Abstract
In this study, the Taguchi method was used as a design of experiment (DOE) technique to optimize the pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) parameters for improved pitting corrosion resistance of AA5083-H18 aluminum alloy welds. A L9 (34) orthogonal array of the Taguchi design was used, which involves nine experiments for four parameters: peak current (P), base current (B), percent pulse-on time (T), and pulse frequency (F) with three levels was used. Pitting corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution was evaluated by anodic polarization tests at room temperature and calculating the width of the passive region (∆E pit). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the measured data and S/N (signal to noise) ratios. The “bigger is better” was selected as the quality characteristic (QC). The optimum conditions were found as 170 A, 85 A, 40%, and 6 Hz for P, B, T, and F factors, respectively. The study showed that the percent pulse-on time has the highest influence on the pitting corrosion resistance (50.48%) followed by pulse frequency (28.62%), peak current (11.05%) and base current (9.86%). The range of optimum ∆E pit at optimum conditions with a confidence level of 90% was predicted to be between 174.81 and 177.74 mVSCE. Under optimum conditions, the confirmation test was carried out, and the experimental value of ∆E pit of 176 mVSCE was in agreement with the predicted value from the Taguchi model. In this regard, the model can be effectively used to predict the ∆E pit of pulsed current gas tungsten arc welded joints.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Y.B. Lee, D.H. Shin, K.T. Park, and W.J. Nam, Effect of Annealing Temperature on Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of a 5083 Al Alloy Deformed at Cryogenic Temperature, Scripta Mater., 2004, 51, p 355–359
R.M. Cleveland, A.K. Ghosh, and J.R. Bradley, Comparison of Superplastic Behavior in Two 5083 Aluminum Alloys, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2003, 351, p 228–236
R. Kaibyshev, F. Musin, D.R. Lesuer, and T.G. Nieh, Superplastic Behavior of an Al-Mg Alloy at Elevated Temperatures, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2003, 342, p 169–177
C. Menzemer and P.C. Lam, An Investigation of Fusion Zone Microstructures of Welded Aluminum Alloy Joints, Mater. Lett., 1999, 41, p 192–197
ASM International Handbook Committee, ASM Handbook, vol. 2: Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, Wrought Aluminum and Aluminum Alloy Designation System, ASM International, 1992, p 137
K. Shankar and W. Wu, Effect of Welding and Weld Repair on Crack Propagation Bahaviour in Aluminium Alloy 5083 Plates, Mater. Des., 2002, 23, p 201–208
R.E. Sanders, Jr., S.F. Baumann, and H.C. Stumpf, Aluminum Alloys: Contemporary Research and Applications, Academic Press, New York City, 1989
A. Aballe, M. Bethencourt, F.J. Botana, M.J. Cano, and M. Marcos, Localized Alkaline Corrosion of Alloy AA5083 in Neutral 3.5% NaCl Solution, Corros. Sci., 2001, 43, p 1657–1674
M. Bethencourt, F. Botana, J. Calvino, M. Marcus, J. Perez, and M. Redriques, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Study of the Behavior of Lanthanide-Rich Films Formed on Aluminum-Magnesium Alloys, Mater. Sci. Forum, 1998, 289–92, p 557–566
H. Ezuber, A. El-Houd, and F. El-Shawesh, A Study on the Corrosion Behavior of Aluminum Alloys in Seawater, Mater. Des., 2008, 29, p 801–805
J.F. Li, Z.Q. Zheng, S.C. Li, W.J. Chen, W.D. Ren, and X.S. Zhao, Simulation Study on Function Mechanism of Some Precipitates in Localized Corrosion of Al Alloys, Corros. Sci., 2007, 49, p 2436–2449
R.C. Calcraft, M.A. Wahab, D.M. Viano, G.O. Schumann, R.H. Phillips, and N.U. Ahmed, The Development of Welding Procedures and the Fatigue of Butt-Welded Structures of Aluminium-AA5383, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 1999, 92–3, p 60–65
T. Senthil Kumar, V. Balasubramanian, and M.Y. Sanavullah, Influences of Pulsed Current Tungsten Inert Gas Welding Parameters on the Tensile Properties of AA6061 Aluminium alloy, Mater. Des., 2007, 28, p 2080–2092
S.R. Koteswara Rao, G. Madhusudhana Reddy, M. Kamaraj, and K. Prasad Rao, Grain Refinement through Arc Manipulation Techniques in Al-Cu Alloy GTA Welds, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2005, 404, p 227–234
K.H. Tseng and C.P. Chou, The Effect of Pulsed GTA Welding in the Residual Stress of a Stainless Steel Weldment, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2002, 123, p 346–353
A. Kumar and S. Sundarrajan, Effect of Welding Parameters on Mechanical Properties and Optimization of Pulsed TIG Welding of Al-Mg-Si Alloy, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 2009, 42, p 118–125
G. Mathers, The Welding of Aluminium and Its Alloys, Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, 2002
H. Tong and M. Todo, AC Pulse Arc Welding Method, U.S. Patent, 0284854 A1, 2005
W.L. Liu, W.T. Chien, M.H. Jiang, and W.J. Chen, Study of Nd:YAG Laser Annealing of Electroless Ni-P Film on Spiegel-iron Plate by Taguchi Method and Grey System Theory, J. Alloy Compd., 2010, 495, p 97–103
C. Vidal, V. Infante, and P. Vilaça, Assessment of Improvement Techniques Effect on Fatigue Behaviour of Friction Stir Welded Aerospace Aluminium Alloys, Procedia Eng., 2010, 2, p 1605–1616
P.K. Giridharan and N. Murugan, Optimization of Pulsed GTA Welding Process Parameter for the Welding of AISI, 304L Stainless Steel Sheets, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 2009, 40, p 478–489
A. Aballe, M. Bethencourt, F.J. Botana, and M. Marcos, CeCl3 and LaCl3 Binary Solutions as Environment-Friendly Corrosion Inhibitors of AA5083 Al-Mg Alloy in NaCl Solutions, J. Alloy Compd., 2001, 323–4, p 855–858
M.A. Arenas, M. Bethencourt, F.J. Botana, J. de Damborenea, and M. Marcos, Inhibition of 5083 Aluminium Alloy and Galvanised Steel by Lanthanide Salts, Corros. Sci., 2001, 43, p 157–170
M. Balasubramanian, V. Jayabalan, and V. Balasubramanian, Effect of Pulsed Gas Tungsten Arc Welding on Corrosion Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Titanium Alloy, Mater. Des., 2008, 29, p 1359–1363
V. Balasubramanian, V. Jayabalan, and M. Balasubramanian, Effect of Current Pulsing on Tensile Properties of Titanium Alloy, Mater. Des., 2008, 29, p 1459–1466
T.S. Kumar, V. Balasubramaniany, M.Y. Sanavullah, and S. Babu, Effect of Pulsed Current TIG Welding Parameters on Pitting Corrosion Behaviour of AA6061 Aluminium Alloy, J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2007, 23, p 223–229
V. Balasubramanian, V. Ravisankar, and G. Madhusudhan Reddy, Effect of Pulsed Current Welding on Fatigue Behaviour of High Strength Aluminium Alloy Joints, Mater. Des., 2008, 29, p 492–500
V. Balasubramanian, V. Ravisankar, and G. Madhusudhan Reddy, Influences of Pulsed Current Welding and Post Weld Aging Treatment on Fatigue Crack Growth Behaviour of AA7075 Aluminium Alloy Joints, Int. J. Fatigue, 2008, 30, p 405–416
A. Kumar and S. Sundarrajan, Optimization of Pulsed TIG Welding Process Parameters on Mechanical Properties of AA 5456 Aluminum Alloy Weldments, Mater. Des., 2009, 30, p 1288–1297
G. Lothongkum, E. Viyanit, and P. Bhandhubanyong, Study on the Effects of Pulsed TIG Welding Parameters on Delta-Ferrite Content, Shape Factor and Bead Quality in Orbital Welding of AISI, 316L Stainless Steel Plate, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2001, 110, p 233–238
R. Senthilkumar, S. Vaidyanathan, and B. Sivaraman, Thermal Analysis of Heat Pipe Using Taguchi Method, Int. J. Eng. Sci. Technol., 2010, 2, p 564–569
A. Aballe, M. Bethencourt, F.J. Botana, M.J. Cano, and M. Marcos, Influence of the Cathodic Intermetallics Distribution on the Reproducibility of the Electrochemical Measurements on AA5083 Alloy in NaCl Solutions, Corros. Sci., 2003, 45, p 161–180
A. Aballe, M. Bethencourt, F.J. Botana, M. Marcos, and J.M. Sanchez-Amaya, Influence of the Degree of Polishing of Alloy AA 5083 on its Behaviour Against Localised Alkaline Corrosion, Corros. Sci., 2004, 46, p 1909–1920
K.A. Yasakau, M.L. Zheludkevich, S.V. Lamaka, and G.S. Ferreira, Role of Intermetallic Phases in Localized Corrosion of AA5083, Electrochim. Acta, 2007, 52, p 7651–7659
S. Katsas, J. Nikolaou, and G. Papadimitriou, Corrosion Resistance of Repair Welded Naval Aluminium Alloys, Mater. Des., 2007, 28, p 831–836
S. Katsas, J. Nikolaou, and G. Papadimitriou, Microstructural Changes Accompanying Repair Welding in 5xxx Aluminium Alloys and their Effect on the Mechanical Properties, Mater. Des., 2006, 27, p 968–975
Image Tool, version 3.0, Free Software, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, http://ddsdx.uthscsa.edu/dig/itdesc.html. Accessed 09 March 2007
G.P. Syrcos, Die Casting Process Optimization Using Taguchi Methods, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2003, 135, p 68–74
R.K. Roy, Design of Experiments Using the Taguchi Approach: 16 Steps to Product and Process Improvement, Wiley, New York, 2001
Y. Ma, H. Hu, D. Northwood, and X. Nie, Optimization of the Electrolytic Plasma Oxidation Processes for Corrosion Protection of Magnesium Alloy AM50 using the Taguchi Method, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2007, 182, p 58–64
R.K. Roy, A Primer on the Taguchi Method, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1990
K.D. Kim, D.N. Han, and H.T. Kim, Optimization of Experimental Conditions Based on the Taguchi Robust Design for the Formation of Nano-Sized Silver Particles by Chemical Reduction Method, Chem. Eng. J., 2004, 104, p 55–61
Z.B. Gonder, Y. Kaya, I. Vergili, and H. Barlas, Optimization of Filtration Conditions for CIP Wastewater Treatment by Nanofiltration Process Using Taguchi Approach, Sep. Purif. Technol., 2010, 70, p 265–273
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rastkerdar, E., Shamanian, M. & Saatchi, A. Taguchi Optimization of Pulsed Current GTA Welding Parameters for Improved Corrosion Resistance of 5083 Aluminum Welds. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 22, 1149–1160 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0346-5
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-012-0346-5