Study of Microstructure and Residual Stresses in Dissimilar Al/Steels Welds Produced by Cold Metal Transfer

Recently a new welding technique, the so-called ‘Cold Metal Transfer’ (CMT) technique was introduced, which due to integrated wire feeding leads to lower heat input and higher productivity compared to other gas metal arc (GMA) techniques. Here microstructure formation and residual stress state in dissimilar steel to aluminum CMT welds are investigated. The intermetallic phase seam between the filler and the steel is only a few micrometers thick. Residual stress analyses reveal the formation of the typical residual stress state of a weld without phase transformation. Both in longitudinal and in transversal direction compressive residual stresses exist in the steel plate parent material, tensile residual stresses are present in the heat affected zone of the steel and the aluminum alloy. The area containing tensile residual stresses is larger in the aluminum alloy due to its higher heat conductivity than in the steel. Due to the symmetry in the patented voestalpine welding geometry and the welding from bottom and face side of the weld, the residual stress distributions at the top and at the bottom side of the weld are very similar.