Depth dependence and keyhole stability at threshold, for different laser welding regimes

Depending of the laser operating parameters, several characteristic regimes of laser welding can be observed. At low welding speeds, the aspect ratio of the keyhole can be rather large with a rather vertical cylindrical shape, whereas at high welding speeds, low aspect ratios result, where only the keyhole front is mainly irradiated. For these different regimes, the dependence of the keyhole (KH) depth or the keyhole threshold, as a function of the operating parameters and material properties, is derived and their resulting scaling laws are surprisingly very similar. This approach allows us to analyze the keyhole behavior for these welding regimes, around their keyhole generation thresholds. Specific experiments confirm the occurrence and the behavior of these unstable keyholes for these conditions. Furthermore, recent experimental results can be analyzed using these approaches. Finally, this analysis allows us to define the aspect ratio range for the occurrence of this unstable behavior and to highlight the importance of laser absorptivity for this mechanism. Consequently, the use of a short wavelength laser for the reduction of these keyhole stability issues and the corresponding improvement of weld seam quality is emphasized

Physical mechanisms controlling keyhole and melt pool dynamics during laser welding

The aim of this chapter is to review our main recent understanding of physical mechanisms occurring during keyhole laser welding. The focus is on the analysis of melt pool dynamics showing that it is the interaction of the vapour plume emitted from the keyhole front with the melt pool that plays a dominant role in melt pool dynamics. Different specific regimes concerning the behaviour of the melt pool for a large range of welding speeds can be observed, and these regimes are precisely defined by the inclination of the keyhole front. a model taking into account these physical processes is proposed and allows us to describe the keyhole parameters and to understand these different observed results

Developments in Nd :YAG laser welding

Laser welding in keyhole (KH) mode using solid-state laser emitting in near infrared at nearly 1 micron wavelength is discussed in this chapter. The main physical processes involved in laser welding are presented and the reasons for using this laser wavelength are shown. Section 3.2 describes the KH geometry and related physical mechanisms controlling its stability. The role of the main operating parameters is also presented. Section 3.3 shows examples of the evolution of keyhole and weld pool behaviour for various welding speeds illustrating the mechanisms discussed in Section 3.2. Finally in the conclusion, expected diagnostics improvements necessary for supporting adapted numerical simulations of this laser welding process are discussed

Laser-induced plume investigated by finite element modelling and scaling of particle entrainment in laser powder bed fusion

Although metal vaporisation has been observed in several laser processes such as drilling or welding, vapour plume expansion and its induced side effects are not fully understood. Especially, this phenomenon is garnering scientific and industrial interest since recent investigations in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) have designated metal vaporisation as main source of denudation and powder spattering. The present study aims to provide a new insight on the dynamics of laser-induced vaporisation and to assess the potential of different gases for particle entrainment. A self-consistent finite element model of laser-induced keyhole and plume is thus presented for this purpose, built from a comprehensive literature review. The model is validated with dedicated experimental diagnostics, involving high-speed imaging to measure the ascent velocity of the vapour plume. The transient dynamics of vapour plume is thus quantified for different laser incident intensities and gas flow patterns such as the mushroom-like structure of the vapour plume are analysed. Finally, the model is used as a tool to quantify the entrainment flow expected in LPBF and an analytical model is derived to define a velocity threshold for particle entrainment, expressed in term of background gas properties. Doing so it is possible to predict how denudation evolves when the gaseous atmosphere is changed

Possible explanations for different surface quality in laser cutting with 1 micron and 10 microns beams

In laser　cutting　of　thick　steel　sheets,　quality　difference　is　observed　between　cut　surfaces　obtained　with 1 micron and 10 micron laser beams. This paper investigates physical mechanisms for this interesting and important problem of the wavelength dependence. First, striation generation process is described, based on a 3D structure of melt flow on a kerf front, which was revealed for the first time by our recent experimental observations. Two fundamental processes are suggested to explain the difference in the cut surface quality: destabilization of the melt flow in the central part of the kerf front and downward displacement of discrete melt accumulations along the side parts of the front. Then each of the processes is analyzed using a simplified analytical model. The results show that in both processes, different angular dependence of the absorptivity of the laser beam can result in the quality difference. Finally we propose use of radial polarization to improve the quality with the 1 micron wavelength

Erratum: “Transient dynamics and stability of keyhole at threshold in laser powder bed fusion regime investigated by finite element modeling” [J. Laser Appl. 33, 012024 (2021)]

Correctio

Transient dynamics and stability of keyhole at threshold in laser powder bed fusion regime investigated by finite element modeling

A Finite element model is developed with a commercial code to investigate the keyhole dynamics and stability at keyhole threshold, a fusion regime characteristic to laser microwelding or to Laser Powder Bed Fusion. The model includes relevant physics to treat the hydrodynamic problems - surface tension, Marangoni stress, and recoil pressure - as well as a self-consistent ray-tracing algorithm to account for the "beam-trapping"effect. Implemented in both static and scanning laser configurations, the model successfully reproduces some key features that most recent x-ray images have exhibited. The dynamics of the liquid/gas interface is analyzed, in line with the distribution of the absorbed intensity as well as with the increase of the keyhole energy coupling. Based on these results, new elements are provided to discuss our current understanding of the keyhole formation and stability at threshold.The authors are grateful to Anthony D. Rollett and Tao Sun for helpful discussion on their x-ray experiments. This work has been supported by Safran Additive Manufacturing and Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technology (ANRT)

Analysis and possible estimation of keyhole depths evolution, using laser operating parameters and material properties

The authors propose an analysis of the effect of various operating parameters on the keyhole depth during laser welding. The authors have developed a model that uses the analysis of the thermal field obtained in 2D geometry, which is mainly defined by the characteristic Peclet number. This allows us to show that the dependence of the aspect ratio R of the keyhole with the operating parameters of the process is a function of two parameters: a normalized aspect ratio R0, controlled by the incident laser power and the spot diameter, and a characteristic speed V0 related to the process of heat diffusion. The resulting general law R = f (R0, V/V0) appears to be very well verified by different experimental data and allows to define mean thermophysical parameters of the used materials. These data can then be used for keyhole depths prediction for any subsequent operating parameters of the same material. This model also allows us to define precisely a criterion for a keyhole threshold generation. The authors will apply the derived procedure to successfully analyze experiments on materials with very different thermophysical properties (such as steel alloys and copper), with various focal spots, incident laser powers, and welding speeds

Physical mechanisms of conduction-to-keyhole transition in laser welding and additive manufacturing processes

Thermo-hydrodynamic phenomena which take place during laser welding or additive manufacturing processes as laser powder bed fusion, have been investigated for years, but recent advances in X-ray images and in situ analysis have highlighted new findings that are still under debate. Conduction-to-keyhole transition, and more broadly, keyhole dynamics, are typical cases, where complex coupling between hydrodynamic and optical problems are involved. In this paper, a keyhole and melt pool model is developed with the software COMSOL Multiphysics®, where laser energy deposition is computed self-consistently thanks to a ray tracing algorithm. The model successfully reproduces experimental findings published in the literature and helps to analyze accurately the role played by the beam trapping phenomenon during the conduction-to-keyhole transition, in both spot welding (i.e., stationary laser illumination) and welding configurations (i.e., with scanning speed). In particular, it is shown that depending on the welding speed, multiple reflections might be either a stabilizing or a destabilizing factor. Understanding these mechanisms is thus a prerequisite for controlling the stability of the melt pools during the joining or the additive manufacturing processes

A mesoscopic approach for modelling laser beam melting (LBM)

Laser Beam Melting (LBM) is currently garnering industrial attention and many numerical researches have been carried out in order to understand the physics behind the process. However, due to the gap between the grain scale (micrometres) and the bead scale (millimetres), current state-of-the-art multi-physical models are computationally expensive as each powder grain is individually represented. Hence, simulating more than a single LBM track in a reasonable computational time is a challenging task. To overcome this limitation, a new mesoscopic approach is proposed, which intends to bridge the fine thermo-hydrodynamic representation and the macroscopic thermal models. The powder bed is represented by a homogeneous medium with both equivalent thermal and fluid properties. A bulk heat source is considered when the laser heats the powder bed whereas a surface heat flux is imposed on the melted powder bed surface. Apparent viscosity and surface tension are attributed to the homogenized medium so that modelling powder densification, melting and spheroidization of the melt pool is made possible by solving compressible Navier-Stokes equations. In addition, thermocapillary effects as well as vaporisation-induced recoil pressure are implemented, so that realistic thermo-hydrodynamic phenomena are successfully taken into account