Influence of Magnesium on Spatter Behavior in Laser Deep Penetration Welding of Aluminum Alloys

The quality of welds, as well as the necessity of post-processing, is challenged by spatter generation during the laser keyhole welding process. In this study, the influence of the magnesium content on spatter behavior is studied for three aluminum alloys (Al99.5, AlMg3, and AlMg5). A synchronized dual high-speed camera system is used to observe the spatter behavior and to reconstruct 3D spatter trajectories as well as determine the characteristics of spatter velocity, flight path angle, and approximate spatter size. The mean spatter velocities and flight path angles of the welding experiments with the three alloys were in welding direction between 4.1 m/s and 4.6 m/s and 44.8° and 51.0°, respectively. Furthermore, the AlMg alloys show excessive spatter behavior with spray events of more than 50 spatters at a time, and less frequently spatter explosions. Spatter spray events show a character similar to spatter explosions. Volumetric evaporation is proposed as effecting these events. In contrast, and resulting from a different mechanism, pure aluminum (Al99.5) shows group ejection events with at least 10 spatters at a time. In this study, there are no correlations between spatter velocities and flight path angles, nor between velocities and approximate spatter sizes.