Pulsed Laser Welding between DP1000 Steel and Aluminum Alloy 1050

The welding of dissimilar metals was carried out using a pulsed Nd: YAG laser to join DP1000 steel and an aluminum alloy 1050 H111. Two sheets of each metal, with 30 × 14 × 1 mm3, were lap welded, since butt welding proved to be nearly impossible due to the huge thermal conductivity differences and melting temperature differences of these materials. The aim of this research was to find the optimal laser welding parameters based on the mechanical and microstructure investigations. Thus, the welded samples were then subjected to tensile testing to evaluate the quality of the joining operation. The best set of welding parameters was replicated, and the welding joint obtained using these proper parameters was carefully analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscopes. Despite the predicted difficulties of welding two distinct metals, good quality welded joints were achieved. Additionally, some samples performed satisfactorily well in the mechanical tests, reaching tensile strengths close to the original 1050 aluminum alloy. The possibility to effectively join high strength dual-phase steels with a soft, ductile 1XXX aluminum alloy opens a new range of design possibilities and attests the versatility of laser-type welding operations. The authors hope that this study can serve as a sounding base for any other future work in this area.