Electron Beam Welding of 2099-T83 Aluminium-lithium Alloy Thick Plates

The paper deals with the welding of AW 2099-T83 aluminium lithium alloy being used for construction of lower wing stringers. The thickness of AW 2099-T83 aluminium lithium alloy was 25.4 mm. Electron beam welding with the accelerating voltage of 55 kV was used for production of welded joints. Welded joints were inspected by computer tomography, macroscopic and microscopic analysis, tensile strength test and microhardness measurement. Welded joints exhibited good weld joint formation, typical to electron beam welding. Weld metal was structure was dendritic formed by α solid solution. Decrease of microhardness was observed mainly in the centre of weld metal due to dissolution of precipitates. The fracture occurred in the weld metal during tensile strength test. Further research will focus on post-heat treatment of welded joints in order to improve mechanical properties of weld metal