Weld Geometry, Mechanical Properties, Microstructure and Chemical Composition of AA6063 in Tungsten Inert Gas Welding with Intermittent Controlled Wire Feeding Method

Abstract

In this study, AA 6063 aluminum was joined using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding with a butt joint. The ER-5356 filler metal feeding method is used intermittently to find its effect on weld geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and chemical composition. The dimensions of the specimens used in this study were 120 mm × 50 mm, with a thickness of 3 mm. The ratio used is the configuration of the feed time and delay time. The length ratio of wire filler is varied from a ratio of 4 to 6. The top bead width and back bead width decreased by 17.66% and 40.33%, respectively. At a ratio of 6, it has the largest cross-sectional area of 295.37 ± 27.60 mm2. The results show that the general tensile strength was proportional to the ratio, but the difference was not significant, only around ±8 MPa. The microstructure formed in each weld has different characteristics; conversely, grains with a relatively coarse structure have decreased hardness values. The chemical composition test shows that the length ratio of filler metal feed directly correlates with magnesium’s average weight content, where the weight content of magnesium value tends to be homogeneous in all areas of weld metal (WM).