Joining of Cast ZE41A Mg to Wrought 6061 Al by the Cold Spray Process and Friction Stir Welding

This paper presents a novel method for joining cast ZE41A-T5 Mg to wrought 6061-T6 Al, without forming deleterious, coarse intermetallic compounds, which is not currently possible with conventional technologies. The novel aspect of the process includes the development of a joint design using cold spray (CS) as the enabling technology, to produce a transitional layer onto which a conventional welding technique can be employed to join the two dissimilar materials. The emphasis in this study will be on the CS transitional layer (T-layer) which enables the joining of cast ZE41A-T5 magnesium (Mg) and wrought 6061-T6 aluminum (Al) by friction-stir welding and the subsequent materials characterization to show the structural integrity of the entire joint. In order to join Mg and Al plates by this method, a transitional layer of CS Al is first deposited along the edge of cast ZE41A Mg plate. The CS Al T-layer enables the Mg to be friction stir welded to a plate of wrought 6061 Al, thereby completing the Mg plate to Al plate joint. Friction stir welding was chosen in this study to join the CS Al T-layer to the wrought Al plate; however, other conventional welding techniques could also be employed for joining Mg to Al in this manner. The CS Al T-layer is compatible to the wrought 6061 Al plate and serves as an insulating layer that prevents heat generated during the friction stir welding process from extending into the magnesium, thus preventing the formation of intermetallics. In this study, two sets of samples were produced joining cast ZE41A-T5 magnesium (Mg) and wrought 6061-T6 aluminum: one set using CS 6061 Al as the transition material between the ZE41A Mg plate and 6061 Al plate and the other set using CS 5056 Al as the transition material. Microstructural analysis by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and optical microscopy, along with mechanical test results including triple lug shear, tension, and micro hardness will be presented. Comparisons will be made to conventional joining techniques and the importance, as well as the applications of this technique, will be discussed.