Fluid Flow Simulation of the Influence of a Steady Magnetic Field on the Weld Pool Dynamics in Deep Penetration Laser Beam Welding of Aluminum

A multi-physics numerical model was developed to investigate the influence of a steady magnetic field during partial penetration keyhole laser beam welding of an aluminum plate in fiat position.Three-dimensional heat transfer, fluid dynamics including phase transition and electromagnetic field partial differential equations were solved with the finite element differential equation solver COMSOL Multiphysics.The magnetic field was aligned perpendicularly to the welding direction.The main objective of these simulations was to estimate the critical value of the magnetic field needed to suppress convective flows in the weld pool during high-power(up to 20 kW)laser beam welding of aluminum alloys with up to 20 mm deep weld pool.It reveals that steady magnetic fields with corresponding Hartmann numbers Ha2-104 based on the half-width of the weld pool can effectively suppress convective flows in the weld pool.Moreover,the typically occurring wineglass-shape of the weld cross section caused by thermo-capillary flow is weakened.

Simulation of an Inductive Weld Pool Support for Deep Penetration Laser Beam Welding of Metal Parts

A three-dimensional laminar steady state numerical model was used to investigate the influence of an alternating current(ac)magnetic field during single pass high power laser beam keyhole welding of 20 mm thick aluminum.The three-dimensional heat transfer,fluid dynamics and electromagnetic field equations were solved with the commercial finite element package COMSOL Multiphysics.Dominant physical effects of the process were taken into account:Thermo-capillary(Marangoni)convection at the upper and lower weld pool surfaces,natural convection due to the gravity influence and the latent heat of solid-liquid phase transition.Simulations were conducted for several magnetic field strengths and it was found that the gravity drop-out associated with welding of thick plates due to the hydrostatic pressure can be prevented by the application of an ac magnetic field below the weld specimen of around 70 mT(rms)at an oscillation frequency of 450 Hz.The inductive support system allows for single-pass laser beam welding of thick aluminum plates.The flow pattern in the molten zone and the temperature distributions are significantly changed by the application of the electromagnetic forces in the weld pool.