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The following thesis is a study on the ability to create acceptable welds in thin-plate, ultra-high-strength steels (UHSS) by way of friction stir welding (FSW). Steels are welded together to create tailor-welded blanks (TWB) for use in the automotive industry. Dual Phase (DP) 590, 780, and 980 steel as well as Transformation-Induced Plasticity (TRIP) 590 steel with thicknesses ranging from 1.2 mm to 1.8 mm were welded using friction stir welding under a variety of processing conditions, including experiments with dissimilar thicknesses. Samples were tested under tensile loads for initial determination if an acceptable weld had been created. Acceptable welds were created in both TRIP 590 and DP 590 at speeds up to 102 centimeters-per-minute. No acceptable welds were created in the DP 780 and DP 980 materials. A series of microhardness measurements were taken across weld samples to gain understanding as to the causes of failure. These data indicate that softening, caused by both excessive heat and insufficient heat can result in weld failure. Not enough heat causes the high concentration of martensite in these materials to temper while too much heat can cause excessive hardening in the weld, through the formation of even more martensite, which tends to promote failure mode during forming operations. Laser welding is one of the leading methods for creating tailor-welded blank. Therefore, laser welded samples of each material were tested and compared to Friction Stir Welded samples. Lower strength and elongation are measured in weld failure while the failure location itself determines the success of a weld. In short, an acceptable weld is one that breaks outside the weld nugget and Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) and where the tensile strength (both yield and ultimate) along with the elongation are comparable to the base material. In unacceptable welds, the sample broke in the weld nugget or HAZ while strength and elongations were well below those of the base material samples.

The present study focuses on developing a relationship between process variables, mechanical properties and post weld microstructure in Friction Stir Welded HSLA 65 steel. Fully consolidated welds can be produced in HSLA 65 steel by PCBN Convex-Scrolled-Shoulder-Step-Spiral (CS4) tool over a wide range of parameters. Microstructures in the nugget center (NC) are dominated by lath bainite and a few polygonal/allotriomorphic grain boundary ferrites. FSW dependent variables are related to FSW independent variables by non-linear relationship. Heat input is identified to be the best parameter index to correlate with microstructures. With increasing heat input, the volume of bainite is reduced, the shape of bainite is more curved and grain/lath size become coarser. A linear relationship was established between heat input and semi-quantitative post-weld microstructures based on the optical microstructures. Further analysis has been applied on the NC to obtain more fundamental understanding of FSW. The new approach via Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM) was developed to acquire quantitative microstructural data including bainite lath/packet and prior austenite grain size (PAG). A linear relationship between heat input and quantitative microstructural features in the NC have been established. Mechanical properties exhibits linear relationship with heat input. These correlations can be utilized to determine FSW weld parameter to get desired mechanical properties welds.

High strength low alloy (HSLA) steels have been developed to simultaneously have high yield strength and high fracture toughness. However, in practical applications steel must be welded. Traditional arc welding has proven detrimental to the fracture toughness of HSLA steels. Friction stir welding has recently shown mixed results in welding HSLA steels. The range of welding parameters used in these recent studies however has been very limited. With only a few welding parameters tested, the effect of spindle speed, travel speed, and heat input on the fracture toughness of friction stir welded HSLA steel remains unknown. To understand how the friction stir welding process parameters affect fracture toughness, double sided welds in API X80 were performed and analyzed. Results show that at room temperature friction stir welded API X80 exceeded industry minimum fracture toughness requirements in both the API Standard 1104 and DNV-OS-F101 by 143% and 62%, respectively. The process parameters of spindle speed and HI have been shown to effectively control the fracture toughness of the stir zone. Relationships have been established that show that fracture toughness increased by 85% when spindle speed decreased by 59% and heat input decreased by 46%.

Mechanical properties of structural materials are highly correlated to their microstructure. The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties can be established experimentally. The growing need for structural materials in industry promotes the study of microstructural evolution of materials by design using computational approaches. This thesis presents the microstructural evolution of two different structural materials. The first uses a genetic algorithm approach to study the microstructural evolution of a high-temperature nickel-based oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloy. The chosen Ni-20Cr ODS system has nano Y2O3 particles for dispersion strengthening and submicron Al2O3 for composite strengthening. Synergistic effects through the interaction of small dispersoids and large reinforcements improved high-temperature strength. Optimization considered different weight factors on low temperature strength, ductility, and high temperature strength. Simulation revealed optimal size and volume fraction of dispersoids and reinforced particles. Ni-20Cr-based alloys were developed via mechanical alloying for computational optimization and validation. The Ni-20Cr-1.2Y2O3-5Al2O3 alloy exhibited significant reduction in the minimum creep rate (on the order of 10-9 s-1) at 800oC and 100 MPa. The second considers the microstructural evolution of AA 7050 alloy during friction stir welding (FSW). Modeling the FSW process includes thermal, material flow, microstructural and strength modeling. Three-dimensional material flow and heat transfer model was developed for friction stir welding process of AA 7050 alloy to predict thermal histories and extent of deformation. Peak temperature decreases with the decrease in traverse speed at constant advance per revolution, while the increase in tool rotation rate enhances peak temperature. Shear strain is higher than the longitudinal and transverse strain for lower traverse speed and tool rotation rate; whereas for higher traverse speed and tool rotation rate, shear and normal strain acquire similar values. Precipitation distribution simulation using TC-PRISMA predicts the presence of η' and η in the as-received AA 7050-T7451 alloy and mostly η in the friction stir welded AA7050 alloy, which results in the lower predicted strength of friction stir welded alloy. Further, development of modeling assists in process optimization and innovation, and enhances the progression rate. Accelerating the development process requires coupling experimental methods with predictive modeling. The overall purpose of this work was to develop an integrated computational model with predictive capabilities. In the present work, an application tool to predict thermal histories during FSW of AA7050 was developed using COMSOL software.

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[pt] A união de materiais por soldagem é um dos processos mais utilizados na fabricação de estruturas. A soldagem traz maior confiabilidade, segurança ao projeto e resistência mecânica das uniões. Atualmente, diversas indústrias, tais como aeronáutica e automotiva, têm procurando utilizar materiais de baixa densidade e alta resistência mecânica, como as ligas de magnésio e de alumínio. Porém, estas ligas dificultam o processo de união através da soldagem convencional, que tem no seu principal fundamento a fusão do material, por possuírem baixa soldabilidade. Nas ligas de Mg e de Al há a formação uma camada de óxido que precisa ser removida durante o processo de soldagem, além de apresentarem grande susceptibilidade a geração de defeitos, tais como trincas e poros durante o processo de resfriamento da solda. A soldagem por fricção ou por mistura mecânica (FSW) foi desenvolvida como uma alternativa às técnicas de soldagem e uso mais comum existente na indústria, pois esta técnica elimina a fusão do material reduzindo, assim, os defeitos que surgiriam com a soldagem convencional. Por ser uma solda de estado sólido, tem a possibilidade de unir materiais dissimilares, polímeros, compósitos, ligas ferrosas e não ferrosas. O presente trabalho buscou avaliar parâmetros de soldagem variando a velocidade de soldagem (ν) e velocidade de rotação da ferramenta (ômega) utilizando uma ferramenta com rosca. Foram analisados o torque e as forças presentes no processo. Os resultados foram comparados com os resultados obtidos com uma ferramenta de soldagem sem rosca. A qualidade da solda foi correlacionada com os parâmetros de soldagem utilizados por meio de ensaios de dureza e tomografia. Foi concluído que a ferramenta com rosca gera defeito de túnel e demanda maior energia do processo em relação ao torque e à força axial. O comportamento das forças envolvidas no processo foi o mesmo para ambas as geometrias de ferramenta. A microdureza ao longo do eixo neutro mostrou a mudança entre a zona de mistura, zona termicamente afetada e o metal de base. / [en] The joining of materials by welding is the process most used in the fabrication of structures. Welding brings greater reliability, safety to the design and mechanical strength of the joints. Today, many industries, such as aeronautics and automotive, are looking to use low density and high mechanical strength materials such as magnesium and aluminum alloys. However, these alloys hinder the bonding process through conventional welding, which has in its main foundation the melting of the material, because they have low weldability. In Mg and Al alloys there is a layer of oxide that needs to be removed during the welding process, besides being very susceptible to the generation of defects, such as cracks and pores during the process of cooling the weld. Friction stir welding (FSW) was developed as an alternative to most commonly used in industry welding techniques, as this technique eliminates melting of the material thus reducing defects that would arise with conventional welding. To being a solid state weld, it has the possibility of joining dissimilar materials, polymers, composites, ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. The present work seeked to evaluate welding parameters by varying the welding speed (ν) and tool rotation (omega) using a threaded tool. The torque and forces were analyzed and the results will be compared with the results obtained with a threadless welding tool. The quality of the weld will be correlated with the welding parameters used by means of hardness test and tomography. It was concluded that the threaded tool generates tunnel defect and demands higher process energy. The behavior of the forces involved in the process was the same for both tool geometries. The microhardness along the neutral axis showed the clear the change between the mixing zone, thermally affected zone and the base metal.

O desenvolvimento e utilização de novos materiais, mais leves e com propriedades mecânicas superiores aos atuais, se mostram extremamente importantes devido à redução de peso e consequentemente redução na emissão de gases poluentes que poderiam gerar. As ligas de Fe-Mn-C com elevados teores de Mn (20-30%) representam um desenvolvimento muito recente de aços austeníticos, que, através dos seus mecanismos diferenciados de deformação reúnem elevada resistência mecânica com grande ductilidade. Essa nova classe de materiais estruturais possibilita uma efetiva redução de custos na produção através do reduzido tempo de processamento (sem a necessidade de tratamentos térmicos especiais e de processamentos termomecânicos controlados). A soldagem é, atualmente, o mais importante processo de união de metais usado no setor industrial. Dentro da variada gama de processos de soldagem existentes, a soldagem por fricção e mistura mecânica (SFMM, em inglês: Friction Stir Welding - FSW) se destaca por ser um processo de união no estado sólido que apresenta uma série de vantagens sobre as tecnologias convencionais de soldagem por fusão. Do ponto de vista metalúrgico, uma das suas principais vantagens se manifesta justamente na junção de materiais dissimilares, visto que o grau de mistura de composições e as transformações de fases entre materiais incompatíveis podem ser minimizados. Outra vantagem é que há um refino de grão no cordão de solda comparado com a microestrutura fundida que se forma nos processos convencionais. Este trabalho teve como objetivo produzir em escala laboratorial os aços de alta liga ao manganês com efeito TRIP, avaliar o impacto da velocidade de rotação da ferramenta na soldagem por fricção e mistura mecânica e avaliar a microestrutura e propriedades mecânicas das juntas soldadas. A microestrutura das juntas soldadas caracterizou-se pela presença apenas da zona de mistura e do metal base, além da formação de \'anéis de cebola\' na zona de mistura, esta não mostrou sinais de transformação martensítica induzida por deformação e sofreu recristalização dinâmica para todas as velocidades de rotação investigadas com a formação de grãos refinados e com morfologia equiaxial. Os corpos de tração fraturaram todos nos metais de base, mostrando que as propriedades mecânicas da zona de mistura foram superiores à do metal base e que a variação de aporte térmico alcançada com a velocidade de rotação da ferramenta não comprometeu a qualidade das juntas soldadas. / The development and application of new light materials with superior mechanical properties is extremely important to weight reduction in vehicles and consequently reduction of greenhouse gases emission. The Fe-Mn-C steels with high Mn (20-30%) are a recent development of austenitic steels, which, due to their different mechanisms of deformation, possesses high strength and high ductility as well. In addition, this new type of structural steel allows an effective reduction of manufacturing costs due to its reduced processing time (it does not require special heat treatments and controlled thermo mechanical processing). Welding has been one of the most important processes for joining metals. Among the available welding processes, friction stir welding (FSW) is notable for being a solid state process with great advantages over the conventional welding methods. In the mettalurgical point of view, welding dissimilar materials is a significant advantage of FSW over the other process. The main reason is the reduction of mixture of material and phase transformations between the incompatible materials in the weld. Moreover, grain refinement is another advantage from the process. The present study aimed to produce laboratorial scale high Mn steels with TRIP effect, investigate the impact of tool speed ont the microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints. The microstructure of the welded joints exhibited only the stirred zone (SZ) and the base material (BM), besides the presence of ´onion rings´ within the stirred zone. The SZ exhibited no signs of martensite suggesting that dynamic recrystallization have occurred for all the speed tested. Moreover, the grains in the SZ had equiaxial morphology and were significantly refined. The fracture of the tensile specimens occurred in the base material, bringing to light that the welding process was beneficial to the mechanical properties. Furthermore, the variation of heat input achieved with the speed did not compromise the quality of welded joints.