Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384

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Journal of Manufacturing Processes

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Full length article

A new approach for manufacturing copper-clad aluminum bimetallic

tubes by friction stir welding (FSW)
Ahmad Tavassolimanesh, Ali Alavi Nia ∗
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

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

Article history: A new method is developed for manufacturing bimetallic tubes from pure Copper and 6061-T6 Aluminum
Received 1 June 2017 tubes by Friction Stir Welding (FSW). The tubes were successfully joined by this new method. Then, the
Received in revised form effect of welding parameters such as rotational speed and traverse speed on surface quality, hardness
26 September 2017
profile, macro and micro-structure and shear strength of the samples was investigated. Experimental
Accepted 6 October 2017
Available online 14 October 2017
results showed that copper and aluminum to be blend much better when bimetallic tubes are manu-
factured by FSW compared to other methods such as Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD). Furthermore,
incorporating high rotational speeds during welding results in generation of excess heat, thus reducing
Keywords:
Copper-aluminum bimetallic tube weld surface quality and strength of copper and aluminum tube joints. According to the results, samples
FSW welded at rotational speed of 710 rpm and traverse speed of 60 mm/min presented the highest shear
Tube welding strength.
Mechanical properties © 2017 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Microstructure

1. Introduction welding of copper and aluminum [4] do not seem to be acceptable

Copper and its alloys are extensively used for their electrical
properties, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, easy fab-
rication and acceptable fatigue resistance [1]. Although copper
offers high electrical conductivity, its high density hinders its appli-
cation in light-weight designing. Additionally, its relatively high
price results in high costs. Therefore, it has been attempted to use
aluminum, a cheaper and less dense metal of similar electrical prop-
erties, instead [2]. Bimetallic copper and aluminum structures are
advantageous solutions to replace copper. These structures pro-
vide lower weight and cost for the structure on the one hand,
and incorporate intrinsic characteristics of copper on the other.
Bimetallic tube is a type of double-layer copper-aluminum struc-
tures. Bimetallic tubes can be adequate replacements for tubes
fabricated from copper and its alloys. Copper alloy tubes are exten-
sively used for drinking water distribution in buildings, chemical
industries, refineries, hydraulic lines, air conditioning, and heat
exchangers and also in food industries [1]. Given their different
physical, mechanical and chemical properties, and also formation
of intermetallic phases, joining copper to aluminum by common
welding methods such as laser welding [2] is very difficult. More-
over, joining methods such as cold roll bonding [3] and friction
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: alavi1338@yahoo.com, alavi495@basu.ac.ir (A. Alavi Nia).
due to formation of brittle and hard intermetallic phases (IMC) with
weak mechanical properties.
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) was introduced in 1991 by The
Welding Institute in Britain as a technique for solid state joining
of aluminum alloys [5]. In this type of welding the temperature
does not exceed melting temperature of the materials, hence heat
input and consequently formation of intermetallic phases can be
controlled, thus improving the mechanical properties. Many exper-
imental studies addressed joining copper and aluminum by FSW
in butt joints [6–10] and lap joints [11–18]. Saeid et al. [11] stud-
ied the effect of welding speed on the quality of 1060 aluminum
and pure copper lap joints. Their results showed Al4 Cu9 and Al2 Cu
intermetallic phases and cracks to exist near copper-aluminum
interface. They also showed that the cracks can be reduced by
increasing welding speed. Elrefaey et al. [12] showed that by incor-
porating a zinc (Zn) interlayer in friction stir welding of 1100H24 Al
and copper in a lap joint, strength increases threefold, intermetal-
lic phases were limited and scattered in a wider area. Xue et al.
[13] successfully performed friction stir welding of 1060 Aluminum
and pure copper at a relatively low rotational speed (600 rpm) and
welding speed of (50 mm/min) using a tool with 8 mm pin. Akbari
et al. [14] addressed the effect of material positioning on heat gen-
erated as a result of friction stir welding in a 1070 Aluminum and
pure copper lap joint. Their results suggest the maximum strength
is achieved when aluminum is placed above copper. Bisadi et al.
[15] performed friction stir welding for AA5083 Aluminum and

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2017.10.010
1526-6125/© 2017 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384 375

Fig. 1. Schematic view of FSW system for welding tubes in lap joints.

Fig. 2. a) Welding system designed for joining tubes before and after FSW procedure; b) a sample bimetallic tube fabricated with two weld lines after FSW.

pure copper lap joints at various rotational and traverse speeds
and examined the mechanical and microstructural properties of
the junction. They achieved maximum tensile shear strength by
welding at a rotational speed of 825 rpm and traverse speed of
32 mm/min. Galvão et al. [16] addressed the effect of aluminum
alloy type on copper and alloy lap joint welding. Friction stir weld-
ing was performed using 1 mm-thick copper sheet and 6mm-thick
sheets of AA 5083-H111 aluminum (without heat treatment capa-
bility) and AA 6082-T6 aluminum (with heat treatment capability).
Their results showed the copper and AA 5083 sheets to offer a weld
with excellent surface quality while the inside is faulty and lacks
interaction of base materials. On the contrary, welding AA 6082 alu-
minum alloy and copper resulted in a low quality surface but strong
bonding of the base materials. Kuang et al. [17] joined copper and
1A99 aluminum sheets using a pin-less tool configuration and 0.2
mm-thick zinc foil by friction stir welding. Experimental evidence
suggests the interlayer thickness to decrease as rotational speed
of the tool is increased and welding progress is slowed down, with
rotational speed playing a more effective role. In order to control the
heat generated during friction stir welding of 6061-T6 aluminum
and pure copper, Zhang et al. [18] tried underwater welding. This
method offers lower maximum welding temperature and a shorter
thermal cycle, hence enhanced mechanical quality of the junction.
In recent years, there have been a number of studies on tube
butt joints made by FSW. Packer and Matsunaga [19] designed a
machine for welding X65 pipes by FSW. Peterson et al. [20] devel-
oped a new system and method for welding pipes of small diameter
by FSW. Moreover, some researches have been made concerning
aluminum tube butt joints [21–25]. Chen et al. [26] have recently
presented a new FSW welding method for Al3003 aluminum and
pure copper pipes of low diameter and thin wall (diameter of the
copper tube was 1 mm and that of the aluminum tube was 1.5 mm).
According to their results, there are a number of challenges in fric-
tion stir welding of copper and aluminum tubes, namely: 1) the big
difference in mechanical properties of copper and aluminum tubes,
such as the 400◦ K difference of their melting temperatures; 2) very
different material flow on the surfaces of tube curves compared to
flat conditions; and 3) demand for precise control of the welding
procedure given the thin wall of the tubes.
Moreover, attempts have been made to fabricate copper and
aluminum bimetallic tubes by rolling [27] and severe plastic defor-
mation [28] to provide replacements for pure copper tubes and
376 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384
Fig. 3. Mold inside the tubes a) schematic b) fabricated model.
consequently reducing costs and total weight of tubing. Examining
copper-aluminum bimetallic tubes, Sajuri et al. [29] realized that no
blending had taken place at copper-aluminum interface, with only
a thin layer of intermetallic phases formed. Additionally, fatigue
resistance of these pipes is 55% of the pure copper tubes.
Reviewing previous researches on methods of fabricating
copper-aluminum bimetallic tubes, it was found that FSW has not
been ever applied to copper and aluminum bimetallic tube lap
joints. This research, proposes a novel method for joining 6061-T6
aluminum and pure copper tubes in lap joint in order to fabri-
cate bimetallic aluminum tubes with copper cover. Furthermore,
microstructural and mechanical properties of the joint were stud-
ied at various rotational and traverse speeds.
2. Methodology
6061 aluminum alloy and annealed pure copper tubes were used
in this study. The outer diameter of the 150 mm-long aluminum
and copper tubes were 54 and 58 mm, and their wall thicknesses
3 and 2 mm, respectively. Chemical composition of the aluminum
and copper tubes is presented in Table 1.
Three specimens were prepared from each base material for
tensile testing, based on ASTM-E8 M standard and the mechani-
cal properties of the base materials were obtained by averaging the
results. The Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of the aluminum and
copper were found to be 339 and 192 MPa, respectively.
An H13 steel FSW tool with concave shoulder of 10◦ and right-
hand-threaded cylindrical pin was used for welding. Shoulder
diameter was 16 mm, pin diameter 5 mm and pin length was 3 mm.
A schematic view of the welding system is presented in Fig. 1.
The system, while producing bimetallic tubes, and a sample fabri-
cated bimetallic tube with two weld lines are shown in Fig. 2a and
b, respectively.
A fixture composed of three major parts was designed for weld-
ing pipes in lap joints: a) the set of motor, gearbox, and inverter for
precisely providing rotation and torque required for turning the
pipes, b) tube to motor coupling, and c) mold with variable diam-
Fig. 4. A schematic view of tools and tubes configuration.
eter inside the tubes for bearing the vertical load applied by the
tool. Fig. 3, shows the mold used inside the tube and the schematic
model.
The mold can be used for tubes of various inner diameters. Plac-
ing the mold inside the tube and fastening its screw, the mold
expands and provides the support of tube walls against the pressure
applied by the tool. After welding, the mold can be removed from
the tube easily as it is unscrewed to a smaller size. Tubes of suitable
lengths and diameters that fitted inside one another in a tangen-
tial compliance configurations were prepared and installed on the
fixture to be welded. Although all the tubes surface can be welded
by proper rotational and horizontal motion of the tubes in a spiral
course producing a double-walled tube by FSW method with the
pin exit hole being located at the end of the tube and hence omit-
ted, in order to be able to prepare shear test samples and examine
its mechanical properties, the tubes were welded in a peripheral
line all the way to 360◦ . FSW was performed according to parame-
ters presented in Table 2 and the effects of different rotational and
travel speeds were studied on the mechanical and microstructural
properties of the weld.
For briefness, samples welded at 710 rpm were named Lrs (Low
Rotational Speed) and samples welded at 1000 rpm were named
Hrs (High Rotational Speed).
In order to examine shear strength of the weld, three spec-
imens of 15 mm width and 70 mm length (Fig. 2b) with similar
welding conditions, taken normal to weld direction were prepared
and tested and their average shear force was calculated. Shear test-
ing was carried out at the rate of 2 mm/min using STM150 test rig
and failure force and location was recorded for each specimen. Due
to the difference in the thickness of the shear test specimens, the
stress calculated for the weakest part of each specimen was con-
sidered for comparing their shear strength. Moreover, specimens
were prepared for macro/microstructural investigation and hard-
ness measurement. Hardness measurement tests were performed
using a micro-hardness tester along two parallel lines for both cop-
per and aluminum (0.05 kg for 15 s). A stereo optical microscope
was employed for imaging. The specimens were etched at the weld
area by two steps. First Keller solution was used to reveal aluminum
grains, then HCl, FeCl3 , H2 O solution was used to reveal copper
grains in compliance with ASTM E407-99 standard. Additionally,
a VEGA TESCAN-XMU scanning electron microscope was used for
imaging and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis.
3. Results and discussion
Using the designed welding system (Fig. 1), 6061-T6 aluminum
and pure copper tubes were welded in a lap joint. Weld surface,
 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384
Table 1
Chemical compositions of 6061-T6 aluminum and pure copper (%Wt.).
Material Al Si Fe Cu
Al alloy Balance 0.66 0.6 0.40
Cu Trace <0.005 <0.005 䊐99.9
Table 2
Parameters considered for welding each sample.
Sample Rotational speed Welding speed
(rev/min) (mm/min)
Lrs1 710 30
Lrs2 710 45
Lrs3 710 60
Hrs1 1000 30
Hrs2 1000 45
Hrs3 1000 60
macro/microstructure and its mechanical properties were exam-
ined to understand the characteristics of this welding method and
the effect of different welding parameters.
3.1. Material flow and weld surface
Fig.4 schematically shows the position of the tubes and FSW
tools and their configuration with respect on one another. Accord-
ing to Fig. 4, in order to achieve what is known as “tilt angle” in FSW,
the equipment start penetrating tube walls with an offset (1.7 mm)
relative to the centerline of the tubes.
A fundamental difference between FSW lap-joints for tubes and
sheets is the shoulder diameter of the tools used. On the one hand,
given the high curvature of the tubes, tools with large shoulder
diameter cannot be made use of since their shoulder have a smaller
contact area with the tube walls and result in an incomplete forg-
ing of the material flow from top to bottom, and consequently,
defects such as tunnels. On the other hand, using tools with small
shoulder diameter reduce heat generation required for metal flow
thus producing a defective weld. Moreover, tube diameters and
wall thickness are determining parameters when selecting correct
FSW tools and must fit shoulder diameter and the pin length. For
instance, if tubes with a small diameter and large thickness are
used, the high curvature does not allow the use of tools with large
shoulder diameter required for more heat generation, and the large
thickness limits heat transfer and material flow. According to the
tests performed, in lap-joints of copper and aluminum tubes, the
rotational speed of the tools is also very effective on material flow
and the final quality of the surface. After welding with the earlier
mentioned parameters, two distinct weld surface qualities were
obtained for the samples. Fig. 5 shows two welded samples with
different qualities. The surface obtained from welding sample Hrs2
at rotational speed of 1000 rpm and traverse speed of 45 mm/min
is shown in Fig. 5a and surface of Lrs3, welded at 710 rpm and
60 mm/min is shown in Fig. 5b.
In lap joints, the vertical flow of material (from bottom to the
top, and vice versa) is essential for metals to blend. Thus, a threaded
pin was employed in this study to provide better material flow.
It seems that upward flow of aluminum and downward flow of
copper takes place at a faster pace when a higher rotational speed
is applied, which can be attributed to the higher heat generation
thus higher welding zone temperature and better material flow.
Although reducing welding temperature and heat input results in
lower mixture of the metals in FSW [30], previous studies [26] have
shown the fixture used for welding tubes to provide limited heat
dissipation during welding which is further decreased as heat input
is increased. Therefore, heat is gradually accumulated and increases
maximum temperature during welding. Similarly, the results of this
377
Mn Mg Cr Ni Zn
0.11 0.93 0.05 0.02 0.07
Trace – Trace <0.005 <0.01
study suggest high rotational speed of the welding tool to result in
excess heat input leading to aggregation of aluminum particles on
advancing side, reduced thickness of copper and lower quality and
strength of the weld (Fig. 5a). But, a weld surface of reasonable
quality can be achieved in cases with lower rotational speeds and
a heat input enough for acceptable material flow (Fig. 5b).
3.2. Microstructure of the welding zone
In order to examine the effect of rotational speed of the tool on
the microstructure of the weld, SEM images of weld nuggets cor-
responding to samples Lrs1 and Hrs1 are presented in Fig. 6 along
with some of their microstructural properties. According to Fig. 6b,
the weld structure incorporates dark areas indicating the presence
of voids. Insufficient material flow in the stir zone can be acknowl-
edged as the reason for the formation of these voids that are starting
points for fracture. Penetration of copper lamellas into aluminum
(Fig. 6a) indicates that the pressure applied by the shoulder has
successfully driven copper flow down into aluminum thus creat-
ing a proper mixture of copper and aluminum particles. Figures 6b
and d shows a hook-like structure and crack on the retreating side
which continues to advancing side. This defect often exists when
welding heterogeneous soft and hard metals and when pin pene-
tration is high [13]. Carlone et al. [31] have also observed this defect
when using FSW to join copper and aluminum in butt joints. Pre-
vious studies [32,33], too, attribute the hook defect (which makes
the top sheet thinner and the weakens the weld) to the upward
motion of the material on one side of the lap joint weld. Moreover,
given the manners of material flow in FSW, some of the material is
transported from the retreating to the advancing side behind the
pin where the weld was formed and due to movement of the pin,
resulting in hook-like faults in the weld nuggets [34].
Investigating the weld structure around hook defects (Figures
6-b and d) it find that the hook zone has a dull edge and better mix-
ture of copper and intermetallic copper-aluminum phases around
it for the sample with the lower rotational speed (Lsr1). However,
hook edge is sharper in the sample with higher rotational speed
(Hrs3) and metallic phases around this zone predominantly consist
of the copper particles. The reason for this is probably that increas-
ing rotational speed of the tool and therefore generating more heat,
increase the fluidity of the metal and decrease cohesion of metal-
lic particles together and to the tool. Therefore, the concentration
of intermetallic phases is less on sides and more in the middle
of the weld. Needless to say, a sharper hook defect facilitates the
separation of copper and aluminum interlayers. A magnified view
of a hole-containing region in Hrs3 is shown in Fig. 6c. Nandan
et al. [34] showed that holes are mostly formed on the advanc-
ing side which can be attributed to sudden microstructural shift
from a highly refined zone in the nugget to TMAZ while the tran-
sition takes place gradually on the almost defect-free retreating
side [34]. The difference in grain size of Heat Affected Zone (HAZ)
and Thermo-Mechanically Affected Zone (TMAZ) can be clearly
observed in Fig. 6a, where grains have a smaller size in a constant
radial distance, compared to further regions. For better comparison,
quantitative values of grain sizes in the TMAZ (Fig. 7b) and HAZ of
sample Lrs1 are presented.
According to Fig. 7, grain size in the HAZ and TMAZ are 15.27 and
4.7 ␮m, respectively. Therefore, it is safe to say that the grain size
in the TMAZ is almost 31% of that in HAZ, which provides higher
378 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384

Fig. 5. Comparing weld surfaces obtained by welding a) at rotational speed of 1000 rpm and traverse speed of 45 mm/min (Hrs2) b) at 710 rpm and 60 mm/min (Lrs3).

Fig. 6. SEM images a) magnified images of TMAZ and HAZ and b) nugget zone of Lrs1 c) a closer look at the hole created on the surface of Hrs3 weld and d) Hrs3 nugget zone.

hardness and improved mechanical properties of the weld. The dif-
ference in grain size, is due to the effect of rotational movement
of the pin on deformation, restoration and modification of grain
structures in the TMAZ of the weld.
In order to examine the type of intermetallic phases formed in
the stir zone when a lower rotational speed is used to perform FSW
on the tubes, a few spots were selected (Fig. 7-c) for EDS analysis.
Moreover, in order to investigate the impact of rotational speed of
the tool on the type of intermetallic phases formed in the weld,
Hrs3 was analyzed by EDS on the spots shown in Fig. 7-d. Fig. 8
shows the diagram for atomic contents of aluminum and copper
for these points in Lrs1.
Fig. 7-c and d shows the nuggets to contain dark and grey
areas, suggesting different chemical compositions. Furthermore,
the atomic ratio of copper and aluminum on the aforementioned
spots in both samples are presented in Table 3.
As shown in the Figs. 6 a, 7 c and stated by numerical results
of microstructural examination, in Lrs1, most of the composite
zone is occupied by copper particles which are seen in silver and
have layered structures. Light grey areas (A and B) contain Al4 Cu9
and Al3 Cu4 intermetallic phases, respectively. Contrary to what is
expected based on its color, point D marks aluminum phase with
trace amounts of the Al2 Cu. Based on Fig. 7-c and EDS analysis, it
can be concluded that Al2 Cu consists the largest volume of inter-
 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384 379

Fig. 7. Grain size for a) TMAZ, b) HAZ in Lrs1, spots selected for EDS analysis in c) Lrs1 and d) Hrs3 samples.

Table 3
EDS results (at%) for the points shown in Fig.7-c and d.

Lrs1 Hrs3

Position A B C D A B C D

Al (K) 47.28 21.63 66.23 95.67 0.01 23.22 66.48 96.93

Cu (K) 52.72 78.37 33.77 4.33 99.99 76.78 33.52 3.07
Possible phases Al3 Cu4 Al4 Cu9 Al2 Cu (Al) + Al2 Cu Cu Al4 Cu9 Al2 Cu Al

metallic phases in the nugget being more dispersed close to the
aluminum side below the stir zone. The abundance of intermetallic
phases of the Al2 Cu type is due to sufficient amount of aluminum
in the nugget in contrast to copper particles in this zone promot-
ing the formation of intermetallic phases with a higher content of
the aluminum. Comparing pictures 6-b and d, 7-d and consider-
ing EDS results in Table 3, it is found that the weld area in Hrs3
contains Al2 Cu and Al4 Cu9 intermetallic phases. Unlike the Lrs1
weld which contains considerable amounts of Al, the Hrs3 pre-
dominantly consists of pure Cu particles and Al4 Cu9 compounds.
This shows the fact that due to welding samples at high rotational
speed and therefore generating more heat, softening of copper par-
ticles more happened, increasing their concentration in the weld
and changing the structure of the intermetallic phases in this zone.
Therefore, the intermetallic phases in specimens welded at lower
rotational speeds contain more Al and those welded at higher rota-
tional speeds, which are associated with a higher boiling point,
intermetallic phases containing more Cu are formed. This is impor-
tant given that the type of intermetallic phases and their dispersion
in the weld is very influential on the mechanical properties of the
Cu/Al joint.
Hrs3 weld nugget is shown in Fig. 9 for a better examination.
According to this Figure, a composite structure of copper and inter-
metallic phases was formed in the nugget zone with grey and
layered structures. Moreover, copper particles can be seen as they
are dispersed in intermetallic phases. Based on the Fig. 9, only cop-
per particles were scattered in the aluminum matrix.
Zhang et al. [18] have mentioned two reasons for this phe-
nomenon, one being that melting temperature of copper is higher
than aluminum. Therefore, aluminum softens to a larger degree
compared to the copper at the same temperature, meaning that
viscosity of the aluminum is lower than the copper. Therefore, dis-
380 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384

Fig. 8. EDS results for some point in Lrs1.

Fig. 9. Optical microscopy images from Hrs3 weld zone.

 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384
Fig. 10. a) the right half of the weld in Hrs3 along with b and c) enlargement of the defects.
persion of the copper particles in the aluminum matrix takes place
easier. The second reason is that density of the copper is more than
the aluminum, so when the copper is placed above the aluminum
(as in this research), the Cu particles are easily dispersed in Al by
gravity.
Another defect resulted from high rotational speed and heat
generation in FSW of tubes is the formation of porosity in the weld.
Fig. 10 shows an enlarged image of the right half of Hrs3 sample
along with porous defects and a non-uniform layer of the inter-
metallic phases formed.
The porosities, seen as microscale voids, reduce the strength
of this zone and result in growth and propagation of defects such
as voids and cracks. Mehta et al. [35] attributed the porosities to
absorption of the atmospheric Hydrogen by the aluminum and
copper oxides.
Employing severe plastic deformation method, Lapovok et al.
[28] produced bimetallic copper and aluminum tubes. They
attached the tubes by simultaneously applying hydrostatic pres-
sure and high shearing force to the inner tube, resulting in
expansion and residual stresses in the tube. Their tests showed
the size of the interdiffusion zone at the interface of Cu and Al,
is typically of the order of 40–50 nm includes a thin layer of brittle,
hard intermetallic particles, while FSW results for welding copper
and aluminum show blending of metals to be around 1.5–2 mm.
Drawing on test results and considering the optimum conditions
obtained in this study for lap-joint FSW of tubes in a spiral course
from the start to the end of the tubes, double-walled tubes of
great quality can be produced which shows the superiority of FSW
method for the manufacture of double-walled copper-aluminum
tubes.
381
3.3. Mechanical properties
Fig. 11 shows micro-hardness along two parallel lines on the
copper and aluminum for samples welded at 710 rpm (Fig. 11a) and
at 1000 rpm (Fig. 11b). According to these Figures, the hardness is
greater at the center of the weld compared to other parts. The high-
est copper tube hardness at the center was found to be 165.4 HV for
samples welded at rotational speed of 710 rpm and traverse speed
of 30 mm/min, and 142.6 HV for the samples welded at 1000 rpm
and 30 mm/min. Similarly for the aluminum tubes, hardness was
measured to be 120.1 HV (710 rpm and 30 mm/min) and 109.4 HV
(1000 rpm and 60 mm/min) that are significant.
The lowest hardness for the copper and aluminum tubes was
found at HAZ on the advancing side. Bisadi et al. [15] attributed this
to the excess heat input on the advancing side and the consequent
enlargement of grains which leads to lower hardness. Hardness was
measured 105.4 and 101 HV for the copper tube and 74.5 and 70.8
HV for the aluminum tube at rotational speeds of 710 and 1000 rpm,
respectively. Examining hardness profiles during FSW on Al6065-
T5 alloy, Sato et al. [36] found FSW to significantly reduce hardness
of the solid solution. Their experiments also showed that aging
samples for 2 h at 175 ◦ C increases the concentration of strengthen-
ing precipitates thus increasing hardness in precipitate-dissolved
region. Comparing the experimental results of this study with those
reported by Sato et al. [36] it is deduced that transportation of the
heat that is generated and accumulated during welding from the
copper to the aluminum results in growth of strengthening precip-
itates in the aluminum, cancelling the reducing effect of FSW on
hardness. Previous studies suggest the intermetallic phases of the
copper and aluminum to be much harder than any of the two base
382 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384
Fig. 11. Hardness diagram for a) samples welded at rotational speed of 710 rpm and b) samples welded at 1000 rpm.
metals reaching up to 760 HV. Therefore, in addition to the heat-
induced growth of strengthening precipitates in the aluminum,
growth of intermetallic phases can be counted as a hardening factor
in the weld zone. Furthermore, hardness diagrams for both groups
show the rotational speed to be the factor determining hardness
while traverse speed is less effective on hardness results.
In order to investigate the shear strength of the Cu/Al joint,
specimens that were separated from the weld cross-section were
shear tested. The fracture location and failure load are presented in
Table 4. Examining images of fractures in Table 4, it is figured that
samples connected at low rotational speed, offer higher failure load
compared to samples welded at similar traverse speed but higher
rotational speed. Previous studies show that growth of intermetal-
lic phases results in weak mechanical properties since the growth
takes place at the interface of metals or in the nugget, especially
at high rotational speeds [11,12,37]. Therefore, the lower strength
of samples welded at higher rotational speeds can be attributed to
growth of intermetallic phases in the stir zone. According to the
Table 4, location of fracture in the samples welded at 710 rpm was
in HAZ and its vicinity. Further examinations showed thickness of
the copper sheet in Lrs2 to be significantly reduced during the weld-
ing which is the reason for failure from this part. But in Lrs1 and
Lrs3 failure starts near HAZ in aluminum on the advancing side
which shows the negative effect of excess heat input resulting in
grain growth in HAZ and reduction of strength. Samples welded at
1000 rpm have all been subject to failure from stir zone. This shows
the significance of controlling heat generation during welding cop-
per and aluminum.
Another important difference of FSW for copper-aluminum
sheets and tubes is the different effect of material flow and heat
transfer resulting from the movement of the pin inside the metal
in either of those. When welding tubes, given the geometry of the
tubes and the inner mold, the generated heat in the first stage pre-
heats the material prior to welding. If the heat generated in the first
stages of welding is sufficient and controlled, pre-heating enhances
material flow and weld strength, but if the heat is generated exces-
sively due to high rotational speed of the tool and its accumulation
in the mold inside the tubes, excess metal softening and conse-
 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384 383

Table 4
Fractures images and failure load for each sample.

Sample Failure location image Failure load (N) Place of fracture

Lrs1 2711.3 In Al and between stir zone And HAZ

Lrs2 2203.6 Cu HAZ

Lrs3 3373.4 Al HAZ

Hrs1 1813.7 Stir zone

Hrs2 1633.4 Stir zone

Hrs3 2439 Stir zone

quently defects and low strength are to follow, diminishing weld
quality to a large extent. In fact, mechanisms must be made to cool
the tubes when welding or the maximum temperature in the weld
zone must be controlled by low rotational speed or high traverse
speed.
Results show increasing traverse speed to 45 mm/min reduces
shearing force; further increasing traverse speed to 60 mm/min,
failure load is enhanced which suggests a critical traverse speed
when welding of copper and aluminum in lap joints. The failure
load was obtained for Lrs3 sample at 3373.4 N which is higher than
the other samples. Additionally, weld shear strength in this sample
was higher since the sample failure took place in aluminum. Results
prove the high quality of the weld in this study.
4. Conclusion
A bimetallic copper and 6061-T6 aluminum tube was fabri-
cated by Friction Stir Welding. Surface quality of the weld, and
microstructural and mechanical properties of the joint were exam-
ined as different welding parameters were incorporated. The most
notable results of this study can be summarized as follows:
1. A new method for production of bimetallic copper and aluminum
tubes by FSW was presented and components needed for man-
ufacturing were designed and fabricated.
2. Despite challenges in welding copper and aluminum tubes in
lap joints compared to sheets, and considering microstructural
examinations, an acceptable mixture was achieved between
copper and aluminum. Copper and aluminum tubes were con-
nected with much better blending compared to previously
proposed methods for fabrication of bimetallic tubes.
3. Examining hardness diagrams of the samples showed the weld
between copper and aluminum to cancel the reducing effect of
FSW on hardness of 6061-T6 aluminum and even to increase its
hardness to values above the base material.
384 A. Tavassolimanesh, A. Alavi Nia / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 30 (2017) 374–384
4. Shear test results showed that high rotational speed reduces
strength while high traverse speed increases shear strength of
the weld. Moreover, for the sample welded at rotational speed
of 710 rpm and traverse speed of 60 mm/min, a failure load of
3373.4 N was obtained. Also, weld shear strength in this sam-
ple was higher since the sample failure took place in aluminum,
showing the advantage of employing FSW for manufacturing
bimetallic copper-aluminum tubes.
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