Microstructural and mechanical characterisation of 5XXX-H111 friction stir welded tailored blanks

Friction stir welds in 1 mm thick plates of AA 5182-H111 and AA 5083-H111 aluminium alloys are analysed in this paper. The welds were produced using a large range of welding conditions, namely, different process control modes (position and load control), tool parameters (different geometries and dimensions) and process parameters (rotation speed, advancing speed and axial load). Visual inspection and metallographic and mechanical analysis demonstrate that it is possible to obtain consistently good quality welds in very thin plates under a large range of welding conditions. Important relations between base material properties, tool geometry and the final properties of the welds were established.