Inverse Thermal Analysis of Ti-6Al-4V Laser Welds Using Solidification and Heat-Affected Zone Boundaries

Temperature histories of Ti-6Al-4V laser welds are presented, which are calculated using numerical-analytical basis functions and boundary constraints based on measured solidification and heat-affected zone cross sections. These weld temperature histories can be adopted as input data to various types of computational procedures, which include numerical models for prediction of solid-state phase transformations and mechanical response. In addition, these temperature histories can be used parametrically for inverse thermal analysis of welds corresponding to other welding processes whose process conditions are within similar regimes. The present study applies an inverse thermal analysis procedure that uses three-dimensional constraint conditions whose two-dimensional projections are mapped within transverse cross sections of experimentally measured solidification and heat-affected zone boundaries.