Porosity formation mechanism and its prevention in laser lap welding for T-joints

A high-speed camera and X-ray transmission observation system were used to observe the keyhole and molten pool dynamic behavior in laser lap welding T-joints. The oscillation frequency of the molten pool and the keyhole increases with increasing gap. The lower keyhole becomes slant with the large gap and large quantities of bubbles are formed at the bottom tip of the keyhole. The molten pool is divided into three different zones by the large gap and a small eddy is formed at the lower molten pool. The bubbles are difficult to escape from the lower molten pool and the gap when the gap is large, resulting in the formation of porosity at the gap and root of weld seam. The distribution characteristics of porosity in different gap have an excellent agreement with the keyhole and the molten pool dynamic behavior. Porosity can be suppressed by maintaining a small gap or adopting high welding speed. The paper provides fundamental insights into the mechanism of porosity formation during laser lap welding T-joints and guidance to aid in its elimination. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.