Friction welding of Cu-tube to Al-tube plate using an external tool

摘要

In the present study, friction welding of tube to tube plate using an external tool (FWTPET) was used to weld copper tubes with aluminum plates. Tubes were prepared with holes along the faying surfaces of tubes and cleaned before welding. The weld microstructure shows line of stir zone (SZ), a narrow thermo mechanically affected zone and heat affected zone (HAZ). The welded samples were found to have satisfactory joint strength and the XRD study showed the presence of AlCu intermetallic in the weld zone. The hardness survey revealed that there was a slight increase in hardness adjacent to the weld interface due to grain refinement. Better weld joints were achieved when the tool rotation speed and interference are 1500 rpm and 0.8 mm respectively. The present study confirms that a high quality copper tube to aluminium tube plate joint can be achieved by FWPET process.