Dissimilar titanium/aluminum friction stir welding lap joints by experiments and numerical simulation

Dissimilar lap joints were produced by friction stir welding (FSW) out of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy and AA2024 aluminum alloy sheets. The joints, welded with varying tool rotation and feed rate, were studied by analyzing the maximum shear strength, Vickers microhardness and optical observations. A dedicated numerical model, able to take into account the presence of the two different alloys, was used to highlight the effects of the process parameters on temperature distribution, strain distribution, and material flow. The combined analysis of experimental measurements and numerical predictions allowed explaining the effects of tool rotation and feed rate on the material flow. It was found that tool rotation had a larger impact on the joint effectiveness with respect to feed rate. A competition between material mixing and heat input occurs with increasing tool rotation, resulting in higher joint strength when lower values of tool rotation are used.