Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack

The escalation in electric vehicle (EV) adoption necessitates advanced laser joining techniques for critical battery pack components. However, using a standard Gaussian single-mode laser for joining similar and dissimilar material combinations e.g. aluminium/aluminium (Al/Al), aluminium/copper (Al/C...

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Main Authors: Nikhil Kumar, Venkat Vivek Pamarthi, Christopher Harris, Elliot Burbidge, Iain Masters
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Advanced Joining Processes
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666330924000669
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author Nikhil Kumar
Venkat Vivek Pamarthi
Christopher Harris
Elliot Burbidge
Iain Masters
author_facet Nikhil Kumar
Venkat Vivek Pamarthi
Christopher Harris
Elliot Burbidge
Iain Masters
author_sort Nikhil Kumar
collection DOAJ
description The escalation in electric vehicle (EV) adoption necessitates advanced laser joining techniques for critical battery pack components. However, using a standard Gaussian single-mode laser for joining similar and dissimilar material combinations e.g. aluminium/aluminium (Al/Al), aluminium/copper (Al/Cu) for tab-to-busbar connections often led to defects such as cracks and intermetallic compound (IMC) formation. This paper investigates using a dual-mode laser consisting of a core and ring to overcome these issues. In this research, 0.3 mm Al and Cu tabs were welded with 1.5 mm Al and Cu busbars using a 6 kW IPG dual-mode laser at a high welding speed of 1 m s-1. The study focussed on the effects of dual-mode parameters (i.e. core and ring beam power) and welding speed on tab-to-busbar connections, analysing the interplay between electrical contact resistance, temperature and IMC formation through electrical resistance tests, elemental and strength analysis. The results show, that using the ring beam along with the core beam reduces excessive melting and evaporation of Al and minimises the intermixing of Al and Cu solid solutions in the joint. In the Cu tab-to-Al busbar joint, increasing the ring beam intensity effectively reduces the convexity defect found with single-mode beam attributed to improved keyhole stability. Overall, in dual-mode laser welding, the ring beam protects the keyhole and reduces the IMC formation, while the core beam, with its high peak intensities, controls the penetration depth. This necessitates balancing both core and ring beam intensities for optimal weld quality. Further, the joint resistance for Cu tab-to-Cu busbar (51.90 μΩ) joint was the lowest followed by Cu tab-to-Al busbar (68.38 μΩ) joint, Al tab-to-Cu busbar (84.44 μΩ) joint and Al tab-to-Al busbar (114.12 μΩ) joint.
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publishDate 2024-11-01
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spelling doaj-art-500b6cf43d8f4a47a1a5c47672cdd8a52025-08-20T02:50:16ZengElsevierJournal of Advanced Joining Processes2666-33092024-11-011010025010.1016/j.jajp.2024.100250Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery packNikhil Kumar0Venkat Vivek Pamarthi1Christopher Harris2Elliot Burbidge3Iain Masters4WMG, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; Corresponding authors.WMG, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; Corresponding authors.Jaguar Land Rover Limited, Coventry CV3 4LF, UKIPG Photonics Limited, Coventry CV7 9RE, UKWMG, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKThe escalation in electric vehicle (EV) adoption necessitates advanced laser joining techniques for critical battery pack components. However, using a standard Gaussian single-mode laser for joining similar and dissimilar material combinations e.g. aluminium/aluminium (Al/Al), aluminium/copper (Al/Cu) for tab-to-busbar connections often led to defects such as cracks and intermetallic compound (IMC) formation. This paper investigates using a dual-mode laser consisting of a core and ring to overcome these issues. In this research, 0.3 mm Al and Cu tabs were welded with 1.5 mm Al and Cu busbars using a 6 kW IPG dual-mode laser at a high welding speed of 1 m s-1. The study focussed on the effects of dual-mode parameters (i.e. core and ring beam power) and welding speed on tab-to-busbar connections, analysing the interplay between electrical contact resistance, temperature and IMC formation through electrical resistance tests, elemental and strength analysis. The results show, that using the ring beam along with the core beam reduces excessive melting and evaporation of Al and minimises the intermixing of Al and Cu solid solutions in the joint. In the Cu tab-to-Al busbar joint, increasing the ring beam intensity effectively reduces the convexity defect found with single-mode beam attributed to improved keyhole stability. Overall, in dual-mode laser welding, the ring beam protects the keyhole and reduces the IMC formation, while the core beam, with its high peak intensities, controls the penetration depth. This necessitates balancing both core and ring beam intensities for optimal weld quality. Further, the joint resistance for Cu tab-to-Cu busbar (51.90 μΩ) joint was the lowest followed by Cu tab-to-Al busbar (68.38 μΩ) joint, Al tab-to-Cu busbar (84.44 μΩ) joint and Al tab-to-Al busbar (114.12 μΩ) joint.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666330924000669Dual-mode laserTab-to-busbar interconnectsJoint strengthIMC formationJoint resistance and temperature
spellingShingle Nikhil Kumar
Venkat Vivek Pamarthi
Christopher Harris
Elliot Burbidge
Iain Masters
Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
Journal of Advanced Joining Processes
Dual-mode laser
Tab-to-busbar interconnects
Joint strength
IMC formation
Joint resistance and temperature
title Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
title_full Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
title_fullStr Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
title_full_unstemmed Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
title_short Dual-mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab-to-busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
title_sort dual mode laser beam welding of similar and dissimilar material tab to busbar for electric vehicle battery pack
topic Dual-mode laser
Tab-to-busbar interconnects
Joint strength
IMC formation
Joint resistance and temperature
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666330924000669
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