Tomashchuk Paper
Tomashchuk Paper
Abstract: The interaction of high power laser beam apprroximation5) or by introducing temperature-
with metallic materials produces a number of dependent fictive viscosity (for example 100 Pa·s 3 or
interconnected phenomena that represent a serious 1000 Pa·s 2). The previous models differ in a way to
challenge for numerical modeling, especially for introduce the energy distribution and adsorption
creation of auto-consistent models. Additional coefficient, which is not perfectly known and depends
difficulty consists in lack of data on materials not only on the aggregate state of irradiated matter, but
properties at the temperatures superior to their melting also on local free surface curvature. Another difficulty
point. The present work summarizes the numerical consists in the lack of data about exact values recoil
challenges in creation and validation of free-surface pressure due to the partial condensation of metallic
models using ALE moving mesh coupled with heat vapor in the keyhole and about the variation of
transfer equation and Navier-Stokes fluid flow. materials properties in the liquid phase.
The motivation for the present work was determined
Keywords: laser welding, metallic alloys, moving by the interest to represent both keyhole formation and
mesh, multiphysics. collapse in a fully auto-consistent 3D model, for
further application to multimaterial welding. The
1. Introduction modelling in 3D accentuated the convergence
problems, mainly because of the limitation of minimal
mesh size. Our previous model of dissimilar welding2
ALE method has been successfully used for
suffered from noticeable lack of weld penetration,
multiphysical modelling of pulsed1,2 and continous2
compared with experimental results. Moreover, the
laser welding, drilling3, direct laser metal deposition4
influence of many numerical (inconsistent
and thermal matter ablation5. The displacement of
stabilization for Navier-Stokes equation, type of ALE
mesh in these models is based on the velocity field
smoothing, type of used Navier-Stokes equation) and
calculated with Navier-Stokes equation strongly
physical parameters (dynamic viscosity, adsorption
coupled with heat equation1-4 or on the property-
coefficient, and condensation coefficient) on the
depending condition5. 2D axisymmetric models with
convergence and on the resulting behavior of the
µ-metric mesh size allowed an accurate description of
impact zone was not fully comprehended. The present
the keyhole formation1,3. The main limitation of ALE
work attempts to bring some clarity about the
consists in the impossibility to represent the complex
influence of these factors on the simple example of
modifications of topology, like the formation of
standalone laser pulse applied to the plate of Ti6Al4V
bubbles or porosities; however, it provided quite
alloy.
accurate description of free surface movement and
good agreement with experimental dimensions of the
impact zone. The liquid phase is modelled as an 2. Governing Equations
incompressible2,3 or weakly compressible1 Newtonian
liquid that undergoes laminar flow under the influence 2.1 Heat transfer
of Marangoni convection, natural convection and
recoil pressure in the keyhole, produced by the Heat transfer equation was used in time-dependent
metallic vapor. The recoil pressure that is represented form:
by Clausius-Clapeyron equation or in form of adjusted T
c p eq
U T T (1)
t
spatial function is an important factor that determines
the depth of the keyhole. To suppress the parasite
displacement in the solid part of modelled domain, two Laser energy supply is represented by Gauss heat
approaches exist: to stop the displacement by applying source applied at the top of butt joint. Pulsed laser
an important frictional dissipation depending on the beam is represented as follows:
local fraction of liquid phase (Carman-Kozeny
p c p Dm .Lm
c eq (5) Present model involves Heat Transfer in Fluids,
where Cp is heat capacity as function of temperature, Laminar flow and Moving Mesh modules that are
Lf – latent heat of fusion and Dm - Gauss function strongly coupled and solved with time-depended
normalized around melting temperature Tm: solver. Multiphysics coupling is ensured by the
T Tm 2 interrelation between heat transfer and Navier-Stokes
T 2 equations: velocity field in heat equation is provided
e
Dm (6)
by resolution of Navier-Stokes equation, when
T 2 temperature field defines thermophysical properties of
where ∆T is smoothing interval of 100 K. the liquid involved in convection process. Consistent
Materials properties of Ti6Al4V are considered as (streamline and crosswind) stabilization and
interpolation functions of temperature7. inconsistent stabilization (isotropic diffusion) were
applied to Navier-Stokes equation. Consistent
2.2 Fluid flow stabilization was also applied to the heat transfer
equation. Moving Mesh solves surface deformation in
Liquid metal is assumed as incompressible function of locally calculated velocity field.
Newtonian liquid that undergoes laminar flow: Only one plate (3mm x 2mm x 2mm) is modelled
U
t
U U pI (T )U U F (7)
for symmetry reasons. Tetrahedral mesh of 250 µm
t maximal size is applied over calculation domain. The
top surface of is meshed with 50 µm.
U 0
Metal that has T<Tm is considered as highly The models were solved on work station with Intel
viscous fluid, that practically stops all convection 2.20 (2 processors, 44 cores) and 256 Gb RAM.
movements in solid materials. The transition between
solid and liquid material is provided with smoothed 3. Experimental study
Heaviside function:
(T) = solid +(liquid-solid) flc2hs(T-Tm, ∆T). (8) Welding experiments were carried out with pulsed
Convection movements are generated by Nd:YAG laser of 3 kW maximal power and focused
following phenomena: beam diameter () of 560 µm.
natural convection described through Boussinesq Laser beam was focused on the surface of butt joint
approximation, between 2 mm thick Ti6Al4V plates. Standalone
surface tension force, pulses with duration of 4 and 6 ms and power 1.5 kW
Marangoni convection with <0 introduced in were realized. Three standalone pulses per condition
were made.
form of weak formulation, The penetration of pulses at the joint line was
recoil pressure of vapor filling the keyhole, measured by breaking the weld and observing
represented in form of function Ti6Al4V side of joint plane with optical microscope.
pr
1 a e Tb c (9)
2 4. Discussion
where the condensation coefficient β = 0.5 and the
coefficients a,b, c for Ti6Al4V are given by Kaidalov8. 4.1 Comparison between the different methods of
mesh smoothing
Tmax (K)
3000 end of solidification
(b) 2000
Tm
Figure 2. Unphysical relaxation of solidified weld between
t = 14 ms (end of solidification) and t = 20 ms (wireframe) 1000
end of the pulse (6 ms)
for solid viscosity of (a)100 Pas and (b) 200 Pas.
0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02
The main difference between the cases with solid of t (s)
100 Pas and of 200 Pas consists in the intensity of
keyhole initiation process. The application of high 8
keyhole Viscosity of the solid
viscosity of the solid impedes the “parasite” lateral 7 initiation
6 200 Pa*s
evacuation of the heat from impact zone, because the Umax (m/s)
residual convection in solid material is efficiently 5 100 Pa*s
reduced. This results in sudden progression of the 4 keyhole end of the pulse (6 ms)
keyhole depth starting from 1.5 ms with maximal 3 progression
temperature of 4480 K at the center of the impact and 2 keyhole
1 collapse
the velocity of the liquid reaching 7 m/s. The solid
viscosity of 100 Pas does not produce such peak of 0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012
temperature and velocity: during all keyhole life they
remain at the plateau of 3380 K and 1.6 m/s. The t (s)
sudden progression of the keyhole for the case of 200 700 keyhole progression Viscosity of the solid
Pas results in 80 µm more profound keyhole.
600 200 Pa*s
T (surface) + velocity field (arrows) keyhole
500
100 Pa*s
z cap (µm)
initiation
400
keyhole
300 collapse
200
100 end of the pulse
remaining depression
0
0
0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012
t (s)
Figure 4. The influence of solid viscosity on the evolution
of maximal temperature, melt velocity and keyhole depth for
standalone Nd:YAG laser pulse on Ti-6Al-4V plate (1,5 kW,
Ø = 560 µm).
Figure 3. Nd:YAG laser pulse on Ti-6Al-4V plate (6 ms, 1.5 Higher solid viscosity also produces more tardive
kW, Ø = 560 µm). solid = 200 Pas. completion of the solidification of the melt: 15.5 ms
compared to 14 ms for 100 Pas. It also modifies the
Two calculations produce the similar evolution of the proportion of the melt, making it more profound and
maximal temperature on the stage of keyhole less large (Table 3). In spite of quite similar keyhole
progression and collapse, however, higher solid depth (530 µm), the case with 200 Pas results in 217
viscosity results in little higher speed of collapsing µm deeper melt, when the thickness of the melted zone
liquid (2.45 m/s compared to 1.55 m/s). is reduced at 130 µm. The comparison with the
Umax (m/s)
4 mPa*s
lack of information about recombination coefficient β 6
influencing the recoil pressure (equation 9), along with 4 Solid viscosity : 200 Pa*s
the difficulties of accurate numerical resolution of 2
keyhole bottom, are likely to be responsible for
underestimation of melt depth. The increase of solid 0
0
0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012
viscosity has an immediate effect on calculation time,
t (s)
multiplied roughly by 16 (Table 3). The attempt to
Figure 5. The influence of liquid viscosity on the evolution
apply the gradual decrease of fictive viscosity with of maximal melt velocity for standalone Nd:YAG laser pulse
temperature (Heaviside function, equation 10) can be on Ti-6Al-4V plate (PL= 1.5 kW, Ø = 560 µm).
used to stabilize the numerical solution and produces
the behavior of the melt similar to the use of high (200 4.4 The influence of keyhole absorption coefficient
Pas) solid viscosity, however, very important
calculation time makes this approach unattractive. The absorption coefficient in the keyhole makes a
strong influence on maximal surface temperature, and
solid = cold +(hot-cold) flc2hs(T-900, ∆T) (10) thus on the resulting recoil pressure (equation 9). The
parametric study for Akh values from 0.6 to 0.9 was
Table 4: The comparison with experimental weld carried out. In these calculations, dynamic viscosity
dimensions was considered as function of temperature (equation
Experimental dimensions of the melted zone (µm) 11) for the liquid and 200 Pas for the solid.
Test 1 1055 1286 1269 1553 It was found that the shift from 0.7 to 0.8 produces an
Test 2 1059 1349 1259 1426 important shift in keyhole depth, associated with rise
Test 3 1008 1332 1222 1379
of maximal temperature and velocity field (Table 6).
Average 1041 1322 1250 1453
For Akh 0.7, the first peak in velocity field associated
Relative error (%)
solid with rapid digging of the keyhole is absent, and the
after 4 ms after 6 ms velocities associated with the collapse of the keyhole
(Pas)
Depth Width Width Depth are also lower (Figure 6). To reach the realistic values
100 57.0 10.2 8.0 51.0 of penetration, it is needed to use high adsorption
200 47.0 9.6 9.0 34.0 coefficients 0.9-1, but it this cases the convergence
Hfa 48.6 3.2 0.3 44.2 was not reached for the moment.
a Heaviside function
pr (bars)
30 β = 0.7
0.6 3445 2.28 587 1308
β = 0.8
0.7 3460 2.28 587 1308 20 β = 0.9
0.8 4480 5.5 828 1324 β =1
0.9 No convergence 10
0
4.5 The influence of condensation coefficient 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
(a) Tsurf (K)
The condensation coefficient represents the variation
of surface pressure in function of evaporation
conditions (equation 9): from = 0.17 for strong
evaporation to = 1 for full thermodynamic
equilibrium9. Strong evaporation diminishes the
surface pressure (Figure 7), which can influence the
keyhole formation. By default, the value of = 0.5 is
= 0.5 = 1
admitted in our calculations. Lower values of
resulted in convergence problems. The parametric (b)
Figure 7. The effect of condensation coefficient (a) on the
study was performed for = 0.5 – 1.
rise of recoil pressure with temperature and (b) on the
It was found that for > 0.5 the intense initiation of relative pressure field at the end of the pulse ( t= 6 ms).
keyhole formation is absent, which traduces by lower
weld penetration, temperature and melt velocity 4.6 Comparison of incompressible and weakly
(Table 7). Melted zone width is not very sensible to compressible Navier-Stokes equations
the variation of . For = 0.6 – 1, quite similar depths
of the melted zone, maximal temperatures and Axisymmetric ALE-based model of keyhole digging
maximal velocities of the melt (associated with proposed by Bruyere et al.1 showed slight loss of mass
keyhole collapse) are observed. of the domain. The same problem was noticed in the
present 3D model. In the calculations performed with
Table 7: The effect of condensation coefficient incompressible Navier-Stokes formulation, the
MZ (µm) noticeable loss of mass produces during the creation of
Tmax (K) Umax (m/s) the keyhole (Figure 8). It is proportional to the
Depth Width
maximal deformation of the domain and took place for
0 No convergence
both considered values of solid viscosity. After the
0.4 No convergence
0.5 828 1324 4480 7.5
collapse of the keyhole, the relaxation of strained
0.6 589 1308 3440 2.34 meshes allows to “recover” some missing mass, but
0.7 594 1312 3420 2.18 not completely, which results in the situation when the
0.8 597 1308 3400 2.04 depression in the center of solidified melt is not fully
0.9 600 1314 3390 2.04 compensated by the height of solidified ring around
1 600 1318 3380 2.04 the melt. Weakly compressible Navier-Stokes
equation offers good mass conservation (Figure 8),
It looks like the increase of (and so the recoil comparable with result of Bruyere et al.1, however, the
pressure) slows down the digging of the keyhole, convergence of the models is more difficult due to
which seems unphysical. The observation of relative higher temperature and velocity gradients and more
pressures at weld cross-section at the end of the pulse rapid deterioration of element quality. For instance,
(Figure 7.b) shows the zones of maximal pressure at only the association of compressible Navier-Stokes
the bottom of the keyhole, which seems physical, but formulation with Heaviside function for solid
also around the ring of ejected matter, where the viscosity (equation 10) allowed to reach the
displacement of the meshes is blocked by the absence convergence along with good mass conservation.
of velocity field. This second maximum is a numerical The different values of solid viscosity produce
artifact with no physical significance, as well as the different effect in incompressible and weakly
zones of low pressure situated at the solid material compressible Navier-Stokes equations (Table 8). For
beneath. This local increase of pressure may impede solid viscosity of 100 Pas, the reduction of penetration
the ejection of liquid from the keyhole, which explains depth is negligible and the maximal residual
why low melt depth for > 0.5. depression in the impact center increased by only 20