Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266

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Materials Science & Engineering A

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/msea

Cold Metal Transfer joining of magnesium AZ31B-to-aluminum A6061-T6

R. Cao a, B.F. Wen a, J.H. Chen a,n, Pei-Chung Wang b
a
State Key Laboratory of Gansu Advanced Non-ferrous Metal Materials, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
b
Manufacturing Systems Research Lab General Motors, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Automotive manufacturers are faced with increasing pressure to reduce vehicle weight, improve fuel
Received 3 August 2012 economy, reduce emissions, and enhance vehicle safety and performance. Therefore, an increasing
Received in revised form number of vehicle structures are built using a combination of dissimilar materials such as steel,
1 September 2012
aluminum and magnesium. Though the advantages are potentially huge, this hybrid fabrication
Accepted 19 September 2012
approach raises substantial technical challenges to the design of vehicle structures and the associated
Available online 28 September 2012
joining processes. Once two elements (e.g., magnesium–aluminum, aluminum–steel) are mixed in a
Keywords: high temperature welding pool, brittle intermetallic phases (IMP) can be easily formed. Experimental
Magnesium AZ31B observations showed that a series of intermetallic phases will greatly reduce the mechanical
Aluminum A6061-T6
performance of the welded dissimilar materials.
CMT
In this study, welding of 1 mm thick magnesium AZ31B-to-1 mm thick aluminum A6061-T6 using a
Mg-rich intermetallic c-Al12Mg17
Al-rich intermetallic b-Al3Mg2 1.6 mm diameter aluminum filler wire 4047 was investigated. Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) arc welding
technique was adopted. The key feature of this process is that the motion of the wire has been
integrated into the overall control of the process. The wire retraction motion assists droplet detachment
during the short circuit, thus the metal can transfer into the welding pool without the aid of the
electromagnetic force. In this way the heat input and spatter can be controlled and the IMP formation
minimized thereby improving the joint strength. Extensive experiments were performed and analyzed.
It was found that although extensive efforts have been exercised to control the heat input, Mg-rich
intermetallic c-Al12Mg17 and Al-rich intermetallic b-Al3Mg2 were still produced in the weld. Fracture
surfaces of CMT welded AZ31B–Al6061-T6 joints exhibited the Mg-rich intermetallic (c-Al12Mg17)
which contributes to the weld strength degradation. To improve the joint, minimizing the content of
the intermetallics especially Mg-rich intermetallics (c-Al12Mg17) is essential.
& 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction from Mg–Al–Si phase diagram in Ref. [20], a series of intermetallic

Aluminum and magnesium alloys have been widely used in the
automotive industry for their low density, high strength/weight ratio,
good castability and ease of recycling as demonstrated [1–4]. Para-
msothy et al. [5,6] have shown that a large potential for mass savings
exists for Mg-to-Al assemblies for automotive applications. Despite
this huge potential for mass savings, the application of magnesium-
to-aluminum assemblies is still limited. While a great deal of effort
has been focused on developing the vacuum diffusion welding [7–9],
explosion welding [10], friction stir welding [11–13], tungsten inert
gas (TIG) welding [14,15], laser beam welding [16], and laser-TIG
hybrid welding [17] laser weld bonding [18,19], there exists an urgent
need to develop a robust effective fusion method for mass production.
One of the major challenges in welding magnesium to aluminum
is the formation of the thermodynamically stable brittle interme-
tallics which are detrimental to the weld strength. As can be seen
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ86 931 2757296; fax: þ86 931 2757296.
E-mail addresses: caorui@lut.cn (R. Cao), zchen@lut.cn (J.H. Chen).
compounds forms upon solidification during the welding process.
Table 1 shows the physical properties of the magnesium and
aluminum as demonstrated [21], respectively. The melting points
of Mg and Al are 649 1C and 660 1C, respectively. This small
difference in melting points makes it difficult to avoid melting of
both constituents and thereby producing brittle intermetallic com-
pounds. In this study, Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) arc welding with a
1.6 mm diameter wire Al4047 is used to join the Mg AZ31B-to-Al
A6061-T6. The key feature of CMT process is that the motions of the
wire have been integrated into the joining process and into the
overall control of the process. The wire retraction motion assists
droplet detachment during the short circuit, thus the metal
can transfer into the welding pool without the aid of the electro-
magnetic force. As a result, the heat input can be controlled properly
and the intermetallic compounds can be minimized [22].
There are three main parts in this study; the first presents
the experimental procedure including material, sample
fabrication, microstructure observation and analytical analysis,
mechanical testing, and fracture analysis. This is followed by test
results including the weld appearance, microstructure, hardness

0921-5093/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2012.09.065
 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266 257

distribution, static strength and fracture of CMT welded Mg AZ31B-
to-Al A6061-T6 joints. Finally, we discuss the correlation between the
joint strength and weld area, location of the brittle zone and fracture
modes of CMT welded Mg AZ31B-to-Al A6061-T6 joints.
2. Experimental procedure
were etched by 5 g picricþ10 ml distilled waterþ50 ml ethanolþ5 g
acetic acid for Mg alloy sheet and Nital’s for Al alloy sheet. The etched
specimens were observed and analyzed by scanning electron micro-
scope (SEM 6700F) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectro-
meter (EDS). The element distribution analyses of the joints were
carried out by Electron Probe Micro-Analysis (EPMA).

2.1. Materials 2.4. Mechanical testing

1 mm thick Mg AZ31B and 1 mm thick Al A6061-T6 sheets Specimens in Fig. 2 machined from the weldment were
were used in this study. Typical physical properties and chemical subjected to quasi-static tensile loading on a CSS-2205 testing
composition of these materials are provided in Table 1 and
Table 2, respectively. Welding wire Al4047 having a diameter of
Table 3
1.6 mm was used in this study. Table 3 provides the chemical Nominal chemical composition of filler wire Al 4047 (in wt%).
composition of Al4047.
Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Zn Al
2.2. Sample fabrication
12 0.80 0.03 0.15 0.10 0.20 Balance

The lap-shear joint configuration, shown in Fig. 1(a), was fabri-

cated from 200 mm  50 mm sheets. The arrangement of the test
sheets with respect to the weld torch is shown in Fig. 1(b). The Al
A6061-T6 alloy sheet was placed on top of the Mg sheet in a lap
configuration with an overlap distance of 10 mm. The angle between
the welding torch and the normal to the lap seam was 451 away from
the direction of welding. The welding direction is parallel to the lap
seam and is offset from the edge of the Al sheet edge by 3 mm.
The Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) joining process is realized by use of
a Fronius arc welding system (CMT 3200) [23]. Cold Metal Transfer
(CMT) GMAW welding process is purported by the supplier to
provide spatter-free welding, outstanding gap bridging properties,
low heat input and a high degree of process flexibility. Prior to the
welding, the sheets were degreased by acetone and polished using
abrasive cloth. Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) technology [23] is used in
order to decrease the heat input and deformation of Mg AZ31B and Al
A6061-T6 sheets. Song et al. [24] obtained that Si in the filler metal
can prevent the growth of the intermetallic compound layer for Al-
steel weld-brazing joint, so aluminum 4047(12% Si) wire with a
diameter of 1.6 mm was used in this study. Tables 3 and 4 show the
chemical composition of Al 4047 wire and process variables, respec-
tively. 100% argon shielding gas with a flow rate of 15 l/min was used
Fig. 1. Schematics of CMT welding of aluminum A6061-T6 and magnesium AZ31B
throughout the experiments. sheets: (a) welding torch and workpieces layout, and (b) workpiece configuration
(dimensions in mm).
2.3. Microstructure and analytical analysis

The metallographic cross-sections of the specimens were Table 4

machined from the welded joints. Ground and polished specimens Welding variables of CMT joining of 1 mm thick Mg AZ31B-1 mm thick Al A6061-
T6.

Table 1 Specimen Voltage Weld Wire

Properties of magnesium AZ31B and aluminum A6061-T6 sheets [21]. no. (V) speed feeder
(mm/s) speed
Material Tm rb q Ts TL a/  10  6 k/w C (m/min)
(1C) (MPa) (g cm  3) (1C) (1C) (K  1) (mK)  1 (J(kg K)  1)
1 10 8.8 3.0
AZ31B 649 263 1.77 605 630 25.8 145 1087 2 10 7.4 2.8
Al 6061 660 300 2.70 582 652 23.8 207 935 4 10 6.1 2.5
5 10 6.1 2.2
Tm: melting point,rb: tensile strength, q: density, Ts: solidus temperature, TL: 6 10 5.0 2.0
liquidus temperature, a: linear expansion coefficient, k: thermal conductivity, and 7 10 5.0 1.9
C: specific heat capacity. 9 10 5.0 1.8

Table 2
Nominal chemical composition of AZ31B Mg alloy and A6061-T6 Al alloys sheets (in wt%).

Alloys Al Zn Mn Fe Si Cu Mg Ni Ti Cr

AZ31B 3.18 1.02 0.34 0.002 0.022 0.0021 Balance 0.00085

A6061-T6 Balance 0.25 0.15 0.7 0.6 0.15 0.9 0.15 0.2
258 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266

machine. To minimize bending stresses inherent in the testing of

lap shear specimens, filler plates were attached to both ends of
the sample using masking tape to accommodate the sample
offset. Load vs. displacement curves were obtained at a stroke
rate of 1 mm/min. The joint strength is evaluated by the peak
load. Two to three replicates were performed, and the average
peak loads were reported. The micro-hardness of the welded
joints was measured by micro-hardness testing machine
HX-1000.

2.5. Fracture analysis

Fig. 2. Specimens machined from the welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 sheets The fracture location and fracture surface of CMT welded joints
(dimensions in mm). were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM 6700F).

Al 6061

Mg AZ31 20mm

Al 6061

Mg AZ31 20mm

Fig. 3. Weld appearance of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joint fabricated with a voltage of 10 V, a wire feed speed of 3.0 m/min and a weld speed of 8.8 mm/s
(specimen ]1): (a) top view, and (b) bottom view.

Al 6061

20mm
Mg AZ31

Al 6061

Mg AZ31 20mm

Fig. 4. Weld appearance of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joint fabricated with a voltage of 10 V, a wire feed speed of 1.8 m/min, and a weld speed of 5.0 mm/s
(specimen ]9): (a) top, and (b) bottom view.

A H-11
Al Weld metal

Mg B
D Mg
H-22

Fig. 5. Microstructure of a welded Mg AZ31–Al A6061-T6 with fully melted through Mg sheet (specimen ]1) under a weld voltage of 10 V, a wire speed of 3.0 m/min;
a weld speed 8.8 mm/s.
 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266 259

Table 5 Table 6
Microstructures of various Mg, Al and Si compositions from Fig. 1. EPMA analysis results for a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 (Specimen ]1) (at%).

No. Mg Al Si Phases Region in O Mg Al Si Zn Composition

Fig. 7
1 89–100 a-Mg solid solution
2 47.1–49.6 41.8–47.9 2.5–7.5 b-Al3Mg2, c-Al12Mg17 and Mg2Si 1 0.67 7.49 91.72 0.13 0 a-Al solid solution
3 49.6–50.1 47.9–48.4 1.5–2.5 c-Al12Mg17 and Mg2Si 2 18.55 5.12 49.42 26.91 0 Mg2Si, SiO2 and small Al2O3
4 50.1–51.0 48.4–49.1 0–1.5 c-Al12Mg17 3 23.37 9.79 17.62 49.22 0 SiO2 and small Al2O3, MgO
5 51.0–61.8 49.1–63.4 7.5–27.9 c-Al12Mg17 and Mg2Si 4 0 38.98 61.02 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
and a  Al solid solution 5 0 37.38 62.02 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
6 81.4–100 a-Al solid solution 6 0 18.68 81.33 0 0 a-Al solid solution
7 0 69.11 30.89 0 0 c-Al12Mg17
8 26.55 42.52 30.30 0 0.63 c-Al12Mg17 and small Al2O3,
MgO

Dendrite crystal 6 5
3

Fig. 6. Microstructures of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joint fabricated with a weld voltage of 10 V, a wire feed speed of 3.0 m/min and a weld speed of 8.8 mm/s
(specimen ]1) at the weld metal: zone (a) A, (b) B, and (c) D shown in Fig. 5.
260 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266

3. Results and discussion
3.1. Appearance of welded Mg AZ31B-to-Al A6061-T6 joints
To examine the effect of the process variables on the weld
appearance and the strength of CMT welded 1.0 mm thick Mg
AZ31B to 1.0 mm thick Al A6061-T6 joints, extensive tests have
been conducted. Table 4 provides the process variables used in
the experiments. For the purpose of comparison, specimens ]1
and ]9 made with two different welding conditions were selected.
Figs. 3 and 4 show the weld appearance for specimens ]1 and ]9,
respectively. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, while the weld metal
melted through the thickness of the Mg AZ31B sheet in specimen
]1, it only extended partially through the bottom Mg AZ31B
sheet. Besides the difference in the depth of the weld metal,
specimen ]1 has a smoother surface appearance than specimen
]9. The apparent difference in the weld penetration and weld
width shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is attributed to the heat generation
in CMT welding. Apparently, this heat variation influenced the
microstructure and weld properties. Therefore, we will present
the results on the effect of the heat on the microstructure and
properties in the following sections.

inset

H33

Al

Mg
Mg
H44

Magnified region Weld Metal

P A

C
D
Q

F
G
R Mg AZ31
H

Weld Metal

A (α-Al solid solution)

B (α-Al solid solution and rich-Al

intermetallics(β-Al3Mg2))
C (α-Al solid solution and rich-Al
D intermetallics(β-Al3Mg2)),
oxidations and silicides

(rich-Al intermetallics(β-Al3Mg2))

E (rich-Mg intermetallics ( -Al12Mg17)

and small α-Mg solid solutions)
F G (rich-Mg intermetallics
(γ -Al12Mg17))
Mg AZ31
H (α -Mg solid solutions)

Fig. 7. (a) Macro cross-section, (b) magnified view of an area shown in (a) for a welded Mg AZ31B-to-Al A6061-T6 joint with partially melted through the Mg sheet
(Specimen ]9), and (c) schematic phase distribution.
 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266 261

3.2. Microstructure of CMT welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joints center, B—weld near the Mg sheet, and D— Mg sheet-weld
boundary) were selected and analyzed by Electron Probe Micro-
Prior to the description of the microstructure of CMT welded Mg Analysis (EPMA). Fig. 6 and Table 6 show the microstructures and
AZ31-to-Al 6061 T6, we briefly describe the Mg–Al–Si phase diagram EPMA results, respectively. The details of zones A, B and D, refer
shown in Ref. [20]. The microstructures of various compositions are to Fig. 6, are described below.
listed in Table 5. As the aluminum content reaches 81.4–100 at%, the
microstructure of the weld metal is mainly composed of Al solid
solution. When the Al content is in the range of 41.8–47.9 at%, Mg
content is in the range of 47.1–49.6 at%, and Si content is in the range Table 7
of 2.5–7.5 at%, the microstructure of the weld metal is mainly EPMA analysis results of various zones for a welded joint (specimen ]9) in Fig. 10
composed of b-Al3Mg2, c-Al12Mg17, and Mg2Si intermetallic com- (at%).
pounds. When the Al content is in the range of 47.9–48.4 at%, the Mg
Region in Mg Al Si O Zn Composition
content is in the range of 49.6–50.1 at%, and Si content is in the range Fig. 10
of 1.5–2.5 at%, the microstructure of the weld metal is mainly
composed of c-Al12Mg17 and Mg2Si intermetallic compounds. When 1 02.88 76.63 20.55 0 0 a-Al solid solution and
the Al content is in the range of 48.4–49.1 at%, Mg content is in the Mg2Si
2 02.29 97.71 0 0 0 a-Al solid solution
range of 50.1–51.0 at%, and Si content is in the range of 0–1.5 at%, the
3 03.97 96.03 0 0 a-Al solid solution
microstructure of the weld metal is mainly composed of c-Al12Mg17 4 11.19 88.81 0 0 0 a-Al solid solution
intermetallic compound. When the Al content is in the range of 49.1– 5 16.36 83.64 0 0 0 a-Al solid solution
63.4 at%, Mg content is in the range of 51.0–61.8 at%, and Si content is 6 08.08 11.32 36.72 43.09 0 SiO2 and small Al2O3, MgO
in the range of 7.5–27.9 at%, the microstructure of the weld metal is 7 29.86 70.14 0 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
8 12.98 18.16 31.85 37.01 0 SiO2 and small Al2O3, MgO
mainly composed of c-Al12Mg17, and Mg2Si intermetallic compounds 9 18.95 81.05 0 0 0 a-Al solid solution
and Al solid solution. When the Mg content reaches 89–100 at%, the 10 37.13 62.87 0 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
microstructure of the weld metal is mainly composed of Mg solid 11 43.00 57.00 0 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
solution. Moreover, because the high Si content in filler wire Al 4047, 12 40.55 59.45 0 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
13 39.15 60.85 0 0 0 b-Al3Mg2
it is expected that brittle silicides would form in the weld metal.
14 50.30 21.77 0 18.93 0 Al2O3, MgO
Oxides would also develop due to the fact that the Al and Mg are very 15 57.60 42.40 0 0 0 c-Al12Mg17
active elements. The aforementioned is the basis for our discussion of 16 45.69 28.88 0 24.51 0.92 c-Al12Mg17 and some
the resulting microstructures from CMT welding 1 mm thick Mg Al2O3, MgO
AZ31B and 1 mm thick Al A6061-T6 joints. 17 50.55 34.35 0 15.10 0 c-Al12Mg17 and some
Al2O3, MgO
Fig. 5 shows the cross-section of a specimen ]1. To analyze 18 92.33 4.55 0 2.94 00.88 a-Mg solid solutions
the microstructures of this specimen, three zones (i.e., A—weld

100
O Mg
Si
Element content (at%)

80 Al

60

40

20 Zn

0
0

0
20

40

60

80

0
0

0
-2

22
10

12

14

16

18

20

24

26

28

30

Distance(μm)

100
Si O
80 Mg
Element content (at%)

Al

60

40 Zn

20

0
0

0
30

32

34

36

38

40

42

44

46

48

50

52

54

56

58

60

62

Distance(μm)

Fig. 8. Line analysis of connected zone for a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 specimen ]9:element content along a line (a) PQ, and (b) QR shown in Fig. 8 (b).
262 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266

Zone A—Enlarged features of zone A are shown in Fig. 6(a) and (c-Al12Mg17) denoted by regions 16 and 17 shown in Fig. 9(g).
the composition is shown in Table 6, it is most likely that the weld Finally, zone H in Fig. 7(b) is mainly composed of Mg AZ31B base
metal shown by (A) in Fig. 5 has the hypoeutectic microstructure metal based a-Mg solid solutions.
containing a  Al solid solution (denoted by region 1 in Fig. 6(a))
and the oxides and silicides composed of Mg2Si, SiO2 and Al2O3
(denoted by region 2 in Fig. 6(a)).
Zone B—Examination of zone B in the weld metal shown in
2
Fig. 6(b) and the results in Table 5 showed that it was mainly
Equiaxed Crystal
composed of dendritic crystals, which were eutectic in the
1
structure. Based on the EPMA element analysis results of the
regions of 3, 4 and 5 in zone B (in Table 6), it was found that zone
B in the weld metal is likely composed of a large amount of
intermetallic compounds (b-Al3Mg2 denoted by regions 4 and 5),
a-Al solid solution (denoted by region 6), and small oxides and
3
silicides (Mg2Si, Al2O3, etc., denoted by region 3).
Zone D—Based on the analysis results shown in Table 6, Zone
D in the weld metal in Fig. 5 is likely composed of Mg-rich
4
intermetallics (c-Al12Mg17) and small a-Mg solid solution
6
denoted by region 7 in Fig. 6(c) and c-Al12Mg17 and small oxides
produced in the polishing process denoted by region 8 in Fig. 6(c). 7
5

These results indicate that the fusion zone D (Mg sheet-weld

boundary) in Fig. 5 was composed of primarily continuous multi-
layer structure with different morphologies likely due to the 9
different chemical compositions and thermal cycling. 8
Based on the results shown in Table 6 and Figs. 5 and 6, it is
reasonable to conclude that the fusion zone (Mg sheet-weld bound- 10
ary in lap joint region) of CMT welded magnesium AZ31B-to-Al
A6061-T6 joints is primarily composed of a large amount of brittle
Mg–Al intermetallics and some oxides. The microstructures and
phases of each region had a varied content of the elements Mg and Al.

3.3. Effect of the heat on the microstructure

11 12 13
To assess the effect of heat on the microstructures, CMT
welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 specimens fabricated with a
voltage of 10 V, a wire feed speed of 1.8 m/min, and a weld speed
of 5.0 mm/s were cross-sectioned and examined, and the results
are shown in Fig. 7. Further analyses of the region outlined in a
square in Fig. 7(a) were carried out by line and point-scanning
method and the results are shown in Fig. 8. As shown, the
contents of the Mg and Al elements varied along a scanning line
P–Q–R in Fig. 7(b). These results imply that the types of inter-
metallic and solid solution along P–Q–R line in the weld metal
may also vary. Furthermore, since high Si and O contents were 14
observed along the scanning line P–Q–R, the silicides and oxides
were likely also produced refer to Fig. 8. To determine the 15
microstructures, the EPMA analyses of various regions (i.e., A–H
shown in Fig. 7(b)) were performed and the results are shown in
Table 7. As shown in Table 7, zone A in Fig. 7(b) is mainly
composed of the equiaxed crystal a-Al solid solutions denoted by
region 2 and silicides (Mg2Si, etc.) distributed at the grain
boundary denoted by region 1 shown in Fig. 9(a). Zone B shown Opposite growing grains Opposite growing grains
in Fig. 7(b) is mainly consisted of a-Al solid solution, denoted by
regions 3, 4 and 5, oxides and silicides denoted by region 6, and
intermetallics (b-Al3Mg2) denoted by region 7 shown in Fig. 9(b).
Furthermore, Mg content of a-Al solid solution increases along
the regions 3–5 transition zone. Zone C in Fig. 7(b) is mainly
composed of the intermetallics of Mg and Al (b-Al3Mg2) denoted
by region 10, oxidations and silicides denoted by region 8, and Al 16
solid solution denoted by region 9 shown in Fig. 9(c). Zone D in
the weld metal is mainly composed of intermetallics of Mg and Al 17
(b-Al3Mg2) denoted by regions 11, 12 and 13 shown in Fig. 9(d).
Zone E in Fig. 7(b) is consisted of oxides (MgO and Al2O3) denoted 18
by region 14, intermetallics (c-Al12Mg17) denoted by region 15,
and small a-Mg solid solutions shown in Fig. 9(e). Zone G in Fig. 9. Microstructures of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joint (]9): zone (a) A,
Fig. 7(b) is composed of the oxides and intermetallic compounds (b) B, (c) C, (d) D, (e) E, (f) F, and (g) G shown in Fig. 7(b).
 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266 263

H-11

H-22

400
Fusion zone
350
Mg
Microhardness (HV)

300 base
250 metal
Weld metal
200

150

100

50

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
H11 H22
Distance (mm)

Fig. 10. Micro-hardness along the line H11–H22 shown in Fig. 5 for a welded Mg AZ31B-to-AlA6061-T6 joint (Specimen ]1).

H33

Al sheet

Mg sheet
H44

300

Fusion zone
250
Microhardness (HV)

200 Mg
Weld metal
base
150 metal

100

50

0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
H33 H44
Distance(mm)

Fig. 11. Micro-hardness along the line H33–H44 shown in Fig. 8 (a) for a welded Mg AZ31B-to-Al A6061-T6 joint (Specimen ]9).
264 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266

Usually, the molten metal solidifies along the maximum
negative-temperature gradient from base metal into the middle of
the weld pool [25]. However, the results shown in Fig. 9(e) indicated
that the grains grew along the opposite direction, i.e. from the
middle of the weld metal to magnesium base metal. This is
primarily attributed to the fact that the thermal conductivity of
the aluminum is higher than that of the magnesium, and conse-
quently, this induces the grains in zone F (near zone G) to grow
along the maximum temperature gradient (i.e., the fastest cooling
speed) direction, i.e. from the weld metal to Mg base metal. Similar
phenomena were also reported in Ref [26]. Based on the results
shown in Figs. 7–9 and Table 7, the microstructure and phases of
each region shown in Fig. 7(b) can be summarized as follows, and
shown in Fig. 7(c):
Along the transition regions (i.e., A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H),
the composition and content of the Mg and Al varied from
3.5. Strength and fracture of welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joints
In this study, although an extensive effort was made via
process control to minimize the heat input, intermetallics still
formed in the weld metal. To evaluate the effect of these
intermetallics on the joint strength, mechanical testing of the
specimens ]1 and 9 were conducted and the results are shown in
Table 8. From this, two different fracture modes, shown in Figs. 12
and 13, were observed. One (i.e., specimen ]1) was fractured at
the fusion zone near the Mg AZ31B substrate, which is shown in
zone D in Figs. 5 and 6(c) and 12 and the other (specimen ] 9) was
fractured at the interface between the weld metal and Mg AZ31B
sheet, which is shown by boundary (white) zone G in Figs. 7 and
9(g) and 13. These results are consistent with the findings shown
in Figs. 10 and 11 where the specimens fractured along the

a-Al solid solution-a-Al solid solution and rich-Al

intermetallicsðb-Al3 Mg 2 Þ
-a-Al solid solution, rich-Al intermetallics
ðb-Al3 Mg 2 Þ,oxidations and silicides,
-rich-Mg intermetallics ðc-Al12 Mg 17 Þ and a-Mg solid solutions Mg sheet

-rich-Mg intermetallics ðc-Al12 Mg 17 Þ-a-Mg solid solution:

Al sheet

3.4. Micro-hardness distribution of welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6

joints 20mm

Based on the microstructural of zones A, B and D, we expect to

see variation in the micro-hardness of welded Mg AZ31B-to-Al
A6061-T6 joints. Figs. 10 and 11 present the micro-hardness
distribution along the line H11–H22 and along the line
H33–H44 for the specimens ]1 and 9, respectively. As shown in
Fig. 10, the micro-hardness of the Al weld metal and Mg
base metal are 100 HV and 80 HV, respectively. However, the
fusion zone near the Mg base metal reaches a micro-hardness of
360 HV. Similar results were observed in Fig. 11 where the Fig. 12. Fractography of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 specimen (]1) with
micro-hardness of the Al weld metal and Mg base metal are completed melting of Mg AZ31B sheet: (a) fractured specimen, and (b) schematic
of the fracture location.
125 HV and 85 HV, respectively. However, the fusion zone near
the Mg base metal reached a hardness of 280 HV. These results
indicated that the fusion zone in Fig. 11, (i.e., B–G transition
zones in Fig. 7(b)), likely consists of various microstructures
and phases. Furthermore, a high hardness was produced at the
fusion zone between the weld metal and Mg AZ31B base metal,
especially, the zone D in Fig. 5 and zone G in Fig. 7 (b). The Al sheet
high microhardness in the fusion zone is related to the brittle
intermetallics c-Al12Mg17 at the zone D in Fig. 5 and zone G in
Fig. 7(b). Similar results were found in Fig. 10. Experimental
results observed here were in agreement with other studies
[12,27,28]. Sato et al. [12] performed friction stir welding of Mg sheet
AA1050 and magnesium AZ31B alloy and reported that the highest
microhardness (an average of 200 HV) and the intermetallics 20mm
c-Al12Mg17 formed in the weld metal.

Table 8
Strength and fracture locations of the welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joints.

Specimen Voltage Weld Wire Joint strength Fractured

no. (V) speed feeder (KN) location
(mm/s) speed
(m/min)

1 10 7.2 3.0 0.38 zone D in

(0.226,0.365,0.536) Fig. 6 Fig. 13. Fractography of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 specimen ]9 with
9 10 3 1.8 0.93 (0.730,1.128) zone G in partially melting through the Mg AZ31B sheet: (a) fractured specimen, and
Fig. 8 (b) schematic of the fracture location. (a) Macro fracture feature, and (b) Local
brittle fracture surface.
 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266 265

maximum hardness zones (zones D and G in Fig. 5 and 7(b),
respectively) which contain significant amounts of brittle inter-
metallic c-Al12Mg17.
As shown in Table 8, although the joints (specimen ]1) have a
complete melting of the magnesium, their strength is lower than
that of the joints (i.e., specimen ]9) which have a partial melt
through. The difference in joint strength between the specimens
] 9 and ] 1 is likely attributed to the difference in the weld area,
location of the brittle zone and fracture modes of two welded
joints. We will analyze the strength variation of two welded
joints next.
Figs. 14 and 15 show the fracture surfaces of the specimens ]1
and ]9, respectively. As shown, the fracture surfaces of both
welded joints were primarily dominated by the coarse quasi-
cleavage fracture. While the fractography shown in Fig. 14 shows
consistent quasi-cleavage features, uneven features were
observed on the fracture surface shown in Fig. 15(a). EPMA point
analysis of the fracture surface was performed and the results are
shown in Figs. 14 and 15(b), Tables 9 and 10. The results indicated
that the large brittle cleavage surface denoted by region 1 shown
in Fig. 14(b) is composed of a large amount of Mg-rich brittle
intermetallic compound c-Al12Mg17 shown in Table 9. Local
brittle cleavage region 2 with tear ridge shown in Fig. 14(b) is
also composed of more c-Al12Mg17 intermetallic. The feature and
composition of the region 3 in Fig. 15(b) are similar to the region
1 shown in Fig. 14(b). However, the local region denoted by
region 4 is composed of rich-Al intermetallic compound b-Al3Mg2
and small oxides and silicon shown in Table 9. By comparison of
these macro fracture surfaces shown in Figs. 14 and 15, and
fracture locations shown in Figs. 12 and 13, it was found that
these two fracture surfaces are mainly composed of a large
amount of Mg-rich intermetallic compound c-Al12Mg17. These
intermetallics may introduce the local stresses raiser under an
applied load. The other factors which may attribute the difference
in the strength between the specimens ] 9 and ] 1 are the area
and location of the intermetallics. For the specimen ]1, more

2mm

Fig. 14. Fracture surface of a welded Mg AZ31B–Al A6061-T6 joint (]1) with completely melted Mg AZ31B sheet: (a) macro fracture feature, and (b) local brittle fracture
surface.

4mm

Fig. 15. Fracture surface and EPMA point analysis of the specimen ] 9 with partly melted Mg sheet: (a) macro fracture feature and (b) local tear fracture surface.
266 R. Cao et al. / Materials Science & Engineering A 560 (2013) 256–266

Table 9 1B-to-Al A6061-T6. Based on this study, the followed ideas are
EPMA analysis results of fracture surface for a welded specimen ]1. obtained.
Element (at%) Region 1 Region 2
1. CMT welding of 1 mm thick Mg AZ31B and 1 mm thick Al
Mg 65.4 77.85 A6061-T6 with a diameter of 1.6 mm aluminum 4047 wire
Al 34.6 22.15 was performed. Significant amounts of the Mg-rich interme-
Composition c-Al12Mg17 c-Al12Mg17 and small tallic c-Al12Mg17 and b-Al3Mg2 were produced in the weld.
a-Mg solid solution
2. The boundary between the weld metal and Mg alloy base
metal is mainly composed of brittle Mg-rich intermetallic
(c-Al12Mg17) which led to a weak joint. The Mg-rich inter-
Table 10 metallic (c-Al12Mg17) was the main culprit in degrading the
EPMA analysis results of fracture surface for a welded specimen ]9. weld strength. To improve the joint, minimizing the content
of the intermetallics especially Mg-rich intermetallics (c-
Element (at%) Region C Region D
Al12Mg17) is essential.
Mg 56.82 33.76
Al 43.18 56.36
Si 0 5.12 Acknowledgments
O 0 4.76
Composition c-Al12Mg17 b-Al3Mg2 and small This work was financially supported by National Nature
SiO2, Al2O3, MgO
Science Foundation of China (No. 51265028 and 51035004), the
Fundamental Research Funds for high school of Gansu Province,
brittle intermetallics were found at the location D shown in GM-Research and Development Center. The authors gratefully
Figs. 12 and 5(b). The normal stress induces the joint fracture acknowledge Blair Carlson for his thorough review of this paper.
along the brittle zone D with small area under the tensile mode,
and the shear stress fractured the welded joint along the brittle
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