Journal of Welding Science

The welding joints were investigated due to the significance of similar welding of Corten A weathering steel and its dissimilar welding with St12 plain carbon steel in industrial applications. The gas metal arc welding (GMAW) technique with carbon dioxide shielding gas was utilized in the present work. The welding process comprised current and voltage control, welding wire injection rate, shielding gas rate, welding speed, connection configuration, and microstructure evolution. Mechanical properties and microstructure evolution in similar and dissimilar joints and weld defects were evaluated by tensile, bending, hardness, metallographic, and radiographic tests. The weld microstructure in similar and dissimilar joints included grain boundary ferrite, acicular ferrite, and WidmanStatten ferrite. The tensile strengths of the similar and dissimilar joints were respectively 497 and 303 MPa. The weld zone hardness was 210 and 180 Vickers for similar and dissimilar joints, respectively. In conclusion, similar welding outperformed dissimilar welding considering weld joint defects, mechanical properties, and microstructure.
 

In today's technological landscape, the push for miniaturization in electronic devices is greater than ever, driven by technological advancements.The challenges of electromigration and thermomigration
have arisen due to the need to establish new electronic connections under conditions characterized by creeping temperatures, originating from the low melting point of solders and high current density.  Therefore, recently, alloying and composite materials have been employed to enhance the resistance of electronic connections to electromigration. In this study, efforts to enhance the resistance to electromigration using a composite SAC0307 lead-free solder alloy incorporating cobalt microparticles. The presence of cobalt in the intermetallic composition of the interface causes more stability of the intermetallic composition of the interface and prevents the reduction of the thickness of the intermetallic composition of the interface during the time of the electromigration test; As a result, the stability and electronic connection of the sample soldered with composite solder alloy is more than that of non-composite solder alloy. On the other hand, due to the fine grain structure and the increase in grain boundary density in the composite solder alloy, the lattice diffusion mechanism in the non-composite solder alloy has been changed to the grain boundary diffusion mechanism; As a result, due to the consumption of copper atoms flowed from the cathode side to the anode by the intermetallic compounds present in the grain boundaries, non-uniform microstructural was observed in the composite solder alloy during the time of electromigration test.

Soldering plays a crucial role in the electronics industry, driving the need for constant improvements in physical and mechanical properties and the management of intermetallic compound formation. Research in composite materials aims to achieve a uniform distribution of reinforcing particles within solder matrix to enhance their performance. This study investigates the integration of cobalt microparticles into SAC0307 lead-free soft solder alloy using the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) method. Microstructural analysis confirmed a homogeneous dispersion of cobalt particles within the solder after three ARB passes. Moreover, increasing cobalt content led to a reduction in the size of Cu₆Sn₅ intermetallic compounds, from 9 µm to 5 µm with 1% cobalt by weight. Examination of β-Sn grain morphology revealed the impact of cobalt particles on recovery and recrystallization kinetics in the solder. Mechanical testing indicated a 20% decrease in interlayer strength within composite solder sheets. Tensile tests showed a 28% increase in strength and a 31% decrease in elongation for composite solder alloy containing 1% cobalt. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results revealed minimal change in the melting temperature of composite solder foil.
 

This study investigated the influence of resistance spot welding current intensity on the formation of liquid metal embrittlement (LME) cracks in galvanized advanced QP1180 steel. Galvanized steel sheets with a thickness of 1 mm were welded at currents of 6.5, 7, 7.5, and 8 kA. The results revealed that increasing the current significantly enlarged the weld nugget size, molten volume, electrode indentation, and the likelihood of LME crack formation. Microstructural analysis, elemental distribution, and crack characterization were conducted using optical and electron microscopy. The findings indicated that the weld zone microstructure primarily consisted of martensite, while the non-uniform distribution of zinc along grain boundaries facilitated the initiation and propagation of LME cracks. Cracks were predominantly observed at the periphery of the weld pool indentation and in the electrode-sheet contact area. This study demonstrates that controlling welding current intensity is a key factor in mitigating LME and improving the mechanical properties of joints in galvanized QP1180 steel. Optimizing welding parameters, particularly limiting current intensity, can prevent molten metal-induced cracking and enhance the durability and safety of automotive structures. Hardness profiling revealed peak hardness in the weld zone, followed by a gradual decrease toward the heat-affected zone (HAZ).

In this research, the influence of various forge pressure values and also the chemical composition of different carbon steels on rotary friction welding of SS 304 to carbon steels has been investigated. The steel rods of AISI 1015, 1030, and 1045 have been RFWed to SS 304 using 20, 40, and 80 bar forge pressure. Results indicated the 40 bar forge pressure as the optimum value, and by applying pressures below this number, the material flow in the weld interface would be tackled, resulting in improper mechanical values. By exceeding the optimum forge pressure, most of the viscoplastic material inside the weld interface would be rejected from that area in the form of flash, causing the weld to be done at a relatively low temperature. Microstructural investigation has been done by optical and scanning electron microscopes. Results showed that the weld zone is extremely fine due to DRX, and in the interface, a pro-eutectoid ferrite layer is formed, which has an increasing width when the heat input increases. Tensile test results showed that the optimum weld specimen is the RFW of AISI 1030 to SS 304 using 40 bar forge pressure, 40 bar friction pressure, 5s friction time, and 1500 RPM rotational speed. This specimen has shown 116 % joint efficiency and 715 MPa ultimate tensile strength.

In this study, the metallurgical and mechanical properties of the interface obtained by explosive welding of 8-92 phosphor bronze to St37 carbon steel were investigated. The effects of explosive welding parameters such as explosive charge amount and stand-off distance on the shape and microstructure of the interface, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior were investigated. The results showed that with increasing stand-off distance and explosive charge amount, the velocity and angle of impact increased, and this phenomenon led to the interface transforming from a smooth to a wavy state and resulting in melted and separated regions. The results obtained from scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that with increasing stand-off distance and explosive charge amount and consequently increasing impact velocity, the length and height of the waves created at the interface increased. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that no intermetallic compounds were formed at the joint interface. The results of the microhardness test also indicated that the hardness around the joint interface increased by 25% due to plastic deformation and work hardening caused by the intense impact of the base and flying plates. By performing shear strength tests, it was found that in all samples, failure occurred in the phosohor bronze layer and no failure occurred due to separation of the samples from the interface. By performing tensile tests, it was found that the ultimate tensile strength increased from 430 to 488 MPa with increasing stand-off distance and explosive load. Polarization acquisition and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests showed that with increasing impact energy, the corrosion potential decreased and the corrosion current density increased significantly from 5.5 to 13.2 μA/cm².