Modeling the transport phenomena in moving 3-D dual-beam laser keyhole welding

In recent years, laser-beam welding using two laser beams, or dual-beam laser welding, has become an emerging welding technique. Previous studies have demonstrated that it can provide benefits over conventional single-beam laser welding, such as increasing keyhole stability, slowing down cooling rate and delaying the humping onset to a higher welding speed. It is reported that the dual beam laser welding can significantly improve weld quality. However, so far the development of the dual-beam laser welding technique has been limited to the trial-and-error procedure. In this study, the objective is to develop mathematical models and the associated numerical techniques to investigate the transport phenomena, such as heat transfer, metal flow, keyhole formation and weld pool shape evolutions during the moving three-dimensional dual-beam laser keyhole welding. Detailed studies have been conducted to determine the effects of key parameters, such as laser-beam configuration on weld pool fluid flow, weld shape, and keyhole dynamics. Some experimentally observed phenomena, such as the changes of the weld pool shape from oval to circle and from circle to oval during the welding process are predicted and can be well explained by the present model.