Interaction Characteristics of Laser and Plasma Energy Sources in Welding Processes of Steels and Alloys. Review

This work reviews the current state of development in laser-plasma welding processes for steels and alloys. The novelty of the work lies in revealing the effectiveness of the combined effect of compressed arc plasma and laser radiation with a wavelength of 1.03 – 1.07 μm (mainly from fiber lasers) on steels and alloys and analyzing the possibilities of industrial application of laser-plasma welding, in particular in the pipe industry. Also, for the first time, several scientific papers have been compared, revealing the physical mechanisms underlying the synergistic (hybrid) effect of combining laser and plasma. Specifically, it was determined that increasing the efficiency of the synergistic effect is related to improved plasma arc combustion within the ionized vapor plume generated by focused laser radiation, and also to simplified laser keyhole formation due to plasma arc.