Contrasting the Mechanical and Metallurgical Properties of Laser Welded and Gas Tungsten Arc Welded S500MC Steel

S500MC steel is a grade of high-strength low-alloy steel (HSLA) which is widely used in the automotive industry and for agricultural machinery and equipment. Considering properties of this alloy, selection of the welding process and parameters becomes essential to ensure that HSLA assemblies meet specific service requirements. In this work, mechanical and metallurgical properties of S500MC steel produced by autogenous laser beam welding (LBW) and automatic gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) were compared. Tensile testing, metallography, hardness testing, and fractographic analysis were performed on the welded specimens, revealing that the heat input by these welding processes caused significant microstructural changes within the joints. In LBW samples, the heat input about 10 times lower than that in GTAW produced a finer microstructure, narrower fusion zone width, and smaller heat-affected zone. All fractures of the GTAW specimens occurred in the base metal, while all fractures of the LBW specimens occurred in the weld zone, both regardless of the heat input. GTAW joints exhibited higher mechanical properties (even higher than those obtained in the base metal) as compared to LBW joints.