Backing plate material selection for optimizing joint performance in friction stir welded aluminium honeycomb

Aluminium honeycomb core is a thin-walled cellular structure extensively used in crash resistance applications in automotive industry. To overcome current challenges in adhesive-bonded honeycomb, new fabrication route using micro friction stir lap welding has been proposed. With a specific energy absorption capacity as high as 28.2 kJ/kg in flatwise impact testing, fabricated honeycomb demonstrated its potential for industrial applications. The structure exhibited no weld cracks or cell wall delamination, unlike adhesive-bonded honeycombs. However, in friction stir welding of thin sheets (0.5 mm), achieving an optimized heat input is challenging due to limited scope for variation in process parameter and tool design. Therefore, control of heat outflow by proper selection of backing plate material is the alternative approach for achieving desirable joint performance. Experiments with backing plates having a range of thermal diffusivities demonstrated that joint produced with mild steel backplate exhibited maximum shear-tensile strength. Conversely, joint with aluminium backplate exhibited poor plastic flow of material. Effective sheet thickness and lap width were predominantly affected by heat accumulation in weld, resulting in different failure modes.