Joint characteristics and dissimilar materials joining of pure-Al/5083 by friction stir welding

Abstract

Friction stir welding (FSW)^1,2, developed in 1991 by The Welding Institute, UK is a joining process which overthrew welding concepts which existed at the time; its application has been progressed not only for soft alloys including aluminium, but also, in recent years, for steel.³ Sato and others carried out friction stir welding on 1080-O and 5083-O materials and investigated variations in the hardness.⁴ Ten years or so have passed since the development of friction stir welding, the process has been globally investigated and widely employed in various sectors such as vehicles, ships and the aerospace industry. Furthermore, investigations have also been carried out into the manufacture of dissimilar metal joints. For example, Enomoto studied 2024/AC4C cast alloy and reportedly obtained satisfactory joints.⁵ Li and others have investigated 2024/6061 and reported that both alloys are distributed at the weld zone in a stratified and complex manner.⁶