Friction stir welding (FSW) is an innovative solid-state joining process, which is suitable for joining dissimilar materials with strongly differing physical and chemical properties such as aluminum and steel. Where other joining methods such as fusion welding struggle to achieve appropriate joint strengths due to the excessive formation of brittle aluminum-rich intermetallic phases (IMP), FSW joints of aluminum and steel only show small layers of IMP, thus, sufficient tensile strengths in proximity to the maximum tensile strength of the weaker aluminum base material can be reached. With the aim to optimize the mechanical and microstructural properties of such dissimilar joints for widening the field for possible industrial applications, several hybrid friction stir welding methods have been developed which include an additional energy input, whereas the ultrasound enhancement (USE-FSW) is one of the most promising. The current work was carried out on AA6061/DC04 joints which were successfully friction stir welded with and without ultrasound support, in respect to the influence of varying the ultrasound transmission side. The functionality of the USE-FSW setup could be verified by multi point laser vibrometer measurements. Additionally, a higher proportion of transversal oscillation for the transmission of power ultrasound into aluminum could be detected using a scanning vibrometer. In comparison to the conventionally friction stir welded joints the ultrasound enhancement led to an avoidance of weld defects and an increase of the steel particle volume in the stir zone. The joint produced with power ultrasound transmission via aluminum resulted in a more uniform interface.

Friction stir welding as a solid‐state joining method with its comparatively low process temperatures is suitable for joining dissimilar materials like aluminum/magnesium or aluminum/steel. Such hybrid joints are of great interest regarding lightweight efforts in different industrial fields like the transportation area. The present work investigates the influence of additionally transmitted power ultrasound during the friction stir welding on the joint properties of EN AC‐48000/AZ91 and EN AW‐6061/DP600. Therefore, conventional friction stir welding was continuously compared to ultrasound enhanced friction stir welding. Light microscopic analysis and nondestructive testing of the joints using x‐ray and high frequency ultrasound show different morphologies of the nugget for the aluminum/magnesium joints as well as differences in the amount and size of steel particles in the nugget of aluminum/steel joints. Scanning electron microcopy proves differences in the thickness of continuous intermetallic layers for the aluminum/steel joints realized with and without power ultrasound. Regarding the tensile strength of the joints the power ultrasound leads to increased joint strengths for EN AC‐48000/AZ91 joints compared to a decrease for EN AW‐6061/DP600 joints. Corrosion investigations show an influence of the ultrasound power on the corrosion properties of EN AC‐48000/AZ91 joints which is attributed to a changed aluminum content in the nugget region. Because of the great potential difference between the magnesium and the nugget phase the transitional area exhibits strong galvanic corrosion. For EN AW‐6061/DP600 joints an increased corrosion caused by galvanic effects is not expected as the potentials of the EN AW‐6061 aluminum alloy and DP600 steel are very similar.

Titanium as a high-performance material offers great potential for a wide range of applications with different aspects like lightweight-constructions, biocompatibility as well as design and is used in various industrial areas like the transportation sector or in medical and sports engineering. To exploit the full potential of titanium, there is still a need for innovative and efficient joining techniques compared to conventional methods. The process of friction stir welding as a solid-state joining method is able to produce high-quality similar joints of titanium. Nevertheless, there are still some challenging aspects when friction stir welding titanium like the formation of oxide layers that affect the mechanical properties especially in the field of fatigue negatively. The superposition of power ultrasound on the friction stir welding process can address this issue. Therefore, the hybrid process of ultrasound enhanced friction stir welding was applied on similar Ti6Al4V/Ti6Al4V joints in a butt joint configuration to reduce the amount of oxide layers and improve the fatigue lifetime of the joints. For the joint configuration, a positive impact of the power ultrasound could be identified by the breakup of oxide layers and an increase in the tensile strength of 16%. Also stepwise load increase tests revealed a higher estimated fatigue strength for ultrasound enhanced friction stir welded specimen in this butt joint configuration.

The manufacturing of advanced high-strength steels with enhanced ductility is a persistent aim of research. The ability of a material to absorb high loads while showing a high deformation behavior is a major task for many industrial fields like the mobility sector. Therefore, the material properties of advanced high-strength steels are one of the most important impact factors on the resulting cyclic fatigue behavior. To adjust advanced material properties, resulting in high tensile strengths as well as an enhanced ductility, the heat treatment process of quenching and partitioning (QP) was developed. The quenching takes place in a field between martensite start and martensite finish temperature and the subsequent partitioning is executed at slightly elevated temperatures. Regarding the sparsely investigated field of fatigue research on quenched and partitioned steels, the present work investigates the influence of a QP heat treatment on the resulting microstructure by light and scanning electron microscopy as well as on the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and resistance against fatigue regarding two different heat treatment conditions (QP1, QP2) in comparison to the cold-rolled base material of 42SiCr steel. Therefore, the microscopic analysis proved the presence of a characteristic quenched and partitioned microstructure consisting of a martensitic matrix and partial areas of retained austenite, whereas carbides were also present. Differences in the amount of retained austenite could be observed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the different QP routes, which influence the mechanical properties resulting in higher tensile strength of about 2000 MPa for QP1 compared to about 1600 MPa for QP2. Furthermore, the transition for the fatigue limit was approximated by using stepwise load increase tests (LIT) and afterwards verified by constant amplitude tests (CAT) in accordance with the staircase method, whereas the QP1 condition reached the highest fatigue strength of 900 MPa. Subsequent light and scanning electron microscopy of selected fractured surfaces and runouts showed a different behavior regarding the size of the fatigue fracture area and also differences in the microstructure of these runouts.