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The finite-element tool SYSWELD (ESI Group, Paris, France) was adapted to simulate pulsed-laser seam welding. Besides temperature field distribution, one of the possible outputs of the welding simulation is the amount of absorbed power necessary to melt the required material volume including energy losses. Comparing absorbed or melting energy with applied laser energy, welding efficiencies can be calculated. This article presents achieved results of welding efficiency estimation based on the assimilation both experimental and simulation output data of the pulsed Nd:YAG laser bead on plate welding of 0.6-mm-thick AISI 304 stainless steel sheets using different beam powers.

Weld geometric characteristics in laser overlapping spot welding of 0.6-mm AISI 304 stainless steel sheets were investigated. A pulsed Nd:YAG laser with maximal average power of 150 W was used for welding experiments with different laser beam energies in the range of 3.5 J to 6.2 J, keeping all other processing parameters constant. The main objective of these experiments was to study the effect of energy changes and to identify the welding mode in dependency on the beam effective peak power density. Each weld surface and its cross section were analyzed using a laser scanning confocal microscope. The spot diameter on the specimen, weld width, and penetration depth were measured. Three-dimensional surface reconstruction was realized to describe the effect of energy changes on weld surface properties.