Abstract: A circular bead produced by a laser beam (CLW) is a method of joining superposed sheets by scanning circularly a laser beam. Among the various applications, it could be highlighted the welding of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 sheets for heat exchangers. This work aims to report the effect of fiber laser CLW in tensile shear strength of superposed sheets as well as the corrosion behavior in relation to the process parameters. It was carried out circular beads using stainless steel AISI 304 sheets varying the laser power and speed. The samples were then submitted to optical and electronic microscopy, tensile-shear tests and electrochemical experiments. Among the experimental conditions, the weld sample with 800 W power and 50 mm/s speed presented an ultimate tensile strength of 159 MPa, 17% higher than the sample with the lowest result. The corrosion rate, corrosion and pitting potentials did not change significantly in the welded joint with different conditions compared to the base metal.

The effect of laser remelting on the corrosion susceptibility and mechanical properties of Ti-35Nb-4Sn (mass%) alloy is investigated across the remelted track profile. In comparison to the cold-rolled microstructure of base metal, recrystallization of heat affected zone (HAZ) improved plastic energy absorption and pitting corrosion resistance, by the reduction of active sites for pit nucleation. In fusion zone, however, passivation was compromised by the formation of dendritic microstructure with Sn enriched interdendritic region, where preferential pitting corrosion occurred. Fusion zone was the most anodic region and presented a corrosion potential difference of 35 mV, in comparison to the adjacent and most cathodic HAZ. Electrochemical impedance analysis showed that spontaneous passivation was most effective in base metal, that developed a thicker and more compact passive film. Local increase in elastic modulus and microhardness of fusion zone shows that laser remelting is a viable processing route for the manufacturing of biomaterials with functionally graded properties.

The superficial coatings in micro-alloyed steel pipes has been a pointed way to decrease the corrosion problems in oil and gas industry. However, little emphasis has been given to the substrate. The effects of the deposition method on the steel microstructure and properties are still not well described. In this context, this work studied the effect of Ni superalloys clads on the phase transformations, microstructure and hardness of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of an API steel. The underestimate of the HAZ might be dangerous, since, despite the coating good corrosion performance, the substrate HAZ may present a weak region, which may lead to an in-service coating tearing. In this work, Inconel 625 and Hastelloy C276 superalloys were clad on the steel surface by a laser deposition. Dilatometry, optical and scanning electron microscopy, and computational simulation were applied. The studied steel was originally constituted by tempered martensite. The austentizing temperature had a strong influence on the austenite grain size and on the steel CCT diagram. Due to that, the laser superalloy deposits promoted a complex HAZ, where grain growth occurred. A post-cladding heat treatment was proposed to homogenize the steel microstructure and to decrease the hardness gradient at the superalloy-steel interface.

In many aerospace applications, it is important to produce hydro-repellent surfaces because water and ice accumulation could lead to malfunctioning of the part or component with a potential critical failure. In this study, it was investigated the texturing of a titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) by applying a pulsed Nd:YAG laser, aimed at the surface characterization by microscopy, X-ray diffraction, roughness and nano-indentation tests as well as free fall drop test. The experimental procedure aimed to understand the influence of three variables: (N) the number of laser runs 1, 2, 5 and 10; (V) laser speeds of 25, 50 and 100 cm/s and (P) laser power of 5, 10 and 20 W on the microstructure and the hydrophobic behavior. The Vickers hardness and elastic modulus of laser processed surfaces were similar to the untreated surfaces. When the number of the laser runs (N) increased, a TiO phase amount increases as a result of increasing heat input. The measured roughnesses decreased with increasing P as a direct result of remelting. As the number of runs (N) increases the surface became more and more flat, consequently the overlapping runs induced polishing of the titanium surfaces. The mean roughness Ra attained 0.23 µm after 10 runs at V=100m/s and P=10W, compared to Ra=0.41 µm of the virgin surface. The water repellent conditions were N1V50P05, N1V100P05, N2V25P05, N2V50P05, N5V25P05, N5V50P05, N5V100P10 and N10V25P10. These conditions were associated with a homogeneous remelted layer, low power, partial superposition of the laser shots of 50% or 75%, and a surface finish slightly rougher than the original material.

Três processos de união de perfis de alumínio concorrem para a manufatura de painéis estruturais (união entre revestimento e reforçadores) aeronáuticos: rebitagem, Friction Stir Welding (FSW) e soldagem a laser (Laser Beam Welding - LBW). Esses processos têm vantagens e desvantagens particulares, as quais foram analisadas no presente estudo focando, especificamente, nas propriedades de tração do conjunto unido. Dois ensaios mecânicos foram considerados, T-pull test e Hoop test. No que tange ao ensaio T-pull, as amostras soldadas por LBW apresentam maior capacidade de suportar cargas. Isso se deve à melhor distribuição de cargas, quando a solicitação mecânica se faz pelo reforçador. No caso do ensaio Hoop, onde a solicitação mecânica se dá exclusivamente no revestimento, os resultados obtidos por FSW são notadamente superiores aos obtidos pelos demais processos, em termos de tensão máxima, tensão de escoamento e de alongamento máximo. Conclui-se que tanto o LBW quanto o FSW são métodos de soldagem com possibilidade de substituir a rebitagem comumente aplicada nas aeronaves comerciais.

Three welding processes for aluminum parts have been considered for the aircraft fabrication: riveting, friction stir welding (FSW) and laser beam welding (LBW). These processes have advantages and threats, which were analyzed in the present work focusing on T-pull and Hoop tensile properties. Concerning T-pull tests, LBW coupons presented higher ability to withstand the applied loads. This was due to the better distribution of loads when the strain is done to the stringer direction. In the case of the Hoop tests, which stress only the skin, the results obtained after FSW were notably higher in terms of ultimate tensile stress, yield stress and maximum strain. It was concluded that both LBW and FSW could replace riveting usually applied for commercial aircraft manufacturing.

Abstract: In the aerospace industry, laser beam welding has been considered as one of the most promising routes among the new manufacturing processes. Substitution of riveting by laser beam welding of aircraft structures has contributed to weight and cost savings. Concurrently, new aluminum alloys have been developed with the addition of lithium with better mechanical properties and lower density. The Al-3.5%Cu-1.1%Li alloy (AA2198) is one of these new generation alloys. However, laser beam welding of Al-alloys expectations might be greatly reduced by the occurrence of two main defects: porosity and hot cracking. Porosity is mainly caused by the entrapment of lithium gases, followed by rapid solidification. On the other hand, hot cracking happens due to the conjunction of tensile stresses, which are transmitted to the mushy zone by the coherent solid underneath, and to an insufficient liquid feeding to compensatefor the volumetric changes. This work intended to contribute towards the knowledge of AA2198 'welding metallurgy, utilizing a 2-kW-ytterbium-dopedfiber laser. The T-joint configuration welds were performed autogenously or with the addition of an AA4047 filler ribbon. Ali the weld beads presented high porosity level, but with a decreasing tendency when welding from both sides. The use of the filler material could solve hot cracking problem. The best results are observed using two runs (both sides) with filler and a speed of 2 m/min and power of 1,200 W. The T-pull tensile strength obtained under these conditions was 178 MPa, which is below the tensile strength of the unwelded AA2198 sheet but higher than the AA6013 welded in similar conditions.

AISI 300M ultrahigh strength steel has been used in a number of high demanding applications, such as the VLS Brazilian rocket project. This work intends to propose laser beam welding, with subsequent tempering, as a possible route for the fabrication of engineering pieces of this steel. A 2 kW fiber laser was used to produce welded coupons for metallographic, hardness and tensile strength tests. It has been shown that convenient laser parameters for a 3 mm thick plate are 50 mm/s welding speed and 1200 W laser power. However, both welded materials and heat-affected zones presented high hardness and negligible plastic deformation. In order to produce useful engineering parts, it was suggested a tempering treatment for 2 hours at temperatures of 200 or 400ºC. Tensile mechanical testing has shown that welded and tempered coupons presented both yield and maximum strengths comparable to the unwelded material. On the other hand, a maximum elongation of about 4% was obtained, in comparison with 12% from the bulk sample.