Observation of the keyhole behavior, spatter, and keyhole-induced bubble formation in laser welding of a steel/glass sandwich

Laser welding of a steel/glass sandwich is carried out to clearly observe the keyhole behavior, spatter, and keyhole-induced bubble formation. The formation mechanisms of the spatter and keyhole-induced bubble are analyzed, and the relationship between the spatter and keyhole-induced bubble formation is also discussed. There are five necessary steps for the spatter formation around the keyhole: the formation of the bulges at the keyhole wall, the decrease of the keyhole entrance size caused by the upward flow of the bulges, the formation of the melt column around the keyhole, the increasing of the melt column size, and the spatter formation around the keyhole. The decrease of the keyhole entrance size contributes to the increase of the vapor shear stress, and thus accelerates the spatter formation. The large deformation of the top rear keyhole wall decreases the vertical component of the vapor shear stress, so few spatters are formed at the rear keyhole wall. Two types of the keyhole-induced bubble are formed by the whole keyhole collapse between the front keyhole wall and rear keyhole wall, and the rear keyhole wall collapse. The influence of the keyhole-induced bubble formation on the spatter formation is not obvious.