Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TIG-Welded AA6061-T6 Joints after Solution Treatment and Artificial Aging at Different Temperatures

F. Sipayung, S. Suprianto, M. Mahadi

Abstract


Aluminum AA6061-T6 alloy has good strength and is widely used in mechanical engineering. In practice, a similar joint using a fusion welding process can reduce strength in the weld metal, heat-affected zone, and base metal regions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of artificial aging temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the AA6061-T6 joints. Similar joints were prepared using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding with ER 4043 filler metal and argon gas as shielding. The microstructure observation was performed using an optical microscope (OM). Vickers hardness, universal testing machine (UTM), and three-point bending test were carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of similar AA6061-T6 joints. The result shows that the weld metal (WM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) areas have finer grains than the base metal (BM). Introduction of artificial aging with different temperatures promoted the strength improvement compared to the as-welded AA6061. The temperature of 155 °C showed higher hardness, increasing by more than 100% in the HAZ area. Furthermore, the maximum ultimate tensile strength of 201.4 MPa was obtained at an artificial aging temperature of 185 °C. On the other hand, the bend test shows an acceptable condition at an artificial temperature of 155 °C at the root area. Based on the data, it can be concluded that the artificial aging temperature strongly influences the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of welded AA6061-T6.


Keywords


Bending; Hardness; Microstructure; TIG welding; Tensile strength

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/dtm.v16i2.1301

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