Angular distortion and through-thickness residual stress distribution in the friction-stir processed 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

Residual stresses were measured through the thickness of friction-stir processed (FSP) 6061-T6 aluminum-alloy plates using neutron diffraction. Two different specimens were prepared to study the relationship between residual stress distributions through the thickness of the plate and angular distortion: (Case 1) a plate processed with both stirring pin and too] shoulder, i.e., a typical FSP plate subjected to both plastic deformation and frictional heat, and (Case 2) a plate processed only with the tool shoulder, i.e., subjected mainly to the frictional heating. The measured residual stress profiles show relatively small through-thickness residual stress variations in Case 1, while there is a significant through-thickness residual stress variations in Case 2. The main cause of the geometric angular distortion could be related to the non-uniform distribution of the frictional heat generated by the tool shoulder leading to the asymmetric distributions of the residual stress through the thickness of the FSP plate. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.