Laser beam welding of aluminum alloys - art. no. 682505

Aluminum alloys are among the most important parts of advanced materials being of strategic significance. Laser beam welding is a fast growing technology that offers new opportunities in the joining of aluminum alloys. Alloys such as the At 7000 series that are unweldable with conventional techniques are readily joined by laser welding to produce welds with high strength. However, the high reflectivity, the high thermal conductivity, the high fluidity, the high chemical reactivity as well as the low ionization energy of At element make the physical processes complex in laser welding of aluminum and its alloys. In this paper, the key scientific problems and issues are reviewed and some novel processes and techniques are introduced mainly based on the author's research achievements financially supported by the "863 Program" of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University of the Ministry of Education of China and other programs.