Microstructure of stir zone in dissimilar friction stir welds of AA6061-T6 and AZ31 alloy sheets

This study was performed to investigate microstructure of dissimilar friction stir welds manufactured with AA6061-T6 and AZ31 alloy sheets. Dissimilar butt joints were fabricated under the 'off-set' condition that tool plunge position shifted toward AZ31 from the interface between AA6061-T6 and AZ31. Optimized tool rotating speed and its traveling speed were selected through a lot of preliminary experiments. Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) technique was applied to measure texture in the stir zone (SZ). Grain size distribution and misorientation angle distribution were also obtained. A remarkably fine-grained microstructure was observed in the SZ. Randomized or weaker plane orientations were formed in the SZ of AA6061-T6, while rotated basal plane orientations were concentrated in the SZ of AZ31. Average size of recrystallized grains was measured as just 2.5-4.5 μm. The fraction of high-angle boundary in the SZ of AA6061-T6 increased and that of low-angle boundary in the SZ of AZ31 decreased compared with the base metals.