Laser Welding of Dissimilar Metal Joint of 6061 Al Alloy and Al Matrix Composite

Abstract

In this paper, dissimilar metal joints of 6061 aluminum alloy and aluminum matrix composite material are investigated by laser welding. TiB2 particles were added into the lap joint. The welding process, microstructure, and the corrosion properties of welding joints are examined. The results demonstrate that the selected optimization process parameters are laser power 6 kW, welding speed 0.6 mm/s, pulse width 11.5 ms, and laser frequency 4.5 Hz. There are a few obvious pores in the molten pool. Al2Ti, Fe2Si, and Al0.5Fe3Si0.5 are present in the microstructure. During the welding process, some TiB2 particles are decomposed and reacted with molten Al. Other TiB2 particles are nucleated and solidified, and the excess TiB2 particles are pushed to the grain boundaries by molten Al. TiB2 particles are wetted well by molten matrix metal. The corrosion resistance of alloys in different conditions decreased in the following order: the weld beam >6061 Al > AMC.