effect of manganese on the mechanical properties of welded as-cast aluminium joint

The effects of manganese on the mechanical properties of welded and un-weld as-cast 6063 aluminium alloy has been studied. Alloys of varying percentage of manganese from 0.019 to 0.24 were sand cast. A wooden pattern of dimensions 200×100×100mm was used, the aluminium (500g) was charged into an induction furnace and heated to 750°C for 15 minutes, this was followed by the addition of weighed powdered manganese, stirred and heated at the same temperature for another 5 minutes and thereafter poured into the already prepared sand mould at a temperature of 690°C. The as-cast aluminium samples, were sectioned into two equal parts of 45mm each using power hack saw; a weld groove was created between the sides of the samples using an electric hand grinding machine, the groove served as the path along which the filler metal was deposited on the aluminium, a single v butt joint was produced from each sample and Metal Inert Gas Welding process was carried out to produce the required joint design. The different cast samples were machined to the different test pieces after which they were assessed to determine their mechanical properties (impact, hardness (welded joint and heat affected zone) and tensile tests). The microstructures of the welded samples were also studied. From the results, it was observed that Sample F, which has 0.172% Mn, has the best hardness and impact strength while sample C with 0.160% Mn has the highest ultimate tensile strength.