Date of Award

2014

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering

Keywords

Distortion, Welding

Supervisor

Stoilov, Vesselin

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

The reduction in time and facilities involved in the partial elimination or mitigation of welding distortion is one of the key points for manufacturers. Welding distortion is influenced by the sequence and position of joints, the clamping configuration and the design of the assembly. For large complex assemblies, the range of these options may be large. Therefore the use of numerical simulations at an early stage of the product development process is valuable to enable a wide range of these factors to be explored with the aim of minimizing welding distortions before production commences. This thesis investigates two techniques for simulation of welding distortions based on shrinkage analysis and transient analysis. Both techniques are evaluated for an automotive assembly. The shrinkage simulations were built and solved using the Weld Planner, whereas the transient simulations were solved with Sysweld. The rapid simulation speed enabled a wide range of welding materials and clamping positions to be explored, leading to recommendations for reduction of the distortions. The solution times were found to be significantly lower for the shrinkage analysis than the transient analysis.

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