Product Code: ICAL06_1104

Optimization of Parameters for Effective Welding of Aerospace Components
Authors:
Devdas Shetty, University of Hartford; West Hartford CT USA
Adil Widaatalla, University of Hartford; West Hartford CT USA
Tom Eppes, University of Hartford; West Hartford CT USA
Presented at ICALEO 2006

Inconel 625 is nickel-based supper alloy used in different jet engines for its high corrosion resistance. Laser welding of combustor part of jet engine to replace the existing procedure is a major area of research and development. The specification of this manufacturing process requires the weld to be hermetic sealed. The use of fiber laser and the study of the effect of laser welding parameters such as power, welding speed and minimum laser spot diameter on the weld microstructure are studied for Inconel 625 sheet. The bead geometry was studied versus the welding parameters for thin plates. Welding optimization routine is used to find set of parameters combined with design of experiments to determine optimum set of weld parameters. The results of welded experiments are characterized by optical microscopy and Taguchi methods to evaluate weld defectiveness.