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Microstructure and properties of aluminum AA6061-T6 to copper (Cu)-T2 joints by cold metal transfer joining technology

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Abstract

Recently, cold metal transfer (CMT) process has been successfully applied to weld dissimilar metals. In this paper, two different aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 and pure copper T2 lapped joints were performed by CMT with AA4043 aluminum alloy wire as the filler metal. Results indicated that sound lapped joints between aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 and pure copper T2 could be performed by CMT technology. The joint was composed of Al–Al welding joint and Al–Cu brazing joint. The Al–Al welding joint was formed between the Al weld metal and the Al base metal, and the weld metal in Al–Al welding joint was composed of α-Al solid solution, α-Al, and CuAl eutectic phase. Al–Cu brazing joint was formed between the Al weld metal and the local molten Cu base metal, and composed of three copper-weld metal interfaces with a large amount of intermetallic compounds (IMCs), i.e., CuAl2, CuAl. The optimum strength of two joints could reach up to 1.23 kN and 1.56 kN, respectively, which was mainly due to the differences of the size of Cu/Al IMCs and stress condition. In addition, the distribution of microhardness and fracture surface of two joints were observed and analyzed in detail.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was financially supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 51265028) and Pre-research of National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB660810), the Rose Willow Outstanding Individual Programs of Lanzhou University of Technology (J201203), and the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Non-ferrous Metals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Z. P. Cai

  2. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Non-ferrous Metals, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, China

    B. Q. Ai, R. Cao, Q. Lin & J. H. Chen

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  1. Z. P. Cai
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  2. B. Q. Ai
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  3. R. Cao
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  4. Q. Lin
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  5. J. H. Chen
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Correspondence to R. Cao.

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Cai, Z.P., Ai, B.Q., Cao, R. et al. Microstructure and properties of aluminum AA6061-T6 to copper (Cu)-T2 joints by cold metal transfer joining technology. Journal of Materials Research 31, 2876–2887 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2016.295

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