2007 Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 431-435
One of the important problems in the welding engineering is to construct a numerical model for the computer simulation of actual welding processes. Lap joints have been widely used for the welding of thin plates in the manufacturing processes in motor industry. In the present paper, a numerical model for lap-joint MAG (Metal Active Gas) welding has been developed to make clear the influence of various parameters on the welding phenomena. In the model, the transient temperature distribution in the base metal is numerically calculated, based on the heat flow equation, and the theoretical configuration of the molten pool is analyzed on the basis of the calculus of variations, where a finite difference model with non-uniform mesh is applied to reduce CPU time. As a result, the calculating time in numerical simulations with the present model is shorter than 1/10 of the one by the model with uniform mesh. To evaluate the validity of the present model, the numerical results are compared with the experimental ones and good agreement between calculations and experiments are demonstrated. Accordingly it is concluded that the model developed in the present work is useful in the welding engineering.
