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WELDING OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS

INTRODUCTION TO ALUMINUM.
CLASSIFICATION OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS
WELDING PROCESSES USED FOR ALUMINUM
SMAW
GTAW
GMAW
WELDING DEFECTS

ALUMINUM

Light in weight.
Good corrosion resistance.
Good thermal and electrical conductivity.
Highly reflective.
Non-magnetic (no arc blow).
Pure metal is very ductile.
Strengthened by alloying,cold working, heat treatment.

PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM
Properties

Aluminum

Steel

Melting point, 0C

660

1536

Specific heat, J/g.0C

900

460

Density, g/cm3

2.7

7.87

Thermal conductivity,
cal/ cm3 .0C.s

0.53

0.18

Electrical resistivity,.cm

2.65

9.71

Wrought Aluminum alloys


Alloys series

principal alloying element

1XXX

99.0% min. ALUMINUM

2XXX

COPPER

3XXX

MANGANESE / (Si+Cu)

4XXX

SILICON

5XXX

MAGNESIUM

6XXX

MAGNESIUM+SILICON

7XXX

ZINC

8XXX

OTHER ELIMENTS

Classification of Al-alloys
Non heat treatable alloys: 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx series.
Optimum mechanical properties- Strain hardening
(cold working)

Heat treatable alloys: 2xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx series.


Optimum mechanical properties- Thermal treatments
(solution H.T+ aging)
4xxx series consists of both Heat treatable & non- heat
treatable alloys.

1xxx series
It is pure aluminum series, non-heat treatable..
U.T.S: 10-27 ksi.
Good corrosion resistance, electrical properties.
Welded with matching /4xxx filler material.
Applications:
Specialized chemical tanks manufacture.
Piping, Bus bars, General structural applications

2xxx series
It is Al-Cu (0.7-6.8% Cu ), heat treatable alloys.
U.T.S: 27-62 Ksi.
High strength and high performance alloys.
Welded with 2xxx/4xxx series fillers.
Some of these alloys are not Weldable
(Susceptibility to Hot cracking and SCC)
Applications:
Aerospace and air craft applications.

3xxx series
It is Al-Mn(0.05-1.8 Mn), non heat treatable alloys.
U.T.S: 16-41 Ksi.
Moderate strength, good corrosion resistance and
formability.
Welded with 1xxx, 4xxx and 5xxx.
Applications:
Heat exchangers in vehicles and power plants.
Structural applications.

4XXX SERIES
.
It is Al-Si (0.6-21.5% Si), both H.T & Non H.T alloys.
U.T.S: 25-55 ksi.
These fillers are low M.P & improve its fluidity.
(Predominantly used for Fusion welding & brazing)
Addition of Mg (or) Cu to these alloys, improves
respond to H.T.

5XXX SERIES
It is Al-Mg (0.2-6.2%), Non H.T alloys.
U.T.S: 18-51 Ksi (Highest strength of Non H.T alloys).
Readily weldable alloys.
Base alloy < 2.5 % Mg welded with 4xxx/5xxx filler metals.
Base alloy >2.5% Mg more susceptible to S.C.C.

Applications
Ship building
Transportation
Pressure vessels, Bridges

6XXX SERIES
It is Al-Mg-Si (Mg &Si additions of around 1%).
U.T.S: 18-58 ksi,Heat treatable alloys.
It should not be arc welded autogenously.
(Solidification crack sensitive)
They are welded both 4xxx & 5xxx series.
Widely used in welded fabrication.

7XXX SERIES
It is Al-Zn (0.8-12%Zn), heat treatable alloy.
U.T.S: 32-88 Ksi.(highest strength of Al-alloys).
Some alloys regarded as unsuitable for arc welding.
Welded alloys are welded with 5xxx series filler metals.

Applications
Used for high performance applications.
(Aircraft & Aerospace applications)
Used for competitive sporting equipment.

Joining of Al-alloys by fusion welding


SMAW
GTAW
GMAW

SMAW

Welding is done with a DCEP.


Used for Non critical applications & repair work.
Welding speed is slower.

Important factors:
Moisture content of the electrode covering.
Cleanliness of the electrode and base metal.
Preheating of base metal.
Proper slag removal between passes and after welding.

AC CURRENT

Alternate current, equal arc heat concentration


at work/at electrode.
Medium penetration (>DCEP &<DCEN).
Arc stability good.
Cleaning action of arc/gas is good.
Size of the Tungsten electrode- medium.
Applications:
General purpose automatic & manual welding.
Maximum work thickness-1/8 inch. With full
penetration.

DCEN

Current flows from electrode to work (-ve to +ve).


Arc heat concentrated- 70% at work, 30% at electrode.
Narrow & deep penetration.
Size of the Tungsten electrode-small.
Applications:
Automatic welding.
Maximum work thickness- 1/4 -3/4 inch.

DCEP

Current flows from work to electrode +ve to -ve).


Arc heat concentrated- 30% at work, 70% at electrode.
Wide & shallow penetration.
It has best cleaning action of the three but poor
penetration.
Size of the Tungsten electrode-big.
Applications:
Thin sheet welding also root pass on pipe.
Maximum work thickness- very low (below 0.05inch).

DC- PULSED
To provide good control of the molten weld pool,
particularly welding in other than the flat position.
Precaution in TIG welding:
when TIG welding of Al-alloys, a band of white deposit
appear alongside the weld bead.
When deposit band is of hair line width, it indicates
that the shielding gas is just adequate.
If the band is wider, it means the gas flow is too much
and gas is being wasted.

Preheat temperatures

For welding Upto 6.3 mm thickness- no preheat


For welding 6.3 -9.5 mm thickness in flat position- 2000C.
For welding 9.5 mm thickness in other positions -3150C.
For welding 12.7 mm & more thickness in all position- 3150C.

GMAW
Welding speeds are higher (continuous filler wire).
Higher deposition rate.
Heat effected zones are narrower & less distortion.
It gives greater weld strength at low welding costs.
Problems:
Porosity.
Crater cracks.

Methods of removing various contaminants

Dirt: By washing & scrubbing with a detergent


solution.
Mechanical cleaning/heavy oxide layer removal:
By using with S.S. wire brush, steel wool, grinder,
mill file/scraper.
Chemical cleaning/grease and oil removal:
Swabbing with an Organic solvent like acetone,
carbon tetrachloride (or) trichlorethylene.
Total oxide removal: Immersion in butylachoholphosphoric acid type solution followed by washing
with water and drying with hot air.

Shielding gases

Argon:
It gives lower arc heat, smoother and steadier arc.
It gives less penetration than He & less spatter.
.It is prefer for thinner sections- Upto 19 mm thick.
Helium:
It gives higher arc heat, deeper penetration.
weld profile which is wider and less convex.
The spatter is slightly more than with Argon.

Weld defects
Porosity:
Causes:
Hydrogen is main cause (high solubility in molten Al).
Moisture content, oil, greases on the work surface.
Excessive moisture pickup in electrode covering.
By maintaining the long arc length.
By excessive current, higher travel speed.
Remedies:
Clean the joint area free from oil, grease, dirt etc.
Store electrodes properly and Bake the electrodes
just before welding.
By change in weld parameters and technique.

Crater cracks

Remedies:
Reverse the direction of welding at the end of
each tack/intermittent weld.
Use run on and run-off tabs.
Break the arc and restrike to fill the crater.
Use special circuitry and power source control to
produce a special rate of arc decay.

Thank Q

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