Comparison of microstructure and mechanical properties of ultra-narrow gap laser and gas-metal-arc welded S960 high strength steel

The microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties, including micro-hardness, tensile properties, three-point bending properties and Charpy impact toughness at different test temperatures of 8 mm thick S960 high strength steel plates were investigated following their joining by multi-pass ultra-narrow gap laser welding (NGLW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) techniques. It was found that the microstructure in the fusion zone (FZ) for the ultra-NGLW joint was predominantly martensite mixed with some tempered martensite, while the FZ for the GMAW joint was mainly consisted of ferrite with some martensite. The strength of the ultra-NGLW specimens was comparable to that of the base material (BM), with all welded specimens failed in the BM in the tensile tests. The tensile strength of the GMAW specimens was reduced approximately by 100 MPa when compared with the base material by a broad and soft heat affected zone (HAZ) with failure located in the soft HAZ. Both the ultra-NGLW and GMAW specimens performed well in three-point bending tests. The GMAW joints exhibited better impact toughness than the ultra-NGLW joints.     

Experimental investigation and metallographic characterization of fiber laser beam welding of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using response surface method

In the present study, experimental investigations of fiber-laser-beam-welding of 5 mm thick Ti-6Al-4V alloy are carried out based on statistical design of experiments. The relationship between the process parameters such as welding power, welding speed, and defocused position of the laser beam with the output responses such as width of the fusion zone, size of the heat affected zone, and fusion zone area are established in terms of regression models. Also, the most significant process parameters and their optimum ranges are identified and their percentage contributions on output responses are calculated. It is observed that welding power and speed plays the major role for full penetration welding. Also, welding power shows direct effect whereas welding speed shows the inverse effect on the output responses. The bead geometry is influenced by the defocused position of the laser beam due to the change in power density on the workpiece surface. However, overall fusion zone area is unaffected. Mechanical characterization of the welded samples such as microstructural analysis, hardness, and tensile tests are conducted. It is noticed that the hardness value of the FZ is higher than the HAZ and BM zone due to the difference in cooling rate during welding which promotes the formation of α′ martensitic phase in the FZ. Also, an average hardness value in the FZ is compared for two different defocusing positions (i.e. 1 and 2 mm). It is found that hardness value is higher for 1 mm defocused position than 2 mm due the decrement in grain size below a critical range at 2 mm defocused position. The ultimate tensile strength and % elongation of the welded samples are degraded as compared to BM which can be further improved by post heat treatment.     

An investigation on capability of hybrid Nd:YAG laser-TIG welding technology for AA2198 Al-Li alloy

This paper surveys the capability of the hybrid laser-arc welding in comparison with lone laser welding for AA2198 aluminum alloy experimentally. In the present research, a continuous Nd:YAG laser with a maximum power of 2000 W and a 350 A electric arc were used as two combined welding heat sources. In addition to the lone laser welding experiments, two strategies were examined for hybrid welding; the first one was low laser power (100 W) accompanied by high arc energy, and the second one was high laser power (2000 W) with low arc energy. Welding speed and arc current varied in the experiments. The influence of heat input on weld pool geometry was surveyed. The macrosection, microhardness profile and microstructure of the welded joints were studied and compared. The results indicated that in lone laser welding, conduction mode occurred and keyhole was not formed even in low welding speeds and thus the penetration depth was so low. It was also found that the second approach (high laser power accompanied with low arc energy) is superior to the first one (low laser power accompanied with high arc energy) in hybrid laser-arc welding of Al2198, since lower heat input was needed for full penetration weld and as a result a smaller HAZ was created.     

Parametric optimisation and microstructural analysis on high power Yb-fibre laser welding of Ti–6Al–4V

In this work thin sheets of Ti–6Al–4V were full penetration welded using a 5 kW fibre laser in order to evaluate the effectiveness of high power fibre laser as a welding processing tool for welding Ti–6Al–4V with the requirements of the aircraft industry and to determine the effect of welding parameters including laser power, welding speed and beam focal position on the weld microstructure, bead profile and weld quality. It involved establishing an understanding of the influence of welding parameters on microstructural change, welding defects, and the characteristics of heat affected zone (HAZ) and weld metal (WM) of fibre laser welded joints. The optimum range of welding parameters which produced welds without cracking and porosity were identified. The influence of the welding parameters on the weld joint heterogeneity was characterised by conducting detailed microstructural analysis.     

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A preliminary study of microstructure and properties of the welded joint of low activation CLF-1 steel used for fusion reactor and 316L dissimilar metal by tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding using W19123L as filler material, has been performed. The welded joint forming is proved well and without defect. The welded joint consists of CLF-1 zone [base metal (BM), heat affected zone (HAZ), fusion zone (FZ)], inside layer (IL), weld zone (WZ), and 316L zone (BM, HAZ, FZ). Tensile strength of the joint is better than the base metal minimum value in room temperature. Both surfaces of welded joint are without crack and with deformation uniformity under the bending test. The distribution of impact value of the joint is concave-like and satisfies the designed values for the welded joint, the WZ’s value is the lowest, the HAZ’s of both WZ zones is the second, the BM’s was the best, and the 316L steel zone’s is slightly larger than the CLF-1 zone’s. The hardness values of the point under the 1.6mm top surface of welded joint have a larger fluctuation range, and is slightly higher than those of 1/2T and above down surface 1.6mm position. The hardness distribution of 1/2T and above the down surface 1.6mm position is roughly uniform, and has a downward trend from the CLF-1 zone to 316L zone. Welding properties generally has remained stable and satisfy the requirement of dissimilar steel welding performance matching.     

聚变堆用CLF-1 钢与316L 钢TIG 焊接接头组织与性能初步研究

对用W19123L 为焊丝的聚变堆用低活化CLF-1 钢与316L 钢的钨极氩弧焊(TIG)焊接接头金相组织及性能进行了初步研究。结果表明：焊接接头成型良好、无缺陷;金相组织表明焊接接头由CLF-1 侧(母材区、热影响区、熔合区)、过渡层、焊缝区、316L 侧(母材区、热影响区、熔合区)组成;室温拉伸试验结果优于母材的最低要求值;弯曲试验后的焊接接头内外表面完好,无裂纹产生,变形均匀;焊接接头冲击值成凹型分布,焊缝区冲击值最低,焊缝两侧热影响区冲击值次之,母材冲击值最高,316L 侧冲击值略高于CLF-1 侧,均满足焊接接头设计值;焊接接头上表面1.6mm 硬度波动较大,略高于1/2T 和下表面1.6mm 处,焊接接头1/2T 和下表面1.6mm 硬度分布较均匀,从CLF-1 侧到316L 侧有下降趋势。整体焊接性能基本稳定,满足异种钢焊接性能匹配要求。     

Effects of relative positioning of energy sources on weld integrity for hybrid laser arc welding

This study is concerned with the effects of laser and arc arrangement on weld integrity for the hybrid laser arc welding processes. Experiments were conducted for a high-strength steel using a 4 kW Nd: YAG laser and a metal active gas (MAG) welding facility under two configurations of arc–laser hybrid welding (ALHW) and laser–arc hybrid welding (LAHW). Metallographic analysis and mechanical testing were performed to evaluate the weld integrity in terms of weld bead geometry, microstructure and mechanical properties. The morphology of the weld bead cross-section was studied and the typical macrostructure of the weld beads appeared to be cone-shaped and cocktail cup-shaped under ALHW and LAHW configurations, respectively. The weld integrity attributes of microstructure, phase constituents and microhardness were analyzed for different weld regions. The tensile and impact tests were performed and fracture surface morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscope. The study showed that ALHW produced joints with a better weld shape and a more uniform microstructure of lath martensite, while LAHW weld had a heterogeneous structure of lath martensite and austenite.     

Effects of heat input on the low power Nd:YAG pulse laser conduction weldability of magnesium alloy AZ61

The effects of heat input on the low power Nd:YAG pulse laser conduction weldability of magnesium alloy AZ61 plates were investigated. The results show that for a hot-extruded AZ61 magnesium alloy plate laser conduction welding, the penetration depth and area of welds cross-section increased with an increase of the heat input. The microstructure of a band zone, which is located in the fusion zone (FZ) and close to the fusion boundary, evolved with an increase of the heat input. Moreover, an increase of the heat input increased the tendency of the formation of solidification cracking and liquation cracking. The porosities and average diameters of pores increased with an increase of the heat input but reduced sharply when a relatively large heat input was achieved. In addition, the degree of formation of craters increased linearly with an increase of the heat input.     

Statistical modeling of laser welding of DP/TRIP steel sheets

In this research work, a statistical analysis of the CO₂ laser beam welding of dual phase (DP600)/transformation induced plasticity (TRIP700) steel sheets was done using response surface methodology. The analysis considered the effect of laser power (2–2.2 kW), welding speed (40–50 mm/s) and focus position (?1 to 0 mm) on the heat input, the weld bead geometry, uniaxial tensile strength, formability limited dome height and welding operation cost. The experimental design was based on Box–Behnken design using linear and quadratic polynomial equations for predicting the mathematical models. The results indicate that the proposed models predict the responses adequately within the limits of welding parameters being used and the welding speed is the most significant parameter during the welding process.     

Experimental investigation on seam geometry,microstructure evolution and microhardness profile of laser welded martensitic stainless steels

This paper investigates the effects of energy density on geometry of the weld seam and development of microstructures at various weld zones. Energy-based local microhardness profiles are made and linked with the formation of the microstructures. Weld resistance at the interface is energy-limited and seam profile only changes from conical to cylindrical after a certain limit of energy input. Microstructures in the fusion zone changes from cellular to columnar dendritic and equiaxed dendritic with increasing energy input. Variation in morphology of microstructures across the fusion zone is evident within the weld. A distinct region exists in between fusion and heat affected zones due to retention of the primary ferrite. Local microhardness reaches its peak in the fusion zone and decreases gradually from fusion zone to base metal of the outer shell. In the inner shell, peak microhardness occurs in HAZ and the local softening relative to fusion zone and HAZ is visible at the fusion boundary.     

On the development of a new pre-weld thermal treatment procedure for preventing heat-affected zone (HAZ) liquation cracking in nickel-base IN 738 superalloy

Hot cracking in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of precipitation strengthened nickel-base superalloys, such as IN 738, during fusion welding remains a major factor limiting reparability of nickel-base gas turbine components. The problem of HAZ intergranular cracking can be addressed by modifying the microstructure of the pre-weld material through thermal treatment, which requires significant understanding of the critical factors controlling cracking behaviour. The decomposition of Mo-Cr-W-and Cr-rich borides in the alloy, among other factors, has been observed to contribute significantly to non-equilibrium intergranular liquation and, hence, intergranular liquation cracking during welding. Gleeble physical simulation of HAZ microstructure has also shown that non-equilibrium liquation is more severe in the vicinity of decomposed borides in the alloy and can occur at temperatures as low as 1,150 °C. Although currently existing pre-weld heat treatments for IN 738 superalloy minimize the contributions of dissolution of second phases, including borides, to HAZ intergranular liquation, these heat treatments are not industrially feasible due to process-related difficulties. Therefore, a new industrially feasible and effective pre-weld thermal treatment process, designated as FUMT, was developed during the present research by controlling both the formation of borides and the segregation of boron at the grain boundaries in the pre-weld heat-treated material. This thermal treatment was observed to very significantly reduce intergranular HAZ cracking in welded IN 738 superalloy. The details of the development process and developed procedure are presented in this paper.     

Effect of welding speed on butt joint quality of Ti–6Al–4V alloy welded using a high-power Nd:YAG laser

Annealed Ti–6Al–4V alloy sheets with 1 and 2 mm thickness are welded using a 4 kW Nd:YAG laser system. The effects of welding speed on surface morphology and shape, welding defects, microstructure, hardness and tensile properties are investigated. Weld joints without or with minor cracks, porosity and shape defects were obtained indicating that high-power Nd:YAG laser welding is a suitable method for Ti–6Al–4V alloy. The fusion zone consists mainly of acicular α′ martensite leading to an increase of approximately 20% in hardness compared with that in the base metal. The heat-affected zone consists of a mixture of α′ martensite and primary α phases. Significant gradients of microstructures and hardness are obtained over the narrow heat-affected zone. The laser welded joints have similar or slightly higher joint strength but there is a significant decrease in ductility. The loss of ductility is related to the presence of micropores and aluminum oxide inclusions.     

Laves Phases in Ferrite-Martensite EC-181 Steel

The microstructure and phase composition of EC-181 ferrite-martensite steel were studied in dependence on their heat treatment (temperature and aging time after quenching from 1080°C). It was established that Laves phases are formed only at the boundaries of ferrite grains, whereas Me ₂₃C₆ and V₂C carbides are formed in the ferrite and martensite components of the structure.     

Dry sliding wear behavior of TIG welding clad WC composite coatings

In this study, melted tungsten carbide powders on the surface of AISI 4340 steel was applied by using tungsten inert gas (TIG) method. It was observed that it has been solidified in different microstructures depending on the production parameters. As a result of microstructure examinations, in the surface modified layers an eutectic and dendrite solidification was observed together with WC, W₂C phases. In the layer produced, the hardness values varied between 950 and 1200 HV. The minimum mass loss was observed in the sample, which was treated in 1.209 mm/s production rate, 0.5 g/s powder feed rate and 13.9 kJ/cm heat input.     

Parameters optimization of laser brazing in crimping butt using Taguchi and BPNN-GA

The laser brazing (LB) is widely used in the automotive industry due to the advantages of high speed, small heat affected zone, high quality of welding seam, and low heat input. Welding parameters play a significant role in determining the bead geometry and hence quality of the weld joint. This paper addresses the optimization of the seam shape in LB process with welding crimping butt of 0.8 mm thickness using back propagation neural network (BPNN) and genetic algorithm (GA). A 3-factor, 5-level welding experiment is conducted by Taguchi L₂₅ orthogonal array through the statistical design method. Then, the input parameters are considered here including welding speed, wire speed rate, and gap with 5 levels. The output results are efficient connection length of left side and right side, top width (WT) and bottom width (WB) of the weld bead. The experiment results are embed into the BPNN network to establish relationship between the input and output variables. The predicted results of the BPNN are fed to GA algorithm that optimizes the process parameters subjected to the objectives. Then, the effects of welding speed (WS), wire feed rate (WF), and gap (GAP) on the sum values of bead geometry is discussed. Eventually, the confirmation experiments are carried out to demonstrate the optimal values were effective and reliable. On the whole, the proposed hybrid method, BPNN-GA, can be used to guide the actual work and improve the efficiency and stability of LB process.     

Research on laser welding of high-strength galvanized automobile steel sheets

The paper presented some useful results of deep-penetration laser welding of high-strength galvanized steel sheets, which had been carried out by a self-made CO₂ laser unit with maximum power output of 1.5 kW. The workpieces of high-strength galvanized automobile steels with thickness of 1.5 mm were butt-welded with argon as the shielding gas. The effects of such factors as laser power, welding speed, focal position, shielding gas and zinc vaporization on the quality of welds are investigated. With the processing parameters optimized and the proper shielding gas used in both coaxial and side-blow direction, most of the defects, such as pores, cracks and softening in HAZ, can be avoided in laser welding joints. The microstructure, the hardness distribution and the elemental distribution in the welding joints can be changed due to laser heating and recrystallization. In order to determine the mechanical properties of the welding joints, the static tensile strength was tested. Experimental results indicated that both the strength and microhardness of welding joints were higher than those of the base metal. Consequently, the welding quality is reliable for manufacturing of automobile bodies.     

RAFM钢TIG焊和电子束焊疲劳性能实验和分析模拟

利用ANSYS 对低活化铁素体马氏体(RAFM)钢进行非熔化极气体保护焊(TIG 焊)与电子束焊的抗疲劳模拟分析，再利用SDS200 电液伺服疲劳试验机对TIG 焊和电子束焊的两种RAFM 钢试件进行实验。通过施加相同梯度负荷对TIG 焊和电子束焊试件进行焊缝的疲劳性能实验。与实验结果对比分析，结果显示电子束焊优于 TIG 焊，但在一定负载下可以用TIG 焊代替电子束焊。     

Nucleation of solids in solids: ferrites and martensites

When a solid such as iron is cooled across a structural transition, its final microstructure depends sensitively on the cooling rate and the depth of quench. For instance, an infinitesimally slow cooling or a shallow quench results in an equilibrium "ferrite," while a rapid cooling or a deep quench gives rise to a metastable twinned "martensite." In this paper, we arrive at a single formalism which qualitatively describes the transformation to both a ferrite and a martensite. Fundamental to this understanding is our identification of the crucial dynamical role played by nonelastic degrees of freedom in determining the final microstructure of the product solid.     

Synergistic effect between ultrasound and fierce mechanical activation towards mineral extraction: A case study of ZnO ore

Though the positive role of ultrasound has been confirmed in the mineral extraction, its potential towards fiercely mechanically-activated mineral was not yet mentioned. In this study, as a novel mechanical activation style, bead milling (BM) was presented and ZnO ore was selected to determine its effectiveness. Results showed that median particle size of ZnO ore could be pulverized to as low as 1/164 of its original value (from ∼29.2 μm to ∼178 nm), indicating much higher activation potential of BM than that of conventional ball milling. Besides, structure destruction, even phase transformation with the direct participation of airborne CO₂ occurred. All these processes rendered the superior activation capacity of BM. In view of the extraction promotion, the combination of ultrasound and BM exerted more pronounced effect than those of individual ones, indicating the synergistic effect between extra energy input (by ultrasound) and inner energy storage (by fierce BM). The classic shrinking core model with the product layer diffusion as the rate-controlling step was found to well model the extraction kinetics. The modeling disclosed high capability of ultrasound and BM combination in decreasing the activation energy (E_a) (from 54.6 kJ/mol to 26.4 kJ/mol), while ultrasound, BM could only decrease the E_a to 44.9 kJ/mol, 41.5 kJ/mol, respectively. The dual roles of ultrasound were specially highlighted: (i) participation in the extraction process via direct energy input, (ii) regulation of the aggregation that the activated ore suspension was confronted with.     

Characterization of miniature RAD-HARD silicon diodes as dosimeters for small fields of photon beams used in radiotherapy

The dosimetric response characterization and beam data acquisition performance of a miniature Float Zone (FZ) silicon diode for photon beams was investigated using Novalis TX linear accelerator (Varian Medical Systems^®). In all measurements the unbiased diode operated in a short-circuit mode, connected to the input of a Keithley 6517B electrometer using a water phantom. For photon beams of the 6 and 15 MV the results presented good repeatability (coefficient of variation ≤1.6%), measured through switching on/off the photon beams. Moreover, the diode showed a quite linear response, given by the charge versus absorbed dose, with charge sensitivities higher than 6.9 nC/Gy. The output factor, percentage depth dose profile (PDD) and transversal dose profile (TDP) were also measured in a water phantom. For small field sizes, the output factor values using the FZ diode were compared with measurements obtained with a SFD (Stereotactic Field Diode) commercial diode and the differences were 5.4%, 2.5% and 1.3% for the field sizes of 1 × 1, 2 × 2 and 3 × 3 cm². For larger field sizes (≥4 × 4 cm²), the maximum difference found was 0.7% in comparison with values obtained with a CC13 ionization chamber. Thus, the result demonstrates that the unshielded FZ diode has the potential to be used for measuring of, as it performed acceptably well for both small and large field sizes. The TDP experimental results obtained with the FZ diode for field sizes of: 1 × 1 cm², 2 × 2 cm² and 4 × 4 cm² are in agreement with experimental results acquired with several commercial detectors. Through the TDP study, the comparison of the field penumbra size confirmed the excellent spatial resolution of the miniature diode. However, the PDD study, requires further investigation.