23rd Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 8-13 September, 2002, Toronto, Canada
Paper ICAS 2002-4.10.2

AN EVALUATION OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ND:YAG LASER WELDED HIGHSTRENGTH 6000 SERIES ALUMINUM ALLOYS

B. R. Leigh (1), C. Poon (2), H. W. Kerr (3), W. H. S. Lawson (3), N. Ferguson (4)
(1) Bombardier Aerospace, Canada; (2) National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Canada; (3) University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada; (4) Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Canada

Keywords: laser welding, 6000 series aluminum alloys, weld defects

Recent advances in high powered laser technology have made it possible to consider welded airframe primary structure in commercial aircraft. Potential advantages include incremental weight and manufacturing cost reductions and improved corrosion resistance. In this paper, some of the potential defects in aluminum laser welds are discussed. In addition, the results of the examination of some early weldments made with aluminum alloy 6013 and several filler alloys are presented. The significance of these findings is discussed.

view full paper