Stress corrosion behavior of narrow-gap rotating laser welding of thick Al-Mg alloy joint

The stress corrosion resistance of 30 mm-thick narrow-gap rotating laser welding (NG-RLW) 5A06 aluminum (Al) joint was investigated by slow strain rate testing (SSRT). The results show that the average ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the joints in 3.5% NaCl solution is about 11% lower than that in air, and its elongation is only half of that in air. The stress corrosion index ISSRT of the joint is 0.498, which is at the middle level of the range of ISSRT. Moreover, the failure positions of the SSRT specimens in air are weld metal (WM), while the failure positions in the corrosive medium are base metal (BM). This indicates that the stress corrosion resistance of BM is slightly lower than that of WM due to the different microstructures. Many dimples are formed on the fracture surface of the specimen in air, which is a typical ductile fracture. But the fracture surface shows the characteristics of ductile and brittle mixture with obvious corrosion products. This result indicates that the NG-RLW 5A06 Al joint has a tendency to brittle fracture in 3.5% NaCl solution.