Mechanical and metallurgical properties of dissimilar metal joints using novel joining techniques

In recent years there have been significant new developments in welding processes for joining stainless steel and dissimilar metals. This is associated with the rise in interest of using stainless steel in the automotive industry from both car manufacturers and stainless steel producers. The main reason for using stainless steel within the automotive industry is the combination of formability and high strength but also the improved corrosion resistance when compared to zinc coated mild steel. This research explores the mechanical and metallurgical properties of dissimilar metal joining and determines a relationship between the fatigue properties and weld geometry. The research focuses on the relatively unexplored joining techniques of Laser Hybrid Welding and Cold Metal Transfer applied to joining stainless steel grades Hy-Tens 1000 and LDX 2101 to Dogal 260RP-X mild steel. The joints are assessed in terms of tensile, fatigue and metallurgical properties. Experimental results and analysis show that the fatigue properties of both laser hybrid welding and cold metal transfer joints are a linear relationship with a negative gradient to value of the root angle on the mild steel side of the joints, as the angle at the root decreases the fatigue life increases. It was found that when joining the material combinations outlined in this research with Laser Hybrid Welding the resulting solidified weld pool was chemically inhomogeneous. However, welds produced using Cold Metal Transfer resulted in a chemically homogenous weld pool and consistent microhardness. Comparisons with laser welding show that laser hybrid welding and cold metal transfer can produce joints with mechanical properties comparable to welding methods currently being used in the automotive industry, for example, laser welding.