Influence of weld joint design on mechanical and corrosion properties of welded dissimilar metals

Abstract

This research study makes fundamental observations about dissimilar metal-welded joints, which combine mild steel and aluminum alloy plates, both 6 mm thick. We joined this metal using the shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process with E308L-16 as the filler metal. We conducted welding on prepared double-V and butt joints and assessed mechanical properties through tensile, impact, and hardness tests. We examined microstructural characteristics using an optical microscope. To investigate the corrosion behavior, we immersed the welded joint in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution and analyzed it using the potentiodynamic polarization electrochemical method. The results showed that dissimilar weld joints in the double-V configuration outperformed butt joints in tensile and hardness properties. Moreover, the double-V joint displayed more excellent thermodynamic stability in the 3.5 wt% NaCl solution compared to the commonly used butt joint. Consequently, the double-V joint design is the most suitable choice for achieving optimal mechanical and corrosion characteristics in these dissimilar weld joints for engineering applications.