Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Laser welding dissimilar materials of aluminum to steel: an overview

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Joining aluminum to steel can lighten the weight of components in the automobile and other industries, which can reduce fuel consumption and harmful gas emissions to protect the environment. However, the differences of thermal, physical, and chemical properties between aluminum and steel bring a series of problems in laser welding. The main problems are how to control the thickness of the intermetallic compound layer and reduce or avoid the generation of pores, cracks, and thermal stresses which severely limit the mechanical properties of welded joints. Laser fusion-brazing technology utilizes the precise control of heat input with or without filler to partially melt the low melting temperature aluminum base material and promote wetting on the high melting temperature steel base material in order to achieve sound metallurgical by combining the advantages of fusion welding and brazing. Different forms of laser beam welding including single beam laser welding, dual-beam laser welding, and laser arc hybrid fusion-brazing welding are reviewed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Miller WS, Zhuang L, Bottema J, Wittebrood AJ, Smet PD, Haszler A, Vieregge A (2000) Recent development in aluminium alloys for the automotive industry. Mater Sci Eng A 280:37–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Sahin S, Michael K, Markus K, Michael FZ (2014) Influence of process temperature on hardness of friction stir welded high strength aluminum alloys for aerospace applications. Procedia CIRP 24:120–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Barbara R (2014) Discussion on the use of stainless steel in constructions in view of sustainability. Thin Wall Struct 83:182–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sierra G, Wattrisse B, Bordreuil C (2008) Structural analysis of steel to aluminum welded overlap joint by digital image correlation. Exp Mech 48:212–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Uzun H, Donne CD, Argagnotto A, Ghidini T, Gambaro C (2005) Friction stir welding of dissimilar Al of 6013-T4 to X5CrNi18-10 stainless steel. Mater Des 26:41–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Nishimoto K, Fujii H, Katayam S (2006) Laser pressure welding of Al alloy and low C steel. Sci Technol Weld Join 11:224–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Brockmann R, Dickmann K, Radscheit C, Schubert E, Sepold G (1996) Method for the laser beam joining of aluminum and steel in the thin sheet range. Wel Cut 48(3):46–47

    Google Scholar 

  8. Habibnia M, Shakeri M, Nourouzi S, Besharati Givi MK (2015) Microstructural and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 5050 Al alloy and 304 stainless steel plates. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 76:819–829

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang WH, Sun DQ, Han LJ, Liu DY (2014) Interfacial microstructure and mechanical property of resistance spot welded joint of high strength steel and aluminium alloy with 4047 AlSi12 interlayer. Mater Des 57:186–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Qiu RF, Iwamoto C, Satonaka S (2009) Interfacial microstructure and strength of steel/aluminum alloy joints welded by resistance spot welding with cover plate. J Mater Process Technol 209:4186–4193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Tricarico L, Spina R (2010) Experimental investigation of laser beam welding of explosion-welded steel/aluminum structural transition joints. Mater Des 31(4):1981–1992

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Farid H, Fadi AF (2015) Microstructural and mechanical performance of aluminium to steel high power ultrasonic spot welding. J Mater Process Technol 225:262–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Liu P, Li YJ, Wang J, Guo JS (2003) Vacuum brazing technology and microstructure near the interface of Al/18-8 stainless steel. Mater Res Bull 38:1493–1499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Roulin M, Luster JW, Karadeniz G, Mortensen A (1999) Strength and structure of furnace-brazed joints between aluminum and stainless steel. Weld J 78(5):151s–155s

    Google Scholar 

  15. Cao R, Yu G, Chen JH, Wang PC (2013) Cold metal transfer joining aluminum alloys-to-galvanized mild steel. J Mater Process Technol 213:1753–1763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Cao R, Sun JH, Chen JH, Wang PC (2014) Cold metal transfer joining of aluminum AA6061-T6-to-galvanized boron steel. J Manuf Sci Eng 136(5):351–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Sierra G, Peyre P, Deschanx Beaume F, Stuart D, Fras G (2008) Galvanised steel to aluminium joining by laser and GTAW processing. Mater Charact 59:1705–1715

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Song JL, Lin SB, Yang CL, Fan CL (2009) Effects of Si additions on intermetallic compound layer of aluminum-steel TIG welding-brazing joint. J Alloys Compd 488:217–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Jacome LA, Weber S, Leitner A (2009) Influence of filler composition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of steel-aluminum joints produced by metal arc joining. Adv Eng Mater 11(5):350–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Qin GL, Su YH, Meng XM, Fu BL (2015) Numerical simulation on MIG arc brazing-fusion welding of aluminum alloy to galvanized steel plate. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 78:1917–1925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Bach FW, Beniyash A, Lau K, Versemann R (2005) Joining of steel-aluminum hybrid structures with electron beam on atmosphere. Adv Mater Res 6–8:143–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Meco S, Pardal G, Ganguly S, Williams S, McPherson N (2015) Application of laser in seam welding of dissimilar steel to aluminium joints for thick structural components. Opt Lasers Eng 67:22–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Schubert E, Zerner I, Sepold G (1997) Laser beam joining of material combinations for automotive applications. Proc SPIE 3097:212–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Gao M, Chen C, Mei SW, Wang L, Zeng XY (2014) Parameter optimization and mechanism of laser–arc hybrid welding of dissimilar Al alloy and stainless steel. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 74:199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Kutsuna M, Yamagami N, Rathod M, Azar Ammar HY (2006) Laser roll welding for joining of low carbon steel to aluminum alloys. Weld Int 20(6):446–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Dong HG, Yang LQ, Dong C, Kou SD (2010) Arc joining of aluminum alloy to stainless steel with flux-cored Zn-based filler metal. Mater Sci Eng A 527:7151–7154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Lee KJ, Kumai S (2006) Characterization of intermetallic compound layer formed at the weld interface of the defocused laser welded low carbon steel/6111 aluminium alloy lap joint. Mater Trans 47(4):1178–1185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Rathod MJ, Kutsuna M (2004) Joining of aluminum alloy 5052 and low-carbon steel by laser roll welding. Weld Res 83:16–26

    Google Scholar 

  29. Katayama S, Sung-Min J, Mizutani M, Han-Sur B (2005) Laser weldability of aluminium alloy and steel. Mater Sci Forum 502:481–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Agudo L, Eyidi D, Schmaranzer CH, Arenholz E, Jank N, Bruckner J, Pyzalla AR (2007) Intermetallic FexAly-phases in a steel/Al-alloy fusion weld. J Mater Sci 42:4205–4214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Torkamany MJ, Tahamtan S, Sabbaghzadeh J (2010) Dissimilar welding of carbon steel to 5754 aluminum alloy by Nd:YAG pulsed laser. Mater Des 31:458–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Dasgupta AK, Mazumder J (2008) Laser welding of zinc coated steel: an alternative to resistance spot welding. Sci Technol Weld Join 13(3):289–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Kouadri-David A, Team PSM (2014) Study of metallurgic and mechanical properties of laser welded heterogeneous joints between DP600 galvanised steel and aluminium 6082. Mater Des 54:184–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Liu J, Jiang SC, Shi Y, Kuang YL, Huang GZ, Zhang H (2015) Laser fusion–brazing of aluminum alloy to galvanized steel with pure Al filler powder. Opt Laser Technol 66:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Dharmendra C, Rao KP, Wilden J, Reich S (2011) Study on laser welding–brazing of zinc coated steel to aluminum alloy with a zinc based filler. Mater Sci Eng A 528:1497–1503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Marder AR (2000) The metallurgy of zinc-coated steel. Prog Mater Sci 45(3):191–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Liu J, Jiang SC, Shi Y, Ni C, Chen JK, Huang GZ (2015) Effects of zinc on the laser welding of an aluminum alloy and galvanized steel. J Mater Process Technol 224:49–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Laukant H, Wallmann C, Korte M, Glatzel U (2005) Flux-less joining technique of aluminium with zinc-coated steel sheets by a dual-spot-laser beam. Adv Mater Res 6–8:163–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Sierra G, Peyre P, Deschaux-Beaume F, Stuart D, Fras G (2007) Steel to aluminium key-hole laser welding. Mater Sci Eng A 447:197–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Peyre P, Sierra G, Deschaux-Beaume F, Stuart D, Fras G (2007) Generation of aluminium–steel joints with laser-induced reactive wetting. Mater Sci Eng A 444:327–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Sun JH, Yan Q, Gao W, Huang J (2015) Investigation of laser welding on butt joints of Al/steel dissimilar materials. Mater Des 83:120–128

    Google Scholar 

  42. Alexandre M, Rajashekar S, Alexis D, Michel S, Simone M, Dominique G, Eugen C (2007) Dissimilar material joining using laser (aluminum to steel using zinc-based filler wire). Opt Laser Technol 39:652–661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Ma JJ, Harooni M, Carlson B, Kovacevic R (2014) Dissimilar joining of galvanized high-strength steel to aluminum alloy in a zero-gap lap joint configuration by two-pass laser welding. Mater Des 58:390–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Ma JJ, Kong F, Carlson B, Kovacevic R (2012) Two-pass laser welding of galvanized high-strength dual-phase steel for a zero-gap lap joint configuration. J Mater Process Technol 213(3):495–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Shi Y, Zhang H, Takehiro W, Tang J (2010) CW/PW dual-beam YAG laser welding of steel/aluminum alloy sheets. Opt Lasers Eng 48:732–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Albright CB, Eastman J, Lempert W (2001) Low-power lasers assist arc welding(J). Weld J 80(4):55–58

    Google Scholar 

  47. Avilov VV, Decker I, Pursch H (1994) Study of a laser-enhanced welding arc using advanced split anode technique. Weld J 11(2):112–123

    Google Scholar 

  48. Qin GL, Lei Z, Su YH, Fu BL, Meng XM, Lin SY (2014) Large spot laser assisted GMA brazing-fusion welding of aluminum alloy to galvanized steel. J Mater Process Technol 214:2684–2692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Qin GL, Su YH, Wang SJ (2014) Microstructures and properties of welded joint of aluminum alloy to galvanized steel by Nd:YAG laser + MIG arc hybrid brazing-fusion welding. Trans Nonferrous Metals Soc China 24:989–995

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Liu W, Ma JJ, Atabaki MM, Kovacevic R (2015) Joining of advanced high-strength steel to AA 6061 alloy by using Fe/Al structural transition joint. Mater Des 168:146–157

    Google Scholar 

  51. Wieschemann A, Kelle H, Dilthey D (2003) Hybrid-welding and the HyDRA MAG + laser processes in shipbuilding. Weld Int 17(10):761–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Jasnau U, HoffmannJ, Seyffarth P (2004) Nd:YAG – Laser – GMA – Hybrid Welding in Shipbuilding and Steel Construction. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 299:14–24

  53. Staufer H (2006) Laser hybrid welding and laser brazing at AUDI and VW. Weld World 50:44–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Graf T, Staufer H (2003) Laser-hybird welding drives VW improvements. Weld J 82:42–48

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, ZhenJiang, Jiangsu, 212013, China

    Pengfei Wang & Qiuhong Pan

  2. School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China

    Xizhang Chen & Jiangqi Long

  3. Montana Tech, Butte, MT, USA

    Bruce Madigan

Authors
  1. Pengfei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xizhang Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qiuhong Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bruce Madigan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jiangqi Long
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xizhang Chen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, P., Chen, X., Pan, Q. et al. Laser welding dissimilar materials of aluminum to steel: an overview. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 87, 3081–3090 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-8725-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-8725-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation