Effect of Fe particles on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of friction welded Al-Cu components

ABSTRACT

Metals like aluminium (Al) and copper (Cu) are excessively used in electrical, automobile, nuclear, and structural applications because of their desirable electrical and mechanical properties. Joining of components made of pure Al and Cu is one of the challenging areas of research, because of the rapid oxidation characteristics of Al and intense formation of Al-Cu intermetallics in the joint interface. The existing welding techniques such as laser welding, metal inert gas welding, and arc welding have hardships in the development of joint between Al and Cu with desirable metallurgical and mechanical properties. Friction welding is a solid-state joining technique that utilises the frictional heat to develop the joint between the materials at relatively low temperatures. In this study, the effect of friction welding parameter on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction welded pure Al and Cu were studied. Besides, the microstructural evolution in friction welding Al and Cu with Fe particle reinforcement was analysed. The elemental composition and phases were analysed using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis. The microstructural analysis revealed that Fe particles reduced the formation of Al-Cu intermetallic phases at the joint interface.

KEYWORDS:

• Friction welding
• copper
• aluminium
• iron
• microstructure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abin Joe Alex

Abin Joe Alex is currently working as a Design Engineer in Cognizance Technology, Dubai in the area of additive manufacturing technology. He has completed B.E. in Mechanical engineering (distinction) from the Christian College of Engineering and Technology, Bhilai. He received M.Tech. degree in Manufacturing Engineering (distinction) from Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore Campus), India.

Vaira Vignesh R.

Dr. Vaira Vignesh R. currently serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Coimbatore Campus). He received B.E. in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction) from Karpagam College of Engineering, an autonomous institution affiliated to Anna University, Chennai. He was conferred “Henry Ford Award” and “Best Academic Performer” for his distinct and meritorious academic performance in the senior year. Appreciating his excellence in the curricular and technical field, The Indian Society for Technical Education, New Delhi awarded him with the “ISTE Chapter Best Student Award” in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry section. He is the first and youngest scholar from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to hold a Ph.D. degree under the Faculty of Engineering directly after a bachelor’s degree. With his academic and research credentials, he won Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Ph.D. Scholarship consecutively for two years. He has over 20+ publications in peer-reviewed international journals (SCI, SCIE, and Scopus indexed), 20+ conference publications (Scopus indexed), and 4 book chapters (Scopus indexed) to his credit. He is an active reviewer and editorial member in peer-reviewed journals.

R. Padmanaban

Dr. R. Padmanaban is currently serving Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore campus as an Assistant Professor in the department of mechanical engineering. He has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students and supervising doctoral students. His areas of interest include welding and joining, numerical modeling, design of experiments, optimization and soft computing. He has published technical articles in peer-reviewed international journals and conferences.

M. Govindaraju

Dr. M. Govindaraju completed B.E. (with silver medal) in Metallurgical Engineering from Government College of Engineering, Salem, in the year 2001 and joined as Engineer at Non Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), Hyderabad in the same year. NFTDC is a self- financing autonomous research centre under the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. After joining NFTDC, subsequently, he completed M.Tech. and Ph.D. from IIT Madras. He has industry and research exposure of over 18 years in various capacities, in the field of advanced material processing, design, and fabrication of furnaces, leak testing, metallurgy and materials sciences, thermo-mechanical &  manufacturing processes, non-destructive testing, nanotechnology, composites, powder materials, new and advanced materials. Some of the projects completed by him were active brazing and thermal cycling of copper with alumina ceramic, joining of difficult to join alloys, design, fabrication, and commissioning of 1-ton vacuum induction melting furnace, pressure bonding of copper to the steel tube, indigenization of advanced material processing. Besides, he has involved in the indigenization of various process equipment, mainly high technology furnaces for processing of materials for ISRO, BARC, DRDO and other national programs. He has indigenized more than 15 techniques/equipment for various applications in India. He has completed 12 projects and 2 projects are ongoing; published 20  papers in international journals and presented more than 25 papers international conferences. He has delivered 100 guest lectures in various colleges and universities across India. He served there for 15 years in various capacities including as Principal Scientist, before moving to Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in July 2016 as an Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.