An Assessment of Molten Metal Detachment Hazards During Electron Beam Welding in Space

The safety issue has been raised with regards to potential molten metal detachments from the weld pool and cold filler wire during electron beam welding in space. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate if molten metal could detach and come in contact with astronauts and burn through the fabric of the astronauts' Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) during electron beam welding in space. Molten metal detachments from either the weld/cut substrate or weld wire could present harm to a astronaut if the detachment was to burn through the fabric of the EMU. Theoretical models were developed to predict the possibility and size of the molten metal detachment hazards during the electron beam welding exercises at Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The primary molten metal detachment concerns were those cases of molten metal separation from the metal surface due to metal cutting, weld pool splashing, entrainment and release of molten metal due to filler wire snap-out from the weld puddle, and molten metal accumulation and release from the end of the weld wire. Some possible ways of obtaining molten metal drop detachments would include an impulse force, or bump, to the weld sample, cut surface, or filler wire. Theoretical models were developed for these detachment concerns from principles of impact and kinetic energies, surface tension, drop geometry, surface energies, and particle dynamics. The surface tension represents the force opposing the liquid metal drop from detaching whereas the weight of the liquid metal droplet represents a force that is tending to detach the molten metal drop. Theoretical calculations have indicated that only a small amount of energy is required to detach a liquid metal drop; however, much of the energy of an impact is absorbed in the sample or weld plate before it reaches the metal drop on the cut edge or surface. The tendency for detachment is directly proportional to the weld pool radius and metal density and inversely proportional to the surface tension of the liquid metal. For a detachment the initial kinetic energy of the weld pool with respect to the plate has to exceed the energy to form the extra surface required for the detachment of the pool. The difficulty is in transferring the energy from the point of impact through the plate and sample to the cut edge. It is likely that not all of the kinetic energy is available for detaching the pool; some may be sequestered in weld pool oscillations. The coefficient of restitution for the collision will be lower than one if irreversible deformation, for example plastic flow deformation, takes place during the collision. Thus determining the amount of energy from an impact that actually reaches the molten metal droplet is critical. Various molten metal detachment scenarios were tested experimentally in an enclosed vacuum chamber using the Ukrainian Universal Hand Tool, an electron beam welder designed for space welding. The experimental testing was performed in a 4 ft. X 4 ft. vacuum chamber at Marshall Space Flight Center, evacuated to vacuum levels of at least 50 microTorr, and also some welding garment material was utilized to observe the effect of the molten metal detachments on the material. A "carillon" apparatus consisting of four pendulum hammer strikers, each weighing approximately 3.65 lbs, raised to predetermined specific heights was used to apply an impact force to the weld sample/plate during electron beam welding and cutting exercises. The strikers were released by switching on an electric motor to rotate a pin holding wires retaining the strikers at desired heights. The specimens were suspended so as to be free to respond to the blows with a sudden velocity increment. The specimens were mounted on a hinged plate for minimizing effective mass with the option to fasten it down so as to raise its effective mass closer to that anticipated for an actual space welding scenario. Measurements were made of the impact energy and the horizontal fling distances of the detached metal drops. It was not particularly easy to generate the detachments for this experiment. This document presents the details of the theoretical modeling effort and a summary of the experimental effort to measure molten metal drop detachments from terrestrial electron beam welding in the enclosed vacuum chamber. The results of the experimental effort have shown that molten metal detachments can occur from the sample/weld plate only if a sufficiently large impact force is applied to the weld plate. A "weld pool detachment parameter" was determined to indicate whether detachment would occur. Detachment can be either full or partial (dripping), Partial detachment means that the weld pool detached from one side of the liquid-solid boundary so as to leave a hole at the puddle site but remained attached over part of the liquid-solid boundary and dripped down the plate with no fully detached material detected. Full detachment, however, does not necessarily mean that the whole pool fully detached; in some cases only a smaller portion of the pool detached, the remainder dripping down the plate. The weld pool detachment parameter according to theory and according to the empirical data allows a determination of whether full detachments might occur. Theoretical calculations indicated titanium alloy would be the most difficult from which to detach molten metal droplets followed by stainless steel and then by aluminum. The experimental results were for the most part consistent with the theoretical analysis and predictions. The above theory is applicable to other situations as desired for assessing the potential for molten metal detachments.