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Effect of liquid column on process stability and weld formation under ultra-high power fiber laser-arc hybrid welding of thick plates

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Abstract

Liquid column was a common problem in ultra-high power fiber laser-arc hybrid welding (UHLAHW) process, which has an adverse effect on the welding stability and weld formation. Hence, the influence of welding parameters on the behavior of liquid column was investigated systematically, including laser arc recombination process, laser power, and welding speed. As a result, the violent rising liquid column under laser was suppressed markedly after arc addition. However, it was hard to restrain liquid column upturn when laser power was extremely high, because the huge recoil pressure and shear force between metal vapor/plasma and molten pool could increase the upward momentum of melt. Besides, the height of liquid column and volume of spatters were directly influenced by welding speed, due to the welding line energy could significantly influence the flow of melt on the front of keyhole. By optimizing the welding process, the liquid column could be controlled, thereby significantly improving the welding process stability. Finally, a sound weld bead with qualified weld formation and 15.82-mm penetration was produced when the laser power was 21 kW and welding speed was 1.2 m/min under UHLAHW process. This work provides technical guidance for achieving stable welding process and qualified weld formation for thick plates.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Analysis and Test Center of HUST (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) and the State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mold Technology of HUST, for their friendly cooperation.

Funding

This research has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 52075201, No. 51861165202, the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 2020M682407, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (HUST), HUST:2020JYCXJJ038.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 430074, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Li, Shaoning Geng, Siyuan Gu, Dehua Huang, Yilin Wang & Ping Jiang

  2. The State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 430074, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China

    Gaoyang Mi

Authors
  1. Yan Li
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  2. Shaoning Geng
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  3. Siyuan Gu
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  4. Dehua Huang
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  5. Yilin Wang
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  6. Gaoyang Mi
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  7. Ping Jiang
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Contributions

Yan Li: writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, conceptualization, investigation, formal analysis, methodology, validation, data curation. Shaoning Geng: resources, writing—review and editing, methodology. Siyuan Gu: investigation. Dehua Huang: investigation. Yilin Wang: investigation, validation, formal analysis. Gaoyang Mi: resources, writing—review and editing, methodology. Ping Jiang: supervision, resources, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Ping Jiang.

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Li, Y., Geng, S., Gu, S. et al. Effect of liquid column on process stability and weld formation under ultra-high power fiber laser-arc hybrid welding of thick plates. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 121, 8243–8255 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09712-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09712-0

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