Author(s)

S. Nweze, J. Achebo

Department of Production Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.

Welding operation of metals, gives rise to high temperature that results in melting of mating parts. The final composition of the joints formed in terms of its microstructure and properties at the fusion zone depends greatly on the degree of dilution of the weld. With an expert prediction technique, it may be possible to predict even before weld, the integrity of weld joint from the proposed process parameter. The aim of this study is to predict the percentage dilution (%D) of TIG mild steel welds using fuzzy logic. In this study, the weld specimen was produced using the TIG welding process guided by the central composite experimental design and thereafter percentage dilution (%D) was measured and fed to the fuzzy logic software. The process parameters include the voltage, current, gas flow rate and welding speed. The results obtained showed that the fuzzy logic tool is a good predictive tool and the model developed has proven to be very efficient in handling works of this nature, thereby saving time, energy and money wasted in pre-welding procedures. It would be encouraging to compare other quality parameters with process parameters to see how it can further help in quality improvement.

Defuzzification, Fuzzy Logic System, linguistic Variables and Crisp Variable

Nweze, S. and Achebo, J. (2019) The Use of Fuzzy Logic in Predicting Percentage (%) Dilution of Weld during Tig Welding Process. Materials Sciences and Applications, 10, 406-422. doi: 10.4236/msa.2019.105030.