Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40516-019-00091-1

Influence of Operating Parameters on CO2 Laser

Welded Butt Joints of AISI 304 Stainless Steel
Thin Sheets

Pardeep Pankaj 1 & Avinish Tiwari 1 & Pankaj Biswas 1

Accepted: 4 June 2019 / Published online: 15 June 2019

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
In this work, experimental studies were carried out to join the thin AISI 304 stainless steel
sheets thickness of 1 mm using CO2 laser. The effect of welding process parameters (i.e.
laser power and welding speed) with varying stand-off distance on mechanical properties,
temperature distribution and weld induced residual deformation were determined. The
microstructures of the fusion zone, heat affected zone, transition zone and base metal were
also investigated. The significant effect of welding speed on mechanical properties and weld
induced residual deformation was observed. Under laser power of 1500 W, welding speed
of 450 mm/min and stand-off distance of 25 mm, maximum tensile strength was achieved
about 87.12% of the base metal. Maximum hardness value was obtained in the fusion zone
which was about 157.7% of the base material. Fusion zone exhibited the fine equiaxed
dendritic structure and grain coarsening was found in heat affected zone. Maximum angular
residual deformation (i.e. 0.057°) was observed at laser power of 1500 W, welding speed of
350 mm/min and stand-off distance of 25 mm. It is observed that residual deformation was
increased by increasing the laser power and decreasing the welding speed. There was no
significant effect of varying stand-off distance on mechanical properties, residual deforma-
tion and peak temperature keeping all other parameters constant.

Keywords Welding parameters . Residual deformation . Microhardness . Tensile

properties . Fusion zone . Heat affected zone . Laser beam radius

* Pardeep Pankaj
[email protected]

Avinish Tiwari
[email protected]

Pankaj Biswas
[email protected]

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati,
Assam 781039, India
206 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Introduction

In laser welding process, laser is used as a moving heat source to join the two metal parts.
Laser welding technology is widely used in the automotive industry due to the higher speed
and non-contact welding process [1]. This welding process has many advantages in
comparison to the other conventional joining techniques i.e. less heat affected zone, low
heat input per unit volume, higher depth of penetration, effective integration with industrial
robots, and the proficiency of joining metals by single side access [2–4]. The CO2 lasers is
one of the newly and most useful gas lasers for welding and cutting in industries due to its
higher efficiency, power density, power, and depth of penetration. The lasing material
producing the CO2 laser is a gas mixture of CO2, He, and N2 combined in a 0.8 to 1.0 to 1.1
ratio. This mixture is then excited through electrically ionization by a high voltage power
supply [5]. Recently, laser beam welding of stainless steel has wider application in power
plants, pharmaceutical industry, petroleum refinement places, and also in households.
Austenitic Cr-Ni (AISI 304) stainless steel has better corrosion resistance and high ductility
properties. Essentially non-magnetic of AISI 304 stainless steel becomes slightly magnetic
when cold worked. Laser welding was performed on structural steels of thickness 20 mm
and 25 mm with fibre laser of 30 kW maximum power capacity. It was observed that
average weld hardness increased and the average heat affected zone (HAZ) reduced by
increasing the welding speed. The hardness value of the weld was found up to 2.5 times
higher than base material [6]. The YLS-4000 fiber laser was used to join the ANSI 304
stainless steel (ANSI 304 SS) sheets. The optimum welding parameter was obtained i.e.
laser power of 4000 W, welding speed of 35 mm/s and defocusing distance of 3 mm [7].
CO2 laser-butt welding of dissimilar metal between low carbon steel and austenitic steel
AISI 316 (160 mm × 80 mm × 3 mm) was performed. It was concluded that the laser
power, welding speed and focal point location have significant effect on the tensile strength
and impact strength of welded joints [8]. The 409 M stainless steel sheets were joined using
3.5 kW CO2 laser to observe the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded
specimens. Coarse grain structure was observed in base metal and fusion zone exhibited the
fine dendritic structure with equi-axed grains of ferrite [9]. Pulsed Nb:YAG laser butt
welding was performed to join the TC4 titanium (Ti) alloy and SUS301L stainless steel
sheets of thickness 0.8 mm using Nb sheet as a interlayer. It was observed that weld zone
and reaction layer was formed at the Ti alloy-Nb interface, and Nb-SS interface respec-
tively. The unmelted portion of the Nb interlayer was acted as an obstacle for mixing of the
two materials during welding process [10]. The strengthening mechanisms in the weld
zone, heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal of an AISI 304/308 L stainless steel (SS)
laser weld joints were determined. HAZ exhibited the higher hardness value in comparison
to the base metal and weld zone due to the presence of finer dendritic grain structure. Grain
boundary strengthening has a significant effect on yield strength raise in the HAZ compare
to the base and filler metals [11].
The feasibility in using electric and magnetic fields as a plasma control during CO2
laser welding of AISI 304 stainless steel sheet was studied. It was found that the
penetration depth increased by more than 13% for both fields. The interrelation between
the field direction, penetration depth and the width of the bead was developed. It was also
observed that the optimum field strength varies proportional to the laser power [12]. CO2
laser welding was performed to join the AISI 904 L super austenitic stainless steel sheets
using argon and helium as shielding gases to observe the microstructural characterization
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 207

of welded specimens. The weld metal shielded using helium gas exhibited the higher
hardness value, finer and equiaxed grains in comparison to the argon shielded weld metal.
This is due to the higher ionization potential of Helium gas [13]. Both experimental and
numerical study on CO2 laser butt welding of AISI 304 Steel thin sheets was performed.
The coupled thermo-mechanical FE model predicted he thermal history, residual stress,
and residual distortion under varying laser power, laser welding speed and structural
boundary conditions. It was observed that the fusion zone and HAZ increases with
increase in laser power and decrease in welding speed [14]. The late-model fiber laser
and CO2 laser was used to perform the overlap welding of auto body galvanized steel and
common cold rolled steel respectively. The late-model fiber laser and CO2 laser produced
the ‘I shape’ and ‘Y shape’ of the fusion zone’s cross sections respectively. The fiber laser
welding achieved the tensile- shear capacity better than CO2 laser welding [15]. The
analytical thermal model was developed for CO2 laser welding of magnesium alloy which
was the function of penetration depth, incident laser power and welding speed. The
influence of both the laser beam power and welding speed on the capillary size,
penetration depth and the weld bead width were reported [16]. The CO2 laser welding
was performed on TRIP-800 steel to observe the metallurgical behaviour of welded
specimens. The formation of the martensite in the fusion zone and HAZ was observed.
It was also observed that the tensile strength and ductility in weld region decreased. The
relative amounts of RA in the base metal, fusion zone, and heat affected zone were
determined using XRD and Cu-Kα radiation by considering the expression as shown in
equation:
1:4I γ
Vγ ¼ ð1Þ
I∞ þ Iγ

where Iγ is the average austenite peak intensity, and I∞ is the maximum ferrite peak
intensity [17]. Austenitic stainless steel (304 L) and carbon steel (ST37) sheets were
joined using Nd:YAG laser to study the influence of pulse width on mechanical proper-
ties, microstructure behaviour of fusion zone and heat affected zone, weld bead width and
penetration depth in welded specimens. It was observed that with increase in pulse width,
weld bead width decreases [18].
Very few published literatures are available on experimental study of CO2 laser
welding of AISI 304 stainless steel. In present study, CO2 laser butt welding was
performed to join the AISI 304 stainless steel thin plates. The influence of process
parameters i.e. laser power and welding speed with varying stand-off distance on
mechanical properties, temperature distribution and weld induced residual distortion
were investigated. The microstructural behaviour of fusion zone (FZ), heat affected
zone (HAZ) and transition zone in laser welded specimen was also studied.

Experimental Details

In present study, the AISI 304 stainless steel sheets of thickness 1 mm were success-
fully butt joined by CO2 laser welding. Experiments were performed on continuous
wave CO2 laser machine (LVD, model: Orion 3015) with maximum power of 2.5 kW.
The sheets were machined in 100 mm × 100 mm × 1 mm size for a square butt joint
208 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

configuration. Tacking method was performed for good alignment of the sheets using
TIG welding process. The specimens were fixed on the moving laser machine table
using job holding fixture as shown in the Fig. 1a. The K type thermocouple was used to
predict the transient thermal profile at various process parameters as shown in Fig. 1a.
The angular distortion of the welded specimens was measured before and after the laser
welding process using coordinate measuring machine (ZeissTM, model: Vista,
Oberkochen, Germany) as shown in Fig. 1b. Tensile specimens were cut normal to
the welding direction from the laser welded thin sheets. The tensile tests were carried
out at room temperature under a constant crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min using
Instron Universal Testing machine having maximum capacity of 250 kN as
shown in Fig. 1c. The weld zone was located in the middle of the tensile test
specimen. The schematic arrangement of laser welding process for butt joints
used in this study is presented in Fig. 2. The metallography of welded spec-
imens was investigated using optical microscope and electron scanning micros-
copy equipped with an EDX system. The metallurgical behaviour of welded
specimens was observed by short etching in Glyceregia (15 ml glycerol, 10 ml
HCl, and 5 ml HNO3) solution after polished using a standard metallographic
procedure. The Vickers micro hardness test was performed in transverse direc-
tion of the weld cross-section using a 4.9 N load and 15 s dwell time. The
measurements were performed in middle, bottom and top of the cross section
depth to identify the average value of the hardness in the fusion zone (FZ) and
heat affected zone (HAZ). The chemical composition of AISI 304 stainless steel
is presented in Table 1.
The aim of the present study was to determine the range of defects free full-penetration
welding process parameters of thin AISI 304 stainless steel sheets. The trial and error

Fig. 1 (a) Experimental setup (b) residual deformation measuring setup (d) tensile test
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 209

Fig. 2 Schematic representations of laser butt welding process to join the AISI 304 stainless steel sheets

procedure was used to choose the best combination of the welding process parameters (i.e.
laser power and welding speed) with varying stand-off distance that can produce sound
quality weld joints. Initially, experiments were performed to obtain the optimum laser
power level with fixed stand-off distance and welding speed. After the macrographs and
visual inspection of the initial tested weld joints, further experiments were carried out by
changing the welding speed (i.e. 250 mm/min, 350 mm/min and 550 mm/min at constant
laser power of 1500 W with stand-off distance of 25 mm) and stand-off distance (i.e.
15 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm at constant laser power of 1500 W and welding speed of
450 mm/min). The welding process variables are shown in Table 2.

Relationship between the Laser Beam Radius and Stand-off Distance

Laser beam radius is the most important process variable in laser welding process. The
stand-off distance (H) between the laser head and the workpiece surface can control the
laser beam radius (R). Figure 3 shows the schematic of laser beam profile and terminology
of laser beam. Hence, the following equation can be used to calculate the laser beam
radius from SOD using standard Gaussian beam propagation equation [20–22]:
"
2 #1=2
M 2 λH
R ¼ wo 1 þ ð2Þ
Πwo 2

where wo = 0.05 mm is the laser beam waist radius, λ = 10.6 μm is the wavelength of CO2
laser beam, H = stand-off distance (mm) and is set equal to the distance of the workpiece
surface from the lens focal point and M2 = beam quality factor and the following
equations were used to calculate the value of M2.

Table 1 Chemical composition of AISI 304 stainless steel [19]

Element Ni Cr Fe C Mn Si S P Mo Cu

Weight % 8.9 18.4 71.2 0.06 1.06 0.34 0.011 0.03 0.05 0.05
210 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Table 2 Laser process parameters with stand-off distances

Sample no. Laser parameters

Power (W) Welding speed (mm/min) SOD (mm)

S1 1300 450 25
S2 1400 450 25
S3 1500 450 25
S4 1600 450 25
S5 1500 450 15
S6 1500 450 20
S7 1500 450 30
S8 1500 250 25
S9 1500 350 25
S10 1500 550 25
S11 1400 350 20
S12 1600 550 30

The half divergence angle (θ) of actual laser beam can be represented as [23]:

M 2λ
θ¼ ð3Þ
Πwo

Now, putting f θ = r in the equation (Eq. (3)) can be written as:

M 2 λf
wo ¼ ð4Þ
Πr

where f = 127 mm is the focal length of the lens and r = 12 mm the laser beam radius
before lens.
To validate the laser beam radius calculated from the mathematical model, the laser
beam was penetrated through the photographic paper as shown in Fig. 4(a) to take the
burn prints under varying stand-off distances. Figure 4(b) shows the burn prints of laser
beam radiuses on photographic paper for various stand-off distances. It was observed
that burn prints were slightly elliptical in shape with a very small difference between
major and minor axes of the ellipse. Hence laser beam was considered as a Gaussian
distributed circular shaped of radius R. The comparison between experimental and
calculated values of laser beam radiuses is shown in Table 3.
From Table 3, it is observed that the laser beam radiuses obtained from mathematical
model are in good agreement with the experimental results. Therefore, the burn print
methodology can be used to control the beam radius by varying the stand-off distance.
The laser power density (W/mm2) is a function of laser beam radius (R) can be
expressed:

Laser power ðWÞ

Power density ¼ ð5Þ
ΠR2
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 211

Fig. 3 Schematic illustration of laser beam profile

Results and Discussion

Tensile Properties

The weld quality was estimated by performing tensile test of welded specimens under
welding parameter i.e. laser power and welding speed with varying stand-off distance.

Fig. 4 (a) Experimental setup for obtaining the laser beam spot radius (b) burn prints on photographic paper at
different stand-off distances
212 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Table 3 Comparison between experimental and numerical laser beam radius

S. No. Stand-off Experimental beam Mathematical Error (%)

distance radius, R (mm) value (mm)
(mm)

1 5 0.47 0.4750 1.07

2 10 0.94 0.9462 0.66
3 15 1.40 1.4182 1.3
4 20 1.89 1.8904 0.02
5 25 2.375 2.3627 0.52
6 30 2.818 2.8350 0.61
7 35 3.29 3.3075 0.53

In present study, tensile test was performed to observe the mechanical properties up to
the final rupture of the specimen in ambient conditions. Figures 5(a) and 5(b) represents
schematic the tensile specimen exhibits welded region at the middle and welded tensile
specimen under different laser process parameters respectively. Fig. 6 shows the stress-
strain data of AISI 304 stainless steel welded joints under various process parameters.
In this study, all the laser welded tensile specimens were fractured in the weld zone
and near the HAZ. Hence, all the welded joints exhibited the tensile strength lower than
the base metal (AISI 304 steel) as shown in Fig. 6. Welded sample S3 (i.e. laser power
of 1500 W, welding speed of 450 mm/min and stand-off distance of 25 mm) achieved
the maximum tensile strength about 87.12% of the base metal tensile strength. Mini-
mum tensile strength was achieved by the sample S8 which was about 52.07% of the
base metal. Sample S3 and S6 exhibited the ductility higher than the base metal as
shown in Fig. 6. Maximum yield strength was obtained ~ 285.37 which was about
94.64% of the base metal at laser power of 1500 W, welding speed of 450 mm/min and
stand-off distance of 25 mm. Figure 7 shows the influence of process parameters i.e.

Fig. 5 (a) Schematic illustration of tensile specimen dimensions (b) tensile welded specimens at various
welding process variables
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 213

Fig. 6 (a) & (b) Stress strain data of AISI 304 steel laser welded joints under welding parameters with varying
stand-off distance

laser power and welding speed with changing stand-off distance on ultimate strength of
the welded joints.
From Fig. 7a, it is observed that under constant welding speed and SOD, increase in
laser power from 1.5 kW to 1.6 kW decrease the tensile strength to 19.6%. This may
explained as at higher power defects like undercuts and weld dropout resulted in severe
stress concentration due to excessive heat input as shown in Fig. 11c [24]. Decrease in
laser power from 1.5 kW to 1.3 kW decreases the tensile strength to 23.3%. The heat
generation under lower laser power was not enough for the melting of worksheet
through the thickness as shown in Fig. 11a [25]. Figure 7b indicated that under constant
power and SOD, increase in welding speed from 450 mm/min to 550 mm/min decrease
214 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Fig. 7 Effect of (a) laser power (b) welding speed (c) SOD (d) laser power, welding speed and SOD joint on
UTS of the welded joints

the tensile strength to 33% and decrease in welding speed from 450 mm/min to
250 mm/min also decreases the tensile strength to 40.2%. Quan et al. [26] reported
the presence of holes at lower welding speed and non-uniform and lack of fusion under
higher welding speed due to less heat energy absorption. The stand-off distance (SOD)
varies by changing the laser beam radius as followed by Eq. (2). The laser beam radius
increase with increase in SOD as shown in Table 3. The laser power density varies
inversely proportional to the beam radius as shown in equation Eq. (5). From Fig. 7c it
is also observed that under constant power and welding speed, increase in SOD from
25 mm to 30 mm decrease the tensile strength to 5%. Decrease in SOD from 25 mm to
20 mm also decreases the tensile strength to 3.4%. This may be explained as varying
stand-off (SOD) distance changes the laser beam radius hence the power density
fluctuates (Eq. (5)) which results in slight variation in the peak temperature at the
scanning surface as shown in Fig. 22c. Figure 7d indicated that decrease in power from
1500 W to 1400 W, welding speed from 450 mm/min to 350 mm/min and SOD from
25 mm to 20 mm combinedly, tensile strength decreases to 11.16%. It is also found that
increase in power from 1500 W to 1600 W, welding speed from 450 mm/min to
550 mm/min and SOD from 25 mm to 30 mm combinedly, tensile strength decreases to
6.6%. Figures 8a, b represent the SEM image of the fractured tensile surface of samples
S3 and S10 respectively. From the above discussion it can be concluded that the
welding speed had a strong influence on the tensile strength of welded specimen.
From Fig. 8, it is observed that the tensile specimens were ruptured under
the ductile mode due to the presence of dimples and voids in the fractured
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 215

Fig. 8 SEM image of the fractured surface of tensile test sample: (a) S2 (b) S10

surface. Some small cleavage planes were also observed with typical dimple
patterns which were small and shallow. The distribution of dimples in the
fracture surface was also inhomogeneous as shown in Fig. 8. Each dimple
corresponding to a void which nucleate and grow leads to the ductile fracture
mode. Fractured surface of sample S10 exhibited the defects which lead to
reduction in the tensile strength of welded specimen shown in Fig. 8b. Figure 9
shows the SEM image and energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) area analysis of the
tensile fractured surface. Fig. 10 represents the EDX elemental mapping for the
distribution of the various elements in the fractured surface.
From Figs. 9 and 10, it is observed that distribution of the major element i.e. Cr and
Ni were not significantly affected by the CO2 laser welding on AISI 304 stainless steel

Fig. 9 SEM micrograph and EDX area analysis of tensile fractured surface
216 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

thin plates. The accumulation of other alloying elements i.e. Mn, S, P, Si, and Mg in the
fractured surface were also confirmed by the map as shown in Fig. 10.

Macro- and Microstructure

Figure 11 represents the macrographs of laser weld joint cross-sections in the welded
samples at varying laser power, welding speed and stand-off distance. It is observed
that the laser weld cross section had a typical Bgoblet^ shape contained relatively wider
zone at the upper surface and narrower zone at the bottom region [25].
The incomplete penetration was obtained under the low laser power of 1300 W with
a SOD and welding speed of 25 mm and 450 mm/min respectively as shown in Fig.
11a. The heat generation was not enough to melt the full thickness of the sample for the
above said welding parameters. Keeping the SOD (i.e. 25 mm) and welding speed (i.e.
450 mm/min) constant, at laser power of 1500 W, full penetration joint was obtained
without any macro-defects as shown in Fig. 11b. The changes in the welding speed
show a clear influence on the weld cross section as shown in Figs. 11b and e. Increasing
the welding speed from 450 mm/min to 550 mm/min resulted in lack of penetration
with the laser power of 1500 W and stand-off distance of 25 mm as shown in Fig. 11e.
Due to excessive heat input at the higher laser power (i.e. 1600 W with welding speed of
450 mm/min and stand-off distance of 25 mm) and lower welding speed (i.e. 250 mm/

Fig. 10 Elemental EDX mapping at fractured surface

Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 217

Fig. 11 Macrographs of the transverse weld cross-sections in samples: (a) S1 (b) S3 (c) S4 (d) S8 (e) S10 and
(f) S7

min with laser power of 1500 W and stand-off distance of 25 mm) the undercuts and
large holes or weld dropout were observed as shown in Figs. 11c, d respectively. Zhu
et al. [27] also observed the similar defects in the laser welding of AZ31 alloys due to the
long interaction time or the higher power density. By changing the stand-off distance
from 25 mm to 30 mm with constant laser power of 1500 W and welding speed of
450 mm/min, the weld cross section width was slightly reduced as shown in Fig. 11f.
This may be explained as increasing the stand-off (SOD) distance increase the laser
beam radius hence the power density reduce as followed by the (Eq. (5)). Hence it can
conclude that the laser power density exerts a remarkable effect on the weld penetration.
The heat input is correlated to the laser power and the welding speed. The co-relation
between heat input per unit length (Qlaser in J/mm), traverse speed (vt in mm/s) and power
(PL in W) in laser welding process can be represented by using the following equation:

Qlaser ¼ PL =vt ð6Þ

Hence from the experimental study it is observed that full penetration in the workpiece
was obtained at heat input of 200 J/mm with stand-off distance of 25 mm as shown in
Fig. 11b.
In present study, the microstructure of base metal, fusion zone, HAZ and fusion
boundary in laser welded joint was revealed using optical measurement. Figure 12
represents the microstructure of AISI 304 stainless steel welded joint in various zones
under laser power of 1500 W, welding speed of 450 mm/min and stand-off (SOD) of
30 mm. In laser welding process, the austenite content decreased due to the fast cooling
rate through the transformation temperature range [28]. The thermal and chemical
gradients during the welding process resulted in microstructural heterogeneity of the
welded specimen [29].
From Fig. 12, It is observed that the microstructure of fusion zone (FZ) is completely
different from other zones i.e. HAZ, transition zone and base metal, because it is
characterized by fine dendritic grains and a microstructural inhomogeneity due the higher
218 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Fig. 12 Microstructure of AISI 304 steel welded joint showing the various zones

cooling rate. It is also observed that microstructure changed from cellular-dendrite nearby
the fusion line to parallel dendrites as moving towards the centre of fusion zone.

Base Metal

Figure 13. represents the well-defined grain boundaries in base metal microstructure. Base
material microstructure can be easily distinguished from the fusion zone (FZ). The micro-
structure of AISI 304 stainless steel contained austenitic grains with small fraction of ferrite
bands.
AISI 304 steel microstructure contained some dark particle; these particles were
reported to be carbides in austenitic matrix [30]. The stainless steel retains its austenite
phase under ambient condition and undergoes phase change at high temperature. Upon
heating, the austenite (γ) to delta-ferrite (δ) transformation occurs and further heating
results in melting. During cooling phase, the transformation of delta-ferrite (δ) to
austenite (γ) follows the reverse order [31].

Fusion Zone (FZ)

The chemical composition and fast cooling rate in the laser welding process controlled
the solidification behaviour and solid phase transformation which resulted in the

Fig. 13 Microstructure of the base metal (AISI 304 steel)

Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 219

Fig. 14 Fusion zone microstructure in laser welded specimen

microstructure of the fusion zone. Figure 14 shows the microstructure of the fusion
zone in laser welded specimen.
From Fig. 14, it is observed that the fusion zone exhibited the Austenitic fine equiaxed
columnar dendritic structure that propagated from the interface of base material towards
the welding line (opposite to the heat flow direction). It is also observed that laser fusion
zone contained dark δ-Fe dendritic structure with vermicular morphology in austenite
matrix resulted from higher solidification and fast cooling rates due to lower heat input
[32]. Faster cooling rate in laser welding process leads to incomplete δ → γ phase
transformation results in δ-Fe dendrite structure retained within the austenite matrix [33].

Transition Zone

The transition zone between the base metal and fusion bead exhibited the band region with
columnar grains in fusion zone adjacent to the solid/liquid boundary as shown in Fig. 15.
This region exhibited the ferrite, and partially decomposed pearlite at the grain boundary.
The transition zone nearby the fusion zone contained small equiaxed grains
which were increased relative to the base metal. This zone was heated to the
liquidus and solidus temperature range resulted in partially melting zone [34].
The heat transferred to base material at very fast cooling rate in laser welding

Fig. 15 Microstructure of the transition zone in laser welded specimen

220 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

process. Hence there is inadequate time for the heat energy to melt the metal
resulted in the partially melted zone.

Heat Affected Zone (HAZ)

The HAZ during laser welding process was subjected to complex thermal cycle
over a wide temperature range and it was heated to higher temperature for a
sufficient time period followed by rapid cooling. Hence this zone exhibited the
complex type microstructure comprising all those phases prevailing in both the
base metal and the fusion zone (FZ) as shown in Fig. 16.
From Fig. 16, it is found that the HAZ structure consisted of the grains
which were gradually enlarged and transformed to ferrite and partially
decomposed pearlite towards the base material region. It is also observed that
the grains at HAZ are relatively coarser near the weld zone and fine grain
structure near the base metal. The high temperature transformation of δ-Fe to
γ-Fe and γ-Fe to α-Fe transformation was observed in HAZ during cooling
phase [35].

Microhardness

The hardness was measured at the lines from 0.25 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.75 mm
away from the top surface in the cross section of welded specimens. The
measurements were taken through the weld zone and HAZ in the welded
specimen under different welding parameters. Figure 17 represents the average
of the hardness values observed in the fusion zone (FZ) and heat affected zone
(HAZ) through the cross-section transverse to the welding direction under
process parameters i.e. laser power and welding speed with varying stand-off
distance.
From Fig. 17, it is observed that fusion (FZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ) in welded
specimens under different welding parameters exhibited the much higher than that of
the base metal (i.e. 162.4 HV). Maximum hardness magnitude in fusion zone of laser
welded specimen resulting from lower heat input and faster cooling rate [36]. Sample

Fig. 16 Heat affected zone (HAZ) microstructure

Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 221

Fig. 17 Hardness distribution in the cross-section of the welded specimens

S10 contained the maximum hardness value in fusion zone (i.e. 256.2 HV) and HAZ
(i.e. 198.5 HV) due to fast cooling rate. Minimum value of the hardness in fusion zone
(i.e. 191.6 HV) and HAZ (i.e. 172.6 HV) was exhibited by sample S8 due to higher
heat input and slower cooling rate. It is also observed that the hardness in the fusion
zone (FZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ) increased with decrease in laser power keeping
welding speed and standoff distance constant as shown in Fig. 17. It is also observed
that hardness value increased with increase in welding speed due to higher weld
solidification growth rate and cooling rate [37]. The welding speed showed the strong
influence on hardness values in weld zone and heat affected zones (HAZ) as shown in
Fig. 17. Stand-off distance had not much significant effect on hardness distribution in
fusion zone and HAZ as shown in Fig. 17.

Residual Deformation

Weld induced residual deformation is caused by the non-uniform expansion and

shrinkage of welded specimen and base metal during heating and cooling phase of
the welding. Residual distortion strongly depends on the welding process parameters,
rate of heat input and geometry of the weld joint [38]. In this experimental study,
structural boundary condition comprised the clomping of one edge of workpiece
parallel to the laser scanning direction as shown in Fig. 18. The angular deformation
was measured along the weld line nearby the free end and transverse to the weld line at
the middle using coordinate measuring machine before and after the welding process.
Figure 19 represents the uniform induced residual deformation pattern along the
weld line under process parameters (i.e. laser power and welding speed) with varying
stand-off distance. From Figs. 19 and 20, it is observed that sample S8 exhibited the
maximum induced residual deformation of 0.23 mm due to the high input resulting
from lower welding speed. It is also observed that residual deformation was increased
222 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Fig. 18 Schematic illustration of structural boundary condition showing the distortion measuring points

by increasing power and decreasing welding speed due to higher heat input per unit
length [39]. It is observed that at the laser power of 1300 W, 1400 W, 1500 W and
1600 W with constant welding speed of 450 mm/min and SOD of 25 mm; distortions
were 0.142, 0.158 mm, 0.172 mm and 0.184 mm respectively. Therefore decrease in
laser power from 1600 W to 1300 W decreases the distortion to 23%. It is also observed
that under the welding speed of 250 mm/min, 350 mm/min, 450 mm/min and 550 mm/
min with constant laser power of 1500 W and SOD of 25 mm; distortions were
0.225 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.172 mm and 0.163 mm respectively. Therefore increase in
welding speed from 250 mm/min to 550 mm/min decreases the distortion to 27.5%.
Induced residual deformation showed a small amount of increment by decreasing the
stand-off distance. This may be explained as the stand-off distance decreases laser beam
radius decreases hence the power density increases (Eq. (5)) which results in high peak
temperature in the scanning surface as shown in Fig. 22(c).

Fig. 19 The weld induced residual deformation parallel to the laser scanning path
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 223

Fig. 20 The weld induced residual deformation transverse to the laser scanning path

Temperature Distribution

In this study, the worksheets were allowed to cool down near about the ambient
temperature after the welding phase was finished. Figures 21a, b shows the transient
thermal profile obtained by using K type thermocouples at 7 mm and 3.5 mm away
from weld line under the varying laser power, welding speed and stand-off distance.
Figure 22 shows the effect of laser power, welding speed and stand-off distance on
peak temperature obtained at 7 mm away from the weld centre line.
From Fig. 21 it is observed that in the beginning temperature increases speedily to its
maximum value and then starts to diminishing with almost constant rate as the laser heat
source travels away from the weld centre. The steep thermal gradient collapsed quickly as
shown in Fig. 21. It is also observed that sample S8 exhibited the maximum peak
temperatures which were about 522.54 °C and 748.37 °C at 7 mm and 3.5 mm away from
the weld centre line respectively due to higher heat input during lower welding speed.
Sample S1 exhibited the minimum peak temperatures i.e. 323.16 °C and 553.2 °C in
comparison to other weld samples at 7 mm and 3.5 mm away from the weld centre line
respectively. Peak temperature was increased with increase of laser power and decrease of
welding speed under constant stand-off distance due to high heat input as shown in Figs. 22
a, b respectively. The slight variation in peak temperature was observed under varying
stand-off distance with constant laser power and welding speed as shown in Fig. 22c.

Conclusions

In this experimental study, the influence of process parameters i.e. laser power and
welding speed with varying stand-off distance on mechanical properties, temperature
224 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

Fig. 21 Transient temperature distribution at (a) 7 mm (b) 3.5 mm away from the weld centre line

distribution and weld induced residual deformation were investigated. The microstruc-
tural study on weld zone (FZ), heat affected zone (HAZ), transition zone and base metal
was also conducted. The following conclusions can be drawn from present study:

& The ultimate tensile strength is highly dependent on both laser power and welding
speed. The tensile strength initially increases with increase of laser power and
welding speed. With further increase in both laser power and welding speed the
tensile strength decreases. Maximum tensile strength was achieved under laser
Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227 225

Fig. 22 Influence of varying (a) laser power (b) welding speed (c) stand-off distance on peak temperature at
7 mm away from the weld centre line

power of 1500 W, welding speed of 450 mm/min and stand-off distance of 25 mm

which was about 87.12% of the base metal tensile strength. Welding speed showed
the strong influence on tensile strength of the weldment in comparison with laser
power and stand-off distance.
& Fusion zone exhibited the maximum average hardness value (i.e. 256.2 HV)
relative to heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal (i.e. 162.4 HV) due to the fast
cooling rate in this zone. Increase in the welding speed and decrease in the laser
power resulted in an increased average weld hardness values.
& Fusion zone in the weldment contained the fine equiaxed dendritic structure and
HAZ exhibited the grain coarsening due to slow cooling rate as compared to fusion
zone. The fusion boundary nearby the fusion zone contained small equiaxed grains
which were increased relative to the base metal.
& Maximum weld induced angular residual deformation (i.e. 0.057°) was observed
under the laser power of 1500 W, welding speed of 350 mm/min and stand-off
distance of 25 mm. With increase in laser power and decrease in welding speed the
residual distortion increased due to higher heat input per unit length. The hardness
distribution in weld zone and heat affected zone (HAZ) was strongly influenced by
varying the welding speed.
226 Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing (2019) 6:205–227

& The maximum peak temperatures were obtained under the welding parameters i.e.
1500 W and 250 mm/min with stand-off of 25 mm, which were about 522.54 °C
and 748.37 °C at 7 mm and 3.5 mm away from the weld line respectively due to
higher heat input during lower welding speed.
& There was no significant effect on tensile strength, hardness value, residual defor-
mation and peak temperature was observed under the variation of stand-off
distance.

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