Experimental Investigations of Tool Pin Geometry and Process Parameter Influence on Mechanical Property of Friction Stir Welded 6101-T6 and 7075-T651 Aluminium Alloys

Abstract

One of the variables that significantly affect the joint integrity of welds carried out with friction stir welding (FSW) is the tool pin geometry. This particular factor considerably affects the mechanical properties, joint size and microstructural evolution of the weld. The extent to which tool geometry affects the mechanical behaviour of welds under different processing parameters needs to be fully understood in order to achieve highly reliable joints for various industrial applications. This work is, therefore, an attempt at, investigating tool pin geometry and processing parameters effects on the mechanical behaviour and stability of friction stir welds through joining of 6101-T6 and 7075-T651 aluminium alloys via FSW. Two pin designs named tapered unthreaded and tapered threaded were used for this study. The result obtained shows that low rotational speed and high welding speed promote the tensile strength of the welded alloys and that welds carried out with the tapered threaded tool gave higher tensile values than the tapered unthreaded.