Effect of Interfacial Reaction on the Mechanical Performance of Steel to Aluminum Dissimilar Ultrasonic Spot Welds

The early stages of formation of intermetallic compounds (IMC) have been investigated in dissimilar aluminum to steel welds, manufactured by high power (2.5 kW) ultrasonic spot welding (USW). To better understand the influence of alloy composition, welds were produced between a low-carbon steel (DC04) and two different aluminum alloys (6111 and 7055). The joint strengths were measured in lap shear tests and the formation and growth behavior of IMCs at the weld interface were characterized by electron microscopy, for welding times from 0.2 to 2.4 seconds. With the material combinations studied, the η (Fe2Al5) intermetallic phase was found to form first, very rapidly in the initial stage of welding, with a discontinuous island morphology. Continuous layers of η and then θ (FeAl3) phase were subsequently seen to develop on extending the welding time to greater than 0.7 second. The IMC layer formed in the DC04-AA7055 combination grew thicker than for the DC04-AA6111 welds, despite both weld sets having near identical thermal histories. Zinc was also found to be dissolved in the IMC phases when welding with the AA7055 alloy. After post-weld aging of the aluminum alloy, fracture in the lap shear tests always occurred along the joint interface; however, the DC04-AA6111 welds had higher fracture energy than the DC04-AA7055 combination.