Effects of welding parameters and post-heat treatment on mechanical properties of friction stir welded AA2195-T8 Al-Li alloy

In this study, the effects of main welding parameters （rotation speed （ω） and welding speed （υ）） on the microstructure, micro-hardness distribution and tensile properties of friction stir welded （FSW） 2195-T8 Al-Li alloy were investigated. The effects of T6 post-treatments at different solution and aging conditions on the mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of the FSW joints were also investigated. The results show that with increasing to and v, both strength and elongation of the joints increase first, and then decrease with further increase of ω and υ. All the joints under varied welding parameters show significant strength loss, and the strength reaches only 65% of the base metal, The effect of T6 post-heat treatment on the mechanical properties of the joints depends on the solution and aging conditions. Two heat treatment processes （480 ℃×0.5 h quenching＋ 180 ℃× 12 h, 520 ℃× 0.5 h quenching＋ 180 ℃×12h aging） are found to increase the joint strength. Furthermore, low temperature quenching （480℃） is more beneficial to the joint strength. The joint strength can reach 85% of the base metal. Whereas both low temperature aging （140 ℃× 56h） and stepped aging （ 100 ℃× 12 h ＋ 180 ℃× 3 h） processes decrease the joint strength. After heat treatment all the joints show decreased ductility due to the obvious grain coarsening in the nugget zone （NZ） and thermo-mechanically affected zone （TMAZ）.