On the seam welding of ultra-thin commercially pure (CP) grade-2 titanium foils

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Abstract
This communication reports a comparative study on the seam welding of CP grade- 2 Ti foils with thickness of 10 µm, 50 µm and 100 µm using a repetitive nano-second pulsed fiber laser and a lamp pumped pulsed Nd- YAG laser. The welding was accomplished in a lap joint configuration. A fine acicular microstructure was observed in the welds made by the nano- second fiber laser, while a coarse basket weave microstructure was observed in the welds made by the Nd-YAG laser. The tensile properties of the welds carried out by the nano-second fiber laser was found to be superior in respect of the welds carried out by the pulsed Nd-YAG laser. Welds made by the nano-second fiber laser could withstand ~17% more load, whereas, elongation before fracture was almost double to that of the welds made by the Nd-YAG laser. This variation is comprehensible on the basis of the finer weld microstructure evolved in nano-second laser welding due to the very low heat input and high cooling rate associated with this process. This study established with certitude that nanosecond duration pulsed fiber lasers are a better choice for welding thin titanium foils in comparison to long pulsed Nd-YAG lasers.

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