Many papers have sought correlations between the parameters of secondary particles generated above the beam/work piece interaction zone, dynamics of processes in the keyhole, and technological processes. Low-and high-frequency oscillations of the current, collected by plasma have been observed above the welding zone during electron beam welding. Low-frequency oscillations of secondary signals are related to capillary instabilities of the keyhole, however; the physical mechanisms responsible for the high-frequency oscillations (>10 kHz) of the collected current are not fully understood. This paper shows that peak frequencies in the spectra of the collected high-frequency signal are dependent on the reciprocal distance between the welding zone and collector electrode. From the relationship between current harmonics frequency and distance of the collector/welding zone, it can be estimated that the draft velocity of electrons or phase velocity of excited waves is about 1600 m/s. The dispersion relation with the properties of ion-acoustic waves is related to electron temperature 10 000 K, ion temperature 2 400 K and plasma density 10 16 m −3 , which is analogues to the parameters of potential-relaxation instabilities, observed in similar conditions. The estimated critical density of the transported current for creating the anomalous resistance state of plasma is of the order of 3 A · m −2 , i.e. 8 mA for a 3-10 cm 2 collector electrode. Thus, it is assumed that the observed high-frequency oscillations of the current collected by the positive collector electrode are caused by relaxation processes in the plasma plume above the welding zone, and not a direct demonstration of oscillations in the keyhole. C 2014 Author(s)

A time-dependent heat model is implemented for the simulation of the heat distribution in 316L stainless steel samples during electron-beam irradiation. The influence is studied of the electro-beam power and processing time on the temperature field produced in the samples. The simulation results are compared with real experimental data of electron-beam surface modification of 0.5-mm-thick 316L stainless steel samples using the ELIT-60 installation in the Institute of Electronics BAS. The simulation and the experimental results show good agreement.

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In this research work, we consider the problem of sensor selection for the system controlling full penetration mode in electron beam welding. For this, we have investigated four signals from the backside of the workpiece: electron current in root plasma, ion current in root plasma, through-thickness electron current and penetrating bremsstrahlung X-ray. After having done the research we have estimated the advisability of two signals: one for cases if requirements for control precision are high and the other for other cases.