Microstructure and mechanical properties of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy plates by welding with weld reinforcement rolling

Abstract

The welding with weld reinforcement rolling (WR) process was proposed to improve the deteriorated mechanical properties of traditional arc welded (TW) joints of the 7075-T6 aluminum alloy. In this novel process, the welding process and joint strengthening process were performed simultaneously. A comprehensive investigation of the microstructure evolution during the WR process was conducted. Ultimate tensile strength and elongation determined from tensile testing of the joints were 427.4 MPa, 5.5 % for WR joint and 301.3 MPa, 3.4 % for TW joint. The microhardness of the fusion zone (FZ) and heat-affected zone 1 (HAZ1, the dissolution zone) in the WR joint exceeded that of the TW joint. These results suggest that the application of rolling force not only affected the FZ but also simultaneously strengthened the HAZ1 through deformation while having a comparatively less effect on the heat-affected zone 2 (HAZ2, the over-ageing zone). Quantitative assessments of the effects of different strengthening mechanisms on the strength were conducted, and dislocation strengthening was found to be the predominant factor in increasing the strength of the WR joint. Deformation within both the FZ and HAZ1 during the WR process was mainly due to dislocation slip, while sub-grain rotation was also observed.