Design of Laser Welding Parameters for Joining Ti Grade 2 and AW 5754 Aluminium Alloys Using Numerical Simulation

Joining of dissimilar Al-Ti alloys is very interesting from the point of view of weight reduction of components and structures in automotive or aerospace industries. In the dependence on cooling rate and chemical composition, rapid solidification of Al-Ti alloys during laser welding can lead to the formation of metastable phases and brittle intermetallic compounds that generally reduce the quality of produced weld joints. The paper deals with design and testing of welding parameters for preparation of weld joints of two sheets with different thicknesses from titanium Grade 2 and AW 5754 aluminium alloy. Temperature fields developed during the formation of Al-Ti butt joints were investigated by numerical simulation in ANSYS software. The influence of laser welding parameters including the laser power and laser beam offset on the temperature distribution and weld joint formation was studied. The results of numerical simulation were verified by experimental temperature measurement during laser beam welding applying the TruDisk 4002 disk laser. The microstructure of produced weld joints was assessed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. EDX analysis was applied to determine the change in chemical composition across weld joints. Mechanical properties of weld joints were evaluated using tensile tests and Vickers microhardness measurements