Comparison of four arc welding processes used for aluminium alloy cladding

Abstract

Metal inert gas (MIG), pulsed MIG, cold metal transfer MIG (CMT) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes were employed to produce clads. The cladding operations were analysed by an infrared thermal imaging technique and beads were characterised by X-ray radiography, neutron diffraction and microhardness mapping. Surprisingly, the CMT process produces the highest temperatures, but also the highest cooling rate. The MIG processes produce more residual stress and defect than TIG process.

Keywords:

• MIG
• TIG
• CMT
• Aluminium alloy
• IR thermography
• Neutron diffraction

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to greatly acknowledge CNRS and Snecma from the Safran group for their financial support. We extend our thanks to Simon Duronsoy for his help and also to Fanch Guillou and Dominique Lafon for their valuable technical help.