The welding technique is one of the most important joining techniques in industry. The distortion and the residual stresses which are generated can impair application suitability and life span of the components. Heavy distortion impedes exact processing and assembling as well.

It is state of the art to take measures to control the welding process before, during and after welding (construction, welding parameter, post-treatment) in order to achieve the desired component properties. However, the efficiency of such a Trial-and-Error approach is limited. It also relies to a high extent on the know-how of individual workers. It may also lead to high manufuacturing costs and puts on stake the company?s know-how.

It is presently possible to quantify welding technique manufacturing steps by incorporating modern numerical methods based on finite elements (FE) and on advanced material models.

Expertise  

Beside the simulation of the moving heat source for determination of the temperature distribution in components according to real welding processes, also the development of structure and texture for heat affected zones can be simulated in aluminium. Quantities of interest are also the distortion and residual stresses of welded components. They can be determined as a function of processing parameters and clamping conditions. Thus, for industrial clients it is possible to optimize welding processes such that the distortion and residual stresses of components can be minimized and complex subsequent steps such as shape adjustment and stress-relief heat treatment can be avoided.