Significance of FSW process parameters and tialite particle reinforcement at the weld zone of AA6082 alloy

Abstract

In the current work, tialite (Al2TiO5) ceramic particles are added at the weldment during the friction stir welding of AA6082-T6 aluminium alloy. Three different values of tool rotational speed (TRS) (1000, 1200 and 1400 rpm) and welding speed (WS) (35, 40 and 45 mm/min) are taken into consideration in fabricating joints. Totally nine joints are fabricated by adding tialite particles and examinations like microstructural analysis and mechanical properties are carried out to find the quality of the joints. Defect-free welds are obtained for optimal process parameters which is a result of good mixing of base materials with uniform particle distribution. The highest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) (273 MPa) is noticed for specimen fabricated using TRS 1200 rpm and WS 40 mm/min. The peaks from the X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analysis have confirmed the presence of tialite particles in the welded samples. According to the micro hardness profile, the stir zone (SZ) (136.4 HV) and heat affected zone (HAZ) (79.8 HV) have the highest and lowest micro hardness values, respectively.