NAFEMS and TWI have announced a one-day seminar, "Shaping the Future of Welding: Advances in Modelling and Simulation," set for Wednesday, 30 September 2026 at TWI Cambridge in the UK. The event brings together leading experts to explore the latest advances in the modelling and simulation of welding, with a focus on current industrial challenges, the impact of simulation on design and manufacturing, and the opportunities opened up by new computational methods and artificial intelligence.
Presentations will cover weld pool modelling, validation techniques, linking micro- to macro-scales, scaling up to assemblies, and best practices in benchmarking and standardization. Organizers say the seminar will highlight how simulation enables safer, faster and more sustainable welding processes, with a closing panel session providing an open forum on future developments and applications.
The agenda includes contributions from prominent institutions and companies. Yongle Sun of Cranfield University will discuss advances in weld modelling for nuclear materials with solid-state phase transformations; Mike Smith of the University of Manchester will present on predicting weld residual stresses in steels undergoing solid-state phase transformation; and Tim Hageman of the University of Oxford will outline a new computational framework to predict the integrity of welds. Tom Flint (University of Manchester) will cover recent developments in mathematical modelling frameworks for computational metallurgy, while Sumit Hazra of Warwick Manufacturing Group will address material recovery for the circular economy.
Industry applications are well represented. Equinor, presented by TWI's Michael Roy, will share FEA simulations and measurements of weld residual stresses induced during girth welding and the effect of post-weld heat treatment. Rolls-Royce's Ben Pellereau will ask "Weld Simulation: How Good is Good Enough?" with a graded approach to simulations for industrial applications. Jaguar Land Rover will present on laser welding distortion in automotive roof structures — covering simulation, validation and process insights — and Boeing will discuss methods to predict residual stresses and distortion in directed energy deposition (DED) processes that scale significantly using in-house subroutines.
The event is designed for academics, industrial practitioners, simulation specialists, welding engineers, materials scientists, research students, and decision-makers in advanced manufacturing who wish to stay at the forefront of welding innovation. Registration is open with member and non-member pricing, and attendees can join an expert-led panel featuring Anas Yaghi, Paul Hurrell, John Bouchard and Yongle Sun to debate future directions in welding simulation.