Laser assisted friction stir welding of aluminum alloy lap joints: Microstructural and microhardness characterizations

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process; i.e., no melting occurs. The welding process is promoted by the rotation and translation of an axis-symmetric non-consumable tool along the weld centerline. Thus, the FSW process is performed at much lower temperatures than conventional fusion welding, nevertheless it has some disadvantages. The laser Assisted Friction Stir Welding (LAFSW) combines a Friction Stir Welding machine and a laser system. Laser power is used to preheat and to plasticize the volume of the workpiece ahead of the rotating tool; the workpiece is then joined in the same way as in the conventional FSW process. In this work an Ytterbium fiber laser with maximum power of 4 kW and a commercial FSW machine were coupled. Both FSW and LAFSW tests were conducted on 3 mm thick 5754H111 aluminum alloy plates in lap joint configuration with a constant tool rotation rate and with different feed rates. The two processes were compared and evaluated in terms of differences in the microstructure and in the micro-hardness profile.