CORDIS Database: PROJECTS
Assessment of Quality of Power Beam Weld Joints

Subject Index Code : Aerospace Technology, Industrial Manufacture, Materials Technology
General Information : Objectives and content 
		
		Despite significant improvements in power beam welding technology 
		over recent years, it still remains impossible to characterise 
		laser and EB welds in a unique fashion and to produce quantifiable 
		mechanical properties. Guidance on design aspects of power beam 
		welded joints is currently lacking for potential users so that they 
		are often reluctant to opt for such a welding process despite the 
		available technology to fabricate the joint. The objective of this 
		proposal is to provide an improved understanding of the failure 
		behaviour of similar and dissimilar laser and EB welds in order to 
		be able to predict structural performance. The proposed programme 
		will extend current nondestructive (NDT)  and destructive testing 
		standards to power beam welded joints and will result in 
		recommendations for best practice and the changes necessary to 
		current techniques to achieve this. In order to accomplish this, it 
		is necessary to: 
		
		- Identify major weldability and joint quality problems for various 
		materials. 
		- Develop techniques for the identification of defect types (NDT)  
		and determination of mechanical and fracture behaviour of joints. - 
		Develop and validate a methodology - European Quality Assessment 
		Concept (EQAC) - for structural integrity assessment of power beam 
		welded joints which takes into account the unique features of these 
		joints 
		- Provide a first Weld-Defect-Catalogue for power beam weld joints 
		using improved NDT methodology ( -focus X-ray radiography and 
		radioscopy) . 
		The European Quality Assessment Concept (EQAC)  for power beam 
		welds to be developed in this project will consider the unique 
		features of power beam welds and their defects on various materials.
		Present mechanical and NDT standards do not take into account 
		these features (strength mismatch, defect types and weld shape etc.)
		  of power beam welds in a unified fashion. The structural 
		reliability of these welds urgently needs a systematic effort to 
		show their suitability for conventional as well as advanced 
		structural components. Testing of structural components used in 
		aerospace and civil engineering will be included to determine 
		structural performance and validate the developed EQAC. 
		
		This project also covers laser and electron beam weldability 
		aspects of various A1-alloys. It will establish welding conditions 
		for optimum weld properties by developing new super pulsed 2kW Nd:
		YAG laser for this purpose.
Achievements : Despite significant improvements in power beam welding technology 
		over recent years, it still remains impossible to characterise 
		laser and EB welds in a unique fashion and to produce quantifiable 
		mechanical properties.  Guidance on design aspects of power beam 
		welded joints is currently lacking for potential users so that they 
		are often reluctant to opt for such a welding process despite the 
		availability of the technology.  The objective of this industrial 
		project is to provide an improved understanding of the failure 
		behaviour of similar and dissimilar laser and EB welds in order to 
		be able to predict structural performance.  The project programme 
		extended current non-destructive (NDT)  and destructive testing 
		standards to power beam welded joints and provided recommendations 
		for best practise and the changes necessary to current techniques 
		to achieve this.  In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to:
		
		i)  Identify major weldability and joint quality problems for 
		various materials
		ii)  Develop techniques for the identification of defect types (NDT)
		  and determination of mechanical and fracture behaviour of joints
		iii)  Develop and validate a methodology - European Quality 
		Assessment Concept (EQAC)  - for structural integrity assessment of 
		power beam welded joints which takes into account the unique 
		features of these joints
		iv)  Provide a first Weld-Defect-Catalogue for power beam weld 
		joints using improved NDT methodology
		
		The European Quality Assessment Concept (EQAC)  for power beam 
		welds developed in this project considers the unique features of 
		power beam welds and their defects on various materials.  Present 
		mechanical and NDT standards do not take into account these 
		features (strength mismatch, defect types, and weld shape etc)  of 
		power beam welds in a unified fashion.  The structural reliability 
		of these welds urgently needs a systematic effort to show their 
		suitability for conventional as well as advanced structural 
		components.  Testing of structural components used in aerospace and 
		civil engineering will be included to determine structural 
		performance and validate the developed EQAC.
		
		This project covers laser and electron beam weldability aspects of 
		over twenty metallic structural materials.  The consortium 
		comprises a Research Centre (GKSS)  specialised in testing and 
		assessment of weld defects, a Nd:YAG laser source manufacturer 
		(QUANTEL) , a manufacturer of laser welded steel components 
		(Thyssen Laser Technik) , a company specialised in EB-welding of 
		large structural components (CNIM) , a company user of both power 
		beam welding processes in repair of aerospace components and end 
		user of the NDT for the inspection of the same components 
		(INTERTURBINE) , a steel manufacturer and large scale testing 
		laboratory (BRITISH STEEL) , a company experienced in CO2 laser 
		welding of advanced materials (RTM) , a company specialising in NDT 
		(NU-TECH) , a research centre (FORCE)  with experience in laser 
		welding of steels, a company (ANSALDO)  manufacturing heavy 
		industrial and power plant components.
Start Date : 1995-12-01
End Date : 1999-01-31
Duration : 38 months
Project Status : Completed
Programme Type : 4th FWP (Fourth Framework Programme)
Programme Acronym : BRITE/EURAM 3
Subprogramme Area : PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES - Incorporation of new technologies into 
		production systems
Project Reference : BRPR950021

Prime Contractor
  Organisation : GKSS - Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH
  Organisation Type : Research
  Department : Institut für Werkstofforschung
  Address : Max Planck-Strasse
Postfach 1160
  Postcode : 21502
  City : Geesthacht
  Region: SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
Herzogtum Lauenburg
  Country : GERMANY
  Contact Person : Name:         KOCAK, Mustafa
		Tel:          +49-41-52872536
		Fax:          +49-41-52872534
		Email:        mustafa.kocak a gkss


Other Contractors
  
  Organisation Name : Constructions Industrielles de la Méditerranée
  Organisation Type : Industry 
  Contact Person : JENNEQUIN, Gerard
  Department : Division Défense-Systèmes	
  Address : Z.I. de Brégaillon
BP 208
  City : La Seyne-sur-Mer
  Region : MÉDITERRANÉE
PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D'AZUR
Var
  Org. Country : FRANCE
  Post Code : 83507
  Telephone : +33-94303015
  Fax : +33-94303100
  
  Organisation Name : Thyssen Laser Technik GmbH
  Organisation Type : Industry 
  Contact Person : POPRAWE, Reinhart
  Address : 15 Steinbachstrasse 15
  City : Aachen
  Region : NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN
KÖLN
Aachen, Kreisfreie Stadt
  Org. Country : GERMANY
  Post Code : 52074
  Telephone : +49-241-8906400
  Fax : +49-241-8906444
  
  Organisation Name : Quantel SA
  Organisation Type : Industry 
  Contact Person : MAINE, PATRICK
  Department : Département Etudes et Prototypes	
  Address : Avenue de l'Atlantique
BP 23
  City : Les Ulis
  Region : ÎLE DE FRANCE
Essonne
  Org. Country : FRANCE
  Post Code : 91941
  Telephone : +33-16-9291700
  Fax : +33-16-9291729
  E-mail : quant10@calva.net
  
  Organisation Name : British Steel plc
  Organisation Type : Other 
  Contact Person : BANNISTER, Adam
  Department : Swindon Technological Centre	
  Address : Moorgate
  City : Rotherham
  Region : YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
  Org. Country : UNITED KINGDOM
  Post Code : S60 3AR
  Telephone : +44-1709-825296
  Fax : +44-1709-825337
  
  Organisation Name : Nutech GmbH
  Organisation Type : Industry 
  Contact Person : FISCHER, Alfons
  Department : Laserapplication-Analyses and Testing	
  Address : 5 Ilsahl
  City : Neumünster
  Region : SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
Plön
  Org. Country : GERMANY
  Post Code : 24536
  Telephone : +49-4321-30620
  Fax : +49-4321-38435
  
  Organisation Name : Ansaldo Termosud SpA
  Organisation Type : Industry 
  Contact Person : BARBERA, Nicola
  Department : Direzione Sviluppo Technologie	
  Address : Via Milano 1600
  City : Gioia del Colle Bari
  Region : SUD
PUGLIA
Bari
  Org. Country : ITALY
  Post Code : 70023
  Telephone : +39-80-9980259
  Fax : +39-80-9981286
  
  Organisation Name : Interturbine Germany GmbH
  Organisation Type : Industry 
  Contact Person : FRANKENBERGER, Winfried
  Address : 36-38 Kisdorfer Weg
  City : Kaltenkirchen
  Region : SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
Segeberg
  Org. Country : GERMANY
  Post Code : 24568
  Telephone : +49-4191-809201
  Fax : +49-4191-3403
  
  Organisation Name : Force Institute
  Organisation Type : Research 
  Contact Person : KLAESTRUP KRISTENSEN, Jens
  Department : ADVANCED WELDING CENTRE	
  Address : 345 Park Alle 345
  City : Brondby
  Region : Københavns amt
  Org. Country : DENMARK
  Post Code : 2605
  Telephone : +45-43968800
  Fax : +45-43962636
  
  Organisation Name : Istituto per le Ricerche di Tecnologia Meccanica e per 
		l'Automazione S.p.A.
  Organisation Type : Research 
  Contact Person : PENASA, Mauro
  Department : LASER TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT	
  Address : Regione Lime
  City : VICO CANAVESE
  Region : NORD OVEST
PIEMONTE
Torino
  Org. Country : ITALY
  Post Code : 10080
  Telephone : +39-125-74725
  Fax : +39-125-74755  




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