Investigation of heat generation during submerged friction stir welding on 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

Abstract Friction stir welding (FSW) is a prominent solid state welding process that is widely used to obtain excellent joints in heat-treatable aluminum alloys. Submerged Friction Stir Welding (SFSW) is a new distinction of the popular friction stir welding. The aim of this paper is to study the heat generation (kJ) based on torque in submerged friction welding process on 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. Torque (M) is one of the most significant factors in friction stir welding process because it is directly related to the co-efficient of friction (µ), power (kW) and heat input of the process. In this work, friction stir welding was carried out on aluminium 6061-T6 alloy under normal and submerged conditions at the different rotational speeds (800 rpm, 1000 rpm and 1200 rpm). The water head is also differed from 10 to 20 mm in case of submerged friction stir welding process. Torque (Nm) was measured during the welding while the co-efficient of friction, power (W) and heat generation (kJ) were calculated later.