Characterization of the surface and mechanical properties of the friction stir welding in tri-dissimilar joints with aluminum alloys and titanium alloy

Abstract

The search for lighter and more resistant structures contributed to the development of effective welding methods. Among them, friction stir welding, a recent technique patented in 1991, in which welding is performed by the friction between a rotating tool and the materials to be welded, has widely been studied in the last decades. Among the advantages the technique provides, are the possibility of welding aluminum alloys series 2xxx and 7xxx, and the possibility of welding materials of different chemical compositions. The industry is still cautious about using this technique, yet several studies have been performed to improve knowledge on it. This research investigated the three dissimilar junctions between aluminum alloys 2024-T4 and 7475-T6 with titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. The aluminum alloys were positioned on the top portion of the welding creating a butt weld. The titanium alloy was placed on the bottom portion of the weld creating a lap welding with the aluminum alloy. The parameters of rotation, welding speed, and tilt were varied, following a central composite experimental design. Through the response surface analysis, it was possible to identify the correlation between the input and output parameters. This correlation is used to identify main influence between the parameters and can be used to optimization of the process. The influences of these parameters were evaluated on the welding surface by measuring residual stress and microhardness. The residual stress was analyzed by the hole drilling method on the aluminum side and by X-ray diffraction on the titanium side. The microhardness was analyzed by the Vickers test. On the aluminum side, residual stress and microhardness show a strong relation; high value of residual stress resulted in low value of microhardness. On the titanium side, residual stress shows a relation with temperature; the high value of temperature resulted in low value of stress. The tensile test was used to compare joint efficiency between different welding parameters and the base metal. It was possible to reach parameters in which the welding ultimate tensile stress exceeded the AA2024 value.