Assessment of the failure load for an AA6061-T6 friction stir spot welding joint

초록

Failure loads of a friction stir spot welding (FSSW) joint of two aluminum alloy 6061-T6 sheets under specific loading cases were predicted using the finite-element method. The detailed modelling technique of a FSSW joint using available experimental data is presented in this paper. The characteristics and dimensions of different zones of the FSSW joint including the stir zone (SZ), heat-affected zone (HAZ), thermal-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), and base metal (BM) were obtained from literature. The mechanical properties calculated from a relation between the measured hardness values and the corresponding strengths for each zone were then applied to the failure prediction model. In this model the ESI-Wilkins-Kamoulakos (EWK) rupture model of the PAM-CRASH commercial software was employed to verify the case of the lap-shear tension test. The failure load obtained in this model showed a good agreement with the experimental value in the reference. The failure prediction for the other loading cases (peel-tension test and cross-tension test) was then conducted following the same analysis procedure.

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