Abstract Scope |
In today’s world, customers are demanding high quality two-wheelers with superior performance. Frame is one of the safety critical parts of a two-wheeler which highly contributes to the functional and aesthetic quality of the vehicle. Predominantly, gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is being used for the manufacturing of frame. Limited depth of penetration and low welding speed of GMAW process significantly hinders the quality and productivity. Moreover, high heat input of this process consequently results in larger distortion. More fusion zone and HAZ area leads to degradation of material properties. Hence, this paper investigates the distortion and mechanical properties of advanced welding processes such as autogenous laser welding (ALW) and hybrid laser arc welding (HLAW) processes and results were compared with GMAW process. ALW process produced least distortion whereas GMAW process exhibited larger distortion. ~75% and ~85% less distortion was observed in HLAW and ALW processes respectively than GMAW process. Heat input exhibited a near-linear relation with distortion index and fusion zone area. In mechanical strength standpoint, all three welding processes produced weld region stronger than base material. Therefore, fracture was occurred in the base material during tensile test. At high welding speed of 4 m/min ALW and HLAW processes increases the maximum hardness in the fusion zone by 76% and 29% respectively than GMAW process in 4 mm thick materials. However, low heat input of ALW and HLAW processes provided considerable reduction in fusion zone and heat affected zone width. Despite the complexity of HLAW process, it was found to be more beneficial in terms of low distortion, complete penetration, and better weld bead geometry. Hence, hybrid laser arc welding process can be considered as the future of welding in the automobile sector. |