Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology
Aluminum alloy structures are widely used for weight reduction in aviation, shipbuilding, rail vehicles and automotive industries. Fusion welding technology is one of the most important joining methods for lightweight structure assembly due to its advantages such as flexibility in design, high produ...
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/12/12/1742 |
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author | Yuelai Zhang Wenze Luo Jiongmeng Zeng Xixian Li Long Hu Dean Deng |
author_facet | Yuelai Zhang Wenze Luo Jiongmeng Zeng Xixian Li Long Hu Dean Deng |
author_sort | Yuelai Zhang |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Aluminum alloy structures are widely used for weight reduction in aviation, shipbuilding, rail vehicles and automotive industries. Fusion welding technology is one of the most important joining methods for lightweight structure assembly due to its advantages such as flexibility in design, high production efficiency, and low cost. However, the local centralized heating during fusion welding inevitably produces residual stress and welding deformation. For actual engineering structures, if the product design is unreasonable or the external restraint is inappropriate, the transient stress or residual stress become a key factor resulting in cracking during the assembly process. In the current study, an effective computational approach was developed based on the MSC Marc software to simulate transient and residual stress fields for complex aluminum alloy structures during the welding process. In the developed computational approach, according to the location and arrangement of welding lines, an instantaneous heat source model was used to replace the traditional moving heat source model, and as a result significanlty improved the calculation efficiency to meet actual engineering needs. The welding stresses, including transient and residual stress, of an A6061 aluminum alloy complex structure were calculated by the developed numerical simulation technology. The simulation results indicated that the cracking was produced by excessive transient stress during welding process. Subsequently, the effect of external restraint intensity on welding stress at the key location was examined numerically. Based on the simulation results, measures to reduce welding stress and cracking risk were put forward based on adjusting the external restraint intensity. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:10:49Z |
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institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2073-4352 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:10:49Z |
publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
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spelling | doaj.art-ebecb114c705437184a3edc78a8924cb2023-11-24T14:10:10ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522022-12-011212174210.3390/cryst12121742Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation TechnologyYuelai Zhang0Wenze Luo1Jiongmeng Zeng2Xixian Li3Long Hu4Dean Deng5CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd., Zhuzhou 412001, ChinaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, ChinaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, ChinaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, ChinaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, ChinaCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, ChinaAluminum alloy structures are widely used for weight reduction in aviation, shipbuilding, rail vehicles and automotive industries. Fusion welding technology is one of the most important joining methods for lightweight structure assembly due to its advantages such as flexibility in design, high production efficiency, and low cost. However, the local centralized heating during fusion welding inevitably produces residual stress and welding deformation. For actual engineering structures, if the product design is unreasonable or the external restraint is inappropriate, the transient stress or residual stress become a key factor resulting in cracking during the assembly process. In the current study, an effective computational approach was developed based on the MSC Marc software to simulate transient and residual stress fields for complex aluminum alloy structures during the welding process. In the developed computational approach, according to the location and arrangement of welding lines, an instantaneous heat source model was used to replace the traditional moving heat source model, and as a result significanlty improved the calculation efficiency to meet actual engineering needs. The welding stresses, including transient and residual stress, of an A6061 aluminum alloy complex structure were calculated by the developed numerical simulation technology. The simulation results indicated that the cracking was produced by excessive transient stress during welding process. Subsequently, the effect of external restraint intensity on welding stress at the key location was examined numerically. Based on the simulation results, measures to reduce welding stress and cracking risk were put forward based on adjusting the external restraint intensity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/12/12/1742aluminum alloycomputational approachwelding crackinstantaneous heat source modelwelding-induced stress |
spellingShingle | Yuelai Zhang Wenze Luo Jiongmeng Zeng Xixian Li Long Hu Dean Deng Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology Crystals aluminum alloy computational approach welding crack instantaneous heat source model welding-induced stress |
title | Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology |
title_full | Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology |
title_fullStr | Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology |
title_full_unstemmed | Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology |
title_short | Preventing Crack in an Aluminum Alloy Complex Structure during Welding Process Based on Numerical Simulation Technology |
title_sort | preventing crack in an aluminum alloy complex structure during welding process based on numerical simulation technology |
topic | aluminum alloy computational approach welding crack instantaneous heat source model welding-induced stress |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/12/12/1742 |
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