Enhancing strength and ductility in the nugget zone of friction stir welded 7Mn steel via tailoring austenitic stability

The martensite often appears in the nugget zone(NZ)of friction stir welding(FSW)7 wt.%Mn steel due to low austenite stability,deteriorating ductility and toughness.In this work,a 7 wt.%Mn steel was sub-jected to FSW,and preheating was used to tailor the austenitic stability to greatly improve the strength-ductility combination of the NZ.The austenitic deformation behavior and strain hardening mechanism in the NZ were systematically investigated.The microstructure of the as-welded NZ was composed of ultrafine blocky ferrite,austenite,and small amounts of martensite,whereas the as-preheated NZ con-tained ultrafine blocky ferrite and austenite,and the concentration of Mn in austenite was increased from 8.4 wt.%to 10.7 wt.%.This enhanced the austenitic stability,resulting in a significant increase in the volume fraction of austenite in the as-preheated NZ from 37.3%to 66.4%.The product of strength and elongation(PSE)in the as-preheated NZ increased dramatically from 42.6 GPa%to 67.1 GPa%,depending on a persistent high strain hardening rate(SHR).Multiple strain-hardening mechanisms were revealed.The austenite with enhanced stability can provoke sustained transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP)and twinning-induced plasticity(TWIP)effects,and massive dislocation multiplication occurs during tension,resulting in strong strain hardening.

3D modeling for effect of tool eccentricity on coupled thermal and material flow characteristics during friction stir welding

A novel three-dimensional numerical model is proposed to investigate the effect of tool eccentricity on the coupled thermal and material flow characteristics in friction stir welding(FSW) process.An asymmetrical boundary condition at the tool-workpiece interface,and the dynamic mesh technique are both employed for the consideration of the tool eccentricity during tool rotating.It is found that tool eccentricity induces the periodical variation of the heat densities both at the tool-workpiece interface and inside the shear layer,but the fluctuation amplitudes of the heat density variations are limited.However,it is demonstrated that tool eccentricity results in significant variation of the material flow behavior in one tool rotating period.Moreover,the material velocity variation at the retreating side is particularly important for the formation of the periodic characteristics in FSW.The modeling result is found to be in good agreement with the experimental one.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of stationary shoulder friction stir welding joint of 2A14-T62 aluminum alloy

2A14-T62 butt joint was successfully welded by stationary shoulder friction stir welding(SSFSW)method.The results showed that using a pin with small shoulder could broaden the process window,and under a rotation speed of 2000 r/min and welding speed of 30 mm/min,joint with smooth surface,small reduction in thickness and little inner defects was obtained.The weld nugget zone was approx-imately circular,which was a unique morphology for SSFSW.The heat-affected zone(HAZ)and thermo-mechanically affected zone(TMAZ)were both quite narrow due to the lower heat input and slight mechanical action of the stationary shoulder.The fraction of high angle grain boundaries(HAGBs)exhibited a“W”shape along horizontal direction(from advancing side to retreating side),and the minim-um value located at HAZ.The average ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the joint were 325 MPa and 4.5%,respectively,with the joint efficiency of 68.3%.The joint was ductile fractured and the fracture surface contained two types of dimples morphology in different re-gions of the joint.Microhardness distribution in the joint exhibited a“W”shape,and the difference along the thickness direction was negli-gible.The joint had strong stress corrosion cracking susceptibility,and the slow stain rate tensile strength was 139 MPa.Microcrack and Al2O3 particulates were observed at the fracture surface.

Visualization and simulation of plastic material flow in friction stir welding of 2024 aluminium alloy plates

Thin copper sheets as marker material were embedded into weld path of 2024 aluminium alloy plates and their final position after friction stir welding was examined by metallographic techniques. Referring to the visualized material flow patterns, a three-dimensional model was developed to conduct the numerical simulation of the temperature profile and plastic material flow in friction stir welding. The calculated velocity contour of plastic flow in close proximity of the tool is generally consistent with the visualized results. As the tool rotation speed increases at a constant tool travel speed, the material flow near the pin gets stronger. The predicted shape and size of the weld nugget zone match with the experimentally measured ones.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar pure copper/1350 aluminum alloy butt joints by friction stir welding

The dissimilar friction stir welding of pure copper/1350 aluminum alloy sheet with a thickness of 3 mm was investigated. Most of the rotating pin was inserted into the aluminum alloy side through a pin-off technique, and sound welds were obtained at a rotation speed of 1000 r/min and a welding speed of 80 mm/min. Complicated microstructure was formed in the nugget, in which vortex-like pattern and lamella structure could be found. No intermetallic compounds were found in the nugget. The hardness distribution indicates that the hardness at the copper side of the nugget is higher than that at the aluminum alloy side, and the hardness at the bottom of the nugget is generally higher than that in other regions. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the dissimilar welds are 152 MPa and 6.3%, respectively. The fracture surface observation shows that the dissimilar joints fail with a ductile-brittle mixed fracture mode durin~ tensile test.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar Al-Cu joints by friction stir welding

Dissimilar friction stir welding between 1060 aluminum alloy and annealed pure copper sheet with a thickness of 3 mm was investigated. Sound weld was obtained at a rotational speed of 1050 r/min and a welding speed of 30 mm/min. Intercalation structure formed at the crown and Cu/weld nugget （WN） area promotes interracial diffusion and metallurgical bonding of aluminum and copper. However, corrosion morphology reveals the weak bonding mechanism of internal interface, which causes the joint failing across the interface with a brittle-ductile mixed fracture mode. The tensile strength of the joint is 148 MPa, which is higher than that of the aluminum matrix. Crystal defects and grain refinement by severely plastic deformation during friction stir welding facilitate short circuit diffusion and thus accelerate the formation of A14Cu9 and A12Cu intermetallic compounds （IMCs）. XRD results show that A14Cu9 is mainly in Cu/WN transition zone. The high dislocation density and formation of dislocation loops are the major reasons of hardness increase in the WN.

Interface characteristic of friction stir welding lap joints of Ti/Al dissimilar alloys

Lap joints of TC1 Ti alloy and LF6 A1 alloy dissimilar materials were fabricated by friction stir welding and corresponding interface characteristics were investigated. Using the selected welding parameters, excellent surface appearance forms, but the interface macrograph for each lap joint cross-section is different. With the increase of welding speed or the decrease of tool rotation rate, the amount of Ti alloy particles stirred into the stir zone by the force of tool pin decreases continuously. Moreover, the failure loads of the lap joints also decrease with increasing welding speed and the largest value is achieved at welding speed of 60 mm/min and tool rotation rate of 1500 r/min, where the interracial zone can be divided into 3 kinds of layers. The microhardness of the lap joint shows an uneven distribution and the maximum hardness of HV 502 is found in the middle of the stir zone.

Texture of friction stir welded Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Theα＋βtitanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V, was welded by friction stir welding using a W-Re pin tool, and the defect-free weld was produced with proper welding parameters. Texture of the Ti-6Al-4V friction stir weld was studied by orientation imaging microscopy. The as-received Ti-6Al-4V sheet mill annealed was composed of elongated primary α and transformed β. A typical rolling texture was observed in the base material. The microstructure of the stir zone was significantly different from that of the base material. The stir zone was characterized by the presence of considerable amount of equiaxed dynamically recrystallized grains and a texture around{Ф1=30°,φ=62°,Ф2=30°}was developed during the friction stir welding.

Thermal modeling of underwater friction stir welding of high strength aluminum alloy

The thermal modeling of underwater friction stir welding （FSW） was conddcted with a three-dimensional heat transfer model. The vaporizing characteristics of water were analyzed to illuminate the boundary conditions of underwater FSW. Temperature dependent properties of the material were considered for the modeling. FSW experiments were carried out to validate the calculated results, and the calculated results showed good agreement with the experimental results. The results indicate that the maximum peak temperature of underwater joint is significantly lower than that of normal joint, although the surface heat flux of shoulder during the underwater FSW is higher than that during normal FSW. For underwater joint, the high-temperature distributing area is dramatically narrowed and the welding thermal cycles in different zones are effectively controlled in contrast to the normal joint.

Numerical studies of effect of tool sizes and pin shapes on friction stir welding of AA2024-T3 alloy

Coupled thermo-mechanical model was used to investigate the effects of the pin diameter, the shoulder diameter and the in conical angle on the heat generations, the material deformations and the energy histories in friction stir welding（FSW） of AA2024-T3 alloy. Results indicate that the shoulder-plate contact area takes more important contribution to the heat generation than the pin-plate contact area. The increase of the shoulder diameter or the decrease of the pin diameter can lead to the increase of the welding temperature in FSW, but the change of shoulder size is more important. Compared to the cases in FSW of AA6061-T6, the input power is obviously increased in FSW of AA2024-T3 and the ratio of the plastic dissipation to the friction dissipation becomes decreased.

Microstructure evolution along thickness in double-side friction stir welded 7085 Al alloy

The microstructure evolution in the weld zone of double-side friction stir welded（DS-FSWed） 7085-T7452 Al alloy was investigated by the electron backscatter diffraction method.The results indicate that DS-FSW process results in substantial grain refinement.The misorientation angle distribution shows a very high volume fraction of high angle grain boundary（HAGB）（above 75%） under DS-FSW condition at rotational rate of 300 r/min.The fraction of HAGB rapidly decreases with increasing the rotational rate from 300 to 950 r/min,and the obvious growth of grain in the weld nugget zone（WNZ） is presented.The average grain sizes in the elongated grains of thermal-mechanical affected zone（TMAZ） and partially equiaxed and coarser grains of thermal affected zone（HAZ） are 7.3 and 15.7 μm with the fractions of HAGBs less than 43% and 30%,respectively.The intensities of（100）,（110） and（111） pole figures in the WNZ obviously decrease when compared with those in the BM and present significantly difference along the thickness direction of plate.

Review on underwater friction stir welding: A variant of friction stir welding with great potential of improving joint properties

Friction stir welding（FSW） is a solid-state welding process which is capable of joining materials which are relatively difficult to be welded by fusion welding process. Further, this process is highly energy-efficient and environmental-friendly as compared to the fusion welding. Despite several advantages of FSW over fusion welding, the thermal cycles involved in FSW cause softening in joints generally in heat-treatable aluminum alloys（AAs） due to the dissolution or coarsening of the strengthening precipitates leading to decrease in mechanical properties. Underwater friction stir welding（UFSW） can be a process of choice to overcome these limitations. This process is suitable for alloys that are sensitive to heating during the welding and is widely used for heat-treatable AAs. The purpose of this article is to provide comprehensive literature review on current status and development of UFSW and its importance in comparison to FSW with an aim to discuss and summarize different aspects of UFSW. Specific attention is given to basic principle including material flow, temperature generation, process parameters, microstructure and mechanical properties. From the review, it is concluded that UFSW is an improved method compared with FSW for improving joint strength. Academicians, researchers and practitioners would be benefitted from this article as it compiles significantly important knowledge pertaining to UFSW.

Experimental and numerical investigation on under-water friction stir welding of armour grade AA2519-T87 aluminium alloy

Friction stir welding(FSW) is a promising welding process that can join age hardenable aluminium alloys with high joint efficiency. However,the thermal cycles experienced by the material to be joined during FSW resulted in the deterioration of mechanical properties due to the coarsening and dissolution of strengthening precipitates in the thermo-mechanical affected zone(TMAZ) and heat affected zone(HAZ). Under water friction stir welding(UWFSW) is a variant of FSW process which can maintain low heat input as well as constant heat input along the weld line. The heat conduction and dissipation during UWFSW controls the width of TMAZ and HAZ and also improves the joint properties. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to evaluate the mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of AA2519-T87 aluminium alloy joints made by FSW and UWFSW processes. Finite element analysis has been used to estimate the temperature distribution and width of TMAZ region in both the joints and the results have been compared with experimental results and subsequently correlated with mechanical properties.? 2016 China Ordnance Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of 2A12 aluminium alloy joint by ultrasonic assisted friction stir welding and friction stir welding

Ultrasonic assisted friction stir welding （UAFSW） is a recent modification of conventional friction stir welding, which adds ultrasonic energy directly into the friction stir welding area by the pin. In this study, 2A12 aluminum alloy was welded by this process and conventional, respectively. The tensile tests, microstructure and fracture surface of FSW joint and UAFSW joint were analyzed. The research results show that the surface forming texture of ultrasonic assisted friction stir welding joint, compared with conventional, is finer and more uniform, showing metallic matte color. The grains are much finer in weld nugget zone, thermo-mechanically affected zone and heat-affected zone; S-phase particles size is much smaller and distribution is more homogeneous in the matrix. The tensile strength of UAFSW joint is 94. 13% of base metal, and the elongation is 11.77%. The tensile strength of FSW joint is 83.15% of base metal, and the elongation is 8.81%. The tests results reveal that ultrasonic vibration can improve the tensile strength and the elongation of welded joints.

Effect of corrosive environment on fatigue property and crack propagation behavior of Al 2024 friction stir weld

In this investigation, 2024 aluminium alloy plates were friction stir welded, a sequence of experiments was performedincluding fatigue and crack propagation tests in air, under pre-corrosion and in a 3.5% NaCl solution, in combination withfractography analyses of near-threshold region, Paris region and finial fracture region with the aid of scanning electron microscopy（SEM）. Results showed that the corrosive environment caused a dramatical decrease in fatigue lives of FS welds, the corrosionfatigue lives of FS welds were almost a half of those of the as-welded specimens. The crack growth rates in FS welds were higherthan their counterparts in base materials, under the corrosive environment, the crack growth rate differences between base materialsand FS welds become increasingly apparent with the increase of stress intensity factor range ΔK, but the pre-corrosion process hadlittle effect on the FS welds’ crack propagation behavior except for shortening the crack initiation lives greatly.

Achieving High-Quality Aluminium Alloy Welded Joint with Fine Grains Using Submerged Friction Stir Welding

The purpose of this study is to reveal the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welding(FSW)joints prepared in water/air.For comparable analysis,the submerged FSW(SFSW)and conventional FSW are both conducted on 6061-T6 aluminum alloy plates at the combination rotation speed of 800 r/min and the traverse rate of 50 mm/min.The results show that a greatest grain refinement is achieved by SFSW,which is remarkably smaller than that of the base material(BM)and air FSW(AFSW)samples,leading to a significant improvement of tensile strength from 202.5 MPa in the AFSW sample to 232 MPa in the SFSW sample.

Prediction and optimization of process parameter of friction stir welded AA5083-H111 aluminum alloy using response surface methodology

A systematic approach was presented to develop the empirical model for predicting the ultimate tensile strength of AA5083-H111 aluminum alloy which is widely used in ship building industry by incorporating friction stir welding(FSW) process parameters such as tool rotational speed,welding speed,and axial force.FSW was carried out considering three-factor five-level central composite rotatable design with full replications technique.Response surface methodology(RSM) was applied to developing linear regression model for establishing the relationship between the FSW process parameters and ultimate tensile strength.Analysis of variance(ANOVA) technique was used to check the adequacy of the developed model.The FSW process parameters were also optimized using response surface methodology(RSM) to maximize the ultimate tensile strength.The joint welded at a tool rotational speed of 1 000 r/min,a welding speed of 69 mm/min and an axial force of 1.33 t exhibits higher tensile strength compared with other joints.

Materials flow and phase transformation in friction stir welding of Al 6013/Mg

Material flow and phase transformation were studied at the interface of dissimilar joint between Al 6013 and Mg, produced by stir friction welding （FSW） experiments. Defect-free weld was obtained when aluminum and magnesium were placed in the advancing side and retreating side respectively and the tool was placed 1 mm off the weld centerline into the aluminum side. In order to understand the material flow during FSW, steel shots were implanted as indexes into the welding path. After welding, using X-ray images, secondary positions of the steel shots were evaluated. It was revealed that steel shots implanted in advancing side were penetrated from the advancing side into the retreating side, whereas the shots implanted in the retreating side remained in the retreating side, without penetrating into the advancing side. The welded specimens were also heat treated. The effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of the welds and the formation of new intermetallic layers were investigated. Two intermetallic compounds, Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17, were formed sequentially at Al6013/Mg interface.

Establishing empirical relationships to predict grain size and tensile strength of friction stir welded AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy joints

AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy(Al-Mg-Si alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of light weight structures requiring a high specific strength and good corrosion resistance.Compared with the fusion welding processes that are routinely used for joining structural aluminium alloys,friction stir welding(FSW) process is an emerging solid state joining process in which the material welded does not melt and recast.Joint strength is influenced by the grain size and tensile strength of the weld nugget region.Hence,an attempt was made to develop empirical relationships to predict grain size and tensile strength of friction stir welded AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy joints.The empirical relationships are developed by response surface methodology(RSM) incorporating FSW tool and process parameters.A linear regression relationship was also established between grain size and tensile strength of the weld nugget of FSW joints.

Friction stir welding of aluminum to copper—An overview

Components made by joining different materials are required in various engineering applications.Fabrication of suchcomponents is a challenging task due to the vast difference in mechanical,thermal and electrical properties of the materials beingused.Friction stir welding(FSW)is capable of joining dissimilar materials such as aluminum(Al)and copper(Cu)and thereforeresearchers have used this novel process for dissimilar joining.Consequently,several works pertaining to dissimilar joining,specifically Al?Cu,are available in the literature but they are scattered in different sources,which makes the task of gatheringinformation about dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu cumbersome.This work has been written with an aim to provide all pertinentinformation related to dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu at one place to ease the problems of researchers.It comprehensively covers andsummarizes the topics such as the effect of tool design and geometry,FSW process parameters,FSW strategies on mechanicalproperties,microstructure and formation of defects during dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu.In addition,it also presents and discussesseveral variants of dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu.Finally,this work not only puts forth major findings of the previous researchers but alsosuggests future recommendations for dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu.