A review on laser beam welding of copper alloys

With exponentially increasing copper alloys consumption globally, the automatization, high efficiency, and quality improvement of the copper joining process become inevitable in modern industrial production. In this context, laser welding presents a particular suitability for joining of copper alloys because of its high precision, high-energy concentration, and rapid processing potentials. Studies have shown that laser welding of copper has two principal challenges. Namely, the high laser power required due to the low laser beam absorptivity and high thermal conductivity of copper, and the low process stability. Interestingly, with the recent laser technology improvements, the tremendous laser power required will eventually be solved. Although some achievements were obtained in previous studies, the problem of spattering and high porosity associated with low process stability still exist. In this review, the effect of the most significant laser welding processing parameters on the joint’s performances were systematically examined; the microstructure, mechanical, and electrical properties and metallurgical defects of copper laser welds were discussed. Furthermore, laser welding of copper to other metals particularly copper to steel and copper to aluminum dissimilar alloys in terms of structure and properties relationships were also discussed

A review on laser beam welding of titanium alloys

In recent years, there is an increased in used of titanium alloys for some parts of mass-produced automobiles and aerospace. However, titanium alloys are characterized by difficult machinability, high melting temperature, high strength, low thermal conductivity, and high reactivity to oxygen, which overshadowed conventional manufacturing processes. To this end, there is a pressing need for more efficient technologies for the manufacture of low-cost titanium structures. Over the years, several joining techniques have been considered for fabrication of titanium alloys. Nevertheless, laser beam welding presents a viable option for welding of titanium due its versatility, high specific heat input, and flexibility. To date, under optimum processing conditions, the strength of the laser-welded titanium alloys can be close to the original material; however, there are still some processing problems such as lower elongation and corrosion resistance coupled with inferior fatigue properties. In this document, the laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar titanium alloys is reviewed, focusing on the influence of the processing parameters, microstructure-property relationship, metallurgical defects, and possible remedies

Effect of copper-nickel interlayer thickness on laser welding-brazing of Mg/Ti alloy

Dissimilar lap joining of AZ31B Mg alloy to Cu-Ni coated Ti-6Al-4V was carried out by laser welding-brazing method. The effect of Cu and Ni contents on interfacial reaction and joint fracture load were analyzed. For the joint in which the Ni coating (15.36 µm) was thicker than the Cu coating (5.47 µm), thick intermetallic compound (IMC) composed of a mixture of light gray Al-Ni-Ti + Ti3Al + Ti2Ni phases mingled with dark gray Ti3Al was produced at the interface. In comparison, a mixed interfacial reaction layer consisted of Ti2Ni and Ti3Al was formed from the direct irradiation zone to the weld toe zone of the joint with comparable Ni and Cu coating thicknesses (10.78 µm Cu–9.30 µm Ni). In this case, the thickness of the mixed layer was below the critical thickness of 10 µm. For the joint in which the Cu coating is much higher than the Ni coating thickness (17.12 µm Cu–4.23 µm Ni), Ti3Al and Ti2Ni mixed reaction layer was produced at the brazed interface of direct irradiation zone, whereas, only Ti3Al phase was formed at the middle zone. At the weld toe zone, Ti2Cu uneven interfacial reaction layer was evolved. With increasing Cu and decreasing Ni coating thicknesses, the fracture load first increased and then slightly decreased, the maximum tensile-shear fracture load attained 2020 N for joints with comparable Cu and Ni coating thicknesses. This is twofold higher than that of uncoated joint. The tensile-shear investigation showed that the joint would fracture at the fusion zone when the coating thickness of Ni was comparable or higher than Cu. In contrast, interfacial failure was observed when the thickness of Cu was much higher than the Ni. For the joint with interfacial failure mode, tear ridge was observed from the fracture surface, whereas, the fusion zone fracture surfaces was noted to display a typical dimple feature.The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by University of Malaya (Project No. GPF073A-2018 ), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 51504074 and 51875129 ) and Key Research & Development Program in Shandong Province (Grant No. 2017CXGC0811 and 2017GGX30147 ).Scopu

Influence of electrodeposited Cu-Ni layer on interfacial reaction and mechanical properties of laser welded-brazed Mg/Ti lap joints

A fiber laser welding-brazing procedure has been developed for joining AZ31B magnesium alloy to Cu-Ni coated Ti-6Al-4V titanium sheet using AZ92D filler wire. The effect of the interlayer arrangements (AZ31B/Ni-Cu/Ti-6Al-4V and AZ31B/Cu-Ni/Ti-6Al-4V) on appearance, interfacial reaction and mechanical properties were investigated at different heat input. It was found that the feasibility of this process depends strongly on the pre-existing Cu-Ni layer on the Ti surface that promotes wetting of the AZ92 filler. Within the range of 1200–1600 W, defect free joints in both interlayer arrangements. Depending on the interlayer arrangements chosen, different reactions layers formed inside the joint region. Nevertheless, at optimum heat input (1400 W), Ti2Ni mingled with Ti3Al interfacial reaction products was produced along the fusion zone (FZ)-Ti brazed interface in both interlayer arrangements. The tensile-shear fracture load of the joints produced at the optimum laser power reached a maximum value of 2016.5 N for AZ31B/Ni-Cu/Ti-6Al-4V and 2014.6 N for AZ31B/Cu-Ni/Ti-6Al-4V, representing an efficiency of 71% compared to AZ31B alloy. Under suitable heat input, the joints failed at the fusion zone of the AZ31B base metal. In contrast, incomplete brazing or large volume of intermetallics at the brazed interface resulted in interfacial failure at lower/higher heat input