Ultrasonic vibration aided laser welding of Al alloys: improvement of laser welding-quality

Using a pulsed YAG laser, meltability of Al-Mg and Al-Mg-Si alloys were investigated by a single-pass irradiation. In order to improve the quality in laser welding, the effectiveness of the Ultrasonic Vibration Laser Welding (UVLW) method proposed in this paper was investigated experimentally. The proposed method was also compared with the traditional welding methods of Normal Laser Welding (NLW) and preHeating Laser Welding (HLW). The welding methods were evaluated from the geometry in the melt zone generated by a single pulse of the laser beam. It was suggested that ultrasonic vibration suppressed welding defects and improved the melt characteristics due to cavitation effects and dispersion of particles in the molten pool during laser welding. The influence on melt characteristics of the melt zone by preheating was also investigated. In these experiments, UVLW was the most useful laser welding method from the point of view of improving the laser welding quality of Al alloys.