Wire-friction stir additive remanufacturing of high strength aluminum alloys

A wire-based friction stir additive remanufacturing （W-FSAR） method is proposed to address large cracks and material loss in aluminum alloy components during production and service. The W-FSAR tools consist of a wire feeding device， a stationary sleeve， and a screw-structured stirring head. This method effectively fills and repairs 10 mm-width and 2 mm-depth groove defects in aluminum alloy components. The results indicate the repaired sample has high repair efficiency， smooth morphology， homogeneous microstructure， and excellent mechanical properties. The dynamic recovery and recrystallization processes refine the grain size to 1.59 μm. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the repaired samples are （410±8） MPa and （11.9±0.9）%， respectively， which increase by 26% and 159% compared to the worn-out specimens. There are numerous dimples on the fracture surface， exhibiting typical ductile fracture characteristics.