Abstract: 2014 Al alloy of 8mm in thickness was successfully welded by friction stir welding method. The experimental results show that the tensile properties of the joints are significantly affected by the welding parameters. When the weld pitch is 0.25mm/r corresponding to the rotation speed of 400r/min and the welding speed of 100mm/min, the maximum ultimate strength of the joints is 78% that of the base material. For a certain weld joint, different parts possess different mechanical properties. In the three parts of the joint, the upper part is strongest and the middle part is poorest in mechanical properties. The mechanical properties and fracture locations of the joints are dependent on the microstructure variation and micro-hardness distributions of the joints, which attributes to the different thermo-mechanical actions on the different parts of the joints.

Key words:  2014 Al alloy; friction stir welding; mechanical properties; fracture; heterogeneity