Strength and microstructure of laser fusion-welded Ti–SS dissimilar material pair

Abstract

The ability to efficiently create robust and reliable dissimilar metal joints has the potential to enable new functionalities and reduce the manufacturing costs of medical devices. The need for dissimilar material welds in the medical device industry is driven by the unique properties exhibited by biocompatible materials such as stainless steel and titanium, as well as shape memory materials such as NiTi. Many material pairs, however, suffer from significant intermetallic phase formation during welding which greatly reduces their strength. This study investigates the microstructures and strength of the laser fusion-welded titanium–stainless steel dissimilar material pair as a simplified model of the NiTi–stainless steel pair. Compositional and structural analysis of the weld pool is performed and fracture morphologies are analyzed in different regions of the weld joint. The role of weld pool geometry, heat flow, and quench rate on the resultant phases, microstructures, and strength of the welds is discussed.