Residual Stress and Bead Profile Analysis of Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser Lap Welding

Abstract

The weld bead temperature distribution and shape during pulsed Nd:YAG laser lap welding are studied. A volumetric heat source model is derived to include the surface flux and the keyhole heat transfer effects in the pulsed laser lap welding process. The proposed pulsed laser heat transfer mode is employed in a simulation with the commercial finite element software Marc. The numerically computed results of the weld pool dimensions are compared with the experimental results. The comparison shows a good agreement between the simulated and measurement results, indicating that the proposed model is feasible. The results reveal that the pulse duration and spot pitch have considerable influence on the temperature field distribution and the residual stress distribution.