Effect of Laser Heat Treatment on the Mechanical Performance and Microstructural Evolution of AISI 1045 Steel-2017-T4 Aluminum Alloy Joints during Rotary Friction Welding

Abstract

This paper evaluates the influence of laser power on the rotary friction welding (RFW) process to improve11 the mechanical performance and microstructural evolution of AISI 1045 steel and 2017-T4 aluminum alloy12 joints. As part of this evaluation, the absolute chemical determination of these materials was precisely13 measured using a GDOES bulk analysis. The application of laser power during friction welding is known as14 laser-assisted friction welding. To evaluate the effect of the energy from the laser on the rotary joining15 process of steel-aluminum, a laser-assisted rotary friction welding process was set up, and a design of16 experiments (DOE) applied. First, a DOE consisting of two factors at two levels was used to evaluate the17 effect of friction pressure and rotational speed on the hardness and tensile strength of the weldment. Then, a18 mixed DOE of three factors at two and three levels was implemented to investigate the effect laser heat19 treatment has on the process. It was concluded that the application of a laser heat treatment plays a20 significant role in the resulting mechanical performance and microstructural evolution of RFW steel21 aluminum joints. Increasing both the ultimate tensile strength and the thickness of the Al(Fe, Cu) interface22 reaction layer between the joined materials