High power Nd-YAG laser welding of SiC particle reinforced aluminium alloy 2124

The effects of different Nd-YAG laser output waveforms on the weldability of a SiC particle reinforced aluminium alloy 2124 have been studied. The results show that although the square waveform can produce the greatest depth-of-penetration among the three different waveforms studied, i.e. continuous wave, sine wave and square wave, a high level of porosity was observed in the weld. Alternatively, porosity free welds with a reasonable depth-of-penetration can be obtained by using a sine waveform operated at high peak powers. However, the results also show that it would be difficult to stop the formation of aluminium carbides entirely in the fusion zone simply by varying the laser output parameters and the waveform. In order to stop the formation of carbides, a new laser joining technique has been developed. This involved brush plating of nickel on the joining surfaces before laser welding. The results of the corrosion tests of the weld zone show that welding with a nickel coating would result in a much lower corrosion current than that without nickel coating.