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- Dissimilar steel aluminum welding (1)
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- FG Füge- und Schweißtechnik (2) (remove)
Mixing of steel and aluminum within the weld pool during keyhole laser welding results in a complex dissimilar microstructure, which in turn, initiates a shift in weld metal mechanical properties. In this study, a numerical model for computation of distortions in laser-welded dissimilar overlap joints (austenitic stainless steel 304 – 6082-T6 aluminum alloy), which considers properties of the mixed steel-aluminum weld metal was developed. The required yield strength, Young's modulus, and strain hardening exponent of the weld metal were experimentally determined using the indentation technique coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The designed material model calculates the weld elastic-plastic properties as a function of the aluminum concentration. The softening of the alloys in the heat-affected zone was determined by physical simulations and considered as a function of maximum temperature. Computed and measured distortions showed good agreement for various welding regimes with an average deviation of 18.4%. The sensitivity analyses indicated that the application of the developed weld material model significantly improves the accuracy of the thermomechanical simulations.
Knowledge of the properties of dissimilar welds is of great significance for the development of multi-material lightweight structures. In this study, stainless steel (1.4301) and aluminum alloy (6082-T6) sheets were welded in overlap configuration in keyhole mode. The resulting weld metals were investigated with respect to their mechanical properties. Several samples were cut out of different locations along the welds and their cross-sections were subjected to indentation testing and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis. Young's modulus E, yield stress σy, and strain hardening exponent n, were determined by means of reverse analysis of the indentation load (P) – depth (h) curves, allowing construction of true stress – true strain relations. An essential increase in yield stress in comparison to the one of the base alloys was observed inside the weld metal. In contrary, Young's modulus and strain hardening exponent of the welds were almost identical to corresponding values of the base steel metal. Due to the sensitivity of yield stress to the aluminum content, slight variations of the welding parameters lead to significant changes in elastic-plastic behavior of the weld metal.