Heat Flux for Welding Processes: Model for Laser Weld

An accurate and physically suitable heat flux model is required to represent the welding process. Experimentally established processes are referred. A well-established model in heat flux representation is the double ellipsoid model of Goldak. It provides non-symmetry of the front and rear heat to the electrode as given by Lindgren. Though this is a good representation, it can be simplified to a conical heat model for the molten metal with a Gaussian heat input. This combination is suited for laser beam welding process as the heat beam focuses through a conical collate. Proposals for improved linear combinations of two fluxes are defined and different distributions of heat fluxes are compared. It also includes the evaluation of Gaussian distribution of heat flux to explain process capability.