FEM Numerical and Experimental Work on Extrusion Welding of 7021 Aluminum Alloy

Extrusion welding of AlZnMg alloys encounters great technological difficulties in practice associated with high shaping forces and the low quality of longitudinal welds. Three different chemical compositions of 7021 aluminum alloy, differing in terms of Zn and Mg contents, were used in the first stage of the research. The laboratory device modelling the behavior of metal in welding chambers of the porthole die was applied to examine the ability of 7021 alloys to produce high-quality joints. The weldability tests were carried out for different welding temperatures-400, 450 and 500 °C-and for a fixed welding pressure of 300 MPa. The microstructural effects in pressure-welds were evaluated with the use of OM and SEM/EDS. The temperature-pressure parameters in the welding chambers were analyzed by using the FEM method for original porthole dies while extruding tubes with dimensions of Ø50 × 2 mm. Finally, the industrial extrusion trials were performed with examination of the structure and strength of the seam welds. It was found that it is possible to produce high-quality high-strength welds in tubes extruded from AlZnMg alloys in industrial conditions (the strength of welds in the range of 96-101% of the strength of the basic non-welded material) through properly matched alloy chemical composition of the alloy, construction of the porthole dies and temperature-speed conditions of deformation.