High-energy electron beam welding is a key technology in the modern aircraft manufacturing industry. By using high-energy electron beams to weld forging pieces together, the strength and reliability of the forging pieces can be ensured. The following is a detailed analysis of the application of high-energy electron beam welding technology, using a real production case as an example.
In 2019, the first C919 aircraft of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) successfully completed the high-energy electron beam welding process test. It was reported that the C919 used 2618 alloy forgings, which required to be spliced and connected. Traditional tungsten argon arc welding technology may cause deformation problems due to large thermal input. Adopting high-energy electron beam welding technology can fully heat and rapidly cool the welding joint in a short time, avoiding the forging pieces from being deformed.
The following are the characteristics of high-energy electron beam welding technology:
- High-energy electron beams can heat the surface of the welding joint to a very high temperature in a very short time, achieving rapid heating and cooling to avoid deformation of the forging pieces.
- Since the welding joint is only heated by the electron beam and does not contact any external substances, there is no problem of contamination, oxidation, or residual flux, thus avoiding the adverse effects on the quality of the welding joints.
- As high-energy electron beam welding technology can achieve high-precision positioning and control, it can control the excellent appearance and precision requirements of the welding workpieces while ensuring the welding joint strength and quality.
In summary, high-energy electron beam welding technology has a wide range of application prospects in aircraft forging connection. Apart from the C919 aircraft, other aircraft manufacturers have also begun to adopt this technology, replacing traditional tungsten argon arc welding technology to better guarantee the quality and reliability of the forging pieces.
In conclusion, high-energy electron beam welding technology ensures the quality and reliability of aircraft forging connections by rapid heating and cooling and avoiding contamination and oxidation problems, and has made significant contributions to the development of the aircraft manufacturing industry.
