Numerical Simulation on Micro-welding of Thin Stainless Steel Sheet by Fiber Laser

Abstract

A three-dimensional finite element model has been developed to simulate dynamically the laser micro-welding process of thin stainless steel sheet. The model can calculate the temperature distribution and predict the weld bead geometry during the welding process. The numerical simulation was conducted using a non-linear transient thermal analysis with changing the laser processing parameters; namely laser power, scan velocity and spot diameter under a constant energy density. The measurement of weld bead geometry from the laser micro-welding experiments was used to validate the developed numerical model. The results show that there are good agreements with the weld bead geometry between the experimental observations and the finite element simulations.