In this article, geometrical distortions of steel structures due to laser beam welding were analyzed. Two 700-mm-long U-beam structures were welded in overlap configurations: a double U-beam structure and a U-beam/flat structure. The structures were in different material combinations from mild steel to ultrahigh-strength steel welded with different process parameters. Different measures of distortions of the U-beam structures were evaluated after cooling. Significant factors of the welding process and the geometry of the structures were identified. Furthermore, welding distortions were modeled using two predictive finite element simulation models. The previously known shrinkage method and a newly developed time-efficient simulation method were evaluated. The new model describes the effects of expansion and shrinkage of the weld zone during welding and material plasticity at elevated temperatures. The new simulation method has reasonable computation times for industrial applications and improved agreement with experiments compared to the often used so-called shrinkage method. © 2018, IMechE 2018.

There is a strong industrial need for developing robust and flexible manufacturing methods for future light-weight design. Better performing, environmental friendly vehicles will gain competitive strength from using light weight structures. In this study, focus has been on laser welding induced distortions for ultra-high strength steel (UHSS) where trials were performed on single hat and double hat beams simulating A-pillar and B-pillar structures. Furthermore, also laser welding induced porosity in cast magnesium alloy AM50 for interior parts were studied. For UHSS, conventional laser welding was done in a fixture designed for research. For cast magnesium, single-spot and twin-spot welding were done. Measurements of final distortions and metallographic investigations have been performed. The results show that the total weld metal volume or the total energy input were good measures for predicting the distortions within one steel grade. For comparing different steel grades, the width of the hard zone should be used. The relation between the width of the hard zone, corresponding to the martensitic area of the weld, and the distortions is almost linear. Additionally, compared with continuous welds, stitching reduced the distortions. For cast magnesium, two-pass (repeated parameters) welding with single-spot gave the lowest porosity of approximately 3%. However, two-pass welding is not considered production friendly. Twin-spot welding was done, where the first beam provided time for nucleation and some growth of pores while reheating by the second beam should provide time for pores to grow and escape. This gave a porosity of around 5%. Distortions and porosity are the main quality problems that occur while laser welding UHSS and cast magnesium, respectively. Low energy input seems to generally minimize quality issues. Laser welding shows high potential regarding weld quality and other general aspects such as productivity in light-weight design for both high strength steel and cast magnesium.

Porosity is reported to be a major issue when welding cast magnesium. Therefore, it is important to understand the pore formation mechanisms and find procedures that could be used to reduce porosity. This study investigated the possibility of using twin-spot optics for reducing the porosity in laser welded cast magnesium. Two twin-spot welding setups were compared using either a beam splitter or twin-spot welding with primary and secondary (placed in front of the primary optic) optics. The results showed that welding with a dual optic setup with a defocused secondary beam reduced the volumetric porosity in the weld to 5%. The highest levels of volumetric porosity were 30%, and were a result of using the dual optic setup, but with a defocused primary beam. No clear relation between the level of porosity and power or welding speed was found. It was found that the amount of porosity depended on the balance of the energy input (controlled by defocusing) between the two beams. Porosity formation can be reduced if the energy from the first beam results in the nucleation and initial growth of pores. Reheating by the second beam then allows the pores to grow and escape from the molten material without melting additional base material. Furthermore, twin-spot welding is shown to be a promising combination of a production friendly solution and high quality welding.

Pores in the weld metal lower the mechanical properties of the weld. It is therefore important to understand the pore formation mechanisms and find procedures that could reduce porosity. This study focused on laser welding of 3 mm thick magnesium alloy AM50, investigating how different parameters affect porosity formation. Low levels of porosity content were achieved by either increasing the welding speed or using a two-pass welding approach. It was found that higher welding speeds did not allow pores,which were pre-existing from the die-casting process, to have sufficient time to coalesce and expand. In the two-pass welding technique, pores were removed as a result of a degassing process which occurred through the second pass.

Thin ultra-high strength steel shaped as 700 mm long U-beams have been laser welded in overlap configuration to study the influence of welding sequence on distortions. Three different welding directions, three different energy inputs as well as stitch welding have been evaluated, using resistance spot welding (RSW) as a reference. Transverse widening at the ends and narrowing at the centre of the beam were measured. A clear correlation was found between the weld metal volume and distortion. For continuous welds there was also a nearly linear relationship between the energy input and distortion. However, the amount of distortion was not affected by a change in welding direction. Stitching and RSW reduced distortion significantly compared to continuous laser welding.

Geometrical distortions occur while welding, but the understanding of how and why they occur and how to control them is limited. The relation between the weld width, weld metal volume, total energy input, width of hard zone and distortions when laser welding three different thin sheet steels with varying strength has therefore been studied. Weld metal volume and total energy input show a good correlation with distortion for one steel at a time. The best correlation with the when including all three steel grades was the width of the hard zone composed of weld metal and the martensitic area in the heat affected zone. © 2017 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. Published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Institute.

Ultrahigh strength steels are frequently used within the automotive industry. The driving force for use of these materials is to exchange thicker gauges to thinner and lighter structures. To get excellent strength and beneficial crash performance, the steel is microalloyed with boron which contributes to the 1500 MPa tensile strength. Increasing the carbon content will give superior tensile strength up to 2000 MPa. Welding of these components is traditionally done by resistance spot welding, but to get further productivity and increased stiffness of the structure, laser welding can be introduced. Welding of boron alloyed high strength steel is in general a stable and controlled process, but if increasing the carbon content quality issues such as cracking could possibly be a problem. In the present study, weldability of two different hardened boron steels with tensile strengths of 1800 and 1900 MPa, respectively, has been evaluated. Laser welding has been done in a lap joint configuration with 3.8–4.7 kW and varying welding speed between 3.5 and 5.5 m/min. As reference, results from more conventional 1500 MPa boron steel have been compared to 1800 and 1900 MPa boron steels to show the influence of the carbon content. Metallographic investigation, hot crack test, cold crack test, shear tensile, and cross-tension strength tests have been done. The results show that a weld quality similar to that for conventional boron steel can be achieved. Cracking and other defects can be avoided. As expected when welding martensitic steels, the failure mode in tensile testing is brittle. No weld defects have been found that influence strength. The sheet interface weld width, which together with stack-up thickness correlates with strength of the joint, could be increased by increasing the heat input and defocusing the laser beam. The effect of increased carbon content on weldability will be discussed more in detail, as well as the risk of cracking

Laser beam welding has gained a significant interest during the last two decades. The suitability of the process for high volume production has the possibility to give a strong advantage compared to several other welding methods. However, it is important to have the process in full control since various quality issues may otherwise occur. During laser welding of boron steels quality issues such as imperfections, changes in local and global geometry as well as strength reduction can occur. The aspects that need to be considered are strongly depending on alloy content, process parameters etc. These problems that can occur could be fatal for the construction and the lowest level of occurrence is wanted, independent of industry.

The focus of this study has been to investigate the properties of laser welded boron steel. The study includes laser welding of boron alloyed steels with strengths of 1500 MPa and a recently introduced 1900 MPa grade. Focus has been to investigate weldability and the occurrence of cracks, porosity and strength reducing microstructure that can occur during laser welding, as well as distortion studies for tolerances in geometry. The results show that both conventional and 1900 MPa boron alloyed steel are suitable for laser welding.

Due to the martensitic structure of welds the material tends to behave brittle. Cracking and porosity do not seem to be an issue limiting the use of these steels. For tolerances in geometry for larger structures tests has been done simulating laser welding of A-pillars and B-pillars. Measurements have been done with Vernier caliper as well as a more advanced optical method capturing the movements during the welding sequence. Results from the tests done on Ushaped beams indicates that depending on the geometry of the structure and heat input distortions can be controlled to give distortions from 1 to 8 mm, at a welding length of 700 mm. This means that important geometry points can be distorted several millimeters if the laser welding process not is controlled.

Ultra high strength steels are frequently used within the automotive industry for several components. Welding of these components is traditionally done by resistance spot welding, but to get further productivity and increased strength, laser welding has been introduced in the past decades. Fusion welding is known to cause distortions due to built in stresses in the material. The distortions result in geometrical issues during assembly which become the origin of low joint quality due to gaps and misfits. U-beam structures of boron steel simulating B-pillars have been welded with laser along the flanges. Welding parameters and clamping have been varied to create different welding sequences and heat input generating a range of distortion levels. The distortions have been recorded dynamically with an optical measurement system during welding. In addition, final distortions have been measured by a digital Vernier caliper. The combined measurements give the possibility to evaluate development, occurrence, and magnitude of distortions with high accuracy. Furthermore, section cuts have been analyzed to assess joint geometry and metallurgy. The results show that final distortions appear in the range of 0-8 mm. Distortions occur mainly transversely and vertically along the profile. Variations in heat input show clear correlation with the magnitude of distortions and level of joint quality. A higher heat input in general generates a higher level of distortion with the same clamping conditions. Section cuts show that weld width and penetration are significantly affected by welding heat input. The present study identifies parameters which significantly influence the magnitude and distribution of distortions. Also, effective measures to minimize distortions and maintain or improve joint quality have been proposed. Finally, transient finite element (FE) simulations have been presented which show the behavior of the profiles during the welding and unclamping process. (C) 2015 Laser Institute of America.

Due to increased demands on reduced weight in automotive industries, the use of ultra high strength steels (UHSS) has increased. When laser welding UHSS sheets, heating and cooling of the material will cause geometrical distortions and may cause low joint quality. 700 mm long U-beam structures of 1 mm thick boron steel simulating structural pillars in body-in-white constructions have been welded along the flanges with different welding speeds to investigate distortions and weld quality. The results show that final distortions appear in the range of 0-8 mm. FE simulation methods have also been presented which generally predict the distribution of welding distortions.