Abstract
The influences of friction stir welding process parameters on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of lap-welded 5456 aluminum alloy plates with different thickness and temper conditions were investigated. The upper plate was 5 mm thick, cold rolled aluminum alloy 5456-T321 and the lower plate was 2.5-mm annealed sheet (5456-O). Four different pin geometry types (conical thread pin, cylindrical–conical thread pin, stepped conical thread pin, and flared-triflute pin tool) and two rotational speeds (600 and 800 rpm) were used to produce the joints. Microstructures and microhardness values in the weld nugget (WN), thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ), and the heat-affected zone (HAZ) were examined and correlated with selected processing conditions. Specifically, the influence of tool geometry on the flow of the plasticized material in the nugget zone, extent of hooking defect, and mechanical properties (microhardness) of the FSW joints were documented and quantified. It was found that weld joints made by using the stepped conical thread pin tool produced a homogeneous microstructure with finer grain size (5.4 μm) and higher microhardness levels than the other tools. The optimum processing conditions resulting in sound and defect-free joints with highest mechanical properties were obtained with the stepped conical thread pin and 600-rpm rotational speed. The evolution of the microhardness in each region is characterized and related to processing conditions.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Buffa G, Campanile G, Fratini L, Prisco A (2009) Friction stir welding of lap joints: influence of process parameters on the metallurgical and mechanical properties. Mater Sci Eng A 519:19–26
Zhao YH, Lin SB, Wu L, Qu FX (2005) The influence of pin geometry on bonding and mechanical properties in friction stir weld 2014 Al alloy. Mater Lett 59:2948–2952
Cederqvist L, Reynolds AP (2001) Factors affecting the properties of friction stir welded aluminum lap joints. Weld J Res Suppl 80–12:281–287
Fleming PA, Hendricks CE, Cook GE, Wilkes DM, Strauss AM, Lammlein DH (2010) Seam-tracking for friction stir welded lap joints. ASM Int JMEPEG 19:1128–1132
Chionopoulos SK, Sarafoglou CI, Pantelis DI, Papazoglou VJ (2008) Effect of tool pin and welding parameters on friction stir welded (FSW) marine aluminum alloys. Proceedings of 3rd ICMEN, Chalkidiki :307–316
Chen HB, Yan K, Lin T, Chen SB, Jiang CY, Zhao Y (2006) The investigation of typical welding defects for 5456 aluminum alloy friction stir welds. Mater Sci Eng A 433:64–69
Menzemer C, Srivatsan TS (1999) The effect of environment on fatigue crack growth behavior of aluminum alloy 5456. Mater Sci Eng A 271:188–195
Fonda RW, Pao PS, Jones HN, Feng CR, Connolly BJ, Davenport AJ (2009) Microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion of friction stir welded Al 5456. Mater Sci Eng A 519:1–8
Bahemmat P, Rahbari A, Haghpanahi M, Besharati MK (2008) Experimental study on the effect of rotational speed and tool pin profile on AA2024 aluminum friction stir welded but joints. Proceedings of ECTC, ASME technical conference, Miami, Florida, USA: 1.1–1.7
Leal RM, Loureiro A (2008) Effect of overlapping friction stir welding passes in the quality of welds of aluminum alloys. Mater Design 29:982–991
Scialpi A, De Filippis LAC, Cavaliere P (2007) Influence of shoulder geometry on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 6082 aluminum alloy. Mater Design 28:1124–1129
Fujii H, Cui L, Maeda M, Nogi K (2006) Effect of tool shape on mechanical properties and microstructure of friction stir welded aluminum alloys. Mater Sci Eng A 419:25–31
Elangovan K, Balasubramanian V (2007) Influences of pin profile and rotational speed of the tool on the formation of friction stir processing zone in AA2219 aluminum alloy. Mater Sci Eng A 459:7–18
Boz M, Kurt A (2004) The influence of stirrer geometry on bonding and mechanical properties in friction stirs welding process. Mater Design 25:343–347
Elangovan K, Balasubramanian V (2008) Influences of tool pin profile and tool shoulder diameter on the formation of friction stir processing zone in AA6061 aluminium alloy. Mater Design 29:362–373
Oosterkamp A, Oosterkamp LD, Nordeide A (2004) ‘Kissing bond’ phenomena in solid-state welds of aluminum alloys. Weld J 83:225S–231S
Zhou C, Yang X, Luan G (2006) Effect of kissing bond on fatigue behavior of friction stir welds on Al 5083 alloy. J Mater Sci 41:2771–2777
Salari E, Jahazi M, Khodabandeh A, Ghasemi-Nanesa H (2014) Influence of tool geometry and rotational speed on mechanical properties and defect formation in friction stir lap welded 5456 aluminum alloy sheets. Mater Design 58:381–389
Kallee S (2000) Application of friction stir welding in the shipbuilding industry. Paper presented at the Lightweight construction. The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, TWI, Cambridge, UK, 25–25 February 2000
Dubourg L, Merati A, Jahazi M (2010) Process optimization and mechanical properties of friction stir lap welds of 7075-T6 stringers on 2024-T3 skin. Mater Design 31–7:3324–3330
Afrin N, Chen DL, Cao X, Jahazi M (2008) Microstructure and tensile properties of friction stir welded AZ31B magnesium alloy. Mater Sci Eng A 472(1–2):179–186
Cavaliere P, De Santis A, Panella F, Squillace A (2009) Effect of welding parameters on mechanical and microstructural properties of dissimilar AA6082–AA2024 joints produced by friction stir welding. Mater Design 30(3):609–616
Liu HJ, Fujii H, Nogi K (2004) Microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints of AC4A cast aluminium alloy. Mater Sci Tech 20(3):399–402
Chen YC, Feng JC, Liu HJ (2009) Precipitate evolution in friction stir welding of 2219-T6 aluminum alloys. Mater Charact 60:476–481
Sukedai E, Yokoyama T, Song M (2014) Microstructure and tensile properties of a friction stir welded Al–Mg–Si alloy. Int J Mater Res 105(9):883–893
Gemme F, Verreman Y, Dubourg L, Jahazi M (2010) Numerical analysis of the dwell phase in friction stir welding and comparison with experimental data. Mater Sci Eng A 527(16–17):4152–4160
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Salari, E., Jahazi, M., Khodabandeh, A. et al. Friction stir lap welding of 5456 aluminum alloy with different sheet thickness: process optimization and microstructure evolution. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 82, 39–48 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-015-7342-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-015-7342-5