Finite element analysis of stress distribution and the effects of geometry in a laser-generated single-stage ceramic tile grout seal using ANSYS

Optimisation of the geometry (curvature of the vitrified enamel layer) of a laser-generated single-stage ceramic tile grout seal has carried out with a finite element (FE) model. The overall load bearing capacities and load-displacement plots of three selected geometries were determined experimentally by the indentation technique. Simultaneously, a FE model was developed utilising the commercial ANSYS package to simulate the indentation. Although the load-displacement plots generated by the FE model consistently displayed stiffer identities than the experimentally obtained results, there was reasonably close agreement between the two sets of results. Stress distribution profiles of the three FE models at failure loads were analysed and correlated so as to draw an implication on the prediction of a catastrophic failure through an analysis of FE-generated stress distribution profiles. It was observed that although increased curvatures of the vitrified enamel layer do enhance the overall load-bearing capacity of the single-stage ceramic tile grout seal and bring about a lower nominal stress, there is a higher build up in stress concentration at the apex that would inevitably reduce the load-bearing capacity of the enamel glaze. Consequently, the optimum geometry of the vitrified enamel layer was determined to be flat

Reconstruction of 3D transient temperature field for fusion welding processes on basis of discrete experimental data

This paper presents an approach to reconstruct the three-dimensional transient temperature field for fusion welding processes as input data for computational weld mechanics. The methodology to solve this inverse heat conduction problem fast and automatically focuses on analytical temperature field models for volumetric heat sources and application of global optimisation. The important issue addressed here is the question which experimental data is needed to guarantee a unique reconstruction of the experimental temperature field. Different computational-experimental test cases are executed to determine the influence of various sets of discrete experimental data on the solvability of the optimisation problem. The application of energy distributions utilised for laser beam welding allows reconstructing the temperature field efficiently. Furthermore, the heat input into the workpiece determined by the simulation contributes to the evaluation of the thermal efficiency of the welding process

Influência do material de base sobre o rendimento de fusão em soldagem a arco Influence of base material on the melting efficiency in arc welding

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o comportamento do rendimento bruto de fusão em soldagem a arco frente a diferentes tipos de material de base (aço ao carbono, aço inoxidável e alumínio). Como extensão, objetivou-se também estimar de forma indireta o rendimento térmico do processo em questão usando-se estimação de isotermas por método analítico. Para isto, foram feitas soldagens sobre placas de teste utilizando-se o processo TIG nos três materiais em dois níveis de corrente de soldagem. Foi verificado que o rendimento bruto de fusão é muito baixo (menor que 10%), mas tende a aumentar com a elevação do nível de corrente de soldagem (efeito da dimensão da peça). O alumínio apresentou o menor rendimento de fusão, tendo o aço inoxidável apresentado o melhor aproveitamento do calor imposto. Em relação ao rendimento térmico, a metodologia proposta não se mostrou adequada.<br>The aim of this work was to determine the behavior of the gross melting efficiency in arc welding towards different types of materials (carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum alloy). An extra objective was to indirectly estimate the thermal efficiency of the process using the estimation of isotherms by analytic methods. For that, welds were carried out over three materials at two welding current levels using the GTAW process. It was verified that the melting efficiency is very low (lower than 10%), yet it rises by increasing the current level (effect of material size). The aluminum alloy presented the lowest melting efficiency in contrast to the highest heat yield of the stainless steel. With respect to the thermal efficiency, the proposed methodology was not adequate