Mechanical and metallurgical properties of friction welded AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel

Owing to the superior properties, of stainless steel it is pertinent to make use of it in various automotive, aerospace, nuclear, chemical and cryogenic applications. It is observed that a wide range of dissimilar materials can be easily integrated by solid phase bonding techniques, such as friction welding and explosive bonding. This study mainly focuses on friction welding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel. The friction processed joints are evaluated for their integrity and quality aspects. Friction welding of austenitic stainless steel was carried out using a KUKA friction welding machine (Germany). As the friction time increased, the fully plastically deformed zone (region I) in the vicinity of the bond line becomes increased. In contrast, an increase in friction time will decrease the region (region II) where the grains are partly deformed and grown. Tensile test results indicated that, the joint strength is decreased with an increase of the friction time. The detailed fractographic observation confirmed that the rupture occurred mostly at the joint zone and partly through the base material.