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Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2023) | Viewed by 14459

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Prof. Dr. Elena Scutelnicu

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Faculty of Engineering, “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Strada Domnească 47, Galați, Romania
Interests: manufacturing engineering; advanced welding and joining technologies; welding and joining of similar and dissimilar metals; characterization of materials and joints; modelling and simulation of welding
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Dear Colleagues,

Welding is a fabrication process widely used for applications in the chemical, petrochemical, automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, construction and infrastructure, microelectronics, oil and gas transport, nuclear, military and defence industry. Due to the continuous development of advanced materials, such as new metals and alloys, polymers, composites, and ceramics, the demand for developing advanced welding and joining technologies has increased. Moreover, the need to investigate the weldability of materials and the metallurgical compatibility of dissimilar materials is essential for ensuring quality and safety in service of welded structures.

On the other hand, due to the high speed, precision, productivity and savings in time and materials, welding-based additive manufacturing (WAM) has become one of the most promising technologies that allows complex shapes and objects to be created using the 3D printing process, which are otherwise difficult to be manufactured via classical machining techniques. As an economical and sustainable solution, the additive manufacturing (AM) can be considered the production process of the future with unlimited industrial applicability.

Researchers worldwide are invited to contribute to this Special Issue, which aims to facilitate the global exchange of advanced knowledge in the innovative process and technology of welding, joining and additive manufacturing. Additionally, it is expected to widely share the recent advances and perspectives related to the behaviour of materials subjected to joining and welding, the weldability and metallurgical compatibility of materials, welding of similar and dissimilar materials, characterisation of welded joints, properties of used materials that are processed by additive manufacturing, and advanced industrial applications. Experimental studies covering the intercorrelation of process parameters, weld geometry, microstructure, and properties, such as strength, toughness, hardness, weldability, and corrosion resistance, based on data analysis, data processing and monitoring, are highly encouraged and welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Elena Scutelnicu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

innovative welding and joining processes
innovative welding and joining technologies
soldering and brazing
diffusion and adhesive bonding
additive manufacturing
similar and dissimilar joints
weldability and compatibility of materials
mechanical characterisation of materials and joints
metallurgical characterisation of materials and joints
advanced industrial applications

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 4969 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Tool Degradation during Friction Stir Welding of Hybrid Aluminum–Steel Sheets in a Combined Butt and Overlap Joint

by Robin Göbel, Stefanie Schwertel, Stefan Weihe and Martin Werz

Materials 2024, 17(4), 874; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17040874 - 14 Feb 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 729

Abstract

Friction stir welding, as a solid-state welding technique, is especially suitable for effectively joining high-strength aluminum alloys, as well as for multi-material welds. This research investigates the friction stir welding of thin aluminum and steel sheets, an essential process in the production of hybrid tailor-welded blanks employed in deep drawing applications. Despite its proven advantages, the welding process exhibits variable outcomes concerning formability and joint strength when utilizing an H13 welding tool. To better understand these inconsistencies, multiple welds were performed in this study, joining 1 mm thick steel to 2 mm thick aluminum sheets, with a cumulative length of 7.65 m. The accumulation of material on the welding tool was documented through 3D scanning and weighing. The integrity of the resulting weld seam was analyzed through metallographic sections and X-ray imaging. It was found that the adhering material built up continuously around the tool pin over several welds totaling between 1.5 m and 2.5 m before ultimately detaching. This accretion of material notably affected the welding process, resulting in increased intermixing of steel particles within the aluminum matrix. This research provides detailed insights into the dynamics of friction stir welding in multi-material welds, particularly in the context of tool material interaction and its impact on weld quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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18 pages, 3392 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Process Parameters of High Frequency Welding

by Dubravko Rogale, Snježana Firšt Rogale, Željko Knezić, Siniša Fajt, Daniel Časar Veličan and Nikolina Jukl

Materials 2024, 17(2), 517; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17020517 - 21 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1211

Abstract

High frequency (HF) welding of polymer materials is increasingly used in modern manufacturing processes. The literature on HF welding process parameters was reviewed and it was found that 3–5 basic welding parameters were considered, which is insufficient for the scientific study of HF welding of polymeric materials. This article presents the mathematical expressions for the evaluation combining 17 influential parameters. For the first time, the specific and latent heat of the welded polymer material were used. The breaking forces of welds made by RF welding are investigated by varying the anode current, the coupling capacitor, and the exposure time of the HF electromagnetic fields. It was found that the amount of HF energy supplied depends on the breaking forces of the weld. A characteristic inflection point was also observed in the graph of the dependence of the breaking forces on the percentage of the coupling capacitor and the anode current. During elongation, it was observed that the weld is separated by peeling before the inflection point and breaks after the inflection point by tearing at the extruded edges of the weld. If the HF energy is applied to the weld for too long, there will be excessive melting of the material in the weld, thinning of the weld, unfavourable appearance of the extruded edges and electrical breakdown, and a drastic drop in the breaking force. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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13 pages, 9922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morphological Analyses of W/Cu Functional Graded Materials Obtained by Conventional and Spark Plasma Sintering

by Claudiu Nicolicescu, Victor Horia Nicoară, Cristina Ileana Pascu, Ștefan Gheorghe, Cristian Oliviu Burada, Traian Florin Marinca and Florin Popa

Materials 2023, 16(11), 4126; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16114126 - 1 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1097

Abstract

The paper presents the analysis of two compaction methods for obtaining W/Cu Functional Graded Materials (FGMs) consisting of three layers with the following compositions (% weight): first layer 80 W/20 Cu, second layer 75 W/25 Cu, and third layer 65 W/35 Cu. Each layer composition was obtained using powders obtained through mechanical milling. The two compaction methods were Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) and Conventional Sintering (CS). The samples obtained after the SPS and CS were investigated from morphological (scanning electron microscopy-SEM) and compositional (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy-EDX) points of views. Additionally, the porosities and the densities of each layer in both cases were studied. It was found that the densities of the sample’s layers obtained through SPS are superior to those obtained through CS. The research emphasizes that, from a morphological point of view, the SPS process is recommended for W/Cu-FGMs, having raw materials as fine-graded powders against the CS process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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14 pages, 14388 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of the Solder Characteristics of IGBT Modules Based on Thermal–Mechanical Coupling Simulation

by Jibing Chen, Bowen Liu, Maohui Hu, Shisen Huang, Shanji Yu, Yiping Wu and Junsheng Yang

Materials 2023, 16(9), 3504; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16093504 - 2 May 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2044

Abstract

The insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) represents a crucial component within the domain of power semiconductor devices, which finds ubiquitous employment across a range of critical domains, including new energy vehicles, smart grid systems, rail transit, aerospace, etc. The main characteristics of its operating environment are high voltage, large current, and high power density, which can easily cause issues, such as thermal stress, thermal fatigue, and mechanical stress. Therefore, the reliability of IGBT module packaging has become a critical research topic. This study focuses on the damage of power device solder layers and applies heat transfer theory. Three typical solders for welding IGBTs (92.5Pb5Sn2.5Ag, Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305), and nano-silver solder paste) are analyzed using JMatPro software to simulate their characteristics. First, a finite element analysis method is used to simulate the entire IGBT module with ANSYS Workbench platform. The study compares the impact of three types of solders on the overall heat transfer of the IGBT module under normal operation and welding layer damage conditions. The characteristics are analyzed based on changes in the junction temperature, heat flow path, and the law of thermal stress and deformation. The findings indicated that under steady-state working conditions, adjacent chips in a multi-chip IGBT module had significant thermal coupling, with a maximum temperature difference between chip junctions reaching up to 13 °C, and a phenomenon of heat concentration emerged. The three types of solders could change the thermal conductivity and heat transfer direction of the IGBT module to varying degrees, resulting in a temperature change of 3–6 °C. Under conditions of solder layer damage, the junction temperature increased linearly with the severity of the damage. In the 92.5Pb5Sn2.5Ag and Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solders, the presence of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) led to more stress concentration points in the solder layer, with the maximum stress reaching 7.14661 × 10⁷ MPa and concentrated at the edge of the solder layer. The nano-silver solder layer had the best thermal conductivity, and the maximum thermal deformation under the same conditions was only 1.9092 × 10⁻⁵ m. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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21 pages, 9282 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microwave Soldering of Low-Resistance Conductive Joints—Technical and Economic Aspects

by Sorin Vasile Savu, Cristian Daniel Ghelsingher, Iulian Stefan, Nicusor-Alin Sîrbu, Daniela Tarniță, Dalia Simion, Ionel Dănuț Savu, Ionela Gabriela Bucșe and Traian Țunescu

Materials 2023, 16(9), 3311; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16093311 - 23 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1317

Abstract

Soldering processes are applied in the fabrication of electronic circuits used in most modern domestic and industrial technologies. This article aims to introduce a new soldering technology based on the microwave joining of copper materials used in electronic applications. The study was focused on microwave technology used as the thermal source for soldering. A simulation model of temperature distributions in copper plates with overall dimensions of 50 × 10 × 0.8 mm was developed in order to determine the necessary microwave power for soldering. For 270 °C simulated on the surface of copper plates, the microwave-injected power was determined to be 598.89 W. An experimental program for 600, 650, 700, and 750 W was set in order to achieve soldering of copper plates in less than 1 min. Soldered copper plates were subject to electrical resistance measurements being obtained with variations up to ±1.5% of the initial electrical resistance of the base materials. The quality of joints has also been analyzed through microscopy after the soldering process. In addition, mechanical properties were determined using a universal testing machine. The results have shown similar behavior of the samples layered with SAC on the one-side and double-side but also a significantly lower force before breaking for one-side-layered samples. An economic analysis was performed and the results obtained have shown that in terms of energy efficiency and total costs for microwave soldering compared with manual soldering, microwave soldering is cost-effective for industrial processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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12 pages, 2702 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cyclic Voltammetry of Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode Coated with Ag-ZnO Nanoparticles in Chitosan Matrix

by Elena Emanuela Herbei, Petrică Alexandru and Mariana Busila

Materials 2023, 16(8), 3266; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16083266 - 21 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2271

Abstract

In this paper, the authors describe the fabrication of nanocomposite chitosan-based systems of zinc oxide (ZnO), silver (Ag) and Ag-ZnO. Recently, the development of coated screen-printed electrodes using metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) for the specific detection and monitoring of different cancer tumors has been obtaining important results. Ag, ZnO NPs and Ag-ZnO prepared by the hydrolysis of zinc acetate blended with a chitosan (CS) matrix were used for the surface modification of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) in order to analyze the electrochemical behavior of the typical redox system of a 10 mM potassium ferrocyanide—0.1 M buffer solution (BS). The solutions of CS, ZnO/CS, Ag/CS and Ag-ZnO/CS were prepared in order to modify the carbon electrode surface, and were measured at different scan rates from 0.02 V/s to 0.7 V/s by cyclic voltammetry. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) was performed on a house-built potentiostat (HBP). The cyclic voltammetry of the measured electrodes showed the influence of varying the scan rate. The variation of the scan rate has an influence on the intensity of the anodic and cathodic peak. Both values of currents (anodic and cathodic currents) have higher values for 0.1 V/s (Ia = 22 μA and Ic = −25 μA) compared to the values for 0.06 V/s (Ia = 10 μA and Ic = −14 μA). The CS, ZnO/CS, Ag/CS and Ag-ZnO/CS solutions were characterized using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with EDX elemental analysis. The modified coated surfaces of screen-printed electrodes were analyzed using optical microscopy (OM). The present coated carbon electrodes showed a different waveform compared to the voltage applied to the working electrode, depending on the scan rate and chemical composition of the modified electrodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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15 pages, 9721 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Functional Surfaces via Laser Processing in Nickel Acetate Solution

by Elena Manuela Stanciu, Alexandru Pascu, Cătălin Croitoru, Ionut Claudiu Roată, Daniel Cristea, Mircea Horia Tierean, Iosif Hulka, Ioana Mădălina Petre and Julia Claudia Mirza Rosca

Materials 2023, 16(8), 3087; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16083087 - 13 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1366

Abstract

This study presents a novel laser processing technique in a liquid media to enhance the surface mechanical properties of a material, by thermal impact and micro-alloying at the subsurface level. An aqueous solution of nickel acetate (15% wt.) was used as liquid media for laser processing of C45E steel. A pulsed laser TRUMPH Truepulse 556 coupled to a PRECITEC 200 mm focal length optical system, manipulated by a robotic arm, was employed for the under-liquid micro-processing. The study’s novelty lies in the diffusion of nickel in the C45E steel samples, resulting from the addition of nickel acetate to the liquid media. Micro-alloying and phase transformation were achieved up to a 30 µm depth from the surface. The laser micro-processed surface morphology was analysed using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to determine the chemical composition and structural development, respectively. The microstructure refinement was observed, along with the development of nickel-rich compounds at the subsurface level, contributing to an improvement of the micro and nanoscale hardness and elastic modulus (230 GPa). The laser-treated surface exhibited an enhancement of microhardness from 250 to 660 HV_0.03 and an improvement of more than 50% in corrosion rate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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14 pages, 4273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Weldability of Copper—304L Stainless Steel Dissimilar Joint Performed by Robotic Gas Tungsten Arc Welding

by Andrei Mitru, Augustin Semenescu, George Simion, Elena Scutelnicu and Ionelia Voiculescu

Materials 2022, 15(16), 5535; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15165535 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1739

Abstract

The welding process of dissimilar metals, with distinct chemical, physical, thermal, and structural properties, needs to be studied and treated with special attention. The main objectives of this research were to investigate the weldability of the dissimilar joint made between the 99.95% Cu pipe and the 304L stainless steel plate by robotic Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), without filler metal and without preheating of materials, and to find the optimum welding regime. Based on repeated adjustments of the main process parameters—welding speed, oscillation frequency, pulse frequency, main welding current, pulse current, and decrease time of welding current at the process end—it was determined the optimum process and, further, it was possible to carry out joints free of cracks and porosity, with full penetration, proper compactness, and sealing properties, that ensure safety in operating conditions. The microstructure analysis revealed the fusion zone as a multi-element alloy with preponderant participation of Cu that has resulted from mixing the non-ferrous elements and iron. Globular Cu- or Fe-rich compounds were developed during welding, being detected by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Moreover, the Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) recorded the existence of a narrow double mixing zone formed at the interface between the fusion zone and the 304L stainless steel that contains about 66 wt.% Fe, 18 wt.% Cr, 8 wt.% Cu, and 4 wt.% Ni. Due to the formation of Fe-, Cr-, and Ni-rich compounds, a hardness increase up to 127 HV_0.2 was noticed in the fusion zone, in comparison with the copper material, where the average measured microhardness was 82 HV_0.2. The optimization of the robotic welding regime was carried out sequentially, by adjusting the parameters values, and, further, by analyzing the effects of welding on the geometry and on the appearance of the weld bead. Finally, employing the optimum welding regime—14 cm/min welding speed, 125 A main current, 100 A pulse current, 2.84 Hz oscillation frequency, and 5 Hz pulse frequency—appropriate dissimilar joints, without imperfections, were achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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Review

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33 pages, 12872 KiB

Open AccessReview

Critical Review on Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt Welding: Challenges, Perspectives and Industrial Applications

by Mukti Chaturvedi, Arungalai Vendan Subbiah, George Simion, Carmen Catalina Rusu and Elena Scutelnicu

Materials 2023, 16(21), 7054; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16217054 - 6 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1428

Abstract

Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt (MIAB) welding is a cutting-edge joining method that replaces the conventional welding procedures such as resistance, friction, flash and butt welding. It is a solid-state process that uses a rotating arc to heat up the butt ends of tubes, being followed by a forging process that completes the joining of the workpieces The magnetic flux density and the current interact to develop the Lorentz force that impels the arc along the faying surfaces. This process is found to produce high tensile strength and defect-free welds in ferrous materials and for this reason, it is predominantly employed in automobile applications for joining metallic tubes. Also, this joining procedure can be applied in the fabrication of boilers, heat exchangers, furnace piping in petrochemical industry and other safety-critical high-pressure machinery parts. The MIAB method has several advantages such as a shorter welding cycle, lower input energy requirement and lower loss of material. Compared to other solid-state welding processes, the MIAB welding has an important advantage in terms of cost-efficient welds with better control and reliability. Moreover, there are researchers who have investigated the joining of non-ferrous dissimilar materials using this welding procedure. The studies have been focused on process parametric analysis that involves optimizing and forecasting the magnetic field and thermal profile distribution. This review article provides competitive insights into various design features, computational methods, tests and material characterization, technical issues and workarounds, as well as automation aspects related to the MIAB-welding process. This work will prove to be a quick reference for researchers, useful to identify the research gaps and conflicting ideas that can be further explored for advancements in joining the similar and dissimilar materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances and Perspectives in Welding and Joining Process and Technology)

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