Weld bead center line shift during laser welding of austenitic stainless steels with different sulfur content

The magnitude of the shift in position of the maximum depth of penetration, the center line shift (CLS), for a laser weld produced between two heats of austenitic stainless steels with large differences in S content was smaller relative to gas tungsten arc (GTA) welds made with both higher and lower heat inputs. The results of this study suggest that both surface tension driven fluid (Marangoni) flow effects and arc shift effects may contribute to the CLS in GTA welding.