Hybrid laser/arc welding of advanced high strength steel to aluminum alloy by using structural transition insert

The present investigation is related to the development of the welding procedure of the hybrid laser/arc welding (HLAW) in joining thick dissimilar materials. The HLAW was applied to join aluminum alloy (AA6061) to an advanced high strength steel (AHSS) where an explosively welded transition joint, TRICLAD®, was used as an intermediate structural insert between the thick plates of the aluminum alloy and AHSS. The welds were characterized by an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), tensile test, charged coupled device (CCD) camera, and microhardness measurement. The groove angle was optimized for the welding process based on the allowed amount of heat input along the TRICLAD® interface generated by an explosive welding. The weld was fractured in the heat affected zone of the aluminum side in the tensile test. The microhardness was shown that the temperature variation caused minor softening in the heat affected zone satisfying the requirement that the width of the softened heat affected zone in the steel side falls within 15.9 mm far away from the weld centerline. The microstructure analysis showed the presence of tempered martensite at the vicinity of the weld area, which it was a cause of softening in the heat affected zone.