Effect of placement configuration on the microstructure, porosity and mechanical performance of dissimilar remote laser welding of additive manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy and conventionally manufactured 1050 aluminium sheet

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has gained significant attention in automotive applications, while the low weldability of AM material poses challenges when assembling AM materials with conventionally manufactured materials. This study investigated the laser welding of AM AlSi10Mg and AA1050 sheet metal in an overlap configuration, specifically focusing on the impact of placement configuration of two materials on weld properties. This aims to provide valuable insights for optimizing the localized geometry of AM components to enhance the joint performance. Results showed that positioning AM AlSi10Mg on top leads to a higher weld penetration and higher Si content within the molten pool, especially in the upper sheet. Additionally, weld zone grain structure was greatly influenced by alternating the placement configuration, where welds with AM AlSi10Mg on top exhibiting more equiaxed grains in the weld centre and refined columnar grains near the fusion boundary of upper sheet. Furthermore, significantly reduced weld porosity was determined by positioning AM AlSi10Mg at the bottom (3.2 ± 0.4 %∼7.1 ± 0.9 %) compared to placing it on top (16.9 ± 0.9 %∼20.1 ± 0.9 %) in all scenarios ranging from full penetration to partial penetration. This can be related to the fact that the hydrogen bubbles originating from AM AlSi10Mg experienced a shorter exposure in the molten pool, limiting the merging and growth of small bubbles. However, a slightly lower joint strength was determined in welds with AM AlSi10Mg at the bottom which may be due to the plastic deformation incompatibility between large columnar grains in the fusion zone and the fine grains in the as-printed material.

Keywords

• Additive manufactured alloy
• Laser welding
• Overlap joint
• Porosity
• Mechanical performance