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Effect of copper donor material-assisted friction stir welding of AA6061-T6 alloy on downward force, microstructure, and mechanical properties

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Abstract

In this research, copper (Cu) donor material-assisted friction stir welding (FSW) of AA6061-T6 alloy was studied. Cu-assisted FSW joints of AA6061-T6 alloy were prepared at a constant tool rotational rate of 1400 rpm and various welding speeds at 1 mm/s and 3 mm/s. The Cu donor material of different thickness (i.e., 20%, 40%, and 60%) with respect to the workpiece thickness was selected to assist the FSW joining at the plunge stage. It is observed that the downward force generated in the FSW process was gradually decreased after introducing Cu donor material with incremental thicknesses with respect to workpiece at the plunge stage. Post-weld analysis was characterized in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties. The results of microstructure analysis at the stir zone (SZ) show the formation of finer grains due to dynamic recrystallization and plastic deformation. Micro-hardness tests reveal that the hardness decreased from the base metal (BM) to the SZ across the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ). The lowest value of hardness appeared in the TMAZ and HAZ where tensile failure occurs. With increasing welding speed, the average hardness in the SZ decreased due to lower heat input and faster cooling rate. Tensile test plots show no significant change in ultimate tensile strength with or without Cu donor material. Fractography of tensile tested samples shows both ductile and brittle like structure for given welding parameters. This proposed work of FSW with Cu donor material is promising to increase tool life due to the decrement of the downforce during plunge and throughout the welding stage. Meanwhile, the inclusion of donor material did not compromise the weld quality in terms of the mechanical properties and micro-hardness.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge support from NASA (award number: 80NSSC20M0015). The author ZW also would like to acknowledge support from ONR (award number: N00014-19-1-2728). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NASA and ONR. The authors would also like to thank the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) and Amsted Rail for providing the facility for sample characterization. The assistance of Geoff Widman in performing the experiments is also gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

The work is supported by NASA (award number: 80NSSC20M0015). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NASA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, 23806, USA

    Srinivasa Naik Bhukya & Zhenhua Wu

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Joseph Maniscalco & Abdelmageed Elmustafa

Authors
  1. Srinivasa Naik Bhukya
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  2. Zhenhua Wu
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  3. Joseph Maniscalco
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  4. Abdelmageed Elmustafa
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Contributions

Dr. S. Bhukya carried out experimentation and data analysis and wrote/revised the manuscript. Dr. Z. Wu, as the Principal Investigator, secured funding and resources for the research, designed experiment, and wrote and revised the manuscript. Mr. J. Maniscalco proofread the manuscript. Dr. A. Elmustafa conceptualized the experiment, reviewed, and revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhenhua Wu.

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Not applicable. This research is on FSW experimentation; it does not need Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.

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Bhukya, S.N., Wu, Z., Maniscalco, J. et al. Effect of copper donor material-assisted friction stir welding of AA6061-T6 alloy on downward force, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 119, 2847–2862 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08390-8

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