Friction Stir Welding of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy with 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy: Influence of Processing Parameters on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties
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2016 by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. The success of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) in joining light metal alloys has inspired attempts to further exploit its potential for joining materials which differ in chemical composition, structure, and/or properties. The FSW of relatively soft (e.g., Al/Mg) and hard (e.g., Fe/Ni) combinations of alloys is of particular interest in automotive and aerospace applications. However, joining of dissimilar alloys presents several unique challenges that include the different deformation behaviors, formation of detrimental intermetallic compounds, and differences in physical properties such as thermal conductivity. These factors lead to amplified asymmetry in both heat generation and material flow and consequently lead to the formation of a heterogeneous weld. In this work, a dissimilar metal joint was created between twin roll cast AZ31B magnesium alloy and Al 6061-T6 aluminum alloy plates by FSW. The main aim here is to investigate the effect of key process parameters such as tool rotation speed and welding speed on microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the resulting heterogeneous joint. A detailed microstructural analysis was carried out to understand the composition of the intermetallic phases generated in the stirred zone and their impact on microhardness and overall mechanical properties of the weld. Our key finding was that, weld configuration with placing the aluminum alloy plate on the advancing side resulted in a sound, defect free joint compared to the alternate configuration.
