OPTIMIZATION OF WELDING PARAMETERS TO STUDY THE WELD ON BEAD OF AA6082 BY USING COLD METAL TRANSFER (CMT) WELDING PROCESS

Abstract

Aluminium alloys are extensively employed in industries such as construction, automobile manufacturing, and spacecraft production owing to their remarkable attributes, including outstanding corrosion resistance, a high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent machinability, and ductility. The cold metal transfer technique shows potential as a welding method for constructing aluminium structures. This research work focuses on a comparison of influence of activated flux on microstructure and characteristics of weld bead geometry of Al-Mg-Si alloy AA6082 manufactured by cold metal transfer (CMT) process. ER4043 was used as a filler wire to make weld on bead on 3 mm thick AA6082 plates. Various input process parameters i.e., current (80, 100 and 110 A) and welding speed (30, 40, 50 cm/min) were used, whereas the nozzle tip distance andshielding gas flow rate remained fixed at 10 mm and 15 l/min, respectively. Optical microscopyis used to study the microstructural characteristics. The samples created with activated flux have a highlevel of penetration and percentage dilution. Also, there is an increase in micro-hardness of samples which are fabricated using activated flux.