Power modulation and its effect on microstructural evolution during laser oscillating welding of steel to aluminum alloy

Abstract

The control of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) poses a challenge in welding Al–Fe joints. To tackle this issue, power-modulated laser welding was utilized to join 6061 aluminum (6061Al) and AISI-304 stainless steel (304SS) in an overlap configuration. This research compares the impacts of two power modes: constant power (CP) and gradient power (GP) on weld formation and interface IMCs to demonstrate the superior performance of the GP mode. The GP mode alters the energy distribution pattern, resulting in distinct weld formation and interface microstructures compared to the CP mode. Notably, the research confirms that the GP mode enhances the tensile shear strength of the joints, highlighting the effectiveness of the GP mode.

Keywords:

• Laser
• Oscillating
• Modulation
• Aluminum alloys
• Intermetallic

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Mr You-wei Xu and Mr Volodymyr Korzhyk for their technical support throughout the work.

Author contributions

Jing Han: conceptualization, methodology, and writing – original draft preparation. Yu Shi: project administration, supervision, and resources. Gang Zhang: validation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Project of the Major Cultivation Project of University Research and Innovation Platform in 2024 (Grant No. 2024CXPT-06), the Major Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province (Grant No. 22ZD6GA008), the Key Research and Development Program of Gansu Province (Grant No. 20YF3WA017), the Central Guiding Local Science and Technology Development Fund Project (Grant No. 23ZYQA308), and the Scientific and Technological Projects of Jiayuguan (Grant No. 22-16).