International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

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International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer

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Temperature variation and influence on local mechanical properties

assessed by nanoindentation in AA6061-AA7075 dissimilar FSW
Madhav Raturi , Anirban Bhattacharya *
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Patna, Bihar 801106, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The present study aims to elucidate the temperature advancement along and transverse to the weld direction
Dissimilar FSW during dissimilar friction stir welding (FSW) between AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T651 with two different tools.
Aluminum alloys Temperature measurements by thermocouples near surface and inside the plates exhibited faster rise in tem­
Temperature
perature for the threaded with intermittent flat faces pin. Experimental measurements and finite element
Nanoindentation
Local properties
simulation shows asymmetric temperature distribution in-and-near the stir zone (SZ) with high temperature
towards retreating side (AA7075) whereas at distant, temperature is slightly higher on advancing side (AA6061)
owing to its higher thermal diffusivity. Additionally, asymmetricity is also noted under shoulder influence re­
gion, as well along the weld line with higher temperature towards the trailing side. The electron back scatter
diffraction analysis shows regions experienced high temperature yielded high angle grain boundaries. Higher
modulus and hardness for AA6061 in the recrystallized region is noted from nanoindentation tests as grain
refinement along with the intense strain and dislocation pileup at grain boundaries prevailed the other
strengthening mechanism. Recrystallized AA7075 within SZ demonstrated reduction in hardness with respect to
base metal due to the dissolution of strengthening precipitates.

1. Introduction modes is often difficult except for predicting it using numerical

Friction stir welding (FSW) in last three decades emerged and
established itself as a joining process working below melting tempera­
ture of materials to be joined. The process reduces the spread of heat
affected zone controlling the change in the maiden structure and prop­
erties of the material to be welded. The FSW technique initially
employed to join Al alloys is gradually adopted for other materials [1].
For executing FSW, a non-consumable rotating tool with a pin is plunged
into the workpiece and once the pin is completely plunged and shoulder
surface touches the workpiece top surface, the tool is allowed to travel
along the abutting line in order to obtain the joint [2]. The rotational
motion of the tool along with the traverse movement allows thermally
softened plasticized material to flow around the pin to form the joint.
The thermal softening occurs due to the combined effect of two heat
generation mechanisms i.e., by friction and plastic deformation [3].
Further, at the tool-work interface the contact condition could be
different e.g., sliding, sticking, combined sliding/sticking, and accord­
ingly the heat generation varies [4]. However, the exact method to
derive the proportionality of heat produced by various mechanisms/
modeling. Lambrakos et al. [5] used an inverse problem approach where
thermal fields were experimentally obtained using thermocouples and
the same information was used as a constraint to model the problem.
The approach put the constraints on the simulated solutions based on the
values obtained from experiments, improving the correlation of degree
of deformation and actual temperature during FSW. The better accord
between the model and the experimental observations may be improved
using volumetric distribution of the heat sources. Amount of the heat
generation and temperature distribution can also be reasonably esti­
mated using process parameters and tool dimensions. Such model can be
useful in optimizing the process parameters like rotational speed, tool
dimensions etc. Also, it helps in improving the temperature field pre­
dicting capabilities of the known material and for given weld parameters
[6]. Analytical study also helps in identifying the approximate amount
of heat generated by the different portions (shoulder surface or pin
surface) of the tool. Schmidt et al. [4] presented the analytical modeling
of heat generation in FSW for cylindrical tool pin with horizontal and
conical shoulder surfaces considering different contact conditions at
tool-workpiece interface. Gadakh and Adepu [7] proposed analytical

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: abhatta@iitp.ac.in (A. Bhattacharya).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2023.107079

Available online 6 October 2023

0735-1933/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
expressions for cylindrical taper tool pin and reported less temperature
compared to straight cylindrical tool pin. Computational fluid dynamics
based thermo-mechanical model is also used to predict heat generation
and distribution during FSW [8,9]. There have been efforts to establish
analytical relations to correlate torque to temperature based on nu­
merical results. The influence of the tool dimensions, rotational speed,
weld speed and base material thickness on the stirring volume, welding
heat input and torque were taken into account. The influence on torque
was noticeable when large shoulder tools were used and/or in thick
plates welding [10].
The amount of heat produced and degree of deformation influences
the metallurgy and structure of the obtained joint. Thus, many studies
focused on finite element analysis adopting various approaches to pre­
dict the temperature during similar FSW of aluminum alloys e.g.
AA6061 alloy [8,9,11–16], AA7075 [17]. As well, some of these studies
also conducted experimental measurements of temperatures
[9,11–14,17] for the purpose of validation of predicted temperatures
during similar FSW. However, there are less literature [6,18,19] avail­
able that focused on temperature measurements during dissimilar FSW.
Various temperature measurement methods during FSW includes
workpiece thermocouple, tool thermocouple on shoulder/pin/probe,
tool-work thermocouple, thermal cameras etc.; however, embedded
thermocouple on workpiece possibly the most common method of
temperature measurement adopted for FSW [20]. Such studies have
immensely helped the thermal behavior of the FSW process neverthe­
less, the subsequent influence of temperature variations on local/zone-
wise properties especially for dissimilar FSW remains as the avenue of
profound investigation. To quantify the change in mechanical behavior
of various regions in and around the weld nugget, advanced character­
ization techniques like nanoindentation can work effectively, in partic­
ular where the material under consideration is present in small volumes.
Implementing nanoindentation can help to determine elastic modulus,
hardness, stiffness, yield stress, creep etc. [21,22]. During the FSW of
dissimilar materials certainly there will be a formation of inhomoge­
neous microstructural zones and the possibility of any intermediate
structure. For evaluating the mechanical behavior of different recrys­
tallized phases in such a close proximity, researchers have used nano­
indentation technique for local characterization of similar FSW joints
like AA6082 [23], AA6061 [24], brass [25], as well as dissimilar joints
such as AA6061-AA5A06 [26], AA6061-AISI304 [27].
It is evident that the local properties at various zones differ in a FSW
joint due to intense deformation and heat generation. Further, the
temperature field observed in FSW is asymmetric [28]. As a consequence
of variation in mechanical and thermal properties of the base materials,
the nature of material flow, mixing and temperature distribution on
either side of the weld line and local mechanical properties is rather
complex for dissimilar FSW joints. The objective of the present study is
firstly to appraise the variation in temperature along the weld and
transverse to the weld direction. In order to accomplish, thermocouples
are mounted at various positions in two different configurations (along
the and traverse to, weld line) during dissimilar welding of AA6061-T6
and AA7075-T6. For further insight of heat distribution and asymme­
tricity in the temperature field, attempt has been made to simulate the
dissimilar FSW by finite element using coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian
approach and thus acknowledge the temperature distribution over the
workpiece. The local mechanical properties at various zones are
assessed through nanoindentation tests and the behavior is correlated
with the microstructure and texture.
2. Methodology
Aluminum alloys AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T651 of 6 mm thick plates
are joined by FSW in the square butt configuration for detailed mea­
surement of temperature during the process by mounting thermocouples
at various locations. Mg and Si based 6xxx series alloys find wide
application in automotive industries as external body panels. The high
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International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
formability and improved corrosion resistance make the alloy favorable
in aerospace and marine applications with fuel-efficient structural de­
signs. Precipitation hardened 7xxx alloy with better high strength and
scratch resistance make it suitable for stringer and spars in aerospace
industries with minimal repair. Dissimilar joining of different alloys
appeared as a need to fabricate hybrid structures for weight reduction
and tailored properties [29,30]. During the dissimilar FSW, for an
effective material mixing and better joint quality, the AA6061-T6 is
placed on the advancing side (AS) and AA7075-T561 on the retreating
side (RS), as noted in reported literatures [18,19,31–33]. Constant
process parameters i.e., 1200 rpm tool rotational speed and 98 mm/min
weld speed are maintained to perform the dissimilar FSW of AA6061 and
AA7075 following the arrangement as schematically shown in Fig. 1(a).
The tools used are made from H13 die steel of shoulder diameter of
20 mm and pin having profile of threaded with intermittent flat faces
(TIF) or plain cylindrical. TIF pin profile contains alternate threaded and
flat faces, prepared first by a right-hand metric thread (major diameter 6
mm) profile of 1 mm pitch followed by milling to generate three equally
spaced flat faces (see Fig. 1(b)). However, for the sake of comparison in
temperature and behavior, another dissimilar FSW joint is also prepared,
keeping all other parameters unchanged, using the simplest tool pin
profile i.e., plain cylindrical (CYL) (Fig. 1(c)) of same pin length (5.9
mm) and diameter (Φ6 mm) as that of TIF tool pin.
Temperatures during the dissimilar FSW process are recorded by
deploying the K type thermocouples of 0.09 mm element size (in
stainless steel SS316 sheath of Φ0.5 mm) near the plate top surface as
well as at the inside of plates through drilled holes. Thermocouples are
placed in two different configurations hereafter referring as Config-1
(see Fig. 2(a)) and Config-2 (see Fig. 2(b)) for recording the history of
temperature variation along the weld direction, and transverse to weld
direction, respectively.
In Config-1, total eight thermocouples are placed, four each on AS,
and RS aligned along the weld direction. Among these, three thermo­
couples on AS (1AS, 2AS and 3AS) and three on RS (1RS, 2RS and 3RS)
are placed near the start, middle and end of the weld length equidistant
on both the sides from the faying line and 0.5 mm below the top surface
of the plates, as marked on Fig. 2(a). Micro-holes are made by die
sinking electric discharge machining (EDM) operation and the thermo­
couples are fixed at the desired locations. Inclined holes are further
made by EDM and the thermocouples 4AS and 4RS are placed at the mid
of the plate thickness to record the thermal history inside the plates. To
avoid any loosening, the thermocouples are placed in the taper holes
with thermal pasting to ensure thermal contact throughout the process.
In Config-2, total six thermocouples are placed along the line
perpendicular to the weld line (transverse direction) nearly at the mid
span of the weld length. Two thermocouples on AS (1AS and 2AS) and
two on RS (1RS and 2RS) are placed equidistant from the faying line
aligning in traverse direction. The thermocouples 3AS and 3RS are
placed at mid thickness and as near as possible to the stir zone (SZ). The
positions and detailed dimensions of thermocouple locations are
mentioned in Fig. 2(a), (b) for the two configurations. All the thermo­
couples are connected to LabVIEW via National Instruments (NI) data
acquisition system (cDAQ-9181, Module 9213) and the temperature
data are recorded at 10 Hz sampling rate. The experimental arrangement
is shown in Fig. 2(c).
In order to unravel the heat flow and temperature distribution
pattern, a finite element (FE) analysis is performed for the dissimilar
FSW taking into account the difference in mechanical and thermal
properties of the base material. The model geometry for dissimilar
combination wherein AA6061 is kept on AS and AA7075 on RS is
created by partitioning the workpiece (see Fig. 3) and assigning their
respective material properties. The dimensions of the plate for the model
142 mm × 70 mm × 6 mm are kept in butt welding configuration alike
the experiment. The tool used for the simulation is the plain cylindrical
(CYL) with shoulder diameter, pin diameter and pin length of 20 mm, 6
mm and 5.9 mm, respectively.
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of (a) dissimilar FSW in square butt configuration, (b) TIF and (c) CYL pin profile.

Fig. 2. Thermocouples positions in (a) Config-1, (b) Config-2, and (c) experimental arrangement.

The material properties for AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T651 are capacity (Cp) as Cp = 794.58 + 0.5051T − 0.00004T2 J/kg-K are used
referred from the existing literature [11,12,17,34,35]. For AA6061-T6, [11,12]. Also, temperature dependent mechanical properties of AA6061
the temperature (T in K) dependent thermal conductivity (K) of is are referred from Roy et al. [34]. Similarly, temperature-dependent
used as K = 96.442 + 0.2466T − 0.00009T2 W/m-K, and specific heat thermal properties, mechanical and physical (density) properties of

3
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
Fig. 3. Schematic view of the (a) base plates placed for obtaining dissimilar butt weld and (b) cylindrical tool for finite element simulation (All dimensions are
in mm).
AA7075-T651 are referred from Salloomi et al. [17] and used for the
present FE simulation. The weld plates are thermo-mechanically
coupled and material is kept deformable and meshing is done using
eight node thermally coupled brick element (C3D8RT). The meshing
near weld line (covering shoulder regions) is selected with fine element
(1 × 1 × 1 mm3), whereas the remaining portions are coarse (1 × 2 × 1
mm3), while the tool and the backing plate are modeled as rigid surfaces
without thermal degrees of freedom. Johnson-Cook (J-C) hardening
model is used for temperature, strain rate dependent flow stress
modeling for both AA7075 and AA6061 material. The J-C model pa­
rameters are selected from literature for AA6061-T6 [13,36] and
AA7075-T651 [17,35]. The J-C parameters and melting temperature
(Tmelt) used for the present FE simulation are provided in Table 1. Room
temperature for the model is selected as 25 ◦ C.
Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) approach is used for the work­
piece [37,38]. A CEL approach is used to take advantage of both
Eulerian and Lagrangian method. The workpiece is first defined as a
Lagrangian part which is being used as a frame of reference when the
workpiece is again defined as a Eulerian part with same co-ordinates and
dimensions. Temperature prediction is sensitive to the coefficient of
friction (μ) and in many analytical, numerical models of FSW the value
of μ is taken as 0.3 [11,12,14–16,39]. For the present FE analysis also μ
= 0.3 is selected to model friction between the tool and the workpiece.
Inelastic heat fraction for the present model is selected as 0.9 [40].
For the appraisal of mechanical and microstructural variations with
local temperature at various regions, metallurgical studies and nano­
indentation tests are performed for the weld specimen. The transverse
sections of the welded samples are mechanically polished successively
by various grades of emery papers (up to 2000 grit size) followed by
diamond suspension (3 μm, 2 μm and 1 μm) and finally with the colloidal
suspension of up to 0.02 μm. Nano indentation tests are performed on
Hysitron TI 950 TriboIndenter (Germany) with motorized stage. A
Berkovich indenter (half angle 65.27◦ , total included angle 142.3◦ ) of
diamond, calibrated against fused quartz, is used for the test applying
maximum load of 50 mN. The standard trapezoidal function is used with
loading time of 30 s followed by hold for 10 s finally unloading time of
30 s. The test and the analysis of the acquired data are performed using
TriboScan9.8.1.3 software provided with the instrument. The optical
microscope (AxioImager.M2m, Zeiss) and field emission scanning elec­
tron microscope (FESEM) (Gemini500, Zeiss, Germany) equipped with
Table 1
J-C parameters for AA6061, AA7075 and Tmelt used for the present FE model.
Material A (MPa) B (MPa) n C m Tmelt (◦ C)
AA6061- T6 289 203 0.35 0.011 1.34 655
AA7075-T651 520 420 0.52 0.001 1.61 620
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International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD, Ametek) detector are used for
microstructural and texture studies. EBSD analysis is performed over the
region of interest selecting step size 0.8 μm, aperture size 60 μm, voltage
20 kV followed by analysis using TSL OIM Analysis™ v8 software.
3. Results and analysis
3.1. Temperature variation
The variations of temperature during dissimilar FSW of AA6061-
AA7075 measured by thermocouples near the top surfaces of the
workpiece as per Config-1 are shown in Fig. 4. Out of six locations near
plate top surface, three each are mounted on AS and RS of the weld, and
their recorded temperature variations are shown side-by-side for an easy
comparison. During each welding, the temperature data are recorded
from the beginning of the tool plunging and continued till the end of the
welding. At point 1AS and 1RS the temperature sharply increases during
plunging as the thermocouples are placed near the start of the weld on
both the sides. During plunging slightly delayed rise in temperature
profile for joint with the TIF tool can be observed on both the sides as
compared to that of the CYL tool. The rise in temperature during
plunging is majorly due to the frictional heat as the plunging is slow and
plastic deformation is not severe during the weld traverse. More fric­
tional heat for cylindrical as compared to pin profile having flats is re­
ported in literature [41]. Gradually, the heat generation due to plastic
deformation induced by the rotating shoulder and pin, becomes influ­
ential along with the friction induced heat. Thus, as the pin is fully
plunged and the shoulder effectually comes in contact with the plates, a
quick rise in temperature as well as higher temperature is noted for the
joint with TIF pin profile. Point 2AS and 2RS positioned near the mid of
the weld length initially shows a plateau during tool plunging, indi­
cating the rise in temperature due to the conduction. Later, when the
FSW tool approaches the thermocouple location, temperature increases
rapidly.
Thermocouples placed at point 3AS and 3RS show the smooth rise in
temperature while the tool reaches near the respective thermocouple
locations. It would be important to note that the schedule of peak
temperature at locations 1, 2, and 3 are consistent to the tool passing the
respective locations; however, the amplitude of the peak temperature is
almost in same order, as the thermocouples are placed equidistant on
both sides from the weld line. Thus, it may be concluded that the
maximum temperature cease to increase continuously due to steady
state heat generation during the process, and do not noticeably influ­
enced by the weld traverse. Similar observation was reported during
fully-coupled thermo-mechanical analysis of AA6061 similar FSW [15].
It may be also easily noted from Fig. 4(b), (c) that the instant when the
maximum temperature (above 300 ◦ C) is noted at mid weld length
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

T emper atur e ( C )
T emper atur e ( C )

)
(C Tp
ratu
m
e

T emper atur e ( C )
T emper atur e ( C )

)
(C
ratu
p
m
Te
T emper atur e ( C )
T emper atur e ( C )

Fig. 4. Variation of measured temperature near the workpiece top surface on AS and RS at three positions (a) start, (b) middle and (c) end of weld length, as per
Config-1 (refer Fig. 2(a)) during AA6061-AA7075 dissimilar FSW.

(location 2, Fig. 4(b)), the temperature at position 3 (3AS or 3RS) reads
nearly one third (~ 100 ◦ C). Further, just prior to the sharp rise of
temperature at location 2 (time 100–125 s) or 3 (time 125–150 s), the
temperature gradient is slightly higher at AS than RS (refer highlighted
boxes in Fig. 4(b), (c)).
The temperature variations inside the plate (half of the thickness) at
the mid weld length (position 4) on both AS and RS for the FSW with TIF
and CYL tool pin are shown in Fig. 5. It may be referred from Fig. 2(a)
that the position of thermocouples 4AS or 4RS is 20 mm away from weld
center line on either side (along mid thickness of plates, with less than a
mm deviation during taper hole making), that is around 17 mm away
from the boundary of the SZ. Thus, the peak temperature recorded at
location 4AS and 4RS are slightly higher than temperature at location 2,
and comparatively higher temperature is observed for joint with TIF tool
compared to CYL. This is due to the fact that measurement location 4 is
sufficiently away from the shoulder affected region and thus the region
experiences heat generation more by the pin and less by the shoulder.
The shoulder is mainly controlling the amount of heat being generated
during weld and is mostly experienced by top layer or layer beneath.
Comparing the results in Figs. 4 and 5, it may be noted that a little
higher temperature is detected on the AS and for the TIF tool pin,
especially at locations 2, 3 or 4. The three intermittent flat surfaces in
the TIF tool pin somewhat reduces the contact area for friction with the
workpiece; however, they create a pulsating action and rigorous defor­
mation and stirring of the material. Thus, at the beginning of welding i.
e., plunging and initial travel, the CYL tool exhibited little higher tem­
perature, but gradually a steady state heat generation reaches, and
temperature rise due to combined friction and deformation is recorded

5
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
T emper atur e ( C )
T emper atur e ( C )
Fig. 5. Measured temperature at location 4 (depth of 3 mm from top surface, at middle of weld length) as per Config-1.
to be little more for TIF tool pin. Further, it is also important to note that
the temperature rise in AS is slightly higher than RS, mostly at all
thermocouple positions. While in similar FSW, a higher material
deformation, plastic strain, higher temperature on the AS has been re­
ported [11,12,15,17], the situation is rather complex and additionally
dependent on the thermal properties of the two different materials
placed on the AS and RS. In a dissimilar AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint, the
material AA6061-T6 possess a higher value of K; however, Cp is lower
than the material AA7075-T6, although their densities are nearly equal.
Thus, the material kept at the AS (AA6061) has higher thermal diffu­
sivity compared to material placed on the RS. This could also be influ­
ential behind the temperature distribution, and to appraise the nature of
thermal distribution on AS and RS during the dissimilar FSW, the FE
predicted temperature at the sectional view of the plates are analyzed.
The temperature distribution on the AS and RS while the tool is at the
location 1 (start of weld traverse) and location 2 (mid of weld length) for
the joint with CYL tool are shown in Fig. 6(a) and (b), respectively. The
asymmetric heat distribution between AS and RS can be noted from
Fig. 6(a) and (b) whereas asymmetricity in leading and trailing side
becomes noticeable at location 2 with higher temperature at the back­
side of the tool. A steep temperature gradient on RS due to higher heat
capacity of the material (AA7075), and towards the leading edge of the
tool is also observed from the FE simulations. Higher temperature
gradient on the leading side has earlier been reported for similar FSW
[15].
To further appraise the asymmetric temperature field of dissimilar
AA6061-AA7075 joint, FE predicted temperature variations at location
2 (mid weld length) is further studied in detail. Fig. 7 shows the tem­
perature field at the weld transverse section with the magnified views of
shoulder influenced and pin influenced regions. The regions of shoulder
diameter (20 mm) and pin diameter (6 mm) from the weld center are
Fig. 6. FE predicted temperature variation corresponding to tool position at (a) location 1, (b) location 2 for dissimilar AA6061-AA7075 FSW with CYL tool pin.
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International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
marked by dotted lines. From Fig. 7 the asymmetric temperature field
can be clearly noted. Within the pin marked region, that essentially
indicates the SZ or nugget zone, the high heat accumulation and high
temperature (red color field) towards the RS of the joint is observed due
to the high specific heat capacity of AA7075. It is also interesting to note
that beyond high temperature region (in SZ), the surrounding regions of
successive lower temperatures (orange, dark and light-yellow color
field) are comparatively narrow in RS due to the low thermal conduc­
tivity as well as thermal diffusivity of AA7075. The same behavior
persists from the top of the plate (shoulder affected region) till the
bottom (only pin influenced region) on the RS of the dissimilar joint.
Thus, it is conclusive that during dissimilar AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint,
the thermal energy in the SZ is stored majorly on RS (AA7075) leading to
high temperature rise in and around the SZ towards RS; however,
beyond this region the effect is decayed very quickly within a narrow
zone. The high thermal energy towards the RS within the SZ is also
expectedly alter the material flow, nature and associated local me­
chanical properties of the material present in RS.
During numerical simulation of similar FSW, asymmetric distribu­
tion and higher temperature has been reported under the tool shoulder
[11,14,16] that induces higher deformation towards the workpiece top
surface [15]. From the enlarged view of the upper region shown in
Fig. 7, it may be clearly noted that the high temperature region is
extended over a comparatively larger region near the workpiece top
surface below the shoulder than plate bottom region. Higher region of
contact between the shoulder and workpiece top surface, and associated
friction causes higher temperature near the shoulder-plate interface.
However, due to higher effective velocity and material flow, the defor­
mation is more on the AS. This effect in combination with the higher
thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the AA6061 placed on the AS of
the joint, a wider region with moderate-to-high temperature (green,
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
Fig. 7. FE predicted temperature field at the transverse section near the mid weld length of AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint.
yellow, orange and some portion of red color regions, see Fig. 7) are
observed on the AS. Thus, FE results and the preceding discussion in­
dicates the asymmetric temperature field during AA6061-AA7075 dis­
similar FSW joints are obvious with higher temperature on shoulder
influenced region, and wider spread towards the AS (material having
high K, α and low Cp). Additionally, within and surrounding the SZ, the
material on RS (having high Cp and low K, α) reserves the higher tem­
perature region making the temperature field further asymmetric.
The observations on asymmetric nature presented in Fig. 7 is
attempted to validate by measuring the temperature along the weld
transverse direction mounting the thermocouples close to the SZ at the
same time ensuring that they are not damaged and temperatures are
recorded uninterruptedly. The thermocouple arrangement and their
locations can be referred from Config-2, shown in Fig. 2(b). The
measured temperature variations by the thermocouples at 1, 2, 3 on AS
and RS as per Config-2 are presented in Fig. 8. The thermocouples at
point 1 (1AS and 1RS) and Point 2 (2AS and 2RS) are close to the
workpiece top surface just outside the shoulder region, and the
measured temperature variation shows a slightly higher temperature on
the AS compared to the RS due to the higher deformation on AS as well
as the relatively higher thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the
AA6061 material placed on the AS of the joint. Since the thermocouple
locations at 2 is further away from location 1, expectedly lower peak
temperature is observed at location 2 (Fig. 8(b)). Please note that the
irregularity in temperature profile near the peak for CYL tool at location
1RS (Fig. 8(a)) is due to the glitch with the thermal sealing and a one-off
case of loosening of the thermocouple. The thermocouples at location 3
on AS and RS are located inside the plate thickness and reasonably close
to the SZ. Thus, considerably higher temperature is noted at 3AS and
3RS, and higher peak temperature is recorded at the RS (AA7075), refer
Fig. 8(c). The experimentally measured temperature shows approxi­
mately 24 ◦ C higher temperature on the RS for CYL tool whereas, for the
joint with TIF tool around 50 ◦ C higher temperature is noticed on RS,
thus corroborates the previously presented FE results and discussions.
The temperature variations predicted from the FE simulation for CYL
tool are observed to be in close proximity to the experimentally
measured temperatures.
To further confirm the behavior, temperature at the middle of the
plate thickness near the SZ is also measured on both AS and RS during a
similar FSW of AA6061-AA6061, wherein the thermal properties of the
base material on both sides are identical. The temperature variation on
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International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
AS and RS during similar FSW with CYL and TIF tool pin along with the
thermocouple locations are shown in Fig. 9. Following the preceding
discussions, since there is no variation in the thermal properties of the
base materials on AS and RS (similar FSW), slightly higher peak tem­
perature is noted on the AS (Fig. 9(a)) due to higher material defor­
mation on the AS. However, the difference in peak temperature is
considerably less than observed during dissimilar FSW exhibiting more
temperature on RS. Thus, it can be concluded that, moreover the nature
of deformation of AS and RS, the difference in thermal properties of the
base materials imparts crucial influence on the asymmetric heat accu­
mulation and thermal field during dissimilar FSW. This asymmetricity,
therefore, would be decisive factor behind the nature of deformation,
metallurgical behavior and subsequent local mechanical properties of
the joint.
3.2. Microstructure and local mechanical properties by nanoindentation
The optical micrograph of the transverse cross-section of the
AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint prepared with TIF tool is shown in Fig. 10
(a). The upend bell-shaped SZ with light and dark shades can be
observed towards the center of the joint. The dissimilar materials with
the light and dark color contrast after etching can be identified as
AA6061 (AS) on the left and AA7075 (RS) on the right as shown in
Fig. 10(a). The characteristic SZ showing the intermixing of two dis­
similar materials with light and dark sites reveals the heterogeneous
mixing of two materials. Also, the region separates itself from the other
regions with a very fair boundary highlighted using dashed line. The
different regions with varying microstructure and mechanical properties
identified over the weld cross section is the result of occurrence of the
series of events like plastic deformation and friction. These events lead
to acute thermal variations, mixing of plasticized materials, subsequent
recrystallization and other associated metallurgical phenomena result­
ing in the formation of characteristic zones. Fig. 10(a) is marked with
1–7 different regions where the nanoindentation tests are carried out to
identify localized mechanical properties.
The weld center region (nugget zone), known as the stir zone (SZ),
experiences intense heat and deformation and is characterized by fine
recrystallized grains. Surrounding the SZ, the narrow thermo-
mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) with relatively coarser and elon­
gated grains is observed that undergoes moderate heat and deformation.
The heat affected zone (HAZ) experiences much less heat with no strain
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

T emper atur e ( C )
T emper atur e ( C )

(TC )
ratu
p
e
m

T emper atur e ( C )
T emper atur e ( C )

(C
ratu
p
m
Te
)
T emper atur e ( C )

T emper atur e ( C )

Fig. 8. Measured temperature variation on AS and RS at various positions along the weld transverse direction, as per Config-2 (refer Fig. 2(b)) during dissimilar
AA6061-AA7075 FSW.

or deformation, and coarser grains (than SZ, TMAZ) are observed. These
regions and the locations of nanoindentation at various zones each on AS
and RS are annotated on Fig. 10(a). Fig. 10(b) represents the magnified
images from the core of the SZ (Region 1), showing layers of AA6061
and AA7075 material stirred and heterogeneous mixing of two alloys.
The nanoindentation tests are carried out to mechanically characterize
them at two specific locations, hereafter denoted as AA6061-(SZ) and
AA7075-(SZ). Magnified views of Region 2 and Region 3 shown in
Fig. 10(c) represents TMAZ and HAZ (near SZ) are considered from the
AS of the joint (AA6061) and locations of nanoindentation. Alike, in
Fig. 10(d) Region 4 and Region 5 represents the TMAZ-RS and HAZ-RS
(near SZ) with figurative location of nano-indents. The nanoindentation
data is also collected over Region 6 and Region 7 on the HAZ regions but
far apart from the SZ of joint and referring as HAZ-AS and HAZ-RS (near
thermocouple) as these locations are near the placement location of
thermocouples inside the plate (3AS, 3RS in Config-2).
The load versus displacement plots obtained from the nano­
indentation test performed at the various locations marked in Fig. 10(a)
are presented in Fig. 11. At each specified region, two indents at the
nearing vicinity have been chosen for the reading, and the corre­
sponding load v/s displacement graphs for such two readings are pro­
vided in each plot.
The reduced Young’s modulus (Er) or local elastic modulus, and
hardness (H) obtained from the nanoindentation tests at various zones
are provided in Fig. 12. The bar plot for the purpose of comparison
provided in Fig. 12(a) and (b) is the average of two readings specified in

8
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

500
450
400 AS-CYL
AS-TIF
350 RS-CYL
Temperature (°C)

300
RS-TIF CYL
Tool
250
200
150 Dimensions in mm
AS
100
50 (b) RS
0
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200
Time (s)
(a)

Fig. 9. (a) Measured temperature variation at middle of the plate on AS and RS close to SZ during AA6061-AA6061 similar FSW with CYL and TIF tool, (b) the
thermocouple location details.

Fig. 10. (a) Optical micrograph image of AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint (prepared with TIF tool), and magnified images of (b) Region 1 in SZ, (c) Region 2, 3 on AS and
(d) Region 4, 5 on RS of the joint.

Table 2. In the SZ, a higher depth of penetration (displacement) for the
recrystallized grains of AA7075 compared to AA6061 can be noted from
Fig. 11(a). This indicates less hardness of AA7075 in the SZ than AA6061
(see Fig. 12(b)) even though their Er are nearly equal (Fig. 12(a)). The
load-displacement plots of other regions, namely TMAZ, HAZ nearing SZ
and far apart (near thermocouple location) shows higher hardness and
lower indentation depth on RS (AA7075) than AS (see Fig. 11(b)-(d)). It
is therefore important to note that even though the parent AA7075
material has higher H, in the SZ of dissimilar FSW, the recrystallized
AA7075 showed softening with lower hardness due to the metallurgical
changes associated with the asymmetric temperature field with higher
temperature towards RS (AA7075), as discussed in the preceding sec­
tion. Beyond the SZ, where the temperature influence is reduced, higher
hardness at the TMAZ, HAZ nearing SZ as well as far apart are noted
higher for AA7075 than AA6061 (see Fig. 12(b)). The variation of Er at
various local zones indicates a slight decrease in RS as moved away from
SZ; however, nearly uniform over different zones i.e. TMAZ, HAZ on AS
of the joint.
The Er and H obtained from the nanoindentation tests along the line
1 mm below the top surface to access the behavior affected typically by
the shoulder induced heat is given in Fig. 13(a) and (b), respectively.
The graph shows parent material reading on the both extremities of all
the graphs. The modulus and hardness values for AA7075 parent ma­
terial is higher than AA6061. The higher heating rate shows an increase
in modulus values for AA7075 side within the SZ but for AA6061side the
values are not as high. The hardness values depreciated for the AA6061
except for the points with fine grains, although it has been reduced for
the recrystallized AA7075 from the parent material. An appreciable
reduction in hardness of AA7075 within the SZ due to the local heat
accumulation in RS due to slow cooling with an annealing-like effect can
be beneficial for achieving higher elongation of the joint.
To appraise the local property variation in the SZ of the joint, EBSD

9
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
Fig. 11. Load-displacement graph of nanoindentation test on (a) AA6061 and AA7075 within SZ, (b) TMAZ (AS and RS), (c) HAZ (AS and RS) near SZ and (d) HAZ
near thermocouple (AS and RS) (refer Fig. 10(a) for locations).
analysis of the SZ at a selected location (Region-1 marked in Fig. 10(a))
is performed and the inverse pole figure (IPF) of the region is shown in
Fig. 14(a). Further analysis in terms of IPF, grain boundary (GB) map,
kernel average misorientation (KAM) separately for AA6061 and
AA7075 within this region of SZ are presented. In the IPF map, two
optically separable recrystallized alloys with fine grains of AA6061
(Fig.14(b)) and comparatively coarse grains of AA7075 (Fig.14(d)) can
be identified. While joining the dissimilar materials, due to their
inherent material properties, both materials experiences differing ab­
solute shear strain against the same loading condition [26] and thus
result in different grain sizes. The grain refinement within the SZ is the
result of dynamic recrystallization, during which the severe plastic
deformation tends to elongate or flatten the large grain.
The low angle GBs (LAGBs) of 5◦ -15◦ and high angle GBs (HAGBs) of
15◦ -65◦ for both AA6061 and AA7075 regions available within the SZ
are shown in Fig. 14(c) and (e), respectively. The hardness of AA6061
within the SZ is significantly higher than AA7075 (Fig. 12(b)) and can be
apprehended to the fine grain structure of AA6061. The fine grain
structure with a higher fraction of HAGBs impedes the dislocation
10
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
movement and thus stimulates the strengthening mechanism [25]. The
plastic displacement for AA7075 is higher than AA6061 (refer nano­
indentation load-displacement plot in Fig. 11(a)) for the same load
application. In contrast, the magnitude of elastic displacement is the
same for both cases, and thus, the hardness is higher for AA6061 while
the modulus (Er) is same for both. The fraction of HAGBs for both alloys
within the SZ is significantly high. This is associated with the continuous
rotation of LAGBs due to the stirring action caused during the FSW
process leading to the formation of a higher fraction of HAGBs within
the SZ [42]. Fig. 15(a) and (b) shows the local strain distributions within
the SZ using KAM map at locations mentioned in Fig. 14(b) and (d),
respectively for AA6061 and AA7075. KAM helps in studying the strain
distribution in lattice structures by calculating average misorientation at
a point with respect to neighboring points. The local misorientation
angle of grains predicted through KAM is manifested as the accumula­
tion of dislocations [27].
Fig. 15(a) and (b) shows the strain accumulation at two different
regions of AA6061 and AA7075 material within the SZ using KAM map.
Recrystallized AA6061 within the SZ reveals higher intensity points near
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

Fig. 12. Variation of (a) Er and (b) H values obtained using nanoindentation at different locations (zones) over the AA6061-AA7075 FSW on AS and RS.

Table 2
Values of Er, H, force and depth during nanoindentation tests on various zones of AA6061-AA7075 dissimilar FSW joint.
Weld zones→ HAZ-AS HAZ-AS TMAZ AA6061 AA7075 TMAZ HAZ-RS HAZ-RS
(near thermocouple) (near SZ) (AS) (in SZ) (in SZ) (RS) (near SZ) (near thermocouple)

Trial 1 74.51 70.64 72.67 90.55 103.3 97.52 85.22 69.25

Er (GPa)
Trial 2 77.02 73.66 68.95 94.46 96.90 90.76 86.58 72.57
Trial 1 0.779 1.09 1.18 1.88 1.62 2.22 1.99 1.84
H (GPa)
Trial 2 0.757 1.13 1.07 1.88 1.45 1.88 1.92 1.99
Trial 1 50,017 49,529 49,348 49,751 49,630 49,910 49,843 49,913
Max Force (μN)
Trial 2 49,633 49,538 49,545 49,717 49,998 49,586 49,750 49,697
Trial 1 1558.9 1336.1 1285.4 1043.6 1102.7 970 1025.3 1076.6
Max Depth (nm)
Trial 2 1571 1313.2 1347.8 1039.9 1164.4 1042.6 1037.1 1036.3

Fig. 13. Variation pattern of (a) Er and (b) H using nanoindentation on a straight line 1 mm below the top surface over the AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint along with the
parent material values (bars at the extremities).

11
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

Fig. 14. EBSD analysis of Region 1 (marked over Fig. 10(a)) within SZ showing the (a) IPF of the region, and separately IPF and GB map for (b), (c) AA6061 and (d),
(e) AA7075 regions.

Fig. 15. KAM plot of two different regions in SZ (a) AA6061 and (b) AA7075 of the AA6061-AA7075 FSW joint (refer Fig. 14 for regions).

grain boundaries that signify the piling up of dislocations. This leads to of its equiaxed shape and comparatively small size, can dissolve easily
the increase in strain hardening effect and thus increasing material’s causing over-aging of the alloy [24] leading to a reduction in Er and
ability to resist plastic deformation or increasing hardness [27]. hardness in HAZ.
Generally, the higher strain rates lead to the formation of dislocations in
the form of lattice defects, which further accumulates and on annihila­ 4. Discussion
tion, creates sub-grain boundary. Later this sub-grain boundary changes
to LAGB or HAGB depending upon the amount of energy (heat or strain) The temperature distribution measured at various locations on AS
being supplied. This is a general course of action that takes place during and RS for AA6061-AA7075 dissimilar FSW joints with two different
the dynamic recrystallization of grains during stirring of the material tool pin profiles (TIF and CYL), and the FE analysis by CEL approach
taking place within the SZ. The modulus and hardness values of TMAZ- detailed in the previous sections represents an asymmetric nature. The
RS and HAZ-RS nearing SZ are relatively tending towards its BM prop­ FSW process and the transient temperature distribution is analogues to
erties i.e., AA7075-T6. The AA7075 is a precipitate-hardened alloy with 3D heat conduction problem with heat generation, expressed by the
a higher percentage of alloying elements like zinc and of reasonably governing equation:
large size precipitates [43]. During FSW, the asymmetric thermal field ( ) ( ) ( )
with higher temperature is noted on the RS (AA7075) over AS (AA6061) ∂ ∂T ∂ ∂T ∂ ∂T ∂T
k + k + k + Qv = ρCp (1)
in-and-close around the SZ. The peak temperatures noted during mea­ ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂z ∂z ∂t
surement and simulation are high enough to cause metallurgical With simplification, considering no spatial variation of K in x, y, or z,
changes like precipitate coarsening, shrinkage, and dissolution. Though the equation can be written as
the temperature is high enough on both sides, the size and properties of
the strengthening precipitate will determine the consequences. The very ∂2 T ∂2 T ∂2 T Qv 1 ∂T
+ + + = . (2)
common and densely populated Mg2Si precipitate in AA6061, because ∂x2 ∂y2 ∂z2 K α ∂t

12
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
Where, Qv is the heat generation per unit volume (W/m3), K is
thermal conductivity (W/m-K), Cp is specific heat capacity (J/kg-K), ρ is
density (kg/m3), and α is thermal diffusivity (m2/s) defined as α = ρKCp .
The amount of heat generation during FSW can be expressed in terms of
the tool dimensions and process parameters. Considering the contribu­
tion in heat generation from the shoulder bottom surface and pin pe­
ripheral and bottom surface, the total heat generation (Qt ) is the sum of
Q1 , Q2 and Q3 (as shown in Fig. 16(a)), and for a cylindrical tool pin
(Fig. 16(b)) can be expressed as [4].
{( }
2π )
QCYL = ωτc rs 3 − rp 3 (1 + tanδ) + rp3 + 3rp 2 h (3)
3 location 2 to location 3 is therefore calculated as 9850mm/min
Where rs and rp are shoulder and pin radius, h is pin height, ω is tool
rotational speed, and τc is contact shear stress. It may be noted that for a
sticking condition, τc can be taken as the maximum shear stress
considering von Mises criterion i.e., τc = √y̅̅3, when σ y is the workpiece
σ
material yield stress. Similarly, for sliding condition τc = μp, when μ is
the frictional coefficient, and p is contact pressure. Further, considering
the tool shoulder face as flat (i.e. δ = 0), Eq. (3) can be simplified as:
2π { }
QCYL = ωτc rs 3 + 3rp 2 h (4)
3 positions along the weld direction (line CD) and transverse direction
Similarly, for TIF tool pin with alternate flat and threaded regions
(with dimensions shown in Fig. 16(c), (d)), the total heat generation
considering flat shoulder can be expressed as [44]:
( ) 17
π 2π
QTIF = ωτh r1 2 + r1 2 + r1 r2 + ωτha2 + ωτrs 3 (5)
6 10 3
It may be noted that the amount of heat generation is dependent on
the tool pin geometry and dimensions; however, the heat propagation
and temperature distribution is influenced by the thermal properties e.
g., K, ρ, Cp of the materials. In order to realize the comparative influence,
from the relevant properties at room temperature (25 ◦ C) it may be
noted that K of AA6061-T6 (169 W/m-K) is about 1.3 times higher than
AA7075 (130 W/m-K), whereas for AA 7075 the value of Cp (870 J/kg-
K) is nearly 1.36 times higher than AA6061 (640 J/kg-K), however,
density (ρ) of AA6061 (2700 kg/m3) is nearly equal to that of AA7075
(2810 kg/m3). Therefore, the thermal diffusivity (α) of AA 6061 (9.78 ×
10− 5 m2/s) becomes 1.83 times higher than AA7075 (5.317 × 10− 5 m2/
s). The net effect will be a higher amount of heat retention capacity or
thermal bulk by the AA7075 material placed on the RS of the joint.
On the contrary, the AA6061 material placed on AS of the joint ex­
hibits higher heat transfer with faster conduction of thermal energy with
less tendency to store. This difference in thermal behavior along with the
variation in the amount of generated heat and material mixing/distri­
bution by the tool in the dissimilar FSW joint, influences the asymmetric
heat and temperature distribution in the FSW joint. Moreover the
asymmetric temperature distribution at AS and RS of the joint, the FE
simulation result also showed unsymmetric temperature variation at the
leading and trailing side of the tool in weld direction. The same can also
be validated from the measured temperature distributions also. Fig. 17
Fig. 16. Schematic to show geometry of CYL and TIF tool pin for heat generation estimation.
13
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
shows the schedule of peak temperatures measured at thermocouple
locations 1, 2, and 3 (all at same height, along weld traverse line, refer to
Fig. 2(a), Config-1), and the peak temperatures at the corresponding
locations are recorded at 114 s, 158 s, 200 s, respectively. The interval of
peak temperature is nearly uniform (44 s and 42 s, deviation of 2 s) as
the thermocouple 1, 2, 3 are equidistant (50 mm apart). The tool tra­
verse time between these locations can be calculated as
distance between thermocouple locations
tool traverse time = (6)
weld speed
The traverse time by the tool to reach from location 1 to 2 or from
mm
= 30.6 s. The
tool passes the location in 30.6 s, whereas the peak temperature reaches
about 42–44 s (~ 40% delay in time), thus corroborating the fact that
the higher temperature is at the trailing side and asymmetry exists be­
tween the leading and trailing edge of the tool.
To further illustrate the asymmetry on AS with RS, and leading side
with trailing side, the temperature history of some nodes neighboring
the tool location is considered. The temperature history of nodal points
1–27 on AB along the transverse to weld direction, and nodal points
1–16 on CD along the weld direction are shown in Fig. 18. The nodal
(line AB) are marked on the top view as shown in Fig. 18(a), and the
intersection of AB, CD indicated the tool position (×). The temperature
history of nodes 1–16 on CD is shown in Fig. 18(b) with the tool position
indicated. Corresponding to the tool location (vertical green dotted
line), the temperature at the trailing side (node 8, 7, 6, 5; blue asterisk)
are higher than at leading side (node 9, 10; red circle). In fact, the dif­
ference in temperature between node 8 and 9 near the tool center is
small; however, the difference is quite significant with the higher tem­
peratures at nodes 7, 6, 5 (on the trailing side) compared to node 10
(leading side). Fig. 18(c) and Fig. 18(d) represent the temperature
mapping on the RS and AS, respectively.
On the RS, close to the tool position the temperature at point 9 or 8
(on RS) is noticeably lower than the nodal position 10–15 (at the tool
central region) with high thermal gradient. However, the temperature at
nodal position 16 or 17 is close to that of 10–15 with a smooth tem­
perature gradient. Additionally, at distant, the temperature on RS (node
1 or 2 on AB) is somewhat lower than nodal points 25, 26 on AS due to
the higher thermal diffusivity of AA6061 than AA7075. It may also be
important to note that the simulated temperature is somewhat higher
than the measured values near the SZ (refer Fig. 8) and gradually be­
comes low as moved outward from the SZ. However, this deviation
could be noticeable in core of SZ due to the hindrance in heat transfer
through the tool and can be corrected by adjusting the tool thermal
properties in the model.
The consequences of asymmetric temperature field with higher
temperature on RS within the SZ is observed in grain size and texture
variation, as discussed in previous sections. The EBSD analysis of
AA6061 and AA7075 within the SZ showed finer grains with HAGBs,
intense strain and dislocation pileup at GBs of AA6061 compared to
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

Fig. 17. Schedule of peak temperature at different thermocouple locations of Config-1 with respect to tool traverse.

Fig. 18. FE predicted temperature variation on the plate top surface in the direction of welding and traverse direction during dissimilar AA6061-AA7075 FSW with
CYL pin.

14
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079

Fig. 19. IPF and pole figures of (a) AA6061 and (b) AA7075 within the SZ with ideal shear texture, (c) fcc simple shear texture components and (d) ideally
superimposed over (001), (101) and (111) pole figures [45,46].

7075. The pole figures of the same regions within the SZ shown in
Fig. 19 shows texture evolution faced by both the alloys in the severely
deformed region. Both the alloys are lying adjacent and almost experi­
encing equal amount of heat and almost close strain rates as both the
locations lies close to each other and within the SZ. Only a slight vari­
ation can be observed due to the material’s inherent property. There­
fore, the slight increase in B/B texture in recrystallized grains of AA7075
can be observed with respect to A/A in AA6061.
Moreover, the grain size and texture, the distribution of the
precipitates also altered in AA6061 and AA7075 within the SZ, which in
turn influenced the local characteristics and properties like hardness.
Large-size precipitates in parent AA7075 material are shattered and
redistributed predominantly along the boundaries of the recrystallized
grains, as can be seen in Fig. 20(a). Due to comparatively larger grain
size in the SZ and precipitates at the GBs, much less hard substances are
noted under the impression of the nano-indent on AA7075 (Fig. 20(b))
thus exhibits comparatively lower hardness. Whereas many precipitates
along the boundary of the fine grains in AA6061 can be noticed under
the nano-indent on AA6061 within the SZ of the joint.

Fig. 20. FESEM images showing (a) fine precipitates along the GBs in AA7075 within SZ, nano-indents taken on (b) AA7075 and (c) AA6061 within the SZ of
AA6061-AA7075 dissimilar FSW joint.

15
M. Raturi and A. Bhattacharya
5. Conclusions
In the present work, temperature variation during AA6061-AA7075
dissimilar FSW are appraised by experimental measurements placing
thermocouples along the weld and transverse directions, FE simulations
and its influence on local mechanical properties are assessed at minis­
cule level through nanoindentation. The following are the conclusions
drawn from the present work:
• The rise in temperature during dissimilar FSW with TIF pin profile is
much faster than the CYL pin due to its capability to escalate the
degree of plastic deformation with the help of intermittent flat faces.
• Along the weld line, the peak temperature at any location reaches
post tool depart almost with a uniform delay, thus imparting an
asymmetry with a higher temperature at the trailing side compared
to the leading side of the tool traverse.
• The strong asymmetric temperature field during AA6061-AA7075
dissimilar FSW is observed in-and-surrounding the SZ with high
temperature region more towards AA7075 placed on RS due to its
high specific heat capacity. However, far from SZ the peak temper­
ature is slightly more on AS (AA6061) that possesses higher thermal
conductivity and diffusivity thus able to dissipate the heat faster.
• The shoulder influenced region towards the plate top surface and
layer beneath exhibited higher asymmetricity as compared to the pin
influenced region towards the plate bottom side.
• The difference in thermal properties of the base material plays the
instrumental role behind the asymmetric temperature distribution
and subsequent changes in local mechanical properties, moreover
the process induced variation on AS and RS.
• Grain refinement along with the intense strain and dislocation pileup
at GBs of the recrystallized AA6061 grains within the SZ of the FSW
joint observed contributory behind the higher hardness recorded
from nanoindentation tests.
• In contrary, AA7075 registered less hardness within than SZ than
base metal, as high fraction of alloying elements in AA7075 allow the
dense dispersion of strengthening precipitates, making it a dominant
strengthening mechanism than grain refinement.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Madhav Raturi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Inves­
tigation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. Anirban Bhatta­
charya: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review
& editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot
be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.
Acknowledgement
Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from
Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India under DST-FIST
Programme (Grant No. SR/FST/ET-II/2018/240(C)), granted to
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Patna for procuring the
Nano-indenter used during the present study. Authors are thankful to Dr.
Rishi Raj, IIT Patna for providing temperature measurement facility.
Authors also thank Ashu Garg for his support.
16
International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 148 (2023) 107079
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