Determination of weld pool shape and temperature distribution by solving three-dimensional phase change heat conduction problem

A quasi-steady state heat conduction model considering phase change for las er welding of sheet metals is presented. The method of least squares was us ed to solve the governing equation in the liquid phase. The solution provid es the weld pool shape and the temperature distribution in the weld pool. R esults for stainless steel were compared with experimental data for fairly good agreement was obtained between the theoretical predictions and the exp erimental data.