Experimental investigation of tailor welded blanks of dissimilar aluminum alloys

Abstract

Tailor Welded Blanks (TWBs) are now-a-days being used in many vehicles due to its advantage of reduced vehicle weight. In the decades from year 1990 to 2010, TWBs manufactured of high-strength steel alloys were the focus of the researchers' research. After year 2010 onwards, the focus of automotive industry shifted towards use of aluminum alloys and resulted in more research work related to welding process of aluminum alloys. In this research work, Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is used to join aluminum alloys AA6061-T6 and AA5052-H32. Process parameters of FSW i.e. Spindle Speed (N), Shoulder Dia. (SD) and Feed (f) are optimized by Response Surface Method (RSM) approach. Output parameters like Ultimate Yield Strength (UTS) and % Elongation are considered. Multi-objective optimization by RSM approach suggests that shoulder diameter = 16 mm, spindle speed = 1500 rpm and feed = 40 mm/min are optimum results obtained and when kept at this level will provide UTS in the range of 160 MPa-180 MPa and 10 % to 11 % elongation can be expected for friction-stir-welded blanks.