J O U R N A L O F M A T E R I A L S S C I E N C E L E T T E R S 2 1, 2 0 0 2, 917 – 920

Friction-stir welding of magnesium alloy AZ31B

J. A. ESPARZA, W. C. DAVIS, E. A. TRILLO, L. E. MURR
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso,
TX 79968-0520, USA

The challenges of significant weight reduction in the
automobile industries in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in
particular, and especially in the context of significant
fuel savings, recyclability, and emission reduction, has
promoted a focus on both aluminum [1] and magnesium
alloy [2] substitutions and structural innovations. Cor-
respondingly, new approaches and processes for joining
extrusions and castings in body frames and automo-
tive body panels, etc. have also been pursued [2, 3].
While aluminum alloy development and applications
have dominated light-weight automotive substitutions,
to date magnesium’s growth rate in the automotive mar-
ket in North America and Europe exceeded 20% per
annum over the period 1993 to 1997 [2], and continues
to rise.
Friction-stir welding has been shown to provide uni-
que joining opportunities for a wide range of alumi-
num alloys [4–8] as well as a host of dissimilar metals
and alloys [8–12]. The technique does not require
melting or consumables and is correspondingly envi-
ronmentally benign. There is often little or no tool
wear except in composite systems where very hard
particles exist [12, 13]. In aluminum alloy systems
prone to aging phenomena, there can be considerable
strength/hardness loss associated with reprecipitation
and annealing effects especially at the weld edges or
transition zones [5, 8, 12].
In the present study we explore the friction-stir weld-
ing of a common magnesium alloy (AZ31B). Optical
metallography and transmission electron microscopy
provide a comparison of the base metal and weld
zone microstructures in this hexagonal-close packed
material.
In this research commercial, wrought plate (0.64 cm
thick) of magnesium alloy AZ31B (nominally 3% Al,
1% Zn and 0.5% Mn; balance Mg in weight per-
cent) was welded by butting two plates and stirring
them together with a rotating tool assembly illustrated
schematically in Fig. 1a. The tool assembly consisted of
a standard 1/4-20, 01 tool-steel screw nib heat treated to
a Rockwell C hardness of 62; with right-handed threads
nominally 0.63 cm diameter. The nib was mounted in a
1.9 cm diameter milling chuck in a Gorton-Mastermill
milling machine. The nib (tool) rotation direction was
counter-clockwise (Fig. 1a). Rotation speeds varied
between 800 and 1000 rpm; with the lower speed

Figure 1 FSW of magnesium alloy AZ31B. (a) Schematic views of the process showing the counter-clockwise (ccw) rotating tool (R) traversing
butted plates (T ). (b) FSW cross-section showing (dynamically) recrystallized weld zone. Arrows illustrate microhardness traverse.

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C 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers 917
Figure 2 Comparison of microstructures in the FSW cross-section. (a) Base metal grain structure containing large deformation twins (T ). (b) Transition
zone microstructure. (c) FSW zone center grain structure. Note (a), (b) and (c) correspond to regimes shown in Fig. 1b. Magnifications are the same
as shown in (a).
providing optimum welding. A traverse speed of
1 mm/s was also employed. The butted plates were
clamped on a steel backing plate and the tool was
slightly fore-shortened and rounded. Fig. 1b illustrates
a typical weld cross-section.
Following friction-stir welding (FSW), sections were
cut from the weld face illustrated in Fig. 1b and pol-
ished and etched. The relatively soft, reactive Mg alloy
was polished with a solution of 10 mL nitric acid and
90 mL methanol. The polished surfaces were etched
with a solution of 70 mL picral (10 g picric acid in
100 mL ethanol), 10 mL acetic acid, and 10 mL water;
with fresh picral blotted repeatedly onto the surface to
prevent residue buildup. Thin specimens for transmis-
sion electron microscopy (TEM) were sliced from the
base metal (or workpieces) and the weld zones (Fig. 1b)
and then polished to ∼0.2 mm thick sections and 3 mm
disks punched from them. Final polishing in a Tenupol
dual jet electropolishing unit to produce electron trans-
parent thin sections used a solution of nitric acid and
methanol at room temperature. The solution composi-
tion was 50 mL nitric acid and 1.2 L methanol for the
weld zone and 75 mL nitric acid and 1.2 L methanol
for the base metal. No current (or voltage) was ap-
plied. A Hitachi H-8000 analytical TEM employing
a goniometer-tilt stage and fitted with a Noran energy-
dispersive X-ray spectrometer was operated at 200 kV
accelerating potential in the examination of the thinned
samples.
Vickers microhardness measurements were made
near the mid-thickness along a line extending from the
base metal through the FSW zone (Fig. 1b). A 50 gf
(0.5 N) load was utilized in a Shimadzu digital hard-
ness tester.
Fig. 1b shows a typical example of a FSW cross-
section and illustrates the variation in grain struc-
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ture from the workpiece or base plate through the
weld zone. Fig. 2 illustrates, respectively, the details
of these microstructure variations corresponding to
regimes indicated by [a], [b], and [c] in Fig. 1b. Fig. 2a
shows a propensity of large deformation twins (T) in
the base materials. There are numerous serrations (S)
characterizing the grain boundaries as well. Fig. 2b
shows a transition region between the base material
and the FSW zone while Fig. 2c shows the recrys-
tallized and equiaxed grain structure near the center
of the FSW zone. Note the absence of deformation
twins in the recrystallized FSW grain structure. The
average (or mean) grain size in the base material was
175 µm (including the twin boundaries) while the FSW
zone grain size was 25 µm. This grain size probably
represents some appreciable grain growth following
welding.
Fig. 3a shows an example of many very fine defor-
mation twins observed in the base material. These fine
twins are even difficult to observe in the etched surface
by optical metallography (Fig. 2a). The recrystallized
grain structure in the FSW zone is shown in Fig. 3b.
There are considerably dense dislocation substructures
in the recrystallized grains. There are, as evidenced in
Fig. 2c, no deformation twins as noted previously. Figs 2
and 3 provide an interesting perspective for a hexago-
nal close-packed crystal structure alloy especially in
the context of a general lack of data involving both mi-
crostructures and properties—for magnesium alloys in
particular [2].
The residual, mid-thickness microhardness profile
represented in the data reproduced in Fig. 4 is indica-
tive of the retention of hardness and strength following
FSW. In fact, there is a very slight increase in hard-
ness in the FSW zone. The hardness of the FSW zone
is due to the relatively high dislocation density in the
Figure 3 TEM views comparing the base microstructures ((a) and (b)) with the FSW microstructures ((c) and (d)).
recrystallized grains (Fig. 3b). This feature is in con-
trast to the notable weld-related hardness and strength
loss for age-hardenable aluminum alloys, including Al
2024, 6061, and 7075 [4, 5, 8, 12]. However the behav-
ior shown in Fig. 4 is essentially identical to that ob-
served for cast aluminum alloy 1100 where no aging/
Figure 4 Residual microhardness profile near the FSW section mid-
thickness as shown by arrows in Fig. 1b. R = 800 rpm; T = 1 mm/s.
annealing effects are observed [7, 8]. In fact, it now
appears that excellent welds with no strength loss or
other degradation of properties will occur in the FSW
of aluminum or magnesium alloys where no reprecip-
itation or related aging/annealing effects occur. This
is especially true of many wrought and cast products
such as die cast magnesium alloy AZ91D; and other
alloys such as AM50 (Mg5Al) and AM60 (Mg6Al)
which contain reduced contents of Mg17 Al12 as well [2].
No precipitation was noted in the AZ31B alloy (Figs 2
and 3).
Magnesium alloys are stiffer and more recyclable
than engineered plastics of comparable density and
an equal-volume component made of magnesium or
a magnesium alloy is roughly 23% the weight of a steel
part, and the rule of thumb in automotive weight reduc-
tion is a 5% fuel reduction for each 100 kg of weight
reduction.
In conclusion magnesium alloy AZ31B has been
welded by FSW and exhibits the same variations
of microstructure as other FSW materials: dynami-
cally recrystallized, equiaxed grains in the FSW zone.
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There was no loss of residual weld-related strength
(specifically microhardness) indicating that FSW join-
ing would be very satisfactory for other, similar mag-
nesium alloys.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a U.S. Department
of Energy Grant (DE-FC04-01AL67097: Amendment
No. A0001), a Murchison Endowed Chair (L.E.M.),
and a UTEP Graduate School Assistantship (J.A.E.).
We are grateful for the technical support of David
Brown in the friction-stir welding.
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Received 4 January
and accepted 28 February 2002