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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Thermocapillary flow in a pulsed-laser weld pool

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5329183

Pulsed-laser welding produces short-lived weld pools which have strong radial temperature gradients at the pool surface. These gradients produce surface tension variations which usually reinforce the weak natural convective flows caused by radial temperature gradients. The flow in the molten pool is of interest because it can change the temperature distribution in and around the molten zone which can alter the weld shape, and because it controls the transport of surface contaminants (or alloying or doping materials in case of surface processing) into the substrate. A two-dimensional finite difference computer code is being developed to model the transient flow in a prescribed axisymmetric weld pool geometry. Flow fields have been calculated for high and low Prandtl number metals such as steel and aluminum. Some experimental results are presented which support the computational model.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5329183
Report Number(s):
SAND-86-1726C; CONF-8610118-1; ON: DE86014111
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English