Microstructure and Residual Stress in Rotary Friction Welded Dissimilar Metals of AA7020 Aluminium Alloy with 316L Steel

Rotary friction welding (RFW) was used in the current study to join the dissimilar metals AA7020-T6 aluminium alloy and 316L steel. Neutron diffraction was performed to investigate the texture gradient around the weld line and to map the residual stress over the whole specimen. The texture analysis showed a weak shear component near the bond line of AA7020-T6-T6 side which indicated a plastic deformation of AA7020-T6 during welding. The shear bands were also observed in optical microstructures. Relatively high tensile residual stresses were observed near the bond line on the AA7020-T6 side, which were in-homogeneously distributed from the perimeter to the rod centre, while high compressive residual stresses were found in the sample centre at the bond line in the 316L steel.