Parameter Optimization of Friction Stir Welding Of AA8011-6062 Using Mathematical Method☆

Abstract The basic principle of Friction stir welding (FSW) is heating the metal to a temperature below the re-crystallization temperature thus reducing the welding crack such as porosity band hot crack with are commonly formed in the conventional welding method due to alloy's low crystallization temperature and high heat dissipation nature. The quality of friction welding is good when compared to other fusion welding technique. The main influence parameter in FSW is rotational speed welding traversing speed and pressure applied against the joint. AA6061 and AA8011 aluminium alloy has high strength to weight ratio. They have main application in the field of marine, aerospace and automobiles. As it is difficult to perform number of experiments to find out the level combinations which yield good mechanical properties like tensile strength, impact strength and hardness number, Taguchi L9 orthogonal array is used to reduce the number of experiment. The material is bought and are cut into specific material and polished. They are then welded based on the different experiment obtained from Taguchi method. After welding is done the metals are cut as per the specific standard. The results are then analyzed by using ANOVA statistical tools. ANOVA table clearly shows the percentage of contribution of each factors can be determined. The best welding quality is found out by comparing the result obtained from tensile testing, impact testing and by micro-hardness testing. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) technique was used to examine the quality of surface texture.