Dissimilar aluminum alloy sheets of 2017A-T451 and 7075-T651 (6 mm thickness) were friction stir welded in a butt weld configuration. A numerical simulation of the joining process was developed to visualize the material flow patterns and temperature distribution and to correlate the microstructure to the hardness behavior. Due to the complementary downward flow of surface material into the workpiece thickness and upward flow of mid-plane and bottom-plane material, the weld nugget is composed of alternating layers of 7075 and 2017A. These layers have unique temperature histories depending on the material's initial location within the cross section; therefore, they also have distinctive precipitate distributions. Supersaturated surface material flows into the process zone and forms a core in which GP zones reprecipitate upon cooling. Mid-plane and bottom-plane material flow toward the workpiece surface and encompass the surface material core. Within this region, the weld temperatures overage the equilibrium theta phase in 2017A, decreasing the hardness, and at the same time, dissolve the equilibrium eta/T phase in the 7075, leading to reprecipitation of GP zones upon cooling and a hardness recovery.
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