Analysis of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy/AA6061 Aluminum Alloy Welded Joint by Ultrasonic Welding

AZ31B magnesium alloy/AA6061 aluminium alloy welded structures have been widely used in the lightweight design of automobile bodies. To improve the joint strength, the ultrasonic spot welding (USW) solid state connection method is used in this paper. The results show that at a welding energy of 1540 J, there is evidence of melting in the weld joint. As the welding energy increases, the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) grow rapidly and form a reaction layer approximately 17 μm thick. The IMCs are mainly composed of the γ-Mg₁₇Al₁₂+β-Mg₂Al₃ phase, where the β-Mg₂Al₃ phase hardness is as high as 6.5 GPa and shows a typical pop-in phenomenon and the average hardness of the γ-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ cubic structure phase is 3.4 GPa. When the welding energy reaches 1540 J, the β phase rapidly grows, and the joint performance decreases rapidly. The fracture morphology indicates a cleavage fracture and is accompanied by a large number of secondary cracks.

Keywords:
AZ31B magnesium alloy/AA6061 aluminium alloy; ultrasonic spot welding (USW); intermetallic compounds (IMCs); pop-in phenomenon; joint performance