Predicting tensile strength of double side friction stir welded 6082-T6 aluminium alloy

Abstract

This work presents the formulation of a mathematical model with process parameters and tool geometry to predict the response, joint strength, of double side friction stir welded aluminium alloy 6082-T6. The welding was carried out on 8 mm aluminium alloy plates. The process parameters considered were tool rotational speed or spindle speed, welding speed and shoulder penetration, and the tool geometries considered were pin profile and shoulder profile. A five-factor, five-level central composite design was used to determine the number of experiments. The tensile strength of the welded specimens was tested, and its correlation with process parameters was assessed. A mathematical model had been developed to predict the tensile strength using response surface methodology at 95% confidence level, and it was validated using analysis of variance.

Keywords:

• Friction stir welding
• Milling machine
• Aluminium alloy 6082-T6
• Double side weld
• Response surface method

The authors are grateful to the Departments of Production Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, India, for extending the facilities to carry out the investigation.