High quality welding of stainless steel with 10 kW high power fibre laser

Abstract

The objectives of this research are to investigate penetration characteristics, to clarify welding phenomena and to develop high quality welding procedures in bead on plate welding of type 304 austenitic stainless steel plates with a 10 kW fibre laser beam. The penetration depth reached 18 mm at the maximum at 5 mm s^?1. At 50 mm s^?1 or lower welding speeds, however, porosity was generated at any fibre laser spot diameter. On the other hand, at 100 mm s^?1 or higher welding speeds, underfilling and humping weld beads were formed under the conventionally and tightly focused conditions respectively. The generation of spatters was influenced mainly by a strong shear force of a laser induced plume and was greatly reduced by controlling direction of the plume blowing out of a keyhole inlet. The humping formation was dependent upon several dynamic or static factors, such as melt volume above the surface, strong melt flow to the rear molten pool on the top surface, solidification rate and narrow molten pool width and corresponding high surface tension. Its suppression was effective by producing a wider weld bead width under the defocused laser beam conditions or reduction of melt volume out of keyhole inlet under the full penetration welding conditions. Concerning porosity, X-ray transmission in situ observation images demonstrated that pores were formed not only from the tip of the keyhole but also at the middle part because of high power density. The keyhole behaviour was stabilised using a nitrogen shielding gas, resulting in porosity prevention. Consequently, to produce high quality welds in 10 kW high power fibre laser welding, the reduction procedures of welding defects were required on the basis of understanding their formation mechanism, and 10 kW fibre laser power could produce sound deeply penetrated welds of 18 mm depth in a nitrogen shielding gas.     

Factors controlling the magnesium weld morphology in deep penetration welding by a CO2 laser

In laser welding with power density beyond 10⁴ W · mm⁻², the formation of plasma cavities, commonly referred to as keyholes, leads to deep penetration welds with high aspect ratios. In this paper, the morphologies of keyhole welds produced with a 6 kW CW CO₂ laser on two die-cast magnesium alloys, AZ91 and AM50, are compared. It was found that the two magnesium alloys responded differently to laser welding. Though irregular weld cross-section profiles were consistently observed on each materials, bead dimensions often varied with the welding variables in contrasting ways. For both alloys, important characteristics of the weld beads such as depth, width, crown height (hump), and surface ripples were analyzed as a function of the welding parameters, most particularly the heat input. Results show that the use of heat input, a variable grouping two welding parameters into one, was often inadequate in characterizing the bead morphology. Several explanations are given, including base metal vaporization, but the process of bremsstralung absorption explains it well and rationalizes many observed characteristics of laser weld morphology.     

Effect of weakly ionised plasma on penetration of stainless steel weld produced with ultra high power density fibre laser

Abstract

A weakly ionised plasma can be generated in stainless steel welding with a 10 kW fibre laser beam at the ultra high power density of ～1 MW mm^–2 in Ar shielding gas. The objectives of this study are to obtain a fundamental knowledge of optical interaction between a fibre laser beam and the weakly ionised plasma, and to evaluate effects of the plasma on weld penetration. The optical interaction was investigated by the high speed video observation or the power meter measurement of another probe fibre laser beam, which passed horizontally through the weakly ionised plasma induced during bead on plate welding of a 20 mm thick type 304 plate with a 10 kW fibre laser beam of 0˙9 MW mm^–2 in power density. The probe laser observed was refracted at 0˙6 mrad angle in average, which was much lower than the 90 mrad divergence of the focused fibre laser beam. The attenuation of the probe laser was measured to be ～4%, which was not mainly caused by Inverse Bremsstrahlung but by Rayleigh scattering. Moreover, a stable laser welding process could be produced at such ultra high power density that 11˙5 mm deep penetration was obtained even if the laser peak power was modulated 1 ms periodically from 10 to 8˙5 kW. It was consequently considered that the optical interaction between the 10 kW fibre laser beam and the weakly ionised plasma was too small to exert the reduction in weld penetration.     

Solidification and solidification structure control of weld metals

Summary

The influence of the shielding gas and laser irradiation conditions on porosity formation in CO₂ laser welding of aluminium alloy were investigated. Bead-on-plate welding tests were performed on 7 mm thick Al-Mg alloy (A5182) plates. The weld beads were inspected by X-ray and the number of pores was counted as a function of the pore diameter. We found that the number of pores was minimised when the dew point of the shielding gas was kept at as low as ?50°C at the welding nozzle tip. At a dew point of ?50°C the number of pores decreased when the flow rate of the shielding gas (Ar) was reduced and the nozzle diameter was increased, presumably because of less air mixing in the welding region. We also found that porosity formation was reduced when He/Ar mixtures were used as the shielding gas instead of pure Ar or He shielding gas. But porosity also depended on the defocused distance of the laser beam at a given laser power. With Ar shielding gas, the number of pores increased when the beam was focused above the specimen surface/while with He shielding gas it increased when the beam was focused in the weld pool. These dependencies may be attributed to the unstable keyhole formation due to laser absorption through the intense plasma formed on the specimen surface and due to the strong boiling of the molten metal respectively. The results indicate that both the hydrogen and the unstable keyhole behaviour cause porosity formation in laser welding of aluminium alloys. Under the optimised conditions, however, the number of pores was significantly reduced.     

光束摆动法减小激光焊接气孔倾向

针对激光深熔焊过程中易出现的气孔问题,作者提出光束摆动激光焊接减小气孔倾向的工艺。利用3kW快轴流CO2激光器分别对激光焊接过程中可能出现的氮气孔和氩气孔进行了试验研究。结果表明,光束摆动激光焊接对氮气孔有显著的消除效果,随着摆动频率的增加,气孔急剧减少,并且在摆动幅度仅为0．5mm的情况下,就可以起到消除气孔的效果;光束摆动激光焊接对于抑制氩气孔也有一定作用,摆动频率越大,摆动幅度越大,对熔池的搅拌越大,越有利于气泡的逸出,焊缝中氩气孔越少。     

Characterisation of plasma induced during high power fibre laser welding of stainless steel

Abstract

The objective of this research is to obtain a fundamental knowledge of generation behaviour and ionised state of a plume or plasma induced during bead on plate welding of a 20 mm thick type 304 stainless steel plate with a 10 kW fibre laser beam of 0˙9 MW mm^–2 power density, on the basis of 10 000 to 40 000 flames s^–1 high speed video observation and spectroscopic analysis. The high power fibre laser produced a partial penetration weld of 12 mm in depth at 50 mm s^–1 welding speed. According to the high speed observation pictures, the laser induced plume was repeatedly generated from a keyhole at the interval of about 0&dot5 ms period to reach 12 mm in maximum height. The spectroscopy indicated the line spectra of neutral atoms of alloying elements of type 304 such as iron (Fe), chromium (Cr) and manganese (Mn). However, ionised spectra of alloying elements and line spectra of argon (Ar) neutral atom were not apparently detected under these welding conditions. Furthermore, the temperature and the ionisation degree of the laser induced plume were calculated to be approximately 6000 K and 0&dot02 respectively, by the Bolzman plots and Saha's equation. Consequently, the plume induced with the 10 kW fibre laser beam of the ultra high power density was judged to be weakly ionised plasma from these experimental results.     

国产厚板大功率激光填丝焊Y形焊缝的焊接工艺性

大功率激光的高功率密度特征使其成为船用大厚度材料高效焊接最有前景的方法之一.试验完成了10mm和12mm国产船用材料高功率CO2激光填丝焊的工艺设计,分析了焊接过程的光致等离子体行为.结果表明,当功率在13kW以上时随着焊缝熔深的增加斜率明显变缓;对于焊透的焊缝,仅仅用熔宽和熔深不能充分表征焊接参数对焊缝截面的影响;试验建立了激光填丝焊Y形焊缝形态模型,将Y形焊缝抽象成上半部分为梯形,下半部分为长方形的组合图形;在激光功率和焊接速度保持不变的条件下,研究了送丝速度和焊缝间隙变化时焊缝截面形态的变化规律.     

Comparative evaluation of tungsten inert gas and laser welding of AZ31 magnesium alloy

Abstract

Welding of AZ31 Mg alloy was conducted using various welding techniques, namely, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding with Ar shielding gas, TIG welding with He shielding gas, CO₂ laser welding, and YAG laser welding. The results were comparatively evaluated in terms of weld bead formation and microstructural characterisation. It was found that TIG welding with both Ar and He gas shielding produced good welds without major defects. The penetration capacity can be improved using He gas shielding. Owing to their high energy density, CO₂ and YAG lasers can produce weld beads having high aspect ratio. Among the four techniques used, the YAG laser produced the finest weld microstructure, whereas TIG with Ar gas shielding produced the coarsest microstructure. Shielding is a key factor controlling the O contents in the welds. The more effective the shielding provided the lower the O content in the weld. Hardness reduction in the weld metals and heat affected zones was observed for all the techniques owing to the elimination of strengthening effects by the welding operation. In summary, the present study demonstrated advantages and limitations of the various welding techniques and provided an in depth understanding of the weldability of AZ31 Mg alloy.     

Macrostructural and microstructural features of 1 000 MPa grade TRIP steel joint by CO2 laser welding

Bead-on-plate CO2 laser welding of 1 000 MPa grade transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel was conducted under different welding powers, welding speeds and shield gases. The macrostructural and microstructural features of the welded joint were investigated. The increase of welding speed reduced the width of the weld bead and the porosities in the weld bead resulting from the different flow mode of melted metal in weld pool. The decrease of welding power or use of shield gas of helium also contributed to the reduction of porosity in the weld bead due to the alleviation of induced plasma formation, thus stabilizing the keyhole. The porosity formation intimately correlated with the evaporation of alloy element Mn in the base metal. The laser welded metal had same martensite microstructure as that of water-quenched base metal. The welding parameters which increased cooling rate all led to fine microstructures of the weld bead.     

Microstructure and Microhardness of Laser Beam Welded Al-Mg-Mn-Zr-Er Joint

In this work,the weldability of the alloy Al-Mg-Mn-Zr-Er with high power Nd:YAG laser has been studied.Samples were subjected to three different welding heat inputs to obtain various weld beads.The main objective of the present work has been to investigate the change of microstructure and microhardness at the Al-Mg-Mn-Zr-Er laser weld beads.Results showed that the top width of the bead was larger at the higher laser power.Grain structure refinement was found in welded metal,especially at higher laser power.It was also verified that the microhardness of weld bead was raised with the decrease of laser power,due to the microstructure refinement at the condition of lower laser power.     

Correlation between weld formation and processing parameters in CO2 laser welding of steels

Abstract

Laser welding, which has undergone rapid development in the past few decades, is one of the most important applications in laser materials processing. Although some general data are available, precise welding parameters are equipment specific. In the present study, a series of autogenous laser welds on mild and stainless steels has been investigated, using a Trumpf 3·0 kW CO² laser system, to establish welding parameter windows. The correlation between laser power, welding speed, and weld bead profile for bead on plate welding has been obtained. For a constant laser power, penetration depth reaches a stable value as welding speed exceeds 11 000–13 000 mm min^-1. This value is defined as the penetration threshold. Lower welding speed produces deeper penetration. However, under such conditions, the unstable keyhole and weld pool could result in undercut and porosity. The maximum penetration achievable for sound welds on both mild steel and stainless steel was investigated. The correlation between penetration threshold and power level was also established. The parameter windows established for autogenous welds can be adopted effectively on butt jointsif welding speed is reduced by 25%.     

焊接工艺对压铸镁合金CO2激光焊缝气孔率的影响

研究了激光功率和焊接速度等焊接工艺参数对两种不同含气量的压铸镁合金激光焊气孔倾向(以气孔率为表征)的影响规律,并对气孔的防止措施进行了探索.结果表明,含气量较高的2 mm厚压铸镁合金激光焊气孔倾向大于含气量较低的5 mm厚压铸镁合金.两种厚度的压铸镁合金激光焊缝气孔率总体上均随着激光功率的升高及焊接速度的降低而升高.对...     

Weldability of 1.6 mm thick aluminium alloy 5182 sheet by single and dual beam Nd: YAG laser welding

Abstract

The weldability of 1.6 mm thick 5182 Al–Mg alloy sheet by the single- and dual-beam Nd:YAG laser welding processes has been examined. Bead-on-plate welds were made using total laser powers from 2.5 to 6 kW, dual-beam lead/lag laser beam power ratios ranging from 3:2 to 2:3 and travel speeds from 4 to 15 m min^-1. The effects of focal position and shielding gas conditions on weld quality were also investigated. Whereas full penetration laser welds could be made using the 3 kW single-beam laser welder at speeds up to 15 m min^-1, the underbead surface was always very rough with undercutting and numerous projections or spikes of solidified ejected metal. This 'spikey' underbead surface geometry was attributed to the effects of the high vapour pressure Mg in the alloy on the keyhole dynamics. The undesirable 'spikey' underbead geometry was unaffected by changes in focal position, shielding gas parameters or other single-beam welding process parameters. Most full penetration dual-beam laser welds exhibited either blow-through porosity at low welding speeds (4–6 m min^-1) or unacceptable 'spikey' underbead surface quality at increased welding speeds up to 13.5 m min^-1. Radiography revealed significant occluded porosity within borderline or partial penetration welds. This was thought to be caused by significant keyhole instability that exists under these welding conditions. A limited range of dual-beam laser process conditions was found that produced sound, pore-free laser welds with good top and underbead surface quality. Acceptable welds were produced at welding speeds of 6 to 7.5 m min^-1 using total laser powers of 4.5–5 kW, but only when the lead laser beam power was greater than or equal to the lagging beam power. The improved underbead quality was attributed to the effect of the second lagging laser beam on keyhole stability, venting of the high vapour pressure Mg from the keyhole and solidification of the underbead weld metal during full penetration dual-beam laser welding.     

大功率盘形激光焊接过程等离子体图像特征分析

研究一种基于等离子体图像特征的大功率盘形激光深熔焊质量分析及检测的新方法．以大功率盘形激光焊接Type 304不锈钢板为试验对象,应用高速摄像机摄取焊接过程中的等离子体图像,通过图像处理技术提取等离子体的面积和高度特征．以熔宽作为衡量焊接过程稳定性的因素,对比焊接过程中等离子体图像和焊接试件的熔宽变化,研究相邻等离子体...     

Special features of laser welding using fibre and CO2 lasers

Investigations were carried out into the effect of different gas media on the process of welding in fibre lasers and comparison with CO₂ lasers using the method of smooth variation of the position of the focal spot in relation to the surface of the welded specimens. The penetrating capacity of the metal was determined. Special attention is given to the effect of the density of the laser radiation power on the behaviour of plasma and the processes taking place in the weld pool in the welding in fibre lasers with a power of 2.5 and 5 kW. The effect of the intensity of laser radiation on the formation of the welded joint is described.     

自保护药芯焊丝激光-电弧复合热源堆焊参数对焊道表面成形的影响

以自保护药芯焊丝(414N-O)为研究对象,借助焊道表面成形系数来评价自保护药芯焊丝激光-电弧复合热源堆焊焊道的表面成形特征,研究了自保护药芯焊丝激光-电弧复合热源堆焊过程中堆焊参数对焊道表面成形的影响. 结果表明,复合热源堆焊过程中,激光的加入明显降低了自保护药芯焊丝电弧作用点漂移概率,有效地克服了自保护药芯焊丝长弧堆焊气孔问题,降低了电弧对工件表面的作用能量. 堆焊参数中,光丝前后位置和光丝间距对焊道表面成形特征起决定性影响,激光前置时光丝间距对焊道表面成形影响显著,激光后置时则影响较小;光丝间距DLA=0 mm和DLA=+2 mm时,有利于焊道表面成形;光丝间距DLA=-2 mm时,恶化了焊道表面成形;激光功率、堆焊速度、堆焊电流和堆焊电压对焊道余高影响显著,激光功率、堆焊电流和堆焊电压对焊道表面成形系数影响显著,焊丝伸出长度对焊道余高和焊道表面成形系数影响较小.     

Experimental study of laser welding with applied electrical potential

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to develop laser welding with an applied voltage potential, to increase the weld bead root size in laser welding and thereby to improve the welding speed and the butt joint gap tolerance. The influences of the experimental conditions, namely, input laser power, applied voltage between plate and backside electrode, welding speed, plasma operating gaseous species (air, argon, or argon–helium), and the butt joint gap, on the plasma stability and the weld bead were investigated. The weld beads are evaluated from the point of view of the bead appearance, the penetration depth, the ratio of the widths of the weld bead root and weld bead face, and the smoothness of the bead surface. It is found that to stabilise the plasma, it is preferable to set the plate polarity as the cathode (electrode positive), and to use argon or helium gas as a plasma operating gas. Also, it is concluded that this novel method is effective in increasing the bead root/face width ratio, and the melting area. Although it is necessary to optimise the experimental conditions to avoid overheating and melting of the plates, the present method is applicable for higher speed and wider gap butt joint welding than in conventional laser welding.     

1Cr22Mn16N高氮钢激光焊接I.焊接保护气体组成和热输入对焊缝氮含量及气孔性的影响

利用CO2激光对1Cr22Mn16N高氮钢进行了焊接,研究了焊接热输入和保护气体组成对焊缝氮含量、气孔的影响。结果表明,在相同激光焊接热输入条件下,随着保护气体中氮含量的增加,高氮钢焊缝中的氮含量略有增加。当采用纯氩作为焊接保护气体时,焊缝氮含量随热输入的增加而减小;当保护气体中的氮比例达到一定比例时,焊缝氮含量随热输入的增加而增大。焊接热输入较小的条件下焊缝易产生气孔,较大的热输入将抑制焊缝中气孔的产生,而且保护气体中氮含量越高,焊缝中产生气孔的倾向越小。     

Full penetration welding of thick high tensile strength steel plate with high-power disk laser in low vacuum

This study was undertaken in order to investigate the effect of reduced ambient pressure from an atmospheric pressure (101 kPa) to 0.1 kPa on one-pass full penetration welding of thick high-tensile strength steel plate of 23 mm thickness. A 16 kW disk laser of 1030 nm in wavelength was employed to weld HT980 grade plates at the speed of 5–25 mm/s. In partial penetration welding, it was revealed that humping phenomena occurred easily. Full penetration welding of the high-tensile strength steel plates could not be achieved at 101 kPa. On the other hand, full penetration welding was obtained at the welding speed of less than 20 mm/s at the pressure of less than 10 kPa. Especially, at 0.1 kPa, and 17 and 20 mm/s, sound weld joints without defects were obtained. According to the observation results of a keyhole inlet and a surface molten pool during welding with a high-speed video camera, the melt in front of a keyhole was smaller and the behaviour of a keyhole and a plume was much more stable at 0.1 kPa than at 101 kPa. Moreover, in the full penetration welding, spattering was suppressed under the proper conditions. Such phenomena became more stable in fast welding. It was revealed in laser welding of thick high-tensile strength steel plates that the formation of narrow I-shaped weld beads by achieving full-penetration welding in low vacuum was essential for the production of sound welds without defect.     

1420铝锂合金激光焊接气孔抑制技术

分别采用气体和固体两种类型、三台激光器对1420铝锂合金消除气孔的焊接工艺进行了试验研究.结果表明,1420铝合金表面氧化膜对产生气孔有很大影响,化学清理可以获得气孔较少的焊缝.保护气体种类、气体流量、焊接速度对1420铝锂合金气孔都有影响.适宜的双激光束焊接工艺可以获得成形美观且无气孔的优质1420铝锂合金焊缝,是1420铝锂合金焊接较为理想的焊接工艺.