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Fatigue performance of thick 6061-T6 aluminum friction stir welded joints with misalignment or channel defects

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Abstract

This study aims to contribute to the development of performance-based quality control criteria, and fatigue design provisions for friction stir welded (FSW) joints used in structural applications. Fatigue tests have been conducted under tension loading on thick AA6061-T6 aluminum plates fabricated using friction stir welding. Fatigue stress-life (S–N) curves have been compared to fatigue design curves (ADM and IIW) available in international design codes. Defect tolerances in existing FSW standards (AWS and ISO) have been reviewed. Results show that an axial (linear) misalignment defects of the order of 10% of the plate’s thickness in size and a channel (wormhole) defect with the largest dimension of the order of 9% of the plate’s thickness provide an average fatigue strength of 81 MPa and 78 MPa respectively as compared to 103 MPa for a properly welded joint.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC) and the Aluminium Research Center (REGAL) for their financial support. The authors also wish to thank the Centre de Soudage par Friction Malaxage de l’UQAC (CSFM-UQAC) for the use of its welding equipment and time. The authors wish to acknowledge Groupe Canmec Inc. for its help and partnership. Assistance from the technical staff at the University of Waterloo, CURAL, and CSFM-UQAC is also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département Des Sciences Appliquées, Université du Québec À Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada

    A. Fleury, L. St-Georges & A. Rahem

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India

    R. Ranjan

  3. Faculty of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia

    L. H. Shah

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    S. Walbridge

  5. Centre for Advanced Materials Joining, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    A. Gerlich

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  1. A. Fleury
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  2. R. Ranjan
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  4. L. St-Georges
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  6. S. Walbridge
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Correspondence to A. Fleury.

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Fleury, A., Ranjan, R., Shah, L.H. et al. Fatigue performance of thick 6061-T6 aluminum friction stir welded joints with misalignment or channel defects. Weld World 67, 707–720 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-022-01430-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-022-01430-1

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