Adaptive finite element models applied to the laser welding problem

We present a coupled simulation of the thermal and mechanical problems of the laser welding process. The thermal simulation is based in an energy balance idea for the construction of the keyhole and its further use as the heat source shape. The mechanical model includes the thermo-elasto-plastic solution, required for the residual state computation. The coupled model is described and some results of their implementation are presented. The implementation was done using the Aclaptive-FEM Toolbox ALBERTA, making use of a posteriori error estimation for the proper adaption of the mesh with respect to the moving heat source. Further, the simulated process is shown to be in accordance with experimental results obtained with the same process parameters. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.