Characterization of ballistic and wear resistance of friction stir welded AA6061 aluminium alloy

Abstract

The aim of the research work was to investigate on the Friction stir welding (FSW) process which is particularly suitable for welding aluminium produces higher quality welds with material properties closer to the parent metal as compared to most other welding processes. A non-consumable tool is used to generate frictional heat in the abutting surfaces. A shoulder and a pin are the important parts of the tool. This tool makes weld without conventional defects with good mechanical properties and is especially suited for aerospace, defence and marine applications. In addition, because friction stir welding is performed below the melting temperature, protection requirements are greatly reduced. These reasons make this welding process suitable for many applications in aerospace industries. In the present study, FSW process is carried out on aluminium alloy AA6061 plates by varying process parameters such as weld speed (WS) and tool rotational speed (TRS) using cylindrical pin profiled tool. These process parameters are optimized by using the Design of Experiments (DOE) approach. Tests for tribological and ballistic characteristics are conducted on the welds. Under considered set of experimentation, the friction stir welded AA 6061 alloy showed its best for tool rotation speed 900 rpm and traverse speed of 30 mm/min for straight cylindrical pin configuration in comparison with rest of the combinations considered in the study. This optimized combination yielded with reduced wear rate (1.0811×10−3 mm3/N-m) and resistance to ballistic impact.