Numerical Simulation and Experimental Investigation on Electron Beam Welding of Spray-Formed 7055 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

The spray-formed 7055 aluminum alloy is welded by electron beam welding. Combined with the numerical simulation of a welding temperature field, the effect of different welding procedures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints is investigated in this study. Results show that the joints with good properties can be obtained under proper welding procedures. The microstructure analysis demonstrates that the fusion zone mainly consists of equiaxed grains, while a fine equiaxed grain zone is formed near the fusion line. There are mainly α(Al), MgZn2, Al2CuMg, and Mg32(Al,Zn)49 phases in the weld metal. The morphology of the weld can be improved by modification welding after the first bead welding, which is also advantageous to the mechanical properties of a welded joint. In the as-welded condition, compared with that of the base metal, the hardness of the weld zone decreased to a certain extent. The maximum tensile strength of a welded joint reaches 371.7 MPa. There are many dimples on the tensile fracture surface of a welded joint, and it dominantly presents the characteristic of ductile fracture. The simulated molten pool is consistent with the experimental weld morphology, and the reliability and accuracy of the simulation analysis are verified.

Keywords

• 7055 aluminum alloy
• electron beam welding
• numerical simulation
• microstructure
• mechanical properties