Design of fixture for ultrasonic assisted gas tungsten arc welding using an integrated approach

Abstract The welding fixture greatly impacts the weld quality matrixes. In this work, the welding fixture for ultrasonic-assisted gas tungsten arc welding to reduce the hot cracking behaviour in weldments was designed using the finite element analysis approach. A three-level, five-factor central composite design-based response surface methodology analysis was followed to vary the dimensions of the fixture for the modal and harmonic analysis of the fixture using Ansys software. The optimum fixture dimensions to achieve maximum displacement amplitude and minimum von-Mises stress have been optimized using a genetic algorithm approach. The model predictions for maximum displacement amplitude and minimum von-Mises stress were compared to the experimental findings at optimal conditions. A strong consensus between the model prediction by genetic algorithm and experimental findings indicates the correctness of the developed model.