Influence of Tool Offset on Performance of Thin Al–Cu Dissimilar Metal Friction Stir Butt Welded Joint

The 1-mm-thick Al to Cu friction stir welding is successfully performed at the tool offsets toward Al side ranging from 0 to 2 mm. With increasing tool offset, the phenomenon of material sticking to tool shoulder surface is restricted and the area of Al–Cu mixing zone is reduced progressively. As the tool offset is increased from 0 to 1 mm, the weld shows a variation of intermetallic phases from CuAl2 + Cu9Al4 to CuAl2 and exhibits a lowering in...