Study on the burning loss of magnesium in fiber laser welding of an Al-Mg alloy by optical emission spectroscopy

Abstract

In order to study the burning loss of magnesium, a specially designed device was used to capture the spectrum emitted from the keyhole plasma in deep penetration laser welding of aluminum alloy 5052. The content of magnesium in the weld bead was measured by an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The effect of the welding parameters on the spectral intensity of magnesium plasma was examined, and the distributions of the spectral intensity of magnesium plasma in the radial and depth directions of the keyhole were investigated. Finally, the mechanism of the magnesium loss was analyzed. The results indicate that burning loss of magnesium can be monitored by spectral analysis technique. The welding parameters have a great effect on the burning loss of magnesium. The influence of welding speed on the burning loss of magnesium on the top surface is dependent on the penetration regime. The distribution of magnesium in the weld is not uniform. In the radial direction of the weld bead, the content of magnesium increases from the center to the edge of the keyhole. In the depth direction of the weld bead, the content of magnesium decreases firstly and then increases from the top to bottom. The maximum burning loss of magnesium occurs at the middle of the weld bead.