Investigations on the thermal conditions during laser beam welding of high-strength steel 100Cr6

This study examines the thermal conditions during laser beam welding of 100Cr6 high-strength steel using a TruDisk5000 disc laser with a continuous adjustable power range of 100–5000 W. Two parameter sets, characterized by laser power and welding speeds, were analyzed by thermal-metallurgical FE simulations to determine their impact on the thermal conditions during welding. The results show a significant shift in heat coupling, with conduction transitioning to deep penetration welding. As a result of the high welding speeds and reduced energy input, extremely high heating rates up to 2∙104 K s−1 (set A) respectively 4∙105 K s−1 (set B) occur. Both welds thus concern a range of temperature state values for which conventional Time-Temperature-Austenitization (TTA) diagrams are currently not defined, requiring calibration of the material models through general assumptions. Also, the change in energy input and welding speed causes significantly steep temperature gradients with a slope of approximately 5∙103 K mm−1 and strong drops in the temperature rates, particularly in the heat affected zone. The temperature cycles also show very different cooling rates for the respective parameter sets, although in both cases they are well below a cooling time t8/5 of 1 s, so that the phase transformation always leads to the formation of martensite. Since the investigated parameters are known to cause a loss of technological strength and conditionally result in cold cracks, these results will be used for further detailed experimental and numerical investigation of microstructure, hydrogen distribution, and stress-strain development at different restraint conditions. •Experimental-numerical investigation of thermal cycles in extremely high speed welding processes.•Introduction of original heat source model for laser beam welding.•Observation of significant changes in heat distribution when welding with different process parameters.•Detection of extremely high heating and cooling rates by means of a validated approach.