Abstract: By means of a newly developed non-contact detecting method, electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI), a method of determining material property data during welding is studied. A TIG fixed-point welding process is modeled in which some achievements of simulation, such as the effect of welding pool on temperature field and nonlinear relation between convection coefficient and temperature, are all considered. In addition, by taking into account effect of heating rate, the workpiece is divided into near-weld zone and far-weld zone, which will be treated with different property values. When the displacement field computed with original property data is compared and matched with the experimental displacement field, which is measured by ESPI, these original data are adjusted properly. A group of raw properties are obtained and are corrected by statistical regression before they enter the simulation process again. By such a loop of “simulation-comparison-modification”, a set of property data that best satisfy the real condition are achieved finally. In such a way, a new method for measuring material properties during welding is found.

Key words: Material properties, Welding displacement field, Numerical simulation, ESPI