Effect of induction heated friction stir welding on corrosive behaviour, mechanical properties and microstructure of AISI 410 stainless steel

Abstract

In the current scenario, the industry requires a joining or welding method, which does not produce any environmental hazards. Friction stir welding (FSW) is the future of all metal joining methods because FSW does not produce any harmful byproducts and it enhances the joining strength too. The main limitation of friction stir welding was the difficulty to weld hard metals. The tool damage is very high while welding hard metals. These problems happen while using FSW can be recovered by using an additional heating source such as induction heating, arc heating or resistance heating. The induction heating is the quickest heating method as well as an economic method compared to other heating methods. AISI 410 stainless steel (SS) plate is difficult to weld by conventional welding methods, due to the glassy surface and this glassy surface cause sputtering. AISI 410 SS is chosen for this work and welded by using induction heated friction stir welding method (IH-FSW). The tool used for welding AISI 410 SS is made by using tungsten carbide with a hexagonal profile. A sound joint is fabricated at a spindle speed of 1200 rpm, welding speed of 45 mm/min, plunge depth of 0.05 mm and an additional heat input by using the induction-heating coil is about 100°C at 50 W power respectively.