Electron beam welding of aluminium components

Aluminium is one of the most widely used materials in industries like transportation, shipbuilding, manufacturing, aerospace, nuclear, etc. The challenges in joining of aluminium are distortion, cleanliness and quality. Main difficulties faced during fusion welding of aluminium components are removal of surface oxide layer, weld porosity, high heat input requirement, distortion, hot cracking, etc. Physical properties of aluminium such as its high thermal conductivity, high coefficient of thermal expansion, no change in colour at high temperature, large difference in the melting points of the metal and its oxide (∼ 1400 °C) compound the difficulties faced during welding. Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Plasma Arc Welding (PAW), etc are generally used in industries for fusion welding of aluminium alloys. However in case of thicker jobs the above processes are not suitable due to requirements of elaborate edge preparation, preheating of jobs, fixturing to prevent distortion, etc. Moreover, precise control over the heat input during welding and weld bead penetration is not possible with above processes. Further, if heat sensitive parts are located near the weld joint then high energy density beam welding process like Electron Beam Welding (EBW) is the best possible choice for aluminium welding.This paper discusses EB welding of aluminium components, typical geometry of components, selection/optimization of welding parameters, problems faced during standardization of welding and process parameters and their remedies etc.