Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigating strength increasing modifications to a friction stir welded AA7075 T-peel joint’s exit location: a modeling led study

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Modifying the friction stir welding (FSW) process to improve the strength of the joint requires knowledge of process-structure–property relationships. Exit holes in friction-stir welded joints, unavoidable artifacts of FSW, are known to reduce joint strength. However, the aspect of the AA7075 T-peel joint’s structure at the exit location that is the most detrimental to the strength remains to be discovered. This study used finite element simulations to explore the effect of two modifications to the joint’s structure at the exit location on joint strength. The two modifications were eliminating the exit hole and producing an effective bond around the exit hole. The simulations relied on characterizing the weld’s structure and local hardness distributions and considered fracture property variation. Through modeling, it was predicted that effective bonding around the exit hole would significantly increase joint strength even with the presence of the exit hole. In the subsequent experimental task, the rotating tool “dwelled” at the exit hole before it exited the workpiece. In other words, the welding process was modified to include dwell time at the exit location, and as a result, effective bonding around the hole was observed. Using dwell times of 1, 2, and 5 s increased the T-peel joint’s strength by 29%, 31%, and 41%, respectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Threadgilll PL, Leonard AJ, Shercliff HR, Withers PJ (2009) Friction stir welding of aluminium alloys. Int Mater Rev 54(2):49–93. https://doi.org/10.1179/174328009X411136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Long RS, Boettcher E, Crawford D (2017) Current and future uses of aluminum in the automotive industry. JOM 69(12):2635–2639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2554-9

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Mishra RS, Ma ZY (2005) Friction stir welding and processing. Mater Sci Eng R Reports 50(1–2):1–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mser.2005.07.001

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hoffman EK, Boddorff AK, Taminger KM, Mulvaney C, Stegall DE (2022) Advanced lightweight metallic fuselage project manufacturing trade study. NASA Technical Memo 2021-0026758.https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20210026758

  5. Mishra RS, De PS, Kumar N (2014) Friction stir welding and processing: science and engineering, vol 9783319070. Springer International Publishing, Cham

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Shrivastava A, Overcash M, Pfefferkorn FE (2015) Prediction of unit process life cycle inventory (UPLCI) energy consumption in a friction stir weld. J Manuf Process 18:46–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2014.10.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ma ZY, Feng AH, Chen DL, Shen J (2018) Recent advances in friction stir welding/processing of aluminum alloys: microstructural evolution and mechanical properties. Crit Rev Solid State Mater Sci 43(4):269–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408436.2017.1358145

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bin Chen H, Yan K, Lin T, Ben Chen S, Jiang CY, Zhao Y (2006) The investigation of typical welding defects for 5456 aluminum alloy friction stir welds. Mater Sci Eng A 433(1–2):64–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2006.06.056

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang J, Upadhyay P, Hovanski Y, Field DP (2017) High-speed FSW aluminum alloy 7075 microstructure and corrosion properties. Friction Stir Welding and Processing IX. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. pp 125–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52383-5_14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  10. Elangovan K, Balasubramanian V, Babu S (2009) Predicting tensile strength of friction stir welded AA6061 aluminium alloy joints by a mathematical model. Mater Des 30(1):188–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2008.04.037

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Arbegast WJ (2008) A flow-partitioned deformation zone model for defect formation during friction stir welding. Scr Mater 58(5):372–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2007.10.031

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Costa MI, Verdera D, Costa JD, Leitao C, Rodrigues DM (2015) Influence of pin geometry and process parameters on friction stir lap welding of AA5754-H22 thin sheets. J Mater Process Technol 225:385–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2015.06.020

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Upadhyay P, Reynolds AP (2010) Effects of thermal boundary conditions in friction stir welded AA7050-T7 sheets. Mater Sci Eng A 527(6):1537–1543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2009.10.039

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ma ZY, Sharma SR, Mishra RS (2006) Effect of multiple-pass friction stir processing on microstructure and tensile properties of a cast aluminum–silicon alloy. Scr Mater 54(9):1623–1626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2006.01.010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Grujicic M, Snipes JS, Ramaswami S, Yen CF (2016) A combined experimental/computational analysis of the butt-friction-stir-welded AA2139-T8 joints. J Mater Eng Perform 25(7):2690–2701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-016-2133-1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Nielsen KL, Pardoen T, Tvergaard V, de Meester B, Simar A (2010) Modelling of plastic flow localisation and damage development in friction stir welded 6005A aluminium alloy using physics based strain hardening law. Int J Solids Struct 47(18–19):2359–2370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2010.03.019

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Yoon JW, Bray GH, Valente RAF, Childs TER (2009) Buckling analysis for an integrally stiffened panel structure with a friction stir weld. Thin-Walled Struct 47(12):1608–1622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tws.2009.05.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fanelli P, Vivio F, Vullo V (2012) Experimental and numerical characterization of friction stir spot welded joints. Eng Fract Mech 81:17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2011.07.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Reza-E-Rabby M, Ross K, McDonnell M, Whalen SA (2020) Numerical simulation and experimental validation of joint performance in aluminum-steel lap welds formed by friction stir dovetailing. J Mater Process Technol 277(September 2019):116459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2019.116459

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Yazdanian S, Chen ZW, Littlefair G (2012) Effects of friction stir lap welding parameters on weld features on advancing side and fracture strength of AA6060-T5 welds. J Mater Sci 47(3):1251–1261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-011-5747-6

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Balakrishnan M, Leitão C, Arruti E, Aldanondo E, Rodrigues DM (2018) Influence of pin imperfections on the tensile and fatigue behaviour of AA 7075–T6 friction stir lap welds. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 97(5–8):3129–3139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2172-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Balusu et al (2023) The role of fracture properties on lap joint strength of friction stir welded AA7055-T6 sheets. In Minerals, Metals and Materials Series, pp 193–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22661-8_18

  23. Meng X, Huang Y, Cao J, Shen J, dos Santos JF (2021) Recent progress on control strategies for inherent issues in friction stir welding. Prog Mater Sci 115(June 2020):100706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2020.100706

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Han B, Huang Y, Lv S, Wan L, Feng J, Fu G (2013) AA7075 bit for repairing AA2219 keyhole by filling friction stir welding. Mater Des 51:25–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2013.03.089

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Upadhyay P, Das H, Graff D (2021) Three-sheet al alloy assembly for automotive application. In: Hovanski Y, Sato Y, Upadhyay P, Naumov AA, Kumar N (eds) Friction Stir Welding and Processing XI. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 13–20

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  26. Chen G, Wang G, Shi Q, Zhao Y, Hao Y, Zhang S (2019) Three-dimensional thermal-mechanical analysis of retractable pin tool friction stir welding process. J Manuf Process 41(March):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2019.03.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Wang T, Liu T, Roosendaal T, Upadhyay P (2022) Reinforcing the exit hole from friction stir welding and processing. SSRN Electron J 26(August):101611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2022.101611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Das H, Kalsar R, Shukla S, Anaman SY, Upadhyay P, Cho HH (2023) Microstructure and texture evolution of friction stir lap welded dissimilar multi-aluminum stack. Mater Charact 206(PA):113398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2023.113398

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Bažant ZP (2000) Size effect. Int J Solids Struct 37(1–2):69–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7683(99)00077-3

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  30. Bahemmat P, Haghpanahi M, Besharati MK, Ahsanizadeh S, Rezaei H (2010) “Study on mechanical, micro-, and macrostructural characteristics of dissimilar friction stir welding of AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T6. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part B J Eng Manuf 224(12):1854–1864. https://doi.org/10.1243/09544054JEM1959

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Tabor D (1951) The hardness of metals. Oxford University Press

    Google Scholar 

  32. Derry CG (2008) Characterisation and modelling of toughness in aerospace aluminium alloy friction stir welds. University of Manchester

    Google Scholar 

  33. Ritchie RO (2011) The conflicts between strength and toughness. Nat Mater 10(11):817–822. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3115

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Mehta KP, Patel R, Vyas H, Memon S, Vilaça P (2020) Repairing of exit-hole in dissimilar Al-Mg friction stir welding: process and microstructural pattern. Manuf Lett 23:67–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mfglet.2020.01.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Yang C, Tomblin JS, Guan Z (2003) Analytical modeling of ASTM lap shear adhesive specimens. U.S. Dep Transp Fed Aviat Adm Off Aviat Res Washington, D.C.DOT/FAA/AR-02/130 (February):78. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA413663

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Sarah Kleinbaum and Chis Schooler at the US Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technology Office for funding this work under the Joining Core Program 2.0. The authors are also thankful to Eric Boettcher at Honda R&D Inc. and Russell Long at Arconic Inc. for providing support in modeling setup and materials needed for experimental work, respectively.

Funding

This work is funded by Sarah Kleinbaum and Chis Schooler at the US Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technology Office under the Joining Core Program 2.0.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99354, USA

    Kranthi Balusu, Hrishikesh Das, Shivakant Shukla, Ayoub Soulami & Piyush Upadhyay

Authors
  1. Kranthi Balusu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hrishikesh Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shivakant Shukla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ayoub Soulami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Piyush Upadhyay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

KB: conceptualization, writing—original draft, methodology, software, validation, visualization, investigation. HD: writing—review and editing, methodology, visualization, investigation. SS: methodology, visualization, investigation. AS: funding acquisition, supervision, resources. PU: writing—review and editing, funding acquisition, supervision, resources, conceptualization.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kranthi Balusu.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Balusu, K., Das, H., Shukla, S. et al. Investigating strength increasing modifications to a friction stir welded AA7075 T-peel joint’s exit location: a modeling led study. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 130, 5591–5600 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-024-12961-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-024-12961-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation