The experimental and numerical studies on load bearing capacity in lamellar tearing of friction stir lap weld

Abstract

The load bearing capacity in lamellar tearing is one of the key mechanical properties for the friction stir lap welding which has not been investigated before. Both numerical model and experiments were used to study the load bearing capacity in lamellar tearing of friction stir lap weld. The constitutive model of the weld zone in the crack propagation model was obtained by the combination of the proposed precipitate evolution model and the moving heat source model, and the effectiveness of the model was verified by comparing the numerical data with the experimental data. Results indicate that the crack initiated from the keyhole and propagated on the centerline of weld along the weld direction. The rotation of the joint region in the tearing process is a key factor for the increase of the load capacity in the tearing test and the simulation. The joint region can be rotated in the tearing process and the rotation angle can be increased with the increasing of weld length. The load bearing capacity along the weld direction is linearly increased with the increasing of the weld length.