Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390

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Materials and Design

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Effect of welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties

of friction stir welded joints of AA7039 aluminum alloy
Chaitanya Sharma, Dheerendra Kumar Dwivedi ⇑, Pradeep Kumar
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, I.I.T. Roorkee, Roorkee 247 667, Uttarkhand, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A high strength Al–Zn–Mg alloy AA7039 was friction stir welded by varying welding and rotary speed of
Received 27 July 2011 the tool in order to investigate the effect of varying welding parameters on microstructure and mechan-
Accepted 28 October 2011 ical properties. The friction stir welding (FSW) process parameters have great influence on heat input per
Available online 26 November 2011
unit length of weld, hence on temperature profile which in turn governs the microstructure and mechan-
ical properties of welded joints. There exits an optimum combination of welding and rotary speed to pro-
Keywords: duce a sound and defect free joint with microstructure that yields maximum mechanical properties. The
D. Welding
mechanical properties increase with decreasing welding speed/ increasing rotary speed i.e. with increas-
E. Mechanical
G. Fractography
ing heat input per unit length of welded joint. The high heat input joints fractured from heat affected
zone (HAZ) adjacent to thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) on advancing side while low heat
input joints fractured from weld nugget along zigzag line on advancing side.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction microstructure, uniform joint properties and governs process

Traditionally fusion arc welding of aluminum and its alloys im-
pose difficulty in various form such as solidification and liquation
cracking, loss of strength and porosity [1,2]. Alternatively alumi-
num and its alloy can be successfully joined by solid state joining
processes e.g. friction welding, hot pressure welding, roll welding
and ultrasonic welding. Friction stir welding which is an offshoot
of friction welding is highly suitable for joining aluminum and its
alloy [3,4]. Therefore, it finds applications mostly in aerospace,
shipbuilding, automotive, marine and railway industries [5,6].
The principle of FSW process is quiet simple. It makes the use of
non-consumable tool which consists of a shoulder and a pin [7].
The threaded pin of the rotary tool is plunged into the plates being
welded till shoulder makes firm contact and then moved forward
along the weld line. The frictional heat generated by the rotary tool
heats and softens the material. The softened material underneath
the shoulder is subjected to extrusion by the rotary and traverse
movement of the tool; is transported from the advancing side to
the retreating side where it is consolidated into a monolithic joint
[8].
Characteristics of friction stir welded joints are influenced by
material flow and temperature distribution across the weld which
are dictated by pin/shoulder geometry and welding parameters
such as welding speed and rotary speed [6,9]. The pin/shoulder
geometry of the tool is responsible for homogeneous
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 1332 285826; fax: +91 1332 285665.
E-mail address: dkd04fme@iitr.ernet.in (D.K. Dwivedi).
forces. Whorl™ and MX Triflute™ tool geometries reduce welding
forces because of increased heat generation and lower displace-
ment volumes of the softened materials [10]. Rotary speed of tool
determines the amount of heat produced per unit time, stirring and
mixing of the workpiece material around the pin [11]. Welding
speed or tool traverse speed governs the maximum temperature
generated during welding and the length of time the material is
subjected to the welding [12]. The translation of the tool transports
the stirred material from the front to the back of the pin to com-
plete the welding [9]. High welding speed will make friction stir
welded joints cheaper due to high productivity. However, too high
welding speed at constant rotary speed results in the formation of
void beneath the top surface of weld or on the advancing side at
the edge of weld nugget. Further, the size of the wormhole defects
increases with the increase of welding speed [13] because reduced
heat input leads to inadequate material flow towards the bottom of
the weld.
A large number of research papers are available in the literature
on various aspects of friction stir welded aluminum alloys such as
material flow [7,8,14], development of microstructure and
mechanical properties [15–19]. It has been observed that few
papers exist on friction stir welding of precipitation hardenable
AA7039 aluminum alloy. Balasubramanian [20] studied the rela-
tionship between AA7039 alloy properties and friction stir welding
process parameters; it was found that yield strength, ductility and
hardness of the aluminum alloys play a major role in deciding weld
quality of friction stir welded joints of AA7039. Singh et al. [21]
investigated the effect of welding speed and post weld heat

0261-3069/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2011.10.054
380 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390
treatment (T6) on microstructure and mechanical properties and
found that weld strength increases with increase in welding speed
while PWHT deteriorates same. Therefore, this present study aims
to experimentally examine the effect of varying welding and rota-
tional speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of fric-
tion stir welded joints of AA7039 aluminum alloy.
2. Material and experimental work
The extruded plates of AA7039 of 5 mm thick in T6 condition
were used as the base material for the present experimental study.
AA7039 is an Al–Zn–Mg alloy which gains strength from precipita-
tion hardening. Microstructure of as received AA7039 aluminum
alloy had equiaxed aluminum grains of average size 44.3 lm,
MgZn2 precipitates are embedded in the matrix of aluminum
grains, i.e. a aluminum as shown in Fig. 1. The chemical composi-
tion obtained by Electron Dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis and
room temperature mechanical properties of AA7039 base material
are presented in Table 1.
AA7039 aluminum alloy plates of size 300 mm  50 mm were
friction stir welded (parallel to the plate extrusion direction) on a
Vertical Milling Machine (HMT India, 7 H.P. and 635 rpm) using
welding speed (WS) of 75, 120 and 190 mm/min and tool rotary
speed (RS) of 410, 540 and 635 rpm. The developed friction stir
welded joints were designated as A, B, and C, produced using con-
stant rotary speed of 635 rpm and varying welding speeds of 75,
120 and 190 mm/min respectively. The joints produced using con-
stant welding speed of 75 mm/min and varying rotary speeds of
410, 540 and 635 rpm were designated as D, E, and F respectively.
Tool geometry and other welding parameters were kept constant.
Conventional flat shoulder and threaded pin tool made of die steel
was used for friction stir welding. The FSW tool had shoulder diam-
eter of 16 mm and cylindrical tapered pin diameter of 6 mm at top
and 4 mm at bottom, 4.7 mm in length and anticlockwise threads
of 1 mm pitch. Schematic diagram of FSW tool is shown in Fig. 2.
A constant tool tilt of 2.5° from the vertical axis was used.
The friction stir welded joints were then inspected visually and
by optical microscopy for any defect if present e.g. voids, root
flaws. Only sound and defect free friction stir welded joints were
further investigated. Mechanical properties of as welded (AW)
joints were determined by conducting tensile test at room
α Al
MgZn2 Precipitates
α Al
Fig. 1. Microstructure of as received AA7039 base material.
Table 1
Chemical composition and mechanical properties of AA7039 base material.
Chemical composition (wt.%) Mechanical properties
Al Zn Mg Mn Fe Si Cu Ultimate tensile strength (MPa)
Bal. 4.69 2.37 0.68 0.69 0.31 0.05 414
temperature. Dumbbell shaped tensile specimens (4 mm diameter
and 20 mm gauge length) were prepared as per the ASTM E8M-04
specification [22]. Electro-mechanically controlled universal test-
ing machine (H25K-S, Hounsfield) was used for conducting tensile
tests at a cross head speed of 1 mm/min. Tensile tests were per-
formed in triplicate and average values are presented for discus-
sion. A Vickers microhardness tester (VHM-002V Walter UHL,
Germany) was employed for measuring the hardness across the
joint with a load of 100 g and 30 s dwell time.
Samples for macro and microstructural observation of friction
stir welded joints were polished following conventional metallo-
graphic practices and etched in Keller’s reagent (2 ml nitric acid,
4 ml hydrofluoric acid, and 94 ml water) for 90 s. Microstructural
analysis was carried out using a light optical microscope (Leica,
Germany). The fracture surfaces of the tensile tested specimens
were investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Macrostructure
Low magnification optical macrographs of cross section (per-
pendicular to welding direction) of friction stir welded joints at dif-
ferent welding parameters are shown in Fig. 3. It can be observed
that all the welded joints are sound and defect free in investigated
range of welding parameters. All the friction stir welded joints
showed trapezoidal weld nugget which is different from elliptical
weld nugget as reported by Mahoney et al. [23] in case of friction
Φ 20
15
40
Φ 16 15
4.7
Φ4
Φ6
Fig. 2. Friction stir welding tool.
Yield strength (MPa) Elongation (%) Microhardness (Hv)
328 15.1 135
 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390 381

Fig. 3. Cross-sectional macrostructure of friction stir welded joints of AA7039.

Zigzag line a b

Zigzag line

Onion rings

500 µm 500 µm

500 µm

Fig. 4. Effect of welding parameters on the formation of onion ring and zigzag line: (a) RS 410 rpm, WS 75 mm/min (b) RS 540 rpm, WS 75 mm/min and (c) RS 635 rpm,
(b) WS 190 mm/min.

stir welded joints of 7075 T651. Dimensions of trapezoid shape of
weld nugget closely matched with tool dimensions i.e. shoulder
diameter at top (16.57 mm) and pin diameter at bottom
(4.24 mm) of the joints. Weld nugget is wider at upper surface than
at the bottom surface. Since upper surface is in contact with the
tool shoulder therefore experiences more frictional heating and
plastic flow which results in wider weld nugget, while bottom sur-
face is in contact with backing plate which extracts heat from the
bottom area of the joint which in turn contracts the lower portion
of weld nugget. It has been reported that flow of the material near
top surface layers of weld nuggets (up to a depth of about one third
of weld thickness) is caused by FSW tool shoulder while that in
sub-surface region occurs due to thread of tool pin. Therefore, flow
pattern of the material near the top of the weld surface becomes
different from the lower part of the weld nugget [24]. The differen-
tial flow pattern of material near top surface layers from that of the
bottom and middle regions of the weld result in a weld nugget of
inverse trapezoid shape [25]. The overall shape and size of friction
stir welded joints varies with welding parameters. Measured width
of weld nugget decreased (from 16.57 to 14.84 mm at top and from
4.24 to 4.09 mm) with increase in welding speed due to lower heat
input per unit length so reduced material flow. However, different
rotary speed did not result in discernible change of size and shape
of the weld nugget.
3.2. Formation of onion ring and zigzag line
The micrographs of friction stir welded joints produced using
low heat input conditions showed onion ring and zigzag line in
weld nugget (Fig. 4). The formation of onion rings in the micro-
structure is due to flow of material in batches by rotating tool,
extruding plasticized material in the form of semi cylindrical layer
in one rotation [14]. Onion rings have alternate bright and dark
rings. The gap between two consecutive rings was more at center
than those at the outer edge. Friction stir welded joints produced
using low heat input welding conditions (low rotary speed of
410 and 540 rpm or high welding speed of 190 mm/mm) showed
onion ring formation tendency (Fig. 4). With increase in heat input
the onion rings formation tendency is reduced and eventually
these get disappeared in other welds (A, B and F) produced using
382 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390

high rotary speed (635 rpm) and lower welding speed (75 and
120 mm/min).
At higher welding speed or lower rotary speed reduced stirring
leads to partial breaking of natural Al2O3 oxide layer and low heat
input retards flowability of plastsized material. This weak flow
causes localized presence of broken oxide particle in the form of
dark wavy zigzag line or kissing bond defect [26] as observed in
low heat input welds (refer Fig. 4 for joints C–E). While in case of
high heat input welds sufficient stirring cause’s wide and diffused
distribution of oxide particles than in low heat input welds. There-
fore, no zigzag line could be observed in friction stir welded joints
(A, B and F) produced using high heat input welding conditions
(welding speed of 75 and 120 mm/min and rotary speed of
635 rpm). The fracture initiate at the root along the zigzag line to
cause failure from weld nugget during tensile testing of these
joints. Di et al. [27] also reported that zigzag line defect reduces
fatigue performance of friction stir welded joints of 7075 T6 alloy.
It is imperative that proper selection of FSW parameters can effec-
tively eliminate the formation of zigzag line; and which even can
change failure location from weld nugget to thermo-mechanically
affected zone, heat affected zone or base material thus improved
mechanical performance of friction stir welded joints.
3.3. Microstructure
Thermal and mechanical stresses caused by tool stirring and ax-
ial force results in the formation of weld nugget zone, thermo-
mechanically affected zone and heat affected zone in friction stir
welded joints as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The micrographs of the
center of the weld nugget zones for all conditions of welding and
rotary speed are shown in Fig. 5. All the weld nuggets invariably
showed fine recrystallized equiaxed grains because of severe plas-

a b

50 µm 50 µm

c d

50 µm 50 µm

e f

50 µm 50 µm

Fig. 5. Effect of welding parameters on grain structure of weld nugget zone: Welding speed (a) 75 mm/min, (b) 120 mm/min, (c) 190 mm/min and Rotary speed, (d) 410 rpm,
(e) 540 rpm and (f) 635 rpm.
 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390 383

a b
BM
α Al
HAZ

TMAZ
MgZn2 Precipitates
WNZ

200 µm 50 µm

c d

BM

HAZ

MgZn2 Precipitates
TMAZ

α Al WNZ
20 µm 200 µm

e f
α Al
α Al

MgZn2 Precipitates

MgZn2 Precipitates

50 µm 20 µm

Fig. 6. Representative microstructure of FSW joint produced using welding speed of 120 mm/min and rotary speed of 635 rpm (a) Different FSW zones on RS showing
transition from WNZ to TMAZ, (b) RS TMAZ, (c) RS HAZ, (d) different FSW zones on AS showing transition from WNZ to TMAZ, (e) AS TMAZ (f) AS HAZ.

tic deformation and high temperature sufficient to cause dynamic Table 2

recrystallization caused by rotation and traversing of FSW tool dur- Variation of a aluminum grain size in weld nugget of friction stir welded joints of
ing welding. Therefore, coarser grain structure of base material is AA7039 aluminum alloy.

transformed into fine and equiaxed grain structure in weld nugget. Welding speed (mm/min) 75 120 190
As compared to the base material fewer second phase strengthen- Weld nugget grain size (lm) 13.12 9.51 7.92
ing precipitates of MgZn2 were observed in weld nugget as these Rotary speed (rpm) 410 540 635
Weld nugget grain size (lm) 7.93 10.47 13.12
are broken down and uniformly distributed by stirring tool. At
low welding speed, weld nugget is more homogeneous than those
produced using high welding speed because high heat input per
unit weld length results in more homogeneous temperature distri- It was observed that size of a aluminum present in weld nugget
bution and effective recrystallization. Image analysis of weld decreases with increasing welding speed and same trend was ob-
micrographs was done using Image J, image analyzing software served with decreasing rotary speed (Fig. 7). Because with decreas-
to determine average grain size of a aluminum present in weld ing rotary speed heat inputs per unit weld length decreases while
nugget. The determined size of grains in weld nugget of friction stir increasing welding speed shortens the available time (i.e. more
welded joints is given in Table 2. mm per tool rotation) therefore lower is the maximum annealing
384 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390

clearly distinguishable on advancing side while that on retreating

Fig. 7. Effect of (a) welding speed, and (b) rotary speed on weld nugget and heat
affected zone grain size of a aluminum.
temperature and small time available for grain growth resulting in
smaller size of grains of a aluminum in weld nugget of friction stir
welded joints. The results are in agreement with ductility as well
as ultimate tensile strength of friction stir welded joints as these
increases with the increase in grain size of weld nugget. Cavaliere
et al. [28] also reported that grain size in weld nugget of AA6056
joints increases with increase in rotary speed from 500 to
800 rpm at constant rotary speed of 80 mm/min.
The weld nugget is surrounded by thermo-mechanically af-
fected zone, having highly deformed and bent inhomogeneous
coarser aluminum grains due to stirring by tool. However in this
region plastic deformation and recrystallization is somewhat lesser
than weld nugget zone. The average width of elongated bent grains
is 66.07 lm on advancing side (AS) and 48.35 lm on retreating
side (RS) of thermo-mechanically affected zone. The transition
from weld nugget zone to thermo-mechanically affected zone is
side it is gradual. This is due to the fact that direction of rotating
velocity is opposite to the translating velocity of tool on advancing
side while that on retreating side both are same. The extent of
deformation and temperature rise of the material during stirring
on the advancing side are more severe than the retreating side
[29]. The asymmetrical distribution of equivalent plastic strains
can be attributed to the differential deformation and temperature
on advancing and retreating side of friction stir welded joints. This
asymmetry in plastic strain and temperature distribution causes
heterogeneous distribution of microstructure [30] and mechanical
properties (i.e. hardness) across friction stir welded joints. The sec-
ond phase strengthening precipitates MgZn2 in thermo-mechani-
cally affected zone were found coarser on advancing side than
retreating side as more heat is generated on advancing side due
to higher relative velocity of tool than that on retreating side.
In heat affected zone the grain size is larger than base material.
It is affected by frictional heat only and not by mechanical defor-
mation. The grains in heat affected zone were found to be coarser
on advancing side (90.79 lm) than retreating side (58.33 lm). The
average grain size of aluminum increased from 75.67 lm to
122.1 lm on advancing side with increase in welding speed from
75 to 190 mm/min while increase in rotary speed from 410 to
635 rpm decreased average grain size from 89.28 lm to
75.67 lm. These results suggest that welding speed has more dom-
inating role on grain size in heat affected zone than rotary speed.
This is primarily due to the fact that welding speed (at given rotary
speed) directly affects amount of heat input to heat affected region
while rotary speed determines rate of heat generation and maxi-
mum temperature. Moreover, increase in rate of heat generation
(at given welding speed) will also increase heat input to heat af-
fected zone but probably not to the extent up to which heat input
is affected by welding speed. It is felt that the extent of reversion of
hardening precipitates directly affects the coarsening of aluminum
grains due to their pinning effect on grain boundary movement.
Therefore, increase in dissolution results in greater coarsening of
aluminum grains in heat affected zone. High welding speed or
low rotary speed reduces the heat input as well as maximum tem-
perature experienced in heat affected zone. However, temperature
attained in heat affected zone is enough to cause dissolution of fine
secondary precipitate. The dissolution of fine strengthening precip-
itate in turn promotes coarsening of a aluminum grains owing to
loss of pinning effect on grain boundary movement by hardening
precipitates as only few precipitates were observed at grain
boundaries.
3.4. Mechanical properties
Tensile properties of friction stir welded joints were measured by
performing tensile tests on transverse tensile samples containing
weld nugget zone at the center. Table 3 represents the average
tensile properties of friction stir welded joints of AA 7039 aluminum

Table 3
Tensile properties of friction stir welded joints of AA7039 aluminum alloy.

Welding parameters Yield strength (MPa) Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) Elongation (%) Energy absorbed (J) Joint efficiency (%)
Welding speed (mm/min) Rotary speed (RPM)
BM 328 414 15.1 15.05 –
A: WS 75 RS 635 217.3 354.37 21.36 18.68 85.59
B: WS 120 RS 635 218.8 352.7 20.6 19.73 85.19
C: WS 190 RS 635 226.43 317.3 9.69 8.63 76.64
D: RS 410 WS 75 245.13 275.23 7.63 3.89 66.48
E: RS 540 WS 75 247.9 346.4 15.93 12.59 83.57
F: RS 635 WS 75 217.3 354.37 21.36 18.68 85.59

Where: BM: Base material, WS: Welding speed (mm/min), and RS: Rotary speed.
 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390
Fig. 8. Engineering strain stress diagrams for friction stir welded joints of AA7039.
Fig. 9. Effect of welding speed on (a) ultimate and yield strength, and (b) %
elongation and energy absorbed.
alloy, produced using different welding and rotary speed. Engineer-
ing stress and strain diagrams for base material and friction stir
welded joints are also shown in Fig. 8.
It is evident from Table 3 that yield and ultimate strength of
friction stir welds of AA7039 are inferior to base material while %
elongation and energy absorbed or toughness are superior to base
material. At constant rotary speed of 635 rpm increase in welding
speed from 75 to 190 mm/min the ultimate tensile strength line-
arly decreases from 354.37 to 317.3 MPa, % elongation from
21.36% to 9.69%, energy absorbed or toughness from 18.68 to
385
Fig. 10. Effect of rotary speed on (a) ultimate and yield strength, and (b) %
elongation and energy absorbed.
8.63 J while yield strength marginally increases from 217.3 MPa
to 226.43 MPa (Fig. 9). The maximum ultimate tensile strength
and % elongation of weld joint were 354.37 MPa and 21.36%. The
welding speed influences the heat input per unit length of weld
which controls the degree of softening and flowability of plasti-
cized material. At lower welding speed the amount of heat sup-
plied to the deforming material in weld area is greater and
therefore wider is the softened area around the stirring tool lead-
ing to more improved metal flow and more effective bonding in
the weld. This improved material flow and effective bonding leads
to more homogeneity of weld nugget which results in superior
ultimate tensile strength of welded joints having higher heat input
per unit length. At high welding speed tool results in lower heat in-
put per unit length of weld which in turn reduces stirring of mate-
rial due to poor flowability in weld area resulting in poor ultimate
tensile strength. Peel et al. [11] made similar observation for ulti-
mate tensile strength of friction stir welded joints of AA5083,
which decreases significantly when welding speed is increased
and attributed the same to the formation of voids due to poor con-
solidation of weld interface at higher welding speed hence low
heat input per unit weld length. Zhang and Zhang [25] developed
a thermo-mechanical model and showed that maximum tempera-
ture in weld nugget at top surface decreased from 450 °C to 443 °C
with increase in welding speed from 120 to 202 mm/min at con-
stant rotary speed of 400 rpm during friction stir welding of
AA6061-T6.
At low welding speed high heat generation causes grain coars-
ening owing to increased annealing temperature and time which
restores the % elongation preceded by improved recrystallization
of friction stir welded joints [31]. This is the reason for increase
386 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390
Fig. 11. Effect of (a) welding speed, and (b) rotary speed on joint efficiency of
friction stir welded joints.
of % elongation from 9.69% to 21.36% with decrease of welding
speed from 190 to 75 mm/min (Fig. 9b). Sakhthvel et al. [15] also
reported decrease in ultimate tensile strength and % elongation,
of friction stir welded commercial grade Al alloy with increasing
welding speed. Further the reduction in ultimate tensile strength,
% elongation and toughness with increase in welding speed can
be attributed to reversion (dissolution of second phase particles)
resulting in the coarsening of a aluminum grains.
An increase in rotary speed from 410 to 635 rpm (at constant
welding speed of 75 mm/min) almost linearly increases the ulti-
mate tensile strength from 245.13 to 354.37 MPa, % elongation
from 7.63% to 21.36% and toughness from 3.89 to 18.68 J while ef-
fect of rotary speed on yield strength was found marginal which
decreases from 245.13 to 217.3 MPa (Fig. 10).
An increase in rotary speed increases the heat input per unit
weld length monotonically which results in improved bonding.
Tang et al. [32] reported that peak temperature increased by
40 °C within weld zone with increase in rotary speed from 300
to 650 rpm at constant welding speed of 120 mm/min during fric-
tion stir welding of AA6061-T6. Further high heat input leads to
uniform distribution of second phase strengthening precipitates
MgZn2 and reduced pores in weld nugget hence increased tensile
properties of friction stir welded joints. Hassan et al. [16] also re-
ported similar results for AA7010 alloy friction stir welded using
rotary speed from 195 to 660 rpm, it was reported that low rotary
speed tends to give poor ultimate tensile strength and % elonga-
tion; as the rotary speed increases both tensile strength and % elon-
gation of joints improves. This behavior was attributed to increase
in solute concentration and number of new grains in the weld nug-
get due to higher heat input which led to improved tensile proper-
Fig. 12. Effect of welding parameters on microhardness variations across friction
stir welded joints (a) welding speed, and (b) rotary speed.
ties owing to a reduction in the density of coarse second phase
particle (MgZn2).
The joint efficiency of friction stir welded joints (ratio of ulti-
mate tensile strength of welded joint to that of base material)
was found to decrease from 85.59% to 76.64% with increase in
welding speed from 75 to 190 mm/min (Fig. 11a). The joint effi-
ciency also increased from 66.48% to 85.59% with increase in rotary
speed from 410 to 635 rpm (Fig. 11b).
3.5. Microhardness profile
The microhardness was measured across the weld on transverse
plane in order to examine the variations of hardness with varying
FSW process parameters. Fig. 12 shows the variation of microhard-
ness with the FSW process parameters. It is observed that irrespec-
tive of process parameters, all friction stir welded joints had a
softened region comprising weld nugget and HAZs which is indi-
rectly confirming the findings of the tensile properties of welded
joints as compared to base material. The average microhardness
of the weld nugget was found to be lower (in range of 101.9–
115.3 Hv) than the base material (135 Hv). The average microhard-
ness in the weld nugget decreased from 115.3 to 106.2 Hv with in-
crease in welding speed from 75 to190 mm/min (Fig. 13a), while
the average microhardness of the weld nugget increased from
101.9 to 115.3 Hv with increase in rotary speed from 410 to
635 rpm (Fig. 13b). These results of microhardness are in agree-
ment to the tensile properties and weld nugget grain size (Figs. 9
and 10 and Fig. 7). The decrease in welding speed or increase in ro-
tary speed would increase the heat input per unit weld length.
 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390 387

ing and dissolution of second phase strengthening precipitates. The

microhardness of advancing side was found to be lower than
retreating side. Therefore, microhardness curve became asymmet-
rical with respect to the weld center. This microhardness distribu-
tion is due to non-uniform field of plastic flow in two sides of the
welded joint, as advancing side experiences more plastic strains
than retreating side which in turn results in more deformation heat
causing higher temperature close to weld center on advancing side
than that of retreating side. Higher peak temperatures on advanc-
ing side causes more coarsening and dissolution of strengthening
precipitates leading to lower microhardness on advancing side
than retreating side. Aval et al. [17] also observed non-uniform dis-
tribution of microstructure and hardness during friction stir weld-
ing of AA 5086 and same was attributed to asymmetrical
temperature profile across friction stir welded joints.
The average microhardness of thermo-mechanically affected
zone is higher than both weld nugget and heat affected zone. Dur-
ing friction stir welding thermo-mechanically affected zone expe-
riences higher temperature than heat affected zone which leads
to dissolution of second phase precipitates to greater extent and
may increase the solute atom concentration available for solid
solution strengthening and precipitation hardening by natural
aging. Additionally some work hardening effect left in thermo-
mechanically affected zone may also be contributing to higher
microhardness than other areas i.e. weld nugget and heat affected
zone.

3.6. Fracture locations

In general fracture of defect free sound welded joints during

Fig. 13. Variation of weld nugget microhardness with (a) welding speed, and (b)
rotary speed.
High heat input increases the solute concentration in the weld
nugget owing to reversion (dissolution of second phase particles).
The improved weld nugget hardness (i.e. tensile strength) is due
to a reduction in the density of coarse second phase strengthening
particles and a greater post weld natural aging response [16].
The maximum hardness was obtained in the thermo-mechani-
cally affected zone on retreating side of all the joints produced
using different welding conditions primarily due to lesser coarsen-
tensile test took place from minimum hardness region. All the
joints were fractured on advancing side except joint B confirming
that advancing side is weaker than other side. Table 4 enlists effect
of FSW process parameters on fracture properties of friction stir
welded joints of AA7039. The friction stir welded joints A and F
fractured from heat affected zone adjacent to thermo-mechanically
affected zone on advancing side while joints C–E fractured from
weld nugget on advancing side. It is believed that the locations
of minimum microhardness across the welded joints are depen-
dent on heat input depending up on welding process parameter
(Fig. 12). The high heat input welded joints (A, B and F) showed
minimum microhardness in heat affected zone while that in case
of low heat input welded joints (C–E) was found in weld nugget
zone. Variation in welding speed at constant rotary speed resulted
in the change of fracture location from advancing side heat affected

Table 4
Effect of FSW process parameters on fracture properties friction stir welded joints of AA7039.

Welding parameters Minimum hardness (HV) Fracture location & distance from weld centre Photograph of fractured specimen
WS 75 mm/min, RS 635 rpm 89 AS HAZ. 11 mm

WS 120 mm/min, RS 635 rpm 104 RS HAZ, 9 mm

WS 190 mm/min, RS 635 rpm 93 AS WNZ, 2 mm

RS 410 rpm, WS 75 mm/min 98 AS WNZ, 5 mm

RS 540 rpm, WS 75 mm/min 96 AS HAZ, 7 mm

388 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390

a b

Cracked MgZn2 Precipitates c d

e f

g h

Fig. 14. Effect of welding parameters on fracture morphology: Fracture surfaces of (a) base material and at welding speed of (b) 75 mm/min, and (c) enlarged view of fracture
surface showing cracked secondary precipitates at 75 mm/min, (d) 120 mm/min, and (e) 190 mm/min. Fracture surfaces at rotary speed of (f) 410 rpm, (g) 540 rpm, and (h)
635 rpm.
 C. Sharma et al. / Materials and Design 36 (2012) 379–390
zone to retreating side heat affected zone and advancing side weld
nugget for joints produced at 75, 120 and 190 mm/min welding
speed. While variation in rotary speed at constant welding speed
did not changed fracture location except for low rotary speed
(410 rpm) joint which failed in advancing side weld nugget. Thus,
increase in welding speed or decrease in rotary speed shifts mini-
mum hardness region from heat affected zone to weld nugget. Liu
et al. [18] observed that fracture location of the joint gradually ap-
proaches the weld center with increase in revolutionary pitch
(increasing welding or rotary speed) for friction stir welded joints
of AA2017.
3.7. Fracture surfaces
Fracture surfaces of the broken tensile specimens were investi-
gated by scanning electron microscope to carry out failure analysis
and to understand the influence of microstructure on the failure
patterns of the friction stir welded joints. It was observed that
welding parameters exerted significant effect on fracture pattern
of friction stir welded joints. Failure occurred as 45° shear fracture
accompanied by limited necking in friction stir welded joints
welded at 75 and 120 mm/min. Fracture surface had ‘‘ ’’ like
appearance without any reduction in area i.e. necking, initiated
at the root then propagated vertically to loading axis followed by
almost horizontal propagation before finally fracture in vertical
plane for the joints produced at welding speed of 190 mm/min.
At lower rotary speed of 410 and 540 rpm fracture surface had
behavior similar to joints produced at welding speed of 190 mm/
min while at higher rotary speed of 635 rpm had 45° shear frac-
tures similar to joints produced at 75 and 120 mm/min welding
speed. SEM micrographs of fractured surfaces of friction stir
welded joints are shown in Fig. 14.
Unwelded base material has undergone transgranular ductile
fracture and fracture surface covered with fine dimples of varying
size and shapes (Fig. 14a). Some deep voids and enlarged dimples
were also observed on the fracture surface. Careful examination of
fractured surfaces of welded joints revealed that process parame-
ters have noticeable effect on fracture morphology and mecha-
nism. All fractured surfaces of welded joints invariably showed
dimples of varying size and shape separated by tear ridges
(Fig. 14b, d, g and h), which is an indication that most of the failure
is ductile in nature [19] except low heat input joints (C and D) pro-
duced at higher welding speed of 190 mm/min and lower rotary
speed of 410 rpm (Fig. 14e and f). The fracture originates from
the breakages of secondary precipitates rich in Mg and Zn
(Fig. 14c) which initiate the formation of microvoids at grain
boundary particles and coalesce at failure. Some flat regions with
visible pores as shown in box (Fig. 14b) were also seen on fracture
surface of joint A. The population of dimples diminishes with the
increasing welding speed while size of dimples increase. Failure
pattern was brittle in low heat input joints (C and D) and fracture
surfaces were covered with layered ledges (Fig. 14e and f). The
ductile tensile fracture is characterized by the presence of numer-
ous tear ridges, reflecting the material’s ability to sustain the ten-
sile load after microvoid coalescence has begun. Absence of the
ridges indicates that the specimen failed soon after commence-
ment of microvoid coalescence. Mahoney et al. [23] reported sim-
ilar results for the friction stir welded AA 7075 T651 alloy and
concluded that ductile behavior of tensile friction stir welded joints
is due to the presence of precipitate free zones (PFZs) at grain
boundary. The high heat input friction stir welded joints (A, B
and F) has higher value of percentage elongation more than base
material and failed in ductile manner while that of low heat input
joints (C–E) has low value of percentage elongation less than base
material and failed in brittle manner. In joints C–E, fractured initi-
ated from the root of the weld and there was no necking at the
389
fractured surface while joints A, B and F were undergone apprecia-
ble necking prior to failure. This may be because of confined flow-
ability of plasticized material at the root of the welded joints
underneath the tool shoulder.
4. Conclusion
Al–Zn–Mg alloy AA7039 was successfully friction stir welded
employing different process parameters in order to investigate
their influence on microstructure and mechanical properties of
developed joints. Following conclusion can be drawn from the
present work.
 An increase in tool rotary speed and decrease in welding speed
reduces zigzag line formation tendency. Average grain size of a-
aluminum present in weld nugget decreases on increasing
welding speed and decreasing rotary speed.
 The ultimate tensile strength, % elongation, energy absorbed
and joint efficiency decrease with increase in welding speed
and all above joint performance parameters increase with
increase in rotary speed.
 The location of minimum microhardness zone in FSW weld
joint of AA 7039 alloy is significantly influenced by FSW process
parameters. The minimum hardness region shifts from heat
affected zone to weld nugget zone on increasing welding speed
and decreasing the tool rotary speed.
 The fracture of friction stir welded joints (A and F) produced
using high heat input (high rotary speed and low welding
speed) occurred from heat affected zone adjacent to thermo-
mechanically affected zone on advancing side while that of joint
developed using low heat input (C–E) fractured from the weld
nugget along zigzag line on advancing side.
Thus careful selection of FSW process parameters is required to
(a) avoid the formation of voids or zigzag line defect (b) maximize
mechanical properties and (c) regulate fracture location in friction
stir weld joints of AA7039 aluminum alloy.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Dr. N.K. Jain of Indian Institute of
Technology, Indore for providing support in carrying out microh-
ardness characterization of welded joints. Authors are also grateful
to DST, Govt. of India for providing financial support through Grant
No. SR/S3/MERC/005/2009 for carrying out this work under project
entitled ‘structural instability in friction stir welded joints of alu-
minum alloys and their effect on mechanical properties’’. Mr. Cha-
itanya Sharma, Research scholar kindly acknowledges the MHRD,
Govt. of India for awarding fellowship.
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