Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-to-Al dissimilar welded joints with an Ag interlayer using ultrasonic spot welding

Lightweight ZEK100-0 Mg alloy and A16022-T43 Al alloy with an Ag interlayer were joined via ultrasonic spot welding(USW),focusing on the microstructural change and tensile lap shear strength of the welded joints in relation to welding energy.Mg/Al interface was superseded by Mg/Ag and Al/Ag interfaces,and unfavorable Mg门A-intermetallic compound was eliminated.Ag foil was observed to be intact in the nugget center,while it was broken or dissolved at the nugget edge at high welding energy levels.The diffusion layer at the Mg/Ag interface consisted of two distinctive sub-layers:Mg3Ag intermetallic compound adjoining Ag foil,and Mg3Ag-l-Mg eutectic structure adjacent to Mg.Only a thin diffusion layer consisting mainly of Ag3Al occurred al lhe Al/Ag interface.The tensile lap shear strength first increased,reached its peak value,and then decreased with increasing welding energy.The shear strength achieved in the present study was〜31%higher than that of the joint without interlayer.Interfacial failure occurred at all energy levels,with Ag foil particles or fragments being stuck on both Mg and Al sides due to its intense interaction with Mg and Al via accelerated diffusion during USW.The results obtained pave the way for the challenging dissimilar welding between Mg and Al alloys.

Dissimilar ultrasonic spot welding of Mg-Al and Mg-high strength low alloy steel

Sound dissimilar lap joints were achieved via ultrasonic spot welding （USW）, which is a solid-state joining technique. The addition of Sn interlayer during USW effectively blocked the formation of brittle Al12Mg17 intermetallic compound in the Mg-Al dissimilar joints without interlayer, and led to the presence of a distinctive composite-like Sn and Mg2Sn eutectic structure in both Mg- Al and Mg-high strength low alloy （HSLA） steel joints. The lap shear strength of both types of dissimilar joints with a Sn interlayer was significantly higher than that of the corresponding dissimilar joints without interlayer. Failure during the tensile lap shear tests occurred mainly in the mode of cohesive failure in the Mg- Al dissimilar joints and in the mode of partial cohesive failure and partial nugget pull-out in the Mg-HSLA steel dissimilar joints.

Interface microstructure and formation mechanism of ultrasonic spot welding for Al-Ti dissimilar metals

The present study focuses on interface microstructure and joint formation.AA6061 aluminum alloy(Al)and commercial pure titanium(Ti)joints were welded by ultrasonic spot welding(USW).The welding energy was 1100-3200 J.The Al-Ti joint appearance and interface microstructure were observed mainly via optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy.Results indicated that a good joint can be achieved only with proper welding energy of 2150 J.No significant intermetallic compound(IMC)was found under all conditions.The high energy barriers of Al-Ti and difficulties in diffusion were the main reasons for the absence of IMC according to kinetic analysis.The heat input is crucial for the material plastic flow and bonding area,which plays an important role in the joint formation.

Galvanic corrosion of AZ31B joined to dual-phase steel with and without Zn layer by ultrasonic and friction stir welding

Galvanic corrosion of AZ31B joined with bare or Zn-coated DP590 steel by ultrasonic spot welding or linear friction stir welding was quantitatively studied by pre-defining anode and cathode in the lap joint samples. Corrosion volume and depth from Mg anode surfaces exposed to 0.1 M sodium chloride solution was analyzed as functions of cathode surface type and welding method. Characterization of as-welded joints was performed to identify any microstructural feature of the bonding zone that could impact galvanic corrosion behavior.COMSOL modeling with modified user subroutine was conducted to simulate the progression of Mg corrosion in the same joint and electrode configurations used for the corrosion experiments. The experimental results indicated that Zn-coated cathode surface can reduce Mg galvanic corrosion significantly as galvanic polarization and cathodic current on Zn-coated surface remained relatively low for Mg in the weld joints.COMSOL modeling described the growth of Mg galvanic corrosion in a reasonable manner but showed limitation by underestimating the corrosion volume as it did not capture self-corrosion.

Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure of Ultrasonic-Spot-Welded Al/Cu Dissimilar Joints with Zn Interlayer

The effect of Zn interlayer on the microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of dissimilar ultrasonic-spot-welded Al/Cu joints was investigated.The tensile lap shear strength in relation to welding energy was analyzed.The experimental results show that two intermetallic compounds,Cu5Zn8 and Al2Cu,were generated at the interface of the ultrasonic-spotwelded Al/Cu joint with a Zn interlayer.The primary joining mechanisms of the joint included the intermetallic compound bonding and metallic bonding caused by solid shear plastic deformation.Meanwhile,with increasing welding energy,the plastic deformation of the material became more substantial.With increasing welding energy,the tensile lap shear strength of the joints first increased and then decreased for the ultrasonic-spot-welded Al/Cu joints with and without Zn interlayers.Under the energy input of 700 J,the bearing load capacity of the ultrasonic-spot-welded Al/Cu joints with a Zn interlayer improved signifi cantly due to the observed intermetallic compound(Cu5Zn8).