Effect of alloying filler metal addition on microstructure of laser beam welded SiC_p/6061Al MMC

SiC particle reinforced aluminum alloy metal matrix composite, SiC_p/6061Al MMC, is welded by laser beam welding using nickel plates as alloying filler metal. The microstructure of the weld is characterized as the functions of laser processing parameters. Results show that the dissolution of reinforcement SiC particles and formation of the needle-like harmful Al₄C₃ phases are noticeably suppressed using nickel as the alloying filler metal. The new reinforcements, such as Al₃Ni, AlNi, etc., are produced in-situ in the weld with laser beam welding of SiC_p/6061Al MMC by using nickel plate as alloying filler metal.