Joining of composite materials based on Al-Si alloys by using the GMAW process

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to presents a procedure of joining composite materials on aluminium base by using the GMAW process. The experiment included welding of the aluminium base composite with three different types of filler materials in the form of wire: AlMg4.5Zr, AlMg5 and AlSi5, and comparative analysis of the macroscopic and microscopic examination results. Base material was A356 Al-Si alloy composite containing 10 wt. % Al2O3. Average size of Al2O3 particles was 35 μm. The A356 matrix alloy was modified with the addition of 0.03 wt. % Sr. Composite was produced by the compocasting process. The results show that composite material with Al-Si matrix can be successfully welded by using the GMAW process. Results of macro and micro analysis show that the most favourable results were obtained by using the AlSi5 wire as filler material.