Corrosion Assessment of Al/Fe Dissimilar Metal Joint

Kang, Minjung; Kim, Cheolhee; Kim, Junki; Kim, Dongcheol; Kim, Jonghoon

doi:2014.32.4.393

JWJ > Volume 32(4); 2014 > Article

Research Paper

Journal of Welding and Joining 2014 August;32(4) :393-400.
Published online August 30, 2014.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5781/JWJ.2014.32.4.55

Corrosion Assessment of Al/Fe Dissimilar Metal Joint

Minjung Kang^*, Cheolhee Kim^*, Junki Kim^*, Dongcheol Kim^*, Jonghoon Kim^*

^*Welding & Joining Research Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Incheon 406-840, Korea

Correspondence: Cheolhee Kim Email: chkim@kitech.re.kr
Published online August 30, 2014

ABSTRACT

The use of light-weight Al alloys in the automotive industry is increasing to meet requirements for fuel efficiency and emission reduction. Joining Al alloy to the conventional steel sheet is also very important issue with the increased use of Al alloy, and several joining processes have been introduced to enhance joining strength between dissimilar metals. This paper deals with a galvanic corrosion in the dissimilar metal joining. Salt spray tests up to 2000 hours were conducted on a self-piercing rivet, spot welded, adhesive bonded and weld-bonded joints, and cross-sections and tensile shear strength according the salt spray duration were analyzed at every 500-hour. Self-piercing rivet joint had relative low initial strength but the joint strength did not change regardless of the salt spray duration. The strength of other joints (spot welded, adhesive bonded and weld-bonded joints) decreased with the increase of salt spray duration and the corrosion behaviour of each joint was discussed.

Keywords: Aluminum | Steel | Dissimilar metal joint | Salt spray test | Corrosion assessment