Au cours de ce travail, un modèle physique et numérique 3D du procédé de soudage à l’arc TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) a été développé dans l’objectif de prédire, en fonction des paramètres opératoires, les grandeurs utiles au concepteur d’assemblages soudés.Le modèle développé, à l’aide du code de calcul aux éléments finis Cast3M, traite les phénomènes physiques agissant dans la pièce et, plus particulièrement, dans le bain de soudage, l’arc étant traité comme une source. Pour ce faire, les équations non-linéaires de la thermohydraulique couplées à celles de l’électromagnétisme sont résolues en régime stationnaire avec un modèle prenant en compte la surface libre déformable du bain de soudage.Une première étape du développement a porté sur la modélisation des phénomènes électromagnétiques par deux méthodes numériques différentes, à comparer les résultats numériques obtenus avec ceux de la littérature. Ensuite, afin de valider le pouvoir prédictif du modèle, des simulations de différentes configurations de soudage d’intérêt ont été étudiées, en variant la composition chimique du matériau, la vitesse de défilement, la pression d’arc imposée et, plus particulièrement, la position de soudage. Des comparaisons avec des expériences et des modèles numériques de la littérature confirment les bonnes tendances obtenues. Enfin, une approche de la modélisation de l’apport de matière a été abordée et des résultats de cette approche ont été montrés. Notre modèle complet constitue donc une base solide pour le développement de modèles de simulation numérique du soudage (SNS) 3D totalement couplés avec l’arc dans le futur et sera intégré dans le logiciel métier WPROCESS. / In this work, we develop a 3D physical and numerical model of the GTA (gas tungsten arc) welding process in order to predict, for given welding parameters, useful quantities for the designer of welded assembly.The model is developed in the Cast3M finite element software and takes into account the main physical phenomena acting in the workpiece and particularly in the weld pool, subject to source terms modeling the arc part of the welding process. A steady solution of this model is thought for and involves the coupling of the nonlinear thermohydaulics and electromagnetic equations together with the displacement of the deformable free surface of the weld pool.A first step in the development consisted in modeling the electromagnetic phenomena with two different numerical methods, in comparing the numerical results obtained with those of the literature. Then, in order to assess the predictive capability of the model, simulations of various welding configurations are performed : variation in the chemical composition of the material, of the welding speed, of the prescribed arc pressure and of the welding positions, which is a focus of this work, are studied. A good agreement is obtained between the results of our model and other experimental and numerical results of the literature. Eventually, a model accounting for metal filling is proposed and its results are discussed. Thus, our complete model can be seen as a solid foundation towards future totally-coupled 3D welding models including the arc and it will be included in the WPROCESS software dedicated to the numerical simulation of welding.

Duplex stainless steels are a very attractive alternative to austenitic grades due to their higher strength and good corrosion performance. The austenitic grades can often be welded autogenously, while the duplex grades normally require addition of filler metal. This is to counteract segregation of important alloying elements and to give sufficient austenite formation to prevent precipitation of chromium nitrides that could have a negative effect on impact toughness and pitting resistance. The corrosion performance of the recently-developed lean duplex stainless steel LDX 2101 is higher than that of 304 and can reach the level of 316. This thesis summarises pitting resistance tests performed on laser and gas tungsten arc (GTA) welded LDX 2101. It is shown here that this material can be autogenously welded, but additions of filler metal, nitrogen in the shielding gas and use of hybrid methods increases the austenite formation and the pitting resistance by further suppressing formation of chromium nitride precipitates in the weld metal. If the weld metal austenite formation is sufficient, the chromium nitride precipitates in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) could cause local pitting, however, this was not seen in this work. Instead, pitting occurred 1–3 mm from the fusion line, in the parent metal rather than in the high temperature HAZ (HTHAZ). This is suggested here to be controlled by the heat tint, and the effect of residual weld oxides on the pitting resistance is studied. The composition and the thickness of weld oxide formed on LDX 2101 and 2304 were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The heat tint on these lean duplex grades proved to contain significantly more manganese than what has been reported for standard austenitic stainless steels in the 300 series. A new approach on heat tint formation is consequently presented. Evaporation of material from the weld metal and subsequent deposition on the weld oxide are suggested to contribute to weld oxide formation. This is supported by element loss in LDX 2101 weld metal, and nitrogen additions to the GTA shielding gas further increase the evaporation. / QC 20101126