Dual-beam laser welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy in zero-gap lap joint configuration

Porosity within laser welds of magnesium alloys is one of the main roadblocks to achieving high quality joints. One of the causes of pore formation is the presence of pre-existing coatings on the surface of magnesium alloy such as oxide or chromate layers. In this study, single-beam and dual-beam laser heat sources are investigated in relation to mitigation of pores resulting from the presence of the as-received oxide layer on the surface of AZ31B-H24 magnesium alloy during the laser welding process. A fiber laser with a power of up to 4 kW is used to weld samples in a zero-gap lap joint configuration. The effect of dual-beam laser welding with different beam energy ratios is studied on the quality of the weld bead. The purpose of this paper is to identify the beam ratio that best mitigates pore formation in the weld bead. The laser molten pool and the keyhole condition, as well as laser-induced plasma plume are monitored in real-time by use of a high speed charge-coupled device (CCD) camera assisted with a green laser as an illumination source. Tensile and microhardness tests were used to measure the mechanical properties of the laser welded samples. Results showed that a dual-beam laser configuration can effectively mitigate pore formation in the weld bead by a preheating-welding mechanism. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.