Product Code: ICA13_1503

Analysis of Laser Welding of Different Aluminum Alloys
Authors:
Dirk Frederik De Lange, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Facultad de Ingenieria; San Luis Potosi Mexico
Osbaldo Galicia Gutierrez, Universidad AutóNoma De San Luis Potosí, Facultad De IngenieríA, Ciep; San Luis Potosí Mexico
Ricardo Romero -Mendez, Universidad AutóNoma De San Luis Potosí, Facultad De IngenieríA, Ciep; San Luis Potosí Mexico
Bernard J. Aalderink, Demcon; Enschede Netherlands
Presented at ICALEO 2013

When comparing the laser welding of near to pure aluminum (AA1050) and different aluminum alloys (AA5182 and AA7075), significant differences can be found in the process behavior, and the operating conditions at which a weld can be made. In particular, the weld pool size shows large differences under similar process conditions. Among the causes that can cause the observed differences are the different thermal coefficients of each of the different alloys, the differences in melt temperatures, and changes in the evaporation process due to the presence of volatile alloy components.
In this study, the importance of these different causes is evaluated and discussed, based on results obtained from numerical simulations. In particular, attention is focused on the effects of volatile alloy components on the evaporation process and its influence on the thermal model of the weld process. A theoretical model is proposed to describe the evaporation process of binary alloys and to quantify its effects on the thermal weld model.
The numerical results are also compared with experimental observations of the three different alloys during the laser welding process, and it is demonstrated that the evaporative effects are the most significant causes of differences between the welding of different alloys.