Characterization of a friction-stir-welded aluminum alloy 6013

The aluminum alloy 6013 was friction-stir welded in the T4 and the T6 temper, and the microstructure and mechanical properties were studied after welding and after applying a postweld heat treatment (PWHT) to the T4 condition. Optical microscopy (OM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and texture measurements revealed that the elongated pancake microstructure of the base material (BM) was transformed into a dynamically recrystallized microstructure of considerably smaller grain size in the weld nugget. Strengthening precipitates, present before welding in the T6 state, were dissolved during welding in the nugget, while an overaged state with much larger precipitate size was established in the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Microhardness measurements and tensile tests showed that the HAZ is the weakest region of the weld. The welded sheet exhibited reduced strength and ductility as compared to the BM. A PWHT restored some of the strength to the as-welded condition.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Property Change During FSW and GTAW of Al6061 Alloy

The variation of morphology and mechanical properties of Al6061 automotive aluminum alloy due to friction stir welding (FSW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was investigated by optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy, microhardness measurement, X-ray diffraction, tensile testing, and fractography. The center-line dendrite emergence and microhardness reduction in the heat-affected zone were observed in the GTAW process. Although similar microhardness reduction with respect to the base metal was observed in the FSW samples, higher HVs were obtained for the FSW rather than the GTAW process at almost all heat-affected locations. Ultimate tensile strengths of the FSW and the GTAW samples in the transverse direction were ~0.57 and ~0.35 of the base metal, respectively. Post-weld aging improved the strength, but reduced the ductility of the welding.     

High-Speed Friction Stir Welding of AA7075-T6 Sheet: Microstructure,Mechanical Properties,Micro-texture,and Thermal History

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a cost-effective and high-quality joining process for aluminum alloys (especially heat-treatable alloys) that is historically operated at lower joining speeds (up to hundreds of millimeters per minute). In this study, we present a microstructural analysis of friction stir welded AA7075-T6 blanks with high welding speeds up to 3 M/min. Textures, microstructures, mechanical properties, and weld quality are analyzed using TEM, EBSD, metallographic imaging, and Vickers hardness. The higher welding speed results in narrower, stronger heat-affected zones (HAZs) and also higher hardness in the nugget zones. The material flow direction in the nugget zone is found to be leaning towards the welding direction as the welding speed increases. Results are coupled with welding parameters and thermal history to aid in the understanding of the complex material flow and texture gradients within the welds in an effort to optimize welding parameters for high-speed processing.     

Microstructure and Low-Cycle Fatigue of a Friction-Stir-Welded 6061 Aluminum Alloy

Strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests and microstructural evaluation were performed on a friction-stir-welded 6061Al-T651 alloy with varying welding parameters. Friction stir welding (FSW) resulted in fine recrystallized grains with uniformly distributed dispersoids and dissolution of primary strengthening precipitates β″ in the nugget zone (NZ). Two low-hardness zones (LHZs) appeared in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) adjacent to the border between the thermomechanically-affected zone (TMAZ) and HAZ, with the width decreasing with increasing welding speed. No obvious effect of the rotational rate on the LHZs was observed. Cyclic hardening of the friction-stir-welded joints was appreciably stronger than that of base metal (BM), and it also exhibited a two-stage character where cyclic hardening of the friction-stir-welded 6061Al-T651 alloy at higher strain amplitudes was initially stronger followed by an almost linear increase of cyclic stress amplitudes on the semilog scale. Fatigue life, cyclic yield strength, cyclic strain hardening exponent, and cyclic strength coefficient all increased with increasing welding speed, but were nearly independent of the rotational rate. Most friction-stir-welded joints failed along the LHZs and exhibited a shear fracture mode. Fatigue crack initiation was observed to occur from the specimen surface, and crack propagation was mainly characterized by the characteristic fatigue striations. Some distinctive tiremark patterns arising from the interaction between the hard dispersoids/inclusions and the relatively soft matrix in the LHZ under cyclic loading were observed to be present in-between the fatigue striations.     

Structure and mechanical properties of 1570C alloy welds produced by friction stir welding

The effect of the conditions of friction stir welding (FSW) of 1570C aluminum alloy sheets on the structure and mechanical properties of the welded joints is studied. A recrystallized fine-grained structure with a grain size changing with the rate of welding tool rotation forms in a weld during FSW. As compared to the base metal, the yield strength of the weld metal decreases by 9–22% depending on the rate of welding tool rotation, and the ultimate tensile strength is almost independent of the FSW conditions and accounts for ～90% of the ultimate tensile strength of the base metal. The plasticity of the weld metal is >13% for all rates of welding tool rotation. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld zone are discussed.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy added with cerium

The AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet added with 0.5 wt.% Ce was welded with friction stir welding(FSW).The microstructures and mechanical properties of the welded joint were investigated.The results showed that the microstructures in the weld nugget zone were uniform and with small equiaxed grains.The grains in the heat-affected zone and the thermo-mechanical affected zone were coarser than those in the base metal zone and the weld nugget zone.The ultimate tensile strength of AZ31B magnesium alloy added with 0.5...     

Al?Zn?Mg?Cu?Zr?(Sc)合金搅拌摩擦焊接头组织和性能

利用光学显微镜、透射电子显微镜、显微硬度计和万能拉伸试验机等分析手段,表征了Al?Zn?Mg?Cu?Zr?(Sc)合金搅拌摩擦焊（FSW）接头的显微组织和性能,探究了Sc元素对改善超高强Al?Zn?Mg?Cu?Zr合金焊接性能的作用机制。结果表明:Al?Zn?Mg?Cu?Zr?(Sc)合金焊接接头具有相似的组织特征,焊核区为动态再结晶组织,由细小均匀的等轴晶组成,包含较高密度的位错线,大部分时效析出相回溶;热力影响区晶粒被拉长,位错密度更高,残留的时效析出相显著粗化;热影响区保留与母材相同的晶粒形态,大部分时效析出的η'相发生长大,少部分粗化成η相。添加质量分数0.17%的Sc,可以使合金FSW接头抗拉强度提升43 MPa,屈服强度提升23 MPa,断后伸长率改善2.3%,焊接系数达到74.1%。Al₃(Sc,Zr)二次析出相可以强烈抑制位错、亚晶界、晶界的移动,细化晶粒的同时保留大量的亚结构,且自身可发挥Orowan弥散强化作用。因此,可通过细晶强化、亚结构强化和弥散强化三种方式显著提高合金FSW接头的力学性能。      

Friction-stir welding effects on microstructure and fatigue of aluminum alloy 7050-T7451

Aluminum alloy 7050 was friction-stir welded (FSW) in a T7451 temper to investigate the effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties. Results are discussed for the as-welded condition (as-FSW) and for a postweld heat-treated condition consisting of 121 °C for 24 hours (as-FSW + T6). Optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of the weld-nugget region show that the FS welding process transforms the initial millimeter-sized pancake-shaped grains in the parent material to fine 1 to 5 μm dynamically recrystallized grains; also, the FS welding process redissolves the strengthening precipitates in the weld-nugget region. In the heat-affected zone (HAZ), the initial grain size is retained, while the size of the strengthening precipitates and of the precipitatefree zone (PFZ) is coarsened by a factor of 5. Tensile specimens tested transverse to the weld show that there is a 25 to 30 pct reduction in the strength level, a 60 pct reduction in the elongation in the as-FSW condition, and that the fracture path is in the HAZ. The postweld heat treatment of 121 °C for 24 hours did not result in an improvement either in the strength or the ductility of the welded material. Comparison of fatigue-crack growth rates (FCGRs) between the parent T7451 material and the as-FSW + T6 condition, at a stress ratio of R = 0.33, shows that the FCG resistance of the weldnugget region is decreased, while the FCG resistance of the HAZ is increased. Differences in FCGRs, however, are substantially reduced at a stress ratio of R = 0.70. Analysis of residual stresses, fatigue-crack closure, and fatigue fracture surfaces suggests that decrease in fatigue crack growth resistance in the weld-nugget region is due to an intergranular failure mechanism; in the HAZ region, residual stresses are more dominant than the microstructure improving the fatigue crack growth resistance.     

Evaluation of Microstructure and Mechanical Property of FSW Welded MB3 Magnesium Alloy

An experiment was carried out on the friction stir welding of MB3 magnesium alloy to determine welding parameters for obtaining an excellent weld appearance without void, cracking, or distortion. Frictional heat and plastic flow created fine and equiaxed grains in the weld nugget, and the elongated and recovered grains in the thermomechanically affected zone （TMAZ）. The grains in the heat affected zone （HAZ） grow slightly. The me- chanical property results show that maximum joint tensile strength can reach 97. 2% of the parent material, which is stronger than that of fusion joints; and the failure almost occurs in the heat affected zone.     

Tensile behavior of friction-stri-welded Al 6061-T651

In the present study, tensile behavior of friction-stir-welded Al 6061-T651 with varying welding parameters, including rotating and welding speeds, was examined. The 4-mm-thick Al 6061-T651 alloy plates were FSW with varying tool rotating speeds, 1000, 1400, 1600, 2000, and 2500 rpm, and welding speeds, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, to 0.4 mpm (m/min). Tensile specimens were prepared with the tensile direction perpendicular to the welding direction, so that the weld zone is located in the middle of the specimen. It was found that the tensile elongation of friction-stir-welded Al 6061-T651 decreased with decreasing welding speed or increasing rotating speed. The yield and ultimate tensile strength were also affected, but to a significantly lesser degree, with varying welding parameters. The micrographic and fractographic observations strongly suggested that the change in tensile behavior of friction-stri-welded Al 6061-T651 was largely related to the clustering of coarse Mg₂Si precipitates, due to the whirling and hurling action by severe plastic flow in the weld zone. Low welding speed or high rotating speed tended to encourage the plastic flow per unit time and consequently the clustering of coarse precipitates.     

A Coupled Thermal/Material Flow Model of Friction Stir Welding Applied to Sc-Modified Aluminum Alloys

A coupled thermal/material flow model of friction stir welding was developed and applied to the joining of Sc-modified aluminum alloy (7042-T6) extrusions. The model reveals that surface material is pulled from the retreating side into the weld zone where it is interleaved with in situ material. Due to frictional contact with the shoulder, the surface material is hotter than the in situ material, so that the final weld microstructure is composed of bands of material with different temperature histories. For this alloy and the associated FSW heating rates, secondary phase dissolution/precipitation temperatures are in proximity to the welding temperatures. Therefore, depending on the surface and in situ material temperatures in relation to these transformation temperatures, disparate precipitate distributions can develop in the bands of material comprising the weld nugget. Based on the numerical simulation and on thermal analysis data from differential scanning calorimetry, a mechanism for the formation of onion rings within the weld zone is presented.     

Microstructural evolution in the heat-affected zone of a friction stir weld

The microstructure and crystallographic texture spanning the soft region at the thermomechanically affected zone/heat-affected zone (TMAZ/HAZ) boundary of a friction stir weld in 2519 Al were systematically investigated to determine their contributions to the properties of that region. The microstructure was shown to be the primary cause of softening at the TMAZ/HAZ boundary. During welding, fine ϑ′ precipitates responsible for much of the strength in this alloy coarsen and transform to the equilibrium ϑ phase in the HAZ and into the TMAZ, accounting for the observed softening through the HAZ region. The higher temperatures achieved in the TMAZ partially resolutionize the precipitates and allow the subsequent formation of Guinier-Preston (GP) zones during cooling. These two processes are responsible for the variation in microhardness observed in the TMAZ/HAZ region. Texture analyses revealed significant differences in the crystallographic texture across this region that were primarily due to macroscopic rigid-body rotations of the grains, but do not account for the observed softening. The effect of the observed microstructural evolutions on the friction stir welding (FSW) deformation field and on the fracture behavior of the weld are also discussed.     

The Effect of Base Metal Conditions on the Final Microstructure and Hardness of 2024 Aluminum Alloy Friction-Stir Welds

Aircraft aluminum alloys, such as 2024, generally present low weldability by traditional fusion welding processes. The development of friction-stir welding (FSW) has provided an improved alternative way to produce satisfactory aluminum joints in a faster and more reliable method. It has been demonstrated that the FSW process involves dynamic recrystallization, which leads to ultrafine and equiaxed grain structures due to the high temperatures and strains occurring during the process. In this study, the 2024 Al-alloy with annealed (O) and artificial aged (T6) conditions were friction-stir welded. Grain size distribution, hardness, and temperature profiles in the welded zones were determined to obtain the relationship between the base metal’s initial and final microstructures in these regions. The results showed that in both samples, the average grain sizes in the weld nugget were almost identical. The hardness of nugget zones in both samples was nearly the same due to their similar microstructures. According to the obtained results, the initial microstructure showed no considerable effect on the final microstructure and hardness of the weld nuggets. This may be attributed to the continuous dynamic recrystallization phenomenon that occurs during the FSW of aluminum alloys.     

Microstructure and mechanical property correlations in AA 6061 aluminium alloy friction stir welds

The influence of friction stir welding on the microstructure development and its role on residual stress distribution in the weldment and mechanical properties has been investigated. The study also focused on the impact of post weld heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties as well as on residual stress distribution. The weld nugget region contained fine equiaxed grains as a result of thermo-mechanical working. Hardness survey showed that nugget region is soft due to precipitates dissolution. Weld joint exhibited lower strength as compared to the parent metal. Post weld Solution Treatment and Aging (STA) of longitudinal welds resulted in strength and ductility equivalent to that of parent metal while transverse weld tensile strength and ductility were lower than that of parent metal even after post weld STA. Residual stress distribution profiles across the weld region are asymmetric with respect to weld centerline, with the largest residual; stress gradients occurring on the advancing side of the weld. Within the region inside the shoulder diameter, residual stress is entirely compressive. Welds exhibited tensile residual stresses in post weld STA condition     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a welded (α + β) ti alloy

The microstructure and the mechanical properties were studied in bead-on-plate welds in a Ti-6Al-2V-1Mo alloy. The heat affected zone (HAZ) and the fusion zone (FZ) consisted of very large primaryβ grains with theβ-phase transformed to martensite. A special bead-on-plate welding technique allowed independent measurement of the mechanical properties of the HAZ and the FZ. Compared to the as-received (AR) material, the strength and ductility decreased in the weld. The highest fatigue strength was found for the AR material followed by the HAZ and the FZ, whereas the ranking for fatigue crack growth was opposite.     

Effect of Tool Offset and Tool Rotational Speed on Enhancing Mechanical Property of Al/Mg Dissimilar FSW Joints

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a promising solid-state joining technique for producing effective welds between Al alloy and Mg alloy. However, previously reported Al/Mg dissimilar FSW joints generally have limited strength or barely any ductility with relatively high strength, which was blamed on the brittle intermetallics formed during welding. In this study, effective joints with comparably high strength (163 MPa) and large elongation (~6 pct) were obtained. Three crucial/weak zones were identified in the welds: (1) Al/Mg bottom interface (BI) zone that resulted from the insufficient materials’ intermixing and interdiffusion; (2) banded structure (BS) zone which contains intermetallic particles possibly formed by constitutional liquation; and (3) softened Al alloy to the retreating side (SAA-RS) zone due to the dissolution and coarsening of the strengthening precipitates. Three fracture modes observed in the tensile specimens perpendicular to the weld seam were found closely related to these zones. Their microstructure evolution with the change of tool rotational speed and tool offset was characterized and the consequent effect on the fracture mode alteration was studied. It turned out that enhancing the strengths of all these zones, but keeping the strength of the SAA lowest, is an effective way for enhancing ductility while keeping comparatively high strength in Al/Mg FSW joints. Also, suggestions for further improving the mechanical property of the Al/Mg dissimilar FSW joints were made accordingly for practical applications.     

Laser Welding of Ultra-Fine Grained Steel SS400

Steeliswidelyusedbecauseofitsgoodcompre hensive properties ,plentyofresourceandlowerprice .Thestrengthandtoughnessaretwoimpor tantpropertiesofsteels ,andpeoplemakeeffortstoincreasetheirvalues .Addingalloyingelementandcontrollingmicrostructurearetwobasicwaystoac complishtheaim .Therefinedmicrostructureob tainedbyprocessingtechniqueenablesthestrengthandtoughnessofsteeltobeincreasedwithoutaddingalloyingelementandtheratioofperformance costtobeincreased .Theultra finegrainedsteelshavefer ritegrains…     

2A97铝锂合金搅拌摩擦焊焊缝的微观组织特征

对厚度为25 mm的T851态2A97铝锂合金进行搅拌摩擦焊焊接,利用显微硬度、金相显微镜(OM)和透射电镜(TEM)等对焊缝的显微硬度和微观组织进行研究.结果表明:接头基材硬度最高,热影响区和热机影响区硬度降低,焊缝中心硬度又升高,硬度最低位置在热影响区.焊核区发生动态再结晶,形成细小等轴的晶粒;焊核区S′相全部溶解,T1相儿乎全部溶解,在随后的冷却和时效过程中,焊核区析出GP区和细小弥散的δ′相;热影响区的T1相部分溶解,S′相全部溶解,析出θ"相、δ′相和δ′/β′的复合相.