Acoustic emission monitoring of pinch welds

Technical Report · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6360858

Kain, K E; Lawson, R R

Acoustic emission (AE) response during welding was examined as a possible nondestructive tool to evaluate weld quality. Welding was performed with varying current, gas atmosphere, stem restraint, and surface oxide thickness. The welds were examined for peel strength, fracture surface appearance, and metallurgical bond quality. Acoustic emission monitoring and analysis was performed by the Physical Acoustics Corporation (PAC). Results show that the AE welding function (AEWF) as defined by PAC is a good measure of bond strength for normal stems welded in a hydrogen atmosphere. The AEWF increases as the weld strength and bond quality increase. The AE analysis gave significant information regarding welding mechanisms. Plastic deformation, associated with a low AEWF, occurs at low currents and at the beginning of the weld period. At higher currents, recrystallization and grain growth occur across the bond interface, resulting in good strength and medium AEWF values. For fully restrained stems, melting and solidification processes are observed to greatly increase the bond strength and AE response.

• Research Organization: Savannah River Lab., Aiken, SC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-76SR00001
• OSTI ID: 6360858
• Report Number(s): DPST-87-437; ON: DE87011245
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420500* -- Engineering-- Materials Testing
ACOUSTIC EMISSION TESTING
ACOUSTIC MONITORING
ACOUSTIC TESTING
ARC WELDING
CONTROL
DATA
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FABRICATION
HYDROGEN STORAGE
INFORMATION
JOINING
JOINTS
MATERIALS TESTING
MONITORING
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
NUMERICAL DATA
QUALITY CONTROL
STORAGE
TESTING
WELDED JOINTS
WELDING