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Experimental study on welding characteristics of CO2 laser TIG hybrid

welding process

Article  in  Science and Technology of Welding & Joining · July 2006

DOI: 10.1179/174329306X129535

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 Experimental study on welding characteristics of CO2 laser-TIG

hybrid welding process

Y. B. Chen, Z. L. Lei, L. Q. Li and L. Wu
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding Production Technology, Harbin
Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001,China; leizhenglong77@hit.edu.cn

ABSTRACT: The experiments of CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding with 4 mm-thick AISI
321 stainless steel sheet have been made. The arc images and welding characteristics have been
investigated under different energy ratios between laser and arc. The experimental results indicate
that the hybrid welding is similar to laser welding and has also two welding mechanisms---deep
penetration welding and heat conduction welding. Because of the effect of keyhole induced by
laser, the arc root can be stabilized and compressed, and the current density, the penetration depth
are all increased significantly, which shows the characteristics of deep penetration welding.
However, when the current is increased to a critical value, the laser-induced keyhole disappears
and the arc expands obviously, which decreases the penetration depth, so that the welding
mechanism has been changed from deep penetration welding to heat conduction welding.
Furthermore, the effects of distance between laser beam and electrode, pulsed laser and hybrid
manners on hybrid welding characteristics have also been studied.

Key words: CO2 laser; TIG arc; hybrid welding; welding mechanisms; arc images; welding
characteristics

INTRODUCTION
Since the late 1970s’, after the paraxial laser-TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) hybrid welding was
presented firstly by Prof. Steen and co-workers at Liverpool University, the research upsurge of
laser-arc hybrid welding has been ignited in the whole world.1-2 In comparison to the conventional
welding methods, the hybrid welding has its own particular advantages: (1) High efficiency and
economy; (2) Deep weld penetration and stable welding arc; (3) High gap bridging capacities,
permissible tolerances and welding speed; (4) Improvable weld appearances and geometry by
adjusting the ratios of these two heat sources, etc.3-9
In the previous works on hybrid welding technology, whether laser-MIG (Metal Inert Gas)
hybrid or laser-TIG hybrid, it is well known that hybrid welding can increase penetration depth
and welding speed. The majority of researchers are of the opinion that increases in welding speed
of up to 100% over welding with a laser alone and improvements in penetration of 20% may be
achieved by using a laser and TIG welding device with a current of 100 A. Ishide et al stated that
using a YAG laser hybrid welding with laser power of 3 kW they were able to realize high-speed
welding of 4 mm thick aluminum alloy plates at a speed of 4 m min–1. For a mild steel plate they
realized butt welding at 1 m min–1 with 5 kW of 6 mm thick plate. Just as significantly as the
welding speed was their ability to hybrid laser weld with gaps up to 1.5 mm in a plate 6 mm
thick.10 Dilthey stated that the laser-GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) hybrid process can increase
the gap bridging ability, i.e. it appreciably broadens the range of tolerances with regard to edge
preparation quality. The arc energy input in the hybrid welding process also permits control of the

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cooling conditions. Via the keyhole laser beam brings about easier ignition of the arc, stabilization
of the arc welding process, and penetration of the energy deep into the material. The improvement
of the energy utilization leads to a greater welding depth and speed being achieved with the hybrid
process compared with individual processes on their own. An example was given of welding 5
mm thick AH36 steel with a YAG laser at 6 kW and a GMAW input energy of 274 kJ m–1 at a
speed of 4.1 m min–1.11
Recently, in order to join thicker plates and obtain deeper weld penetration, much attention
has been paid to laser-MIG hybrid welding. When the first industrial laser-MIG hybrid system was
put into operation by Fraunhofer ILT in the year 2000 at the factory of an oil tank manufacturer, it
broke the ice, and various installations followed in the automotive industry, ship building and tube
production etc.12 Besides, laser assisted AC (Alternating Current) pulsed MIG welding was
proposed to join thin aluminum alloys at high welding speed and with good quality. For 1.2 and
1.5 mm thick aluminum alloys, a satisfactory lap joint can be obtained at a high speed of 4 m
min–1 with sufficient gap tolerance.13 In fact, because the laser-TIG hybrid welding doesn’t have
droplet transitions, it is easier to control the welding process than laser-MIG hybrid welding. All
the examples described so far have the arc and laser both consisted of two independent welding
heads. For the coaxial examples, only laser-TIG or laser-plasma arc hybrid welding has been
realized, which makes it applicable to three-dimensional materials and makes a more compact
welding head.8,10 Concerning the hybrid technology, improving arc stability in TIG and laser
welding and its mechanism were also studied. The synergic action of the laser beam and welding
arc showed that the laser beam in the welding arc, when current intensities were low, affected
ionization, reduced arc resistance, and increased the number of carriers of electric current.14-17 In
order to clarify porosity reduction mechanism and hybrid welding phenomena, laser-TIG arc
hybrid welding phenomena were examined by observing keyhole behavior and liquid flow in the
molten pool during welding through the microfocused X-ray real-time observation system. It was
confirmed that a keyhole was long and narrow, and its behavior was rather stable inside the molten
pool, which was beneficial to the suppression of bubble formation in hybrid welding.15
However, former studies have mainly concentrated on the technical difficulties of combining
these two processes and the effect of the various welding parameters such as the laser power, the
arc current and the welding speed on weld penetration and porosity formation. It seems that the
physical phenomena and the fundamental principle of the synergic action of both types of energy
during hybrid welding are not well understood at present.
In this paper, in order to develop the laser-TIG arc hybrid welding technology and further
understand the hybrid welding phenomena and the underlying welding mechanisms, experiments
have been carried out with 4 mm thick AISI 321 stainless steel plates. It is found that the hybrid
welding is similar to laser welding and has also two welding mechanisms---deep penetration
welding and heat conduction welding. The welding current affects the transition of welding
mechanisms greatly. It is very significant to understand the transition laws of welding mechanisms
for practical application. At the same time, the effects of welding current, energy distribution of
laser, distance from laser beam to electrode and hybrid manners on hybrid welding characteristics
have been investigated in details. Furthermore, according to the change of arc images and weld
bead appearances, the transition laws of CO2 laser-TIG hybrid welding mechanisms have been
discussed.

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EXPERIMENTAL DEVICES AND METHODS
The laser-TIG hybrid welding tests were performed using a fast axial-flow CO2 laser with the
maximum power of 2.0 kW for a single beam in the TEM00 (Gaussian) mode structure (German
Rofin-sinar) and an inverter argon arc welder of WX300 (Panasonic). During hybrid welding, arc
plasma and laser-induced plume were observed with a CCD camera. The video frame rate was
fixed for camera at 50 interlaced frames per second. In order to measure the current and voltage
signal of the TIG process, a LEM current and voltage sensor based on a Hall-sensor was installed,
whose sampling frequency was 10 kHz. The principle set-up, including the measuring equipment,
is shown in Fig. 1. The laser beam was irradiated on the plate perpendicularly and placed before
the TIG arc in the direction of welding. The CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding head is shown
in Fig. 2.
Materials used in this study were AISI 321 stainless steel sheets with 4 mm thickness, which
was sheared 150 mm×50 mm. Prior to welding, in order to remove oxides and residue, each
sample was ground by a steel wire brush and degreased with an acetone. Linear bead-on-plate
welds were performed on the workpieces. The main welding conditions used for the experiments
are listed in Table 1. A TIG electrode of 3.0 mm in diameter containing 2% Ce2O3 was utilized.
The welding parameters were selected by the object of each experiment. Industrially pure argon
was delivered to the workpiece surface through the nozzle of welding torch and laser head
respectively.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding mechanisms
Fig. 3 shows a series of arc images and bead cross-sections at three typical welding currents
in CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding process. It can be seen that the arc root is dramatically
compressed at lower welding current because of the effect of keyhole induced by laser. This
increases energy density, weld penetration and the welding characteristic shows deep penetration
welding. When welding current is increased to some degree, the effect of hybrid arc plasma on the
absorption of laser and the defocusing effect is getting so more that the laser energy is not enough
to produce the keyhole effect, and then the arc expands immediately, the compressed arc root
disappears. As a result, the energy density decreases dramatically, and the penetration depth is
decreased while the width is increased, which creates the welding characteristic of heat conduction
welding. At the same time, because of absorbing laser energy, the dimension of arc generally
becomes larger than that of pure TIG arc at the same welding current. All these above show that
the effect of keyhole plays an important role in the changes of welding mechanisms, arc shapes,
current density and bead penetration. Hybrid welding exhibits deep penetration welding
mechanism in the range of low and medium current, and as heat conduction welding mechanism
beyond the threshold of welding current.
The relationships between welding current and weld penetration as well as width are shown
in Fig.4. With the increasing of welding current, the penetration and width are increased gradually
in the range of medium and low current. The maximal penetration of hybrid welding can be
increased over 30% than that of laser welding. When the current reaches a certain critical value,
there is a step change in the penetration depth, even to a value lower than the penetration of laser
welding. Moreover, with the increasing of laser power, the critical value of welding current rises
correspondingly. The larger the laser power, the higher the critical current of the transition of

3
penetration, the stronger the keyhole effect of laser on arc. In other words, there is an optimum
range of the energy matching between laser and arc.
During hybrid welding, the laser not only improves the arc stability, but also changes the arc
shape and the arc root size due to the compression action of the keyhole effect on arc, which
consequently results in the variation of arc voltage. Fig. 5 shows the welding current and voltage
waveforms. It can be seen that the arc voltage fluctuates markedly in arc welding. In contrast, the
voltage during hybrid welding becomes relatively stable and decreases slightly compared with the
pure TIG arc welding. But it is not quite evident for the variation of welding current.
In addition, because of the different effect of hybrid arc plasma on laser at different stages, it
has been observed that there are remarkable diversities in the arc images from the beginning to the
stable hybrid welding process. At the beginning moment when laser acts on arc, it compresses the
arc root greatly, and then, with the stable establishment of laser-induced keyhole, the plasma is
increased so that the absorption or defocusing of laser is also increased, which results in that the
compression effect of arc root is weakened. This phenomenon is very obvious under high welding
current conditions, as shown in Fig. 6. When laser begins to act on arc, it can induce keyhole on
workpiece in an extremely short time, but it can only last a few hundred milliseconds, and then
disappears immediately. Namely, the arc goes through a process of instant compression and
immediate expansion, and the changing process is shown in Fig. 6.
t=0 s: Laser just begins to act on arc, and doesn’t induce keyhole;
t=0.04 s: Inducing keyhole, and the arc root is compressed;
t=0.08 s: The energy absorption or defocusing of laser increases, and arc begins to expand
gradually, but the arc root still keeps in the state of being compressed due to the
existence of keyhole;
t=0.12 s: The keyhole effect becomes small, arc expands and there is no effect of
compression basically;
t=0.16 s: The keyhole effect disappears and arc expands completely.
Thus it can be concluded from the facts mentioned above, that the interaction time between
laser and arc is also one of main factors which affect the welding characteristics.

2. Effect of welding parameters on hybrid welding characteristics

(1). Pulse laser-TIG arc hybrid welding
The interaction time between laser beam and arc affects arc shapes, which also means that it
affects weld penetration and the transition of hybrid welding mechanisms. Comparing with
continuous wave laser, pulse laser can reduce the interaction time, so that it can effectively restrain
the growth of plasma, decrease the absorption or defocusing of laser energy and obtain deeper
penetration. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show the comparison of the weld bead appearances and the
penetration depth in deep penetration welding mechanism respectively. And the shape of the pulse
laser is shown in Fig. 9. Moreover, the action region between pulse laser and arc can be clearly
distinguished from weld cross-sections.
Though the pulse laser-TIG hybrid welding can increase weld penetration, the pulse welding
also brings more parameters to adjust as compared with continuous wave laser-TIG hybrid
welding. The pulse duration of laser plays a dominating role in affecting arc shapes. If the pulse
duration is short, it is not enough to complete the compression and stabilization of arc, if the pulse
duration is long, the absorption or defocusing of laser may be increased and the arc itself will

4
expand. All these are unfavorable to increase weld penetration. Fig. 10 shows the relationships
between peak time of pulse laser and penetration depth in CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding
processes, in which the peak of laser power is 1500W, the welding current is 100A and the
welding speed is 1 m min–1. When the duty cycle is 50%, the experimental results show that the
maximum penetration can be obtained at the pulse duration of 20 ms.

(2). Effect of distance between laser beam and electrode on hybrid welding mechanisms
Considering the energy absorption or defocusing of laser by the TIG arc, it is necessary to
select a proper distance between laser beam and electrode for hybrid welding of different welding
currents. The variations of distance from laser beam to electrode mean that laser will traverse arc
from different positions, that is to say, the energy absorption or defocusing of laser is also different.
The experimental results demonstrate that when laser beam irradiates on workpieces from an
approximate edge of arc than from other positions, the hybrid effect is the best. Under this
circumstance, the laser attracts and compresses arc strongly, the energy absorption or defocusing
of laser is the least, which leads to deep penetration welding. With the increasing of welding
current, the arc dimension augments, and the optimal distance from laser beam to arc varies
correspondingly. Fig. 11 shows variations of penetration depth at different distances between laser
beam and electrode. The optimal distance which causes the maximal penetration at different
welding currents is inserted by dashed vertical bars respectively, as shown in Fig.11.
The arc images at different distances between laser beam and electrode are given in Fig. 12.
It can be seen that the optimal effect may be obtained at distance of 4.63 mm around. In this
instance, weld penetration is the maximal, which is consistent with weld penetration showed in
Fig.11. This is just because the laser beam irradiates on workpiece from the approximate edge of
arc. If the distance between laser beam and electrode exceeds this value, the synergic action of the
laser beam and TIG arc will be weakened under the same conditions. Even there will be no
combined relationships between them and they are only separated heat sources for each other. At
this time, the arc acts as heat treatment.

3. Effect of hybrid manners on welding characteristics

In hybrid welding, CO2, Nd: YAG and semiconductor laser can all be used as the main heat
source. The hybrid object may be TIG, MIG or plasma arc, etc. And the hybrid manner can be
coaxial, paraxial, even a multi-electrode and autogenous laser hybrid. In order to study further the
effect of different hybrid manners on welding characteristics, the experiments of CO2 laser-TIG
coaxial hybrid welding was carried out. Adopting the coaxial hybrid welding, the hollow tungsten
electrode was used and laser beam was concentric with the electrode, as shown in Fig.13. The
outer diameter of the hollow tungsten electrode was 9.0 mm, and the inner minimal diameter was
1.0 mm.
Fig. 14 and Fig. 15 show the arc images, weld bead cross-sections and the effect of welding
current on weld penetrations in CO2 laser-TIG coaxial hybrid welding process, respectively. In
comparison with the paraxial hybrid welding, the effect of current on hybrid arc and weld
penetration is consistent in coaxial hybrid welding, but the maximal penetration of coaxial hybrid
welding increases by 20% nearly, as shown in Fig. 16. Moreover, the critical current of the
transition of welding mechanisms is much higher in coaxial hybrid welding than in paraxial hybrid
welding. The reason is probably that while laser traverses the whole arc in paraxial hybrid welding,

5
especially at high current, the energy absorption or defocusing of laser by the TIG arc are severer,
which reduce the energy density of heat source acting on workpiece. However, in coaxial hybrid
welding, the distribution of current density takes on concavity in the arc centre by the hollow
tungsten electrode, and the energy absorption or defocusing of laser by hybrid arc plasma is little
correspondingly.18
According to these analyses above, it can be concluded that whether coaxial or paraxial
hybrid welding, there are two hybrid welding mechanisms in CO2 laser-TIG hybrid welding
process: deep penetration welding and heat conduction welding, and the transition of these two
welding mechanisms mainly depends on the energy ratio between laser and arc.

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the welding characteristics of CO2 laser-TIG hybrid welding have been
investigated in details through varying the energy ratios between laser and arc. And at the same
time, the effect of distance from laser beam to electrode, pulsed laser combined with TIG arc and
different hybrid manners on hybrid welding characteristics have also been analyzed. Some
conclusions can be given as following:
(1) There are two mechanisms in CO2 laser-TIG arc hybrid welding process: deep penetration
welding and heat conduction welding. It exhibits the deep penetration welding characteristics at
lower welding current. With the increasing of welding current, the energy absorption or
defocusing of laser increases. When the keyhole effect induced by laser disappears, the welding
mechanisms will be transformed to heat conduction welding, and there is a sharp decrease in weld
penetration.
(2) Laser can compress and stabilize arc greatly at the moment when laser acts on arc. As the
hybrid plasma grows, the compression effect of laser to arc is weakened. For the pulse laser-TIG
arc hybrid welding, an appropriate pulse duration can effectively restrain the growth of
laser-induced plasma, reduce the energy absorption or defocusing of laser, improve the energy
density and increase the weld penetration.
(3) There is an optimal distance between laser beam and electrode for the paraxial hybrid
welding of different welding currents. When laser beam irradiates on workpiece from an edge of
arc, the energy absorption or defocusing of laser by the TIG arc is the least, and thereby a deeper
penetration can be obtained under the same conditions.
(4) In comparison with the CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding, the coaxial hybrid
welding can more effectively inhibit the energy absorption or defocusing of laser by hybrid arc
plasma, enhance the critical current of the transition of deep penetration welding mechanism, and
obtain deeper weld penetration.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by a grant from the Commission of Science Technology and
Industry for National Defense under Grant No. 41318.5.1.1. The authors would like to express
their gratitude to Prof. Yanhong Wei of Harbin Institute of Technology for her help in the work.

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3. C. J. Page, T. Devermann, J. Biffin, and N. Blundell: Sci. Technol. Weld. Joining., 2002, 7, (1),
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Application of Lasers and Optics 2004, Melbourne, Australia, April 19-21, 2004, Laser
Institute of America, LMP-WHLW: 1-6.
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8. T. Ishide, M. Nayama, and M. Watanabe: Welding International, 2001, 15, (12), 940-945.
9. D. P. Lu and S. B. Zhang: China Welding, 1993, 2, (2), 104-108.
10. T. Ishide, S. Tsubota, and M. Watanabe: First International Symposium on High-Power Laser
Macroprocessing, Proceedings of SPIE vol. 4831, Osaka, Japan, May 27-31, 2002, 347-352.
11. U. Dilthey: IIW-DOC. XII-1710-02, Copenhagen, Denmark, June, 2002; International
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Application of Lasers and Optics 2004, Melbourne, Australia, April 19-21, 2004, Laser
Institute of America, PLEN: 7-10.
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229-234
14. J. Tusek and M. Suban: Sci. Technol. Weld. Joining., 1999, 4, (5), 308-311.
15. Y. Naito, S. Katayama, and A. Matsunawa: First International Symposium on High-Power
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357-362.
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1995, 16, (4), 239-242.

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 Table 1 Experimental conditions
Parameters Values
Laser power, P (W) 800~1500
Focal length of laser beam, F (mm) 127.0
Frequency of pulse laser, f (Hz) 0~100
Diameter of beam spot, d (mm) 0.2
Welding current, I (A) 30~280
Welding speed, v (m min–1) 1.0
Distance from electrode to workpiece,
5.0
δ (mm)
Flow rate of argon, Rg (L min–1) 12.0
Angle between arc and workpiece, θ
70.0
(degree)
Diameter of electrode, Ф (mm) 3.0

8
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of laser-TIG hybrid welding experimental system

Fig. 2. CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding head

Fig. 3. Hybrid arc images and bead cross-sections in CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding (P
=1000 W, v =1.0 m min–1) (a) Arc images at different welding currents of 50A, 130A and 190A;
(b) Cross-sections of weld beads at different welding currents of 50A, 130A and 190A.

Fig. 4. Weld dimensions at different currents in CO2 laser-TIG paraxial hybrid welding (a)
Weld penetration; (b) Weld width

Fig.5 Variation of arc voltage and welding current (P =1500 W, I =160 A)

Fig. 6. The expanding process of hybrid arc at different time (P=1000 W, I=180 A, v =1.0 m
min–1) (a) TIG arc; (b) t=0 s; (c) t=0.04 s; (d) t=0.08 s; (e) t=0.12 s; (f) t=0.16 s.

Fig. 7 Weld beads in pulse laser-TIG welding and continuous wave laser-TIG welding (I=120 A,
v =1.0 m min–1) (a) Appearance and cross-section of weld in pulse laser-TIG hybrid welding,
Pp=1500 W, f=50 Hz, TP=15 ms, TL=5 ms; (b) Appearance and cross-section of weld in continuous
wave laser-TIG hybrid welding, P=1000 W.

Fig. 8 Weld penetration at different currents in pulse laser-TIG welding and continuous wave
laser-TIG welding

Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the shape of the pulse laser

Fig. 10. Weld penetration in pulse CO2 laser-TIG welding with different pulse duration

Fig. 11 Weld penetration at different distances between laser beam and electrode in CO2
laser-TIG welding

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 Fig. 12 Hybrid arc images at different distances (L) between laser beam and electrode (P=900 W,
I=60 A, v =1.0 m min–1) (a) L=3.47 mm; (b) L=4.63 mm; (c) L=6.48 mm; (d) L=8.26 mm.

Fig.13 The sketch of CO2 laser-TIG coaxial hybrid welding (a) The principle of laser-TIG
coaxial hybrid; (b) Hollow tungsten electrode.

Fig.14 Hybrid arc images and bead cross-sections in CO2 laser-TIG coaxial hybrid welding
(P=1000 W, υ=1 m min–1) (a) Arc images at different welding currents of 75A, 160A and
210A; (b) Cross-sections of weld beads at different welding currents of 75A, 160A and 210A.

Fig.15 Weld dimensions at different currents in CO2 laser-TIG coaxial hybrid welding (a)
Weld penetration; (b) Weld width.

Fig.16 Weld penetration of different hybrid manners (P =1000 W, I =120 A)

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