Thermal analysis of the girth weld of an elastomeric diaphragm tank

J. VINCENT,; J.M. CARELLA; A.P. CISILINO

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 214 p. 428 - 435

0924-0136

The finite-element thermal analysis of the welding process of a titanium-alloy tank with an elastomericdiaphragm is described. The analysis takes into account the latent heat due to phase changes, the dependenceof the material properties with temperature and the effects of the convection in the weld pool. Themodel is calibrated and validated by comparing its predictions with experimental results from the weldingof AISI 304 specimens. The comparison between the model and the experimental results is madein terms of the temperature fields and the dimensions of the weld molten pool. The time evolution ofthe temperature in the experiments is monitored using thermocouples and a thermographic camera.The molten pool dimensions are measured via macro etching. The girth weld of the tank is analyzed forvarious hypotheses for the efficiency of the contact heat conduction between the hemispheres and thediaphragm-retaining ring. The results show the convenience to include a heat sink to the welding setupin order to guarantee the thermal integrity of the elastomeric diaphragm.