Effect of electric and magnetic fields on plasma control during CO2 laser welding

Feasibility in using electric and magnetic fields as a plasma control tool during high-power laser welding is explored in this paper. Preliminary results indicated that both fields can influence the shielding effect of the plasma above the keyhole. It was found that at suitable field parameters the penetration depth can be increased by more than 13%. Moreover, under the effect of both fields, the interrelation between the penetration depth and the width of bead was found. In addition, the influence of both electric and magnetic fields strength, field direction and laser power on the penetration depth and the width of bead were also investigated.