Product Code: PIC2008_702

Comparison of Weldability in Nd:Yag-Gmaw Hybrid Welding of Sus316L and Xm-19 Stainless Steels
Authors:
Xudong Zhang, Hitachi Ltd., Materials Research Lab.; Hitachi-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan
Eiji Ashida, Hitachi Ltd., Materials Research Lab.; Hitachi-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan
Xiangjun Luo, Hitachi-Ge Nuclear Energy, Ltd.; Hitachi-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan
Noriaki Gotou, Hitachi-Ge Nuclear Energy, Ltd.; Hitachi-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan
Presented at PICALO 2008

Laser-arc hybrid welding is prospectively considered as a high-efficiency and high-quality welding method for medium and thick section steels. SUS316L and XM-19 stainless steels are widely used in components and structures for nuclear power plants. This paper investigated the welding properties in Nd:YAG-GMAW hybrid welding of SUS316L and XM-19 stainless steels. With a hybrid welding system that was combined with a 4kW YAG laser and a 450A GMAW welder, 12mm thick SUS316L plates and 6mm thick XM-19 pipe was respectively bead-on-plate and butt-joint welded without backing plate. The effect of laser-to-arc distance (DLA) on the weld bead shape and porosity was discussed. The result shows that the DLA has significant influence on the stability of penetration and the formation of porosity for SUS316L, but has little influence for XM-19. Further analyses indicate that the high manganese content of XM-19 contributes to the welding process stability and porosity suppression. Then the microstructures and mechanical properties of the hybrid-welded joint were also investigated.