High Temperature Plasticity of Bimetallic Magnesium and Aluminum Friction Stir Welded Joints

The high temperature deformation of a bimetallic AZ31/AA6061 Friction Stir Welded joint was investigated in the present study by constant load creep experiments carried out at 473 K (200 degrees C). The microstructural analysis revealed the strongly inhomogeneous nature of the weld, which was characterized by an extremely fine grain size in the magnesium-rich zones and by the extensive presence of intermetallic phases. In the high stress regime, the creep strain was concentrated in the refined and particle-rich microstructure of the weld zone, while the AA6061 base metal remained undeformed. In the low stress regime, deformation became more homogeneously distributed between the AZ31 base metal and the weld zone. The creep behavior of the weld was found to obey the constitutive equation describing the minimum creep rate dependence on applied stress for the base AZ31, slightly modified to take into account the finer microstructure and the role of secondary phase particles, i.e., the retardation of grain growth and the obstruction of grain boundary sliding.