Effects of Welding Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of Inert Gas Welded 6063 Aluminum Alloys

The influence of welding parameters, namely welding current and gas flow rate, on the mechanical properties of Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) and Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) welded 6063 Aluminum alloy (AA 6063) has been investigated. In order to study the effect of the welding current and gas flow rate, microstructural examination, hardness measurements and room temperature tensile tests have been carried out. The experimental results show that the mechanical properties of GTAW welded joints have better mechanical properties than those of SMAW welded joints. Increasing the welding current appeared to have a beneficial effect on the mechanical properties. However, either increasing or decreasing the gas flow rate resulted in a decrease of hardness and tensile strength. It was also found that, the highest strength was obtained in GTAW welded samples at 220 A and 15 l/min gas flow rate.