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Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 648 – 655

3rd International Conference on Materials Processing and Characterisation (ICMPC 2014)

Mechanical, Metallurgical Characteristics and Corrosion Properties

of Friction Stir Welded AA6061-T6 Using Commercial Pure
Aluminium as a Filler Plate
K.Tejonadha Babua, P.Kranthi Kumara, S.Muthukumaran a,*
a
Department of Metallurgical & Material science Engineering,
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli – 620 015, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Friction stir welds in AA-6061using filler plate were analyzed to determine their microstructure, mechanical properties, and
corrosion behaviour. Plates of 2 mm thick of AA-6061 grade were butt welded by friction stir welding (FSW) process using filler
plate. The tool used for this process is sub shoulder tool which is different from conventional FSW .Corrosion resistance of the
welds was evaluated by conducting Potentiodynamic Polarization (PDP) study using electro chemical analyzer. . Metal refilling
during friction stir welding of thin plates by using commercial pure aluminium filler plate is found to improve corrosion
resistance.
© 2014
© 2014Elsevier
The Authors. Published
Ltd. This is an openbyaccess
Elsevier Ltd.
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET).
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer review under responsibility of the Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET)
Keywords:Filler plate,Sub shoulder tool,corrosion,PDP,FSW;

1. Introduction

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) was invented by Wayne Thomas at TWI Ltd in 1991 and overcomes many of the
problems associated with traditional joining techniques (Thomas et al. 1991). FSW is a solid state process which
produces welds of high quality in difficult to weld materials such as aluminum and is fast becoming the process of
choice for manufacturing light weight transport structures such as boats, trains and aeroplanes. In the process a
rotating non consumable FSW tool is plunged between two clamped plates (Ellis and Strangwood 1995; Dawes and
Thomas 1996). The frictional heat causes a plasticized zone to form around the tool. The rotating tool moves along
the joint line. A consolidated solid-phase joint is formed. In this context, friction stir welding (FSW) appeared as an
easy, ecologic and promisingly productive weld method that enables to diminish material waste and to avoid
radiation and harmful gas emissions, usually associated with the fusion welding processes (Mishra et al. 2007).

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 9442069381; fax: 91-431-2500133

. E-mail address: smuthu@nitt.edu

2211-8128 © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer review under responsibility of the Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET)
doi:10.1016/j.mspro.2014.07.080
 K. Tejonadha Babu et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 648 – 655 649

Other interesting benefits of FSW compared to fusion processes are low distortion, excellent mechanical properties
in the weld zone and suitability to weld all aluminum alloys (Liu et al. 1997; Thomas et al. 1997; Park et al. 2004;
Rhode et al. 1997; Mishra et al. 2005).The weld zone of alloy 6061, exhibits susceptibility to localized corrosion
(Paglia et al. 2008). The corrosion of aluminium alloy friction stir welds is commonly investigated using methods
such as immersion tests, polarization techniques (Lumsden et al. 1999; Biallas et al. 1999; Hannour et al. 2000;
Lumsden et al. 1999; Paglia et al. 2003; Corral et al. 2001). The corrosion resistance of friction stir welds can be
improved by several treatments after or during the welding. The tool used in this process is different from
conventional FSW process. It consists of a sub shoulder which ensures more heat generation and improves
deposition of filler on the parent material.
The 6061aluminum alloy is used in many automotive and aerospace applications due to its superior strength and
corrosion resistance. However, this alloy can be susceptible to localized corrosion and the effects of welding
(particularly FSW) on the mechanical and corrosion properties. To address this, the current study combines
microstructural characterization, mechanical testing, and corrosion testing of AA6061 friction stir welds welded
using pure aluminium as a filler material.

2. Experimental procedure

The alloy selected for this study was AA6061, which is used in automotive, aerospace and other
applications. The welding is done by a friction stir sub shoulder tool (Major shoulder diameter-18 mm, Sub shoulder
diameter-15 mm, Sub shoulder length-3 mm, Pin diameter -3 mm, Pin length-1.5 mm) as shown in Fig. 1. the
arrangement of commercial pure aluminum and base material during welding is as shown in Fig. 2.The welds were
prepared from two plates of 2mm thick, butt welded together by FSW using commercial pure aluminum of 2 mm
thick as filler plate at a rotational speed of 1800 rpm and a welding feed of 8 mm/min. The welded sample is shown
in Fig. 3.

Fig.1.Sub shoulder tool.

Table.1.Chemical composition (%) of the AA6061-T6

Mg Si Fe Cu Cr Mn Ti Zn Al
650 K. Tejonadha Babu et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 648 – 655

0.70 0.43 0.497 0.164 0.148 0.0971 0.0495 0.0042 Remaining

Fig. 2. FSW by sub shoulder tool by using filler plate.

Fig. 3. Sample of welded joint using filler.

Tensile tests of 2 mm thick specimens drawn transversal to weld line were performed according to ASTM
E8-M in order to determine the mechanical properties of the welded and base materials, using a 25 mm gage length.
The reduced section length is 32 mm and its width is 10 mm, the overall specimen length is 100 mm and the width
of the grip section is 30 mm. The specimen was obtained by milling machining.
The hardness profiles can assist the interpretation of the weld microstructures and mechanical properties.
Microhardness tests were performed in order to characterize the hardness profile in the vicinity of the weld affected
area. The microhardness tests were performed on a cross section perpendicular to the weld line, at mid thickness
across the weld zone and into the parent material, using a 300 gf load. For the analysis of microstructural changes
due to the FSW process, the joints were cross-sectioned perpendicularly to the welding direction and etched with
Poulton’s reagent. Microstructures were acquired in both the weld zone material and base material.
Potentiodynamic Polarization study was conducted using electro chemical analyzer model GillAC supplied
by ACM instruments,UK. The specimen was allowed to stabilize in the stimulated marine environment of aerated
3.5wt.% NaCl solution for 30mins, Open circuit potential was monitored for the same to confirm equilibrium prior
to polarization test. Standard saturated Calomel Electrode (SCE) connected via a salt bridge was used as the
reference electrode. Platinized platinum electrode was used as auxiliary electrode to assist with cathodic reaction of
polarization process. Work specimen was made anode and voltage was swept from -500 to +500 mV to the rest
 K. Tejonadha Babu et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 648 – 655 651

potential at a sweep rate of 60mV/min and corresponding Current taken into the process was recorded to plot the
polarization curves. Work sample was designed to expose 1cm2 area of top surface of the stir zone, the whole
process was run on a flat electro chemical cell.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Macrostructure and microstructure

The transverse cross-section of the AA6061 friction stir weld, shown in Fig. 4. Clearly reveals the deposition of
commercial pure aluminium at the weld. The weld zone consisting of commercial pure aluminium is well-defined at
the centre. The parent material is identified by the well defined grain structure at the bottom of the filler material as
shown in fig. 5. The difference observed between the microstructures of welds welded with filler and without filler
plate can be observed.

Fig. 4.Macrostructre of the weldment.

Fig. 5.(a) microstructre of 6061; (b) microstructure after welding with filler palte .
652 K. Tejonadha Babu et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 648 – 655

3.2. Microhardness

The microhardness of the AA6061-T4 was measured with filler and without filler. The Hardness values
measured using microhardness tester and their values are shown in the Fig. 6. The hardness variation across the weld
was verified by performing hardness measurements in several positions. The samples were prepared according to
standard metallographic practice and etched with Modified Poulton’s (micrographs) reagent’s in order to enable the
identification of hardness values. The drop in the hardness by using filler plate is 13% due to combined effect of
coarsening of precipitate and the presence of commercial pure aluminium in the stir zone.

Fig. 6. Microhardness profile of the FS welded specimens (a) without filler; (b) with filler.

3.3 .Tensile test

Tensile specimens of 25 mm gauge length were machined from the friction stir welded plates normal
(transverse) to the welding direction as schematized in Fig. 7(a).Tensile tests were conducted in the transverse
direction in order to evaluate the variations in mechanical properties as a function of position within the weld as
shown if Fig. 7(b). The results of these tests are shown in Fig. 8. it revealed base plate and weld plate UTS were
found to be 241MPa and 150 MPa respectively. The drop in UTS in welded plate may be due to coarsening of
precipitate.
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Fig.7.Tensile test samples (a) before testing; (b) after failure.

Fig. 8. Stress/Strain curve of AA6061 using filler material.

3.4 .Corrosion

Samples were prepared for PDP test as per standards as shown in fig. 9.Potentio dynamic polarization
results were plotted against potential and current in a semi log graph as shown in fig. 10. The plot shows the results
of AA6061 FSW with and without filler material. The Icorr values of weld without and with filler plate are 2.743x10-4
mA/cm2and 1.8351x10-4 mA/cm2 respectively. Corrosion resistance of weld welded using filler material had shown
better corrosion resistance, because the Icorr recorded was lesser than that of FSW AA6061 without filler plate. From
that it can be concluded that corrosion rate decreased due to the presence of commercial pure aluminium on the top
of the weld surface.
654 K. Tejonadha Babu et al. / Procedia Materials Science 6 (2014) 648 – 655

Fig. 9. Samples welded without and with filler (a) before PDP test; (b) after PDP test.

Fig. 10. Polarization curves of welded samples.

4. Conclusions

Friction stir butt weld of AA6061 using commercial pure as a filler plate was produced. The macro and
microstructural studies reveled that deposition of filler plate had been takes place on the weld joint surface. Welds
using filler plate displayed a drop of 13% in hardness. This hardness drop is due to presence of combined effect of
coarsening of precipitate and the commercial pure aluminium in the stir zone. The ultimate tensile strength of the
joint using filler plate achieved 60% of the ultimate tensile strength of base material. The Potentiodynamic
Polarization (PDP) test results showed the increase in corrosion resistance of joint having commercial pure as filler
material compared to the joint without filler material.

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