Characterization o Solid-State Vortices Associated with the Friction-Stir Welding of Copper to Aluminum

Although friction-stir welding has been developing as a viable industrial joining process over the past decade, only little attention has been given to the elucidation of associated microstructures. We have recently produced welds of copper to 6061 aluminum alloy using the technique illustrated in Fig. 1. In this process, a steel tool rod (0.6 cm diameter) or head-pin (HP) traverses the seam of 0.64 cm thick plates of copper butted against 6061-T6 aluminum at a rate (T in Fig. 1) of 1 mm/s; and rotating at a speed (R in Fig. 1) of 650 rpm (Fig. 1). A rather remarkable welding of these two materials results at temperatures measured to be around 400°C for 6061-T6 aluminum welded to itself. Consequently, the metals are stirred into one another by extreme plastic deformation which universally seems to involve dynamic recrystallization in the actual weld zone. There is no melting.