Repair Welding of the Tunnel Defect in Friction Stir Weld

The tunnel defect formed in friction stir weld would dramatically push the mechanical properties of joints into deterioration. In this study, friction stir welding process was adopted to repair the joints of 7N01 aluminum alloy with tunnel defect. The effects of friction stir repair welding process on the microstructure and mechanical properties were comprehensively investigated. Microstructure of the repaired joints shows that the grain size in nugget zone decreases slightly while the recrystallization in the retreating side of thermo-mechanically affected zone is intensified as the joints are repaired. The microhardness of the repaired joints declined slightly compared with the defective joint. However, the yield strength and tensile strength increase and recover to the values of the joints free of defect. The longitudinal residual stress in weld zone increased remarkably as the repair times increase. Compared with the once repaired joint, yield strength and tensile strength of the twice repaired joint reduced slightly, and the throat thickness also reduced during the repeated repair welding process. Therefore, the times of repair welding applied should be limited actually.