Abstract
The results of a collaborative research project on laser beam weldability of carbon steels of high sheet thickness are presented. That includes single and multiple pass welding of 16 mm and 20 mm thick plates, as well as the investigation of acceptable tolerances i.e. gap bridgeability and edge misalignment. For the welding experiments fibre lasers with 8 kW, 20 kW laser power and different GMAW-techniques were used in various applications. With the 20 kW fibre laser 16 mm plates could be welded with a single pass, 20 mm required a seam preparation or alternatively preheating of the material. For multi pass welding with 8 kW laser power a joint preparation with a single V-butt joint with a broad root face (Y-groove) was applied. The root pass was always welded with a hybrid process, the filler passes with a hybrid process as well as a GMAW process which produced the best results.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Walz C., Seefeld T., Sepold G.: Hybridschweißen — eine interessante Ergänzung der Laserschweißtechnik, Hybrid welding — an interesting addition to laser welding technology, 2. Sondertagung Schweißen im Schiffbau und Ingenieurbau, Hamburg 2001, pp. 46–55 (in German).
Russell J.D.: Application of laser welding in shipyards, Proceedings of: SPIE, 1997, 3097, pp. 174–183.
Steen W.: Arc augmented laser processing of materials, Journal of Applied Physics, 1980, vol. 51, no. 11, pp. 5636–5641.
Sepold G., Thomy C., Seefeld T., Schilf M., Vollertsen F., Hoffmann R.: CO2-Laser GMA hybrid welding — aspects of research and industrial application. Proceedings of the 2nd International WLT-Conference LIM 2003, Munich, June 2003, pp. 149–156.
Fuhrmann C., Petring D., Poprawe R.: Recent results on high-power CO2- and Nd:YAG-laser-arc welding of thick steel plates, Proceedings of the 3rd International WLT-Conference LIM 2005, Munich, June 2005, pp. 185–192.
Thomy C., Seefeld T., Vollertsen F.: Hybrid welding of line pipes, in: Industrial Laser Solutions, September 2003, p. 3.
Walz C., Stiebe-Springer I., Seefeld T., Sepold G.: Hybrid welding of steel for offshore applications. Proceedings of the 11th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference ISOPE 2001, vol. IV, pp. 236–240.
Thomy C., Seefeld T., Vollertsen F.: Industrial potential for high power fiber laser welding, in: The Industrial Laser User, 2006, vol. 42, pp. 22–25.
Vollertsen F., Thomy C.: Welding with fiber lasers from 200 to 17000 W, Proceedings of the 24th ICALEO, LIA Publication 598, 2005, Paper 506.
Seyffarth P.: Erfahrungen des Werftausrüsters IMG bei der Einsatzvorbereitung von Lasertechnologien für den Schiffbau, Experiences of shipyard supplier IMG during the preparations for assigning laser technologies to shipbuilding, in: Lasertsrtahlfügen: Prozesse, Systeme, Anwendungen, Trends, eds.: F. Vollertsen, T. Seefeld, Strahltechnik, BIAS Bremen, 2006, vol. 28, pp. 27–38 (in German).
Kristensen J.K.: Thick plate CO2-Laser/MAG hybrid welding of steels, Doc. IIW-1916-08 (ex-doc. IV-932–07), Welding in the World, 2009, vol. 53, no. 1/2, pp. 48–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vollertsen, F., GrÜnenwald, S., Rethmeier, M. et al. Welding Thick Steel Plates with Fibre Lasers and GMAW. Weld World 54, R62–R70 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03263489
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03263489