Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint

The development of MIG (metal inert gas) welding for five-series aluminum alloys primarily involves the improvement and optimization of welding processes. Building upon research findings regarding the enhancement of aluminum alloy properties through the use of scandium (Sc) and erbium (Er), our stud...

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Main Authors: Cunwei Zou, Ruizhi Wu, Xinhe Yang, Zhikun Ma, Legan Hou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Metals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/3/287
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author Cunwei Zou
Ruizhi Wu
Xinhe Yang
Zhikun Ma
Legan Hou
author_facet Cunwei Zou
Ruizhi Wu
Xinhe Yang
Zhikun Ma
Legan Hou
author_sort Cunwei Zou
collection DOAJ
description The development of MIG (metal inert gas) welding for five-series aluminum alloys primarily involves the improvement and optimization of welding processes. Building upon research findings regarding the enhancement of aluminum alloy properties through the use of scandium (Sc) and erbium (Er), our study incorporates Sc and Er into the welding wire to examine their impact on welding quality. The results show that the introduction of Er and Sc results in grain refinement from 47 µm to 29 µm and 31 µm, respectively. Grain refinement is mainly attributed to the heterogeneous nucleation of submicron-sized, coherent Al<sub>3</sub>Er and Al<sub>3</sub>Sc phases with L12 structure. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS), fracture elongation EI [%], and microhardness of joints welded with Er-containing and Sc-containing filler wires exhibit significant enhancements due to the refinement strengthening and dispersion strengthening. Joints welded with the filler wires containing Er and Sc display reduced corrosion current density and higher corrosion potential. The enhanced corrosion resistance comes from the formation of a denser oxide film and the equilibrium in the potential difference between the precipitated phases (Al<sub>3</sub>Er and Al<sub>3</sub>Sc) and the matrix. Filler wires containing Er and Sc have almost similar effects on improvements of the MIG welding joints.
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spelling doaj-art-41cf48b257854d38a148ed982b76dfc22025-08-20T02:42:26ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012025-03-0115328710.3390/met15030287Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG JointCunwei Zou0Ruizhi Wu1Xinhe Yang2Zhikun Ma3Legan Hou4School of New Energy Vehicle, Nanning Vocational and Technical University, Nanning 530008, ChinaKey Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaSchool of New Energy and Mining, Xinjiang University of Technology, Hetian 848000, ChinaKey Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaKey Laboratory of Superlight Materials & Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, ChinaThe development of MIG (metal inert gas) welding for five-series aluminum alloys primarily involves the improvement and optimization of welding processes. Building upon research findings regarding the enhancement of aluminum alloy properties through the use of scandium (Sc) and erbium (Er), our study incorporates Sc and Er into the welding wire to examine their impact on welding quality. The results show that the introduction of Er and Sc results in grain refinement from 47 µm to 29 µm and 31 µm, respectively. Grain refinement is mainly attributed to the heterogeneous nucleation of submicron-sized, coherent Al<sub>3</sub>Er and Al<sub>3</sub>Sc phases with L12 structure. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS), fracture elongation EI [%], and microhardness of joints welded with Er-containing and Sc-containing filler wires exhibit significant enhancements due to the refinement strengthening and dispersion strengthening. Joints welded with the filler wires containing Er and Sc display reduced corrosion current density and higher corrosion potential. The enhanced corrosion resistance comes from the formation of a denser oxide film and the equilibrium in the potential difference between the precipitated phases (Al<sub>3</sub>Er and Al<sub>3</sub>Sc) and the matrix. Filler wires containing Er and Sc have almost similar effects on improvements of the MIG welding joints.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/3/287MIG weldingErScmechanical propertiescorrosion resistance
spellingShingle Cunwei Zou
Ruizhi Wu
Xinhe Yang
Zhikun Ma
Legan Hou
Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint
Metals
MIG welding
Er
Sc
mechanical properties
corrosion resistance
title Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint
title_full Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint
title_fullStr Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint
title_full_unstemmed Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint
title_short Effects of a Welding Wire Containing Er or Sc on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Resistance of the 5xxx Aluminum Alloy MIG Joint
title_sort effects of a welding wire containing er or sc on the microstructure mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the 5xxx aluminum alloy mig joint
topic MIG welding
Er
Sc
mechanical properties
corrosion resistance
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/3/287
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