Accepted Manuscript

Title: Wear Behaviour of Friction Stir Weld Joint of Cast Al

(4-10%) Cu alloyWelded at Different Operating Parameters
Author: Alok Manas Dubey Ajay Kumar Ashok Kumar Yadav
PII:
DOI:
Reference:

S0924-0136(16)30316-8
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2016.09.003
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Journal of Materials Processing Technology

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7-3-2016
26-8-2016
6-9-2016

Please cite this article as: Dubey, Alok Manas, Kumar, Ajay, Yadav, Ashok Kumar,
Wear Behaviour of Friction Stir Weld Joint of Cast Al (4-10%) Cu alloyWelded
at Different Operating Parameters.Journal of Materials Processing Technology
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2016.09.003
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Wear Behaviour of Friction Stir Weld Joint of Cast Al (4-10%) Cu

alloyWelded at Different Operating Parameters

Alok Manas Dubey1*Ajay Kumar2, Ashok Kumar Yadav1

1

Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad

Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology, Greater Noida, India

(*Corresponding Author alokmanas28@rediffmail.com.Tel.:+919958423549)

Abstract
The effect of Friction stir welding on microstructure, hardness and wear rate of Al-Cu alloy was
measured in this study. Wear tests for cast aluminium alloy joint were conducted on a pin disc
machine for different loads of 2, 3 and 4 kg at constant sliding velocity. The pins were prepared
from cast aluminium billets of 4x4 mm2 cross-sections worn on En31 steel as counter body.
Wear behavior and hardness for welded and unwelded portion were determined for the joint. The
highest hardness value occurs in the centre of the welded zone followed by a gradual decrease
across the TMAZ and HAZ until reaching the hardness value of the base material. Hardness of
each sample was co-related with the friction and wear behavior of cast aluminium alloy of FSW.
Microstructure of FSW was also obtained for weld zone (fusion zone) boundary (between weld
zone & HAZ), heat affected zone and base metal region.
Key words: Friction stir welding (FSW); Cast aluminium alloy; Wear behavior; Dry sliding.
1. Introduction
In FSW a non consumable, cylindrical, shouldered tool with a profiled probe is rotated
and advances slowly into the joint between two sheets, which are butt joint together. FSW can be
used to join aluminium sheets and plates without filler wire or shielding gas. Nicholas et al.
[2000] demonstrated that material with thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 65 mm can be welded
from one side without any porosity or internal voids. Traditionally the focus has been on nonferrous alloys, but recent advances have challenged this assumption, enabling FSW to be applied
to a broader range of materials. Rabinowicz et al. [1965] detailed the friction and wear of
materials and explained the FSW process whereby the work-pieces are rigidly clamped onto a
backing plate in a manner that prevents the butting joint faces from being forced apart. Frictional
heat is generated between the wear resistant welding tool and the material of the work-pieces.
This heat causes the material to soften without reaching the melting point and allows traversing
of the tool along the weld line. The plasticized material is transferred from the leading edge of
1

the tool to the trailing edge of the tool probe and is forged by the intimate contact of the tool
shoulder and the pin profile. It leaves a solid phase bond between the two sheets. Rizi et al.
[2014] investigated microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of a friction stir
welded cast aluminum bronze (Cu9Al1Fe), produced by a sand casting method at tool rotation
of 8501500 rpm and traverse speed of 50100 mm/min. The grain size was observed to
decrease after FSW, resulting in a greater microhardness across the welded region from about
100 HV in the base metal to about 150 HV at the center of the stir zone.
Nandan et al. [2008] reviewed heat generation, heat transfer and plastic flow during
welding, elements of tool design, understanding defect formation and the structure and properties
of the welded materials. Kennedy et al. [1980] presented an analytical treatment of the stress and
temperature distributions near the contact patches which form during high speed sliding. The size
of a contact patch is dependent on normal load and the mechanical and thermal properties of the
contacting materials. Patch temperatures can easily approach the melting points of the materials
at high rub speeds. Mishra et al [2005] addressed the current state of understanding and
development of the FSW and FSP in his review article. Particular emphasis was given to
mechanisms responsible for the formation of welds and microstructural refinement and effects of
FSW/FSP parameters on resultant microstructure and final mechanical properties.
Venkatesha et al. [2014] examined friction stir welded butt joints between AA6061 and
AA6063 metal plates .The microstructure evaluation of AA6061 showed that the fusion with
parent metal was good, grains were slightly elongated at the heat affected zone. The
microstructure evaluation of AA6063 showed that grains were severely elongated at HAZ.
Vickers Microhardness evaluation of AA6061 showed that after friction stir welding at parent
metal Vickers microhardness was slightly higher than weld zone. Vickers microhardness was
high at HAZ for AA6061. Vickers microhardness of AA 6063 at the weld region was higher than
HAZ and parent metal. Vickers microhardness of AA6063 was higher than AA6061 before and
after friction stir welding. Ultimate tensile strength of AA6061 was greater than AA6063 both
before and after FSW.
Wear is defined as damage to a surface. The most common form of this damage is loss of
material and the volume of material removed is a measure of wear. Loss of material takes place
under different wear mechanisms which are related to concepts such as brittle fracture, plastic
deformation, fatigue and cohesive and adhesive failures in bonded structures. Abrasion or
abrasive wear are deformation mechanisms caused by hard particles or hard protuberances. It is
primarily a classification based on a wear situation which is typically not a physical mechanism.
In this paper the dry sliding wear behavior of friction stir weld joint of cast aluminium alloy
welded at different operating parameters were studied.
2. Experimental Methods and Materials
A rectangular wooden pattern (1815mm2) of thickness 1mm was prepared as per the
requirement. Green sand was used for moulding. Total 20 kg aluminium was melted in induction
2

furnace having a capacity of 100 kg and the molten metal was tapped into the ladle having a
capacity of 10 kg. 0.5 kg of pure copper is then added in the ladle. That molten metal is poured
into the mould cavity from the ladle. Similarly, 10% Cu i.e. 1 kg of pure copper is added in the
ladle. After solidification, the castings were taken out and properly cleaned on a grinding
machine. Machining of plates was done on shaper machine to get the required dimension (1611
mm2) and thickness (0.8 mm). After machining, plates were cut into two equal halves .The tool
used in this experiment was made from heat treated mild steel. The tool shoulder is flat with 28
mm diameter. The pin is cylindrical with 1 thread per mm right hand pattern. The length of pin is
10 mm and diameter is 6 mm. Fig.1 shows a detailed schematic of the FSW tool.
A 1000 rpm motor is used for tool holder. The tool probe is slowly lowered down to the
bottom fixture so that the shoulder of the tool just touches the aluminium plate which moves at a
feed rate of 100 mm/min. With increasing the tool traverse speed from 140 mm/min to 180
mm/min, cross sectional defects like steel large fragments cause to lower tensile strength. Further
increment of traverse speed leads to formation of tunnel and void defect and hence the lowest
tensile strength. Peak temperature increases with increasing rotational speed. Recently, Ni et al.
[2013] and Wang et al. [2014] reported that the basin shaped NZ was obtained by FSW using
AA2009/SiC/15p specimen at higher rotation speeds above 1000 rpm, which gives an indication
about the effect of tool rotation speed on the NZ shape. There are indications that the travel
speed to rotational speed ratio is an important variable in the formation of the wormhole defect.
The dry sliding wear test was conducted on the Pin on a disc wear testing machine (Ducom, TR20LM-M5) conforming to ASTM G-99. A total of 24 tests were performed on 3 samples for
three different loads. The Specification of dry sliding wear testing machine is given in Table1
and speed selection according to the wear track diameters is shown in table 2.
Welding is then done on the work piece as shown in Fig.2. Fig.3 shows wear result generated by
Ducom wear testing machine in winducom software 2006. The wear rate decreased with increase
in the hardness. Fig.3 shows the variation in wear rate with varying loads and varying speeds. It
was found that the wear rate increased with load whereas it remained constant with varying
speeds. The coefficient of friction, friction force and temperature were found to be constant
irrespective of hardness for all the test conditions as shown in Fig.3.
The mild steel tool was heat treated at 720oC so that it can withstand the temperature and force
required for proper mixing of Al during friction stir welding process [Frigaard et al., 2001]. The
tool shoulder is flat with 28 mm diameter. The pin was cylindrical with 1 thread per mm Right
hand pattern. The length of pin is 35 mm and diameter 6 mm. The tool was rigidly mounted on
the tool shoulder using a twisted lock system. The fabricated FSW tool performed satisfactorily
to join aluminium alloy. Thomas et al. [2003] explained the working of tools of different designs
in FSW. They observed that the probe of the tool is applied to the abutting faces of the
workpieces and rotated, thereby generating frictional heat, which creates a softened plasticized
3

region [a third body] around the immersed probe and the interface between the shoulder of the
tool and the workpiece. The shoulder provides additional frictional treatment to the workpiece,
as well as preventing plasticized material from being expelled from the workpiece.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Microstructure
The general microstructures of Al-Cu specimens during experiments were determined
after grinding, polishing and etching in order to get clear microstructures. The Figs. 4 and 10
show optical micrographs of friction stir weld at weld zone, from micrograph it can be observed
that some fine cracks are seen. The Figs. 6 and 9 show optical micrographs of friction stir weld at
heat affected zone, from the micrograph it can be observed that grains are slightly elongated. The
Figs.7 and 8 show optical micrographs of friction stir weld at parent metal, from the micrograph
it can be observed that fusion with parent metal is good, coring is seen at grain boundaries, the
grains are coarse and dendrite structure. The size of aluminium and copper particles decreases
obviously as compared to the original material and the particle edges can be rounded or blunted
in the welded zone as shown in Fig.5. As a result, the aspect ratio of the particles decreases
noticeably. This phenomenon may be explained by the abrasion and stirring effect between
particles and tool pin circumference, shoulder surface during welding process.
Al-qawabah et al. [2015] indicated that the hardness of aluminium generally increases
and the grain size decreases with increase in copper concentration. This addition of copper to
aluminium increases its mechanical strength essentially due to grain size refinement and solid
solution effects.From the micro structural study it was observed that the grain size in weld zone
of 10% Cu sample (as shown in Figs.4, 5 and 6) is more refined in comparison to heat affected
zone and base metal. The grain size in base metal of 10% Cu sample is smaller in comparison to
base metal of 5% Cu sample (as shown in Fig.7 and 8).Moreover the grain size in weld zone of
5% Cu sample is smaller in comparison to heat affected zone of 5% Cu sample (as shown in
Figs.9 and 10). This is attributed to more grain refinement in the weld zone due to dynamic
recrystallization and more uniform distribution of finer reinforcement particles in the weld zone
due to FSW action.

3.2 BHN hardness test

From the experimental data tabulated in table 3 and 4it is clear that welded zone has maximum
hardness of 370 BHN for 5% Cu and 544BHN for10% Cu at 250 kg load.
The workpieces are exposed to thermal cycles and severe plastic deformation at high temperature
through the rotation of the tool in FSW. The plastic deformation occurs primarily at the weld
zone and not at the base material. From the above data (as shown in Fig.11 and 12), it is clear
that in case of 5% Cu and 10% Cu, the hardness is more at welded zone and then at HAZ. It is
4

evident that for all condition of weld zone, HAZ and unwelded zones the BHN value of 10% Cu
is more in comparison to 5% Cu. This can be best explained by the microstructures of 5% Cu
and 10% Cu. In case of 10% Cu, the grain refinement takes place more in comparison to 5 % Cu
leading to increase in hardness in HAZ and welded zone.
Salih et al. [2015] pointed out that the heat generated through the rotation of FSW tool
ideally reaches approximately 0.8 of the melting temperature of the joined workpieces. This
leads to reinforcement, redistribution, refinement, recrystallization and grain growth in the
welded zone. HAZ is characterised by lowered hardness due to dissolution and precipitates
growth. They further observed that the generation of dislocation due to the difference in thermal
expansion between aluminium matrix and reinforcements particles is more significant in the
welded zone than in the HAZ. Therefore hardness is less than the weld region.
3.3 Dry sliding wear test
3.3.1 Wear volume
Based on the equation Q =

KWL
H

, Archard et al.[1953] formulated three laws which govern the

adhesive wear process:

(1) The total amount of wear Q varies directly with the applied load W.
(2) Wear increases with increasing sliding distance L.
(3) Wear varies inversely with the hardness H of the softer material.
From fig.13 it is obvious that cumulative wear volume increases with sliding distance and is
proportional to load applied. This is in accordance with Archards laws. Moreover, wear volume
is much more at 4 kg as compared to 3 kg and 2 kg loads.From Fig. 14 it is clear that for welded
zone (5 % cu), wear volume is not much greater at 4 kg load than at 3kg and 2 kg load for larger
sliding distance. Moreover for shorter distance rate of increase of wear volume is approximately
same. Thus it can be said that welded zone has more wear resistance, even at higher loads.
Fig. 15 and 13 demonstrate that when Cu % increases the rate of increase in wear volume
decreases. Thus it can be said that for unwelded zone, increment in Cu % leads to enhancement
of wear resistance.

Fig.14 and 16 shows that for welded zone, when Cu % increases from5 to 10 there is an increase
in wear rate. Thus it can be concluded that Cu % should be optimum for minimizing the wear
volume.
From Fig.17, when we compare wear volume of unwelded (5% Cu) and welded (5% Cu)
samples, it is clear that at load of 4 Kg, its wear volume is going to decrease while at lower load
(2 kg and 3 kg) increases slightly. When we compare wear volume of unwelded (10% Cu) and
welded (10% Cu), it is obvious that at load of 4 kg, wear volume increases significantly while at
5

lower load (2 kg and 3 kg) increases slightly. For unwelded samples when Cu% increases from 5
to 10, wear volume at load of 4 kg decreases substantially while at lower loads (2 kg and 3 kg) it
increases and for welded samples when Cu% increases from 5 to 10, wear volume increases at
all load but at higher load (4 kg) it increases significantly.
3.3.2 Wear Rate
Fig. 18 shows that wear rate for welded and unwelded portion for 5% Cu sample
increases with load and after a certain value (3kg), it increases sharply. For 10% Cu sample the
wear rate of unwelded portion increases with load but after a certain load (3kg), its value
becomes almost constant. The wear rate increases with load at the same pace for 5% Cu sample.
The microstructure (as shown in Figs.4, 5, 6,7,8,9 and10) reveals that Al alloy with 10% Cu has
more refined grain structure compared to Al alloy having 5% Cu. Finer grain structure indicates
more hardness. Hence Al alloy with 10% Cu has lesser wear rate in comparison to Al alloy with
5% Cu.
From table 5 it is clear that average wear rate of unwelded and welded portion increased on
increasing the load. Al alloy having 10% Cu has greater wear rate in comparison to Al alloy
having 5% Cu which is contrary to the hardness test results. This may be due to welding defects
in the samples.
3.4 Worn surface
To correlate the wear test results with the worn surface of the test pins, optical micrograph has
been taken for worn surfaces at different loads of 2, 3, and 4 kg.

Micrograph of worn surface of wear samples confirms deeper and wider scratches field for
higher load of 4 kg in comparison to 3kg and 2kg loads. The wider and deeper grooves suggest
increased metallic contact and a higher coefficient of friction which is also validated by Average
co-efficient of friction and load plot. Gopi et al. [2014] confirmed that wear rate was found to
decrease with increase in hardness. They further confirmed that wear rate increased with increase
in load whereas it remained constant with varying speeds.
Dawes et al. [1996] observed that the thickness of oxide layers increases with increase in
temperature and load. This is confirmed by the micrograph of worn surfaces at different loads
and temperatures. The worn surfaces of test pin for 2kg (minimum) and 4 kg (maximum) loads
are shown in (Figs.19, 20, 21, 22,23,24,25 and 26) for different test conditions with reference to
6

hardness and wear. It is observed that at lower load less surface damage takes place than at
higher load.
4. Conclusions
Aluminium alloy specimens with 5% Cu and 10% Cu were subjected to friction stir welding and
the joints were studied for hardness and wear behaviour under different load conditions. The
following conclusions can be drawn from the above experimental analysis:
1. Al alloy having 10% Cu is harder in comparison to Al alloy having 5% Cu.
2. The microstructure reveals that Al alloy having 10% Cu has more refined grain structure
compared to Al alloy having 5 % Cu.
3. The welded zone which is subjected to maximum heat is harder in comparison to heat
affected and unwelded zones.
4. Pin on disc testing method could be used to evaluate the wear behaviour of the material under
dry condition, using the smaller load at the interface of the rubbing surface.
5. 10% Cu specimen has larger wear rate in comparison to 5% Cu alloy specimen which is
contrary to the hardness obtained. This may be due to the weld defects inside the samples.
6. The wear rate increased with increase in load for both the specimens.

References
1) Al-qawabah S., Alshabatat N., Effect of 4%wt. Cu addition on the mechanical
characteristics and fatigue life of commercially pure aluminum. Jordan Journal of
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 9(4):297-301, 2015.
2) Archard, J.F, Contact and Rubbing of Flat Surfaces. Journal of Applied Physics, 24: 981988, 1953.
3) Dawes C.J., Thomas W.M., Friction stir process welds aluminum alloys. Welding Journal,
75(3):41 45, 1996.
4) Frigaard O., Grong O., Midling O. T., A process model for friction stir welding of age
hardening aluminium alloys. Metallurgical & Materials Transactions A, 32A:11891200,
2001.
7

5) Gopi V., Sellamuthu R., Arul S., Measurement of hardness, wear rate and coefficient of
friction of surface refined Al-Cu alloy. Procedia Engineering, 97: 1355 1360, 2014.
6) Kennedy F.E., Thermo-mechanical phenomena in high speed rubbing. Wear, 59: 149163,
1980.
7) Mishra R.S., Ma Z.Y. Friction stir welding and processing. Materials Science &
Engineering R, 50(1-2): 178, 2005.
8) Nandan R., DebRoy T., Bhadeshia H. K. D. H., Recent advances in friction stir welding
Process weldment structure and Properties. Progress in Materials Science, 53:9801023,
2008.
9) Ni D.R., Chen D.L., Wang D., Xiao B.L., Ma Z.Y., Influence of microstructural evolution
on tensile properties of friction stir welded joint of rolled SiCp/AA2009-T351 sheet.
Materials and Design, 51:199205, 2013.
10) Nicholas E. D., Kallee S.W., Friction stir welding A decade on. IIW Asian Pacific
International Congress. Sydney 29 October to 2 November, 2000.
11) Rabinowicz E., Types of wear. In: Friction and Wear of Materials. New York: John Wiley
and Sons, p 109. 1965.
12) Rizi M. S., Kokabi A.H., Microstructure evolution and microhardness of friction stir welded
cast aluminum bronze. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 214: 15241529, 2014.
13) Salih S. S., Ou H., Sun W., McCartney D. G., A review of friction stir welding of
aluminium matrix composites. Materials and Design, 86: 6171, 2015.
14) Thomas W. M., Johnson K. I., Wiesner C. S., Friction stir welding-Recent developments in
tool and process technologies. Advanced Engineering Materials, 5:485490, 2003.
15) Venkatesha B. N, Bhagyashekar M. S., Preliminary Studies on Mecahnical and
Metallurgical Behaviour of Friction Stir Welded Butt Joints. Procedia Engineering, 97: 847
-853, 2014.
16) Wang D., Xiao B.L., Wang Q.Z., Ma Z.Y., Evolution of the microstructure and strength in
the nugget zone of friction stir welded SiCp/AlCuMg composite. Journal of Material
Science and Technology, 30 (1): 5460, 2014.

Figures

Fig.1. FSW tool with 22 shoulder and Right hand 1mm threaded pin pattern
(a)

(b)

Fig.2. View of (a) FSW procedure and (b) Plate after welding

Fig.3. Wear result generated by Ducom wear testing machine in winducom software 2006

100m

Fig. 4.Weld zone (10 % cu)

100m

100m

Fig. 5.Boundary (welded zone and HAZ 10% Cu)

Fig.6. HAZ (10 % Cu)

10

100m

Fig.7.Base Metal (10 % Cu)

100m

Fig.8.Base Metal(5 % Cu)

100m

Fig.9. HAZ (5 % Cu)

100m

Fig.10.Weld Zone (5 % Cu)

Fig.11. Comparison of Hardness values of Al with 5%Cu

11

Fig.12. Comparison of Hardness values of Al with 10%Cu

Fig.13. Cumulative wear volume vs. sliding distance for unwelded zone of 5 % Cu sample.

12

Fig.14. Cumulative wear volume vs. sliding distance for welded zone of 5 % Cu sample.
2 kg
3 kg
4 kg

16
14

WEAR VOLUME (mm )

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

SLIDING DISTANCE (m)

Fig.15. Cumulative wear volume vs. sliding distance for unwelded zone of 10% Cu sample.

13

Fig.16. Cumulative wear volume vs. sliding distance for welded zone of 10% Cu sample.

Fig.17.Comparison of cumulative wear volume for different samples under varying load.

14

Fig.18.Variation of Wear rate and different load condition of different Al alloy

Fig.19. Unwelded 5%Cu(2kg load)

Fig.20. Unwelded 5%Cu(4kg load)

15

Fig.21. Welded 5%Cu( 2kg load)

Fig.22. Welded 5%Cu (4kg load)

Fig.23. Unwelded 10%Cu(2kg load)

Fig.24. Unwelded 10%Cu(4kg load)

Fig.25. Welded 10%Cu (2kg load)

Fig.26. Welded 10%Cu (4kg load)

16

Table 1: Specification of dry sliding wear testing machine

1

Disc material

En 31 17515

Hardness

60 to 65HRC

Sample minimum size

3, 4, 6, 8, 10, &12 mm cross section

Sample disc size

Dia 1708 thick

Wear track

50 to 100 mm (change)

Sliding speed range

0.5 to 10 m/s (change)

Disc rotating speed

200 to 1500 rpm

Normal load

5 to 200 N

Friction force (Fr)

0 to 200 N, L.C =0.1, accuracy =0.1 2% of Fr

10

Wear (LVDT)

Range=2000m, L.C=1, accuracy=11%of wear

Table 2: Speed selection according to the wear track diameters

Sl. no.

Sliding vel.(m/s)

Load(kg)

Wear track dia.(mm)

N(rpm)

1.

90

212

2.

90

212

3.

90

212

Table 3:5% Cu at 250 kg load

5% Cu at 250 kg load
BHN
I
unwelded
303
welded
370
heat affected zone 346

II
323
346
346

III
323
370
326

Average
323
370
346
17

Table 4:10% Cu at 250 kg load

10% Cu at 250 kg load
BHN
I
II
unwelded
370 370
welded
501 544
heat affected zone 501 463

III Average
370
370
544
544
463
463

Table 5: Wear Behavior of FSW of Cast Aluminium alloy

WEAR RATE (mm3/m)
OBS. SAMPLES
Unwelded
1(a)
(5% Cu)
Unwelded
1(b)
(5% Cu)
Welded
2(a)
(5% Cu)
Welded
2(b)
(5% Cu)
Unwelded
3(a)
(10%Cu)
Unwelded
3(b)
(10% Cu)
Welded
4(a)
(10% Cu)
Welded
4(b)
(10% Cu)

2 KG

3KG

4KG

0.00367

0.0041

0.00476

Avg. wear rate (mm3/m)

2 kg

3 kg

4 kg

STANDARD
DEVIATION

0.003175 0.003395 0.004955

0.0009704

0.003805 0.004275

0.00497

0.0005861

0.00371

0.004725

0.00509

0.0007151

0.00377

0.00467

0.005305

0.0007713

0.00268 0.00269 0.00515

0.00394

0.0041

0.00367 0.00445

0.00454
0.0054

0.00368 0.00504 0.00481

0.00374 0.00441 0.00537
0.00394 0.00482 0.00504
0.0036

0.00452 0.00557

18