Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Laser Penetration Welding Joint With/Without Ni-Foil in an Overlap Steel-on-Aluminum Configuration

The microstructures and mechanical properties of laser penetration welding joints with/without Ni-foil in an overlap steel-on-aluminum configuration were investigated. The interfacial structure between fusion zone and aluminum alloy without Ni-foil consists of FeAl/FeAl3. After the Ni-foil is added, the interfacial structure transforms into Ni1.1Al0.9/FeAl3, and the molten pool of aluminum alloy is expanded, which leads to the formation of the NiAl3 between Ni-foil and the molten pool. A banded structure composed of beta(Fe, Ni)Al appears whether the joints are made with/without Ni-foil over the reaction zone. It was found that the Ni-foil enhanced tensile property of the joint, expanded usable processing parameters, and decreased microhardness of the intermetallic compounds. The enhancement of mechanical properties is attributed to the improvement of the toughness of the joint made by Ni-foil.