Numerical simulation of the electron beam welding process

Electron beam welding is a highly efficient and precise welding method that is being increasingly used in industrial manufacturing and is of growing importance in industry. Compared to other welding processes it offers the advantage of very low heat input to the weld, resulting in low distortion in components. Modeling and simulation of the laser beam welding process has proven to be highly efficient for research, design development and production engineering. In comparison with experimental studies, a modeling study can give detailed information concerning the characteristics of weld pool and their relationship with the welding process parameters (welding speed, electron beam power, workpiece thickness, etc.) and can be used to reduce the costs of experiments. A simulation of the electron beam welding process enables estimation of weld pool geometry, transient temperature, stresses, residual stresses and distortion. However this simulation is not an easy task since it involves the interaction of thermal, mechanical and metallurgical phenomena. Understanding the heat process of welding is important for the analysis of welding structure, mechanics, microstructure and controlling weld quality. In this paper the results of numerical simulation of electron beam welding of tubes were presented. The tubes were made of 30HGSA steel. The numerical calculation takes into consideration thermomechanical coupling (TMC). The simulation aims at: analysis of the thermal field, which is generated in welding process, determination of the heat-affected zone and residual stresses in the joint. The obtained results allow for determination both the material properties, and stress and strain state in the joint. Furthermore, numerical simulation allows for optimization of the process parameters (welding speed, power of the heat source) and shape of the joint before welding. The numerical simulation of electron beam welding process was carried out with the ADINA System v. 8.6. using finite element method. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.