Preparation of bimetallic nano-composite by dissimilar friction stir welding of copper to aluminum alloy

Butt friction stir welding between pure copper and AA5754 alloy was carried out. Reinforcing SiC nano- particles were utilized in friction stir welded (FSW) joints to decline the harmful effects of intermetallic compounds. Tensile tests, micro-hardness experiments, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were applied to studying the properties of welded joints. The joints with a travel speed of 50 mm/min and a rotation speed of 1000 r/min showed the best results. The presence of nano-sized SiC particles reduced the grain size of aluminum and copper in the stir zone (SZ) from 38.3 and 12.4 μm to 12.9 and 5.1 μm, respectively. The tensile strength of the joint in the presence of reinforcing SiC nano-particles was ~240 MPa, which is ～90% of that for the aluminum base. Furthermore, the highest microhardness of the weld zone was significantly increased from HV 160 to HV 320 upon the addition of SiC nano-particles. The results also showed that raising the heat generation in FSW joints increased the amount of Al₄Cu₉ and Al₂Cu intermetallic compounds.