This study was carried out to evaluate the microstructures and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded Ni based alloy. Inconel 600 (single phase type) alloy was selected as an experimental material. For this material, friction stir welding (FSW) was performed at a constant tool rotation speed of 400 rpm and a welding speed of 150~200 mm/min by a FSW machine, and argon shielding gas was utilized to prevent surface oxidation of the weld material. At all conditions, sound friction stir welds without any weld defects were obtained. The electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) method was used to analyze the grain boundary character distributions (GBCDs) of the welds. As a result, dynamic recrystallization was observed at all conditions. In addition, grain refinement was achieved in the stir zone, gradually accelerating from 19 μm in average grain size of the base material to 5.5 μm (150 mm/min) and 4.1 μm (200 mm/min) in the stir zone with increasing welding speed. Grain refinement also led to enhancement of the mechanical properties: the 200 mm/min friction stir welded zone showed 25% higher microhardness and 15% higher tensile strength relative to the base material.

• 송국현 | Song, Kuk-Hyun