Influence of CO2 laser welding parameters on the microstructure, metallurgy, and mechanical properties of Mg-Al alloys

This study investigated the microstructural characteristics, metallurgy, microhardness, and tensile strength of AZ31 and AZ61 magnesium alloy weldments, fabricated in a CO2 laser welding process with the adjustment of various parameters. The results show that the AZ31 weldment contains equiaxed grains within the fusion zone (FZ). By contrast, the FZ of the AZ61 weldment contains refined cellular grains and the partially melted zone (PMZ) contains bulk grains. We infer that the difference in aluminum content between the two magne- sium alloys results in different supercooling rates and solid grain structures. For both weldments, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) de- creases following the CO2 laser welding process. However, no significant difference is noted between the UTS of the two weldments, sug- gesting that tensile strength is insensitive to the Al content of the magnesium alloy. The CO2 laser welding process is shown to increase the microhardness of both magnesium alloys. Furthermore, grain refinement is responsible for the maximum hardness in the FZ of both weld- ments. The AZ61 weldment has a higher content of Al, resulting in a greater grain refinement.