Characterization of dissimilar aluminum-copper material joining by controlled dual laser beam

Abstract

Laser technology has many advantages in welding for the manufacture of EV battery packs. Aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) are welded using a dual laser beam, suggesting the optimum power distribution for the core and ring beams. Due to the very high reflectance of Cu and Al exposed to near-infrared lasers, the material absorbs a very small amount of energy. Compared to single beam laser welding, dual beam welding has significantly improved surface quality by controlling surface solidification. The study focused on the quality of weld surface beads, weld properties and tensile strength by varying the output ratio of the core beam to the ring beam. Optimal conditions of Al6061 were a 700 W core beam, a 500 W ring beam and 200 mm/s of weld speed. For the C1020P, the optimum conditions were a center beam of 2500 W, a ring beam of 3000 W and a welding speed of 200 mm/s. In laser lap welding of Al-Al and Al-Cu, the bead width and the interfacial bead width of the joint increased as the output increased. The penetration depth did not change significantly, but small pores were formed at the interface of the junction. Tensile tests were performed to demonstrate the reliability of the weld zone, and computer simulations provided analysis of the heat distribution for optimal heat input conditions.