Microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum to aluminum clad steel lap joint using gas tungsten arc welding process

The 5052 aluminum alloy was lap joined to Al-1050 clad steel sheet (with Al-1050 thickness of 1mm) using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process with 4047 Al-Si filler metal at the welding currents of 80, 100 and 120 A. Effect of welding current was studied on the weld microstructure, intermetallic compounds layer and tensile strength of the joints. Microstructural studies were done using optical and scanning electron microscopes (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and tensile strength of the joints was determined by shear-tensile test. Results shows that the reaction layer included two Al3Fe and Al5Fe2 intermetallic phases formed at the interface of the St-12 base sheet and Al-1050 clad layer. Maximum average thickness of the reaction layer was ~3.5 µm .It seems that presence of Al-1050 layer prevents excessive growth of Al-Fe intermetallic layer. The joint tensile strength decreased almost linearly by enhancement of the welding current and the primary α-Al dendrite arm spacing increased and Al-Si eutectics were distributed more uniformly. As a result, the crack easily grows and fracture force reduces. The maximum tensile strength of the joints reached to ~190 MPa, i.e. ~80% of 5052-H34 aluminum base metal strength. During the shear-tensile test, fracture in all the joints was started from the root of the weld and then propagated inside the weld metal with an angle of ~70 with respect to the Al-1050 base sheet. Stress analysis in weld showed that fracture in the joint was controlled predominantly by the maximum normal stress.