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Joining Al 6061 to ZE41A Mg Alloy by Friction Stir Welding Using a Cold Spray Transition Joint

  • Conference paper
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Friction Stir Welding and Processing IX

Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

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Abstract

The joining of highly dissimilar metals such as aluminum and magnesium has proven to be a difficult challenge using most of the technologies available today. This paper presents a novel method to join dissimilar materials using a combination of two advanced metals processing technologies, friction stir welding (FSW) and cold spray. By utilizing both technologies the strengths of each can be employed, while at the same time mitigating otherwise disqualifying aspects if used alone. In this study, cast ZE41A-T5 magnesium was joined to wrought 6061 aluminum. The joint was accomplished by first cold spraying a 6061 transition zone onto the magnesium alloy, followed by FSW of a 6061 plate to the cold sprayed 6061 zone. Utilizing this method, the formation of detrimentally thick intermetallic layer between the aluminum and magnesium was avoided, providing a resultant joint which matched the strength of the magnesium cast alloy. Detailed materials characterization by electron and optical microscopy, along with mechanical test results is presented. Comparisons to conventional joining techniques and potential applications of this technique is discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arbegast Materials Processing and Joining Laboratory, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD, USA

    Todd R. Curtis, Michael K. West & Christian A. Widener

  2. Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Victor K. Champagne III

  3. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Reza Rokni

Authors
  1. Todd R. Curtis
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  2. Victor K. Champagne III
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  3. Michael K. West
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  4. Reza Rokni
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  5. Christian A. Widener
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Todd R. Curtis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham Young University , Provo, Utah, USA

    Yuri Hovanski

  2. Denton, Texas, USA

    Rajiv Mishra

  3. Tohoku University , Sendai, Japan

    Yutaka Sato

  4. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland, Washington, USA

    Piyush Upadhyay

  5. University of Wisconsin Green Bay , Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

    David Yan

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© 2017 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

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Curtis, T.R., Champagne, V.K., West, M.K., Rokni, R., Widener, C.A. (2017). Joining Al 6061 to ZE41A Mg Alloy by Friction Stir Welding Using a Cold Spray Transition Joint. In: Hovanski, Y., Mishra, R., Sato, Y., Upadhyay, P., Yan, D. (eds) Friction Stir Welding and Processing IX. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52383-5_22

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