Precipitate evolution in friction stir welding of 2219-T6 aluminum alloys

Precipitate evolution in friction stir welding of 2219-T6 aluminum alloys was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. In the weld nugget zone and the thermo-mechanically affected zone some metastable precipitates overaged to equilibrium phase while others solutionized into the aluminum solid solution. In the heat-affected zone the precipitates coarsened.