FEM model for the thermo-mechanical characterization of friction stir spot welded joints

A simulation study of the Friction Stir Spot Welding process for the lap-joining of thin aluminum sheets was carried out using the FEM code DEFORM 2D. The special feature of the developed FEM model is a 2D approach used for the simulation of a 3D problem, in order to guarantee a very simple and practical solution able to achieve results in a very short time. A set of experiments was performed by means of a CNC machine tool and FSSW lap joints on AA6060-T6 aluminum alloy plates were obtained. The experimental results were used as reference cases for the model validation. A set of tests was carried out by varying the process parameters, namely rotational speed, axial feed rate and plunging depth. Axial welding forces and temperature distribution in the joining region were recorded during the tests and their dependency from the welding parameters was studied. Shear tests were also performed to evaluate the quality of the joints as function of the welding conditions. A satisfactory matching between numerical and experimental data was found (average errors ranging around 10 %), confirming the good predictive ability of the FEM model. The FEM simulations were finally used for the prediction of the joint shear resistance.     

An experimental investigation of fatigue behavior and deformation of double spot friction welded joints

Fatigue behavior of double spot friction welded joints in aluminum alloy 7075-T6 plates is investigated by conducting monotonic tensile and fatigue tests. The spot friction welding procedures are carried out by a milling machine with a designed fixture at the best preliminary welding parameter set. The fatigue tests are performed in a constant amplitude load control servo-hydraulic fatigue testing machine with a load ratio of (R = P_min/P_max) 0.1 at room temperature. It is observed that the failure mode in cyclic loading (low-cycle and high-cycle) resembles that of the quasi-static loading conditions i.e. pure shearing. Primary fatigue crack is initiated in the vicinity of the original notch tip and then propagated along the circumference of the weld’s nugget.     

Tensile behavior of dissimilar friction stir welded joints of aluminium alloys

The heat treatable aluminium alloy AA2024 is used extensively in the aircraft industry because of its high strength to weight ratio and good ductility. The non-heat treatable aluminium alloy AA5083 possesses medium strength and high ductility and used typically in structural applications, marine, and automotive industries. When compared to fusion welding processes, friction stir welding (FSW) process is an emerging solid state joining process which is best suitable for joining these alloys. The friction stir welding parameters such as tool pin profile, tool rotational speed, welding speed, and tool axial force influence the mechanical properties of the FS welded joints significantly. Dissimilar FS welded joints are fabricated using five different tool pin profiles. Central composite design with four parameters, five levels, and 31 runs is used to conduct the experiments and response surface method (RSM) is employed to develop the model. Mathematical regression models are developed to predict the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and tensile elongation (TE) of the dissimilar friction stir welded joints of aluminium alloys 2024-T6 and 5083-H321, and they are validated. The effects of the above process parameters and tool pin profile on tensile strength and tensile elongation of dissimilar friction stir welded joints are analysed in detail. Joints fabricated using Tapered Hexagon tool pin profile have the highest tensile strength and tensile elongation, whereas the Straight Cylinder tool pin profile have the lowest tensile strength and tensile elongation. The results are useful to have a better understanding of the effects of process parameters, to fabricate the joints with desired tensile properties, and to automate the FS welding process.     

Fracture and fatigue crack growth behaviour of PMMC friction stir welded butt joints

The paper is focused on the evaluation of the fracture and Fatigue Crack Growth (FCG) properties of butt joints of particulate metal-matrix composite (PMMC) obtained by friction stir welding (FSW). The materials considered are two aluminum alloy matrix/alumina particle PMMCs (AA6061/Al₂O₃/20p and AA7005/Al₂O₃/10p). Tests were conducted on unwelded and welded PMMCs using CT and Extended CT (ECT) specimen geometries, respectively. The crack growth rate was monitored by means of compliance with a strain gage attached on the back of the specimen. FCG experiments were carried out both at the centre and in the Thermo-Mechanically Altered Zone (TMAZ) at the side of the weld. The comparison between unwelded and welded PMMCs showed that FSW influences fracture toughness and FCG rate in a different fashion depending on the material. In particular, the FSW AA6061/Al₂O₃/20p butt joint exhibited comparable fracture toughness and higher FCG threshold with respect to the unwelded material, while in the case of AA7005/Al₂O₃/10p the behaviour is the opposite. The interpretation of this trend has been carried out by optical analysis of the crack path roughness and its correlation with the FCG rate. The dynamic recrystallization of the aluminum matrix and particle shaping operated by the FSW tool are at the ground of the explanation.     

Improving mechanical properties of pinless friction stir spot welded joints by eliminating hook defect

Hook defect (HD) seriously decreases the mechanical properties of friction stir spot welded (FSSW) joints. In this study, two methods were therefore used to eliminate the HD in pinless FSSW joints. The one is changing welding parameters such as rotating speed and dwell time. The other one is FSSW plus subsequent friction stir welding (FSSW-FSW), which is an innovative method proposed in this study. Experimental results showed that the HD in pinless FSSWed AA2024 joints was successfully eliminated by using FSSW-FSW, not by changing process parameters. The joints without HD exhibited a tensile–shear load of as much as 12 kN, which was higher than that of 6.9 kN in the joints with HD. Furthermore, it was proved that the tensile–shear load is not greatly improved only by increasing the nugget zone when HD still existed in the FSSW joints. In addition, the fracture morphology analysis demonstrated that the shear fracture of the FSSW-FSW joints took place along the boundary between the upper and lower sheets through the weld nugget, and the faying surface between the two sheets was completely sheared off.     

Analysis and modelling of fatigue failure of friction stir welded aluminum alloy single-lap joints

The fatigue strength of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy friction stir welded single-lap joints is determined by the presence of two crack-like unwelded zones at the overlap ends. Besides, mixed mode I/II conditions are present at the crack tip as the joint is prevalently loaded in shear. In this work, a finite element analysis is performed to predict the crack path and the stress intensity factor at the crack tip, then the lifetime is estimated by examining the crack propagation behaviour of the base material using the AFgrow software. The effect of an initial overload is also considered. The crack path is investigated optically and using the “fatigue failure mechanism map”.     

Macro and microscopic observations of fatigue crack growth in friction stir welded aluminum joints

This paper presents the macro and microscopic fractography performed on fractures from fatigue cracks through friction stir welded joints. The welds were placed under different angles in the various specimens to study the influence of the yield strength and residual stress on fatigue crack growth. As a result, different behavior was observed at the macro level, depending on the type of alloy and orientation of the weld. The variations in rotation of the crack plane raised a number of questions regarding the mode of loading, i.e. mode I or mode II. The purpose of this study was to investigate the fracture surfaces at microscopic level to find explanations for the local macro behavior. Special focus was placed on the fracture surfaces on which features were observed indicating mode II fatigue crack growth.     

Tensile behavior of friction stir welded AA 6061-T4 aluminum alloy joints

In this investigation response surface methodology based on a central composite rotatable design with three parameters, five levels and 20 runs, was used to develop a mathematical model predicting the tensile properties of friction stir welded AA 6061-T4 aluminum alloy joints at 95% confidence level. The three welding parameters considered were tool rotational speed, welding speed and axial force. Analysis of variance was applied to validate the predicted model. Microstructural characterization and fractography of joints were examined using optical and scanning electron microscopes. Also, the effects of the welding parameters on tensile properties of friction stir welded joints were analyzed in detail. The results showed that the optimum parameters to get a maximum of tensile strength were 920 rev/min, 78 mm/min and 7.2 kN, where the maximum of tensile elongation was obtained at 1300 rev/min, 60 mm/min and 8 kN.     

Hybrid fuzzy-grey-Taguchi based multi weld quality optimization of Al/Cu dissimilar friction stir welded joints

Nowadays aluminum alloys substitute copper in various applications for weight reduction and cost savings. This paper presents fuzzy-grey Taguchi technique for optimization of friction stir welding condition with seven weld quality attributes of dissimilar Al/Cu joints with the minimum number of experiments for effective productivity and product quality. Taguchi's L₁₆ orthogonal array was used to conduct the experiments. Fuzzy inference system was adapted to convert the multi quality characteristics into an equivalent single quality parameter which was optimized by Taguchi approach. Four parameters namely, rotational speed of the tool, welding speed, plunging depth and tool pin offset were varied in four levels for investigating the effects on the process output like tensile strength, compressive strength, percentage of elongation, bending angle, weld bead thickness and average hardness at the nugget zone. The hardness profile is consistent with the variation of the structure within the nugget zone (NZ). Confirmation experiment was conducted using predicted optimum parameter setting and it showed that the proposed approach could efficiently optimize weld quality parameters. The microstructural analyses were also performed for all the zones of the joints at both Al and Cu sides. It revealed the finer grain size at the NZ compared to the base material due to dynamic recrystallization.     

Microstructure and failure mechanisms of refill friction stir spot welded 7075-T6 aluminum alloy joints

In this paper, the microstructure and mechanical properties of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy joints joined by refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW) were investigated. The keyhole was refilled successfully, and the microstructure of the weld exhibited variations in the grain sizes in the width and the thickness directions. There existed defects (hook, voids, bonding ligament, etc.) associated to the material flow in the weld. Mechanical properties of the joint have been investigated in terms of hardness and tensile/shear and cross-tension test, and the fracture mechanisms were observed by SEM (scanning electron microscope). The hardness profile of the weld exhibited a W-shaped appearance in the macroscopic level, which reached the minimum at the boundary of the sleeve and the clamping ring. The variation laws between tensile/shear and cross-tension strength and processing parameters were rather complicated. The void in the weld played an important role in determining the strength of the joint. On the whole, the preferable strength can be obtained at lower rotational speed. Shear fracture mode was observed under tensile–shear loadings, and nugget debonding, plug type fracture (on the upper sheet) and plug type fracture (on the lower sheet) modes were observed under cross-tension loadings. It was also observed that the main feature affecting the mechanical properties of the joint is the alclad between the upper and lower sheets and the connecting qualities between the stir zone and thermo-mechanically affected zone.     

A comprehensive investigation on the effects of laser and shot peening on fatigue crack growth in friction stir welded AA 2195 joints

The effects of various surface treatment techniques on the fatigue crack growth performance of friction stir welded 2195 aluminum alloy were investigated. The objective was to reduce fatigue crack growth rates and enhance the fatigue life of welded joints. The crack growth rates were assessed and characterized for different peening conditions at a stress ratio (R) of 0.1, and 0.7. The surface and through-thickness residual stress distribution were also investigated and presented for the various regions in the weld. Tensile residual stresses introduced during the welding process were found to become significantly compressive, particularly after laser peening. The effect of the compressive stresses was deemed responsible for increasing the resistance to fatigue crack growth of the welds. The results indicate a significant reduction in fatigue crack growth rates using laser peening compared to shot peening and native welded specimens. This reduced fatigue crack growth rate was comparable to the base unwelded material.     

Weld tool travel speed effects on fatigue life of friction stir welds in 5083 aluminium

This paper reports the results of a study into the influence of weld tool travel speed (in the range 80–200 mm/min) on the occurrence of ‘onion-skin’ forging-type defects (similar to the root defects known as ‘kissing bonds’) in single pass friction stir (SP FS) welds, and on the effect of these defects on fatigue crack initiation and overall life. Results indicate that such defects are generally not associated with fatigue crack initiation, but may act to reduce fatigue life by providing easy linking paths between two fatigue cracks. It is likely that their influence on fracture toughness of SP FS welds would be higher, as they occur more readily when growth rates and levels of plastic deformation are higher.     

Size effects in the fatigue behavior of welded steel tubular bridge joints

Tubular space trusses for bridge applications use thick‐walled tubes. The reduction in fatigue resistance due to geometrical size effects is thus an important issue. In order to carry out a thorough study, both fatigue tests on large‐scale specimens and advanced 3D crack propagation modelling were carried out at ICOM/EPFL. The study is limited to circular hollow sections (CHS) K‐joints. An alternate current potential drop (ACPD) system is used to measure crack depth on nodes of the tested truss specimens. The results obtained from the tests are given in the paper in terms of S‐N data, crack depth versus number of cycles and deduced crack propagation rates. The numerical model was developed using the dual boundary elements method (DBEM), software BEASY?, and was validated with fatigue tests data. The stress intensity factors (SIF) along the doubly curved crack front at different crack depths were obtained. With this model, a parametric study investigates the influence of geometry, size and load case on fatigue life. The results of both proportional and non‐proportional sizing effects on fatigue strength are presented. The paper shows that size effects (proportional and non‐proportional) can be expressed as a function of the non‐dimensional parameters and chord thickness.     

Fatigue crack initiation behaviors throughout friction stir welded joints in AA7075-T6 in ultrasonic fatigue

This paper presents the results of experimental investigation on fatigue behaviors of friction stir welded joints in AA7075-T6 with ultrasonic fatigue test system (20 kHz). Two kinds of particles, Fe-rich intermetallic compounds and Mg₂Si-based particles, governed the fatigue crack initiation. The plastic deformation and recrystallization during welding process led to the changes in particle size and micro crack occurrence between thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and nugget zone (NZ). Therefore, the fatigue crack initiation sites leaned to be located at the TMAZ in short fatigue life, or at the NZ in very high cycle fatigue regime.     

Low cycle fatigue properties of friction stir welded joints of a semi-solid processed AZ91D magnesium alloy

A semi-solid processed (thixomolded) Mg–9Al–1Zn magnesium alloy (AZ91D) was subjected to friction stir welding (FSW), aiming at evaluating the weldability and fatigue property of the FSW joint. Microstructure analysis showed that a recystallized fine-grained microstructure was generated in the nugget zone (NZ) after FSW. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation of the FSW joint were obtained to be 192 MPa, 245 MPa, and 7.6%, respectively. Low-cycle fatigue tests showed that the FSW joint had a fatigue life fairly close to that of the BM, which could be well described by the Basquin and Coffin-Manson equations. Unlike the extruded magnesium alloys, the hysteresis loops of FSW joint of the thixomolded AZ91D alloy were basically symmetrical, while the non-linear or pseudoelastic behavior was still present. The FSW joint was observed to fail in the BM section rather than in the NZ. Fatigue crack initiated basically from the pores at or near the specimen surface, and crack propagation was mainly characterized by fatigue striations along with the presence of secondary cracks.     

Global and local constitutive behaviors of friction stir welded AA2024 joints

In this study, the global and local tensile properties of friction stir welded AA2024 joints were measured with the aid of digital image correlation(DIC) method. A novel model was proposed to describe the global and local constitutive behavior of the joints based on DIC data. Different from conventional division of the zones across the joints, a new reasonable division was proposed, i.e. four zones including central low hardness zone(CLHZ), first heat affected zone(HAZ-I) close to TMAZ, second heat affected zone(HAZ-II)close to base metal(BM) and BM in term of the characteristic distribution of hardness. Results reveal that local true stress-true strain curves are different in each zone of interest. Plastic deformation of the joints is concentrated in CLHZ, where the lowest yield stress and the largest strain appear. Therefore, strain localization and necking occur here in a sequence. In addition, the global true stress-true strain curves and yield stresses at various ratios of the width of CLHZ zone to the gauge length are accurately predicted using the proposed constitutive model of the joints.     

Analysis of residual stresses in thick aluminum friction stir welded butt joints

Plates of aluminum alloys 2219-T62 were joined in a butt joint by friction stir welding. The residual stresses on the top and bottom surfaces were measured using the hole-drilling strain-gauge method. In the test specimen, it was found that the residual stresses on the top surface peaked at about 171 MPa, while the value reached 243 MPa for the weld with tunnel defect and had the conventional “M” profile with tensile stress peaks in the heat-affected zone. Those attached on the bottom surface had the inverted “V” profile with tensile stress peaks in the weld centre and the corresponding value was 99.4 MPa. Meanwhile, with the increase of rotary speed, the longitudinal residual stress decreased on the top surface, but increased on the bottom surface.     

Fatigue behaviour of Al2024-T3 friction stir welded lap joints

The aim of this work is the characterization of the fatigue behaviour of AA2024-T3 friction stir welded overlap joints produced at German Aerospace Center (DLR) of Cologne (D). In these joints, two crack-like unwelded zones are present at overlap ends. The stress intensity factor at the crack tip and the fatigue crack path have been studied using the FE code Franc2d and the lifetime has been estimated by integrating the material propagation law with the software AFgrow, in which the stress intensity factor calculated with Franc2d was introduced. The numerical results predict lifetimes shorter than the experiments. This fact is attributed to an initial propagation in shear mode for a short distance, which was indeed observed with an optical microscope and it is predicted by mixed mode “failure mechanism map”.     

Effect of backplate diffusivity on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints

Series of welds were made by friction stir welding (FSW) with various backplates made out of materials ranging from low diffusivity granite to high diffusivity copper in order to reveal the effect of backplate diffusivity on the joint microstructure and properties. The temperature, microstructure, microhardness and tensile properties of joints were compared and discussed. Results show that the backplate with high diffusivity effectively decreases the heat input to the workpiece during FSW. With decreasing the backplate diffusivity the sizes of equiaxed recrystallized grains in the nugget zone increase obviously, while the hardness of the nugget zone also increases a little. The interface between the thermo-mechanically affected zone and nugget zone at the retreating side disappears under the granite backplate. Moreover, the ductility of the joint is more excellent under the copper backplate, but under the granite backplate the failure has mixed fracture characteristics of quasi-cleavage and dimples.     

The effects of ultrasonic peening treatment on the ultra-long life fatigue behavior of welded joints

The conventional fatigue design codes was formulated based on the data from test stress cycles less than 1 × 10⁷. Most of them could not be applied for welded structures serviced in the ultra-long life region so the new recommendations were discussed. The method of ultrasonic peening treatment (UPT) was introduced in this thesis as a post-weld treatment to improve the fatigue strength of the welded structures. The fatigue behavior of welded structures in the ultra-long life region was investigated using an ultrasonic fatigue test machine under two post-weld treatment states: the as-welded and the UPT. Discussion had also been made about the fracture mechanism on the UPT joints in ultra-long life fatigue test.