Effect of beam shape and spatial energy distribution on weld bead geometry in conduction welding

The size of a projected beam onto a workpiece and its intensity distribution profile defines the response of the material to the applied laser heat. This means that not only the processing parameters, but also the optical set-up and process tools define the process and the resulting weld profile. In high power laser delivery systems the beam propagation characteristics of the laser beam can vary during processing. A change of the focal distance, for instance, alters the spot size projected on the workpiece as well as its intensity distribution. Some dynamic optical systems can also change the shape of the projected beam. Galvo-scanners induce a small distortion to the projected beam from circular to elliptical when the mirrors deflect the beam across the working domain. This continuous change of the spatial energy distribution may affect the process stability and material response locally. This work examines the influence of changing the shape of the projected beam and its energy distribution on the weld bead profile in conduction laser welding, which is also relevant to laser cladding and additive manufacture. It has been found that for the same optical set-up and system parameters, different bead profiles can be obtained with different degree of distortion of the beam profile. In addition, different intensity distribution profiles led to different penetration depths for the same nominal beam diameter and energy density due to the difference in peak intensity

Study of fundamental laser material interaction parameters in solid and powder melting

This study attempts to develop a set of parameters controlling the bead profile of deposits in powder melting, based on the spatial energy distribution of laser. Four parameters, identified as the laser material interaction parameters were used to study the bead profile formation in powder melting. The focus is put on control of the dimensional accuracy of powder deposits independently of the optical set-up and laser system. In the initial stage to understand the effect of welding parameters on the development of the fusion zone, a solid metal with homogenous and known thermal properties was used. The results indicate that for large beam diameters, typically used in cladding, power density and interaction time control the depth of penetration and beam diameter and interaction time controls the weld width. However, for small beam diameters, typically used in powder bed additive manufacturing, it was found that it is more difficult to achieve steady state conduction welds due to high conduction losses to the bulk material and rapid transition to keyhole regime. Therefore, with small beam diameters it is challenging to achieve pure conduction welds, which should guarantee good quality of deposits and low spatter. In the second part, the melting behaviour of solid material and powder for the same material type was compared. The build height in powder melting depends on layer thickness of the deposited powder and energy density, which needs to be provided to fuse the powder to the workpiece, which is equivalent to penetration in laser welding of solids. Similar to solid melting, the build width in powder melting is controlled by beam diameter and the interaction time. It was also found that with small beam diameters and large particle sizes it is more difficult to generate keyhole in the base plate, as compared to solid material. Therefore, despite the presence of spatter in the process, a full keyhole is often not generated. A set of parameters to describe the conduction welding process based on spatial distribution of laser energy has been developed. This enables achievement of a particular weld profile with various optical set-ups and potentially transfers of results between machines. However, more complex melting characteristics of powder requires some additional factors to be included to develop a similar model for powders

Wobbling laser beam welding of copper

The increase of electrical components in automotive industry and the expansion of renewable energy generation lead to a rising need of a reliable and highly productive welding process for copper. Laser beam welding of copper has been a challenge due to the high thermal conductivity of Cu and its low absorptivity of laser radiation. However, recent developments suggest that these problems can be overcome by power spatial modulation of the beam. This research work was developed at Carrs Welding Technologies, UK, aiming to study the feasibility of fiber laser to weld electrolytic copper components to batteries. The main goal was to determine the parameter combination that allows to obtain a welded seam free of porosity and other weld defects with a penetration of 1.5 mm without losing electrical conductivity which was a mandatory requirement. In a first stage, multiple weld beads with different welding parameter combinations were produced in order to determine the influence of each parameter in the process. In the second stage, single-mode and multimode fiber lasers were compared. The outcome of these two stages were examined using metallography and electrical conductivity tests, namely, Eddy Currents. The results have shown that power spatial modulation can supress porosities, weld shape defects and spatter. A penetration of 1.5 mm can be achieved for a multimode beam power above 4 kW, welding speed between 3.5 and 4 m/min with a circular spatial modulation with a beam rotation of 0.6 to 1 mm diameter at 100 Hz frequency. The hardness measured suggest that there is no significant variation of mechanical resistance of the joins compared to the base material. Electrical conductivity measurements showed there is no variation in the welds. Finally, single-mode fiber laser produced narrow and deeper welds than when multimode fibers were tested, as expecte

Additive Manufacturing Modeling and Simulation A Literature Review for Electron Beam Free Form Fabrication

Additive manufacturing is coming into industrial use and has several desirable attributes. Control of the deposition remains a complex challenge, and so this literature review was initiated to capture current modeling efforts in the field of additive manufacturing. This paper summarizes about 10 years of modeling and simulation related to both welding and additive manufacturing. The goals were to learn who is doing what in modeling and simulation, to summarize various approaches taken to create models, and to identify research gaps. Later sections in the report summarize implications for closed-loop-control of the process, implications for local research efforts, and implications for local modeling efforts

Laser welding of high carbon steels

Laser welding, unlike conventional arc or gas welding, can be effectively utilised to produce high quality, clean and tough welds in high carbon steels. Results of welding high carbon steel are presented. The weld characteristics related to the fast cooling rate were critically evaluated and methods to reduce the rate of cooling were developed. The grain size produced in the fusion and narrow heat affected zones significantly affected the mechanical properties of the welded joint. Three lasers were used: Nd:YAG, CO2 and a high power laser diode (HPDL). The investigations were carried out using a pulsed, 400 W, Nd:YAG laser, a CW, 1.2 kW, CO2 laser and a CW, 1.4 kW high power diode laser. For the Nd:YAG laser, the dual beam delivery system was achieved with a step index fibre to produce in-line process heat-treatment during welding. The spatial and temporal temperature distribution was controlled in the weld region to generate the desired mechanical properties, without losing the benefits of this low distortion joining process. For the CO2 laser system, a dual beam system was successfully designed, fabricated and the performance of the multiple beam system was evaluated. The welding quality was characterised by quantifying the effect of different laser parameters and welding geometry, including flat, angular, clamped and unclamped. The welding performance of the Nd-YAG laser was dependent on the welding speed, pulse width and pulse repetition frequency (PRF). The effect of varying the laser parameters was quantified by measuring the hardness profiles, tensile strength, weld width, weld penetration and the rare of weld volume formation. Furthermore, microscopic examination was conducted at the welded joint. The quality of the welds was improved by increasing the pulse width and pulse repetition frequency (PRF), achieving a deeper penetration, wider weld width and greater weld volume formation rate and a tougher weld. At a slower welding speed, and for the higher pulse width and PRF, the hardness profiles were greatly reduced due to the greater spatial overlap of laser beam on the workpiece

Joining of steel to aluminium alloys for advanced structural applications

When joining steel to aluminium there is a reaction between iron and aluminium which results in the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds (IMC). These compounds are usually the reason for the poor mechanical strength of the dissimilar metallic joints. The research on dissimilar metal joining is vast but is mainly focused on the automotive industry and therefore, the material in use is very thin, usually less than 1 mm. For materials with thicker sections the present solution is a transition joint made by explosion welding which permits joining of steel to aluminium and avoids the formation of IMCs. However, this solution brings additional costs and extra processing time to join the materials. The main goals of this project are to understand the mechanism of formation of the IMCs, control the formation of the IMCs, and understand their effects on the mechanical properties of the dissimilar Fe-Al joints during laser welding. Laser welding permits accurate and precise control of the welding thermal cycle and thereby the underpinning mechanism of IMC formation can be easily understood along with the factors which control the strength of the joints. The further goal of this project is to find an appropriate interlayer to restrict the Fe-Al reaction. The first stage of the work was focused on the formation and growth of the Fe-Al IMCs during laser welding. The understanding of how the processing conditions affect the IMC growth provides an opportunity to act and avoid its formation and thereby, to optimize the strength of the dissimilar metal joints. The results showed that even with a negligible amount of energy it was not possible to prevent the IMC formation which was composed of both Fe2Al5 and FeAl3 phases. The IMC growth increases exponentially with the applied specific point energy. However, for higher power densities the growth is more accentuated. The strength of the Fe-Al lap-joints was found to be not only dependent on the IMC layer thickness but also on the bonding area. In order to obtain sound joints it is necessary to achieve a balance between these two factors. The thermal model developed for the laser welding process in this joint configuration showed that for the same level of energy it is more efficient to use higher power densities than longer interaction iv times. Even though a thicker IMC layer is formed under this condition due to higher temperature there is also more melting of aluminium which creates a larger bonding area between the steel and the aluminium. The joint strength is thus improved ... [cont.]

Hybrid laser arc welding with high power diode laser

This work was carried out to address the scope for hybrid laser-GMAW process improvement using controlled dip transfer and a high power diode laser in single and twin spot modes. It is suggested that an optimum combination of the two sources of thermal energy can enhance the speed and quality of single sided butt welds. The objectives of the current work were therefore, to investigate the process control possibilities, performance characteristics and the processes interactions of twin beam hybrid laser-GMAW welding. Since no appropriate twin beam system existed it was also necessary to design and build an experimental system. This research was made possible by using a power source which enabled flexible computer control of the GMAW current waveform and a 3kW high power diode laser. Weld beads were produced to study the basic operating parameters for the individual arc and laser processes and these were compared with those of combined process with laser in single and twin spot modes. Bead geometry and the current waveforms captured by the data acquisition system were used to evaluate the welding processes performance. Variables such as groove shape and shielding gas were also found to be critical for full penetration of butt joints on plates. CO2 produced weld bead with deeper penetration than with Ar based gas mixtures. A novel hybrid welding head was design and implemented to investigate the process using an extended heat source (as in multicathode GTAW and tandem GMAW) to create an elongated weld pool through the use of laser-GMAW with dual laser spots leading and trailing the GMAW heat source. To understand the process control mechanisms, a 3D finite element model was created and implemented to analyze the temperature distribution resulting from the arc and mutual effects of the arc and laser heat sources

The effect of in-source spatial beam shaping on the laser welding of e-mobility metals and alloys

Electromobility applications require several welded connections using demanding materials often in dissimilar combinations. Copper, aluminium, or steel alloys are laser welded for energy storage and traction related components. On the one hand, high power fiber laser sources provide in-source beam shaping solutions able to modify the irradiance profile towards ring-shaped beams. On the other hand, research focused on the effect of the beam shapes on the melting mechanisms and process quality is still in progress. This work studies the effect of different beam profiles on AISI301LN, AA6082 and pure Cu with a 5 kW fiber laser. Linear trends of power over penetration depth as a function of speed confirms the validity of employing the lumped heat capacity model for ring-shaped beams. Moreover, the specific melting fluence is observed to exhibit an exponential decaying trend with the proportion of power allocated in the fiber core, irrespective of tested material

Simulação numérica de deformações e tensões em soldadura

Welding is one of the best known methods in the industry for joining a wide variety of materials. This process inevitably creates stresses and strains in the components due to the high energy intensity released by the heat source. Nowadays it is almost mandatory to quantify these changes in the parts that go through the welding process. This is the only way to comply with strict quality parameters ensuring that the part fulfils the assigned function. It is very common to use experimental methods to do this analysis. However, the use of computational methods in welding process simulation was being increasing significantly. Numerical simulation, based on the Finite Element Method, appears to make it easier for engineers to predict and analyse complex phenomena. In this work two numerical simulation models of the welding process by laser were developed on Dual-Phase 600 steel plates. Two types of joints were tested: butt and in T. The deformations and stresses caused were quantified using the Simufact software.A soldadura é dos métodos mais conhecidos na indústria para unir uma grande variedade de materiais. Este processo cria inevitavelmente tensões e deformações nos componentes devido à alta intensidade de energia libertada pela fonte de calor. Nos dias que correm torna-se quase obrigatório quantificar estas alterações nas peças que passam pelo processo de soldadura. Só assim é possível cumprir rigorosos parâmetros de qualidade, garantindo que a peça cumpre a função atribuída. É muito comum recorrer a métodos experimentais para fazer esta análise. No entanto, o uso de métodos computacionais em simulação de processos de soldadura tem crescido significativamente. A simulação numérica, baseada no Método de Elementos Finitos, surge para facilitar aos engenheiros a prevenção e análise de fenómenos complexos. No presente trabalho foram desenvolvidos dois modelos de simulação numérica do processo de soldadura através de laser em chapas de Dual-Phase 600. Foram testados 2 tipos de juntas: topo a topo e em T. As deformações e tensões causadas pelo processo foram quantificadas com recurso ao software Simufact.Mestrado em Engenharia Mecânic