Title: Finite Element analysis of heat distribution in laser beam welding of AISI 304 Stainless Steel sheet

Authors: K.R. Balasubramanian; T. Suthakar; K. Sankaranarayanasamy; G. Buvanashekaran

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 622015, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 622015, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 622015, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Laser Materials Processing Division, Welding Research Institute, BHEL, Tiruchirappalli 622014, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Laser beam welding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel is performed by varying beam power, welding speed, beam angle and gas flow rate to identify the influencing process parameters on weld bead geometry. Finite Element (FE) simulations are carried out using FE software SYSWELD considering the thermo-physical properties of the base material. A three-dimensional conical Gaussian heat source is employed for performing non-linear thermal analysis. The transient temperature profile and weld bead dimensions; depth of penetration and bead width are calculated by FE simulation. The simulated bead profile is compared with the experimentally measured profile and found to be very well correlated. [Received 5 March 2010; Revised 19 October 2010; Accepted 7 January 2011]

Keywords: finite element analysis; FEA; heat distribution; laser beam welding; temperature distribution; process parameters; stainless steel; laser beam power; welding speed; laser beam angle; gas flow; weld bead geometry; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2012.045243

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2012 Vol.7 No.1, pp.42 - 58

Published online: 22 Nov 2014 *

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