Wednesday  |  Phipps  |  04:40 PM–05:00 PM

#13841, Joining of Aluminum Alloy 6061 Plates via Solid State Additive Processing

In this study, aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061) plates were joined together using the Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD) process with AA6061 as the deposited feedstock filler material. Three different butt-weld grooves were used for this study, and each groove type was joined with four different spacings. Square, U, and V weld grooves were joined at 0, 2, 4 and 6 millimeter spacings to produce fully dense defect free welds. Both monotonic and cyclic data performed on the specimens access the robustness of AFSD as a joining method to fill gaps between base material of varying spaces. Localized properties of the joints were probed by Vickers microhardness measurements to detail the formation of the heat effected zone (HAZ) in the solid-state joints. Microstructure characterization with optical and electron microscopy techniques captured material flow and dynamic recrystallization occurring in the deposited filler material with refined equiaxed grain morphology observed in the deposition nugget.

Jacob Strain   The University of Alabama
Malcolm Williams   The University of Alabama
Christopher Williamson   The University of Alabama
Paul Allison   The University of Alabama
Brian Jordon   The University of Alabama