Fatigue properties of friction stir welded butt joint and base metal of MB8 magnesium alloy

The fatigue properties of friction stir welded （FSW） butt joint and base metal of MB8 magnesium alloy were investigated. The comparative fatigue tests were carried out using EHF-EM2OOK2-070-IA fatigue testing machine for both FSW butt joint and base metal specimens. The fatigue fractures were observed and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope of JSM-6063LA type. The experimental results show that the fatigue performance of the FSW butt joint of MB8 magnesium alloy is sharply decreased. The conditional fatigue limit （2 x 106） of base metal and welded butt joint is about 77.44 MPa and 49. 91 MPa, respectively. The conditional fatigue limit （2 x 106 ） of the welded butt joint is 64.45% of that of base metal. The main reasons are that the welding can lead to stress concentration in the flash area, tensile welding residual stress in the welded joint（ The residual stress value was 30. 5 MPa）, as well as the grain size is not uniform in the heat-affected zone. The cleavage steps or quasi-cleavage patterns present on the fatigue fracture surface, the fracture type of the FSW butt joint belongs to a brittle fracture.