Effect of joint gap on the quality of laser beam welded near-β Ti-5553 alloy with the addition of Ti-6Al-4V filler wire

Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3Cr (Ti-5553) sheets were welded using a Nd: YAG laser system and Ti-6Al-4V filler wire. The effect of joint gap on weld geometry, defects, microstructure, and hardness was investigated. Fully penetrated welds up to a joint gap of 0.5 mm were produced. The two main defects observed were porosity and underfill. The addition of filler wire reduced underfill but increased porosity, especially at large joint gaps. The fusion zone (FZ) microstructure at low joint gaps consisted of retained beta with a dendritic morphology. At a joint gap of 0.3 mm, regions of orthorhombic alpha aEuro(3) martensite were observed in the weld zone which increased in proportion as the joint gap increased from a volume percentage of 4.9% at 0.3 mm to a volume percentage of 44% at 0.5 mm. Despite the differences in microstructure with increasing joint gap, the FZ hardness remained relatively constant for all joint gaps evaluated.