Characteristics of Friction Welding of Bulk Metallic Glass Rods and Tubes

The friction welding of Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) rods and tubes to similar BMGs, and to crystalline metals were performed. An infrared thermal imager (FLIR-Thermal Cam SC-2000) was used to measure the temperature distribution at joining interface of the specimens during friction welding. All BMGs adopted in this study showed a successful friction joining to similar BMG. The shape of the protrusion formed at the weld interface were examined. In order to characterize the friction weld interface, the micrographic observation and the X-ray diffraction analysis on the weld cross-section were carried out. The obtained results were discussed based on the temperature distribution measured at the weld interface A successful joining of the BMGs to crystalline metals could be obtained for certain pairs of the material combination through the precise control of the friction condition. The residual strength after dissimilar friction welding of BMG was evaluated by the four-point bending test and compared with the cases of friction welding to similar materials.