Underwater Friction Stir Welding of Ultrafine Grained 2017 Aluminum Alloy PDF
Underwater Friction Stir Welding of Ultrafine Grained 2017 Aluminum Alloy PDF
Underwater friction stir welding of ultrafine grained 2017 aluminum alloy
WANG Kuaishe(王快社), WU Jialei(武佳蕾), WANG Wen(王文),
ZHOU Longhai(周龙海), LIN Zhaoxia(林兆霞), KONG Liang(孔亮)
School of Metallurgical Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
© Central South University Press and SpringerVerlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Abstract: 2017 aluminum alloy plates with an ultrafine grained (UFG) structure were produced by equal channel angular processing
(ECAP) and then were joined by underwater friction stir welding (underwater FSW). Xray diffractometer (XRD), transmission
electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and microhardness tester were adopted to investigate the
microstructural and mechanical characteristics of the FSW joint. The results indicate that an ultrafine grained microstructure with the
mean grain size of ~0.7 μm is obtained in the weld nugget by using water cooling. However, The FSW joint exhibits softening
compared with the ultrafine grained based material and the heat affected zone (HAZ) has the lowest hardness owing to the coarsening
of the strengthening precipitates.
Key words: ultrafine grained structure; equal channel angular processing; aluminum alloy; underwater friction stir welding
Foundation item: Projects(50774059, 51074119) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
Received date: 2011−07−05; Accepted date: 2011−11−15
Corresponding author: WANG Kuaishe, Professor, PhD; Tel: +86−29−82205096; Email: [email protected]
2082 J. Cent. South Univ. (2012) 19: 2081−2085
mechanical characteristics of the underwater FSW joint of the tool was 950 r/min and the travel speed was
were investigated. 60 mm/min.
After welding process, metallographic samples were
2 Experimental crosssectioned perpendicular to the welding direction,
mechanically polished and then etched with Keller’s
The starting material was hotrolled commercial reagent (190 mL water, 5 mL nitric acid, 2 mL
2017 Al alloy with the chemical composition given in hydrofluoric acid and 3 mL hydrochloric acid), and
Table 1. The average initial grain size was measured to analyzed by optical stereoscope (Nikon SMZ100) and
be ~100 μm and the microhardness was approximately scanning electron microscope (SEM, S3400N) equipped
HV 81. The hotrolled plates were treated at 350 °C for with energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) analysis system.
1 h and dry quenched to room temperature. Samples with Transmission electron microscope (TEM) samples were
dimensions of 14.5 mm × 14.5 mm × 80 mm for ECAP
extracted from the starting material, the aspressed plates
were cut from the plates. The ECAP was performed up to
and the FSW joint at midthickness. Thin foils for TEM
four passes at room temperature using the solid die
investigation were ground to a thickness of ~50 μm and
which had an intersection angle of 90° between the two
twinjet electropolished using a solution of 30% nitric
channels and an outer curvature of 20°. Between
acidmethanol at −30 °C. TEM observations were carried
consecutive passes, ECAP pressed samples were treated
out on a JEM200CX instrument operating at 200 kV.
at 200 °C for 30 min and rotate by 90° in the same
directions using route Bc [19]. Measurements of the grain size were made directly from
the TEM images using the linear intercept method. The
Table 1 Chemical composition of 2017 aluminum alloy (mass phase structure of the ECAP pressed material and the
fraction, %) weld nugget zone were identified by the Xray
diffraction (XRD) method on a Rigaku D/max2400
Cu Mg Mn Fe Si Zn Ni Ti Al
instrument using with Cu Kα radiation. Microhardness
3.8−4.8 0.4−0.8 0.4−0.8 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.1 0.15 Bal.
profile of the FSW joint was measured on the centerline
of the crosssection perpendicular to the welding
The ECAP pressed specimens were cut into samples
direction, using a 401 MVD microhardness tester with a
with dimensions of 3 mm × 14.5 mm × 80 mm for the
load of 2 N for 10 s.
welding process. Underwater FSW was conducted on a
retrofitted X5032 vertical milling machine.
3 Result and discussion
Nonconsumable tool made of high speed steel was used
to fabricate the joints. The straight cylindrical pin was
3.1 Microstructure
3.6 mm in diameter and 2.8 mm long and the tool
Figure 2 shows the crosssectional macrograph of
shoulder was 12 mm in diameter. As shown in Fig. 1, the
specimens were fixed to the bottom sheet in a rectangular the ECAP pressed 2017 Al alloy joint. No obvious
tank which was secured on the milling table, and then defects are formed during underwater FSW. The
circulating tap water was injected in the tank to immerse crosssection of the joint displays four distinct regions
the top surface of the specimens. The rotating tool including nugget zone (NZ), thermomechanically
moved along the weld line, the employed rotational rate affected zone (TMAZ), heat affected zone (HAZ) and
base material (BM). Onion ring patterns are observed in
the NZ which directly reflect the material flowing during
FSW. The material deformation is more severe in the
advancing side (AS) where the tool rotational and travel
directions are additive, resulting in a clearly distinct
boundary formed on the AS compared with the retreating
side (RS).
Fig. 1 Underwater FSW process of ECAP pressed 2017 Al Fig. 2 Crosssectional macrograph of FSW joint of ECAP
alloy plates pressed 2017 Al alloy
J. Cent. South Univ. (2012) 19: 2081−2085 2083
The starting 2017 Al alloy has coarse grains so that
an integrated grain is difficult to be seen in the TEM
micrograph (Fig. 3(a)). After fourpass ECAP, the
original coarse grains are replaced by fine equiaxed
grains with average grain size of ~0.4 μm, and a high
density of dislocations are found inside some grains
(Fig. 3(b)). It is revealed that an UFG microstructure
with a typical characteristic of nonequilibrium grain
boundary is produced by repeated intense deformation
during ECAP. After FSW, the NZ is composed of fine
equiaxed grains with the mean grain size of ~0.7 μm, and
there are few dislocations inside the grains due to the
dynamic recrystallization process. Many granular second
phase particles are found to distribute randomly at grain
boundaries and inside the grains. From the XRD patterns
(Fig. 4), the UFG base material (BM) exhibits αAl solid Fig. 4 XRD patterns of ECAP pressed 2017 Al alloy and NZ of
solution in composite. But the strengthening θ(Al2Cu)
FSW joint
phase is detected in the NZ of FSW joint.
UFG materials are usually characterized by low
thermal energy is introduced into the UFG aluminum
thermal stability at elevated temperature. While the
alloy at high temperature during FSW (for example, the
temperature at the back of the UFG 1050 Al joints can
reach 370 °C [12]), reversion of the high defect grain
structure and release of the distortional strain energy can
take place automatically. Furthermore, the recrystallized
microstructure undergoes residual heat effect after
welding process, leading to grain growth coarsening
easily. Hence, it is important to control the heat effect
during the welding of UFG material. The instantaneous
tool/sample surface condition and the heat input into the
welded specimens immersed in water are comparable
with those in air [14]. Therefore, FSW can generate
enough frictional heat and plastic deformation for
producing solid joints even though in water environment.
When the rotating tool is plunged into the edges of the
ECAP pressed 2017 Al alloy plates and travels along the
weld line, the NZ is severely plastically deformed by
mechanical stirring action of the tool. The combination
of frictional heat and intense plastic deformation leads to
a fine dynamically recrystallized microstructure in the
nugget zone. And then the residual heat is absorbed by
the flowing water and the stirred region behind the
advancing tool is cooled more rapidly than that of the
normal FSW joint obtained in air, leading to effective
restrictions on the grain growth. In this work, the final
size of the dynamically recrystallized grain size is
sufficiently refined to the submicron level (~0.7 μm),
which indicates that UFG structure is retained in the NZ
through underwater FSW.