Effect of Shielding Gas on the Microstructural Evolution in Laser Beam Welded AISI 410 Martensitic Stainless Steel

Laser welding of AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel was attempted in a diffusion cooled RF excited CO₂ slab laser under Gaussian mode with argon and nitrogen as shielding gas. The effect of shielding gas and energy density on the resultant weld bead geometry, microstructure and hardness were assessed and discussed. It has been observed that welds obtained under nitrogen shielding conditions had higher and uniform hardness across the weld metal on account of reduced ferrite content.     

Effects of Welding Procedure on Corrosion Resistance and Hydrogen Embrittlement of Supermartensitic Stainless Steel Deposits

The effects of shielding gas and post weld heat treatment on the pitting resistance, stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement of supermartensitic stainless steel deposits were studied. Two all-weld-metal test coupons were prepared using a metal-cored wire under Ar+5% He and Ar+18%CO₂ gas shielding mixtures. Solubilizing and solubilizing plus double tempering heat treatments were done with the objective of achieving different microstructural results. The samples welded under Ar+5% He showed higher pitting corrosion resistance, for all post weld heat treatments, than those welded under Ar+18%CO₂. The different post weld heat treatments generated higher susceptibility to this corrosion mechanism. None of the samples presented signs of stress corrosion cracking, but in those subjected to the heat treatment, grain boundary selective attack was observed, on the surfaces of all the samples studied. The samples with highest hardness were more susceptible to hydrogen damage, thereby leading to reduced tensile strength on this condition.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Laser Welded Titanium 6Al-4V

Laser butt welds were fabricated in a titanium alloy (Ti-6A1-4V, AMS 4911-Tal0 BSS, annealed) using a Control Laser 2 kW CW CO₂ laser. The relationships between the weld microstructure and mechanical properties are described and compared to the theoretical thermal history of the weld zone as calculated from a three-dimensional heat transfer model of the process. The structure of the weld zone was examined by radiography to detect any gross porosity as well as by both optical and electron microscopy in order to identify the microstructure. The oxygen pick-up during gas shielded laser welding was analyzed to correlate further with the observed mechanical properties. It was found that optimally fabricated laser welds have a very good combination of weld microstructure and mechanical properties, ranking this process as one which can produce high quality welds.     

Marangoni convection in weld pool in CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-Ar-shielded gas thermal arc welding

Small CO₂ additions of 0.092 to 10 vol pct to the Ar shielding gas dramatically change the weld shape and penetration from a shallow flat-bottomed shape, to a deep cylindrical shape, to a shallow concave-bottomed shape, and back to the shallow flat-bottomed shape again with increasing CO₂ additions in gas thermal arc (GTA) welding of a SUS304 plate. Oxygen from the decomposition of CO₂ transfers and becomes an active solute element in the weld pool and reverses the Marangoni convection mode. An inward Marangoni convection in the weld pool occurs when the oxygen content in the weld pool is over 80 ppm. Lower than 80 ppm, flow will change to the outward direction. An oxide layer forms on the weld pool in the welding process. The heavy oxide layer on the liquid-pool surface will inhibit the inward fluid flow under it and also affects the oxygen transfer to the liquid pool. A model is proposed to illustrate the interaction between the CO₂ gas and the molten pool in the welding process.     

Pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding of copper using oxygenated assist gases

The effects of using oxygenated assist gases on the weldability and weld properties of Nd:YAG, pulsed laser welds in copper (Cu) have been evaluated. It was found that the effective absorptivity of the Cu increased as the oxygen content of the Ar assist gas was increased. This facilitated laser welding of Cu at much lower laser powers and increased weld penetration. The use of oxygenated assist gas promoted nucleation and growth of submicroscopic oxide particles within the weld metal. These particles dispersion-strengthened the weld metal, thereby increasing both weld metal hardness and strength. However, when O₂ concentrations in the assist gas were greater than 90 pct, weld metal embrittlement due to excessive volume fractions of oxides was observed. The use of oxygenated assist gas also led to excessive cold lapping and poor bead quality. The bead quality was improved, however, by ramping-down the laser power before terminating each pulse.     

Nitrogen desorption by high-nitrogen steel weld metal during CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser welding

Nitrogen desorption by high-nitrogen steels (HNSs) containing 0.32 and 0.53 pct nitrogen during CO₂ laser welding in an Ar-N₂ gas mixture was investigated and the obtained data were compared with those for arc welding and at the equilibrium state predicted by Sieverts’ Law. Although the nitrogen content in the weld metal during CO₂ laser welding was lower than that in the as-received base material in all conditions, the nitrogen desorption was larger in the top part of the weld metal than in the keyhole region. The nitrogen desorption in the Ar atmosphere was less during CO₂ laser welding than during arc welding. With the increase in nitrogen partial pressure, the nitrogen content in the weld metal sharply increased during arc welding, but only slightly increased during CO₂ laser welding. The nitrogen absorption and desorption of the HNS weld metal were much smaller during CO₂ laser welding than during arc welding.     

CO2 laser beam welding of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy thin plate

Laser beam welding is an attractive welding process for age-hardened aluminum alloys, because its low heat input minimizes the width of weld fusion and heat-affected zones (HAZs). In the present work, 1-mm-thick age-hardened Al-Mg-Si alloy, 6061-T6, plates were welded with full penetration using a 2.5-kW CO₂ laser. Fractions of porosity in the fusion zones were less than 0.05 pct in bead-on-plate welding and less than 0.2 pct in butt welding with polishing the groove surface before welding. The width of a softened region in the-laser beam welds was less than 1/4 times that of a tungsten inert gas (TIG) weld. The softened region is caused by reversion of strengthening β″ (Mg₂Si) precipitates due to weld heat input. The hardness values of the softened region in the laser beam welds were almost fully recovered to that of the base metal after an artificial aging treatment at 448 K for 28.8 ks without solution annealing, whereas those in the TIG weld were not recovered in a partly reverted region. Both the bead-on-plate weld and the butt weld after the postweld artificial aging treatment had almost equivalent tensile strengths to that of the base plate.     

Effect of Process Parameters on Clad Quality of Duplex Stainless Steel Using GMAW Process

In recent years, weld cladding are being applied in numerous industries as cost effective engineering solution to use a surface protection layer to protect carbon steel against corrosion attack. The desirable characteristics of cladding alloy are reasonable strength, weldability, resistance to general and localized corrosion attack. The duplex stainless steel having all the desirable characteristic is the candidate material for cladding. However, duplex weld metals have not been studied in detail as duplex stainless steels. Consequently, the properties of duplex weld metals are less well known and only partially understood. In the present study, the properties of duplex weld deposits of the 22 % Cr, 10 % Ni, 3 % Mo, and 0.12 % N type using GMAW process have been investigated. In particular, the influence of welding heat input and shielding gas composition in GMAW process on weld deposit microstructure, impact toughness and resistance to pitting corrosion have been studied. It is observed that concentration of nitrogen of weld deposits influenced by both heat input and shielding gas composition exerted significant effect on microstructure, low temperature toughness and resistance to pitting corrosion.     

A study on weldability of zinc-coated steel sheets in lap joint configuration

The weldability of Zn-coated steel sheets 0.7 mm thick was investigated using resistance spot welding process. The effect of welding current, welding time and holding time on weld nugget characteristics, microstructure, and mechanical properties was discussed. Then, the possibility of replacing this welding process with laser beam welding was outlined. In this respect, quality of weld joints as a function of zinc removal by grinding prior to welding was evaluated. It is found that resistance spot welding current and time are the most significant parameters in affecting both expulsion and Zn-induced porosity. Expulsion was avoided and Zn-induced porosity was reduced with the decrease in welding current and/or welding time. Zn-induced porosity was completely eliminated by zinc-removal by grinding prior to welding. The best weld joint concerning nugget characteristics, soundness and tensile shear strength was obtained using welding current of 10 kA, weld cycle of 20, holding cycle of 18. Unlike resistance spot welds, high quality of CO₂ laser welds free from Zn-induced porosity could be made without zinc removal by grinding before welding.     

Effects of Process Parameters upon the Shape Memory and Pseudo-Elastic Behaviors of Laser-Welded NiTi Thin Foil

This article discusses the effects of laser welding parameters such as power, welding speed, and focus position on the weld bead profile, microstructure, pseudo-elasticity (PE), and shape memory effect (SME) of NiTi foil with thickness of 250 μm using 100W CW fiber laser. The parameter settings to produce the NiTi welds for analysis in this article were chosen from a fractional factorial design to ensure the welds produced were free of any apparent defect. The welds obtained were mainly of cellular dendrites with grain sizes ranging from 2.5 to 4.8 μm at the weld centerline. A small amount of Ni₃Ti was found in the welds. The onset of transformation temperatures (A _s and M _s ) of the NiTi welds shifted to the negative side as compared to the as-received NiTi alloy. Ultimate tensile stress of the NiTi welds was comparable to the as-received NiTi alloy, but a little reduction in the pseudo-elastic property was noted. Full penetration welds with desirable weld bead profiles and mechanical properties were successfully obtained in this study.     

Nitrogen absorption by iron and stainless steels during CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser welding

Nitrogen absorption by iron, Fe-20Cr-10Ni alloy, and SUS329J1 duplex stainless steel during CO₂ laser welding in an Ar-N₂ gas mixture was investigated and compared with equilibrium data predicted on Sieverts’ law and data on absorption during arc and YAG laser welding. The nitrogen absorption during CO₂ laser welding is lower than that during arc welding, but higher than that during YAG laser welding. Compared with arc welding, the lesser contact of monatomic nitrogen with the weld pool surface and the higher partial pressure of metal vapor in the keyhole may result in the lower nitrogen absorption during CO₂ laser welding, while the very low density of monatomic nitrogen in the atmosphere during YAG laser welding due to the low-temperature plume may lead to the lower nitrogen absorption during YAG laser welding than during CO₂ laser welding.     

The effects of process variables on pulsed Nd:YAG laser spot welds: Part I. AISI 409 stainless steel

The weldabilities of AA 1100 aluminum and AISI 409 stainless steel by the pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding process have been examined experimentally and compared. The effects of Nd:YAG laser welding parameters, including laser pulse time and power intensity, and material-dependent variables, such as absorptivity and thermophysical properties, on laser spot-weld characteristics, such as weld diameter, penetration, melt area, melting ratio, porosity, and sur-face cratering, have been studied experimentally. The results of this work are reported in two parts. In Part I, the weldability of AISI 409 stainless steel by the pulse laser welding process is reported. In Part II, the weldability of A A 1100 aluminum under the same operating con-ditions is reported and compared to those of the stainless steel. When welding AISI 409 stainless steel, weld pool shapes were found to be influenced most by the power intensity of the laser beam and to a lesser extent by the pulse duration. Conduction mode welding, keyhole mode welding, and drilling were observed. Conduction mode welds were produced when power in-tensities between 0.7 and 4 GW/m² were used. The initial transient in weld pool development occurred in the first 4 ms of the laser pulse. Following this, steady-state conditions existed and conduction mode welds with aspect ratios (depth/width) of about 0.4 were produced. Keyhole mode welds were observed at power intensities greater than 4 GW/m². Penetration of these keyhole mode welds increased with increases in both power intensity and pulse time. The major weld defects observed in the stainless steel spot welds were cratering and large-occluded gas pores. Significant metal loss due to spatter was measured during the initial 2 ms of keyhole mode welds. With increasing power intensity, there was an increased propensity for occluded gas pores near the bottom of the keyhole mode welds. Formerly Graduate Student.     

The effect of friction stir processing on 5083-H321/5356 Al arc welds: Microstructural and mechanical analysis

Friction stir processing (FSP) is used locally to modify the microstructure and thus mechanical properties of 5083-H321/5356 aluminum gas metal arc welds (GMAWs). Four specimen approaches were examined: as-arc welded, weld toe FSP (with arc weld on either the advancing or the retreating side of tool), and weld crown FSP. Microstructures within the fine-grained FSP region contained smaller constituent particles. Mg₂Si and Al₆(Fe,Mn), than those particles found in the arc weld nugget, heat-affected zone (HAZ), and base-metal (BM) locations. The FSP improved the monotonic tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of 5083-H321/5356 Al arc welds by 6 to 9 pct, 7 to 13 pct, and 46 to 80 pct, respectively. The addition of FSP produced a 30 pct increase in the load necessary to reach 10⁷ cycles during four-point bending fatigue. An analysis of strengthening mechanisms determined that solid-solution, grain-size, and precipitation strengthening made contributions to the calculated yield strength of the BM, are weld nugget, and FSP regions. In addition, the strength mechanism analysis demonstrated that FSP increased the amount of grain-size strengthening and precipitate strengthening by nearly 110 MPa, when compared to the arc weld nugget.     

Characterization of a continuous CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser-welded Fe-Cu dissimilar couple

Continuous CO₂ laser welding of an Fe-Cu dissimilar couple in a butt-weld geometry at different process conditions is studied. The process conditions are varied to identify and characterize the microstructural features that are independent of the welding mode. The study presents a characterization of the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welds. Detailed microstructural analysis of the weld/base-metal interface shows features that are different on the two sides of the weld. The iron side can grow into the weld with a local change in length scale, whereas the interface on the copper side indicates a barrier to growth. The interface is jagged, and a banded microstructure consisting of iron-rich layers could be observed next to the weld/Cu interface. The observations suggest that solidification initiates inside the melt, where iron and copper are mixed due to convective flow. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the weld region also indicates the occasional presence of droplets of iron and copper. The microstructural observations are rationalized using arguments drawn from a thermodynamic analysis of the Fe-Cu system.     

Effect of Thermal Aging on the Corrosion and Microstructure of Friction-Stir Welded Alloy 22

The effect of thermal aging on the corrosion and microstructure of friction-stir welded (FSW) alloy 22 was investigated. Successful welds were produced with a polycrystalline cubic BN pin tool at a rotational speed of 200 rev min^?1 and travel speed of 12.7 mm min^?1. Topologically closed packed (TCP) phases of ~50 to 300 nm size were identified in the weld nugget. The area fraction of the TCP phases in the weld nugget increased with aging temperature and time. General corrosion rates measured from the weight loss experiments for welds were relatively higher than for parent material. The corrosion rates increased with the increased aging temperature and time. Intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance is greater in friction-stir welds compared with the parent material at all aging temperatures and times. The IGC depth increased with the aging temperature and time in the parent material. The IGC depth for the FSW weld nugget was minimal and did not change with thermal aging.     

A Quantitative Model of Keyhole Instability Induced Porosity in Laser Welding of Titanium Alloy

Quantitative prediction of the porosity defects in deep penetration laser welding has generally been considered as a very challenging task. In this study, a quantitative model of porosity defects induced by keyhole instability in partial penetration CO₂ laser welding of a titanium alloy is proposed. The three-dimensional keyhole instability, weld pool dynamics, and pore formation are determined by direct numerical simulation, and the results are compared to prior experimental results. It is shown that the simulated keyhole depth fluctuations could represent the variation trends in the number and average size of pores for the studied process conditions. Moreover, it is found that it is possible to use the predicted keyhole depth fluctuations as a quantitative measure of the average size of porosity. The results also suggest that due to the shadowing effect of keyhole wall humps, the rapid cooling of the surface of the keyhole tip before keyhole collapse could lead to a substantial decrease in vapor pressure inside the keyhole tip, which is suggested to be the mechanism by which shielding gas enters into the porosity.     

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of partially melted zones of A356 Al-Si alloy welds

The corrosion behaviour of weld metal, partially melted zones and heat affected zones of gas tungsten arc welds in A356 Al-Si alloy with different prior thermal tempers has been studied. Continuous and pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding techniques were used. Potentiodynamic polarization testing was carried out to determine the corrosion resistance. Optical and scanning electron microscopy studies were carried out to determine the corrosion mechanism. The partially melted zone of the welds was found to be attacked severely. A pulsing technique was found to decrease the severity of corrosion damage in the partially melted zone. The prior thermal condition of the alloys was found to influence the corrosion of heat affected zones of welds.     

Effect of Gas Atmosphere on Carbothermal Reduction and Nitridation of Titanium Dioxide

This article examined the reduction/nitridation of rutile in the He-N₂, Ar-N₂, and He (Ar)-H₂-N₂ gas mixtures, as well as pure nitrogen, in the temperature-programmed and isothermal experiments in a fixed-bed reactor. The extents of reduction and nitridation were determined from the off gas composition and LECO analysis. The off-gas composition was monitored using the infrared sensor (CO, CO₂, and CH₄) and dew point analyzer (H₂O). The phase composition of the reduced samples was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The temperature and gas composition had a strong effect on the rutile reduction. The reduction was the fastest in the H₂-N₂ gas mixture, followed by a reduction in nitrogen; the rate of reduction/nitridation in the He-N₂ gas mixture was marginally higher than in the Ar-N₂ gas. The rate of titania reduction/nitridation in the He (Ar)-H₂-N₂ gas increased with the replacement of He (Ar) with hydrogen. The article also discusses the mechanisms of reduction/nitridation in different gas atmospheres.     

Microstructure and wear properties of laser clad Fe−Cr−Mn−C alloys

The laser surface cladding technique was used to formin situ Fe-Cr-Mn-C alloys on AISI 1016 steel substrate. In this process mixed powders containing Cr, Mn, and C with a ratio of 10∶1∶1 were delivered using a screw feed, gravity flow carrier gas aided system into the melt pool generated by a 10 kw CO₂ laser. This technique produced ultrafine microstructure in the clad alloy. The microstructure of the laser surface clad region was investigated by optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis techniques. Microstructural study showed a high degree of grain refinement and an increase in solid solubility of alloying elements which, in turn, produced a fine distribution of complex types of carbide precipitates in the ferrite matrix because of the high cooling rate. An alloy of this composition does not show any martensitic or retained austenite phase. In preliminary wear studies the laser clad Fe-Cr-Mn-C alloys exhibited far superior wear properties compared to Stellite 6 during block-on-cylinder tests. The improved wear resistance is attributed to the fine distribution of metastable M₆C carbides.     

The effects of process variables on pulsed Nd:YAG laser spot welds: Part II. AA 1100 aluminum and comparison to AISI 409 stainless steel

In this two-part article, the weldabilities of AA 1100 aluminum and AISI 409 stainless steel by the pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding process have been examined experimentally and compared. The effects of laser pulse time and power density on laser spot weld characteristics, such as weld diameter, penetration, melt area, melting ratio, porosity, and surface cratering, have been studied and explained qualitatively in relation to material-dependent variables such as absorptivity and thermophysical properties. The weldability of AISI 409 stainless steel was reported in Part I of this article. In the present article, the weldability of AA 1100 aluminum is reported and compared to that of AISI 409 stainless steel. Weld pool shapes in aluminum were found to be influenced by the mean power density of the laser beam and the laser pulse time. Both conduction-mode and keyhole-mode welding were observed in aluminum. Unlike stainless steel, however, drilling was not observed. Conduction-mode welds were produced in aluminum at power densities ranging from 3.2 to 10 GW/m². The power density required for melting aluminum was approximately 4.5 times greater than stainless steel. The initial transient in weld pool development in aluminum occurred within 2 ms, and the aspect ratios (depth/width) of the steady-state conduction-mode weld pools were approximately 0.2. These values are about half those observed in stainless steel. The transition from conduction- to keyhole-mode welding occurred in aluminum at a power density of about 10 GW/m², compared to about 4 GW/m² for stainless steel. Weld defects such as porosity and cratering were observed in both aluminum and stainless steel spot welds. In both materials, there was an increased propensity for large occluded vapor pores near the root of keyhole-mode welds with increasing power density. In aluminum, pores were observed close to the fusion boundary. These could be eliminated by surface milling and vacuum annealing the specimens, suggesting that such pores were due to hydrogen. Finally, excellent agreement was obtained between experimental data from both alloys and an existing analytical model for conduction-mode laser spot welding. Two nondimensional parameters, the Fourier number and a nondimensional incident heat flux parameter, were derived and shown to completely characterize weld pool development in conduction-mode welds made in both materials.