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AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

2014, Science Hu, http://www.scihub.org/AJSIR


ISSN: 2153-649X, doi:10.5251/ajsir.2014.5.4.134.138

Effect of surface hardening for aluminium alloys 6061-T6 on mechanical


properties
Asst.Prof. Khairia Salman Hassan1, Asst. Prof. Dr. Hani Aziz Ameen2, and Huda
Mohammed Abdulaziz3
1,3
2

Institute of Technology- Baghdad / Mechanical Dept. Iraq.

Dies and Tools Eng. Dept., Technical College- Baghdad-Iraq


ABSTRACT

In this study surface hardening by laser peening was used for improving mechanical properties
of TIG weld joint of 6061 T6 aluminium alloy. TIG have been carried out on rolled sheet of 6mm
thickness to obtain many welding joints with dimensions of (100 *50* 5)mm using ER4043 (Al
Si5 ) as a filler metal and argon as shielding gas were made . The welded pieces were tested
by X-ray radiography and faulty pieces were excluded. Tensile test specimens were prepared
from weld joint in the dimensions according to ASTM 176000 and then subjected to laser peen
pulse without coating. The specimens subjected to X-ray diffraction to measure the
compressive residual stresses and microstructure examination to show the weld zone crystal
distribution. Then all specimens subjected to tensile test, Vickers hardness test to show the
effect of surface hardening on the mechanical properties of weld joint. Results showed a
general decay of mechanical properties of TIG joints comparing with base alloy that is due to
the microstructure change during the welding process. While the laser peen welds joint shows
an improving in mechanical properties than the TIG welded joint, Due to the arising of
compressive residual stresses.
Kew words: TIG welding, laser peening, residual stress, aluminium alloy 6061-T6, Mechanical
properties.
related to the presence of a tenacious oxide layer,
high thermal conductivity, high coefficient of thermal
expansion, solidification shrinkage and, above all,
high solubility of hydrogen, and other gases, in
molten state[1]. Further problems can arise when
attention is focused on heat-treatable alloys, since
heat, provided by welding process, is responsible of
the decay of mechanical properties, due to phase
transformations and softening induced in alloy [3]

INTRODUCTION
Gas metal arc welding is a process that melts and
joins metals by heating them with an arc established
between a continuously fed filler wire electrode and
the metals. Shielding of the arc and the molten weld
pool is often obtained using inert gases such as
argon and helium. This is the most widely used arc
welding process for aluminium alloy. With TIG
welding using alternating current (AC) polarity and
high heat generation end is continuously changing an
electric arc is formed between inconsumable
tungsten Electrode and the work piece. The arc
provides the thermal energy to melt the work piece as
well as the filler material. For Al alloys due to their
elevated thermal conductivity, the weld penetration
remains very shallow [1] [2]

Ratnesh K. Shukla [4] investigated


tensile
properties and fracture surface morphology of weld
butt joints of 6061 T6 aluminium alloy for two
different welding processes, a conventional tungsten
inert gas (TIG) process and a friction stir welding
(FSW) process results showed a general decay of
mechanical properties of TIG joints compare with
FSW joint.

The welding of aluminium and its alloys has always


represented great challenge for designers and
technologists. As a matter of fact, lots of difficulties
are associated to this kind of joint process, mainly

Laboratory studies have established that the


mechanical properties of different aluminium and iron
base alloys can be improved by laser shock
treatment. When the energy from a powerful Pulsed
laser is trained on the surface of a metal; a high

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Am. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 2014, 5(4): 134-138

amplitude stress wave is generated. This Wave


propagates into the material and alters its
microstructure, which is the the source of the
observed improvement in the metals mechanical
properties. The ability to generate stress waves in
materials with short duration bursts of laser energy
has been known for some time but it has only been in
recent years that these stress waves have been
shown to provide an effective in improving the fatigue
properties of a number of metals and alloys.

in industry to cut costs and avoid the need for


expensive materials. Demonstrated a few decades
ago, and insist that laser shock processing (LSP) is
now emerging as a viable surface treatment
technique. This technique improves the mechanical
properties by inducing a compressive residual stress
field.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the most accurate and best
developed method of quantifying the residual
stresses produced by surface treatments such as
laser peening, and gives a number of advantages
when compared to the various mechanical methods
[6]

The research work leading to this method of altering


the in-depth mechanical properties of metals various
methods have been used to increase the amplitude
and duration of these stress waves in order to
increase the depth and degree of change introduced
into the metal [5].

Paul S. Prevy [9] described the ability of x-ray


diffraction methods to determine both the
macroscopic residual stress and the depth and
magnitude of the cold worked layer produced by shot
peening.

Laser shock peening (LSP) or laser peening


generally increases the resistance of metals and
alloys to fatigue and fretting fatigue. It does this by
using a high energy pulsed laser to produce residual
compressive stresses and strain hardening into the
surface of a laser peened part. The residual
compressive stresses from laser shock peening
extend deeper below the surface than those from
shot peening [6][7].

In this study the influence of laser peening technique


on mechanical properties and hardness levels were
investigated.
Experimental work: Table (1) shows the Chemical
Analysis of Aluminum alloy (AA) 6061-T6 by using
ARL Spectrometer, where 6 mm thick plates were
machined to the required dimensions (100*100*5)
mm, to weld the TIG joint.

I.B. Roman [8] shows that the surface treatment


technologies have become more and more important
Table (1) Chemical Analysis of the used metal 6061- T6 [10]
Elements
w%
Measured value

Si

Fe

Cu

Mn

Mg

Cr

Zn

Al

0.6

0.4

0.3

0.12

1.0

0.2

0.18

Rem.

Slandered value

0.4-0.8

0.15-0.4

Max 0.15

0.8-1.2

0.04-0.35

Max 0.25

Rem.

Max 0.7

shielding gas, the other parameters were: welding


current 90 amperes, voltage 18 volts, filler rod
diameter 2 mm, welding speed 120 mm/min, gas flow
20 lit/min.

TIG welding process:


Butt joints for TIG welding were prepared using
ER4043 (AlSi5) as filler material where its chemical
composition is shown in Table (2) and argon as

Table (2) Chemical composition of the filler metal (Filer wire ER 4043) (Al Si5) [11]
Elements
w%
Measured
value
Slandered
value

Si

Fe

Cu

Mn

Mg

Zn

Al

5.0

0.4

0.1

0.08

0.06

0.15

93.4

4.5-6

<0.6

<0.3

< 0.15

< 0.2

< 0.1

Rem.

Categorization of weld joint: After completing the


specimen, they were categorized to groups as shown
in Table (3)

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Am. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 2014, 5(4): 134-138

Table (3) Categorization of specimens


ymbol

condition

As received

water then dried by hair. The friction stir welded joint


samples were examined by Nikon ME-600
computerized optical microscope provided with a
NIKON camera, DXM-1200F as shown in Fig. (2)

As received +Laser peen

TIG weld process

TIG weld + Laser peen

W
M
HAZ

Preparation of specimens: Many specimens for


tensile test were prepared by dimensions in Fig.(1)
according to ASTM 176000 to test using Testing
machine smart series with preload value (N) 100 and
cross head speed (mm/min) or rate. 20. Extension
the obtained results are shown in Table (4) .

BM
Sample (A) Base metal

Sample (C) TIG weld joint

Fig. (2) Microstructure of specimens

Laser peening
Specimens subjected to the Laser peening
Processes by laser tattoo removal under these
conditions
=1064 nm
Focal length=13mm
No. of pluses 1/mm
Hardness test: Macro Hardness test was
implemented on all specimens in Table (3) by using
Vickers hardness method. The result are shown in
Table (4) by using

Fig.(1) tensile test specimen


Microstructure test: Micro structural changes from
weld zone to the unaffected base material were
examined with optical microscope. Specimens were
prepared for microstructure test including wet
grinding operation using emery paper of SiC with
different grits of (240,400,600, and 1000). Polishing
process was done by using diamond paste of size
(2.5m) with special polishing cloth. They were
cleaned with water and alcohol then dried with hot air
dryer

equation (1)
Hv = 1.854

---------- (1)

Were (p): is the applied load in kg


(d): was penetration diameter in mm
Specimens were cutting from sheet metal in
dimension by length (20*20 *6mm)
And the surface prepared by using emery paper at
different degree for obtaining smooth surface

Etching for the structure by use Kellers reagent


consisting of 95 ml distill water, 2.5 ml HNO3, 1.5 ml
HCl and 1 ml HF then washed after that with distill
Table (4) Chemical Analysis of the used metal 6061- T6 [10]
Sample

u N/mm

A
B
C
D

350.4
325
181
161

Yield stress y
N/mm
295.3
295
145
81

135

Elongation
%
10
12.5
5.5
7.5

Hardness
Hv(kg\2 )
100
85
70
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Am. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 2014, 5(4): 134-138

Result of mechanical properties for all specimens


Micro hardness test: Micro hardness test of the
welded joints was accomplished using the Vickers
hardness tester. According to the ASTM, Vickers
hardness measurements were taken 2 mm below the
top surface of the specimen perpendicular to the
welding direction across the weld zone, heat affected
zone (HAZ) and the base materials using a diamond
pyramid indenter with a load of 30 kg and loading
within 15sec.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION


Fig(2) shows the micro structure weld region of AA
6061T6 and based metal .The TIG method
represented by symbol( C) give the Lower amount of
strengthening precipitates compared to the base
metal specimen symbol (A). The higher strength of
the base material is mainly attributed due to presence
of alloying elements such as silicon and magnesium.
These two elements combine and undergo
precipitation reaction and form strengthening
precipitates Mg2Si as shown by darken particles in
Fig.(2) Therefore, the Strengthening of Mg2Si
precipitates is weak in TIG and the.

Test results to all specimens are shown in Fig.(3)


150
100

The fusion zone contain dendritic structure and this


may be due to fasting welding heating of the base
metal and fast cooling of molten metal.

speceimen C

50

The weld and adjacent heat affected zone in welded


aluminum structures quite often are weaker than the
remaining structure.

Speceimen D

0
-20

-10

10

The ultimate tensile strength result of base and


welded metals are shown in Table 4, it can be seen
that tensile properties and elongation of TIG is far
lower than the native metal sample (A)

20

Fig (3) micro hardness result

Residual stresses: residual stress were measured


by using Lab Xrd-6000 Shimadzu X-Ray Difracto
Meter, the residual stress results are shown in Tab(5)
,Fig.(4) which gives the relation between 2 Theta
(deg)and Psi (deg)

These results indicate that softening effect has


occurred in aluminum alloy. The tensile properties
and fracture locations of the joints are
to a large extent dependent on the hardness
distributions of the joint. Hardness degradation region
composed of weld zone and HAZ has occurred in the
joints Fig. 3, for the sample (B),the increase in
mechanical properties from the laser peening was
mainly attributed to the increase in dislocation density
by the laser peening process, and the high level of
compressive residual stresses introduced during the
high energy peening and generated stress waves
which can be used to improve the properties of
materials. Laser shocking offers another approach
that is particularly amenable for treating formed
structures. The effect of laser shocking on weld
zones in common structural aluminum alloys (6061
T6) have been investigated. After laser shocking,

Surface roughness: The average value of the free


surface roughness , which was measured at the
surface area of specimens( A,C) and peened area
for specimens (B,D) indicated by the parameter Ra
which is the center-line average of adjacent peaks
are shown in Table ( 5) .
Table (5) surface roughness and residual stress results

Sample

Surface roughness
Ra (m)

residual stress
MPa

0.18

-18.14

2.1

-89.130

0.7

-46.798

3.2

-97.934

The yield strength of 6061 T6 was a raised and the


weld zone in specimen (D) provides higher strength
and hardness to TIG joint, This result indicates the
surface roughness tends to be improved as the pulse
density increases. The result show in Table 5

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Am. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 2014, 5(4): 134-138

Specimen D
Fig. 4 photo graph of residual stress
Specimen A
CONCLUSIONS
1-laser shock can increase the compressive residual
stresses induced by laser shock. However, it is not
effective on the growth of plastically affective depth.
This can be overcome by incorporating it with the
multiple LSP in the same position.
2- The tensile strength has been increased by an
amount of 34% and at weld laser shot peen in
comparison with weld specimen without laser shot
peen.
3-Hardness change in the welded material is affected
by the amount of the heat input during the welding
process
4-In the HAZ both tensile strength and hardness
reduce to a minimum, presumably due to over-aging
consequent to the transformation of the strengthening
metastable precipitate.

Speceimen B

5-In most of the experienced cases, fracture in tensile


tests is located in the HAZ
REFERENCE
1-

Klas Weman 2003. Welding Process Handbook,


Cambridge, England, 2003
2- Rajakumar, S. C. Muralidharan, V. Balasubramanian.
2010.Empirical relationships to predict grain size and
tensile strength of friction stir welded AA 6061-T6
aluminium alloy joints, transactions of nonferrous
Metals Society China. 20, pp.1863-1872
3- Squillace,A, A.Fenzo. 2004. Comparison between FSW
and TIG welding techniques: modifications of
icrostructure and pitting corrosion resistance in AA
2024-T3 butt joints, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, 152, pp. 97105

Specimen C

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Am. J. Sci. Ind. Res., 2014, 5(4): 134-138

8- Roman, I.B.1, A.S. Banea, M.H. ierean. 2011. A review


on mechanical properties of metallic materials after
laser shock processing, Bulletin Of The Transylvania
University of Brasov Series I: Engineering Sciences
Vol. 4 (53) No. 2.
9- Paul S. Prevy 1996. x-ray diffraction characterization
of residual stresses produced by shot peening
,Lambda Research T. Adachi Developments in
Materials Characterization Technologies, eds. G.
Vander Voort & J. Frie ASM International, Materials
Park, OH, pp 103-110.
10-Metals Handbook, Vol.2 - Properties and Selection:
Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials,
ASM International 10th Ed. 1990.
11-Safra,
Al.Si.5/ER
4043
www.tesolgroup.com/media199.pdf

4- Ratnesh K. Shukla and Pravin K. Shah. 2010.


Comparative study of friction stir welding and tungsten
inert gas welding process, Indian Journal of Science
and Technology, Vol. 3 No. 6.
5- Fairand, B.P. and A. H. Clauer. 1977. Use of laser
generated shocks to improve the properties of metals
and alloys, copyright 1977 by the society of
photooptical instrumentation engineers, box 1146,
Palos verdes estates, California 90274 USA
6- Allan H. Clauer, Laser shock peening for fatigue
resistance,
7- Adachi , T, H. Takehis. 2008. Effect of laser peening on
fatigue properties for aircraft structure parts ,
www.shotpeener.com/library/pdf/2008107 .This paper
was published in Vol. 86-Industrial Applications Of
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