Aluminum weld test

Date 07-30-2010 04:58

Hello All
What would be a good strength test for aluminum welds done with 5356 in pulse mode. Mostly 5052 H32 material .100" and .080" thick. Fillet and corner edge to edge welds. I have been doing distructive bend test as in trying to brake the welds anyway I can. When I get it dialed in and cant brake the welds and tear the surrounding metal apart I figured that was about as good as it gets. Anyway I had a dude try to tell that didn't mean anything and there was no way I could tell if it was strong enough. Is there any truth to that ?
Thanks
Tom

By 803056

Date 07-30-2010 14:58

Use a reduced section tensile test for tensile strength and the guided bend test for ductility. You can refer to AWS D1.2 for some additional guidance.

Best regards - Al

By bozaktwo1 (***)

Date 08-03-2010 16:47

Agree. The bend test will tell you if your weld technique is working; no cracks means no breakage. Also your chemistry and of course ductility of the weld and HAZ. However it will not indicate how strong the weld is. For that you have to pull tensiles. In addition to D1.2, check out B4.0 for mechanical test experiments.