This master's thesis comprises a theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical part contains the basic presentation of the used welding methods, namely metal inert gas (MIG) cold metal transfer (CMT) and friction-stir welding (FSW). Based on the bibliographical sources, the theoretical part also defines other methods of welding aluminum to zinc-coated sheet metal that are used in practice. The practical part of the thesis contains descriptions of the welding experiments, tests, and analyses carried out in order to determine the quality of the joint. We tensile-tested overlap joints between aluminum alloy (AA5086) and zinc-coated metal with coatings of three different thicknesses, measured the hardness on the basis of a selected-sample cross-section, and carried out a metallographic analysis. In continuation, we also conducted an electro-chemical corrosion research, exposing the samples to a salt spray cabinet for 480 hours. On the basis of the research, we were able to estimate the effect of the welding method, energy intake, and the thickness of the zinc-coating layer on the quality of the metal joints. By means of corrosion research, we have demonstrated the durability of the joints and described the process of corrosion in a salt spray cabinet.
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