LAUSR

Abstract Dual phase steels have been used in safety components for the automotive industry and represents a standard in terms of energy absorbing steel alloys. After welding, these components present a martensitic transformation in the fusion and heat-affected zones with an intrinsic brittleness. The current contribution presents a procedure where the DP980 steel sheet is kept at a given temperature during and after the laser weld in order to generate bainite instead of martensite. The results using an isothermal treatment at 527 °C shown a microstructure composed by grain boundary and bainitic ferrite and retained austenite with a constant hardness in the base material and heat-affected and fusion zones of 280 HV. The room temperature welds present hardness values between 320 and 500 HV. The high-temperature welds also shown a decrease in the maximum residual stress at the weld centerline by 1/3, with a consequential reduction in the warp of the joined component.