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.

Effect of welding heat input and post-welded heat treatment on hardness of stir zone for friction stir-welded 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

The microstructure and hardness of the stir zone （SZ） with different welding heat inputs were investigated for friction stir-welded 2024-T3 aluminum by transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimeter and Vickers micro-hardness test. The results show that welding heat input has a significant effect on the hardness of the SZ. Under high welding heat input condition, a higher welding speed is beneficial for improving the hardness of the SZ. However, when the welding heat input is low, the hardness of the SZ elevates with increasing the rotation speed. The hardness of the SZ decreases after post-welded heat treatment due to overaging. The joints welded at 500 r/min and 100 mm/min show a high resistance to overaging. The reduction of hardness in the SZ is only 3.8%, while in other joints, the reduction is more than 10%. The morphology of strengthening precipitates plays important roles for the improvement of hardness.

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.

Multi-field dynamic modeling and numerical simulation of aluminum alloy resistance spot welding

In order to explore the influence of welding parameters and to investigate the Al alloy (AA) nugget formation process, a comprehensive model involving electrical-thermal-mechanical and metallurgical analysis was established to numerically display the resistance spot welding (RSW) process within multiple fields and understand the AA-RSW physics. A multi-disciplinary finite element method (FEM) framework and a empirical sub-model were built to analyze the affecting factors on weld nugget and the underlying nature of welding physics with dynamic simulation procedure. Specifically, a counter-intuitive phenomenon of the resistance time-variation caused by the transient inverse virtual variation (TIVV) effect was highlighted and analyzed on the basis of welding current and temperature distribution simulation. The empirical model describing the TIVV phenomenon was used for modifying the dynamic resistance simulation during the AA spot welding process. The numerical and experimental results show that the proposed multi-field FEM model agrees with the measured AA welding feature, and the modified dynamic resistance model captures the physics of nugget growth and the electrical-thermal behavior under varying welding current and fluctuating heat input.

Study on the effect of welding current during laser beam-resistance seam welding of aluminum alloy 5052

The effect of welding current on the weld shape and tensile shear load during laser beam-resistance seam welding （LB-RSW） of aluminum alloy 5052 is studied. Experimental results show that the penetration depth, weld width ,tensile shear load and the ratio of penetration depth to weld width of LB-RSW are bigger than those of laser beam welding（ LBW） under the same conditions and the former three parameters increase as welding current rises. The weld shape of LB-RSW below 5 kA welding current is nearly the same as that of LBW. The weld morphology is protuberant under the condition of 5 kA welding current and 0. 8 m/min welding speed. Furthermore, the microstructure of the weld seam of LB-RSW is coarser than that of LBW.

Experimental study on activating welding for aluminum alloys

TIG welding and EB welding Jbr aluminum alloy 3003 were carried out to study the effects of activating flux on weld penetration of activating welding for aluminum alloys. SiO2 was used as the activating flux. It is found that, SiO2 can increase the weld penetration and decrease the weld width of FBTIG when the flux gap is small. For A-TIG welding and EB welding with focused mode, the weld penetrations and the weld widths increase simultaneoudy. SiO2 has little effect on the weld penetration and weld width of EB welding with defocused mode. It is believed that, change of surface tension temperature gradient is not the main mechanism of SiO2 improving weld penetration of activating welding for aluminum alloys.

Microstructure and porosity analysis in ultrasonic assisted TIG welding of 2014 aluminum alloy

The ultrasonic assisted tungsten inert gas （U-TIG） welding is a newly developed arc welding method, which is aimed at improving the weld quality and efficiency. TIG welding and U-TIG welding of 2014 aluminum alloy with 5 mm thickness were experimentally carried out in this paper. The microstructure and porosity of welded joints were analyzed. Compared with conventional TIG welding, the columnar crystals are changed into equiaxed crystals at the centre of weld zone and the grain of fusion zone in U-TIG welding is refined and equiaxed. The porosities of joint decrease after the ultrasonic was applied on the arc. The mechanism of crystal grain refinement is discussed in this paper and the reasons of porosity decrease in U-TIG welded joint may be due to the effect of acoustic streaming and cavitation, which need further research.

Characteristic of laser-MIG hybrid welding with filling additional cold wire for aluminum alloy

The weld appearance, deposition rate, welding efficiency, stability of arc, laser keyhole characteristic, and weld property were studied by using a novel laser-MIG hybrid welding process with filling wire of aluminum alloy. The results were also compared with those by conventional laser-MIG hybrid welding process. It was found that with the suitable process parameters this novel welding process for aluminum alloy was stable and final weld bead had fine appearance. Compared to conventional laser-MIG hybrid welding process, during this novel welding process the stability of arc, the laser keyhole characteristic and the weld property were similar, while the keyhole cycle frequency and keyhole opening area had differences of 1.23% and 15.34%, respectively, and the welding efficiency increased by about 31% without increasing heat input.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of the joint of 6061 aluminum alloy by plasma-MIG hybrid welding

Plasma-MIG {metal inert gas arc welding） hybrid welding of aluminum alloy with 6 mm thickness using ER5356 welding wire was carried out. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the welded joint were investigated by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction （XRD） , energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS） , tensile test, hardness test and scanning electron microscope （ SEM） were used to judge the type of tensile fracture. The results showed that the tensile strength of welded joint was 142 MPa which was 53. 6% o f the strength o f the base metal. The welding seam zone was characterized by dendritic structure. In the fusion zone, the columnar grains existed at one side of the welding seam. The fibrous organization was found in the base metal, and also in the heat affected zone （HAZ） where the recrystallization occurred. The HAZ was the weakest position of the welded joint due to the coarsening of Mg2Si phase. The type of tensile fracture was ductile fracture.

Temperature distribution study during the friction stir welding process of Al2024-T3 aluminum alloy

Heat flux characteristics are critical to good quality welding obtained in the important engineering alloy A12024- T3 by the friction stir welding （FSW） process. In the present study, thermocouples in three different configurations were amxed on the welding samples to measure the temperatures： in the first configuration, four thermocouples were placed at equivalent positions along one side of the welding direction; the second configuration involved two equivalent thermocouple locations on either side of the welding path; while the third configuration had all the thermocouples on one side of the layout but with unequal gaps from the welding line. A three-dimensional, non-linear ANSYS computational model, based on an approach applied to A12024-T3 for the first time, was used to simulate the welding temperature profiles obtained experimentally. The experimental thermal profiles on the whole were found to be in agreement with those calculated by the ANSYS model. The broad agreement between the two kinds of profiles validates the basis for derivation of the simulation model and provides an approach for the FSW simulation in A12024-T3 and is potentially more useful than models derived previously.

Evolution of residual stress field in 6N01 aluminum alloy friction stir welding joint

Based on the characteristics of friction stir welding( FSW) and Coulomb friction work theory,the residual stresses field of FSW joints of 6 N01 aluminum alloy( T5),which was used in high speed train,were calculated by using the ANSYS finite element software. During the FEM calculation,the dual heat source models namely the body heat source and surface heat source were used to explore the evolution law of the welding process to the residual stress field. The method of ultrasonic residual stress detecting was used to investigate the residual stresses field of the 6 N01 aluminum alloy FSW joints. The results show that the steady-state temperature of 6 N01 aluminum alloy during FSW is about 550 ℃,and the temperature mutates at the beginning and at end of welding. The longitudinal residual stress σ_x is the main stress,which fluctuates in the range of-25 to 242 MPa. Moreover,the stress in the range of shaft shoulder is tensile stress that the maximum tensile stress is 242 MPa,and the stress in the outside of shaft shoulder is compressive stress that the maximum compressive stress is 25 MPa. The distribution of the tensile stress in the welding nugget zone( WNZ) is obviously bimodal,and the residual stress on the advancing side is higher than that on the retreating side. With the increasing of the welding speed,the maximum temperature decreased and the maximum residual stress decreased when the pin-wheel speed kept constant. With the increasing of the pin-wheel speed,the maximum temperature of the joint increased and the maximum residual stress increased when the welding speed was constant. The experimental results were in good agreement with the finite element results.

An initial study on welding procedure using tandem MIG welding of high strength aluminum alloy

The high-speed camera system and data acquisition system of welding parameters were created in tandem MIG welding of high strength aluminum alloy. The experiments were carried out in order to obtain the photos of droplet transfer under different welding parameters in pulsed mode. The droplet transfer mode of “one pulse one droplet” becomes the preferred selection during welding process because of its stable procedure and sound weld form. The parameter ranges for corresponding transfer mode were experimentally achieved, among which the stable droplet transfer mode of “one pulse one droplet” can be realized. These efforts brave the way for control weld heat input and weld formation in the future.

Effect of small tool pin profiles on microstructures and mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy by friction stir welding

The effect of small tool pin profiles on the microstructures and mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy joints using friction stir welding （FSW） technique was investigated. Three different tool pin profiles： threaded tapered cylindrical （T1）, triangular （T2） and square （T3） were used to produce the joints. The results indicate that the weld joints are notably affected by joining with different tool pin profiles. The triangular tool pin profile produces thebest metallurgicaland mechanical weld properties compared with other tool pin profiles. Besides, the lowest tensile strength and microhardness are obtained for the joint friction stir welded with square tool pin profile. It is observed that the smaller tool pin profile and shoulder diameter lead to narrow region of heat affected zone （HAZ） and a desired level of softening. The fracture surface examination shows that the joints are also affected when welding with different types of tool pin profiles. The fracture surface shows that the triangular specimen fails with a ductile fracture mode during the tensile test, while the brittle fracture modes are observed in the joints fabricated with other tool pin profiles （T1 and T3）.

Stability of fiber laser-MIG hybrid welding of high strength aluminum alloy

The effect of fiber laser on MIG arc was investigated with 8 mm 7075-T6 high strength aluminum alloy as base material.The arc shape,droplet transfer form and electrical signal in the process of MIG welding and laser-MIG hybrid welding were analyzed.The stability of the hybrid welding process was evaluated by standard deviation analysis.The results show that with the increase of laser power,a large number of laser-induced plasma enters the arc column area,providing more conductive channels,which makes the heat of MIG arc more concentrated and the short circuit transition disappear.Due to the continuous effect of laser,the keyhole becomes a continuous electron emission source,and a stable cathode spot will be formed near the keyhole,which enhances the stability of MIG arc at the base current state.By using the method of standard deviation analysis,the voltage standard deviation of single MIG welding arc and laser-MIG hybrid arc within 4 seconds was calculated.The standard deviation of single MIG arc voltage was 1.05,and the standard deviation of MIG arc voltage in laser-MIG hybrid welding was 0.71–0.86,so the hybrid welding process was more stable.

Research for the method of image acquisition of the molten pool in the TIG welding of aluminum alloy

Obtaining the image of molten pool aluminum alloy’s tungsten inert gas(TIG)welding becomes a challenging problem in the welding field. In this paper, a bran-new optical sensor based analyzing the light spectrum was designed, and the clear image of the molten pool during the aluminum alloy’s welding using the common industrial CCD camera was obtained. And with the new algorithm provided by myself, the desirable characteristic parameters of the molten pool of aluminum alloy’s welding were obtained, and it provides a good base for advanced monitor welding quality.

Dissimilar friction stir welding between 5052 aluminum alloy and AZ31 magnesium alloy

Dissimilar friction stir welding between 5052 Al alloy and AZ31 Mg alloy with the plate thickness of 6 mm was investigated.Sound weld was obtained at rotation speed of 600 r/min and welding speed of 40 mm/min.Compared with the base materials,the microstructure of the stir zone is greatly refined.Complex flow pattern characterized by intercalation lamellae is formed in the stir zone.Microhardness measurement of the dissimilar welds presents an uneven distribution due to the complicated microstructure of the weld,and the maximum value of microhardness in the stir zone is twice higher than that of the base materials. The tensile fracture position locates at the advancing side(aluminum side),where the hardness distribution of weld shows a sharp decrease from the stir zone to 5052 base material.

Application of the wavelet packet and its energy spectrum to identify nugget splash during the aluminum alloys spot welding

Nugget splash during aluminum alloys spot welding has a detrimental effect on weld nugget integrity, strength and durability of the welded joints. This investigation is performed to identify nugget splash from voltage signals because these are easily accessible on-line. In the present work, we propose a novel method based on the wavelet packet transform and its energy spectrum for pattern recognition of splash signal. The result demonstrates that this novel method is more accuracy and a useful way of monitoring the spot welding quality.

Process of friction-stir welding high-strength aluminum alloy and mechanical properties of joint

The process of friction-stir welding 2A12CZ alloy has been studied. And strength and elongation tests have been performed, which demonstrated that the opportunity existed to manipulate friction-stir welding parameters in order to improve a range of material properties. The results showed that the joint strength and elongation arrived at their maximums (331 MPa and 4%) at 37.5 mm/min and 300 rpm. As welding parameters changing, joint tensile strength and elongation had similar development. Hardness measurement indicated that the weld was softened. However, there was considerable difference in softening degree for different joint zone. The weld top had lower hardness and wider softening zone than other zone of the weld. And softening zone at advancing side was wider than that at retreating side.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy laser-MIG hybrid welding joint

In this paper, 3 mm 6061 aluminum alloy sheets were welded by laser MIG hybrid welding. Based on the experiment, the best welding parameters were determined to ensure the penetration welding. The detailed microstructure,tensile and fatigue fracture morphology and surface fatigue damage of the welded joints were analyzed by optical microscope(OM), scanning electron microscope(SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS). The results show that there are two main kinds of precipitates, one is the long Si rich precipitates at the grain boundaries, the other is the intragranular Cu rich precipitates. The tensile test results show that the tensile strength of the joint is 224 MPa, which is only 70.2% of the base metal. Through the analysis of tensile fracture, there are great differences in the formation of tensile dimple. In the tensile-tensile fatigue test with a stress rate of 0.1, the conditional fatigue limits of base metal and welded joint are 101.9 MPa and 54.4 MPa, respectively. By comparing the fatigue fracture of the welded joints under different stress amplitudes, it was found that the main factor leading to the fracture of the joint is porosity. Through further analysis of the pore defects, it was found that there are transgranular and intergranular propagation ways of microcracks in the pores, and the mixed propagation way was also found.

Effects of welding parameters and tool geometry on properties of 3003-H18 aluminum alloy to mild steel friction stir weld

Defect-free butt joints of 3003 Al alloy to mild steel plates with 3 mm thickness were performed using friction stir welding （FSW）. A heat input model reported for similar FSW was simplified and used to investigate the effects of welding speed, rotation speed and tool shoulder diameter on the microstructure and properties of dissimilar welds. The comparison between microstructure, intermetallics and strength of welds shows the good conformity between the results and the calculated heat input factor （HIF） achieved from the model. The joint strength is controlled by Al/Fe interface at HIF of 0.2-0.4, by TMAZ at HIF of 0.4-0.8 and by intermetallics and/or defects at HIF0.8.