International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt

Elucidation of keyhole induced bubble formation mechanism in fiber

laser welding of low carbon steel
Dongsheng Wu, Xueming Hua ⇑, Lijin Huang, Fang Li, Yan Cai
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Material Laser Processing and Modification (Shanghai Jiaotong University), Shanghai 200240, PR China
Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Ship and Deep-Sea Exploration, Shanghai 200240, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Laser welding experiment with the aid of glass, and numerical simulation are carried out to study the
Received 23 January 2018 keyhole behavior and keyhole-induced bubble formation. Two mechanisms are responsible for
Received in revised form 19 July 2018 keyhole-induced bubble formation. The first mechanism is the strong fluid flow inside the weld pool,
Accepted 21 July 2018
and the capillary instability of the whole keyhole, causing the collapse between rear keyhole wall and
Available online 4 August 2018
front keyhole wall. This mechanism contributes to most of keyhole-induced bubble formation. The sec-
ond mechanism is the instability of the rear keyhole wall caused by the increase absorption of laser
Keywords:
energy reflected by the bulge at front keyhole wall. The breaking of molten bridge is analyzed based
Laser welding
Keyhole behavior
on static pressure balance. The molten bridge with large curvature and low temperature is difficult to
Multi-reflection be broken. Bubble coalescence can be clearly observed at the bottom of the weld pool. Large bubble
Keyhole-induced porosity and small bubble have high coalescence efficiency. The bubbles at keyhole bottom have more time to
Keyhole-induced bubble escape without broken by laser beam, and the bottom part of rear keyhole wall is more easily depressed,
so bubbles are easily formed at the keyhole bottom.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Keyhole-induced porosity is a general defect in laser welding
[1]. During laser welding, the keyhole is unstable, which causes
the formation of keyhole-induced bubble. When the bubble is
trapped by the solidified front in the rear part of the weld pool,
keyhole-induced porosity is formed [2]. In order to suppress the
keyhole-induced porosity formation and improve the weld quality,
some effective measures had been proposed, such as using a side
gas jet [3], forward welding [4], vacuum welding [5], N2 shielding
gas [6], applying electromagnetic force [7], laser power modulation
[8], tandem laser welding [9].
The high speed X-ray transmission system was used to observe
the keyhole behavior in laser welding, and gave a deep insight on
the bubble formation mechanism. Katayama [10] and Matsunawa
[11] proposed that the keyhole rear wall instability and depression
caused by localized evaporation of the front keyhole wall leaded to
the bubble formation. Seto [12] suggested that due to the extre-
mely vigorous expansion and contraction of the keyhole, bubbles
were intermittently formed at the keyhole tip. Heider [13] showed
that due to keyhole bending, the absorption of laser energy at the
⇑ Corresponding author at: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Material Laser Processing
and Modification (Shanghai Jiaotong University), Shanghai 200240, PR China.
E-mail address: xmhua@sjtu.edu.cn (X. Hua).
keyhole tip was increased, which caused the strong vaporization
and bubble formation at the keyhole tip. Miyagi [14] suggested
that the bubbles were formed by extra evaporation of the weld
metal at the keyhole bottom because of the slight heat input vari-
ation. The bubble formation in laser butt welding of aluminum was
also studied based on the X-ray phase contrast method[15]. How-
ever, the high speed X-ray system is very expensive. Besides, the
resolution is low, so some important behavior, such as small bub-
ble formation, can’t be observed.
The numerical simulation is also an effective method to get the
mechanism of keyhole-induced bubble formation in laser welding.
The X-ray system was used, and a semi-analytical mathematic
model was developed by Kaplan to study the keyhole collapse in
laser welding of liquid zinc [16]. The bottleneck keyhole shape
was found to be easily collapsed. Cho [17] used the adiabatic bub-
ble model to model the bubble formation in laser welding. The
bubble was assumed to be filled with ideal gas. Heat and mass
transfer between the gas and molten metal was ignored. Zhao
[18] developed a gas-liquid-solid coupled model to describe the
keyhole behavior of laser welding. Keyhole shrinkage and collapse
was proposed to be the cause of keyhole-induced bubble and
porosity formation. Lu [19] developed a three dimensional tran-
sient model to investigate the effect of laser power, welding speed,
laser beam size and gap size on keyhole-induced bubble formation
in laser welding with T-joint, and suggested that the depth to

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.07.107
0017-9310/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1078 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086

width ratio of the keyhole and fluid flow affected the keyhole-
induced bubble formation. Lin [20] suggested that the keyhole col-
lapse between keyhole front and keyhole rear due to the strong
melt flow, was the cause of keyhole-induced bubble and porosity
formation. It should be noted that only one type of keyhole-
induced bubble is analyzed based on simulation.
Berger [21] observed the porosity formation in laser welding of
water and ice, and found that the bubbles were generated at the
rear side and at the tip of the keyhole. Even though the material
properties of water and metals are significant different, several
important properties in laser welding are similar. There may be
two kinds of keyhole-induced bubble in laser welding.
In this work, laser welding experiment with the aid of glass is
carried out, and a three dimensional numerical model considering
the shear stress and adiabatic bubble model is developed to study
the keyhole behavior and keyhole-induced bubble formation. Two
kinds of keyhole-induced bubble are found, and different forma-
tion mechanisms responsible for keyhole-induced bubble forma-
tion are discussed. The pressure balance equation is proposed to
analyze the breaking of molten bridge by the laser beam. The bub-
ble coalescence efficiency is also studied.
2. Experimental procedure
The experimental set-up used for the experiments was shown
in Fig. 1. The experiments were performed using a fiber laser weld-
ing machine (IPG YLS-10,000), and the focus radius was 0.36 mm.
The materials used were Q345 steel with size 100 mm (length)

30 mm (width)
10 mm (height), and heat resistant quartz glass
with size 100 mm (length)
10 mm (width)
10 mm (height).
The thermo-physical material properties of Q345 steel can be seen
in Table 1. During the welding, the laser beam was tilted in the for-
ward direction with an angle of 10°. The laser power was 6 kW. The
defocused distance was 0 mm. The welding speed was 2 m/min.
Pure argon gas was used as shielding gas with flow rate of
20 L/min. A high speed video camera was used to observe the
keyhole behavior and bubble formation, and the frequency was
3000 frame/s.
3. Mathematical model and numerical simulation
Four governing equations including mass, momentum, energy
conservation equations, and VOF (Volume of Fluid) equation are
solved to calculate heat and mass transfer in laser welding weld
pool. The energy-temperature relationship is used to model the
solid-liquid phase change [22] and the porous media drag concept
is used to model the flow in the mushy zone [23]. The main driven
forces of the weld pool are recoil pressure, shear stress, surface ten-
sion force and buoyancy force. The governing equations, recoil
pressure, surface tension force, buoyancy force and boundary con-
ditions are same to our previous work [24]. The special treatments
on shear stress and adiabatic bubble model are discussed.
3.1. Shear stress model
The flow of the metallic vapor inside the keyhole plays an
important role in the keyhole behavior during laser welding
[4,25]. It is suggested that the vapor flow is laminar, so the shear
stress caused by vapor flow can be expressed as follow [17]:
8qV 2
sw ¼ ð1Þ
Re
where V is the vapor velocity, with an assumption that it increases
linearly along the keyhole depth. The vapor velocity is zero at the
keyhole bottom, while it reaches the maximum value at the
entrance of the keyhole.
If the keyhole has a circular tube shape, as shown in Fig. 2(A),
Eq. (1) can be used without modification. It should be noted that
in laser welding, the shape of the keyhole is in dynamically chang-
ing, as shown in Fig. 2(B). So the main problem is how to determine
the direction of shear stress. In this study, the value of shear stress
is calculated by Eq. (1). It is assumed that the horizontal vector ~ o,
s, and free surface normal vector ~
shear stress vector ~ n are coplanar,
as shown in Fig. 2(C). The shear stress vector can be determined as:
8! !
< s  n ¼0
>
!
j s j ¼ sw ð2Þ
>
:!
s ¼ A! !
o þBn

3.2. Adiabatic bubble model

The adiabatic bubble model is introduced to model the bubble

Fig. 1. The experimental platform.
formation. It is assumed that there is no heat transfer and mass

Table 1
Thermo-physical material properties of Q345 steel.

Nomenclature Value Nomenclature Value

Density (kg/m3) 7830 Liquidus temperature (K) 1725
Viscosity (kg/ms) 0.0059 Solidus temperature 1688
Specific heat (l) (J/kgK) 690 Boiling temperature (K) 3133
Specific heat (s) (J/kgK) 670 Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K4) 20
Latent heat of fusion (J/kg) 2.77
105 Coefficient of thermal expansion (K1) 1.5
104
Thermal conductivity (l) (W/mK) 24.9 Surface tension (N/m) 1.2
Thermal conductivity (s) (W/mK) 25.7 Surface tension gradient (N/mK) 0.0003
 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086 1079

Fig. 2. Shear stress model.

transfer between the bubble and molten metal. Besides, the pres-
sure and temperature of gas in a bubble are spatially uniform,
but these values can vary with time. The pressure in a bubble is
given by the following equation [26]:
 a
V0
Pb ¼ P 0
V the keyhole collapse between rear keyhole wall and front keyhole
P0 is atmospheric pressure. V0 is the initial volume of a bubble.
V is the volume of a bubble at different time.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Keyhole-induced bubble formed at the keyhole bottom
Fig. 3 shows the images of longitudinal keyhole during laser
welding of the sample. The white part inside the keyhole is vapor
plume, and the grey part is liquid metal. It can be seen from Fig. 3
(A) that the liquid metal in the keyhole front is very thin. The key-
hole is not smooth, and a chain of bulges and contractions is
formed at the rear keyhole wall, which is caused by the collision
of upward flow due to recoil pressure and downward flow due to
surface tension pressure and hydrostatic pressure [27]. The key-
hole width is widest at the opening, then becomes narrow at the
middle, and becomes wider again at the end. The molten metal
inside the bulge of rear keyhole wall flows toward the front key-
hole wall under the influence of strong clockwise flow [28]. The
keyhole depth is very deep, and the distance between the bulges
and the front keyhole wall is very small. The much large depth to
width ratio causes the capillary instability of the keyhole. So the
strong fluid flow and capillary instability of the keyhole lead to
ð3Þ
wall [28].
As shown in Fig. 3(B), two bridges and two bubbles are formed.
Due to the direct irradiation of laser beam on the bridges, the mol-
ten bridges move downward along the keyhole wall due to the
high recoil pressure. It can also be seen from Fig. 3(C) that without
heat input from laser beam, the temperature of the vapor plume in
Bubble2 is decreased. In Fig. 3(D), the top molten bridge starts to
be broken by laser beam. In Fig. 3(E), the top molten bridge is bro-
ken by laser beam, and Bubble1 is disappeared. In Fig. 3(F), the bot-
tom bridge is broken by laser beam, but Bubble2 is retained. It
takes about 4.7 ms for Bridge1 to be broken by laser beam, and
6.7 ms for Bridge2 to be broken by laser beam.
As shown in Fig. 4(A), a large bulge is formed at the front key-
hole wall, but the keyhole collapse between rear keyhole wall
and front keyhole wall can’t be seen. Due to the effect of multiple
reflection and Fresnel absorption, a lot of energy can be transferred
to keyhole bottom [29]. When the laser beam irradiates the bulge
at the front keyhole wall, a part of energy is absorbed by the bulge,

Fig. 3. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t0 + 0 ms; (B) t = t0 + 2.3 ms; (C) t = t0 + 4.3 ms; (D) t = t0 + 5.6 ms; (E) t = t0 + 7.0 ms; (F) t = t0 + 9.0 ms
(t0 = 946.3 ms).
1080 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086

Fig. 4. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t1 + 0 ms; (B) t = t1 + 0.3 ms; (C) t = t1 + 1.3 ms (t1 = 1050.3 ms).

and the other part is reflected to the bottom of rear keyhole wall,
causing the excessive evaporation of liquid metal. So the large
depression of the bottom of rear keyhole wall is caused by the
increase absorption of laser energy reflected by the bulge at front
keyhole wall. As shown in Fig. 4(B), when the surface tension pres-
sure and hydrostatic pressure of the liquid metal are larger than
the recoil pressure, part of the rear keyhole wall is collapsed, and
a bubble is formed. Besides, the bulge size at the front keyhole wall
is decreased. As shown in Fig. 4(C), the bubble is retained without
broken by laser beam.
4.2. Keyhole-induced bubble formed at the keyhole middle and top
As shown in Fig. 5(A), the keyhole is collapsed between rear
keyhole wall and front keyhole wall. Two bridges and two large
bubbles are formed. Under the direct irradiation of laser beam on
the bridges, the liquid metal fills the bubbles, and the sizes of the
bubbles become smaller, as shown in Fig. 5(B). Before the breaking
of bridges by laser beam, the bubbles have enough time to escape,
as shown in Fig. 5(C), the top bridge is broken, however two small
bubbles are formed. It takes about 4.6 ms for Bridge4 to be broken
by laser beam.
As shown in Fig. 6(A), large depression is generated at the mid-
dle of the rear keyhole wall, and a large bulge is formed at the top
of front keyhole wall. When the laser beam irradiates the bulge,
due to the effect of multiple reflection and Fresnel absorption, a
part of energy is absorbed by the bulge, and the other part is
reflected to the middle of rear keyhole wall, causing the excessive
evaporation of liquid metal, and the large depression of the middle
of rear keyhole wall. As shown in Fig. 6(B), the bulge size is
decreased, and the depression of the middle of rear keyhole wall
becomes larger. In Fig. 6(C), the bulge at the front keyhole wall is
disappeared. Part of the middle of rear keyhole wall is collapsed,
and a bubble is formed. The keyhole collapse between rear keyhole
wall and front keyhole wall can’t be seen. In Fig. 6(D), the bubble is
retained without broken by laser beam.

Fig. 5. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t2 + 0 ms; (B) t = t2 + 1.0 ms; (C) t = t2 + 4.6 ms (t2 = 1010.6 ms).

Fig. 6. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t3 + 0 ms; (B) t = t3 + 0.6 ms; (C) t = t3 + 2.6 ms; (D) t = t3 + 7.0 ms (t3 = 1143.6 ms).
 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086 1081

Fig. 7. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t4 + 0 ms; (B) t = t4 + 7.6 ms; (C) t = t4 + 8.0 ms; (D) t = t4 + 8.3 ms; (E) t = t4 + 9.0 ms; (F) t = t4 + 9.6 ms
(t4 = 1066.6 ms).

Fig. 8. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t5 + 0 ms; (B) t = t5 + 0.3 ms; (C) t = t5 + 0.6 ms; (D) t = t5 + 1.0 ms (t5 = 1156.3 ms).

Fig. 9. Keyhole collapse between rear keyhole wall and front keyhole wall cause the bubble formation.
1082 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086

4.3. Keyhole-induced bubble coalescence
In general, the coalescence of two bubbles is induced in the fol-
lowing process [30]: (1) Bubbles collide. (2) A small amount of the
liquid between the bubbles is trapped and drains gradually. (3) The
liquid film between the bubbles reaches a critical thickness and a
film rupture occurs resulting in coalescence.
Bubble coalescence can also be observed in laser welding. As
shown in Fig. 7(A), two bubbles are formed at the keyhole bottom.
Previous study [31] shown that the temperature gradients on the
bubble surface and the resulting Marangoni flow will not be strong
enough to move the bubble, unless non-condensable gases or some
other mechanism was present to reduce the condensation heat

Fig. 10. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t6 + 0 ms; (B) t = t6 + 0.3 ms; (C) t = t6 + 0.6 ms; (D) t = t6 + 1.0 ms (t6 = 1099.6 ms).

Fig. 11. High speed photographs of the weld pool at: (A) t = t7 + 0 ms; (B) t = t7 + 3.0 ms; (C) t = t7 + 3.3 ms; (D) t = t7 + 4.0 ms; (E) t = t7 + 4.3 ms; (F) t = t7 + 4.6 ms
(t7 = 948.6 ms).

Fig. 12. Force balance of the molten bridge with different curvature.
 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086
transfer at the interface. Based on Stokes equation, the escape
velocity of the bubble can be expressed as follows:
2ðq  qG Þgr2
V¼
9g
where q and qG are the molten metal and gas density, respectively.
g is the acceleration of gravity. r is the radius of the bubble (r = D/2).
g is the viscosity of liquid metal. The size of Bubble8 (0.48 mm) is
larger than that of Bubble7 (0.38 mm), so the velocity of Bubble8 is
larger than that of bubble7.
Besides, based on high speed X-ray image analysis, Seto [12]
suggested that the bubbles were transported from the keyhole
tip to the upper part by being carried upwards on the strong mol-
ten metal flow. Bubble8 is formed at the keyhole tip. The molten
metal flow at the keyhole tip is more violent, so the velocity of
Fig. 13. Temperature (K) and fluid flow fields of y = 0 cross sectional view at: (A) t = 61 ms; (B) t = 61.5 ms; (C) t = 62 ms; (D) t = 62.5 ms.
1083
Bubble8 is larger. In Fig. 7(B), Bubble8 catches up with Bubble7,
and two bubbles collide each other.
In Fig. 7(C), bubbles begin to deform. However, the size of Bub-
ble8 is larger, so the surface tension and surface energy of Bubble8
ð4Þ
are smaller, thus Bubble8 deforms more seriously. In Fig. 7(D), both
bubble7 and Bubble8 deform seriously. During bubble coalescence,
the bubble size becomes smaller, as shown in Fig. 7(E) which is
contributed to the decrease of surface energy. In Fig. 7(F), bubble
coalescence is finished. It takes about 2.0 ms for bubble
coalescence.
It should be noted that the size difference between Bubble9
(0.18 mm) and bubble10 (0.92 mm) is very large, as shown in
Fig. 8(A). The size of Bubble10 is much larger, so the surface ten-
sion and surface energy of Bubble10 are much smaller. As shown
in Fig. 8(B), Bubble10 deforms more seriously, but Bubble9
1084 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086
deforms slightly. In Fig. 8(C), Bubble10 swallows Bubble9. A new
bubble is formed, as shown in Fig. 8(D). It takes only about 1.0
ms for Bubble10 to swallow Bubble9. So large bubble and small
bubble have high coalescence efficiency.
4.4. Keyhole-induced bubble mechanisms
It can be concluded that there are two mechanisms responsible
for keyhole-induced bubble formation. The first mechanism is the
strong fluid flow and the capillary instability of the whole keyhole
which cause the collapse between rear keyhole wall and front key-
hole wall. This keyhole-induced bubble is named as ‘‘RF-Bubble”,
as shown in Fig. 9, the formation of ‘‘RF- Bubble” can be described
as the following steps: Molten metal behind the upper rear keyhole
wall flows toward the front keyhole wall under the influence of
strong clockwise flow, the formation of bulges at the rear keyhole
wall, keyhole collapse due to capillary instability, and bubble
escape without broken by laser beam.
Fig. 14. Temperature (K) and fluid flow fields of y = 0 cross sectional view at: (A) t = 260 ms; (B) t = 260.5 ms; (C) t = 263 ms; (D) t = 263.5 ms.
It should be noted that the bubble formed by keyhole collapse
between rear keyhole wall and front keyhole wall can be broken
by laser beam. The time needed for breaking the molten bridge is
different. As shown in Fig. 10, at t = 1099.6 ms, the keyhole is open.
At t = 1100 ms, the keyhole is collapsed between rear keyhole wall
and front keyhole wall, and the curvature of the Bridge6 is small. At
t = 1100.3 ms, the molten bridge moves downward along the key-
hole wall due to the high recoil pressure, and the curvature of the
Bridge6 becomes smaller. At t = 1100.6 ms, the molten bridge is
broken by laser beam, and the bubble is disappeared. It takes only
0.6 ms for the molten bridge to be broken by laser beam.
The details of Bridge1 broken by laser beam are shown in
Fig. 11. It can be seen that when the Bridge1 is formed, its curva-
ture is very large. After about 3 ms, as shown in Fig. 11(B), the cur-
vature of Bridge1 is small. In Fig. 11(C), Bridge1 starts to be broken
by laser beam. In Fig. 11(D), the size of Bridge1 becomes smaller.
As shown in Fig. 11(E), the curvature of Bridge1 is still small. In
Fig. 11(F), Bridge1 is completely broken by laser beam.
 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086
It can be concluded that the molten bridge broken by laser
beam is highly relevant to the curvature of molten bridge. The rea-
son can be explained as following: Statically, the molten bridge is
maintained by the pressure balance, as shown in Fig. 12.
Pr ¼ Ph þ Pr
where Pr is the surface tension pressure (Pr = r/r, r is the surface
tension. r is the radius of the molten bridge). Pr is the recoil pres-
sure. Ph is the hydrostatic pressure. Pressure terms on the left side
act to keep the molten bridge, and those of the right side act to
break the molten bridge. When the molten bridge has large radius
and small curvature, the surface tension pressure is small, so the
molten bridge is easily broken by laser beam. When the molten
bridge has small radius and large curvature, the surface tension
pressure is large, so the molten bridge is difficult to be broken by
laser beam.
The formation of ‘‘RF- Bubble” has been widely discussed based
on numerical simulation in previous studies [9,18,20]. In this
study, due to the convenience of numerical simulation, the temper-
ature and curvature of the molten bridge can be obtained, so the
recoil pressure and surface tension pressure can be calculated.
As shown in Fig. 13(A), a large bulge is formed at the rear key-
hole wall, and the molten metal inside the bulge flows to the front
keyhole wall. In Fig. 13(B), due to the strong fluid flow and the cap-
illary instability of the whole keyhole, the keyhole is collapsed and
a molten bridge is generated between rear keyhole wall and front
keyhole wall. The temperature and radius of the molten bridge is
about 2900 K and 0.15 mm, respectively. So the recoil pressure
and surface tension pressure acted on the molten bridge is
2952pa and 5654pa, respectively. The surface tension pressure is
larger than the recoil pressure. As shown in Fig. 13(C), the radius
of molten bridge becomes large, so the curvature of the molten
bridge and the surface tension pressure become small. Besides,
due the multi-reflection of laser beam, a lot of laser energy can
be transported to the molten bridge. The temperature of molten
bridge is larger than the boiling temperature, and its value is about
3300 K. So the recoil pressure is much higher than surface tension
pressure, and the molten bridge is broken by laser beam. The bub-
ble is disappeared, as shown in Fig. 13(D).
The second mechanism is the bubble formation caused by the
instability of the rear keyhole wall. This keyhole-induced bubble
is named as ‘‘R- Bubble”. As shown in Fig. 14(A), a large bulge is
formed at the front keyhole wall. Due to the multi-reflection, laser
energy is reflected to the keyhole bottom and keyhole rear, and the
rear keyhole wall is largely deformed. In Fig. 14(B), the bulge at
front keyhole wall is disappeared, and few laser energy can be
Fig. 15. The ratio of two kinds of keyhole-induced bubble.
1085
ð5Þ
Fig. 16. The distribution of bubble in the weld pool.
reflected to the rear keyhole wall. As shown in Fig. 14(C), the tem-
perature at the bottom of the rear keyhole wall is about 2700 K, but
the curvature is much high. Based on pressure balance, the main
force promote the rear keyhole wall collapse is surface tension
pressure (Pc), and the main force keeps the rear keyhole wall open
is recoil pressure (Pr). Because the surface tension pressure is much
higher than the recoil pressure, the rear keyhole will be collapsed,
causing the bubble formation, as shown in Fig. 14(D).
As shown in Fig. 15, most of the bubbles are ‘‘RF- Bubble” in
both experiment and simulation. This is because the laser power
in the experiment is high, so the molten metal flow behind the rear
keyhole wall is very strong. Besides, the keyhole depth is very
deep, so the much large depth to width ratio makes the keyhole
much capillary unstable. All of these reasons contribute to the easy
collapse of the keyhole between rear keyhole wall and front key-
hole wall, so ‘‘RF- Bubble” is more easily formed.
4.5. Keyhole-induced bubble distribution
It can be seen from Fig. 16 that most of the bubbles are formed
at the keyhole bottom in both experiment and simulation. The rea-
sons can be explained as follows: Firstly, when the whole keyhole
is collapsed, the laser beam directly irradiate on the molten
bridges, and the molten bridges move downward. The molten
bridges at keyhole middle and top are more easily broken by laser
beam, but the bubbles at keyhole bottom have more time to escape
without broken by laser beam. Secondly, due to the effect of mul-
tiple reflection and Fresnel absorption, more energy can be trans-
ferred to keyhole bottom, so the bottom part of rear keyhole wall
is more easily depressed. All of these reasons contribute to the easy
formation of bubbles at the keyhole bottom.
5. Conclusions
Laser welding experiment with the aid of glass is carried out to
clearly observe the keyhole behavior and keyhole-induced bubble
formation. The conclusions can be summarized as follows:
(1) The first formation mechanism of keyhole-induced bubble is
the whole keyhole collapse between rear keyhole wall and
front keyhole wall, which is caused by the strong fluid flow
inside the weld pool and the capillary instability of the key-
hole. When the molten bridge has small radius, large curva-
1086 D. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 127 (2018) 1077–1086
ture and low temperature, the surface tension pressure is
large, and the recoil pressure is low, so the molten bridge
is difficult to be broken, and the bubbles are retained with-
out broken by laser beam. This formation mechanism con-
tributes to most of keyhole induced bubble formation.
(2) The second formation mechanism of keyhole-induced bub-
ble is the collapse of the rear keyhole wall. The increase
absorption of laser energy reflected by the bulge at front
keyhole wall causes the large depression and instability of
the rear keyhole wall.
(3) Bubble coalescence caused by the decrease of surface energy
can be observed at the bottom of the weld pool. Large bubble
and small bubble have high coalescence efficiency. During
bubble coalescence, bubble with larger size deforms more
seriously.
(4) The bubbles are mainly formed at the keyhole bottom.
Conflict of interest
We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative
interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the
work submitted.
Acknowledgments
This research effort was supported by the National Science
Foundation of China [Grant Number: 51475297 and 51505271],
and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China
under the project of LNG shipbuilding.
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