WE Student Seminar: Tate Patterson & Conner Sarich

Tate Patterson

Advised by Drs. Ramirez & Lippold 

Laser beam welding (LBW) and electron beam welding (EBW) are advantageous fusion welding processes due to deep penetration, high welding speeds, ease of precise control, low heat inputs, and narrow heat affected zones. Therefore, high energy density (HED) processes are suitable for many industrial applications such as defense systems, aerospace, automotive, medical, etc. Because of the large range of applications, there is a persistent industrial need to improve predictive capabilities of weld penetration and geometric characteristics for a wide range of materials and welding parameters. This is extremely valuable in highly critical components especially when post-weld inspection techniques are difficult or impractical. 

The physical mechanisms underlying conduction versus keyhole formation must be understood to aid in procedure selection and predict weld penetration. This work aims to advance the understanding between the relationships of weld parameters and material properties for predicting fusion zone geometries and microstructural formation and compare results between LBW and EBW. 

Laser and electron beam bead-on-plate welds were completed on 304 S.S. with systematic variations to input parameters while maintaining a consistent spot size. Power and travel speed parameters were selected to facilitate a transition from conduction to keyhole mode welding, and all welds were partial penetration. Initial results show the significant differences in the transition regime, variations of weld geometries, and the substantial difference in the depth of penetration versus input power between laser and electron beam welding.

Bio

Tate Patterson is a Ph.D. student in the Welding Engineering Program at The Ohio State University, working on a project with Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2018, he received his master’s degree in Welding Engineering from OSU. Prior to joining OSU, he completed a B.S. degree in General Engineering at The Montana Tech of the University of Montana.

Conner Sarich

Advised by Dr. Alexandrov

[Abstract to be provided]