Vacuum laser beam welding utilises the advantages of both laser and electron beam welding. In this study, a numerical model was developed to simulate fume particle behaviour and the contamination of coupling glass through which the laser beam irradiates the vacuum chamber. Supplying a proper flow rate of shielding gas suppresses the infiltration of fume particles into the protective system and prevents the rising of fumes inside the system. The high momentum of the supplied gas could discharge fume particles out of the protective system and horizontally deflect fume particles away. The developed numerical model showed a good agreement with the experimental results, and a systematic method for designing and optimising the protective system was established.
KatayamaS, MizutaniM, KawahitoY, . Fundamental research of 100 kW fiber laser welding technology. Proceedings of the Lasers in Manufacturing Conference (LiM); 2015 Jun 22–25; Munich, Germany.
2.
ChoiK-D, AhnY-N, KimC.Weld strength improvement for Al alloy by using laser weaving method. J Laser Appl. 2010; 22(3):116–119.
3.
KimBH, KangNH, OhWT, . Effects of weaving laser on weld microstructure and crack for Al 6k21-T4 alloy. J Mater Sci Technol. 2011; 27(1):93–96.
4.
KimC, KangM, KangN.Solidification crack and morphology for laser weave welding of Al 5J32 alloy. Sci Technol Weld Joining. 2013; 18(1):57–61.
5.
KangM, KimC.Evaluation of hot cracking susceptibility on laser welded aluminum alloy using coaxially arranged multiple-beam laser. J Laser Appl. 2020; 32(2):022072.
6.
WangH, KawahitoY, YoshidaR, . Development of a high-power blue laser (445 nm) for material processing. Opt Lett. 2017; 42(12):2251–2254.
7.
KatayamaS, KobayashiY, MizutaniM, . Effect of vacuum on penetration and defects in laser welding. J Laser Appl. 2001; 13(5):187–192.
8.
AbeY, MizutaniM, KawahitoY, . Deep penetration welding with high power laser under vacuum. International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics. LIA; 2010.
9.
ReisgenU, OlschokS, LongerichS. Laser beam welding in vacuum – a process variation in comparison with electron beam welding. International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics. LIA; 2010.
10.
BörnerC, DilgerK, RomingerV, . Influence of ambient pressure on spattering and weld seam quality in laser beam welding with the solid-state laser. International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics. LIA; 2011.
11.
ElmerJ, VajaJ, CarltonH.The effect of reduced pressure on laser keyhole weld porosity and weld geometry in commercially pure titanium and nickel. Weld J. 2016; 95:419–430.
12.
LeeY, CheonJ, MinB-K, . Contamination of coupling glass and performance evaluation of protective system in vacuum laser beam welding. Appl Sci. 2019; 9(23):5082.
13.
KatayamaS, YoheiA, MizutaniM, . Development of deep penetration welding technology with high brightness laser under vacuum. Phys Procedia. 2011; 12:75–80.
14.
ReisgenU, OlschokS, JakobsS. Laser beam welding in vacuum of thick plate structural steel. International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics. Laser Institute of America; 2013.
15.
ReitemeyerD, SeefeldT, VollertsenF, . Cover glass influence on high power fiber laser induced focus shift. International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics. LIA; 2009.
16.
YouheiA, YousukeK, HiroshiN, . Effect of reduced pressure atmosphere on weld geometry in partial penetration laser welding of stainless steel and aluminium alloy with high power and high brightness laser. Sci Technol Weld Joining. 2014; 19(4):324–332.
17.
LuoY, TangX, LuF, . Effect of subatmospheric pressure on plasma plume in fiber laser welding. J Mater Process Technol. 2015; 215:219–224.
18.
LuoY, TangX, LuF, . Spatial distribution characteristics of plasma plume on attenuation of laser radiation under subatmospheric pressure. Appl Opt. 2015; 54(5):1090–1096.
19.
JiangM, TaoW, WangS, . Effect of ambient pressure on interaction between laser radiation and plasma plume in fiber laser welding. Vacuum. 2017; 138:70–79.
20.
JiangM, ChenX, ChenY, . Increasing keyhole stability of fiber laser welding under reduced ambient pressure. J Mater Process Technol. 2019; 268:213–222.
21.
JiangM, ChenX, ChenY, . Mitigation of porosity defects in fiber laser welding under low vacuum. J Mater Process Technol. 2020; 276:116385.
22.
ReisgenU, OlschokS, JakobsS, . Laser beam welding under vacuum of high grade materials. Weld World. 2016; 60(3):403–413.
23.
ReisgenU, OlschokS, HoltumN, . Laser beam welding in mobile vacuum. Proceedings of the Lasers in Manufacturing (LIM 2017); Munich, Germany; 2017. p. 26–29.
24.
HanX, TangX, WangT, . Role of ambient pressure in keyhole dynamics based on beam transmission path method for laser welding on Al alloy. Int J Adv Manuf Technol. 2018; 99(5-8):1639–1651.
25.
LiL, PengG, WangJ, . Numerical and experimental study on keyhole and melt flow dynamics during laser welding of aluminium alloys under subatmospheric pressures. Int J Heat Mass Transf. 2019; 133:812–826.
26.
CheonJ, KiranDV, NaS-J.CFD based visualization of the finger shaped evolution in the gas metal arc welding process. Int J Heat Mass Transf. 2016; 97:1–14.
27.
OpryaM, KiroS, WorobiecA, . Size distribution and chemical properties of welding fumes of inhalable particles. J Aerosol Sci. 2012; 45:50–57.
28.
LacroixD, JeandelG, BoudotC.Solution of the radiative transfer equation in an absorbing and scattering Nd:YAG laser-induced plume. J Appl Phys. 1998; 84(5):2443–2449.
29.
AmaraEH, FabbroR, BendibA.Modeling of the compressible vapor flow induced in a keyhole during laser welding. J Appl Phys. 2003; 93(7):4289–4296.
