Experimental Study of Stationary Shoulder Friction Stir Welded 7N01-T4 Aluminum Alloy

Stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW) was successfully used to weld 7N01-T4 aluminum alloy with the thickness of 4 mm. Effects of welding speed on formations, microstructures, and mechanical properties of SSFSW joint were investigated in detail. Under a constant rotational velocity of 2000 rpm, defect-free joints with smooth surface and small flashes are attained using welding speeds of 20 and 30 mm/min. Macrostructure of nugget zone in cross section presents kettle shape. For 7N01-T4 aluminum alloy with low thermal conductivity, decreasing welding speed is beneficial to surface formation of joint. With the increase of welding speed, mechanical properties of joints firstly increase and then decrease. When the welding speed is 30 mm/min, the tensile strength and elongation of joint reach the maximum values of 379 MPa and 7.9%, equivalent to 84.2 and 52% of base material, respectively. Fracture surface morphology exhibits typical ductile fracture. In addition, the minimum hardness value of joint appears in the heat affected zone.