Study of the relation between microstructure and hot

tearing in the Laser welds of Al6056-AS12

Damien Fabrègue — Alexis Deschamps

Laboratoire de Thermodynamique et de Physico Chimie Métallurgique (LTPCM)

1130 Rue de la piscine
Domaine Universitaire
38402 Saint Martin d'Hères
Tél. : 33(0)4 76 82 66 14 / Fax. : 33(0)4 77 82 66 44 / E-mail. : fabregue@ltpcm.inpg.fr

ABSTRACT. T shape Laser welds of aluminium alloy 6056 were produced using AS12 as filler wire. The microstructure of
the fusion zone and the heat affected zone were observed. The fusion zone shows a fine dendritic structure with a polyphased
interdendritic space. The dendrite core still contain sufficient alloying elements in order to induce hardening precipitation
during a post weld heat treatment. Liquation is observed at the grain boundaries of the base material close to the fusion
zone. Different welding parameters have been tested to determine their influence on the composition of the fusion zone and
on hot tearing.
KEYWORDS : Laser welding, microstructure, aluminium alloy, hot tearing.
1. Introduction

Laser welding is a joining method which is in rapid development in the aerospace industry. However, such
components must show high performance (good mechanical properties, low distortions, ....)(Schinzel and al.,
2000) and good reliability thus welding defects such as cracks and porosity (Katayama and al., 2000) have to be
carrefully studied and controlled. For this purpose, the relation between the welding parameters, the
microstructure and the phenomenon of hot tearing must be better understood. This paper presents the study of
the microstructure of T shape YAG welds of alloy 6056, a qualitative observation of hot tearing and first
conclusions on the effect of the welding parameters. Optical microscopy, S.E.M. (with E.B.S.D. mode and
microprobe) and T.E.M. observations have been performed as well as microhardness tests.

2. Experimental

The material used was 2.5 mm thick sheet of the alloy 6056-T4. T shape welds were produced with two 3kW
Nd:YAG Lasers. The composition of the alloy is Al-0.86Mg-0.92Si-0.87Cu-0.55Mn-0.19Fe in wt%. The welds
were realised in the rolling direction with a filler wire of Al-12%Si and helium as shield gas. The welding speed
was varied from 2.5 to 6 m/min. Optical observations were made using the Flick reactant. EBSD specimens were
produced by electropolishing with a solution of 1/3 nitric acid and 2/3 methanol. TEM samples were prepared in
the base material, in the fusion zone and at the interface between the two (called Transition Zone in the
following). They were prepared using a dimpler followed by grazing angle ion milling (P.I.P.S.). Vickers
microhardness tests were performed with a weight of 200 g.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. The base material

The base material exhibits a microstructure with elongated grains of about 100 µm of length. Two types of
large particles can be observed, and are identified as Mg2Si and Fe2Si2Mn3. After a post welding T78 heat
treatment (6h at 175°C and 5h at 210°C), TEM observations reveal the presence of hardening β'' precipitates
sequence (Edwards and al.).

3.2. The fusion zone

3.2.1.Microstructure

Figure 1 and 2. Dendritic structure and grain size of the fusion zone
 Optical observations of the fusion zone show a fine cellular
structure with a secondary dendritic arm spacing of about 3 µm due to
the high solidification rate which can be estimated to 1000°C/s (Figure
1). The grain size is of 100µm as determined by EBSD cartography
(Figure 2).
TEM samples revealed that the interdendritic is multi phased
(Figure 3). On the basis of STEM observations and EDX analysis,
these phases can be classified in five different families :
– β Mg2Si
– θ phase (Al2Cu)
– particles of Si9Mn13Fe10
– a plate shape phase with the composition Si25Mg11Mn5Fe5Cu2. It
is interesting to note that the θ phase nucleates on this phase, thus it
must form at higher temperature
– a Si rich phase

Figure 3. The different phases in the interdendritic space

3.2.2.Chemical composition
Table 1 shows the composition of the fusion zone. It can be seen that the composition is close to the base
material except for Si due to the filler wire. The slight decrease in Mg concentration can be explained by the
dilution of the base material by the filler wire, and the vaporisation, as proposed by Rapp and al., 1993, is
negligible in the present case.
Mg Si Cu Mn Fe
Average fusion zone concentration 0.67 2.22 0.62 0.56 0.13
Dendrite core 0.38 0.85 0.43 0.03 0.25
Interdendritic zone 1.38 8.19 1.52 0.76 2.49
Table 1. Composition of the different zones of the weld nugget in wt %
The dendrite core contain less alloying elements than the base material but still in sufficient amount to
involve a hardening precipitation after a post welding heat treatment, as proved by hardness test and TEM
observations. The interdendritic space is rich in all alloying elements and impurities which is consistent with the
phases found by STEM.

3.3 The transition zone

Optical observations of the zone close to the weld nugget revealed that the boundaries of the grains of the
base material are preferentially etched (figure 4). This etching can be due to intergranular precipitation or to the
phenomenon of liquation (Huang and al., 2001). A further study has confirmed the second hypothesis. Firstly,
the extent of this grain etching is much larger when they are elongated parallel to the heat flux (in the stiffener),
than when they are perpendicular (base plate). Secondly, microprobe analysis revealed that the boundaries are
rich in alloying elements which diffuse slowly in the solid state (Fe and Cr). Last, TEM observations showed
that phases lying on these boundaries are rounded in shape.
 160

150 Fusion Zone

140

Microhardness (Hv)
130

120

110

T4+W +T4
100 T4+W +T6
T4+W +T78
90
0 1 2 3 4 5
Distance from the centre of the fusion zone (mm)

Figure 4 and 5. Transition zone and microhardness profile

3.4. Microhardness measurements

Microhardness profiles were performed to characterise the extent of the HAZ as well as the ability of the
fusion zone to recover high yield strength after a post welding heat treatment. The profile are shown in the figure
5. The initial state of the material was T4, where the yield strength is controlled by G.P. zones and solute
clusters. After welding a HAZ can be observed in the base material with a length of about 1 mm. The hardness of
the weld nugget is much lower than the base material due to the absence of the precipitate and to the loss of the
solute elements. After a T78 heat treatment, hardness in the HAZ is equivalent to that of the base material. Thus
no coarse precipitation occurred during the thermal cycle of the welding close to the weld nugget and all the
alloying elements can be used for hardening precipitation (Bratland and al.). The hardness in the fusion zone
also increases during the heat treatment : the amount of alloying elements is sufficient to achieve hardening
precipitation.

3.5. Hot tearing

Hot tearing is a common phenomenon occurring in the last steps of solidification when empty interdendritic
space cannot be filled by the liquid and tensile stresses are exerted on the grain boundaries which have a limited
cohesion. Hot tearing is known to be dependent on alloy composition, cooling rate and imposed strain (Rappaz
and al.). It has been extensively studied in the case of casting where the alloy content is the most critical
parameter. In the case of welding, the cooling rate is very high and the imposed constraint can be of a high
magnitude. We investigated the influence of various parameters on the occurrence of hot tearing : the welding
speed, the composition of the fusion zone (by the diameter of the filler wire), and the thermal pumping. The
results are summarised in table 2.
Weld speed Filler wire ∅ Thermal pumping Si wt% in fusion zone Hot cracking
2.5 m/min 0.8 mm Y 2.22 N
3.5 m/min 0.8 mm N 2.56 Y
4 m/min 1 mm Y 4.11 N
6 m/min 1 mm Y 4.06 N
Table 2. Parameters used in welding experiments
Notes : filler wire speed = weld speed
no thermal pumping = insulator at the bottom of the fusion zone
 Table 2 shows that the Si content is mainly determined by the diameter of the filler wire and relatively
insensitive to the welding speed. In our case, this concentration is not the critical parameter in the occurrence of
hot tearing (as it is the case in the casting process) whereas the thermal pumping seems to have a first order
influence. EBSD cartography shows that hot tearing is an intergranular phenomenon as expected from the
intergranular nature of the crack nucleation mechanism. Figure 6 shows a fractography of a hot tear.

Figure 6. Fractography of a hot tear

4. Conclusions

The characterisation of the microstructure of the weld and the effect of welding parameters lead to the
following conclusions :
– the microstructure of the weld nugget presents a grain size of 100 µm and a DAS of 3 µm;
– a post weld heat treatment involves hardening precipitation, in the fusion zone due to the presence of
alloying elements in the dendrite core;
– there are at least four different phases in the interdendritic spacing;
–close to the fusion zone, in the base material, the grain boundaries are decorated due to liquation;
–in the T4 + weld state, a softer region can be detected by hardness measurements, but a T78 heat treatment
suppresses any difference between the HAZ and the base material.
–in the present configuration, the phenomenon of hot tearing is mainly influenced by the thermal
configuration, as opposed to the composition of the fusion zone (or welding speed).

5. Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank EADS for providing material and welding facilities and the French ministry of
industry for financial support.

6. References

Bratland D.H., Grong O., Shercliff H., Myhr O.R., Tjotta S., Acta Met. Vol. 45 (1), P. 1-22.
Edwards G.A., Stiller K., Dunlop G.L., Couper M.J., Acta Mat. Vol.46 (11), p.3893-3904.
Huang C., Kou S., Welding Journal, February 2001.
Katayama S., Seto N, Mizutani M., Matsunawa A., Proceedings of ICALEO, 2000.
Rapp J., Glumann C., Dausinger F., Hugel H., 5th Int. Conf. on Welding and Melting by Electron and Laser Beams, 1993.
Rappaz M., Drezet J.M., Gremaud M., Met. and Mat. Trans. A, vol.30 (2), p.449-456.
Shinzel C., Hohenbeger B., Dausinger F., Hugel H., Proceedings of SPIE, Vol. 3888, 2000.