COMPARISION OF LASER AND CONVENTIONAL WELDING PROCESSES FOR JOINING OF Ti-6Al-4V ALLOY

摘要

Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V is finding increased application in the aerospace industry for both airframe and aeroengine components. Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) has been a conventional means of joining Ti-6Al-4V in most aerospace applications, but is typically associated with low process speed and high labor costs. Laser welding has recently gained prominence due to its ability to produce narrow welds with low heat input and high process speeds. This has been made possible by the emergence of high power and high beam quality sources, such as Nd:YAG, CO_2 and Fiber lasers, and by advances in automation and process control. This paper describes the weld results obtained using traditional GTAW method and laser welding using CO_2, pulsed-Nd:YAG and continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser beam sources. Metallurgical analysis, microhardness measurement and mechanical testing were used to characterize and compare the welds.