Influences of welding parameters on mechanical properties of AZ31 friction stir spot welds

Abstract

In this study, the influence of welding parameters, including tool rotational speed, plunge rate and dwell time, on the overlap tensile shear properties of AZ31 friction stir spot welds was investigated. The microstructures in stir zones and fracture surfaces were observed using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope respectively. The bonded width and h value (the distance from the tip of the partially bonded region to the top of the weld surface) were measured. The results indicated that larger bonded width and higher h value of the AZ31 weld result in better mechanical property. It is proposed that high tensile shear loads are produced when the tool rotational speed range of 1500–2250 rev min^?1 and 1 s dwell time are applied during the friction stir spot welding of AZ31. The plunge rate range from 2·5 to 10 mm s^?1 has insignificant influence on the tensile shear load of AZ31 joints under the present conditions. The failure mode changes from interfacial to pullout when the tool rotational speed is >2250 rev min^?1. The fracture feature of AZ31 welds is brittle fracture.     

Analysis of process parameters effects on dissimilar friction stir welding of AA1100 and A441 AISI steel

Abstract

A prominent benefit of friction stir welding process is to join plates with dissimilar material. In this study, an attempt is made to find effects of tool offset, plunge depth, welding traverse speed and tool rotational speed on tensile strength, microhardness and material flow in dissimilar friction stir welding of AA1100 aluminium alloy and A441 AISI steel plates. Here, one factor at a time experimental design was utilised for conducting the experiments. Results indicated the strongest joint obtained at 1·3?mm tool offset and 0·2?mm plunge depth when the tool rotational speed and linear speed were 800?rev min^??1 and 63?mm min^??1 respectively. The maximum tensile strength of welded joints with mentioned optimal parameters was 90% aluminium base metal. Fracture locations in tensile test at all samples were in aluminium sides. Owing to the formation of intermetallic compounds at high tool rotational speed, the microhardness of joint interface goes beyond that of A441 AISI steel.     

Effect of Sleeve Plunge Depth on Interface/Mechanical Characteristics in Refill Friction Stir Spot Welded Joint

Refill friction stir spot welding was employed to produce 6061-T6 aluminum alloy joints with different sleeve plunge depths.The interface characteristics of joint-line remnant and hook are investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy.The joint-line remnant consists of primary bonding region and secondary bonding region,and two types of hook can be identified as downward hook and upward hook.Tensile shear results demonstrate that joint-line remnant and hook make interaction effects on tensile shear properties.The optimal joint is achieved when sleeve plunge depth was 2.0 mm with the corresponding failure load of 8673.4 N.Three different types of fracture mode are exhibited in joints produced at different sleeve plunge depths,which are closely related with the morphology of interface characteristics.     

The influence of refill FSSW parameters on the microstructure and shear strength of 5042 aluminium welds

Refill friction stir spot welding (FSSW-Refill) was used to produce solid-state joints in an automotive 5042 aluminium alloy. The influence of plunge depth, rotational speed, plunge rate and time on the microstructure and shear strength was investigated. The Statistica software package was used to correlate process parameters with the mechanical properties of the joints. The most significant variables are plunge depth and tool rotational speed, while volumetric defects have a small influence on the mechanical performance of the welds. Reducing the rotational speed from 1900 rpm to 900 rpm increased the bonding ligament length. For joints produced at a higher tool rotational speed (1900 rpm) the material flow was more vertical, i.e., towards the surface of the joint, the bonding ligament length was reduced and the shear strength was impaired.     

Effect of tool plunge depth on joint formation and mechanical performance of friction stir forming joints made between AA 5052-H32 and AA 6061-T6 sheet metals

The potential of friction stir forming for joining dissimilar grades of aluminum alloys namely, AA 5052-H32 and AA 6061-T6, was investigated. Study on the effect of tool plunge depth revealed that, lap shear load of 7.16 kN and cross-tensile load of 3.51 kN, recorded at medium tool plunge depth range from 0.5 to 0.7 mm, measured using a universal testing machine, were much larger than those of friction stir welded and friction stir spot welded joints fabricated on the same materials. Joint macrostructure observed with optical microscope revealed that joints were strengthened either by mechanical pin interlocking or by metallurgical bonding. The effect of tool plunge depth on the stir zone formation and the influence of frictional heat flux on the lower sheet were revealed through the microhardness measurement using Vickers hardness tester. Morphological studies revealed that tool plunge depth has a significant influence on the pin formation and the geometric features, generated in these joints. Occurrence of various failure modes such as pin pull-out, pin shear, partial bond delamination, and tear-off, were governed by the formation of critical weak zones at various tool plunge depths.     

基于响应面法的钛铝异种金属搅拌摩擦点焊工艺参数优化

为同时满足减轻质量和降低成本的需求,钛/铝复合结构具有很好的应用前景,但由于钛合金与铝合金之间的物化性能差异巨大,采用传统焊接方式很难形成可靠的连接,而搅拌摩擦点焊技术在连接异种金属方面优势明显,目前针对钛/铝合金的搅拌摩擦点焊研究较少.因此采用回填式搅拌摩擦点焊对2 mm厚的TC4钛合金和6061铝合金进行点焊试验,...     

Development of friction stir spot welding using rotating tool without probe and its application to low-carbon steel plates

A friction stir spot welding process, in which a rotating tool without a probe was employed, was applied to a lap joint of low carbon steel plates with 0.5 mm thickness. In this process, the rotating tool of 3.6 mm diameter, rotating at 18,000 rpm, was plunged into the upper plate at a rate of 0.2 mm/s, and then kept at a maximum plunged depth of 0.05–0.25 mm for 0–1 s (dwell time). In the weld obtained by this process, a hole due to the impression of the plunged tool probe was not formed, although a slight depression by the tool plunging remained. At tool plunge depths of 0.05 mm or less, it was impossible to weld the plates. At tool plunge depths from 0.1 to 0.14 mm, joints were fractured at the interface in tensile test, and the failure load increased with tool plunge depth. At tool plunge depths from 0.16 to 0.22 mm, joints were fractured at an almost constant load along the periphery of the depression, leaving a part of the upper plate on the bottom plate surface. The maximum tensile failure load of 1.8 kN was obtained at a plunge depth of 0.2 mm. Based on the observation of the weld microstructure and measurement of the thermal cycle at various spots in the weld, controlling factors of the joint strength are discussed.     

Effects of processing parameters on the friction stir spot joining of Al5083-O aluminum alloy to DP590 steel

Two dissimilar materials, aluminum alloy Al5083-O and advanced high strength steel DP590, were successfully joined by using friction stir spot joining (FSSJ). Satisfactory joint strengths were obtained at a rotational speed of 300 rpm and a plunge depth of 0.7 mm. Resulting joints were welded without a non-welded zone. This may be attributed to the enhanced smooth material flow owing to sufficient stirring effect and tool down force between the upper Al5083-O side and the lower DP590 side. The maximum tensile shear strength was 6.5 kN, which was higher than the joint strength required by the conventional method of resistance spot welding. The main fracture mode was plug fracture in the tensile shear test of joints. An intermetallic compound (IMC) layer with <6 μm thickness was formed at the joint interface, which meets the allowance value of <10 μm for the dissimilar material Al-Fe joints. Thus, the use of FSSJ to weld the dissimilar materials Al5083-O and DP590 resulted in mechanically and metallurgically sound joints.     

高强铝合金可变转速回填式搅拌摩擦点焊温度场及接头组织性能调控

针对7B04-T74铝合金,采用可变转速回填式搅拌摩擦点焊(variable rotation speed-refill friction stir spot welding, V-RFSSW)新方法开展了数值仿真及试验研究. 结果表明,V-RFSSW温度场围绕搅拌头轴线呈圆形对称分布,焊点高温区域集中在搅拌套空腔内部. 与扎入阶段转速相同的常规回填式搅拌摩擦点焊(refill friction stir spot welding, RFSSW)相比,V-RFSSW新方法既可在扎入阶段使材料充分塑化,以保证焊点成形,同时,通过降低回填阶段搅拌头转速降低焊接峰值温度及高温停留时间,抑制组分液化的发生,避免了共晶相的生成. V-RFSSW与常规RFSSW接头显微硬度均呈“W”形分布,且扎入阶段转速相同的情况下V-RFSSW接头搅拌区平均硬度更高. 在拉剪载荷下两种接头均以“纽扣”形式发生断裂,其中V-RFSSW接头拉剪失效载荷为8835 N,高于RFSSW接头的8162 N.     

Thermo-Mechanical Effect on Poly Crystalline Boron Nitride Tool Life During Friction Stir Welding (Dwell Period)

Poly Crystalline Boron Nitride (PCBN) tool wear during the friction stir welding of high melting alloys is an obstacle to commercialize the process. This work simulates the friction stir welding process and tool wear during the plunge/dwell period of 14.8 mm EH46 thick plate steel. The Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model was used for simulation and the wear of the tool is estimated from temperatures and shear stress profile on the tool surface. Two sets of tool rotational speeds were applied including 120 and 200 RPM. Seven plunge/dwell samples were prepared using PCBN FSW tool, six thermocouples were also embedded around each plunge/dwell case in order to record the temperatures during the welding process. Infinite focus microscopy technique was used to create macrographs for each case. The CFD result has been shown that a shear layer around the tool shoulder and probe-side denoted as thermo-mechanical affected zone (TMAZ) was formed and its size increase with tool rotational speed increase. Maximum peak temperature was also found to increase with tool rotational speed increase. PCBN tool wear under shoulder was found to increase with tool rotational speed increase as a result of tool’s binder softening after reaching to a peak temperature exceeds 1250 °C. Tool wear also found to increase at probe-side bottom as a result of high shear stress associated with the decrease in the tool rotational speed. The amount of BN particles revealed by SEM in the TMAZ were compared with the CFD model.     

Influence of FSSW parameters on fracture mechanisms of 5182 aluminium welds

The influence of the tool rotational speed, the probe plunge depth and the shoulder penetration depth on weld microstructure and on the weld strength have been studied. The shear tests showed that the friction stir spot welds fail by nugget pullout. Three microstructural factors play a determinant role on the weld's strength: the size and location of the stir zone, and the unwelded interface tip slope. With increasing rotational speed, the shear strength increases because of the larger size of the stir zone. By changing the probe plunge depth the location of the stir zone can be controlled in order to maximize the bonded distance between the interface tip and the central hole left by the probe. The shoulder penetration depth must be sufficient to ensure a horizontal interface tip and therefore avoid fracture by the opening mode (mode I) during shear loading.     

7N01铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接头力学性能

研究了在不同焊接参数的条件下,7N01铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接头的力学性能.结果表明,在特定的旋转频率和前进速度匹配条件下,下压量在0.3～1.0 mm范围波动,7N01铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接头的抗拉强度均能够稳定在340 MPa以上,达到母材的80%左右.通过扫描电镜观察断口发现,搅拌摩擦焊接头断口以韧窝型为主,在低倍下部分断口呈现出明显的分层现象,两层间分界部分呈现出阶梯状形貌.接头硬度测试表明,后退侧的平均硬度略高于前进侧,这也与拉伸测试中接头普遍断于前进侧的现象吻合.     

Influence of tool thread on mechanical properties of dissimilar Al alloy friction stir spot welds

Abstract

The influence of threaded and wear simulated (half thread) tools on the mechanical properties of dissimilar Al alloy friction stir spot welds is investigated. With lower tool rotational speed settings, the failure loads of Al 5754/Al 6111 lap joints made using a threaded tool were clearly higher than that of a half thread tool. However, the failure load of the joints made using a half thread tool increased when the tool rotational speed increased, and finally, as the rotational speed was further increased, the failure load became almost the same as the failure load of joints made using a threaded tool. In Al 5052/Al 6061 butt joints made using the threaded and half thread tools, the area of the stir zone on the bonded cross-section corresponded with the actual bonded region on the fracture surface. Therefore, the thread on the rotating pin has limited influence on the mechanical properties of the friction stir spot lap joints.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of Friction Stir Spot-Welded Aluminum-5754 Sheets

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a recent trend of joining light-weight sheet metals while fabricating automotive and aerospace body components. For the successful application of this solid-state welding process, it is imperative to have a thorough understanding of the weld microstructure, mechanical performance, and failure mechanism. In the present study, FSSW of aluminum-5754 sheet metal was tried using tools with circular and tapered pin considering different tool rotational speeds, plunge depths, and dwell times. The effects of tool design and process parameters on temperature distribution near the sheet-tool interface, weld microstructure, weld strength, and failure modes were studied. It was found that the peak temperature was higher while welding with a tool having circular pin compared to tapered pin, leading to a bigger dynamic recrystallized stir zone (SZ) with a hook tip bending towards the upper sheet and away from the keyhole. Hence, higher lap shear separation load was observed in the welds made from circular pin compared to those made from tapered pin. Due to influence of size and hardness of SZ on crack propagation, three different failure modes of weld nugget were observed through optical cross-sectional micrograph and SEM fractographs.     

7A52铝合金搅拌摩擦焊工艺优化

接头强度是搅拌摩擦焊接头性能的一个重要指标,通过搅拌头旋转频率、焊接速度和轴肩下压量等焊接工艺参数的不同组合制备了35个7A52焊接试板,对试板进行拉伸试验检测了接头的抗拉强度,建立并分析了焊接接头抗拉强度与焊接工艺参数之间的回归模型,搅拌头旋转频率n,焊接速度v和轴肩下压量d<,ta>单独变化时,接头抗拉强度都有峰值...     

Influence of tool design on mechanical properties of AZ31 friction stir spot welds

Abstract

The influence of tool design on the energy output, microstructural features and overlap shear strength properties of friction stir spot welds made of AZ31 base material is examined. The mechanical properties of AZ31 friction stir spot welds made using three-flat/threaded tools are superior to those in joints made using a tool with a threaded pin at all tool rotational speed settings. It is proposed that the failure load properties are optimised when the friction stir spot welding operation is carried out in such a manner that it produces a large bonded width, a small v/t ratio (the height of the hook region above the sheet intersection divided by the thickness of the upper sheet) and a hook region, which is curved outwards from the tool axis.     

异种铝合金回填式搅拌摩擦点焊的组织与性能

选用6061-T6与7075-T6铝合金为研究对象,研究异种合金回填式搅拌摩擦点焊接头的组织和拉剪性能. 将7075铝合金作为上板,主要讨论套筒下扎深度对接头成形和性能的影响. 结果表明,当套筒刚扎透上板时,接头内部无缺陷产生. 随着套筒下扎深度的增大,接头内部会出现孔洞、撕裂和未充分回填等缺陷. 当使用较小的套筒扎入量时,决定接头性能的关键位置,即钩状缺陷处和焊点中心搭接面处的结合情况良好. 接头的断裂载荷随着套筒下扎深度的增大先增大后减小,最大载荷在深度为3.4 mm时达到7 236 N.     

Utilising friction spot joining for dissimilar joint between aluminium alloy (A5052) and polyethylene terephthalate

Abstract

The weld strength of thermoplastics with aluminium alloy, such as high density polyethylene and polypropylene sheets, is influenced by friction stir welding parameters. This paper focuses on the preliminary investigation of joining parameter at various levels as well as the mechanical properties of friction spot joining (FSJ) of aluminium alloy (A5052) to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A number of FSJ experiments were carried out to obtain optimum mechanical properties by adjusting the plunge speed and plunge depth in the ranges of 5–40 mm min^?1 and 0·4–0·7 mm respectively, while spindle speed remains constant at 3000 rev min^?1. The results indicated that A5052 and PET successfully joined with the aid of frictional heat energy originated from the friction spot welding process. The effect of plunge speed on the joined area and the effect of formation of bubbles at the interface of joints on the shear strength of joint are discussed.     

Friction stir welding of aluminium lap joint by tool without probe

A friction stir welding process, with a rotating tool without a probe, was employed and applied to a lap joint of aluminium plate. The thickness of the aluminium plates was 0.5 mm. New tool shapes were developed. The tops of the tool were dome shaped. In this process, the rotating tool was plunged into the aluminium plate. The tool-rotating axis was vertical to the specimen surface, and then moved in the welding direction at a speed of 20 mm/s. Tool rotation speed was 18,000 rpm.

At tool plunge depths of 0.1 mm or over, it was possible to weld the two plates. At tool plunge depth of 0.1 mm, its joint was fractured at the weld interface. At tool plunge depth of 0.2 mm or over, the joints were fractured at the stir zone of the upper plate or the heat affected zone of the lower plate. Based on observation of the hardness profiles and the thickness change of the weld area, controlling factors of the joint strength are discussed.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of friction spot welded Alclad 7B04-T74 aluminium alloy

Two millimetre thick Alclad 7B04-T74 aluminium alloy was friction spot welded at different tool rotation speeds. The weld formation, Alclad redistribution, microstructures and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. The results indicate that inappropriate tool rotation speeds can give rise to weld defects, such as annular groove, void and surface concavity. After welding, the original surface Alclad is redistributed as a U shaped Alclad layer in the weld. When the tool rotation speed is relatively high, eutectic films can be observed in the stir zone, and the Alclad layer in the weld is a preferred crack propagation path during tensile shear testing. The optimised joint with a tensile shear failure load of 11?921 N can be obtained at a tool rotation speed of 1500 rev min^?1.