Laser welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy to Zn-coated steel

The characteristics of laser lap welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy to Zn-coated steel were investigated. Welding was difficult when the laser beam was irradiated onto the AZ31B alloy and the processing parameters were set to obtain a keyhole welding mode. The difference in the physical properties between the two materials resulted in unstable welding process particularly when the laser beam penetrated into the steel specimen and a keyhole was formed therein. By switching to a conduction mode, the process stability was improved and successful welding could be achieved because the liquid metal film remained unbroken and the laser beam did not penetrate into the material. A 25 mm wide joint failed in tensile shear testing at loads exceeding 6000 N. This high joint strength was attributed to the formation of a 450 nm thick layer of Fe₃Al intermetallic compound on the steel surface as a result of the interaction between Al from the AZ31B alloy and Fe. The presence of Zn-coating layer was essential to eliminate the negative effects of oxides on the joining process.     

电子束焊接熔池周期性波动的数值模拟

为了更深入地探究电子束焊接过程中的机理问题,利用数值软件Fluent,对10mm厚的2219铝合金电子束焊接熔池进行三维瞬态模拟。分析电子束焊接进入准稳态后熔池中涡流的变化规律和产生原因,并结合电子束与匙孔壁面相互作用进行讨论。结果表明:电子束焊接进入准稳态后熔池呈周期性波动;根据液态金属流动情况可将焊接熔池分为3个区域,区域Ⅰ中的液态金属维持了熔池体积的稳定,区域Ⅱ中的涡流起到扩大熔池表面的作用,区域Ⅲ中的涡流促使匙孔坍塌;通过对电子束与匙孔壁面的耦合分析可知,电子束在匙孔壁面上并不是均匀分布的,这造成了匙孔底部具有一定的滞后性。     

Melt pool vorticity in deep penetration laser material welding

In the present study, the vorticity of melt motion in the keyhole and weld pool has been evaluated in case of high power CO₂ laser beam welding. The circulation of vorticity is obtained as a function of Reynolds number for a given keyhole volume which is linked to Mach number variation. The shear stress and thermal fluxes present in the turbulent pool are linked to diffusivity and Prandtl number variation. It was shown that below a critical value of Rayleigh number, the conduction mode of melt transfer signifying beam absorption becomes dominant. Above this value, convective heat transfer indicates melting and evaporation occurring in the weld pool during laser welding. The evaporative recoil pressure expels the liquid while surface tension and hydrostatic pressure help to retain the melt in the keyhole cavity in this high power laser beam welding. The understanding of several hydrodynamic phenomena occuring in the weld pool is valuable not only for understanding basic mechanistic aspects but also for process optimization involved in laser beam welding.     

Effect of laser welding mode on the microstructure and mechanical performance of dissimilar laser spot welds between low carbon and austenitic stainless steels

This paper aims at investigating metallurgical and mechanical characterization of dissimilar laser spot welds between low carbon and austenitic stainless steel sheets. Microstructural examination, microhardness test and quasi-static tensile–shear test were performed. Mechanical properties of the welds were described in terms of peak load. The effects of laser mean power on the performance of dissimilar laser spot welds have been studied. It was found that increasing laser mean power leads to the transition of laser welding mode from conduction to keyhole. This transition causes a significant growth of the fusion zone size in the lower sheet, i.e. the low carbon steel sheet; since, the keyhole acts as an effective trap for the laser beam and will greatly increase the energy absorption from the incident laser beam.It is also shown that the fusion zone size in the weaker sheet, i.e. the low carbon steel sheet is the controlling factors in determination of the mechanical strength of dissimilar austenitic/ferritic laser spot welds.     

Model for CO2 laser welding of stainless steel,titanium, and nickel: parametric study

Abstract

The present work has been carried out experimentally and theoretically with the aim of studying the effect of the operative pressure on the weld beads of different materials (AISI 304, Ti–6Al–4V, and Ni), welded using a CO₂ laser beam. At the same time, the reliability of a properly developed analytical model of the laser beam welding process has been confirmed. Such a model, taking into account the dynamics of the process itself, describes the laser induced thermal fields in terms of two heat sources, the first one representing the keyhole effect and the second one, the role played by the plume. A comparison between the experimental data and the beads predicted using the model gives satisfactory results, with average errors less than 5% for Ti–6Al–4V and ~10% for AISI 304 and Ni. The model allows the quantitative evaluation of the power distribution between the keyhole and the plume and a deeper understanding of the entire process.

MST/1591     

Low-loss deflection prism for a laser beam with Brewster angle

A low-loss deflection prism for a laser beam is proposed, and its various characteristics such as beam quality, transmittance, deflection angle, and polarization state are presented. The prism having a trapezoidal form is made from BK7 glass and is designed for a He-Ne laser beam. When a p-polarized beam is incident on the slant surface of the prism at the Brewster angle, the totally reflected and transmitted beam is deflected by 90 degrees, and the measured transmittance is nearly 98%. The theoretical transmittances of the proposed prism are compared with those of a Pellin-Broca prism.     

A study on the metal flow in full penetration laser beam welding for titanium alloy

A mathematical model for flow simulation of full penetration laser beam welding of titanium alloy is presented. In this model, the heat source comprises a plane heat source on the top surface and a cylindrical heat source along the z-direction, which takes into account the plasma effect and the keyhole absorption. By solving the conservation equations of energy, momentum and mass, the temperature and flow fields are obtained. The momentum interpolation scheme with under-relaxation parameter is used to simplify the calculation algorithm and save the storage space of computer. The mushy region is introduced to provide a simple method to dispose of the pressure and velocity boundary conditions. Results calculated from the models are found to agree with the experimental results for the geometry profile of weld. The calculated results indicate the metal flow is the main reason for forming the typical “hourglass” cross-section profile.     

单束与双束串行激光填丝焊特性对比

以铝合金为研究对象,研究了双束串行激光填丝焊不同能量比对焊缝成形及焊缝气孔率的影响,并与单束激光填丝焊工艺进行对比。进一步借助高速摄像机对双束串行激光填丝焊能量比R为20/80以及单束激光填丝焊的熔池、匙孔以及等离子体的变化进行对比分析,获得了双束串行激光填丝焊能量比R为20/80时焊缝气孔率降低的原因。结果表明,对于双束串行激光填丝焊,当能量比R为20/80时焊缝气孔率较低。与单束激光填丝焊相比,双束激光填丝焊能量比R为20/80的焊缝气孔率降低了38%,而且焊接过程中焊丝熔化后沿熔池边缘流入,可大幅降低对匙孔的冲击作用,匙孔始终处于张开状态,焊接过程中等离子体的形态波动相对较小,表明焊接过程的稳定性较好。     

Hybrid simulation of laser deep penetration welding

In laser deep penetration welding, the knowledge on the temperature history of the material is of great interest for the assessment of the quality properties of the weld. For this purpose a hybrid process model that enables the fast calculation of temperature distributions as a function of process parameters is applied. The interaction between laser and material is taken into account by a reduced keyhole model, which exploits a hierarchy in the spatial dimensions occurring at high feed rates. The resulting shape of a stationary keyhole is introduced as a Dirichlet boundary into a thermal finite element simulation in which it is moved through the workpiece according to the process control of the laser beam. The boundary is mathematically described by a level set function and immersed in a fixed computational mesh. The Dirichlet boundary condition is imposed using an embedded boundary method. The calculated temperature distributions are evaluated by means of bead on plate welds conducted in 0.9 mm thick sheets of 1.4301 (AISI 304) stainless steel.     

Simulation on welding thermal effect of AZ61 magnesium alloy based on three-dimensional modeling of vacuum electron beam welding heat source

The deep-penetration thermal effect of keyhole and surface thermal effect of high-temperature metal vapor by the direct-acting mechanism during vacuum electron beam welding were analyzed. According to the thermal effect, a composite source model working for magnesium alloy welding was developed. This model was composed of Gaussian surface source and conical heat source. By the welding experiments on AZ61 magnesium alloy, it can be obtained those two key factors, which were welding heat input and focus coil current (I_f), affected the keyhole thermal effect and weld shape significantly. In order to simulate the shape of keyhole and weld, the varying of focus conditions in model were realized by the power coefficient of composite welding heat source. It can be seen that there was a good consistency between the calculation results and experimental results.     

双束激光焊接的研究现状

双束激光焊接技术是高能束焊接领域的研究热点之一,其主要目的是解决激光焊接时存在的问题。文章首先根据单束激光焊接冷却速度过快、装配要求精度过高等缺点,提出了采用双束激光焊接技术进行改善,并对其机理进行了概括分析;其次介绍了多种双束激光焊接同种/异种材料的研究现状,包括不同的工艺参数(束间距、光强比、热源布置方式等)、匙孔内的等离子体行为、焊缝性能以及焊接缺陷等方面。     

Laser beam melting of aluminum alloys with hull-core build strategy by using an initial meso-scale simulation

Laser beam melting (LBM) of aluminum alloys is gaining a wide popularity in different industrial applications as an alternative technology for the production of individual and complex parts. A long build time and the high amount of experimental work for optimizing or finding new process parameters are two of the current challenges for reaching an industrial maturity. This paper proposes an efficient way to determine new process parameters for aluminum alloy aluminum-silicon10-magnesium with highest build-up rates by using a 3D finite element model on the mesoscopic level. High laser power in combination with the hull-core build strategy was used to increase the build-up rate without impairing the part accuracy. The influences of high laser power, laser diameter and scan speed on the melt pool were studied by using a thermal simulation of single laser tracks. Based on the simulation results the process window could be derived and was tested on a laser beam melting (LBM) system. The achieved reduction of the build time of up to 31 % without loss in part accuracy proved the novel approach for the prediction of the required process window as an efficient method to reduce costly and time-consuming experimental work.     

Keyhole depth instability in case of CW CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser beam welding of mild steel

The study of keyhole (KH) instability in deep penetration laser beam welding (LBW) is essential to understand welding process and appearance of weld seam defects. The main cause of keyhole collapse is the instability in KH dynamics during the LBW process. This is mainly due to the surface tension forces associated with the KH collapse and the stabilizing action of vapour pressure. A deep penetration high power CW CO₂ laser was used to generate KH in mild steel (MS) in two different welding conditions i.e. ambient atmospheric welding (AAW) and under water welding (UWW). KH, formed in case of under water welding, was deeper and narrower than keyhole formed in ambient and atmospheric condition. The number and dimensions of irregular humps increased in case of ambient and under water condition due to larger and rapid keyhole collapse also studied. The thermocapillary convection is considered to explain KH instability, which in turn gives rise to irregular humps.     

Laser beam welding of deoxidized copper: microstructure investigation and thermodynamic consideration

During the deep-penetration welding of phosphorus deoxidized copper, a multitude of reactions occur which influence the formation of phases inside the welding region. Thereby, the microstructure evolution during laser beam welding depends on the chemical composition of the alloy as well as of the gaseous environment. As a result of reactions in a phosphorus rich copper melt, copper phosphides are formed which are located inside the grains as well as at the grain boundaries. Meanwhile, the formation of phosphorus pentoxide and an uncomplete decomposition of copper-I-oxide to elemental copper and phosphorus pentoxide were identified at the keyhole. Thereby, the decomposition of copper-I-oxide depends on the oxygen concentration. Thus, a complete decomposition of copper-I-oxide to elemental copper and phosphorus pentoxide was observed at the bottom side of the welding region due to a higher oxygen concentration.     

铝合金等离子弧焊穿孔熔池正面图象检测与处理

研制了一套窄带复合滤光图象传感系统，从铝合金等离子弧焊焊接工件正面检测到部分小孔溶池的清晰图象，采用Ｇａｕｓｓ滤波，Ｐｒｅｗｉｔ边缘检测和图象错位边缘检测等方法确提取了可视小花熔池的小孔宽度和面积等几何信息。     

Process control of laser conduction welding by thermal imaging measurement with a color camera

Conduction welding offers an alternative to keyhole welding. Compared with keyhole welding, it is an intrinsically stable process because vaporization phenomena are minimal. However, as with keyhole welding, an on-line process-monitoring system is advantageous for quality assurance to maintain the required penetration depth, which in conduction welding is more sensitive to changes in heat sinking. The maximum penetration is obtained when the surface temperature is just below the boiling point, and so we normally wish to maintain the temperature at this level. We describe a two-color optical system that we have developed for real-time temperature profile measurement of the conduction weld pool. The key feature of the system is the use of a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor standard color camera leading to a simplified low-cost optical setup. We present and discuss the real-time temperature measurement and control performance of the system when a defocused beam from a high power Nd:YAG laser is used on 5 mm thick stainless steel workpieces.     

Total internal reflection for precision small-angle measurement

A method for precision small-angle measurement is proposed. This method is based on the total-internal-reflection effect of a light beam at a pair of glass prisms. Angular displacement of the light beam is measured when the intensity change of the reflected beam is detected as a result of the relative phase shift between the s- and the p-polarized beams. An initial phase shift between the s- and the p-polarized components is introduced to increase measurement sensitivity. For increased measurement linearity and reduced effect of laser power fluctuation on the output, a differential method is used in which the light beam is split equally into two beams, each reflected at a prism and detected by a photodiode. The output is obtained as the difference of the two detected intensities divided by their sum. A prototype device was built, which demonstrated a nonlinearity error of 1.3% in a measurement range of ?0.6 degrees or 0.4% in ?0.3 degrees . The peak-to-peak noise level was found to be at approximately 0.5 arc sec. This noise level can be reduced further and resolution increased by a reduction of the measurement range.     

Magneto-optic microscope for visually detecting subsurface defects

A visual test method for detecting microdefects under fine surfaces is described. A new MO microscope that has a laser source, a CCD camera, and an exciting coil is developed for this work. A pulse generator supplies an intermittent square pulse to the exciting coil, which can intensify eddy currents yet reduce the working temperature of the exciting coil and sample. The magnetic field variation produced by the imbedded defect causes a rotation of the polarization plane of the reflected beam. Therefore the reflected beam carries an image of the defect, which is received by a CCD camera. The optical arrangement guarantees that no light is reflected back to the laser. The system was tested with a calibrator, which has an artificial subsurface defect; such a test attains a visual detected image. To our knowledge this is the first time an image of a subsurface defect has been distinctly detected with a MO sensor system.     

激光功率对钛合金双侧同步焊接温度场的影响

为研究激光功率对TC4钛合金T型结构双激光束双侧同步焊接温度场的影响,针对TC4钛合金T型结构的双激光束双侧同步焊接过程,建立了相应的有限元模型,利用有限元分析软件进行了焊接过程温度场的计算,研究了激光功率对熔池形状的影响规律,并对不同激光功率下的温度场进行了分析.结果表明:随着激光功率的增加,熔池的熔深、熔宽均有所增...     

Role of beam interaction time in laser cladding process

Abstract

This paper discusses the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Co based alloy coating, produced by CO2 laser cladding technique, for steam turbine applications. The role of the laser beam interaction time, the so called dwell time, has been investigated. It has been realised that the beam interaction time has a significant effect on the solidification and microstructure development process. The results indicated that the laser cladded zone exhibited a fine microstructure and a higher hardness after a short interaction time compared with a coarse structure and lower hardness after a long interaction time. Since the dilution of the base material into the cladding was significantly low after a short interaction time, the clad could retain a significant amount of strength after a long exposure time, which is a unique feature for the turbine industries.