Sharif Digital Repository

Aluminum tubes were successfully fabricated using a novel process of friction stir back extrusion (FSBE) known as one of the severe plastic deformation (SPD) routes. It was found that this process is capable to form a tube with a significant fine grained structure resulting from dynamic recrystallization phenomenon in the stirred area. Several regions were identified in the formed tube in which various microstructural evolutions occur, i.e. dynamic recrystallized (RX), static RX, and partially static RX zones along with extruded base metal. There was also no considerable change in the hardness and strength values of the formed tube with respect to those of the extruded base metal. However,... 

Effects of welding current (at the range of 2-4 kA) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of upset resistance welds of AISI-1035 carbon steel to AISI-304L austenitic stainless steel rods were investigated. The results showed that the joint strength first increased by raising the welding current up to 3 kA and then decreased beyond it. Increasing trend was related to more plastic deformation, accelerated diffusion, reduction of defects and formation of mechanical locks at the joint interface. For currents more than 3 kA, decrease in the joint strength was mainly caused by formation of hot spots. Using the optimum welding current of 3 kA, tensile strength of the joint reached to ~76%... 

This paper investigates the metallurgical and mechanical response of 2304 duplex stainless steel-as an interesting candidate for automotive body-in-white applications-to resistance spot welding. The results showed the high cooling rate associated with the resistance spot welding process suppressed the postsolidification ferrite-austenite transformation leading to improper ferrite-austenite phase balance with a reduced volume fraction of austenite and consequent precipitation of chromium-rich nitrides. The effects of welding current, as the key parameter determining the weld heat input, on the austenite volume fraction and precipitation are discussed. The minimum fusion zone hardness... 

This paper addresses the microstructure-properties relationship during resistance spot welding of martensitic stainless steel (MSS). The effect of the initial base metal microstructure (ferritic microstructure in annealed condition vs. partially tempered martensitic in quench and tempered condition) on the weld microstructure evolution is highlighted. Regardless of the initial base metal microstructure, the fusion zone exhibited a predominantly martensitic structure plus some δ-ferrite. The heat affected zone (HAZ) in the quenched and partially tempered (Q-PT) sheet was featured by formation of martensite and carbide in upper-critical zone and tempering of martensite in sub-critical zone.... 

The paper addresses the process–microstructure–performance relationships in resistance spot welding of a martensitic advanced high strength steel. Significant softening was observed in the heat affected zone (HAZ) due to allotriomorphic ferrite formation in the inter-critical HAZ and tempering of martensite in sub-critical HAZ (SCHAZ), with the latter plays more important role in mechanical properties of the spot welds. The strain concentration associated with the HAZ softening promotes initiation of pullout failure from the soft SCHAZ. While, the peak load in the interfacial failure mode is governed by the fusion zone size, that of the pullout mode is significantly affected by the HAZ... 

Effect of welding current (2–4 kA) was investigated on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the upset resistance dissimilar welds of Martensitic Stainless Steel (MSS) to Duplex Stainless Steel (DSS) rods. While in MSS side of the welds, no martensite was formed at lower welding currents (2–3 kA), small values of martensite was formed at the higher welding currents (3.5–4 kA). In DSS side of the welds, hotspot formation and change in the phase balance between ferrite and austenite phase were the most important phenomena. Strength of welds first increased and then decreased with welding current. Increase of strength was related to superior plastic deformation and stronger... 

The present research was aimed at simultaneous increase in strength and fracture energy of friction stir spot weld of Al-5083 alloy via reinforcing by Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Compared to non-reinforced welds, failure load and fracture energy of reinforced welds increased up to ∼115 and 560%, respectively. These findings were discussed in the light of grain refinement as well as considerable increase in hardness of fracture location due to the presence of sub-micron and nano reinforcing particles (RPs). Fe3O4 nanoparticles were transformed to Al–Fe intermetallics due to their small size and heat generated during the welding process. The stir zone of reinforced welds consisted of three different... 

Al-Mg aluminum alloy was lap joined to aluminum clad steel sheet using pulsed gas tungsten arc welding process and Al-Si filler metal. The effects of the welding heat-input were investigated on the joint microstructure and mechanical properties. Weld metal microstructure, formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the joint interface and the fracture locations were studied using stereo, optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The joint strength of the welds was evaluated by shear-tensile test. The results showed that presence of a thin aluminum clad layer with 350 μm thickness drastically decreased the Al-Fe intermetallic... 

Al-1050 clad St-12 sheets were first produced by cold roll bonding process with clad layer thickness of 350 and 1000 μm. Then, Al-5052 aluminum alloy and Al-1050/St-12 sheets were lap joined using gas tungsten arc welding with Al–Si filler metal. The effects of the clad layer thickness and welding current were studied on the joint properties. Macro/microstructural observations were done using optical and scanning electron microscopes (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Shear-tensile and microhardness tests were used for evaluation of the mechanical behavior of the joint. The results indicated that presence of the aluminum clad layer reduced the Al–Fe intermetallic... 

In order to increase the cross-tension to the tensile-shear peak load ratio, aluminum clad steel sheet produced by roll bonding, was used for resistance spot welding to Al-Mg aluminum alloy. The results showed that the weld nugget formed between the aluminum clad layer and Al-Mg base sheet was the load bearing area. Presence of the metallurgical bond between the steel sheet and the aluminum clad layer led to the formation of the Al/Fe intermetallic compound with the thickness less than ∼3.5 μm. This narrow intermetallic layer did not play a detrimental role in the weld strength and therefore, the cross-tension to the tensile-shear peak load ratio reached up to ∼0.5 at the maximum... 

Magnesium alloys provide critical opportunities for energy and lightweight-materials challenges. The alloy design approach based on utilizing the second phase strengthening mechanism plays an essential role in producing low-density high strength Mg-based alloys. However, the second phase in the microstructure (e.g., Mg17Al12 phase in Mg–Al–Zn alloys) can deleteriously affect the weldability of the metallic materials by promoting the liquation and liquation cracking during fusion welding. The lack of sufficient weldability of Mg-based alloys is a crucial barrier to their potential use in safety-critical applications. In this paper, it is shown that the severe plastic deformation induced by... 

AZ91 alloy, the most widely used Mg casting alloy, exhibits low strength/ductility and weak energy absorption, which is a function of its large grain size and the presence of a coarse and continuous network of β-Mg17Al12 intermetallic compounds. This work demonstrated that friction stir processing (FSP) enables enhancement of strength and energy absorption capability of AZ91 alloy. The influence of FSP treatment on various potential strengthening mechanisms, including grain boundary, solid solution, and sub-micron particle strengthening mechanisms, was studied. It is identified that the grain boundary strengthening plays a significant contribution to the strength of the FSP treated AZ91. FSP... 

Welding of severely plastic deformed aluminum sheets, with high stored strain energy, faces a serious concern, which is decrease in strength of weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ) due to instability in microstructure and related grain growth. In this work, two-passes constrained groove pressed (CGPed) Al-1050 sheets were welded via friction stir welding (FSW), without and with addition of a hybrid powder including 50 vol.% α-Al2O3 nanoparticles+50 vol.% graphite micrometric powders (∼1 vol.% of hybrid powders in stir zone). Al2O3 nanoparticles may result in grain refinement in stir zone by grain boundary pinning. Lubricating nature of graphite may reduce welding heat input resulting in lower... 

In this research, friction stir joining of aluminum-polypropylene/talc composite was investigated due to the numerous applications of aluminum-polymer joints in automotive and aerospace industry. A novel tool design, including a rotary/stationary holder, was used to improve the appearance and mechanical performance of friction stir lap joints by preventing the mixed molten polymer and aluminum particles from exiting the stirred zone. Effect of tool transverse speed on the joint microstructure and strength was investigated. Using the rotary/stationary holder, tensile-shear strength of the joints increased (by ~ 45 to ~ 220% at various transverse speeds). Since during the tensile-shear test... 

The effect of the rotational speed and dwell time on the joint interface microstructure and tensile-shear strength of friction stir spot welded Al-5083 aluminum/St-12 steel alloy sheets was investigated. Joining of the sheets was performed using an alternative friction stir spot welding (FSSW) process in which the welding tool tip did not penetrate into the lower steel sheet. Rotational speeds of 900 and 1100 rpm were applied in association with the dwell times of 5 to 15 s to weld the samples. Thermal history was recorded during the joining process. Interfacial microstructure, formation of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the joint interface and the fracture locations were studied using... 

In-situ aluminum matrix composites were fabricated by 1-3 passes of friction stir process (FSP) using iron (Fe) particles with initial size of 10. μm. Although the initial reinforcing particles were relatively large in size and also agglomerated particles were formed in the obtained composites, all of the processed specimens fractured from the base metal during transverse tensile test. Longitudinal tensile tests revealed that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the composites was up to 43% higher than that of the base metal; however, the strain to fracture of the composites reached to about 0.2. Al-Fe intermetallic compounds (IMCs) formed at the interface of the aluminum matrix and Fe... 

In this work, friction stir soldering (FSS) as a new approach for fabrication of copper/copper lap joints was introduced. This process is principally based on the friction stir processing (FSP) that can be performed using FSP tools with and without pin on the top sheet. In the present study, Pb-Sn foil was used as a solder which would be melted and then extruded in the area between the copper sheets during FSS process. This process was carried out using tools with and without pin at various rotation speeds of 1200, 1400, and 1600 rpm and traverse speed of 32 mm/min. Also, the same joint was fabricated using furnace soldering to compare the mechanical properties obtained with FSS and furnace... 

Effects of zinc layer on microstructure and mechanical behavior of resistance spot welds of aluminum to galvanized (GS-Al joint) and low carbon steel (PS-Al joint) were explored. The results showed that although nugget 'volume' in PS-Al joint was larger, the nugget 'diameters' of PS-Al and GS-Al joints were almost the same in size since the melted zinc layer was pushed toward the outer regions of the nugget. Melting and evaporation of zinc coat led to reduction of Al-Fe intermetallic layer thickness. Presence of zinc also reduced the fixture-induced tensile stress. Utilizing carbon steel fixtures during welding caused a sensible vibration in the joint members. The vibration resulted in... 

There has always been a question about which condition results in superior mechanical properties in friction stir spot welds: (i) when the tool tip penetrates into the lower sheet or (ii) when the tool tip does not touch it. Given the question, the effects of the tool penetration depth were investigated on the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of dissimilar Al-5083/St-12 joints produced by friction stir spot welding (FSSW). Two different processes named as non-penetrating and penetrating FSSW were used. Optical and scanning electron microscopes as well as microhardness and tensile-shear tests were utilised to examine the obtained joints. The results showed that the penetrating process...