Spatter in laser welding

TLDR

Spatter, the ejection of melt droplets from a laser weld pool, causes underfill, undercuts, craters, blowholes, and blowouts that degrade weld mechanical properties. This study systematically describes the various spatter phenomena observed during laser welding. The authors propose a categorization system to enable comparison and synthesis of spatter research findings. The proposed framework should help researchers collaborate more effectively in future work.

Abstract

Spatter, the ejection of melt from a weld pool, is a major problem whenever it occurs in a welding process. The ejection of droplets from the weld metal results in a weld with underfill, undercuts, craters, blowholes, or blowouts—all of which can have a detrimental effect on the mechanical properties of the weld. This paper presents a systematic description of the different types of spatter phenomena which occur during laser welding. A categorization system is proposed to facilitate the comparison and combination of research findings on spatter. This should allow researchers in this area to act as a more effective team in future.