About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 AWS Professional Program
|
| Symposium
|
2026 AWS Professional Program
|
| Presentation Title |
Integrated Modeling and In-Situ Strain Validation of Solidification Cracking in Laser Welding of High-Strength Aluminum Alloy |
| Author(s) |
Wei Zhang, Zenan Zhang, Paul Blackhurst, Boyd Panton, Calvin M. Stewart |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Zenan Zhang |
| Abstract Scope |
Solidification cracking is strongly influenced by the local thermo-mechanical response in the mushy zone during welding. Although there exist several criteria to evaluate cracking susceptibility based on composition variation and liquid feeding, the applications of these criteria are largely qualitative. A reliable prediction of solidification cracking requires a quantitative description of the process-related local stress-strain evolution. This study performs Houldcroft weldability tests with autogenous laser welding at different travel speeds on Al 7075 fishbone samples. In-situ Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is used during welding to measure the transient strain field. A molten pool fluid flow calculation is integrated with a thermo-mechanical finite element model to obtain the mushy-zone thermal history and stress-strain behavior. Existing cracking criteria are applied within this integrated framework to quantitatively assess the local tendency of crack formation. The numerical simulation results are validated against post-weld metallography and DIC-measured strain history, providing guidance for improving model predictions of cracking under local restraint and thermal gradient variations. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |