Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-6061-T6 alloy welded by a new hybrid FSW/SSW joining process

In this study for the first time, the effects of decrease in heat inflow to the weld metal in friction stir process by utilising semisolid processing and decreasing the pin rotational speed as well as increasing the pin transverse speed were examined. As a result, the characteristic loss of hardness and strength in the weld zone were eliminated. The results showed that by approaching the ultrafine microstructure in the weld zone through the hybrid FSW/SSW process, the hardness and elongation values reached to 90?Hv and 8.88%, respectively. These are only slightly different from those of the base metal of the welded samples. Furthermore, the ultimate tensile strength of the samples welded by the hybrid technique was found to be about 167?MPa that was higher than those of the samples welded by friction stir welding (151?MPa) and semisolid welding (114?MPa) techniques.