A dissimilar AA7075/Q235 butt-lap joint was fabricated via ultrasonic-assisted friction stir welding (UaFSW), and the characteristics of the UaFSW joint were investigated systematically. The acoustoplastic effect of the ultrasonic vibration led to the softening of the materials and enhanced the material flow during welding, decreasing the volume of welding defects in the nugget zone of the UaFSW joint. With the help of ultrasonic vibration, a smooth and thin intermetallic compounds (IMCs) layer could generate along the Al/steel interface at the top of nugget zone, which possibly consisted of Al5Fe2 and Al13Fe4 phases. However, the positive effects of the ultrasonic vibration were weakened at low temperatures; consequently, the IMCs layer became discontinuous at the bottom of the nugget zone and the welding defects also formed. The ultrasonic vibration accelerated the dynamic recrystallization and refined the microstructures in the nugget zone due to the increased strain rate and stored energy. As a result, the UaFSW joint exhibited a better mechanical performance in comparison to the FSW joint, and the increment in the peak tensile load/elongation was more than twice. In addition, the UaFSW joint failed in the nugget zone along with the Al/steel interface, and the fracture mode was a mixture of ductile and brittle.
Keywords: dissimilar Al/steel joint; friction stir butt-lap welding; mechanical performance; microstructural evolution; ultrasonic vibration.