Porosity sensitivity of A356 Al alloy during fiber laser welding

In order to decrease the metallurgical porosity and keyhole-induced porosity during deep penetration laser welding of Al and its alloys, and increase the mechanical properties of work-piece, the effects of welding parameters such as laser power, welding speed and defocusing value on both kinds of porosities were systemically analyzed respectively, and the shape and fluctuation of plume of the keyhole were observed to reflect the stability of the keyhole. The results show that increasing laser power or decreasing laser spot size can lead to the rising of both number and occupied area of pores in the weld; meanwhile, the plume fluctuates violently over the keyhole, which is always companied with the intense metallic vapor, liquid metal spatter and collapsing in the keyhole, thus more pores are generated in the weld. The porosity in the weld reaches the minimum at welding velocity of 2.0 m/min when laser power is 5 kW and defocusing value is 0.