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Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints
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Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 36265

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Marcello Cabibbo

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Guest Editor
DIISM—Department of Industrial Engineering and Mathematics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Via Brecce Bianche, Ancona, Italy
Interests: light alloys (aluminum, magnesium, titanium); steels (carbon-steels, HSLA, TRIP, TWIP, stainless-steels, tool-steels); superalloys (Co-based); nanostructured coatings (DLC, N-based, B-based); severe plastic deformation techniques (ECAP, HPT); hot-deformation (creep, hot torsion); TEM; FEGSEM; XRD; nanoindentation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Metals, entitled “Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints”, focuses on a relatively new but mostly promising non-conventional welding technique, which is growing quite quickly among available manufacturing techniques for joining either similar or dissimilar metallic materials. The joining of metallic materials is one of the most important processes in modern manufacturing. In fact, joining technologies have deeply improved in the last two-three decades. In particular, among conventional chemical joining processes, such as welding, friction stir welding (FSW) is acknowledged as a particularly attractive technique. This is mainly because it does not involve the melting of the joining parts of the welding metals. In fact, FSW is a solid-state welding process that is able to join metallic materials, which are relatively difficult to weld according to most conventional fusion welding processes. Compared to fusion welding, FSW is highly energy-effective and environmentally friendly.

The present Issue aims to present the newest achievements, the latest findings, and the state-of-the-art of FSW applied to light alloys, which constitutes its most promising and worldwide application field. The contributions of this Special Issue will focus on the most meaningful and promising settings and procedures of FSW applied to both similar and dissimilar light alloys, in terms of technology and manufacturing. In particular, this volume intends to show the potential of the FSW technique.

Dr. Marcello Cabibbo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • friction stir welding
  • aluminum alloys
  • magnesium alloys
  • titanium alloys
  • joint efficiency
  • post-welding processing
  • microstructure
  • mechanical properties

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 165 KiB  
Editorial
Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints
by Marcello Cabibbo
Metals 2022, 12(4), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12040560 - 25 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1122
Abstract
The demand for stronger, lighter, and cost-effective materials for engineering applications is a key technological challenge [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

12 pages, 9128 KiB  
Article
On the Friction Stir Welding of Al 7075 Thin Sheets
by Andreas Dimopoulos, Achilles Vairis, Nectarios Vidakis and Markos Petousis
Metals 2021, 11(1), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11010057 - 29 Dec 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3012
Abstract
The aim of this work was to weld thin sheets (2 mm) of Al 7075 in a butt joint configuration using friction stir welding and to identify the appropriate tool geometry and optimum process parameters. Two tools were produced with heat treatable low [...] Read more.
The aim of this work was to weld thin sheets (2 mm) of Al 7075 in a butt joint configuration using friction stir welding and to identify the appropriate tool geometry and optimum process parameters. Two tools were produced with heat treatable low alloy steel WNr 1.6582/DIN 34CrNiMo6 with a different pin diameter (3 mm and 4 mm). Welding was performed at a range of rotation speeds 1000–2500 rpm and various welding speeds 80–800 mm/min. The tensile strength was measured to evaluate mechanical properties. Results showed that despite the difficulties in friction stir welding thin plates, sound joints can be produced in a repeatable manner, without visible wear on the welding tool. The mechanical strength of the welds showed a decrease (33.75%) over that of the parent material. The mechanical strength was less affected by rotation speed than welding speed and there was a significant decrease in tensile strength compared to the parent material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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11 pages, 7053 KiB  
Article
Fatigue Behavior of Conventional and Stationary Shoulder Friction Stir Welded EN AW-5754 Aluminum Alloy Using Load Increase Method
by Abootorab Baqerzadeh Chehreh, Michael Grätzel, Jean Pierre Bergmann and Frank Walther
Metals 2020, 10(11), 1510; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10111510 - 13 Nov 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2199
Abstract
The load increase method, which is highly efficient in rapidly identifying the fatigue performance and strength of materials, is used in this study to investigate friction stir welded (FSW) EN AW-5754 aluminum alloys. Previous investigations have demonstrated the accuracy and efficiency of this [...] Read more.
The load increase method, which is highly efficient in rapidly identifying the fatigue performance and strength of materials, is used in this study to investigate friction stir welded (FSW) EN AW-5754 aluminum alloys. Previous investigations have demonstrated the accuracy and efficiency of this method compared to Woehler tests. In this study, it is shown that the load increase method is a valid, accurate and efficient method for describing the fatigue behavior of FSW weld seams. The specimen tests were performed on 2 mm thick aluminum sheets using conventional and stationary tool configurations. It is shown that an increase in fatigue strength of the FSW EN AW-5754 aluminum alloys can be achieved by using the stationary shoulder tool configuration rather than the conventional one. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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21 pages, 9322 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of Friction Stir Welding on 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy using Taguchi-Based GRA
by Assefa Asmare, Raheem Al-Sabur and Eyob Messele
Metals 2020, 10(11), 1480; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10111480 - 06 Nov 2020
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4773
Abstract
The use of aluminum alloys, nowadays, is swiftly growing from the prerequisite of producing higher strength to weight ratio. Lightweight components are crucial interest in most manufacturing sectors, especially in transportation, aviation, maritime, automotive, and others. Traditional available joining methods have an adverse [...] Read more.
The use of aluminum alloys, nowadays, is swiftly growing from the prerequisite of producing higher strength to weight ratio. Lightweight components are crucial interest in most manufacturing sectors, especially in transportation, aviation, maritime, automotive, and others. Traditional available joining methods have an adverse effect on joining these lightweight engineering materials, increasing needs for new environmentally friendly joining methods. Hence, friction stir welding (FSW) is introduced. Friction stir welding is a relatively new welding process that can produce high-quality weld joints with a lightweight and low joining cost with no waste. This paper endeavors to deals with optimizing process parameters for quality criteria on tensile and hardness strengths. Samples were taken from a 5 mm 6061-T6 aluminum alloy sheet with butt joint configuration. Controlled process parameters tool profile, rotational speed and transverse speed were utilized. The process parameters are optimized making use of the combination of Grey relation analysis method and L9 orthogonal array. Mechanical properties of the weld joints are examined through tensile, hardness, and liquid penetrant tests at room temperature. From this research, rotational speed and traverse speed become significant parameters at a 99% confidence interval, and the joint efficiency reached 91.3%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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19 pages, 9149 KiB  
Article
Assessing Microstructure-Local Mechanical Properties in Friction Stir Welded 6082-T6 Aluminum Alloy
by Hossein Monajati, Mariem Zoghlami, Amevi Tongne and Mohammad Jahazi
Metals 2020, 10(9), 1244; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10091244 - 16 Sep 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3336
Abstract
The severe deformation and temperature paths in the stir zone, also called weld nugget, of friction stir welded joints result, at very local levels, in significant microstructural variations, such as major differences in grain size or precipitation. One of the most common features [...] Read more.
The severe deformation and temperature paths in the stir zone, also called weld nugget, of friction stir welded joints result, at very local levels, in significant microstructural variations, such as major differences in grain size or precipitation. One of the most common features of friction stir welds is the presence of successive material layers, known as onion rings; however, little data is available on the mechanical properties of the different regions of the weld nugget, and particularly within the onion ring bands. Such information becomes very important for the integrity of large size friction stir welded structures. In the present study, a comprehensive characterization of onion rings produced during friction stir welding of a 6082-aluminum alloy was carried out. Advanced techniques such as in-situ SEM nanoindentation, EBSD, and high-resolution EDS were used to validate and compare the characteristics of the different bands in the onion rings. The analyses consisted of quantifying variations in grain size, precipitate composition and distribution, crystallographic orientations, and mechanical properties in each band. Furthermore, the tensile strengths of different regions of the weld nugget were evaluated using shear punch testing and correlated with those for the onion ring region in order to determine the impact of the presence of onion rings on weld nugget mechanical properties. The main difference between the alternate bands in the onion ring was found to be due to the difference in their grain size, misorientation, and precipitate content. It was also observed that the bands originate from the base metal and stir zone successively due to the nature of the stirring process, which pulls BM into SZ. Comparison of the shear punch testing results in different regions of the nugget revealed that, in spite of having local differences in the hardness of alternate bands in the onion ring, the presence of onion rings has no significant impact on the deterioration of the mechanical properties of the weld nugget. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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8 pages, 4692 KiB  
Article
Effect of Friction Stir Processing at High Rotational Speed on Aging of a HPDC Mg9Al1Zn
by Emanuela Cerri and Emanuele Ghio
Metals 2020, 10(8), 1014; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10081014 - 28 Jul 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1858
Abstract
Friction stir processing (FSP) has confirmed its valuable contribution to refining microstructures and the improvement of mechanical properties for Mg-Al alloys. Reference papers illustrate that post-processing aging treatments enhance hardness, but with the application of a solution heat treatment prior to FSP. In [...] Read more.
Friction stir processing (FSP) has confirmed its valuable contribution to refining microstructures and the improvement of mechanical properties for Mg-Al alloys. Reference papers illustrate that post-processing aging treatments enhance hardness, but with the application of a solution heat treatment prior to FSP. In this work, aging was performed at two different temperatures (170 and 300 °C) directly on friction stir processed samples of AZ91 produced using high pressure die casting (HPDC). High rotational speeds of the tools (2500 and 3000 rpm) increases the heat input and the temperature of the plates during the process up to 270 °C. Vickers microhardness (HV) increased by 15–20% in the nugget, compared to the as FSPed condition; moreover, a greater homogeneity of hardness values was found at the higher aging temperature used. The β-Mg17Al12 precipitates are randomly distributed inside grains of the stirred area, while in the thermomechanical affected zone (TMAZ) they have grown in a network similar to the old eutectic. A preliminary investigation of FSPed samples deformed at 300 °C found that an equivalent hardness increase is achievable using hot deformation due to dynamic precipitation; to find local homogeneity in hardness, it is worth performing a final aging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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15 pages, 7769 KiB  
Article
Effect of Welding Parameters on Friction Stir Welded Ti–6Al–4V Joints: Temperature, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties
by Junping Li, Fujun Cao and Yifu Shen
Metals 2020, 10(7), 940; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10070940 - 13 Jul 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3201
Abstract
In this study, friction stir welding (FSW) of 2-mm-thick Ti–6Al–4V alloy plates was performed using a newly designed friction tool—and the effect of rotation speed and welding speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. A simulation model for FSW [...] Read more.
In this study, friction stir welding (FSW) of 2-mm-thick Ti–6Al–4V alloy plates was performed using a newly designed friction tool—and the effect of rotation speed and welding speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. A simulation model for FSW temperature field calculation was developed, and the effect of rotation speed and welding speed on the temperature field was investigated by experimental and numeric methods. The results show that the rotation speed has a dominant effect on peak temperature, while welding speed determines the dwell time of the weld exposed to high temperatures. In addition, the influence of process parameters on the microstructure of the joints was investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed that there was a phase transformation in the stir zone during welding. The final microstructure of the stir zone was fully lamellar (α + β) structure, and the heat affection zone had a bimodal microstructure consisting of prior equiaxed α and lamellar (α + β) structure. Both rotation speed and welding speed affect the grain size of the weld. Lower peak temperature with decreasing spindle speed and/or shorter dwell time with increasing feed rate could produce finer grains in the stir zone of the joints, thereby could lead to higher microhardness value and the tensile strength of the joints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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14 pages, 2989 KiB  
Article
Correlations between the Surface Topography and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welds
by Roman Hartl, Fabian Vieltorf and Michael F. Zaeh
Metals 2020, 10(7), 890; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10070890 - 04 Jul 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2110
Abstract
Friction stir welding is a modern pressure welding process, which is particularly suitable for aluminum alloys. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the interrelations between the process parameters, such as the welding speed and the tool rotational speed, and the resulting mechanical [...] Read more.
Friction stir welding is a modern pressure welding process, which is particularly suitable for aluminum alloys. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the interrelations between the process parameters, such as the welding speed and the tool rotational speed, and the resulting mechanical properties of the joint. This study explored the connections between the surface topography of the welds, such as the flash height and the seam underfill, and their mechanical properties (ultimate tensile strength; elongation at break; and Vickers hardness). For this purpose, a total of 54 welding experiments at three different welding speeds were conducted using the aluminum alloy EN AW-6082-T6. The welded specimens were examined using visual inspection, topographic analysis, metallography, hardness measurements, and uniaxial tensile tests. Afterward, a statistical analysis was performed in order to determine the correlation coefficients between the surface topography and the mechanical properties of the welds. The strongest correlations were between the surface topography and the ultimate tensile strength. Thereby, the most pronounced relations were found between the seam underfill as well as the arc texture formation of the weld and its ultimate tensile strength. The interrelations between the surface topography and the elongation at break, as well as the hardness of the welds, were less pronounced. The higher the welding speed became, the less pronounced the interrelations were. The results show the potential of a non-destructive monitoring system based on the topography to support the prediction of the acceptability of welded parts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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14 pages, 5578 KiB  
Article
T-FSW of Dissimilar Aerospace Grade Aluminium Alloys: Influence of Second Pass on Weld Defects
by Mustufa Haider Abidi, Nabeel Ali, Hashmatullah Ibrahimi, Saquib Anjum, Dhruv Bajaj, Arshad Noor Siddiquee, Mohammed Alkahtani and Ateekh Ur Rehman
Metals 2020, 10(4), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10040525 - 18 Apr 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3359
Abstract
The restoration of numerous aircraft structures is achievable with effective repair of welded joints. T-joints are often utilized in these structures to provide structural stability, keeping minimal body weight. Multi-pass friction stir welding (FSW) has proved to be useful for improving the quality [...] Read more.
The restoration of numerous aircraft structures is achievable with effective repair of welded joints. T-joints are often utilized in these structures to provide structural stability, keeping minimal body weight. Multi-pass friction stir welding (FSW) has proved to be useful for improving the quality of aluminium alloy welds employed in the aerospace sector. However, FSW of these alloys in T-configuration has not been sufficiently addressed yet. Even rarer is the discussion of efficacy of second FSW pass, with altered process parameters for improving the weld quality in T-joints. Hence, two commonly used aerospace grade aluminium alloys, namely, AA2024 and AA7075, were friction stir welded in T-configuration, varying three process parameters, i.e., tool rotational speed, welding speed and shoulder diameter. The effect of second FSW pass, performed at an optimum set of parameters, on kissing bond and tunnelling defect was studied in detail. A substantial reduction in the detrimental effect of these weld defects was discussed via tensile testing, micro-hardness and micro-structural observations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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15 pages, 8759 KiB  
Article
Research on the Friction Stir Welding of Sc-Modified AA2519 Extrusion
by Robert Kosturek, Lucjan Śnieżek, Janusz Torzewski and Marcin Wachowski
Metals 2019, 9(10), 1024; https://doi.org/10.3390/met9101024 - 21 Sep 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2591
Abstract
The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of friction stir welding (FSW) parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of Sc-modified AA2519 extrusion joints. The workpiece was welded by FSW in non-heat-treated condition with seven different sets of welding parameters. For [...] Read more.
The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of friction stir welding (FSW) parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of Sc-modified AA2519 extrusion joints. The workpiece was welded by FSW in non-heat-treated condition with seven different sets of welding parameters. For each obtained joint macrostructure and microstructure observations were performed. Mechanical properties of joints were investigated using tensile test together with localization of fracture location. Joint efficiencies were established by comparing measured joints tensile strength to the value for base material. The obtained results show that investigated FSW joints of Sc-modified AA2519 in the non-heat-treated condition have joint efficiency within the range 87–95%. In the joints obtained with the lowest ratio of the tool rotation speed to the tool traverse speed, the occurrence of imperfections (voids) localized in the stir zone was reported. Three selected samples were subjected to further investigations consisting microhardness distribution and scanning electron microscopy fractography analysis. As the result of dynamic recrystallization, the microhardness of the base material value of 86 HV0.1 increased to about 110–125 HV0.1 in the stir zone depending on the used welding parameters. Due to lack of the strengthening phase and low strain hardening of used alloy the lack of a significantly softened zone was reported by both microhardness analysis and investigation of the fractured samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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Review

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20 pages, 5900 KiB  
Review
New Approaches to Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Light-Alloys
by Marcello Cabibbo, Archimede Forcellese, Eleonora Santecchia, Chiara Paoletti, Stefano Spigarelli and Michela Simoncini
Metals 2020, 10(2), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10020233 - 09 Feb 2020
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7005
Abstract
Friction stir welding (FSW) is the most widely used solid-state joining technique for light-weight plate and sheet products. This new joining technique is considered an energy-saving, environment friendly, and relatively versatile technology. FSW has been found to be a reliable joining technique in [...] Read more.
Friction stir welding (FSW) is the most widely used solid-state joining technique for light-weight plate and sheet products. This new joining technique is considered an energy-saving, environment friendly, and relatively versatile technology. FSW has been found to be a reliable joining technique in high-demand technology fields, such as high-strength aerospace aluminum and titanium alloys, and for other metallic alloys that are hard to weld by conventional fusion welding. Several studies accounted for the microstructural modifications induced by solid-state FSW, based on the resulting mechanical properties obtained at the FSW joints, such as tensile, bending, torsion, ductility and fatigue responses. In the last few years with the need and emerging urgency to widen the FSW application fields, broadening the possible alloy systems, and to optimize the resulting mechanical properties, this joining technique was further developed. In this respect, the present contribution focuses on two modified-FSW techniques and approaches applied to aluminum alloys plates. In a first case, an age-hardening AA6082 sheets were double side friction stir welded (DS-FSW). In a second case a non-age-hardening AA5754 sheet was FSW by an innovative approach in which welding pin was forced to slightly deviate away from the joining centreline (defined by authors as RT). In both the cases different pin heights were used, the sheets were subjected to heat treatments (peak hardening T6 for the AA6082, and annealing for the AA5754) and compared to the non-heat treated FSW conditions. Microstructural modifications were characterized by optical microscopy (OM). The mechanical properties were characterized both locally, by nanoindentation techniques, and globally, by tensile (yield, YT; ultimate, UT; and elongation, El) or forming limit curve (FLC) tests. Both the new approaches were directly compared to the conventional FSW techniques in terms of resulting microstructures and mechanical responses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Friction Stir Welding Prospective on Light-Alloys Joints)
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