Investigation of Aluminum-Stainless Steel Dissimilar Weld Quality using Different Filler Metals

• Published in: International journal of automotive and mechanical engineering Vol. 8; pp. 1121 - 1131
• Main Authors: Shah, L H, Akhtar, Z, Ishak, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kuantan Universiti Malaysia Pahang 01.07.2013
• Subjects: Aluminum; Aluminum base alloys; Austenitic stainless steels; Electric potential; Fillers; Voltage; Weight reduction; Welded joints; Welding
• DOI: 10.15282/ijame.8.2013.3.0091
• ISSN: 2229-8649

Aluminum-stainless steel dissimilar welding processes yield unwanted disadvantages in the weld joint due to the large difference between the aluminum-stainless steel sheets' melting points and the nearly zero solid solubility between these two metals. Aluminum AA6061 and stainless steel SUS304 were lap-welded by using Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding with aluminum filler ER5356 (Group 1) and stainless steel filler ER308LSi (Group 2). The effects of the welding voltage and type of filler metals used on the weld joints were studied. The welding voltage had a significant effect on the welding process, as higher voltage resulted in poorer appearance of the weld joint and led to defects for both groups, such as porosity and incomplete fusion. The tensile strength of Group 1 joints ranging from 47.8 to 104.4 MPa was collectively higher than Group 2 joints, between 20.24 to 61.76 MPa.