Effect of Cooling Rate on Mechanical and Microstructural Characterization of Friction Stir Welded 316 L Austenitic Stainless Steel Joints

The present investigation is carried out to investigate on mechanical and metallurgical properties of Friction stir (FS) / Underwater Friction stir (UFS) welded 3 mm thick AISI 316 L stainless steel joints. Experiments were carried out at a tool rotational speed of 700 rpm, welding speed of 45 mm/min and axial force of 12 kN. Defect free joints were confirmed by visual inspection. A marginal rise of about 4.5 % increase in the joint strength is achieved in water cooling than by gas cooling technique. Reduced peak temperature in water cooled joint led to better grain refinement in the weld nugget enhancing FSW tool life. No sign of secondary phase precipitation was observed in the weld joints which was confirmed by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) spectrums and micro etchants like Groesbeck and modified Murakami reagents in the weld nugget.