Texture Development in a Friction Stir Lap-Welded AZ31B Magnesium Alloy

The present study was aimed at characterizing the microstructure, texture, hardness, and tensile properties of an AZ31B-H24 Mg alloy that was friction stir lap welded (FSLWed) at varying tool rotational rates and welding speeds. Friction stir lap welding (FSLW) resulted in the presence of recrystallized grains and an associated hardness drop in the stir zone (SZ). Microstructural investigation showed that both the AZ31B-H24 Mg base metal (BM) and SZ contained beta-Mg17Al12 and Al8Mn5 second phase particles. The AZ31B-H24 BM contained a type of basal texture (0001)aOE (c) 110 > with the (0001) plane nearly parallel to the rolled sheet surface and aOE (c) 110 > directions aligned in the rolling direction. FSLW resulted in the formation of another type of basal texture (0001)aOE (c) 100 > in the SZ, where the basal planes (0001) became slightly tilted toward the transverse direction, and the prismatic planes (100) and pyramidal planes (101) exhibited a 30 deg + (n - 1) x 60 deg rotation (n = 1, 2, 3, aEuro broken vertical bar) with respect to the rolled sheet normal direction, due to the shear plastic flow near the pin surface that occurred from the intense local stirring. With increasing tool rotational rate and decreasing welding speed, the maximum intensity of the basal poles (0001) in the SZ decreased due to a higher degree of dynamic recrystallization that led to a weaker or more random texture. The tool rotational rate and welding speed had a strong effect on the failure load of FSLWed joints. A combination of relatively high welding speed (20 mm/s) and low tool rotational rate (1000 rpm) was observed to be capable of achieving a high failure load. This was attributed to the relatively small recrystallized grains and high intensity of the basal poles in the SZ arising from the low heat input as well as the presence of a small hooking defect.