Modeling of laser welding - a metallurgical perspective

Abstract

The interaction of a high power laser beam and a solid metallic material is discussed, leading to the formation of a keyhole in steel. The requirements for a laser to produce a keyhole are stated. Surrounding the keyhole is a molten pool, whose flow can be calculated by the appropriate equations. The use of time-temperature-transformation curves for steels superimposed by the cooling curves from different laser beam welding conditions is presented