Effect of plume on weld penetration during high-power fiber laser welding

To clarify the effect of the laser-induced plume on weld penetration during high-power fiber laser welding, this paper investigates the change in weld penetration, plume behavior and temperature, particles present in the plume, and the attenuation of the horizontal probe laser. Results show that the weld penetration had an improvement of about 20% as the plume was blown away by using a supersonic cross jet. The plume temperature at a height of 5mm was approximately 5078 K. The weld penetration, plume temperature, and plume attenuation to a probe laser decreased as plume height increased. A plume height of approximately 80mm resulted in a shape similar to that of a focused laser beam; a cone of white smoke composed of numerous particles appeared around the plume. Calculated and measured results indicate that the interaction of laser particles in the plume accounts for the primary impact on laser-plume interaction. It is found that, if the plume height increases, the weld penetration decreases correspondingly due to the increasing attenuation of the high-power fiber laser beam by the particles in the plume. (C) 2016 Laser Institute of America.