JMEPEG (2019) 28:4610–4619 ASM International

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-019-04205-w 1059-9495/$19.00

Effect of Rotational Speed on Microstructure

and Mechanical Properties in Submerged Friction Stir
Welding of ME20M Magnesium Alloy
Wenming Liu, Yifu Shen, Chao Guo, Ruiyang Ni, Yinfei Yan, and Wentao Hou

(Submitted August 17, 2018; in revised form May 20, 2019; published online July 11, 2019)

Submerged friction stir welding of magnesium alloys has not been well investigated to date. ME20M is an
important lightweight magnesium (Mg) alloy with enhanced yield strength and heat resistance that merits
further research. In this paper, submerged friction stir welding of the ME20M Mg alloy was carried out
using different parameters for the underwater cooling. Defect-free weld joints were produced, and the
macrostructure, microstructure, tensile properties, and hardness were investigated. The results show that
by increasing the rotational speed, the grain size of the weld nugget increased, the tensile strength of the
joint decreased, and the microhardness of the different weld zones decreased. The finest obtained grain size
was about 3.5 lm in the weld nugget at a rotational speed of 1100 rpm. The highest tensile strength
achieved was 183.2 MPa, which was  76.32% of the base metal. The highest and lowest hardness values of
the weld joint were obtained at rotational speeds of 1100 and 1600 rpm, respectively, in the weld nugget and
heat-affected zones.

has been minimally studied to date. Improving the ductility of

Keywords ME20M magnesium alloy, mechanical properties,
microstructure, rotational speed, submerged friction
stir welding
1. Introduction
Friction stir welding (FSW) was invented in 1991 as an
advanced joining method and has been investigated by many
researchers. During FSW, a rotational tool travels along the
length of the plates to be welded and the associated stirring
action produces a highly plastic joint with refined grains (Ref 1,
2).
Magnesium (Mg) alloys are increasingly important light-
weight structural materials for application in the aerospace,
automotive, and shipbuilding industries because of their low
density and high specific strength (Ref 3). Mg alloys have a
hexagonal close-packed structure with a limited number of
room temperature deformation mechanisms, such as basal slips
and tensile twinning (Ref 4).
Recently, improvements in the formability of Mg alloys at
room temperature have been demonstrated by the addition of
rare earth (RE) elements, such as cerium (Ce) and lanthanum
(La) (Ref 4-8). The ME20M Mg alloy (also previously known
as MB8), which contains manganese (Mn) and cerium (Ce)
(nominal composition Mn-1.3-3.2 wt.% and Ce-0.15-
0.35 wt.%), is known to have enhanced yield strength and
heat resistance compared with the other Mg alloys; however, it
Wenming Liu, Yifu Shen, Chao Guo, Ruiyang Ni, Yinfei Yan, and
Wentao Hou, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing
University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), Yudao Street 29,
Nanjing 210016, PeopleÕs Republic of China. Contact e-mail:
yfshen_nuaa@hotmail.com.
magnesium alloys through grain refinement has drawn consid-
erable interest, since the practical application of Mg alloys has
generally been limited because of their poor formability (Ref
9).
Wang and Zhang (Ref 10) carried out FSW of MB8 and
observed that the grain size was refined from about 16.5-6 lm;
additionally, its elongation was improved by 57% at 1200 rpm,
which was  160% that of the base metal. Xu (Ref 11) studied
the forming characteristics, microstructural features, and
mechanical properties of the weld. They found that the tensile
strength of the weld joints obtained with a traverse speed of
300 mm/min was 73% of the base metal. Xing et al. (Ref 12)
obtained a plastic MB8 joint and studied the strength, fracture,
structure, and mechanical properties of the joint. They demon-
strated defect-free joints with a tensile strength of 76% of the
base metal.
Since fine-grained microstructures generally possess im-
proved mechanical properties, there have been considerable
efforts to achieve even finer-grained sizes. Mishra and Ma (Ref
13) showed that the metal grain growth could be suppressed if a
certain cooling method (such as water cooling) was adopted
during the welding. Therefore, submerged friction stir welding
(SFSW) was employed, which resulted in increased strength
and plasticity for the material.
A limited number of studies have investigated submerged
friction stirring of Mg alloys. Fang et al. (Ref 14) studied the
friction stir processing of a 6-mm-thick AZ91 Mg alloy in air
and underwater, and then investigated the microstructure and
mechanical properties of the weld. Friction stir processing
transformed the original as-cast microstructure into fine
equiaxed grains. The second phase b-Mg17Al12 at the grain
boundaries changed from a continuous network to granular
structure. Compared with the friction stir processing in air, the
grain size obtained by underwater processing was finer; the
average grain size was 8.4 ± 1.3 lm in air and 2.8 ± 0.8 lm
underwater. Their XRD results showed that the intensity of the

4610—Volume 28(8) August 2019 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

diffraction peak for the second phase b-Mg17Al12 processed in characterized using a QMW550 digital optical microscope and
air was lower than that for the sample with underwater friction a QVANTA 650 scanning electron microscope (SEM). Addi-
stir processing. Because of the fine-grain strengthening effects, tionally, the grain sizes were measured and calculated via the
friction stir processing resulted in joint tensile strengths and linear intercept method using the SEM images. Phase analysis
elongations of 262 MPa and 18.9% (in air), and 282 MPa and was carried out using an XÕPert PRO MPD x-ray diffraction
25.4% (underwater), respectively. These results indicated that (XRD) setup to identify the intermetallic compounds at the
underwater friction stir processing was an effective method to joints on the fracture surface.
refine the grains and improve the mechanical properties of The hardness of the welds was measured on a HXS-1000A
AZ91 cast magnesium alloys. microhardness testing machine by applying a load of 100 g and
Darras and Kishta (Ref 15) studied the submerged friction a dwell time of 15 s. The hardness was measured along the
stir processing (SFSP) of the AZ31 Mg alloy. They concluded center line of the thickness direction, beginning at the weld
that SFSP was highly effective at grain refinement and porosity center and moving toward the base material with a 0.5-mm
reduction, and a significant increase in the elongation % could spacing between each point.
be achieved. Luo et al. (Ref 16) investigated the ductility Tensile tests of the weld joint were carried out using a CMT
improvement of the AZ61 Mg alloy via two pass SFSP. The 5105 SANS microcomputer-controlled electronic universal
refined microstructure and texture evolution were also consid- tensile testing machine (Shenzhen SANS Metering Technol-
ered to be responsible for the improvement in the ductility. ogy) in accordance with the ASTM E8/E8M standard. The
ME20M is extensively applied in aircraft panels because of experimental results were recorded, and the average value from
its excellent weldability and higher corrosion resistance com- two specimens was used to determine the strength.
pared with the AZ31 Mg alloy (Ref 9). Hence, the realization of
underwater FSW for ME20M will open new pathways for its
welding. In this paper, underwater FSW of ME20M has been
carried out and the effects of the processing parameters on the
3. Results and Discussion
weld microstructure and mechanical properties are discussed in
detail. 3.1 Macrostructure of the Joint
3.1.1 Macrostructure of the Surface of the Joint. Several
types of defects can occur at the FSW joint, such as porosity
2. Material and Experiments defects, tunnel defects, flashes, cracks, and root flaws. These
defects may be due to improper FSW parameters, the assembly
state, the welding equipment, or other factors (Ref 17-19). The
ME20M Mg alloy specimens with a thickness of 5 mm,
length of 160 mm, and width of 65 mm were used in this
experiment. The chemical composition and partial physical
properties of the specimens are shown in Table 1. The welding
was done on modified milling machines. The rotating tool was
made of SKD11 steel and had a cylindrical pin. Figure 1 shows
the dimensions of the tool: The shoulder diameter was 20 mm;
the pin diameter was 5 mm; and the length of the pin was
4.7 mm. The tool was quenched and tempered to improve the
friction heat and mixing ability. The joints were produced in a
butt configuration and placed in the setup shown in Fig. 2.
The samples were friction stir welded in a container we
designed (fabricated by CNC milling) that held the samples
submerged during the welding process. To study the effects of
the SFSW rotational speed on the sample properties, different
speeds were considered at room temperature. The parameters of
the experiments are shown in Table 2. Here, w/v is the ratio of
rotational speed to the traverse speed, and it usually expresses
the heat input of the FSW.
For the metallographic specimen preparation, the samples
were cut perpendicular to the welding direction by wire
electrode cutting, and etched with an acetic–picric acid solution
composed of: 10 mL acetic acid, 4.2 g picric acid, 10 mL Fig. 1 Stir tool of submerged friction stir welding (a) stir tool, (b)
water, and 70 mL ethanol (95%). The samples were then dimension of the tool

Table 1 Chemical composition and physical properties of ME20M

Chemical composition, wt.%

Mg Al Zn Mn Ce Si Fe Cu Strength, MPa

Bal. £ 0.20 £ 0.30 1.3-3.2 0.15-0.35 £ 0.10 £ 0.05 £ 0.05 240

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 28(8) August 2019—4611

Fig. 2 Setup diagram of submerged friction stir welding
typical weld surface is presented in Fig. 3. The strong agitation
by the stirring pin causes the material in the weld nugget area to
undergo severe plastic deformation. A regular, compact ringlike
texture can be observed, which is considered to be a typical
feature of FSW. With a constant traverse speed, the welded
ripples are uniform. During FSW, the rotation of the tool pin
results in severe plastic deformation and material flow. The
material on the advancing side (AS) flows forward and then
flows back from the retreating side (RS) (Ref 20). Because of
the axial force, the material may be pushed out and form flash
defects in the specimen. With a constant traverse speed, the
flashes increase as the rotational speed increases. This can be
mainly attributed to the increased frictional heat that results in
the ejection of more softened material.
3.1.2 Macrostructure of the Cross Section of the Joint.
Among the different SFSW parameters investigated, defect-free
weld joints were obtained for rotational speeds between 1300
and 1600 rpm. Tunnel defects were found at rotational speeds
of 1100 and 1200 rpm, and the weld nuggets in the defective
joints were clearly smaller than that of the defect-free joints.
The typical cross sections of the defect-free and defective
samples are shown in Fig. 4. Tunnel defects were primarily
caused by insufficient heat input during welding (Ref 19). Since
the ME20M Mg alloy has a low thermal conductivity
coefficient of  0.32 J/(cm s C), it radiates heat quickly. In
this experiment, because of the water cooling, the heat input
was lower than in air. When the w/v values were 27.5 and 30,
the heat input was insufficient for the metal to form a
thermoplastic fluid; therefore, the flow, filling, extrusion, and
diffusion processes could not be fully completed, resulting in
the formation of tunnel defects. As the input heat increased, the
metals flowed smoothly and defect-free weld joints were
obtained.
3.2 Microstructure of the Cross Section of the Joint
3.2.1 Microstructure Characterization. FSW joints are
typically divided into four zones: base metal (BM), heat-
affected zone (HAZ), thermo-mechanically affected zone
(TMAZ), and the weld nugget (WN). The microstructures of
the welds are shown in Table 3.
The BM was annealed after rolling and revealed a recrys-
tallized a + b (Mn) microstructure, with fine and coarse grains
randomly distributed. The precipitated phase was found at the
boundary of the grains. The average grain size of the BM was
 11.34 lm.
The WN was located at the center of the weld joint. This
region experienced strong stirring and a high-temperature
thermal cycle; hence, dynamic recrystallization occurred in the
4612—Volume 28(8) August 2019
Table 2 Weld parameters of submerged friction stir
welding
No Rotation speed, rpm Traverse speed, mm/min w/v
1 1100 40 27.5
2 1200 40 30
3 1300 40 32.5
4 1400 40 35
5 1500 40 37.5
6 1600 40 40
region, transforming the original structure of the base material
into a fine equiaxed recrystallized structure. Twinning first
occurred under cold conditions, and then, dynamic recrystal-
lization takes place in the twins. As the thermo-mechanical
effect increased, particle-simulated nucleation, discontinuous
dynamic recrystallization, and continuous dynamic recrystal-
lization occurred. Greater dynamic recrystallization and more
particles contribute to finer and more uniform grains during
FSP of the Mg alloy (Ref 21). With underwater cooling, the
heat input was sufficient to plasticize the WN. Dynamic
recrystallization subsequently occurred, and the dynamically
recrystallized grains were broken up by the strong stirring.
However, because the cooling rate was improved, the growth of
grains was restricted and fine equiaxed grains formed. With
increasing rotational speed, the heat input increased, the
cooling rate decreased and the grains grew larger. As reported
by Commin et al., the nugget temperature decreased with
decreasing rotational speed during FSW (Ref 22). This
promotes grain refinement in the WN after FSW. A significant
body of work has indicated that increased grain size results in
reduced slip and twin propagation resistance, where the twin
modes exhibit more pronounced grain size dependences (Ref
23, 24). With increasing rotational speed, the average grain size
increased from 3.75 to 14.12 lm (Fig. 5), while the intermetal-
lic particles coarsened at a high welding speed of 1600 mm/
min. Compared with the results (Ref 11) mentioned before, the
grain size of the FSW joint with a rotational speed of 800 rpm
and a traverse speed of 60 mm/min was 6 lm. This was much
larger than the grain size of the SFSW joint at a higher heat
input with a rotational speed of 1100 rpm and traverse speed of
40 mm/min.
The heat and stirring affect the metal in the TMAZ, which
results in the occurrence of bending deformation, and generates
a reverse reaction. The TMAZ of the welds can be easily found,
and the size of the grains is obviously increased with increasing
rotational speed. As the rotational speed increases, the temper-
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
Fig. 3 Typical surface of the friction stir weld joint underwater
ature near the weld region and the normal and transverse
stresses increase (Ref 25). Without adequate heat input, the
grains grow slowly and the effect of stirring on the grains is
clear.
Generally, the HAZ is the weakest part of the joint. It
experiences grain growth and transformation of the meta-
stable precipitates but does not reprecipitate because of
insufficient heat (Ref 26-29). Investigations have revealed that
the HAZ was a narrow precipitate-free zone along the grain
boundary. This can be attributed to a lower level of precipitate
coarsening underwater cooling and adversely effects on the
mechanical properties of the materials (Ref 30, 31). Due to the
effects of water cooling, the coarse-grained zone was incon-
spicuous in the weld compared with the base metal, which
indicated that the thermal effect was not obvious in the water
cooled environment.
3.2.2 XRD and EDS Analysis. Lentz et al. (Ref 32)
found that Mg12Ce precipitated during Mg-Mn-Ce alloy
annealing. Finer Mn-containing precipitates with a diameter
of 100-300 nm were observed. The grain boundaries were rich
in Ce, while the grain center was mainly composed of Mg (Ref
33). The XRD results (Fig. 6) show that the phases of the BM
were a-Mg and b-Mn. At a low Ce content, Mg12Ce and
Mg17Ce2 may exist in the BM. After SFSW, the intensity of the
second peak (Fig. 6a) reduced, grain refinement of the a-Mg
grains in the matrix phase occurred, and the grains were
uniformly distributed. When the intensity of the peak associated
with Mn reduced, MnAl and MnZn formed an intermetallic
compound, which precipitated at the grain boundary and
promoted grain refinement. As w/v increased, the grain size of
the a-Mg matrix became coarser. This may be attributed to the
common influence of heat input and applied stress during
SFSW.
The energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results of the
different regions are shown in Fig. 7, and the test positions
correspond to the 4 points in Fig. 4(a). All the trace elements
precipitated at the weld joint after SFSW. The content of Ce and
Zn was significantly improved in the WN and TMAZ, and
decreased minimally in the HAZ. The contents of Mn and Al
were slightly improved, which was in agreement with the XRD
results. Mn promotes grain refinement and improves the
corrosion resistance of the Mg alloys. Ce promotes grain
refinement and inhibits twin growth in the Mg alloys. The
precipitation of Mn, Ce, Al, and Zn from the microstructure
was proved by the grain refinement of the WN and TMAZ, and
the quality improved compared with the HAZ. Because of
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
lower solution, the effects of solution strengthening in the HAZ
were limited.
3.3 Mechanical Properties
3.3.1 Hardness Distribution. The microhardness was
tested along the midline of the thickness direction, and the
hardness curves are shown in Fig. 8. All of the curves display a
slight ‘‘w’’-type shape. The hardness of the base metal was in
the range of 46.5-48.5 HV0.1. The lowest hardness values
appeared at the transition area of the AS, and then, hardness
rapidly rose to a stable level. On the RS side, the hardness of
the TMAZ declined slowly. The sample with the largest w/v
had the lowest hardness of 39.4 HV0.1. The largest hardness
was 57.9 HV0.1 and was located at the WN of the weld joint at
a rotational speed of 1100 rpm and a traverse speed 40 mm/
min.
As previously mentioned, the grain size of the weld nugget
affected the mechanical properties of the weld joint (Ref 20).
The transformation and flow of materials were different
between the AS and the RS, and the temperature on the AS
was higher than that of the RS (Ref 34). A higher heating
temperature resulted in larger grains and caused a decrease in
the hardness. This meant that the lowest hardness was not
located on the RS but on the AS. The WN was subject to the
stirring process and had a grain size that was much finer than
that of the base metal at a rotational speed of 1100 rpm. The
fine grains resulted in a high observed hardness value. The
largest grains were found at the HAZ of the weld joint at a
rotational speed of 1600 rpm. Figure 8 shows that apart from
the lowest hardness value, there was a general decline in the
hardness. It is well known that the HAZ is the weakest part of
the joint and has the lowest hardness. The rapid decline in
hardness meant that the HAZ was small.
3.3.2 Tensile Properties. Samples for the tensile tests
were cut by a wire cutting machine according to the ASTM E8/
E8M standard. The dimensions of the samples are shown in
Fig. 9. Two samples were tested for each parameter and the
average value was used to calculate the strength. Defects in the
tensile samples were ground off to ensure the weld joint would
not fracture at the defects. The results of the tensile tests are
shown in Table 4 and contain the fracture position and the
determined strength values.
The strength values present a decreasing trend as the rotational
speed increases. The highest strength value of 183.2 MPa was
obtained at a rotational speed of 1100 rpm, which was  76.32%
Volume 28(8) August 2019—4613
Table 3 Microstructure of the submerged friction stir welding of ME20M Mg alloy

Base
metal

Thermo-mechanical affect
Weld nugget zone Heat affect zone
zone
1600 rpm/40 mm/min 1500 rpm/40 mm/min 1400 rpm/40 mm/min 1300 rpm/40 mm/min 1200 rpm/40 mm/min 1100 rpm/40 mm/min

4614—Volume 28(8) August 2019 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Fig. 4 Typical cross sections of defect-free and defective samples of the friction stir weld joint underwater. (a) Defect-free weld joint, (b)
defective weld joint

Fig. 6 XRD test result of the base metal and weld nugget in
rotation speed of 1300 rpm
Fig. 5 Grain size of the weld nugget in different rotation speeds

of the BM. The lowest value of 121.9 MPa was  50.80% of the
et al. (Ref 37) confirmed that the dislocation content and high
BM at a rotational speed of 1600 rpm.
residual stress in the TMAZ were the factors influencing the
The tensile properties of the joints after SFSW were inferior
mechanical properties of the joints. As the rotational speed
compared with the BM. The strength was generally propor-
increased, the heat input correspondingly increased and the
tional to the hardness in metallic materials including magne-
grains grew larger, in particular, in the HAZ, where the strength
sium alloys. Furthermore, the residual stress and dislocations in
of the joint decreased. FSW resulted in high grain refinement,
the TMAZ may also affect the mechanical properties of the
dissolution and dispersion of the eutectic networks, and a
joints. As previously mentioned, the HAZ had the largest grain
strong basal texture, which also affected the tensile strength.
size. According to the Hall–Petch relationship, coarser grains
The dynamically recrystallized grains decreased in size, and the
result in a lower strength as well as hardness. It was also
size volume fraction of the dispersed particles increased as the
previously reported that in defect-free FSW joints, the part with
heat input decreased (Ref 37). With increasing rotational speed,
the lowest hardness was also the weakest (Ref 35, 36). Commin

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 28(8) August 2019—4615


Fig. 7 EDS test results of different regions in rotation speed of
1300 rpm. (a) BM; (b) HAZ; (c) TMAZ; (d) WN
4616—Volume 28(8) August 2019
Fig. 8 Microhardness of the weld joint along the center line of
thickness direction
the grain size became larger and the fraction of dispersed
particles decreased, which resulted in a reduction in the fine-
grain strengthening and dispersion strengthening effects. How-
ever, increasing the rotational speed increased the dissolution of
the second phase and resulted in a lower degree of solution
strengthening. Figure 5 shows that there were minimal Mn- and
Ce-containing precipitates in the HAZ. Because of the reduced
precipitation, the effects of precipitate strengthening on the
HAZ were limited.
3.3.3 Fracture Surface. Fractures were always located
in regions with lower strength or hardness (Ref 38). It can be
found that the fracture location is on the advancing side
(Table 4), where the hardness is the lowest. The fracture of
Mg alloys under transverse tension is sometimes attributed to
double {1011}-{1012} twinning. The strain distribution in
the stir zone is also inhomogeneous in the weld nugget (Ref
39-41).
Figure 10 shows the SEM test results of the fracture
section. All the fractures present a mixture of cleavage and
ductile fracture. From the image, it can be seen that the
fracture in the tensile specimens has a large number of
uniformly distributed dimples. As the rotational speed
increases, the cleavage surfaces increased and the number
of dimples decreased. Cleavage fractures were due to stress
concentration and rupture at the grain boundary. There were
many cleavage planes with a low crystal surface index. The
material in the stir zone also experienced plastic strain. A
radial pattern and herringbone ridge-shaped pattern appeared
at the fracture.
The Mg alloy has a close-packed hexagonal structure and
cleavage fractures can easily occur. The main factors
effecting cleavage fractures were the stress state and the
grain size. Increasing the rotational speed led to a larger
tensile stress and larger grains, which resulted in increased
cleavage fractures (Ref 42). Increased tensile stress and grain
size commonly resulted in a decrease in the hardness and
tensile strength. Therefore, cleavage fractures increased as the
rotational speed increased, while the hardness and tensile
strength decreased.
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
Fig. 9 Dimension of tensile samples

Fig. 10 SEM result of the fracture section in different rotation speeds: (a) 1100 rpm, (b) 1200 rpm, (c) 1300 rpm, (d) 1400 rpm, (e) 1500 rpm,
(f) 1600 rpm

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance Volume 28(8) August 2019—4617

Table 4 Tensile results of submerged friction stir welding of ME20M Mg alloy
Rotation speed, rpm Traverse speed, mm/min Average tensile strength, MPa Performance, % Fracture position

1100 40 180.4 185.9/183.2 76.32 HAZ of AS

1200 40 170.1 178.6/174.4 72.65 HAZ of AS
1300 40 172.8 162.7/167.8 69.90 HAZ of AS
1400 40 152.0 166.3/159.1 66.30 HAZ of AS
1500 40 141.1 144.7/142.9 59.54 HAZ of AS
1600 40 121.2 122.6/121.9 50.80 HAZ of AS

4. Conclusion is a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Develop-

In this work, the ME20M Mg alloy was friction stir welded
underwater with rotational speeds ranging from 1100 to
1600 rpm and a constant traverse speed of 40 mm/min. The
effects of SFSW on the macrostructure, microstructure, hard-
ness, and tensile properties of the ME20M Mg alloy were
investigated.
The main conclusions were as follows.
(1) After the SFSW of ME20M, flash defects were observed
on the surface of the samples and they increased with
increasing rotational speed. When the rotational speed
was below 1300 rpm, tunnel defects were found on the
sample cross section.
(2) ME20M Mg alloys were jointed at different rotational
speeds by friction stir welding underwater cooling. The
weld nugget produced at 1100 rpm had a refined grain
size of  3.75 lm, while the grain size of the base me-
tal was 11.34 lm. As the rotational speed increased, the
grain size of the weld nugget also increased, with a
grain size of 14.12 lm as the rotational speed increased
to 1600 rpm.
(3) After SFSW, the microelements Mn, Ce, Al, and Zn pre-
cipitated at the grain boundary and promoted grain
refinement of the TMAZ and WN regions. The matrix
phase a-Mg grains were refined by thermal and mechan-
ical action.
(4) The microhardness of the welded joint presented a sub-
tle ‘‘w’’-type shape along the middle line of the thick-
ness. The highest hardness value of 57.9 HV was
obtained at a rotational speed of 1100 rpm, while the
lowest hardness of 39.4 HV occurred in the HAZ of
the advancing side at the highest rotational speed
1600 rpm.
(5) The tensile strength of the welded joint was
183.2 MPa at a rotational speed of 1100 rpm, which
was  76.32% of the base metal. With increased rota-
tional speed, the strength of the welded joint de-
creased. The fractures presented a mixture of cleavage
and ductile fractures.
Acknowledgments
The study work of this paper is supported by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51475232). This
ment of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).
References
1. R. Nandan, T. DebRoy, and H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia, Recent Advances in
Friction-Stir Welding—Process, Weldment Structure and Properties,
Prog. Mater. Sci., 2008, 53(6), p 980–1023
2. Z. Ma, Friction Stir Processing Technology: A Review, Metall. Mater.
Trans. A, 2008, 39(3), p 642–658
3. Z.H. Chen, H.G. Yan, J.H. Chen, Y.J. Quan, H.M. Wang, and D.
Chen, Magnesium Alloy, Chemical Industry Press, Beijing (in
Chinese), 2004
4. K. Hantzsche, J. Wendt, K.U. Kainer, J. Bohlen, and D. Letzig, Mg
Sheet: The Effect of Process Parameters and Alloy Composition on
Texture and Mechanical Properties, JOM, 2009, 61(8), p 38–42
5. T. Al-Samman and X. Li, Sheet Texture Modification in Magnesium-
Based Alloys by Selective Rare Earth Alloying, Mater. Sci. Eng. A,
2011, 528(10), p 3809–3822
6. Y. Chino, X. Huang, K. Suzuki, K. Sassa, and M. Mabuchi, Influence
of Zn Concentration on Stretch Formability at Room Temperature of
Mg-Zn-Ce Alloy, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2010, 528(2), p 566–572
7. J. Min and J. Lin, An elastic Behavior and Phenomenological
Modeling of mg ZEK100-O Alloy Sheet Under Cyclic Tensile
Loading–Unloading, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2013, 561(3), p 174–182
8. J. Bohlen, M.R. Nürnberg, J.W. Senn, D. Letzig, and S.R. Agnew, The
Texture and Anisotropy of Magnesium-Zinc-Rare Earth Alloy Sheets,
Acta Mater., 2007, 55(6), p 2101–2112
9. H. Xu, J. Liu, and S. Xie, Magnesium Alloy Fabrication and
Processing Technology, Metallurgical Industry Press, Beijing (in
Chinese), 2007
10. S. Wang and D. Zhang, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of
Frictional Stirring Processed (FSP) MB8 Magnesium Alloy, SCNA,
2011, 31(1), p 83–86
11. W. Xu, Friction Stir Welding of Magnesium Alloy MB8, J. Mater.
Eng., 2002, 8, p 35–36
12. L. Xing, L. Ke, D. Sun, and X. Zhou, Friction Stir Welding of MB8
Magnesium Alloy Sheet, Trans. China Weld. Inst., 2001, 22(6), p 18–
20
13. R.S. Mishra and Z.Y. Ma, Friction Stir Welding and Processing, Mater.
Sci. Eng. R, 2005, 50(1), p 1–78
14. C. Fang, D. Zhang, and Y. Li, Microstructures and Tensile Properties of
Submerged Friction Stir Processed AZ91 Magnesium Alloy, J. Magn.
Alloy, 2015, 3, p 203–209
15. B. Darras and E. Kishta, Submerged Friction Stir Processing of AZ31
Magnesium Alloy, Mater. Des., 2013, 47(9), p 133–137
16. X. Luo, G. Cao, W. Zhang, C. Qiu, and D. Zhang, Ductility
Improvement of an AZ61 Magnesium Alloy through Two-Pass
Submerged Friction Stir Processing, Materials, 2017, 10(3), p p253
17. J.P. Ramulu, R.G. Narayanan, S.V. Kailas et al., Internal Defect and
Process Parameter Analysis during Friction Stir Welding of Al 6061
Sheets, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 2013, 65(9–12), p 1515–1528
18. P. Vilaça and W. Thomas, Friction Stir Welding Technology, Sci.
Technol. Rev., 2012, 8, p 85–124

4618—Volume 28(8) August 2019 Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

19. J. Rasti, Study of the Welding Parameters Effect on the Tunnel Void
Area during Friction Stir Welding of 1060 Aluminum Alloy, Int. J. Adv.
Manuf. Technol., 2018, 97, p 2221–2230
20. T.G. Santos, R.M. Miranda, and P. Vilaça, Friction Stir Welding
Assisted by Electrical Joule Effect, J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2014,
10, p 2127–2133
21. Y. Huang, Y. Wang, X. Meng et al., Dynamic Recrystallization and
Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Processed Mg-Zn-Y-Zr Alloys,
J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2017, 249, p 331–338
22. L. Commin, M. Dumont, J.E. Masse, and L. Barrallier, Friction Stir
Welding of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Rolled Sheets: Influence of
Processing Parameters, Acta Mater., 2009, 57(2), p 326–334
23. V.V. Patel, V.J. Badheka, and A. Kumar, Effect of Velocity Index on
Grain Size of Friction Stir Processed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloy, Procedia
Technol., 2016, 23, p 537–542
24. M.R. Barnett, A Rationale for the Strong Dependence of Mechanical
Twinning on Grain Size, Scr. Mater., 2008, 59(7), p 696–698
25. H.T. Serindag, B.G. Kiral, H.T. Serindag, and B.G. Kiral, Friction Stir
Welding of AZ31 Magnesium Alloys—A Numerical and Experimental
Study, Lat. Am. J. Solids Struct., 2016, 14(1), p 113–130
26. S.S. Kumar, N. Murugan, K.K. Ramachandran, Effect of Friction Stir
Welding on Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of AISI 316L
Stainless Steel Butt Joints. Weld. World, 2019, 63, p 137–150
27. P. Schempp, C.E. Cross, A. Pittner, and M. Rethmeier, Influence of
Solute Content and Solidification Parameters on Grain Ref inement of
Aluminum Weld Metal, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2013, 44(7), p 3198–
3210
28. G. Sharma and D.K. Dwivedi, Study on Microstructure and Mechan-
ical Properties of Dissimilar Steel Joint Developed Using Friction Stir
Welding, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 2016, 88(5–8), p 1–9
29. Z.L. Hu, M.L. Dai, and Q. Pang, Influence of Welding Combined
Plastic Forming on Microstructure Stability and Mechanical Properties
of Friction Stir-Welded Al-Cu Alloy, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2018,
27, p 4036–4042
30. H. Zhang, H. Liu, and L. Yu, Effect of Water Cooling on the
Performances of Friction Stir Welding Heat-Affected Zone, J. Mater.
Eng. Perform., 2012, 21(7), p 1182–1187
31. G. Ran, J.E. Zhou, and Q.G. Wang, Precipitates and Tensile Fracture
Mechanism in a Sand Cast A356 Aluminum Alloy, J. Mater. Process.
Technol., 2008, 207(1), p 46–52
Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
32. M. Lentz, J. Nissen, C. Fahrenson, S.C. Vogel, and W. Reimers,
Macro- and Microtexture Evolution of an Extruded Mg-Mn-Ce Alloy
during Annealing, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2016, 655, p 17–26
33. P. Carlone, A. Astarita, F. Rubino, and N. Pasquino, Microstructural
Aspects in FSW and TIG Welding of Cast ZE41A Magnesium Alloy,
Metall. Mater. Trans. B, 2016, 47(2), p 1–7
34. F. Liu, L. Fu, and H. Chen, Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical
Properties of High-Speed Friction Stir Welded Aluminum Alloy Thin
Plate Joints, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2018, 27(7), p 3590–3599
35. L. Zhou, H.J. Liu, and Q.W. Liu, Effect of Rotation Speed on
Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti-6Al-4 V Friction Stir
Welded Joints, Mater. Des. (1980-2015), 2010, 31(5), p 2631–2636
36. S. Li, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, J. Kang, Y. Huang, and H. Deng, High-
Strength Titanium Alloy/Steel Butt Joint Produced Via Friction Stir
Welding, Mater. Lett., 2019, 234, p 155–158
37. L. Commin, M. Dumont, R. Rotinat, F. Pierron, J.E. Masse, and L.
Barrallier, Influence of the Microstructural Changes and Induced
Residual Stresses on Tensile Properties of Wrought Magnesium Alloy
Friction Stir Welds, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2012, 551(31), p 288–292
38. Y. Wang, Y. Huang, X. Meng, L. Wan, and J. Feng, Microstructural
Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Mg-Zn-Y-Zr Alloy during
Friction Stir Processing, J. Alloys Compd., 2017, 696, p 875–883
39. R.D. Fu, Z.Q. Sun, R.C. Sun, Y. Li, H.J. Liu, and L. Liu, Improvement
of Weld Temperature Distribution and Mechanical Properties of 7050
Aluminum Alloy Butt Joints by Submerged Friction Stir Welding,
Mater. Des., 2011, 32(10), p 4825–4831
40. S. Mironov, T. Onuma, Y.S. Sato, S. Yoneyama, and H. Kokawa,
Tensile Behavior of Friction-Stir Welded AZ31 Magnesium Alloy,
Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2017, 679, p 272–281
41. W.H. Hartt and R.E. Reed-Hill, Internal Deformation and Fracture Of
Second-Order 1011-1012 Twins in Magnesium, Trans. Metall. Soc.
AIME, 1968, 242, p 1127–1132
42. D. Ando, J. Koike, and Y. Sutou, Relationship Between Deformation
Twinning and Surface Step Formation in AZ31 Magnesium Alloys,
Acta Mater., 2010, 58(13), p 4316–4324
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affilia-
tions.
Volume 28(8) August 2019—4619