Laser welding properties of 1800 MPa press hardening steel and low-alloy high-strength steel CR340LA

A laser tailor welding experiment of 1800 MPa press hardening steel and low-alloy high-strength steel CR340LA was carried out using an optical fiber laser. The microstructure evolution and hot stamping formability of tailor-welded blanks were investigated under different laser welding powers and welding speeds, and the mechanical properties and distribution of the microhardness of the welding joints were analyzed and studied. Results show that the comprehensive mechanical properties of the laser tailor-welded blanks have little difference under three welding processes. The loss of elongation and tensile strength caused by welding joints is within 28.3% and 9.1% of the base metal. After laser welding, the fusion zone of the tailor-welded blanks is a martensite structure, which is bulky and has high hardness. The microstructure in the heat-affected zone on both sides is mainly ferrite and martensite, and there is no obvious softening zone in the joint under the welding processes. The tensile specimens of the tailor-welded blanks are all broken in the CR340LA base metal zone, approximately 12 mm away from the weld center, and a weld heave phenomenon occurs, which may be due to the uneven distribution of material properties after welding. Hot stamping of the tailor-welded blanks with a welding power and welding speed of 4000 W and 0.18 m·s⁻¹, respectively, was carried out at high temperature, and no weld cracks were found during the experiment. Thus, these tailor-welded blanks have good performance and meet the requirements of automobile laser tailor-welded blanks. The tensile test results show that the fracture location of the specimens is the same as that before hot stamping, both of which are located in the CR340LA base metal area. During the stretching process, the fusion zone shifts to the side of the high-strength base metal, which results in a stress concentration and necking fracture on the side of the weak-strength base metal.