Abstract
The prospect of joining dissimilar materials via solid-state processes presents an opportunity to obtain multi-material structures having a synergy of desirable properties of the joined materials. However, the issue of the formation of intermetallic compounds at the weld interface of dissimilar materials arises with that, depending upon the temperature and pressure conditions as per phase diagram. As the thickness of the intermetallic compounds may determine the mechanical properties of the joint, understanding the driving mechanisms and evolution of these intermetallic compounds in solid-state joining processes, such as refill friction stir spot welding (refill FSSW), is crucial. In this contribution, we account for the effect of different driving forces in a multiphase-field approach and investigate the evolution of the intermetallic compounds driven by chemical and mechanical forces. A finite-element simulation of the refill FSSW is pursued to obtain the peak temperature and strain at different locations of the weld interface. The microstructure simulations obtained via the multiphase-field model give insight into the morphology and kinetics evolution of the intermetallic compounds for both, the absence of strain (purely chemically-driven model) as well as presence of strain (chemo-mechanically-driven model). The consideration of strain proves to result in thicker intermetallic compound layer. Furthermore, the impact of interface energy and initial grain configuration is found to be significant on the overall intermetallic compounds evolution.
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