TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Welding of thick metal plates with laser - Where are the limits? N2 - -With modern high-power lasers (and vacuum) penetration around 100 mm is possible -Important for industrial applications: single-pass full penetration welds with tolerances -Contactless EM-backing helps to overcome many main restrictions: -Single-pass HLAW of up to 30 mm can be realized with 20 kW laser power -Increase of the gap bridgeability and misalignement of edges -Lower sensitivity to manufacturing tolerances and edge quality; samples can be prepared by a plasma-cut instead of time-consuming milling process -Gives the possibility to increase the welding parameter window and cooling rate so that the required mechanical properties can be reached -Improved filler wire mixing behaviour T2 - AKL22 - International Laser Technology Congress CY - Aachen, Germany DA - 04.05.2022 KW - Laser hybrid welding KW - Thick-walled steel KW - High-power laser KW - Electromagnetic backing PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56367 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael A1 - Artinov, Antoni A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng A1 - Bakir, Nasim A1 - Üstündag, Ömer A1 - Bachmann, Marcel A1 - Gumenyuk, Andrey T1 - The bulging effect and its relevance in high power laser beam welding N2 - The present work deals with the recently confirmed widening of the weld pool interface, known as a bulging effect, and its relevance in high power laser beam welding. A combined experimental and numerical approach is utilized to study the influence of the bulge on the hot cracking formation and the transport of alloying elements in the molten pool. A technique using a quartz glass, a direct-diode laser illumination, a high-speed camera, and two thermal imaging cameras is applied to visualize the weld pool geometry in the longitudinal section. The study examines the relevance of the bulging effect on both, partial and complete penetration, as well as for different sheet thicknesses ranging from 8 mm to 25 mm. The numerical analysis shows that the formation of a bulge region is highly dependent on the penetration depth and occurs above 10 mm penetration depth. The location of the bulge correlates strongly with the cracking location. The obtained experimental and numerical results reveal that the bulging effect increases the hot cracking susceptibility and limits the transfer of alloying elements from the top of the weld pool to the weld root. T2 - 1st Annual Assembly and Conference of The Welding Federation of Africa (TWF-Africa) CY - Cairo, Egypt DA - 14.03.2023 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Melt pool dinamics PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58695 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - The bulging effect and its relevance in high power laser beam welding N2 - The present work deals with the recently confirmed widening of the weld pool interface, known as a bulging effect, and its relevance in high power laser beam welding. A combined experimental and numerical approach is utilized to study the influence of the bulge on the hot cracking formation and the transport of alloying elements in the molten pool. A technique using a quartz glass, a direct-diode laser illumination, a high speed camera, and two thermal imaging cameras is applied to visualize the weld pool geometry in the longitudinal section. The study examines the relevance of the bulging effect on both, partial and complete penetration, as well as for different sheet thicknesses ranging from 8 mm to 25 mm. The numerical analysis shows that the formation of a bulge region is highly dependent on the penetration depth and occurs above 10 mm penetration depth. The location of the bulge correlates strongly with the cracking location. The obtained experimental and numerical results reveal that the bulging effect increases the hot cracking susceptibility and limits the transfer of alloying elements from the top of the weld pool to the weld root T2 - The 18th Nordic Laser Materials Processing Conference CY - Lulea, Sweden DA - 18.01.2022 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Melt pool dinamics PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-54333 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Single pass laser vacuum welding of thick steel plates using electromagnetic support N2 - The increasing demand for renewable energy produced by offshore wind turbines goes along with an increased demand in the production of offshore wind turbine foundations, so called “monopiles”, which are made by joining thick metal sheets. The industrial standard of multi-layer submerged arc welding (SAW) for joining of thick metal sheets is the current bottleneck in the production of monopiles. A possible increase in productivity by the implementation of high-power laser welding in a newly developed mobile vacuum chamber (MoVac) and an electromagnetic root support is the subject of this study. Single run butt welds are performed in flat position on S355 mild steel of thicknesses up to 80 mm using a disc laser system with 1030 nm wavelength and a maximum output of 60 kW. The laser optic is fixed on the MoVac-System which is held and manipulated by an articulated robot. T2 - 13th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies [LANE 2024] CY - Fürth, Germany DA - 16.09.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Laser welding with mobile vacuum PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-62416 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael A1 - Gook, Sergej T1 - Notch impact toughness of laser beam welded thick sheets of cryogenic nickel alloyed steel X8Ni9 N2 - This research work deals with the investigations of the impact toughness of laser beam welded 14.5 mm thick sheets made of cryogenic steel X8Ni9 as a function of preheating. This 9% nickel alloyed steel is widely used in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. An application of highly efficient welding processes such as high-power laser beam welding (LBW) in LNG sector requires an understanding of the interactions between the LBW process parameters and weld properties, in particular the impact toughness. The results show that the original fine-grained martensitic microstructure of the base metal (BM) is significantly changed by melting and crystallization during the LBW, what can lead to a decrease in the impact toughness of the weld metal (WM) below the required level. An optimal preheating temperature range leads to the favorable thermal welding cycle and is of remarkable importance for maintaining the notch impact toughness of laser beam welded joints of these thick steel sheets. A parameter window was identified in which V-notch impact toughness comparable to that of the BM at -196 °C was achieved. T2 - 11th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies LANE 2020 CY - Online meeting DA - 06.09.2020 KW - Cryogenic steel KW - Laser beam welding KW - Welding thermal cycle PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-51750 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Laser and hybrid welding with ultra high power lasers N2 - Welding with high-power lasers has a history of over 30 years. With the introduction of high-powerCO2 lasers, the subject was investigated as early as the 1990s as part of various research projects. A renewed interest in the subject was awakened with the market launch of high-brilliance, high-power fibre and disc lasers at the beginning of the 2000s. In industrial production, the use of high-power lasers for welding shipbuilding constructions at the same time as for mobile crane construction is mainly associated with low-alloy high-strength steels with a maximum wall thickness of 15 mm. The use of high-power multi 10kW lasers for even greater sheet thicknesses (20mm-100 mm) promises significantly greater advantages [1]. For these wall thicknesses the economic, technological and ecological advantages of the process over conventional welding methods become especially clear and visible [2]. Despite numerous research projects on this topic, laser technology still faces a number of hurdles that need to be overcome. The new lasers with scalable laser powers up to 100 kW and the application of an electromagnetic weld pool support as well as local vacuum environment widen the possible application range tremendously. In this contribution, the authors address the technical solutions for high-power laser beam welding in the field of thick sheet metal applications, highlight the technological and normative challenges in the industrial implementation of the process and present a perspective for the first concrete applications in the field of off-shore wind energy. T2 - Stuttgarter Laser Tage CY - Stuttgart, Germany DA - 04.06.2024 KW - High-power laserbeam welding KW - Thick plates KW - Electromagnetic weld pool support PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-62412 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Brunner-Schwer, Chr. A1 - Biegler, M. A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Investigation on laser cladding of rail steel without preheating N2 - The contact between train wheels and rail tracks is known to induce material degradation in the form of wear, and rolling contact fatigue in the railhead. Rails with a pearlitic microstructure have proven to provide the best wear resistance under severe wheel-rail interaction in heavy haul applications. High speed laser cladding, a state-of-the-art surface engineering technique, is a promising solution to repair damaged railheads. However, without appropriate preheating or processing strategies, the utilized steel grades lead to martensite formation and cracking during deposition welding. In this study, laser cladding of low-alloy steel at very high speeds was investigated, without preheating the railheads. Process speeds of up to 27 m/min and laser power of 2 kW are used. The clad, heat affected zone and base material are examined for cracks and martensite formation by hardness tests and metallographic inspections. A methodology for process optimization is presented and the specimens are characterized for suitability. Within the resulting narrow HAZ, the hardness could be significantly reduced. T2 - Lasers in Manufacturing Conference 2021 CY - Erlangen, Germany DA - 21.06.2021 KW - High speed laser cladding KW - Preheatin KW - Rail tracks KW - Pearlitic microstructure PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53974 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Investigation of the gap bridgeability at high-power laser hybrid welding of plasma-cut thick mild steels with AC magnetic support N2 - One of the challenges of the high-power hybrid laser welding of thick steels is the sensitivity of the process of the process to manufacturing tolerances. This usually leads to a time-consuming preparation of the welding edges, such as milling. The study deals with the influence of the edge quality of milled and plasma-cut steel made of S355J2 with a wall thickness of 20 mm on the laser hybrid welded seam quality. Furthermore, the gap bridgeability and the tolerances towards edge misalignment was investigated. An AC magnet was used as backing support to prevent sagging and positioned under the workpiece, to generate an upwards directed electromagnetic pressure. The profiles of the edges and the gap on the top and root side were measured using a digital camera. Single-pass laser hybrid welds of plasma-cut edges could be welded using a laser beam power of just 13.7 kW. A gap bridgeability up to 2 mm and misalignment of edges up to 2 mm could be achieved successful. Additionally, the independence of the cutting side and the welding side was shown, so that samples were welded to the opposite side to their cutting. For evaluation of internal defects or irregularities, X-ray images were carried out. Charpy impact strength tests were performed to determine the toughness of the welds. T2 - X International Conference «Beam Technologies & Laser Application CY - Online meeting DA - 20.09.2021 KW - Plasma-cutting KW - Hybrid laser-arc welding KW - Thick-walled steel KW - Edge quality KW - Gap bridgeability KW - Misalignment of the edges PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53920 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Yang, Chunliang A1 - Yang, Fan A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng A1 - Bachmann, Marcel A1 - Putra, Stephen Nugraha A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Experimental and numerical study on grain refinement in electromagnetic assisted laser beam welding of 5754 al alloy N2 - Through experimental observation and auxiliary numerical simulation, this investigation studies the different types of grain refinement of 5754 aluminum alloy laser beam welding by applying a transverse oscillating magnetic field. Scanning electron microscope results have proved that the application of a magnetic field can reduce the average crystal branch width and increase its number. The interaction between the induced eddy current generated by the Seebeck effect and the applied external magnetic field produces a Lorentz force, which is important for the increase in the number of crystal branches. Based on the theory of dendrite fragmentation and the magnetic field-induced branches increment, the grain size reduction caused by the magnetic field is studied. Furthermore, the effects of the magnetic field are ana lyzed by combining a phase field method model and simulations of nucleation and grain growth. The grain distribution and average grain size after welding verify the reliability of the model. In addition, the introduction of a magnetic field can increase the number of periodic three-dimensional solidification patterns. In the intersection of two periods of solidification patterns, the metal can be re-melted and then re-solidified, which prevents the grains, that have been solidified and formed previously, from further growth and generates some small cel lular grains in the new fusion line. The magnetic field increases the building frequency of these solidification structures and thus promotes this kind of grain refinement. T2 - ICALEO 2023 CY - Chicago, IL, USA DA - 16.10.2023 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Magnetic field KW - Crystal branch development KW - Grain refinement KW - Periodic solidification pattern PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58493 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Chaurasia, Prashant Kumar A1 - Cagtay, Fabry A1 - Andreas, Pittner A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Automated in situ monitoring and analysis of process signatures and build profiles during wire arc directed energy deposition N2 - Wire arc directed energy deposition (DED-Arc) is an emerging metal additive manufacturing process to build near-net shaped metallic parts in a layer-by-layer with minimal material wastage. Automated in situ monitoring and fast-responsive analyses of process signatures and deposit profiles during DED-Arc are in ever demand to print dimensionally consistent parts and reduce post-deposition machining. A comprehensive experimental investigation is presented here involving real-time synchronous measurement of arc current, voltage, and the deposit profile using a novel multi-sensor monitoring framework integrated with the DED-Arc set-up. The recorded current–voltage transients are used to estimate the time-averaged arc power, and energy input in real time for an insight of the influence of wire feed rate and printing travel speed on the deposit characteristics. A unique attempt is made to represent the geometric profiles of the single-track deposits in a generalized mathematical form corresponding to a segmented ellipse, which has exhibited the minimum root-mean-square error of 0.03 mm. The dimensional inconsistency of multi-track deposits is evaluated quantitatively in terms of waviness using build profile monitoring and automated estimation, which is found to increase with an increase in step-over ratio and energy input. For the multi-track mild steel deposits, the suitable range of step-over ratio for the minimum surface waviness is observed to lie between 0.6 and 0.65. Collectively, the proposed framework of synchronized process monitoring and real-time analysis provides a pathway to achieve dimensionally consistent and defect-free parts, and highlights the potential for closed-loop control systems for a wider industrial application of DED-Arc. T2 - IIW Annual Assembly 2025 CY - Genova, Italy DA - 23.06.2025 KW - Additive Manufacturing KW - Arc welding KW - Real-time monitoring and control KW - Dimensional inconsistency KW - DED-arc PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-65231 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -