Microstructure characteristics and corrosion behavior of metal inert gas welded dissimilar joints of 6005A modified by Sc and 5083 alloys

The corrosion behavior and microstructure characteristics of metal inert gas(MIG)welded dissimilar joints of the 6005A alloy modified with Sc(designated as 6005A+Sc)and the 5083 alloy were investigated using corrosion tests and microscopy techniques.Results show that the dissimilar joints exhibit strong stress corrosion cracking(SCC)resistance,maintaining substantial strength during slow strain rate tensile tests.Notably,the heat-affected zone(HAZ)and base metal(BM)on the 6005A+Sc side show superior performance in terms of inter-granular corrosion(IGC)and exfoliation corrosion(EXCO)compared to the corresponding zones on the 5083 side.The lower corrosion resistance of the 5083-BM and the 5083-HAZ can be attributed to the presence of numerous Al_(2)Mg_(3)phases and micro-scaled Al_(6)(Mn,Fe)intermetallics,mainly distributed along the rolling direction.Conversely,the enhanced corrosion resistance of the 6005A+Sc-BM and the 6005A+Sc-HAZ can be attributed to the discontinuously distributed grain boundary precipitates(β-Mg_(2)Si),the smaller grain size,and the reduced corrosive current density.

A critical review on solid-state welding of high entropy alloys-processing,microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of joints

The high entropy alloys(HEAs)are the newly developed high-performance materials that have gained significant importance in defence,nuclear and aerospace sector due to their superior mechanical properties,heat resistance,high temperature strength and corrosion resistance.These alloys are manufactured by the equal mixing or larger proportions of five or more alloying elements.HEAs exhibit superior mechanical performance compared to traditional engineering alloys because of the extensive alloying composition and higher entropy of mixing.Solid state welding(SSW)techniques such as friction stir welding(FSW),rotary friction welding(RFW),diffusion bonding(DB)and explosive welding(EW)have been efficiently deployed for improving the microstructural integrity and mechanical properties of welded HEA joints.The HEA interlayers revealed greater potential in supressing the formation of deleterious intermetallic phases and maximizing the mechanical properties of HEAs joints.The similar and dissimilar joining of HEAs has been manifested to be viable for HEA systems which further expands their industrial applications.Thus,the main objective of this review paper is to present a critical review of current state of research,challenges and opportunities and main directions in SSW of HEAs mainly CoCrFeNiMn and Al_xCoCrFeNi alloys.The state of the art of problems,progress and future outlook in SSW of HEAs are critically reviewed by considering the formation of phases,microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of HEAs joints.

Interface characteristic of friction stir welding lap joints of Ti/Al dissimilar alloys

Lap joints of TC1 Ti alloy and LF6 A1 alloy dissimilar materials were fabricated by friction stir welding and corresponding interface characteristics were investigated. Using the selected welding parameters, excellent surface appearance forms, but the interface macrograph for each lap joint cross-section is different. With the increase of welding speed or the decrease of tool rotation rate, the amount of Ti alloy particles stirred into the stir zone by the force of tool pin decreases continuously. Moreover, the failure loads of the lap joints also decrease with increasing welding speed and the largest value is achieved at welding speed of 60 mm/min and tool rotation rate of 1500 r/min, where the interracial zone can be divided into 3 kinds of layers. The microhardness of the lap joint shows an uneven distribution and the maximum hardness of HV 502 is found in the middle of the stir zone.

Sensitivity model for prediction of bead geometry in underwater wet flux cored arc welding

To investigate influence of welding parameters on weld bead geometry in underwater wet flux cored arc welding （FCAW）, orthogonal experiments of underwater wet FCAW were conducted in the hyperbaric chamber at water depth from 0.2 m to 60 m and mathematical models were developed by multiple curvilinear regression method from the experimental data. Sensitivity analysis was then performed to predict the bead geometry and evaluate the influence of welding parameters. The results reveal that water depth has a greater influence on bead geometry than other welding parameters when welding at a water depth less than 10 m. At a water depth deeper than 10 m, a change in travel speed affects the bead geometry more strongly than other welding parameters.

Effect of intermetallic compounds on the fracture behavior of dissimilar friction stir welding joints of Mg and Al alloys

Joining Mg to Al is challenging because of the deterioration of mechanical properties caused by the formation of intermetallic compounds(IMCs) at the Mg/Al interface. This study aims to improve the mechanical properties of welded samples by preventing the fracture location at the Mg/Al interface. Friction stir welding was performed to join Mg to Al at different rotational and travel speeds. The microstructure of the welded samples showed the IMCs layers containing Al12Mg17(γ) and Al3Mg2(β) at the welding zone with a thickness(< 3.5 μm). Mechanical properties were mainly affected by the thickness of the IMCs, which was governed by welding parameters. The highest tensile strength was obtained at 600 r/min and 40 mm/min with a welding efficiency of 80%. The specimens could fracture along the boundary at the thermo-mechanically affected zone in the Mg side of the welded joint.

Effect of filler wire on the joint properties of AZ31 magnesium alloys using CO_2 laser welding

Laser welding with filler wire of AZ31 magnesium alloys is investigated using a CO2 laser experimental system. The effect of three different filler wires on the joint properties is researched. The results show that the weld appearance can be effectively improved when using laser welding with filler wire. The microhardness and tensile strength of joints are almost the same us those of the base metal when ER AZ31 or ER AZ61 wire is adopted. However, when the filler wire of ER 5356 aluminum alloy is used, the mechanical properties of flints become worse. For ER AZ31 and ER AZ61 filler wires, the microstructure of weld zone slws small dendrite grains. In comparison, for ER 5356 filler wire, the weld shows a structure of snowy dendrites and many intermetallic compounds and eutectic phases distribute in the dendrites. These intermetallic constituents with low melting point increase the tendency of hot crack and result in fiagile joint properties. Therefore, ER AZ31 and ER AZ61 wire are more suitable filler material than ER 5356 for CO2 laser welding of AZ31 magnesium alloys.

Effect of Welding Parameters on Dilution and Weld Bead Geometry in Cladding

The effect of pulsed gas metal arc welding （GMAW） variables on the dilution and weld bead geometry in cladding X65 pipeline steel with 316L stainless steel was studied. Using a full factorial method, a series of experiments were carried out to know the effect of wire feed rate, welding speed, distance between gas nozzle and plate, and the vertical angle of welding on dilution and weld bead geometry. The findings indicate that the dilution of weld metal and its dimension i.e. width, height and depth increase with the feed rate, but the contact angle of the bead decreases first and then increases. Meantime, welding speed has an opposite effect except for dilution. There is an interaction effect between welding parameters at the contact angle. The results also show forehand welding or decreasing electrode extension decrease the angle of contact. Finally, a mathematical model is contrived to highlight the relationship between welding variables with dilution and weld bead geometry.

Laser welding of AZ61 magnesium-based alloys Laser welding of AZ61 magnesium-based alloys

Laser welding of AZ61 magnesium alloys was carried out using a CO2 laser welding experimental system. The welding properties of AZ61 sheets with different thickness were investigated. The effect of processing parameters including laser power, welding speed and protection gas flow was researched. The results show that laser power and welding speed have large effect on the weld width and joint dimensions. Protection gas flow has relatively slight effect on the weld width. The property test of three typical joints indicates that microhardness and tensile strength in weld zone are higher than that of AZ61 base metal, Joints with good appearance and excellent mechanical properties can be produced using CO2 laser welding method. The microstructure with small grains in weld zone is believed to be respoasible for the excellent mechanical properties of AZ61 joints.

Experimental study on activating welding for aluminum alloys

TIG welding and EB welding Jbr aluminum alloy 3003 were carried out to study the effects of activating flux on weld penetration of activating welding for aluminum alloys. SiO2 was used as the activating flux. It is found that, SiO2 can increase the weld penetration and decrease the weld width of FBTIG when the flux gap is small. For A-TIG welding and EB welding with focused mode, the weld penetrations and the weld widths increase simultaneoudy. SiO2 has little effect on the weld penetration and weld width of EB welding with defocused mode. It is believed that, change of surface tension temperature gradient is not the main mechanism of SiO2 improving weld penetration of activating welding for aluminum alloys.

Welding Polarity Effects on Weld Spatters and Bead Geometry of Hyperbaric Dry GMAW

Welding polarity has influence on welding stability to some extent, but the specific relationship between welding polarity and weld quality has not been found, especially under the hyperbaric environment. Based on a hyperbaric dry welding experiment system, gas metal arc welding（GMAW） experiments with direct current electrode positive（DCEP） and direct current electrode negative（DCEN） operations are carried out under the ambient pressures of 0.1 MPa, 0.4 MPa, 0.7 MPa and 1.0 MPa to find the influence rule of different welding polarities on welding spatters and weld bead geometry. The effects of welding polarities on the weld bead geometry such as the reinforcement, the weld width and the penetration are discussed. The experimental results show that the welding spatters gradually grow in quantity and size for GMAW with DCEP, while GMAW with DCEN can produce fewer spatters comparatively with the increase of the ambient pressure. Compared with DCEP, the welding current and arc voltage waveforms for DCEN is more stable and the distribution of welding current probability density for DCEN is more concentrated under the hyperbaric environment. When the ambient pressure is increased from 0.1 MPa to 1.0 MPa, the effects of welding polarities on the reinforcement, the weld width and the penetration are as follows： an increase of 0.8 mm for the weld reinforcement is produced by GMAW with DCEN and 1.3 mm by GMAW with DCEP, a decrease of 7.2 mm for the weld width is produced by DCEN and 6.1 mm by DCEP; and an increase of 3.9 mm for the penetration is produced by DCEN and 1.9 mm by DCEP. The proposed research indicates that the desirable stability in the welding procedure can be achieved by GMAW with DCEN operation under the hyperbaric environment.

Quantitative research on the heat affected zone of weave bead welding for Invar alloy

Quantitative research on the heat affected zone （ HAZ） o f weave bead welding （ WBW） joint fo r Invar alloy is carried out in this paper. Based on the morphology and related data analysis of the weld seam, the width difference o f each layer and the forming mechanism are analyzed. Results show that the bottom layer （ Layer 1 ） has the widest HAZ and the smallest fluctuation, which reaches 1 200 ｜jLm. HAZ width o f layer 2 to 5 is relatively narrower which is basically below 600 jjim, while the amplitude fluctuation is greater. The main reason lies in the welding path. The long straight welding without weave causes the base metal near the groove fully melts which causes by the long straight welding without weave, while welding with weave leads to the uneven and inadequate melting of metal near groove.

Application of the wavelet packet and its energy spectrum to identify nugget splash during the aluminum alloys spot welding

Nugget splash during aluminum alloys spot welding has a detrimental effect on weld nugget integrity, strength and durability of the welded joints. This investigation is performed to identify nugget splash from voltage signals because these are easily accessible on-line. In the present work, we propose a novel method based on the wavelet packet transform and its energy spectrum for pattern recognition of splash signal. The result demonstrates that this novel method is more accuracy and a useful way of monitoring the spot welding quality.

Droplet transition for plasma-MIG welding on aluminium alloys

The synchronous acquisition system of droplet image inspection and arc electric signals were established and the droplet transition characteristics of aluminum alloys were researched in the plasma-MIG welding process.Typical droplet transition modes include globular transfer mode,short circuiting transfer mode,metastable spray transfer mode and projected transfer mode.The result indicates that MIG droplet transfer frequency and droplet transfer modes are changed by introducing the plasma arc in the plasma-MIG welding process compared with the MIG welding on the aluminum alloys,which broadens the range of welding parameters when the stable welding process proceeds.The metastable spray transfer and projected transfer mode are proved to be the most optimal modes by comparing the stability of electronic signal,droplet transition,weld appearance and weld penetration.

Friction stir welding of AZ31 magnesium alloys processed by equal channel angular pressing

Equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） is an effective thermo-mechanical process to make ultrafine grains. An investigation was carried out on the friction stir welding （FSW） of ECAPed AZ31 magnesium alloys with a thickness of 15 mm. For different process parameters, the optimum FSW conditions of ECAPed AZ31 magnesium alloys were examined. The basic characterization of weld formation and the mechanical properties of the joints were discussed. The results show that the effect of welding parameters on welding quality was evident and welding quality was sensitive to welding speed. Sound joints could be obtained when the welding speed was 37.5 mm/min and the rotation speed of the stir tool was 750 r/min. The maximum tensile strength （270 MPa） of FSW was 91% that of the base materials. The value of microhardness varied between advancing side and retreating side because of the speed field near the pin of the stir tool, which weakened the deformed stress field. The value of microhardness of the welding zone was lower than that of the base materials. The maximum value was located near the heat-affected zone （HAZ）. Remarkable ductile character was observed from the fracture morphologies of welded joints.

Numerical simulation and experimental study of hybrid laser-electric arc welding between dissimilar Mg alloys

This work aims to establish a suitable numerical simulation model for hybrid laser-electric arc heat source welding of dissimilar Mg alloys between AZ31 and AZ80. Based on the energy conservation law and Fourier’s law of heat conduction, the differential equations of the three-dimensional temperature field for nonlinear transient heat conduction are built. According to the analysis of nonlinear transient heat transfer, the equations representing initial conditions and boundary conditions are obtained. The “double ellipsoidal heat source + 3D Gaussian heat source”combination was chosen to construct the laser-electric arc hybrid heat source. The weld bead morphologies and the distribution of temperature, stress, displacement and plastic strains are numerically simulated. The actual welding experiments were performed by a hybrid laser-electric arc welding machine. The interaction mechanism between laser and electric arc in the hybrid welding of Mg alloys is discussed in detail. The hybrid heat source can promote the absorption of laser energy and electric arc in the molten pool, resulting in more uniform energy distribution in the molten pool and the corresponding improvement of welding parameters. This work can provide theoretical guidance and data supports for the optimization of the hybrid laser-electric arc welding processes for Mg alloys.

Effect of welding current and speed on occurrence of humping bead in high-speed GMAW

The developed mathematical model of humping formation mechanism in high-speed gas metal arc welding （GMAW） is used to analyze the effects of welding current and welding speed on the occurrence of humping bead. It considers both the momentum and heat content of backward flowing molten jet inside weld pool. Three-dimensional geometry of weld pool, the spacing between two adjacent humps and hump height along humping weld bead are calculated under different levels of welding current and welding speed. It shows that wire feeding rate, power intensity and the moment of backward flowing molten jet are the major factors on humping bead formation.

Microstructural analyses of aluminum–magnesium–silicon alloys welded by pulsed Nd: YAG laser welding

Revealing grains and very fine dendrites in a solidified weld metal of aluminum–magnesium–silicon alloys is difficult and thus,there is no evidence to validate the micro-and meso-scale physical models for hot cracks. In this research, the effect of preheating on the microstructure and hot crack creation in the pulsed laser welding of AA 6061 was investigated by an optical microscope and field emission electron microscopy. Etching was carried out in the gas phase using fresh Keller’s reagent for 600 s. The results showed that the grain size of the weld metal was proportional to the grain size of the base metal and was independent of the preheating temperature. Hot cracks passed the grain boundaries of the weld and the base metal. Lower solidification rates in the preheated samples led to coarser arm spacing;therefore, a lower cooling rate. Despite the results predicted by the micro and meso-scale models, lower cooling rates resulted in increased hot cracks. The cracks could grow in the weld metal after solidification;therefore, hot cracks were larger than predicted by the hot crack prediction models.

Influence of CO_2 laser welding parameters on the microstructure, metallurgy, and mechanical properties of Mg-Al alloys

This study investigated the microstructural characteristics, metallurgy, microhardness, and tensile strength of AZ31 and AZ61 magnesium alloy weldments, fabricated in a CO2 laser welding process with the adjustment of various parameters. The results show that the AZ31 weldment contains equiaxed grains within the fusion zone （FZ）. By contrast, the FZ of the AZ61 weldment contains refined cellular grains and the partially melted zone （PMZ） contains bulk grains. We infer that the difference in aluminum content between the two magne-sium alloys results in different supercooling rates and solid grain structures. For both weldments, the ultimate tensile strength （UTS） de-creases following the CO2 laser welding process. However, no significant difference is noted between the UTS of the two weldments, sug-gesting that tensile strength is insensitive to the Al content of the magnesium alloy. The CO2 laser welding process is shown to increase the microhardness of both magnesium alloys. Furthermore, grain refinement is responsible for the maximum hardness in the FZ of both weld-ments. The AZ61 weldment has a higher content of Al, resulting in a greater grain refinement.

Optimization of back bead geometry in the PMAG-TIG twin arc hybrid root welding process using grey based Taguchi method

This study investigated multi-response optimization of the pulse metal active gas-tungsten inert gas( PMAG-TIG) twin arc hybrid root welding process for an optimal parametric combination to yield favorable back bead geometry of welded joints using grey relational analysis and Taguchi method.Eighteen experimental runs based on an orthogonal array following the Taguchi method were performed to derive objective functions to be optimized within the experimental domain.The objective functions were selected in relation to parameters of PMAG-TIG twin arc root welding back bead geometry: back bead width to root reinforcement ratio and deposited metal height.The Taguchi approach was followed by grey relational analysis to solve the multi-response optimization problem.The significance of factors on overall quality characteristics of the weld joint was also evaluated quantitatively using analysis of variance.Optimal results were verified through additional experiments,and showed to feasibility of applying grey relation analysis in combination with Taguchi technique for continuous improvement of product quality in the manufacturing industry.

Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys

Friction stir welding(FSW),a new solid-state welding technology invited in the early 1990s,enables us weld aluminum alloys and titanium alloys etc.The processing of FSW,the microstructure in FSW alloys and the factors influencing weld quality are introduced.The complex factors affecting the properties are researched.