Establishing relationships between mechanical properties of aluminium alloys and optimised friction stir welding process parameters

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process for joining aluminium alloys and is employed in aerospace, rail, automotive and marine industries. In FSW, the base metal properties such as yield strength, hardness and ductility control the plastic flow of the material under the action of a rotating non-consumable tool. The FSW process parameters such as, the tool rotational speed, the welding speed and the axial force play a major role in deciding the weld quality. In this investigation, FSW joints were made using six different grades of aluminium alloys (AA1100, AA2219, AA2024, AA6061, AA7039, and AA7075) using different levels of process parameters. Macrostructural analysis was carried out to identify the feasible working range of process parameters. The optimal welding conditions to attain maximum strength for each alloy were identified using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Empirical relationships were established between the base metal mechanical properties of aluminium alloys and optimised FSW process parameters. These relationships can be effectively used to predict the optimised FSW process parameters from the known base metal properties (yield strength, elongation and hardness).     

Relationship between base metal properties and friction stir welding process parameters

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process for joining aluminum alloys and has been employed in aerospace, rail, automotive and marine industries for joining aluminium, magnesium, zinc and copper alloys. In FSW, the base metal properties such as yield strength, ductility and hardness control the plastic flow of the material under the action of rotating non-consumable tool. The FSW process parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, axial force, etc. play a major role in deciding the weld quality. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to establish relationship between the base material properties and FSW process parameters. FSW joints have been made using five different grades of aluminium alloys (AA1050, AA6061, AA2024, AA7039 and AA7075) using different combinations of process parameters. Macrostructural analysis has been done to check the weld quality (defective or defect free). Empirical relationships have been established between base metal properties and tool rotational speed and welding speed, respectively. The developed empirical relationships can be effectively used to predict the FSW process parameters to fabricate defect free welds.     

Establishing relationship between the base metal properties and friction stir welding process parameters of cast aluminium alloys

In friction stir welding (FSW), the material under the rotating action of non-consumable tool has to be stirred properly to get defect free welds in turn it will improve the strength of the welded joints. The welding conditions and parameters are differing based on the mechanical properties of base materials such as tensile strength, ductility and hardness which control the plastic deformation during friction stir welding. The FSW process parameters such as tool rotation speed, welding speed and axial force, etc. play a major role in deciding the weld quality. FSW Joints of cast aluminium alloys A319, A356, and A413 were made by varying the FSW process parameters and the optimum values were obtained. In this investigation, empirical relationships are established and they can be effectively used to predict the optimum FSW process parameters to fabricate defect free joints with high tensile strength from the known base metal properties of cast aluminium alloys.     

工艺参数对Al-Mg异种金属搅拌摩擦焊-钎焊复合焊接接头力学性能的影响

目的研究工艺参数对Al-Mg异种金属搅拌摩擦焊-钎焊复合焊接接头力学性能的影响。方法采用搅拌摩擦焊-钎焊方法,在不同焊接工艺参数下焊接2A12-T4铝合金和AZ31镁合金。结果当焊接速度为23.5mm/min、旋转速度为375 r/min时,焊接接头的抗拉剪力达到最大,为5.5 kN,比搅拌摩擦焊接头的最大抗拉剪力的5.0 kN提高了10%。结论搅拌摩擦焊-钎焊复合焊接的工艺参数会显著影响铝/镁异种金属接头力学性能,通过优化工艺参数能够获得力学性能优异的铝/镁异种金属焊接接头。复合焊接接头的抗拉剪力随着焊接速度的增大呈现先增大后减小的趋势。     

The simulation of material behaviors in friction stir welding process by using rate-dependent constitutive model

Friction stir welding is a new solid state joining technology, which is suitable for joining some hard-to-weld materials, such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, etc. The modeling of material flows can provide an efficient method for the investigation on the mechanism of friction stir welding. So, 3D material flows under different process parameters in the FSW process of 1018 steel are studied by using rate-dependent constitutive model. Numerical results indicate that the border of the shoulder can affect the material flow near the shoulder–plate interface. The mixture of the material in the lower half of the friction stir weld can benefit from the increase in the angular velocity or the decrease in the welding speed. But flaws may occur when the angular velocity is very high or the translational velocity is very small. When the angular velocity applied on the pin is small or the welding speed is high, the role of the extrusion of pin on transport of the material in FSW becomes more important. Swirl or vortex occurs in the tangent material flow and may be easier to be observed with the increase in the angular velocity of the pin.     

Anisotropic property of material arrangement in friction stir welding of dissimilar Mg alloys

Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir weld joints of dissimilar Mg alloys AZ31 and AZ80 were investigated in the present work. Several different welding parameters were adopted in the study, and the effects of rotation speed and welding speed on the joint quality were discussed comprehensively. In addition, material arrangement which means that AZ31 alloy was at advancing side or at retreating side has significant influence on the joint formation, including the joint microstructure and mechanical properties. A few kinds of defects were observed when the improper parameters were taken in the experiment, and the reasons for generating these defects were revealed in this work. Sound joints with good mechanical properties could be easily obtained when AZ31 was at retreating side, but it was difficult to obtain the sound joint with the contrary material arrangement. These results suggest that the material with inferior plastic deformability should be set at the advancing side and the material with superior one should be set at the retreating side in order to get sound FSW joint of dissimilar Mg alloys.     

On the effect of tool offset in hybrid-FSW of copper-aluminium alloy

Tool offset is one the most significant parameters in joining of dissimilar materials by friction stir welding (FSW) process. An investigation is carried out on the effect of tool offset toward thermal history, material flow pattern, mechanical properties, welding force, and weld joint morphology. It was found that offsetting toward aluminum side along with a plasma-assisted heat source is an efficient approach to address one of the most important apprehensions in aluminum-copper solid-state welding process. The offset influences the amount of intermetallic at the joint interface and in-effect impacts on final strength and material flow behavior. The optimum and continuous layer of intermetallic produces the maximum weld joint strength. The specimen welded with optimum tool offset shows the highest strength using 55 A plasma current in hybrid friction stir welding process.     

Lap joint properties of FSWed dissimilar formed 5052 Al and 6061 Al alloys with different thickness

Lap joint friction stir welding (FSW) between dissimilar 5052-H112 (1 mm) and 6061-T6 (2 mm) Al alloys with different thickness was carried out with various tool rotation speeds and welding speeds according to the fixed location of each material on bottom or top sheet. Interface morphology was characterized by pull-up or pull-down from initial joint line. Amount of vertical material transports increased and thickness of 5052 resultantly lessened with increasing tool rotation and decreasing welding speed, which were the conditions of the weak bond. Higher stress concentration on the interface pull-up region, the penetration of unbonded region into the weld zone and the lessened thickness of 5052 Al part might be the reasons for lower fracture load. Higher fracture load was acquired at the lower tool rotation speed and higher welding speed when a thicker 6061 was fixed at retreating side on top sheet. Interface morphology was the most important factor determining the mechanical strength of lap FSW joints and can be manageable using FSW parameters.     

Fatigue properties of friction stir welded particulate reinforced aluminium matrix composites

Few papers have discussed the friction stir welding (FSW) of particulate reinforced aluminium matrix composites and most of them focused on the set-up of the welding process parameters and their effect on microstructure, hardness and tensile behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the fatigue resistance of FSW joints on an as-cast particulate reinforced aluminium based composite (AA6061/22 vol.%/Al₂O_3p). The welding process was performed using different process parameters, also investigating their effect on joint microstructure. The mechanical properties of the FSW composites were compared with those of the base material and the results were correlated to the microstructural modifications induced by the FSW process on the aluminium alloy matrix and the ceramic reinforcement. FSW reduced the size of both particle reinforcement and aluminium grains, and also led to a significant increase in interparticle matrix microhardness, for all process parameters. The FSW specimens belonging to a different set of parameters, tested without any post-weld heat treatment, exhibited a very high joint efficiency (ranging from 90% to 99%) with respect to the ultimate tensile strength of the base material. The stress controlled fatigue test showed a high spread both for the base and FSW composites. Statistical analysis disclosed that all FSW specimens belonging to different process parameters showed apparently slightly worse fatigue behaviour than that of the base composite. Statistical processing applied to the different welding parameters revealed that all the welded specimens belonged to the same population. Therefore it can be concluded that the parameters used produced joints with similar microstructure and comparable fatigue behaviour. The slight difference in the fatigue behaviour of the FSW specimens whose process parameters differed form those of the unwelded composite was explained by the different microstructural homogeneity in the transition from the base to the FSW zone.     

铝/钢异种金属的超声振动强化搅拌摩擦焊接工艺

采用新型超声振动强化搅拌摩擦焊接工艺实现了6061-T6铝合金以及QP980高强钢的搭接焊, 对比分析了有无超声作用下, 接头的宏观形貌、微观组织和拉伸剪切性能, 同时研究了超声振动对焊接载荷的影响。结果表明: 焊接前对母材施加超声振动, 可以起到软化母材的作用, 促进了材料的塑性流动, 扩大了铝/钢界面区和焊核区, 使更多的钢颗粒随搅拌针旋转进入铝合金侧, 在界面区边缘形成钩状结构, 进而提高了接头的失效载荷; 超声改变了FSW接头断裂位置和断口形貌, 提高了接头力学性能, 在本实验工艺参数范围内, 接头最大的平均失效载荷为4.99 kN; 当焊接速度为90 mm/min, 下压量为0.1 mm时, 施加超声振动使接头的平均失效载荷提高了0.98 kN, 拉剪性能提升28.24%;施加超声振动后轴向力F_z、搅拌头扭矩M_t和主轴输出功率分别下降2.46%, 6.44%和4.59%。     

Analysis of high temperature plastic behaviour and its relation with weldability in friction stir welding for aluminium alloys AA5083-H111 and AA6082-T6

The influence of the plastic behaviour of two aluminium alloys, very popular in welding construction, on friction stir weldability, is analysed in this work. The two base materials, a non-heat-treatable (AA5083-H111) and a heat-treatable aluminium (AA6082-T6) alloy, are characterised by markedly different strengthening mechanisms and microstructural evolution at increasing temperatures. Their plastic behaviour, under different testing conditions, was analysed and compared. The two base materials were also welded under varied friction stir welding (FSW) conditions in order to characterise their weldability. The relation between weldability, material flow during FSW and the plastic behaviour of the base materials, at different temperatures, was analysed. It was found that the AA6082 alloy, which displays intense flow softening during tensile loading at high temperatures, and is sensitive to dynamic precipitation and overageing under intense non-uniform deformation, displays good weldability in FSW. Under the same welding conditions, the AA5083 alloy, which in quasi-static conditions displays steady flow behaviour at increasing temperatures, and is sensitive to moderate hardening at high strain rates, displays poor weldability.     

Dissimilar titanium/aluminum friction stir welding lap joints by experiments and numerical simulation

Dissimilar lap joints were produced by friction stir welding (FSW) out of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy and AA2024 aluminum alloy sheets. The joints, welded with varying tool rotation and feed rate, were studied by analyzing the maximum shear strength, Vickers microhardness and optical observations. A dedicated numerical model, able to take into account the presence of the two different alloys, was used to highlight the effects of the process parameters on temperature distribution, strain distribution, and material flow. The combined analysis of experimental measurements and numerical predictions allowed explaining the effects of tool rotation and feed rate on the material flow. It was found that tool rotation had a larger impact on the joint effectiveness with respect to feed rate. A competition between material mixing and heat input occurs with increasing tool rotation, resulting in higher joint strength when lower values of tool rotation are used.     

TEM study of the FSW nugget in AA2195-T81

During friction stir welding (FSW) the material being joined is subjected to a thermal-mechanical process in which the temperature, strain and strain rates are not completely understood. To produce a defect free weld, process parameters for the weld and tool pin design must be chosen carefully. The ability to select the weld parameters based on the thermal processing requirements of the material, would allow optimization of mechanical properties in the weld region. In this study, an attempt is made to correlate the microstructure with the variation in thermal history the material experiences during the FSW process.     

Material flow and thermo-mechanical conditions during Friction Stir Welding of polymers: Literature review,experimental results and empirical analysis

Meanwhile the thermo-mechanical conditions during Friction Stir Welding (FSW) of metals have already been subject of extensive analysis and thoroughly discussed in literature, in which concerns the FSW of polymers, the information regarding this subject is still very scarce. In this work, an analysis of the material flow and thermo-mechanical phenomena taking place during FSW of polymers is performed. The analysis is based on a literature review and on the examination of friction stir welds, produced under varied FSW conditions, on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Due to the high transparency of this polymer, it was possible to analyse easily the morphological changes induced by the welding process on it. Results of the weld morphologic analysis, of the residual stress fields in the different weld zones and of temperature measurements during welding are shown, and its relation with welding conditions is discussed. From the study it was possible to conclude that, due to the polymers rheological and physical properties, the thermo-mechanical conditions during FSW are very different from that registered during welding of metals, leading to completely different material flow mechanisms and weld defect morphologies.     

Effect of welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 2219Al-T6 joints

The effect of friction stir welding (FSW) parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 5.6 mm thick 2219Al-T6 joints was investigated in detail. While the sound FSW joints could be obtained under lower rotation rates of 400–800 rpm and welding speeds of 100–800 mm/min; higher rotation rates of 1200–1600 rpm easily led to the tunnel and void defects. The FSW thermal cycle resulted in low hardness zones (LHZs) on both retreating side (RS) and advancing side (AS). The LHZs may be located at the interface between the nugget zone (NZ) and the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), at the TMAZ, or at the heat affected zone under the varied welding parameters. The tensile strength of FSW 2219Al-T6 joints increased when increasing the welding speed from 100 to 800 mm/min, and was weakly dependent on the rotation rates from 400 to 1200 rpm. The FSW 2219Al-T6 joints fractured along the LHZ on the RS.     

Effect of welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints of AA7039 aluminum alloy

A high strength Al–Zn–Mg alloy AA7039 was friction stir welded by varying welding and rotary speed of the tool in order to investigate the effect of varying welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties. The friction stir welding (FSW) process parameters have great influence on heat input per unit length of weld, hence on temperature profile which in turn governs the microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints. There exits an optimum combination of welding and rotary speed to produce a sound and defect free joint with microstructure that yields maximum mechanical properties. The mechanical properties increase with decreasing welding speed/ increasing rotary speed i.e. with increasing heat input per unit length of welded joint. The high heat input joints fractured from heat affected zone (HAZ) adjacent to thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) on advancing side while low heat input joints fractured from weld nugget along zigzag line on advancing side.     

2A12铝合金筋板件T型搅拌摩擦焊工艺及焊后热处理

为评价2A12铝合金筋板件搅拌摩擦焊工艺并探寻提高接头强度的途径,进行了2A12铝合金筋板件的T型搅拌摩擦焊焊接工艺试验,并对不同人工时效热处理下焊接接头的微观组织及性能进行了研究.研究表明:采用T型搅拌摩擦焊即可实现2A12铝合金筋板件的成形,当搅拌头旋转速度为750 r/min、焊接速度60mm/min时,接头的抗...     

Effect of FSW parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of AM20 welds

This paper aims to demonstrate the successful friction stir welding (FSW) conditions of AM20 magnesium alloy. The maximum yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of weld were found to be 75% and 65% of the base metal strength, respectively. The maximum bending angle of the welded joint was 45°. Observations revealed that less plunging depth, high shoulder diameter, and low tool rotational speed and welding speed give better tensile properties. Maximum temperature was observed at 1?mm away from the tool shoulder toward the advancing side. Micro-hardness variation is found to be decreasing along the depth of the weld, and nugget zone (NZ) gives the higher hardness values when compared with base material (BM) and other welded zones. Needle-like grains of the BM became equiaxed grains due to grain recrystalized by the FSW process. The grains in the NZ were finer than thermo-mechanically affected zone and almost same size of grains observed at bottom, middle, and top of the NZ.     

Maintaining nano-lamellar microstructure in friction stir welding (FSW) of accumulative roll bonded (ARB) Cu-Nb nano-lamellar composites (NLC)

Accumulative roll bonded (ARB) Copper Niobium (Cu-Nb) nano-lamellar composite (NLC) panels were friction stir welded (FSWed) to evaluate the ability to join panels while retaining the nano-lamellar structure. During a single pass of the friction stir welding (FSW) process, the nano-lamellar structure of the parent material (PM) was retained but was observed to fragment into equiaxed grains during the second pass. FSW has been modeled as a severe deformation process in which the material is subjected to an instantaneous high shear strain rate followed by extreme shear strains. The loss of the nano-lamellar layers was attributed to the increased strain and longer time at temperature resulting from the second pass of the FSW process. Kinematic modeling was used to predict the global average shear strain and shear strain rates experienced by the ARB material during the FSW process. The results of this study indicate that through careful selection of FSW parameters, the nano-lamellar structure and its associated higher strength can be maintained using FSW to join ARB NLC panels.