Corrosion Behaviour Of Friction-Stir Welded Dissimilar Aluminum Alloy Butt Joints

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of process variables on micro structure and corrosion behavior of heat affected zone in friction stir welded AA5052H32-AA6061t6 aluminum plates. As friction stir welding process operates at well below the melting temperatures of base metals, often the grain structure is not much affected. This may lead to poor corrosion behavior in some instances. Some methods to improve corrosion resistance are proposed in this paper for dissimilar aluminum alloy joints. Initially, the experimental procedure is explained and output parameter measurement tests are given. Tensile and impact tests are also conducted along with microscopic examination of samples. The weld velocity and tool rotation are varied in three levels and some set of samples are prepared. Microscopic examination of samples using SEM revealed that the accumulated copper at the nugget zone in all the cases is cause of corrosion behavior of samples.