Mechanical and microstructural characterization of friction stir welded skin and stringer joints

A microstructural and mechanical investigation on lap joints welded by friction stir welding and made out of a 7075-T6 stringer and a 2024-T4 skin is presented. In particular, the metallurgical and mechanical properties of joints have been studied at different tool feed rates (V = 35, 50, 100 mm/min) and constant rotation speed (R = 500 r/min). Temperature distributions have been monitored during the process. It is found that in the welded area, the recrystallized zone (nugget) has an average grain size of about 3 µm and exhibits coarsened MgZn2 particles on grain boundaries. The maximum values of microhardness in the welded skin increase with the process temperature, while they just sligh…