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Simulation and experiment for dynamics of laser welding keyhole and molten pool at different penetration status

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Abstract

The penetration status profoundly influences the dynamic behaviors of keyhole and molten pool during laser welding. This paper presents a three-dimensional numerical simulation model with a ray-tracing method, which is dedicated to investigating the different penetration statuses in laser welding of type 304 stainless steel. In the proposed model, the factors include melting, evaporation, solidification, the vapor-induced plume heat transfer, buoyancy force, Marangoni effect, surface tension, and recoil pressure. Unlike existing similar work, three types of penetration status are investigated, including non-penetration, insufficient penetration, and full penetration. The weld cross-section geometry of simulation results is in good agreement with the experimental results. The behaviors of keyhole and molten pool, energy absorbed by the weldment, and flow field in the molten pool are discussed in details. It is found that the penetration status affects the dynamics of keyhole and molten pool, the temperature field, the absorbed energy, and the flow field, which is greatly connected with weld bead formation and joint quality.

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Funding

This work was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 51675104), the Guangzhou Municipal Special Fund Project for Scientific and Technological Innovation and Development (Grant Numbers 202002020068, 202002030147), and the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Number 2017A030310494). Many thanks are given to Professor Suck-Joo Na, for his assistance of simulation methods.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Welding Engineering Technology Research Center, Guangdong University of Technology, No.100 West Waihuan Road, Higher Education Mega Center, Panyu District, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Yanzhu Feng, Xiangdong Gao, Yanxi Zhang, Cong Peng, Xiaoyan Gui, Yousong Sun & Xiaoting Xiao

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  1. Yanzhu Feng
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  2. Xiangdong Gao
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  3. Yanxi Zhang
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  4. Cong Peng
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  5. Xiaoyan Gui
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  6. Yousong Sun
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  7. Xiaoting Xiao
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All authors contributed equally to this work.

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Correspondence to Xiangdong Gao.

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Feng, Y., Gao, X., Zhang, Y. et al. Simulation and experiment for dynamics of laser welding keyhole and molten pool at different penetration status. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 112, 2301–2312 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-06489-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-020-06489-y

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