Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of positive/negative electrode ratio on cold metal transfer welding of 6061 aluminum alloy
AU - Zhang, P.
AU - Li, G.
AU - Yan, H.
AU - Tian, Y.
PY - 2020/2/29
Y1 - 2020/2/29
N2 - Variable polarity cold metal transfer (VPCMT) is a newly developed welding process and has drawn extensive interests because of its potential in further reducing the heat input, offering greater gap bridging ability, and improving the deposition rate. Using 6061 aluminum alloy as an example, this paper systematically investigated the influences of the key parameter in VPCMT, i.e., “positive/negative electrodes ratio (EP/EN Balance),” on weld formation, microstructure, and mechanical properties. It was found that, with the increase of the EP/EN Balance value, the duty cycle of the negative phase was reduced but the peak current and maximum temperature of the weld pool were both increased resulting in a higher heat input. The positive/negative electrode ratio had little impact on the grain misorientation angle in the fusion zone. Hardness of the joint was higher with larger positive duty cycles because of the precipitate phase and small grain size. An increased negative duty cycle resulted in lower heat input leading to insufficient melting of the material and deterioration of the mechanical strength of the welds.
AB - Variable polarity cold metal transfer (VPCMT) is a newly developed welding process and has drawn extensive interests because of its potential in further reducing the heat input, offering greater gap bridging ability, and improving the deposition rate. Using 6061 aluminum alloy as an example, this paper systematically investigated the influences of the key parameter in VPCMT, i.e., “positive/negative electrodes ratio (EP/EN Balance),” on weld formation, microstructure, and mechanical properties. It was found that, with the increase of the EP/EN Balance value, the duty cycle of the negative phase was reduced but the peak current and maximum temperature of the weld pool were both increased resulting in a higher heat input. The positive/negative electrode ratio had little impact on the grain misorientation angle in the fusion zone. Hardness of the joint was higher with larger positive duty cycles because of the precipitate phase and small grain size. An increased negative duty cycle resulted in lower heat input leading to insufficient melting of the material and deterioration of the mechanical strength of the welds.
KW - Variable polarity cold metal transfer
KW - Positive/negative electrode ratio
KW - Aluminum welding process
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Grain size
U2 - 10.1007/s00170-019-04705-y
DO - 10.1007/s00170-019-04705-y
M3 - Journal article
VL - 106
SP - 1453
EP - 1464
JO - International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
JF - International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
SN - 0268-3768
IS - 3-4
ER -