Numerical and experimental investigation on friction welding of austenite stainless steel and middle carbon steel

Abstract

A numerical simulation with an axisymmetric coupled thermo-mechanical model has been performed for analyzing the heat transfer and plastic deformation in continuous drive friction welding (CDFW) of 1045 carbon steel and 304 stainless steel. The simulated results shows that higher temperature and lower stress distribute in the surrounding heat affected zone at the side of 304 stainless steel. The interfacial temperature shows an increasing trend from center to periphery, indicating the non-uniformity of temperature distribution along the interface. Larger deformation amount of carbon steel is attributed to the low high temperature strength. During process, a larger temperature gradient close to the interface initially appears at 304 stainless steel side and subsequently appears at 1045 carbon steel side, owing to more heat flowing out from interface with extrusion of softened metals. Comparisons of the numerical and experimental results suggest that the developed mode can be effectively used to predict the temperature and deformation in dissimilar steels CDFW. Based on the developed model, the influences of welding parameters on the temperature and deformation variables in dissimilar steels CDFW are investigated systemically. Finally, the microstructure of the actual welded joint is investigated experimentally.