Microstructural analysis of the friction stir welded 1050-H14 and 5083-H111 aluminium alloys

Abstract

Friction stir welding technique is considered to be the newly developed technique which was aimed at welding soft metals. The initial focus of this welding technique was on welding similar aluminium alloys. The focus expanded and included the dissimilar alloys and materials. This paper reports on the quality of the joint formed when 1050-H14 and 5083-H111 aluminium alloys were friction stir welded. The converted milling machine was utilized in performing the welding. The welded joint was then analysed in comparison with the parent materials. The correlation between the microstructural observations and the mechanical behaviour of the joint is thoroughly discussed in the main text of this paper.