The effect of joint edge surface preparation on the efficiency of fiber laser welding of low-alloyed steels

Abstract

The paper studies the effect of butt joint edge surface preparation on welding efficiency of low-alloyed steel S355 of 20 mm thickness. Welding was performed with a high power fiber laser with a wavelength of 1070 nm at power level 10 kW. The quality of edge surface machining and post-processing was varied in the experiments. Based on the results, recommendations for edge surface preparation for butt joint laser welding are presented. The investigation shows that to achieve higher productivity in laser beam welding of butt joints of structural steel, the joint edge preparation should be carried out with an abrasive water jet cutting followed with shot blasting, and should exhibit a preferable edge surface roughness close to 6.3 µm.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.21.3.8798