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Up to now, only a limited amount of metallic materials is investigated for laser additive manufacturing (LAM). However, the demand to widen the application possibilities by enlarging the range of materials for LAM is growing fast. By now, titanium and aluminium alloys are in the focus of research. In contrast, magnesium alloys are rarely used in the field of additive manufacturing, although they possess a low density in combination with a high specific strength. Currently, magnesium structures are mainly produced by casting but during the last years, the use of wrought alloys also increased. A reason for the rare use of magnesium alloys for LAM technologies might be the high flammability of magnesium powders. This difficulty can be avoided by using magnesium wire for laser metal deposition (LMD). In the present study, the microstructural characteristics of a LMD processed AZ31 magnesium alloy are investigated. For this purpose, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used. With the help of EDX and EBSD analysis, a change of the chemical composition and micro texture with structure height was identified. The relationship of microstructure and local mechanical properties was investigated with the help of Vickers micro hardness testing. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the microstructural characteristics of laser additive manufactured magnesium alloys differ from those of titanium and aluminium alloys. Thus, a wider application spectrum of LMD and magnesium alloys can be opened up.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of sustainability aspects in the production of aeronautical subscale components by comparing the traditional riveted versus the innovative Laser Beam Welding (LBW) process in industrial conditions. We adopt a quantitative assessment methodology for both processes, by taking into account a series of manufacturing scenarios with six multi-dimensional aeronautical subscale components in different annual production rates (mass production). The results reveal that the exploitation of the LBW technology can provide weight savings up to 28%, by exploiting lower density Al Cu Li alloys, while the time savings during the manufacturing process can be up to 67%. Furthermore, the total manufacturing cost of the LBW process can be reduced up to 40% for the case of long structures, when compared to the corresponding riveted structures. In terms of environmental friendliness, the LBW process results to increased CO2e emissions by 124% during the manufacturing process when compared to the riveting process. However, this difference is lower than 60% when longer structures with smaller count of stringers are used. Finally, despite the high carbon footprint emission during the manufacturing phase, when the life cycle of aircrafts is assessed, the LBW joining process can contribute to lighter components, resulting to less weighted aircrafts whose engines consume less fuel, contributing in that way to energy and GHG emissions reductions.

The application of coatings to structures is generally done in order to locally tailor properties. For this purpose, powder-based laser metal deposition (LMD) can be utilized. The resulting properties of the coatings are not only affected by the LMD process parameters, but also by the substrate material. In this regard, the chemical composition as well as its initial microstructure of the substrate has a significant influence. In the present study two Al-Cu alloy substrates, 2139 and 2198, are used for the LMD of pure Al powder. The resulting coatings possess clearly different properties, although the same process parameters are used.

Powder-based laser metal deposition (LMD) of Ti alloys enables the manufacturing of geometrical complex structures with tailored properties for high-temperature applications. The most important parameters for the LMD-process are the laser power, process velocity, laser focus position, gas flow and powder feed rate. Compared to the predominantly used Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo shows a higher oxidation resistance and a lower creep rate. For determining suitable process conditions, a parameter study using Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo powder is performed. Subsequent, the parameter transfer to a γ-TiAl alloy is examined. The assessment of the dissimilar-LMD-structures is conducted by visual inspection, radiography inspection, microstructural analysis and hardness measurements.

The laser beam welding (LBW) process has many advantages for industrial production; however, it still has to be optimized for two-phase Ti alloys. Phase transformations and residual stresses play a crucial role for welding these alloys. Specific questions about the development of phase content during fast heating with a laser and rapid cooling can only be addressed with time-resolved in-situ experiments, avoiding artefacts from quenching. Also the residual stress development during cooling depends on the occurring phase transformations. Thus, an LBW chamber employing a fibre laser was developed for use with high-energy X-rays from a synchrotron source. Bead-on-plate welding experiments with 2.5 mm thick samples were carried out at the HZG high-energy materials science beamline (HEMS) at DESY, Hamburg. The first experiments focused on the solid-solid phase transformations in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Moreover, residual stresses developing during cooling were studied.

Research in aerospace applications includes the replacement of well-known materials by newly developed alloys or by new manufacturing methods for the existing materials. In the frame of TiB-Air project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) the development of a process chain consisting of deep drawing at elevated temperatures, chemical milling, contour machining by laser cutting and laser beam welding to produce pneumatic T-ducts used in bleed air systems is in focus. This production process of sheet metal parts could lower costs in terms of the process itself and the used materials: low alloyed Ti-alloys. Commercially pure titanium alloy (cp-Ti) is commonly used for these structures because of its balanced mechanical properties regarding tensile strength, yield strength, plastic strain and fatigue strength as well as good resistance against corrosion and oxidation. The possibility to substitute cp-Ti by low-alloyed Ti-alloys is examined in this work, by the comparison of two different low alloyed Ti-alloys, namely KS1.2ASN and Ti XT, with a cp-Ti alloy (Grade 4). Mechanical properties of the base materials, their weldability and the mechanical assessment of the laser beam welded butt joints in terms of static, cyclic and fracture mechanical behaviour is compared for sheet materials, with a thickness of 0.9 mm. Defect-free welding according to EN13919 acceptance criteria B was possible for all three alloys, no porosity problems occurred. The low strength alloy KS1.2ASN exhibited mechanical anisotropy between longitudinal direction and transverse direction in the tensile test, welded specimens of this alloy broke in the base material. Due to the tensile properties, both weld and base material of KS1.2ASN showed the least values for the fatigue strength and endurance limit strength. Ti XT and Grade 4 showed similar mechanical anisotropy and fractured in the base material, too. Fatigue strength of Ti XT is below Grade 4, but for the 50%-percentile the endurance limit strength is equal. Fracture mechanical testing showed that KS1.2ASN is a very promising alloy in the welded condition.

With hybrid laminar flow control the drag can be reduced for airfoils. This is done by boundary layer suction through millions of small holes in the skin panels. The goal of this paper is to assess the impact on fatigue properties and to describe a modeling approach to account for the laser drilled holes in the skin panels. Two fatigue test programs were performed to obtain inputs to model the fatigue behavior of micro perforated titanium panels. From the test data several SN curves were generated. The all the SN curves have a similar slope as the basic material. This allows for a factorization approach to model the fatigue behavior. Three factors are applied to the basic material properties. The first factor takes into account the hole geometry, which be captured analytically with a stress concentration factor. The pitch between the holes is large enough that there is no interference for fatigue initiation. Secondly multiple site damage was visually observed by multiple crack plateaus on the crack surface. The crack jumps between the rows of holes. This can be seen as shift in the SN curve which is in line with the knock down factor found by an analytical approach. And finally a technology factor to account for the manufacturing process was obtained. The manufacturing process for the coupons of the two test programs was different, resulting in a different technology factor. Therefore setting specific requirements for the manufacturing process can reduce the impact on the fatigue properties. By multiplying the basic material properties with these three factors according to Eq. (5) it is possible to do standard fatigue assessments in commonly used fatigue tools and with detailed spectra.

The present work investigates the effects of laser beam power, focus position and advance speed on the geometry, microstructure and mechanical properties of fiber laser beam welded Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (denoted as Ti-6242) butt joints used for high temperature applications. Detailed microstructural and mechanical studies were performed on welds produced using optimized parameters (a laser beam power of 5 kW, a focus position of 0.0 mm and an advance speed of 6.2 m/min). The Ti-6242 base material is characterized by a globular (α+β) microstructure. The heat input during laser beam welding led to the formation of a martensitic α’-phase fusion zone. The heat affected zone consisted of globular grains and acicular crystallites. These local transformations were connected with a change in the micro-texture, average grain size and β-phase content. Furthermore, the microhardness increased from 330 HV 0.3 to 450 HV 0.3 due to the martensitic transformation. The mechanical behavior of the laser beam welded Ti-6242 butt joint loaded in tension was determined by the properties of the Ti-6242 base material. The local increase in hardness provided a shielding effect that protected the Ti-6242 butt joint against mechanical damage.

The microstructure, chemical composition, residual stress, and lattice parameter evolution of the welding zone (WZ) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of a laser-beam-welded TiAl-based alloy were investigated. It was found that both α 2 and γ phases remain highly restrained in the WZ edge, and the stresses are relieved in the HAZ. A grain refinement mechanism is proposed, which works by heating the material to the β or α + β phase field for a short time. The lamellar colonies are refined by the Nb-enriched segregations.

An in situ highly time-resolved, high-energy X-ray diffraction investigation was carried out to observe the phase transformations of a TiAl alloy during laser beam welding. The diffraction patterns are recorded every 0.1 seconds by a fast area two-dimensional detector and plotted according to time, yielding the solidification pathway, the solid phase volume fraction, and the lattice parameter variation of different phases during the solidification and cooling process. Moreover, it is the first study that can demonstrate that the α phase without any Burgers orientation relationship, the so-called non-Burgers α, precipitates appear earlier than the Burgers α. The non-Burgers α grains are found to nucleate on the primary borides.

Laser beam welded structures offer great opportunities for the lightweight design of fuselage structures in order to reduce structural weight for increased fuel efficiency. Our main objective is to validate and demonstrate that laser beam welding (LBW) technology provides the best opportunities in terms of weight reduction, production time and energy consumption for manufacturing aircraft components. To this end, a comparison in terms of energy, process time, cost and carbon footprint is assessed against the ‘conventional’ manufacturing process of riveting, to prove that LBW is actually an environmental friendly process. Manufacturing of a four-stringer stiffened flat subscale component was the case of the present work that was called in the Clean Sky Eco-Design Airframe (EDA) project as the B1 demonstrator (742 mm × 384 mm). The LBW process has been broken down into several sub-processes and activities according to the Activity Based Costing (ABC) methodology and the weight reduction, production time and energy consumption results were compared against the respective of the riveting process. It was proved that for the specific subscale LBW component, it consumes half the energy and can be processed in less than half the time needed (in serial processing of the component) with riveting. Manufacturing of the component with the LBW process (door to door approach) is more environmentally friendly, since it produces 53% less CO 2e emissions than the respective riveted process. This is a clear advantage to this manufacturing process in order to assure a sustainable life cycle of the final product.

Heat-treatable Al-Zn alloys are promising candidates for use as structural lightweight materials in automotive and aircraft applications. This is mainly due to their high strength-to-density ratio in comparison to conventionally employed Al alloys. Laser beam welding is an efficient method for producing joints with high weld quality and has been established in the industry for many years. However, it is well known that aluminum alloys with a high Zn content or, more precisely, with a high (Zn + Mg + Cu) content are difficult to fusion weld due to the formation of porosity and hot cracks. The present study concerns the laser weldability of these hard-to-weld Al-Zn alloys. In order to improve weldability, it was first necessary to understand the reasons for weldability problems and to identify crucial influencing factors. Based on this knowledge, it was finally possible to develop an appropriate approach. For this purpose, vanadium was selected as additional filler material. Vanadium exhibits favorable thermophysical properties and, thereby, can improve the weldability of Al-Zn alloys. The effectiveness of the approach was verified by its application to several Al-Zn alloys with differing amounts of (Zn + Mg + Cu).

Crack-free dissimilar TNM-Ti6242 joints were successfully obtained by laser welding with preheating temperatures of 400 °C, 600 °C and 800 °C, in spite of the differing thermophysical properties of the used alloys. The microstructure of the joints was investigated by optical microscopy, SEM, EDX, EBSD and the local mechanical properties were determined by microhardness measurements. The microstructure coarsens with increasing preheating temperature. Homogenous mixture of both alloys in the fusion zone was achieved, even so local microsegregations of Ti, Al and Nb occurred. The fusion zone mainly consists of α2 (Ti3Al). A transition zone, present as a β/βO seam, was revealed for preheating temperatures of 400 °C and 600 °C. For preheating to 800 °C the β/βO seam was penetrated with α2 lamellas. Since the alloying elements of the other alloy were detected in the heat-affected zone, diffusion processes occurred. The average microhardness in the fusion zone of the dissimilar TNM-Ti6242 joints is independent of the preheating temperature and is higher than the base material microhardness. Comparing the microhardness in the fusion zone of similar Ti6242 and TNM joints with dissimilar TNM-Ti6242 joints, the microhardness values of the dissimilar TNM-Ti6242 joints range between the values of the similar Ti6242 and TNM joints. However, the values in the fusion zone are closer to the microhardness values of the similar TNM joint, which is caused by the mainly α2 containing fusion zone of the dissimilar TNM-Ti6242 joints.

Wire-based laser metal deposition enables to manufacture large-scale components with deposition rates significant higher compared to powder-based laser additive manufacturing techniques, which are currently working with deposition rates of only a few hundred gram per hour. However, the wire-based approach requires a significant amount of laser power in the range of several kilowatts instead of only a few hundred watts for powder-based processes. This excessive heat input during laser metal deposition can lead to process instabilities such as a non-uniform material deposition and to a limited processability, respectively. Although, numerous possibilities to monitor temperature evolution during processing exist, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the relationship between temperature and geometric shape of the deposited structure. Due to changing cooling conditions with increasing distance to the substrate material, producing a wall-like structure results in varying heights of the individual tracks. This presents challenges for the deposition of high wall-like structures and limits the use of constant process parameters. In the present study, the temperature evolution during laser metal deposition of AA5087 using constant process parameters is investigated and a scheme for process parameter adaptions in order to reduce residual stress induced componential distortions is suggested.

Wire-based laser metal deposition enables to manufacture structures with very high deposition rates in comparison to powder-based laser additive manufacturing. However, this advantage is generally accompanied with a high energy input. Thus, an accumulation of heat within the structure can result. In addition, the heat conduction conditions can also change with increasing structure height, leading to inhomogeneous microstructural formation along the part. The present study deals with the evolution of the microstructure and hardness in laser metal deposited AA5087 wall structures. In this regard, the resulting microstructure of two samples processed at different process parameters and increased deposition rates is investigated.

Purpose– Composite materials and metallic structures already compete for the next generation of single-aisle aircraft. Despite the good mechanical properties of composite materials metallic structures offer challenging properties and high cost effectiveness via the automation in manufacturing, especially when metallic structures will be welded. In this domain, metallic aircraft structures will require weight savings of approximately 20 per cent to increase the efficiency and reduce the CO2emission by the same amount. Laser beam welding of high-strength Al-Li alloy AA2198 represents a promising method of providing a breakthrough response to the challenges of lightweight design in aircraft applications. The key factor for the application of laser-welded AA2198 structures is the availability of reliable data for the assessment of their damage tolerance behaviour. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– In the presented research, the mechanical properties concerning the quasi-static tensile and fracture toughness (R-curve) of laser beam-welded AA2198 butt joints are investigated. In the next step, a systematic analysis to clarify the deformation and fracture behaviour of the laser beam-welded AA2198 four-stringer panels is conducted.Findings– AA2198 offers better resistance against fracture than the well-known AA2024 alloy. It is possible to weld AA2198 with good results, and the welds also exhibit a higher fracture resistance than AA2024 base material (BM). Welded AA2198 four-stringer panels exhibit a residual strength behaviour superior to that of the flat BM panel.Originality/value– The present study is undertaken on the third-generation airframe-quality Al-Li alloy AA2198 with the main emphasis to investigate the mechanical fracture behaviour of AA2198 BMs, laser beam-welded joints and laser beam-welded integral structures. Studies investigating the damage tolerance of welded integral structures of Al-Li alloys are scarce.

Weld defects - such as porosity and hot cracking - occur especially during the laser beam welding of high-alloyed Al-Zn alloys. This significantly limits the application range of these promising high-strength alloys. In the present study the laser weldability of different Al-Zn alloys was investigated regarding the used welding parameters and the chemical composition of the alloys. In addition, the novel approach of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht for overcoming the weldability problems was applied to the different Al-Zn alloys in order to assess its capability. It was shown that the laser weldability of Al-Zn alloys deteriorates with an increasing amount of Zn, Mg and Cu. The variation of laser beam welding parameters did not lead to any improvement of weldability. Only the use of the new approach resulted in promising welding results even for the high-alloyed Al-Zn alloys.

In the present work the mechanical behaviour of laser beam welded AZ31B alloy was studied, by changing systematically the spot size of the used fibre laser system between 200 µm and 1000 µm at different power levels between 2 kW and 8 kW. Maximum welding velocities with respect to imperfections were determined. The characterization of the obtained welds - in terms of Vickers hardness, UTS, Af and weld width, resp. weld area - was correlated with the micro-texture in dependence of the different Focus Spot Diameters and Laser Beam Power levels as well as the resulting cooling rates. Highest UTS of 94% of the base material was achieved with 200 µm Focus Spot Diameter and Laser Beam Power of 4 kW at welding velocity of 100 mm/s. By increasing the Focus Spot Diameter to 600 µm, the tensile strength was reduced to 86 % of the actual strength of the base material.

Ti6Al2Sn4Zr2Mo exhibits improved oxidation and creep properties compared to Ti6Al4V. Laser beam welding (LBW) is an approved process to receive narrow weld seams at high welding speeds with low heat input. Almost distortion free complex shaped structures can be joined with optimal parameters. For the optimisation of the LBW process the most relevant parameters are the welding speed, the laser input power and the gas shielding strategy. Using a fibre laser, the laser radiation is attenuated by a welding plume the so-called metal-vapour cloud (MVC). The MVC has a large influence on the laser input power. Therefore, an approach for reducing the MVC by optimising the shielding strategy using an additional gas flow in opposite welding direction is examined. Utilizing high-speed camera records, the effectiveness of the approach is assessed. Welded samples are evaluated by visual and radiographic inspection, metallographic assessment as well as microhardness measurements with regard to weld seam geometry, defects, microstructure and local mechanical properties. The obtained results are correlated to the used laser welding parameters.

A fine-grained Ti–6Al–4V sheet that has been developed for superplastic forming (SPF) was joined to a standard Ti–6Al–4V sheet using a Nd:YAG laser and alloy compatible filler wire. The microstructural and mechanical properties of dissimilar laser beam welded butt joints were investigated to determine their behavior under static and cyclic loads and for SPF. The filler wire affected the heat input and reduced the increase in the hardness within the fusion zone compared to that in the heat-affected zone. The laser beam welding process activated local microstructure transformations that were associated with local changes in the microtexture, the β content, and the grain size. The mechanical behavior of a dissimilar laser beam welded butt joint under a static tensile load was controlled by the properties of the standard Ti–6Al–4V sheet. Laser beam welded specimens showed inferior fatigue behavior. Removing the geometrical notches did not significantly improve the fatigue behavior because local microstructural and microtextural changes still created metallurgical notches. SPF was observed in the fine-grained Ti–6Al–4V sheet without crack formation in the heat-affected zones or the fusion zone. The welding seam of the dissimilar fine-grained-standard butt joint was resistant to SPF.

To meet the future demands of the aerospace industry with respect to safety, productivity, weight, and cost, new materials and joining concepts have being developed. Recent developments in the metallurgical field now make it possible to use laser-weldable Al-alloys of the 2xxx series such as AA2198 with a high structural efficiency index due to their high strength and low density. AA2198 holds the promise of providing a breakthrough response to the challenges of lightweight design in aircraft applications. Laser beam welding as an efficient joining technology for fuselage structures is already established in the aircraft industry for lower fuselage panels because the welded panels provide a higher buckling strength and lower weight compared with the classical riveted designs. The key factor for the application of laser-welded AA2198 structures is the availability of reliable data for the assessment of their damage tolerance behavior. In the research presented, the mechanical properties with regard to fatigue and fatigue crack propagation of laser beamwelded AA2198 joints and four-stringer panels were investigated. It was found that the fatigue endurance limit of laser beamwelded AA2198T3 is approximately 25 % below the endurance limit of the base material. With regard to the fatigue crack propagation behavior, the laser beam welded four-stringer panels with T-joints show a fatigue life increased by a factor of 1.7 compared with the base material. This work shows that high-quality laser beam welds of AA2198 can be produced on a large scale using the laser beam welding facilities of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht.

The anisotropy effect on tensile mechanical properties of an Al-Cu-Li (2198) alloy with regard to thickness of the specimens under different ageing conditions was investigated. Occurring size effects between macro and micro (0.5, 3.2 and 5.0 mm thickness and 10 and 50 mm gauge length) tensile specimens was discussed. The mechanical behavior of AA2198 was examined by taking into account the experimental results from micro-flat and standard tensile specimens. Higher thickness specimens showed higher elongation at fracture values and slightly lower yield stress properties. Anisotropy seems to be higher at T3 condition, while the lowest was noticed at the peak-ageing condition. The results showed that the micro-flat tensile specimens in T3 condition presented slightly lower yield stress (10 MPa difference) and essentially lower elongation at fracture values (more than 40 % decrease), when compared with the respective of higher thickness specimens. It was also shown that thicker (5.0 mm) specimens exhibit slightly higher tensile ductility properties (almost 17 %) and slightly lower tensile strength properties than the respective 3.2 mm thickness specimens. There is evidence of relative difference in mechanical properties due to the rolling process in the two sheet directions (L and T directions); such anisotropy difference seems to be marginal at the peak-ageing condition.

This work deals with the effects of laser beam power, focus position and advance speed on the geometry, microstructure and mechanical properties such as the tensile strength and microhardness of autogenously fibre laser beam welded Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo (denoted as Ti-6242) butt joints used for high temperature applications. The Ti-6242 sheet employed here is characterized by a globular (α+β) microstructure. Laser beam welded butt joints consisted of a martensitic fusion zone, inhomogeneous heat affected zones and equiaxed base materials. The microhardness increased from 330 HV 0.3 in base material to 430 HV 0.3 in fusion zone due to the martensitic transformation. Butt joints showed the base material level of strength in tensile test. The local increase in microhardness provided a shielding effect that protected the Ti-6242 butt joint against mechanical damage during the static tensile load test. The predicted critical total underfill depth that does not reduce the tensile strength of the weld was determined to be 25% of the specimen thickness.

To improve innovative joining and deposition technologies for the construction of dissimilar joints, precise knowledge of the local mechanical properties of materials must be obtained. In the present article a comparative study of the tensile properties and fatigue behaviour in case of flat standard and micro-specimens of base materials Inconel 625, Inconel 718 and Ti-6Al-4 V was accomplished. The aim of the study was to develop an efficient method for the investigation of the local mechanical properties by the use of micro-specimens subjected to electro discharge machining treatment and to obtain reliable tensile and fatigue test results. By the miniaturization of specimens a significant effect of roughness on mechanical properties was obtained. By considering a correction for the effective load-bearing cross-section the data obtained from micro-specimens are within 3% error with respect to standard specimen results. The results showed that the proposed technique can be successfully used to determine the tensile and fatigue properties of a small material volume.

Mechanical characterization, fatigue performance and failure analysis of laser spot welds and resistance spot welds under tensile-shear loading have been investigated. Similar and dissimilar joints of dual phase advanced high-strength steel (DP780) and deep-drawing steel (DC04) of 2.0 mm thickness for application in the automotive industry were performed. The structural stress concept was used to explain fatigue lives of laser and resistance spot welded joints. The results revealed different failure types with different fatigue behaviour for laser and resistance spot welds under applied cyclic loads at “high load” and “low load” levels. Similar joints of the DP780 show the longest fatigue life at high load levels when compared with similar joints of DC04 and dissimilar joints. However, this difference disappeared when the fatigue test results were considered in terms of the structural stress, which also enabled correlation of the results for RSW and LSW spot welds with different sizes.

Future metallic airframes may contain laser beam welded clips (to the skin) between two stringers to achieve lightweight integral airframes. In this study, an investigation involving stress analysis and fatigue testing of skin-clip laser welded T-joints in 6156 T4 aluminium alloy plates was carried out. The thickness of the base plate (skin) was locally reduced between the welded joints by machining to produce “pockets” to obtain weight reduction. The effects of pocket thickness (3.0 and 1.5 mm) and socket width (the width of the full-thickness part between pockets; 11 and 20 mm) as skin-clip joint parameters on stress distributions around the weld region were studied by FE analyses of 400 mm wide plates under tension. Several numerical analyses were performed considering the effect of different locations of the tips of weld toe cracks in the T-joints, and the results obtained were compared with the experimental observations from fatigue tests of such joints in order to describe the fatigue performance of the laser welded skin-clip joints. Pocketed skin-clip joints exhibited weld region protection as a result of a reduction in the stress in the part containing the welded joint. Among the joint configurations analyzed in the absence of weld toe cracking, 3.0 mm pocket thickness with 11 mm socket width (narrowly prepared pocket design) provided almost full protection of the weld toe with little increase in stress on the opposite side of the plate containing the weld detail. However, in the presence of a weld toe crack, a region of stress concentration arose in the pocket itself, in line with the crack tip. This encouraged deviation of the crack path away from the weld toe but, if the socket width was too small, as in the narrowly prepared pocket design, the two stress fields combined and led to an increase in fatigue crack growth rate. In this study, the best fatigue performance was obtained when crack deviation into the base material occurred but remained within the socket area.

A study was carried out on laser and resistance spot welds in overlapped sheets of dual phase advanced high strength steel (DP780) and deep drawing steel (DC04) of 2˙0 mm in thickness. The aim of the study was to investigate the fatigue performance of these joints under tensile shear loading as well as the monotonic performance for applications in the automotive industry. The mechanical properties, failure behaviour and fatigue life analyses of spot welds in similar and dissimilar joints were investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The structural stress concept was used to describe the fatigue lives of spot welded specimens. The results revealed different failure types with different fatigue behaviours for laser and resistance spot welds under the application of cyclic loads at 'high load' and 'low load' levels.

Microstructure and properties of a Mg AZ31B laser beam weld without filler are studied using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and mechanical tests. The microstructure of the weld is characterized by a narrow heat affected zone, columnar grains and precipitate coarsening in the fusion zone. Texture in the fusion zone is significantly different from the texture of the base material. The residual stress distribution observed is similar at the top and the bottom of the weld, maximum tensile residual stress values are observed in the fusion zone. Tensile tests reveal differences in the mechanical behavior of the fusion zone and the parent material, which can be related to the differences of texture and the resulting deformation mechanisms.

Microstructure, hardness and residual stresses of the laser beam overlap welds between AZ31B sheets and AZ31, AZ61 and AZ80 extruded profiles are investigated using microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The result of the investigations reveal that weld microstructure, the size of the HAZ, precipitate density and the maximum compressive residual stress values depend strongly on the Al content of the weld zone of two Mg-alloys.

The effect of different welding sequences between a 4.5 mm thick AA 6156 T6 base plate and a 2 mm thick AA 6013 T6 clip – resembling a skin-clip joint of an airframe – using a 3.3 kW Nd:YAG laser is investigated. Under cyclic loading the breakdown of such T-joints happens at one end of the clip, which is due to local residual stress concentrations. Recent measurements indicated that tensile stresses could be lower at the run-in than at the run-out locations. For a deeper investigation of this effect sheets with different welding sequences were produced. One welding sequence was made with two starting points in the centre, and a second with starting points at the clip ends. Temperature measurements were made using thermocouples to verify the heat conditions for a finite element simulation of the welding process, which is used for predictions of the residual stress distribution. Actual values of the residual stress fields were determined by neutron diffraction. The influences of the welding sequence on the measured temperatures and the residual stresses are discussed.

This study is carried out to investigate the laser spot welds (LSWs) of advanced high strength steel sheets of 1·0 mm thickness for application to the automotive industry. Mechanical properties and failure behaviour of LSWs for transformation induced plasticity steel sheets (TRIP800) subjected to monotonic coach–peel loading are investigated by experimental and finite element (FE) simulation methods. Microstucture of LSW and fracture surfaces of the welded specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to describe the microstructural features and to clarify the crack initiation mechanism respectively. Based on simulation solutions equivalent plastic strain was obtained to describe local deformation of LSW joints. Experimental results revealed a 'plug type' of failure mode of the circular LSW joints under 'peel–coach' loading condition. This type of ductile failure is the most common failure mode for spot welds used in the automotive industry. Numerical simulation of damage process w...

Dissimilar welded components joined with any kind of welding technologies gain an increasing interest due to significant improvements in engineering structures by using new materials (alloys) or new materials combinations. The present paper deals with laser welding of Al5083-H111 and Al6013-T6 and the characterization of the crystallographic texture. Fine grained Al5083 was joined with coarser grained Al6013.Whereas, Al6013 is strongly oriented dominated by a strong cube component and a much lower Goss component, the finer grained Al5083 shows a week deformation texture. The welding seam itself has a moderate cube texture with a minor fiber texture in welding direction. A small texture variation about the texture strength and the volume fraction of the fiber component was observed along the weld. Results were obtained by neutron, hard X-ray and electron diffraction.

The goal of the present study is to understand the effects of laser shock peening (LSP)-induced residual stresses on the fatigue crack propagation (FCP) behaviour of the commonly used aircraft aluminium alloy AA2024 in T3 heat treatment condition. LSP treatment was performed using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser on compact tensile C(T)50-specimens with a thickness of 2.0 mm. LSP-treated specimens reveal a significant retardation of the fatigue crack propagation. The fatigue crack retardation effect can be correlated with the compressive residual stresses introduced by LSP throughout the entire specimen thickness. A possible application of the LSP process on a component like panel with three welded stringers representing a part of a fuselage structure was performed as well. The skin-stringer AA2024-AA7050 Tjoints were realised through stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW), a variant of the conventional friction stir welding process. In this relatively new process, the shoulder does not rotate and therefore does not contribute to the heat generation. Consequently, a reduced and more homogeneous heat input leads to a less affected microstructure and better mechanical properties. The efficiency of the LSP process has been demonstrated resulting in an increase of 200 – 400% in fatigue lifetime.

CFRP and titanium joints are used in the aerospace industry. These materials are usually joined by titanium rivets which are inserted into holes drilled through both materials. Conventional riveted hybrid joints of CFRP and titanium parts fail under quasi static loading due to the uneven load distribution at the titanium rivets. Under cyclic loading, the fatigue failure occurs mainly in the titanium part because of the higher notch sensitivity. The aim of this work is the comparison of different joining concepts in terms of stiffness, strength and fatigue limit. First, laser riveting, here titanium pins are Nd:YAG laser beam welded to the Ti–6Al–4V parts. Second, conventional riveted hybrid joint is combined with adhesive bonding. Third, surface structuring of the Ti–6Al–4V parts is used to enhance friction in the riveted joint. Tensile and fatigue tests as well as fractographical examinations are performed to establish the process–property–performance relationship of the hybrid joints. Laser riveting leads to higher stiffness but equal strength, when compared to conventional riveted joints. Fatigue life is improved by the implementation of adhesive bonding and surface structuring.

Recent advances in the industrial application of laser welding are reviewed, drawing on examples from the aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding, offshore, and white goods industries. Attempts are being made to introduce laser welding procedures into construction industry standards. The impact of the narrow, overmatched weld zone on joint properties and the difficulties this raises for quality assessment are briefly considered.

Al–Cu–Li–Mg based alloys exhibit an excellent combination of low density, high elastic modulus and high specific strength and have already being used as structural materials for aerospace applications. The mechanical properties of these alloys are often associated with the addition of Li which enables the formation of several strengthening precipitates including δ ′ (Al 3 Li), θ ′ (Al 2 Cu), δ (AlLi) and T 1 (Al 2 CuLi). Other precipitates have also been reported in these alloys that include GP zones, θ (Al 2 Cu), Ω (Al 2 Cu), S ′ (Al 2 CuMg), and β ′ (Al 3 Zr), e.g. [1-3]. Nevertheless, the quasi-static mechanical properties of AA2198 are scarcely reported in the open literature while quite few for the fracture toughness. For example, Chen et al. [4] performed tests on two different heat treated AA2198 (namely T351 and T851) and investigated their plastic and fracture behavior. Steglich et al. [5, 6] investigated experimentally and analytically the anisotropic deformation of AA2198-T8 occurred during mechanical loading with and without the presence of artificial notches. In a recent publication [7], a combination of transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography and high-energy X-ray diffraction was employed to investigate the influence of local microstructural changes on strengthening in AA2198 in different aging conditions. As AA2198 is supposed to replace AA2024 in aerostructures designed with the damage tolerance philosophy, the authors in the present work report and compare their tensile mechanical and fracture toughness behavior under different aging conditions to simulate the natural aging parameter. To this end, a comparison of both alloys of their tensile mechanical behavior is reported for different stages of aging, including conditions of under-aging (UA), peak-aging (PA) and over-aging (OA). Typical results of yield stress as well as elongation at fracture for the case of AA2024 can be seen in the diagrams of Figure 1. The effect of artificial aging on the fracture toughness is also assessed for both alloys. Although the peak-aged temper of AA2198 is of application interest, a detailed investigation of the structure–property relationships of other temper states is attempted since it provides the basis for understanding the influence of process-induced microstructural changes on the post-processing properties of the alloy. To this end, structural characterization as well as relationship between yield stress, elongation at fracture and fracture toughness is reported and discussed in the manuscript for all investigated aging conditions.

Weight reduction is the main driving force in automotive and aircraft structural design. As a result, magnesium alloys, with their high potential for lightweight construction, have attracted a considerable amount of industrial attention. The determining criterion for the structural applications of magnesium alloys is the availability of efficient joining technologies for the construction of lightweight structures and the availability of reliable data for the assessment of their damage tolerance behaviour. Laser beam welding (LBW), as a high-speed and easily controllable process, allows the welding of complex geometric forms that are optimised in terms of mechanical stiffness, strength, production velocity and visual quality. The work accomplished in this study addresses the challenges of the LBW process for typical joint configurations using the magnesium alloy AZ31HP: butt joints, T joints and overlap joints. LBW processes were developed for use with a 3.3-kW Nd:YAG laser to optimise the mechanical performance of such joints with respect to tensile strength, fatigue, fatigue crack propagation and mechanical fracture behaviour. The relationships between the LBW process and the microstructural and mechanical properties of welds were established. Compared to state-of-the-art aerospace alloys, AZ31HP demonstrates that magnesium alloys have potential for use in structural applications, with AZ31HP being comparable to AA2024T351 and AA6061T6. Welded AZ31HP exhibits better crack resistance than the base material, so fully welded integral structures made from magnesium alloys can be used in lightweight construction.

Laser beam welding of butt joints made of the newly developed high-strength Al-Zn alloy PA734 is conducted. A new approach of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht is used to solve the problems of weldability and softening. The results of the fatigue, fatigue crack propagation and fracture toughness tests are discussed relating to the microstructural characteristics and the mechanical properties of the laser welded joints and compared to the base material. The obtained data can be used for the assessment of the damage tolerance behaviour of the laser welded integral aircraft structures made of Al-Zn alloys.

A hollow rectangular profile, as an example of a typical structural component made of magnesium alloy sheets has been built, tested and evaluated in order to assess its behaviour during axial crushing. The profiles were joined from plane sheets of AZ31 and ZE10, respectively, by laser beam welding and were then tested in compression. Numerical simulations have been conducted to understand the complex interplay between hardening characteristics of the materials under investigation, profile cross-section variation and energy absorption. The results from the compression testing of the profiles show that the welds are not the source of damage initiation and failure. The performance of the magnesium profiles in terms of dissipated specific energy is confirmed for small and intermediate displacements to be comparable to that of aluminium profiles. For large displacements, however, the shear-type failure mode of magnesium causes a sharp drop of the crushing force and thus limits the energy absorption. These findings demonstrate the requirement for an alloy and wrought magnesium process development specifically for crash applications which aims at progressive hardening along with high ductility for improving the bending and shear behaviour.

In this work, a defocused laser was used to modify the residual stress state in AA2198-T8 C(T)100 specimens with the goal of retarding fatigue crack growth. The manuscript provides a description of the process, the resulting changes of the material properties and the modified fatigue crack growth behaviour. The performed experiments, including thermocouple measurements, microscopical examinations, micro hardness measurements, residual stress measurements and fatigue crack growth measurements under constant amplitude loading show, that via laser heating a substantial retardation of fatigue crack growth can be achieved.

X-ray phase-contrast radiography and tomography enables to increase contrast for weakly absorbing materials. Recently, x-ray grating interferometers were developed which extend the possibility of phase-contrast imaging from highly brilliant radiation sources like third-generation synchrotron even to non-coherent sources. Here, we present a setup of an x-ray grating interferometer designed and installed at low-coherence wiggler source at the GKSS beamline W2 (HARWI II) operated at the second-generation synchrotron storage ring DORIS at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY, Hamburg, Germany). The beamline is dedicated to imaging in materials science. Equipped with the grating interferometer, it is the first synchrotron radiation beamline with a three-grating setup combining the advantages of phase-contrast imaging with monochromatic radiation with very high flux and a sufficiently large field of view for centimeter sized objects. Examples of radiography on laser-welded aluminum and magnesium joints are presented to demonstrate the high potential of the new gratingbased setup in the field of materials science. In addition, the results of an off-axis phase-contrast tomography of a human urethra with 15 mm in diameter are presented showing internal structures, which cannot be resolved by the conventional tomography in absorption mode.

Using laser welding in fabrication of metallic airframes reduces the weight and hence fuel consumption. Currently only limited parts of the airframes are welded. To increase laser beam welded parts, there is the need for a better understanding of crack propagation and crack-pore interaction within the welds. Laser beam welded Al-alloys may contain isolated small process pores and their role and interaction with growing crack need to be investigated. The present paper presents the first results of a crack propagation study in laser beam welded (LBW) Al-alloy T-joints using synchrotron radiation based micro computed tomography (SRμCT). A region-of-interest technique was used, since the specimens exceeded the field of view of the X-ray detector. As imaging with high density resolution at high photon energies is very challenging, a feasibility measurement on a small laser weld, cut cylindrically from the welded region of a T-joint, was done before starting the crack-propagation study. This measurement was performed at the beamline HARWI-II at DESY to demonstrate the potential of the SRμCT as non-destructive testing method. The result has shown a high density resolution, hence, the different Al alloys used in the T-joint and the weld itself were clearly separated. The quantitative image analysis of the 3D data sets allows visualizing non-destructively and calculating the pore size distribution.

Laser welding of advanced Al-Li alloys has been developed to meet the increasing demand for light-weight and high-strength aerospace structures. However, welding of high-strength Al-Li alloys can be problematic due to the tendency for hot cracking. Finding suitable welding parameters and filler material for this combination currently requires extensive and costly trial and error experimentation. The present work describes a novel coupled model to predict hot crack susceptibility (HCS) in Al-Li welds. Such a model can be used to shortcut the weld development process. The coupled model combines finite element process simulation with a two-level HCS model. The finite element process model predicts thermal field data for the subsequent HCS hot cracking prediction. The model can be used to predict the influences of filler wire composition and welding parameters on HCS. The modeling results have been validated by comparing predictions with results from fully instrumented laser welds performed under a range of process parameters and analyzed using high-resolution X-ray tomography to identify weld defects. It is shown that the model is capable of accurately predicting the thermal field around the weld and the trend of HCS as a function of process parameters.

The increasing interest of the aircraft industry in reduction of structural weight of aircrafts has resulted in the development of lightweight and high-strength Al-Li alloys as well as in the introduction of laser beam welding to the manufacturing process. The objective of this study is the investigation of the influence of variations in the chemical composition on local mechanical properties, like micro-hardness and micro-tensile strength, of CO 2 laser beam welded skin-stringer joints made from AA2196 and AA2198. Additionally the influence of the welding process on weld chemistry is studied in view of the improvement of the weld quality.

Laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar joints made of 7075-T6 and 5182-O sheets is conducted. A new approach of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht is used to solve the problems of weldability and softening. The microstructural characteristics and the mechanical properties of the joints are evaluated. With this information it is possible to initially assess the formability of the tailored blanks. Finally the formability of the welds will be validated via a sheet metal forming process. Owing to the good formability of the base materials, the results obtained for the welded joints are compared with base material properties.