequency, welding characteristics can be improved due to the larger vibration loss of plastic materials. For welding of rather thin or small specimens, as the fundamental frequency of these welding systems is higher and the numbers of driven higher frequencies are driven simultaneously, larger welded area and weld strength were obtained.

Computerized ultrasonic quality control system in the production of helical welded tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tar, J.

1976-01-01

The inspection of helical welded steel tubes by means of an ultrasonic automatic equipment is described. This equipment is able to recognize the defects of the weld, to identify them and to continuously report back the informations necessary for their elimination

Optimization and verification of ultrasonic testability of acoustically anisotropic materials on austenitic and dissimilar welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pudovikov, Sergey

2013-01-01

Austenitic and dissimilar welds with respect to the ultrasonic testing (UT) methods are considered normally as ''difficult-to-test'' objects. During the solidification process in such welds a distinct dendrite microstructure evolves, which is coarse-grained, anisotropic and inhomogeneous simultaneously. The reliability of available ultrasonic methods on austenitic welds depends significantly on the selected UT-parameters as well as on the inspection personnel experience. In the present dissertation, an ultrasonic testing method was developed, which allows the flaw detection and evaluation in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous materials, especially in austenitic and dissimilar welds with a quantitative statement to the defect size, type, and location. The principle of synthetic focusing with taking into account the material anisotropy and inhomogeneity along with two- and three-dimensional visualization provides a reliable and quantitative assessment of the inspection results in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous test objects. Among others, an iterative algorithm for the determination of unknown elastic properties of inhomogeneous anisotropic materials has been developed. It allows practical application of the developed UT method, since the anisotropy of most of austenitic and dissimilar welds (especially of hand-welded joints) in practice is usually unknown. The functionality of the developed inspection technique has been validated by many experiments on welded austenitic specimens having artificial and natural defects. For the practical application of the new ultrasonic technique different testing strategies are proposed, which can be used depending on the current inspection task.

Butt pressure welding of wheels from vehicles consisting of steel and aluminium; Pressstumpfschweissen von Fahrzeugraedern aus Stahl und Aluminium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grobelin, K. [Hess Engineering AG, Frauenfeld (Switzerland)

2001-07-01

Every year in Europe 35 million wheels for vehicles are produced. Most of them are wheels consisting of metal tapes, both of steel and of aluminium alloys. The manufacturing of wheels is explained, in detail the method known as DC upset welding used for butt joints of wheel-rims. The engaged machinery, the specials of welding various materials, the limits of the method, and the quality assurance are discussed. Advantages of the applied method are joints of first-class quality, high productivity, energy saving and environmental cleanness. (orig.)

Friction stir welding of 6061 aluminium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdel Rahman, M.A.M.S.

2009-01-01

6061 AA (Al-Mg-Si alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of light weight structures requiring a high strength-to-weight ratio and good corrosion resistance such as marine frames, pipelines, storage tanks, and aircraft components [1]. It is also used for the manufacturing of fuel elements in the nuclear research reactors. Compared to many of the fusion welding processes that are routinely used for joining structural alloys, friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state joining process in which the material that is being welded is not melted and recast [2]. The welding parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding traverse speed, and tool profile play a major role in deciding the weld quality. Several FSW tools (differ from each other in pin angle, shoulder diameter, and shoulder concavity) have been used to fabricate a number of joints in order to obtain a tool with which a sound weld can be produced. It was found that the FSW tool with tapered cone pin, concave shoulder, and shoulder diameter equal to four times the welded plate thickness is suitable to produce a sound weld. The effect of the traverse speed on the global and local tensile properties of friction stir welded joints has been investigated in the 6061-T6 AA. The global tensile properties of the FSW joints were improved with increasing the traverse speed at constant rotation rate. It is found that the global tensile strength of the FSW joint is limited by the local tensile strength of the nearest region to the weld center at which the cross section is composed mainly of the HAZ. The effect of the initial butt surface on the formation of the zigzag line on the tensile properties of the welds was examined by using three types of welding samples differ in the preparation of the initial butt surface. The first type of samples welded without removing the oxide layer from the initial butt surface (uncleaned butt surfaces joint). In the second type of samples the oxide layer was removed from

Measurements of the acoustic field on austenitic welds: a way to higher reliability in ultrasonic tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kemnitz, P.; Richter, U.; Klueber, H.

1997-01-01

In nuclear power plants many of the welds in austenitic tubes have to be inspected by means of ultrasonic techniques. If component-identical test pieces are available, they are used to qualify the ultrasonic test technology. Acoustic field measurements on such test blocks give information whether the beam of the ultrasonic transducer reaches all critical parts of the weld region and which transducer type is best suited. Acoustic fields have been measured at a bimetallic, a V-shaped and a narrow gap weld in test pieces of wall thickness 33, 25 and 17 mm, respectively. Compression wave transducers 45, 60 and 70 and 45 shear wave transducers have been included in the investigation. The results are presented: (1) as acoustic C-scans for one definite probe position, (2) as series of C-scans for the probe moving on a track perpendicular to the weld, (3) as scan along the weld and (4) as effective beam profile. The influence of the scanning electrodynamic probe is also discussed. (orig.)

Effect of Friction Stir Welding Parameters on the Mechanical and Microstructure Properties of the Al-Cu Butt Joint

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sare Celik

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Friction Stir Welding (FSW is a solid-state welding process used for welding similar and dissimilar materials. FSW is especially suitable to join sheet Al alloys, and this technique allows different material couples to be welded continuously. In this study, 1050 Al alloys and commercially pure Cu were produced at three different tool rotation speeds (630, 1330, 2440 rpm and three different tool traverse speeds (20, 30, 50 mm/min with four different tool position (0, 1, 1.5, 2 mm by friction stir welding. The influence of the welding parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints was investigated. Tensile and bending tests and microhardness measurements were used to determine the mechanical properties. The microstructures of the weld zone were investigated by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM and were analyzed in an energy dispersed spectrometer (EDS. Intermetallic phases were detected based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD analysis results that evaluated the formation of phases in the weld zone. When the welding performance of the friction stir welded butt joints was evaluated, the maximum value obtained was 89.55% with a 1330 rpm tool rotational speed, 20 mm/min traverse speed and a 1 mm tool position configuration. The higher tensile strength is attributed to the dispersion strengthening of the fine Cu particles distributed over the Al material in the stir zone region.

In-Process Detection of Weld Defects Using Laser-Based Ultrasound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacher, G.D.; Kercel, S.W.; Kisner, R.A.; Klein, M.B.; Pouet, B.

1999-01-01

Laser-based ultrasonic (LBU) measurement shows great promise for on-line monitoring of weld quality in tailor-welded blanks. Tailor-welded blanks are steel blanks made from plates of differing thickness and/or properties butt-welded together; they are used in automobile manufacturing to produce body, frame, and closure panels. LBU uses a pulsed laser to generate the ultrasound and a continuous wave (CW) laser interferometer to detect the ultrasound at the point of interrogation to perform ultrasonic inspection. LBU enables in-process measurements since there is no sensor contact or near-contact with the workpiece. The authors are using laser-generated plate (Lamb) waves to propagate from one plate into the weld nugget as a means of detecting defects. This paper reports the results of the investigation of a number of inspection architectures based on processing of signals from selected plate waves, which are either reflected from or transmitted through the weld zone. Bayesian parameter estimation and wavelet analysis (both continuous and discrete) have shown that the LBU time-series signal is readily separable into components that provide distinguishing features which describe weld quality. The authors anticipate that, in an on-line industrial application, these measurements can be implemented just downstream from the weld cell. Then the weld quality data can be fed back to control critical weld parameters or alert the operator of a problem requiring maintenance. Internal weld defects and deviations from the desired surface profile can then be corrected before defective parts are produced

Ultrasonic examination for safe end to nozzle dissimilar metal welds of steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhuowei; Yu Jingsheng; Wang Jianjun

2014-01-01

The safe-end weld of steam generator is narrow seam weld with dissimilar metal, the filling material is nickel alloy 152/182 (material 690). The interior structure is of great anisotropic, and fake signal may occur during the defect detection by ultrasonic wave and the error for defect location may be increased. Stratified inspection by ultrasonic transducers with different angle and focus is a practical method which is verified by the real inspection while the linear indication in the inside surface besides the interior flaws are detected. (authors)

Ultrasonic inspection for testing the PWR fuel rod endplug welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pillet, C.; Destribats, M.T.; Papezyk, F.

1976-01-01

A method of ultrasonic testing with local immersion and transversal waves was developed. It is possible to detect defects as the lacks of fusion and penetration and porosity in the PWR fuel rod endplug welds [fr

Influences of post weld heat treatment on tensile strength and microstructure characteristics of friction stir welded butt joints of AA2014-T6 aluminum alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Rajendran, C.; Srinivasan, K.; Balasubramanian, V.; Balaji, H.; Selvaraj, P.

2016-08-01

Friction stir welded (FSWed) joints of aluminum alloys exhibited a hardness drop in both the advancing side (AS) and retreating side (RS) of the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) due to the thermal cycle involved in the FSW process. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to overcome this problem by post weld heat treatment (PWHT) methods. FSW butt (FSWB) joints of Al-Cu (AA2014-T6) alloy were PWHT by two methods such as simple artificial aging (AA) and solution treatment followed by artificial aging (STA). Of these two treatments, STA was found to be more beneficial than the simple aging treatment to improve the tensile properties of the FSW joints of AA2014 aluminum alloy.

Nondestructive testing of welds in steam generators for advanced gas cooled reactors at Heyshamm II and Torness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkin, K.; Bainbridge, A.; Carver, K.; Hammell, R.; Lack, B.J.

1985-01-01

The paper concerns non-destructive testing (NDT) of welds in advanced gas cooled steam generators for Heysham II and Torness nuclear power stations. A description is given of the steam generator. The selection of NDT techniques is also outlined, including the factors considered to ascertain the viability of a technique. Examples are given of applied NDT methods which match particular fabrication processes; these include: microfocus radiography, ultrasonic testing of austenitic tube butt welds, gamma-ray isotope projection system, surface crack detection, and automated radiography. Finally, future trends in this field of NDT are highlighted. (UK)

Study of problems associated with the ultrasonic examination of repeatedly repaired austenitic stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subbaratnam, R.; Palaniappan, M.; Baskaran, A.; Chandramohan, R.

1994-01-01

In recent years the ultrasonic examination of austenitic stainless steel weldments has gained increased importance as an NDE technique for the volumetric examination in the nuclear power plant construction and other industries. A study has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of multiple repairs on austenitic stainless steel weldments, for the successful ultrasonic examination. The test welds have been subjected to repeated welding cycles and the ultrasonic parameters including the defect characterization have been evaluated for analysis. The paper discusses the approach followed, analysis, results obtained and the recommendations based on the above. 1 fig., 2 tabs

Significance of residual stress on fatigue properties of welded pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohta, A.; Maeda, Y.; Kanao, M.

1984-01-01

The mean stress effect on the fatigue properties of two kinds of welded pipes was investigated in cantilever bending. The fatigue strength changed with the mean stress on fillet welded pipes, but did not change on butt welded pipes. The fatigue crack initiated from the toe of weld on the outer surface of fillet welded pipes and from the undercut on the inner surface of butt welded pipes. The measurement of the fatigue crack propagation rate and the residual stress distribution through the thickness of pipe revealed that the difference in the fatigue properties between fillet and butt welded pipes arose from the weld-induced residual stress, tension on the inner surface and compression on the outer surface. It is suggested that the production of compressive residual stress along the inner surface would be an effective means for improving the fatigue strength of butt welded pipes. (author)

Quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic welds using 3D ray tracing method. Numerical and experimental validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolkoori, Sanjeevareddy

2014-01-01

Austenitic welds and dissimilar welds are extensively used in primary circuit pipes and pressure vessels in nuclear power plants, chemical industries and fossil fuelled power plants because of their high fracture toughness, resistance to corrosion and creep at elevated temperatures. However, cracks may initiate in these weld materials during fabrication process or stress operations in service. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the structural integrity of these materials using highly reliable non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. Ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components is complicated because of anisotropic columnar grain structure leading to beam splitting and beam deflection. Simulation tools play an important role in developing advanced reliable ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques and optimizing experimental parameters for inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components. The main aim of the thesis is to develop a 3D ray tracing model for quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in an inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic weld material. Inhomogenity in the anisotropic weld material is represented by discretizing into several homogeneous layers. According to ray tracing model, ultrasonic ray paths are traced during its energy propagation through various discretized layers of the material and at each interface the problem of reflection and transmission is solved. The influence of anisotropy on ultrasonic reflection and transmission behaviour in an anisotropic austenitic weld material are quantitatively analyzed in three dimensions. The ultrasonic beam directivity in columnar grained austenitic steel material is determined three dimensionally using Lamb's reciprocity theorem. The developed ray tracing model evaluates the transducer excited ultrasonic fields accurately by taking into account the directivity of the transducer, divergence of the ray bundle, density of rays and phase

Quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic welds using 3D ray tracing method. Numerical and experimental validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolkoori, Sanjeevareddy

2014-07-01

Austenitic welds and dissimilar welds are extensively used in primary circuit pipes and pressure vessels in nuclear power plants, chemical industries and fossil fuelled power plants because of their high fracture toughness, resistance to corrosion and creep at elevated temperatures. However, cracks may initiate in these weld materials during fabrication process or stress operations in service. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the structural integrity of these materials using highly reliable non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. Ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components is complicated because of anisotropic columnar grain structure leading to beam splitting and beam deflection. Simulation tools play an important role in developing advanced reliable ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques and optimizing experimental parameters for inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components. The main aim of the thesis is to develop a 3D ray tracing model for quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in an inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic weld material. Inhomogenity in the anisotropic weld material is represented by discretizing into several homogeneous layers. According to ray tracing model, ultrasonic ray paths are traced during its energy propagation through various discretized layers of the material and at each interface the problem of reflection and transmission is solved. The influence of anisotropy on ultrasonic reflection and transmission behaviour in an anisotropic austenitic weld material are quantitatively analyzed in three dimensions. The ultrasonic beam directivity in columnar grained austenitic steel material is determined three dimensionally using Lamb's reciprocity theorem. The developed ray tracing model evaluates the transducer excited ultrasonic fields accurately by taking into account the directivity of the transducer, divergence of the ray bundle, density of rays and phase

A development of an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Hyun; Song, Sung Jin; Lee, Kang Won; Kim, Young Jin; Woo, Jong Sik

2006-01-01

Large scaled ships, manufactured inside of the country, should be passed welding inspection and painting film inspection. Normally, these kind of inspections are conducted by human inspectors manually, although it cause industrial disasters such as falling accidents and diving accidents frequently. In addition, Ship makers are not to give a full trust to shipowners because manual inspections cannot be conducted all over the welding parts. So, in this study we developed an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot. This system, controlled by an inspector at a remote field, can inspect welding parts of ship outer panel both under water and in air. In this paper we present the developed robot and ultrasonic TOFD inspection system and the inspection result.

A development of an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Hyun; Song, Sung Jin; Lee, Kang Won; Kim, Young Jin; Woo, Jong Sik

2006-01-01

Large scaled ships, manufactured inside of the country, should be passed welding inspection and painting film inspection. Normally, these kind of inspections are conducted by human inspectors manually, although it cause industrial disasters such as falling accidents and diving accidents frequently. In addition, Ship makers are not to give a full trust to ship owners because manual inspections cannot be conducted all over the welding parts. So, in this study we developed an automated ultrasonic TOFD inspection system using an welding line tracing robot. This system, controlled by an inspector at a remote field, can inspect welding parts of ship outer panel both under water and in air. In this paper we present the developed robot and ultrasonic TOFD inspection system and the inspection result.

Quality evaluation of PHWR fuel element end cap weld joints by ultrasonic testing technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, J L; Nair, V R; Ramadasan, E; Majumdar, S; Sahoo, K C [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India). Radiometallurgy Div.; Kumar, Arun [Atomic Fuel Fabrication Facility, Tarapur (India)

1994-12-31

An ultrasonic testing technique has been developed for effective quality evaluation of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) fuel end plug welds. A focused high frequency shear wave is directed to the weld zone from half skip distance to detect lack of fusion, porosities and wall cracks in the weld zone. A tentative select/reject level has been evolved to sort out the defective weld by examining more than 700 PHWR fuel pin welds. (author). 5 refs., 5 figs.

Influence of use of ultrasound on the mechanical properties of plated pieces by welding in ultrasonic field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gh. Amza

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Plating by welding in an ultrasonic field represents a technological solution to increase resistance to corrosion and / or wear of pieces of the machinery industry. Research has been carried out for two types of parts, namely a piece of flange end type and bonnet type made of AISI 4130 steel, and as filler material for plating was used Inconel 625 Fe developed as electrode wire with a diameter of ø 1.2 / mm. The plating was done by depositing a single layer by welding in ultrasonic field, welding process in Ar 100/ % environment non-consumable tungsten electrode, WIG process, and when using ultrasonic activation it was used a longitudinal and a transverse wave with a frequency of 15 / kHz. For pieces plated by welding there have been made attempts of the hardness and tensile and bend shock.

Ultrasonic Low-Friction Containment Plate for Thermal and Ultrasonic Stir Weld Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Graff, Karl; Short, Matt

2013-01-01

The thermal stir welding (TSW) process is finding applications in fabrication of space vehicles. In this process, workpieces to be joined by TSW are drawn, by heavy forces, between "containment plates," past the TSW tool that then causes joining of the separate plates. It is believed that the TSW process would be significantly improved by reducing the draw force, and that this could be achieved by reducing the friction forces between the workpieces and containment plates. Based on use of high-power ultrasonics in metal forming processes, where friction reduction in drawing dies has been achieved, it is believed that ultrasonic vibrations of the containment plates could achieve similar friction reduction in the TSW process. By applying ultrasonic vibrations to the containment plates in a longitudinal vibration mode, as well as by mounting and holding the containment plates in a specific manner such as to permit the plates to acoustically float, friction between the metal parts and the containment plates is greatly reduced, and so is the drawing force. The concept was to bring in the ultrasonics from the sides of the plates, permitting the ultrasonic hardware to be placed to the side, away from the equipment that contains the thermal stir tooling and that applies clamping forces to the plates. Tests demonstrated that one of the major objectives of applying ultrasonics to the thermal stir system, that of reducing draw force friction, should be achievable on a scaled-up system.

Computational modeling and experimental studies of the dynamic performance of ultrasonic horn profiles used in plastic welding.

Science.gov (United States)

Roopa Rani, M; Rudramoorthy, R

2013-03-01

Ultrasonic horns are tuned components designed to vibrate in a longitudinal mode at ultrasonic frequencies. Reliable performance of such horns is normally decided by the uniformity of vibration amplitude at the working surface and the stress developed during loading condition. The horn design engineer must pay particular attention to designing a tool that will produce the desired amplitude without fracturing. The present work discusses horn configurations which satisfy these criteria and investigates the design requirements of horns in ultrasonic system. Different horn profiles for ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics have been characterized in terms of displacement amplitude and von-Mises stresses using modal and harmonic analysis. To validate the simulated results, five different horns are fabricated from Aluminum, tested and tuned to the operating frequency. Standard ABS plastic parts are welded using these horns. Temperature developed during the welding of ABS test parts using different horns is recorded using sensors and National Instruments (NIs) data acquisition system. The recorded values are compared with the predicted values. Experimental results show that welding using a Bezier horn has a high interface temperature and the welded joints had higher strength as compared to the other horn profiles. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic welding for fast bonding of self-aligned structures in lab-on-a-chip systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kistrup, Kasper; Poulsen, Carl Esben; Hansen, Mikkel Fougt

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic welding is a rapid, promising bonding method for the bonding of polymer chips; yet its use is still limited. We present two lab-on-a-chip applications where ultrasonic welding can be preferably applied: (1) Self-aligned gapless bonding of a two-part chip with a tolerance of 50 um; (2...... solutions offered here can significantly help bridge the gap between academia and industry, where the differences in production methods and materials pose a challenge when transferring technology....

Joining NbTi superconductors by ultrasonic welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hafstrom, J.W.; Killpatrick, D.H.; Niemann, R.C.; Purcell, J.R.; Thresh, H.R.

1976-01-01

An important consideration in the design and construction of large, high-field, superconducting magnets is the capability to fabricate reliable, high-strength, low-resistance joints. A process for joining NbTi, copper stabilized, superconducting composites by ultrasonic welding is described. This process yields a joint strength comparable to that of the superconducting composite and a resistivity significantly lower than achieved by conventional soft soldering. The superconducting properties of the composite are not affected by the joining process. Scarfing the joint to maintain a constant conductor cross section does not degrade its electrical or mechanical properties. The application of the ultrasonic joining process, including process control, scarfing, and NDT procedures, in the construction of the superconducting magnet (U.S. SCMS) for the joint U. S. -- Soviet MHD program is described

Optimal design for laser beam butt welding process parameter using artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm for super austenitic stainless steel

Science.gov (United States)

Sathiya, P.; Panneerselvam, K.; Soundararajan, R.

2012-09-01

Laser welding input parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of a weld joint. The joint quality can be defined in terms of properties such as weld bead geometry, mechanical properties and distortion. Therefore, mechanical properties should be controlled to obtain good welded joints. In this study, the weld bead geometry such as depth of penetration (DP), bead width (BW) and tensile strength (TS) of the laser welded butt joints made of AISI 904L super austenitic stainless steel were investigated. Full factorial design was used to carry out the experimental design. Artificial Neural networks (ANN) program was developed in MatLab software to establish the relationships between the laser welding input parameters like beam power, travel speed and focal position and the three responses DP, BW and TS in three different shielding gases (Argon, Helium and Nitrogen). The established models were used for optimizing the process parameters using Genetic Algorithm (GA). Optimum solutions for the three different gases and their respective responses were obtained. Confirmation experiment has also been conducted to validate the optimized parameters obtained from GA.

Comparison of Metallurgical and Ultrasonic Inspections of Galvanized Steel Resistance Spot Welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potter, Timothy J.; Ghaffari, Bita; Mozurkewich, George; Reverdy, Frederic; Hopkins, Deborah

2006-01-01

Metallurgical examination of galvanized steel resistance spot welds was used to gauge the capabilities of two ultrasonic, non-destructive, scanning techniques. One method utilized the amplitude of the echo from the weld faying surface, while the other used the spectral content of the echo train to map the fused area. The specimens were subsequently sectioned and etched, to distinguish the fused, zinc-brazed, and non-fused areas. The spectral maps better matched the metallurgical maps, while the interface-amplitude method consistently overestimated the weld size

Influence of use of ultrasound on metallographic structure of plated pieces by welding in ultrasonic field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gh. Amza

2015-07-01

Full Text Available To optimize the plating process is necessary to know the behavior of surfaces plated during the exploitation and in particular susceptibility to cracking, the formation of cracks from the inside to outside or reverse, embrittlement in the heat affected zone. Research has been realized considering several samples plated by welding without ultrasonic activation and with ultrasonic activation, and these samples were made of AISI 4130 steel, and as filler material was used Inconel 625 Fe developed as electrode wire ø 1,2 / mm. The plating process was realized by a WIG welding process in Ar100 /% environment with non-consumable tungsten electrode, in two versions, respectively with and without the use of ultrasonic energy. Four pieces played by welding there were analyzed the metallographies structure in the base material, the deposited material and the material from the heat affected zone.

Selected Welding Techniques, Part 2

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1964-01-01

Partial contents: CONVENTIONAL WELD JOINTS VERSUS BUTT JOINTS IN 1-INCH ALUMINUM PLATE, SPECIAL WELD JOINT PREPARATION, UPSET METAL EDGES FOR INCREASED WELD JOINT STRENGTH, OUT-OF-POSITION WELDING OF HEAVY GAGE...

Automatic orbital GTAW welding: Highest quality welds for tomorrow's high-performance systems

Science.gov (United States)

Henon, B. K.

1985-01-01

Automatic orbital gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or TIG welding is certain to play an increasingly prominent role in tomorrow's technology. The welds are of the highest quality and the repeatability of automatic weldings is vastly superior to that of manual welding. Since less heat is applied to the weld during automatic welding than manual welding, there is less change in the metallurgical properties of the parent material. The possibility of accurate control and the cleanliness of the automatic GTAW welding process make it highly suitable to the welding of the more exotic and expensive materials which are now widely used in the aerospace and hydrospace industries. Titanium, stainless steel, Inconel, and Incoloy, as well as, aluminum can all be welded to the highest quality specifications automatically. Automatic orbital GTAW equipment is available for the fusion butt welding of tube-to-tube, as well as, tube to autobuttweld fittings. The same equipment can also be used for the fusion butt welding of up to 6 inch pipe with a wall thickness of up to 0.154 inches.

Structure and properties of fixed joints formed by ultrasonic-assisted friction-stir welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fortuna, S. V., E-mail: s-fortuna@ispms.ru; Ivanov, K. V., E-mail: ikv@ispms.ru; Eliseev, A. A., E-mail: alan@ispms.ru [Institute of Strength Physics and Materials ScienceTomsk, 634055 (Russian Federation); Tarasov, S. Yu., E-mail: tsy@ispms.ru; Ivanov, A. N., E-mail: ivan@ispms.ru; Rubtsov, V. E., E-mail: rvy@ispms.ru; Kolubaev, E. A., E-mail: eak@ispms.ru [Institute of Strength Physics and Materials ScienceTomsk, 634055 (Russian Federation); National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, 634050 (Russian Federation)

2015-10-27

This paper deals with structure and properties of aluminum alloy 7475 and its joints obtained by friction stir welding including under ultrasonic action. Microhardness measurements show that ultrasonic action increases strength properties of the joints. Optical and transmission electron microscopy reveals that this effect is related to the precipitation of tertiary coherent S-and T-phase particles.

Parametric Investigation on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrasonic spot welded Aluminium to Copper sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad Satpathy, Mantra; Das Mohapatra, Kasinath; Sahoo, Ananda Kumar; Sahoo, Susanta Kumar

2018-03-01

Ultrasonic welding is one of the promising solid state welding methods which have been widely used to join highly conductive materials like aluminum and copper. Despite these applications in the automotive field, other industries also have a strong interest to adopt this process for joining of various advanced alloys. In some of its applications, poor weld strength and sticking of the workpiece to the tool are issues. Thus, an attempt has been taken in the present study to overcome these issues by performing experiments with a suitable range of weld parameters. The major objectives of this study are to obtain a good joint strength with a reduced sticking phenomenon and microstructure of Al-Cu weld coupons. The results uncovered the mechanical strength of the joint increased up to 0.34 sec of weld time and afterward, it gradually decreased. Meantime, the plastic deformation in the weld zone enhanced the formation of an intermetallic layer of 1.5 μm thick, and it is composed of mainly Al2Cu compound. The temperature evolved during the welding process is also measured by thermocouples to show its relationship with the plastic deformation. The present work exemplifies a finer understanding of the failure behavior of joints and provides an insight of ultrasonic welding towards the improvement in the quality of weld.

Ultrasonic inspection of tube to tube plate welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telford, D.W.; Peat, T.S.

1985-01-01

To monitor the deterioration of a weld between a tube and tube plate which has been repaired by a repair sleeve inside the tube and brazed at one end to the tube, ultrasound from a crystal at the end of a rod is launched, in the form of Lamb-type waves, into the tube through the braze and allowed to travel along the tube to the weld and be reflected back along the tube. The technique may also be used for the type of heat exchanger in which, during construction, the tubes are welded to the tube plate via external sleeves in which case the ultrasound is used in a similar manner to inspect the sleeve/tube plate weld. an electromagnetic transducer may be used to generate the ultrasound. The ultrasonic head comprising the crystal and an acoustic baffle is mounted on a Perspex (RTM) rod which may be rotated by a stepping motor. Echo signals from the region of deterioration may be isolated by use of a time gate in the receiver. The device primarily detects circumferentially orientated cracks, and may be used in heat exchangers in nuclear power plants. (author)

The effect of initial stress induced during the steel manufacturing process on the welding residual stress in multi-pass butt welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeong-ung Park

2018-03-01

�MPa, while in case of thickness at 70 mm, it was 200 MPa. The increase in compressive residual stress is almost the same as the initial stress. However, if initial stress was tensile, there was no significant change in the maximum compression residual stress. Keywords: Initial stress, Thermal elastic plastic FE analysis, Welding residual stress, Manufacturing steel process, Multi-pass butt welding

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of an Ultrasonic Spot Welded Aluminum Alloy: The Effect of Welding Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Peng

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to evaluate the microstructures, tensile lap shear strength, and fatigue resistance of 6022-T43 aluminum alloy joints welded via a solid-state welding technique–ultrasonic spot welding (USW–at different energy levels. An ultra-fine necklace-like equiaxed grain structure is observed along the weld line due to the occurrence of dynamic crystallization, with smaller grain sizes at lower levels of welding energy. The tensile lap shear strength, failure energy, and critical stress intensity of the welded joints first increase, reach their maximum values, and then decrease with increasing welding energy. The tensile lap shear failure mode changes from interfacial fracture at lower energy levels, to nugget pull-out at intermediate optimal energy levels, and to transverse through-thickness (TTT crack growth at higher energy levels. The fatigue life is longer for the joints welded at an energy of 1400 J than 2000 J at higher cyclic loading levels. The fatigue failure mode changes from nugget pull-out to TTT crack growth with decreasing cyclic loading for the joints welded at 1400 J, while TTT crack growth mode remains at all cyclic loading levels for the joints welded at 2000 J. Fatigue crack basically initiates from the nugget edge, and propagates with “river-flow” patterns and characteristic fatigue striations.

Basic numerical study on gap influence of residual stress and distortion during high-brightness laser butt welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serizawa, Hisashi; Mori, Daiki; Murakawa, Hidekazu

2013-01-01

High-brightness laser such as fiber laser or disk laser is expected to minimize the total heat input energy in welding due to its high beam quality, and the welding residual stress and distortion also seem to be reduced as a result. However, the diameter of high-brightness laser beam is less than 0.6 mm and it is difficult to set the beam position to contact face between two parts because in general there would be a gap due to quality of parts. In this study, in order to reveal the effect of gap on the residual stress and the welding distortion during fiber laser welding, the butt welding of two plates were examined through the thermal elastic-plastic analysis with a new gap element. From the result of thermal analyses, it was found that the homogeneous ellipsoid body could be applicable to model the shape of heat source for the fiber laser and the gap width would not influence the penetration shape when the gap width was changed from 0.1 to 0.25 mm. In addition, the elastic-plastic analyses indicated that the transverse shrinkage slightly increased with increasing the gap width, while this shrinkage without gap was much smaller than that with gap. Also, it was revealed that the welding speed largely affects both the welding residual stress and distortion. Moreover, it was found that the residual stress was almost independent of the jig position, while the position of fixtures slightly affected the transverse shrinkage. (author)

Assessment of NDE Methods on Inspection of HDPE Butt Fusion Piping Joints for Lack of Fusion with Validation from Mechanical Testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, Michael T.; Cinson, Anthony D.; Crawford, Susan L.; Doctor, Steven R.; Moran, Traci L.; Watts, Michael W.

2010-01-01

Studies at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, are being conducted to evaluate nondestructive examinations (NDE) coupled with mechanical testing of butt fusion joints in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe for assessing lack of fusion. The work provides information to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the effectiveness of volumetric inspection techniques of HDPE butt fusion joints in Section III, Division 1, Class 3, buried piping systems in nuclear power plants. This paper describes results from preliminary assessments using ultrasonic and microwave nondestructive techniques and mechanical testing with the high-speed tensile impact test and the side-bend test for determining joint integrity. A series of butt joints were fabricated in 3408, 12-in. IPS DR-11 HDPE material by varying the fusion parameters to create good joints and joints containing a range of lack-of-fusion conditions. Six of these butt joints were volumetrically examined with time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD), phased-array (PA) ultrasound, and the Evisive microwave system. The outer-diameter weld beads were removed for the microwave inspection. In two of the four pipes, both the outer and inner weld beads were removed and the pipe joints re-evaluated. The pipes were sectioned and the joints destructively evaluated with the side-bend test by cutting portions of the fusion joint into slices that were planed and bent. The last step in this limited study will be to correlate the fusion parameters, nondestructive, and destructive evaluation results to validate the effectiveness of what each NDE technology detects and what each does not detect. The results of the correlation will be used in identifying any future work that is needed.

Experimental characterisation of Lamb wave propagation through thermoplastic composite ultrasonic welds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Viegas Ochoa de Carvalho, Pedro; Fernandez Villegas, I.; Groves, R.M.; Benedictus, R.

2016-01-01

Ultrasonic welding is a very promising technique for joining thermoplastic composite (TpC) components in aircraft primary structures [1, 2]. The potential introduction of new lightweight structures in civil aviation has been driving the change towards condition-based maintenance (CBM) as an

Numeric ultrasonic image processing method: application to non-destructive testing of stainless austenitic steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corneloup, G.

1988-09-01

A bibliographic research on the means used to improve the ultrasonic inspection of heterogeneous materials such as stainless austenitic steel welds has shown, taking into account the first analysis, a signal assembly in the form of an image (space, time) which carries an original solution to fault detection in highly noisy environments. A numeric grey-level ultrasonic image processing detection method is proposed based on the research of a certain determinism, in the way which the ultrasonic image evolves in space and time in the presence of a defect: the first criterion studies the horizontal stability of the gradients in the image and the second takes into account the time-transient nature of the defect echo. A very important rise in the signal-to-noise ratio obtained in welding inspections evidencing defects (real and artificial) is shown with the help of a computerized ultrasonic image processing/management system, developed for this application [fr

Studies on the Influence of Various factors in Ultrasonic Flaw Detection in Ferrite Steel Butt Weld Joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baby, Sony; Balasubramanian, T.; Pardikar, R. J.

2003-01-01

Parametric studies have been conducted into the variability of the factors affecting the ultrasonic testing applied to weldments. The influence of ultrasonic equipment, transducer parameters, test technique, job parameters, defect type and characteristics on reliability far defect detection and sizing was investigated by experimentation. The investigation was able to build up substantial bank of information on the reliability of manual ultrasonic method for testing weldments. The major findings of the study separate into two parts, one dealing with correlation between ultrasonic techniques, equipment and defect parameters and inspection performance effectiveness and other with human factors. Defect detection abilities are dependent on the training, experience and proficiency of the UT operators, the equipment used, the effectiveness of procedures and techniques

Measurement of flaw size in a weld sample by ultrasonic frequency analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whaley, H.L. Jr.; Adler, L.; Cook, K.V.; McClung, R.W.

1975-05-01

An ultrasonic frequency analysis technique has been developed and applied to the measurement of flaws in an 8-in.-thick heavy-section steel specimen belonging to the Pressure Vessel Research Committee program. Using the technique the flaws occurring in the weld area were characterized in quantitative terms of both dimension and orientation. Several modifications of the technique were made during the study to include the application of several transducers and to consider ultrasonic mode conversion. (U.S.)

Study of the joining of polycarbonate panels in butt joint configuration through friction stir welding

Science.gov (United States)

Astarita, Antonello; Boccarusso, Luca; Carrino, Luigi; Durante, Massimo; Minutolo, Fabrizio Memola Capece; Squillace, Antonino

2018-05-01

Polycarbonate sheets, 3 mm thick, were successfully friction stir welded in butt joint configuration. Aiming to study the feasibility of the process and the influence of the process parameters joints under different processing conditions, obtained by varying the tool rotational speed and the tool travel speed, were realized. Tensile tests were carried out to characterize the joints. Moreover the forces arising during the process were recorded and carefully studied. The experimental outcomes proved the feasibility of the process when the process parameters are properly set, joints retaining more than 70% of the UTS of the base material were produced. The trend of the forces was described and explained, the influence of the process parameters was also introduced.

Laser ablated micropillar energy directors for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Carl Esben; Kistrup, Kasper; Andersen, Nis Korsgaard

2016-01-01

We present a new type of energy director (ED) for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems. These micropillar EDs are based on the replication of cone like protrusion structures introduced using a pico-second laser and may therefore be added to any mould surface accessible to a pico-second laser...

High-Powered, Ultrasonically Assisted Thermal Stir Welding

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Robert

2013-01-01

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.

An ultrasonic methodology for in-service inspection of shell weld of core support structure in a sodium cooled fast reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Anish, E-mail: anish@igcar.gov.in; Rajkumar, K.V.; Sharma, Govind K.; Dhayalan, R.; Jayakumar, T.

2015-02-15

Highlights: • We demonstrate a novel ultrasonic methodology for in-service inspection of shell weld of core support structure in a sodium cooled fast breeder reactor. • The methodology comprises of the inspection of shell weld immersed in sodium from the outside surface of the main vessel using ultrasonic guided wave. • The formation and propagation of guided wave modes are validated by finite element simulation of the inspection methodology. • A defect down to 20% of 30 mm thick wall (∼6 mm) in the shell weld can be detected reliably using the developed methodology. - Abstract: The paper presents a novel ultrasonic methodology developed for in-service inspection (ISI) of shell weld of core support structure of main vessel of 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR). The methodology comprises of the inspection of shell weld immersed in sodium from the outsider surface of the main vessel using a normal beam longitudinal wave ultrasonic transducer. Because of the presence of curvature in the knuckle region of the main vessel, the normal beam longitudinal wave enters the support shell plate at an angle and forms the guided waves by mode conversion and multiple reflections from the boundaries of the shell plate. Hence, this methodology can be used to detect defects in the shell weld of the core support structure. The successful demonstration of the methodology on a mock-up sector made of stainless steel indicated that an artificial defect down to 20% of 30 mm thick wall (∼6 mm) in the shell weld can be detected reliably.

Ultrasonic inspectability of austenitic stainless steel and dissimilar metal weld joints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pudovikov, S.; Bulavinov, A.; Kroening, M. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Zerstoerungsfreie Pruefverfahren IZFP, Saarbruecken (Germany)

2008-07-01

Since their invention in 1912, austenitic stainless steel materials are widely used in a variety of industry sectors. In particular, austenitic stainless steel material is qualified to meet the design criteria of high quality, safety related applications, for example, the primary loop of the most of the nuclear power plants in the world, due to high durability and corrosion resistance. Certain operating conditions may cause a range of changes in the integrity of the component, and therefore require nondestructive testing at reasonable intervals. These in-service inspections are often performed using ultrasonic techniques, in particular when cracking is of specific concern. However, the coarse, dendritic grain structure of the weld material, formed during the welding process, is extreme and unpredictably anisotropic. Such structure is no longer direction-independent to the ultrasonic wave propagation; therefore, the ultrasonic beam deflects and redirects and the wave front becomes distorted. Thus, the use of conventional ultrasonic testing techniques using fixed beam angles is very limited and the application of ultrasonic Phased Array techniques becomes desirable. The ''Sampling Phased Array'' technique, invented and developed by Fraunhofer IZFP, allows the acquisition of time signals (A-scans) for each individual transducer element of the array along with image reconstruction techniques using ''SynFoc'' algorithms. The reconstruction considers the sound propagation from each image pixel to the individual sensor element. For anisotropic media, where the sound beam is deflected and the sound path is not known a-priory, we implement a new phase adjustment called ''Reverse Phase Matching'' technique. This algorithm permits the acquisition of phase-corrected A-scans that represent the actual sound propagation in the anisotropic structure; this technique can be utilized for image reconstruction. (orig.)

ULiAS 4 - Experimental validation of a software that models ultrasonic wave propagation through an anisotropic weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirdelius, Haakan; Persson, Gert; Hamberg, Kenneth; Hoegberg, Kjell

2008-01-01

New and stronger demands on reliability of used NDE/NDT procedures and methods have evolved in Europe during the last decade. In order to elaborate these procedures, efforts have to be taken towards the development of mathematical models of applied NDT methods. Modelling of ultrasonic non-destructive testing is useful for a number of reasons, e.g. physical understanding, parametric studies, and the qualification of procedures and personnel. An important issue regarding all models is the validation, i.e. securing that the results of the model and the corresponding computer programs are correct. This can be accomplished by comparisons with other models, but ultimately by comparisons with experiments. In this study a numerical model and experimental results are compared and the work has been performed in collaboration with SQC Kvalificeringscentrum AB. Four different welds have been investigated to give basic data to a mathematical model that describes the ultra sonic wave paths through the welds in these materials. The welds are made in austenitic stainless steel (type 18-8) and in Inconel 182. Two cuts outs are made in each weld, one longitudinal and one transversal cut across the welds, in order to determine the material orientation. In the numerical model the incident field, described by rays, is given by a P wave probe model. The ray tracing technique is based on geometrical optics and a 2D algorithm has been developed. The model of the weld is based on a relatively primitive assumption of the grain structure for a V-butt weld. The columnar structure of austenitic welds is here modelled as a weld where each sub region corresponds to a grain group. The response of the receiver is calculated according to Auld's reciprocity principle. UT data collection was performed by SQC according to guidelines given from Chalmers. The purpose to collect data from real inspection objects with known material structure is to compare experimental data with theoretically calculated

ULiAS 4 - Experimental validation of a software that models ultrasonic wave propagation through an anisotropic weld

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wirdelius, Haakan; Persson, Gert; Hamberg, Kenneth (SCeNDT, Chalmers Univ. Of Tech., SE-412 96 Goeteborg (SE)); Hoegberg, Kjell (SQC Kvalificeringscentrum AB, SE-183 25 Taeby (SE))

2008-07-01

New and stronger demands on reliability of used NDE/NDT procedures and methods have evolved in Europe during the last decade. In order to elaborate these procedures, efforts have to be taken towards the development of mathematical models of applied NDT methods. Modelling of ultrasonic non-destructive testing is useful for a number of reasons, e.g. physical understanding, parametric studies, and the qualification of procedures and personnel. An important issue regarding all models is the validation, i.e. securing that the results of the model and the corresponding computer programs are correct. This can be accomplished by comparisons with other models, but ultimately by comparisons with experiments. In this study a numerical model and experimental results are compared and the work has been performed in collaboration with SQC Kvalificeringscentrum AB. Four different welds have been investigated to give basic data to a mathematical model that describes the ultra sonic wave paths through the welds in these materials. The welds are made in austenitic stainless steel (type 18-8) and in Inconel 182. Two cuts outs are made in each weld, one longitudinal and one transversal cut across the welds, in order to determine the material orientation. In the numerical model the incident field, described by rays, is given by a P wave probe model. The ray tracing technique is based on geometrical optics and a 2D algorithm has been developed. The model of the weld is based on a relatively primitive assumption of the grain structure for a V-butt weld. The columnar structure of austenitic welds is here modelled as a weld where each sub region corresponds to a grain group. The response of the receiver is calculated according to Auld's reciprocity principle. UT data collection was performed by SQC according to guidelines given from Chalmers. The purpose to collect data from real inspection objects with known material structure is to compare experimental data with theoretically

Method and system having ultrasonic sensor movable by translation device for ultrasonic profiling of weld samples

Science.gov (United States)

Panyard, James; Potter, Timothy; Charron, William; Hopkins, Deborah; Reverdy, Frederic

2010-04-06

A system for ultrasonic profiling of a weld sample includes a carriage movable in opposite first and second directions. An ultrasonic sensor is coupled to the carriage to move over the sample as the carriage moves. An encoder determines the position of the carriage to determine the position of the sensor. A spring is connected at one end of the carriage. Upon the carriage being moved in the first direction toward the spring such that the carriage and the sensor are at a beginning position and the spring is compressed the spring decompresses to push the carriage back along the second direction to move the carriage and the sensor from the beginning position to an ending position. The encoder triggers the sensor to take the ultrasonic measurements of the sample when the sensor is at predetermined positions while the sensor moves over the sample between the beginning and positions.

Grain structure, texture and mechanical property evolution of automotive aluminium sheet during high power ultrasonic welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haddadi, Farid; Tsivoulas, Dimitrios

2016-01-01

High power ultrasonic spot welding (HPUSW) is a joining technique which is performed within less than a second and provides a more energy-efficient alternative to friction stir spot welding (FSSW), which is considered a longer cycle manufacturing process for joining automotive alloys. To date, only a few reports exist on the deformation mechanisms that take place during high power ultrasonic spot welding. In this work, dynamic recrystallization and grain growth were examined using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). HPUSW causes extensive deformation within the weld zone where the temperature increases to 440 °C. An ultra-fine grain structure was observed in a thin band of flat weld interface within a short welding time of 0.10 s. With increasing welding time the interface was displaced and ‘folds’ or ‘crests’ appeared together with shear bands. The weld interface progressively changed from flat to sinusoidal and eventually to a convoluted wave-like pattern when the tool fully penetrated the workpiece, having a wavelength of ~ 1 mm after 0.40 s. Finally, the microstructure and texture varied significantly depending on the location within the weld. Although the texture near the weld interface was relatively weak, a shift was observed with increasing welding time from an initially Cube-dominated texture to one where the typical β-fibre Brass component prevailed. - Highlights: •Lap shear strength of ~2.9 kN was achieved in 0.30 sec welding time. •Temperature approached 440 °C along the weld centreline for the highest welding time. •The texture near the teeth was dominated by Brass, P and S components at optimum condition. •The weld interface showed typical β-fibre deformation texture at optimum condition.

Grain structure, texture and mechanical property evolution of automotive aluminium sheet during high power ultrasonic welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haddadi, Farid, E-mail: farid.haddadi@gmail.com [Clemson University–International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), #347, 4 Research Drive, Greenville, SC 29607 (United States); School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Tsivoulas, Dimitrios, E-mail: dim.tsivoulas@gmail.com [School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Clean Energy/Nuclear Services, Amec Foster Wheeler, 601 Faraday Street, Birchwood Park, Warrington WA3 6GN (United Kingdom)

2016-08-15

High power ultrasonic spot welding (HPUSW) is a joining technique which is performed within less than a second and provides a more energy-efficient alternative to friction stir spot welding (FSSW), which is considered a longer cycle manufacturing process for joining automotive alloys. To date, only a few reports exist on the deformation mechanisms that take place during high power ultrasonic spot welding. In this work, dynamic recrystallization and grain growth were examined using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). HPUSW causes extensive deformation within the weld zone where the temperature increases to 440 °C. An ultra-fine grain structure was observed in a thin band of flat weld interface within a short welding time of 0.10 s. With increasing welding time the interface was displaced and ‘folds’ or ‘crests’ appeared together with shear bands. The weld interface progressively changed from flat to sinusoidal and eventually to a convoluted wave-like pattern when the tool fully penetrated the workpiece, having a wavelength of ~ 1 mm after 0.40 s. Finally, the microstructure and texture varied significantly depending on the location within the weld. Although the texture near the weld interface was relatively weak, a shift was observed with increasing welding time from an initially Cube-dominated texture to one where the typical β-fibre Brass component prevailed. - Highlights: •Lap shear strength of ~2.9 kN was achieved in 0.30 sec welding time. •Temperature approached 440 °C along the weld centreline for the highest welding time. •The texture near the teeth was dominated by Brass, P and S components at optimum condition. •The weld interface showed typical β-fibre deformation texture at optimum condition.

System for ultrasonic testing of welded seams. Einrichtung zur Ultraschallpruefung von Schweissnaehten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bondarenko, J K; Troizkij, V A; Agronskaja, E V; Vasiliev, L N; Orel, V G; Naida, V L; Baldakov, V F; Ustjusanin, J V; Litvinenko, V A; Petrovskij, S N

1984-07-12

The invention concerns a device for the ultrasonic testing of welded joints which can be used in particular for quality control of multi-layer weldments. The testing equipment consists of probe, material testing device, amplitude discriminator, recording device, up and down counters and threshold value stages. (GSCH).

Modelling the attenuation in the ATHENA finite elements code for the ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless steel welds.

Science.gov (United States)

Chassignole, B; Duwig, V; Ploix, M-A; Guy, P; El Guerjouma, R

2009-12-01

Multipass welds made in austenitic stainless steel, in the primary circuit of nuclear power plants with pressurized water reactors, are characterized by an anisotropic and heterogeneous structure that disturbs the ultrasonic propagation and makes ultrasonic non-destructive testing difficult. The ATHENA 2D finite element simulation code was developed to help understand the various physical phenomena at play. In this paper, we shall describe the attenuation model implemented in this code to give an account of wave scattering phenomenon through polycrystalline materials. This model is in particular based on the optimization of two tensors that characterize this material on the basis of experimental values of ultrasonic velocities attenuation coefficients. Three experimental configurations, two of which are representative of the industrial welds assessment case, are studied in view of validating the model through comparison with the simulation results. We shall thus provide a quantitative proof that taking into account the attenuation in the ATHENA code dramatically improves the results in terms of the amplitude of the echoes. The association of the code and detailed characterization of a weld's structure constitutes a remarkable breakthrough in the interpretation of the ultrasonic testing on this type of component.

Automatic welding and cladding in heavy fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altamer, A. de

1980-01-01

A description is given of the automatic welding processes used by an Italian fabricator of pressure vessels for petrochemical and nuclear plant. The automatic submerged arc welding, submerged arc strip cladding, pulsed TIG, hot wire TIG and MIG welding processes have proved satisfactory in terms of process reliability, metal deposition rate, and cost effectiveness for low alloy and carbon steels. An example shows sequences required during automatic butt welding, including heat treatments. Factors which govern satisfactory automatic welding include automatic anti-drift rotator device, electrode guidance and bead programming system, the capability of single and dual head operation, flux recovery and slag removal systems, operator environment and controls, maintaining continuity of welding and automatic reverse side grinding. Automatic welding is used for: joining vessel sections; joining tubes to tubeplate; cladding of vessel rings and tubes, dished ends and extruded nozzles; nozzle to shell and butt welds, including narrow gap welding. (author)

Qualification of phased array ultrasonic examination on T-joint weld of austenitic stainless steel for ITER vacuum vessel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, G.H. [ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Park, C.K., E-mail: love879@hanmail.net [ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Jin, S.W.; Kim, H.S.; Hong, K.H.; Lee, Y.J.; Ahn, H.J.; Chung, W. [ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Y.H.; Roh, B.R. [Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Ulsan 682-792 (Korea, Republic of); Sa, J.W.; Choi, C.H. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • PAUT techniques has been developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., LTD (HHI) and Korea Domestic Agency (KODA) to verify and settle down instrument calibration, test procedures, image processing, and so on. As the first step of development for PAUT technique, Several dozens of qualification blocks with artificial defects, which are parallel side drilled hole, embedded lack of fusion, embedded repair weld notch, and so on, have been designed and fabricated to simulate all potential defects during welding process. Real UT qualification group-1 for T-joint weld was successfully conducted in front of ANB inspector. • In this paper, remarkable progresses of UT qualification are presented for ITER vacuum vessel. - Abstract: Full penetration welding and 100% volumetric examination are required for all welds of pressure retaining parts of the ITER Vacuum Vessel (VV) according to RCC-MR Code and French Order of Nuclear Pressure Equipment (ESPN). The NDE requirement is one of important technical issues because radiographic examination (RT) is not applicable to many welding joints. Therefore the ultrasonic examination (UT) has been selected as an alternative method. Generally the UT on the austenitic welds is regarded as a great challenge due to the high attenuation and dispersion of the ultrasonic signal. In this paper, Phased array ultrasonic examination (PAUT) has been introduced on double sided T-shape austenitic welds of the ITER VV as a major NDE method as well as RT. Several dozens of qualification blocks with artificial defects, which are parallel side drilled hole, embedded lack of fusion, embedded repair weld notch, embedded parallel vertical notch, and so on, have been designed and fabricated to simulate all potential defects during welding process. PAUT techniques on the thick austenitic welds have been developed taking into account the acceptance criteria. Test procedure including calibration of equipment is derived and qualified through

Ultrasonic Transducer Design for the Axial Flaw Detection of Dissimilar Metal Weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Byung Sik; Kim, Yong Sik; Yang, Seung Han

2011-01-01

Dissimilar metal welds in nuclear power plant are known as very susceptible to PWSCC flaws, and periodically inspected by the qualified inspector and qualified procedure during in-service inspection period. According to field survey data, the majority of their DMWs are located on tapered nozzle or adjacent to a tapered component. These types of configurations restrict examination access and also limit examination volume coverage. Additionally, circumferential scan for axially oriented flaw is very difficult to detect located on tapered surface because the transducer can't receive flaw response from reflector for miss-orientation. To overcome this miss-orientation, it is necessary adapt skewed ultrasonic transducer accommodate tapered surface. The skewed refracted longitudinal ultrasonic transducer designed by modeling and manufactured from the modelling result for axial flaw detection. Experimental results showed that the skewed refracted longitudinal ultrasonic transducer get higher flaw response than non-skewed refracted longitudinal ultrasonic transducer

Ultrasonic spot welding of Al/Mg/Al tri-layered clad sheets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macwan, A.; Patel, V.K.; Jiang, X.Q.; Li, C.; Bhole, S.D.; Chen, D.L.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The optimal welding condition is achieved at 100 J and 0.1 s. • Failure load first increases and then decreases with increasing welding energy. • The highest failure load after welding is close to that of the clad sheets. • At low energy levels failure occurs in the mode of interfacial failure. • At high energy levels failure takes place at the edge of nugget region. - Abstract: Solid-state ultrasonic spot welding (USW) was used to join Al/Mg/Al tri-layered clad sheets, aiming at exploring weldability and identifying failure mode in relation to the welding energy. It was observed that the application of a low welding energy of 100 J was able to achieve the optimal welding condition during USW at a very short welding time of 0.1 s for the tri-layered clad sheets. The optimal lap shear failure load obtained was equivalent to that of the as-received Al/Mg/Al tri-layered clad sheets. With increasing welding energy, the lap shear failure load initially increased and then decreased after reaching a maximum value. At a welding energy of 25 J, failure occurred in the mode of interfacial failure along the center Al/Al weld interface due to insufficient bonding. At a welding energy of 50 J, 75 J and 100 J, failure was also characterized by the interfacial failure mode, but it occurred along the Al/Mg clad interface rather than the center Al/Al weld interface, suggesting stronger bonding of the Al/Al weld interface than that of the Al/Mg clad interface. The overall weld strength of the Al/Mg/Al tri-layered clad sheets was thus governed by the Al/Mg clad interface strength. At a welding energy of 125 J and 150 J, thinning of weld nugget and extensive deformation at the edge of welding tip caused failure at the edge of nugget region, leading to a lower lap shear failure load

46 CFR 154.660 - Pipe welding.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pipe welding. 154.660 Section 154.660 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES SAFETY STANDARDS FOR... § 154.660 Pipe welding. (a) Pipe welding must meet Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Longitudinal butt welds...

Applicability of gamma radiography and ultrasonic testing in welds and castings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnamurthy, K.; Wamorkar, R.R.; Jayakumar, T.K.

1977-01-01

Technical limitations and advantages of gamma radiography and ultrasonic techniques for flow detection in welds and castings, have been discussed. Limitations of both the testing methods due to orientation, shape and location of defects have been analysed and a few experimental results are presented. Dependence of inspection sensitivity of both the techniques for different types of targets and defects has been indicated. (author)

Device for welding components using ultrasonics, particularly for solar cell contacts and solar cell connections. Vorrichtung zum Verschweissen von Bauteilen unter Verwendung von Ultraschall, insbesondere von Solarzellenkontakten und Solarzellenverbindern

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gochermann, H.

1983-06-23

This is a device for welding components, particularly solar cell contacts and solar cell connections, using an ultrasonic welding device. The ultrasonic welding device has a high frequency generator, an ultrasonic emitter, a transmitter, a sonotrode, a device for accommodating the components and controls. The sonotrode is provided with a circumferential beading acting as the welding disc, which, together with the sonotrode, is rolled over the components by a relative movement. The part of the beading which is tangential to the component introduces ultrasonic energy into the component. The relative movement is made possible by the system of the ultrasonic emitter, transmitter and sonotrode with the surrounding beading being mounted so that it can rotate in a vibration node of the transmitter. (orig.).

Inspection tool for butt-welded tubing

Science.gov (United States)

Horman, D. P.

1977-01-01

Inspection tool for tubing consists of metal casing housing elastic collar. Collar is clamped around weld site under test. Leakage through weld is contained within chamber and is bled to detector via tubing attached to fitting. Tool, originally designed to detect fluid leakage in tubing, can be used to detect gas leaks.

Multispot fiber laser welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schutt Hansen, Klaus

This dissertation presents work and results achieved in the field of multi beam fiber laser welding. The project has had a practical approach, in which simulations and modelling have been kept at a minimum. Different methods to produce spot patterns with high power single mode fiber lasers have...... been examined and evaluated. It is found that both diamond turned DOE’s in zinc sulphide and multilevel etched DOE’s (Diffractive Optical Elements) in fused silica have a good performance. Welding with multiple beams in a butt joint configuration has been tested. Results are presented, showing it has...... been possible to control the welding width in incremental steps by adding more beams in a row. The laser power was used to independently control the keyhole and consequently the depth of fusion. An example of inline repair of a laser weld in butt joint configuration was examined. Zinc powder was placed...

Automated ultrasonic testing of nuclear reactor welds and overlays in pre-service and in-service inspections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sladky, J.

1988-01-01

Since 1982, automatic pre-service and in-service checks are being made of welded joints and overlays on pressure vessels of WWER-440 nuclear reactors in Czechoslovakia. This is being done using the SKODA REACTORTEST TRC facility which is used for checking peripheral welded joints on the pressure vessel, neck joints, overlays in other selected areas of the cylindrical section of the pressure vessel, on radius transitions of the pressure vessel and of necks, and on the cylindrical part of necks, and also for checking the base material in selected parts of the pressure vessel and the base material of the neck extension piece. The tests are of two types, namely tests of peripheral welds and overlays of the cylindrical parts of the pressure vessel, and tests of the necks. Different ultrasonic probe holders are used for the tests, with totally different design. Ultrasonic probes which were initially used were of foreign make while at present, those of Czechoslovak make are used. For each pressure vessel a set of ultrasonic probes is used which should suffice for the life of the vessel. Experience gained so far is being used in work on the project of a new device for testing nuclear reactor presure vessels from the inside. (Z.M.)

An online real time ultrasonic NDT system for the quality control of spot welding in the automotive industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2009-01-01

Resistance spot welding is the main joining technique used for the fabrication of body-in-white structures in the automotive industry. The quality of the welds depends on the profile of the spot welding electrode cap. The increased use of zinc coated steel in the industry increases wear rate of the caps, making quality control more difficult. This paper presents a novel online real time ultrasonic NDE system for resistance spot welding which evaluates every weld as it is formed. SEM results are presented to show the alloying of the electrode caps.

An online real time ultrasonic NDT system for the quality control of spot welding in the automotive industry

Science.gov (United States)

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

2009-07-01

Resistance spot welding is the main joining technique used for the fabrication of body-in-white structures in the automotive industry. The quality of the welds depends on the profile of the spot welding electrode cap. The increased use of zinc coated steel in the industry increases wear rate of the caps, making quality control more difficult. This paper presents a novel online real time ultrasonic NDE system for resistance spot welding which evaluates every weld as it is formed. SEM results are presented to show the alloying of the electrode caps.

Microstructure and texture evolution in aluminum and commercially pure titanium dissimilar welds fabricated using ultrasonic additive manufacturing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sridharan, Niyanth; Wolcott, Paul; Dapino, Marcelo; Babu, S.S.

2016-01-01

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) is a solid-state hybrid manufacturing technique. In this work characterization using electron back scatter diffraction was performed on aluminum–titanium dissimilar metal welds made using a 9 kW ultrasonic additive manufacturing system. The results showed that the aluminum texture at the interface after ultrasonic additive manufacturing is similar to aluminum texture observed during accumulative roll bonding of aluminum alloys. It is finally concluded that the underlying mechanism of bond formation in ultrasonic additive manufacturing primarily relies on severe shear deformation at the interface.

Application of the ultrasonic phased array technique to alloy 182 weld inspection in PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsiao, Chu Chung; Shie, Namg Chian; Chu, Shyr Liang; Lee, Sou See; Toung, Jean Chung; Su, Liang Chun; Yang, Hai Ming

2006-01-01

Cracks were found in nickel-based welds frequently in some nuclear power plants. The development of inspection technique capability of finding these cracks is thus in great demand. The difficulties of inspection and evaluation for nickel-based welds include ultrasonic reflection of interface of dissimilar materials, ultrasonic distortion of anisotropic microstructure, and signal-to-noise ratio reduction of coarse grain. In this study, an Alloy 182 mock-up with the same size and material properties as in the field is designed and fabricated. The Alloy 182 mock-up specimen contains various cracks and notches for calibration. Phased array UT and other ultrasonic inspection techniques are used in this study. Based on the experiment results, the phased array probe with 2D dual crystals and low frequency (1.5MHz) longitudinal wave is found to perform well. Finally, phased array ultrasonic testing technique has been approved to be an effectively nondestructive test method for DMW with real size testing block involved. Typically, phased array probe can generate sharp tip diffraction signal and thus reliable and accurate result can be obtained for sizing the defect. Furthermore, phased array probe can also generate various angles and focal lengths and thus combinatorial effect can be achieved for several traditional probes. With a full understanding of the beam behavior and an optimized delay laws, the phased away ultrasonic technique integrated with an automatic scanner will achieve not only to save scanning time but also to reduce the amount of radiation exposure on field inspection.

Standard practice for ultrasonic testing of the Weld Zone of welded pipe and tubing

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2010-01-01

1.1 This practice describes general ultrasonic testing procedures for the detection of discontinuities in the weld and adjacent heat affected zones of welded pipe and tubing by scanning with relative motion between the search unit and pipe or tube. When contact or unfocused immersion search units are employed, this practice is intended for tubular products having specified outside diameters ≥2 in. (≥50 mm) and specified wall thicknesses of 1/8to 11/16 in. (3 to 27 mm). When properly focused immersion search units are employed, this practice may also be applied to material of smaller diameter and thinner wall. Note 1—When contact or unfocused immersion search units are used, precautions should be exercised when examining pipes or tubes near the lower specified limits. Certain combinations of search unit size, frequency, thin–wall thicknesses, and small diameters could cause generation of unwanted sound waves that may produce erroneous examination results. 1.2 All surfaces of material to be examined in ...

Disk Laser Welding of Car Body Zinc Coated Steel Sheets / Spawanie Laserem Dyskowym Blach Ze Stali Karoseryjnej Ocynkowanej

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisiecki A.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Autogenous laser welding of 0.8 mm thick butt joints of car body electro-galvanized steel sheet DC04 was investigated. The Yb:YAG disk laser TruDisk 3302 with the beam spot diameter of 200 μm was used. The effect of laser welding parameters and technological conditions on weld shape, penetration depth, process stability, microstructure and mechanical performance was determined. It was found that the laser beam spot focused on the top surface of a butt joint tends to pass through the gap, especially in the low range of heat input and high welding speed. All test welds were welded at a keyhole mode, and the weld metal was free of porosity. Thus, the keyhole laser welding of zinc coated steel sheets in butt configuration provides excellent conditions to escape for zinc vapours, with no risk of porosity. Microstructure, microhardness and mechanical performance of the butt joints depend on laser welding conditions thus cooling rate and cooling times. The shortest cooling time t8/5 was calculated for 0.29 s.

Improvement in accuracy of the measurements of residual stresses due to circumferential welds in thin-walled pipe using Rayleigh wave method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhshik, Siamak; Moharrami, Rasool

2009-01-01

To achieve an acceptable safety in many industrial applications such as nuclear power plants and power generation, it is extremely important to gain an understanding of the magnitudes and distributions of the residual stresses in a pipe formed by joining two sections with a girth butt weld. Most of the methods for high-accuracy measurement of residual stress are destructive. These destructive measurement methods cannot be applied to engineering systems and structures during actual operation. In this paper, we present a method based on the measurement of ultrasonic Rayleigh wave velocity variations versus the stress state for nondestructive evaluation of residual stress in dissimilar pipe welded joint. We show some residual stress profile obtained by this method. These are then compared with other profiles determined using a semi-destructive technique (hole-drilling) that makes it possible to check our results. According to the results, we also present a new method for adjusting the ultrasonic measurements to improve the agreement with the results obtained from other techniques.

A final report on the performance achieved by non-destructive testing of defective butt welds in 50mm thick Type 316 stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, J.; Hudgell, R.J.

1987-03-01

This report concludes a programme of work started approximately eight years ago to fabricate deliberately defective austenitic downhand welds in 50 mm thick Type 316 plate and then to examine them non-destructively under ideal laboratory conditions. After completing and reporting the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), the specimens were subjected to detailed metallography to locate, identify and size all the planned and unplanned flaws in the welds. The report gives the final analysis of this exercise on the relative merits of X-radiography, pulse echo ultrasonics and the time-of-flight technique for the detection, location and sizing of weld flaws. It was found that X-radiography and pulse echo ultrasonics were the best techniques for flaw detection but neither technique was reliable for flaw sizing. The time-of-flight technique provided accurate sizing data but the location of the flaws had to be known to identify the diffracted signals from the extremities of the flaws due to the poor signal to noise ratio. Observations are also reported on the fabrication of deliberately defective austenitic welds for use as reference specimens in the FR programme. (author)

Comparison between sensitivities of quality control methods using ultrasonic waves, radiography and acoustic emission for the thick welded joint testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asty, Michel; Birac, Claude

1981-09-01

The testing of the thick welded joints of the nuclear industry is carried out by radiography and ultrasonics on completion of welding. When a fault is found, its repair requires a sometimes deep cut down to the position of the fault, then filling in of the cut by hand welding with a coated electrode. This very costly operation also involves the risk of causing new defects when building up by hand. Listening to the acoustic emission during the welding has been considered in order to seek the possibility of detecting defects when they appear, or soon after. The industrial use of this method would make an instant repair of the defective areas possible at less cost and with greater reliability. The study presented concerns the comparison between the results of the various non-destructive testing methods: radiography, ultrasonics and acoustic emission, for a thick welded joint in which the defects have been brought about [fr

Structural integrity and fatigue crack propagation life assessment of welded and weld-repaired structures

Science.gov (United States)

Alam, Mohammad Shah

2005-11-01

Structural integrity is the science and technology of the margin between safety and disaster. Proper evaluation of the structural integrity and fatigue life of any structure (aircraft, ship, railways, bridges, gas and oil transmission pipelines, etc.) is important to ensure the public safety, environmental protection, and economical consideration. Catastrophic failure of any structure can be avoided if structural integrity is assessed and necessary precaution is taken appropriately. Structural integrity includes tasks in many areas, such as structural analysis, failure analysis, nondestructive testing, corrosion, fatigue and creep analysis, metallurgy and materials, fracture mechanics, fatigue life assessment, welding metallurgy, development of repairing technologies, structural monitoring and instrumentation etc. In this research fatigue life assessment of welded and weld-repaired joints is studied both in numerically and experimentally. A new approach for the simulation of fatigue crack growth in two elastic materials has been developed and specifically, the concept has been applied to butt-welded joint in a straight plate and in tubular joints. In the proposed method, the formation of new surface is represented by an interface element based on the interface potential energy. This method overcomes the limitation of crack growth at an artificial rate of one element length per cycle. In this method the crack propagates only when the applied load reaches the critical bonding strength. The predicted results compares well with experimental results. The Gas Metal Arc welding processes has been simulated to predict post-weld distortion, residual stresses and development of restraining forces in a butt-welded joint. The effect of welding defects and bi-axial interaction of a circular porosity and a solidification crack on fatigue crack propagation life of butt-welded joints has also been investigated. After a weld has been repaired, the specimen was tested in a universal

Ultrasonic Control of welded joints by using specific PC generated AVG diagrams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rondon Torriente, S.; Galeano Alvarez, N.J.; Frometas Castillo, T.; Gonzalez Mastrapa, J.J. Unidad Presupuestada Inversionista Para la Construccion de la Central Electronuclear de Juragua, Juragua . Laboratorio de Metales.

1996-01-01

This paper describes an algoritm easy to be implemented in a modern personnel computer (PC), which can be used to obtain the specific AVG diagrams required during the ultrasonic control of welded joints by the AVG method. The algoritm is illustrated by means of the derivation of some specific diagrams corresponding to given inspection testing. Also some results and standard practices given in recent issues of several international codes are outlined, which can be used in recent issues of several international codes are outlined, which can be used to overcome common problems founded during the practical use of the AVG method with conventional shear wave ultrasonic transducers

The Effectiveness of Surface Coatings on Preventing Interfacial Reaction During Ultrasonic Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium

Science.gov (United States)

Panteli, Alexandria; Robson, Joseph D.; Chen, Ying-Chun; Prangnell, Philip B.

2013-12-01

High power ultrasonic spot welding (USW) is a solid-state joining process that is advantageous for welding difficult dissimilar material couples, like magnesium to aluminum. USW is also a useful technique for testing methods of controlling interfacial reaction in welding as the interface is not greatly displaced by the process. However, the high strain rate deformation in USW has been found to accelerate intermetallic compound (IMC) formation and a thick Al12Mg17 and Al3Mg2 reaction layer forms after relatively short welding times. In this work, we have investigated the potential of two approaches for reducing the IMC reaction rate in dissimilar Al-Mg ultrasonic welds, both involving coatings on the Mg sheet surface to (i) separate the join line from the weld interface, using a 100- μm-thick Al cold spray coating, and (ii) provide a diffusion barrier layer, using a thin manganese physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating. Both methods were found to reduce the level of reaction and increase the failure energy of the welds, but their effectiveness was limited due to issues with coating attachment and survivability during the welding cycle. The effect of the coatings on the joint's interface microstructure, and the fracture behavior have been investigated in detail. Kinetic modeling has been used to show that the benefit of the cold spray coating can be attributed to the reaction rate reverting to that expected under static conditions. This reduces the IMC growth rate by over 50 pct because at the weld line, the high strain rate dynamic deformation in USW normally enhances diffusion through the IMC layer. In comparison, the thin PVD barrier coating was found to rapidly break up early in USW and become dispersed throughout the deformation layer reducing its effectiveness.

Fatique Resistant, Energy Efficient Welding Program, Final Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Egland, Keith; Ludewig, Howard

2006-05-25

The program scope was to affect the heat input and the resultant weld bead geometry by synchronizing robotic weave cycles with desired pulsed waveform shapes to develop process parameters relationships and optimized pulsed gas metal arc welding processes for welding fatique-critical structures of steel, high strength steel, and aluminum. Quality would be addressed by developing intelligent methods of weld measurement that accurately predict weld bead geometry from process information. This program was severely underfunded, and eventually terminated. The scope was redirected to investigate tandem narrow groove welding of steel butt joints during the one year of partial funding. A torch was designed and configured to perform a design of experiments of steel butt weld joints that validated the feasability of the process. An initial cost model estimated a 60% cost savings over conventional groove welding by eliminating the joint preparation and reducing the weld volume needed.

Evaluation of Manual Ultrasonic Examinations Applied to Detect Flaws in Primary System Dissimilar Metal Welds at North Anna Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, Michael T.; Diaz, Aaron A.; Doctor, Steven R.

2012-01-01

During a recent inservice inspection (ISI) of a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) in an inlet (hot leg) steam generator nozzle at North Anna Power Station Unit 1, several axially oriented flaws went undetected by the licensee's manual ultrasonic testing (UT) technique. The flaws were subsequently detected as a result of outside diameter (OD) surface machining in preparation for a full structural weld overlay. The machining operation uncovered the existence of two through-wall flaws, based on the observance of primary water leaking from the DMW. Further ultrasonic tests were then performed, and a total of five axially oriented flaws, classified as primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC), were detected in varied locations around the weld circumference.

Mechanisms of joint and microstructure formation in high power ultrasonic spot welding 6111 aluminium automotive sheet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakavos, D.; Prangnell, P.B.

2010-01-01

Resistance spot welding (RSW) is difficult to apply to aluminium automotive alloys. High power ultrasonic spot welding (HP-USW) is a new alternative method which is extremely efficient, using ∼2% of the energy of RSW. However, to date there have been few studies of the mechanisms of bond formation and the material interactions that take place with this process. Here, we report on a detailed investigation where we have used X-ray tomography, high resolution SEM, and EBSD, and dissimilar alloy welds, to track the interface position and characterise the stages of weld formation, and microstructure evolution, as a function of welding energy. Under optimum conditions high quality welds are produced, showing few defects. Welding proceeds by the development and spread of microwelds, until extensive plastic deformation occurs within the weld zone, where the temperature reaches ∼380 deg. C. The origin of the weld interface 'flow features' characteristic of HP-USW are discussed.

Advanced Welding Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Robert J.

2010-01-01

Four advanced welding techniques and their use in NASA are briefly reviewed in this poster presentation. The welding techniques reviewed are: Solid State Welding, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), Thermal Stir Welding (TSW) and Ultrasonic Stir Welding.

Gas tungsten arc welding assisted hybrid friction stir welding of dissimilar materials Al6061-T6 aluminum alloy and STS304 stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bang, HanSur; Bang, HeeSeon; Jeon, GeunHong; Oh, IkHyun; Ro, ChanSeung

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► GTAW assisted hybrid friction stir welding (HFSW) has been carried out for dissimilar butt joint. ► Mechanical strength of dissimilar butt joint by HFSW and FSW has been investigated and compared. ► Microstructure of dissimilar butt joint by HFSW and FSW has been investigated and compared. -- Abstract: The aim of this research is to evaluate the potential for using the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) assisted hybrid friction stir welding (HFSW) process to join a stainless steel alloy (STS304) to an aluminum alloy (Al6061) in order to improve the weld strength. The difference in mechanical and microstructural characteristics of dissimilar joint by friction stir welding (FSW) and HFSW has been investigated and compared. Transverse tensile strength of approximately 93% of the aluminum alloy (Al6061) base metal tensile strength is obtained with HFSW, which is higher than the tensile strength of FSW welds. This may be due to the enhanced material plastic flow and partial annealing effect in dissimilar materials due to preheating of stainless steel surface by GTAW, resulting in significantly increased elongation of welds. The results indicate that HFSW that integrates GTAW preheating to FSW is advantageous in joining dissimilar combinations compared to conventional FSW.

Flaw-size measurement in a weld samples by ultrasonic frequency analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adler, L.; Cook, K.V.; Whaley, H.L. Jr.; McClung, R.W.

1975-01-01

An ultrasonic frequency-analysis technique was developed and applies to characterize flaws in an 8-in. (203-mm) thick heavy-section steel weld specimen. The technique applies a multitransducer system. The spectrum of the received broad-band signal is frequency analyzed at two different receivers for each of the flaws. From the two spectra, the size and orientation of the flaw are determined by the use of an analytic model proposed earlier. (auth)

Ultrasonic evaluation of friction stud welded AA 6063/AISI 1030 steel joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hynes, N. Rajesh Jesudoss; Nagaraj, P.; Sujana, J. Angela Jennifa

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Friction stud welding of AA 6063 and AISI 1030 was done successfully. • Ultrasonic evaluation of interfacial properties. • EDX analysis confirms intermetallic compound (FeAl) in the interfacial region. - Abstract: Friction stud welding is a promising technique in many applications related to oil and gas industries. It is used to attach grating to offshore oil platforms in areas where arc welding is not permitted because of the risk of causing a fire or explosion. Attachment of anodes inside seawater discharge pipelines in a gas processing plant is performed by this process. This solid state joining process permits metal combinations such as welding of aluminum studs to steel which would be problematic with arc welding because of the formation of thick and brittle inter-metallic compounds. In the present work, AA 6063 is joined to AISI 1030 steel using friction stud welding machine. Properties that are of interest to manufacturing applications such as Young’s modulus, longitudinal velocity, bulk modulus and shear modulus are evaluated by means of an ultrasonic flaw detector. At the interface of the joint, there is an increase of 4.4%, 1.8%, 1.15% and 4.42% is observed for the properties Young’s modulus, longitudinal velocity, bulk modulus and shear modulus respectively. This is due to the formation of intermetallic compound and increase in hardness at the interfacial region. Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis confirms the presence of FeAl as the intermetallic compound. Scanning Electron Microscope evaluation shows the presence of an unbound zone at the center of the inner region which is due to the minimum rotational speed and low axial load experienced at that point. In the unbound zone, there is an incomplete bond between dissimilar metals and it is detrimental to joint strength. Optimum value of friction time and usage of pure aluminum interlayer during the friction stud welding process hinders the formation of unbound zone and enhances the

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrasonic Spot Welded Mg/Al Alloy Dissimilar Joints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Peng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Lightweight structural applications of magnesium and aluminum alloys inevitably necessitate welding and joining, especially dissimilar welding between these alloys. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of joining ZEK100 Mg alloy to Al6022 alloy via ultrasonic spot welding, focusing on effects of welding energy. An interface diffusion layer consisting of α-Mg and Al12Mg17 eutectic structure was observed to form, with its thickness increased from ~0.5 µm to ~30 µm with increasing welding energy from 500 J to 2000 J. The tensile lap shear peak load or strength and critical stress intensity of the welded joints first increased and then decreased with increasing welding energy, with their peak values achieved at 750 J. Fatigue life of the joints made at 750 J and 2000 J was equivalent at the lower cyclic loading levels, while it was longer for the joints made at 750 J at the higher cyclic loading levels. Fatigue fracture mode changed from interfacial failure to mainly transverse-through-thickness crack growth with decreasing cyclic loading level, which corresponded well to the bi-linear characteristic of S-N curves. Crack initiation basically occurred at the weld nugget border and at the interface between the two sheets, which can be understood via a theoretical stress analysis.

STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF WELDING PROCESS ON DISTORTION WITH 304L STAINLESS STEEL WELD JOINTS

OpenAIRE

Dhananjay Kumar*, Dharamvir mangal

2017-01-01

The effect of welding process on the distortion with 304L stainless steel 12thk weld joints made by TIG (tungsten inert gas) and SMAW (Shielded metal arc welding) welding process involving different type joint configuration have been studied. The joint configurations employed were double V-groove edge preparation for double side SMAW welding and square – butt preparation for double side TIG welding. All weld joints passed by radiographic. Distortion measurements were carried out using height ...

Ultrasonic test results for the reactor pressure vessel of the HTTR. Longitudinal welding line of bottom dome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nojiri, Naoki; Ohwada, Hiroyuki; Kato, Yasushi

2008-06-01

This paper describes the inspection method, the measured area, etc. of the ultrasonic test of the in-service inspection (ISI) for welding lines of the reactor pressure vessel of the HTTR and the inspection results of the longitudinal welding line of the bottom dome. The pre-service inspection (PSI) results for estimation of occurrence and progression of defects to compare the ISI results is described also. (author)

The ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds and claddings as described in the handbooks of the IIW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neumann, E.; Wuestenberg, H.

1991-01-01

The handbooks of the International Institute of Welding (IIW) are to give guidance in the use of ultrasonic testing techniques developed for austenitic welded joints and platings, and serve as a pattern for working out testing instructions for these special tests. Basically these handbooks consist of the metallurgical description of the test subjects; sound propagation in acoustically anisotropic structures; description of testing techniques, and guidance in preparing testing instructions. (orig./DG) [de

Fiber laser welding of nickel based superalloy Inconel 625

Science.gov (United States)

Janicki, Damian M.

2013-01-01

The paper describes the application of single mode high power fiber laser (HPFL) for the welding of nickel based superalloy Inconel 625. Butt joints of Inconel 625 sheets 0,8 mm thick were laser welded without an additional material. The influence of laser welding parameters on weld quality and mechanical properties of test joints was studied. The quality and mechanical properties of the joints were determined by means of tensile and bending tests, and micro hardness tests, and also metallographic examinations. The results showed that a proper selection of laser welding parameters provides non-porous, fully-penetrated welds with the aspect ratio up to 2.0. The minimum heat input required to achieve full penetration butt welded joints with no defect was found to be 6 J/mm. The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the joints are essentially equivalent to that for the base material.

Procedure Development and Qualification of the Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing for the Nuclear Power Plant Piping Weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Byung Sik; Yang, Seung Han; Kim, Yong Sik; Lee, Hee Jong

2010-01-01

The manual ultrasonic examination for the nuclear power plant piping welds has been demonstrated by using KPD(Korean Performance Demonstration) generic procedure. For automated ultrasonic examination, there is no generic procedure and it should be qualified by using applicable automated equipment. Until now, most of qualified procedures used pulse-echo technique and there is no qualified procedure using phased array technique. In this study, data acquisition and analysis software were developed and phased-array transducer and wedge were designed to implement phased array technique for nuclear power plant in-service inspection. The developed procedure are qualified for performance demonstration for the flaw detection, length sizing and depth sizing. The qualified procedure will be applied for the field examination in the nuclear power plant piping weld inspection

An ultrasonic methodology to non-destructively estimate the grain orientation in an anisotropic weld

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wirdelius Håkan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The initial step towards a non-destructive technique that estimates grain orientation in an anisotropic weld is presented in this paper. The purpose is to aid future forward simulations of ultrasonic NDT of this kind of weld to achieve a better result. A forward model that consists of a weld model, a transmitter model, a receiver model and a 2D ray tracing algorithm is introduced. An inversion based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm is also presented. Experiments are conducted for both P and SV waves in order to collect enough data used in the inversion. Calculation is conducted to fulfil the estimation with both the synthetic data and the experimental data. Concluding remarks are presented at the end of the paper.

Prediction of the Vickers Microhardness and Ultimate Tensile Strength of AA5754 H111 Friction Stir Welding Butt Joints Using Artificial Neural Network.

Science.gov (United States)

De Filippis, Luigi Alberto Ciro; Serio, Livia Maria; Facchini, Francesco; Mummolo, Giovanni; Ludovico, Antonio Domenico

2016-11-10

A simulation model was developed for the monitoring, controlling and optimization of the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process. This approach, using the FSW technique, allows identifying the correlation between the process parameters (input variable) and the mechanical properties (output responses) of the welded AA5754 H111 aluminum plates. The optimization of technological parameters is a basic requirement for increasing the seam quality, since it promotes a stable and defect-free process. Both the tool rotation and the travel speed, the position of the samples extracted from the weld bead and the thermal data, detected with thermographic techniques for on-line control of the joints, were varied to build the experimental plans. The quality of joints was evaluated through destructive and non-destructive tests (visual tests, macro graphic analysis, tensile tests, indentation Vickers hardness tests and t thermographic controls). The simulation model was based on the adoption of the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) characterized by back-propagation learning algorithm with different types of architecture, which were able to predict with good reliability the FSW process parameters for the welding of the AA5754 H111 aluminum plates in Butt-Joint configuration.

Prediction of the Vickers Microhardness and Ultimate Tensile Strength of AA5754 H111 Friction Stir Welding Butt Joints Using Artificial Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luigi Alberto Ciro De Filippis

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A simulation model was developed for the monitoring, controlling and optimization of the Friction Stir Welding (FSW process. This approach, using the FSW technique, allows identifying the correlation between the process parameters (input variable and the mechanical properties (output responses of the welded AA5754 H111 aluminum plates. The optimization of technological parameters is a basic requirement for increasing the seam quality, since it promotes a stable and defect-free process. Both the tool rotation and the travel speed, the position of the samples extracted from the weld bead and the thermal data, detected with thermographic techniques for on-line control of the joints, were varied to build the experimental plans. The quality of joints was evaluated through destructive and non-destructive tests (visual tests, macro graphic analysis, tensile tests, indentation Vickers hardness tests and t thermographic controls. The simulation model was based on the adoption of the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs characterized by back-propagation learning algorithm with different types of architecture, which were able to predict with good reliability the FSW process parameters for the welding of the AA5754 H111 aluminum plates in Butt-Joint configuration.

Friction Stir Welding Process: A Green Technology

OpenAIRE

Esther T. Akinlabi; Stephen A. Akinlabi

2012-01-01

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process invented and patented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in the United Kingdom in 1991 for butt and lap welding of metals and plastics. This paper highlights the benefits of friction stir welding process as an energy efficient and a green technology process in the field of welding. Compared to the other conventional welding processes, its benefits, typical applications and its use in joining similar and dissimilar materia...

Special metallurgy - the electrical butt-welding by flashing of sintered magnesium-magnesium oxide composites (1963); Metallurgie speciale - le soudage electrique en bout par etincelage du composite fritte magnesium-magnesie (1963)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Charleux, J [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1963-07-01

Electrical resistance welding has become quite important since World War II because of the need of a high yield in aeronautical production. Progress has been due in particular to the improvements made in electronically controlled apparatus making possible the automatic control of welding. For the butt-welding of sections requiring either a high production rate or a high quality weld, the flash butt-welding system has been very much developed these last few years. The use of this welding method is of great importance in the field of the bonding of oxidisable metals such as magnesium or aluminium and its alloys, because the welded joint is free from oxides. This study consists of general considerations on the flash-welding process with regard to temperature distribution in the parts during welding, and to electrical phenomena connected with flashing. Besides this general or theoretical section, we have applied the welding process to the bonding of sintered magnesium, a magnesium-magnesium oxide composite, whose use as a structural element in nuclear reactors is considered. (author) [French] Le soudage electrique par resistance a pris un essor important depuis la derniere guerre mondiale a cause du besoin de haut rendement pour la production aeronautique. Les progres ont ete possibles surtout par l'amelioration des appareils de commande electronique qui permettent un controle automatique de la soudure. Pour le soudage bout a bout de profiles, demandant soit un haut debit de fabrication, soit une haute qualite du joint soude, le procede de soudage en bout par etincelage a ete tres developpe ces dernieres annees. Ce mode de soudage a un domaine d'utilisation important dans la liaison des metaux oxydables tels le magnesium ou l'aluminium et ses alliages, du fait de la proprete du joint soude exempt d'oxydes. Cette etude comporte une consideration generale du processus de l'etincelage, quant a la repartition de la temperature dans les pieces pendant le soudage et aux

Special metallurgy - the electrical butt-welding by flashing of sintered magnesium-magnesium oxide composites (1963); Metallurgie speciale - le soudage electrique en bout par etincelage du composite fritte magnesium-magnesie (1963)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Charleux, J. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1963-07-01

Electrical resistance welding has become quite important since World War II because of the need of a high yield in aeronautical production. Progress has been due in particular to the improvements made in electronically controlled apparatus making possible the automatic control of welding. For the butt-welding of sections requiring either a high production rate or a high quality weld, the flash butt-welding system has been very much developed these last few years. The use of this welding method is of great importance in the field of the bonding of oxidisable metals such as magnesium or aluminium and its alloys, because the welded joint is free from oxides. This study consists of general considerations on the flash-welding process with regard to temperature distribution in the parts during welding, and to electrical phenomena connected with flashing. Besides this general or theoretical section, we have applied the welding process to the bonding of sintered magnesium, a magnesium-magnesium oxide composite, whose use as a structural element in nuclear reactors is considered. (author) [French] Le soudage electrique par resistance a pris un essor important depuis la derniere guerre mondiale a cause du besoin de haut rendement pour la production aeronautique. Les progres ont ete possibles surtout par l'amelioration des appareils de commande electronique qui permettent un controle automatique de la soudure. Pour le soudage bout a bout de profiles, demandant soit un haut debit de fabrication, soit une haute qualite du joint soude, le procede de soudage en bout par etincelage a ete tres developpe ces dernieres annees. Ce mode de soudage a un domaine d'utilisation important dans la liaison des metaux oxydables tels le magnesium ou l'aluminium et ses alliages, du fait de la proprete du joint soude exempt d'oxydes. Cette etude comporte une consideration generale du processus de l'etincelage, quant a la repartition de la temperature dans les pieces

Modelling and Pareto optimization of mechanical properties of friction stir welded AA7075/AA5083 butt joints using neural network and particle swarm algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shojaeefard, Mohammad Hasan; Behnagh, Reza Abdi; Akbari, Mostafa; Givi, Mohammad Kazem Besharati; Farhani, Foad

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Defect-free friction stir welds have been produced for AA5083-O/AA7075-O. ► Back-propagation was sufficient for predicting hardness and tensile strength. ► A hybrid multi-objective algorithm is proposed to deal with this MOP. ► Multi-objective particle swarm optimization was used to find the Pareto solutions. ► TOPSIS is used to rank the given alternatives of the Pareto solutions. -- Abstract: Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has been successfully used to weld similar and dissimilar cast and wrought aluminium alloys, especially for aircraft aluminium alloys, that generally present with low weldability by the traditional fusion welding process. This paper focuses on the microstructural and mechanical properties of the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) of AA7075-O to AA5083-O aluminium alloys. Weld microstructures, hardness and tensile properties were evaluated in as-welded condition. Tensile tests indicated that mechanical properties of the joint were better than in the base metals. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed to simulate the correlation between the Friction Stir Welding parameters and mechanical properties. Performance of the ANN model was excellent and the model was employed to predict the ultimate tensile strength and hardness of butt joint of AA7075–AA5083 as functions of weld and rotational speeds. The multi-objective particle swarm optimization was used to obtain the Pareto-optimal set. Finally, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was applied to determine the best compromised solution.

The Mechanism of Ultrasonic Vibration on Grain Refining and Degassing in GTA Spot Welding of Copper Joints.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Ezzi, Salih; Quan, Gaofeng; Elrayah, Adil

2018-05-07

This paper examines the effect of ultrasonic vibration (USV) on grain size and interrupted porosity in Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) spot-welded copper. Grain size was refined by perpendicularly attaching a transducer to the welded sheet and applying USV to the weld pool for a short time (0, 2, 4, and 6 s) in addition improvements to the degassing process. Results illustrate a significant reduction of grain size (57%). Notably, USV provided interaction between reformations (fragmentation) and provided nucleation points (detaching particles from the fusion line) for grains in the nugget zone and the elimination of porosity in the nugget zone. The GTA spot welding process, in conjunction with USV, demonstrated an improvement in the corrosion potential for a copper spot-welded joint in comparison to the joint welded without assistance of USV. Finally, welding of copper by GTA spot welding in conjunction with ultrasound for 2 s presented significant mechanical properties.

Imaging techniques for ultrasonic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

These seminar proceedings contain 16 lectures on the following topics: 1. From imaging to quantification - ultrasound methods in medical diagnostics; 2. SAFT, TOFD, Phased Array - classical applications and recent developments in ultrasonic imaging; 3. Innovative ultrasonic imaging methods in research and application; 4. Industrial ultrasonic testing of fibre-reinforced structures of complex geometry; 5. Visualisation of crack tips in the inspection of wheel set shafts with longitudinal boreholes as a means of avoiding unnecessary wheel set changes; 6. Areal analysis of the propagation of Lamb waves on curved, anisotropic structures; 7. High-resolution representation in immersion technique testing; 8. Variants in generating images from phased array measurement data - practical examples involving copper, carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and other materials; 9. GIUM - an unconventional method of microstructure imaging using ultrasonic stimulation and laser vibrometry scanning; 10. Innovative air-ultrasonic testing concepts for improved imaging; 11. Use of imaging methods for improving the quality of test results from nondestructive testing; 12. Modelling and visualisation of EMUS stimulation for transducer optimisation; 13. Use of SAFT in the manufacture of energy conversion machines; 14. Ultrasonic imaging tests for improved defect characterisation during weld seam inspection on longitudinally welded large-diameter pipes; 15. SAFT reconstruction for testing austenitic weld seams and dissimilar metal weld seams for transverse cracks; 16. Imaging-based optimisation method for quantitative ultrasonic testing of anisotropic inhomogeneous austenitic welded joints with determination and utilisation of their elastic properties. One contribution has been abstracted separately. [de

Actual problems of ultrasonic control of welded anticorrosion coatings (ch. 1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zubchenko, A.S.; Razygraev, N.P.; Runov, A.E.; Sobolev, Yu.A.; Kretov, E.F.; Tabakma, R.L.

1988-01-01

Results of investigations into heat treatment effect on the size of discontinuities revealed under ultrasonic control (USC) of welded anticorrosion coatings are presented. Comparison of dimensions of equivalent area of allowable and non-allowable reflector-discantinuities (defectiveness standards) in the alloying zone of melted anticorrosion coatings and bimetal sheet, applied in NPP equipment, is given. It is shown that USC on the side of basic metal monifest almost by an order more defects than USC on the side of melting surface

Effect of laser beam position on mechanical properties of F82H/SUS316L butt-joint welded by fiber laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serizawa, Hisashi, E-mail: serizawa@jwri.osaka-u.ac.jp [Joining and Welding Research Institute, Osaka University, 11-1 Mihogaoka, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047 (Japan); Mori, Daiki; Ogiwara, Hiroyuki; Mori, Hiroaki [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

2014-10-15

Highlights: • The micro hardness of weld metal in F82H/SUS316L joint partially decreases after PWHT by shifting beam position to SUS316L. • Charpy impact energy of F82H/SUS316L joint obviously increases after PWHT due to the release of residual stress. • The tensile strength of weld metal in F82H/SUS316L joint is higher than that of SUS316L. • The fiber laser welding seems to be one of the most candidate methods to join between F82H and SUS316L pipes practically. - Abstract: A dissimilar butt-joint between reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steel F82H and SUS316L austenitic stainless steel was made by 4 kW fiber laser and the influence of laser beam position on its mechanical properties before and after post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) was examined at room temperature. From the nano-indentation measurements and the microstructural observations, it is found that the micro hardness of weld metal partially decreases after PWHT by shifting beam position to SUS316L because its phase seems to move from only the martensitic phase to the mixture of austenitic and martensitic phases. In addition, Charpy impact test suggests that the impact energy slightly increases by shifting beam position before PWHT and obviously increases after PWHT due to the release of residual stress. Moreover, the tensile test indicates that the tensile strength of weld metal is higher than that of SUS316L and the fracture occurs at the base metal of SUS316L regardless of laser beam position.

Classification Technique for Ultrasonic Weld Inspection Signals using a Neural Network based on 2-dimensional fourier Transform and Principle Component Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jae Joon

2004-01-01

Neural network-based signal classification systems are increasingly used in the analysis of large volumes of data obtained in NDE applications. Ultrasonic inspection methods on the other hand are commonly used in the nondestructive evaluation of welds to detect flaws. An important characteristic of ultrasonic inspection is the ability to identify the type of discontinuity that gives rise to a peculiar signal. Standard techniques rely on differences in individual A-scans to classify the signals. This paper proposes an ultrasonic signal classification technique based on the information tying in the neighboring signals. The approach is based on a 2-dimensional Fourier transform and the principal component analysis to generate a reduced dimensional feature vector for classification. Results of applying the technique to data obtained from the inspection of actual steel welds are presented

Residual Stress Evaluation of Weld Inlay Process on Reactor Vessel Nozzles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Kihyun; Cho, Hong Seok [KEPCO KPS, Naju (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Weld overlay, weld inlay and stress improvement are mitigation technologies for butt joints. Weld overlay is done on pressurizer nozzles which are the highest potential locations occurring PWSCC due to high temperature in Korea. Reactor vessel nozzles are other big safety concerns for butt joints. Weld overlay and stress improvement should be so difficult to apply to those locations because space is too limited. Weld inlay should be one of the solutions. KEPCO KPS has developed laser welding system and process for reactor nozzles. Welding residual stress analysis is necessary for flaw evaluation. United States nuclear regulatory commission has calculated GTAW(Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) residual stress using ABAQUS. To confirm effectiveness of weld inlay process, welding residual stress analysis was performed. and difference between GTAW and LASER welding process was compared. Evaluation of weld inlay process using ANSYS and ABAQUS is performed. All of the both results are similar. The residual stress generated after weld inlay was on range of 450-500 MPa. Welding residual stresses are differently generated by GTAW and LASER welding. But regardless of welding process type, residual tensile stress is generated on inside surface.

Modelling of ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT of welded joints and its effect on fatigue strength

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K.L. Yuan

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT is a remarkable post-weld technique applying mechanical impacts in combination with ultrasound into the welded joints. In the present work, a 3D simulation method including welding simulation, numerical modelling of UIT-process and an evaluation of fatigue crack growth has been developed. In the FE model, the actual treatment conditions and local mechanical characteristics due to acoustic softening are set as input parameters. The plastic deformation and compressive stress layer are found to be more pronounced when acoustic softening takes place. The predicted internal residual stress distributions of welded joint before and after UIT are compared with experimental results, showing a fairly good agreement with each other. Finally, simulated results of fatigue crack growth in various residual stress fields are well compared with test results, so that the proposed model may provide an effective tool to simulate UIT-process in engineering structures.

ULTRASONIC ASSEMBLY [REVIEW

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PORAV Viorica

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The paper exposes the possibility of machine producesers to optimize the costs of clothes assembling. Ultrasonic systems being frequently utilized have many advantages on semi products of synthetic textile and technical textile. First of all, sewing – cutting process can be accomplished under high speeds and rate of losses can be minimized. Cutting seal applications are frequently used for underwear and sportswear. Slicing and unit cutting machines, as well as portable sealing machines are available for labeling sector. Products such as bag, pocket and cover can be sewed in a seamless manner for promotion purposes. All objects in terms of accessories are obtained in same standard. Our quilting machines are preferred in worldwide due to its threadless, high quality sealing. An alternative to the classic sewing assembly, with thread and needles is ultrasonic seaming. In ultrasonic welding, there are no connective bolts, nails, soldering materials, or adhesives necessary to bind the materials together. Ultrasonic is defined as acoustic frequencies above the range audible to the human ear. Ultrasonic frequencies are administered to the fabric from the sonotrode of bonding machine. The high frequency and powerful energy produced, when is release in one special environment, the ultrasound heating this environment. The ability to ultrasonic weld textiles and films depend on their thermoplastic contents and the desired end results. The paper defines the weld ability of more common textiles and films. The welding refers to all types of bonding and sealing, as in point bonding of fabric, or continuous sealing of film.

Fine tuning of dwelling time in friction stir welding for preventing material overheating, weld tensile strength increase and weld nugget size decrease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mijajlović Miroslav M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available After successful welding, destructive testing into test samples from Al 2024-T351 friction stir butt welds showed that tensile strength of the weld improve along the joint line, while dimensions of the weld nugget decrease. For those welds, both the base material and the welding tool constantly cool down during the welding phase. Obviously, the base material became overheated during the long dwelling phase what made conditions for creation of joints with the reduced mechanical properties. Preserving all process parameters but varying the dwelling time from 5-27 seconds a new set of welding is done to reach maximal achievable tensile strength. An analytical-numerical-experimental model is used for optimising the duration of the dwelling time while searching for the maximal tensile strength of the welds

Measuring weld heat to evaluate weld integrity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schauder, V., E-mail: schauder@hks-prozesstechnik.de [HKS-Prozesstechnik GmbH, Halle (Germany)

2015-11-15

Eddy current and ultrasonic testing are suitable for tube and pipe mills and have been used for weld seam flaw detection for decades, but a new process, thermography, is an alternative. By measuring the heat signature of the weld seam as it cools, it provides information about weld integrity at and below the surface. The thermal processes used to join metals, such as plasma, induction, laser, and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), have improved since they were developed, and they get better with each passing year. However, no industrial process is perfect, so companies that conduct research in flaw detection likewise continue to develop and improve the technologies used to verify weld integrity: ultrasonic testing (UT), eddy current testing (ET), hydrostatic, X-ray, magnetic particle, and liquid penetrant are among the most common. Two of these are used for verifying the integrity of the continuous welds such as those used on pipe and tube mills: UT and ET. Each uses a transmitter to send waves of ultrasonic energy or electrical current through the material and a receiver (probe) to detect disturbances in the flow. The two processes often are combined to capitalize on the strengths of each. While ET is good at detecting flaws at or near the surface, UT penetrates the material, detecting subsurface flaws. One drawback is that sound waves and electrical current waves have a specific direction of travel, or an alignment. A linear defect that runs parallel to the direction of travel of the ultrasonic sound wave or a flaw that is parallel to the coil winding direction of the ET probe can go undetected. A second drawback is that they don't detect cold welds. An alternative process, thermography, works in a different fashion: It monitors the heat of the material as the weld cools. Although it measures the heat at the surface, the heat signature provides clues about cooling activity deep in the material, resulting in a thorough assessment of the weld's integrity It

PENGARUH BESAR ARUS LISTRIK DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN ELEKTRODA SMAW TERHADAP KEKUATAN SAMBUNGAN LAS BUTT JOINT PADA PLAT MILD STEEL

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Sarjito Jokosisworo

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The influence of mechanic disposition, is one of the factor influence ship strength. This influence can be test by mechanical test in welding butt joint. The result test database analysis can be conclude that very helpful to increase safety and quality butt joint. With steel specification C= 0,15%, Si= 0,24%, Mn= 0,88%,P= 0,018%, S= 0,034%. This material give a 90, 110, 125 ampere with SMAW AC electrode diameter 3,2 mm x 350 mm with V root and 600 angle In the fabrication of mild steel products, components or equipment, manufacturers employ welding as the principal joining method. Mild steel are weldable materials, and a welded joint can provide optimum corrosion resistance, strength, and fabrication economy. However, designers should recognize that any metal, including stainless steels, may undergo certain changes during welding. It is necessary, therefore, to exercise a reasonable degree of care during welding to minimize or prevent any deleterious effects that may occur, and to preserve the same degree of corrosion resistance and strength in weld zone that is an intheren part of the base metal

Updating of actual technique for ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless materials and welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindholm, P.O.; Pers-Anderson, E.B.

1982-01-01

The technique for ultrasonic testing of stainless austenitic steels and weldings has been studied and it has been brought to the latest standard. Many problems exist when testing, the most serious being the occurence of false indications and the damping of energy. Laboratory tests show that the detectors with transversal sound waves should be used for plane defects. Best results were achieved with a 45 degrees detector. (GB)

Effect of Brass Interlayer Sheet on Microstructure and Joint Performance of Ultrasonic Spot-Welded Copper-Steel Joints

Science.gov (United States)

Satpathy, Mantra Prasad; Kumar, Abhishek; Sahoo, Susanta Kumar

2017-07-01

Solid-state ultrasonic spot welding (USW) inevitably offers a potential solution for joining dissimilar metal combination like copper (Cu) and steel (SS). In this study, the USW has been performed on Cu (UNS C10100) and SS (AISI 304) with brass interlayer by varying various welding parameters, aiming to identify the interfacial reaction, changes in microstructure and weld strength. The highest tensile shear and T-peel failure loads of 1277 and 174 N are achieved at the optimum conditions like 68 µm of vibration amplitude, 0.42 MPa of weld pressure and 1 s of weld time. The fractured surface analysis of brass interlayer and AISI 304 stainless steel samples reveals the features like swirls, voids and intermetallic compounds (IMCs). These IMCs are composed of CuZn and FeZn composite-like structures with 1.0 μm thickness. This confirms that the weld quality is specifically sensitive to the levels of input parameter combinations as well as the type of material present on the sonotrode side.

Detection and assessment of flaws in friction stir welded joints using ultrasonic guided waves: experimental and finite element analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Fakih, Mohammad Ali; Mustapha, Samir; Tarraf, Jaafar; Ayoub, Georges; Hamade, Ramsey

2018-02-01

Ultrasonic guided waves (GWs), e.g. Lamb waves, have been proven effective in the detection of defects such as corrosion, cracking, delamination, and debonding in both composite and metallic structures. They are a significant tool employed in structural health monitoring. In this study, the ability of ultrasonic GWs to assess the quality of friction stir welding (FSW) was investigated. Four friction stir welded AZ31B magnesium plates processed with different welding parameters and a non-welded plate were used. The fundamental symmetric (S0) Lamb wave mode was excited using piezoelectric wafers (PZTs). Further, the S0 mode was separated using the "Improved complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (Improved CEEMDAN)" technique. A damage index (DI) was defined based on the variation in the amplitude of the captured wave signals in order to detect the presence and asses the severity of damage resulting from the welding process. As well, computed tomography (CT) scanning was used as a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique to assess the actual weld quality and validate predictions based on the GW approach. The findings were further confirmed using finite element analysis (FEA). To model the actual damage profile in the welds, "Mimics" software was used for the 3D reconstruction of the CT scans. The built 3D models were later used for evaluation of damage volume and for FEA. The damage volumes were correlated to the damage indices computed from both experimental and numerical data. The proposed approach showed high sensitivity of the S0 mode to internal flaws within the friction stir welded joints. This methodology has great potential as a future classification method of FSW quality.

Automatization of welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwabuchi, Masashi; Tomita, Jinji; Nishihara, Katsunori.

1978-01-01

Automatization of welding is one of the effective measures for securing high degree of quality of nuclear power equipment, as well as for correspondence to the environment at the site of plant. As the latest ones of the automatic welders practically used for welding of nuclear power apparatuses in factories of Toshiba and IHI, those for pipes and lining tanks are described here. The pipe welder performs the battering welding on the inside of pipe end as the so-called IGSCC countermeasure and the succeeding butt welding through the same controller. The lining tank welder is able to perform simultaneous welding of two parallel weld lines on a large thin plate lining tank. Both types of the welders are demonstrating excellent performance at the shops as well as at the plant site. (author)

Method for strength calculating of structural elements of mobile machines for flash butt welding of rails

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Andriy Valeriy Moltasov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The subject of this study is the strength of the loaded units of mobile machines for flash butt welding by refining high-strength rails. The theme of the work is related to the development of a technique for strength calculating of the insulation of the central axis of these machines. The aim of the paper is to establish the mathematical dependence of the pressure on the insulation on the magnitude of deflections of the central axis under the action of the upset force. Design/methodology/approach. Using the Mohr’s method, the displacements of the investigated sections of the central axis under the action of the upset force and the equivalent load distributed along the length of the insulation were calculated. The magnitude of the load distributed along the length of the insulation equivalent to the draft force was determined from the condition that the displacements of the same cross sections are equal under the action of this load and under the action of the upset force. Results. An analytical expression for establishing the relationship between the pressure acting on the insulation and the magnitude of the upset force and the geometric dimensions of the structural elements of the machine was obtained. Based on the condition of the strength of the insulation for crushing, an analytical expression for establishing the relationship between the length of insulation and the size of the upset force, the geometric dimensions of the structural elements of the machine, and the physical and mechanical properties of the insulation material was obtained. Originality/cost. The proposed methodology was tested in the calculation and design of the K1045 mobile rail welding machine, 4 of which is currently successfully used in the USA for welding rails in hard-to-reach places.

Socket welds in nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1995-01-01

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

Ultrasonic Stir Welding Development for Ground-Based and In Situ Fabrication and Repair for In-Space Propulsion Systems/Commercial Space Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Jeff

2015-01-01

The completed Center Innovation Fund (CIF) project used the upgraded Ultrasonic Stir Weld (USW) Prototype System (built in 2013/2014) to begin characterizing the weld process using 2219 aluminum (fig. 1). This work is being done in Bldg. 4755 at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The capabilities of the USW system provides the means to precisely control and document individual welding parameters. The current upgraded system has the following capabilities: (1) Ability to 'pulse' ultrasonic (US) energy on and off and adjust parameters real-time (travel speed, spindle rpm, US amplitude, X and Z axis positions, and plunge and pin axis force; (2) Means to measure draw force; (3) Ability to record US power versus time; (4) Increasing stiffness of Z axis drive and reduce head deflection using laser technology; (5) Adding linear encoder to better control tool penetration setting; (6) Ultrasonic energy integrated into stir rod and containment plate; (7) Maximum 600 rpm; (8) Maximum Z force 15,000 lb; (9) Real-time data acquisition and logging capabilities at a minimum frequency of 10 Hz; and (10) Two separate transducer power supplies operating at 4.5 kW power.

Evaluation of endcap welds in thin walled fuel elements of pressurised heavy water reactor by ultrasonic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subramanian, C.V.; Thavasimuthu, M.; Kalyansundaram, P.; Bhattacharya, D.K.; Raj, Baldev

1992-01-01

In the pressurised heavy water reactor systems of India, the fuel is encapsulated in thin-walled tubes (0.342 mm) closed with endcaps by resistance welding. The integrity of these fuel elements should be such that no fission gas leakage takes place during reactor operation. The quality control of the endcap welds needed to satisfy this requirement includes helium leak test and destructive metallographic test (on sample basis). This paper discusses the feasibility study that has been carried out in the author's laboratory to develop an immersion ultrasonic test method for evaluating the integrity of the endcap weld region. Through holes of various sizes (0.15mm, 0.2mm, 0.4mm diameter and 0.185mm and 0.342mm deep) were machined by spark erosion machining at the weld joints to simulate defects of various sizes. Line focussed probe of 10 MHz frequency was used for the testing. It was possible to detect clearly all the machined holes. Based on the above standardised procedure, further testing was done on endcap welds which were rejected during fabrication on account of showing leak rate of 3 x 10 -6 std. c.c/sec. or more during helium leak test. Though it was possible to get echoes from the natural defects in the rejected tubes with echo amplitude of 70%, the signal was accompanied by the geometrical reflection (noise) giving an amplitude of 20% from the weld region, giving rise to the problem of resolving the defect indication from the geometric indications. Therefore, signal analysis approach was adopted. The signal obtained from the weld zone were subjected to various analysis procedures like a) autopower spectrum, b) total energy content and c) demodulated auto correlation function. It was possible by all the three methods to differentiate the defect signal from those due to weld geometry or due to noise. Subsequently, metallography was carried out to characterise the type of defects observed during the ultrasonic testing. (author). 4 figs

Optimization and verification of ultrasonic testability of acoustically anisotropic materials on austenitic and dissimilar welds; Optimierung und Nachweis der Ultraschallpruefbarkeit von akustisch anisotropen Werkstoffen an austenitischen Schweiss- und Mischverbindungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pudovikov, Sergey

2013-11-21

Austenitic and dissimilar welds with respect to the ultrasonic testing (UT) methods are considered normally as ''difficult-to-test'' objects. During the solidification process in such welds a distinct dendrite microstructure evolves, which is coarse-grained, anisotropic and inhomogeneous simultaneously. The reliability of available ultrasonic methods on austenitic welds depends significantly on the selected UT-parameters as well as on the inspection personnel experience. In the present dissertation, an ultrasonic testing method was developed, which allows the flaw detection and evaluation in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous materials, especially in austenitic and dissimilar welds with a quantitative statement to the defect size, type, and location. The principle of synthetic focusing with taking into account the material anisotropy and inhomogeneity along with two- and three-dimensional visualization provides a reliable and quantitative assessment of the inspection results in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous test objects. Among others, an iterative algorithm for the determination of unknown elastic properties of inhomogeneous anisotropic materials has been developed. It allows practical application of the developed UT method, since the anisotropy of most of austenitic and dissimilar welds (especially of hand-welded joints) in practice is usually unknown. The functionality of the developed inspection technique has been validated by many experiments on welded austenitic specimens having artificial and natural defects. For the practical application of the new ultrasonic technique different testing strategies are proposed, which can be used depending on the current inspection task.

Latest MIG, TIG arc-YAG laser hybrid welding systems for various welding products

Science.gov (United States)

Ishide, Takashi; Tsubota, Shuho; Watanabe, Masao

2003-03-01

Laser welding is capable of high-efficiency low-strain welding, and so its applications are started to various products. We have also put the high-power YAG laser of up to 10 kW to practical welding use for various products. On the other hand the weakest point of this laser welding is considered to be strict in the welding gap aiming allowance. In order to solve this problem, we have developed hybrid welding of TIG, MIG arc and YAG laser, taking the most advantages of both the laser and arc welding. Since the electrode is coaxial to the optical axis of the YAG laser in this process, it can be applied to welding of various objects. In the coaxial MIG, TIG-YAG welding, in order to make irradiation positions of the YAG laser beams having been guided in a wire or an electrode focused to the same position, the beam transmitted in fibers is separated to form a space between the separated beams, in which the laser is guided. With this method the beam-irradiating area can be brought near or to the arc-generating point. This enables welding of all directions even for the member of a three-dimensional shape. This time we carried out welding for various materials and have made their welding of up to 1 mm or more in welding groove gap possible. We have realized high-speed 1-pass butt welding of 4m/min in welding speed with the laser power of 3 kW for an aluminum alloy plate of approximately 4 mm thick. For a mild steel plate also we have realized butt welding of 1m/min with 5 kW for 6 mm thick. Further, in welding of stainless steel we have shown its welding possibility, by stabilizing the arc with the YAG laser in the welding atmosphere of pure argon, and shown that this welding is effective in high-efficiency welding of various materials. Here we will report the fundamental welding performances and applications to various objects for the coaxial MIG, TIG-YAG welding we have developed.

Welding procedure specification for arc welding of St 52-3N steel plates with covered electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cvetkovski, S.; Slavkov, D.; Magdeski, J.

2003-01-01

In this paper the results of approval welding technology for arc welding of plates made of St 52-3N steel are presented. Metal arc welding with covered electrode is used welding process. Test specimens are butt welded in different welding positions P A , P F , P C and P D . Before start welding preliminary welding procedure was prepared. After welding of test specimens non destructive and destructive testing was performed. Obtained results were compared with standard DIN 17100 which concerns to chemical composition and mechanical properties of base material. It was confirmed that in all cases mechanical properties of welded joint are higher than those of base material, so preliminary welding procedure (pWTS) can be accepted as welding procedure specification WPS for metal arc welding of St52-3N steel. (Original)

Development of radiographic technique for examining k-type butt weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barui, K.L.; Bhattacharyya, B.

1983-01-01

An attempt is made to develop a radiographic technique for examining K-type full penetration butt joints in heavy duty crane girders. The existing standard techniques of radiographic examination is found to be unsuitable to assess the internal defects properly. The examination technique reported here is successful in detecting not only the nature of the internal defects but also their degree of severities - from which clues for avoiding the most probable defects can be found out. The results of radiographic examination applied on the K-type butt joints of heavy duty crane girders have been discussed and it is specified that the acceptable limit of the defects must lie between 'blue' and 'green' according to the IIW colour code. Much work is yet to be done before standard specifications regarding the acceptibility of the defects in the actual job can be formulated. (author)

Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Lei; Wang, Li; Chen, Ying-Chun; Robson, Joe D.; Prangnell, Philip B.

2016-01-01

The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface were characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 second. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld aging of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.

Automated flaw detection scheme for cast austenitic stainless steel weld specimens using Hilbert-Huang transform of ultrasonic phased array data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Tariq; Majumdar, Shantanu; Udpa, Lalita; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Crawford, Susan; Diaz, Aaron; Anderson, Michael T.

2012-01-01

The objective of this work is to develop processing algorithms to detect and localize flaws using ultrasonic phased-array data. Data was collected on cast austenitic stainless stell (CASS) weld specimens onloan from the U.S. nuclear power industry' Pressurized Walter Reactor Owners Group (PWROG) traveling specimen set. Each specimen consists of a centrifugally cast stainless stell (CCSS) pipe section welded to a statically cst(SCSS) or wrought (WRSS) section. The paper presents a novel automated flaw detection and localization scheme using low frequency ultrasonic phased array inspection singals from the weld and heat affected zone of the based materials. The major steps of the overall scheme are preprocessing and region of interest (ROI) detection followed by the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) of A-scans in the detected ROIs. HHT offers time-frequency-energy distribution for each ROI. The Accumulation of energy in a particular frequency band is used as a classification feature for the particular ROI

Investigation into Variations of Welding Residual Stresses and Redistribution Behaviors for Different Repair Welding Widths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chiyong; Lee, Hweesueng; Huh, Namsu

2014-01-01

In this study, we investigated the variations in welding residual stresses in dissimilar metal butt weld due to width of repair welding and re-distribution behaviors resulting from similar metal welding (SMW) and mechanical loading. To this end, detailed two-dimensional axi-symmetric finite element (FE) analyses were performed considering five different repair welding widths. Based on the FE results, we first evaluated the welding residual stress distributions in repair welding. We then investigated the re-distribution behaviors of the residual stresses due to SMW and mechanical loads. It is revealed that large tensile welding residual stresses take place in the inner surface and that its distribution is affected, provided repair welding width is larger than certain value. The welding residual stresses resulting from repair welding are remarkably reduced due to SMW and mechanical loading, regardless of the width of the repair welding

Microstructure Characterization and Hardness Evaluation of Alloy 52 Welded Stainless Steel 316 Subjected to Ultrasonic Nanocyrtal Surface Modification Technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, H. D.; Amanov, A.; Pyun, Y. S. [Sun Moon Univ., Asan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Y. S.; Choi, Y. S. [Andong National Univ., Andong (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

In this study, an ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) technique was applied to dissimilar weld point between STS316L and Alloy 52. This UNSM technique is a patented technology, which can be described as a type of ultrasonic cold-forging technology. It has been demonstrated that the UNSM technique is a simple method to produce a nanocrystalline surface layer at the top surface of metallic materials. Microstructure and hardness of STS316L and Alloy 52 are investigated before and after UNSM treatment. It is expected according to the previous study that the UNSM technique is able to release the residual stress which delays PWSCC. In this study, microstructural characterization and hardness evaluation of STS316L and welded Alloy 52 subjected to UNSM technique were investigated.

Residual-stress distributions near stainless steel butt weldments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elligson, W.A.; Shack, W.J.

1978-01-01

Concern for the integrity of stainless steel butt-weldments in boiling-water-reactor (BWR) piping systems has stimulated study of the conditions that cause stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the heat-affected zones (HAZ) of the weldments. It is generally agreed that a high stress exceeding the initial yield strength is one of the essential elements for crack initiation. Since design procedures usually ensure that load stresses are below initial yield, the source of the high stresses necessary to produce SCC is thought to be the residual stresses due to welding. To examine the level of residual stresses in the weldments of interest, bulk residual stresses were measured on 100 mm (4-in.) and 254 mm (10-in.) diameter Schedule 80 piping weldments using strain relief techniques. Both laboratory welded specimens and field welded specimens from reactors in service were studied. Axial bulk residual stress distributions were obtained at 45 0 intervals around the circumference. At each azimuthal position, the residual stresses were measured at seven axial positions: on the weld centerline and 13, 20, and 25 mm on either side of the weld centerline on both the inside and outside surfaces

Development of measurement technique for crack depth in weld zone of thick stainless steel pipe with ultrasonic phased array TOFD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishida, Hitoshi

2006-01-01

Phased array TOFD (time of flight diffraction) method which makes possible to detect tip diffraction echoes and measure crack depth in an austenitic stainless steel weld zone with a thickness of more than 25 mm to which region it was difficult to apply ultrasonic test due to scattering of ultrasonic waves has been developed. The developed method uses a single array transducer to have a short distance between incident points of transmitter and receiver in order to propagate waves in shorter pass in the weld region. Transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams from a single array probe can be set a crossing point and a focal point at desired depth. This method makes possible to scan with 16 kinds of combination of crossing points and focal pints of ultrasonic beam at a time. We have examined fundamental characteristics of depth measurement with electric discharge machining slits on base metal of a stainless steel with a thickness of 35 mm. As the results: (1) We could measure the slit depth with 0.2mm error from the slit depth with a estimating method of a lateral wave propagation time with back wall echo. (2) The largest error of the depth measurement from the slit depth with the ultrasonic beam crossing point set at the 4mm different point from the tip of the slit was 0.3 mm. (3) The largest error of the depth measurements due to the difference of focal point depth of ultrasonic beam was 0.2 mm. (4) The highest tip diffraction echo could be observed with the ultrasonic beam cross point set at the tip of the slit. The difference of 4 mm between the cross point and the tip of the slit caused attenuation of tip diffraction echo height in -6.8 dB. Furthermore we have measured a depth of electric discharge machining slits, fatigue cracks and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) on stainless steel welded pipe specimens with a thickness of 35 mm. As the results: (1) We could detect the tip diffraction echoes which have a signal noise ratio with more than 2.4 from the fatigue

Residual stresses in 2 1/4Cr1Mo welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fidler, R.; Jerram, K.

1978-01-01

Two separate investigations, initiated in an attempt to explain the large amount of residual stress scatter previously observed in the weld metal of eighteen nominally identical thick-section 2 1/4Cr1Mo butt welds, are described in this paper. The first examined the detailed surface residual stress distributions in 2 1/4Cr1Mo manual arc circumferential butt welds in 80mm and 100mm thick 1/2Cr1/2Mo1/4V steam pipe. High residual stresses were found in the regions of overlap between adjacent weld beads, with low values in virgin weld metal. The second utilised single pass manual metal arc bead-in-groove welds to investigate the effects of preheat and weld metal composition on weld metal residual stresses. In four weld metals, mild steel, 1/2Cr1/2Mo1/4V, 1Cr1/2Mo, and 2 1/4Cr1Mo, the residual stresses were very similar, becoming less tensile (or more compressive) with increase of preheat, while the residual stresses in the fifth weld metal (12Cr) were significantly different, being compressive and less affected by preheat. In both investigations the effects have been described in terms of the basic metallurgical phenomena occurring in the weld metal. (author)

Experimental and theoretical investigations on temperature distribution at the joint interface for copper joints using ultrasonic welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elangovan Sooriya

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Ultrasonic welding is a solid-state joining process that produces joints by the application of high frequency vibratory energy in the work pieces held together under pressure without melting. Copper and its alloys are extensively used in electrical and electronic industry because of its excellent electrical and thermal properties. This paper mainly focused on temperature distribution and the influence of process parameters at the joint interface while joining copper sheets using ultrasonic welding process. Experiments are carried out using Cu sheets (0.2 mm and 0.3 mm thickness and the interface temperature is measured using Data Acquisition (DAQ System (thermocouple and thermal imager. Numerical and finite element based model for temperature distribution at the interface are developed and solved the same using Finite Difference Method (FDM and Finite Element Analysis (FEA. The results obtained from FDM and FEA model shows similar trend with experimental results and are found to be in good agreement.

Ultrasonic testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Sung Jin [Sungkwunkwan Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Hyun Jo [Wonkwang Univ., Iksan (Korea, Republic of)

2004-02-15

For the proper performance of ultrasonic testing of steel welded joints, and anisotropic material it is necessary to have sound understanding on the underlying physics. To provide such an understanding, it is beneficial to have simulation tools for ultrasonic testing. In order to address such a need, we develop effective approaches to simulate angle beam ultrasonic testing with a personal computer. The simulation is performed using ultrasonic measurement models based on the computationally efficient multi-Gaussian beams. This reach will describe the developed ultrasonic testing models together with the experimental verification of their accuracy.

Ultrasonic testing using time of flight diffraction technique (TOFD)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khurram Shahzad; Ahmad Mirza Safeer Ahmad; Muhammad Asif Khan

2009-04-01

This paper describes the ultrasonic testing using Time Flight Diffraction (TOFD) Technique for welded samples having different types and sizes of defects. TOFD is a computerized ultrasonic system, able to scan, store and evaluate indications in terms of location, through thickness and length in a more easy and convenient. Time of Flight Diffraction Technique (TOFD) is more fast and easy technique for ultrasonic testing as we can examine a weld i a single scan along the length of the weld with two probes known as D-scan. It shows the image of the complete weld with the defect information. The examinations were performed on carbon steel samples used for ultrasonic testing using 70 degree probes. The images for different type of defects were obtained. (author)

Effects of Ultrasonic Nanocrystal Surface Modification on the Residual Stress, Microstructure, and Corrosion Resistance of 304 Stainless Steel Welds

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Chang; Telang, Abhishek; Gill, Amrinder; Wen, Xingshuo; Mannava, Seetha R.; Qian, Dong; Vasudevan, Vijay K.

2018-03-01

In this study, ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) of 304 stainless steel welds was carried out. UNSM effectively eliminates the tensile stress generated during welding and imparts beneficial compressive residual stresses. In addition, UNSM can effectively refine the grains and increase hardness in the near-surface region. Corrosion tests in boiling MgCl2 solution demonstrate that UNSM can significantly improve the corrosion resistance due to the compressive residual stresses and changes in the near-surface microstructure.

Artificial Intelligence Assists Ultrasonic Inspection

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, Lloyd A.; Willenberg, James D.

1992-01-01

Subtle indications of flaws extracted from ultrasonic waveforms. Ultrasonic-inspection system uses artificial intelligence to help in identification of hidden flaws in electron-beam-welded castings. System involves application of flaw-classification logic to analysis of ultrasonic waveforms.

Fatigue strength evaluation of friction stir welded aluminium joints using the nominal and notch stress concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barsoum, Z.; Khurshid, M.; Barsoum, I.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Fatigue testing and evaluation of friction stir welded butt and overlap joints. ► Evaluation based on nominal and effective notch stress concept. ► Comparison with different design recommendations and codes. ► Higher fatigue strength and SN-slopes is observed. ► New fatigue design recommendations proposed for FSW joints. -- Abstract: In this study the fatigue strength is investigated for Friction Stir Welded (FSW) overlap and butt welded joints in different thicknesses based on nominal and effective notch stress concepts. The fatigue test results are compared with fatigue strength recommendations according to EN 1999-1-3 and International Institute of Welding (IIW). The results are also compared with available published data and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is carried out to investigate the effect of plate thickness and nugget size on the fatigue strength of overlap joints. 3–3 mm butt welded joints shows the highest fatigue strength in comparison with 3–5 mm butt welded and overlap joints. Slopes of the SN-curves for two different joint types differ from the slope recommended by IIW. A specific failure trend is observed in overlap FSW joints. However, the slopes of the SN-curves are in close agreement with slopes found in EN 1999-1-3. The slopes of various published results and test results presented in this study are in good agreement with each other. The suggested fatigue design curves for the nominal and effective notch stress concept have a higher slope than given for fusion welds by IIW.

Surface residual stress evaluation in double-electrode butt welded steel plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Estefen, S.F.; Gurova, T.; Castello, X.; Leontiev, A.

2010-01-01

Surface residual stress evaluation for double-electrode welding was studied. The stresses were monitored after each operational step: positioning, implementing of constraints, welding and constraints removal. The measurements were performed at the deposited metal, heat affected zone, base metal close to the weld joint and along the plate using the X-ray diffraction method. It was observed differences in the stress evaluations for double-electrode welding which resulted in lower bending distortions and higher values of surface residual stresses, compared with single-electrode welding. This behavior is associated with the stress distribution just after the welding processes in both heat affected zone and base metal close to the fillet for double-electrode welding. The main results from the laboratorial tests indicated lower values of the bending distortions for double-electrode welding compared with the single-electrode. In relation to the residual stress, the double-electrode welding generated, in general, higher stress values in both longitudinal and transversal directions.

Electron beam welding of iridium heat source capsules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mustaleski, T.M.; Yearwood, J.C.; Burgan, C.E.; Green, L.A.

1991-01-01

The development of the welding procedures for the production of DOP-26 iridium alloy cups for heat source encapsulation is described. All the final assembly welds were made using the electron beam welding process. The welding of the 0.13-mm weld shield required the use of computer controlled X-Y table and a run-off tab. Welding of the frit vent to the cup required that a laser weld be made to hold the frit assembly edges together for the final electron beam weld. Great care is required in tooling design and beam placement to achieve acceptable results. Unsuccessful attempts to use laser beam welding for heat shield butt weld are discussed

Studies on thermo-elastic heating of horns used in ultrasonic plastic welding.

Science.gov (United States)

Roopa Rani, M; Prakasan, K; Rudramoorthy, R

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic welding horn is half wavelength section or tool used to focus the ultrasonic vibrations to the components being welded. The horn is designed in such a way that it maximizes the amplitude of the sound wave passing through it. The ends of the horn represent the displacement anti-nodes and the center the 'node' of the wave. As the horns perform 20,000 cycles of expansion and contraction per second, they are highly stressed at the nodes and are heated owing to thermo-elastic effects. Considerable temperature rise may be observed in the horn, at the nodal region when working at high amplitudes indicating high stress levels leading to failure of horns due to cyclic loading. The limits for amplitude must therefore be evaluated for the safe working of the horn. Horns made of different materials have different thermo-elastic behaviors and hence different temperatures at the nodes and antinodes. This temperature field can be used as a control mechanism for setting the amplitude/weld parameters. Safe stress levels can be predicted using modal and harmonic analyses followed by a stress analysis to study the effect of cyclic loads. These are achieved using 'Ansys'. The maximum amplitude level obtained from the stress analysis is used as input for 'Comsol' to predict the temperature field. The actual temperature developed in the horn during operation is measured using infrared camera and compared with the simulated temperature. From experiments, it is observed that horn made of titanium had the lowest temperature rise at the critical region and can be expected to operate at amplitudes up to 77 μm without suffering failure due to cyclic loading. The method of predicting thermo-elastic stresses and temperature may be adopted by the industry for operating the horn within the safe stress limits thereby extending the life of the horn. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrasonic TOFD method application for steel components and welds of 10 mm wall thickness using ultrasonic flaw detector and ULTRA7 TOFD software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasarov, R.; Tabakova, B.

2008-01-01

Pressure Vessels inspection is carried out using complex of NDT techniques. A relatively recent technique ultrasonic NDJ is the Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD,) method as an effective method for detection and sizing of flaws. One of the way inspection heavy duty steel elements and welds is to use manual TOFD technique with longitudinal waves at refracted angles of 45 to 70 degrees. Typically inspections using this method have been on steel elements and welds varying from 12 mm to 300 mm wall thickness. In this paper is presented examples of using the TOFD techniques for 10 mm wall thickness using USM 35X5 and ULTRA-7 TOFD software. This software provides TOFD inspection design (PCS, sound path, beam coverage, dead zones) and validation services. The calculations of the two dead zones are derived from relatively trigonometric equation, graphically displayed on a PC-screen and weld frame form. Using ULTRA-7 TOFD the user must move the gate at which the flaw is located on PC-screen to determine the depth of defect. The diffraction points graphically displayed in a weld frame form and analyzed using geometry calculations. (authors)

On crack propagation in the welded polyolefin pipes with and without the presence of weld beads

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mikula, Jakub; Hutař, Pavel; Nezbedová, E.; Lach, R.; Arbeiter, F.; Ševčík, Martin; Pinter, G.; Grellmann, W.; Náhlík, Luboš

2015-01-01

Roč. 87, DEC (2015), s. 95-104 ISSN 0264-1275 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/12/1560; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0063; GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0068 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : Slow crack growth * Butt weld * Lifetime estimation * Polyolefin pipes * Weld bead Subject RIV: JL - Materials Fatigue, Friction Mechanics Impact factor: 3.997, year: 2015

A contribution to phased array ultrasonic inspection of welds: defect patterns and sizing capability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciorau, P., E-mail: peter.ciorau@opg.com [Ontario Power Generation Inc., Inspection, Maintenance and Commercial Services, Tiverton, Ontario (Canada)

2008-07-01

The paper presents defect patterns for weld inspection detected with phased array ultrasonic technology (PAUT). The sizing capability for length, height, outer and inner ligament for specific implanted weld defects in training samples and mock-ups with thickness between 6.4-52 mm. It is discussed the influence of beam angle on sizing the lack of fusion defect. More than 50 implanted weld defects with 70% crack population were sized using high-frequency (5-10 MHz) linear array probes. The correlation between the design/manufacturer flaw size and PAUT data for length, height and ligament is graphically presented. It was concluded the length is oversized by 2-6 mm, height and inner ligament are undersized by 0.2 to 0.5 mm, and outer ligament is oversized by 0.5 mm. The sizing results were based on non-amplitude techniques and pattern display of S- and B-scan. The sizing capability is far better than ASME XI tolerances for performance demonstration and comparable to time of flight diffraction (TOFD) ideal tolerances. (author)

A contribution to phased array ultrasonic inspection of welds: defect patterns and sizing capability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciorau, P.

2008-01-01

The paper presents defect patterns for weld inspection detected with phased array ultrasonic technology (PAUT). The sizing capability for length, height, outer and inner ligament for specific implanted weld defects in training samples and mock-ups with thickness between 6.4-52 mm. It is discussed the influence of beam angle on sizing the lack of fusion defect. More than 50 implanted weld defects with 70% crack population were sized using high-frequency (5-10 MHz) linear array probes. The correlation between the design/manufacturer flaw size and PAUT data for length, height and ligament is graphically presented. It was concluded the length is oversized by 2-6 mm, height and inner ligament are undersized by 0.2 to 0.5 mm, and outer ligament is oversized by 0.5 mm. The sizing results were based on non-amplitude techniques and pattern display of S- and B-scan. The sizing capability is far better than ASME XI tolerances for performance demonstration and comparable to time of flight diffraction (TOFD) ideal tolerances. (author)

Plasma ARC Welding of High-Performance-Ship Materials

Science.gov (United States)

1979-05-01

welding (EBW) and laser beam welding (LBW). Figure 2 shows examples of PAW keyhole welds using a square butt joint with and without filler metal additions...produced by some manufacturers has reliability problems. f) Existing equipment for initiating and closing out the keyhole is not totally satisfactory and...system for establishing and closing out keyhole craters is necessary. Work is being done by several Investigators, but it is not known L whether any system

Molecular dynamics modeling of bonding two materials by atomic scale friction stir welding

Science.gov (United States)

Konovalenko S., Iv.; Konovalenko, Ig. S.; Psakhie, S. G.

2017-12-01

Molecular dynamics model of atomic scale friction stir welding has been developed. Formation of a butt joint between two crystallites was modeled by means of rotating rigid conical tool traveling along the butt joint line. The formed joint had an intermixed atomic structure composed of atoms initially belonged to the opposite mated piece of metal. Heat removal was modeled by adding the extra viscous force to peripheral atomic layers. This technique provides the temperature control in the tool-affected zone during welding. Auxiliary vibration action was added to the rotating tool. The model provides the variation of the tool's angular velocity, amplitude, frequency and direction of the auxiliary vibration action to provide modeling different welding modes.

The effect of plasma arc process parameters on the properties of dissimilar AISI 1040/AISI 304 steel plate welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilic, Musa; Kirik, Ihsan; Orhan, Nuri [Firat Univ., Elazig (Turkey); Celik, Ferkan [Science Industry and Technology Ministry of Turkey (Turkey)

2012-11-01

In this study, 10 mm thick AISI 1040 and AISI 304 steel plates were welded in the butt position without pretreatment by plasma transferred arc (PTA) welding technique. Therefore, mechanical behaviour, microstructure, penetration depth and length were investigated. After welding, microstructural changes in the interface regions of the welded specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Micro-hardness as well as V-notch Charpy tests were performed to determine the mechanical properties of the welds. The influence of the welding parameters on the dimension and shape of the joints has been found out. From the results, it was derived that with the parameters used, a partly keyhole weld bead formed with a penetration depth of 10 mm and a width of 11 mm in butt position. (orig.)

Stress indices for girth welded joints, including radial weld shrinkage, mismatch and tapered-wall transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodabaugh, E.C.; Moore, S.E.

1978-09-01

A review is presented of B, C and K stress indices used in the ASME Nuclear Power Plant Code for girth butt welds and girth fillet welds. Theoretical stresses are presented to aid in evaluating C-indices. Fatigue test data are presented to aid in evaluating K-indices and CK-products. A limit load theory is presented to aid in evaluating B-indices. As a result of this review, recommendations are made for changes in the ASME Code. A major part of this consists of presenting definitions for girth welded joints and transitions and appropriate stress indices for those joints

Thermal Stresses in Welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Jan Langkjær

1998-01-01

Studies of the transient temperature fields and the hereby induced deformations and stressses in a butt-welded mild steel plate modelledrespectively in 2D plane stress state (as well as plane strain state) and in full 3D have been done. The model has been implemented in the generalpurpose FE...

Effect of Trailing Intensive Cooling on Residual Stress and Welding Distortion of Friction Stir Welded 2060 Al-Li Alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Shude; Yang, Zhanpeng; Wen, Quan; Yue, Yumei; Zhang, Liguo

2018-04-01

Trailing intensive cooling with liquid nitrogen has successfully applied to friction stir welding of 2 mm thick 2060 Al-Li alloy. Welding temperature, plastic strain, residual stress and distortion of 2060 Al-Li alloy butt-joint are compared and discussed between conventional cooling and trailing intensive cooling using experimental and numerical simulation methods. The results reveal that trailing intensive cooling is beneficial to shrink high temperature area, reduce peak temperature and decrease plastic strain during friction stir welding process. In addition, the reduction degree of plastic strain outside weld is smaller than that inside weld. Welding distortion presents an anti-saddle shape. Compared with conventional cooling, the reductions of welding distortion and longitudinal residual stresses of welding joint under intense cooling reach 47.7 % and 23.8 %, respectively.

An evaluation of detection ability of ultrasonic testing with a large aperture transducer for axial cracks in cast stainless steel pipe welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, Yoshito; Ishida, Hitoshi; Kurozumi, Yasuo

2013-01-01

Ultrasonic testing is difficult to apply to cast stainless steel which is the material of the main coolant pipes in pressurized water reactors, because of the large attenuation and scattering of ultrasonic waves caused by its macro structure. In this study, ultrasonic testing for progression of axial fatigue cracks of a welded area in the test piece of cast stainless steel pipe was performed using double big-size ultrasonic probes which were formerly developed in INSS. It was found that detection of defects that were over 6% of the target depth for the specimen thickness of 69mm is possible, and detection of defects with over 10% of the target depth is possible for all test conditions. (author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Effects of microstructure on ultrasonic examination of stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kupperman, D.S.; Reimann, K.J.

1976-01-01

Ultrasonic inspection of cast stainless steel components or stainless steel welds is difficult, and the results obtained are hard to interpret. The present study describes the effects of stainless steel microstructure on ultrasonic test results. Welded coupons, 2.5 and 5.0 cm thick, were fabricated from Type 304 stainless steel, with Type 308 stainless steel as the weld material. Metallography of the base material shows grain sizes of 15 and 80 μm, and dendrites aligned from the top to the bottom surface in cast material. X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic velocity measurements indicate a random crystal orientation in the base material, but the cast sample had aligned dendrites. The weld material exhibits a dendritic structure with a preferred (100) direction perpendicular to the weld pass. Spectral analysis of ultrasonic broad-band signals through the base materials shows drastic attenuation of higher frequencies with increasing grain size (Rayleigh scattering). Annealing and recrystallization increases the ultrasonic attenuation and produces carbide precipitation at grain boundaries. The microstructural differences of the base metal, heat-affected zone, and weld metal affect the amplitude of ultrasonic reflections from artificial flaws in these zones. Data obtained from two samples of different grain sizes indicate that grain size has little effect when a 1-MHz transducer is used. When going from a 15 to an 80-μm crystalline structure, a 5-MHz unit suffers a 30-dB attenuation in the detection of a 1.2 mm deep notch. The anisotropy of the dendritic structure in stainless steel renewed the interest in the effect of shear-wave polarization. In the (110) crystallographic orientation of stainless steel, two modes of shear waves can be generated, which have velocities differing by a factor of two. This effect may be helpful in ''tuning'' of shear waves by polarization to obtain better penetration in large grain materials such as welds

Residual stress by repair welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mochizuki, Masahito; Toyoda, Masao

2003-01-01

Residual stress by repair welds is computed using the thermal elastic-plastic analysis with phase-transformation effect. Coupling phenomena of temperature, microstructure, and stress-strain fields are simulated in the finite-element analysis. Weld bond of a plate butt-welded joint is gouged and then deposited by weld metal in repair process. Heat source is synchronously moved with the deposition of the finite-element as the weld deposition. Microstructure is considered by using CCT diagram and the transformation behavior in the repair weld is also simulated. The effects of initial stress, heat input, and weld length on residual stress distribution are studied from the organic results of numerical analysis. Initial residual stress before repair weld has no influence on the residual stress after repair treatment near weld metal, because the initial stress near weld metal releases due to high temperature of repair weld and then stress by repair weld regenerates. Heat input has an effect for residual stress distribution, for not its magnitude but distribution zone. Weld length should be considered reducing the magnitude of residual stress in the edge of weld bead; short bead induces high tensile residual stress. (author)

Ultrasonic weld testing.

Science.gov (United States)

1970-12-01

The study was broken down into two phases. Phase I consisted of a laboratory investigation of test specimens to determine the reliability of the ultrasonic equipment and testing procedure. Phase II was a field study where the knowledge, skills and ab...

Friction stir welding (FSW of aluminium foam sandwich panels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Bušić

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on the influence of welding speed and tool tilt angle upon the mechanical properties at the friction stir welding of aluminium foam sandwich panels. Double side welding was used for producing butt welds of aluminium sandwich panels applying insertion of extruded aluminium profile. Such insertion provided lower pressure of the tool upon the aluminium panels, providing also sufficient volume of the material required for the weldment formation. Ultimate tensile strength and flexural strength for three-point bending test have been determined for samples taken from the welded joints. Results have confirmed anticipated effects of independent variables.

Torque Measurement of Welding of Endplug-Endplate using Multi-pin Remote Welding System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koo, Dae-Seo; Kim, Soo-Sung; Park, Geun-Il; Lee, Jung-Won; Song, Kee-Chan [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2006-07-01

As fuel bundles in PHWR irradiates, inner pressure in claddings of fuel rods increases owing to outer pressure and fission products of nuclear fissions. Because of leak possibility of welding between cladding and end plug, this welding part connects with safety of nuclear fuel rods. Because of importance of this welding part, weldability of end plug-cladding of nuclear fuel rods is continually researched. Welding method for research and commercialization is classified as melting, solid type welding or resistance welding. End plug cladding welding of nuclear fuel rods in PHWR takes advantage of resistance upset butt welding using multicycle mode. This method makes weld flash and shapes re-entrant corner owing to welding heat due to resistivity, contact resistance of cladding-end plug, and inelasticity deformation due to pressure. Welding part between cladding and end plug receives stresses and makes small cracks. In this study, remote welding system for multi-pin assembly was designed, fabricated and welding specimens of end plug-endplate were made using electrical resistance method. The torques of welding between end plug and endplate were measured. These results on welding current, pressure of main electrode and pressure of branch electrode were analyzed. Weldability between end plug and endplate was confirmed through metallographic examinations. In the future, optimal welding examinations due to welding current, welding pressure and welding time will be performed to improve weldability of end plug-endplate.

Different finite element techniques to predict welding residual stresses in aluminum alloy plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moein, Hadi; Sattari-Far, Iradj

2014-01-01

This study is a 3D thermomechanical finite element (FE) analysis of a single-pass and butt-welded work-hardened aluminum (Al) 5456 plates. It aims to validate the use of FE welding simulations to predict residual stress states in assessing the integrity of welded components. The predicted final residual stresses in the plate from the FE simulations are verified through comparison with experimental measurements. Three techniques are used to simulate the welding process. In the first two approaches, welding deposition is applied by using element birth and interaction techniques. In the third approach, the entire weld zone is simultaneously deposited. Results show a value at approximately the yield strength for longitudinal residual stresses of the welded center of the butt-welded Al alloy plates with a thickness of 2 mm. Considering the application of a comprehensive heat source, along with heat loss modeling and the temperature dependent properties of the material, the approach without deposition predicts a reasonable distribution of residual stresses. However, the element birth and interaction techniques, compared with the no-deposit technique, provide more accurate results in calculating residual stresses. Furthermore, the element interaction technique, compared with the element birth technique, exhibits higher efficiency and flexibility in modeling the deposition of welded metals as well as less modeling cost.

Laser ablated micropillar energy directors for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poulsen, Carl Esben; Kistrup, Kasper; Andersen, Nis Korsgaard; Taboryski, Rafael; Hansen, Mikkel Fougt; Wolff, Anders

2016-01-01

We present a new type of energy director (ED) for ultrasonic welding of microfluidic systems. These micropillar EDs are based on the replication of cone like protrusion structures introduced using a pico-second laser and may therefore be added to any mould surface accessible to a pico-second laser beam. The technology is demonstrated on an injection moulded microfluidic device featuring high-aspect ratio ( h   ×   w   =  2000 μ m  ×  550 μ m) and free-standing channel walls, where bonding is achieved with no detectable channel deformation. The bonding strength is similar to conventional EDs and the fabricated system can withstand pressures of over 9.5 bar. (technical note)

Case studies in ultrasonic testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasad, V.; Satheesh, C.; Varde, P.V.

2015-01-01

Ultrasonic testing is widely used Non Destructive Testing (NDT) method and forms the essential part of In-service inspection programme of nuclear reactors. Main application of ultrasonic testing is for volumetric scanning of weld joints followed by thickness gauging of pipelines and pressure vessels. Research reactor Dhruva has completed the first In Service Inspection programme in which about 325 weld joints have been volumetrically scanned, in addition to thickness gauging of 300 meters of pipe lines of various sizes and about 24 nos of pressure vessels. Ultrasonic testing is also used for level measurements, distance measurements and cleaning and decontamination of tools. Two case studies are brought out in this paper in which ultrasonic testing is used successfully for identification of butterfly valve opening status and extent of choking in pipe lines in Dhruva reactor systems

Influence of the welding temperature and the welding speed on the mechanical properties of friction stir welds in EN AW-2219-T87

Science.gov (United States)

Bachmann, A.; Krutzlinger, M.; Zaeh, M. F.

2018-06-01

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is an innovative joining technique, which has proven to produce high quality joints in high strength aluminum alloys. Consequently, it is commonly used to manufacture lightweight aerospace structures with stringent requirements. For these structures, it is necessary to ensure a high ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Various studies have reported that the UTS is significantly influenced by the welding parameters. Samples welded with different parameter sets showed a considerably different UTS, despite being free from detectable welding defects (e.g. tunnel defect, voids, or lack of penetration). Based on the observations in the literature, a hypothesis was posed. The welding temperature along with the welding speed determine the UTS of the weld. This study aims to prove this hypothesis experimentally by using temperature-controlled FSW to join plates of EN AW-2219-T87 in butt joint configuration. The welded samples were examined using visual inspection, metallography, X-ray imaging, and uniaxial tensile tests. Finally, a statistical analysis was conducted. Hereby, the hypothesis was confirmed.

Design of specimen for weld residual stress simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jin Weon; Park, Jong Sun; Lee, Kyung Soo

2008-01-01

The objective of this study is to design a laboratory specimen for simulating residual stress of circumferential butt welding of pipe. Specimen type and method for residual stress generation were proposed based on the review of prior studies and parametric finite element simulation. To prove the proposed specimen type and loading method, the residual stress was generated using the designed specimen by applying proposed method and was measured. The measured residual stress using X-ray diffraction reasonably agreed with the results of finite element simulation considered in the specimen design. Comparison of residual strains measured at several locations of specimen and given by finite element simulation also showed good agreement. Therefore, it is indicated that the designed specimen can reasonably simulate the residual stress of circumferential butt welding of pipe

Electron beam welding of dissimilar metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metzger, G.; Lison, R.

1976-01-01

Thirty-three two-memeber combinations of dissimilar metals were electron beam welded as square-groove butt joints in 0.08 and 0.12 in. sheet material. Many joints were ''braze welded'' by offsetting the electron beam about 0.02 in. from the butt joint to achieve fusion of the lower melting point metal, but no significant fusion of the other member of the pair. The welds were evaluated by visual and metallographic examination, transverse tensile tests, and bend tests. The welds Ag/Al, Ag/Ni15Cr7Fe, Cu/Ni15Cr7Fe, Cu/V, Cu20Ni/Ni15Cr7Fe, Fe18Cr8Ni/Ni, Fe18Cr8Ni/Ni15Cr7Fe, Nb/Ti, Nb/V, Ni/Ni15Cr7Fe, and Cb/V10Ti were readily welded and weld properties were excellent. Others which had only minor defects included the Ag/Cu20Ni, Ag/Ti, Ag/V, Cu/Fe18Cr8Ni, Cu/V10Ti, Cu20Ni/Fe18Cr8Ni, and Ti/Zr2Sn welds. The Cu/Ni weld had deep undercut, but was in other respects excellent. The mechanical properties of the Ag/Fe18Cr8Ni weld were poor, but the defect could probably be corrected. Difficulty with cracking was experienced with the Al/Ni and Fe18Cr8Ni/V welds, but sound welds had excellent mechanical properties. The remaining welds Al-Cu, Al/Cu20Ni, Al/Fe18Cr8Ni, Al/Ni15Cr7Fe, Cu20Ni/V, Cu20Ni/V10Ti, Cb/Zr2Sn, Ni/Ti, Ni15Cr7Fe/V, Ni15Cr7Fe/V10Ti, and Ti/V were unsuccessful, due to brittle phases, primarily at the weld metal-base metal interface. In addition to the two-member specimens, several joints were made by buttering. Longitudinal weld specimens of the three-member combination Al/Ni/Fe18Cr8Ni and the five member combination Fe18Cr8Ni/V/Cb/Ti/Zr2Sn showed good tensile strength and satisfactory elongation. 6 tables, 16 figures

Numerical Simulation of Duplex Steel Multipass Welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giętka T.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Analyses based on FEM calculations have significantly changed the possibilities of determining welding strains and stresses at early stages of product design and welding technology development. Such an approach to design enables obtaining significant savings in production preparation and post-weld deformation corrections and is also important for utility properties of welded joints obtained. As a result, it is possible to make changes to a simulated process before introducing them into real production as well as to test various variants of a given solution. Numerical simulations require the combination of problems of thermal, mechanical and metallurgical analysis. The study presented involved the SYSWELD software-based analysis of GMA welded multipass butt joints made of duplex steel sheets. The analysis of the distribution of stresses and displacements were carried out for typical welding procedure as during real welding tests.

Design, Construction, Demonstration and Delivery of an Automated Narrow Gap Welding System.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-06-29

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, DEMONSTRATION AND DELIVERY OF WE DA4I &NARROW GAP CONTRACT NO. NOOGOO-81-C-E923 TO DAVID TAYLOR NAVAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT...the automated * Narrow Gap welding process, is the narrow (3/8 - inch), square-butt joint *design. This narrow joint greatly reduces the volume of weld...AD-i45 495 DESIGN CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION AiND DELIVERY OF RN 1/j AUrOMATED NARROW GAP WELDING SYSTEMI() CRC AUTOMATIC WELDING CO HOUSTON TX 29

Laser welding of SSM Cast A356 aluminium alloy processed with CSIR-Rheo technology

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Akhter, R

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Samples of aluminium alloy A356 were manufactured by Semi Solid Metals HPDC technology, developed recently in CSIR, Pretoria. They were butt welded in as cast conditions using as Nd: YAG laser. The best metal and weld microstructure were presented...

Characterization of Cassini GPHS fueled clad production girth welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franco-Ferreira, E.A.; Moyer, M.W.; Reimus, M.A.H.; Placr, A.; Howard, B.D.

2000-01-01

Fueled clads for radioisotope power systems are produced by encapsulating 238 PuO 2 in iridium alloy cups, which are joined at their equators by gas tungsten arc welding. Cracking problems at the girth weld tie-in area during production of the Galileo/Ulysses GPHS capsules led to the development of a first-generation ultrasonic test for girth weld inspection at the Savannah River Plant. A second-generation test and equipment with significantly improved sensitivity and accuracy were jointly developed by the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant and Westinghouse Savannah River Company for use during the production of Cassini GPHS capsules by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The test consisted of Lamb wave ultrasonic scanning of the entire girth weld from each end of the capsule combined with a time-of-flight evaluation to aid in characterizing nonrelevant indications. Tangential radiography was also used as a supplementary test for further evaluation of reflector geometry. Each of the 317 fueled GP HS capsules, which were girth welded for the Cassini Program, was subjected to a series of nondestructive tests that included visual, dimensional, helium leak rate, and ultrasonic testing. Thirty-three capsules were rejected prior to ultrasonic testing. Of the 44 capsules rejected by the standard ultrasonic test, 22 were upgraded to flight quality through supplementary testing for an overall process acceptance rate of 82.6%. No confirmed instances of weld cracking were found

Initial Development in Joining of ODS Alloys Using Friction Stir Welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Weiju [ORNL; Feng, Zhili [ORNL

2007-08-01

Solid-state welding of oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloy MA956 sheets using friction stir welding (FSW) was investigated. Butt weld was successfully produced. The weld and base metals were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, and energy dispersion x-ray spectrum. Microhardness mapping was also conducted over the weld region. Analyses indicate that the distribution of the strengthening oxides was preserved in the weld. Decrease in microhardness of the weld was observed but was insignificant. The preliminary results seem to confirm the envisioned feasibility of FSW application to ODS alloy joining. For application to Gen IV nuclear reactor heat exchanger, further investigation is suggested.

Ultrasonic inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satittada, Gannaga

1984-01-01

Ultrasonic inspection is one of the most widely used methods for nondestructive inspection. The beam of high-frequency sound wave, ultrasonic wave, is introduced into the material. It travels through the material with some attendant loss of energy and can be reflected at interfaces. The reflected beam is detected and analyzed. Ultrasonic inspection is used to detect flaws in metal parts as well as in welded, brazed and bonded joints during research work and developing production and service. It is also used to detect and locate porosity, pipe, and flakes. In addition, it can be used for the measurement of metal thickness. Ultrasonic inspection is therefore used for quality control and material inspection in all major industries

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Austenitic stainless steel weld inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mech, S.J.; Emmons, J.S.; Michaels, T.E.

1978-01-01

Analytical techniques applied to ultrasonic waveforms obtained from inspection of austenitic stainless steel welds are described. Experimental results obtained from a variety of geometric and defect reflectors are presented. Specifically, frequency analyses parameters, such as simple moments of the power spectrum, cross-correlation techniques, and adaptive learning network analysis, all represent improvements over conventional time domain analysis of ultrasonic waveforms. Results for each of these methods are presented, and the overall inspection difficulties of austenitic stainless steel welds are discussed

Inspection of copper canisters for spent nuclear fuel by means of ultrasound. Ultrasonic imaging of EB weld, theory of harmonic imaging of welds, NDE of cast iron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stepinski, T.; Lingvall, F.; Ping Wu

2001-07-01

The objective of task presented in the first chapter, ultrasonic imaging of EB weld is to investigate imaging methods capable of improving ultrasonic imaging of defects in EB-welds. Algorithms based on ideas from ultrasonic tomography were examined as the first step. After a concise review of literature in the field of tomography the attention is focused on synthetic focusing and particularly on using linear phased array systems for imaging. Synthetic focusing is a technique where the focusing is performed by software after gathering the ultrasonic data. General principles of synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) - a synthetic focusing technique especially suitable for linear ultrasonic arrays are presented. Problems related to the application of SAFT to ultrasonic transducers with large apertures are identified and the solution is proposed. It appears that when the probe becomes larger (i.e., cannot be regarded as a point source) the ultrasonic pulses that it generates will be smeared by its spatial impulse response (SIR). This impairs the spatial resolution achieved for the finite aperture probes comparing to the point source. Thus, a proper application of synthetic focusing requires taking into account the spatially varying probe's SIR. The SIR has to be calculated (measured) in the interesting points of space and than deconvoluted. A technique for deconvoluting the SIR based on Wiener filter is proposed and illustrated by experimental results. Some preliminary results from immersion testing of copper blocks using the ALLIN system in our lab facility are presented. Nonlinear propagation of plane waves in fluids based on the Burgers equation is investigated in the second chapter. The presented method is basically adopted from the existing literature although some modification has been made to adapt to our situation. The solution has been re-derived and two alternative forms feasible for computer calculation are given and some numerical results are

Inspection of copper canisters for spent nuclear fuel by means of ultrasound. Ultrasonic imaging of EB weld, theory of harmonic imaging of welds, NDE of cast iron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stepinski, T.; Lingvall, F.; Ping Wu [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Materials Science

2001-07-01

The objective of task presented in the first chapter, ultrasonic imaging of EB weld is to investigate imaging methods capable of improving ultrasonic imaging of defects in EB-welds. Algorithms based on ideas from ultrasonic tomography were examined as the first step. After a concise review of literature in the field of tomography the attention is focused on synthetic focusing and particularly on using linear phased array systems for imaging. Synthetic focusing is a technique where the focusing is performed by software after gathering the ultrasonic data. General principles of synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) - a synthetic focusing technique especially suitable for linear ultrasonic arrays are presented. Problems related to the application of SAFT to ultrasonic transducers with large apertures are identified and the solution is proposed. It appears that when the probe becomes larger (i.e., cannot be regarded as a point source) the ultrasonic pulses that it generates will be smeared by its spatial impulse response (SIR). This impairs the spatial resolution achieved for the finite aperture probes comparing to the point source. Thus, a proper application of synthetic focusing requires taking into account the spatially varying probe's SIR. The SIR has to be calculated (measured) in the interesting points of space and than deconvoluted. A technique for deconvoluting the SIR based on Wiener filter is proposed and illustrated by experimental results. Some preliminary results from immersion testing of copper blocks using the ALLIN system in our lab facility are presented. Nonlinear propagation of plane waves in fluids based on the Burgers equation is investigated in the second chapter. The presented method is basically adopted from the existing literature although some modification has been made to adapt to our situation. The solution has been re-derived and two alternative forms feasible for computer calculation are given and some numerical results are

Ultrasonic testing of materials at level 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-06-01

Ultrasonic inspection is a nondestructive method in which high frequency sound waves are introduced into the material being inspected. Ultrasonic testing has a superior penetrating power to radiography and can detect flaws deep in the test specimen (say up to about 6 to 7 meters of steel). It is quite sensitive to small flaws and allows the precise determination of the location and size of the flaws. Basic ultrasonic test methods such as the through transmission method and the resonance method, sensors and testing techniques are described. Pulse echo type flaw detectors and their applications for inspection of welds are surveyed. Ultrasonic standards, calibration of the equipment and evaluation methods are presented. Examples of practical applications in welding, casting and forging processes are given. Figs and tabs

The influence of plate thickness on the welding residual stresses from submerged arc welding in offshore steel structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreassen, Michael Joachim; Yu, Zhenzhen; Liu, Stephen

2017-01-01

Welding-induced residual tensile stresses and distortion have become a major concern in relation to the structural integrity of welded structures within the offshore wind industry. The stresses have a negative impact on the integrity of the welded joint, as they promote distortion, reduce fatigue...... leading to a better understanding of the distribution and development of the welding residual stresses. This can later be used to optimize the fatigue design, providing a more efficient and improved design. In this context, the current research is expected to benefit the offshore industry by leading...... to an improved design, which consequently may be included in future norms and standards. Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) was used to make a fully penetrated butt weld in 10 mm and 40 mm thick steel plates with the same welding parameters as used in the production procedures. The base material is thermomechanical hot...

Simulation of Welding Distortions in Theory and Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birk-Sørensen, Martin; Kierkegaard, Henning

1997-01-01

by an optimised welding order. Welding test samples prove that the constraint of the sample and the time between each pass in a multipass weld affect the magnitude of distortion. Experiments with welding specimens in the form of butt-and fillet welds have been carried out. They show angular deflections as well......In the last few years the use of robot welding processes has increased significatnly. The programming of the robots has until now mainly focused on high efficiency, i.e.high torch rate time, and hence, minimising the inefficient "travelling" time. Together with developing high-performance welding...... due to cutting and welding and parlty in the form of dimensional variation due to human factors. Measurements have been made of the production line for assemblies. The measurements show that distortions related to the multirobot welding are a factor which can rather easily be controlled...

Computer automation of ultrasonic testing. [inspection of ultrasonic welding

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, B. G. W.; Kerlin, E. E.; Gardner, A. H.; Dunmyer, D.; Wells, T. G.; Robinson, A. R.; Kunselman, J. S.; Walker, T. C.

1974-01-01

Report describes a prototype computer-automated ultrasonic system developed for the inspection of weldments. This system can be operated in three modes: manual, automatic, and computer-controlled. In the computer-controlled mode, the system will automatically acquire, process, analyze, store, and display ultrasonic inspection data in real-time. Flaw size (in cross-section), location (depth), and type (porosity-like or crack-like) can be automatically discerned and displayed. The results and pertinent parameters are recorded.

Control of the ultrasonic beam transmitted through an irregular profile using a smart flexible transducer: modelling an application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roy, O.; Mahaut, S.; Casula, O. [CEA Fontenay aux Roses, DRT/LIST/DECS/STA/LMUS, 92 (France)

2001-07-01

In most of industries as aeronautics, aerospace and nuclear, the main part of the ultrasonic testing is carried out directly in touch with the inspected component. Among others, the cooling piping of French pressurized water reactor comprises many welding components with complex geometry: elbows, butt welds, nozzles. In service inspections of such components performed with conventional ultrasonic contact transducers present limited performances. Variations in sensitivity are produced by unmatched contact on irregular surface, which results in poor detection performances. In addition, the beam orientation transmitted through complex interfaces cannot be totally controlled, because of the disorientations suffered by the transducer during its displacement. As a result, a possible defect cannot be correctly detected, positioned and characterized. At last, the geometry of some components limits the displacement of the transducer, resulting in an uncovered scan area. To overcome these difficulties and to improve the performances of such inspections, the CEA, supported by the safety authorities (IPSN), has developed a new concept of phased array. Recent studies have been made to obtain further performances improvements of this system, including instrumentation development and a new phased array design. Inspections have been performed on a specimen containing artificial defects under a realistic profile, with an adaptive mode to compensate the effect of the irregular profile. Experimental results, displayed using specific imaging, show the ability of this system to detect and characterize defects under irregular profiles, using longitudinal or shear waves in a fully mastered beam. (authors)

Artificial intelligence and ultrasonic tests in detection of defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrera Cardiel, G.; Fabian Alvarez, M. a.; Velez Martinez, M.; Villasenor, L.

2001-01-01

One of the most serious problems in the quality control of welded unions is the location, identification and classification of defects. As a solution to this problem, a technique for classification, applicable to welded unions done by electric arc welding as well as by friction, is proposed; it is based on ultrasonic signals. The neuronal networks proposed are Kohonen and Multilayer Percept ron, all in a virtual instrument environment. Currently the techniques most used in this field are: radiological analysis (X-rays) and ultrasonic analysis (ultrasonic waves). The X-ray technique in addition to being dangerous requires highly specialized personnel and equipment, therefore its use is restricted. The ultrasonic technique, in spite of being one of the most used for detection of discontinuities, requires personnel with wide experience in the interpretation of ultrasonic signals, this is a time-consuming process which necessarily increases its operation cost. The classification techniques that we propose turn out to be safe, reliable, inexpensive and easy to implement for the solution of this important problem. (Author) 8 refs

Ultrasonic inspection development at HEDL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Day, C.K.; Mech, S.J.; Michaels, T.E.; Dixon, N.E.

1978-01-01

Ultrasonic testing methods and equipment are being developed to support preservice and in-service inspection of selected FFTF welds. A digital computer system is employed in the analysis of both simulated FFTF pipe sections and plate specimens containing fatigue cracks. It is anticipated that test evaluation standards containing fatigue cracks will partially eliminate questions formerly associated with weld test calibration producers by providing natural cracks which follow grain boundaries and stress patterns resembling piping situ conditions. Studies have revealed that commercial transducers may satisfy LMFBR ultrasonic pipe inspection applications: The test system evaluation included transducers and wedge coupling and fluid coupling materials which exhibited acceptable performance at temperatures to 2300C. Results are presented that demonstrate the feasibility of ultrasonic inspection of components immersed in sodium at temperatures to 2600C. (UK)

The Effect of Tool Profiles on Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded Al5052 T-Joints.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byeong-Jin; Bang, Hee-Seon; Bang, Han-Sur

2018-03-01

Al5052 T butt joints with two skins (5 mm) and one stringer (3 mm) has been successfully welded by friction stir welding (FSW). Notably, this paper has been investigated the effect of tool shape on welded formation mechanism and mechanical properties. The used shapes of tool pin are two types which are cylinder (type 1) and frustum (type 2). Dimension on two types of tool pin shape is respectively pin length of 4.7 mm and pin diameter of frustum type of top (5 mm) and bottom (3 mm). The results of experiment show that inner defects in FSWed T-joints increase significantly in accordance with traverse speed. The maximum tensile strength of welded joint fabricated using type 1 is equivalent to 85% that of the base metal, which is approximately 10% higher than that of type 2. Because welded joint of type 1 has more smoothly plastic flow in comparison with type 2. Consequently, the results show that type 1 is better appropriate for friction stir welded Al5052 T butt joints than type 2.

The investigation of typical welding defects for 5456 aluminum alloy friction stir welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Huabin; Yan Keng; Lin Tao; Chen Shanben; Jiang Chengyu; Zhao Yong

2006-01-01

The external factors on the friction stir welding defects are so abundant that the experiments of friction stir welding were conducted for 5456 aluminum alloy. With the changes of the tool tilt angle and material condition, defects can be generated. These defects can be conventional ones (lack of penetration or voids), or lazy S, which are unique to friction stir welding. However, the origin of the defects remains an area of uncertainty. In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate the formation of these defects. The typical welding defects of friction stir welding joint for 5456 aluminum alloy were analyzed and discussed, respectively, by using optical microscopy (OM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The microscopic examination of the nugget zone and fracture location of the weld confirms that the tilt angle can change the plastic material flow patterns in the stir zone and accordingly control the weld properties. In addition, the oxide layer from the initial butt surface during FSW is dispersed at the grain boundary. These A1 2 O 3 particles are actually the major cause of failure of the joint

Welding induced residual stress evaluation using laser-generated Rayleigh waves

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Chong; Zhou, Yuanlai; Reddy, Vishnu V. B.; Mebane, Aaron; Ume, I. Charles

2018-04-01

Welding induced residual stress could affect the dimensional stability, fatigue life, and chemical resistance of the weld joints. Ultrasonic method serves as an important non-destructive tool for the residual stress evaluation due to its easy implementation, low cost and wide application to different materials. Residual stress would result in the ultrasonic wave velocity variation, which is the so called acoustoelastic effect. In this paper, Laser/EMAT ultrasonic technique was proposed to experimentally study the relative velocity variation ΔV/V of Rayleigh wave, which has the potential to evaluate surface/subsurface longitudinal residual stress developed during the Gas Metal Arc Welding process. Broad band ultrasonic waves were excited by pulsed Q-Switched Nd: YAG laser. An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) attached to the welded plates was used to capture the Rayleigh wave signals propagating along the weld seam direction. Different time of flight measurements were conducted by varying the distance between the weld seam and Rayleigh wave propagating path in the range of 0 to 45 mm. The maximum relative velocity difference was found on the weld seam. With the increasing distance away from the weld seam, the relative velocity difference sharply decreased to negative value. With further increase in distance, the relative velocity difference slowly increased and approached zero. The distribution of relative velocity variations indicates that tensile stress appears in the melted zone as it becomes compressive near the heat-affected zone.

Final Assessment of Manual Ultrasonic Examinations Applied to Detect Flaws in Primary System Dissimilar Metal Welds at North Anna Power Station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Michael T.; Diaz, Aaron A.; Cinson, Anthony D.; Crawford, Susan L.; Prowant, Matthew S.; Doctor, Steven R.

2014-03-24

PNNL conducted a technical assessment of the NDE issues and protocols that led to missed detections of several axially oriented flaws in a steam generator primary inlet dissimilar metal weld at North Anna Power Station, Unit 1 (NAPS-1). This particular component design exhibits a significant outside-diameter (OD) taper that is not included as a blind performance demonstration mock-up within the industry’s Performance Demonstration Initiative, administered by EPRI. For this reason, the licensee engaged EPRI to assist in the development of a technical justification to support the basis for a site-specific qualification. The service-induced flaws at NAPS-1 were eventually detected as a result of OD surface machining in preparation for a full structural weld overlay. The machining operation uncovered the existence of two through-wall flaws, based on the observance of primary water leaking from the dissimilar metal weld. A total of five axially oriented flaws were detected in varied locations around the weld circumference. The field volumetric examination that was conducted at NAPS-1 was a non-encoded, real-time manual ultrasonic examination. PNNL conducted both an initial assessment, and subsequently, a more rigorous technical evaluation (reported here), which has identified an array of NDE issues that may have led to the subject missed detections. These evaluations were performed through technical reviews and discussions with NRC staff, EPRI NDE Center personnel, industry and ISI vendor personnel, and ultrasonic transducer manufacturers, and laboratory tests, to better understand the underlying issues at North Anna.

Welding iridium heat-source capsules for space missions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanne, W.R. Jr.

1982-03-01

A remote computer-controlled welding station was developed to encapsulate radioactive PuO 2 in iridium. Weld quench cracking caused an interruption in production of capsules for upcoming space missions. Hot crack sensitivity of the DOP-26 iridium alloy was associated with low melting constituents in the grain boundaries. The extent of cracking was reduced but could not be eliminated by changes to the welding operation. An ultrasonic test was developed to detect underbead cracks exceeding a threshold size. Production was continued using the ultrasonic test to reject capsules with detectable cracks

Effect of Pre/Post T6 Heat Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of Laser Welded SSM Cast A356 Aluminium Alloy

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Akhter, R

2007-02-01

Full Text Available HT) were butt welded, using an Nd: YAG laser. In another experiment, as cast welded samples were heat treated to T6 condition (post HT). The base metal and weld microstructures were presented. The effect of heat treatments on microstructure...

Development of high frequency tungsten inert gas welding method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morisada, Yoshiaki; Fujii, Hidetoshi; Inagaki, Fuminori; Kamai, Masayoshi

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A new ultrasonic wave TIG welding method was developed. ► The area of the blowholes decreased to less than about 1/8 in the normal TIG weld. ► The number of blowholes decreased with the decreasing frequency. ► The number of blowholes increased when the frequency was less than 15 kHz. ► The microstructure of the weld was refined by ultrasonic wave. -- Abstract: A new welding method, called high frequency tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, was developed to decrease blowholes in a weld. A1050 aluminum alloy plates (100 mm l × 50 mm w × 5 mm t ) were welded at a frequency from 10 to 40 kHz. An Ar-1% hydrogen mixture was used as the shielding gas to generate blowholes in the experiments. The welding was performed in the horizontal position so that the blowholes can easily be a problem. For comparison, a normal TIG welding was also performed at 60 Hz. After welding, the distribution of the blowholes in the welds was observed in order to evaluate the effect of the sonic wave. The number of blowholes changed with the frequency. A frequency near 15 kHz is the most suitable to decrease the blowholes. Using this new method, the area of blowholes is decreased to less than about 1/8 of the normal TIG weld. This method is much more effective for decreasing the number of blowholes, compared with an ultrasonic wave vibrator which is directly fixed to the sample.

Influence of heat treatments for laser welded semi solid metal cast A356 alloy on the fracture mode of tensile specimens

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kunene, G

2008-09-01

Full Text Available were then butt laser welded. It was found that the pre-weld as cast, T4 and post-weld T4 heat treated specimens fractured in the base metal. However, the pre-weld T6 heat treated specimens were found to have fractured in the heat affected zone (HAZ)...

Control of GMA Butt Joint Welding Based on Neural Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kim Hardam; Sørensen, Torben

2004-01-01

This paper presents results from an experimentally based research on Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), controlled by the artificial neural network (ANN) technology. A system has been developed for modeling and online adjustment of welding parameters, appropriate to guarantee a high degree of quality......-linear least square error minimization, has been used with the back-propagation algorithm for training the network, while a Bayesian regularization technique has been successfully applied for minimizing the risk of inexpedient over-training....

Studies on Section XI ultrasonic repeatability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamison, T.D.; McDearman, W.R.

1981-05-01

A block representative of a nuclear component has been welded containing intentional defects. Acoustic emission data taken during the welding correlate well with ultrasonic data. Repetitive ultrasonic examinations have been performed by skilled operators using a procedure based on that desribed in ASME Section XI. These examinations were performed by different examination teams using different ultrasonic equipment in such a manner that the effects on the repeatability of the ultrasonic test method caused by the operator and by the use of different equipment could be estimated. It was tentatively concluded that when considering a large number of inspections: (1) there is no significant difference in indication sizing between operators, and (2) there is a significant difference in amplitude and defect sizing when instruments having different, Code acceptable operating characteristics are used. It was determined that the Section XI sizing parameters follow a bivariate normal distribution. Data derived from ultrasonically and physically sizing indications in nuclear components during farication show that the Section XI technique tends to overestimate the size of the reflectors

Active flux tungsten inert gas welding of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Klobčar

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the effects of flux assisted tungsten inert gas (A-TIG welding of 4 (10 mm thick austenitic stainless steel EN X5CrNi1810 (AISI 304 in the butt joint. The sample dimensions were 300 ´ 50 mm, and commercially available active flux QuickTIG was used for testing. In the planned study the influence of welding position and weld groove shape was analysed based on the penetration depth. A comparison of microstructure formation, grain size and ferrit number between TIG welding and A-TIG welding was done. The A-TIG welds were subjected to bending test. A comparative study of TIG and A-TIG welding shows that A-TIG welding increases the weld penetration depth.

Determination of Flaw Type and Location Using an Expert Module in Ultrasonic Nondestructive Testing for Weld Inspection

Science.gov (United States)

Shahriari, D.; Zolfaghari, A.; Masoumi, F.

2011-01-01

Nondestructive evaluation is explained as nondestructive testing, nondestructive inspection, and nondestructive examination. It is a desire to determine some characteristic of the object or to determine whether the object contains irregularities, discontinuities, or flaws. Ultrasound based inspection techniques are used extensively throughout industry for detection of flaws in engineering materials. The range and variety of imperfections encountered is large, and critical assessment of location, size, orientation and type is often difficult. In addition, increasing quality requirements of new standards and codes of practice relating to fitness for purpose are placing higher demands on operators. Applying of an expert knowledge-based analysis in ultrasonic examination is a powerful tool that can help assure safety, quality, and reliability; increase productivity; decrease liability; and save money. In this research, an expert module system is coupled with ultrasonic examination (A-Scan Procedure) to determine and evaluate type and location of flaws that embedded during welding parts. The processing module of this expert system is implemented based on EN standard to classify welding defects, acceptance condition and measuring of their location via echo static pattern and image processing. The designed module introduces new system that can automate evaluating of the results of A-scan method according to EN standard. It can simultaneously recognize the number and type of defects, and determine flaw position during each scan.

The application of TIG-welding to the manufacture of modern boiler units. Chapter 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dick, N.T.

1978-01-01

Stringent weld acceptance standards are necessary in nuclear installations. Mechanised TIG-welding is being used exclusively in the manufacture of the boiler pods for the Hartlepool and Heysham nuclear generating stations. The choice of a TIG welding process is discussed. Reliability, access, welding position, tube dimensions and weld profile were important as was the desirability of having ferrite control because in the austenitic stainless steel used, the acceptance standard does not permit microfissuring. Development of the technique and production equipment and conditions are given for tube butt welding, tube-to-tubeplate bore welding and tube-to-tubeplate face welding in AGR applications. (U.K.)

Plug-welding of ODS cladding tube for BOR-60 irradiation. Welding condition setting. Device remodeling and welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seki, Masayuki; Ishibashi, Fujio; Kono, Syusaku; Hirako, Kazuhito; Tsukada, Tatsuya

2003-04-01

Irradiation test in BOR-60 at RIAR to judge practical use prospect of ODS cladding tube at early stage is planned as Japan-Russia a joint research. RIAR does fuel design of fuel pin used for this joint research. JNC manufactures ODS cladding tube and bar materials (two steel kind of martensite and ferrite), upper endplug production. They are welded by pressurized resistance welding, and are inspected in JNC Tokai, transported to RIAR. And RIAR manufactures vibration packing fuel pin. On the upper endplug welding by pressurized resistance welding method, we worded on the problems such as decision of welding condition by changing the size and crystallization of cladding tube and the design of endplug, and the chucking device remodeling to correspond to the long scale cladding tube welding system (included handling) and of quality assurance method. Especially, use of long scale cladding tube caused problem that bending transformation occurred in cladding tube by welding pressure. However, we solved this problem by shortening the distance of cladding tube colette chuck and pressure receiving, and by putting the sleeve in an internal space of welding machine, losing the bending of cladding tube. Moreover, welding defects were occurred by the difference of an inside state, an inside defect and recrystallization of cladding tube. We solved the problem by inside grinding for the edge of tube, angle beam method by ultrasonic wave, and ultrasonic wave form confirmation. Manufacturing process with long scale cladding tube including heat-treatment to remove combustion return and remaining stress was established besides, Afterwards, welding of ODS cladding tube and upper endplug. As the quality assurance system, we constructed [Documented procedure (referred to JOYO)] based on [Document of the QA plan] by OEC. Welding and inspection were executed by the document procedure. It is thought that the quality assurance method become references for the irradiation test in JOYO in the

Heat Source - Materials Interactions during Fusion Welding.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-04-30

the capabilities of ultrasonic weld pool measurement, and to address questions of applications to active pool size control. -- mom- 44 TIG welding ...preparation. The fraction of absorbed power increases dramatically upon formation of a keyhole . As a result, welds made with sharply beveled edge...laser end electron beam welding processes characteristically produce a deel,, narrow weld bead. This bead is formed by a keyhole mode of operation in

HAZ microstructure in joints made of X13CrMoCoVNbNB9-2-1 (PB2 steel welded with and without post-weld heat treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Łomozik

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of research butt welded joints made of X13CrMoCoVNbNB9-2-1 steel. The joints were welded with post-weld heat treatment PWHT and without PWHT, using the temper bead technique TBT. After welding the joint welded with PWHT underwent stress-relief annealing at 770 °C for 3 hours. The scope of structural tests included the microstructural examination of the coarse-grained heat affected zone (HAZ areas of the joints, the comparison of the morphology of these areas and the determination of carbide precipitate types of the coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ of the joints welded with and without PWHT.

Flaw acceptance criteria taking into consideration the NDT: radiographic and ultrasonic testing. Analysis through the fracture mechanics methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capurro, E.; Alicino, F.; Corvi, A.

1993-01-01

The present study compares and evaluates the flaw acceptance criteria of the non-destructive inspections meeting European Community standards, through the application of the fracture mechanics methods that were determined and verified by the previous activity. Some choices were made; these, however, do not change the general validity of the conclusions. Shaved full-penetration butt welds of Class 1 components making up the primary circuit were considered and the following parameters varied: standards: French, German, Italian (ASME III) and UK; material: AISI 316 and low alloy steel A 533; base material and weld metal; temperature: RT, 370 deg C for the austenitic and 260 deg C for the ferritic steel; ultrasonic and radiographic methods; defect position: surface and internal; stress condition: situations with different primary and secondary stresses. From a preliminary examination of this study it is evident that the large quantity of results available and the abundance of information contained therein make a simple and exhaustive synthesis difficult. In fact, different analyses are possible and we have, therefore, limited the research to activities to perform a comparison and a general evaluation of the acceptance criteria of the non-destructive testing. (authors). 57 refs., 25 figs., 11 tabs

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Integrated FEM-DBEM simulation of crack propagation in AA2024-T3 FSW butt joints considering manufacturing effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonne, Mads Rostgaard; Carlone, P.; Citarella, R.

2015-01-01

This paper deals with a numerical and experimental investigation on the influence of residual stresses on fatigue crack growth in AA2024-T3 friction stir welded butt joints. An integrated FEM-DBEM procedure for the simulation of crack propagation is proposed and discussed. A numerical FEM model...... of the welding process of precipitation hardenable AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy is employed to infer the process induced residual stress field. The reliability of the FEM simulations with respect to the induced residual stresses is assessed comparing numerical outcomes with experimental data obtained by means...

On use of weld zone temperatures for online monitoring of weld quality in friction stir welding of naturally aged aluminium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imam, Murshid; Biswas, Kajal; Racherla, Vikranth

2013-01-01

Highlights: • FSWs for 6063-T4 AA are done at different process parameters and sheet thicknesses. • Weld nugget zone and heat affected zone temperatures are monitored for each case. • Microstructural and mechanical characterisation of welds is done in all cases. • Weld ductility is found to be particularly sensitive to weld zone temperatures. • Strong correlation is found between WNZ and HAZ temperatures and weld properties. - Abstract: 6063-T4 aluminium alloy sheets of 3 and 6 mm thicknesses were friction stir butt welded using a square tool pin at a wide range of tool rotational speeds. Properties of obtained welds were characterised using tensile tests, optical micrographs, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Shape, size, and distribution of precipitates in weld zones, and strength and ductility of welds were seen to directly correlate with peak temperatures in weld nugget and heat affected zones, independent of sheet thickness. In addition, fluctuations in measured temperature profiles, for 3 mm sheets, were seen to correlate with an increase in scatter of weld nugget zone properties for 3 mm sheets. Optimal weld strength and ductility were obtained for peak weld nugget zone temperatures of around 450 °C and corresponding peak heat affected zone temperatures of around 360–380 °C. Results obtained suggest that, at least for naturally aged aluminium alloys, nature of temperature evolution and magnitudes of peak temperatures in weld nugget and heat affected zones provide information on uniformity of properties in weld zones, overaging of heat affected zones, and formation of tunnel defects from improper material mixing at low weld zone temperatures

Equipment for inspection of austenitic stainless steel pipe welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehmer, W.D.; Horn, J.E.

1979-01-01

A computer controlled ultrasonic scanning system and a data acquisition and analysis system have been developed to perform the inservice inspection of welds in stainless steel sodium piping in the Fast Flux Test Facility. The scanning equipment consists of a six axis motion mechanism and control system which allows full articulation of an ultrasonic transducer as it follows the circumferential pipe welds. The data acquisition and analysis system consists of high speed ultrasonic waveform digitizing equipment, dedicated processors to perform on-line analysis, and data storage and display equipment

Distribution of temperature and deformations during resistance butt welding of uranium rods with titanium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tatarinov, V.R.; Krasnorutskij, V.S.

1977-01-01

Results are described on studying time-temperature and deformation parameters for resistance welding of uranium rods with titanium. It is shown that in the first period of welding (approximately 2/3 tsub(wel.)) the maxima of weld temperature and weld deformation deviate to titanium, and in the final period uranium deformation reaches the level of maximum lateral deformation of titanium. For faying surfaces with minimum weld deformation the joint cleaning of contaminants and oxides is insufficient, which results in lower weld quality

Development of data acquisition and analysis system for the nuclear vessel weld

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, J. P.; Park, C. H.; Lim, H. T.; Noh, H. C. [Research Institute of KAITEC, Taejeon (Korea)

2000-03-01

The objective of this project is to develop an automated ultrasonic data acquisition and data analysis system to examine heavy vessel welds. In order to examine nuclear vessel welds including reactor pressure vessel(RPV), huge amount of ultrasonic data from 6 channels should be able to be on-line processed. In addition, ultrasonic transducer scanning device should be remotely controlled, because working place is high radiation area. This kind of an automated ultrasonic testing equipment has not been developed domestically yet. In order to develop an automated ultrasonic testing system, RPV ultrasonic testing equipments developed in foreign countries were investigated and the capability of high speed ultrasonic signal processing hardwares was analyzed. In this study, ultrasonic signal processing system was designed. And also, ultrasonic data acquisition software was developed. 11 refs., 6 figs. (Author)

Kinetics of manganese in MAG/MIG welding with a 18/8/6 wire

OpenAIRE

Tušek, Janez

2001-01-01

The paper deals with a study of MAG/MIG welding of low-alloy ferritic steel and highalloy austenitic steel with a 18/8/6 wire. Manganese burn-off from the wire in welding a single-V butt weld was studied. It was found that manganese burns off in the arc during melting of a droplet at the wire end, and from the weld pool during weld formation. The range of manganese burn-off depends mainly on the type of shielding gas used and the arc length, i.e., from the arc voltage. The manganese burn-off ...

The selection of ultrasonic transducers for inspection of pipeline girth welds. Vol. 2. Evaluation of a unique creeping wave probe for examination of the cap region in pipeline girth welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fingerhut, M P; Glover, A G; Dorling, D V

1988-10-01

This work is part of a program aimed at developing an ultrasonic inspection design for the nondestructive evaluation of pipeline girth welds made by the mechanized gas metal arc (GMA) welding process for onshore and offshore pipeline construction. The feasibility of using creeping waves for examination of the cap region was investigated and, as a result, a specification for an experimental creeping wave transducer developed and a probe was designed to provide a beam oriented nearly perpendicular to expected defects in the cap region of the weld. The performance of this experimental creeping wave transducer was evaluated with respect to its ability to detect simulated and real weld defects in the cap region of mechanized GMA welds in 9.5 mm material. The probe was successful in detecting planar lack of sidewall fusion welding defects with a signal-to-noise ratio of greater than 12 dB, at depths of up to 4.2 mm from the plate surface. This indicates maximum pipe wall thicknesses of 10.9 mm may be satisfactorily examined before additional probes are required, assuming complete coverage in the root region is provided by other probes. The creeping wave probe not only performed well in the detection of real weld defects in the cap region for which it was intended, but also showed potential for detecting and discriminating some planar defects in the root region. 9 refs., 23 figs., 3 tabs.

Feasibility study of flexible phased array ultrasonic technology using irregular surface specimen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung Pyo; Moon, Yong Sik; Jung, Nam Du

2015-01-01

Nuclear power plant contain many dissimilar metal welds that connect carbon steel components with stainless steel pipes using alloy 600 welding materials. Primary water stress corrosion cracks at dissimilar metal welds have been continuously reported around the world. In periodic integrity evaluations, dissimilar metal welds are examined using a generic ultrasonic testing procedure, KPD-UT-10. In this procedure, the gap between the probe and examination surface is limited to 1/32 inch (0.8 mm). It is not easy to test some dissimilar metal welds in Korean plants applying ordinary technology because of their tapered shapes and irregular surface conditions. This paper introduces a method for applying a flexible phased array technology to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing results for various shapes and surface conditions. The artificial flaws in specimens with irregular surfaces were completely detected using the flexible phased array ultrasonic technology. Therefore, it can be said that the technology is applicable to field examination.

Feasibility study of flexible phased array ultrasonic technology using irregular surface specimen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Seung Pyo; Moon, Yong Sik; Jung, Nam Du [NDE Performance Demonstration Team, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, Central Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-02-15

Nuclear power plant contain many dissimilar metal welds that connect carbon steel components with stainless steel pipes using alloy 600 welding materials. Primary water stress corrosion cracks at dissimilar metal welds have been continuously reported around the world. In periodic integrity evaluations, dissimilar metal welds are examined using a generic ultrasonic testing procedure, KPD-UT-10. In this procedure, the gap between the probe and examination surface is limited to 1/32 inch (0.8 mm). It is not easy to test some dissimilar metal welds in Korean plants applying ordinary technology because of their tapered shapes and irregular surface conditions. This paper introduces a method for applying a flexible phased array technology to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing results for various shapes and surface conditions. The artificial flaws in specimens with irregular surfaces were completely detected using the flexible phased array ultrasonic technology. Therefore, it can be said that the technology is applicable to field examination.

An alternative design of reference blocks during the ultrasonic of ferritic welded joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rondon Torriente, S.; Galeano Alvarez, N.J.

1996-01-01

This paper describes an alternative design which can be used to construct the reference blocks required to make the sensibility adjustment during the ultrasonic control ferritic welded joints. The major possibilities of this design are seen when it's used together with the well known AVG method, however it can be properly used with the reference block technique. In addition, the most general facts to keep in mind during the construction of this means are outlined, and besides advantages and problems involved with the use of some basics reference reflectors of wide spread use. Also formulates are given that can be used to obtain the size of the disk shaped reflector corresponding to the basics reference reflectors that this design includes

Comparison of Ultrasonic Welding and Thermal Bonding for the Integration of Thin Film Metal Electrodes in Injection Molded Polymeric Lab-on-Chip Systems for Electrochemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matteucci, Marco; Heiskanen, Arto; Zor, Kinga

2016-01-01

We compare ultrasonic welding (UW) and thermal bonding (TB) for the integration of embedded thin-film gold electrodes for electrochemical applications in injection molded (IM) microfluidic chips. The UW bonded chips showed a significantly superior electrochemical performance compared to the ones ...

Friction stir welding (FSW) of AA 6061 T6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabot, Pedro; Monglioni, Alberto; Carella, Eduardo

2002-01-01

The friction-stir process (FSW) developed by England's TWI in the last decade is a new concept in solid phase friction welding that is particularly appropriate for soldering aluminum and its alloys. It offers interesting aspects and can advantageously replace the usual arch processes. It is an automatic process that solders together long pieces by butt or lap welding and, therefore, overcomes the greater limitation of the conventional friction process that can be applied only to pieces with revolution symmetry. FSW is based essentially on the use of a cylindrical tool with a special profile, which is inserted between the surfaces where the materials meet to join them together at a certain rotation speed and under a specific force. The pieces must be rigidly butt bonded or overlapped to prevent movement when the tool moves forward along the joint producing the dispersion of oxides, local plastisizing of the material and the weld. Since its creation FSW has been the subject of many international publications, but until the present work there was no technologically relevant data about tools and procedures. For this reason, when its promising and novel nature was noticed, the CNEA began its own development project in 1997. The main characteristics of the tool are reviewed here and the results of tests carried out to evaluate the influence of the feed velocity on the mechanical properties of the butt joining of a 6.25 mm thick AA6061 T6 plate. Different accumulated aspects of the experience are discussed as well (cw)

Automated ultrasonic inspection system for nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

The automated system of ultrasonic inspection which was used to conduct weld inspections of the complex primary system of the Borselle PWR station is described. It relies upon mechanically traversing purpose designed multi-crystal ultrasonic probes along the welds. A number of probes are switched sequentially to provide a continuous scan. A typical scan rate of 120 scan/sec is achieved by a multiplexer capable of switching transmitter and receiver individually. The system has wide applications in other industries. (U.K.)

Dynamics of ultrasonic additive manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hehr, Adam; Dapino, Marcelo J

2017-01-01

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) is a solid-state technology for joining similar and dissimilar metal foils near room temperature by scrubbing them together with ultrasonic vibrations under pressure. Structural dynamics of the welding assembly and work piece influence how energy is transferred during the process and ultimately, part quality. To understand the effect of structural dynamics during UAM, a linear time-invariant model is proposed to relate the inputs of shear force and electric current to resultant welder velocity and voltage. Measured frequency response and operating performance of the welder under no load is used to identify model parameters. Using this model and in-situ measurements, shear force and welder efficiency are estimated to be near 2000N and 80% when welding Al 6061-H18 weld foil, respectively. Shear force and welder efficiency have never been estimated before in UAM. The influence of processing conditions, i.e., welder amplitude, normal force, and weld speed, on shear force and welder efficiency are investigated. Welder velocity was found to strongly influence the shear force magnitude and efficiency while normal force and weld speed showed little to no influence. The proposed model is used to describe high frequency harmonic content in the velocity response of the welder during welding operations and coupling of the UAM build with the welder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

A study on influence of heat input variation on microstructure of reduced activation ferritic martensitic steel weld metal produced by GTAW process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arivazhagan, B.; Srinivasan, G.; Albert, S.K.; Bhaduri, A.K.

2011-01-01

Reduced activation ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steel is a major structural material for test blanket module (TBM) to be incorporated in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) programme to study the breeding of tritium in fusion reactors. This material has been mainly developed to achieve significant reduction in the induced radioactivity from the structural material used. Fabrication of TBM involves extensive welding, and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process is one of the welding processes being considered for this purpose. In the present work, the effect of heat input on microstructure of indigenously developed RAFM steel weld metal produced by GTAW process has been studied. Autogenous bead-on-plate welding, autogenous butt-welding, butt-welding with filler wire addition, and pulsed welding on RAFMS have been carried out using GTAW process respectively. The weld metal is found to contain δ-ferrite and its volume fraction increased with increase in heat input. This fact suggests that δ-ferrite content in the weld metal is influenced by the cooling rate during welding. It was also observed that the hardness of the weld metal decreased with increase in δ-ferrite content. This paper highlights the effect of heat input and PWHT duration on microstructure and hardness of welds.

Tensile Properties of Friction Stir Welded Joints of AA 2024-T6 Alloy at Different Welding Speeds

Science.gov (United States)

Avula, Dhananjayulu; Devuri, Venkateswarlu; Cheepu, Muralimohan; Dwivedi, Dheerendra Kumar

2018-03-01

The influence of welding speed on the friction stir welded joint properties of hardness, tensile properties, defects and microstructure characterization are studied in the present study. The friction stir welding was conducted on AA2014-T6 heat treated alloy with 5 mm thickness plate in butt joint configuration. The welding speed was varied from 8 mm/min to 120 mm/min at the fixed travel speed and load conditions. It is observed that the welding speeds at higher rate with wide range can be possible to weld this alloy at higher rates of tool revolution suggesting that the inherent capability of friction stir welding technique for aluminum 2014 alloys. The strength of the joints gradually increases with enhancing of welding speed. The micro structural observations exhibited the formation of equiaxed grains in the stir zone and slightly in the thermo-mechanically affected zone. In addition, the size of the grains decreases with increase in welding speed owing to the presence of low heat input. Hence the hardness of the joints slightly increased in the stir zones over the other zones of the weld nugget. The joint strength initially increases with the welding speed and starts to decreases after reaching to the maximum value. The relationship between the welding conditions and friction stir welded joint properties has been discussed.

Fabrication and characterization of metal-packaged fiber Bragg grating sensor by one-step ultrasonic welding

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yumin; Zhu, Lianqing; Luo, Fei; Dong, Mingli; Ding, Xiangdong; He, Wei

2016-06-01

A metallic packaging technique of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors is developed for measurement of strain and temperature, and it can be simply achieved via one-step ultrasonic welding. The average strain transfer rate of the metal-packaged sensor is theoretically evaluated by a proposed model aiming at surface-bonded metallic packaging FBG. According to analytical results, the metallic packaging shows higher average strain transfer rate compared with traditional adhesive packaging under the same packaging conditions. Strain tests are performed on an elaborate uniform strength beam for both tensile and compressive strains; strain sensitivities of approximately 1.16 and 1.30 pm/μɛ are obtained for the tensile and compressive situations, respectively. Temperature rising and cooling tests are also executed from 50°C to 200°C, and the sensitivity of temperature is 36.59 pm/°C. All the measurements of strain and temperature exhibit good linearity and stability. These results demonstrate that the metal-packaged sensors can be successfully fabricated by one-step welding technique and provide great promise for long-term and high-precision structural health monitoring.

An analysis of the joints’ properties of thick-grained steel welded by the SAW and ESW methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krawczyk R.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents an analysis of properties of welded joints of thick-grained steel of P460NH type used more and more often in the modern constructions. A process of examining a technology of welding has been carried out on the thick-walled butt joints of sheet metal by two methods of welding namely submerged arc welding (SAW - 121 and electroslag (ESW - 722. The article deals with a topic of optimizing a process of welding thick-walled welded joints of fine-grained steel due to their mechanical properties and efficiency.

Reduction method for residual stress of welded joint using random vibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Shigeru; Nishimura, Tadashi; Hiroi, Tetsumaro

2005-01-01

Welded joints are used for construction of many structures. Residual stress is induced near the bead caused by locally given heat. Tensile residual stress on the surface may reduce fatigue strength. In this paper, a new method for reduction of residual stress using vibration during welding is proposed. As vibrational load, random vibration, white noise and filtered white noise are used. Two thin plates are butt-welded. Residual stress is measured with a paralleled beam X-ray diffractometer with scintillation counter after removing quenched scale chemically. It is concluded that tensile residual stress near the bead is reduced by using random vibration during welding

Model development for mechanical properties and weld quality class of friction stir welding using multi-objective Taguchi method and response surface methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohamed, Mohamed Ackiel [University Kuala Lumpur Malaysia France Institute, Bandar Baru Bangi (Malaysia); Manurung, Yupiter HP; Berhan, Mohamed Nor [Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam (Malaysia)

2015-06-15

This study presents the effect of the governing parameters in friction stir welding (FSW) on the mechanical properties and weld quality of a 6mm thick 6061 T651 Aluminum alloy butt joint. The main FSW parameters, the rotational and traverse speed were optimized based on multiple mechanical properties and quality features, which focus on the tensile strength, hardness and the weld quality class using the multi-objective Taguchi method (MTM). Multi signal to noise ratio (MSNR) was employed to determine the optimum welding parameters for MTM while further analysis concerning the significant level determination was accomplished via the well-established analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, the first order model for predicting the mechanical properties and weld quality class is derived by applying response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the experimental confirmation test, the proposed method can effectively estimate the mechanical properties and weld quality class which can be used to enhance the welding performance in FSW or other applications.

Model development for mechanical properties and weld quality class of friction stir welding using multi-objective Taguchi method and response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, Mohamed Ackiel; Manurung, Yupiter HP; Berhan, Mohamed Nor

2015-01-01

This study presents the effect of the governing parameters in friction stir welding (FSW) on the mechanical properties and weld quality of a 6mm thick 6061 T651 Aluminum alloy butt joint. The main FSW parameters, the rotational and traverse speed were optimized based on multiple mechanical properties and quality features, which focus on the tensile strength, hardness and the weld quality class using the multi-objective Taguchi method (MTM). Multi signal to noise ratio (MSNR) was employed to determine the optimum welding parameters for MTM while further analysis concerning the significant level determination was accomplished via the well-established analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, the first order model for predicting the mechanical properties and weld quality class is derived by applying response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the experimental confirmation test, the proposed method can effectively estimate the mechanical properties and weld quality class which can be used to enhance the welding performance in FSW or other applications.

Vision of the Arc for Quality Documentation and for Closed Loop Control of the Welding Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristiansen, Morten; Kristiansen, Ewa; Jensen, Casper Houmann

2014-01-01

For gas metal arc welding a vision system was developed, which was robust to monitor the position of the arc. The monitoring documents the welding quality indirectly and a closed loop fuzzy control was implemented to control an even excess penetration. For welding experiments on a butt......-joint with a V-groove with varying root gapthe system demonstrated increased welding quality compared to the system with no control. The system was implemented with a low cost vision system, which makes the system interesting to apply in industrial welding automation systems....

Micro friction stir welding of copper electrical contacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Klobčar

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The paper presents an analysis of micro friction stir welding (μFSW of electrolytic tough pitch copper (CuETP in a lap and butt joint. Experimental plan was done in order to investigate the influence of tool design and welding parameters on the formation of defect free joints. The experiments were done using universal milling machine where the tool rotation speed varied between 600 and 1 900 rpm, welding speed between 14 and 93 mm/min and tilt angle between 3° and 5°. From the welds samples for analysis of microstructure and samples for tensile tests were prepared. The grain size in the nugget zone was greatly reduced compared to the base metal and the joint tensile strength exceeded the strength of the base metal.

Improving productivity and quality in plastic and thin metallic plates manufacturing by using ultrasonic welding processes Melhorando a produtividade e qualidade na fabricação em plástica e chapas finas de metal por soldagem por ultra-som

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Dehelean

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents an overview of the research done at the Romanian National R&D Institute for Welding and Material Testing ISIM Timisoara in the field of ultrasonic process development. It starts with a general presentation of the value added by the welding sector in Europe. There are presented figures representing the size of the welding sector in Romania. The need of development of new high efficiency welding processes is mentioned, ultrasonic welding being one of the special welding processes with exceptional application perspectives. Practical examples of industrial application of the ultrasonic welding process for joining plastic and metallic materials are presented. A special case study refers to the welding of new shape memory alloys. The use of the ultrasonic welding instead of an conventional welding process has lead in each presented case study to an increase of the efficiency of the welding process through higher productivity and saving of manpower, consumable, energy.Este trabalho apresenta um panorama dos trabalhos de pesquisa conduzidos no Instituto nacional Romeno de P&D em Soldagem e Avaliação de Materiais (ISIM - Timisoara no desenvolvimento de processos ultrassônicos. Ele se inicia com uma apresentação geral pelo valor adicionado pelo setor de soldagem à Europa. São apresentados valores representativos do tamanho do setor de soldagem na Romênia. A necessidade do desenvolvimento de novos processos de soldagem de alta eficiência é mencionada, sendo a soldagem ultrassônica um dos processos especiais de soldagem com perspectivas excepcionais de aplicação. Exemplos práticos da aplicação industrial deste processo de soldagem para a união de plásticos e de metais são apresentados e um caso especial se refere à soldagem de novas ligas com efeito de memória de forma. O uso de soldagem por ultrassom no lugar de um processo convencional de soldagem resultou, em cada um dos estudos de caso apresentados, em um aumento

Multi-Canister overpack ultrasonic examination of closure weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SMITH, K.E.

1998-01-01

The method used for non-destructive examination of the closure weld must provide adequate assurance that the weld is structurally sound for the pressure and lifting loads to be imposed, and must be consistent with NRC equivalency requirements established for the SNF Project. Given the large flaw size that would need to exist before the structural integrity of the weld is challenged, liquid penetrant testing of the root and final passes provides adequate assurance of weld quality to meet structural loads. In addition, the helium leak test provides confirmation that the containment boundary is intact and leaktight. While UT examination does provide additional evidence of weld integrity, the value of that additional evidence for this particular application does not justify performing UT examination, given the additional financial and ALARA costs associated with performing the examination

Ultrasonic stress evaluation through thickness of a stainless steel pressure vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Javadi, Yashar; Pirzaman, Hamed Salimi; Raeisi, Mohammadreza Hadizadeh; Najafabadi, Mehdi Ahmadi

2014-01-01

This paper investigates ultrasonic method in stress measurement through thickness of a pressure vessel. Longitudinal critically refracted (L CR ) waves are employed to measure the welding residual stresses in a vessel constructed from austenitic stainless steel 304L. The acoustoelastic constant is measured through a hydro test to keep the pressure vessel intact. Hoop and axial residual stresses are evaluated by using different frequency range of ultrasonic transducers. The welding processes of vessel shell and caps are simulated by a 3D finite element (FE) model which is validated by hole-drilling method. The residual stresses calculated by FE simulation are then compared with those obtained from the ultrasonic measurement while a good agreement is observed. It is demonstrated that the residual stresses through thickness of the stainless steel pressure vessel can be evaluated by combining FE and L CR method (known as FEL CR method). - Highlights: • The main goal is ultrasonic evaluation of through thickness stresses. • Welding processes of a stainless steel pressure vessel are modelled by FE. • The hole-drilling method is used to validate the FE results. • Residual stresses are measured by four different series of ultrasonic transducers. • The comparison between ultrasonic and FE results show an acceptable agreement

Ultrasonic evaluation of end cap weld joints of fuel elements of pressurized heavy water reactors using signal analysis methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raj, B.; Thavasimuthu, M.; Subramanian, C.V.; Kalyanasundaram, P.; Rajagopalan, C.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the application of ultrasonic digital signal analysis for the detection of fine defects of the order of 10% or lower of wall thickness (WT) of 370 microns in the resistance welded end cap-cladding tube joints of fuel elements used in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR s). The results obtained for the detection of such defects, have confirmed the sensitivity and reliability of this approach, and were further validated by destructive metallography. (author)

Microstructure and properties of friction stir butt-welded AZ31 magnesium alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xunhong; Wang Kuaishe

2006-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining technique particularly for magnesium and aluminum alloys that are difficult to fusion weld. In this paper, an excellent friction stir weld of AZ31 magnesium alloy was obtained at proper parameter. In the friction stir zone (FSZ), the microstructure of the base material (BM) is replaced by fine grains and small particles of intermetallic compounds. The average microhardness of the friction stir zone is higher than that of the base material. The maximum tensile strength of joint can reach 93% that of the base material. And the failure locations are almost at the heating affected zone

Image Processing of Welding Procedure Specification and Pre-process program development for Finite Element Modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K. S.; Lee, H. J.

2009-11-01

PRE-WELD program, which generates automatically the input file for the finite element analysis on the 2D butt welding at the dissimilar metal weld part, was developed. This program is pre-process program of the FEM code for analyzing the residual stress at the welding parts. Even if the users have not the detail knowledge for the FEM modelling, the users can make the ABAQUS INPUT easily by inputting the shape data of welding part, the weld current and voltage of welding parameters. By using PRE-WELD program, we can save the time and the effort greatly for preparing the ABAQUS INPUT for the residual stress analysis at the welding parts, and make the exact input without the human error

An Investigation of the Microstructure of an Intermetallic Layer in Welding Aluminum Alloys to Steel by MIG Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Quoc Manh; Huang, Shyh-Chour

2015-12-02

Butt joints of A5052 aluminum alloy and SS400 steel, with a new type of chamfered edge, are welded by means of metal inert gas welding and ER4043 Al-Si filler metal. The microhardness and microstructure of the joint are investigated. An intermetallic layer is found on the surface of the welding seam and SS400 steel sheet. The hardness of the intermetallic layer is examined using the Vickers hardness test. The average hardness values at the Intermetallic (IMC) layer zone and without the IMC layer zone were higher than that of the welding wire ER4043. The tensile strength test showed a fracture at the intermetallic layer when the tensile strength is 225.9 MPa. The tensile value test indicated the average of welds was equivalent to the 85% tensile strength of the A5052 aluminum alloy. The thickness of the intermetallic layers is non-uniform at different positions with the ranges from 1.95 to 5 μm. The quality of the butt joint is better if the intermetallic layer is minimized. The Si crystals which appeared at the welding seam, indicating that this element participated actively during the welding process, also contributed to the IMC layer's formation.

An Analysis of the Joints’ Properties of Fine-Grained Steel Welded by the MAG and SAW Methods

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