Analysis of Structure and Shear/Peel Strength of Refill Friction Stir Spot Welded 7075-T6 Aluminium Alloy Joints

• Main Authors: Rafał Kluz, Andrzej Kubit, Dawid Wydrzyński
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Society of Polish Mechanical Engineers and Technicians 2017-09-01
• Series: Advances in Science and Technology Research Journal
• Subjects: friction stir welding; spot welding; aluminium alloy joining
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/astrj/Analysis-of-structure-and-shear-peel-strength-of-refill-friction-stir-spot-welded,76481,0,2.html

The article presents an analysis of the macrostructure and mechanical properties of spot welds of joints made by Refill Friction Spot Stir Welding (RFSSW) method. RFSSW is a relatively new technology that gaining wider use in not only the automotive and aviation industries because it is a less energy intensive method than resistance spot welding. The primary focus of the article is the effect of welding time on the quality of the welded joints of sheet metal using the aforementioned method. The research was conducted on a joint between two pieces of sheet metal of various thicknesses (1.6mm and 0.8mm) made of the common aviation grade aluminium alloy 7075-T6 Alclad. Metallographic sections of select variants were made in order to analyze the structure of the joint. Strength tests with a static load were conducted in different loading configurations. A traditional tensile strength test was conducted on the lap joint, which revealed a complex stress state within the joint and an analogous test was conducted with the use of a stiffening holder that ensured a pure shear state in the joint. Peel tests were also performed on the lap joints with using a special holder.