Microstructure and Properties of Copper and 5754 Aluminum Alloy Joints by Friction Stir Welding

Welding dissimilar materials aluminum and copper by FSW are of great interest because Al and Cu are two most common engineering materials widely used in many industries. The paper analyzes the microstructure and mechanical properties obtained by butt of dissimilar material Cu-Al alloys (EN-AW-5754) by FSW. The joining by FSW process of the two samples (5 mm thickness) was performed with the pin of the tool tangential to copper plate. The values of the process parameters were the same in both cases: the rotation speed of the pin 1200 [rpm] and feed rate 60 [mm/min]. The microstructure was examined in 6 zones covering the whole thickness of the plates, Vickers microhardness was measured along a perpendicular line to the nugget and residual stresses.