Direct dissimilar joining of aluminium alloys and polyamide 6 by friction lap joining*

Direct dissimilar joining of various Al alloy (A1050, A3004, A5052 and A5083) plates and a polyamide 6 plate was performed using friction lap joining (FLJ) with the Al alloy plate as a top and the polyamide 6 plate as a bottom. The effect of Mg content in Al alloys on the joining strength was investigated. TEM analysis made clear that the polyamide 6 and Al alloys were joined via oxide layer consisting of Al₂O₃ and MgO. The results of XPS analysis indicated that MgO was formed by the heating during FLJ, and the quantity of MgO was increased with increasing Mg content in Al alloys. The tensile shear strengths of A3004, A5052 and A5083 joints were saturated to about 2 kN because of the tensile fracture at the polyamide 6 plate outside the tool-passed zone, which were higher than that of the A1050 joint fractured at the joint interface. The peel strength of the joint was increased with increasing Mg content in Al alloys, and the fracture occurred both at the joint interface and at the polyamide 6 plate on the joint area. The fraction of polyamide 6 plate fracture was also increased with increasing Mg content in Al alloys.