Hybrid Laser Arc Welding for Thick Plate High Performance Steels

Welding of HPS70W is well understood when using submerged arc welding (SAW) and shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) techniques. A Welding Advisory Group (WAG) which consisted of technical advisors from the Navy, AISI, and FHWA, major filler metal manufacturers, and steel producers determined the guidelines for welding HPS70W. As a result, comprehensive guidelines and welding procedures exist for SAW and SMAW methods. While SAW methods produce high quality welds in high performance steels, innovative welding methods are being sought in the marine, transportation, oil and gas industries to replace SAW due to the extensive time required to weld thick joints. For example, in bridge fabrication butt splices between standard mill plates with plate thickness greater than 3 inches can take up to 15 hours to weld depending on the length of the girder flange. The overall objective of Phase II is to demonstrate that the HLAW cost benefit related to the reduced labor, welding consumables, and distortion merit investment in high capital cost HLAW equipment.