Numerical simulation and experimental investigation on friction stir welding of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

A modified three-dimensional model was established to simulate the friction stir welding of the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. A detailed calculating method of the heat generation was proposed by taking account of the contact conditions between the tool and the work-piece. The results show that the heat mainly generated within the region close to the shoulder, the high temperature exists within the upper portion of the weld and decreases along the thickness direction. The strong material flow mainly occurs within the region around the tool and the material ahead of the tool sweeps toward the RS and finally deposits behind the tool. During this procedure the material is extruded to experience different shear orientations, and a defect-prone region exists in the region where material flow is weak. The temperature field and material flow behaviors predicted by the simulation method are in good agreement with the results obtained by the experiments.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar friction stir welding of 6061-to-7050 aluminum alloys

In this work, the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded dissimilar butt joints of 6061-to-7050 aluminum alloys were evaluated. Microstructure analysis of the cross-section of the joints revealed distinct lamellar bands and various degrees of intermixing that were correlated with tool rotational speed. Due to the distinct mechanical properties of the two alloys, microhardness measurements showed a consistent asymmetric hardness distribution profile across the weld nugget, regardless of tool rotational speed. Under monotonic tensile loading, an increase in the joint strength was observed with the increase in the tool rotational speed. Regarding fracture, the joints consistently failed on the 6061 aluminum alloy side. Furthermore, two modes of failure were observed, one through the stir zone and the other through the heat-affected zone. Inspection of the fracture surfaces suggested that inadequate material intermixing produced at low tool rotational speeds was the cause for the low mechanical strength and failure through the stir zone. On the other hand, the failure observed through the heat-affected zone at high rotational speeds was produced due to the material softening as confirmed by the microhardness measurements.     

Defects and tensile properties of 6013 aluminum alloy T-joints by friction stir welding

In this paper, 6013-T4 T-joints were successfully fabricated with different welding parameters by friction stir welding in two different combination modes of skins and stringers. The distribution features and formation mechanisms of defects in T-joints were observed and analyzed. The effect of defects and welding parameters on tensile properties of T-joints was investigated. The result shows that the T-joint without tunnel defect only can be obtained with the traverse speed of 100 mm/min in this experiment, and the welding parameters influence the features and sizes of kissing bond defects. The fracture of T-joints along the shin is attributed to the kissing bond defect and the tunnel defect is the main factor affecting the tensile properties along the stringer.     

铝/镀锌钢搅拌摩擦铆焊接头组织与力学性能

为实现铝钢之间的优质连接,采用搅拌摩擦铆焊新方法对6061铝合金和DP600镀锌钢进行搭接点焊,利用扫描电子显微镜、能谱仪及拉伸试验对接头的微观组织及力学性能进行了研究.结果表明:接头成形平整美观,中心没有匙孔;接头包含铆接区和扩散区,其中在铆接区铝合金以铝柱的形式嵌入到钢板的圆孔中,形成了一个"铝铆钉",底部有富铝的α固溶体偏聚,圆孔四周形成扩散区,铝和钢形成了冶金结合,依靠金属间化合物Fe Al3连接在一起;接头有3种断裂形式,在最佳工艺参数下接头的抗剪力达到8.2 k N;铝柱上断口的微观形貌是被拉长的韧窝,扩散区的断口由灰色基体和白色颗粒组成.     

Microstructure and tensile properties of friction welded aluminum alloy AA7075-T6

Solid-state welding processes like friction welding and friction stir welding are now being actively considered for welding aluminum alloy AA7075. In this work, friction welding of AA7075-T6 rods of 13 mm diameter was investigated with an aim to understand the effects of process parameters on weld microstructure and tensile properties. Welds made with various process parameter combinations (incorporating Taguchi methods) were subjected to tensile tests. Microstructural studies and hardness tests were also conducted. The results show that sound joints in AA7075-T6 can be achieved using friction welding, with a joint efficiency of 89% in as-welded condition with careful selection of process parameters. The effects of process parameters are discussed in detail based on microstructural observations.     

Effects of sleeve plunge depth on microstructures and mechanical properties of friction spot welded alclad 7B04-T74 aluminum alloy

Friction spot welding (FSpW) was applied to join the 7B04-T74 aluminum alloy successfully, and effects of sleeve plunge depth on weld appearance, microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated in detail. When the sleeve plunge depth was larger than 2 mm, a surface indentation with a depth of 0.2 mm should be applied in order to eliminate the defect of annular groove. The tensile shear properties of the joints were dependent on hook geometry, location of alclad layer, and hardness of stir zone (SZ). With increasing the sleeve plunge depth from 2 to 3.5 mm, the hook height increased, the alclad layer downward migrated further and the hardness of SZ decreased. The optimized FSpW joint was obtained when the sleeve plunge depth was 3 mm, and the corresponding tensile shear failure load was 11921 N. Two different failure modes, i.e. shear fracture mode and tensile-shear mixed fracture mode, were observed in the tensile shear tests.     

Effect of tool pin eccentricity on microstructure and mechanical properties in friction stir welded 7075 aluminum alloy thick plate

Four different tools with the pin eccentricity of 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm were designed to friction stir weld 10 mm thick AA7075-O plate. The effect of pin eccentricity on microstructure, secondary phase particles transformation and mechanical properties of the joints was investigated. The results show that the nugget area (A_NZ) increases firstly and then decreases with increasing the pin eccentricity. When the pin with 0.2 mm eccentricity is applied, the A_NZ is the largest; meanwhile the grains size is the smallest which is about 3 μm and secondary phase particles are the most dispersive in nugget zone compared with other tools. While the grains are coarsened to 7–11 μm as the eccentricity is more than 0.4 mm, some coarse hardening particles get to cluster in the thermo-mechanically affected zone. The joints produced by the pin with 0.2 mm eccentricity perform the highest tensile strength and elongation, which is attributed to better interfaces, finer grains and more dispersive secondary phase particles.     

Fabrication of large-bulk ultrafine grained 6061 aluminum alloy by rolling and low-heat-input friction stir welding

In this study, the ultrafine grained (UFG) 6061 Al alloys fabricated by cold rolling were friction stir welded (FSW) with different rotation rates under both air cooling and rapid cooling in water. Low-heat-input parameters of 400 rpm rotation rate in water (400-Water) could effectively inhibit the coarsening of recrystallized grains, reduce the precipitation rate, and retain more dislocations of the UFG 6061 Al parent metal. 400-Water joint showed high lowest-hardness value, narrow low-hardness zone, and high tensile strength, attributing to the effect of dislocation, grain boundary, solid-solution, and precipitation hardening. This work provides an effective strategy to fabricate large-sized bulk UFG Al alloy by cold rolling with large deformation and low-heat-input FSW.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties in nano and microscale SiC-included dissimilar friction stir welding of AA6061-AA2024

This work investigates the effect of SiC particles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar friction stir welding between AA6061-T6 and AA2024-T351. Two variations in the size of SiC particles, along the joint line, various groove width, and tool offset, were used for the welding. It was found that the joints made by rotational speed of 800?rev?min^?1, travelling speed of 31.5?mm?min^?1, groove width of 0.3?mm, and tool offset of 0.5?mm exhibited the most uniform distribution of particles for both micro- and nano-scale SiC particles. Additionally, the smaller and rounded equiaxed particles result in easier material flow, a more uniform metal matrix composite, the smallest grain size in the stir zone and the highest tensile strength.     

Influence of tool geometry and rotational speed on mechanical properties and defect formation in friction stir lap welded 5456 aluminum alloy sheets

Friction stir welding of AA5456 aluminum alloy in lap joint configuration is with two different tempers, T321 and O, and different thicknesses, 5 mm and 2.5 mm was investigated. The influences of tool geometry and various rotational speeds on macrostructure, microstructure and joint strength are presented. Specifically, four different tool pin profiles (a conical thread pin, a cylindrical–conical thread pin, a stepped conical thread pin and Flared Triflute pin tool) and two rotational speeds, 600 and 800 rpm, were used. The results indicated that, tool geometry influences significantly material flow in the nugget zone and accordingly control the weld mechanical properties. Of particular interest is the stepped conical threaded pin, which is introduced for the first time in the present investigation. Scanning electron microscopy investigation of the fracture location of samples was carried out and the findings correlated with tool geometry features and their influences on material flow and tension test results. The optimum microstructure and mechanical properties were obtained for the joints produced with the stepped conical thread pin profile and rotational speed of 600 rpm. The characteristics of the nugget zone microstructure, hooking height, and fracture location of the weld joints were used as criteria to quantify the influence of processing conditions on joint performance and integrity. The results are interpreted in the framework of physical metallurgy properties and compared with published literature.     

几何参数对2219铝合金拉拔式摩擦塞补焊接头微观组织及力学性能的影响EI北大核心CSCD

拉拔式摩擦塞补焊是火箭贮箱制造过程的重要技术之一。研究8 mm厚2219-T87铝合金拉拔式摩擦塞补焊接头的几何形状及其对接头微观组织和力学性能的影响。结果表明:塞孔及成形环几何形状对接头界面结合质量有重要影响。当焊接工艺参数为7000 r·min^(-1)主轴转速,35 kN轴向拉力以及16 mm轴向进给量时,使用锥直孔塞孔可有效防止塞棒在焊接过程中发生颈缩,从而消除接头未焊合缺陷;使用阶梯孔形成形环可以改善接头界面受力状态,防止弱结合缺陷产生。微观组织分析表明,毗邻结合界面的母材侧组织发生动态再结晶,热机械影响区组织发生明显塑性变形。接头附近组织受焊接热循环和塞棒旋转挤压作用发生明显软化,硬度最低值出现在热机械影响区,约为90HV。当接头存在焊接缺陷时,接头抗拉强度及伸长率较母材大幅降低,而无缺陷焊接接头的抗拉强度及伸长率分别为360.1 MPa和6.45%,接头系数为0.828,断裂方式为韧性断裂。     

6061-T6铝合金中厚板-节点套多层多道焊数值模拟

为研究铝合金中厚板-节点套接头在多层多道焊后的残余应力和变形分布,本文基于ABAQUS软件建立了该接头三维有限元模型,采用双椭球热源、生死单元法以及顺序耦合法,对6061-T6铝合金中厚板-节点套多层多道焊进行数值模拟,并分析了接头的温度场,以及在夹具约束下的焊接残余应力及变形的分布情况。研究结果表明:数值模拟与实际接头的熔池形状吻合度较高;摆动焊接过程中温度曲线呈多峰结构;焊件的升温速率明显大于冷却速率,且冷却速率随时间逐渐减小;焊接残余应力主要集中在焊缝及夹具区域,且小于6061-T6铝合金在室温下的屈服强度;接头的最大横向残余应力为129.9 MPa,中厚板上的横向残余应力大于节点套上的横向残余应力;接头的最大纵向残余应力为132.9 MPa,沿焊接方向,焊缝处的纵向残余应力呈山峰状分布;该接头在Y轴方向上的变形最大,为1.494 mm,该接头的最终变形结果为上凸变形。     

Corrosion behavior of aluminum 6061 alloy joined by friction stir welding and gas tungsten arc welding methods

Wrought aluminum sheets with thickness of 13 mm were square butt-welded by friction stir welding (FSW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) methods. Corrosion behavior of the welding zone was probed by Tafel polarization curve. Optical metallography (OM) and scanning electron microscopy together with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) were used to determine morphology and semi-quantitative analysis of the welded zone. FSW resulted in equiaxed grains of about 1–2 μm, while GTAW caused dendritic structure of the welded region. Resistance to corrosion was greater for the FSW grains than the GTAW structure. In both cases, susceptibility to corrosion attack was greater in the welded region than the base metal section. T6 heat treatment resulted in shifting of the corrosion potential towards bigger positive values. This effect was stronger in the welded regions than the base metal section.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction spot welded 6061-T4 aluminum alloy

Friction spot welding (FSpW) is a relatively new solid state joining technology developed by GKSS. In the present study, FSpW was applied to join the 6061-T4 aluminum alloy sheet with 2 mm thickness. The microstructure of the weld can be classified into four regions, which are stir zone (SZ), thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), heat affected zone (HAZ) and the base material (BM), respectively. Meanwhile, defects such as bonding ligament, hook and voids are found in the weld, which are associated to the material flow. The hardness profile of the weld exhibits a W-shaped appearance and the minimum hardness is measured at the boundary of TMAZ and SZ. Both the tensile/shear strength and cross-tension strength reach the maximum of 7117.0 N and 4555.4 N at the welding condition of the rotational speed of 1500 rpm and duration time of 4 s. Compared to cross-tension strength, the tensile/shear strength were stable with the variation of processing parameters. Three different fracture modes are observed under tensile/shear loading, which are plug type fracture, shear fracture and plug-shear fracture. There are also there different fracture modes under cross-tension loading, which are plug type fracture (on the upper sheet), nugget debonding and plug type fracture (on the lower sheet).     

Analysis of process parameters effects on friction stir welding of dissimilar aluminum alloy to advanced high strength steel

Thin sheets of aluminum alloy 6061-T6 and one type of Advanced high strength steel, transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steel have been successfully butt joined using friction stir welding (FSW) technique. The maximum ultimate tensile strength can reach 85% of the base aluminum alloy. Intermetallic compound (IMC) layer of FeAl or Fe₃Al with thickness of less than 1 μm was formed at the Al–Fe interface in the advancing side, which can actually contribute to the joint strength. Tensile tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicate that the weld nugget can be considered as aluminum matrix composite, which is enhanced by dispersed sheared-off steel fragments encompassed by a thin intermetallic layer or simply intermetallic particles. Effects of process parameters on the joint microstructure evolution were analyzed based on mechanical welding force and temperature that have been measured during the welding process.     

On the double-side probeless friction stir spot welding of AA2198 Al-Li alloy

Double-side probeless friction stir spot welding(DP-FSSW) of AA2198 alloy was conducted to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties. Compared with common single-side probeless friction stir spot welding(P-FSSW), the plastic strain during DP-FSSW is nearly symmetrical with respect to the bondline to suppress the extension of hook defect, which is detrimental to the joint mechanical strength.With DP-FSSW, a fully metallurgically bonded region has formed due to severe plastic deformation at high temperatures. Tensile/shear tests show that the joint strength could exceed 8 kN, which is comparable to P-FSSW and refill FSSW, and all fractures happen in a shear failure mode as cracks extend along the interface of two sheets. The microhardness profile exhibits a uniform distribution along the thickness direction, in which the hook defect shows the lowest value.     

Effect of friction stir welding on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA 6063-T6 aluminum alloy

In this study, AA 6063-T6 alloy plates were joined via friction stir welding using three different pin geometries (i. e., helical threaded, pentagonal and triangular) under various process parameters of tool rotational speed and welding speed. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the various welded joints were investigated. Macro-structural observations revealed that kissing bonds occurred in the welded joints due to fractured oxide layers. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the stir zones of the welded joints exhibited phases of Al₈Fe₂Si, Al₅FeSi, and Mg₂Si. In the welded joints, processed using a helical threaded pin, no tunnel-type defect was detected to occur; specimens were fractured outside of the joint region during tensile tests, indicating that the kissing bonds formed in the stir zones did not cause any deterioration in tensile strength or ductility. The welded joints processed using a helical threaded, pentagonal and triangular pin at 500 min⁻¹ tool rotational speed and 80 mm min⁻¹ welding speed exhibited a ductile deformation behavior along with a tensile strength in the range of 153 MPa to 155 MPa.     

Friction stir welding characteristics of different heat-treated-state 2219 aluminum alloy plates

Friction stir welding (FSW) of 2219-O and 2219-T6 aluminum alloys was performed to investigate the effects of the base material conditions on the FSW characteristics. The experimental results indicated that the base material condition has a significant effect on weld morphologies, weld defects, and mechanical properties of joints. In the 2219-O welds, no discernible interface exists between the stir zone (SZ) and the thermal-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), and weld defects are liable to form in the lower part of the weld. In the 2219-T6 welds, there is visible interface between the SZ and the TMAZ, and a weld nugget with an “onion ring”-like morphology clearly exists. The defects are liable to form in the upper part of the weld. The strength efficiency of 2219-O joints is 100%, while that of 2219-T6 joints is only up to 82%. In addition, the two types of joints have different fracture location characteristics.     

Friction stir welding of high-strength aerospace aluminum alloy and application in rocket tank manufacturing

Friction stir welding (FSW) has been widely adopted in aerospace industry for fabricating high-strength aluminum alloy structures, such as large volume fuel tanks, due to its exceptional advantages including low distortion, less defects and high mechanical properties of the joint. This article systematically reviews the key technical issues in producing large capacity aluminum alloy fuel tanks by using FSW, including tool design, FSW process optimization, nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques and defect repairing techniques, etc. To fulfill the requirements of Chinese aerospace industry, constant-force FSW, retractable tool FSW, lock joint FSW, on-line NDT and solid-state equal-strength FSW techniques, as well as a complete set of aerospace aluminum FSW equipment, have been successfully developed. All these techniques have been engineered and validated in rocket tanks, which enormously improved the fabrication ability of Chinese aerospace industry.