Role of fixture forces on distortion in gas tungsten arc welding - an experimental and modelling approach

Journal article, 2011

Simulation and experiments show that the fixture clamping force has a significant influence on the structural integrity of a welded workpiece. This understanding is of great importance for the manufacture of aerospace components with tight tolerances in the specifications. The focus in the present study is on the temperature history during welding and residual deformation; its main contribution is a demonstrator designed for evaluation of the influence of fixture clamping forces and validation of the simulation results. The demonstrator concerns a simplified situation considering gas tungsten arc welding of a nickel-based metal plate fixed by a specially designed fixture, where one side of the plate was clamped with different levels of force. The temperature history was measured during the weld sequence and deformation measurements were performed after cooling and release of the workpiece from the fixture. The results from simulation and experimentation showed good agreement. The proposed strategy is industrially competitive and has shown that the looser the fixture clamps, the smaller the residual deformation. Furthermore, the study provides a knowledge base for selection of active fixture concepts in that the fixture clamping force can be determined in advance and possibly also be subject to force control.