Dissimilar metal welding of Ti6Al4V and Inconel 718 through pulsed laser welding-induced eutectic reaction technology

The joining of Ti6Al4V and Inconel 718 constitutes a great challenge, due to the TixNiy, Ti-Cr, and Ti-Fe brittle phases' formation. For the solution of this problem, niobium was selected as an interlayer and the pulsed laser welding-induced eutectic reaction technology was proposed. Two metallurgical bonding zones based on two different bonding mechanisms were identified for the Ti6Al4V/Inconel718 dissimilar joint. When the laser beam was positioned at the Ti6Al4V/Nb interface, the Ti6Al4V and the Nb sheet were partially melted, for the Ti6Al4V and niobium to be joined through fusion welding, while the atomic interdiffusion and the eutectic reaction were responsible for the joining at the Nb/Inconel 718 interface. No TixNiy, Ti-Cr, or Ti-Fe intermetallics were detected in the weld, demonstrating that the unmelted Nb interlayer acted as a diffusion barrier between the Ti6Al4V and the Inconel 718. The eutectic reaction layer formed at the Nb/Inconel 718 interface with the main microstructure of the Ni-Nb system intermetallics. The welded joints fractured at the reaction layer at the maximum tensile strength of 145 MPa and the fracture mode was cleavage fracture.