Specificities of welds formation with aluminum alloy AK 9 obtained by selective laser melting

Abstract

The problem of obtaining high-quality plate welds made of AL9 alloy and powder by selective laser melting is viewed. Welded butt joints of plates of AK9CH alloy with a thickness of 3.0 mm were made by melting welding (automatic argon arc and electron beam welding) and friction stir welding. After welding the base metal of the AK9 alloy plates and their welded joints were subjected to X-ray transmission, computed tomography, metallographic analysis and mechanical tests for static tension and static three-point bending. X-ray inspection of welded joints made by automatic argon arc and electron beam welding revealed multiple porosity inside welds. The nuclei of pores in the weld metal are spherical micropores, formed in the parent metal during selective laser melting. The diameter of these micropores is 150...200 microns. In the welding bath during fusion welding, micropores develop up to 420...1070 microns in diameter in case of argon arc welding and 215...420 microns in case of electron beam welding. Metallographic analysis of cross-sections of welded joints performed by fusion welding revealed a characteristic pore distribution in the weld metal. So in case of argon arc welding, the largest pores were located near the front surface of the weld. In the fusion zone at the border of the weld and the base metal, pores with a diameter of 80.220 microns were located in the form of chains along the entire thickness of the plates being welded. When testing welded joints for static tension, the destruction of joints occurred precisely in this zone. The strength coefficient of the AK9 alloy joints obtained by fusion welding is as follows: for automatic argon arc welding 0.46, for electron beam welding - 0.66. It is established that the problem of porosity of welded joints is eliminated when using solid -phase welding for jointing (friction stir welding). The strength coefficient of the jointing of the AK9CH alloy plates made by friction stir welding is at the level of 0.81.0.86 of the time resistance of the base metal. The destruction of welded joints occurs along the mixing zone. In the weld zone during friction stir welding, as a result of dynamic recrystallization, a fine-grained equiaxed structure with an average grain size of 4.5...6.2 microns was formed with virtually no pores. The parent metal is represented by a cellular structure in which there are pores up to 168 microns in size.