Mechanical Properties and Fracture Behavior of Friction Stir Spot Welded AZ61 Magnesium Alloys

Abstract

In this study, the tensile shear strength and the fracture behavior of friction stir spot welded AZ61 joints in lap-shear configuration were investigated. The heat input was measured in FSSW to help analyze the effect of welding parameters on the strength. The tensile shear failure test was performed in a material testing system. The cross section of the joints and the fracture surface of the failed specimens were analyzed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results show that the weld diameter and the tensile shear load increase with increasing the input heat. The path of the material flow formed during FSSW process would provide a good way for crack propagation. All failed specimens in this study appear the same fracture features and show a circumferential failure mode under tensile shear loading conditions. The failure is initiated from a notch tip in the upper sheet loading side, and then propagates along the interface of the upper and lower sheets, then through the stir zone circumference; finally, a small portion of the lower sheet in the lower sheet loading side is torn off with some part of the stir zone.

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