An Alternative Form of Laser Beam Characterization

Careful characterization of laser beams used in materials processing such as welding and drilling is necessary to obtain robust, reproducible processes and products. Recently, equipment and techniques have become available which make it possible to rapidly and conveniently characterize the size, shape, mode structure, beam quality (Mz), and intensity of a laser beam (incident power/unit area) as a function of distance along the beam path. This facilitates obtaining a desired focused spot size and also locating its position. However, for a given position along the beam axis, these devices typically measure where the beam intensity level has been reduced to I/ez of maximum intensity at that position to determine the beam size. While giving an intuitive indication of the beam shape since the maximum intensity of the beam varies greatly, the contour so determined is not an iso-contour of any parameter related to the beam intensity or power. In this work we shall discuss an alternative beam shape formulation where the same measured information is plotted as contour intervals of intensity

Video Monitoring and Control of the LENS Process

The LENS (Laser Engineered Net Shaping) process has significant potential impact to the manufacturing community in producing near-net shape rapid prototypes, tooling and customized small lot parts. LEINS has its roots in stereolithography and weld surfacing. Parts are built up in layers by delivering powder carried in an inert gas stream directed via nozzles to a laser-produced molten pool. A robust implementation of this technology requires a thorough understanding of how the thermal history during part fabrication influences the dimensions, microstructure and properties of the part. This understanding, in combination with effective closed loop feedback control of the process, and modeling of the part to be formed, is required to ensure routine fabrication of components with appropriate properties Thermal behavior at high temperatures (above 800 C) can be readily monitored by visible light radiation pyrometry. In this work a high speed digital camera with a narrow bandpass optical filter was used to obtain thermal images of the LENS process zone. The thermal imaging system was incorporated into the optical path of the laser so that the melt pool and adjacent areas of the part could be monitored without intrusive hardware add-ens at the lens/powder nozzle/process zone vicinity. The output of the digital camera was collected by a fiarne grabber card in a personal computer (PC). Characteristics of the melt pool were evaluated and then used as inputs to a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control algorithm also running on the PC. The output of the PID algorithm was then used to control the laser power. Running the closed loop control resulted in significant stabilization of the melt pool size during simulated fabrication experiments. We will describe the equipment, algorithms, experiments and results obtained from LENS-formed simple shapes of 316 Stainless Steel

The Use of Computerized Thermodynamics Databases for Solidification Modeling of Fusion Welds in Multi-Component Alloys

Most engineering alloys contain numerous alloying elements and their solidification behavior can not typically be modeled with existing binary and ternary phase diagrams. There has recently been considerable progress in the development of thermodynamic software programs for calculating solidification parameters and phase diagrams of multi-component systems. These routines can potentially provide useful input data that are needed in multi-component solidification models. However, these thermodynamic routines require validation before they can be confidently applied to simulations of alloys over a wide range of composition. In this article, a preliminary assessment of the accuracy of the Thermo-Calc NiFe Superalloy database is presented. The database validation is conducted by comparing calculated phase diagram quantities to experimental measurements available in the literature. Comparisons are provided in terms of calculated and measured liquidus and solidus temperatures and slopes, equilibrium distribution coefficients, and multi-component phase diagrams. Reasonable agreement is observed among the comparisons made to date. Examples are provided which illustrate how the database can be used to approximate the solidification sequence and final segregation patterns in multi-component alloys. An additional example of the coupling of calculated phase diagrams to solute redistribution computations in a commercial eight component Ni base superalloy is also presented

Computational methods for coupling microstructural and micromechanical materials response simulations

Computational materials simulations have traditionally focused on individual phenomena: grain growth, crack propagation, plastic flow, etc. However, real materials behavior results from a complex interplay between phenomena. In this project, the authors explored methods for coupling mesoscale simulations of microstructural evolution and micromechanical response. In one case, massively parallel (MP) simulations for grain evolution and microcracking in alumina stronglink materials were dynamically coupled. In the other, codes for domain coarsening and plastic deformation in CuSi braze alloys were iteratively linked. this program provided the first comparison of two promising ways to integrate mesoscale computer codes. Coupled microstructural/micromechanical codes were applied to experimentally observed microstructures for the first time. In addition to the coupled codes, this project developed a suite of new computational capabilities (PARGRAIN, GLAD, OOF, MPM, polycrystal plasticity, front tracking). The problem of plasticity length scale in continuum calculations was recognized and a solution strategy was developed. The simulations were experimentally validated on stockpile materials

PAT-1 safety analysis report addendum author responses to request for additional information.

The Plutonium Air Transportable Package, Model PAT-1, is certified under Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations Part 71 by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) per Certificate of Compliance (CoC) USA/0361B(U)F-96 (currently Revision 9). The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) submitted SAND Report SAND2009-5822 to NRC that documented the incorporation of plutonium (Pu) metal as a new payload for the PAT-1 package. NRC responded with a Request for Additional Information (RAI), identifying information needed in connection with its review of the application. The purpose of this SAND report is to provide the authors responses to each RAI. SAND Report SAND2010-6106 containing the proposed changes to the Addendum is provided separately