Investigation of Interfacial Layer for Friction Stir Scribe Welded Aluminum to Steel Joints

Abstract

Friction stir scribe (FSS) welding as a recent derivative of friction stir welding (FSW) has been successfully used to fabricate a linear joint between automotive Al and steel sheets. It has been established that FSS welding generates a hook-like structure at the bimaterial interface. Beyond the hook-like structure, there is a lack of fundamental understanding on the bond formation mechanism during this newly developed FSS welding process. In this paper, the microstructures and phases at the joint interface of FSS welded Al to ultra-high-strength steel were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that both mechanical interlocking and interfacial bonding occurred simultaneously during the FSS welding process. Based on SEM observations, a higher diffusion driving force in the advancing side was found compared to the retreating side and the scribe swept zone, and thermally activated diffusion was the primary driving force for the interfacial bond formation in the scribe swept region. The TEM energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) revealed that a thin intermetallic compound (IMC) layer was formed through the interface, where the thickness of this layer gradually decreased from the advancing side to the retreating side owing to different material plastic deformation and heat generations. In addition, the diffraction pattern (or one-dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT) pattern) revealed that the IMC layer was composed of Fe2Al5 or Fe4Al13 with a Fe/Al solid solution depending on the weld regions.