Investigation of Laser-MIG Hybrid Welding of Al-Mg-Si Aluminum Alloy

In this paper, Al-Mg-Si alloys with a thickness of 4 mm are welded by using laser beam welding (LBW) and laser-MIG hybrid welding, respectively, and the microstructure and mechanical properties of the two joints are investigated. The results show that the fusion zone (FZ) of the two joints is composed of columnar crystal and equiaxed dendrite grain, and its main constituent phases are an α-Al matrix phase and a β(Mg2Si) strengthening phase. In the case of similar heat inputs, compared with those of the LBW joint, the grain size in the laser-MIG hybrid joint is smaller and there are more second phases such as the β phase in the FZ, which is related to the different action mechanisms on the base metal (BM) by the two welding processes. Under the three strengthening mechanisms of fine grain strengthening, precipitation strengthening, and solid solution strengthening, the laser-MIG hybrid welding joint shows better mechanical properties than that of the LBW joint. The maximum tensile strength of the LBW joint and the laser-MIG hybrid joint is 202 MPa and 253 MPa, respectively, and the elongation is 3.8% and 5.1%, respectively.