TY - CONF A1 - Marquardt, Raphael T1 - Influence of laser power on the melt pool shape of handheld laser beam welding of 1.5 mm thick micro alloyed steel N2 - Manual welding of structures requires highly skilled welders due to the large heat-affected zone of arc-based processes, that can negatively impact microstructure and cause distortion. Handheld laser beam welding is a promising alternative with high welding velocity and a concentrated heat input. However, its current use in industry is limited to parts with aesthetic requirements, often made of high-alloyed steel. To extend the use of handheld laser beam welding to low-cost steels with good mechanical properties, this study investigates the influence of laser power on the melt pool shape for micro-alloyed steel with a thickness of 1.5 mm. Tested joint geometries are T-joints welded with filler wire as well as butt joints and overlap joints without filler wire, which are typically found in assemblies under mechanical load. Weld quality is assessed by weld porosity analysis. The results show that the handheld laser beam welding with filler wire produces T-joints with a very good external appearance, but with porosity between level C and D in the cross sections according to DIN EN ISO 13919-1. By increasing the laser power, a deep penetration of the T-joint zone can be achieved without increasing the actual throat thickness. For handheld laser beam welding of butt joints a full penetration weld of the highest quality class can be reached. Overlap joints can be welded with full or partial penetration depending on the laser power selected, with quality classes between B and C in terms of porosity. T2 - 20th Nordic Laser Materials Processing Conference CY - Kongens Lyngby, Denmark DA - 26.08.2025 KW - Hand held laser welding KW - Laser beam welding KW - Low alloyed steel KW - Process parameter PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64169 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bachmann, Marcel T1 - Numerical studies of keyhole dynamic behavior during the laser beam welding with an oscillating magnetic field N2 - The formation of keyhole induced porosity (Process porosity) during laser beam welding (LBW) is mainly associated with the dynamic keyhole behavior. Experimental studies have confirmed that the application of a magnetic field can effectively suppress process porosity. However, there is still no quantitative evidence supporting that this suppression mechanism involves a direct influence of the magnetic field on the keyhole dynamics. In this paper, a novel keyhole reconstruction algorithm is developed and incorporated into a three-dimensional transient multi-physics coupled numerical model to study the dynamic keyhole behavior under the influence of an oscillating magnetic field. This keyhole reconstruction algorithm accurately reproduces the 2D time-averaged keyhole shape, effectively capturing the keyhole tailing and the backward shift of its centroid on the keyhole top. The application of an oscillating magnetic field reduces the keyhole diameter and enhances its stability. The frequency of keyhole collapse is reduced under the influence of a magnetic field. Additionally, the occurrence of keyhole collapses with long duration is significantly reduced in the presence of a magnetic field. T2 - 78th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference CY - Genua, Italy DA - 22.06.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Magnetohydrodynamics KW - Porosity KW - Numerical simulation PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63645 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng T1 - A statistical investigation of the laser energy absorption and keyhole stability in high-power laser beam welding N2 - The behaviour of the weld pool in high-power laser beam welding is significantly influenced by laser absorption and keyhole stability, which determines the final weld qualities. However, their dynamic features and multi-coupled interactions make in-depth analyses difficult. This study addresses the challenges by conducting a thorough statistical evaluation of the effects of welding parameters on laser absorption and keyhole fluctuations, using experimental investigations and a well-validated numerical model. From a statistical aspect, the laser energy distribution and the keyhole collapse, commonly considered highly time-varying, show clear regularities. Three distinct regions of the time-averaged energy distribution are identified. The possibility of the keyhole collapse positions obeys a universal normal distribution. The statistical data show greater potential in revealing some well-known, industry-related but unclearly explained findings, such as the saturation of the weld penetration with increasing heat input and the physical basis of the contributions of different welding parameters in the porosity reduction. T2 - The 14th International Seminar Numerical Analysis of Weldability CY - Graz, Austria DA - 21.09.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Energy absorption KW - Keyhole stability KW - Multi-physics modelling PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64811 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng T1 - A statistical assessment of the laser energy absorption and keyhole stability in high-power laser welding N2 - The behavior of the weld pool in high-power laser beam welding is significantly influenced by laser absorption and keyhole stability, which determines the final weld qualities. However, their dynamic features and multi-coupled interactions make in-depth analyses difficult. This study addresses the challenges by conducting a thorough statistical evaluation of the effects of welding parameters on laser absorption and keyhole fluctuations, using experimental investigations and a well-validated numerical model. From a statistical aspect, the laser energy distribution and the keyhole collapse, commonly considered to be highly time-varying, show clear regularities. Three distinct regions of the time-averaged energy distribution are identified. The possibility of the keyhole collapse positions obeys a universal normal distribution. The statistical data show greater potential in revealing some well-known, industry-related but unclearly explained findings, such as the saturation of the weld penetration with increasing heat input and the physical basis of the contributions of different welding parameters in the porosity reduction. T2 - 78th IIW Annual Assembly CY - Genoa, Italy DA - 22.06.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Energy absorption KW - Keyhole stability PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64810 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bachmann, Marcel T1 - Reconstruction of the time-averaged keyhole geometry in laser beam welding with electromagnetic support N2 - In laser beam welding (LBW), the time-averaged keyhole shape provides statistical insights into the process compared to its transient geometry, offering a deeper understanding of the overall keyhole behaviour. However, capturing the time-averaged keyhole shape through experimental methods remains challenging. In this paper, a reconstruction algorithm for the time-averaged keyhole is developed and integrated into a three-dimensional transient multi-physical coupled numerical model. The algorithm can accurately capture the key characteristics of the keyhole, including its diameter and centroid. In addition, it can also successfully reproduce the experimentally observed phenomena of keyhole tailing. The overall shape of the keyhole appears smooth, without exhibiting obvious instability features. Furthermore, the time-averaged keyhole shape is compared under different magnetic flux densities when an external oscillating magnetic field is applied. The results indicate that the application of external magnetic fields does not fundamentally alter the overall keyhole shape. With increasing magnetic flux density, the trailing tail becomes progressively less pronounced and a noticeable increase in the curvature of the rear wall is observed. The standard deviation of the keyhole diameter can serve as an effective index for evaluating the keyhole instability. Keyhole stability in LBW of aluminium alloys is improved under the assistance of electromagnetic fields, and this stabilization is positively correlated with increasing magnetic flux density. T2 - 14th International Seminar Numerical Analysis of Weldability CY - Seggau, Austria DA - 21.09.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Keyhole reconstruction KW - Electromagnetic weld pool support KW - Porosity defects KW - Keyhole stability PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64257 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bachmann, Marcel T1 - Elucidation of the Laser Beam Energy Attenuation by the Vapor Plume Formation during High Power Laser Beam Welding N2 - In high-power laser beam welding, a common phenomenon is the formation of a keyhole caused by the rapid evaporation of the material. Under atmospheric pressure, this evaporation generates a vapor plume that interacts with the laser beam, leading to energy attenuation and scattering of the laser radiation along its path. These interactions affect the stability of the process and the overall weld quality. This study investigates the influence of the vapor plume on the weld pool and keyhole dynamics during high-power laser beam welding of AlMg3 aluminum alloy through experimental and numerical approaches. The primary goal is to identify key vapor plume characteristics, particularly its length fluctuations, and to improve the accuracy of the numerical models. To achieve this, an algorithm was developed for the automated measurement of the vapor plume length using high-speed imaging and advanced data processing techniques. The measured plume length is then used to estimate the additional vapor heating and laser energy attenuation using the Beer–Lambert law. A refined numerical CFD model, incorporating 3D transient heat transfer, fluid flow, and ray tracing, was developed to evaluate the vapor plume’s impact. Results show that already the time-averaged plume length effectively captures its transient influence and aligns well with experimental weld seam geometries. Additionally, energy scattering and absorption caused by the vapor plume led to a wider weld pool at the top surface. The study also shows an increased percentage of keyhole collapses due to the reduced laser power absorption at the keyhole bottom, further highlighting the importance of accurately modeling vapor plume effects. T2 - International Congress of Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics 2025 CY - Orlando, FL, USA DA - 12.10.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Vapor plume formation KW - Weld pool KW - Keyhole dynamics KW - Numerical modeling PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64816 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng T1 - Prediction of weld pool and keyhole geometries in high-power laser beam welding through a physics-informed generative approach N2 - The weld pool and keyhole geometries are critical characteristics in evaluating the stability of the high-power laser beam welding (LBW) process and determining the resultant weld quality. However, obtaining these data through experimental or numerical methods remains challenging due to the difficulties in experimental measurements and the high computational demands of numerical modelling. This paper presents a physics-informed generative approach for predicting weld pool and keyhole geometries in the LBW process. With the help of a well experimentally validated numerical model considering the underlying physics in the LBW, the geometries of the weld pool and keyhole under various welding conditions are calculated, serving as the dataset of the generative model. A Conditional Variational Autoencoder (CVAE) model is employed to generate realistic 2D weld pool and keyhole geometries from the welding parameters. We utilize a β-VAE model with the Evidence Lower Bound (ELBO) loss function and include Kullback-Leibler divergence annealing to better optimize model performance and stability during training. The generated results show a good agreement with the ground truth from the numerical simulation. The proposed approach exhibits the potential of physics-informed generative models for a rapid and accurate prediction of the weld pool geometries across a diverse range of process parameters, offering a computationally efficient alternative to full numerical simulations for process optimization and control in laser beam welding processes. T2 - The 45th annual International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics CY - Orlando, FL, USA DA - 12.10.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Generative artificial intelligence KW - Machine Learning KW - Numerical Simulation KW - Weld pool KW - Keyhole dynamics PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64812 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gumenyuk, Andrey T1 - Strain distribution vs strain evolution during solidification cracking CTW test for laser beam welding of 1 mm austenitic stainless steels N2 - Laser welding is a widely established manufacturing process across many industrial sectors. However, solidification cracking and the weldability of materials have remained contentious issues for many years, particularly concerning the causes of hot crack formation. The local distribution of total strain was measured in close proximity to the solidification zone during laser welding of AISI 304 and AISI 310S stainless steels, using the Controlled Tensile Weldability (CTW) test. In this setup, 1 mm thick weld coupons were subjected to a defined external tensile load during welding. Mechanical loading parameters were varied by adjusting the strain rate and ultimate strain level to identify the critical conditions that lead to solidification crack formation along the weld seam centerline. Using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and the optical flow method [1], we estimated the local strain distribution at the surface near the molten pool and tracked its evolution across several characteristic zones—before, during, and after the application of mechanical loading. The results revealed that solidification crack formation coincides with regions of high plastic deformation within a critical temperature range. Furthermore, we identified a clear relationship between strain rate and both crack initiation probability and maximum local strain. Importantly, neither strain rate nor maximum strain alone is sufficient to predict cracking; instead, their combined effect must be considered to accurately assess hot cracking susceptibility. T2 - AJP 2025 CY - Coimbra, Portugal DA - 16.10.2025 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Solidification cracking KW - Optical measurement PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-64431 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bachmann, Marcel T1 - A parametric study of the laser energy absorption in high power laser beam welding N2 - Laser energy absorption on the keyhole wall is decisive for the thermodynamic behavior and the resultant weld properties in the high-power laser beam welding process. However, its highly transient nature on a microsecond scale makes the quantitative analysis challenging. In this paper, the influence of the relevant welding parameters on laser energy absorption is studied statistically by utilizing multiphysical modeling, in which the three-dimensional transient keyhole dynamics and thermo-fluid flow are calculated. A dynamic mesh adaption technique and a localized level-set-based ray-tracing method are employed to improve the model accuracy further. The results show that the focus position has a remarkable effect on the time-averaged laser absorption, and in contrast, the laser energy distribution regime is only slightly influenced by the welding speed in the studied parameter range (1.5–3.0 m/min). The absorption ratio of the laser energy on the keyhole front wall decreases with increasing welding speed and increases with upward-moving focus positions. The comparison between the calculated results and the experimental measurements ensures the validity of the proposed model. T2 - International Congress of Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics 2024 CY - Los Angeles, CA, USA DA - 03.11.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Laser energy absorption KW - Weld pool KW - Parametric study KW - Multiphysics modeling PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61619 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gumenyuk, Andrey T1 - Determination of critical local straining conditions for solidification cracking at laser beam welding by experimental and numerical methods N2 - The phenomenon of solidification cracking has been the subject of numerous research projects over the years. Great efforts have been made to understand the fundamentals of hot cracking. It is generally agreed that solidification cracks form in the solidification range between the liquidus and solidus temperatures under the combination of thermal, metallurgical and mechanical factors. There is still a need to determine the time-resolved strain distribution in the cracksensitive region in order to analyse the local critical conditions for solidification cracking phenomena. This was a strong motivation for the development of a measurement system used in this study to estimate the local strains and strain rates in the zone where the solidification crack is expected to occur. The laser beam welding experiments were conducted using the Controlled-Tensile-Weldability test (CTW test) to apply an external strain condition during welding to generate solidification cracks. The CTW test is a test method for investigating the suscep�tibility of laser-welded joints to solidification cracking, in which the sample can be subjected to a defined strain at a defined strain rate during welding. In combination with experimental investigations, numerical simulations provide spatially detailed and time-dependent information about the strain development during the welding process, especially regarding the critical conditions for solidification cracking. Therefore, this tool was also used in the present study to evaluate the accuracy of measurement methods and to estimate experimentally derived values and their concrete influence on the formation of solidification cracks. By integrating experimental methods and numerical simulations, this study investigates the spatially resolved and temporally changing development of strain during welding, with a particular focus on the critical conditions that lead to the formation of solidification cracks. T2 - GAMM 94th Annual Meeting CY - Magdeburg, Germany DA - 18.03.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Solidification cracking KW - FEM simulation PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-62417 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bachmann, Marcel T1 - Challenges in Modelling Dynamic Heat Sources in High-Power Laser Beam Welding N2 - The amount of absorbed energy in the keyhole as well as its distribution is essential to model the laser beam welding process. The recoil pressure is a key determining factor for the macroscopic flow of the molten metal in the weld pool during high-power laser beam welding. Consequently, a realistic implementation of the laser radiation on the weld metal is crucial to obtain accurate simulation results. The following developments on the laser-material interaction are discussed for the numerical simulation of the laser beam welding process. The first implemented improvements relate to locating the exact reflection points in the ray tracing method in the determination algorithm for the intersection of the reflected rays and the keyhole surface. A second correction refers to the numerical treatment of the Gaussian distribution of the laser beam, whose beam width is defined by a decay of the laser intensity by a factor of 1/e2 thus ignoring around 14 % of the total laser beam energy. In a third step, the laser radiation distribution in vertical direction was approximated according to the beam caustics. Finally, a virtual mesh refinement was adopted in the ray tracing routine. The obtained numerical results were validated with experimental measurements. T2 - IIW Annual Assembly 2024 CY - Rhodes , Greece DA - 07.07.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Numerical modeling KW - Ray tracing KW - Heat source modeling PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-60634 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gumenyuk, Andrey T1 - Two-colour thermography for measurement of temperature distribution in laser beam welding N2 - Solidification cracking is a frequently observed phenomenon in laser beam welding of austenitic stainless steels and other metallic alloys. Characterisation of cracking susceptibility requires knowledge of the precise and spatially resolved temperature distribution near the solidification front in the welding process. Thermography is a standard tool that provides a qualitative estimate of the 2D temperature field. The general disadvantage of this method is its dependence on the emission characteristics of the measured object. For welding applications, these can vary significantly in the temperature range above and below the melting temperature. For this purpose, we have developed a thermography-based measurement technique using a SWIR camera system in combination with two narrow bandpass filters that use the principle of two-wavelength pyrometry to estimate absolute temperature values. This technique was used to determine the temperature distributions and gradients near the solidification front of laser-welded austenitic steel. The results were validated by other measurements. T2 - 13th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies [LANE 2024] CY - Fürth, Germany DA - 16.09.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Solidification cracking KW - FEM simulation PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-62415 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng T1 - Prediction of porosity formation in high power laser beam welding using physics informed machine learning framework N2 - The applications of the high-power laser beam welding process are often hindered by the occurrence of the porosity defect. However, an accurate prediction and an insight of the porosity formation are still challenging due to the highly nonlinear physics involved in the dynamic weld pool and keyhole behaviours. In this paper, the effects of relevant physical variables related to the porosity defect are evaluated by utilizing mechanistic modelling and experimental data within a physics-informed machine learning (PIML) framework. With a proper selection of the physical variables (features) in the aspects of keyhole stability, liquid metal flow and weld pool geometry, which correspondingly describes the bubble formation, bubble movement and bubble capture by the solidification front, the PIML shows great superiority in predicting the porosity ratio in the laser welding of aluminium in comparison with conventional ML model using welding parameters. The Shapley Additive Explanations analysis is employed to provide a hierarchical importance of the variables on the defect formation. T2 - 77th IIW Annual Assembly and International Conference CY - Rhodes, Greece DA - 07.07.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Machine learning KW - Porosity KW - Modelling PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61610 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Putra, Stephen Nugraha T1 - Numerical study on the temperature characteristic of material absorptivity and its significance in high-power laser beam welding N2 - The absorptivity of metallic materials plays an important role in high-power laser beam welding. It affects the amount of absorbed laser power leading to the heating and melting of the surfaces to be joined and is highly dependent on the temperature. Nonetheless, this key characteristic is often ignored in numerical simulations and an empirical parameter determined by trial-and-error approaches is rather implemented to calibrate the results. In the present work, the temperature dependence of laser absorption is included in a three-dimensional multiphase numerical model considering the coupled fluid flow and heat transfer. The calculated laser absorption is determined by the temperature-dependent material properties, laser characteristics, and incident angle of the laser beam. It is found that the temperature dependence of the laser absorption is crucial for accurately determining the keyhole and weld pool geometries, which is validated by experimental measurements using 304 austenitic steel. T2 - 13th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies [LANE 2024] CY - Fürth, Germany DA - 15.09.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Temperature dependent absorption KW - Weld pool KW - Keyhole dynamics KW - Numerical modelling PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61612 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Yang, Fan A1 - Meng, Xiangmeng A1 - Putra, Stephen Nugraha A1 - Bachmann, Marcel A1 - Rethmeier, Michael T1 - Numerical studies of magnetohydrodynamic technology in suppressing process porosity during laser beam welding N2 - The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) technology is employed to mitigate the porosity problem during partial penetration laser beam welding (LBW) of 10 mm thick aluminum alloy. The effectiveness and universal applicability of the MHD technology in reducing porosity during the LBW process are confirmed by a reduction in the porosity ratio of more than 89%. A transient 3D multi-physical model coupled with the MHD effect has been developed to investigate the suppression mechanism of process porosity. Due to the influence of Lorentz force, there is an obvious change in the weld pool length. This change widens the escaping channel of bubbles escaping from the weld pool. The application of an oscillating magnetic field changes the fluid flow pattern noticeably, whose influence on the formation of porosity defects is highly complicated and nonlinear. T2 - 13th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies CY - Nuremberg, Germany DA - 15.09.2024 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Aluminum alloy KW - Process Porosity KW - Porosity suppression KW - Magnetohydrodynamic technology PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61604 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 - Meng, Xiangmeng A1 - Putra, Stephen Nugraha A1 - Bachmann, Marcel A1 - Rethmier, Michael T1 - The influence of the spatial laser energy absorption on the molten pool dynamics in high power laser beam welding N2 - The spatial laser energy absorption inside the keyhole is decisive for the dynamic molten pool behaviors and the resultant weld properties in high-power laser beam welding (LBW). In this paper, a numerical simulation of the LBW process, considering the 3D transient heat transfer, fluid flow, and keyhole dynamics, is implemented, in which the free surface is tracked by the volume-of-fluid algorithm. The underlying laser-material interactions i.e., the multiple reflections and Fresnel absorption, are considered by an advanced ray-tracing method based on a localized Level-Set strategy and a temperature-dependent absorption coefficient. The laser energy absorption is analyzed from a time-averaged point of view for a better statistical representation. It is found for the first time that a noticeable drop of the time-averaged laser energy absorption occurs at the focus position of the laser beam, and the rest region of the keyhole has relatively homogenous absorbed energy. This unique absorption pattern may lead to a certain keyhole instability and have a strong correlation with the detrimental bulging and narrowing phenomena in the molten pool. The influence of the different focus positions of the laser beam on the keyhole dynamics and molten pool profile is also analyzed and compared. The obtained numerical results are compared with experimental measurements to assure the validity of the proposed model. T2 - International Congress of Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics 2023 CY - Chicago, Illinois, USA DA - 16.10.2023 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Laser energy absorption KW - Molten pool KW - Keyhole dynamics KW - Numerical modeling PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58755 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bachmann, Marcel T1 - Challenges in dynamic heat source modeling in high-power laser beam welding N2 - The amount of absorbed energy in the keyhole as well as its spatial and temporal distribution is essential to model the laser beam welding process. The recoil pressure, which develops because of the evaporation process induced by the absorbed laser energy at the keyhole wall, is a key determining factor for the macroscopic flow of the molten metal in the weld pool during high-power laser beam welding. Consequently, a realistic implementation of the effect of laser radiation on the weld metal is crucial to obtain reliable and accurate simulation results. In this paper, we discuss manyfold different improvements on the laser-material interaction, namely, the ray tracing method, in the numerical simulation of the laser beam welding process. The first improvement relates to locating the exact reflection points in the ray tracing method using a so-called cosine condition in the determination algorithm for the intersection of reflected rays and the keyhole surface. A second correction refers to the numerical treatment of the Gaussian distribution of the laser beam, whose beam width is defined by a decay of the laser intensity by a factor of 1/e2, thus ignoring around 14% of the total laser beam energy. In the third step, the changes in the laser radiation distribution in the vertical direction were adapted by using different approximations for the converging and the diverging regions of the laser beam, thus mimicking the beam caustic. Finally, a virtual mesh refinement was adopted in the ray tracing routine. The obtained numerical results were validated with experimental measurements. T2 - International Congress of Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics 2023 CY - Chicago, Illinois, USA DA - 16.10.2023 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Laser energy distribution KW - Ray tracing KW - Numerical modeling PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58759 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 - Putra, Stephen Nugraha T1 - Einfluss der Temperaturabhängigen Modellierung der Laserstrahlabsorption auf die Schmelzbadgeometrie beim Hochleistungslaserstrahlschweißen N2 - Der Absorptionsgrad metallischer Werkstoffe spielt bei Fügeprozessen mit einer Strahlungsquelle wie dem Hochleistungslaserstrahltiefschweißen eine bedeutende Rolle. Dieser beeinflusst die Menge der absorbierten Laserenergie, welche zum Aufschmelzen sowie zur lokalen Verdampfung des zu verbindenden Materials führt. Eine der wichtigsten Eigenschaften der Laserstrahlabsorption ist die Temperaturabhängigkeit. Dennoch wird sie in vielen Simulationsarbeiten häufig ignoriert und stattdessen ein angepasster Parameter zur Kalibrierung der Ergebnisse implementiert. Diese Vorgehensweise wirkt sich negativ auf die Zuverlässigkeit sowie die Genauigkeit des numerischen Modells sowie auf die Vorhersagbarkeit der Simulationsergebnisse aus. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Temperaturabhängigkeit der Laserabsorption in ein selbstkonsistentes zweiphasiges Modell unter Berücksichtigung der gekoppelten 3D-Fluidströmung und Wärmeübertragung einbezogen. Die berechnete Laserstrahlabsorption wird durch die temperaturabhängigen Materialeigenschaften, die Lasercharakteristik und den Einfallswinkel des Laserstrahls bestimmt. Die freie Oberfläche jeder Phase wird mithilfe der volume-of-fluid Methode, kurz VOF, berechnet und die Laser-Material-Wechselwirkung wird durch ein neulich implementiertes Ray-Tracing-Verfahren modelliert, die auf einem lokalisierten Level-Set-Algorithmus basiert. Anschließend wird die transiente Wärmeeinbringung und die Geometrie der Schweißnaht analysiert und mit dem temperaturunabhängigen Absorptionsmodell verglichen. Es wurde festgestellt, dass die Temperaturabhängigkeit der Laserabsorption entscheidend für die genaue Bestimmung der Wärmeeinbringung und der Schmelzbadgeometrie ist. Das entwickelte Modell wurde anhand der experimentellen Untersuchungen validiert und die Bedeutung der Temperaturabhängigkeit bei der Laserstrahlabsorption wurde für die Simulation des Laserstrahltiefschweißens aufgeklärt. T2 - 44. Assistentenseminar CY - Päwesin, Germany DA - 20.09.2023 KW - Laser beam welding KW - Temperature dependent absorption KW - Weld pool dynamics KW - Numerical modeling PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58810 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -