Experimental Investigation for Process Optimization during Gas Metal Arc Welding of Al-6063 Alloy

Abstract

Aluminum alloys are commonly used in automobile industries, ship and marine sectors because they are light in weight, high corrosion resistance. Since very large parts are made so they need to be joined by welding. MIG welding is commonly used for Al alloy because it produces spatter free welding, high deposition rate and easy to operate. The quality of the weld depends on the factors of the welding. Proper combination of welding parameter is necessary to get the better result. So optimization of the welding parameter is necessary. In this study various MIG welding parameter like current, voltage, gas flow rate, groove angle and post weld aging was taken to study and analyze. L18 orthogonal array was used for experimental trials. Taguchi method was used to optimize the results. Signal to noise ratio was also found for analyze the parameter effect. Tensile strength, toughness and microhardness in fusion and heat affected zone were done to find out the various outcomes at different experiment level. SEM and optical microscope was used to analyze the metallurgical effect of welding parameters. Grey relation analysis was used to find out the best result for different outcomes of the weld joint.