Two-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element analyses was carried out on a laser welded box beam in order to study the impact of the geometrical aspects of the joint type and weld root on the fatigue stress behaviour. Different experimental and hypothetical weld geometries were studied. Characteristic root shapes, measured by the plastic replica method, and critical geometrical aspects were classified and then studied by FE-analysis with respect to their impact on the maximum stress. The simulation of hypothetical transition geometries facilitated the identification of trends and the explanation of part of the phenomena. However, quantitative geometry criteria were only partially suitable to describe the relations. The results have shown that the combination of throat depth, local surface radius and its opening angle determines the peak stress value and its location. Beside extended throat depths, particularly larger toe radii and the avoidance of small opening angles and of surface ripples reduces the peak stress. The explanations were developed in a generalising manner, accompanied by illustrative and flow chart description.

We present the results of two sets of experiments that investigate laser-based metal-to-rock attachment techniques. Asteroids and comets have low surface gravity which pose a challenge to landers with moving parts. Such parts can generate torques and forces which may tip the lander over or launch it into deep space. Thus, if a lander on a small body is to have moving parts, the spacecraft must be equipped with an anchoring mechanism. To this end, we sought to use a laser to melt and bind a piece of metal mimicking a part of a spacecraft to a rock mimicking the surface of a typical asteroid. In the first set of experiments, extra material was not fed in during the processing. The second set were performed using a standard wire feeder used in laser welding, which added metal to the experiment during processing. During the first experiments, we discovered that a traditional weld, where two melt pools mix and solidify to form a strong bond, was not possible—the melt pools would not mix, and when they did, the resulting weld was extremely brittle. The second set of experiments resulted in a physico-mechanical bond, where a hole was drilled with a laser, and a wire was melted and fed into the hole. These latter experiments were successful in forming bonds as strong as 115 N. Such an attachment mechanism can also be used to maneuver small boulders on asteroid surfaces, to redirect small, monolithic asteroids, or in space-debris removal.

The ability to deflect dangerous small bodies in the Solar System or redirect profitable ones is a necessary and worthwhile challenge. One well-studied method to accomplish this is laser ablation, where solid surface material sublimates, and the escaping gas creates a momentum exchange. Alternatively, laser-induced spallation and sputtering could be a more efficient means of deflection, yet little research has studied these processes in detail. We used a 15-kW Ytterbium fiber laser on samples of olivine, pyroxene, and serpentine (minerals commonly found on asteroids) to induce spallation. We observed the process with a high-speed camera and illumination laser, and used X-ray micro-tomography to measure the size of the holes produced by the laser to determine material removal efficiency. We found that pyroxene will spallate at power densities between 1.5 and 6.0 kW cm⁻², serpentine will also spallate at 13.7 kW cm⁻², but olivine does not spallate at 1.5 kW cm⁻² and higher power densities melt the sample. Laser-induced spallation of pyroxene and serpentine can be two- to three-times more energy efficient (volume removed per unit of absorbed energy) than laser-induced spattering, and over 40x more efficient than laser ablation.

Asteroid mining and redirection are two trends that both can utilize lasers, one to drill and cut, the other to ablate and move. Yet little is known about what happens when a laser is used to process the types of materials we typically expect to find on most asteroids. To shed light on laser processing of asteroid material, we used a 300-W, pulsed Ytterbium fiber laser on samples of olivine, pyroxene, and serpentine, and studied the process with a high-speed camera and illumination laser at 10 000 frames per second. We also measure the sizes of the resulting holes using X-ray micro-tomography to find the pulse parameters which remove the largest amount of material using the least amount of energy. We find that at these power densities, all three minerals will melt and chaotically throw off spatter. Short, low-power pulses can efficiently produce thin, deep holes, and long, high-power pulses are more energy efficient at removing the most amount of material.

Nowadays, conventional welding technologies such as submerged arc welding (SAW) are still used in most heavy-steel industries. This type of traditional technology means that welding takes up a large part of the productive time. As a solution to this problem, there are welding methods, such as Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding (LAHW), that have the potential to reduce the cost of manufacturing large steel structures. This is possible due to the reduced number of weld passes required to join thicker steel sections, as large thicknesses can be welded in one or a few passes.

A problem with LAHW is achieving satisfactory quality. For this reason, it is essential to study the starting conditions, e.g. edge joint preparation. The target of this research work is to find out the relationship between the penetration value of the weld bead obtained and the edge joint preparation. The evolution of the molten pool and the behavior of the molten material in the joint is discussed for the different edge joint preparation configurations. The effect of the roughness is that it affects the wetting of the molten material in the joint, which would affect the penetration result, together with the gap and air volume gap used in the joint. Cut-wire is also used in the research, in samples that presented a larger air volume gap. The behavior of the molten metal inside the joint in this case is also discussed. In addition, the quality of the weld beads has also been determined by making macrographs, microstructural analysis, X-ray, microhardness profiles, tensile test and Charpy test. Some pores and cracks have been found, although destructive tests show adequate behavior of the weld bead. It is possible to elucidate from the findings that as the roughness, gap and/or air volume gap of the edge joint increases, the penetration value obtained increases. Cut-wire samples obtained full penetration.

Laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) is more often used in shipbuilding and oil and gas industries in recent years. Its popularity arises due to many advantages compared to conventional arc welding processes. The laser beam source is used to achieve much higher penetration depths. By adding filler wire to the process area, by means of an arc source, the mechanical properties can be improved, e.g. higher toughness at low temperatures. Therefore, LAHW is a perspective process for low-temperature service. Applicability of LAHW is under concern due to process stability and mechanical properties related to heterogeneous filler wire distribution through the whole weld metal in deep and narrow joints. This can cause reduced mechanical properties in the weld root as well as problems with solidification cracking. The fast cooling rate in the root provides hard and brittle microconstituents lowering toughness at low temperatures. Numerical simulations and experimental observations showed that an increase in heat input from the laser beam is an effective way to reduce the cooling rate, which is also possible by applying preheating.

A standard laser-arc hybrid welding (S-LAHW) and LAHW with preplaced cut wire inside the groove before welding were studied and compared. The S-LAHW setup revealed problems with filler wire delivery to the root, resulting in substantial hardness increase due to bainitic-martensitic transformation. The applied finite element modelling confirmed significant cooling rate increase in the root area for deep penetration welds. Preplacement of cut wire prior to welding reduced hardness providing improved welds with higher homogeneity. This method was subsequently applied for multi-pass welding that revealed insufficient nucleation of acicular ferrite on non-metallic inclusions (NMIs). It is implied that a critical cooling rate has been exceeded where the NMIs become inactive, resulting in a microstructure consisting of a martensite and bainite mixture. This kind of microstructure is clearly harmful for the weld metal toughness.

The present investigation addresses laser-arc hybrid welding of 45 mm thick steel with variation in a wide range of process parameters. High volume fraction of acicular ferrite formed in the upper part of the weld metal regardless process parameters. Significantly lower fraction of acicular ferrite was found in the root due to substantially increased cooling rates and the inability to deliver filler wire to this region, resulting in bainite-martensite microstructures in the root. The delivery of filler wire to the root can be enhanced by increasing the air gap between the plates. Higher heat inputs reduce cooling rates in the root which create softer and ductile microstructures, at the expense of a much wider and coarser grained HAZ. The results obtained showed high fusion line and weld metal toughness at low temperature (−50 °C).

Thick section welding has significant importance for oil and gas industry in low temperature regions. Arc welding is usually employed providing suitable quality joints with acceptable toughness at low temperatures with very limited productivity compared to modern high power laser systems. Laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) can enhance the productivity by several times due to higher penetration depth from laser beam and combined advantages of both heat sources. LAHW was applied to join 45 mm high strength steel with double-sided technique and application of metal cored wire. The process was captured by high speed camera, allowing process observation in order to identify the relation of the process stability on weld imperfections and efficiency. Among the results, it was found that both arc power and presence of a gap increased penetration depth, and that higher welding speeds cause unstable processing and limits penetration depth. Over a wide range of heat inputs, the welds where found to consist of large amounts of fine-grained acicular ferrite in the upper 60-75% part of welds. At the root filler wire mixing was less and cooling faster, and thus found to have bainitic transformation. Toughness of deposited welds provided acceptable toughness at -50 °C with some scattering.

TThick steel plates are frequently used in shipbuilding, pipelines and other related heavy industries, and are usually joined by arc welding. Deep penetration laser-arc hybrid welding could increase productivity but has not been thoroughly investigated, and is therefore usually limited to applications with medium thickness (5-15 mm) sections. A major concern is process stability, especially when using modern welding consumables such as metal-cored wire and advanced welding equipment. High speed imaging allows direct observation of the process so that process behavior and phenomena can be studied. In this paper, 45 mm thick high strength steel was welded (butt joint double-sided) using the fiber laser-MAG hybrid process utilizing a metal-cored wire without pre-heating. Process stability was monitored under a wide range of welding parameters. It was found that the technique can be used successfully to weld thick sections with appropriate quality when the parameters are optimized. When comparing conventional pulsed and the more advanced cold metal transfer pulse (CMT+P) arc modes, it was found that both can provide high quality welds. CMT+P arc mode can provide more stable droplet transfer over a limited range of travel speeds. At higher travel speeds, an unstable metal transfer mechanism was observed. Comparing leading arc and trailing arc arrangements, the leading arc configuration can provide higher quality welds and more stable processing at longer inter-distances between the heat sources.

Double-sided fiber laser-arc hybrid welding was used to join 45 mm thick high strength steel over a wide range of parameters in order to investigate the efficiency of the process. Air gap size, I- and Y-groove type preparation, pulsed and cold metal transfer pulsed arc modes, arc-laser setup, and travel speeds were compared, and in all cases, sufficient filler material was provided to fully fill the gap. The welds were investigated using high speed imaging and cross-sectional analysis to identify penetration depths, morphology, and imperfections. Larger joint air gaps were found to contribute most to weld penetration depth. Surprisingly, increased line energy decreased penetration efficiency in most cases. The laser-arc interdistance was also investigated, revealing an arc size and melt flow dependency for achieving higher penetration depth for a leading arc. It was found that, although penetration can be optimized, solidification cracking can be a limiting factor in the application of deep penetration hybrid welding for thick steel section joining.

Porosity and solidification cracking in joining of thick sections are very common issues in deep penetration keyhole laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW). In the present work, 45 mm thick high strength steel was joined by a double-sided technique. With combined use of fast welding speeds and larger air gap between plates, higher amount of porosity was found because of the dynamic behavior of the keyhole walls. Solidification cracking formed at the centerline in the bottom of the weld due to high-depth-to-width geometrical ratio. Numerical simulations have been performed and showed very high cooling rate and stresses occurred in the root of the deep welds, which corresponds with higher cracking tendency.

Welds made by high power laser beam have deep and narrow geometry. Addition of filler wire by the arc source, forming the laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) process, is very important to obtain required mechanical properties. Distribution of molten wire throughout the entire weld depth is of concern since it tends to have low transportation ability to the root. Accurate identification of filler metal distribution is very challenging. Metal-cored wires can provide high density of non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) which are important for acicular ferrite nucleation. Accurate filler distribution can be recognized based on statistical characterization of NMIs in the weld. In the present study, it was found that the amount of filler metal decreased linearly towards the root. The filler metal tends to accumulate in the upper part of the weld and has a steep decrease at 45–55 % depth which also has wavy pattern based on longitudinal cuts. Substantial hardness variation in longitudinal direction was observed, where in the root values can reach > 300 HV. Excessive porosity was generated at 75 % depth due to unstable and turbulent melt flow based on morphology of prior austenite grains. The delicate balance of process parameters is important factor for both process stability and filler metal distribution.

The use of aluminium alloys for Additive Manufacturing is of high interest for advanced geometries and lightweight applications. In Directed Energy Deposition, a powder stock is processed with a laser beam, which offers a high process flexibility. However, aging of the powder feedstock during storage or after recycling remains fundamentally challenging for aluminium alloys because of their sensitivity to oxida-tion and porosity. In order to investigate these effects, AlSi10Mg powder batches were aged in different conditions and processed by Directed Energy Deposition. The results showed that powder aging does not significantly change the particle size or morphology, but it introduces more oxygen and hydrogen in the powder. The oxidation of the particles reduces the laser beam absorbance of the powder and increases wetting of the melt pool, which affects the track geometry. A 3.5 to 4.2 times higher porosity was observed in the material deposited from aged powder, which are most likely hydrogen pores causedby the increased hydrogen content in the aged powder. The tensile properties of the parts built with aged powder showed 19.0% lower yield strength, 14.2% lower ultimate strength and 99.2% higher elongation, which are most likely the results of the coarser microstructure and increased porosity.

In Laser-based Directed Energy Deposition of metal powder, the use of optimised parameters allows the deposition of defect-free material, while diverging from these optimised parameters can typically result in high porosity, high dilution or different track geometry. One of the main challenges when building complex geometries is that the geometrical and thermal conditions of the deposition are constantly changing, which requires to adjust the process parameters during the production. In order to facilitate this process, sensors such as thermal cameras can be used to extract data from the process and adapt the parameters to keep the process stable despite external disturbances. In this research, different signals extracted from a coaxial thermal camera are investigated and compared for process optimisation. To investigate such possibilities, five overlapped tracks are deposited at constant laser powers in order to extract average pixel values as well as the melt pool area, length, width and orientation. The behaviour of each track deposition is modelled as a function of the laser power, and these models are used to calculate and test laser power reduction strategies based on different signals. The results show that the melt pool area is the most relevant signal to use for an efficient process control, resulting in a stable process with only ±1.6 % of signal variation from track to track.

Directed Energy Deposition is a common Additive Manufacturing technique used for its high deposition rate, but the interactions between the powder stream and the laser beam are still not completely understood. It is known that the powder particles heat up in the laser beam and some theoretical models predict that they can reach vaporization temperature and are significantly accelerated by the recoil pressure. In order to learn more about these phenomena, AlSi10Mg powder streams were observed with a high-speed camera at different laser powers and a particle-tracking software was used to measure the speed of the particles. The results show no significant increase of particle speed near the powder focus where the powder is processed, nor further below the powder focus. The high initial speed of the particles results in a short travelling time through the laser beam and in a very small effect of the recoil pressure.

Laser cladding and Directed Energy Deposition are two related processes that allow the deposition of specific surface coatings and the production of additively manufactured parts. In both processes, the selection of optimised parameters results in the deposition of high-density material with low dilution. However, the thermal and geometrical conditions constantly change during the process and the parameters need to be continually adapted in order to avoid defects or poor properties. In this context, the development of closed-loop monitoring systems is crucial in order to widen the field of possible applications towards more complexity, with a more stable process and higher materials properties. In this research, the possibility of thermal monitoring with middle-wave and long-wave infra-red cameras is investigated for Directed Energy Deposition of 316L, Stellite 21 and CuSn10. The melt pool length and the cooling rate are extracted from thermal imaging while the laser power was varied, and these results are compared to the materials properties of the deposited tracks. The main results show that an increase of melt pool length results in a decrease of porosity and an increase of dilution, which induces a change of hardness. The melt pool length can be regulated by adjusting the laser power in order to keep both the porosity and the dilution within acceptable values.

The subject of Additive Manufacturing includes numerous techniques, some of which have reached very high levels of development and are now used industrially. Other techniques such as Micro Droplet Deposition Manufacture are under development and present different manufacturing possibilities, but are employed only for low melting temperature metals. In this paper, the possibility of using a laser-based drop deposition technique for stainless-steel wire is investigated. This technique is expected to be a more flexible alternative to Laser Metal Wire Deposition. Laser Droplet Generation experiments were carried out in an attempt to accurately detach steel drops towards a desired position. High-speed imaging was used to observe drop generation and measure the direction of detachment of the drops. Two drop detachment techniques were investigated and the physical phenomena leading to the drop detachment are explained, wherein the drop weight, the surface tension and the recoil pressure play a major role. Optimised parameters for accurate single drop detachment were identified and then used to build multi-drop tracks. Tracks with an even geometry were produced, where the microstructure was influenced by the numerous drop depositions. The tracks showed a considerably higher hardness than the base wire, exhibiting a relatively homogeneous macro-hardness with a localised softening effect at the interfaces between drops.

Additive Manufacturing has become a field of high interest in the industry, mostly due to its strong freedom of design and its flexibility. Numerous Additive Manufacturing techniques exist and present different advantages and disadvantages. The technique investigated in this research is a drop-by-drop deposition alternative to Laser Metal Wire Deposition. This technique is expected to induce a better control over the power input in the material, resulting in a better power efficiency and tailorable material properties. The aim of this research is to investigate selected material properties of the structures produced with the drop-by-drop deposition technique. Multi-drops structures were deposited from 316L, Inconel 625 (NW6625) and AlSi5 (AW4043) wires. Two drop deposition methods were investigated: (i) a contactless recoil pressure driven detachment for 316L and Inconel 625, (ii) a contact-based surface tension driven detachment for AlSi5. A material characterization including optical microscopy, EDS and hardness measurements was performed in transverse and longitudinal cross-sections. The microstructure of the deposited material, the dilution with the substrate and the heat affected zone were analysed. The contactless detachment showed a higher dilution than the contact-based technique due to the laser irradiating the substrate between two drop detachments, which melts the substrate that then mixes with the deposited drops.

Different processes require the detachment of metal drops from a solid material using a laser beam as the heat source, for instance laser drop generation or cyclam. These techniques imply that the drops enter the laser beam, which might affect their trajectory. Also, many laser processes such as laser welding or additive manufacturing generate spatters that can be accelerated by the laser beam during flight and create defects on the material. This fundamental study aims at investigating the effects of a continuous power laser beam on the acceleration of intentionally detached drops and unintentionally detached spatters. Two materials were studied: 316L steel and AlSi5 aluminium alloy. High-speed imaging was used to measure the position of the drops and calculate their acceleration to compare it to theoretical models. Accelerations up to 11.2 g could be measured. The contributions of the vapor pressure, the recoil pressure, and the radiation pressure were investigated. The recoil pressure was found to be the main driving effect but other phenomena counteract this acceleration and reduce it by an order of magnitude of one to two. In addition, two different vaporization regimes were observed, resulting respectively in a vapor plume and in a vapor halo around the drop.

Mill scale formed on the surface of hot rolled steels consists of magnetite (Fe3O4), hematite (Fe2O3) and wustite (FeO) layers, which can protect the steels from corrosion and other atmospheric effects. Existence of mill scale on the specimens' surface has shown to be able to decrease the cut edge quality. Since the mechanism behind influence of mill scale on the laser cutting process is unknown, this work performs direct observation of oxygen laser cutting processes on specimens with and without removed mill scale layers. Oxygen laser cutting processes were carried out using Ytterbium fibre laser 1070 nm along the edge of 20-mm-thick-steel specimens which were attached to a borosilicate glass. Focal point of the laser beam was positioned to be 0.7 mm below the specimens' surface. A high speed imaging system was arranged to face the glass, recording the cut front and kerf dynamics during cutting processes. It was found that cut front inclination angle increase when the mill scale was removed from the specimens' surface. This implies that mill scale on the specimens' surface seem to contribute in increasing the exothermal energy during laser cutting processes.

Traditionally, Laser Arc-Hybrid Welding (LAHW) is made using a gas metal arc heat source in pulsed mode. In this study, welds made with three different arc modes under various conditions are compared. The arc modes compared for LAHW are: Standard, Pulsed, and Cold Metal Transfer (CMT). The pulsed mode, using power modulation, is more controlled than the "natural" Standard mode and offers globular drop transfer with reduced heat input to the work piece, enabling thinner materials to be welded. The CMT arc mode also uses power modulation as well as controlled wire feeding. This enables surface tension drop transfer, involving even less heat input and is also considered to generate less undercuts and spatter than the other two arc modes. The welds compared were made in 7 mm thick S420 laser cut steel sheets with two different welding speeds and gap sizes. They were made using close-to-production setup within the limitations of the CMT capabilities, i.e., low and medium wire feed rates. The weld caps and roots were studied optically and the structures were analyzed by making cross-sectional macrographs longitudinally and transversally. These cross sections were analyzed geometrically, structurally, and also hardness tested. The welds were also studied and analyzed by means of pre- and postweld scanning as well as high speed imaging. The study shows that the laser keyhole reduces the effect of the arc modes, enabling higher welding speeds than without the laser. The gouge formed in front of the keyhole determines occurrence of undercuts and bead uniformity. The material mixing of filler and base material, and laser penetration spiking is also influenced by the depth of the arc gouge. The material structure is also affected to some degrees for expected performances. Even though the short-arc technique CMT show promising results, the pros and cons for each arc technique are discussed

Traditionally, Laser Arc-Hybrid Welding (LAHW) is made using a Gas Metal Arc (GMA) heat source in pulsed mode. In this study, welds made with three different arc modes under various conditions are compared. The arc modes compared for LAHW are; Standard, Pulsed and Cold Metal Transfer (CMT). The pulsed mode, using power modulation, is more controlled than the “natural” Standard mode and offers globular drop transfer with reduced heat input to the work piece, enabling thinner materials to be welded. The CMT arc mode also uses power modulation as well as controlled wire feeding. This enables surface tension drop transfer, involving even less heat input and is also considered to generate less undercuts and spatter than the other two arc modes.The welds compared were made in 7 mm thick S420 laser cut steel sheets with two different welding speeds and gap sizes. They were made using close-to-production setup within the limitations of the CMT capabilities, i.e. low and medium wire feed rates. The weld caps and roots were studied optically and the structures were analyzed by making cross-sectional macrographs longitudinally and transversally. These cross sections were analyzed geometrically, structurally and also hardness tested. The welds were also studied and analyzed by means of pre- and post-weld scanning as well as High Speed Imaging (HSI).The study shows that the laser keyhole reduces the effect of the arc modes, enabling higher welding speeds than without the laser. The gouge formed in front of the keyhole determines occurrence of undercuts and bead uniformity. The material mixing of filler and base material, and laser penetration spiking, is also influenced by the depth of the arc gouge. The material structure is also affected to some degrees for expected performances. Even though the short-arc technique CMT show promising results, the pros and cons for each arc technique are discussed.

Welding production efficiency is usually optimised if full penetration can be achieved in a single pass. Techniques such as electron and laser beam welding offer deep high speed keyhole welding, especially since multi-kilowatt lasers became available. However, there are limitations for these techniques when considering weld imperfections such as weld cap undercuts, interior porosity or humps at the root. The thickness of sheets during full penetration welding is practically limited by these root humps. The mechanisms behind root morphology formation are not yet satisfactory understood. In this paper root humping is studied by reviewing previous studies and findings and also by sample examination and process observation by high speed imaging. Different process regimes governing root quality are presented, categorized and explained. Even though this study mainly covers laser beam and laser arc hybrid welding, the presented findings can generally be applied full penetration welding in medium to thick sheets, especially the discussion of surface tension effects. As a final result of this analysis, a map of methods to optimise weld root topology is presented.

This thesis is about formation of surface imperfections formed in welding when using the manufacturing methods of laser welding and laser arc hybrid welding. In hybrid welding a traditional arc welding source and a laser share the same melt pool, making the process even more complex. Laser welding is often considered as a non-traditional but highly advanced manufacturing technique in industry. As more is getting known about these advanced welding techniques, coupled with reduced prices of laser sources, the interest in industry gradually increases. In welding, control over the quality is essential, particularly to suppress imperfections and unfavourable surface geometries, like undercuts. The mechanical behaviour of a product in service, in particular fatigue life, can suffer from these small, sometimes hardly visible weld imperfections. The final weld quality results from a very complex process, involving non-linear multi-physics. The documentation of parameters, process conditions and the resulting quality is also complex, difficult and so far unsatisfactory. Therefore, the survey manuscript Paper i address the mechanisms and challenges for the documentation of knowledge in laser welding. In addition to the survey manuscript, six journal publications utilize the study of macrographs, surface scanning and High Speed Imaging as methods for capturing and identifying why weld surface imperfection formation can take place. Paper I studies the surface geometry of welds resulting from fibre laser welding with various parameters, also applying the new documentation method called Matrix Flow Chart, MFC. In Paper II, III, IV and VI the formation and shape of undercuts under various circumstances are compared, mapped, analysed and explained. When causes for undercuts are known, counter measures are suggested. Paper V is about accepting undercut formation and instead “repairing” the welded surface by re-melting it with a defocussed laser, effectively eliminating previous surface imperfections. Finally, Paper VI also provides a survey on undercuts in welding and describes the different parameter causes and physical mechanisms.

Production and joining of components for energy industries(wind, oil and gas) for cold climate applications is achallenging task. Joining of thick steels is usually performedby using arc techniques such as submerged arc welding(SAW) or Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW). To fill thicksections, wide gap preparation is made and gradually filled inseveral weld passes. To reduce the number of weld passes,high power laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) is a promisingalternative, but can also weld at higher travel rates therebyreducing the total heat input and reduced filler material.LAHW is applied using a metal-cored wire, demonstratingwelding in 45 mm thick steel sheets. Setup and selection ofprocess parameters are essential for obtaining high processstability, penetration efficiency and material mixingthroughout the depth of the weld. Each weld where repeatedand performed on 500x200x45 mm (x,y,z) steel sheets withmilled joint edges. Using LAHW and selected materials, largeamounts of acicular ferrite was formed in the upper half of thejoint, gradually having increasingly more bainitic structurescloser to the weld root. 

From these results, it is concluded thatLAHW has high potential for increased production efficiencyand lowered costs, potentially replacing arc welding for thesetypes of applications.

Laser welding is a promising technique for welding thick metal sheets, which is usually used for achieving full penetration in a single weld pass. However, among the imperfections that can occur, dropout formation becomes an increasingly larger problem when the sheets to be welded get thicker. When the sheets are 15 mm or thicker it is a challenge to suppress and countermeasures to suppress dropouts get less impact. If full penetration is not achieved, the dropout formation cannot be formed and the melt flows to form better weld caps. Therefore a typical method when welding 15 mm and thicker is to use partial penetration from both sides of the joint and thereby achieving full penetration, at a cost of increasing plate handling complexities and time losses.If the mechanisms behind the dropout formation can be understood, countermeasures may be developed and applied in order to be able to laser weld thicker plates with full penetration single pass welding. In order to understand the mechanics of the formation of dropout during full penetration welding in 15 mm thick plates, experiments have been conducted using laser hybrid arc welding (LAHW) using the laser in CW mode and also applying power modulation. During the experiments, the root has been observed with High Speed Imaging (HSI) to observe the mechanisms behind the formation. It is determined that the downward flow from the keyhole along with the surface tensional forces of the molten steel and its cooling rate play the most significant roles.

In this study, three different arc modes are studied in laser hybrid arc welding with a gasmetal arc, i.e. Standard, Pulsed and Cold Metal Transfer mode. Originally developed forbeing able to weld thin materials, the pulsed mode is the favoured arc mode in both ordinaryarc welding and hybrid welding. The pulsed mode is a more controlled gas metal arc weldingprocess that uses less heat and is able to weld thinner materials than the spray mode processwith globular drop transfer. The cold metal transfer mode utilizes surface tension droptransfer, compared to the free flying drops governing the other modes and is thus even morecontrolled than the pulsed mode. The cold metal transfer mode is much colder than the otherarc modes and is considered to generate less undercuts and spatter than the other modes, byboth developers and users alike.This study compares welds made by the three arc modes for both low and highdeposition rates. The welds are studied by macrographs, scanning and high speed imaging.This study shows that the differences between drop transfer modes are partially eliminateddue to the presence of a laser keyhole. The main arguments to use either arc mode arediscussed.

In welding, high welding speeds are usually limited by an increase in undercut. This study shows that the geometrical conditions of the melt flow can be tailored to suppress undercut when using the arc leading setup. By applying high speed imaging, it can be seen that the keyhole and its position affects the melt flow, making the distance between the laser and the arc an important parameter. Undercut formation usually occurs due to a narrowing or necking of the melt flow behind the gouge that can be prevented if the melt flow is changed by optimizing the laser/arc positioning

Undercuts are usually an imperfection in welding that either continuously or sporadically form, especially when welding at high speed. Efforts, usually lowering the welding speed or overfilling, are applied to avoid undercuts as they can significantly lower the fatigue properties of the welded workpiece. Undercut formation is complex and occurs by various means, mainly based on temperature and melt flow mechanisms. When having two power sources as in laser arc hybrid welding, the melt flow can be tailored to suppress undercut formation. This can be done e.g. by narrowing the width of the gouge or by optimum positioning of the power sources relative to each other. The present paper shows and explains the main reasons of various types of undercut formation. By following the herein generated guidelines, the critical welding speed during laser arc hybrid welding can be further increased, free of undercuts

In this study, three different arc modes in laser arc hybrid welding with a Gas Metal Arc (GMA) are studied, i.e. Standard, Pulsed and Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) mode. Originally developed for being able to weld thin materials, the pulsed mode is the favoured arc mode in both ordinary arc welding and laser hybrid welding. The pulsed mode is a more controlled GMA welding process that uses less heat and is able to weld thinner materials than the Standard mode process while utilizing globular drop flight transfer. The CMT mode utilizes surface tension drop transfer with controlled wire feeding and can thereby be used for much less heated welds compared to the other arc modes. It is also considered to generate less undercuts and spatter compared to the other modes, by both developers and users alike. This study compares hybrid welds made by the three arc modes for low and medium wire deposition rates, within the limits of the CMT process. The welds are studied by macrographs, scanning and high speed imaging. The study shows that the differences between the drop transfer modes are partially eliminated due to the presence of a laser keyhole. The dominating impact on the solidification and melt flow is the arc and especially the gouge created ahead of the keyhole. The main pros and cons to use either arc mode are discussed.

In this study, three different arc modes in laser-arc hybrid welding with a gas metal arc were studied, i.e. the standard, pulsed and cold metal transfer (CMT) modes. The pulsed mode is more controlled than the standard mode and offers reduced heat input to the workpiece, which enables welding of thinner materials. The CMT mode utilizes surface tension drop transfer with controlled wire feeding, and therefore, involves less heat input than the other arc modes, and it is also considered to generate less undercut and spatter than the other modes. This study compares hybrid welds made by the three arc modes with a close-to-production setup for low and medium wire deposition rates, within the limits of the CMT process. The welds were studied by scanning and high speed imaging. The study shows that the differences between the drop transfer modes are reduced due to the presence of a laser keyhole. The dominating influence on the solidification and melt flow is the arc and especially the gouge created ahead of the keyhole. The main pros and cons of the different arc modes are discussed.

Accelerated bone grow (osseointegration) can be achieved by modifying the surface of medical implants. For this purpose, pulsed lasers can be used to successfully texture such beneficial surfaces on titanium, e.g. a BioHelix™ structure. This surface typically includes ridges and droplets with a size range between 1 and 20 μm. This paper presents the results of an experimental program where a range of laser parameters was used to create different surface textures on titanium substrates, using pulsed laser spattering. The resultant surfaces are analysed by scanning electron microscope and X-ray Micro Computer Tomography. It is shown that optimisation of the laser parameters results in a robust process which produces a surface that has proven to be beneficial for osseointegration. The results are also deeper analysed, explaining how different types of surface are created by the laser-material interaction under different conditions. Further, droplet flight distances and the formation of the spongeous nano-scale surface that characterizes the surface structure depends on very fast cooling and is also evaluated.

Pulsed lasers can be used to modify the surface of medical implants in order to accelerate bone growth(osseointegration). Here, it is used to create a surface that is beneficial for rapid osseointegration, also calledBioHelix™, having ridges and covered in attached droplets of diameters between 1 and 20 μm. This paper presentsthe results of an experimental program in which a range of laser parameters were used to create different surfacetextures on titanium substrates. The resulting surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscope and MicroComputer Tomography. The paper explains how different types of surface are created by the laser-materialinteraction under different conditions. It is shown that optimization of the laser parameters results in a robustprocess which produces a surface that is fundamentally different from those created by other methods

This paper investigates the laser piercing process preceding nearly all laser cutting operations. An important aspect of laser piercing is the pierce time and reliability of the process since industrial laser cutting machines are programmed for the minimum reliable pierce time. Another important aspect is the width of the pierced hole. If the hole width is less than the cut line, piercing can be made directly on the cut path, possibly saving time and material. In this paper, stainless steel is pierced using CW stationary mode in 10 mm and 15 mm thick sheets, compared with pulse modulation and circular trepanning movement of the laser beam for a selected wide range of parameters. High speed imaging was applied to observe spatter formation and measure pierce times. The results show that appropriate settings can halve piercing times for either laser power modulation or trepanning motion, compared to stationary continuous laser piercing.

Laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) is a promising technique for joining sheets due to fast processing speeds and small gap bridgeability. Prior to welding, the edges are often prepared using laser cutting. However, this often leaves small striations with a thin oxide layer that may affect the weld quality. Compared to milled edges, these striations produces a quasigap in a butt joint configuration. The effects of these cutting oxides upon welding are yet unknown. Here, the effects of these oxides in combination with CO₂ in the shielding gas are investigated for the LAHW process, using a cold metal transfer arc process.

In this study, the effects upon weld arc stability and contents of oxygen and nitrogen inside the weld is investigated for laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) using the CMT arc mode. CMT is a controlled short arc technique that is here expected to be less sensitive to oxygen levels in the shielding gas. Having oxides or nitrogen inside the weld region is also known to alter the fluid mechanics such as surface tension, but also a cause for porosity. The gap preparation prior to welding is typically carried out by thermal cutting, water jet cutting or grinding. These edges are then placed to form the joint to be welded. In the case of thermal cutting, oxides are usually formed on the cut edge, adding oxygen into the melt pool when welding is conducted. The effects are studied by macroscopy, HSI and chemical analysis. The arc stability and oxygen and nitrogen levels in the welds are more affected by the oxides remaining from the laser cut edges than the oxygen in the shielding gas when the cutting oxides are removed.

It is possible to reinforce structures and components using carbon fibres for applications in electronics and medicine, but most commonly used in reinforcing resin fibre composites for personal protection equipment and light weight constructions. Carbon fibres act as stress redistributors while having increased electrical and thermal conductivities. These properties could also be utilized in metal matrixes, if the fibres are properly fused to the metal and the structure remains intact. Another recently developed high potential carbon structure, carbon nanotube- (CNT) yarns, has similar but even greater mechanical properties than common carbon fibres. Via laser cladding, these reinforcing materials could be used in a plethora of applications, either locally (or globally) as surface treatments or as structural reinforcements using multi-layer laser cladding (additive manufacturing). The challenges of embedding carbon fibres or CNT-yarns in a CuAl mixture and SnPb solder wire using lasers are here investigated using high speed imaging and SEM. It is revealed that the carbon fibres have very high buoyancy in the molten metal and quickly degrades when irradiated by the laser. Wetting of the fibres is shown to be improved by a Tungsten coating and embedding of the structures after processing are evaluated using SEM and Raman spectroscopy.

Undercuts in welded components are known as a stress raiser that reduces fatigue life, a well-known origin for construction failures. If fatigue life is increased, many components will have longer service time, preventing wasting of resources for repairing or re-building. Undercuts form when conditions for welding are bad, generally due to dilutes in the weld zone, bad shielding gas, arc properties or too high welding speeds leading to premature cooling of weld gouge edges. These conditions may result in poor wetting at the melt pool rim, preventing the melt from reaching the base plate surface. Sometimes undercuts are not at all tolerated by industrial requirements, such as for flat steel extension welding where the surface needs to be flat. In these cases post weld treatment is required. The here proposed solution is a technique of laser re-melting laser hybrid arc weld caps in order to remove occurring undercuts and even out weld caps and roots. In this case, the same laser used for welding can also be used in a second run but defocussed. This technique is advantageous to techniques such as TIG dressing since the equipment is already present. After the focused laser has been in conjunction with an arc to produce an approved weld, except for including irregular weld bead or undercutting, the laser is used again in a defocussed position to re-melt the weld cap. The wider but shallower weld surface created has redistributed the melt cap in order to fill the occasional undercuts and surface irregularities.

Laser welding, arc welding, and laser-arc hybrid welding can all result in undercut and varying penetration. In some cases, it is technically and commercially viable to reduce undercut at the weld cap and smooth out the weld root profile by defocussing the welding laser and using it to remelt the welded surfaces.

Additive Manufacturing provides many opportunities to design and manufacture parts that are difficult or not possible to produce with conventional methods. In Selective Laser Melting (SLM) in powder bed fusion (PBF), melt pool dynamics and stability is dependent on a large number of factors, e.g. laser power output, power density, travel speed, reflectivity of powder bed, rapid heating and vaporization. Since travel speeds are often very fast and the laser interaction zone is small, the physical events become difficult to predict but also to observe. This work aims to describe the formation and geometrical characteristics of the vaporization zone during processing. Using a combination of theoretical descriptions, resulting material structures and a comprehensive analysis of high-speed images of the processing zone for different heat inputs and travel speeds, explanations for the dynamic melt pool behaviour are derived. The melting and pressures from processing involved moves powder particles next to it, changing the conditions for neighbouring tracks due to lack of material. These findings can provide a basis for creating more efficient and stable SLM processing, with fewer imperfections.

Laser - material interactions such as welding, heat treatment and thermal bending generate thermal gradients which give rise to thermal stresses and strains which often result in a permanent distortion of the heated object. This paper investigates the thermal distortion response which results from pulsed laser surface melting of a stainless steel sheet. Pulsed holography has been used to accurately monitor, in real time, the out-of-plane distortion of stainless steel samples melted on one face by with both single and multiple laser pulses. It has been shown that surface melting by additional laser pulses increases the out of plane distortion of the sample without significantly increasing the melt depth. The distortion differences between the primary pulse and subsequent pulses has also been analysed for fully and partially overlapping laser pulses.

In manufacturing, metal parts can be joined using a laser as a welding tool, i.e. laser welding. Despite huge amount of research over the years, the process is neither sufficiently understood nor mathematically predictable. This study aims to holistically analyze the knowledge management issues occurring in laser welding. Emerging from observations and semi-structured interviews from industry and academy, the complexity and the criticalities of the process as well as the current knowledge transfers is explained and analyzed, using a knowledge lifecycle framework as a reference. Besides enhanced awareness of the limiting issues, information and knowledge visualization, e.g. knowledge maps, is identified as a key for progress in the community. The Matrix Flow Chart is suggested as an alternative descaled map of process changes.

In welding, wire-feeding enables alteration of the resulting microstructure and, in turn, the mechanical behavior of the welded joint. For pipeline steel grades, very few commercial wires are matching at high strength and simultaneously ensure sufficient toughness. New wire chemistries need to be investigated. Promising consumable chemistries can be studied through metal cored wires. One promising concept is alloys that promote acicular ferrite instead of bainite. Interlocking instead of parallel laths can lead to higher toughness. In the gouge range of 15–19 mm, laser-arc hybrid welding has been studied for pipeline steel grades X80 and X100. For efficient mapping of various weld metal conditions, a simplifying “snapshot” method was developed. A pulse shaped laser beam melts wire pieces in a controlled manner, reproducing thermal cycles in welding. The weld metal tends to form bainite, but under certain conditions, complex microstructures with interlocking laths can be generated. Slow thermal cycles can lead to coalescence of the laths to coarser structures, while fast cycles favored finer structures and occasionally lath interlocking. The formation of acicular ferrite was difficult to achieve. Advanced wire chemistries lowered the hardness of the weld metal, as did preheating.

Laser beam welding of tailored blank butt joints of different sheet thickness generates asymmetric melt pool conditions. By employing two, three or four tailored laser beams, additional options for shaping the melt pool conditions can be offered. As observed by high speed imaging, in most multi-spot cases a large stable buttonhole was generated, by the trailing laser beams asymmetrically towards the thinner sheet. Correspondingly, the ablation pressure from the multiple boiling fronts has generated a fast melt jet, particularly along the thicker sheet. In many cases the boiling front kept open to the keyhole rear. The buttonhole differs from the Catenoid-like shape reported earlier. The walls are steeper and the horizontal shape can be asymmetric. The melt pool can switch between different stable modes. Inclined arrangement of three beams enabled even two separate, parallel boiling fronts and melt jets, combining behind the opening. Despite the large buttonhole, sound welds were achieved. Solely for four equal laser beams, arranged as a square, a melt pool without buttonhole was generated. Provided the driving forces from the ablation pressure along with the melt flow are sufficiently explored and understood, new opportunities to optimize the welding process are available.

During welding, wire consumables can essentially contribute to the resulting microstructures and mechanical properties. In order to maintain high toughness even for high strength steel, certain microstructures are desirable, particularly acicular ferrite. An efficient, controllable test method was developed during which the wire is molten and experiences a thermal cycle by a shaped laser pulse, or a sequence of pulses, which shall resemble continuous laser-arc hybrid welding or narrow gap multi-layer laser welding. Different thermal cycles and wire chemistries have led to manifold microstructures. The morphology of the microstructures can become complex. Therefore, more detailed characterization of essential morphology aspects was carried out, to distinguish different results. The thermal cycles from quenching have led to shorter, thicker laths with more random orientation. The latter can be favourable for high toughness. Short reheating cycles by about 200 K/s caused finer, longer and more parallel laths, as for bainite, in varying size of blocks. Other aspects considered were grain boundary ferrite and non-metallic inclusions. Systematic variation of the thermal cycle by the testing method along with systematic description of microstructure morphology in more detail is a promising method to identify and optimize favoured routes for wire chemistry and welding techniques.