Effects of Ar and He on Microstructures and Properties of Laser Welded 800MPa TRIP Steel

Abstract

Fiber laser welding of cold rolled TRIP steel (transformation Induced Plasticity steel) sheet with tensile strength of 820MPa and thickness of 1.4mm was carried out using shielding gases Ar and He, respectively. For the same laser power and welding speed, the effects of different shielding gases on penetration and bead section morphologies were investigated. The microstructures and properties of the TRIP steel joints were also studied. The investigation showed that higher penetration and lower porosity could be obtained under shielding gas He using the same laser power and welding speed. The microstructures of the TRIP joint mainly included martensite and retained austenite. But the joint microhardness and tensile strength were higher under the shielding gas He. The tensile strength of the welded joint perpendicular to the weld line was equal to that of the base metal. But the tensile strength of the joint parallel with the weld line was higher than that of the base metal. The plasticity and formability of the welded joint were impaired due to the formation of martensite in the weld metal.