Abstract
This paper presents an experimental investigation of laser overlap welding of low carbon galvanized steel. Based on a structured experimental design using the Taguchi method, the investigation is focused on the evaluation of various laser welding parameters effects on the welds quality. Welding experiments are conducted using a 3 kW Nd:YAG laser source. The selected laser welding parameters (laser power, welding speed, laser fiber diameter, gap between sheets and sheets thickness) are combined and used to evaluate the variation of three geometrical characteristics of the weld (penetration depth, bead width at the surface and bead width at the interface). Various improved statistical tools are used to analyze the effects of welding parameters on the variation of the weld quality and to identify the possible relationship between these parameters and the geometrical characteristics of the weld. The results reveal that the reached hardness values are similar for all the experimental tests and all welding parameters are relevant to the weld quality with a relative predominance of laser power and welding speed. The effect of the gap is relatively limited. The investigation results reveal also that there are many options to consider for building an efficient welds quality prediction model. Results achieved using an artificial neural network based simplified model provide an indication of the prediction model performances.
Highlights
IntroductionTo improve the corrosion resistance of the vehicle parts in automotive industry, various coatings alternative can be considered
This paper presents an experimental investigation of laser overlap welding of low carbon galvanized steel
The results reveal that the reached hardness values are similar for all the experimental tests and all welding parameters are relevant to the weld quality with a relative predominance of laser power and welding speed
Summary
To improve the corrosion resistance of the vehicle parts in automotive industry, various coatings alternative can be considered Among these techniques, zinc surface coating is the most popular [1]. Due to the low boiling temperature of the zinc (1180 K) compared to the fusion temperature of steel (1808 K), the laser welding process of galvanized steel in the overlap configuration exhibits instabilities. This is caused by the premature vaporization of the zinc coating at the sheets interface generating a high pressures ranging from 50 to 100 bars at temperatures varying from 1800 to 2000 K [2]. The pressurized vapors disturb the welding process by ejecting the molten metal outside the melt pool, and zinc vapors can be trapped in the weld after solidification, as blowers and spatters [3]
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