Analysis of intermetallic layer in dissimilar TIG weldingbrazing butt joint of aluminium alloy to stainless steel

J. L. Song, S. B. Lin*, C. L. Yang, C. L. Fan and G. C. Ma

Intermetallic layer of dissimilar tungsten inert gas weldingbrazing butt joint of aluminium alloy/ stainless steel has been studied. A visible unequal thickness intermetallic layer has formed in welded seam/steel interface, and the thickness of the whole layer is ,10 mm. The interface with Al12Si filler metal consists of t5-Al8Fe2Si layer in welded seam side and h-(Al,Si)13Fe4 layer in steel side with the hardness values of 1025 and 835 HV respectively, while the interface with Al 6Cu filler metal consists of h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4 layer with the hardness of 645 HV. The average tensile strength of the joint with Al12Si filler metal is 100120 MPa, and the fracture occurs at h(Al,Si)13Fe4 layer, while the joint with Al6%Cu filler metal presents high crack resistance with tensile strength of 155175 MPa, which reaches more than 50% of aluminium base metal strength.
Keywords: Aluminiumsteel hybrid joint, TIG weldingbrazing, Intermetallic layer, Phase identification, Mechanical properties

Introduction
Against the background of the required weight reduction in transportation through lightweight construction, the application of hybrid structures between aluminium alloy and steel has a huge industrial interest.1,2 However, joining of aluminium alloy and steel has great difculty by fusion welding since mass of brittle intermetallics is formed in the joint. Solid state welding methods, such as friction welding and friction stir spot welding, have been used to make these dissimilar metals joint.3,4 However, the shape and size of such solid state joints are extremely restricted. For instance, solid state welding processes are generally not suitable for butt joints of long lengths in thick materials. In the previous study,5 the authors reported that dissimilar metals between 5A06 aluminium alloy and SUS321 stainless steel were butt joined successfully by tungsten inert gas (TIG) weldingbrazing and that the joint has a dual characteristic: in the aluminium alloy side, it is a welding joint, while in the steel side, it is a brazing joint. In this process, the base materials and ller metal are heated or melted by TIG arc heat, and the joining between aluminium alloy and steel is based on the interaction of a liquid aluminium alloy with a solid steel.6,7 During the interaction time, the solid surface dissolves into the melt, and intermetallic layers are subsequently formed at the interface. Usually, the formation of brittle intermetallic layers limits the
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding Production Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China *Corresponding author, email sblin@hit.edu.cn

mechanical resistance of the transition zone between dissimilar metals,8 when their thickness exceeded a permissible value. Most of past reports about laser or cold metal transfer arc brazing of aluminium alloy and steel810 indicated that Si additions in the ller metals effectively control the growth of the AlFe intermetallic layer. Furthermore, the present study shows that Cu, Mn and Ti additions in the ller metals also have benets to the AlFe intermetallic layers property.11,12 However, the detailed observation on the intermetallics in the TIG weldingbrazing butt joint of aluminium alloy and steel has never been reported, and the mechanism for alloying elements in the ller metal to control the growth of the intermetallic layer is currently unknown. In the present work, the intermetallics, especially the intermetallic layer, in the joint, has been followed by observation in SEM and TEM. The mechanical properties of the joints have been measured under the dynamic ultramicrohardness tester and SEM in situ tensile tester. Different reaction mechanisms for Si and Cu additions to control the growth of the intermetallic layer have been analysed and compared as well.

Experimental
Materials used are 5A06 aluminium alloy and SUS321 stainless steel plates in 3?0 mm thickness. The ller metals used are 4047 Al12Si and 2319 Al6Cu welding wires, with a diameter of 2?5 mm. The chemical compositions of the base material and ller metal are shown in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. The main compositions of modied non-corrosive ux are Nocolok ux (KAlF4 and K3AlF6 eutectic), Zn and Sn metal powders, K2SiF6, etc.

2010 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute Received 11 October 2009; accepted 9 December 2009 DOI 10.1179/136217110X12665048207610

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1 Schematic illustration of TIG weldingbrazing process

All plates were cut into the size of 100650 mm, and the surface was cleaned by abrasive paper and acetone before experiment. A single V groove was opened in the plates, with a bevel angle of 40u in the steel side and 30u in the aluminium alloy side. The ux suspension (ux powder dissolved in acetone) was smeared homogeneously in a 0?20?5 mm thickness on the groove and on both front and back surfaces of the steel in 10 mm width. Tungsten inert gas weldingbrazing was carried out using ac TIG welding source. The welding parameters were welding current of 135 A, arc length of 3?0 4?0 mm, welding speed of 120 mm min21 and argon gas owrate of 810 L min21. The schematic of aluminium steel butt TIG weldingbrazing process is shown in Fig. 1. After welding, a typical cross-section of the joint was cut and mounted in self-setting epoxy resin in an as clamped condition. Then, the samples were polished to a mirror-like surface aspect. Microstructures and compositions of intermetallics in the joint were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The intermetallics in the joint were identied by selected area electron diffraction (SAED) in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The mechanisms for Si and Cu additions to control the growth of the intermetallic layer were analysed and compared as well.

presents different patterns with different ller metals. With Al12Si ller metal, as shown in Fig. 2a and b, the interface presents a serrated shape oriented towards the welded seam, and the average thickness of the interface is 68 mm. Some reports68 have shown that, to obtain effective joining by arc weldingbrazing, a connective intermetallic layer is required, but it may not grow more than 10 mm because, at that point, it becomes too brittle for technical purpose. The interface at the upper part of interface region A is thicker than at the lower part of interface region B due to the higher heat input in the upper part. However, with Al6Cu ller metal, as shown in Fig. 2cd, the interface presents a compact lath shaped structure, and the interface thickness is 24 mm, which is less than that with Al12Si ller metal.

Phase identification of intermetallics

The intermetallic phases have also been identied by SEMEDS and TEMSAED. Figure 3a and b shows the magnied SEM morphology and the line scanning results of intermetallic layers with Al12Si ller metal. The interface consists of two different intermetallic layers, named layers I and II, from the welded seam to the steel substrate. Layer I in the welded seam side presents a compact faceted structure, while in the steel side, layer II is a needle-like crystal oriented towards layer I. As can be seen, the consistence of Al and Si is smaller from layers I to II, while Fe, Cr and Ni increase gradually in the layers. Si enriches in the interface and participates in the intermetallic layers formation. Figure 3c and d are the SAED patterns of layers I and II. By SAED patterns together with the compositions of the intermetallic layers measured by EDS, layer I has been identied to be t5-Al8Fe2Si, which has a hexagonal unit cell with a51?2406 nm, b51?2406 nm, c52?6236

Results and discussion

Microstructures of intermetallic layers
SEM images of interface regions A and B, plotted by squares in Fig. 1, in an aluminiumsteel butt joint with different ller metals are shown in Fig. 2. A visible unequal thickness intermetallic layer has formed in the welded seam/steel interface, and the whole layer
Table 1 Chemical compositions of base materials, wt-% Elements 5A06 SUS321 C 0?12 Mn 0?50?8 2?0 Mg 5?86?8 Al Bal. Si 0?4 1?0

Cu 0?1

Zn 0 ?2

Ti 0 ?1 0 ?2

Ni 8?011?0

Cr 17?019?0

Fe 0?4 Bal.

Table 2 Chemical compositions of ller metals, wt-% Elements Al12Si Al6Cu Si 11?013?0 ,0?2 Fe ,0?8 ,0?3 Cu ,0?3 5?86?8 Zn ,0?2 ,0?1 Mn ,0?05 0?20?4 Mg ,0?1 0?20?4 Ti 0?10?2 Zr 0?10?2 Al Bal. Bal.

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a, b with Al12Si wire; c, d with Al6Cu wire 2 Microstructures of interface regions A and B, as shown in Fig. 1, in aluminiumsteel butt joint with different ller metals

and c/a52?115,1315 and layer II has been identied to be h-(Al,Si)13Fe4, with which nearly 7 wt-%Si is in solid solution and which has a monoclinic unit cell with a51?5489 nm, b50?8083 nm, c51?2476 and b5107?72u.15,16

Figure 4a and b shows the magnied SEM morphology and the line scanning results of intermetallic layer with Al6Cu ller metal. As can be seen, the consistency of Al and Cu is smaller form welded seam to steel substrate, while Fe, Cr and Ni increase gradually in the

a magnied SEM morphology; b line scanning results of intermetallic layers; c, d TEM diffraction spots in layer I along [010] direction and in layer II along [121] direction 3 Intermetallic layers in aluminiumsteel joint with Al12 wt-%Si wire

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a magnied SEM morphology; b line scanning results of intermetallic layers; c, d TEM diffraction spots in A particles along [110] direction and in B particles along [010] direction 4 Intermetallic layers in aluminiumsteel joint with Al6Cu wire

layer. At the same time, the slender Cu rich particle, marked by A, precipitates in welded seam near the layer due to the high cooling rate. Figure 4c and d are the SAED patterns of the particles. By SAED patterns together with the compositions of the particles measured by EDS, the slender Cu rich particle is Al2Cu tphase formed in the grain boundary of welded seam twith he (AlzAl2Cu) divorced eutectic reaction,17 and the intermetallic layer has been identied to be h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4, with which nearly 4 wt-%Cu is in solid solution and which has a monoclinic unit cell with a51?5489 nm, b50?8083 nm, c51?2476 and b5107?72u.1820 Moreover, each layer contains some contents of Cr and Ni elements to replace Fe in intermetallic layers, which is believed to be benecial to the quality of the layers.11,12

Mechanical properties of joints

Vickers microhardness of the interface in joint is measured under dynamic ultramicrohardness tester with 100 mN loading force and 10 s holding time. The averages of ve measurements in each material are shown in Fig. 5. The original hardness of welded seams is 94?4 HV with Al12Si ller metal and 104?5 HV with Al6Cu ller metal, and the value of the steel substrate is 250 HV. However, the hardness increases quickly in the interface of the joint. With Al12Si ller metal, the interface hardness values are 1025 HV in the t5-Al8Fe2Si layer and 835 HV in the h-(Al,Si)13Fe4 layer. With Al 6Cu ller metal, the interface presents the average hardness of 645 HV in the h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4 layer, which is less than the hardness value 890 HV of standard Fe4Al13 phase. Some contents of Cu atoms replacing Fe in Al13Fe4 can reduce its hardness greatly, which can reduce its brittleness to enhance the intermetallic layer joining between welded seam and steel, while Si atoms

dissolve in the h-Al13Fe4 phase to form the supersaturated solid solution, which has less effect on the phase hardness. SEM in situ tensile test was carried out in order to measure the tensile strength of the joints with different ller metals, the results of which are shown in Fig. 6. Figure 7a and b shows the fracture position of the joint with Al12%Si ller metal. The interface region is the weak zone of the joint, and the fracture occurs at h-(Al,Si)13Fe4 layer, and the average tensile strength of the joint is 100120 MPa. Figure 7c and d shows the fracture position of the joint with Al6%Cu ller metal. The h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4 layer presents a high crack resistance, and the fracture initiates from h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4 layer at the bottom of the joint and derives into the slender Al2Cu particle in the grain boundary of welded seam at the upper part of the joint; the average tensile

5 Microhardness distribution across interface of joints

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13Alz4n Cuz4m Fe?Al13 Fem ,Cun 4

mzn~1 (3)

6 Tensile strengths of joints with different ller metals

strength of the joint reaches 155175 MPa, which reaches more than 50% of aluminium base metal strength. According to the observations above, (Al,Si)13Fe4 is a high brittle phase, and Si addition in the ller metal has a limited effect on improving the crack resistance of h-Al13Fe4, while Al13(Fe,Cu)4 presents a high crack resistance, and Cu addition can effectively improve the tensile property of h-Al13Fe4. Comparing (Al,Si)13Fe4 and Al13(Fe,Cu)4, it is easily found that Si and Cu additions have different reaction mechanisms with Al and Fe atoms, which can be expressed as 8AlzSiz2Fe?Al8 Fe2 Si 13xAlz13ySiz4Fe? Alx Siy 13 Fe4 xzy~1 (1) (2)

According to equations (1) and (2), Si additions can easily react with Fe atoms to form SiFe covalent bonds in Al8Fe2Si and (Al,Si)13Fe4 phases. As is known, comparing with AlFe bond, the SiFe covalent bond also presents a high brittleness,15 so Al8Fe2Si and (Al,Si)13Fe4 are both of brittle phases. However, according to equation (3), Cu additions in ller metal react with Al atoms to form AlCu bonds in Al13(Fe,Cu)4 phase, and AlCu bond presents higher binding ability than AlFe,21,22 so Al13(Fe,Cu)4 presents a high crack resistance. Moreover, with the addition of Si in ller metal, the solubility and dissolution rates of Fe in aluminium molten pool increase greatly.23,24 On the contrary, Cu additions in ller metal decrease the solubility and dissolution rates of Fe in aluminium molten pool.25 Therefore, with AlSi ller metal, more Fe atoms dissolve into the molten pool to form thicker intermetallic layers than that with AlCu ller metal.

Conclusions
1. In aluminiumsteel TIG weldingbrazing joint, a visible unequal thickness intermetallic layer has formed in welded seam/steel interface, and the whole layer presents different patterns, and the thickness of the layers is ,10 mm. 2. The interface with Al12Si filler metal consists of two different intermetallic layers, t5-Al8Fe2Si layer in the welded seam side and h-(Al,Si)13Fe4 layer in the steel side, which has high brittleness, while the interface with Al6Cu filler metal consists of h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4 layer, which presents a high crack resistance.

a, b with Al12Si wire, c, d with Al6Cu wire 7 SEM in situ tensile test images of interface region in aluminiumsteel joint with different ller metals before and after test

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3. The average tensile strength of the joint with Al 12Si filler metal is 100120 MPa, and the fracture occurs at h-(Al,Si)13Fe4 layer, while the joint with Al6Cu filler metal presents high crack resistance with the tensile strength of 155175 MPa, and the fracture initiates from h-Al13(Fe,Cu)4 layer at the bottom of the joint and derives into the slender Al2Cu particle in the grain boundary of welded seam at the upper part of the joint.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank State Key Laboratory of Welding of China, all of the work within which were carried out. They also appreciate the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 50874033).

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