EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURE ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN FRICTION STIR WELDED CAST A356 ALUMINUM ALLOY

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new solid-state joining process which can homogenize the heterogeneous microstructure by intensely plastic deformation arising from the rotation of the welding tool. The present study applied the FSW to an A356 aluminum (AI) alloy with the as-cast heterogeneous microstructure in the T6 temper condition, and examined an effect of microstructure on mechanical properties in the weld. The base material consisted of Al matrix with a high density of strengthening precipitates, large eutectic silicon and a lot of porosities. The FSW led to fragment of the eutectic silicon, extinction of the porosities and dissolution of the strengthening precipitates in the Al alloy. The dissolution of strengthening precipitates reduced the hardness of the weld around the weld center and the transverse ultimate tensile strength of the weld. Longitudinal tensile specimen containing only the stir zone showed the roughly same strength as the base material and a much larger elongation. Moreover, Charpy impact tests indicated that the stir zone had remarkably the higher absorbed energy than the base material. The higher mechanical properties of the stir zone were attributed to a homogenization of the as-cast heterogeneous microstructure by FSW.