Real time monitoring of laser weld plume temperature and species concentration
- Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)
Laser welding has become a widely accepted industrial practice, particularly in sectors where weld quality and performance are critical, such as the aerospace, nuclear, medical devices and automotive industries. In many laser welding applications, flaws are not acceptable in the final product, so every weld must be inspected. Post-process inspection is time-consuming and, if a systematic problem develops, many flawed parts could be produced before the problem is identified and corrected. The preferred approach is therefore to perform in-process inspection as the weld is produced. This paper describes a system using a small computer-controlled optical spectrometer with fibre optic input to monitor the laser weld plume spectrum with good temporal and spectral resolution. Spectra are analyzed in real time to determine the temperature of the laser welding plume and the concentration of major elements in the plume. The temperature is determined from the ratio of line intensities for one element. Absolute species concentrations were not determined but the temporal evolution of relative concentrations can be observed in real time. Monitoring changes in species concentration will be shown to be useful in the welding of dissimilar alloys, either seam tracking of butt welds, or penetration monitoring of lap welds. Results for welds on mild and stainless steel alloys will be presented.
- OSTI ID:
- 539299
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961073--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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