Effect of surface oxidation layer on tensile strength of Cu-Ni alloy in friction stir welding

Abstract

Friction stir welding (FSW) of thick Cu-Ni plate was successfully completed. The fracture position after tensile testing was located at the weld nugget zone (WNZ), where surface oxidation occurred. The oxidation morphologies on the surface of the base metal were analyzed by SEM, EPMA and XRD, with the oxide layer being obtained by simple and useful way to analyze the oxide products, namely, collecting oxide powders after immersing of the oxidized specimen into HNO3 solution. The results highlighted that an oxide layer of 30 μm thickness consists of a mixture of two phases, Cu2O and NiO, on the surface of the base metal. After FSW, the thickness of the oxide layer on the surface was decreased to approximately 5 μm, and broken oxide particles, which is NiO, penetrated into the WNZ by the rotating tool. NiO was preferentially formed at the surface after FSW because it has a lower Gibbs free energy value at 950 °C, which is the peak temperature measured during FSW. Oxide layer of Cu-Ni plate was clearly only removed by mechanical method grinding with 1200-grit SiC paper. The removal of oxide layer results in improved mechanical strength.