Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Dec 24;15(1):122.
doi: 10.3390/ma15010122.

A Review: Laser Welding of Dissimilar Materials (Al/Fe, Al/Ti, Al/Cu)-Methods and Techniques, Microstructure and Properties

Sergey Kuryntsev  1
Affiliations
Review

A Review: Laser Welding of Dissimilar Materials (Al/Fe, Al/Ti, Al/Cu)-Methods and Techniques, Microstructure and Properties

Sergey Kuryntsev. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Modern structural engineering is impossible without the use of materials and structures with high strength and low specific weight. This work carries out a quantitative and qualitative analysis of articles for 2016-2021 on the topic of welding of dissimilar alloys. It is found that laser welding is most widely used for such metal pairs as Al/Fe, Al/Ti, and Al/Cu. The paper analyzes the influence of the basic techniques, methods, and means of laser welding of Al/Fe, Al/Ti, and Al/Cu on the mechanical properties and thickness of the intermetallic compound (IMC). When welding the lap joint or spike T-joint configuration of Al/Fe, it is preferable to melt the steel, which will be heated or melted, by the laser beam, and through thermal conduction, it will heat the aluminum. When welding the butt-welded joint of Al/Fe, the most preferable is to melt the aluminum by the laser beam (150-160 MPa). When welding the butt-welded joint of Al/Ti, it is possible to obtain the minimum IMC and maximum mechanical properties by offsetting the laser beam to aluminum. Whereas when the laser beam is offset to a titanium alloy, the mechanical properties are 40-50% lower than when the laser beam is offset to an aluminum alloy. When lap welding the Al/Cu joint, under the impact of the laser beam on the aluminum, using defocusing or wobbling (oscillation) of a laser beam, it is possible to increase the contact area of electrical conductivity with the tensile shear strength of 95-128 MPa.

Keywords: dissimilar metals; intermetallic layer; laser welding; mechanical properties; microstructure; weldability.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution diagram of the topics of the articles on laser welding of dissimilar metals for 2016–2021 inclusively. Author’s own diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution diagram of the number of articles on laser welding of dissimilar metals for 2016–2021 inclusively. Author’s own diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Joint configurations. Author own figure.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Tensile testing of double-flanged joints [25].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Diagram of weld cross section under different groove shapes: (a) square-shape groove at steel side, (b) half Y-shape groove at steel side, (c) half V-shape at steel side. Comparison of weld profile between experimental and numerical results: (d) experimental joint with square-shape groove, (e) experimental joint with half Y-shape groove, (f) experimental joint with half V-shape groove, (g) numerical joint with square shape groove, (h) numerical joint with half Y-shape groove, (i) numerical joint with half Y-shape groove [26].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Diagram of weld cross section under different groove shapes: (a) square-shape groove at steel side, (b) half Y-shape groove at steel side, (c) half V-shape at steel side. Comparison of weld profile between experimental and numerical results: (d) experimental joint with square-shape groove, (e) experimental joint with half Y-shape groove, (f) experimental joint with half V-shape groove, (g) numerical joint with square shape groove, (h) numerical joint with half Y-shape groove, (i) numerical joint with half Y-shape groove [26].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Microstructure of welded joints, (a–c)–impact of the beam from the steel side, (d–f)–impact of the beam from the aluminum side [2].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparison between the experimental and the FEM results: (a–c) macrograph vs. thermal profile. Reprinted with kind permission of Elsevier 2017 from Reference [28].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Effect of processing on tensile resistance of the steel/Al joints produced by dual-beam laser welding with side-by-side configuration: (a) dual-beam laser power ratios (%), (b) dual-beam distance (mm) [29].
Figure 9
Figure 9
Effect of laser power on IMC thickness and tensile strength. Reprinted with kind permission of Elsevier 2017 from Reference [31].
Figure 10
Figure 10
Schematic representation of the mechanical inter-lock induced during the welding process. (a) heating process, (b) mechanical interlock [32].
Figure 11
Figure 11
Diagram of offset and trajectory of the laser beam [33].
Figure 12
Figure 12
Schematic diagram of the macrostructure of the joint under study and a part of a detailed study of the microstructure (top, middle, bottom) [33].
Figure 13
Figure 13
FZ/304SS interface obtained at different laser offset, (a–c) ΔD = 0.6 mm, (d–f) ΔD = 0.8 mm, (g–i) ΔD = 1.0 mm [33].
Figure 14
Figure 14
Macrostructure of the two joints: (a) 72 J/mm, (b) 36 J/mm [62].
Figure 15
Figure 15
Macrostructure of a welded joint of the Ti and Al: (a) joint with a full top and bottom spreading, (b) fracture surface of a tensile speciment (c) joint with lack of fusion and bottom spreading [27].
Figure 16
Figure 16
SEM image of the C (a) and A (b) region in Figure 15a [27].
Figure 17
Figure 17
Microstructure of the Ti–Al after TSS (tensile shear strength): (a) welded joint microstructure (green arrows is a TSS direction), (b) crack microstructure [20].
Figure 18
Figure 18
REM analysis (2 μm) of Al–Cu joint: (a) ∆x = 200 μm, (b) ∆x = 100 μm [68].
Figure 19
Figure 19
Welded joint of aluminum and copper: (a) macrostructure, (b) geometrical parameters of the weld seam [69].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Martinsen K., Hu S.J., Carlson B.E. Joining of dissimilar materials. CIRP Ann. 2015;64:679–699. doi: 10.1016/j.cirp.2015.05.006. - DOI
    1. Seffer O., Pfeifer R., Springer A., Kaierle S. Investigations on laser beam welding of different dissimilar joints of steel and aluminum alloys for automotive lightweight construction. Phys. Procedia. 2016;83:383–395. doi: 10.1016/j.phpro.2016.08.040. - DOI
    1. Wiley C.P. In: Handbook of Lightweight Engineering Materials. 1st ed. Degischer H.P., editor. Wiley-VCH; Weinheim, Germany: 2017. p. 450.
    1. Sakundarini N., Taha Z., Abdul-Rashid S.H., Ghazila R.A.R. Optimal multi-material selection for lightweight design of automotive body assembly incorporating recyclability. Mater. Des. 2013;50:846–857. doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2013.03.085. - DOI
    1. Schwartz M. Soldering–Understanding the Basics. ASM International; New York, NY, USA: 2014.