Thin Plate Welding of Al 5083 Alloy by GMAW Applied for Electric Substations Equipment

Abstract

In order to fill the manufacture demand of electric substation equipment, materials with the characteristics of rust-resistant, lightweight and easy to find are required. Aluminum 5083 alloy is the best candidate to use because one of advantages is excellent thermal conductivity. Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) is used because it has high welding efficiency, it does not need to change welding wire frequently, can be used for all types of materials and welding positions, and does not produce scale or slag. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the GMAW welding parameters on the mechanical properties of Al 5083 alloy. The specimen of Al 5083 alloy is cut into V Groove with 30° or 60° angle each side, for 6 pieces with dimension of 300 mm length and 150 mm width, before welding process. The welding process is done using the manipulator machine with constant speed and various currents followed by mechanical testing. The mechanical testing results obtained, there is no significant difference on the tensile strength results of all specimens with different welding parameters. However, the elongation percentage result obtained, the highest strain is about 17% of the Al 5083 alloy thin plate specimen with 225 A current. It can be concluded that the Al 5083 alloy material through the GMAW process with appropriate has met the requirement of mechanical properties to be applied for the electric substation equipment.