Effects of pin diameter on microstructures and mechanical properties of friction stir spot welded AZ31B magnesium alloy joints

The effects of pin diameter on the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir spot welded AZ31B magnesium alloy joints were investigated using microstructural observations, tensile tests and microhardness tests. The results showed that with an increase in the pin diameter, the height and width of the curved interface in the friction stir spot welded AZ31B magnesium alloy joints increased because of the strong effect of stirring and high temperature obtained when large sized pins were adopted. An increase in the pin diameter led to the coarsening of alpha-Mg grains in the stir zone, thermomechanical affected zone and heat affected zone because of heat generation, resulting in the decrease in microhardness of stir zone, thermomechanical affected zone and heat affected zone. The tensile shear force of the friction stir spot welded AZ31B magnesium alloy joints increased with the increase in pin diameter because the height and width of the curved interface dominated the failure of the specimens.