Popis: |
This work shows the microstructural evolution of solid solution grains and secondary phase precipitates in the stirring zones of ultrasonic-assisted friction stir welding (UAFSW) and standard friction stir welding (FSW). As shown, fine spherical AlMgCu precipitates dominate in FSW stirring zone whereas nanosized Al2MgCu (S-phase) platelets ones are the main finding in UAFSW sample. The mechanical strength of AA2024 is provided by precipitation of coherent intermetallic S-phase particles. The dominating amount of S-phase precipitates in UAFSW sample provided the ultimate stress level close to that of the base metal, i.e. 402 MPa as compared to 302 MPa of FSW sample. These values constituted 93 and 85%, respectively, of the base metal strength. |