This study presents an appropriate filler metal or welding electrode to join aluminum alloy (AA2024-T3) sheet of 3.2 mm thickness with a square butt joint using Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process. This process was carried out at three different welding currents with three various filler metals: ER4047 (12% Si), ER4043 (5% Si), and ER5356 (5% Mg). Experiments were conducted to investigate the microstructure and the mechanical properties. The effect of various filler metals upon the weld joints quality were analyzed via an X-ray radiographic and tensile test. Hardness test, microstructures, SEM, and XRD also conducted to the welded specimens. It was found that the best result was at 100 Ampere with using filler metal (ER5356) which produced the highest strength of 240 MPa in comparison with welded joints with utilizing fillers (ER4043) and (ER4047) having values of 235 MPa and 225 MPa, correspondingly. The hardness results showed that the highest hardness values were at the weld metal for ER4047 and ER4043, then decreased to HAZ and increased in the base metal. While in the case of ER5356, the highest hardness was in HAZ and decreased in the weld metal. The fractography of the fracture surface of the welded joints after the tensile test was analyzed using SEM.
Penetration control of GTAW process for aluminum alloy using vision sensing