Friction welding of pure titanium-AZ31 magnesium alloy: Characterization and simulation

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process that is still effectively utilized for joining Mg alloys, Ti alloys, and many other similar and dissimilar materials. Application and dissimilar joining of titanium to magnesium are very attractive in the automobile industry due to the reduction in automobile weight and fuel consumption. In this study, parameter optimization of friction welding on the shear strength of pure commercial titanium to AZ31 magnesium alloy joint by response surface methodology (RSM) was carried out. Rotation speed, friction pressure, and forging pressure on three levels were considered as the variable parameters in welding for a friction time of 4 s and a fixed forge time of 8 s. The torsion test results showed that the best shear strength (103.285 MPa) is related to the sample with optimum parameters, namely, a friction pressure of 50 MPa, forging pressure of 40 MPa, and rotation speed of 1300 rpm. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to investigate the capability of the expanded model. The ANOVA results also showed that among the parameters, rotation speed and friction pressure significantly affect the shear strength. The reason is that high rotation speed and friction pressure can result in rapid transformation for achieving axial displacement stability and escalation of temperature.

Automated summary

Friction stir welding is a solid-state joining process that is effectively used to join different materials. This study focuses on the parameter optimization of friction welding on the shear strength of titanium and magnesium alloy joint. The results show that rotation speed and friction pressure significantly affect the shear strength.