A brief review on pre- and post-weld treatment of various grades of aluminium alloys

Abstract

In the present paper, different types of pre- and post-weld treatments performed on aluminium alloys have been reviewed. Aluminium is the second most widely produced material after steel. Aluminium alloys can be welded using fusion welding techniques but they distort the weldments’ microstructure and the welds are prone to oxidation, porosity and cracking. Therefore, modern welding techniques like laser beam welding, electron beam welding and friction stir welding are now performed on aluminium alloys. Further, treatments like reinforcement, pre-weld and post-weld heat treatment and cryogenic treatment have also been performed by researchers and discussed in the paper. The application of various treatments has significantly improved the aluminium alloy weldments’ properties especially cryogenic treatment. The effect of preheat and cryogenic treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium alloys’ weldments has not been researched properly and they require more attention of researchers.