Investigation on Impact Strength of Friction Stud Welded AA6061-B4C Composite/AISI 1030 Steel Joints in Inert Gas Atmosphere

Abstract

A more contemporary variation of the friction welding procedure, friction stud welding, is promising for military, space, automotive and naval applications. The joining of steel/aluminium matrix composite joints has been crucial in many of these contemporary applications. In all of these applications, the strength of the dissimilar joint is a critical consideration. Heat-affected zones arise because of the heterogeneous temperature distribution and change in thermal characteristics, which weaken the strength of the joints between different materials. The presence of oxygen in the weld interfacial region of the dissimilar joint is detrimental to its strength and integrity. Hence, a new method that can strengthen the dissimilar joint is adopted in the current work. In the friction stud-welding machine, an additional set up is integrated for providing an inert atmospheric condition during the welding process. Microstructural analysis shows that an inert atmosphere is helpful to get rid of oxygen at the interface and it increases joint efficiency. The results show that the impact strength of AA6061-B4C composite/AISI 1030 steel joints tends to increase in the argon inert atmosphere from 14% to 28%.