Assessment of the Mechanical Integrity of a 2 mm AA6060-T6 Butt Weld Produced Using the Hybrid Metal Extrusion & Bonding (HYB) Process – Part II: Tensile Test Results

Abstract

The present investigation is concerned with solid state butt welding of 2 mm thin AA6060-T6 profiles at room temperature (RT), using the HYB process and AA6082-T4 as filler material (FM). In Part II of this investigation the tensile properties of the butt weld have been evaluated as a follow-up of the three-point bend testing done in Part I. In the HYB case the weld can be sub-divided into two distinct zones, i.e. the Extrusion Zone (EZ) and the Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ). The EZ, which is a composite material consisting of a mix of a strong FM and a soft HAZ material, displays superior tensile properties compared to the HAZ. By allowing for this in the subsequent finite element (FE) simulations of the load-bearing capacity of the joint, the observed stress-strain response of the HYB weld has been fully reproduced and rationalized. These results show that the tensile properties are comparable with those reported for FSW of 2 mm AA6082-T6 profiles and surpass those reported for FSW of 2 mm 6061-T6 profiles as far as the yield strength is concerned.