Two different aluminium alloys, AA6111 (Al-Mg-Si) and AA7055 (Al-Mg-Zn), were chosen as the aluminium alloys to be welded with DC04, and two welding methods (USW and FSSW) were selected to prepare the welds. Selected pre-welded joints were then annealed at T=400 - 570oC for different times. Kinetics growth data was collected from the microstructure results, and the growth behaviour of the IMC layer was found to fit the parabolic growth law. A grain growth model was built to predict the grain size as a function of annealing time. A double-IMC phase diffusion model was applied, together with grain growth model, to predict the thickness of each phase as a function of annealing time in the diffusion process during heat treatment. In both material combinations and with both welding processes a similar sequence of IMC phase formation was observed during the solid state welding. η-Fe2Al5 was found to be the first IMC phase to nucleate. The IMC islands then spread to form a continuous layer in both material combinations. With longer welding times a second IMC phase, θ-FeAl3, was seen to develop on the aluminium side of the joints. Higher fracture energy was received in the DC04-AA6111 joints than in the DC04-AA7055 joints. Two reasons were claimed according to the microstructure in the two joints. The thicker IMC layers were observed in the DC04-AA7055 joints either before or after heat treatment, due to the faster growth rate of the θ phase. In addition, pores were left in the aluminium side near the interface as a result of the low melting point of AA7055.The modelling results for both the diffusion model and grain growth model fitted very well with the data from the static heat treatment. Grain growth occurred in both phases in the heat treatment significantly, and was found to affect the calculated activation energy by the grain boundary diffusion. At lower temperatures in the phases with a smaller grain size, the grain boundary diffusion had a more significant influence on the growth rate of the IMC phases. The activation energies for the grain boundary diffusion and lattice diffusion were calculated as 240 kJ/mol and 120 kJ/mol for the η phase, and 220 kJ/mol and 110 kJ/mol for the θ phase, respectively. The model was invalid for the growth of the discontinuous IMC layers in USW process. The diffusion model only worked for 1-Dimensional growth of a continuous layer, which was the growth behaviour of the IMC layer during heat treatment. However, due to the highly transient conditions in USW process, the IMC phases were not continuous and uniform even after a welding time of 2 seconds. Therefore, the growth of the island shaped IMC particles in USW was difficult to be predicted, unless the nucleation stage was taken into consideration.

This study is mainly aimed at interstital-free and dual-phase steels, analyzing the compositions and distribution of selective surface oxides after annealing and then to know the influence of these oxidation for the formation of FeAl inhibition layer in hot-dip galvanizing. Interstital-free and dual-phase steels were first annealed at 800 oC for 1-200 s in a 10% H2-N2 protected atmosphere of -70 oC and 0 oC dew point respectively and then dipped in zinc bath with Al content 0.12-0.18 wt% for 0-20 s. Using this combined SEM, Auger electron spectroscopy(AES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and ICP-AES etc. instruments, it is shown that the MnAl2O4 spinels were the major oxidation on the surface of IF steel after annealing. The average oxidation thickness was about 5-15 nm. Annealing times has little effect on the thickness. On the other hand, MnO were observed on DP steel surface after anneaing. The MnO paticles mainly distributed at the grain boundaries ,and the average oxdaiton thickness increase rapidly from 20 nm(10 s) to 110 nm(200 s) with annealing times. The growth of the FeAl inhibition layer can separate to nucleation in initial stage and diffusion growth later. The Fe2Al5 nucleation times were all about 0.1 s in both steels , and average thicknesses were approximately 20 nm. For IF steels , Al uptake in the zinc bath and steel interface was depleted in nucleation stage with 0.12 wt% Al content, so that delayed the growth of Fe2Al5, and the rate determining step was the diffusion of Al in zinc bath. When Al content raise up to 0.14 wt%, the phenomenon of growth delay was not happened, and the rate determining step of Fe2Al5 growth changed to the solid-state diffusion of Fe in Fe2Al5. For DP steels, when Al content up to 0.14 wt%, the growth mechanism was similar to IF steels, but the rate determining step of Fe2Al5 growth was mainly in the grain boundary diffusion of Fe in Fe2Al5. Moreover, where the MnO paticles was rich could obviously observe the delay of Fe2Al5 growth. It was probably because of consuming a great deal of Al to reduce the MnO oxides.