Effects of filler on the microstructure and corrosion of similar and dissimilar gas inert tungsten arc welding aluminum alloys joints

Abstract

Welding of dissimilar aluminum alloys has been widely used in many industrial applications. However, the selection of filler type still attracts significant interest in the welding research area. The present work concerns the effect of filler metal on the microstructure and corrosion of weld joints of dissimilar aluminum alloys. AA 5083 and AA 6082 alloys were welded by tungsten inert gas welding (GTAW) using filler metals ER 4043 and ER 5356. The microstructure observations and the corrosion test of the weld joints were carried out. Solidification cracks were observed in the ER 4043 weld zone, whereas defect-free joints were obtained using a mix filler welding process. A galvanic corrosion was observed on the boundary between the filler rod ER 4043 weld zone and AA 5083 base alloy. From the corrosion standpoint of view, the using of ER 4043 electrodes is not preferred for welding 5000 series aluminum alloys, whereas ER 5356 filler electrode is more favorable than ER 4043 filler electrode either for dissimilar welding of AA 5083 and AA 6082 alloys or individual welding of both aluminum alloys. No galvanic corrosion is observed between ER 4043 fillers and AA 6082 base alloy.

Multi-Objective Optimization of Novel Aluminum Welding Fillers Reinforced with Niobium Diboride Nanoparticles

“…assessing weld quality and determining the resulting porosity and weld uniformity [2][3][4][5][6][7]. In addition, destructive test methods are standard quality tests that confirm weld effectiveness [8].…”

“…The ingots were cleaned and cold rolled in a manual rolling machine until the rods reached about 2.4 mm, as recommended by AWS, to achieve better joints between the base plate metal (i.e., AA6061) and the filler (Figure 2i,j). A machined single V-groove (60 • angle) was used to test the weld made from the nanoparticle-reinforced filler material [7]. AA6061 commercial aluminum alloy plates served as the welding test's base material, following the AWS 5-10 standard (Figure 5) [25].…”

“…Various test methods are employed to evaluate weld quality and characteristics based on the compatibility of the joined materials. Metallographic analyses are standard techniques for assessing weld quality and determining the resulting porosity and weld uniformity [2][3][4][5][6][7]. In addition, destructive test methods are standard quality tests that confirm weld effectiveness [8].…”