Friction Stir Welding of Ultrafine-Grained Al 1050: Investigation of Pin Geometry, Welding Atmosphere Temperature and Welding Speeds on the Mechanical Properties

The application of ultrafine-grained or nanostructured aluminum is very interesting owing to its high strength to weight ratio. Welding of these materials is one of the main challenges. Regarding the potential of the solid-state friction stir welding in joining of nanostructured materials, in the current research different equipment and techniques like optical and scanning and transmitted electron microscopes, Vickers microhardness, and uniaxial tensile tests were employed to study the effect of major welding parameters on the bonding quality of friction stir welded ultrafine-grained Al 1050 alloy produced via accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) method. The studied parameters were rotation and traveling speeds, pin geometry as well as welding atmosphere temperature. The results show the microhardness enhancement of the weld zone by decreasing the rotation speed or increment of traveling speed due to lower heat generation within the stir zone. Investigation of the pin geometry depicts an insignificant impact of this variable on the weld tensile properties. Only in the case of a threaded pin, a slight enhancement in the tensile properties was achieved. Submerge or underwater welding could improve joint strength. However, the application of extremely cold water with respect to 25° C water shows a reverse effect and leads to severe weld quality degradation owing to defects formation (like internal channels and surface discontinuity).