Knoop hardness (500g)

AlCuMg AND AlMgSi ALLOYS

100

365

Postweld artificial
aging (155oC, 18
hours)

Postweld natural
aging (7 days)
Right after welding
50
0
15
30
Distance from fusion line, mm

Figure 15.14 HAZ hardness profiles in a 6061 aluminum gastungsten arc welded in
T4 condition. From Kou and Le (11).

Hardness, DPH (500g)

Distance from fusion line, in

0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
110
100
90

T4, Postweld AA
T6, Postweld AA
T6, Postweld NA

80
T4, Postweld NA
70
60
0
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Distance from fusion line, cm

Figure 15.15 HAZ hardness profiles in 6061 aluminum welded in T4 or T6 and

postweld naturally or artificially aged. Reprinted from Metzger (20). Courtesy of
American Welding Society.

Figure 15.15 shows the results of hardness measurements in a 6061

aluminum (20). It suggests that welding a heat-treatable 6000- or 2000-series
alloy in the T6 (artificially aged) condition can result in severe loss of strength
(hardness) due to overaging. For this reason, welding in the T4 condition is
often preferred to welding in the T6 condition (19, 20).
15.2.3 Effect of Welding Processes and Parameters
The loss of strength in the HAZ can be significantly affected by the welding
process and by the heat input and welding speed. Figure 15.16 shows that as