Joining Of Materials Research Articles

Review on Hybrid Welding Techniques for Improved Joint Performance

The process of welding is extensively employed in diverse industrial sectors for the purpose of material joining. The integrity of components or structures is significantly dependent on the quality and performance of welded joints. Nevertheless, conventional welding techniques present certain restrictions, including reduced welding velocity, substandard joint characteristics, and deformation. Hybrid welding techniques have surfaced as a viable solution in recent times to address the limitations and enhance the joint performance.The present study provides a thorough examination of diverse hybrid welding methodologies, encompassing laser-arc hybrid welding, friction stir welding, and hybrid laser welding. The manuscript examines the operational mechanisms, benefits, and constraints of every method. Moreover, the paper presents findings from recent research studies that have examined the collective efficacy of these methodologies across various materials and contexts.The findings indicate that the utilisation of hybrid welding methods has the potential to enhance joint performance through the improvement of mechanical properties, reduction of defects, and minimization of distortion. The manuscript additionally examines the obstacles and prospective avenues in the realm of hybrid welding. The research presented herein offers significant insights for both researchers and practitioners operating within the welding industry. Specifically, it provides guidance on the selection of optimal welding techniques for applications, as well as the optimisation of welding parameters to enhance joint performance.

Variants of friction stir based processes: review on process fundamentals, material attributes and mechanical properties

Abstract Friction stir-based variants have entirely changed the outdated component manufacturing method. Magnanimously, it has reached notable achievement in the joining, fabricating and processing of aluminum materials. This research article aims to review the various classifications of friction stir-based techniques. Friction stir-based techniques have improved the joining method along with microstructure and mechanical properties of the material. This article will enlighten the recent progress on friction stir additive manufacturing techniques applied on alloys or fabrication of composites, friction stir welding, additive friction stir deposition, friction stir processing and friction stir cladding. Mechanical properties, feasibility, applications, limitations and process parameters are discussed in details. This review article will help industry persons and academicians to know the process parameters of various techniques along with the outcomes and changes in mechanical and microstructural properties. In the last, challenges in variants of friction stir-based processes were also mentioned.

Corrosion Behavior of Al Alloy A6061 Jointed with High-Tensile Strength Steel By Friction Stir Welding in NaCl Solution

In recent years, weight reduction of automobile bodies has been effective in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. For this reason, the replacement of steel, which has a large specific gravity, with aluminum alloys and carbon fiber reinforced plastics is being promoted for the right materials in the right places. In this case, an appropriate dissimilar material joining method is needed in terms of ease of assembly, joining performance, and cost. Friction stir welding (FSW) has emerged as a promising joining method for a variety of engineering applications. FSW is a solid-phase joining technique that has been shown to have significant advantages over conventional welding in terms of the strength and quality of the joints produced. However, during joining of metallic materials by FSW, microstructural changes may occur that affect their corrosion degradation. In this study, the corrosion behavior of A6061 jointed with high-strength steel (SPCC980) by FSW in aqueous NaCl solution and the effect of Al alloy microstructural changes on it were investigated.In this study, FSW was performed on A6061 and SPCC980 steel plates, and galvanic corrosion behavior was investigated by immersion tests and surface observations, as well as electrochemical measurements of Al alloys. Immersion tests were performed in 1 M NaCl solution. Micro electrochemical polarization tests of A6061 were also performed to investigate the corrosion behavior.In the immersion test of the galvanic couple of A6061 and SPCC980 steel plates in NaCl solution, galvanic corrosion occurred with the Al alloy as the anode and the steel plate as the cathode, and hydrogen evolution was observed mainly from the BM site on A6061 in the initial stage of immersion. This is due to the hydrogen evolution reaction occurring inside the pitting corrosion of the A6061. The pits was formed near Fe-rich inclusions in the BM site. In the HAZ site, corrosion propagated from Fe-rich inclusions along grain boundaries, but no pitting corrosion was formed. In the NZ site, minor localized corrosion was developed. These results indicate that the susceptibility to localized corrosion and its morphology differ in each site on the A6061. The difference in localized corrosion susceptibility on the A6061 was considered to be caused by the difference in the distribution of Fe-rich inclusions. However, the fact that the size and number of Fe-rich inclusions in each site did not differ suggests that the difference in anodic dissolution activity near Fe-rich inclusions affects pitting corrosion susceptibility in each site. A6061 alloy is a precipitation-strengthened Al alloy reinforced by β'' phase, which is a metastable phase of Mg2Si, and dense precipitation of β'' phase was observed in the BM site. Therefore, the reason for the higher localized corrosion susceptibility of BM is related to the precipitation of the β'' phase.This paper is based on results obtained from a project, JPNP14014, commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Development of biodegradable filaments based on agro‐industrial waste and evaluation of process parameters in final properties

AbstractAdditive manufacturing, which has become popular in recent years, is the process of joining materials through the deposition of layers to form parts based on data from a 3D model and fused deposition modeling. The search for biodegradable materials for the production of filaments for 3D printing is increasing and opening up possibilities for the development of new sustainable products, including the use of lignocellulosic waste in the formulation. Therefore, the present work aims to develop polymeric filaments based on polybutylene adipate terephthalate and low content (2.5 and 5 wt%) of peanut and soybean shells and evaluate their potential for 3D printing. The charges were characterized in terms of chemical composition. Tensile and dimensional variation tests were performed on samples manufactured from two different filling orientations: −45/45° and 0/90°. The printability of the filament was based on the manufacture of prototypes of agricultural tubes that were also characterized by thermogravimetry and their morphology through scanning electron and optical microscopy. Both natural residues significantly (p < 0.05) affected the sample dimensions and mechanical properties. However, the filling orientation difference was insignificant (p > 0.05). The filaments produced showed good processability, thermal and dimensional stability. The samples produced showed a satisfactory surface finish without exposing load agglomerates. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using lignocellulosic fillers, such as peanut and soybean shells, in additive manufacturing and indicate the possibility of producing parts with varied geometries.Highlights Use of lignocellulosic residues in biodegradable filaments. The filament produced with fillers of peanut and soybean shells showed good processability. Filament fracture depends on the raster angle. It was possible to produce tubes with good surface quality and mechanical properties.

Development of a Joint Concept for Producing Dissimilar Joints Using a 3D Printing-Supported Technique

The joining of metals and polymer-based materials has a very high interest for many industrial sectors, as it allows to achieve components combining the specific characteristics of each material class. Additive manufacturing technologies could boost the production of these joints, allowing the controlled deposition of a polymeric material over the metal substrate. The present research is aimed to study the feasibility of a joint concept that can be used to produce aluminium/polymer-based material joints through a 3D printing-supported technique. The innovative joint concept, which is based on an interlocking mechanism promoted by a deposited pin, was compared to two conventional concepts. The innovative joint concept allows the production of samples with good mechanical behaviour, in which the failure occurs outside the material overlapping zone. This design is very suitable to be tested for the production of dissimilar material joints.

Змочування ZnO-кераміки сплавами системи срібло—мідь у вакуумі

Zinc oxide is a wide-gap semiconductor with unique properties, used for the manufacture of catalysts, electrodes, transistors, etc. In these applications, there is a need for metallization and joining of ZnO-based materials, using of molten metal filler is an effective method. Contact of zinc oxide and liquid metals is almost not studied in comparison to other oxide materials. In this work the wetting of zinc oxide based ceramic with metal melts of the silver-copper system in high vacuum was studied. Alloys with concentration of copper (% (at.)) 0 (pure silver), 5, 10, 20, 30, 39, 100 (pure copper) were used. Increasing the concentration of copper in the silver-copper melts significantly improves the wetting of ZnO-ceramic with these liquids, the contact angles decrease from 137° for the pure silver to 28° for the pure copper. Investigations of the microstructure show presence of relatively thin transition layers on the interfaces for silver-copper alloys, for the pure copper case the interface has complex “island-like” microstructure. Also a ruination of ZnO-ceramic substrates due to an interaction with metal melt was noted, the higher copper concentration, the more intensive ruination. Also some signs of the presence of zinc in the metal drops solidified on the zinc oxide surface were revealed, such as, intensive oxidation of the drops in air at room temperature. The oxidation shows complex multiphase microstructure of the solidified drops. After wetting of the zinc oxide with pure copper the solidified metal has microstructure of brass (Cu—Zn alloy) with low zinc concentration. The effects observed can be explained by sublimation of the zinc oxide under experimental conditions (high temperatures, vacuum) with formation of gaseous products (oxygen and vapor of zinc), which subsequently dissolve in silver-copper liquid drops. In particular, the dissolution of oxygen in the Ag—Cu melt improves its wetting of surfaces of solid oxides and presence of zinc in solidified drops provides its oxidization in air. Keywords: zinc oxide, wetting with metals, contact interaction, microstructure, transition layer.

Development of a design space for dissimilar materials joining in aerospace applications

Abstract This research paper presents an application of the integrated process and product design (IPPD) approach for selecting the best joint configuration for dissimilar material joining in the early product design phase. The proposed methodology integrates the multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach with quality function deployment (QFD) to identify the key criteria for joint selection, including load-carrying capacity, size, cost per joint, ease of manufacturing, time consumption and deformation. Three types of joints (rivet, weld and adhesive) and two hybrid joints (adhesive-weld and adhesive-rivet) are considered for three dissimilar material configurations: carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) aluminum, CFRP steel, and aluminum-steel. QFD is utilised to transform job requirements into design criteria, and in the second phase, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is employed to choose the optimal joint configuration based on the weighted criteria acquired in the previous phase. The selected joint configuration is then validated through experimental study. The findings demonstrate that the proposed IPPD approach with QFD-TOPSIS techniques is highly effective for selecting mechanical joints for dissimilar material joining in the early design phase. The study concludes that the adhesive-rivet hybrid joint is the optimal solution among all alternatives. The proposed methodology can ultimately lead to improved product reliability and performance, as well as reduced development time and cost.

The Application of Electron-Beam Welding in Pellet Mold Preparation

This paper provides insight into the application of electron-beam welding in pellet mold preparation, highlighting the importance of the combination of electron-beam welding and pellet mold preparation in the fields of microstructure joining and micro- and nanostructure preparation. Precise material joining and microstructure fabrication can be achieved by the precise control of electron-beam welding and the shape adjustment of pellet molds. These applications hold significant potential in the modern industrial field, providing robust support for the development of new materials and the growth of the petrochemical industry. This paper asserts that in the future, the ongoing development of electron-beam welding and pelletizing template technology will unlock new possibilities in the field of petrochemicals, fostering progress in science and technology.

Multilayer bonding of A1N30H foils to A1050 plates using cold spot forge welding

The cold spot forge-welding method, recently developed to achieve high-productivity and high-strength dissimilar material joining, was applied to multiple solid-phase joining of aluminum (Al) foils simulating tab-lead electrodes. Fifty Al foils of 12-μm thickness were sandwiched between 0.5 and 0.8 mm A1050 Al alloy plates and pressurized with 6-mm diameter punch for 1 s. The effect of bonding temperature (330–420 °C) and the reduction ratio (R, 1.4–3) on the tensile shear load of the joint was investigated. A lower R value at a higher bonding temperature resulted in base metal fracture (i.e., plug fracture) of the Al alloy plate. The maximum load reached 410 N using a reduction ratio of higher than 2.1 and bonding temperature of 420 °C. The processed foils were properly stretched in the plane without breakage, and a total of 51 sound layered bonded interfaces were formed. The results also confirmed that the oxide film became more rarefied with increasing R. These results are expected to be applicable to high-throughput, high-reliability bonding of secondary battery electrodes.

Preparation and characterization of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu nano-solder paste and assessment of the reliability of joints fabricated by microwave hybrid heating

Microwave Hybrid Heating (MHH) is a novel approach for material joining that is gaining attention due to its ability to achieve selective and uniform heating compared to conventional methods. In this experimental study, we prepared and characterized Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu nanoparticles. We investigated the interface morphology, phase composition, and mechanical properties of joints fabricated using the nano-Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu soldering paste and MHH technique with varying exposure times. Additionally, a reliability assessment was performed on these joints. This research investigated the impact of varying exposure times, ranging from 165 s to 420 s, on both the microstructure and strength of the joints. The joints were successfully produced under conditions of 900 W and 195 s using the MHH technique. Analysis was conducted to assess the joint morphology and mechanical properties of the after undergoing thermal shock tests, aiming to assess the reliability of joints manufactured through the MHH technique. The experimental findings revealed that the shear strength attained its peak value of 44.8 MPa when subjected to a microwave power of 900 W and an exposure time of 195 s. Moreover, the shear strength of MHH joints exhibited a 24.4% decrease after 1200 thermal shocks. Fracture analysis consistently indicated ductile fracture during thermal shocks, with no alteration in fracture mode observed.

Advances in ultrasonic welding of lightweight alloys: A review

Abstract The lightweight alloy sheet materials have been widely used in industries such as automobiles, aviation, and aerospace. However, there are huge challenges in the structural joining process. Likewise, industries are probing new technologies and are rapidly adapting to more complex light alloy materials. The ultrasonic metal welding is a reliable solid-phase joining technology, which has incomparable development prospects in the high-strength joining of lightweight alloy sheet materials. This article summarizes the research progress of ultrasonic welding of aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, and titanium alloy thin plates in recent years. The key features of this review article are the ultrasonic welding process, advantages, applications, and limitations. It introduces the welding process parameters to explore the breakthroughs for straightforward direction. Furthermore, to strengthen the phenomena, the current state of the ultrasonic welding of lightweight alloys and their future perspectives are also reflected.

Design Strategies towards the Optimization of 3D Additive Manufactured Lattice Structures

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are based on the process of joining materials, layer upon layer, differently from subtractive manufacturing methods. The design for AM allows for the creation of complex shapes as well as for the improvement of the performance of critical components in several fields, spanning from aerospace and automotive to biomedical applications. On the other hand, unlike man-made high load-bearing capacity devices, which are usually dense solids, nature uses mesoscopic or microscopic cellular structures as a fundamental support for the design. The increasing applications of AM in industrial production have led to product reimagination from a novel standpoint, enabling the fabrication of advanced lattice structures using polymer-based materials. Over the past few years, many efforts have been made to develop strategies for finding the design which is best suited to the requirements. In the current research, specific design scenarios were explored, the aim being to develop novel lattice structures for energy absorption, using an AM technique (i.e., fused deposition modelling) and a modified Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA)-based material. The fabricated structures were preliminarily analysed by means of compression tests.

Critical Review on Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt Welding: Challenges, Perspectives and Industrial Applications.

Magnetically Impelled Arc Butt (MIAB) welding is a cutting-edge joining method that replaces the conventional welding procedures such as resistance, friction, flash and butt welding. It is a solid-state process that uses a rotating arc to heat up the butt ends of tubes, being followed by a forging process that completes the joining of the workpieces The magnetic flux density and the current interact to develop the Lorentz force that impels the arc along the faying surfaces. This process is found to produce high tensile strength and defect-free welds in ferrous materials and for this reason, it is predominantly employed in automobile applications for joining metallic tubes. Also, this joining procedure can be applied in the fabrication of boilers, heat exchangers, furnace piping in petrochemical industry and other safety-critical high-pressure machinery parts. The MIAB method has several advantages such as a shorter welding cycle, lower input energy requirement and lower loss of material. Compared to other solid-state welding processes, the MIAB welding has an important advantage in terms of cost-efficient welds with better control and reliability. Moreover, there are researchers who have investigated the joining of non-ferrous dissimilar materials using this welding procedure. The studies have been focused on process parametric analysis that involves optimizing and forecasting the magnetic field and thermal profile distribution. This review article provides competitive insights into various design features, computational methods, tests and material characterization, technical issues and workarounds, as well as automation aspects related to the MIAB-welding process. This work will prove to be a quick reference for researchers, useful to identify the research gaps and conflicting ideas that can be further explored for advancements in joining the similar and dissimilar materials.

Process parameter assessment on the dissimilar deposition of AA2024-T351 on AA7475-T761 by friction surfacing

Friction surfacing as a solid-state deposition process allows the joining of materials with different chemical and physical properties at temperatures below their respective melting points. This experimental work focuses on generating sound, defect-free metallurgical joints between single friction surfacing deposits and substrate surfaces from dissimilar Al alloys of the 2xxx and 7xxx series. In this context, the influence of axial force and deposition speed on surface morphology and deposit geometry of the two heat-treatable Al alloys AA7475 as substrate and AA2024 as deposit are investigated. Process parameter variation shows that an increase in axial force from 8 to 12 kN, in conjunction with a deposition speed of 8 mm/s, leads to smooth surface morphology and consistent deposit width along its length. The AA2024 deposits consist of fine-grained microstructure with higher hardness at the top and lower hardness at the deposit-substrate interface. The joining mechanism is by interdiffusion, with a 7.5 μm thick diffusion zone across the dissimilar interface. Three-point bending tests reveal excellent bonding in the lateral surface of the advancing side due to the absence of delamination for all conditions tested. Minor delamination appears predominantly on the retreating side region for process parameter sets with low axial force. Tensile test results reveal that the AA2024 deposit on the AA7475 substrate presents an ultimate tensile strength equivalent to the AA7475-T651 base material and an increase of 37 % in ductility.

On the influence of joining processes on the vibration of structures

The joining of new and dissimilar materials in the transportation sector, to meet the demands for lighter structures, requires the use of alternative joining processes. However, it is not clear how different types of structural joints compare in terms of their contribution to the vibration and damping of structures. The present work aims to provide a comprehensive experimental and numerical analysis on the contribution of three structural joints – butt friction stir welding, single lap adhesive joint and hole hemmed joint – to the vibration and damping of two joined aluminium sheets. For this purpose, experimental analysis is performed to study the free-free vibration of the three structural joints. In addition, finite element models are developed to better understand the behaviour of these joints and discuss the challenges of the numerical modelling procedure. The first four natural frequencies, experimentally obtained for each structure, suggest that the adhesive joint has significantly higher natural frequencies, due to the thickness increase at overlap, while the hole hemmed joint presents the most significant contribution to damping, owing to sliding at the overlap region. The numerical models show a very good agreement with the experimental results in terms of the natural frequencies and mode shapes, with simple modelling providing accurate results. In conclusion, the main findings are that the adhesive joints allow for a stiffer structure, with the natural frequencies increasing with the overlap dimension, while hole hemming enhances damping. The butt-butt friction stir welding has a small effect on the structural behaviour, showing a similar dynamic stiffness and damping when compared to a solid sheet of the same dimension.

The effect of friction spot stir welding in double rivet lap joint installation of aluminum 2024-T3 on the strength of shear tests

The process of joining materials is very necessary to facilitate the manufacture of industrial products. Among these connections are rivets, bolts, nails, glue, and welding which is mostly done on metal materials. The aircraft skin is usually connected with rivets through a drilling process. Joining metal materials, especially aluminum, uses many welding techniques. The welding method currently being developed is Friction Stir Welding (FSW). FSW developed the Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) process in joining metals, especially in this study using 2024-T3 aluminum. The purpose of combining the rivet method with FSSW is to see the material’s mechanical characteristics when applied to aluminum material. The FSSW method uses a 2500 RPM engine speed milling machine using a blunt tool holder with a pin dimension of 2.5 mm. It is carried out using a pneumatic drill using a drill bit with a dimension of 2.5 mm. Aluminum 2024-T3 has of 200×20×2 mm dimensions, a hole spacing of 15 mm with double rivet lap joint installation. The results showed that the FSSW variation had a higher tensile shear strength of 2.8% than the drilling variation. However, the hardness value in the drilling variation is 56.3% higher than the FSSW variation in the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ). Microstructural observations also indicate differences in the HAZ region, where the FSSW is reduced in size and longer. This is due to the heat treatment process due to friction between the pin tool and the aluminum, thus changing the structure.

Synthesis of novel vinyl preceramic polymer (PBSZ) adhesives and their performances in ceramic joints

It is a challenge to bind ceramics for aeronautical and astronautical engineering applications at ultrahigh temperature. In this work, a novel preceramic polymer (polyborosilazane, PBSZ) was synthesized by modifying polysilazane (PSZ) with n-butyllithium, vinylchloride and m-carborane. Furthermore, a high-temperature organic adhesive (PBSZ-based adhesive) was prepared with no pressure applied using PBSZ as a matrix and B4C powder as a filler. The ceramic yield of PBSZ-based adhesive increased to 86 wt%, and the binding strength between PBSZ-based adhesive and ceramic substrate could reach to 12.9 MPa after treatment at 800 °C. Also, the finite element analysis of PBSZ-based adhesive joint exhibited that the failure of joints occurred as the cohesion failure inside of the adhesive accompanied by the breakage of the substrate adjacent to the adhesive, which further confirmed good binding strength of the joint. The analysis of binding mechanism showed that the introduction of boron could generate strong chemical bonds (such as B–C, B–N, C–N, Si–B) in the adhesive, as well as intermolecular forces and B–C chemical bonds could be formed between the adhesive and the SiBON ceramic substrate. The high performance of the adhesive enables the application to the joining of ceramic materials for aerospace applications.

Numerical simulation study on microwave joining of Hastelloy C-276 plates using Inconel-718 interface powder

Microwave joining is an emerging technique for the joining of metallic materials because it can join metals faster and offers uniform heating. The current work studies the multi-physics simulation of a microwave-joined Hastelloy C-276 plate with Inconel 718 interface powder inside a multimode microwave applicator at 2.45 GHz and 900 W. The distribution of electric field, temperature, and thermal stress in the joint were analyzed to understand the microwave-joined Hastelloy C-276 plates. The results revealed that the maximum values of electric field strength and temperature at the central plane of symmetry were 7.4 × 104 V/m and 1.43 × 103 ⁰C, respectively. The maximum thermal stress (1.37 × 109N/m2) was estimated using von-Mises criterion. Resistive losses were found to be maximum i.e., 2.72 × 108 W/m3 at the ends of the graphite plate. The study determined the optimum parameters for microwave joining of Hastelloy C-276 plates.

Experimental Investigation of Friction Stir Welding on Al 2024-T3 and Al 7075-T6 Alloy

Aluminum alloys are becoming increasingly popular due to their potential to offer superior durability while being lower in weight. Most industrial sectors, including transportation, aviation, marine, automotive, and others, have a strong interest in light-weight components, particularly in the transportation industry. Traditional joining techniques have a negative impact on the joining of these lightweight industrial materials, necessitating the development of new environmentally friendly joining methods. The lap joint of Al 2024-T3 and Al 7075-T6 alloys is done utilizing friction stir welding (FSW) with tool rotational speed (TRS) and tool travel speed (TTS) as process parameters. In addition, a tensile and microhardness test was performed to determine the mechanical characteristics of the weld joints. For FSW joints, the hardness of the stir zone at the weld center at 1000 RPM and 40 mm/min is 151.86 Hv. Carbon inclusion in the stir zone is demonstrated by EDS investigation of tool material dispersion in the weld region.

Enhancing interfacial strength of T-joint for vacuum-brazed thin-walled structures comprising TiAl and GH3536 alloys via in-situ synthesis of Al2TiO5 ceramic coatings

The joining of dissimilar materials to fabricate lightweight components of thin-walled structures for aerospace applications has garnered significant interest. A pioneering technique has been proposed to achieve an optimal interfacial microstructure and fillet of brazed joints. This technique involves a layer of Al deposited on the surface of TiAl base metal, which aids in the brazing process of the thin-walled structure comprising TiAl and GH3536 alloys. Notably, the addition of the Al layer has a significant impact on the spreading area of molten brazing filler metal, the size of the fillet, and the interfacial microstructure evolution. Consequently, these factors contribute to a substantial increase in the load-bearing capacity of the structure. A comprehensive analysis and discussion are conducted to explore the impact of the Al layer on both the interfacial microstructure and mechanical performance. Under the brazing parameters of 1040 °C/5 min, the peak tensile load reaches a peak value of 362 N, which is 100% higher compared to the joints without Al layer. It is worth noting that fracture occurred in the GH3536 foil after undergoing tensile testing. The dimension of fillet can be controlled through the in-situ synthesis Al2TiO5 ceramic phase on the surface of TiAl alloy. This research offers valuable insights into the production of engineered biomimetic materials and devices, specifically focusing on honeycomb-inspired structures.