HeatWeldForming - combined thermomechanical property improvement of welding seams

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Härtel; Professor Dr.-Ing. Peter Mayr
• Subject Area: Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
• Term: from 2016 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 326220175

The overall objective of this research project is the purposeful combination of the individual processes of pre-heating, welding, forming and post-heating in order to achieve a targeted microstructure adjustment in the weld seam and the heat-affected zone. From the first proposal phase it emerged that this is not fully possible with the combination of welding and hot forming. In this respect, the existing inline process chain will be extended by a pre-heating and post-heating unit. This extension ultimately facilitates a targeted microstructure adjustment in the area of the weld seam and heat-affected zone. Furthermore, the extended inline process chain enables the processing of thermomechanically rolled fine-grained structural steels, aiming to eliminate or reduce the softening effect in the so-called softening zone which occurs as a result of the welding process. Within the scope of this project, a basic understanding of the complex interaction of the individual processes will be developed to stimulate targeted local microstructure transformation processes and to introduce material hardening.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants