Cross-Beam Laser Joining of AA 6111 to Galvanized Steel in a Coach Peel Configuration

• Published in: Lasers in manufacturing and materials processing 2017-06, Vol.4 (2), p.45-59
• Main Authors: Yang, Guang, Mohammadpour, Masoud, Yazdian, Nima, Ma, Junjie, Carlson, Blair, Wang, Hui-Ping, Kovacevic, Radovan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Aluminum base alloys; Braze welding; Configurations; Engineering; Fillers; Finite element method; Galvanized steel; Galvanized steels; Hot dip aluminizing; Hot dip galvanizing; Industrial and Production Engineering; Interface reactions; Joining; Laser beam welding; Lasers; Machines; Manufacturing; Mechanical properties; Processes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Temperature distribution; Tensile tests; Thickness; Thin Films; Wetting; Wire
• ISSN: 2196-7229; 2196-7237
• DOI: 10.1007/s40516-017-0036-0

Cross-beam laser joining of aluminum alloy 6111 to hot-dip galvanized steel in the coach-peel configuration was investigated with the addition of AA 4047 filler wire. The filler material was not only brazed onto the galvanized steel but also partially fusion-welded with the aluminum panel. Through adjusting the laser power to 3.4 kW, a desirable wetting and spreading of filler wire on both panel surfaces could be achieved, and the thickness of intermetallic layer in the middle section of the interface between the weld bead and steel was less than 2 μm. To better understand the solid/liquid interfacial reaction at the brazing interface, two rotary Gaussian heat source models were introduced to simulate the temperature distribution in the molten pool by using the finite element method. Joint properties were examined in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties. During the tensile test, the fracture of coupons took place at the aluminum side rather than along the interface between the intermetallic layer and steel panel. No failure occurred during the three-point bending test.