Laser and Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding

Laser and hybrid laser-arc welding are used at present in modern industry, having many advantages over traditional welding technology. Sectors such as the automotive industry, shipbuilding, aviation and space industry, chemical machinery, defense industry, and so on cannot be imagined without these technologies. Possibility of dramatic increase of weld joint properties, robustness, and high level of process automation makes the technology of laser and hybrid material processing a prospective part of the industry. At the same time, physical complexity of these processes, their cross-science nature, and necessity in high-level skilled stuff require many efforts for wide and successful industrial implementation. Present manuscript, devoted to discussion of physical peculiarity of laser and hybrid laser-arc welding of metals, approaches to physical-based design of technological equipment, as well as examples of industrial applications of laser and hybrid welding concerning the possibility to control welded metal structure and properties, is one of the steps on this way

Theory and Technology of Direct Laser Deposition

Presently the additive technologies in manufacturing are widely developed in all industrialized countries. Replacing the traditional technology of casting and machining with additive technologies, one can significantly reduce material consumption and labor costs. They also allow obtaining products with desired properties. The most promising for manufacturing large-sized products is the additive technology of high-speed direct laser deposition. Using this technology allows to create complex parts and construction to one technological operation without using addition equipment and tools. This technology allows decreasing of consumption of raw materials and decrease amount of waste. Equipment for realization of DLD technology is universal and based on module design principle. DLD is based on layer-by-layer deposition and melting of powder by laser beam from using a sliced 3D computer-aided design (CAD) file. The materials used are powders based on Fe, Ni, and Ti. This chapter presents the results of machine design and research HS DLD technology from various materials

Investigation of the mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of hybrid L 80 Type 1 and duplex steel joints produced by magnetically impelled arc butt welding

In the field of deep geothermal energy, the mono-tube design will be increasingly used in the future, as significant cost savings can be expected in the production of boreholes up to depths of 6000 m. The previously used bolting of the pipe lengths by means of sleeves contributes significantly to the construction costs. In addition, there is an increased risk of failure for the sleeve bolting, especially if different materials have to be used in different layers for the purpose of increasing the corrosion resistance. Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt Welding (MIAB) was used for direct welding of pipe segments with complete elimination of socket bolting. In the process, the casing material (L80 Type 1), which is a cost-effective standard material, and a corrosion-resistant duplex steel (1.4462) were hybrid welded. The results show excellent properties both in terms of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. It is shown that the advantages of the MIAB process in joining these different materials can successfully overcome the metallurgical challenges. This new approach for the production of borehole liners can contribute significantly to cost reduction in the construction of geothermal boreholes

Features of the Powder Application in Direct Laser Deposition Technology

The chapter presents the basic aspects of the use of metal powders in one of the main additive technologies—direct laser deposition (DLD). Direct laser deposition refers to a group of direct energy deposition (DED) methods and is analogous to Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) technology. The main requirements applied to DLD used metal powders are analyzed and substantiated. The influence of the basic properties of the powders on the quality of the deposited samples is demonstrated. An example of incoming quality control of powders, allowing its application in DLD technology, is presented. The results of experimental research on obtaining quality control samples for the most used metallic materials are presented. The results of structure and properties studies for the main groups of alloys based on iron, nickel, and titanium are shown. The potential for manufacturing products for various areas of industry using DLD has been demonstrated

Hybrid welding of dissimilar metals

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.The article addresses issues laser - plasma welding (LPW) dissimilar metals and the results of metallographic studies of the microstructure of welds ferrite - 40 steel and molybdenum - steel 40. Increasing potential opportunities the high-energy processing is carried out by integration the laser radiation (LR) and plasma, which allows you to create the desired spatial distribution of the energy flow for technological processes (TP) of laser-plasma heat treatment (LPT) of metals. The distribution of the thermal field is determined by the density distribution of energy flow LR and plasma exposure time, and the thermal characteristics of the treated metal. The most interesting is the treatment of details with ring flow of plasma and LR axial impact

Improvements of hybrid laser arc welding for shipbuilding T-joints with 2F position of 8 mm thick steel

One of the main concerns in the early stages of manufacturing flat units of shipbuilding is to ensure the quality of the joints throughout the structure. The flat units are constituted by butt welded flat plates, on which longitudinal T-welded reinforcements are placed to rigidize the structure. Among the different welding technologies, Hybrid Laser Arc Welding (HLAW) is becoming a mature process, profitable and highly productive. In addition, more innovative welding equipment are being developed nowadays, offering greater work flexibility, and raising expectations of achieving better quality, and economic viability. Another key point of HLAW to keep in mind is that structural distortions are reduced, resulting in decreasing the cost and time of straightening work. In the present contribution, the influence of HLAW parameters on the quality of fillet joints of naval steel has been analysed. Experimental HLAW tests were performed with a high power disk laser to join EH36 naval steel plates, with a T configuration. The influence of different processing parameters has been analysed, as the laser power, welding speed, wire feed rate and the configuration of the HLAW processes (including head angle and laser/arc leading process). In addition, FEM simulations were carried out in order to estimate residual stresses and distortion of welded part. The distortion values provided by FEM presented excellent agreement with the measured experimental results. To evaluate the welds, non destructive tests including X-ray tests, metallographic analysis of cross sections, and microhardness mapping tests were performed. Full penetration 8 mm T welds were obtained for the first time at an industrially applicable 2F position with a reasonable HLAW head angle, in one single step without sealing root, and using zero gap square groove edge preparation. The present contribution presents welding rates up to 2.2 m/min for 2F T-joints of this steel thickness, a much higher processing velocity than previously reported for industrial applications

Триботехнические характеристики композиционных покрытий на никелевой основе, полученных гибридными технологиями

As an object of this study, the coatings were used, which are composed of self-fluxing nickel-based alloys or compositions containing them, formed in a hybrid technological process with two main stages: spraying by the plasma method and subsequent remelting – by the gas-flame method or laser heating. An experimental measurement of their resistance to abrasive wear under conditions of boundary friction with the introduction of lubricants has been carried out for the coatings obtained in this process. At the same time, the influence of the coating composition and the remelting method on the wear value measured by the artificial base method has been investigated. To evaluate the dynamics of structure formation in the surface layer subjected to mechanical loads during the friction, X-ray diffraction analysis, metallographic method, and scanning electron microscopy in the electron diffraction mode have been used. After the laser remelting stage, it is possible to obtain coatings with wear resistance that is twice or more superior to the level for sprayed coatings of the same composition processed by the gas flame method. Wear of the coating surface has been found to occur through the mechanism of fatigue failure of the least hard component of the coating, i. e., the nickel-containing intermetallic phase, with the formation of an island-type film of hard crystallites of the carbide-boron phase weakly bound to the coating base, which ultimately leads to cracking of particles of this phase and their crumbling from the surface. The durability of layers obtained after the laser remelting stage can be increased, according to experimental data, by reducing the grain size of the phases in the coating and its texturing, as well as increasing the concentration of alloying elements in the composition of the metal-containing binder phase of the coating. The use of alloying additives leads to an additional increase in wear resistance by 2–4 times. This is due, depending on the type of additives, with an increase in the amount of the hardening phase while maintaining the plasticity of the matrix (coatings with chromium carbide additives), the degree of alloying of the nickel matrix (by the tungsten carbide and boron carbide additives), as well as the presence of a finely dispersed carbide-boride component, which reduces the processes of deformation and scratching.Как объект изучения использованы покрытия, состоящие из самофлюсующихся сплавов на основе никеля или содержащие их композиции, сформированные в гибридном технологическом процессе с двумя основными стадиями: напылением плазменным методом и последующим оплавлением – газопламенным методом или за счет лазерного нагрева. Для полученных в данном процессе покрытий проведено экспериментальное определение их стойкости к абразивному износу в условиях граничного трения с вводом смазок. При этом изучено влияние состава покрытия и способа оплавления на величину износа, измеренного методом искусственных баз. Для оценочного определения динамики структурообразования в поверхностном слое, подвергнутом механическим нагрузкам при трении, использованы рентгенофазовый анализ, металлографический метод, а также сканирующая электронная микроскопия в режиме электронной дифракции (электронографии). После стадии лазерного оплавления удается получить покрытия со стойкостью к износу, двукратно и более превосходящей уровень для напыленных покрытий того же состава, обработанных газопламенным методом. Износ поверхности покрытия, как было установлено, происходит по механизму усталостного разрушения наименее твердого компонента покрытия, т. е. никельсодержащей интерметаллидной фазы, с образованием островковой пленки из слабосвязанных с основой твердых кристаллитов карбидно-боридной фазы, что приводит в итоге к растрескиванию частиц этой фазы и осыпанию их с поверхности. Стойкость слоев, полученных после стадии лазерного оплавления, может быть повышена, по экспериментальным данным, путем уменьшения размеров зерна фаз в покрытии и его текстурирования, а также повышения концентрации легирующих элементов в составе металлсодержащей связующей фазы покрытия. Введение легирующих добавок приводит к дополнительному увеличению износостойкости в 2–4 раза. Это связано, в зависимости от типа добавок, с увеличением количества упрочняющей фазы при сохранении пластичности матрицы (покрытия с добавками карбида хрома), степенью легирования никелевой матрицы (добавки карбида вольфрама и карбида бора), а также наличием мелкодисперсного карбидно-боридного компонента, что уменьшает процессы деформирования и царапания