Revealing the acoustic effects on heat transfer and material flow in ultrasonic assisted friction stir welding of dissimilar Al/Mg alloys

Abstract

Development of a reasonable constitutive equation is critical to realize accurate numerical prediction of ultrasonic vibration-assisted friction stir welding (UVaFSW) of dissimilar Al/Mg alloys and deepen the understanding of the synchronous interaction between the ultrasonic vibration exerted on the tool and the tool induced thermo-mechanical behavior. Considering the thermal activation and dislocation evolution mechanisms, the calculation method of acoustic stress work based on the change of dislocation strain energy is redefined, and a modified acoustic-plastic constitutive equation is developed. The modified constitutive equation was applied to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model combined with the volume of fluid (VOF) method and quantitative analysis was conducted on the acoustic effects on heat generation, material flow and intermixing in UVaFSW of Al/Mg alloys. The results indicate that the exerted ultrasonic vibration has a little effect on the total heat due to the multiple effects of acoustic softening, acoustic antifriction and additional acoustic heat, but can promote the material flow around the tool and expand the material intermixed region. The experimental research validates the calculated results, and it is indicated that the flow stress and temperature field calculated by the improved constitutive equation have higher accuracy in UVaFSW of Al/Mg alloys.