Local values directly at weld and HAZ
Rᶦₚ₀,₂, Rᶦₘ and local stress-strain data are determined exactly where the welded joint is actually critical: in the weld, the heat-affected zone and the transition.
Application
Weld testing with local values in weld seam and heat-affected zone
R&D
QA
Production
Aerospace
Marine
Defence
Weld Testing
Why i3D® becomes technically relevant for welds
i3D® for weld testing directly in the weld seam, heat-affected zone (HAZ) and transition: local yield strength Rᶦₚ₀,₂, tensile strength Rᶦₘ and stress-strain curves without a tensile specimen from the critical zone.
Compare welded joints in a differentiated way
Weld passes, heat input, filler material, parameter windows and local microstructural transitions can be compared more selectively than through a purely global average-value route.
Less detour via tensile specimens
When the real question sits in the weld zone, the effort for specimen transfer, preparation and idealised substitute geometries becomes much smaller.
Strong for release, development and failure analysis
Weld evaluation in development, materials testing, quality assurance and component analysis becomes more accurate when local material behaviour is technically decisive.
Functional principle of i3D® testing
The i3D® method is based on the force-controlled indentation of a diamond body into the material to be tested. This creates a small, precise indent with a minimal influence zone and a clearly local statement.
Unlike classical hardness testing, the indent is measured fully in three dimensions and evaluated by means of inverse finite-element analysis. This makes it possible to derive locally resolved stress-strain curves and local material properties.
- small influence zone directly in weld, HAZ or transition
- three-dimensional measurement of the indent instead of a simple hardness number
- inverse FEM evaluation for deriving local mechanical properties
Local determination of mechanical properties
Key mechanical properties such as yield strength Rᶦₚ₀,₂ and tensile strength Rᶦₘ can be determined directly on the real component, quickly, with low damage and with local differentiation.
Access to plastic material properties is therefore no longer limited to standard-compliant tensile specimens, but can take place directly on the weld seam, in the heat-affected zone or at critical structural details.
- local yield strength Rᶦₚ₀,₂ instead of only a global reference value
- local tensile strength Rᶦₘ from the relevant weld zone
- local stress-strain curves and properties for technical classification
Quantified evaluation of welded joints
This makes real screening of welded joints possible, with quantifiable evaluation of strength, yield strength and material condition in the weld area.
Especially for transitions, HAZ widths, weld passes or process-related inhomogeneities, local differentiation is often more meaningful than a global specimen far away from the actual zone.
- mapping of Rᶦₚ₀,₂ and Rᶦₘ along the weld path
- comparison of weld, HAZ and base material within the same evaluation frame
- suitable for parameter comparison, release and failure analysis
Industries and typical applications
Typical fields of application are load-bearing steel structures, bridge components, crash-relevant vehicle structures, aerospace components and safety-critical welded joints in defence and marine environments.
Wherever failure starts locally and the weld seam or heat-affected zone determines component performance, local materials testing provides the technically more relevant view of the joint.
- load-bearing steel and infrastructure components
- automotive, defence, marine and aerospace welded structures
- relevant for development, QA, production release and failure analysis
Advantages over conventional testing
i3D® testing delivers highly resolved mechanical properties directly on the component and closer to the actual weld zone than a classical global testing route.
Combined with 3D surface measurement and FEM-supported evaluation, this creates a powerful tool for the modern assessment of weld seams, especially when mapping, local gradients or fast comparability are required.
- local UTS and Rᶦₚ₀,₂ evaluation without a standard tensile specimen from the weld zone
- mapping of yield strength and tensile strength across HAZ and weld path
- higher technical proximity to the real welded joint and its microstructural gradient
Contacts
Discuss weld seam, zone and measurement strategy directly with the right contact
If weld parameters, heat-affected zone, component geometry or release requirements define the evaluation, a measurement strategy matched directly to the real joint is worthwhile.
