High-speed friction stir welding in light weight battery trays for the EV industry

Present work aims to achieve high welding speed during friction stir welding of lightweight battery trays in the electric vehicle industry. This study reports high-speed friction stir welding (HSFSW) up to 4.0 m min(-1) in AA6063-T6 alloys. The defect-free HSFSW joints are produced by adopting aggressive material mixing, i.e. higher tool rotation and plunge force. HSFSW weld cross-section reported an unusual hardness profile of 'U' shape instead of 'W' shape in conventional FSW of AA6xxx alloys. HSFSW resulted softening of weld stir zone (similar to 60HV) along with HAZ (similar to 53HV) against the base material (BM) hardness of similar to 90HV. The HSFSW at 4.0 m min(-1) obtained good joint strength of 71% of the BM. Microstructure evolutions across the fractured weld cross-section are discussed using EBSD analysis.

Automated summary

This study aims to achieve high welding speed in friction stir welding of lightweight battery trays in the electric vehicle industry. It reports the use of high-speed friction stir welding (HSFSW) up to 4.0 m min(-1) in AA6063-T6 alloys. The HSFSW joints exhibit a unique hardness profile and good joint strength at high speeds.