RESUMEN
The temperature and material flow gradients along the thick section of the weld seriously affect the welding efficiency of friction stir welding in medium-thick plates. Here, the effects of different gradients obtained by the two pins on the weld formation, microstructure, and mechanical properties were compared. The results indicated that the large-tip pin increases heat input and material flow at the bottom, reducing the gradient along the thickness. The large-tip pin increases the welding speed of defect-free joints from 100 mm/min to 500 mm/min compared to the small-tip pin. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the joint reached 247 MPa and 8.7%, equal to 80% and 65% of the base metal, respectively. Therefore, reducing the temperature and material flow gradients along the thickness by designing the pin structure is proved to be the key to improving the welding efficiency for thick plates.