Magnetic pulse welding of Al to Mg alloys: Structural-mechanical properties of the interfacial layer

The magnetic pulse welding of Al-A1050 to Mg alloys was successfully performed, and the structural-mechanical properties of the interfacial bonding layer produced between dissimilar metals were studied. The morphology of the interface layer has a typical wavy pattern with an average thickness of 20 μm. Compositional microanalysis showed that the composition of the interfacial layer is Al-50 at-%Mg and is practically uniform, being a direct outcome of the local melting effect, intensive mixing of the melt and a rapid rate of solidification. The composition of the bonding layer corresponds to the Al supersaturated intermetallic β phase (Mg₁₇Al₁₂). The elastic modulus (and the hardness) of the interfacial layer was measured using the nanoindentation technique, and its value of 60±1.4 GPa is in good agreement with the value calculated from first principles in the literature (57.3 GPa) for the Mg₁₇Al₁₂ intermetallic phase.