Analysis of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Vibration Welded (FSVW) 5083 Aluminum Alloy Joints: Experimental and Simulation

Abstract

In the current research, friction stir vibration welding (FSVW) process was introduced for welding of Al5083 alloy as a new method to improve mechanical and microstructure characteristics of joining zone. Vibration through a motor was added regularly to weld line during the friction stir welding process. Finite element method (FEM) to verify experimental results in different vibration frequencies used. The results showed that grain size in the weld region reduces as vibration frequency increases. The increasing in straining results in the improvement of dislocation density, and leads to more development of high angle grain boundaries because of dynamic recrystallization. The grain size of base metal is 64 µm, while it is about 17 and 9 µm during FSW and FSVW respectively. Besides, strength, hardness and formability index of FSV welded samples were tremendous than that of FS welded ones. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increases from 180 MPa for FSW to 225 MPa as 48 Hz frequency vibration was used. The thrust force curve indicated that the time required to reach the highest thrust level as well as the peak thrust value reduce as the vibration frequency increases. This novel way can enhance the application of FSW, and it has suggested for utilization in various industries.

Evaluating the Effect of Process Parameters on FSP of Al5083 Alloy Using ANSYS

“…There is no effect of multiple passes on the microstructural and mechanical properties of the stir zone of the FSPed specimens of Al5083 [49]. Recent studies have shown that the inclusion of vibration during the FSP process leads to an improvement in mechanical and microstructural properties such as grain refinement, strength, microhardness and formability of the FSPed specimens of Al5083 [50,51].…”