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.     

High-Speed Friction Stir Welding of SiC_p/Al–Mg–Si–Cu Composite

A 17 vol% SiCp/Al–Mg–Si–Cu composite plate with a thickness of 3 mm was successfully friction stir welded(FSWed) at a very high welding speed of 2000 mm/min for the first time. Microstructural observation indicated that the coarsening of the precipitates was greatly inhibited in the heat-affected zone of the FSW joint at high welding speed, due to the significantly reduced peak temperature and duration at high temperature. Therefore, prominent enhancement of the hardness was achieved at the lowest hardness zone of the FSW joint at this high welding speed, which was similar to that of the nugget zone. Furthermore, the ultimate tensile strength of the joint was as high as 369 MPa, which was much higher than that obtained at low welding speed of 100 mm/min(298 MPa). This study provides an effective method to weld aluminum matrix composite with superior quality and high welding efficiency.     

Friction stir butt welding of A5052-O aluminum alloy plates

Friction stir butt welding (FSW) between A5052-O aluminum alloy plates with a thickness of 2 mm was performed.The rotation speeds of the welding tool were 2000 and 3000 r/min,respectively.The traverse speed was ranged from 100 mm/min to 900 mm/min.The defect-free welds with the very smooth surface morphology were successfully obtained,except for at the welding condition of 3000 r/min and 100 mm/min.The onion ring structure was observed in the friction-stir-welded zone (SZ) at the condition of 2000 r/min and 100 mm/min.For all the welding conditions,the grain size of the SZ was smaller than that of the base metal,and was decreased with the decrease of the tool rotation speed and with the increase of the tool traverse speed.The stir zone exhibited higher average hardness than the base metal.The decrease of the tool rotation speed and the increase of the tool traverse speed resulted in the increase in the average hardness of the SZ.The tensile strength of the FSWed plates was similar to that of the base metal,except for at the welding condition of 3000 r/min and 100 mm/min.The total elongation of the FSWed plates was lower than that of the base metal.     

Friction stir welding of AZ31 magnesium alloy

Friction stir welding (FSW) is an new solid-phase joining technology which has more advantages over fusion welding methods in welding of aluminum and other non-ferrous metals. The effects of welding parameters on mechanical properties and microstructure during friction stir welding of AZ31 magnesium alloy were studied in this paper. Microstructures and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated by means of optical microscopy, scanning electric microscopy ( SEM ) , micro-hardness analysis, and tensile test. Experimental results show that the magnesium alloy can be successfully welded by FSW method, and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of FSW joint reaches up to 90 percent of base metal. The microstructures of welded joints exhibit the variation from dynamically recrystallized fine grains to greatly deformed grains. Hardness in nugget zone was found lower than the base metal but not too obvious.     

Process parameters optimization for friction stir welding of RDE-40 aluminium alloy using Taguchi technique

Taguchi approach was applied to determine the most influential control factors which will yield better tensile strength of the joints of friction stir welded RDE-40 aluminium alloy. In order to evaluate the effect of process parameters such as tool rotational speed, traverse speed and axial force on tensile strength of friction stir welded RDE-40 aluminium alloy, Taguchi parametric design and optimization approach was used. Through the Taguchi parametric design approach, the optimum levels of process parameters were determined. The results indicate that the rotational speed, welding speed and axial force are the significant parameters in deciding the tensile strength of the joint. The predicted optimal value of tensile strength of friction stir welded RDE-40 aluminium alloy is 303 MPa. The results were confirmed by further experiments.     

Effect of Laser Welding Process Parameters on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties on Butt Joint of New Hot-Rolled Nano-scale Precipitation-Strengthened Steel

A 4 kW fiber laser was chosen to weld the new hot-rolled nano-scale precipitation-strengthened steel with a thickness of 4.5 mm. The effect of laser power, defocusing distance, and welding speed on the welded joint appearance was examined, and the microstructure and mechanical properties on the typical butt joints were investigated. Results showed that increasing laser welding power may cause faster downward flow of molten metal to produce greater root humping. With the welding speed increasing, the average welding seam （WS） width decreased, and the average WS and heat-affected zone （HAZ） hardness increased. The microstructures of WS, fusion line, and coarse grain heat-affected zone were lath martensite, but the growth direction of the original austenite grain boundaries was significantly different. The microstructures of fine grain heat-affected zone were ferrite and martensite, and the microstructure of mixed grain heat- affected zone contained ferrite, massive M/A island, and a small amount of martensite. The micro-hardness values of WS, HAZ, and base metal （BM） were 358, 302, and 265 HV, respectively. The butt joint fracture at the BM far from the WS and the welded joint tensile strength are observed to follow proportional relationship with hardness.     

Effect of ultrasonic vibration on the friction stir weld quality of aluminium alloy

A novel variant of friction stir welding process, referred as ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding, is developed to transmit ultrasonic vibration energy directly into the localized area of the workpiece near and ahead of the rotating tool. Experiments are conducted on 6061-T4 aluminium alloy plates by this new process and the conventional friction stir welding process, respectively. The morphology and macrograph of the welds under both conditions are observed and contrasted. The experimental results show that ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding can improve the weld formation quality and increase the welding efficiency. And it just needs a smaller axial downward force. Because that the added action of ultrasonic vibration energy may enhance the localized softening extent and the plastic flow around the tool. In addition, it also improves the mechanical properties of the welded joints.     

Fatigue properties of friction stir welded butt joint and base metal of MB8 magnesium alloy

The fatigue properties of friction stir welded(FSW) butt joint and base metal of MB8 magnesium alloy were investigated.The comparative fatigue tests were carried out using EHF-EM200K2-070-1A fatigue testing machine for both FSW butt joint and base metal specimens.The fatigue fractures were observed and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope of JSM-6063 LA type.The experimental results show that the fatigue performance of the FSW butt joint of MB8 magnesium alloy is sharply decreased.The conditional fatigue limit(2 × 10~6) of base metal and welded butt joint is about77.44 MPa and 49.91 MPa,respectively.The conditional fatigue limit(2 × 10~6) of the welded butt joint is 64.45%of that of base metal.The main reasons are that the welding can lead to stress concentration in the flash area,tensile welding residual stress in the welded joint(The residual stress value was 30.5 MPa),as well as the grain size is not uniform in the heat-affected zone.The cleavage steps or quasi-cleavage patterns present on the fatigue fracture surface,the fracture type of the FSW butt joint belongs to a brittle fracture.     

Effect of rotary direction and speed on mechanical properties in friction stir spot welding of A6061 sheets e

Friction stir spot welding of A6061 sheets was conducted using a tool with thread pin. The hook geometries, hook formation and mechanical properties of the joints welded with different rotary directions and speeds were investigated. The results show that the hook in the joint welded in clockwise was curved upwards and that in anticlockwise was curved downwards. The hook formation was related to the plastic material flow in the joint. With increasing the rotary speed in clockwise direction, the hook moved upwards and far way from the center of the keyhole, resulting in an increase in the effective weld width and a decrease in the effective sheet thickness. Three types of fractuces were observed and they were affected by the hook geometries. The tensile shear load increased firstly and then decreased when the rotary speed increased in clockwise direction, which was related to the hook geometries.     

Study on improving properties of welded joints of 400 MPa ultra fine grained steel by mechanical surface hardening

The welded joints of 400 MPa ultra fine grained steel in manual arc welding were treated by mechanical surface hardening. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the treated joints were compared with those of the untreated joints, based on which, primary study on the process and principle of mechanical surface hardening was carried out. The results shows that： Grain size of HAZ increases greatly and mechanical properties of welded joint decrease obviously compared with those of base martial, but grain size in the surface layer of HAZ can be refined （the grain size is about 100 nm or so） and mechanical properties of welded joints can be improved greatly by mechanical surface hardening.     

High-Speed Friction Stir Welding of T6-Treated B_4Cp/6061Al Composite

T6-treated 20 wt% B_4 Cp/6061 Al sheets were joined under welding speeds of 400–1200 mm/min by friction stir welding(FSW) with a threaded cermet pin. The macro-defect-free FSW joints could be achieved at high welding speeds up to 1200 mm/min, but larger plunge depth was required at the welding speeds of 800 and 1200 mm/min to eliminate the tunnel defect. In the nugget zone(NZ) of the joints, the B_4 C particles were broken up and uniformly redistributed. The NZ exhibited lower hardness than the base metal(BM), and the hardness value almost did not change with increasing welding speed, attributable to the dissolution of precipitates. Compared with the BM, the joints showed lower tensile strength. As the welding speed increased from 400 to 800 mm/min, the joint efficiencies were nearly the same and up to ～ 73%. When the welding speed increased up to 1200 mm/min, the tensile strength significantly decreased, due to the occurrence of kissing bond defect at the bottom of the NZ. With increasing welding speed, the fracture location of the joints transferred gradually from the heat-affected zone to the NZ due to the kissing bond defects.     

Microstructural zones and tensile characteristics of friction stir welded joint of TC4 titanium alloy

TC4 titanium alloy was friction stir welded using a W-Re pin tool,and the defect-free weld was produced with proper welding parameters.The joint consists of stir zone,heat affected zone and base material.The stir zone is characterized by equiaxed dynamically recrystallized α phases and transformed β phases with fine α+β lamellar microstructure.The microstructure of the heat-affected zone is similar to that of the base material,but there is an increase in the volume fraction of β.Transverse tensile strength of the joint is 92% that of the base material,and the joint is fractured in the stir zone and the fracture surface possesses typical plastic fracture characteristics.The stir zone is the weakest part of the joint,through which the tensile characteristics of the TC4 joint can be explained.     

Experimental Investigation on Friction Welding of UNS S32205 Duplex Stainless Steel

UNS S 32205 duplex stainless steel specimens were joined by continuous drive friction welding process. The experiments were conducted as per the Taguchi（L16 orthogonal array） method. The friction welding process parameters such as heating pressure, heating time, upsetting pressure, upsetting time, and speed of rotation were fixed with low,medium, and high levels of range based on the machine capacity, and the required knowledge was acquired from the preliminary experiments. The joint characterization studies included micro structural examination and evaluation of mechanical properties of the joints. Microhardness variation, impact toughness, and tensile strength of the joints were evaluated. Neither a crack nor an incomplete bonding zone was observed. The tensile strength of the joints was higher than the strength of the base material, and the friction and upsetting pressures were found to influence the joint strength. The tensile strength of all the welds was observed to be increasing with an increase in the rotational speed. The toughness of the friction welds was evaluated at room temperature and also at subzero（cryo） temperature conditions. The toughness for friction welds was found to be superior to the fusion welds of duplex stainless steel at room temperature and cryo conditions. Weldments exhibited better corrosion resistance than the parent material.     

Research on the properties of laser welded joints of aluminum killed cold rolled steel

Aluminum killed cold rolled steel used for automobiles was welded in this paper by using CO2 laser with wavelength 10.6μm.The experiment shows that high quality of welding can be realized at welding speed of 4500mm/min by optimizing the parameters.The strenth and hardness of laser welded joints for aluminum killed cold rolled steel increased compared to those of the base metal while the formability decreased.Forming limit diagram of joint material indicated that the laser weld seam should avoid the maximum deformation area of automobile parts during the designing period for the position of weld seam.     

Comparative study on fatigue properties of friction stir and MIG-pulse welded joints in 5083 Al-Mg alloy

The objective of this investigation was to compare the fatigue properties of friction stir welds with those of MIG-pulse welds. The 5083 Al-Mg alloy was welded by single pass friction stir welding（FSW） and double-sided MIG-pulse welding. The results show that friction stir（FS） welds have a better appearance than MIG-pulse welds for the lack of voids, cracks and distortions. Compared with the parent plate, FSW welds exhibit similar fine grains, while MIG-pulse welds display a different cast microstructure due to the high heat input and the addition of welding wire. The S-N curves of FSW and MIG-pulse joints show that the fatigue life of FS welds is 18 - 26 times longer than that of MIG-pulse welds under the stress ratio of 0.1 and the calculated fatigue characteristic values of each weld increase from 38.67 MPa for MIG-pulse welds to 53.59 MPa for FSW welds.     

Mechanical properties of 2024-T4 aluminium alloy joints in ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding

Ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir welding （UVeFSW） is a recent modification of conventional friction stir welding （FSW）, which transmits ultrasonic vibration directly into the localized area of the workpiece near and ahead of the rotating tool. In this study, a high strength aluminium alloy （2024-T4） was welded by this process and conventional FSW, respectively. Then tensile tests, microhardness tests and fracture surface analysis were performed successively on the welding samples. The tests results reveal that ultrasonic vibration can improve the tensile strength and the elongation of welded joints. The microhardness of the stir zone also increases.     

Deformation analysis of a friction stir-welded thin sheet aluminum alloy joint

The deformation characteristics of a friction stir welded thin sheet aluminum alloy joint were analyzed via numerical simulations.The simulated results were compared with the experimental results obtained for the deformation of actual welded joints.The results revealed that the deformation of the joint was described by an asymmetric distribution with a large deformation region occurring mainly in the advancing side.This asymmetric deformation was mainly caused by the direct mechanical force applied by the welding tool to the workpiece.Furthermore,the deformation characteristics of the fixed points on both sides of the weld revealed that the deformation of the retreating side fluctuated significantly during the welding process.That is,the retreating side exhibited less welding stability than the advancing side.The stress distribution of the welded joint showed that a high stress region was formed at the end of the weld.In addition,the final stress distribution of the welded joint resulted mainly from the shear stress in the x-y direction.     

Microstructures and properties analysis of dissimilar metal joint in the friction stir welded copper to aluminum alloy

This paper mainly concentrated on the feasibility of friction stir welding of dissimilar metal of aluminum alloy to copper （I2） and a preliminary analysis of welding parameters influencing on the microstructures and properties of joint was carried out. The results indicated that the thickness of workpiece played an important role in the welding parameters which could succeed in the friction stir welding of dissimilar metal of copper to aluminum alloy, and the parameters were proved to be a narrow choice. The interfacial region between copper and aluminum in the dissimilar joint was not uniformly mixed, constituted with part of incomplete mixing zone, complete mixing zone, dispersion zone and the most region＇ s boundary was obvious. Meantime a kind banded structure with inhomogeneous width was formed. The intermetallic compounds generated during friction stir welding in the interfacial region were mainly CugAl4, Al2Cu etc, and their hardness was higher than oihers.     

EFFECT OF CARBON MIGRATION ON CREEP PROPERTIES OF Cr5Mo DISSIMILAR WELDED JOINTS WITH Ni-BASED AND AUSTENITIC WELD METAL

In this paper, the effect of carbon migration on creep properties of Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints with Ni-based (Inconel 182) and Cr23Ni13 (A302) austenitic weld metal was investigated. Carbon migration near the weld metal/ferritic steel interface of Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints was analyzed by aging method. Local creep deformations of the dissimilar welded joints were measured by a long-term local creep deformation measuring technique. The creep rupture testing was performed for Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints with Inconel 182 and A302 weld metal. The research results show that the maximum creep strain rate occurs in the decarburized zone located on heat affect zone (HAZ) of Cr5Mo ferritic steel. The creep rupture life of Cr5Mo dissimilar welded joints with A302 weld metal decreases due to carbon migration and is about 50％ of that welded with Inconel 182 weld metal.     

Study on arc-ultrasonic TIG welding of titanium alloy

TCA alloy was welded by conventional TIG welding and arc-ultrasonic TIG welding respectively. The microstructure of joint was analyzed by means of optical-microscope, scanning electron microscope in order to study the relationship between the macro-properties of joint and the microstructure. The results show that the joints were all welded successfully by conventional TIG welding and arc-ultrasonic TIG welding. With the increment of ultrasonic frequency and activated voltage, the width of joint became narrow step by step. The microstructure became more and more fine and was inclined to equiaxed crystal. Moreover, the dendrite depredation was not observed obviously. The properties of welded joint were improved markedly compared with that of conventional TIG welding.