Grain orientation and texture analysis of 6082 aluminum alloy friction plug welded joints

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to study the grain morphology, grain boundary characteristics, and texture compositions of different regions in 6082-T6 aluminum alloy friction plug welded joints made using shoulder-assisted heating. The results showed that the material at the plug and hole junction underwent thermoplastic deformation, dynamic recovery, and recrystallization, with significant refinement of the joint grains. In addition, inter-grain misorientation deviated from random distribution to a noticeable preferred orientation. The welded nugget zone had a dominant recrystallized texture, and deformation and recrystallization textures were both observed in the junction zone, while the deformation texture accounted for a large proportion of the thermo-mechanically affected zone.