Investigation of mechanical properties of friction-welded AISI 304 with AISI 1021 dissimilar steels

Austenitic stainless steel and low alloy steels are extensively used in various automotive, aerospace, nuclear, chemical, and other general purpose applications. Joining of dissimilar metals is one of the challenging tasks and most essential need of the present-day industry. It has been observed that a wide range of dissimilar materials can be easily integrated by friction welding. The objectives of the present investigation were obtaining weldments between austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) with low alloy steel (AISI 1021) and optimizing the friction welding parameters in order to establish the weld quality. In the present study, an experimental setup was designed in order to achieve friction welding of plastically deformed austenitic stainless steel and low alloy steel. AISI 304 and AISI 1021 steels were welded by friction welding using five different axial pressures at 1,430 rpm. The joining performances of friction-welded dissimilar joints were studied, and influences of these process parameters on the mechanical properties of the friction-welded joints were estimated. The joint strength was determined with tensile testing, and the fracture behavior was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and was supported and backed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Furthermore, the proposed joints were tested for impact strength, and the microhardness across the joint was also evaluated.