Gianluca Buffa1

Department of Engineering,
University of Palermo,
Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8,
90128 Palermo, Italy
e-mail: Gianluca.Buffa@unipa.it

Davide Campanella
Department of Engineering,
University of Palermo,
Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8,
90128 Palermo, Italy
e-mail: Davide.Campanella@unipa.it Constant Heat Input Friction Stir
Archimede Forcellese
Department of Industrial Engineering and
Welding of Variable Thickness
Mathematical Sciences,
Università Politecnica delle Marche,
Via Brecce Bianche 12,
AZ31 Sheets Through In-Process
60131 Ancona, Italy
e-mail: a.forcellese@univpm.it Tool Rotation Control
Livan Fratini Tailored blanks characterized by variable thickness were friction stir welded (FSWed) with
Department of Engineering, the aim to obtain constant joint properties along the weld seam, regardless of the thickness
University of Palermo, change. To pursue this goal, the heat input was kept constant by in-process control of tool
Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8, rotation. A dedicated numerical model of the process was used to determine the tool rota-
90128 Palermo, Italy tion values as a function of the sheet thickness. The mechanical properties and the micro-
e-mail: Livan.Fratini@unipa.it structure of the FSWed joints, produced with varying process parameters, were studied. It
was found that the proposed approach can produce joints with uniform properties along the
Michela Simoncini weld line in terms of stress–strain curve shape, joint strength, elongation at failure, and
Università degli Studi eCampus, microstructure. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4043838]
Via Isimbardi 10,
22060 Novedrate (CO), Italy
e-mails: michela.simoncini@uniecampus.it;
m.simoncini@univpm.it

Antonio Barcellona
Department of Engineering,
University of Palermo,
Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8,
90128 Palermo, Italy
e-mail: Antonio.Barcellona@unipa.it

1 Introduction blanks can be used in complex metal forming processes, even

though the positioning of the weld line is a strategic aspect for
The continuous pursue of environmental impact reduction has
the success of the parts obtained using TWBs.
been pushing aeronautical, naval, and ground transportation indus-
One of the emerging welding processes for obtaining lightweight
tries toward the design of lighter structures. In order to accomplish
alloys TWBs is friction stir welding (FSW) [5]. In the process, a
this target, besides the extensive use of lightweight alloys, such as
rotating tool, characterized by a pin with a proper shape and geom-
aluminum and magnesium alloys, tailored structures can be
etry, penetrates into the sheet blanks until reaching the desired
adopted, as they allow to reinforce the structure only in the zones
plunging depth. Then, it moves along the welding line in order to
in which higher mechanical properties are required. In fact, by
join the blanks. Welding occurs owing to the deformation caused
locally adjusting the sheet thickness and/or mechanical properties
by the combined action of tool rotation and translation and the
of blanks, the desired improvement in strength and stiffness can
weld is usually characterized by excellent strength and ductility
be achieved. The availability of tailored structures allows the devel-
as compared with those obtained by fusion welding techniques.
opment of innovative design solutions which could be adopted
Some of the authors have demonstrated the feasibility of FSW, by
only with a high degree of difficulty using traditional blanks. In
properly modifying the process, in order to produce TWB character-
the last decades, the research was mainly focused on tailored struc-
ized by different sheet thickness [6,7]. Silva et al. [8] focused on
tures, i.e., tailor welded blanks (TWBs), obtained by welding blanks
the analysis of TWB formability. Two AA1050-H111 sheets char-
with dissimilar sheet thicknesses and/or materials [1–3]. Merklein
acterized by different thickness were FSWed and subsequently
et al. [4], in a comprehensive survey on the innovative approaches
formed using single point incremental forming. Kim et al. [9]
for a manufacturing flexibilization, highlighted that tailored welded
studied the formability of tailored blanks welded considering differ-
ent thicknesses and different alloys typically used in the automotive
1
Corresponding author.
industry. Finally, Cabibbo et al. developed innovative welding
Manuscript received February 10, 2019; final manuscript received May 20, 2019; methodologies as compared with the conventional FSW of alumi-
published online June 10, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Wayne Cai. num sheets: a different FSW setup, in terms of shoulder pressure,

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 tool pin size, and deviation from the welding line, was investigated
in Ref. [10], while the double-sided FSW process was studied in
Ref. [11].
FSW has also been widely used to weld magnesium alloy sheets,
both in similar and dissimilar joint configuration [12,13]. To this
purpose, several papers have been published aiming at studying
the occurring material flow, from both the experimental and numer-
ical point of view [14], the influence of rotational speed, welding
speed, and tool plunging on the heat input into the welds and on
the resulting mechanical properties [15,16] as well as on the post-
welding formability [17].
An emerging approach in the field of tailored structures consists
of creating a continuous variation of the blank thicknesses in order
to optimize their thickness distribution for the final application [4].
Unfortunately, most of the investigations available in scientific
literature has been focused on FSW in which the thickness of
each blank joined is uniform along the welding line. In such a con-
dition, the tool plunging imposed at the beginning of the process is
kept constant during the entire welding stage. On the contrary, few
researches are available on FSW performed on sheets with varying
thickness along the welding line. The main issue in carrying
out such process is related to the need to equip the FSW machine
with an appropriate control strategy of the process parameters in
order to guarantee uniform mechanical properties along the
welding line. The authors have investigated FSW of AZ31 sheets
with thickness varying along the welding line and have developed
a control strategy based on the in-process variation of tool rotational
speed aiming at maintaining the vertical tool force constant during
welding stage [18]. Following this approach, as the sheet thickness
changes, the corresponding variation in the vertical force is counter-
balanced by the variation in the rotational speed. In particular, an
increase in thickness would lead to a simultaneous increase in the
vertical force; due to the corresponding increase in the rotational
speed, and consequent enhanced material softening, the welding
force remains constant. The reduction in the sheet thickness leads
to an opposite behavior, i.e., a decrease of tool rotation. However,
the variation in the rotational speed involves a change in the heat
input which determines inhomogeneous mechanical properties of
the joint along the welding line due to the variation in the micro-
structure. In order to overcome this issue, the authors have recently
presented a preliminary study with the aim to assess the feasibility
of a different approach, based on maintaining the heat input cons-
tant [19].
In the present research, AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets, with a
variable thickness along the welding line, were friction stir
welded using a novel approach based on keeping the heat input to
the joint as constant. To this purpose, the rotational speed was
selected as a parameter to be varied in order to influence the heat
Fig. 1 (a) Mesh of the model at the beginning of the simulation and (b) sketch of Z-axis in rela-
tion to the pin tool and workpiece
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input. In particular, tool rotation was increased with decreasing
sheet thickness and decreased with increasing thickness. The rota-
tional speed value versus sheet thickness was calculated using a
dedicated and numerical model of FSW, which was validated
against experimental temperature measurements. The influence of
in-process variation of tool rotational speed on the mechanical prop-
erties and microstructure of joints was widely analyzed. The advan-
tages deriving from the proposed approach have been assessed by
comparing the mechanical properties of the obtained joints with
those welded (i) by keeping the rotational speed constant irrespec-
tive of the thickness variations along the welding line and (ii) by
performing conventional FSW on blanks with a constant thickness.
Finally, the dedicated finite element method (FEM) model was used
to explain the metallurgical evolution of the material during the
process as a consequence of the tool rotation change. Analysis of
recrystallization, together with the Z parameter prediction,
allowed the full understanding of the effects of the complex thermo-
mechanical loads the material undergoes during the process.
2 Numerical Modeling and Experimental Procedures
2.1 Numerical Modeling. The three-dimensional thermome-
chanical model proposed by Buffa et al. for simulating the FSW
of dissimilar aluminum–magnesium joints was used in this paper
to predict and analyze the FSW process of AZ31 magnesium
alloy [20]. The pin tool was modeled as a rigid body, while for sim-
ulating the material behavior, a rigid viscoplastic temperature and
strain rate-dependent material model, defined on the basis of exper-
imental tests at high temperatures, was used [21]
σ = Kεn ε̇m exp (β/T) (1)
where K = 26.12, n = 0.061, m = 0.127, β = 739.30, and T is the
absolute temperature.
As far as the thermal properties are concerned, the scientific liter-
ature suggests thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of
96 W/m K and 1 J/g °C, respectively. No variation of temperature
was considered; this assumption makes the thermal problem
linear speeding up the simulation. A single-block continuum
model was used for the sheet blank so that numerical instabilities,
caused by the intermittent sheet-tool and sheet–sheet contacts,
could be avoided. About 30,000 tetrahedral elements were used
to model the workpiece behavior. An adaptive mesh refinement
approach was applied in order to improve the accuracy of the
simulation. In particular, smaller elements, 0.4 mm in edge, were
positioned close to the tool and a remeshing referring volume was
defined along the feed movement of the tool (Fig. 1(a)). It is
worth noticing that the tool plunge simulation starts on a pre-holed
Transactions of the ASME
 blank just before the tool shoulder contacts the sheet top surface. In
this way, significant CPU time can be saved. To describe the FSW
process involving interfacial heat transfer at the tool—sheet contact
surface, a constant coefficient of 11 (N/(mm s °C)) was imposed.
This value was assumed based on the previous experience in the
simulation of FSW processes [22]. It is worth noticing that the
value of the heat transfer coefficient is not very important in FSW
due to the fact that the tool quickly reaches a steady-state tempera-
ture very close to the sheet temperature, resulting in a poor thermal
exchange between the tool and the workpiece. Finally, according to
the results obtained by some of the authors on a previous paper on
friction stir welded thin sheets of AZ31 [23], a shear friction factor
equal to 0.18 was assumed at the tool–sheet contact surface.
Three different conditions, characterized by sheet thicknesses of
2.00, 2.10, and 1.90 mm, were modeled. Details on the geometric
features of the pin tool in H13 tool steel, and the FSW process
parameters are shown in Table 1. Each simulation was carried out
using a different rotational speed chosen within the range 1000–
2500 rpm, with a step of 100 rpm. The vertical position of the pin
tool was defined by fixing the origin of the Z-axis at the contact
of the shoulder with the top surface of sheet blanks (Fig. 1(b)).
The FSW process was performed by keeping constant the Z-axis
position of the pin tool, at a value of 0.15 mm (Table 1). Finally,
plunging speed and welding speed were kept constant according
to the values reported in Table 1.
The predicted temperatures were validated by comparison with
experimental measurements. Then, the temperature distribution
was assumed as heat input indicator and compared with the one
corresponding to the reference condition (RC) characterized by a
constant sheet thickness of 2 mm, a rotational speed of 1500 rpm,
and a welding speed of 60 mm/min. The above set of parameters
was obtained by analyzing the results shown in a previous paper
in which the effect of the welding parameters on the mechanical
properties of AZ31 FSWed joints was widely investigated [24].
The heat input corresponding to such condition was chosen as the
target value to be maintained constant during the entire welding
stage, regardless of thickness change.
2.2 Friction Stir Welding Experiments. FSW experiments
were carried out on a computer numerical control (CNC) machining
center in order to obtain butt joints in AZ31 sheets with both cons-
tant and variable thickness along the welding line. Thickness
changes were achieved by subjecting sheet blanks, 180 mm in
length, 80 mm in width, and 2.5 mm in thickness to face milling.
In this way, 2 mm thick sheets characterized by either central
Table 1 Geometric features and welding parameters of the friction welding process
Pin height Pin base Pin angle Shoulder Tilt angle
(mm) diameter (mm) (deg) diameter (mm) (deg)
1.7 3.5 30 12 2 0.15
Fig. 2 Welded blanks with zones at different thicknesses along the welding line: (a) sheets
with a hump zone and (b) sheets with a dip zone
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hump zone, 0.1 mm in height and 30 mm in length (Fig. 2(a)), or
a central dip zone, 0.1 mm in depth and 30 mm in length (Fig. 2
(b)), were produced.
It is known that heat generation during FSW is affected by
several parameters, i.e., tool rotation, tool feed rate, tool plunge
depth/tool vertical force, and tool geometry. In a previous work
concerning FSW of AZ31 alloy, Forcellese et al. showed that the
rotational speed is the welding parameter with the highest influence
on the workpiece temperature developed during the process [24].
For this reason, in the present study, the FSW was performed by
varying the tool rotational speed and by keeping the other parame-
ters constant, according to the data presented in Table 1. In partic-
ular, the Z-axis position of the pin tool was maintained constant
irrespective of the variations of the AZ31 sheet thickness; as a con-
sequence, due to the thickness variation of sheet blanks, the tool
plunge, i.e., the depth of penetration of the shoulder with respect
to the top surface of sheets along the Z-axis, varied during the
process. In particular, tool plunge was 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25 mm as
the sheet thickness was equal to 1.90, 2.00, and 2.10 mm, respec-
tively. Hence, the welding stage was carried out by adjusting the
rotational speed to maintain constant the heat input to the joint not-
withstanding thickness variation. The tool rotation values, defined
by FEM simulations of the process as a function of sheet thickness
along the welding line, were provided as input data to the machining
center control unit.
In order to evaluate the advantages derived by the proposed
approach, friction stir welding on sheet blanks with a variable
thickness along the welding line was also carried out with the
process parameters used for the reference condition (ω =
1500 rpm and v = 60 mm/min). The temperature was monitored
by two K-type thermocouples (TC) positioned in different zones
of the sheet blanks, 7 mm far from welding line, in the advancing
side (AS) (Fig. 3). TCs were placed 1 mm underneath the top
surface of the sheet, beaded at the tip and stuck with a high-
temperature chemical cement. Temperature time histories were
acquired with a sample rate equal to 1 Hz.
Uniaxial tensile tests were performed on a servo-hydraulic testing
machine to evaluate the mechanical properties at room tempera-
ture of FSWed joints. Specimens were cut from the joints with
the loading direction perpendicular to the welding line so that
the gauge width, equal to the shoulder mark, was into the dip or
hump zones. Engineering stress (s) versus engineering strain (e)
data were acquired and analyzed to calculate both the ultimate
tensile strength (UTS) and ultimate elongation (UE). At least
three tests were performed for each condition. The micromechanical
Z-axis position Plunge speed Tool feed rate Rotational speed
(mm) (mm/min) (mm/min) (rpm)
1.5 60 1000–2500
AUGUST 2019, Vol. 141 / 081002-3

Fig. 3 Thermocouple location for the temperature measurement
during FSW of AZ31 magnesium alloy
behavior of FSWed joints was investigated by microhardness tests.
They were carried out on the cross section of joints, perpendicular
to welding line, at the midthickness height. Distance between
two succeeding measurements was 1 mm. Each data point was
the mean value of three individual measurements. Finally, the
optical microscopy technique was used to investigate the micro-
structure of FSWed joints. To this purpose, AZ31 was etched
using acetic-picral (10 ml acetic acid, 4.2 g picric acid, 10 ml
H2O, 70 ml ethanol (95%)).
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Model Validation and Tool Rotation Identification.
Temperatures acquired by the thermocouples during FSW were uti-
lized for the validation of the numerical model. Figure 4 shows the
comparison between temperature histories measured by thermocou-
ples TC1 and TC2 and predicted after the simulation of welding
stage in the reference condition.
A satisfying agreement is observed, although the FEM model
predicts slightly larger temperatures than the experimental ones.
The maximum difference is about 15 °C as the peak temperature
Fig. 4 Comparison between numerical predictions and experimental measurements of
temperature time history in the reference condition (thermocouples TC1 and TC2)
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reaches 325 °C for TC2. The numerical tool was used to determine
the rotational speed resulting in a similar temperature distribution as
a zone with a dip or a hump was encountered during welding. In
particular, the tool rotation was decreased with increased thickness,
i.e., increased tool plunge (hump case study), and increased with
decreased thickness, i.e., decreased tool plunge (dip case study).
A trial and error procedure was carried out with a set of nume-
rical simulations with tool rotation varying in the range of 1000–
2500 rpm. The selected rotational speeds were 1200 and
2000 rpm for the hump (condition C of Table 2) and dip (condition
D of Table 2) case studies, respectively. The temperature profiles
predicted in the joint cross section are reported in Fig. 5.
3.2 Mechanical Characterization. Figure 6 shows the stress
versus strain curves obtained by FSWed samples in AZ31 magne-
sium alloy, for the conditions A and B of Table 2, characterized
by the constant rotational speed of ω = 1500 rpm, in the hump
and dip zones. The s–e curve in the reference condition (condition
RC of Table 2) is also reported.
In general, the curves do not exhibit an appreciable necking. Both
for the dip and the hump conditions, for a given strain, the sample
RC is characterized by higher stress value; furthermore, its ductility
level is higher than the ones of the joints characterized by conditions
A and B. Interesting insights can be obtained by looking at the
temperature profiles predicted in the joint cross section obtained
by performing FSW process at 1500 rpm and 60 mm/min (Fig. 7).
The FSW of blanks characterized by the presence of the dip zone
does not successfully occur. As a matter of fact, a macroscopic frac-
ture surface, parallel to the welding line, was found (Fig. 8(a)),
leading to poor mechanical properties of the joint. This behavior
can be attributed to the decrease in the workpiece temperature
owing to the insufficient contact pressure between the shoulder and
the top surface of blanks, which is not compensated by the appropri-
ate thermal input during the process. As far as the FSWed joint in the
condition A of Table 2 is concerned, the reduction of UTS and UE
values with respect to those obtained on the joint with constant thick-
ness can be attributed to the larger heat generation resulting into grain
growth in the nugget zone. Average grain size measured at middle
thickness was equal to 8.3 ± 1.4 μm (Fig. 8(b)) as compared with
7.6 ± 1.3 μm in the reference condition (Fig. 8(c)), and, conse-
quently, low levels of tensile strength and elongation to failure
were observed.
The joint efficiency, defined as the ratio between UTS of weld
and UTS of parent material, was about 64.1% for the condition A,
Transactions of the ASME
 Table 2 Schematic representation of the approach used in FSW (v = 60 mm/min)

Condition Schematic representation of the process

Variable thickness along the welding line

Constant rotational speed

A Hump

B Dip

Rotational speed adjustment

C Hump

D Dip

Constant thickness
Constant rotational speed

RC —

51.0% for the condition B, and 74.9% in the RC one. In order to

Fig. 5 (a) Temperature distribution in the cross section of the
reference case study and (b) temperature profiles along mid-
thickness for the three case studies
improve the joint efficiency, AZ31 magnesium alloy blanks charac-
terized by the presence of a dip or a hump along the welding line
were friction stir welded by adjusting tool rotation during the
welding stage, according to the values defined using the numerical
model, in order to keep the heat input to the joint constant. Sound
joints, without any macroscopic defect, were obtained by FSW
implementing the proposed approach based on the variation of rota-
tional speed in the presence of a dip or a hump along the welding
line. Furthermore, since in each condition the Z-axis position of
the pin tool was equal to 0.1 mm, the joint thickness was constant
along the entire welding line and independent of the presence of a
dip or a hump in blanks. It is worth noting that, in FSW, the varia-
tion of plunge depth can lead to the defects, especially at the root of
the joint (so-called root defects). However, as the distance between
the bottom of the pin and the bottom surface of the sheets to be
welded does not vary during the welding, within the range of
process parameters analyzed in this study, no flow defect was
observed.

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 Fig. 6 Engineering stress versus engineering strain curves, ultimate tensile strength,
and ultimate elongation obtained for conditions A, B, and RC

The engineering stress versus engineering strain curves of

Fig. 7 Temperature profiles along the midheight thickness for
the joint welded under conditions A, B, and RC
FSWed joints are shown in Fig. 9 in which they are compared
with the s–e curve obtained in the reference condition. In general,
irrespective of process condition, the s–e curves show a very
similar behavior, with UTS and UE values almost coincident. The
joint efficiency was about 74.8% for the condition C, 73.6% for
the condition D, and 74.9% for the RC one. The above results are
consistent with those obtained by some of the authors on AZ31
with larger thickness [24].
By comparing the s–e curves obtained by samples in the condi-
tions C and D (Fig. 9) to the ones obtained for conditions A and
B (Fig. 6), it can be observed that maintaining of the rotational
speed at a constant value, irrespective of the presence of a dip or
a hump, leads to a worsening of the mechanical properties of

Fig. 8 Microstructure in the cross sections perpendicular to the welding line of the nugget zone: (a) condition B
(top surface); (b) condition A (middle thickness), and (c) condition RC (middle thickness)

Fig. 9 Engineering stress versus engineering strain curves, ultimate tensile strength,
and ultimate elongation obtained for conditions C, D, and RC

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 joints. In particular, a reduction in efficiency of about 14.3% in the
hump zone and 30.71% in the dip zone were observed.
The microhardness profiles at the midthickness height of the joint
cross section, obtained for the different process conditions charac-
terized by the same value of heat input, are shown in Fig. 10. The
hardness Vickers (HV) values measured in the AS are lower than
those obtained in the retreating one (RS). Such a behavior can be
attributed to temperature distribution during FSW (Fig. 5). In fact,
Fig. 10 Microhardness profiles in the midheight thickness in
joint cross section in AZ31 obtained under the conditions C, D,
and RC
Fig. 11 Microstructure in the nugget zone along the weld centerline at different heights for the three case
studies (conditions RC, C, and D)
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since the vectors of welding and rotational speeds are concordant
in AS and discordant in RS, the advancing side is characterized
by a resultant velocity vector higher than that in the retreating
one and, consequently, by higher temperatures because they are
directly related to velocity [24]. Figure 10 also shows that the
microhardness profiles are scarcely affected by the process condi-
tion indicating that the micromechanical properties of welds, as
well as the macro-mechanical ones, are strongly dependent on
heat input provided to workpiece material by tool rotation.
3.3 Microstructural Characterization. Microstructures in
the cross section of the dip and hump zones and reference condition
are shown in Fig. 11. The severe plastic deformation and high tem-
peratures in the stirred zone promote continuous dynamic recrystal-
lization (CDRX) [25] and lead to fine and equiaxed grains. Table 3
shows the average grain size in the weld nugget at the middle thick-
ness for the three case studies as compared with the one of the
base material. The smallest grain size is obtained in the dip zone,
while similar values are measured in the hump zone and reference
condition.
Table 3 Average grain size in the weld nugget at middle
thickness obtained under conditions C, D, and RC (values in μm)
Reference condition Hump zone Dip zone Base
(1500 rpm) (1200 rpm) (2000 rpm) material
7.6 ± 1.3 7.3 ± 1.1 5.8 ± 1.0 11.8 ± 1.0
AUGUST 2019, Vol. 141 / 081002-7
 Fig. 12 Effective strain rate and Zener–Hollomon parameter distribution in the cross section of joints obtained under
conditions C, D, and RC
(a)
(b)
Fig. 13 (a) Grain size distribution in the cross section of the ref-
erence case study and (b) grain size profiles along midthickness
of joints obtained under conditions C, D, and RC
In order to define the process parameters influencing to a greater
extent microstructure, the numerical model was also used to predict
the size of CRDX grains (dCDRX). The equation developed by
Chang et al. [26] was implemented in the developed numerical
model to calculate dCDRX as a function of temperature-compensated
strain rate (Z, Zener–Hollomon parameter):

Q
dCDRX = a − b ln (Z) = a − b ln ε̇eRT (2)
where Q is the activation energy, equal to 135 kJ/mol, R is the gas
constant, T is the predicted absolute temperature, and a and b are
material constants equal to 9.0 and 0.27. Such constants were
obtained by subjecting extruded plates (with an initial grain size
of about 8 μm) to FSW. Figure 12 shows the distribution of effec-
tive strain rate and Zener–Hollomon parameter in the joint cross
section, right behind the tool pin, i.e., as the crack opened by the
tool has been closed, for the three case studies.
The largest strain rate values are predicted for the weld character-
ized by the highest tool rotation value (dip case study). This has an
impact on the Zener–Hollomon parameter, which reaches its
maximum value. However, because of the structure of Eq. (2), at
the considered temperature level (which does not change among
the case studies), a significant increase of the strain rate corresponds
to only a small decrease in the average grain size: in fact, although
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the peak strain rate value in dip case study is about 2.5 times the one
obtained in hump case study (8 versus 3 s−1), the ln(Z ) values in the
nugget, for the three case studies, range between 26.5 and 28. The
influence of the above-discussed distributions on grain size is
shown in Fig. 13. In Fig. 13(a), the distribution of grain size, calcu-
lated according to Eq. (2), in the cross section of the reference weld
is shown. Fig. 13(b) shows the grain size profiles calculated at mid
joint thickness for the three case studies. Very similar grain size pro-
files at mid joint thickness are obtained in the reference condition
and hump zone, while a slightly lower grain diameter (about 5
versus 6 μm) is calculated in the hump case study, i.e., the one char-
acterized by the largest values of tool rotation, strain rate, and Z.
The above observations clarify the experimental observations
shown in Fig. 11, highlighting how significantly different strain
rates can result in similar grain size distributions. Hence, the tem-
perature effect on microstructure evolution can be considered prev-
alent with respect to the strain rate one.
4 Conclusions
In this paper, experimental and numerical studies have been
carried out on FSW of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets with a vari-
able thickness along the welding line. In-process variation of tool
rotation was implemented to take into account the thickness
change along the welding line and maintain the heat input constant.
The developed numerical model was utilized to select the tool
rotation values used as the sheet thickness variation is encountered
during the welding motion of pin tool, and then applied to explain
the experimental observations of joint microstructures. From the
obtained results, the following main conclusions can be drawn:
• Constant heat can be input to joints characterized by different
thickness zones along the welding line by properly changing
the tool rotation during the process.
• Temperature distribution both in time (thermocouple) and
space (FEM model) can be used to select and validate the
tool rotation values to be used during the process as a function
of the thickness change.
• Very similar micro- and macromechanical properties can be
obtained along the welding line in spite of thickness change.
• The latter aspects depend mainly on a similar microstructure,
i.e., average grain size, which is found in the stirred zone.
Although strain rate and temperature can be considered both
influencing grain evolution, the numerical results highlighted
that, for the considered process conditions, because of the
CDRX phenomenon represented by its governing equations,
temperature effect can be considered predominant over strain
rate one.
Transactions of the ASME
 The benefits deriving from the developed approach were assessed
by comparing the mechanical properties of the obtained joints with
those welded both by keeping the tool rotation constant, irrespective
of the thickness variations along the welding line, and by perform-
ing conventional FSW on blanks with a constant thickness.
The proposed methodology was proven successful for the
thickness variation range analyzed in this study. Future investiga-
tions include the determination of the maximum difference in thick-
ness which can be considered allowing the production of sound
joints.
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