Stability of the grain structure in 2219-O aluminum alloy friction stir welds during solution treatment

The stability of the grain structure in 2219-O aluminum alloy friction stir welds during solution treatment has been investigated. Experimental results show that the solution treatment causes drastic grain growth, Grain growth initiates at the surface and the bottom of the weld and then extends to the weld centre within several minutes. The solution treatment temperature and the welding heat input have a significant effect on grain growth. The higher the solution temperature, or the higher the welding heat input, the greater the grain growth. The instability of the grains is attributed to an imbalance between thermodynamic driving forces for grain growth and the pinning forces impeding grain boundary migration during solution treatment.