Abstract
Two different types of welds, Metal Inert Gas (MIG) and Friction Stir Welding (FSW), have been used to weld aluminum alloy 5083. The microstructure of the welds, including the nugget zone and heat affected zone, has been compared in these two methods using optical microscopy. The mechanical properties of the weld have been also investigated using the hardness and tensile tests. The results show that both the methods could successfully be used to weld such alloy. The strength of the joints is comparable to the strength of the base metal in both cases. However, FSWed samples have shown higher strength in comparison to the MIG samples. The results also show that the extension of the heat affected zone is higher in the MIG method in comparison to the FSW method. The weld metal microstructure of MIG welded specimen contains equiaxed dendrites as a result of solidification process during MIG welding while FSWed samples have wrought microstructures.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Buffa G, Hua J, Shivpuri R, Fratini L 2006 A continuum based FEM model for friction stir welding-model development, Materials Science and Eng. A, 19: 389–396
Cui L, Fujii H, Tsuji N, Nogi K 2007 Friction stir welding of a high carbon steel, Scripta Materilia, 56: 637–640
Czechowski M 2005 Low-cycle fatigue of friction stir welded Al–Mg alloys, J. Materials Processing and Technol. 164–165: 1001–1006
James M N, Hattingh D G, Bradley G R 2003 Weld tool travel speed effects on fatigue life of friction stir welds in 5083 aluminium, Int. J. Fatigue, 22: 1389–1398
Kim S, Lee C G, Kim S J 2008 Fatigue crack propagation behavior of friction stir welded 5083-H32 and 6061-T651 aluminum alloys, Materials Science and Eng. A, 478: 56–64
Kristensen J K, Donne CD, Ghidini T, Mononen J T, Norman A, Pietras A, Russell M, Slater S 2004 Proceedings of the Fifth International FSW Symposium, Metz, France
Kumar K, Kailas S V 2008 The role of friction stir welding tool on material flow and weld formation, Materials Science and Eng. A, 485: 367–374
Lee W B, Lee C, Chang W S, Yeon Y M, Jung S B 2005 Microstructural investigation of friction stir welded pure titanium, Materials Letters, 59: 3315–3318
Lombard H, Hattingh D G, Steuwer A, James M N 2008 Optimising FSW process parameters to minimise defects and maximise fatigue life in 5083-H321 aluminium alloy, Eng. Fracture Mech. 75: 341–354
Lomolino S, Tovo R, Santos J 2005 On the fatigue behavior and design curves of friction stir butt-welded Al alloys, Int. J. Fatigue, 27 305–316
Saeid T, Abdollah-zadeh A, Assadi H, Malek Ghaini F 2008 Effect of friction stir welding speed on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a duplex stainless steel, Materials Science and Eng. A, 496: 77–89
Sato Y S, Yamanoi H, Kokawa H, Furuhara T 2007 Microstructural evolution of ultrahigh carbon steel during friction stir welding, Scripta Materilia, 57: 557–560
Uyyuru R K, Kailas S V 2006 Numerical analysis of friction stir welding process, J. Materials Eng. and Performance, 15: p. 505–518
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
YAZDIPOUR, A.R., M, A.S. & AVAL, H.J. An investigation of the microstructures and properties of metal inert gas and friction stir welds in aluminum alloy 5083. Sadhana 36, 505–514 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-011-0032-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-011-0032-6