Affiliations
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
University of Waterloo
Contact Information
Phone: (519) 888-4567, ext. 33326
Fax: (519)-888-6197
Office: E3-3110A
Email: tburns@engmail.uwaterloo.ca
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
Canada
Biographical Information
2007: BASc, Honours in Mechanical Engineering Co-op, University of Waterloo, Specialization in Welding
Research Projects
Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) - Pulsed welding of AHSS
Advanced high strength steels (AHSS) are being used in the automotive industry to reduce vehicle weight and maintain structural integrity. When compared to current conventional high-strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, AHSS have comparable formability at a higher strength. This allows an overall reduction in sheet steel thickness to retain the same load requirements, which in turn reduces the weight and helps improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
Dual phase (DP) steel (an AHSS categorized steel) is being used during this project to view the effects of heat input from a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process on the base material mechanical properties, such as strength, hardness, and formability. The GMAW process is used in automotive for certain structural joints that cannot be accommodated with resistance spot welding (RSW) or for cost savings over laser beam welding (LBW).
The GMAW process is conducted throughout the project with a pulsed welding cycle (GMAW-P) in comparison with a conventional constant voltage (CV) power supply in an attempt to classify possibilities for a reduction in heat input to the joint. Future work is to be focused on high speed welding of AHSS.
Project sponsor(s)
- Dofasco and the Auto21 partnership
Project supervisor(s)
- Professor David C. Weckman
- Professor Y. Norman Zhou
Research Interests
- Gas metal arc welding
- Reduced heat input
- High speed welding
- Welding metallurgy and general metallographic study
- Advanced materials research and classification
- Mechanical design
Thesis Supervisor(s)
- Professor David C. Weckman
- Professor Y. Norman Zhou