Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Hybrid Laser-Arc Welding of Thick-Walled, Closed, Circumferential Pipe Welds

2022 , Üstündag, Ömer , Bakir, Nasim , Gook, Sergej , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

The application of hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) for joining closed circumferential welds is a challenge due to the high risk of forming a defective overlap area with a shrinkage void or solidification cracks in the material thickness. A series of HLAW experiments were performed to understand the development of a faulty overlap area when closing the circumferential weld. Welding trials on flat specimens and pipe segments were supported by numerical analyses in which the thermomechanical behavior of the welds in the overlap area was investigated. Different process control strategies were tested, including variations in defocusing levels and the overlap length. The newly developed HLAW head, including laser optics with a motor-driven collimation system, made it possible to defocus the laser beam during welding without disturbing the stability of the welding process. High-level defocusing of the laser beam of more than 40 mm relative to the specimen surface with a resulting beam diameter of > 2.9 mm, and in combination with a short overlap length of 15 mm, was promising with respect to the formation of a desired cup-shaped weld profile that is resistant to solidification cracks.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Laserstrahlschweißen von additiv gefertigten Bauteilen: Einsetzbarkeit bestehender Bewertungsvorschriften

2021 , Jokisch, Torsten , Gook, Sergej , Üstündag, Ömer , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

Bei der additiven Fertigung im Pulverbett ist die Bauteilgröße durch den Bauraum begrenzt. Das Verbindungsschweißen additiv gefertigter Teile bietet eine Möglichkeit diese Größenbegrenzung aufzuheben. Aufgrund des spezifischen Spannungs- und Gefügezustandes im additiv aufgebauten Material ist jedoch unklar, inwiefern bestehende Bewertungsvorschriften des Verbindungsschweißens auch für Schweißnähte an additiven Bauteilen geeignet sind. Dies wird anhand des Laserstrahlschweißens von additiv gefertigten Rohrverbindungen untersucht. Die Schweißnähte werden mittels visueller Prüfung, metallographischer Untersuchungen sowie Computertomographie ausgewertet. Die festgestellten Fehlerarten sind vergleichbar zu konventionellen Bauteilen. Dies ist ein Indikator dafür, dass bestehende Bewertungsvorschriften die möglichen auftretenden Defekte auch für Schweißnähte an additiven Bauteilen abbilden.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

3D laser metal deposition: Process steps for additive manufacturing

2018 , Graf, Benjamin , Marko, Angelina , Petrat, Torsten , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an established technology for two-dimensional surface coatings. It offers high deposition rates, high material flexibility, and the possibility to deposit material on existing components. Due to these features, LMD has been increasingly applied for additive manufacturing of 3D structures in recent years. Compared to previous coating applications, additive manufacturing of 3D structures leads to new challenges regarding LMD process knowledge. In this paper, the process steps for LMD as additive manufacturing technology are described. The experiments are conducted using titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V and Inconel 718. Only the LMD nozzle is used to create a shielding gas atmosphere. This ensures the high geometric flexibility needed for additive manufacturing, although issues with the restricted size and quality of the shielding gas atmosphere arise. In the first step, the influence of process parameters on the geometric dimensions of single weld beads is analyzed based on design of experiments. In the second step, a 3D build-up strategy for cylindrical specimen with high dimensional accuracy is described. Process parameters, travel paths, and cooling periods between layers are adjusted. Tensile tests show that mechanical properties in the as-deposited condition are close to wrought material. As practical example, the fir-tree root profile of a turbine blade is manufactured. The feasibility of LMD as additive technology is evaluated based on this component.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Hybrid laser-arc welding of laser- and plasma-cut 20-mm-thick structural steels

2022 , Üstündag, Ömer , Bakir, Nasim , Gook, Sergej , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

It is already known that the laser beam welding (LBW) or hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) processes are sensitive to manufacturing tolerances such as gaps and misalignment of the edges, especially at welding of thick-walled steels due to its narrow beam diameter. Therefore, the joining parts preferably have to be milled. The study deals with the influence of the edge quality, the gap and the misalignment of edges on the weld seam quality of hybrid laser-arc welded 20-mm-thick structural steel plates which were prepared by laser and plasma cutting. Single-pass welds were conducted in butt joint configuration. An AC magnet was used as a contactless backing. It was positioned under the workpiece during the welding process to prevent sagging. The profile of the edges and the gap between the workpieces were measured before welding by a profile scanner or a digital camera, respectively. With a laser beam power of just 13.7 kW, the single-pass welds could be performed. A gap bridgeability up to 1 mm at laser-cut and 2 mm at plasma-cut samples could be reached respectively. Furthermore, a misalignment of the edges up to 2 mm could be welded in a single pass. The new findings may eliminate the need for cost and time-consuming preparation of the edges.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Method for defect-free hybrid laser-arc welding of closed circumferential welds

2021 , Gook, Sergej , Üstündag, Ömer , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

This paper presents investigation results of a process for defect-free hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW) of closed circumferential welds. The process aims to avoid weld imperfections in the overlap area of a HLAW circumferential weld. A process control strategy for closing the circumferential weld was developed to achieve a defect-free overlap region by controlling the solidification conditions at the end of the weld. The controlled heat flow is achieved by adjusting the parameters of both welding processes involved, the laser beam as well as gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. Experimental investigations were carried out on 12 mm to 15 mm thick tube sections. The influence of process parameters such as the laser power ramp, the change in magnification scale and the defocusing of the laser beam on the solidification conditions at the end of the circumferential weld was investigated to find an optimum strategy for ramping out the process energy. Within the framework of the experimental studies, it was demonstrated that defocusing the laser beam in the range between 60 mm and 100 mm over a short run-out area of the weld of approximately 15 mm led to a significantly better weld formation in the overlap area. A favorable cup-shaped weld shape could be achieved without a tendency to crack. The laser optics with a motor-driven lens system made it possible to increase the laser beam diameter without changing the position of the GMAW arc relative to the component surface.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Hybrid laser-arc welding of thick-walled ferromagnetic steels with electromagnetic weld pool support

2018 , Üstündag, Ömer , Fritzsche, André , Avilov, Vjaceslav , Rethmeier, Michael , Gumenyuk, Andrey

The hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) process provides many advantages over laser welding and arc welding alone, such as high welding speed, gap bridgeability, and deep penetration. The developments in hybrid laser-arc welding technology using modern high-power lasers allow single-pass welding of thick materials. This technology can be used for the heavy metal industries such as shipbuilding, power plant fabrication, and line-pipe manufacturing. The obvious problem for single-pass welding is the growth of the hydrostatic pressure with increasing thickness of materials leading to drop-out of molten metal. This phenomenon is aggravated at slow welding velocities because of increasing weld seam width followed by a decrease of Laplace pressure compensating the hydrostatic pressure. Therefore, weld pool support is necessary by welding of thick materials with slow welding velocities. The innovative electromagnetic weld pool support system is contactless and has been used successfully for laser beam welding of aluminum alloys and austenitic and ferromagnetic steels. The support system is based on generating Lorentz forces within the weld pool. These are produced by an oscillating magnetic field orientated perpendicular to the welding direction. The electromagnetic weld pool support facilitates a decrease in the welding speed without a sagging and drop-out of the melt thus eliminating the limitations of weldable material thickness.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Verfahren zum fehlerfreien Laserstrahl-Hybridschweißen von geschlossenen Rundnähten

2021 , Gook, Sergej , Üstündag, Ömer , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

In diesem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen eines Verfahrens zum fehlerfreien Laserstrahl-Hybridschweißen von geschlossenen Rundnähten vorgestellt. Das Verfahren zielt auf die Vermeidung von Schweißimperfektionen im Überlappbereich einer laserstrahlhybridgeschweißten Rundnaht. Eine Strategie der Prozessführung beim Schließen der Rundnaht wurde entwickelt, mit der ein fehlerfreier Überlappbereich durch die Kontrolle der Erstarrungsbedingungen am Schweißnahtende erreicht wird.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Avoidance of end crater imperfections at high-power laser beam welding of closed circumferential welds

2020 , Gook, Sergej , Üstündag, Ömer , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

The present work deals with the development of a strategy for the prevention of end crater defects in high-power laser welding of thick-walled circumferential welds. A series of experiments were performed to understand the influence of the welding parameters on the formation of end crater defects such as pores, cracks, root excess weld metal and shrinkage cavities in the overlap area. An abrupt switch-off of the laser power while closing the circumferential weld leads to a formation of a hole which passes through the whole welded material thickness. A laser power ramp-down causes solidification cracks which are initiated on the transition from full-penetration mode to partial penetration. Defocusing the laser beam led to promising results in terms of avoiding end crater defects. Cracks and pores in the overlap area could be effectively avoided by using defocusing techniques. A strategy for avoiding of end crater imperfections was tested on flat specimens of steel grade S355 J2 with a wall thickness of between 8 and 10 mm and then transferred on the 10 mm thick pipe sections made of high-strength pipeline steel API5L-X100Q.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Build-up strategies for temperature control using laser metal deposition for additive manufacturing

2018 , Petrat, Torsten , Winterkorn, René , Graf, Benjamin , Gumenyuk, Andrey , Rethmeier, Michael

The track geometry created with laser metal deposition (LMD) is influenced by various parameters. In this case, the laser power has an influence on the width of the track because of an increasing energy input. A larger melt pool is caused by a rising temperature. In the case of a longer welding process, there is also a rise in temperature, resulting in a change of the track geometry. This paper deals with the temperature profiles of different zigzag strategies and spiral strategies for additive manufacturing. A two-color pyrometer is used for temperature measurement on the component surface near the melt pool. Thermocouples measure the temperatures in deeper regions of a component. The welds are located in the center and in the edge area on a test part to investigate the temperature evolution under different boundary conditions. The experiments are carried out on substrates made from mild steel 1.0038 and with the filler material 316L. The investigations show an influence on the temperature evolution by the travel path strategy as well as the position on the part. This shows the necessity for the development and selection of build-up strategies for different part geometries in additive manufacturing by LMD.