A three-dimensional turbulent steady state numerical model was used to investigate the influence of an alternating current (AC) magnetic field during high power laser beam keyhole welding of 20 mm thick stainless steel AISI 304 being modeled as an ideal non-ferromagnetic material. Three-dimensional heat transfer and fluid dynamics as well as the electromagnetic field equations were solved with the finite element package COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2 taking into account the most important physical effects of the process. Namely, the thermo-capillary (Marangoni) convection at the weld pool boundaries, natural convection due to gravity and density differences in the melt volume as well as latent heat of solidliquid phase transitions at the phase boundaries were included in the model.
It is shown that the gravity drop-out associated with the welding of thick plates due to the hydrostatic pressure can be prevented by the application of AC magnetic field between 80 mT and 135 mT for corresponding oscillation frequencies between 1 kHz and 10 kHz below the weld specimen. Experimentally, a value of the magnetic flux density of around 230 mT was found to be necessary to allow for single-pass laser beam welding without sagging or drop-out of melt for a 20 mm thick combination of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 and ferritic construction steel S235JRC at an oscillation frequency of around 2.6 kHz.
Welding is one of the most critical operations for the construction of reliable metal structures in everything from ships to reactor vessels. When welds fail, often the entire structure fails, and expectations on weld quality have never been higher. Any process that uses a localized heat source, such as welding, is likely to result in some distortion. The welding process of very thick metal components is not inherently stable and is barely controllable without external forces.
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of externally applied magnetic fields on the weld quality in laser beam welding. The optimization of the process parameters was performed using the results of computer simulations. Welding tests were performed with up to 20 kW laser beam power. It was shown that the AC magnet with 3 kW power supply allows for a prevention of the gravity drop-out for full penetration welding of 20 mm thick stainless steel plates. For partial penetration welding it was shown that an0.5 T DC magnetic field is enough for a suppression of convective flows in the weld pool. Partial penetration welding tests with 4 kW beam power showed that the application of AC magnetic fields can reduce weld porosity by a factor of 10 compared to the reference joints. The weld surface roughness was improved by 50%.
High-power laser welding of austenitic stainless steel with electromagnetic control of weld pool
(2014)
Laser deep-penetration welding became a widely applied tool in industrial applications due to available laser power of 20 kW and more for the single-pass welding of steel plates of up to 20 mm thikness. Above a critical limit, liquid metal tends to drop out of the bead due to hydrostatic pressure. Laser welding, in contrast to electron beam welding technique, allows for an electromagnetic manipulation of fluid flow in the weld pool. AC electromagnetic system for compensation of the hydrostatic pressure by induced Lorentz forces in the melt was experimentally and numerically investigated for single-pass full-penetration welding of up to 20 mm thikness austenitic stainless steel plates of grade AISI 304. It was shown that the application of 200-234 mT magnetic fields at oscillation frequency of around 2.6 kHZ lead to a full compensation of hydrostatic forces in the melt for plate 10-20 mm thick, respectively. Coupled fluid flow, thermal and electromagnetic finite element simulations were done with different applied magnetic flux densities and oscillation frequencies calculating for the optimal magnetic field strength to avoid melt sagging in the weld pool. The simulation results point to a lower magnetic field density needed for that purpose. The reason for that can lie in the magnetic properties of the material not being totally non-ferromagnetic. 17 Ref., 1 Table, 5 Figures.