Title: Application of pulsed Nd:YAG laser in thin foil microwelding

Authors: Vicente Afonso Ventrella; Jose Roberto Berretta; Wagner De Rossi

Addresses: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Sao Paulo State University – UNESP, SP, 15385-000, Brazil ' Laser Application Center, Institute of Energetic and Nuclear Researches – IPEN, SP, 05508-900, Brazil ' Laser Application Center, Institute of Energetic and Nuclear Researches – IPEN, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

Abstract: Experimental investigations were carried out using a Nd:YAG laser operating in pulsed mode for welding a lap joint between thin foil and thick sheet. The pulse energy was varied from 1.5 to 3.0 J at increments of 0.25 J with a 4 ms pulse duration. The base material used for this study was AISI 316L foils with 100 µm thickness and sheet with 3.0 mm thickness. The welds were analysed by optical and electronic microscopy, tensile shear tests and micro hardness. The results indicate that pulse energy control is of considerable importance to join thin foil and thick sheet with good quality. The ultimate tensile strength of the welded joints increased at first and then decreased as the pulse energy increased. The process appeared to be very sensitive to the gap between couples. Large voids delimited by the molten zone boundary were observed in joints welded with high pulse energy.

Keywords: AISI 316L; laser microwelding; pulsed Nd:YAG lasers; thin foil; stainless steel; lap joints; thick sheet; tensile strength.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2014.059042

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2014 Vol.48 No.1/2/3/4, pp.194 - 204

Received: 04 Feb 2013
Accepted: 23 Aug 2013
Published online: 30 May 2014 *

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