Effect of tool pin profile on the hook geometry and mechanical properties of a friction stir spot welded AA6082-T6 aluminum alloy

Abstract

AA6082-T6 alloy was joined by friction stir spot welding using five different pin profiles, namely cylindrical, conical, triangular, hexagonal, and cylindrical with two grooves, at different dwell time. The joints welded by cylindrical pins had larger effective weld width. However, grooves on the cylindrical pin decreased the effective weld width. In the weld made with the hexagonal pin, the hook was bent downward from the interface of the sheets and had the smallest effective weld width. When the conical pin was used, the effective weld width increased with increasing dwell time. In the case of using tools with cylindrical and conical pins, HAZ hardness was relatively lower. With increasing dwell time, HAZ hardness of the joints made with the conical pin decreased. Effective weld width determined the weld strength under the tensile shear loading condition: larger effective weld width resulted in higher weld strength. Weld strength of the joints made with cylindrical pins was higher. The joints fabricated with hexagonal pins had the lowest weld strength. In general, higher dwell time led to higher weld strength. The welds with the higher strength experienced both brittle and ductile fractures, while the joints with the lower strength exhibited completely brittle fracture.