Influences of pulsed current welding and post weld aging treatment on fatigue crack growth behaviour of AA7075 aluminium alloy joints

This paper reports the influences of pulsed current welding and post weld aging treatment on fatigue crack growth behaviour of AA7075 aluminium alloy (Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy). The preferred welding processes for this alloy are frequently gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process due to their comparatively easier applicability and better economy. In this alloy, the weld fusion zones typically exhibit coarse columnar grains because of the prevailing thermal conditions during, weld metal solidification. This often results inferior weld mechanical properties and poor resistance to hot cracking. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to refine the fusion zone grains by applying pulsed current welding technique. Rolled plates of 6 mm thickness have been used as the base material for preparing single pass butt welded joints. The filler metal used for joining the plates is AA5356 (Al-5Mg (wt.%)) grade aluminium alloy. Four different welding techniques have been used to fabricate the joints and they are: (i) continuous current GTAW (CCGTAW), (ii) pulsed current GTAW (PCGTAW), (iii) continuous current GMAW (CCGMAW) and (iv) pulsed current GMAW (PCGMAW) processes. Argon (99.99% pure) has been used as the shielding gas. Fatigue crack growth behaviour of the welded joints has been evaluated by conducting the test using servo hydraulic controlled fatigue testing machine. Current pulsing leads to relatively finer and equi-axed grain structure in GTA welds. Grain refinement is accompanied by an increase in fatigue crack growth resistance and fatigue life. Simple post weld aging treatment applied to the joints is found to be beneficial to enhance the fatigue crack growth resistance of the welded joints. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.