This project deals with the dynamic control of the welding process. The objective of the research is to investigate simultaneous adaptive control over two variables of the welding process. This will be accomplished by using advanced infrared sensing techniques to monitor the thermal field in the vicinity of the weld pool. While both theoretical solutions and experiment agree sufficiently to enable dynamic control of one weld variable such as seam tracking, the simultaneous identification, sorting and correction of two or more perturbations presents an immense problem in theoretical and practical analysis. This research will develop theoretical and experimental tools to identify, sort and understand changes in surface temperature distributions resulting from the simultaneous encountering of two or more defects. Theoretical models of heat transfer will be advanced to describe the surface temperature distribution for simultaneous perturbations in the process. Computer hierarchial methods of analyzing the thermal fields and the implementation of the control responses will be developed. The ultimate result of this research will be the advancement of the scientific basis upon which future machines may be produced that are capable of eliminating defective welds and increasing the productivity of the welding process.
