Residual stress, micro-hardness and tensile properties of ANSI 304 stainless steel thick sheet by fiber laser welding

A fiber laser was chosen to weld the ANSI 304 stainless steel (ANSI 304 SS) sheets with a thickness of 5 mm. The effects of laser power, defocusing distance and welding speed on the weld appearances were investigated by the orthogonal test and the analyses on the appearances and properties of laser welds. Residual stress, micro-hardness and tensile properties of ANSI 304 SS welds were measured, and the cross section and surface morphologies were characterized by optical microscope (OM) compared with the two conventional laser (CO2, Nd:YAG) welding methods. Results showed that ANSI 304 SS welds with good quality can be obtained if the appropriate fiber laser welding parameters were chosen. Tensile residual stresses of the fiber laser weld with the appropriate welding parameters were the lowest and micro-hardness and tensile properties were the highest among the three laser welding methods. In addition, the crystal solidification process induced by the fiber laser welding was schematically illustrated and systematically revealed.