Fatigue Behaviour of 7N01-T4 Aluminium Alloy Welded by Ultrasonic-Assisted Friction Stir Welding

This study investigates the effects of axial ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure evolution, residual stresses distribution and fatigue fracture behaviour of a 7N01-T4 joint, and demonstrates that ultrasonic vibration can significantly promote the flow of plasticised metals, expand the stirred zone (SZ) width and refine the grain size. The longitudinal residual stresses of the joints are dominant, and the peak longitudinal residual stresses of the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) on the advancing side (AS) (TMAZ-AS) in the ultrasonic-assisted friction stir welding (UAFSW) joint are 31.5 MPa lower than those in the friction stir welding (FSW) joint. Compared to that of FSW joints, the fatigue strength of UAFSW joints increases by 20 MPa at 10⁷ cycles (stress ratio of R = 0.1). At high-stress levels, crack initiation occurs at the TMAZ-AS, and is mainly attributed to high residual stresses and second-phase particles. At low-stress levels, fatigue cracks are likely to initiate in the transition zone (TZ).