Role of traversing speed and axial load on the properties of friction stir welded dissimilar AA6101-T6 AND AA1350 aluminium alloys

Abstract

ABSTRACT Traditionally, AA6101-T6 and AA1350 aluminum alloys find prominent place in many industrial applications like electrical bus bar utilities for the sake of better conductivity. Friction Stir Welding is a non-traditional solid-state welding technique that was invented and developed by The Welding Institute. In this analysis, AA6101-T6 and AA1350 alloys have been put on experimentation with friction stir welding by varying axial load (5 kN to 9 kN) and traversing speed (60 mm/min to 120 mm/min). In order to examine the weld quality, properties such as tensile, wear and microstructural analyses have been carried out. From the results, it was observed that the weldment made with 7 kN axial load and 90 mm/min traversing speed exhibited better joint properties. Similarly, the weldment made with 5 kN axial load and 120 mm/min traversing speed exhibited poor joint properties. This has been attained due to the variations in heat input, metals softening and grain coarsening at weld nugget. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array with ANOVA and Signal to Noise ratio have been adopted to understand the contribution of axial load and traversing speed on the properties of weldments. Results reveal that traversing speed is statistically significant on the properties of weldment, when compared to axial load.