Effect of tool rotation speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of underwater friction stir welding 6061 aluminium alloy

Abstract

This work presents the experimental investigation of the effect of tool rotation speed (TRS) on the mechanical properties of the 6061-T6 aluminium alloy weld joint in the underwater friction stir welding (UFSW) process. The experiments are conducted with four different TRS, 710, 900, 1120, and 1400 rpm, and a constant welding speed (WS) of 20 mm/min, respectively. The welding is performed under the water in the butt joint configuration on the vertical milling machine (Model HMT FN2H). The experimental result shows that the average grain size decreases and tensile strength and hardness increases on increasing the TRS up to mid-range of the TRS and further increasing the TRS the trend of grain size and tensile strength and hardness are increases and decreases, respectively. The maximum tensile strength value is 190 MPa, and the minimum grain size is 5 µm at 1120 rpm. Additionally, the optimum condition of tensile strength and weld zone shape is compared with the conventional friction stir welding process, and it is found that tensile strength is increased by 20% and smaller weld zone shape are observed in underwater friction stir welding process. The brittle fracture dominance is observed at lower TRS and ductile dominance fracture in 900, 1120, and 1400 rpm of the weld joint.