Study on microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar steel joint developed using friction stir welding

In the present study, microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar weld of structural steel and ferritic stainless steel (FSS) plates of thickness 3 mm were investigated. The plates were butt welded by friction stir welding and defect-free welds were produced at a traverse speed of 20 mm/min and rotational speed of 508 rpm using a tungsten carbide tool. The weld joint consisted of alternate bands of both steels resembling an onion ring pattern. In the weld joint, six distinct regions were found including both the base metals. The stir zone of structural steel revealed refined grain structure of ferrite, pearlite, and martensite whereas in ferritic stainless side, highly refined ferritic grains with grain boundary martensite was observed and also confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The hardness of the weld joint varies from 186 to 572 HV. This scatter of hardness in stir zone is due to the presence of metal from both sides. The ultimate tensile and yield strengths of the transverse weld specimens was higher than the structural steel base metal whereas lower than the ferritic stainless steel, having fracture from structural steel side.     

Optimization of process parameters for friction stir lap welding of carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites by Taguchi method

Friction stir welding process parameters such as welding speed, rotational speed and tilt angle affect the strength of the weld joint. For maximizing the weld strength, these process parameters must therefore be properly selected and optimized. This study presents an application of Taguchi method to optimize process parameters like welding speed, rotational speed and tilt angle to maximize lap weld tensile-shear strength in 4 mm thick polypropylene composite sheets with 20 wt% carbon fiber. To this end, a L9 orthogonal array of Taguchi method using three factors at three levels was used. Analysis of variance and confirmation tests were conducted. The results indicated that welding speed, rotational speed and tilt angle are respectively the significant parameters affecting the lap weld strength. Optimization results also showed that tensile-shear strength of 6.06 MPa was obtained when welding speed, rotational speed and tilt angle were 25 mm/min, 1250 rpm and 1 degree, respectively.     

On the role of sliding load and heat input conditions in friction stir processing on tribology of aluminium alloy–alumina surface composites

ABSTRACT

Aluminium (AA5083)-alumina surface composites are prepared by friction stir processing in two conditions of heat input. The low heat (LH) input conditions is achieved at a rotational speed of 710?rpm and a traverse speed of 100?mm/min, and high heat (HH) input conditions are achieved at a rotational speed of 1400?rpm and a traverse speed of 40?mm/min. The tribological characteristics of aluminium alloy, friction stir processed (FSPed) alloy and FSPed surface composites against steel ball are studied at 5, 10 and 20?N load. While no significant influence is found on frictional behaviour, wear resistance of FSPed composites is superior to FSPed alloys. FSPed composites fabricated at HH input conditions exhibited improved wear resistance as compared to LH input condition. Adhesion and delamination are dominant wear mechanisms at 20?N. Debris particles are reduced in size and hydroxidated in sliding of surface composites.     

The effect of austenitic interlayer on microstructure and mechanical behaviors in keyhole plasma transfer arc welding of ferritic stainless steel couple

In this study, AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel couple of 10 mm thickness was welded by keyhole plasma transferred arc welding (KPTAW) process with or without filler wire addition using AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel interlayer of 2 mm thickness. Welded joints were manufactured with constant traverse speeds (0.01 m/min) under two different welding currents (110 and 130 A) at two different plasma gas flow rates (1.1 and 1.2 l/min), nozzle diameter (2.4 mm), and a shielding gas flow rate (25 l/min). In order to determine the microstructural changes that occurred, the interface regions of the welded samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optic microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive spectrometry after KPTAW. Microhardness and V-notch impact tests were conducted to determine the mechanical properties of the welded samples. In addition, fracture surface was examined by SEM after impact test.     

Analyzing dissimilar friction stir welding of AA5754/AA7075

AA5754/AA7075 was butt-welded by friction stir welding, and the joint of each weld case was identified by ultimate tensile strength, percentage of elongation, and hardness. Moreover, the significance of each parameter was investigated, and a mathematical relation was constructed by regression analysis. A defect-free joint was achieved in the case of a weld produced with 1000 rpm of tool rotational speed, 80 mm/min of welding speed, and an 22-mm tool shoulder diameter. Most of the failures are located at the bottom of the pin and side of AA7075. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) decreases with increasing welding speed (WS) or increasing tool rotational speed (TRS). Hardness distribution in the weld zones varied dependent on the nugget zone formation affected by TRS and WS. The present study also investigated the significance and contribution of each parameter on the UTS by analysis of variance (ANOVA). From the results of ANOVA, the conclusion reached is that the all the parameters have a great influence on UTS. The contributions are 41.41 % for WS, 17.58 % for diameter, and 13.28 % for TRS. Moreover, a full quadratic model was constructed between the parameters and the UTS value. The results show that the variation from the predicted values was between 0.41 % and 10.36 %. The strength of the model was analyzed by R-Sq. The achieved R-Sq is 0.892, which means that there is a strong relation between predicted and actual values.     

Predictions of the optimized friction stir welding process parameters for joining AA7075-T6 aluminum alloy using preheating system

The scope of this investigation is to evaluate the effect of welding parameters on the mechanical properties and microstructural features of 3-mm-thick AA7075-T6 aluminum alloy subjected to gas heating system as a preheating source during friction stir welding. Toward this end, a gas heating system was designed to heat up the weld seam just ahead of rotating tool to soften the material before being stirred. Three welding parameters, five levels, and a central composite design (CCD) have been used to minimize the number of experimental conditions. The joining parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, and shoulder diameter have a significant influence on determining the mechanical properties of the welded joints. It was found that using preheating system mostly can result in higher total heat input into the weld joint and effectively reduces the formation of defects when unsuitable process parameters were used. Also, an attempt has been made to establish the mathematical model to predict the tensile strength and microhardness of the joints. The optimal welding conditions to maximize the final responses were investigated and reported. The results show that the joint fabricated at a rotational speed of 1,050 rpm, welding speed of 100 mm/min, and shoulder diameter of 14 mm exhibited higher mechanical properties compared to other joints.     

Optimization of Extreme Load and Break-in Period in Plain ZDDP Oil with FeF3 Catalyst Using Design of Experiment and Fundamental Study under Different Speeds

The mechanism of tribofilm formation and breakdown was carefully followed and studied in 0.1 P% (percentage phosphorus content) plain zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) oil in the presence of iron fluoride (FeF₃) catalyst under extreme Hertzian contact pressure (3.0 GPa) and two different rotational speeds or variable speed with break in period (100 rpm for the first 5,000 revolutions and a 700 rpm until failure or 100,000 revolutions, whichever comes first). At the onset of large frictional fluctuations, the contact surface temperature increased significantly and reached 90°C ± 5°C. The present article describes an innovative method of reducing the surface temperature by using a break in period of 2 or 3 min and rerunning the test until failure. The two different rotational speeds or variable speed will be compared to a steady-state speed of 700 rpm.

Thermal decomposition of ZDDP is examined in the presence of powder and dispersed FeF₃ using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Surface analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray of the wear tracks, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Results showed that submicrometer dispersed FeF₃ provided excellent wear protection when combined with ZDDP in the variable-speed test with break-in by forming a tribofilm that is amorphous in nature and rich in phosphorus, which was shown by the TEM and X-ray analyses.     

Studies of microstructures made of Zn–Al alloys using microcasting

The microstructures of Zn–4 wt.% Al alloy with 0.1 mm diameter were prepared by microprecision casting based on gypsum-bonded investment casting. Aspect ratio up to 200 can be replicated in the case of the centrifugal speed of 1,500 rpm and the mold temperature of 270°C. The flow length was significantly influenced by the centrifugal speed and the preheating temperature of the mold. The flow length increases as the rotational speed and the mold temperature increase. The grain size and mechanical properties can be varied within a wide range by choosing different preheating temperatures.     

Friction stir butt welding thin aluminum alloy sheets

0.8-mm-thick alclad 2024-T4 aluminum alloy sheets were friction stir butt welded. A 15-mm diameter shoulder tool was used to guarantee sufficient heat input during welding. A 0.08-mm shoulder plunge depth was adopted to reduce sheet thickness reduction. Sound joints were obtained at rotating speeds from 400 to 1000 rpm and welding speeds from 50 to 150 mm/min. A thickness reduction of 6% was achieved at 1000 rpm and 50 mm/min. Secondary phases firstly precipitated at the black lines in the stir zone (SZ). The hardness of the SZ showed a decrease about 6% compared with the base metal. A maximum tensile strength of 399.5 MPa and an elongation of 5.6% were achieved at 1000 rpm and 150 mm/min. The fracture morphologies showed typical ductile fracture mode.     

Effects of welding speed on microstructures and mechanical properties of AA2219-T6 welded by the reverse dual-rotation friction stir welding

Reverse dual-rotation friction stir welding (RDR-FSW) is a novel FSW technology in which the tool pin and the assisted shoulder rotates reversely, thus it has the capability to obtain appropriate welding conditions through adjusting the rotating tool pin and surrounding assisted shoulder independently. In the present study, a RDR-FSW tool system was designed and successfully applied to weld high strength aluminum alloy 2219-T6, and the effects of welding speed on microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated in detail. At a constant rotation speed of 800 rpm for both the rotating tool pin and the reversely rotating assisted shoulder, defect-free joints were obtained at welding speeds ranging from 50 to 150 mm/min, while a cavity defect appeared at the three-phase confluction on the advancing side when the welding speed increased to 200 mm/min. With increasing of the welding speed, the width of the softened region decreased, but the minimum microhardness value increased gradually. When compared with the joints welded by the conventional FSW, there is only a minor variation of the Vickers hardness across the stirring zone in the joint welded by the RDR-FSW. The maximum tensile strength 328 MPa (73.7 % of the base material) was obtained at the welding speed of 150 mm/min, while the elongation reached its maximum 7.0 % (60.9 % of the base material) at the welding speed of 100 mm/min. All defect-free joints were fractured at the weakest region with the minimum Vickers hardness, while for the joint with cavity defects the fracture occurred at the defect location. The tensile fracture was in the ductile fracture mode.     

Investigation of the effect of diffusion bonding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of 7075 aluminium alloy

In the present study, diffusion bonding of aluminium alloy (AA7075) sheet materials which are used especially in the automobile and aerospace industry has been investigated at temperatures of 425 and 450 °C and pressures of 2 and 3 MPa for 180 min in argon atmosphere. The microstructural and mechanical properties of bonding have been characterized with different welding parameters such as bonding temperature and pressure. The microstructure was characterized by light optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy, while the mechanical properties were determined by tensile-shear tests and microhardness tests. The results obtained are discussed from both the microstructural and mechanical points of view. It was observed in the microstructural investigations that the interfacial oxide layer decreased with increasing of the bonding temperature and pressure. The maximum shear strength was found to be 131 MPa for the Al 7075 sample bonded at 450 °C and 3 MPa for 180 min. It is shown that in certain extent, the bonding temperature and bonding pressure have great effect on the joint shear strength. With the increasing of bonding temperature and pressure, the shear strength of the joints increases due to diffusion of atoms in the interface. The strength achieved after bonding were dependent on interface grain boundary migration and on grain growth during the bonding process. The maximum hardness value of the Al 7075 sample bonded at 450 °C, 3 MPa for 180 min is 92.5 HV_0.2. Increasing hardness with increasing temperature can be attributed to the formation of metallic bond at high temperatures and pressures.     

不锈钢板激光光束摆动叠焊工艺研究

采用光纤激光器和D50摆动激光头进行不锈钢板激光叠焊工艺研究,分析了5种激光光束摆动方式对焊缝成形和气孔率的影响规律,并对直线形光束摆动方式下的焊接工艺参数进行了优化。研究结果表明：相对于常规激光焊接,5种激光光束摆动方式焊接均能有效增大叠焊板结合面熔宽,并可抑制焊缝气孔的产生。在直线形光束摆动方式下,随着激光功率增大或焊接速度减小,焊缝熔深和结合面宽度均增大;随着摆动频率增大,熔深则相应减小;随着摆动振幅增大,焊缝截面形状由丁字形向椭圆形、梯形转变。当激光功率、焊接速度、离焦量、摆动振幅和摆动频率分别为3 kW、2.4 m/min、5 mm、1.5 mm和300 Hz时可获得成形好、气孔较少、剪切强度较高的叠焊接头。     

Multi-response optimization using the Taguchi-based grey relational analysis: a case study for dissimilar friction stir butt welding of AA6082-T6/AA5754-H111

This paper presents a multi-response optimization process for dissimilar friction stir welding of AA6082/AA5754 aluminum alloys. An L₉ orthogonal array was constituted for the experiments. Three welding parameters—tool shoulder diameter-to-pin diameter (D/d) ratio, tool rotational speed (TRS), and welding speed (WS)—were associated with tensile strength and elongation. An optimization process was started to determine the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Grey relational analyses were performed utilizing the S/N ratio. According to the results of a series of analyses, the optimal welding condition was determined as 4 for D/d, 1,000 rpm for TRS, and 100 mm/min for WS. The analysis of variance results showed that all the welding parameters are statistically significant at 95 % confidence level. Additionally, the joint efficiency of welding fabricated at the optimal condition was compared for both AA6082 and AA5754. This revealed that the joint efficiency is 66 % for AA6082 and 92 % for AA5754.     

Parameter optimization of friction stir welding of cryorolled AA2219 alloy using artificial neural network modeling with genetic algorithm

In this paper, parameter optimization of FSW of cryorolled AA2219 alloy was carried out to obtain defect free weld joint with maximum weld strength. To achieve this, artificial neural network (ANN) was used to model the relationship between the input parameters and the mechanical and corrosion properties (output) of the weld joints. The optimal FSW parameters were determined by genetic algorithm (GA). The feasible solution of the GA was tool rotational speed of 1005 rpm, tool travel speed of 20 mm/min and tool tilt angle of 3°. The feasible parameter was used to weld and check the ability of the parameter to produce better weld joint than the L₉ orthogonal array parameters. The weld, subjected to the confirmation test, was investigated by means of metallurgical, mechanical, and corrosion testing. This process reduces the costs associated with trial runs to obtain optimal parameters and also the production cost of the cryorolled (CR) plate which is high.     

DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF AN ULTRAHIGH SPEED MICRO-MACHINING SPINDLE

A new ultrahigh speed micro-spindle has been developed for micro-milling that can be used at rotational speeds approaching 500,000 rpm. Since conventional ball bearings or fluid lubricated journal bearings cannot be used at such speeds, the new micro-spindle uses a set of journal and thrust foil bearings. Prior to fabrication of the micro-spindle, rotordynamic analysis of the rotor with an attached cutting tool confirmed that the rotor would be stable at the desired speeds. The cutting tool was then attached to the rotor using a shrink-fit approach. The micro-spindle was integrated with a 3-axis micro-milling machine. Cutting experiments were performed on an aluminum alloy at speeds greater than 300,000 rpm using 125 and 300 μm end-mills. Vibration spectra for free rotation and during cutting confirmed the dynamic stability of the micro-spindle. The vibration spectrum was dominated by the rotational frequency and was free of deleterious vibrations. The increase in rotational speed to 450,000 rpm in micro-milling of aluminum alloy allowed an increase in feed rate to nearly 750 mm/min, thus increasing the material removal rate by more than two orders of magnitude. The dimensional accuracy of several straight cuts made at different feed rates was measured.     

Effect of process parameters on the macrostructure and defect formation in friction stir lap welding of AA5456 aluminum alloy

Friction stir welding could be considered as a suitable technique for joining of aluminum alloys due to the emerging of different problems in fusion welding of these alloys, especially in lap joint designs. For this purpose, it is necessary to optimize the process parameters while in this study, the combined effects of tool rotation and welding travel speed on the macrostructure and defect formation of friction stir lap welding of AA5456 was investigated. The rotating tool was plunged from the 5 mm-thick AA5456-H321 (top sheet) surface into the 2.5 mm-thick AA5456-O (bottom sheet) and lap joints were fabricated by rotational speeds of 300, 600, 800 and 1000 rpm and welding speeds of 15, 30, 60 and 100 mm min⁻¹. The effect of tool rotation and welding speed on the macrostructure, material flow and defect formation, i.e. hooking, kissing-bond and cavity, were studied by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscope. The results declared that hooking height decreased as the welding speed increased while kissing-bond was formed at higher welding speeds. Moreover, hooking region was extended as the tool rotational speed increased. However, at a high rotational speed, cavity was even created.     

Design of energy optimization for laser polymer joining process

Different laser heat inputs were applied on the gray-colored acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic using fixed laser power and variable scanning speeds to join ABS- and polycarbonate (PC)-based polymers. Experiments with a laser power between 6 and 8 W and a scanning speed of 1,500, 3,000, and 4,500 mm/min were used for the joining. Heat-affected zone (HAZ) and melt zone measurements were performed to find the joining energy threshold, and the mechanical properties of welds were evaluated. At the low scanning speed, the total heat input at the given area resulted in carbonization damage on the surface. However, energy distributed laser beam joining process by galvanometers resulted in secure and sound weld joining quality. Damage threshold was calculated as 127 J/cm² with relatively less sensitivity of scanning speed. However, the ablation threshold was measured to be 215, 281, and 424 J/cm² for the scanning speed of 4,500, 3,000 and 1,500 mm/min, respectively.     

Improving joint features and tensile shear properties of friction stir lap welded joint by an optimized bottom-half-threaded pin tool

To increase the lap shear failure load of friction stir lap welding (FSLW) joint, a tool with a bottom-half-threaded pin was designed in the present study. Using 7N01-T4 aluminum alloy as the research object, tools with the bottom-half-threaded pin and the traditional full-threaded pin were used to fabricate lap joints. Results showed that the thread end position on the pin greatly influenced the material flow behavior. The material concentrated zone using the bottom-half-threaded pin mainly located above the lap interface, which is beneficial to suppress the hook and cold lap. The lap shear failure load of the FSLW joint using the bottom-half-threaded pin was 17,644.7 N, which is equal to 122.8 % of the joint using the full-threaded pin.     

Identification of suitable process parameters for friction surfacing of mild steel with AA6063 aluminium alloy

The present study is aimed at identifying suitable process parameters for friction surfacing of IS2062 mild steel with AA6063 aluminium alloy and obtain relationships between the input parameters and the process response that can be used for sound coating with adequate strength and ductility. Factorial experimental design technique was used to investigate and select the parameter combination to achieve adequate strength and ductility. Mechatrode rotational speed, axial load and substrate traverse speed were observed to be the most significant factors on the process response. Based on the results, it was observed that (i) lower axial load and traverse speed with high rotational speed and (ii) higher axial load and traverse speed with lower rotational speed produced sound coatings. It has also been observed that sound coatings could be obtained in a narrow set of parameter range as the substrate-coating materials are metallurgically incompatible and have propensity to form brittle intermetallics.     

Optimization of the chemical mechanical polishing process for optical silicon substrates

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) experiments are performed to study the effects of four key process factors on the flatness and surface finish of the polished optical silicon substrates and on the material removal rate (MRR). The experimental results and analyses reveal that the pad rotational speed and polish pressure have significant effects on the MRR, the interaction of the polish head rotational speed and slurry supply velocity and the interaction of the polish pressure and polish head rotational speed have significant effects on the flatness, and the pad rotational speed has a significant effect on the surface roughness R _t of the optical silicon substrates polished. The optimal combination of the four factors investigated is a polish pressure of 9,800 Pa, a pad rotational speed of 20 rpm, a polish head rotational speed of 20 rpm, and a slurry supply velocity of 100 ml/min. A confirmation CMP experiment has been carried out using the optimal process parameter setting obtained from the design of experiments analyses. The goal to attain optical silicon substrates with nanometric surface roughness and micrometric flatness by an optimized CMP process with a high MRR simultaneously so as to reduce the polishing time to only 15 min from over 8 h has been achieved.