TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 763/2003
A C Woloszyn, L S Smith, N C Sekhar, D S Howse, P A Hilton
Background
Titanium alloys are increasingly used within the aerospace sector as they offer higher strength to weight ratios than steels and superior fatigue performance to aluminium alloys. The aerospace sector demands that, in addition to high quality requirements, the optimum joining process be applied for specific components or assemblies, in order to produce components at the lowest possible cost.
Objectives
The main objectives of this work were:
- To develop Nd:YAG laser welding procedures for grade Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloys of 3.25 and 6.35mm thickness range using 3-4kW laser power.
- To examine the influence of welding procedure and parent material preparation variables on weld surface appearance and internal porosity.