Laser beam welding is now a common manufacturing method for a wide range of steel products from automobiles to razor blades. However, the process has only recently been approved for critical applications involving aluminium alloys, notably in the aerospace and automotive industries. The properties of aluminium alloys influence the interaction between the beam and the material to a far greater extent than for steels. The challenge of developing industrial welding procedures has therefore been considerable. The present review describes the effects of CO2 and Nd–YAG laser beam processing parameters and the properties of the most common wrought aluminium alloys on the characteristics of welded joints. Porosity, solidification cracking, and poor weld bead geometry are shown to be the most frequently encountered imperfections. These can be eliminated through the use of appropriate filler materials, process gases, material preparation, and in some instances, adaptive control systems. Very little work has...

Laser beam welding of wrought aluminium alloys

In the automotive industry, applying aluminum alloys to car chassis have become an important concern in order to reduce car weight. In aluminum laser welding, the strength of weld is typically reduced by porosity, underfill, and magnesium loss. In order to overcome these problems, laser welded with filler wire was suggested. In this study, experiments on the laser welding AA5182 of aluminum alloy with AA5356 filler wire were performed with respect to laser power, welding speed, and wire feed rate. The experiments showed that the tensile strength of the weld was higher than that of the base material under certain conditions. Using the experimental results, a neural network model was proposed to predict the tensile strength. To optimize the process parameters, a fitness function was formulated, taking into account weldability and productivity. A genetic algorithm was used to optimize the laser power, welding speed, and wire feed rate. The optimal value of these parameters was considered to be the proper process conditions in terms of weldability and productivity.

Process modeling and parameter optimization using neural network and genetic algorithms for aluminum laser welding automation

The effects of Mg content on the weldability of aluminium alloy sheet using the dual-beam Nd:YAG laser welding process have been studied by making bead-on-plate welds on 1.6 mm thick AA 1100, AA 5754 (3.2 wt-%Mg) and AA 5182 (4.6 wt-%Mg) alloy sheets. Whereas all full-penetration laser welds made in 1100 aluminium were of excellent quality,many of the welds produced in the aluminium–magnesium alloys exhibited rough, spiky underbead surfaces with drop-through and undercut. A limited range of process variables was found, however, that allowed welds with acceptable weld bead quality to be produced in the 5754 and the 5182 alloy sheet. Goodwelds were only produced in these alloys if the lead/lag laser beam power ratio was ≥1. Weld penetration and the maximum welding speed allowing full penetration keyhole-mode welding were observed to increase with Mg content. This was attributed to the effect of Mg on the vapour pressure within the keyhole and the surface tension of the Al–Mg alloys. Significant occl...

Effects of magnesium content on dual beam Nd : YAG laser welding of Al – Mg alloys

The weldability of 1.6 mm thick 5182 Al–Mg alloy sheet by the single- and dual-beam Nd:YAG laser welding processes has been examined. Bead-on-plate welds were made using total laser powers from 2.5 to 6 kW, dual-beam lead/lag laser beam power ratios ranging from 3:2 to 2:3 and travel speeds from 4 to 15 m min-1. The effects of focal position and shielding gas conditions on weld quality were also investigated. Whereas full penetration laser welds could be made using the 3 kW single-beam laser welder at speeds up to 15 m min-1, the underbead surface was always very rough with undercutting and numerous projections or spikes of solidified ejected metal. This 'spikey' underbead surface geometry was attributed to the effects of the high vapour pressure Mg in the alloy on the keyhole dynamics. The undesirable 'spikey' underbead geometry was unaffected by changes in focal position, shielding gas parameters or other single-beam welding process parameters. Most full penetration dual-beam laser welds exhibit...

Weldability of 1.6 mm thick aluminium alloy 5182 sheet by single and dual beam Nd: YAG laser welding

The objective of this paper is to determine the optimal welding conditions in terms of the productivity and weldability for laser welding of aluminum alloy AA5182 using filler wire AA 5356. The experiments were performed with laser power, welding speed, and wire feed rate as control factors. Tensile tests were carried out in order to evaluate the weldability under each welding condition. In order to estimate the tensile strength, three regression models are proposed. One is a multiple linear regression model, another is a second order polynomial regression model, and the last is a multiple nonlinear regression model. Of the three models, the second order polynomial regression model had the best estimation performance with respect to ANOVA (analysis of variation) and average error rate. Also, this study defines objective functions for tensile strength, which represents weldability, and for the welding speed and wire feed rate, which represent productivity. In addition, fitness functions are obtained using the objective functions and a weight matrix which shows the importance of each objective function. The steepest descent method is used to find the optimal point where the fitness function was maximized. Optimal welding conditions were found at a filler wire feed rate of 2.7 m/min, laser power of 4 kW, and welding speed of 7.95 m/min.

Parameter optimization using a regression model and fitness function in laser welding of aluminum alloys for car bodies

Conditions were determined for consistent coupling of a CO2 laser beam to weld 5182 aluminum alloy sheet. Full penetration butt and bead-on-plate welds on 0.8 and 1.8 mm sheets were performed. Process conditions examined included beam mode, spot size and irradiance, shielding gas flow, and edge quality and fitup. The observed weld quality variations with the different process parameters were consistent with physical phenomena and a threshold irradiance model. Optimal conditions were determined for obtaining consistent welds on 5182 alloy sheets. Formability and tensile tests were performed on the welded samples. All test failures occurred in the fusion zone. Reduction in formability and tensile strength of the welded samples are discussed with respect to weld profiles and process parameters.

T. L. Wilkinson

Papers

Laser beam welding of 5182 aluminum alloy sheet