Investigation of Spiking in Electron Beam Welding Using Stationary Stochastic Models

Abstract

The spiking phenomenon in electron beam welding is characterized using the second-order continuous autoregressive model. The model parameters are then physically interpreted in terms of the random fluctuation in the beam power and the diffusion of heat energy in the plates being welded; and a mechanistic model is proposed for the spiking phenomenon. Finally, regression models are obtained to relate the spiking behavior to the accelerating voltage, the beam current, and the welding speed.