Effects of Process Parameters on Friction Stir Spot Welding of Aluminum Alloy to Advanced High-Strength Steel

This paper studies a friction stir spot welding (FSSW) process that has been successfully applied to join aluminum alloy 6061-T6 to transformation-induced plasticity steel (TRIP) 780/800 steel. Cross sections of weld specimens show the formation of a hook with a swirling structure. A higher magnified scanning electron microscope (SEM) view of the swirling structure with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis reveals that it is composed of alternating thin layers of steel and Al-Fe intermetallic compounds (IMCs). To check the effect of different process parameters on the weld strength, the effects of tool plunge speed and dwell time were studied through the design of experiments (DOE) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. It shows that dwell time is a more dominant parameter in affecting the weld strength than plunge speed. Furthermore, investigation of failure using a lap shear tests reveals that cross nugget failure is the only failure mode. It also shows that cracks are initiated in the swirling structure at the tensile side of the weld nugget. After failure, a cleavage feature can be observed on the fractured surface.