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DOE OSTI2026

Correlation between microstructure and residual stress formation in friction stir welded armor steels characterized by neutron diffraction

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process that minimizes the heat-affected zone (HAZ) compared with fusion-based arc welding, making it well suited for joining martensitic armor steels where hardness and ballistic resistance are critical. This study investigates residual stress formation in three defect-free FSW butt-joint configurations relevant to armored-vehicle fabrication: similar rolled homogeneous armor (RHA–RHA, Case 1), similar high-hardness armor (HHA–HHA, Case 2), and dissimilar HHA–RHA (Case 3) joints produced under temperature-controlled conditions (770 °C). Neutron diffraction was employed to quantify the magnitude and spatial distribution of residual stresses in the longitudinal, transverse, and normal directions and to correlate them with weld microstructure and hardness. Tensile residual stresses were concentrated in the softened HAZ, reaching approximately 300 MPa for Case 2 and 400 MPa for Case 1 (≈50–70 % of the base-metal yield strength; ∼581 MPa for RHA and ∼566 MPa for HHA), while compressive residual stresses dominated the stir zone. The spatial extent of tensile stresses scaled with the width of the softened HAZ, which was largest in the dissimilar HHA–RHA joint and smallest in the HHA–HHA joint. Full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) analysis revealed low microstrain in overtempered HAZ regions and high microstrain in the stir zone associated with severe plastic deformation and fresh martensite formation. This work demonstrates that residual stress evolution in FSW of martensitic armor steels is governed not primarily by peak temperature or thermal contraction, as inferred from fusion-welding analogies, but by the competition between transformation-induced volumetric expansion and tempering-induced stress relaxation. The relative dominance of these mechanisms is shown to depend on alloy hardenability and local thermal history, leading to more extensive HAZ softening and broader tensile stress regions in the lower-hardenability RHA steel. These findings establish a transferable mechanistic framework for optimizing solid-state joining strategies in high-strength steels and other transformation-hardening alloys beyond armor applications.

Friction stir welding↗

DOE OSTI2015

The effect of postprocessing on tensile property and microstructure evolution of friction stir welding aluminum alloy joint

Friction stir welding is an efficient manufacturing method for joining aluminum alloy and can dramatically reduce grain size conferring excellent plastic deformation properties. Consequently, friction stir welding is used to manufacture tailor welded blanks to optimize weight or performance in the final component. In the study, the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of friction stir welding joint during plastic forming and subsequent heat treatment were investigated. The microstructural characteristics of the friction stir welding joints were studied by Electron Backscattered Diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile and microhardness tests. It is found that the tensile and yield strengths of friction stir welding joints are significantly improved after severe plastic deformation due to the grain refinement. Following heat treatment, the strength of the friction stir welding joints significantly decrease due to the obvious abnormal grain growth. Careful attention must be given to the processing route of any friction stir welding joint intended for plastic forming, especially the annealing between forming passes. Severe plastic deforming of the friction stir welding joint leads to a high level of stored energy/dislocation density, which causes the abnormal grain growth during subsequent heat treatment, and consequently reduce the mechanical properties of the friction stir welding joint. - Highlights: • Great changes are observed in the microstructure of FSW joint after postprocessing. • Postprocessing shows great effect on the microstructure stability of FSW joint. • The weld shows more significant decrease in strength than the BM due to the AGG. • Attention must be given to the processing route of FSW joint for plastic forming.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Microstructure and anisotropic mechanical behavior of friction stir welded AA2024 alloy sheets

The anisotropic mechanical properties of friction stir welded (FSW) AA2024-T3 alloy joints were investigated based on the uniaxial tensile tests. The joint microstructure was examined by using electron back-scattered diffraction and transmission electron microscope. Results show that the evident anisotropic failure and yielding are present in the FSW joints. With the increase of loading angle from 0° to 90° the ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the specimens consistently decrease, or at first decrease and then increase, depending on the FSW process parameters. The specimen cut from the weld direction, i.e. a loading angle of 0°, exhibits the highest strength and elongation. - Highlights: • Microstructure and anisotropy of friction stir welded joints were studied. • The evident anisotropic failure and yielding are present in joints. • The lowest yield stress and UTS are at 45° and 60° loadings, respectively. • Rotation speed heavily impact on the anisotropy of joints.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2016

Microstructure, mechanical properties and microtexture of friction stir welded S690QL high yield steel

Two try-out campaigns of friction stir welding (FSW) were performed with different friction parameters to join S690QL high yield strength steel. The welds were investigated at macroscopic and microscopic scales using optical and electronic microscopy and microhardness mapping. Welds of the second campaign exhibit microstructures and mechanical properties in accordance with requirements for service use. Microtexture measurements were carried out in different zones of welds by electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). It is shown that that texture of the bottom of the weld is similar to that of the base metal, suggesting a diffusion bonding mechanism. Finally, the mechanical properties (tensile strength, resilience, bending) were established on the most promising welds. It is shown that it is possible to weld this high yield strength steel using FSW process with satisfactory geometric, microstructural and mechanical properties. - Highlights: •1000 mm ∗ 400 mm ∗ 8 mm S690QL steel plates are joined by friction stir welding (FSW). •Maximum hardness is reduced by optimization of process parameters. •Various microstructures are formed but no martensite after process optimization. •Texture is modified in mechanically affected zones of the weld. •Texture in the bottom of the weld is preserved, suggesting diffusion bonding.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Force reduction of friction stir welding and processing of steel

Friction stir welding and processing (FSW&P) is considered as a new fabrication method for canisters and repair of existing dry cask storage system canisters (generally made of austenitic stainless steel). Low heat input compared to fusion joining processes and grain refinement associated with low-temperature FSW&P result in a material with improved mechanical properties and equivalent generalized corrosion performance relative to the base metal. But FSW&P of austenitic stainless steel requires significant tool forge axis force to produce a weld (or a run). Exploratory runs utilizing forge axis force control were conducted to investigate the minimum force required to achieve defect-free runs. The correlation between forge axis force and resultant plunge depth was also investigated. Furthermore, detailed microstructural characterization was conducted to display the microstructural variation within the nugget zone.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2014

Features of the microstructure development under conditions, reproducing the process of friction stir welding. Molecular-dynamics study

Friction stir welding is a recently developed technology which is used in various branches of modern engineering. The basis of this technology is the friction of the rotating cylindrical or specially shaped tool between two metal plates brought together either to meet their ends of one above another with the overlap. When applying the FSW process in various economical sectors, the important task is to study the mechanisms and identify the physical laws and factors leading to formation of structural inhomogeneities and discontinuities in the weld seam. This paper analyzes the basic mechanisms behind the structural state generation in the material subjected to severe plastic deformation and heating. To investigate the atomic mechanisms of structural changes in FSW, the modeling at atomic scale has been carried out. Results of work can be a basis for new knowledge about the microstructure evolution in FSW.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2023

Efficiency and Output Power Sensitivity to Control Parameter Variations in an LCC-Series Wireless Power Transfer System

In wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, output power (Pout) can be controlled through input parameters such as, input voltage (Vin) , duty cycle (d) , and switching frequency (fsw) . The impact of these control parameters on the overall system efficiency has not been explored in previous studies. This paper focuses on the efficiency (η) and Pout sensitivity to these control parameter variations in an LCC-Series tuned WPT system. There are multiple combinations of Vin, d , and fsw that can achieve a specified target Pout . However, it is important to determine the optimal combination of these control variables that will yield the maximum η for a target Pout . A MATLAB/Simulink model is built to calculate and measure η and Pout . In order to achieve this result, several simulations are run where Vin,d , and fsw are swept across a wide range to cover all possible combinations. MATLAB's Sensitivity Analysis toolbox is used to evaluate how the parameters influence the model's output. Finally, an experimental prototype is implemented. The optimal values acquired using the sensitivity analysis is then plugged into the hardware prototype and compared with the simulation. The results obtained confirm the validity of the proposed method.

Harave, Sudarshan↗

DOE OSTI2019

FRICTION STIR WELDING AND PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF IRRADIATED 304 STAINLESS STEEL

The mitigation of helium induced cracking in the heat affected zone (HAZ), a transition metallurgical zone between the weld zone and base metal, during repair welding is a great challenge in nuclear industry. Successful traditional fusion welding repairs are limited to metals with a maximum of a couple of atomic parts per million (appm) helium, and structural materials helium levels in operating nuclear power plants are generally exceed a couple of appm after years of operations. Therefore, fusion welding is very limited in nuclear power plants structural materials repairing. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining technology that reduces the drivers (temperature and tensile residual stress) for helium-induced cracking. This paper will detail initial procedural development of FSW weld trials on irradiated 304L stainless steel (304L SS) coupons utilizing a unique welding facility located at one of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s hot cell facilities. The successful early results of FSW of an irradiated 304L SS coupon containing high helium are discussed. Helium induced cracking was not observed by scanning electron microscopy in the friction stir weld zone and the metallurgical zones between the weld zone and base metal, i.e. thermal mechanical affected zone (TMAZ) and HAZ. Characterization of the weld, TMAZ and HAZ regions are detailed in this paper.

Tang, Wei↗

DOE OSTI2015

Effect of tool pin features on process response variables during friction stir welding of dissimilar aluminum alloys

In this article, the effect of pin features and orientation/placement of the materials on advancing side were investigated for friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar aluminum alloys AA2050 and AA6061. Pins for FSW were produced with a 2.12 mm pitch thread having three flats/flutes. Three sets of rotational speed/welding speed were used to perform a series of welds in a butt joint arrangement. The results show that, joint quality, process response variables and welding temperature are highly affected by pin features and material orientation in FSW. Defect free joints with effective material transportation in the weld nugget zone were obtained when welding was performed with AA2050 on the advancing side. The tool also encounters less in-plane reaction force for welding with 2050 on the advancing side. Pin with thread+3 flats produces quality welds at low rotational and travel speed regardless of the location of alloys on advancing or retreating side.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Advances in Dissimilar Metals Joining through Temperature Control of Friction Stir Welding

Lightweighting of vehicles and portable structures is an important undertaking. Multi-material design is required to achieve conflicting design targets such as cost, stiffness, and weight. Friction stir welding (FSW) variants, such as friction stir dovetailing and friction stir scribe, are enabling technologies for joining of dissimilar metals. This work shows that FSW variants are capable of joining aluminum to steel. Characteristics of metallurgical bonding at the dissimilar material interface are strongly affected by weld temperature. Control of FSW process temperature enables metallurgical bonding with suppressed formation of intermetallics at the dissimilar material interface resulting in improved mechanical properties relative to competing techniques. Temperature control is a powerful tool for process development and to ensure weld quality of dissimilar material welds.

Aluminum to Steel Joining, Friction stir welding, ↗

DOE OSTI2017

Complete Status Report Documenting Development of Friction Stir Welding for Joining Thin Wall Tubing of ODS Alloys

The development of friction stir welding (FSW) for joining thin sections of the advanced oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) 14YWT ferritic alloy was initiated in Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD), now the Nuclear Technology Research and Development (NTRD), in 2015. The first FSW experiment was conducted in late FY15 and successfully produced a bead-on-plate stir zone (SZ) on a 1 mm thick plate of 14YWT (SM13 heat). The goal of this research task is to ultimately demonstrate that FSW is a feasible method for joining thin wall (0.5 mm thick) tubing of 14YWT.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2013

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A MULTILAYERED MULTIPASS FRICTION STIR WELD IN STEEL

Multilayered multipass friction stir welding (MM-FSW) makes it possible to use FSW to fabricate thick-section structures. In this work, MM-FSW was demonstrated on a high strength low alloy steel; ASTM A572 Grade 50. Three steel plates with thicknesses of 0.18", 0.18", 0.24" respectively were stacked and friction stir welded together to form a 0.6" thick welded structure. The welded plate was sectioned into rectangular bars transverse to the weld direction for tensile testing to evaluate mechanical properties. Digital image correlation (DIC) was employed to map the local strain fields during tensile testing. The initial failure was found to occur simultaneously at the bottom and middle layers away from the weld zone. The top layer failed last in the base metal. The failure locations were consistent among different samples tested. Also, Charpy V-notch impact tests were conducted for weld metal, heat affected zone, and the base metal at each layer as a function of temperature. The weld microstructures were characterized using optical and electron microscopy and micro-hardness mapping.

Lim, Yong Chae↗

DOE OSTI2020

A FEASIBILITY STUDY ON CRACK REPAIR IN AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL DRY STORAGE CANISTERS USING ISOTHERMAL FRICTION STIR WELDING

In recent time, solid state crack repair techniques in spent nuclear fuel dry storage canisters (SNF-DSC) have garnered significant interest. Plates of austenitic stainless steels are usually arc welded to fabricate the cylindrical canisters which are prone to chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking. Friction stir welding (FSW) is considered to be a potential candidate for damage repair. In this work, electrical discharge machining was used to simulate cracks in 304L stainless steel plates of 12.7 mm thickness. Subsequently, isothermal FSW was carried out at two different temperatures (725 and 825°C) in order to repair the simulated crack. Microstructure-mechanical property correlations in FSWed plates were studied in detail. Significant grain refinement observed in the stir zone (SZ) was attributed to dynamic recrystallization occurring during FSW. A comparison of Vickers microhardness showed higher hardness and homogeneity in the 725°C SZ than its 825°C counterpart. The fraction of S3 boundary is found to be low in the SZ as compared to base metal (BM). Yield strength of the joints was found to be approximately 100 MPa higher than that of the BM accompanied by a drop in ductility by a factor of 2. Residual stress profile across 825°C weld was measured using x-ray diffraction.

Bhattacharyya, Madhumanti↗

DOE OSTI2023

Microstructural, Corrosion and Mechanical Characterization of Friction-Stir Welded Joints Between Aluminum and Magnesium Alloys

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) of Aluminum-Magnesium (Al-Mg) alloys has garnered increasing attention due to its wide-ranging applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. The microstructural, corrosion, and mechanical properties of FSW Al-Mg welds under selected conditions are critical factors that must be well-investigated to ensure their durability and performance. In this study, electrochemical tests, including Open Circuit Potential (OCP), Linear Polarization Resistance (LPR), Potentiodynamic Polarization Scan (PD), and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), have been used to analyze the corrosion resistance of these welds, along with weight loss measurements through cyclic corrosion testing (CCT) and surface evolution via SEM over an 8-week period. Mechanical properties are evaluated through microindentation, nanoindentation, fatigue, and lap-shear tests. The results of the electrochemical tests reveal that the corrosion properties of the center weld zone differ from those of the two base alloys. Indentation tests indicate that the weld zone behaves differently from the base alloys. Surprisingly, the lap shear strength did not decrease significantly even after 8 weeks of cyclic corrosion testing, indicating that the joint prevented any ingress of the electrolyte. Fatigue testing showed that applying an adhesive between the Al and Mg joint improved the fatigue life to some extent, although the corrosion resistance reduced due to the discontinuous bonding of the adhesive layer. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of investigating the corrosion and mechanical properties of FSW Al-Mg welds and provide valuable insights for future modeling works.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2010

Friction Stir Lap Welding of Magnesium Alloy to Steel: A Preliminary Investigation

An initial study was made to evaluate the feasibility of joining Magnesium alloy AZ31 sheet to galvanized steel sheet in lap configuration using friction stir welding (FSW). Two different automotive sheet steels were used for comparative evaluation of the dissimilar joining potential; a 0.8mm thick, electro galvanized (EG) mild steel, and a 1.5mm thick hot dipped galvanized (HDG) high-strength, low-alloy steel (HSLA). These steels were joined to 2.33mm thick AZ31B magnesium sheet. A single FSW tool design was used for both dissimilar welds, and process parameters were kept the same. Average peak load for the AZ31-1.5 mm steel weld joint in lap shear mode was found to be 6.3 ± 1.0 kN. For the AZ31-0.8 mm steel weld, joint strength was 5.1 ± 1.5 kN. Microstructural investigation indicates melting of the Zn coating at the interface and subsequent alloying with the Mg sheet resulting in formation of solidified Zn-Mg alloy layer at AZ31/steel interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Friction Stir Welding and Processing

With nearly twenty years of international research and collaboration in friction stir welding (FSW) and processing industrial applications have spread into nearly every feasible market. Currently applications exist in aerospace, railway, automotive, personal computers, technology, marine, cutlery, construction, as well as several other markets. Implementation of FSW has demonstrated diverse opportunities ranging from enabling new materials to reducing the production costs of current welding technologies by enabling condensed packaging solutions for traditional fabrication and assembly. TMS has sponsored focused instruction and communication in this technology area for more than fifteen years, with leadership from the Shaping and Forming Committee, which organizes a biannual symposium each odd year at the annual meeting. A focused publication produced from each of these symposia now comprises eight volumes detailing the primary research and development activities in this area over the last two decades. The articles assembled herein focus on both recent developments and technology reviews of several key markets from international experts in this area.

friction stir welding↗

DOE OSTI2018

An Improved Microwave Semiempirical Model for the Dielectric Behavior of Moist Soils

Soil semiempirical dielectric models (SEMs) are powerful, and they are generally considered a useful hybrid of both empirical and physical models. In this work, the Wang-Schmugge dielectric model is improved to more accurately estimate the relative complex dielectric constants (CDCs) of moist soils. Instead of the Debye relaxation spectrum of liquid water located outside of the soil (i.e., free out-of-soil water) adopted in the Wang-Schmugge model, the Debye relaxation formula related to the free-water component inside the soil [i.e., free soil water (FSW)], which is correlated with the soil texture, is employed in the improved SEM. In addition, the effective conductivity loss term related to both soil texture and soil moisture is introduced to explain the ionic conductivity losses of FSW. Since the soil moisture influence is reduced at high frequencies, the effective conductivity loss term related to only the soil texture is also analyzed for 14-18 GHz. As in the Wang-Schmugge model, the relative CDC of bound soil water varies with the soil volumetric moisture content when the soil moisture is lower than the maximum bound water fraction in the new model, which takes a different approach than the Mironov mineralogy-based SEM. The proposed model obtains better fitting results than the three most widely employed SEMs. Lastly, the improved model exhibits a significantly improved accuracy with a higher correlation coefficient (R²), a closer 1:1 relationship, and a lower root-mean-square error, including in the L-band, and especially in the imaginary part of the L-band.

semiempirical dielectric model (SEM)↗

DOE OSTI2015

FRICTION STIR LAP WELDING OF ALUMINUM - POLYMER USING SCRIBE TECHNOLOGY

Friction Stir Scribe (FSS) technology is a relatively new variant of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) which enables lap joining of dissimilar material with very different melting points and different high temperature flow behaviors. The cutter scribe attached at the tip of FSW tool pin effectively cuts the high melting point material such that a mechanically interlocking feature is created between the dissimilar materials. The geometric shape of this interlocking feature determines the shear strength attained by the lap joint. This work presents first use of scribe technology in joining polymers to aluminum alloy. Details of the several runs of scribe welding performed in lap joining of ~3.175mm thick polymers including HDPE, filled and unfilled Nylon 66 to 2mm thick AA5182 are presented. The effect of scribe geometry and length on weld interlocking features is presented along with lap shear strength evaluations.

Upadhyay, Piyush↗