Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of pulsed current GTA welding parameters on the fusion zone microstructure of AA 6061 aluminium alloy

  • Published:
Metals and Materials International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

AA6061 aluminium alloy (Al−Mg−Si alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of food processing equipment, chemical containers, passenger cars, road tankers, and railway transport systems. The preferred process for welding these aluminium alloys is frequently Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) welding due to its comparatively easy applicability and lower cost. In the case of single pass GTA welding of thinner sections of this alloy, the pulsed current has been found beneficial due to its advantages over the conventional continuous current processes. The use of pulsed current parameters has been found to improve the mechanical properties of the welds compared to those of continuous current welds of this alloy due to grain refinement occurring in the fusion zone. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to develop a mathematical model to predict the fusion zone grain diameter incorporating pulsed current welding parameters. Statistical tools such as design of experiments, analysis of variance, and regression analysis are used to develop the mathematical model. The developed model can be effectively used to predict the fusion grain diameter at a 95% confidence level for the given pulsed current parameters. The effect of pulsed current GTA welding parameters on the fusion zone grain diameter of AA 6061 aluminium alloy welds is reported in this paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. R. P. Simpson,Weld. J. 56, 67 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  2. J. G. Garland,Met. Constr. 6, 121 (1974).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. R. K. Prasad,Proc. Natl. Conf. on Recent Advances in Materials Processing, p. 176–196, Annamalai Nagar, India (2001).

  4. V. P. Ravi,Welding in the World 35, 214 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  5. A. A. Gokhale, A. A. Tzavaras, H. D. Brody, and G. M. Ecer,Proc. Conf. on Grain Refinement in Castings and Welds, p. 223–247, TMS-AIME, St. Louis, MO (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  6. R. G. Madhusudhan, A. A. Gokhale, and R. K. Prasad,J. Mater. Sci. 32, 4117 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. H. Yamamoto,Weld. Int. 7, 456 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. G. Madhusudhan Reddy, A. A. Gokhale, and K. Prasad Rao,J. Mater. Sci. Tech. 14, 61 (1998).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. V. Ravisankar and V. Balasubramanian,Proc. Int. Conf. on IMPLAST, p. 224–232, New Delhi, India (2003).

  10. G. E. P. Box, W. H. Hunter, and J. S. Hunter,Statistics for experiments, John Wiley (1978).

  11. D. C. Montgomery,Design and Analysis of Experiments, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1991).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  12. J. Ravindra and R. S. Parmar,Met. Constr. 19, 45 (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  13. George F. Vander Voort,Metallography: Principles and Practices, McGraw Hill, New York (1972).

    Google Scholar 

  14. I. Miller, J. Freund, and R. Johnson,Probability and Statistics for Engineers, Prentice of Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  15. S. Kou and Y. Le,Weld. J. 65, 305 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  16. A. F. Norman, K. Hyde, F. Costello, S. Thompson, S. Birley, and P. B. Pragnell,Mater. Sci. Eng. A 354, 188 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. T. Shinoda, Y. Ueno, and I. Masumoto,Trans. Jpn. Weld. Soc. 21, 18 (1990).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Reddy G. Madhusudhan,Proc. ISTE Summer School on Recent Developments in Materials Joining, Annamalai University (2001).

  19. D. C. Lin, T. S. Wang, and T. S. Srivatsan,Mater. Sci. Eng. A 335, p. 304 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Automobile Technology, Bharathidasan Institute of Technology, Anna University, 620 024, Tiruchirappalli, India

    T. Senthil Kumar

  2. Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Annamalai University, 608 002, Annamalainagar, India

    V. Balasubramanian & S. Babu

  3. KSR Engineering College, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India

    M. Y. Sanavullah

Authors
  1. T. Senthil Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. V. Balasubramanian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Babu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. Y. Sanavullah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. Balasubramanian.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kumar, T.S., Balasubramanian, V., Babu, S. et al. Effect of pulsed current GTA welding parameters on the fusion zone microstructure of AA 6061 aluminium alloy. Met. Mater. Int. 13, 345–351 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03027892

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03027892

Keywords

Search

Navigation