Numerical investigation of friction stir welding parameters on microstructure, thermal and mechanical properties of ultrafine-grained Al-0.2 wt% Sc alloy sheet

Abstract

In this paper, the friction stir welding (FSW) of ultrafine-grained Al-Sc alloy sheets, obtained by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) method, has been simulated in order to indicate the impact of the FSW on the microstructure, thermal and mechanical properties. In addition, the effectiveness of the FSW parameters, i. e, tool rotational speed, welding speed, and tool tilt angle was investigated to achieve the optimized parameters. The numerical modelling was implemented in SYSWELD and Visual-Environment software and was validated by experimental results. The findings indicated that FSW is a beneficial process to maintain the ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure, having high mechanical properties in the accumulative roll bonded material. Tool rotational speed had the highest impact on thermal and mechanical properties. The highest values of the hardness and the yield strength of the Al-Sc sheets were achieved under the optimal parameters of the tool rotational speed, welding speed, and tool tilt angle of 700 r/min, 80 mm/min, and 3°, respectively.

Keywords

friction stir welding / ultrafine-grain / aluminum alloys / mechanical properties / finite element modelling

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