Effect of Postweld Heat Treatment on Microstructure, Hardness, and Tensile Properties of Laser-Welded Ti-6Al-4V

The effects of postweld heat treatment (PWHT) on 3.2-mm- and 5.1-mm-thick Ti-6Al-4V butt joints welded using a continuous wave (CW) 4-kW Nd:YAG laser welding machine were investigated in terms of microstructural transformations, welding defects, and hardness, as well as global and local tensile properties. Two postweld heat treatments, i.e., stress-relief annealing (SRA) and solution heat treatment followed by aging (STA), were performed and the weld qualities were compared with the as-welded condition. A digital image correlation technique was used to determine the global tensile behavior for the transverse welding samples. The local tensile properties including yield strength and maximum strain were determined, for the first time, for the laser-welded Ti-6Al-4V. The mechanical properties, including hardness and the global and local tensile properties, were correlated to the microstructure and defects in the as-welded, SRA, and STA conditions.     

Global and Local Mechanical Properties of Autogenously Laser Welded Ti-6Al-4V

Ti-6Al-4V sheets, 3.2-mm in thickness, were butt welded using a continuous wave 4 kW Nd:YAG laser welding system. The effect of two main process parameters, laser power and welding speed, on the joint integrity was characterized in terms of the joint geometry, defects, microstructure, hardness, and tensile properties. In particular, a digital image correlation technique was used to determine the local tensile properties of the welds. It was determined that a wide range of heat inputs can be used to fully penetrate the Ti-6Al-4V butt joints during laser welding. At high laser power levels, however, significant defects such as underfill and porosity, can occur and cause marked degradation in the joint integrity and performance. At low welding speeds, however, significant porosity occurs due to its growth and the potential collapse of instable keyholes. Intermediate to relatively high levels of heat input allow maximization of the joint integrity and performance by limiting the underfill and porosity defects. In considering the effect of the two main defects on the joint integrity, the underfill defect was found to be more damaging to the mechanical performance of the weldment than the porosity. Specifically, it was determined that the maximum tolerable underfill depth for Ti-6Al-4V is approximately 6 pct of the workpiece thickness, which is slightly stricter than the value of 7 pct specified in AWS D17.1 for fusion welding in aerospace applications. Hence, employing optimized laser process parameters allows the underfill depth to be maintained within the tolerable limit (6 pct), which in turn prevents degradation in both the weld strength and ductility. To this end, the ability to maintain weld ductility in Ti-6Al-4V by means of applying a high energy density laser welding process presents a significant advantage over conventional arc welding for the assembly of aerospace components.     

Microstructure Evolution During Friction Stir Processing and Hot Torsion Simulation of Ti-6Al-4V

Friction stir processing of three variants of Ti-6Al-4V was conducted at processing temperatures both above and below the β-transus. The base metal substrates that were processed included wrought base metal in the α/β-processed and β-processed condition and weld overlay that was deposited using the gas tungsten arc welding process. Friction stir processing below the β-transus for the α/β-processed condition and the weld overlay produced fully equiaxed-α grains with submicron grain size, while in the β-processed condition, elongated equiaxed-α grains and regions of transformed-β with grain size in the 1 to 2 μm range were observed. Friction stir processing above the β-transus was microstructurally evident by a stir zone composed of 10 to 40 μm recrystallized β-grains with either a basket weave or colony structure and a continuous network of α at the grain boundary. Path and normal forces were recorded for in situ processing of Ti-6Al-4V in all three initial conditions. Comparatively, above-transus processing reduced the path force at the tool-to-workpiece interface, while processing below the β-transus caused the path force to increase by ~300 pct. Based on the dimensionless heat input, it appears that the stir zone microstructure is more dependent on spindle speed (RPM) than travel speed and that the heat input parameter is not a good indicator of the processing temperature. Hot torsion testing of α/β-processed Ti-6Al-4V was used as a method for physically simulating the stir zone microstructure produced from friction stir processing. At a strain rate of 2.5 s^?1 (250 RPM rotation rate), the transition from equiaxed-α to a transformed beta microstructure occurred at approximately 1223 K (950 °C). A comparison of FSP and hot torsion microstructures revealed nearly identical matching depending on the selection of hot torsion conditions.     

镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接技术

对5mm厚镁合金AZ31B板材的摩擦焊接技术进行了试验研究，结果表明：适合其板材的搅拌摩擦焊接的搅拌头，材料为W6MoSCr4V2高速钢，结构为凹面圆台形，根部直径5．5mm，端部直径为2．5mm，轴肩尺寸为12mm，长度为4．7mm。镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接头的抗拉强度可达母材的90％，延伸率可达母材的50％。搅拌摩擦焊接头焊合区为动态再结晶组织，在接头前进边焊合区与母材有明显的分界线，返回边过渡区有金属微熔的迹象。     

Physical Simulation of Deformation and Microstructure Evolution During Friction Stir Processing of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

The feasibility of using high-strain rate (1.475 to 3.942 s^?1) hot-torsion testing with a Gleeble^® thermomechanical simulator was demonstrated for simulating microstructures consistent with friction stir processing (FSP) of Ti-6Al-4V. The tests were performed on α/β-processed base material at temperatures both above and below the β-transus. Various phenomena including the refinement of α- and β-grains, deformation-induced heating, and deformation instabilities were observed. These tests reproduced the range of microstructures that are observed under FSP processing conditions. The testing methodology can be used for generating constitutive material property equations relevant to computational FSP/friction stir welding models.     

Genesis of Microstructures in Friction Stir Welding of Ti-6Al-4V

This paper is focused on the genesis of microstructures in friction stir welding (FSW) of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Several titanium joints, initially prepared with four different preheat treatments, were processed by FSW. Detailed microstructural analyses were performed in order to investigate change in the microstructure during the process. In this work, the FSW processing allows a controlled and stable microstructure to be produced in the stirring zone, regardless of the initial heat treatment or the welding conditions. The welded material undergoes a severe thermomechanical treatment which can be divided into two steps. First, the friction in the shoulder and the plastic strain give rise to the necessary conditions to allow a continuous dynamic recrystallization of the β phase. This operation produces a fine and equiaxed β grain structure. Second, once the pin has moved away, the temperature decreases, and the material undergoes a heat treatment equivalent to air quenching. The material thus exhibits a β → β + α transformation with germination of a fine intergranular Widmanstätten phase within the ex-fully-recrystallized-β grains.     

Laser Keyhole Welding of Dissimilar Ti-6Al-4V Titanium Alloy to AZ31B Magnesium Alloy

Laser keyhole welding of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy to AZ31B magnesium alloy was developed, and the correlations of process parameters, joint properties, and bonding mechanism were studied. The results show that the offset from the laser beam center on AZ31B side to the edge of the weld seam plays a big role in the joint properties by changing the power density irradiated at the Ti–Mg initial interface. The optimal range of the offset is 0.3 to 0.4mm in the present study. Some lamellar and granular Ti-rich mixtures are observed in the fusion zone, which is formed by intermixing melted Ti-6Al-4V with liquid AZ31B. The maximum ultimate tensile strength of the joints reaches 266 MPa. Furthermore, the fracture surface consists of scraggly remaining weld metal and smooth Ti surface. The higher the failure strength, the smaller the proportion of smooth Ti surface to whole interface is. Finally, the bonding mechanism of the interfacial layer is summarized by the morphologies and test results of fracture surfaces.     

Fracture characteristics,microstructure, and tissue reaction of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe for orthopedic surgery

The microstructure of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe, which is expected to be used widely as an implant material not only for artificial hip joints but also for instrumentations of scoliosis surgery, was variously changed by heat treatments. The effect of the microstructure on mechanical properties, fracture toughness, and rotating-bending fatigue strength in the air and simulated body environment, that is, Ringer’s solution, was then investigated. Furthermore, the effect of the living body environment on mechanical properties and fracture toughness in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe were investigated on the specimens implanted into rabbit for about 11 months. The data of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe were compared with those of Ti-6Al-4V ELI, which has been used as an implant material mainly for artificial hip joints, and SUS 316L, which has been used as an implant material for many parts, including the instrumentation of scoliosis surgery. The equiaxedα structure, which is formed by annealing at a temperature belowβ transus, gives the best balance of strength and ductility in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe. The coarse Widmanstättenα structure, which is formed by solutionizing overβ transus followed by air cooling and aging, gives the greatest fracture toughness in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe. This trend is similar to that reported in Ti-6Al-4V ELI. The rotating-bending fatigue strength is the greatest in the equiaxedα structure, which is formed by solutionizing belowβ transus followed by air cooling and aging in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe. Ti-5Al-2.5Fe exhibits much greater rotating-bending fatigue strength compared with SUS 316L, and equivalent rotating-bending fatigue strength to that of Ti-6Al-4V ELI in both the air and simulated body environments. The rotating-bending fatigue strength of SUS 316L is degraded in the simulated body environment. The corrosion fatigue, therefore, occurs in SUS 316L in the simulated body environment. Fatigue strength of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe in the simulated body environment is degraded by lowering oxygen content in the simulated body environment because the formability of oxide on the specimen surface is considered to be lowered comparing with that in air. The mechanical property and fracture toughness of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe and Ti-6Al-4V ELI are not changed in the living body environment. The hard-surface corrosion layer is, however, formed on the surface of SUS 316L in the living body environment. The C1 peak is detected from the hard-surface corrosion layer by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. These facts suggests a possibility for corrosion fatigue to occur in the living body environment when SUS 316L is used. The fibrous connective tissue and new bone formation are formed beside all metals. There is, however, no big difference between tissue morphology around each implant material.     

Advanced Process Possibilities in Friction Crush Welding of Aluminum,Steel, and Copper by Using an Additional Wire

Joining sheet metal can be problematic using traditional friction welding techniques. Friction crush welding (FCW) offers a high speed process which requires a simple edge preparation and can be applied to out-of-plane geometries. In this work, an implementation of FCW was employed using an additional wire to weld sheets of EN AW5754 H22, DC01, and Cu-DHP. The joint is formed by bringing together two sheet metal parts, introducing a wire into the weld zone and employing a rotating disk which is subject to an external force. The requirements of the welding preparation and the fundamental process variables are shown. Thermal measurements were taken which give evidence about the maximum temperature in the welding center and the temperature in the periphery of the sheet metals being joined. The high welding speed along with a relatively low heat input results in a minimal distortion of the sheet metal and marginal metallurgical changes in the parent material. In the steel specimens, this FCW implementation produces a fine grain microstructure, enhancing mechanical properties in the region of the weld. Aluminum and copper produced mean bond strengths of 77 and 69 pct to that of the parent material, respectively, whilst the steel demonstrated a strength of 98 pct. Using a wire offers the opportunity to use a higher-alloyed additional material and to precisely adjust the additional material volume appropriate for a given material alignment and thickness.     

Corrosion Behavior of Friction Stir-Processed and Gas Tungsten Arc-Welded Ti-6Al-4V

The corrosion behavior of the investment-cast Ti-6Al-4V alloy in 5-pct HCl solution was investigated after gas tungsten arc welding and friction stir (FS) processing. The FS-processed samples exhibited superior corrosion behavior compared with the base metal and the arc-welded samples. The inferior corrosion resistance of the arc weldment was attributed to the acicular α and β microstructure and the alloying element partitioning between the phases. This was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy evaluations of the surface of specimens that had been immersed 50 hours in 20-pct HCl at 308 K (35 °C). In addition, the results indicated that vanadium as an alloying element has a detrimental effect on the corrosion performance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in an HCl solution.     

Effect of Welding Parameters on Tensile Properties and Fatigue Behavior of Friction Stir Welded 2014-T6 Aluminum Alloy

The present work describes the effect of welding parameters on the tensile properties and fatigue behaviour of 2014-T6 aluminum alloy joints produced by friction stir welding (FSW). Characterization of the samples has been carried out by means of microstructure, microhardness, tensile properties and fatigue behaviors. The hardness in the softened weld region decreases with decreasing the welding speed. Irrespective of the tool rotation speeds, the best tensile and fatigue properties were obtained in the joints with the welding speed of 80 mm/min. The joint welded with a rotating speed of 1520 rpm at 80 mm/min has given a highest tensile and fatigue properties. The fatigue behaviors of the joints are almost consistent with the tensile properties, especially elongations. Higher ductility in FSW joints made the material less sensitive to fatigue. The location of tensile fractures of the joints is dependent on the welding parameters. On the other hand, the fatigue fracture locations change depending on the welding parameters and stress range. In addition, a considerable correlation could not be established in between heat indexes and mechanical properties of FSW 2014-T6 joints under the investigated welding parameters.     

Effect of Welding Parameters on Microstructure,Thermal, and Mechanical Properties of Friction-Stir Welded Joints of AA7075-T6 Aluminum Alloy

A high-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy AA7075-T6 was friction-stir welded with various process parameter combinations incorporating the design of the experiment to investigate the effect of welding parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties. A three-factors, five-level central composition design (CCD) has been used to minimize the number of experimental conditions. The friction-stir welding parameters have significant influence on the heat input and temperature profile, which in turn regulates the microstructural and mechanical properties of the joints. The weld thermal cycles and transverse distribution of microhardness of the weld joints were measured, and the tensile properties were tested. The fracture surfaces of tensile specimens were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the formation of friction-stir processing zone has been analyzed macroscopically. Also, an equation was derived to predict the final microhardness and tensile properties of the joints, and statistical tools are used to develop the relationships. The results show that the peak temperature during welding of all the joints was up to 713 K (440 °C), which indicates the key role of the tool shoulder diameter in deciding the maximum temperature. From this investigation, it was found that the joint fabricated at a rotational speed of 1050 rpm, welding speed of 100 mm/min, and shoulder diameter of 14 mm exhibited higher mechanical properties compared to the other fabricated joints.     

Friction welding of Cu-tube to Al-tube plate using an external tool

In the present study, friction welding of tube to tube plate using an external tool (FWTPET) was used to weld copper tubes with aluminum plates. Tubes were prepared with holes along the faying surfaces of tubes and cleaned before welding. The weld microstructure shows line of stir zone (SZ), a narrow thermo mechanically affected zone and heat affected zone (HAZ). The welded samples were found to have satisfactory joint strength and the XRD study showed the presence of AlCu intermetallic in the weld zone. The hardness survey revealed that there was a slight increase in hardness adjacent to the weld interface due to grain refinement. Better weld joints were achieved when the tool rotation speed and interference are 1500 rpm and 0.8 mm respectively. The present study confirms that a high quality copper tube to aluminium tube plate joint can be achieved by FWPET process.     

Energy and Force Analysis of Ti-6Al-4V Linear Friction Welds for Computational Modeling Input and Validation Data

The linear friction welding (LFW) process is finding increasing use as a manufacturing technology for the production of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V aerospace components. Computational models give an insight into the process, however, there is limited experimental data that can be used for either modeling inputs or validation. To address this problem, a design of experiments approach was used to investigate the influence of the LFW process inputs on various outputs for experimental Ti-6Al-4V welds. The finite element analysis software DEFORM was also used in conjunction with the experimental findings to investigate the heating of the workpieces. Key findings showed that the average interface force and coefficient of friction during each phase of the process were insensitive to the rubbing velocity; the coefficient of friction was not coulombic and varied between 0.3 and 1.3 depending on the process conditions; and the interface of the workpieces reached a temperature of approximately approximately 1273 K (1000 °C) at the end of phase 1. This work has enabled a greater insight into the underlying process physics and will aid future modeling investigations.     

Fracture characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Fe with refined microstructure using hydrogen

The hydrogenation behavior of Ti-6Al-4V, with the starting microstructures of coarse equiaxed α and coarse Widmanstätten α, respectively, was investigated under a hydrogen pressure of 0.1 MPa at temperatures between 843 and 1123 K. The hydrogen content was determined as a function of hydrogenation time, hydrogenation temperature, and hydrogen flow rate. The phases presented in the alloy of after hydrogenation were determined with X-ray and electron diffraction analysis in order to define the effect of Thermochemical Processing (TCP) on the microstructure of the alloy. Mechanical properties and fracture toughness of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Fe subjected to the various TCP were then investigated. Hydrogenation of Ti-6Al-4V with the starting microstructure of coarse equiaxed α at 1023 K, just below hydrogen saturated β (denoted β″ (H)) transus temperature, produces a microstructure of a, orthohombic martensite (denoted α″ (H)) and β (H). Hydrogenation at 1123 K, above β (H) transus, results in a microstructure of α″ (H) and β (H). Microstructure refinement during TCP results mainly from decomposition of α″ (H) and ;β (H) into a fine mixture of α + β during dehydrogenation. An alternative TCP method is below β (H) transus hydrogenation (BTH), consisting of hydrogenation of the alloy below the hydrogenated β (H) transus temperature, air cooling to room temperature, and dehydrogenation at a lower temperature, which is found to improve mechanical properties significantly over a conventional TCP treatment. Compared with the untreated material, the BTH treatment increases the yield strength and increases the ultimate tensile strength significantly without decreasing the tensile elongation in the starting microstructure of coarse equiaxed α or with a little decrease in the tensile elongation in the starting microstructure of coarse Widmanstätten α, although the conventional TCP treatment results in a large decrease in elongation over the unprocessed material in Ti-6Al-4V. In Ti-5Al-2.5 Fe, both conventional TCP and BTH result in a increase in yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation; however, the BTH gives the best balance between strength and elongation. The TCP-treated Ti-6Al-4V shows smaller fracture toughness compared with the unprocessed material, while TCP-treated Ti-5Al-2.5Fe shows greater fracture toughness compared with the unprocessed material. The BTH treatment results in a improvement in fatigue strength in both Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Fe.     

Effect of Pre- and Post-weld Heat Treatments on Linear Friction Welded Ti-5553

Linear friction welding allows solid-state joining of near-beta (β) titanium alloy Ti-5553 (Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3Cr). In the as-welded condition, the weld zone (WZ) exhibits β grain refinement and marked softening as compared with Ti-5553 in the solution heat treated and aged condition. The softening of the weldment is attributed to the depletion of the strengthening alpha (α) phase in the WZ and the adjacent thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ). Specifically, in near-β titanium alloys, the strength of the material mainly depends on the shape, size, distribution, and fraction of the primary α and other decomposition products of the β phase. Hence, a combination of pre- and post-weld heat treatments were applied to determine the conditions that allow mitigating the α phase depletion in the WZ and TMAZ of the welds. The mechanical response of the welded samples to the heat treatments was determined by performing microhardness measurements and tensile testing at room temperature with an automated 3D deformation measurement system. It was found that though the joint efficiency in the as-welded condition was high (96 pct), strain localization and failure occurred in the TMAZ. The application of post-weld solution heat treatment with aging was effective in restoring α, increasing the joint efficiency (97 to 99 pct) and inducing strain localization and failure in the parent material region.     

Post-Weld Heat Treatment of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718 Welded to Forged Ni-Based Superalloy AD730 by Linear Friction Welding

A new post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) cycle was designed for novel dissimilar linear friction welding (LFW) of selective laser melted (SLM) Inconel 718 (IN718) to AD730 forged nickel-based superalloy. The microstructure and hardness of the joints after the PWHT are investigated and compared with those of as-linear friction welded samples. The precipitation of γ′ + γ″ is determined as the main mechanism to increase the mechanical properties of SLM IN718 alloy. These particles coarsened during heat treatment at 1253 K and double aging. The results show that the thermomechanical history of linear friction welded joints can affect the microstructure of IN718 alloy such as the morphology of δ phase after solution treatment (ST) from the platelike in the weld zone (WZ) to the needlelike in the base material (BM). It was found that in AD730, nanometric size γ′ particles reprecipitated close to the weld line during rapid cooling after welding. The presence of ultrafine γ′ particles and coarsening of the remaining particles in the microstructure of the alloy, during PWHT, can enhance the strength and hardness. The developed PWHT resulted in uniform hardness across the new dissimilar joint.

     

Deep Drawing of Friction Stir Welded Thin Sheet Aluminium Steel Tailored Hybrids

Friction stir welding undergoes a steep evolution in industrial applications since the invention in the early 1990s. Especially for aluminium alloys in sheet thicknesses over 2 mm a lot of applications are established, whereas a lack in knowledge about friction stir welding of thin sheets with sheet thickness less than 2 mm exists. This article deals with friction stir welding of thin sheet aluminium steel tailored hybrids and their formability. These investigations tend to close the gap of availability of friction stir welded blanks in the range of 1 mm sheet thickness and to offer new applications of this joining technology. For production of aluminium steel tailored hybrids AA5182 with a thickness of 1.2 mm and DC04 in 1.0 mm are used, the joining partners are friction stir welded in a lap joint. Different tool geometries and process parameters are performed to achieve the highest strength and elongation at fracture of the tailored hybrids. The influence of the stirring on the arrangement and distribution of both materials in the welding zone and its microstructure is analysed using light optical and scanning electron microscopy. In addition to tensile tests planar microhardness measurements help to detect the local changes of the mechanical properties in the characteristic zones of the weld seam. Tailored hybrids, which were friction stir welded with the best welding parameters in accordance to the mechanical properties of the weld seams, were used for deep drawing tests of friction stir welded thin sheet aluminium steel tailored hybrids. The maximum drawing ratio of these tailored hybrids coincides with the one of the parent material of AA5182.     

Studies on Characteristics of Ti6Al4V/AA2024 Dissimilar Weld Joint Using Laser Beam Focusing from AA2024 Side

Laser beam welding is based on interaction between the laser beam and parent metals. Methods have been developed in recent years to produce joints of most light metals and their combinations. It provides good weld joint to simplify the structure and reduce the weight and cost to meet the main concerns of the aircraft industry. To achieve these, Ti6Al4V and AA2024 alloy sheets with a thickness of 1.0 mm have been welded with butt joint configuration using pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam welding without groove and filler metal. The weldment has been subjected to testings such as surface roughness, microstructure, hardness, tensile strength and distortion. Test results reveal that laser beam welding is very much suitable for joining Ti6Al4V/AA2024 alloys, while focusing from aluminium side.