Evaluation of the effect of local gas flows on keyhole geometry by means of a half-section setup

Increasing beam power of solid-state lasers enables high welding speeds for laser welding processes. However, increasing welding speeds lead to imperfections, especially spatter formation while processing high-alloy steels. A recent and novel approach to reduce the spatter formation is the utilization of a local gas flow to manipulate the keyhole pressure balance beneficially. To get a better understanding of the effect of the gas flow on the keyhole and its geometry during deep penetration welding, a half-section setup was developed. The laser beam was positioned partially on a glass plate and the metal sheet to provide an insight into the processing zone by means of high-speed recordings. Thus, it was possible to measure the keyhole geometry and to quantify the effect of different welding speeds and gas flows on keyhole length for full penetration welds.