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Softening, Hardening, and Precipitation Evolution of the AA6082-T651 Heat-Affected Zone Caused by Thermal Cycles During and After Welding

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Abstract

In this study, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was used to weld AA6082-T651 plates using ER5335 and ER4340 filler metals. Significant softening of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) was observed in the as-welded condition. An attempt was made to recover the softening by applying an appropriate heat treatment after welding. The thermal process consisted of solution annealing and then aging at 160 °C for 18 h. The HAZ properties were characterized in the as-welded and post-weld heat-treated (PWHT) conditions using field emission scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, microhardness testing, thermal simulation, and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. The HAZ hardness profile revealed four distinct regions: partially melted zone (PMZ), partial solution, over-aged zone, and partial transformation. A PMZ with a hardness of about 90 Vickers was detected adjacent to the fusion line, which had been exposed to a sufficient temperature to dissolve the Mg2Si phases completely. Accordingly, natural aging increased the hardness of PMZ after welding. The minimum HAZ hardness was found at a distance of about 7–9 mm from the fusion line, where the temperature was in the range of β-Mg2Si formation and resulted in over-aging. In addition, dislocation density was reduced compared to the as-received base metal. The hardness after PWHT exhibited full recovery and improved to values higher than the as-received base metal. The hardness recovery was attributed to the uniformly distributed fine coherent needle-shaped βꞌꞌ-Mg2Si after PWHT. There were also coarse Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2 intermetallic and submicron spherical Mn-rich dispersoids in all conditions.

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  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

    Mohammad Jula, Reza Dehmolaei & Khalil Ranjbar

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Jula, M., Dehmolaei, R. & Ranjbar, K. Softening, Hardening, and Precipitation Evolution of the AA6082-T651 Heat-Affected Zone Caused by Thermal Cycles During and After Welding. Met. Mater. Int. 29, 3664–3678 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-023-01470-2

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