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Feasibility study of laser welding assisted by filler wire for narrow-gap butt-jointed plates of high-strength steel

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Abstract

Laser welding assisted by a cold filler wire (LWCFW) and hybrid laser–gas metal arc (HLGMA) welding were applied to execute the welding of 6.63-mm-thick high-strength steel (HSS) plates. The corresponding hardness distribution, tensile strength, and micrographs of the welded HSS were experimentally obtained. Results show that LWCFW can achieve a good weld quality without the groove preparation that is usually required in HLGMA welding. A narrower fusion zone and heat-affected zone can be achieved by LWCFW as compared to HLGMA welding. However, the size of the gap in a butt joint in LWCFW is limited. It was found that when a gap of about 1 mm is used in joining 6.63-mm-thick plates in a square butt joint with 4 kW of fiber laser power and a wire diameter of 0.9 mm, an acceptable weld quality could be achieved.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support of NSF grant no. IIP-1034652 is acknowledged. The authors would like to thank Mr. Andrew Socha, a research engineer at the Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing of Southern Methodist University, for his assistance in performing the experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Lyle School of Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 75205, USA

    Fanrong Kong, Wei Liu, Junjie Ma & Radovan Kovacevic

  2. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, P.O. Box 650003 M/S WT-37, Dallas, TX, USA

    Ernest Levert

Authors
  1. Fanrong Kong
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  2. Wei Liu
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  3. Junjie Ma
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  4. Ernest Levert
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  5. Radovan Kovacevic
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Correspondence to Radovan Kovacevic.

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Doc. IIW-2386, recommended for publication by Commission IV “Power Beam Processes”

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Kong, F., Liu, W., Ma, J. et al. Feasibility study of laser welding assisted by filler wire for narrow-gap butt-jointed plates of high-strength steel. Weld World 57, 693–699 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-013-0068-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-013-0068-9

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