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Strength and hardness of post-weld heat-treated thick section 7075 Al alloy

friction stir welds

Article in Materials Testing · May 2019

DOI: 10.3139/120.111335

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 MATERIALS TESTING FOR WELDING, JOINING AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS 411

Strength and hardness of post-

weld heat-treated thick section
7075 Al alloy friction stir welds
Thadivaka Ramakrishna, Eluru, In this work, 10 mm thick AA7075-T651 aluminum alloy plates were
Silaparasetti Srinivasa Rao and friction stir welded. The welds were heat-treated using two different
Gurugubelli Swami Naidu, heat treatment techniques. Firstly, a special solutionizing method
Vizianagaramm India called cyclic solution treatment (CST), involving a repeated heating
Materials Testing downloaded from www.hanser-elibrary.com by Hanser - Library on May 7, 2019

between 400 and 480 °C for 15 minutes and water quenching. Sec-
ondly, CST followed by artificial aging at 130 °C for 24 h. The effect of
CST and artificial aging on the mechanical behavior of the welds was
studied by dint of hardness, tensile, and impact tests. Weld micro-
structures were examined by optical microscopy and transmission
electron microscopy (TEM). CST enhances hardness across the joint
and homogenizes the hardness distribution while marginally improv-
For personal use only.

Article Information
Correspondence Address
Assistant Prof. T. Ramakrishna
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sir C R Reddy College of Engineering
Eluru-534 007, AP, India
E-mail: ramathadivaka@gmail.com
Keywords
Friction stir welding, aluminum alloy, cyclic
solution treatment, mechanical properties, optical
microscopy, transmission electron microscopy
ing the yield strength of the weld. CST followed by aging at 130 °C for
24 h was found to result in a significant improvement in the hardness
and yield strength of the welded joint. Grain size in the weld nugget
is not considerably altered after heat treatment. TEM studies revealed
that a partial dissolution of coarse precipitates (MgZn2) and the for-
mation of metastable (MgAlCu) precipitates take place in the weld
nugget after CST. In addition, CST followed by artificial aging causes
a uniform distribution of stable MgAlCu precipitates in the weld nug-
get, which thus seems responsible for the enhancement in hardness
and strength of the joint.

Heat-treatable aluminum alloys such as al-
loy 7075 with favorable strength to weight
ratios are extensively used in aircraft pri-
mary structures [1]. However, the struc-
tural applications of these alloys inevitably
involve welding and joining, which causes
difficulties using traditional fusion welding
techniques. Friction stir welding (FSW), a
solid-state process invented at The Weld-
ing Institute (TWI), is a promising solution
for joining aluminum alloys [2] since it is
an environment-friendly and energy-effec-
tive technique that offers significant bene-
fits over traditional joining processes [3-5].
Although a huge amount of research has
been reported on the friction stir welding of
aluminum alloys, particularly 7XXX series,
in the literature [6-11], many questions still
remain unanswered in connection with the
poor mechanical properties of the weld-
ment’s heat affected zone (HAZ) [12, 13].
In recent times, there have been some ef-
forts made to improve the mechanical prop-
erties of friction stir welded joints by chang-
ing tool geometry and welding parameters
such as the size of the tool pin and tool
shoulder, rotational speed and welding
speed [14, 15]. Application of shot-peening
or laser-peening prior to welding has also
been tried [16]. Among the various tech-
niques, post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) is
considered to be a more flexible and eco-
nomical method for recovering the loss in
mechanical properties of friction stir welds
[17-19]. Feng et al. [17] reported the effect of
PWHT on the fracture locations of friction
stir welded 2219-O Al alloy. They also ob-
served that an increase in solutionizing tem-
perature improves the tensile strength of
the weld. Priya et al. [18] found that the di-
rect aging of friction stir welded 2219 and
6061-T6 alloys at 165 °C for 18 h without
solution treatment results in a significant
improvement in the hardness of the weld
nugget while showing no improvement in
other zones of the weld region. The heat
treatment studies made by Sato and Kakawa
[19] revealed that a solution treatment at
530 °C for 1 h followed by water quenching
and aging at 175 °C for 12 h enhances the
yield and tensile strength of 6063-T5 Al al-
loy joints made by friction stir welding.
There are very few reports connected to
the PWHT of friction stir welded 7075 alu-

61 (2019) 5 © Carl Hanser Verlag, München Materials Testing

 412 MATERIALS TESTING FOR WELDING, JOINING AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS

minum alloy [20-24]. Barcelona et al. [20]
reported that the PWHT of 7075 joint re-
sults in a homogenized distribution of pre-
cipitate particles in different zones of the
weld. However, research conducted by Ma-
honey et al. [21] revealed that direct post-
weld aging without solution treatment does
not change the yield strength of 7075-T651
weld but degraded its fracture strength.
Sivraj et al. [22] stated that solution treat-
ment followed by aging is marginally ben-
eficial for improving the tensile properties
of friction stir welds of AA7075-T651 alu-
minum alloy. Pekolu et al. [23] reported
Table 1: Chemical Zn Mg
composition of
Materials Testing downloaded from www.hanser-elibrary.com by Hanser - Library on May 7, 2019
that the PWHT, consisting of solutionizing
at 485 °C for 4 h followed by water quench-
ing and aging for 6 h at 140 °C, results in a
considerable recovery of the strength of the
AA 7075 friction stir welds made in T6 con-
dition while causing abnormal grain
growth (AGG) in the weld region. The re-
search conducted by Yeni et al. [24] con-
cluded that post-weld aging enhanced the
hardness across the friction stir weld. More
recently, a new method for the heat treat-
ment of high strength aluminum alloys has
been developed based on cyclic solution
treatment (CST) followed by artificial aging
Cu Si Fe Cr Ti Mn Al
[25]. The beneficial effect of CST on the me-
chanical properties of 6063 and 7075 alu-
minum alloys has been reported earlier [26,
27]. Furthermore, the effects of CST and ar-
tificial aging on hardness and the tensile
properties of friction stir welded joints have
been studied by Bayazid et al. [28].
Most of the above studies have been car-
ried out on plates with a thickness ranging
from 3 to 8 mm, in which the positive effect
of PWHT on friction stir welded Al alloy
plates is very well established in the major-
ity of cases. However, the same has not
been investigated on welds with a plate
thickness of 10 mm and more. In fact, as
the thickness of the plates to be welded in-
creases, the drop in mechanical properties

6.0 2.51 1.43 0.03 0.08 0.20 0.05 0.01 Bal likewise increases. Hence, it is of interest
AA7075–T651 in wt.-%
to investigate how the strength fall in the
weld region of thick section AA7075-T651
Nomenclature Process parameter Al alloy during friction stir welding can be
recovered by PWHT. In this study, the pos-
M2 tool steel
sibility of improving the mechanical prop-
Taper threaded pin (left hand metric threads, 1.5 mm pitch) erties of 10 mm thick AA7075-T651 fric-
Pin diameter: 7 mm (shoulder end) and 4 mm (tip end) tion stir welds using CST and CST followed
Tool geometry
Pin length: 9.5 mm by aging was investigated.
For personal use only.

Shoulder diameter: 22 mm
Experimental procedure
Flat shoulder
Tool rotational speed 700 rpm The base materials selected in this study
Welding speed 120 mm × min-1 were 10 mm thick plates of AA7075–T651
aluminum alloy whose chemical composi-
Tool tilt 1.5°
tion is presented in Table 1. The plates
Table 2: Friction stir welding process parameters were sliced and machined to 110 mm width
and 300 mm length coupons. The plates
were longitudinally butt-welded using a
commercially available friction stir welding
machine. In a previous studies carried out
on the friction stir welding of 10 and 16 mm
thick AA7075 plates, the 10 mm thick fric-
tion stir welded joints were developed in
accordance with the process parameters
given in Table 2, and they were found to be
defect free [10]. Thus, the same were used
in this work to produce the welds.
Photographs of a tool and a weld are
shown in Figure 1. Two different heat treat-
Figure 1: Photographs of the tool and the weld, a) tool, b) weld ment techniques were performed on some
of the samples, according to the procedure
shown in Figure 2. Firstly, a cyclic solution
treatment, which is to say, repeated heat-
ing between 400 °C and 480 °C for 1.5 h
(0.25 h for each cycle) followed by quench-
ing in the water. Secondly, cyclic solution
Figure 2: Schematic
treatment plus artificial aging at 130 °C for
illustration showing the
steps during post-weld 24 h. For convenience, these two condi-
heat treatment tions will henceforth be referred to as “CS
treated” and “CS treated plus AA”.
Microhardness surveys were conducted
using a Vickers hardness testing machine
under a load of 100 g applied for 10 s. The

61 (2019) 5
 MATERIALS TESTING FOR WELDING, JOINING AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS
hardness measurements were made on a
plane perpendicular to the welding direc-
tion and at the mid-thickness of the weld
cross-section with a spacing of 1 mm be-
tween adjacent indentations. Tensile speci-
mens perpendicular to the weld direction
were made according to ASTM B557 stand-
ard. Room temperature tensile tests were
conducted using a computer-controlled uni-
versal testing machine with a maximum
load of 100 kN. The loading rate maintained
during the test was 2 mm × min-1.
Weld microstructures were examined
using optical microscopy (OM), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), and transmis-
sion electron microscopy (TEM). For opti-
cal microscopy, samples were carefully
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prepared to the required sizes and then pol-
ished using different grades of emery pa-
pers. Final polishing was carried out using
a diamond compound (1 micrometer parti-
cle size) in a disk polishing machine. The
polished samples were etched using stand-
ard Keller’s reagent (5 ml HNO3, 2 m HF,
3 ml HCl, and 190 ml distilled water) to
understand the microstructures of the
weld. SEM was used to characterize the
For personal use only.
fracture modes of the tensile tested sam-
Figure 3: Microhardness distribution across
the welds
Figure 4: Tensile-tested samples of the welded
joints in heat-treated conditions, a) CS treated,
b) CS treated plus AA (arrow shows fracture
location)
61 (2019) 5
ples. For TEM, thin sections were sliced us-
ing an electrical discharge machine and
manually polished to a thickness of
100 μm, from which 3 mm diameter disks
were prepared. The disks were subse-
quently thinned using a single-jet electro
polisher, in a 25 % nitric acid and 75 %
methanol solution followed by ion mill
cleaning. TEM studies were performed us-
ing a JEM-2100 transmission electron mi-
croscope.
Results and discussion
Hardness profiles. Microhardness profiles
based on the measurements made on the
joints in as-welded, CS treated, and CS
treated plus AA conditions are depicted in
Figure 3. In the as-welded joint, the curve
was found to show a “W” shaped appear-
ance, exhibiting maximum hardness
(~160 HV) in the weld nugget and mini-
mum hardness (~115 HV) in the heat-af-
fected zone (HAZ). This abnormal hardness
variation across the weld region is consid-
ered to be a common problem for friction stir
welded thick section high strength 7xxx se-
ries aluminum alloys and it needs to be ad-
dressed. Similar results were also reported
by several researchers [10, 11, 29, 30].
As can be seen from Figure 3, the joints in
both CS treated and CS treated plus AA con-
ditions displayed a hardness increase across
the joint. The increase in harness was found
to be more significant for the joints in CS
treated plus AA condition. Furthermore, the
hardness profiles were found to be homoge-
neous, showing a significant decrease in
hardness variation across the joint. By and
large, it was revealed that the selected post
weld heat treatments beneficially affected
the hardness performance of the thick sec-
tion AA 7075 friction stir welds.
Tensile properties. The results of tensile
tests performed on base metals and friction
stir welds in as-welded, CS treated, and CS
treated plus AA conditions are presented in
Table 3. It was found that the friction stir
welds exhibited reductions in strength and
Yield Tensile
Elongation
Material strength strength
(MPa) (MPa)
Base material 539 609
As-welded 320 424
CS treated 331 425
CS treated plus AA 401 437
Table 3: Tensile properties and impact toughness of friction stir welds before and after post-weld heat
treatment
413
percent elongation values compared to that
of base metals. The cyclic solution treat-
ment carried out on the welds demon-
strated marginal improvement (11 MPa) in
the yield strength while exhibiting almost
no change in the tensile strength and a sig-
nificant decrease in percent elongation.
However, the artificial aging at 130 °C for
24 h after CST resulted in a significant en-
hancement (81 MPa) in yield strength and
a marginal increase (12 MPa) in tensile
strength. Yet, the percent elongation of the
joint again dwindled. These low elongation
values displayed by the joints after post-
weld heat treatments could be due to the
hardness increase in various zones of the
combined weld region, which do not plasti-
cally deform during the testing, thus reduc-
ing the overall elongation of the specimens.
Similar statements were also made about
thin section 7075 Al alloy plates in T6 con-
dition [23]. Tensile fractures of post-weld
heat-treated joints were found to occur in
the weld nugget (see Figure 4), while as-
welded samples failed in the HAZ. Tensile
fracture surfaces of the joints treated in
both CS treated and CS treated plus AA
conditions are shown in Figure 5. Fracture
surfaces were characterized by fine dim-
ples, indicating the fine grain structure in
the weld nugget. On the whole, cyclic solu-
tion treatment followed by artificial aging
advantageously influences the tensile per-
formance of the friction stir welded joint,
except for the percent elongation.
Impact toughness. Table 3 presents the
results of impact tests carried out as per
ASTM E23 standard on both base material
and the welds. It is evident that the welds
show reductions in impact toughness com-
pared to that of the base material plates.
Both the post-weld heat treatments were
found to decrease the impact toughness of
the welded joints. Typical failed impact test
specimens are shown in Figure 6.
Optical microscopy. The results of opti-
cal microscopy are given in Figure 7. The
base material microstructure was character-
ized by pancake shaped coarse and elon-
Joint Impact
Fracture
efficiency in toughness
(%) location
terms of YS (J)
13 – – 6.67
6 60 HAZ 4
3 62 WN 2
3 74 WN 2.5
 414 MATERIALS TESTING FOR WELDING, JOINING AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS
Figure 5: Fracture surface of tensile-tested specimens of the welds in heat-treated conditions,
a) CS treated, b) CS treated plus AA
gated grains, typical for a hot rolled struc-
ture (see Figure 7a). The weld nugget of the
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friction stir welded joint exhibited very fine
equiaxed grains (~5 μm) (see Figure 7b) re-
sulting from a dynamic recrystallization
phenomenon that usually takes place dur-
For personal use only.
Figure 7: Microstructures of base material and weld nugget, a) base material, b) as- welded,
c) CS treated, d) CS treated plus AA
Figure 8: Typical micrographs of TMAZ and HAZ regions of friction stir weld, a) TMAZ, b) HAZ
ing friction stir welding, due to severe plas-
tic deformation and a rise in temperature in
the welding area. The post-weld CST did not
cause significant change in the structure
and size of the grains in the nugget zone of
the weld region (see Figure 7c). Further-
Figure 6: Typical fractured impact test specimen
of friction stir welds
more, the grain size of the weld nugget was
not notably altered even after CST followed
by artificial aging for 24 h (see Figure 7d).
This is a noteworthy result since grain
growth, which is likely to occur during con-
ventional solution treatment, was restricted
by cyclic solution treatment. For example, a
study carried out by Hassan et al. [31] re-
vealed that a conventional solution treat-
ment at 485 °C for 1 h causes abnormal
grain growth in a weld nugget from 1.7 to
150 μm. Several previous studies [24, 32,
33] have also reported the occurrence of
AGG during post-weld heat treatment of fric-
tion stir welded joints. On the whole, from
those studies, it has been understood that
the occurrence of AGG could be due to the
presence of grains of different sizes, grain
boundaries with dissimilar rates of migra-
tion, strain gradients in the microstructure,
and the dissolution and growth of precipi-
tates [31]. In view of the above, in the pre-
sent study, the presence of fine equiaxed
grains and the formation of fine MgAlCu
precipitates are considered responsible for
the prevention of AGG during the CST.
The typical micrographs of the TMAZ
and HAZ are shown in Figure 8. The TMAZ
region, the transition zone between the
base material and weld nugget, exhibited a
highly deformed structure (see Figure 8a).
The base material elongated grains were
deformed around the fine grain nugget.
The HAZ was found to show almost the
same grain structure as that of the parent
material with the exception of minimal
grain growth (see Figure 8b).
Transmission electron microscopy.
Transmission electron micrographs of base
material and weld nugget in different condi-
tions are presented in Figure 9. As can be
seen from Figure 9a, the uniform distribu-
tion of two different types of precipitates,
one group at 50-80 nm and the other at 10-
20 nm, differing in shape and size, were ob-
served in the base material, and they were
61 (2019) 5
 MATERIALS TESTING FOR WELDING, JOINING AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS 415

found to have a nanoscale size (~10-80 nm)

disc (MgZn2) and spherical shaped precipi-
tates. Almost similar results were reported
by Wert [34] and Lorimer [35]. Wert indexed
the larger precipitaes as a solid solution of
isomorphous phases MgZn2 and MgAlCu,
which he describes as Mg(Zn2,AlCu). On the
other hand, Lorimer identified these as
Mg32(Al,Zn)49, having a BCC crystal struc-
ture. Thus, the larger precipitates can be in-
dexed as Mg(Zn2,AlCu) or Mg32(Al,Zn)49.
The majority of the precipitates were dis-
solved in the friction stir weld nugget,
whereas a few precipitates survived and
coarsened as can be seen in Figure 9b. This
could be the result of solution treatment
experienced by the nugget region due to a
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rise in temperature during friction stir

welding. Moreover, the cooling rate pre-
vailing following FSW was not sufficient to
contribute to the re-precipitation of the dis-
solved solute, resulting in hardness reduc-
tion in the weld region.
Fine precipitate particles consisting of
Al, Zn, and Mg elements were detected in
the TEM image of the weld nugget in CS
treated condition (see Figure 9c). During
For personal use only.

CST, due to repeated heating above and

below the solvus temperature, a simulta-
neous solutionizing and aging process
occurred [28]. In the present study, when
the friction stir welded 7075 Al alloy was
solutionized at the higher temperature
(~480 °C), the large MgZn2 and MgAlCu
strengthening precipitates surviving af-
ter FSW were found to partially dissolve
in the Al matrix. Further, when the weld
was transferred and heated at the lower
temperature (~400 °C), the aging pro-
cess occurred and fine metastable
MgAlCu precipitates were observed to
form. These two developments, i. e. the
partial dissolution of large precipitates
and the formation of fine precipitates
take place successively in the next cycles
of CST resulting in a uniform distribution
of nanoscale precipitates within the ma-
trix, which in turn contributes to
strengthening. Additionally, the thermal
strains induced due to repetitive heating
at two different temperatures during so-
lution heat treatment were also consid-
ered responsible for improving hardness
and tensile properties.
The weld nugget in CS treated plus AA
condition also exhibited a dispersion of sta-
ble precipitates (see Figure 9d). The CST
followed by artificial aging for 24 h at
130 °C was found to transform metastable
precipitates to stable MgAlCu precipitates.
These precipitates act as effective obsta-
Figure 9: TEM images showing precipitate phases in base material and weld nugget in various
conditions, a) base material, b) As-welded, c) CS treated, d) CS treated plus AA
cles against the dislocations and enhance
the hardness and mechanical strength of
the alloy. However, while enhancing the
hardness and strength of the joints, both
CST and CST followed by aging caused a
reduction in percent elongation. This could
be due to the formation of brittle Al7Cu2Fe
particles, as they adversely affect mechani-
cal properties, especially ductility.
Conclusions
1. T he effects of post-weld heat treatments
on the mechanical properties and mi-
crostructure of 10 mm thick AA7075-
T651 Al alloy friction stir welds were
investigated.
2. The CST and CST followed by artificial
aging significantly improved hardness
of the joint while homogenizing hard-
ness distribution. It was also found that
the CST followed by artificial aging con-
siderably enhances yield strength,
whereas the CST exhibited marginal en-
hancement.
3. The microstructural investigations re-
vealed that the fine grain structure in
the weld nugget resulting from recrys-
tallization during friction stir welding
was preserved in both CS treated and
CS treated plus AA conditions prevent-
ing abnormal grain growth.
4. TEM studies disclosed that CST causes
the partial dissolution of coarse MgZn2
precipitates and the formation of meta-
stable MgAlCu precipitates. It was also
found that the uniform distribution of
stable MgAlCu precipitates takes place
after artificial aging for 24 h at 130 °C
and it is considered to be responsible for
a significant enhancement in hardness
and strength values.
Acknowledgement
The authors are greateful to Prof. S. R.
Koteswara Rao of The Department of Me-
chanical Engineering, SSN College of Engi-
neering, Chennai, India, for providing ma-
terial for this work.
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Materials Testing
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© Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
ISSN 0025-5300
The authors of this contribution
Asst. Prof. Thadivaka Ramakrishna, born in 1983,
registered for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering
at JNTUK, Kakinada, India in 2016. He has pub-
lished more than five papers in international
journals. He has around eleven years of profes-
sional experience in teaching and research.
Currently, he is working as Assistant Professor
of Mechanical Engineering at C R Reddy College
of Engineering, Eluru, AP, India.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silaparasetti Srinivasa Rao,
born in 1977, received his PhD in Mechanical En-
gineering from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam,
India in 2013. He has published more than 21 papers
in international journals. He has around 14 years of
professional experience in teaching and research.
Presently, he is working as Associate Professor in
the Department of Mechanical Engineering, MVGR
College of Engineering, Vizianagaram, AP, India.
Prof. Dr. Gurugubelli Swami Naidu, born in
1975, received his PhD in Metallurgical Engineer-
ing from JNTUK, Kakinada, India in 2011. He has
published more than 28 papers in international
journals. He has around 18 years of professional
experience in teaching and research. Currently,
he is working as Professor and Head of the De-
partment of Metallurgical Engineering at Jawaha-
rlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada,
Vizianagaram, AP, India.
61 (2019) 5