Microstructure and corrosion behavior of bobbin tool friction stir welded 2219 aluminum alloy

This study employed the bobbin tool friction stir welding (BT-FSW) technique to weld 2219 aluminum alloy with 6 mm thickness. The microstructure investigation revealed that the weld nugget zone (WNZ) has a small number of coarse θ phases, whereas the heat-affected zone (HAZ) exhibits colossal amount of θ' phases. The impedance analysis demonstrated that the corrosion resistance of the WNZ is better than that of other zones. Also, the salt spray corrosion test showed that the WNZ has the best corrosion resistance, whereas the base metal (BM) has the worst corrosion resistance. Therefore, the poor corrosion resistance of the BM can be attributed to a high content of the precipitates. •2219 aluminium alloy was joined using the bobbin tool friction stir welding method.•The corrosion prerformance of BT-FSW joints was investigated using the LEIS method and salt spray corrosion test.•Corrosion attack was galvanic corrosion between the precipitates and matrix.•The relation between corrosion susceptibility and the content of precipitates was revealed.