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Mechanical Characterization and Prediction of Aluminum Alloy Laser Welding Joints Including Roles of Geometries and Porosity

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Abstract

This paper investigate the geometric morphologies, microstructure, and porosity of the aluminum alloys laser welding joints (ALWJ) under various welding processes through a series of tests, including the optical microscope (OM) and computed tomography (CT) tests. The mechanical properties are subsequently analyzed by the tensile tests and finite element simulation. A prediction model that considers the role of geometry and porosity is proposed to predict the ultimate strength of ALWJ. Results show that the geometries significantly depended on the welding process, particularly for the penetration depth, which increases with the elevation of heat input, increasing the mechanical strength of joints. The T-joint is not connected correctly when the heat input is less than 42.8 J mm−1, which increases with the elevation of heat input until the heat input researches to 60 J mm−1. But the higher heat input also induced more pores due to the burning damage of the magnesium (Mg) element, which deteriorates the mechanical strength. Finally, the developed strength prediction model is proved to be accurate and reliable enough to predict the strength of the ALWJ with pore defects. The error of the predicted values compared with the experimental is within 15%.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (No. 11772147), National Major Scientific Research Instrument Development Program of China (No. 12027901), Major University Science Research Project of Jiangsu Province, China (No. 20KJA460001), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (No. BK20200706), and National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2018YFA0704604), and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province, China (SJCX21_0491).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China

    Yang Liu, Mingxuan Li, Qingsheng Li, Xiaofeng Lu & Xiaolei Zhu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580, China

    Shaohua Li

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  1. Yang Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaofeng Lu or Xiaolei Zhu.

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Liu, Y., Li, S., Li, M. et al. Mechanical Characterization and Prediction of Aluminum Alloy Laser Welding Joints Including Roles of Geometries and Porosity. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 32, 8040–8053 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-022-07722-3

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