Effect of friction pressure on microstructure and tensile properties of linear friction welded Ti-6Al-4V alloy joints

This investigation aims to study the influence of friction pressure (FRNP) on the evolution of microstructure and tensile properties of Ti6Al4V alloy joints developed using linear friction welding (LFW) for aeroengine applications. The Ti6Al4V alloy plates of 6 mm thickness were joined using different levels of FRNP from 10 MPa to 30 MPa. The weld joint quality was analyzed employing stereo-zoom microscope. The microstructure of LFW joints was studied using optical (OM), scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The hardness and tensile properties were evaluated and correlated to the microstructure of joints. The fractographs were studied using SEM and correlated to the hardness. The LF welded Ti6Al4V joints made using the optimum level of FRNP of 20 MPa exhibited greater tensile strength (UTS) of 993 MPa, and elongation (EL) of 8%. It showed notch tensile strength (NTS) of 1073 MPa and notch strength ratio (NSR) of 1.041 revealing ductile fracture. The LF welded Ti6Al4V joints revealed 96.41%, 104.10% and 66.67% of UTS, NTS and EL of base metal. The greater smooth and notch tensile properties of joints are principally imputed to maximum refinement of alpha & thorn; beta grains at interface of joint. (c) 2023 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/).