Influence of tool pin profile on microstructure and corrosion behaviour of AA2219 Al-Cu alloy friction stir weld nuggets

To overcome the problems of fusion welding of aluminium alloys, the friction stir welding(FSW) is recognized as an alternative joining method to improve the mechanical and corrosion properties. Tool profile is one of the important variables which affect the performance of the FS weld. In the present work, the effect of tool profile on the weld nugget microstructure and pitting corrosion of AA2219 aluminium-copper alloy was studied. FSW of AA2219 alloy was carried out using five profiles, namely conical, square, triangle, pentagon and hexagon. The temperature measurements were made in the region adjacent to the rotating pin. It was observed that the peak temperature is more in hexagonal tool pin compared to the welds produced with other tool pin profiles. It is observed that the extensive deformation experienced at the nugget zone and the evolved microstructure strongly influences the hardness and corrosion properties of the joint during FSW. It was found that the microstructure changes like grain size, misorientation and precipitate dissolution during FSW influence the hardness and corrosion behaviour. Pitting corrosion resistance of friction stir welds of AA2219 was found to be better for hexagon profile tool compared to other profiles, which was attributed to material flow and strengthening precipitate morphology in nugget zone. Higher amount of heat generation in FS welds made with hexagonal profile tool may be the reason for greater dissolution of strengthening precipitates in nugget zone.     

Optimization of process parameters of aluminum alloy AA 2014-T6 friction stir welds by response surface methodology

The heat treatable aluminum-copper alloy AA2014 finds wide application in the aerospace and defence industry due to its high strength-toweight ratio and good ductility. Friction stir welding(FSW) process, an emerging solid state joining process, is suitable for joining this alloy compared to fusion welding processes. This work presents the formulation of a mathematical model with process parameters and tool geometry to predict the responses of friction stir welds of AA 2014-T6 aluminum alloy, viz yield strength, tensile strength and ductility. The most influential process parameters considered are spindle speed, welding speed, tilt angle and tool pin profile. A four-factor, five-level central composite design was used and a response surface methodology(RSM) was employed to develop the regression models to predict the responses.The mechanical properties, such as yield strength(YS), ultimate tensile strength(UTS) and percentage elongation(%El), are considered as responses. Method of analysis of variance was used to determine the important process parameters that affect the responses. Validation trials were carried out to validate these results. These results indicate that the friction stir welds of AA 2014-T6 aluminum alloy welded with hexagonal tool pin profile have the highest tensile strength and elongation, whereas the joints fabricated with conical tool pin profile have the lowest tensile strength and elongation.     

Effect of tool pin profile on microstructure and tensile properties of friction stir welded dissimilar AA 6061e AA 5086 aluminium alloy joints

Joints between two different grades of aluminium alloys are need of the hour in many light weight military structures.In this investigation,an attempt has been made to join the heat treatable(AA 6061) and non-heat treatable(AA 5086) aluminium alloys by friction stir welding(FSW)process using three different tool pin profiles like straight cylindrical,taper cylindrical and threaded cylindrical.The microstructures of various regions were observed and analyzed by means of optical and scanning electron microscope.The tensile properties and microhardness were evaluated for the welded joint.From this investigation it is founded that the use of threaded pin profile of tool contributes to better flow of materials between two alloys and the generation of defect free stir zone.It also resulted in higher hardness values of 83 HV in the stir zone and higher tensile strength of 169 MPa compared to other two profiles.The increase in hardness is attributed to the formation of fine grains and intermetallics in the stir zone,and in addition,the reduced size of weaker regions,such as TMAZ and HAZ regions,results in higher tensile properties.     

Microstructure and pitting corrosion resistance of AA2219 Ale Cu alloy friction stir welds e Effect of tool profile

AA2219 Ale Cu alloy is widely used in defence and aerospace applications due to required combination of high strength-to-weight ratio and toughness.Fabrication of components used for defence always involves welding.Even though the mechanical properties of the base metal are better,but the alloy suffers from poor mechanical and corrosion properties during fusion welding.To overcome the problems of fusion welding,friction stir welding(FSW) is recognized as an alternative solid state joining method aimed to improve the mechanical and corrosion properties.Tool profile is one of the important variables which affect the performance of the friction stir weld.In the present work the effect of tool profile on the microstructure and pitting corrosion of AA2219 aluminiumecopper alloy was studied.Electron backscattered diffraction results established that the grain size and orientation of weld nugget of triangle profile is finer than that of conical profile.Differential scanning calorimetric results show the evidence of precipitate dissolution during FSW.It was found that the microstructure changes,such as grain size and its orientation precipitate dissolution during FSW influence the hardness and corrosion behaviour.Pitting corrosion resistance of friction stir welds of AA2219 was found to be better for triangle profile tool compared to conical profile which is attributed to material flow and strengthening precipitate morphology in various zones.Higher amount of heat generation during FSW made using triangle profile tool may be the reason for greater dissolution of strengthening precipitates in nugget zone and coarsening in thermo mechanically affected zone(TMAZ) and heat affected zone(HAZ).     

Effect of friction stir processing on mechanical properties and heat transfer of TIG welded joint of AA6061 and AA7075

Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding is the most commonly used joining process for aluminum alloy for AA6061 and AA7075 which are highly demanded in the aerospace engineering and the automobile sector, but there are some defects occur during TIG welding like micro-crack, coarse grain structure, and porosity. To improve these defects, the TIG welded joint is processed using friction stir processing (FSP). This paper presents the effect of friction stir processing on TIG welding with filler ER4043 and ER 5356 for dissimilar aluminum alloy AA6061 and AA7075. The mechanical characterization, finite element formulation and mathematical equations of heat transfer of TIG + FSP welded joints are investigated using ANSYS Fluent software by adjusting process parameters of FSP. The results show that the maximum compressive residual stress 73 MPa was obtained at the fusion zone (FZ) of the TIG weldment with filler ER4043, whereas minimum compressive residual stress 37 MPa was obtained at stir zone (SZ) of the TIG+FSP with filler 5356. The maximum heat flux 5.33 × 106 W/m2 and temperature 515 ℃ have observed at tool rotation 1600 rpm with a feed rate of 63 mm/min. These results give a satisfactory measure of confidence in the fidelity of the simulation     

Feasibility of surface-coated friction stir welding tools to join AISI 304 grade austenitic stainless steel

An attempt is made to develop the tools that are capable enough to withstand the shear, impact and thermal forces that occur during friction stir welding of stainless steels. The atmospheric plasma spray and plasma transferred arc hardfacing processes are employed to deposit refractory ceramic based composite coatings on the Inconel 738 alloy. Five different combinations of self-fluxing alloy powder and 60% ceramic reinforcement particulate mixtures are used for coating. The best friction stir welding tool selected based on tool wear analysis is used to fabricate the austenitic stainless steel joints.     

Dissimilar friction stir spot welding of AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 aluminum alloys under different welding parameters and media

This paper studies the friction stir spot welding of AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 Al alloys in the ambient and underwater environments by clarifying the nugget features,microstructure,fracture and mechanical properties of the joints.The results show that the water-cooling medium exhibits a significant heat absorption capacity in the AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 welded joint.Nugget features such as stir zone width,circular imprints,average grain sizes,and angular inter-material hooking are reduced by the water-cooling effect in the joints.Narrower whitish(intercalated structures)bands are formed in the under-water joints while Mg2Si and Al2CuMg precipitates are formed in the ambient and the underwater welded joints respectively.An increase in tool rotational speed(600-1400 rpm)and plunge depth(0.1-0.5 mm)increases the tensile-shear force of the welded AA2024-T3/AA7075-T6 joints in both the ambient and underwater environments.The maximum tensile-shear forces of 5900 N and 6700 N were obtained in the ambient and the underwater welds respectively.     

Effect of tool rotational speed on the particle distribution in friction stir welding of AA6092/17.5 SiCp-T6 composite plates and its consequences on the mechanical property of the joint

This study investigates the effect of tool rotational speed (TRS) on particle distribution in nugget zone (NZ) through quantitative approach and its consequences on the mechanical property of friction stir welded joints of AA6092/17.5 SiC_p-T6 composite. 6 mm thick plates are welded at a constant tool tilt angle of 2° and tool traverse speed of 1 mm/s by varying the TRS at 1000 rpm, 1500 rpm and 2000 rpm with a taper pin profiled tool. Microstructure analysis shows large quantity of uniformly shaped smaller size SiC particle with lower average particle area which are homogeneously distributed in the NZ. The fragmentation of bigger size particles has been observed because of abrading action of the hard tool and resulting shearing effect and severe stress generation due to the rotation of tool. The particles occupy maximum area in the matrix compared to that of the base material (BM) due to the redistribution of broken particles as an effect of TRS. The migration of particles towards the TMAZ-NZ transition zone has been also encountered at higher TRS (2000 rpm). The microhardness analysis depicts variation in average hardness from top to bottom of the NZ, minimum for 1500 rpm and maximum for 2000 rpm. The impact strength at 1000 rpm and 1500 rpm remains close to that of BM (21.6 J) while 2000 rpm shows the accountable reduction. The maximum joint efficiency has been achieved at 1500 rpm (84%) and minimum at 1000 rpm (68%) under tensile loading. Fractographic analysis shows mixed mode of failure for BM, 1000 rpm and 1500 rpm, whereas 2000 rpm shows the brittle mode of failure.     

Microstructure and pitting corrosion of armor grade AA7075 aluminum alloy friction stir weld nugget zone-Effect of post weld heat treatment and addition of boron carbide

Friction stir welding(FSW) of high strength aluminum alloys has been emerged as an alternative joining technique to avoid the problems during fusion welding.In recent times FSW is being used for armor grade AA7075 aluminum alloy in defense,aerospace and marine applications where it has to serve in non uniform loading and corrosive environments.Even though friction stir welds of AA7075 alloy possess better mechanical properties but suffer from poor corrosion resistance.The present work involves use of retrogression and reaging(RRA) post weld heat treatment to improve the corrosion resistance of welded joints of aluminum alloys.An attempt also has been made to change the chemical composition of the weld nugget by adding B4C nano particles with the aid of the FSW on a specially prepared base metal plate in butt position.The effects of peak aged condition(T6),RRA and addition of B4C nano particles on microstructure,hardness and pitting corrosion of nugget zone of the friction stir welds of AA7075 alloy have been studied.Even though RRA improved the pitting corrosion resistance,its hardness was slightly lost.Significant improvement in pitting corrosion resistance was achieved with addition of boron carbide powder and post weld heat treatment of RRA.     

激光——等离子弧复合焊铝锂合金熔化过程的分析

为了研究激光-等离子弧复合焊熔化过程中的传热和流动特性,建立了针对1420铝锂合金的数值分析模型。在同时考虑表面张力、电磁力和热浮力作用的情况下,利用有限控制容积法求解该模型,得到熔池流场和温度场的数值解,从而直观地反映熔池形状的变化过程,并采用无量纲分析法对不同作用力对熔池传热和流动过程的影响进行定量化研究。分析结果表明：熔深的增长快于熔宽,因为熔深增加的主要机理是小孔效应,而熔宽增加的机理为对流传热作用;表面张力对熔池流动的影响最大,比电磁力的作用大1个数量级,比热浮力的作用大3个数量级;在熔化过程中,对流传热的作用大于热传导作用,心数最大值达7．6。     

Microstructure,mechanical and corrosion behavior of high strength AA7075aluminium alloy friction stir welds-Effect of post weld heat treatment

High strength aluminium alloy AA7075(Al-Zn-Mg-Cu) is a precipitate hardenable alloy widely used in the aerospace,defense,marine and automobile industries.Use of the heat treatable aluminium alloys in all these sectors is ever-increasing owing to their excellent strength-toweight ratio and reasonably good corrosion resistance.The shortage in corrosion resistance,however,usually poses negative concern about their reliability and lifetime when they service in the variable marine environments.These alloys also exhibit low weldability due to poor solidification microstructure,porosity in fusion zone and lose their mechanical properties when they are welded by fusion welding techniques.Friction stir welding(FSW) is a reliable technique to retain the properties of the alloy as the joining takes place in the solid state.The welds are susceptible to corrosion due to the microstructural changes in the weld nugget during FSW.In this work,the effect of post weld treatments,viz.,peak aging(T6) and retrogression reaging(RRA),on the microstructure,mechanical properties and pitting corrosion has been studied.Friction stir welding of 8 mm-thick AA7075 alloy was carried out.The microstructural changes of base metal and nugget zone of friction stir welds were studied using optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.Tensile and hardness test of base metal and welds has been carried out.Pitting corrosion resistance was determined through dynamic polarization test.It was observed that the hardness and strength of weld were observed to be comparatively high in peak aged(T6) condition but the welds showed poor corrosion resistance.The resistance to pitting corrosion was improved and the mechanical properties were maintained by RRA treatment.The resistance to pitting corrosion was improved in RRA condition with the minimum loss of weld strength.     

7A52铝合金便携式搅拌摩擦焊接头的组织与性能分析

采用便携式搅拌摩擦焊设备,对3mm厚的7A52铝合金薄板进行了焊接,对焊接头的显微组织和机械性能进行了观察测试。研究结果表明:焊接头可分为动态再结晶区、热-机影响区和母材3个区域,而没有明显的热影响区。动态再结晶区组织发生再结晶,生成细小的等轴晶粒;热-机影响区有塑性变形流线,且范围较窄;母材区保持着原来的轧制组织。接头硬度的最薄弱环节在热-机影响区。接头抗拉强度达到母材的70%左右,能够满足战场应急抢修的需求。     

Effect of welding processes on mechanical and microstructural characteristics of high strength low alloy naval grade steel joints

Naval grade high strength low alloy(HSLA) steels can be easily welded by all types of fusion welding processes. However, fusion welding of these steels leads to the problems such as cold cracking, residual stress, distortion and fatigue damage. These problems can be eliminated by solid state welding process such as friction stir welding(FSW). In this investigation, a comparative evaluation of mechanical(tensile, impact,hardness) properties and microstructural features of shielded metal arc(SMA), gas metal arc(GMA) and friction stir welded(FSW) naval grade HSLA steel joints was carried out. It was found that the use of FSW process eliminated the problems related to fusion welding processes and also resulted in the superior mechanical properties compared to GMA and SMA welded joints.     

Comparative study on transverse shrinkage,mechanical and metallurgical properties of AA2219 aluminium weld joints prepared by gas tungsten arc and gas metal arc welding processes

Aluminium alloy AA2219 is a high strength alloy belonging to 2000 series. It has been widely used for aerospace applications, especially for construction of cryogenic fuel tank. However, arc welding of AA2219 material is very critical. The major problems that arise in arc welding of AA2219 are the adverse development of residual stresses and the re-distribution as well as dissolution of copper rich phase in the weld joint.These effects increase with increase in heat input. Thus, special attention was taken to especially thick section welding of AA2219-T87 aluminium alloy. Hence, the present work describes the 25 mm-thick AA2219-T87 aluminium alloy plate butt welded by GTAW and GMAW processes using multi-pass welding procedure in double V groove design. The transverse shrinkage, conventional mechanical and metallurgical properties of both the locations on weld joints were studied. It is observed that the fair copper rich cellular(CRC) network is on Side-A of both the weldments. Further, it is noticed that, the severity of weld thermal cycle near to the fusion line of HAZ is reduced due to low heat input in GTAW process which results in non dissolution of copper rich phase. Based on the mechanical and metallurgical properties it is inferred that GTAW process is used to improve the aforementioned characteristics of weld joints in comparison to GMAW process.     

Influence of process parameters on physical dimensions of AA6063 aluminium alloy coating on mild steel in friction surfacing

An attempt is made in the present study to obtain the relationships among process parameters and physical dimensions of AA6063 aluminium alloy coating on IS2062 mild steel obtained through friction surfacing and their impact on strength and ductility of the coating. Factorial experimental design technique was used to investigate and select the parameter combination to achieve a coating with adequate strength and ductility. Spindle speed, axial force and table traverse speed were observed to be the most significant factors on physical dimensions. It was observed that the thickness of the coating decreased as the coating width increased. In addition, the width and thickness of the coatings are higher at low and high torques. At intermediate torque values, when the force is high, the width of the coating is high, and its thickness is thin; and when the force is low, the width and thickness are low. The interaction effect between axial force(F)-table traverse speed(Vx) and spindle speed(N)-table traverse speed(Vx) produced an increasing effect on coating width and thickness, but other interactions exhibited decreasing influence. It has also been observed that sound coatings could be obtained in a narrow set of parameter range as the substrate-coating materials are metallurgically incompatible and have a propensity to form brittle intermetallics.     

Effect of post weld heat treatment on tensile properties and microstructure characteristics of friction stir welded armour grade AA7075-T651 aluminium alloy

This paper reports the effects of post weld heat treatments, namely artificial ageing and solution treatment followed by artificial ageing, on microstructure and mechanical properties of 12 mm thick friction stir welded joints of precipitation hardenable high strength armour grade AA7075-T651 aluminium alloy. The tensile properties, such as yield strength, tensile strength, elongation and notch tensile strength, are evaluated and correlated with the microhardness and microstructural features. The scanning electron microscope is used to characterie the fracture surfaces. The solution treatment followed by ageing heat treatment cycle is found to be marginally beneficial in improving the tensile properties of friction stir welds of AA7075-T651 aluminium alloy.     

Investigation on the process parameters of TIG-welded aluminum alloy through mechanical and microstructural characterization

Multi-pass TIG welding was conducted on plates (15×300×180 mm3) of aluminum alloy Al-5083 that usually serves as the component material in structural applications such as cryogenics and chemical processing industries. Porosity formation and solidification cracking are the most common defects when TIG welding Al-5083 alloy, which is sensitive to the welding heat input. In the experiment, the heat input was varied from 0.89 kJ/mm to 5 kJ/mm designed by the combination of welding torch travel speed and welding current. Tensile, micro-Vicker hardness and Charpy impact tests were executed to witness the impetus response of heat input on the mechanical properties of the joints. Radiographic inspection was performed to assess the joint's quality and welding defects. The results show that all the specimens displayed inferior mechanical properties as compared to the base alloy. It was established that porosity was progressively abridged by the increase of heat input. The results also clinched that the use of me-dium heat input (1-2 kJ/mm) offered the best mechanical properties by eradicating welding defects, in which only about 18.26% of strength was lost. The yield strength of all the welded specimens remained unaffected indicated no influence of heat input. Partially melted zone (PMZ) width also affected by heat input, which became widened with the increase of heat input. The grain size of PMZ was found to be coarser than the respective grain size in the fusion zone. Charpy impact testing revealed that the absorbed energy by low heat input specimen (welded at high speed) was greater than that of high heat input (welded at low speed) because of low porosity and the formation of equiaxed grains which induce better impact toughness. Cryogenic (-196 C) impact testing was also performed and the results corroborate that impact properties under the cryogenic environment revealed no appreciable change after welding at designated heat input. Finally, Macro and micro fractured surfaces of tensile and impact specimens were analyzed using Stereo and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), which have supported the experimental findings.     

Influence of Al2O3 particles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of copper surface composites fabricated by friction stir processing

The influence of three factors, such as volume percentage of reinforcement particles (i.e. Al₂O₃), tool tilt angle and concave angle of shoulder, on the mechanical properties of Cu–Al₂O₃ surface composites fabricated via friction stir processing was studied. Taguchi method was used to optimize these factors for maximizing the mechanical properties of surface composites. The fabricated surface composites were examined by optical microscope for dispersion of reinforcement particles. It was found that Al₂O₃ particles are uniformly dispersed in the stir zone. The tensile properties of the surface composites increased with the increase in the volume percentage of the Al₂O₃ reinforcement particles. This is due to the addition of the reinforcement particles which increases the temperature of recrystallization by pinning the grain boundaries of the copper matrix and blocking the movement of the dislocations. The observed mechanical properties are correlated with microstructure and fracture features.     

DIP引脚应变分析

为了研究双列直插式元件在振动冲击环境下的可靠性,首先通过建立其物理模型,利用莫尔积分方法对引脚的变形进行分析,可以得到引脚任意位置的变形量;而后建立元件的实体模型,利用有限元方法对其应力应变进行仿真分析,结果表明在外载荷作用下,引脚是元件的薄弱环节,尤其在引脚与其他部位连接位置处易出现应力集中使其应变量较大,导致可靠性降低;最后进行振动冲击环境下的应变测量试验,在30 g的冲击载荷下,引脚的最大变形量可达66.47×10-6,在50 g的冲击载荷下,引脚的最大变形量可达173.95×10-6,在扫频过程中,当激振频率为146.48 Hz时,引脚的变形量最大。     

无电焊接热循环测试研究

利用热电偶测试了无电焊接过程中同一厚度钢板不同位置、不同厚度钢板同一位置处的焊接热循环曲线,探讨了无电焊接热循环规律及焊接母材厚度对无电焊接热循环的影响。研究表明：无电焊接时,焊件上不同位置点的热循环曲线与电弧焊基本相似。但相较而言,无电焊接在加热阶段的升温速度与冷却阶段的降温速度均显著小于电弧焊。无电焊接过程中,焊件上离焊缝中心线越近,其升温速度越大,峰值温度越高,冷却速度也越大,这一变化规律与电弧焊时完全一致。无电焊接时,焊接热量沿横向的传热速度远大于其沿纵向的传热速度,这使得焊件厚度对无电焊接的影响较为显著,也是焊件厚度增加将导致焊接难度显著增大的根本原因。