Case-Sudy Inverse Thermal Analyses of 21-6-9 Stainless Steel Laser Welds

Case study inverse thermal analyses of 21-6-9 stainless steel laser welds are presented. These analyses employ a methodology that is in terms of analytical basis functions for inverse thermal analysis of steady state energy deposition in plate structures. The results of the case studies provide parametric representations of weld temperature histories that can be adopted as input data to various types of computational procedures, such as those for prediction of solid-state phase transformations and their associated software implementations. In addition, these temperature histories can be used to construct parametric-function representations for inverse thermal analysis of welds corresponding to other process parameters or welding processes whose conditions are within similar regimes. The case studies presented also examine specific aspects of the inverse-analysis methodology relevant to development of algorithms for its application in practice.