Nd:YAG laser butt welding of a 12 vol.% SiC particulate-reinforced magnesium alloy composite

A renovated shielding gas apparatus was successfully used to protect the laser-welded pool during Nd:YAG laser welding process of a particulate SiC-reinforced magnesium alloy composite. Laser welding parameters, such as beam diameter and scanning velocity, were optimized to obtain sound welded seam. The microstructure and elemental distribution of the laser-welded seam were analyzed by employing scanning electron microscope incorporating energy dispersive X-ray. The strength of the seams was measured by tensile test. Results showed that: an increase in laser beam diameter from 1.0 mm to 1.5 mm effectively avoided severe burning and evaporation; sound laser-welded seam was produced by suitably choosing a laser scanning velocity of 150 mm min− 1 while V-shaped and the inadequate penetrative seams were generated at lower and higher scanning velocity respectively; the microstructure of the seams was nearly the same as that of the original substrate; the tensile strength of the seams reached about 88 MPa.