Dissimilar welding between Cu–6Al–2Ni alloy and stainless steel 316L using continuous ytterbium YAG laser

The Cu–6Al–2Ni alloy has much higher ultimate tensile strength compared to pure copper and may potentially replace it in the dissimilar joints between titanium alloys and stainless steels. Laser welding of aluminum bronze to stainless steel has not been reported in the scientific literature, which motivated the present weldability study of Cu–6Al–2Ni/316L dissimilar joint with a continuous ytterbium Yb:YAG laser. Different laser spot offsets from the joint line were selected in order to produce the joints with various dilutions of welded materials. Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) probe and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the melted zones were performed, along with microhardness measurements and tensile testing. The phase evolution in the obtained microstructures was evaluated using Thermo-Calc software. For the dilutions ranging from 23 to 63 at.% Cu, the melted zones showed globular microstructures with primary and secondary phase separation due to the miscibility gap existing in the Cu–Fe system. Lower Cu contents resulted in cellular γ-Fe structures with rare globular Cu-rich inclusions. The XRD analysis indicated the presence of ∼10% of ternary AlFe2Ni phase, however, it did not harm the mechanical properties of the welds. According to Thermo-Calc, this phase is formed from γ-Fe during the cooling process. Microhardness measurements did not indicate the embrittlement of the melted zones, which can be explained by the submicronic dispersion of AlFe2Ni. The welds exhibited a ductile fracture in Cu–6Al–2Ni at ultimate tensile strength of 350–420 MPa in a wide range of laser offsets, which is much higher than previously reported results for pure copper/316L joints.