Optimization of Laser-Irradiating Conditions for Vertical Welding on Thick Steel Plate using Hot-Wire Laser-Welding Method

Abstract

We investigated the effect of laser-irradiating conditions-specifically laser spot size, laser power density and laser weaving. Three laser spot widths of 10, 4 and 2 mm were applied by changing the optical-lens and fiber-cable combination to investigate the effects of the laser power density and laser spot width. The weaving-irradiating method was applied with narrow laser widths of 4 and 2 mm. The effects of the laserirradiating condition were obtained based on high-speed imaging during welding and cross-sectional observation. Stable laser irradiation by a 10-mm laser spot width provided a lower power density than the critical value of 35 W/mm 2 and a lack of fusion. Weaving laser irradiation by a 4-or 2-mm laser spot width provided a higher power density, reduced the large lack of fusion and achieved a large penetration of base metal. The ratio between the laser beam-spot width and gap width (W L / W G ratio) affect the base-metal fusion significantly. A sound W L / W G ratio promoted base-metal fusion by providing a uniform and stable molten-pool temperature, whereas a small W L / W G ratio maintained a smaller fusion area because of the sudden temperature drop and temperature fluctuation of the molten pool.