An Investigation of Dissimilar Welding Aluminum Alloys to Stainless Steel by the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) Welding Process

Welding dissimilar materials has been widely applied in industries. Some of them are considered this as a strategy to develop their future technology products. Aluminum alloy and stainless steel have differences in physical, thermal, mechanical and metallurgic properties. However, selecting a suitable welding process and welding rods can solve this problem. This research aimed to investigate the T-joint welding between A6061 aluminum alloy and SUS304 stainless steel using new welding rods, Aluma-Steel by the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process. The mechanical properties, the characteristics of microstructure, and component analysis of the welds have been investigated by the mechanical testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). As a result, the fracture occurred at the adjacent area between welding seam and A6061 alloys plate. The thermal cracking appeared at central welding-seam along the base metals if high welding current. A large amount of copper elements found in the welds due to using the new welding rod, Aluma-Steel rod.