Design of tool system for the external nonrotational shoulder assisted friction stir welding and its experimental validations on 2219-T6 aluminum alloy

The nonrotational shoulder assisted friction stir welding (NRSA-FSW) is still in the feasibility study stage. To reveal details in the tool system designing and highlight advantages of this novel technology, the tool system for the NRSA-FSW was designed and utilized to weld high-strength aluminum alloy 2219-T6 for validations. Compared with the joints welded by the friction stir welding (FSW) without assistance of the nonrotational shoulder (NRS), the effect of the NRS on the weld formation and mechanical properties was illustrated. At a constant welding speed 100 mm/min, defect-free joints can only be obtained at the tool rotation speed 800 rpm by the FSW without assistance of the NRS, but the NRSA-FSW can produce defect-free joints in a wider range of tool rotation speeds 600–900 rpm. The NRS prevented all plasticized materials from escaping from the stirring zone, thus the weld nugget zone transformed from the basin-type formation to the spherical formation with increasing of the stirring effect when the tool rotation speed increased gradually. For joints welded by these two FSW processes, both the tensile strength and the elongation showed nearly the same trend with the tool rotation speed, but the NRSA-FSW can produce joints with the maximum tensile strength in a wider range. Compared with the maximum joint efficiency 71.2 % of the FSW without assistance of the NRS, the maximum tensile strength obtained by the NRSA-FSW also reached 69.0 % of the base material. All tensile specimens machined from defect-free joints fractured at the weakest region with minimum Vicker’s hardness; while for those joints with cavity defects, the fracture occurred at the defect location.     

Effect of process parameters on friction stir welding of aluminum alloy 2219-T87

In this work, successful friction stir welding of aluminum alloy 2219 using an adapted milling machine is reported. The downward or forging force was found to be dependent upon shoulder diameter and rotational speed whereas longitudinal or welding force on welding speed and pin diameter. Tensile strength of welds was significantly affected by welding speed and shoulder diameter whereas welding speed strongly affected percentage elongation. Metallographic studies revealed fine equiaxed grains in weld nugget and microstructural changes in thermo-mechanically affected zone were found to be the result of combined and interactive influences of frictional heat and deformation. A maximum joining efficiency of 75% was obtained for welds with reasonably good percentage elongation. TEM studies indicated coarsening and/or dissolving of precipitates in nugget. For the gas metal arc weld, SEM investigations revealed segregation of copper at grain boundaries in partially melted zone.     

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.     

Low-cycle fatigue of a friction stir welded 2219-T62 aluminum alloy at different welding parameters and cooling conditions

Strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue tests and microstructural evaluation were performed on a friction stir welded 2219-T62 aluminum alloy with varying welding parameters and cooling conditions. Cyclic hardening of friction stir welded joints was appreciably stronger than that of the base material. The cyclic stress amplitude increased, and plastic strain amplitude and fatigue lifetime slightly decreased with increasing welding speed from 60 to 200 mm/min but were only weakly dependent of the rotational rate between 300 and 1,000 rpm with air cooling. Friction stir welded joints with water cooling had higher stress amplitude and fatigue life than that with air cooling. Fatigue failure of the joint occurred in the HAZ where the soft zone was present, with crack initiation from the specimen surface or near-surface defect and crack propagation characterized by typical fatigue striations.     

Accurate measurement of residual stresses of 2219-T87 aluminum alloy friction stir welding joints based on properties of joints

In order to avoid the deviation caused by calculating the residual stresses of welding joints with the release coefficients of the same parent metal, a new method has been proposed based on the properties of weld joints. Since the mechanical property of 2195-F Al alloy is close to that of 2219-T87 Al alloy Friction stir welding (FSW) joint, 2195-F Al alloy is selected as the substitute material of 2219-T87 Al alloy FSW joint in the calibration test. Release coefficients of 2195-F Al alloy and proper correction coefficient are used to calculate the residual stresses of 2219-T87 Al alloy FSW joints. Compared to the results calculated with release coefficients of its parent metal, it has been proved that the proposed correction method is more precise in residual stresses measurement of weld joints. The mathematical analysis and the results of verification tests have shown that this new method is reliable, and it will provide guidance in academic research and engineering application of the spherical indentation strain-gauge method.     

Experimental investigation of weld characteristics on submerged friction stir welded 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Mechanical properties such as fatigue life, corrosion resistance, brittle fracture, hardness and dimensional stability mainly depend on the residual...     

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.     

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.     

Friction stir welding of AZ61A magnesium alloy

This paper deals with the development of an empirical relationship to predict tensile strength of friction stir welded AZ61A magnesium alloy. The process parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, axial force and tool pin profile play a major role in deciding the tensile strength. The response surface method (RSM) was used to develop the empirical relationship. The four-factor, five-level central composite design was used to minimize the number of experimental conditions. The developed empirical relationship can be effectively used to predict tensile strength of friction stir welded AZ61A magnesium alloy joints at 95 % confidence level.     

Influences of rotation speed on microstructures and mechanical properties of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy joints fabricated by self-reacting friction stir welding tool

A 6061-T6 aluminum alloy was self-reacting friction stir welded by using the specially designed tool with unequal shoulder diameters at a constant welding speed of 150 mm/min to investigate the effect of rotation speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints. Excessive flash on the bottom surface of the joint and groove defects on both surfaces of the joint were formed when the lower shoulder diameter was much smaller. The suitable shoulder sizes were determined as 16 and 18 mm in lower shoulder diameter and upper shoulder diameter, respectively. The grain size and the dislocation density in the weld nugget zone (WNZ) increased with increasing rotation speed. The tensile strength of joints first increased with increasing rotating speed and then decreased remarkably as a result of the formation of void defect. The joints welded at lower rotation speeds were fractured in the thermal mechanically affected zone (TMAZ). However, the fracture locations of the defect-free joints were changed to the heat affected zone (HAZ) at higher rotation speeds.     

Analysis of transient temperature and residual thermal stresses in friction stir welding of aluminum alloy 6061-T6 via numerical simulation

Residual stress is lower in friction stir welding (FSW) compared with other melting weldment processes. This is due to being solid-state process in its nature. There are several advantages in utilizing stir welding process. Lower fluctuation and shrinkage in weldment metal-enhanced mechanical characteristics, less defects, and ability to weld certain metals otherwise impractical by other welding processes are to name just a few of these advantages. These have caused an ever increasing attention by the concerned to the process of FSW. In this investigation, three-dimensional numerical simulation of friction stir welding was concerned to study the impact of tool moving speed in relation with heat distribution as well as residual stress. Simulation was composed of two stages. Firstly, thermal behavior of the piece while undergoing the welding process was studied. Heat is generated due to the friction between tool and the piece being welded. In the second stage, attained thermal behavior of the piece from previous stage is considered as inlet heat of an elasto-plastic, thermo-mechanical model for the prediction of residual stress. Also, in the second stage, tool is eliminated and residual stress distribution is found after complete cooling of the piece and disassembly of the clamp. Material characteristic are introduced into the proposed model as temperature-dependent parameters. Obtained residual indicate that heat distribution along thickness varies and is asymmetrical enormously. Moreover, longitudinal residual stress in the weld which increases as speed of process and tool movement ascends. In the prediction of results of residual stress, only heat impact was studied. This was recognized as the main element causing minor difference in results obtained for simulation in comparison with that of actual experiment.     

Fracture and mechanical properties of friction stir spot welds in 6063-T6 aluminum alloy

The influence of the tool dimensions and of the welding parameters on the fracture and lap shear properties of friction stir spot welds is investigated. Interrupted lap shear tests allow to follow the mechanisms leading to weld fracture. A triangular cavity opens at the hook during lap shear testing. The distance between this triangular cavity and the hole left by the pin is the main parameter controlling the type of fracture. A too short distance favors a fracture through the weld nugget and hence should be avoided. In particular, this happens when the tool pin diameter is too small and when the plunge rate is too large. Fracture initiating at the triangular cavity and following the thermomechanically affected zone, i.e., by the pullout of the weld nugget, is preferred. This fracture type leads to significant plastic deformation and generally favors a large ultimate force during lap shear testing. Large ultimate forces are observed when the welds are cooler (large plunge rates and low rotation speeds), but the welding conditions should be chosen so as not to lead to fracture trough the weld nugget.     

Friction stir lap welding of AA2024-T4 with drastically different thickness

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Friction stir lap welding is a promising technology to obtain high-strength joints of Al alloys in aviation and aerospace...