Abstract
Aluminium alloys are widely used in many industries due to their high strength-to-weight ratios and resistance to corrosion. Due to their specific thermophysical properties and intricate physical metallurgy, these alloys are challenging to weld. Work-hardened alloys may experience strength loss in heat-affected zones (HAZ). The strength of precipitation-hardened alloys is severely damaged in both HAZ and weld metal due to coarsening or full dissolution. The high thermal conductivity and reflectivity of aluminium causes lower laser beam absorptivity with lower processing efficiency. Weld imperfections such as porosity, humping, and underfills are frequently formed due to the low melting point and density promoting high liquidity with low surface tension. Porosity is the most persistent imperfection and is detrimental for mechanical properties. In this work, extensive review was made on laser beam and laser-arc hybrid welding of aluminium alloys. Solidification cracking, evaporation of alloying elements, porosity and keyhole stability, and other challenges are studied in detail. The current development of laser welding of aluminium alloys is not so mature and new discoveries will be made in the future including the use of newly developed laser systems, welding consumables, welding methods, and approaches.
Highlights
Aluminium alloys are more widely used nowadays in vast variety of industries due to their low weight, high corrosion resistance, excellent formability, high toughness at cryogenic temperatures possessing face-centred cubic (FCC) crystal structure, high thermal and electrical conductivity, and they are relatively inexpensive
Summary and Conclusions A state-of-the-art review has been performed for deep understanding of laser beam and laser-arc hybrid welding of aluminium alloys
Welds are susceptible to imperfections and critical defects such as cracking and porosity, which are detrimental for mechanical properties
Summary
Aluminium alloys are more widely used nowadays in vast variety of industries due to their low weight (density 2.7 g/cm3), high corrosion resistance, excellent formability, high toughness at cryogenic temperatures possessing face-centred cubic (FCC) crystal structure, high thermal and electrical conductivity, and they are relatively inexpensive. Aluminium alloys exhibit good mechanical properties among other materials and possess high strength-to-weight ratios [4]. Their weldability may have significant challenges, especially in joining precipitation-hardened aluminium alloys with high requirements for weld quality. Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), which is known as metal inert/active gas (MIG/MAG), has been the most used process in the joining of aluminium alloys for structural applications. The use of relatively high heat input may result in severe distortions which largely restrict the productivity and weld quality
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