ISSN 2348-5426 International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology (IJAST)
Review of Friction Stir Welding of Dissimilar Al-Fe Metals
Akash Pisharody1, Jyoti Menghani2, Shailesh N Pandiya3
Mechanical Engineering Department, SVNIT, Surat, 395007
ABSTRACT: Friction stir welding is a relatively new
welding technology which has been used to join similar and
dissimilar alloys. Dissimilar Aluminium to steel joints is
required in automobile industries and cryogenic
applications due to weight savings and energy efficiency
requirements. The following review is a study of Friction
Stir Welding process applied to dissimilar material welding
of Al alloys and steels to assess the current status of work
done in the field.
Keywords Friction Stir Welding, Dissimilar, Aluminium,
Steel
I. INTRODUCTION
Friction Stir welding (FSW) was invented and patented by
W.M Thomas in 1991 [1]. The process uses a non consumable
rotating tool which is inserted between the faying surfaces of
the joint and it is traversed along it [2]. The welding technique
has been termed as a solid state welding technique [1]. The
fusion is produced on account of heat generated by the shoulder
of the tool which plasticizes the material underneath it. The pin
does the job of stirring the plasticized material around it to
create fusion of the materials being joined.
Friction stir welding was initially developed for the welding
of aluminium alloys [4]. Studies have been done on similar
welding of steels[4-12] and of aluminium[13-18]. The main
reason for joining aluminum and steel is due to the need for
weight savings, thus essentially, from a need for energy-
efficiency in automobile industry [19,20]. The methods
conventionally used to join steels and aluminum such as arc
welding have a limitation in the fact that intermetallic
compounds are formed [Joining of Al 6061 alloy to AISI 1018
steel by combined effects of fusion and solid state welding].
Also there is a difference between the melting point and
thermal coefficient of expansion between the metals. It is here
where Friction welding has been proven practical to eliminate
the formation of the intermetallic phases and to form a sound
weld [21].
FSW has some distinct advantages over the other welding
process [22]. The process has lower distortion, good
dimensional stability, absence of cracking of all. There has
been an increase in the research done in FSW. One field of
interest has been in the dissimilar welding of Aluminium alloys
and steel. In this paper the work done in this field has been
reviewed.
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II. OVERVIEW OF FSW OF AL ALLOY TO STEEL
2.1 Study of butt joints.
The initial study done on welding of Al alloy to steel was
done by K. Kimapong and T. Watanabe [22]. They
investigated the found the effects of varying pin rotation speed
on microstructure of Aluminium alloy 5083 to SS 400 mild
steel. The study investigated effects of pin rotation speed, Pin
position and pin diameter on the microstructure and tensile
strength of the joint formed. There was an optimum rotation
speed achieved for the weld at 250 rpm. At lower speeds the
joint strength was low reasoned to be due to low heat input and
at higher speed the authors conclude that there was oxidation of
Mg in Al matrix which resulted in incomplete joints. Maximum
tensile strength was obtained at a pin offset of 0.2mm. EDS
analysis was carried out on the cross section of the weld and
the results (Fig 2) show intermetallic compounds in the upper
region of the interface. The authors also found that a minimum
pin diameter was required for producing the joint.
Fig. 1: SEM analysis of weld Fig. 2: EDS analysis of weld
sections [22] sections [22]
C.M. Chen, R. Kovacevic [23] carried out FSW of 6061 Al
alloy and AISI 1018 steel. The authors used an AE sensor to
monitor tool wear and breakage. Temperature measurement
was done using two thermocouples and the data was used to
run simulations for temperature distributions as shown in Fig
3a. The authors concluded that the FSW of Al alloy to steel is a
combination of fusion and solid state welding. SEM and EDS
was carried out in the weld nugget zone and the authors found
the existence of intermetallic compounds in the zone as shown
in Fig 3b. The microhardness profile was also measured. There
were some peaks observed in the hardness in the nugget zone
which has been attributed to the intermetallic compounds in the
zone
ISSN 2348-5426
Fig 3 [23]
a) Temperature distributions acress weld section b) XRD
analysis of nugget
Fig 4 [23]Micro hardness study of weld section
W H Jiang and R Kovacevic [24] carried out FSW of 6061
Al alloy and AISI 1018 steel. The authors have done
microhardness study with results similar to the study of the
previous authors. A study of tensile strength revealed that
fracture occurred at the TMAZ in the Al alloy side Fig 5. The
authors have concluded that the weld produced was free of
cracks and porosity
Fig 5 Fractured specimen [24]
The initial study of FSW of stainless steel and aluminium
alloys was done by Huseyin Uzun et al [25]. The study
involved FSW of Al 6013 alloy and X5CrNi18-10 stainless
steel. The microstructure, hardness, fatigue properties and EDX
analysis of friction stir welded dissimilar Al 6013 alloy and
stainless steel joints were studied. Fatigue properties of Al
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6013-T4/stainless steel joints were found to be approximately
30% lower than that of the Al 6013-T6 alloy base metal fig 6
.
Fig 6 S-N curve indicating the comparison of fatigue behavior [25]
T Yasui et al [26] studied the high speed weldability of
FSW between 6063 Al and S45C steel. The authors have
experimented with a two material combined tool. The authors
made a graphical representation of tool traverse speed and
rotation speed and have showed the optimal values for each for
an optimal weld Fig 7. A similar hardness profile was obtained
by the authors as in previous cases.
Fig 7 Graph showing effect of speeds on quality of weld [26]
M. Merklein and A. Giera [27] did a study on laser assisted
FSW on AA6016 T4 and draw able steel DC04. The welding
speed considerably increased to 2000mm/min by the aid of
laser pre-heating. The authors had varied the process
parameters viz rotational speed, traverse speed and laser power
and investigated the effects of these with help of DOE
technique. Tensile strength studies were carried out and a
maximum strength of 200 MPa. Deep drawing tests obtained a
result of a drawing ratio of 1.6. Metallurgical investigations
revealed that there was no formation of intermetallics.
Thaiping Chen [28] did a study on FSW of AA6061
aluminum alloy and SS400 low-carbon steel. The author
carried out an optimization of the welding parameters using
taguchi methods. The most influential parameters which were
found using ANOVA and F ratio analysis was found to be
rotational speed and traverse speed. Lower values of traverse
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speed and rotational speed were found to be the best
combination for higher quality function which was Chapry
impact value.
HanSur Bang et al [29]worked on the GTAW pre-heated
FSW of stainless steel alloy STS304 to an aluminum alloy
Al6061.A comparative study of pre-heated hybrid FSW
(HFSW) and ordinary FSW was done. A study of tensile
strengths of the joints made revealed that the joint strength of
HFSW was greater than that of FSW with efficiency being 93%
for HFSW and 78% for FSW. The fracture of HFSW specimen
were also ductile. Metallographic studies revealed that the
microstructure of Al alloy was finer in case of HFSW than
FSW.
2.2 Study of Lap joints:
A. Elrefaey et al [30]worked on the FSW of 1100 H24 Al
alloy and low carbon steel with lap joint configuration. One of
the main features of the aluminum macrostructure of the weld
was that no clear onion ring structure, or thermo
mechanically affected zone, appeared in contrast to those
reported in FSW of aluminum alloys. Fractured surfaces after
the shear test of joints revealed Fe-Al intermetallic compounds
which was cited as the reason for brittle failure of the joints.
The failure loads showed a general trend of decrement with
increase traverse speeds.
Table 1
Results of peel test with various process parameters [30]
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Kittipong Kimapong* and Takehiko Watanabe [31] did a
study of FSW of Al 5083 and SS400 steel with lap joint
configuration. The authors found that by increasing the
rotational speed of the tool there was a decrease the shear load
of the joint because the higher rotational speed formed a thick
FeAl3 intermetallic compound at the interface between
aluminum and steel. Increasing the traverse speed of a tool
increased the shear load of joints. However, extremely high
traverse speeds produced the joint with incompletely welded
interface. Increasing the pin depth made the intermetallic
compound thickness thicker and gave rise to an incomplete
joint. The EDS analysis revealed that the interfaces had
intermetallic compounds. A comparison of microstructures at
lower and higher traverse speed and tool rotation was done by
the authors. At low combination of speed and rotation, the
aluminum and steel fracture surfaces showed dimple pattern
that indicated ductile feature of the joint At higher combination
of welding speed and rotation, the fracture showed cleavage
pattern on the fracture surfaces that indicated brittle feature of
the joint. The chemical compositions analyzed by EDS showed
the phases contained the chemical compositions that were close
to FeAl3 IMC in FeAl phase diagram.
Fig 8[31] a) Rotational speed v/s shear load and intermetallic thickness
b) traverse speed v/s shear load and intermetallic thickness
c) Pin depth v/s shear load and intermetallic thickness
M. Movahedi et al [32] studied the effect of annealing heat
treatment on FSW of Al 5083 and St-12 steel. The tensile test
study was done by using shear tensile test and SEM and EDS
was performed. The results indicated that at annealing
temperatures of 300 and 350oC there was an increase in the
tensile strength of the joint formed Fig 10. The joints produced
had higher strength in case of 350oC treatment than at 300oC.
The formation of thin inter metallic compounds was attributed
to be the largest influence for this effect. But the authors add
that annealing at higher temperatures i.e 400oC, the thickness
of the intermetallics increased and the joint strength reduced.
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Table 2
Intermetallic layer thickness at various temperatures [32]
Fig 10 Average fracture loads v/s annealing duration
a) 300 and 350oC
o
b) 400 C
III. CONCLUSIONS
The study concludes that Friction stir welding of dissimilar
Al alloy to steel is feasible by controlling the important process
parameters i.e. tool rotation speed and traverse speed [28]. The
joints have been produced in both butt and lap configurations
by various authors. Various studies have highlighted the effect
of intermetallics on the formation of the joint and its strength.
Strength was found to reduce on formation of thick inter
metallics like Al13Fe4 and Al5Fe2. But by preheating using laser
[27] intermetallic phases were eliminated. In case of lap joints
intermetallics were found related to higher speeds [30]. Further
studies can be done using different pin profiles and shoulder
diameters.
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