The comparison between laser screw welding and resistant spot welding of lap joint with large thickness ratio

The present paper investigates the welding forming, microstructure and shear tensile test of lap joints with large thickness ratio which were fabricated by laser screw welding (LSW) and resistant spot welding (RSW). The comparison was conducted on two kinds of lap joints, galvanized sheet and hot pressed steel (GS-HPS), galvanized sheet and high strength steel (GS-HS). The microstructure and fracture morphology were analyzed by optical microscope. It was demonstrated that with large thickness ratio the sound lap joint of GS-HS could be obtained by LSW regardless of the irradiation of laser beam from thick metal to sheet or otherwise, and the morphology shows it is better when the laser is irradiated on the thick metal. Nevertheless, when the laser beam was applied on thick metal of HPS, blind hole or blowhole was formed in the center of joint, which is attributed to the shrinkage during solidification of the molten pool. Small pores or dispersed porosity appeared on the faying face of the joint without predetermined gap which provides the degassing. However, the increase of predetermined gap could reduce the shear strength and nugget size. Two kinds of joints made by LSW have superior shear strength than those made by RSW when the laser were applied on galvanized sheet.