Numerical modeling and experimental study of thermally induced residual stress in the direct diode laser heat treatment of dual-phase 980 steel

The direct diode laser application has been found useful in the localized heat treatment of metal parts because of its wider beam and more uniform energy distribution with respect to other lasers with Gaussian-like energy distribution. In this study, an uncoupled thermomechanical finite element model is developed to study the temperature field and thermally induced stress evolution in high-strength dual phase (DP) 980 steel during its direct diode laser heat treatment. Thermal analysis results are experimentally validated through thermocouples and then input into a mechanical model as transient temperature loading in order to acquire the thermally induced stresses and strains. The effect of martensite phase transformation on residual stress distribution in heat-treated DP980 steel is considered. An X-ray diffraction technique is used to measure the residual stress distribution at the top surface of the heat-treated coupons of DP980 steel. The numerical results show that compressive stresses are located at the laser-material interaction zone. After heat treatment, tensile stresses are retained at the heat-treated DP980 steel coupons. There is qualitative agreement between the numerically predicted and experimentally measured residual stresses. The effect of the overlapping ratio on the residual stress and hardness of the heat-treated DP980 steel is also experimentally and numerically investigated. © 2013 Springer-Verlag London.