Laser-assisted narrow gap arc welding of an 18MND5 steel thick plate
Abstract Narrow gap arc welding is a common solution for the welding of thick structures. In this study, a defocused laser beam is used to pre-melt the narrow gap walls in front of an arc-welding bath. Such a welding configuration can be referred to a hybrid welding configuration. In the present work, a particular attention is given to evaluation of the interaction between an arc plasma and a defocused laser beam. High-speed imaging of the metal transfer through arc plasma is achieved thanks to a diode laser illumination system. Electrical arc parameters are logged, synchronously, in order to perform a correlation analysis and to make a diagnosis of the interaction level between laser beam …
Direct laser welding of pure titanium to austenitic stainless steel
Abstract Direct butt joining of pure titanium to 316L stainless steel with continuous Yb:YAG laser was performed with variation of the beam offset from joint line. Mechanical properties of samples were evaluated by tensile tests and three-point flexural tests. The fractured surfaces and cross sections of welds were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Tensile properties of welds were strongly determined by the beam offset from joint line and are well described by Weibull statistics. Ultimate tensile strength of 174 ± 69 MPa and ultimate flexural strength of 297 ± 48 MPa were obtained. Brittle fracture took place in…
On the mechanisms involved in the tensile strength of a dissimilar Ti6Al4V/316L laser welded assembly
International audience; The aim of the present work is to analyze the thermomechanical behavior of dissimilar laser seams by means of FE modeling. The case of a Ti6Al4V/316L assembly with vanadium insert was considered. Effective mechanical properties of the main materials and cords were first estimated from NHT measurements. Modeling of the double pass laser welding process was performed first by considering shrinking of the two weld seams during manufacturing, to get the residual stress state in the welded assembly. Modeling of the tensile test was performed in a second step to study the assembly behavior during loading. In these modeling results, the mesh was the cross-section of the mic…
Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar Ti/Nb/Cu/steel laser joints
Abstract The absence of intermetallic phases in Fe/Cu, Cu/Nb and Nb/Ti binary systems opens the possibility to obtain reliable joints between titanium alloys and steels by using a multimaterial copper/niobium insert. Continuous Yb:YAG laser welding of 1 mm thick titanium and 316L stainless steel plates through niobium/copper multimaterial insert was performed. The use of a 100 µm laser beam allowed producing isolated molten zones and thus completely avoiding the formation of brittle intermetallic phases, according to SEM and XRD analysis. The effect of energy per unit length applied to the niobium/copper welds on the mixing process and mechanical properties of the joints was investigated. A…
Use of pure vanadium and niobium/copper inserts for laser welding of titanium to stainless steel
Abstract Niobium and vanadium have high metallurgical compatibility with titanium and therefore can be used as inserts to avoid the accumulation of brittle intermetallic phases such as Fe2Ti during the fusion welding of titanium alloys with steels. In the present study, the continuous double pass welding of 1 mm thick Ti-6Al-4V alloy and 316 L stainless steel plates through several mm wide pure vanadium or niobium insert was studied. In case of a vanadium insert, a beam offset on the vanadium was found to produce cold crack formation in vanadium/316 L melted zones containing more than 40 wt.% V despite the absence of σ phase. Whereas a centered beam position and offset on the steel side pro…