Influence of surface roughness on the transient interfacial phenomena in laser impact welding

Abstract

Presented is an investigation into laser impact welding (LIW) wherein experimentally measured surface profiles of the flyer and target foils are incorporated to study their effects on the transient physical phenomena that occur during this rapid, collision-based joining process. During LIW, thermal response, plastic strains, and shear stresses evolve over a sub-microsecond timescale, which necessitates the use of computational modeling to predict the influence that surface roughness has on the material response and resulting joint morphology. White light interferometry is used to experimentally characterize the surface profiles of an aluminum 1100 flyer foil and a stainless steel 304 target foil. The profiles are mapped to material volumes within a plane strain, thermomechanical simulation employing an Eulerian framework. A spatially and temporally varying laser-induced plasma pressure is applied to the flyer foil, and the resulting transient phenomena are analyzed at timeframes ranging from initial contact through complete weld formation. To reveal effects of the rough foil surfaces, results from the same computational model using smooth foil surfaces are also obtained. When the rough surface profiles are included, it is found that significant differences in the thermal response and plastic strains are observed, and these differences are hypothesized to arise from the effects of discontinuous surface contact along the collision path. The incorporation of rough surface asperities also reveals two distinct regions prior to the weld initiation point; the first where elastic rebound occurs at a negligible collision angle, leaving interfacial voids, and the second where superficial shear deformation flattens the surfaces without mutual ablation and jetting. The work represents the first study in which measured surface profiles of the flyer and target foils are incorporated into a computational model of laser impact welding.