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Experimental Investigation of the Laser Forming of Al 2024 Aluminum Alloy
K. Venkadeshwaran, D. Misra, S. Das and K. Shanker

Laser forming involves scanning a focused or partially defocused laser beam over the surface of a workpiece to cause localized heating resulting in angular deflection along the scan line. The aim of this experimental study is to identify and characterize the response related to the effects of process parameters in terms of bending angle for laser forming of Al 2024 aluminium alloy sheet using a fibre laser source. The results show that the bend angle increases with number of irradiations, and decreases with scan velocity and laser beam spot diameter. The multiple-irradiation laser bending process is affected by inter-pass time between successive scanning. The effects of sheet size and constant line energy are also studied. Microstructural analysis reveals that the heat affected zone (HAZ) is characterized by recrystallization and phase transformation, due to high temperature experienced during laser forming.

Keywords: Fibre laser, Al 2024 aluminium alloy, laser forming, laser bending, angle, heat affected zone (HAZ), microstructure

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