Joining of Titanium and its Alloys with Aluminum Alloys by Friction Stir Welding

This article is devoted to the study of the mechanism of formation of dissimilar welded joints Ti-2Al-1.5Mn, pure titanium (Ti35A) and aluminum (Аl (pure), Аl-6Mg-0.5Mn) alloys obtained by friction stir welding (FSW). The investigated microstructure of the weld joint nugget (WN), zones of thermo mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ) formed at FSW between Ti-2Al-1.5Mn, Ti35A and aluminum (Аl (pure), Аl-6Mg-0.5Mn) alloys. Zones of welded joints at FSW are formed in the mode of structural superplasticity (SP) with a specific shear-band layered structure with alternating layers. The achievement of superplastic state (SPS) in the formation of WN, TMAZ, HAZ is provided by the step–by–step transformation of various mechanisms of plastic deformation in the mode of simple, collective, abnormal dynamic recrystallization, prepared by the processes of dynamic return, polygonization with the transition to post-dynamic recrystallization by the mechanisms of Bailey–Hirsch, Kahn-Burgers-Taylor. At FSW aluminum and titanium alloys with polymorphism, SPS is supported additionally due to recrystallization by twinning and as a result of phase transformations of alpha-gamma or alpha-beta phases.

On the Dynamic Superplasticity

Superplasticity is considered as a special state of the polycrystalline material plastically deformed at the low level of the stress with the retaining of the ultrafine-grained structure – structural superplasticity received at the previous stage or arised during hot deformation independently from the initial grain size – dynamic superplasticity. For realization of the dynamic superplasticity it has to substitute an initial structural condition of material another, allowed to realize a superplasticity. The mentioned above changes are caused by the conforms of the proper strain rates and structural (phase) transformations of the evolutionary type in the open nonequilibrium systems. It is proposed an approach applying to the modelling of the deformation processes at the superplastic flow of commercial aluminum alloys taking into account the boundary regions in the framework the theory of self-organization of dissipative structures. An examples of the theoretical and experimental data correlation are given.

Universality of the Phenomenology of Structural Superplasticity

The equation σ=Kέm, where σ is the applied stress, έ is the strain rate, K and m are material constants that depend on stress / strain rate, temperature and grain size is often used to describe structural superplasticity. The general shape of the logσ-logέ curve is sigmoidal. Based on limited data, it was suggested by us earlier that a universal σ-έ curve could exist in a properly normalized space. έ and m are normalized with respect to έopt and mmax, the strain rate at which m is a maximum and the maximum m value respectively. Here a multi-dimensional relationship involving σ/σopt-έ/έopt-m/mmax-ΔF0/kT-η/ηopt is developed; σopt corresponds to έopt, ΔF0 is the free energy of activation for the rate controlling mechanism, k the Boltzmann constant, T the absolute test temperature, η the (apparent) viscosity of the superplastic alloy and ηopt is the viscosity of the same alloy for m=1 in a dimensionless σ-έ space. Using data concerning many systems, the phenomenology of structural superplasticity in all classes of materials is shown to be unique.

Superplasticity and Superplastic Tensile Behaviour of AA5083

In the present investigation experimental and analytical characterization of the high temperature (superplastic) deformation of AA5083 alloy was carried out. Uniaxial tensile test was performed in a temperature range of 748 823K at different initial strain rates. Superplasticity is the ability of polycrystalline materials to exhibit, in a relatively uniform/isotropic manner, very large tensile elongations prior to failure, under appropriate conditions of temperature and strain rates. The phenomenon of superplasticity arising due to specific microstructural conditions is commonly referred to as "structural" superplasticity or "micrograin" superplasticity.