Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds

Lei Xu; Li Wang; Ying-Chun Chen; Joseph Robson; Philip Prangnell

doi:10.1007/s11661-015-3179-7

Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds

Lei Xu, Li Wang, Ying-Chun Chen, Joseph Robson, Philip Prangnell

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Abstract

The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 seconds. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld ageing of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	334-346
Number of pages	12
Journal	Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science
Volume	47
Issue number	1
Early online date	19 Oct 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-015-3179-7
Publication status	Published - Jan 2016

Keywords

ultrasonic spot welding (USW)
dissimilar Fe-Al welding
intermetallic compounds (IMC)

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10.1007/s11661-015-3179-7

Xu-USW-Al-Fe-Metal-Trans-Figs-Author copyAccepted author manuscript, 1.82 MB

Light Alloys towards environmentally sustainable transport: 2nd generation solutions for Advanced Metallic Systems ( LATEST 2 )
Thompson, G. (PI), Bate, P. (CoI), Prangnell, P. (CoI), Preuss, M. (CoI), Quinta Da Fonseca, J. (CoI), Robson, J. (CoI), Skeldon, P. (CoI) & Zhou, X. (CoI)
1/02/10 → 31/07/15
Project: Research

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title = "Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds",

abstract = "The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 seconds. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld ageing of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.",

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author = "Lei Xu and Li Wang and Ying-Chun Chen and Joseph Robson and Philip Prangnell",

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AU - Prangnell, Philip

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N2 - The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 seconds. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld ageing of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.

AB - The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 seconds. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld ageing of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.

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Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds

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Light Alloys towards environmentally sustainable transport: 2nd generation solutions for Advanced Metallic Systems ( LATEST 2 )

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