Improvement of microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar friction stir welded aluminum/titanium joints via aluminum oxide nanopowder

In the present study, the effect of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded (FSW) DP780 steel sheets was investigated. FSW was carried out at a constant tool rotation speed of 400 rpm and different welding speeds (200 mm/min and 400 min/min). A defect free weld was witnessed for both of the welding conditions. The mutual effect of severe plastic deformation and frictional heat generation by pin rotation during the FSW process resulted in grain refinement due to dynamic recrystallization in the stir zone (SZ) and thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ). Lower tensile elongation and higher yield and ultimate tensile strengths were recorded for welded-samples as compared to the base material (BM) DP780 steel. The joints were subsequently annealed at various temperatures at 450–650 °C for 1 h. At higher annealing temperature, the work hardening rate of joints gradually decreased and subsequently failed in the softened heat-affected zone (HAZ) during the uniaxial tensile test. Reduction in yield strength and tensile strength was found in all PWHT conditions, though improvement in elongation was achieved by annealing at 550 °C. The digital image correlation analysis showed that an inhomogeneous strain distribution occurred in the FSWed samples, and the strain was particularly highly localized in the advancing side of interface zone. The nanoindentation measurements covering the FSWed joint were consistent with an increase of the annealing temperature. The various grains size in the BM, TMAZ, and SZ is the main factor monitoring the hardness distribution in these zones and the observed discrepancies in mechanical properties.

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Effect of Stirring Pin Rotation Speed on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 2A14-T4 Alloy T-Joints Produced by Stationary Shoulder Friction Stir Welding

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14081938 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (8) ◽

pp. 1938

Author(s):

Haifeng Yang ◽

Hongyun Zhao ◽

Xinxin Xu ◽

Li Zhou ◽

Huihui Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Friction Stir Welding ◽

Rotation Speed ◽

Weld Nugget ◽

Al Alloy ◽

Nugget Zone ◽

T Joints ◽

Friction Stir ◽

Stationary Shoulder ◽

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties

In this study, 2A14-T4 Al-alloy T-joints were prepared via stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW) technology where the stirring pin’s rotation speed was set as different values. In combination with the numerical simulation results, the macro-forming, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the joints under different welding conditions were analyzed. The results show that the thermal cycle curves in the SSFSW process are featured by a steep climb and slow decreasing variation trends. As the stirring pin’s rotation speed increased, the grooves on the weld surface became more obvious. The base and rib plates exhibit W- or N-shaped hardness distribution patterns. The hardness of the weld nugget zone (WNZ) was high but was lower than that of the base material. The second weld’s annealing effect contributed to the precipitation and coarsening of the precipitated phase in the first weld nugget zone (WNZ1). The hardness of the heat affect zone (HAZ) in the vicinity of the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) dropped to the minimum. As the stirring pin's rotation speed increased, the tensile strengths of the base and rib plates first increased and then dropped. The base and rib plates exhibited ductile and brittle/ductile fracture patterns, respectively.

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