Microstructure and properties of the laser butt welded 1.5-mm thick T2 copper joint achieved at high welding speed.

Laser welding of highly reflective materials, such as copper, has suffered problems such as spatter, underfill and undercut for a long time. This work analyzed the associated mechanism and suggested that appearance and integrity of laser welded copper joint could be improved by conducting the welding process at a high welding speed which is slightly below the critical welding speed for full-penetration welding at the specified laser power. The microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the T2 copper joint achieved under high welding speed were tested. Results show that copper joint and base material (BM) have similar electrical conductivity, the weld fusion zone (FZ) and the heat affected zone (HAZ) are softened; the tensile strength and elongation of the joint are approximately 20% and 84% below those of the BM respectively. The joint breaks near the interface between the longitudinal columnar grain structures (LC) growing along welding direction at the FZ center, and the horizontal columnar grain structures (HC) growing perpendicular to the welding direction at other area of FZ. Degradation of the mechanical properties of copper joint is attributed to the softening of the heated zone and the big angle between the growth directions of LC and HC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]