Microstructural evolution of 304 austenitic stainless steel in friction stir welding process

Friction stir welding (FSW) was conducted on AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel plate with 2 mm thickness. The FSW was performed at a welding and rotational speeds of 50 mm/min and 400 rpm, respectively. Microstructure observations by the optical microscopy showed that a severe grain refinement occurred in the stir zone (SZ). Electron backscattered diffraction analysis (EBSD) results indicated that high fraction of low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) developed in the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) through the occurrence of the dynamic recovery. Moreover, in the path from the TMAZ towards the SZ, the fraction of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) increased with decreasing the fraction of LAGBs through the occurrence of continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX). 100 Pole figure showed the formation of shear texture components of A*1 and A*2 in the SZ which implied the occurrence of CDRX mechanism.