Comparative study on local and global mechanical properties of bobbin tool and conventional friction stir welded 7085-T7452 aluminum thick plate

7085-T7452 plates with a thickness of 12 mm were welded by conventional single side and bobbin tool friction stir welding (SS-FSW and BB-FSW, respectively) at different welding parameters. The temperature distribution, microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of joints along the thickness direction were investigated, and digital image correlation (DIC) was utilized to evaluate quantitatively the deformation of different zones during tensile tests. The results indicated that heat-affected zone (HAZ), the local softening region, was responsible for the early plastic deformation and also the fracture location for SS-FSW samples, while a rapid fracture was observed in weld nugget zone (WNZ) before yield behavior for all BB-FSW specimens. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of SS-FSW joints presented the highest value of 410 MPa, 82% of the base material, at a rotational speed of 300 rpm and welding speed of 60 mm/min, much higher than that of BB-FSW joints, with a joint efficiency of only 47%. This should be attributed to the Lazy S defect produced by a larger extent of heat input during the BB-FSW process. The whole joint exhibited a much higher elongation than the slices. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the fracture morphologies showed that joints failed through ductile fracture for SS-FSW and brittle fracture for BB-FSW.     

轴肩结构对搅拌摩擦焊过程中材料流动的影响

考虑材料参数随温度的变化关系以及搅拌头的实际结构形式,利用ANSYS FLUENT软件对搅拌摩擦焊过程中材料的流动行为进行了数值分析,研究了轴肩结构分别为平面、内凹与同心圆时的材料流动规律.研究表明,当轴肩结构发生变化时,焊件表面及内部的材料流动趋势基本相同;靠近焊件表面的材料流动速度在轴肩结构为同心圆时最大,在轴肩结构为平面时最小.从避免搅拌摩擦焊根部缺陷的角度看,同心圆轴肩的搅拌头优于内凹轴肩,这一规律得到了试验证实.     

Design features for bobbin friction stir welding tools: Development of a conceptual model linking the underlying physics to the production process

The effects of different pin features and dimensions of scrolled shoulder bobbin friction stir welding were tested for welding marine grade aluminium, Al6082-T6. Welds were created in longitudinal and transverse plate extrusion directions in thin plate aluminium clamped and supported at one side. Measured outcomes included visual inspection, plate distortion, mechanical properties, metallurgical examination, and hardness test. This study shows that tool features cannot be directly transferable from conventional friction stir welding technology without comprising process variables and tool part functionality. Process setting such as clamps, support arrangements, shoulder gap and welding direction create compression, vibration and heat distribution hence influence the weld quality. The best joint was produced by four flats tool pin followed by threaded tool pin with three flats. These findings were used to develop a conceptual theory representing the underlying physics of the friction stir welding process. The effects of pin features, specifically threads and flats, are identified. This model is useful for direct linking welding factors towards the expected consequences.     

Effect of self-support friction stir welding on microstructure and microhardness of 6082-T6 aluminum alloy joint

In this paper, 5-mm-thick 6082-T6 aluminum alloy was joined by means of self-support friction stir welding (SSFSW). Here we report the grain structure and second phase particles in various regions including the welding nugget zone (WNZ), thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), and heat affected zone (HAZ). In the upper part of the joint, microhardness in the TMAZ in proximity of the UWNZ was the highest (average 89.4 HV) due to the severe plastic deformation. The similar result was also found in the lower part of the SSFSW joint. The microstructural development in each region was a strong function of the local thermo-mechanical cycle experienced during welding. Some coarse equiaxed grains which were produced in incomplete dynamic recrystallization process and dissolution of some precipitates have been observed in TMAZ. The HAZ retained the same grain structure as the base material, however, the grain size decreased with increasing distance of the weld centerline.     

Joint formation mechanism of high depth-to-width ratio friction stir welding

High depth-to-width ratio friction stir welding is an attractive method for the joining demands of aluminum profiles, which is sparked with its extremely low heat input and high mechanical performance. In this study, the joint formation mechanism was studied by a numerical model of plastic flow combined with experimental approaches. A fluid-solid-interaction algorithm was proposed to establish the coupling model, and the material to be welded was treated as non-Newtonian fluid. The thread structure and the milling facets on tool pin promoted drastic turbulence of material. The thread structure converged the plasticized material by its inclined plane, and then drove the attached material to refill the welds. The milling facets brought about the periodic dynamic material flow. The thread structure and the milling facets increased the strain rate greatly under the extremely low heat input, which avoided the welding defects. The condition of the peak temperature of 648 K and the strain rate of 151 s⁻¹ attributed to the lowest coarsening degree of precipitate. The tensile strength of the joint reached 265 MPa, equivalent to 86% of base material. The amelioration via the material flow model inhibits the welding defects and optimizes the parameter intervals, providing references to extracting process-structure-property linkages for friction stir welding.     

Production of tailor-welded blanks by vertical compensation friction stir welding technique

An attempt was made for the first time to fabricate tailor-welded blanks (TWBs) through the feasibility of selective alloying in the solid state of vertical compensation friction stir welding (VCFSW) technique. The results revealed that the production of TWBs by VCFSW technique had higher homogeneity without any defects when compared to the production of TWBs by conventional FSW process at constant tool rotational speed 2000?rpm, traverse speed 20?mm?min^?1 and an inclination angle 2.5°. The maximum mechanical properties of the fabricated TWBs were obtained when the width of compensation strip 1.5?mm was used. The fracture surface of TWB at the width of compensation strip 1.5?mm showed ductile fracture mode.     

Modeling of friction stir welding process for tools design

A three-dimensional friction stir welding (FSW) process model has been developed based on fluid mechanics. The material transport in the welding process has been regarded as a laminar, viscous, and non-Newtonian liquid that flows past a rotating pin. A criterion to divide the weld zone has been given on the basis of cooperation of velocity field and viscosity field. That is, the η₀-easy-flow zone that existed near the tool pin corresponded to the weld nugget zone; the area between the η₀-easy-flow zone and η₁-viscosity band is corresponded to the thermal-mechanical affected zone (TMAZ). The model gives some useful information to improve the understanding of material flow in FSW through the simulation result of velocity distribution. In order to appraise the friction stir pin design, three kinds of pin geometry, one is column pin, the second is taper pin, and the last one is screw threaded taper pin, were used in the model. The pin geometry seriously affected the simulation result of velocity distribution in the η₀-easy-flow zone. The velocity distribution in the η₀-easy-flow zone can be considered as the criterion of optimizing friction stir tool design. This study will benefit to direct the friction stir tool design.     

The effect of weld parameters on friction stir welding of brass plates

More successful results have been obtained in butt‐ and overlap‐joining of Al‐alloy plates by a recently developed solid state joining technique, namely friction stir welding (FSW), than in more conventional fusion welding processes. In this joining technique, no fusion takes place in the joint area of the plates welded. This novel joining method also offers the potential to weld some other materials rather than Al‐alloys, such as Mg‐alloys, brasses and low strength steels. In this study, the applicability of friction stir welding to brasses, namely 90 %Cu‐10 %Zn and 70 %Cu‐30 %Zn alloys, has been investigated. The joint performance was determined by conducting optical microscopy, microhardness mesurements and mechanical testing (e.g. tensile and bend tests). The effect of welding speed on the joint quality at a given rotational speed of the stirring pin (i.e. 1600 rpm) was also determined for both alloys. The highest joint performances were obtained at a welding speed of 210 mm/min for both alloys.     

Dissimilar friction stir welding between magnesium and aluminum alloys

Dissimilar friction stir welding between magnesium and aluminum alloy plates with thicknesses of 2 mm was performed. The tool for welding was rotated at speeds ranging from 800 to 1600 rpm under a constant traverse speed of 300 mm/min. For tool rotation speeds of 1000, 1200, and 1400 rpm, defect-free welds were successfully obtained and the surface morphology of the welds became smoother as the tool rotation speed was increased. The relatively simple bonded interface was clearly evident and had a zigzag pattern. A mixed microstructure of magnesium and aluminum alloys was formed near the bonded interface. The maximum tensile strength of about 132 MPa was obtained at the tool rotation speed of 1000 rpm. However, there were not noteworthy changes in the tensile strength as a function of the tool rotation speed. The elongation was 2% or less, regardless of the tool rotation speed.     

Refill friction stir spot welding of 5083-O aluminum alloy

In this work,refill friction stir spot welding(RFSSW) was used to weld 2 mm-thick 5083-O alloy.The Box–Behnken experimental design was used to investigate the effect of welding parameters on the joint lap shear property.Results showed that a surface indentation of 0.3 mm effectively eliminated the welding defects.Microhardness of the stir zone(SZ) was higher than that of the base material(BM) and the hardness decreased with increasing the heat input during welding.The optimum failure load of 7.72 k N was obtained when using rotating speed of 2300 rpm,plunge depth of 2.4 mm and refilling time of 3.5 s.Three fracture modes were obtained during the lap shear test and all were affected by the hook defect.     

Gradient micro-structured surface layer on aluminum alloy fabricated by in situ rolling friction stir welding

A gradient micro-structure was formed in the surface layer of 2219 aluminum alloy joint by means of in situ rolling friction stir welding (IRFSW). The micro-structured surface layer is about 200 μm deep, corresponding to a gradient change in microhardness from 86.8 to 59.4 HV in the coarse-grained weld nugget zone (WNZ). Compared with those of the base material, the friction coefficient values are evidently decreased and the wear resistance is obviously enhanced on the surface layer. The corrosion current was relatively low and corrosion potential value was positive with respect to that of the base material. The second-phase particles in the upper surface layer were much more and smaller than those of the base material.     

率相关材料在搅拌摩擦焊接过程中的行为分析

为研究金属粘性效应时的搅拌摩擦焊接材料流动行为,采用率相关本构描述搅拌摩擦焊接过程中的材料行为,并与非率相关材料模型的计算结果进行了对比.结果显示,由于考虑了金属的粘性效应.用率相关材料模型模拟搅拌摩擦焊接过程能更好地反映材料流动行为的本质.在搅拌摩擦焊接中,材料沿搅拌头切向方向的运动构成了搅拌摩擦焊接构件材料流动的主要形式.焊接构件-搅拌头接触面上的接触压力在搅拌头前方较大,在搅拌头后方较小,这一规律在率相关模型中更为明显.搅拌头前方材料在搅拌头的挤压之下向远离搅拌头的方向运动,而搅拌头后方的材料要填充由于搅拌头的移动而留下的空间,这一过程是保证搅拌摩擦焊接顺利完成的一个主要因素.因此,用率相关模型模拟搅拌摩擦焊接过程中的材料力学行为更为接近真实情况.     

Material flow during friction stir spot welding of dissimilar Al2024/Al materials

In the present paper, the material flow and intermixing during friction stir spot welding of dissimilar Al2024/Al materials were investigated. The dissimilar materials had quite different strength. The microstructural evolutions taking place during a series of lap and butt welds were observed. The effect of penetration depths, dwell time, rotational speed and tool geometry were systematically investigated. The material flow and formation of the intermixed region were explained by a modified model.     

A review of numerical analysis of friction stir welding

Friction stir welding is a relatively new solid-state joining technique which is widely adopted in different industry fields to join different metallic alloys that are hard to weld by conventional fusion welding. Friction stir welding is a highly complex process comprising several highly coupled physical phenomena. The complex geometry of some kinds of joints and their three dimensional nature make it difficult to develop an overall system of governing equations for theoretical analyzing the behavior of the friction stir welded joints. The experiments are often time consuming and costly. To overcome these problems, numerical analysis has frequently been used since the 2000s. This paper reviews the latest developments in the numerical analysis of friction stir welding processes, microstructures of friction stir welded joints and the properties of friction stir welded structures. Some important numerical issues such as materials flow modeling, meshing procedure and failure criteria are discussed. Numerical analysis of friction stir welding will allow many different welding processes to be simulated in order to understand the effects of changes in different system parameters before physical testing, which would be time-consuming or prohibitively expensive in practice. The main methods used in numerical analysis of friction stir welding are discussed and illustrated with brief case studies. In addition, several important key problems and issues remain to be addressed about the numerical analysis of friction stir welding and opportunities for further research are identified.     

Morphology and strength of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene welds performed by robotic friction stir welding

The aim of this study is to examine the main factors affecting friction stir welding (FSW) of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plates, performed by a robotic system developed to this purpose. Welds were carried out using a tool with stationary shoulder and an external heating system. The welding parameters studied were the axial force, rotational and traverse speeds and temperature of the tool. The major novelty is to perform FSW of a polymer in a robotic system and to study the influence of the axial force on weld quality. In a robotic solution the control of axial force allows to eliminate robot positional errors and guarantee the contact between the FSW tool and the work pieces. Strength and strain properties of the welds are evaluated and correlated with the morphology of the welded zone. A comparison between welds produced in the robotic FSW system and in a dedicated FSW machine is presented. It is shown the feasibility of robotic FSW of ABS without deteriorating the mechanical properties of the welds in relation to those produced in the dedicated FSW machine.     

Effect of tool geometry and process condition on static strength of a magnesium friction stir lap linear weld

Friction stir lap linear welding is conducted on overlapped AZ31 magnesium plates with different welding tools. Welds are made mainly with the orientation such that the weld retreating side on the upper plate is to be placed under load. Welding tools consist of a concave shoulder and a pin having a cylindrical, or triangular, or pie shape. This work addresses the effects of tool geometry and process condition on lap shear strength of welds. The shape of the hook formed due to upward bending of the plate interface on the retreating side and the strength of friction stir processed material are quantitatively characterized. Compared to the cylindrical tool, the triangular tool effectively suppresses the hook on the retreating side due to enhanced horizontal material flow. This primarily leads to a 78% increase in optimized weld strength. A ‘pure’ shear surface present on the tool pin significantly reduces weld strength.     

镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接工艺参数优化

为了优化镁合金搅拌摩擦焊接工艺参数,对5 mm厚镁合金AZ31B板材的搅拌摩擦焊接技术进行了试验研究,利用SN比实验设计,对镁合金AZ31B搅拌摩擦焊接工艺参数进行了方差分析,优化了搅拌头的材料、结构,最终确定搅拌头的材料为W6Mo5Cr4V2,结构为凹面圆台形.轴肩尺寸为12 mm.探针的根部直径为5.5 mm,端部直径为2.5 mm,长度为4.7 mm.获得镁合金AZ31B搅拌摩擦焊的工艺参数显著性顺序为旋转速度、横向速度和压力;确定了镁合金AZ31B搅拌摩擦焊的最优工艺参数为1500 r/min、47.5 mm/min、3kN.     

Spot friction stir welding of low carbon steel plates preheated by high frequency induction

In this study, high frequency induction heating assisted spot friction stir welding was applied to 1.6 mm thick S12C low carbon steel plates. With the same welding parameter including an applied load of 2500 kg, rotation speed of 800 rpm and dwell time of 2 s, the average grain size in the stir zone slightly increased from 12.9 μm for the welds without preheating to 14.8 μm when 10 s preheating was used. However, larger joint interface was formed within the stir zone of the welds with preheating and therefore the bonding strength can be significantly increased. As a result, the shear tensile load of the joint increased from 8 kN to12.4 kN with preheating and the joint fractured through the plug failure mode rather than interfacial failure mode. It was revealed that the frictional heat generated between the rotating tool and the work-piece can be reduced to obtain sound welds by means of high frequency induction preheating.     

Application and exploration of friction stir welding/processing in plastics industry

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a green, pollution-free, low-energy technology with high manoeuvrability. Thermoplastic plastics have extensive applications in the present industry because they offer excellent physical and corrosion properties, high degree freedom of processing and design. In this paper, the current state of FSW/P in plastics industry, including tool improvement, welding methods, process parameters optimisation, metal and polymer joining as well as composites fabrication, has been addressed. Although it presents a major challenge, FSW/P has a great potential to produce defect-free joint and fabricate composites in polymer materials.     

Evaluation of dynamic development of grain structure during friction stir welding of pure copper using a quasi in situ method

By employing a quasi in situ method, we investigated the dynamic evolution of the grain structure considering the material flow, strain, and strain rate in the friction stir welding of pure copper. The tool ‘stop action’ and rapid cooling were employed and a brass foil was used as a marker to show the material flow path. The grain structure along the material flow path was characterised using electron backscatter diffraction. Static recrystallization occurs for the work-hardened base material in the preheating stage in front of the tool. In the acceleration flow stage, grains are significantly refined by plastic deformation, discontinuous dynamic recrystallization, annealing twinning during the strain-induced boundary migration and slight continuous dynamic recrystallization. In the deceleration flow stage, due to a strain reversal, the grain first coarsens, and is thereafter refined again. Finally, the hot-deformed material in the shoulder-affected zone is ‘frozen’ directly whereas that in the probe-affected zone undergoes significant annealing; thus, the recrystallized microstructure and 45°-rotated cube texture are obtained in the probe-affected zone.