Achieving friction stir welded SiCp/Al–Cu–Mg composite joint of nearly equal strength to base material at high welding speed

Three-millimeter-thick 17 vol%SiCp/2009Al-T4 plates were successfully friction stir welded. The ultimate tensile strength of the joints increased as the welding speed increased from 50 to 800 mm/min and reached 97% of the base material at 800 mm/min, with the fracture location shifting from the first low-hardness zone adjacent to the nugget zone to the nugget zone.