Intrinsic dependence of welding quality and recrystallization on the surface-contacted micro-asperity scale during ultrasonic welding of Cu–Cu joints

Substantial shear deformation induced by high-frequency friction at the interface is inseparable from recrystallization and welding quality during ultrasonic welding. In this study, we prepared welding surfaces with various micro-asperity scales to analyze the comprehensive effects of deformation heat, shear strain and strain rate on the recrystallization and welding quality. Smaller surface-contacted micro-asperities with a size of 16.03 nm led to a surge in the low angle grain boundaries and recrystallization grains before the formation of a complete weld, which drastically increased the load carry capacity by 139% for joints welded at 1500 J comparing with larger micro-asperities. Molecular dynamics simulation indicated that weld formation involved a dynamic process, including micro-connection, tear, fracture, flattening and weld spread, and the reduction in the micro-asperity scale accelerated the flattening process and aggravated shear deformation at the intimate contact positions. According to the calculation model of recrystallization induced by the shear deformation, smaller micro-asperities promoted the coupling between high shear strain and low strain rate, and maximum shear strain of 1.57 and minimum average strain rate of 346/s were obtained simultaneously, which decreased critical recrystallization strain and enlarged the dynamic recrystallization regions during ultrasonic welding.