Electrode pitting in resistance spot welding of aluminum alloy 5182

Electrode pitting was investigated in resistance spot welding of 1.5-mm-thick sheet aluminum alloy 5182 using a medium-frequency direct-current welder and electrodes with a tip face curvature radius of 50 mm and tip face diameter of 10 mm. Detailed investigation of the metallurgical interactions between the copper electrode and aluminum alloy sheet was carried out using scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that electrode degradation, which eventually leads to weld failure, proceeded in four basic steps: aluminum pickup, electrode alloying with aluminum, electrode tip face pitting, and cavitation. Since pitting and cavitation result from Al pickup and alloying, periodic electrode cleaning could extend electrode tip life by limiting the buildup of Al on the tip face. This work is part of the effort to improve electrode tip life in resistance spot welding of aluminum alloys for automotive applications.     

Nugget formation and growth during resistance spot welding of aluminium alloy 5182

Abstract

Surface interaction at the worksheet/worksheet interface during resistance spot welding of aluminium alloy 5182 with spherical tip electrodes was investigated. Oxide layer cracking and nugget formation were focused. Both experimental work and finite element analysis were employed to explain the contact behaviour at this interface. It was found that sheet separation and thus bending occurred during the squeezing phase of the resistance spot welding process and suggested a profound influence on nugget formation. The sheet separation caused enlarged and aligned cracks in the surface oxide layers which led to a good metal‐to‐metal contact near the periphery of the faying surface. High current densities which occurred at the beginning of the current phase caused significant heat generation in this zone. Consequently, the melting at the faying surface started near the periphery and moved in towards the central zone of the contact region to produce a ‘doughnut shaped’ nugget with a filled‐in but thin central region.

On a étudié l'interaction de la surface à l'interface feuille de travail‐feuille de travail lors du soudage par points par résistance de l'alliage d'aluminium 5182 avec des électrodes à bout sphérique. On s'est concentré sur la fracture de la couche d'oxyde et sur la formation du noyau. On a utilisé tant le travail expérimental que l'analyse par éléments finis pour expliquer le comportement de contact à cette interface. On a trouvé que la séparation de la feuille, et donc le pliage, se produisait lors de la phase de compression du procédé de soudage par points par résistance, suggérant une influence profonde sur la formation du noyau. La séparation de la feuille résultait en fissures agrandies et alignées dans les couches d'oxyde de la surface, ce qui amenait un bon contact de métal à métal près de la périphérie de l'aire de contact. Des densités élevées de courant, qui se produisaient au début de la phase de courant, résultaient en un dégagement important de chaleur dans cette zone. Conséquemment, la fonte de l'aire de contact commençait près de la périphérie et se déplaçait vers la zone centrale de la région de contact, produisant un noyau en forme d'anneau avec une région centrale remplie, mais mince.     

Calculation of weld metal composition change in high-power conduction mode carbon dioxide laser-welded stainless steels

The use of high-power density laser beam for welding of many important alloys often leads to appreciable changes in the composition and properties of the weld metal. The main difficulties in the estimation of laser-induced vaporization rates and the resulting composition changes are the determination of the vapor condensation rates and the incorporation of the effect of the welding plasma in suppressing vaporization rates. In this article, a model is presented to predict the weld metal composition change during laser welding. The velocity and temperature fields in the weld pool are simulated through numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equation and the equation of conservation of energy. The computed temperature fields are coupled with ve-locity distribution functions of the vapor molecules and the equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and the translational kinetic energy in the gas phase for the calculation of the evap-oration and the condensation rates. Results of carefully controlled physical modeling experi-ments are utilized to include the effect of plasma on the metal vaporization rate. The predicted area of cross section and the rates of vaporization are then used to compute the resulting com-position change. The calculated vaporization rates and the weld metal composition change for the welding of high-manganese 201 stainless steels are found to be in fair agreement with the corresponding experimental results.     

Free surface flow and heat transfer in conduction mode laser welding

Temperature profiles and fluid flow fields in a weld pool are simulated through numerical solutions of Navier-Stokes equation and the equation of conservation of energy for low power laser welding in conduction mode. Experimentally determined weld pool surface topography, peak temperature, and the secondary dendrite arm spacings are found to be in fair agreement with the corresponding theoretically calculated values.     

微量Sc、Zr和Er对5182铝合金焊缝组织与性能的影响

在ER5356铝合金焊丝中添加了微量的Sc、Zr和Er,制备出微合金化ER5356铝合金焊丝.使用微合金化焊丝焊接4 mm厚的5182铝合金板材,焊接采用手工钨极惰性气体保护焊.利用金相显微镜,X射线衍射以及透射电镜研究了微量的Sc、Zr和Er对5182铝合金焊缝处显微组织的影响.结果表明,在ER5356铝合金焊丝中添加的Sc、Zr和Er可以有效改善5182铝合金板材焊后焊缝处的显微组织,显著细化组织晶粒.其中,ER5356铝合金焊丝中单独添加0.3%Sc焊后效果最佳.     

CO2 laser beam welding of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy thin plate

Laser beam welding is an attractive welding process for age-hardened aluminum alloys, because its low heat input minimizes the width of weld fusion and heat-affected zones (HAZs). In the present work, 1-mm-thick age-hardened Al-Mg-Si alloy, 6061-T6, plates were welded with full penetration using a 2.5-kW CO₂ laser. Fractions of porosity in the fusion zones were less than 0.05 pct in bead-on-plate welding and less than 0.2 pct in butt welding with polishing the groove surface before welding. The width of a softened region in the-laser beam welds was less than 1/4 times that of a tungsten inert gas (TIG) weld. The softened region is caused by reversion of strengthening β″ (Mg₂Si) precipitates due to weld heat input. The hardness values of the softened region in the laser beam welds were almost fully recovered to that of the base metal after an artificial aging treatment at 448 K for 28.8 ks without solution annealing, whereas those in the TIG weld were not recovered in a partly reverted region. Both the bead-on-plate weld and the butt weld after the postweld artificial aging treatment had almost equivalent tensile strengths to that of the base plate.     

Weld metal ductility in aluminum tailor welded blanks

The objective of the research described in this article was to characterize and numerically describe the ductility of weld material in aluminum tailor welded blanks under uniaxial tension conditions. Aluminum tailor welded blanks consist of multiple thickness and alloy sheet materials welded together into a single, variable thickness blank. To evaluate the mechanical properties of the weld material in these tailor welded blanks, a series of tensile specimens containing varying ratios of weld and monolithic material in the gage area of the specimen were tested. These experimental results show that increasing the amount of weld in the cross-sectional area of the specimen decreases the ductility of the specimen and that the weld characteristics have a pronounced impact on ductility. Using the experimental results and classical tensile instability and necking models, a numerical model was developed to describe the ductility of the weld metal. The model involves basic material properties and an initial imperfection level in both the weld and monolithic materials. The specimens studied were produced from 1- to 2-mm AA5182-O aluminum alloy sheet material welded into blanks using an autogenous gas tungsten arc welding process.     

Parameters controlling microstructure and hardness during friction-stir welding of precipitation-hardenable aluminum alloy 6063

The aluminum (Al) alloys 6063-T5 and T4 were friction-stir welded at different tool rotation speeds (R), and then distributions of the microstructure and hardness were examined in these welds. The maximum temperature of the welding thermal cycle rose with increasing R values. The recrystallized grain size of the weld increased exponentially with increasing maximum temperature. The relationship between the grain size and the maximum temperature satisfied the static grain-growth equation. In the as-welded condition, 6063-T5 Al was softened around the weld center, whereas 6063-T4 Al showed homogeneous hardness profiles. Different R values did not result in significant differences in the hardness profile in these welds, except for the width of the softened region in the weld of 6063-T5 Al. Postweld aging raised the hardness in most parts of the welds, but the increase in hardness was small in the stir zone produced at the lower R values. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations detected a similar distribution of the strengthening precipitates in the grain interiors and the presence of a precipitation-free zone (PFZ) adjacent to the grain boundaries in all the welds. Microstructural analyses suggested that the small increase in hardness in the stir zone produced at the lower R values was caused by an increase in the volume fraction of PFZs.     

Mechanism governing nitrogen absorption by steel weld metal during laser welding

The existence of monatomic nitrogen in the plasma just over the keyhole during CO₂ laser welding was confirmed by the monochromatic image of a specific spectrum line emitted by monatomic nitrogen. The smaller reaction area of the molten pool with monatomic nitrogen is considered to lead to less nitrogen absorption during CO₂ laser welding than that during arc welding. The effect of the penetration mode shows that the nitrogen absorption during CO₂ laser welding mainly occurs on the upper surface of the molten pool. The nitrogen content in a reduced-pressure nitrogen atmosphere during CO₂ laser welding is in good agreement with that obtained during yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser welding within the range of low nitrogen (partial) pressures. This result supports the supposition that the different behaviors of nitrogen absorption between CO₂ laser welding and YAG laser welding can be reasonably attributed to the lesser amount of monatomic nitrogen during YAG laser welding.     

铝合金焊接性能及焊接接头性能的研究

在高铁、地铁列车的制造中,铝合金材料更是列车车体的主要材料之一,然而由于铝合金材料在焊接性能、焊接接头性能方面仍存在一定的不足,经常会出现气孔、裂纹等缺陷,因此高铁、地铁列车铝合金车体的焊接施工质量仍然很难保证。本文对铝合金的焊接性能以及焊接接头性能进行了分析。     

多向锻造道次及终锻温度对5182铝合金组织性能的影响

采用多向锻造实验的方法研究了锻造道次及终锻温度对5182铝合金组织性能的影响.研究结果表明:终锻温度为340℃时,随锻造道次由3增至6,试样锤头附近的组织破碎变细,但未发生明显再结晶;试样心部的变形组织在经3道次锻造后开始发生部分再结晶;经6道次锻造后试样心部发生完全再结晶.340℃以上进行变形时,变形程度对5182铝合金的硬度影响不大.终锻温度为230℃时,随锻造道次由3增至6,试样锤头附近及心部的组织均破碎变细,但未发生明显再结晶,经6道次锻造后试样心部为纤维状变形组织.终锻温度为230℃时,变形程度大的试样心部区域的硬度值较高.     

Carbide composition change during liquid phase sintering of a wear resistant alloy

Constitutive liquid phase sintering is used to obtain fully dense parts of powdered STELLITE Alloy No. 6 PM (Co-29Cr-4.5W-l.2C- < 1B) with excellent wear resistance at elevated temperature. This alloy is characterized by a cobalt-rich fcc solid solution and interdendritic carbide phases in the as-atomized state. Compositional changes in the carbides prior to, and during, the liquid phase sintering were investigatedvia X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, and Auger electron spectroscopy. The rejection of boron and cobalt by an M₂₃C₆-type carbide was identified as leading to the local formation of the liquid phase. A mechanism for the interactive role of the carbide composition change and the constitutive liquid phase sintering is proposed. This paper is based on a presentation delivered at the symposium “Activated and Liquid Phase Sintering of Refractory Metals and Their Compounds” held at the annual meeting of the AIME in Atlanta, Georgia on March 9, 1983, under the sponsorship of the TMS Refractory Metals Committee of AIME.     

6061-T6铝合金薄板的搅拌摩擦焊接

采用搅拌摩擦焊(FSW)技术对1 mm厚6061-T6铝合金薄板进行了对接.研究了焊接工艺参数的范围,实验测试了焊接接头的强度、硬度和延伸率,利用金相显微镜、扫描电镜和透射电镜分析了接头的微观组织.结果表明:对于1 mm厚度6061-T6铝合金,FSW的最优工艺参数为旋转速度1 800 r·min^-1,焊接速度1000 mm·min^-1;在此参数下,接头的硬度值达到母材的80%左右,抗拉强度达到母材的103%,延伸率达到母材的54%;接头的力学性能与微观结构相符.     

Microstructural evolution of 6063 aluminum during friction-stir welding

The microstructural distribution associated with a hardness profile in a friction-stir-welded, age-hardenable 6063 aluminum alloy has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM). The friction-stir process produces a softened region in the 6063 Al weld. Frictional heating and plastic flow during friction-stir welding create fine recrystallized grains in the weld zone and recovered grains in the thermomechanically affected zone. The hardness profile depends greatly on the precipitate distribution and only slightly on the grain size. The softened region is characterized by dissolution and growth of the precipitates during the welding. Simulated weld thermal cycles with different peak temperatures have shown that the precipitates are dissolved at temperatures higher than 675 K and that the density of the strengthening precipitate was reduced by thermal cycles lower than 675 K. A comparison between the thermal cycles and isothermal aging has suggested precipitation sequences in the softened region during friction-stir welding.     

5182铝合金热变形行为研究

采用了MMS-100热力模拟试验机对5182铝合金进行单道次压缩实验,对其热变形行为展开研究,构建了流变应力模型和加工图.结果发现:5182铝合金的流变应力随温度的升高、应变速率的降低而逐渐减小;高温条件会促使动态再结晶的发生,而应变速率的影响可以忽略;合金的真应力-真应变曲线在高应变速率时会出现锯齿状波动;合金在加热温度420~500 ℃、真应变ε= 0.4、应变速率的热变形条件下会有一个高功率耗散因子区域;合金在450 ℃附近存在较大安全加工区域.      

Phase composition and electrochemical behavior of ATsKM aluminum protector alloy

The phase composition has been determined for a new protector alloy that contains zinc, calcium, and magnesium together, with elevated amounts relative to standard alloy of the impurities iron, silicon, and copper. The quantitative composition of the phases has been determined. The mechanisms have been identified for the spontaneous dissolution and anodic dissolution of this alloy and the roles of the major phases have been established. There is a relationship between the phase composition of the alloy and the electrochemical behavior. Materials Science Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev. Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, Nos: 5-6(395), pp. 85–89, May–June, 1997.     

超声场作用下7050铝合金的溶质再分配与组织形成的建模仿真与分析

对不施加超声、施加300 W、1 000 W功率超声处理的半连铸成形7050铝合金大扁锭进行晶粒细化的实验研究,并基于元胞自动机-有限元(CAFE)法,建立7050铝合金形核和晶粒生长的数学模型,得到形核参数对仿真结果的作用规律。依靠成分过冷发展的初始阶段建立生长限制因数Q的物理模型,对超声细化晶粒的机制进行说明。模拟和实验结果表明:1 000 W功率超声的晶粒细化效果最佳,此时晶粒的平均尺寸为204μm;模具表面形核的高斯分布平均过冷度、模具表面以及熔体内部形核的高斯分布标准方差对预测晶粒结构影响不大,模具表面及熔体内部形核的高斯分布最大形核密度、熔体内部形核的高斯分布平均过冷度对仿真结果影响显著;晶粒尺寸随Q值增大呈大致单调递减趋势,晶粒大小与Q具有良好的关联性。     

填充金属对5083铝合金焊接性能的影响

采用手工MIG焊接方法,ER5087焊丝与ER5356焊丝分别对3mm5083铝合金板材进行焊接,对焊接接头的表面成形、显微组织及力学性能进行检测,研究结果表明:采用ER5087焊丝的力学性能优于ER5356焊丝;两种焊丝的焊接接头抗拉强度分别达到母材94%和84%.     

Through-thickness texture variation in cold-rolled AA 5182 aluminum alloy with an initial {001}〈110〉 texture

Through-thickness texture variation in cold-rolled AA 5182 aluminum alloy with an initial {001}〈110〉 texture was investigated by X-ray diffraction. A detailed quantitative analysis of texture volume fractions in several layers was performed. The effect of initial through-thickness texture gradient and roll-gap geometry on the texture evolution during multipass rolling was determined. A pronounced texture variation through the thickness was found in the initial material. The shear deformation produced by the friction between the roll and the sheet contact surface may be neglected in the present experiment with oil as a lubricant. At low strains with the l/h ratio from 0.9 to 2.0, the shear deformation caused by the roll-gap geometry slightly decreased the lattice rotation from the {001}〈110〉 orientation to the C orientation at the intermediate layer, while the roll-gap geometry did not produce a shear strain at large strains with higher values of the l/h ratio. The strong initial r-cube texture at the center layer stimulated the transformation from the r-cube orientation to the C orientation and the formation of the β fiber during rolling.     

Friction-stir welding effects on microstructure and fatigue of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451

Aluminum alloy 7050 was friction-stir welded (FSW) in a T7451 temper to investigate the effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties. Results are discussed for the as-welded condition (as-FSW) and for a postweld heat-treated condition consisting of 121 °C for 24 hours (as-FSW + T6). Optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of the weld-nugget region show that the FS welding process transforms the initial millimeter-sized pancake-shaped grains in the parent material to fine 1 to 5 μm dynamically recrystallized grains; also, the FS welding process redissolves the strengthening precipitates in the weld-nugget region. In the heat-affected zone (HAZ), the initial grain size is retained, while the size of the strengthening precipitates and of the precipitatefree zone (PFZ) is coarsened by a factor of 5. Tensile specimens tested transverse to the weld show that there is a 25 to 30 pct reduction in the strength level, a 60 pct reduction in the elongation in the as-FSW condition, and that the fracture path is in the HAZ. The postweld heat treatment of 121 °C for 24 hours did not result in an improvement either in the strength or the ductility of the welded material. Comparison of fatigue-crack growth rates (FCGRs) between the parent T7451 material and the as-FSW + T6 condition, at a stress ratio of R = 0.33, shows that the FCG resistance of the weldnugget region is decreased, while the FCG resistance of the HAZ is increased. Differences in FCGRs, however, are substantially reduced at a stress ratio of R = 0.70. Analysis of residual stresses, fatigue-crack closure, and fatigue fracture surfaces suggests that decrease in fatigue crack growth resistance in the weld-nugget region is due to an intergranular failure mechanism; in the HAZ region, residual stresses are more dominant than the microstructure improving the fatigue crack growth resistance.