Numerical support for laser welding of zinc-coated sheets process development

A lap welding process for zinc-coated sheets has been developed with the help of numerical simulations. This process has been improved and is now compatible with industrial requirements. The zinc boiling point (1180 K) is lower than the steel melting point (1800 K). Consequently, a violent boiling of zinc in melted steel produces serious defects in the seam. To get round this difficulty, we choose to consider a two-spots process: the first spot vaporizes the zinc coating at the interface; the second one welds the sheets. Previously, we develop a numerical model that permits a process parameters choice and limits the plan of experimentations. The zinc ablation spotlight shape is chosen elliptic for practical reasons. The work speed is then optimized varying surface and eccentricity of the spotlight shape. Experimentations during the process development phase confirm the predicted tendency. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.