Project #14 Engineering and Development of Innovative Joining Processes for Fabrication and

Manufacturing for Energy Relevant Applications

Experimental Investigation of the Process of Welding

of Highly Reflective Metals using
Frequency Doubled Solid State Laser
R.Kurbegović, G.Natour, W.Behr, D.Faidel

Introduction
Laser welding process is becoming the main welding choice for many industries. Current developments in the field of energy, such as “Power to gas” – the conversion of renewable electricity into
hydrogen by means of electrolysis, as well as advancing electro-mobility, require new joining solutions for the electrical conductors made of aluminum and copper alloys. This technology offers
important economical and mechanical advantages. However, considering aluminum, copper, gold, silver, and other reflective metals, adequate laser welding results have yet large room for
improvements.

New laser sources with a wavelength of 515 nm are now industrially available as “green lasers”. It is expected that they will improve energy efficiency and energy coupling behavior in copper and
aluminum and thus significantly expand the application potential of laser beam welding in scientific and energy apparatus engineering.

Challenges Motivation

State of the art devices are working with wavelengths in the Passion for the research and technology
range of around 1000 nm.
Research opportunities
Highly reflective properties of Cu and Al at 1000 nm
wavelength (IR) create high energy loss. Prospect of carrier in academia

Due to the greatly varying energy coupling in the “key hole”, To understand the process using newly available green
splashes and pores in the joining zone are produced during lasers and as pioneer in this kind of project give a
deep welding compared to the workpiece surface. contribution to the research society.

The use of the infrared lasers for seam quality required in To allow scientific researchers and future industry to use a
scientific apparatus construction is considerably limited. full potential of laser welding as a joining process.

Figure 1 - Absorptivity vs. wavelength of different metals for selected lasers [1]

Aim of research
Investigate the laser beam/material interactions using "green lasers" compared to infrared and determine application potentials for welding of copper and aluminum in scientific and energy relevant
applications.

Methods
There is an ideal welding parameters combination which can be used, if it can be determined. Determination of those parameters can be done by using:

• power measurements and power distribution analysis,

• metallographic analysis,
• high speed videography and thermography,
• frequency analysis, and
• statistical analysis.

Goals
Understand and describe the processes of thermal conduction welding and deep penetration welding using green lasers.

Adopt and improve the green laser beam welding process to get more stable and reliable weld seams with highly reflective metals like copper and aluminum.

Create prediction system to get better results of welding using high speed videography and thermography and frequency analysis.

Solve “0” gap condition which is needed to get more stable and reliable joints.