Finite element simulation for the planning of laser welding applications

Abstract

At the iwb a simulation tool based on commercial finite element software has been developed to investigate the laser welding process and the resulting product properties. In this article, first applications of this tool will be shown, focusing on the design of the related manufacturing system. The design of clamping technology is a very critical point planning laser welding for series production. Therefore models for the clamping devices are integrated into the thermal-mechanical calculation of stresses and deformations in the work piece during the welding and the cooling cycle. Results are presented and compared with experimental investigations. The complexity of the models and the computational effort often are the limiting factor transferring the presented models into industry. To solve these problems two approaches are recommended. First, adaptive meshing and parallel computing are used in the thermal-mechanical calculation. Second, a simplified model is presented to calculate the deformation during the cooling cycle of a car body structure.At the iwb a simulation tool based on commercial finite element software has been developed to investigate the laser welding process and the resulting product properties. In this article, first applications of this tool will be shown, focusing on the design of the related manufacturing system. The design of clamping technology is a very critical point planning laser welding for series production. Therefore models for the clamping devices are integrated into the thermal-mechanical calculation of stresses and deformations in the work piece during the welding and the cooling cycle. Results are presented and compared with experimental investigations. The complexity of the models and the computational effort often are the limiting factor transferring the presented models into industry. To solve these problems two approaches are recommended. First, adaptive meshing and parallel computing are used in the thermal-mechanical calculation. Second, a simplified model is presented to calculate the deformation during t...