Friction stir welding of dissimilar aluminum alloys AA2219 to AA5083 – Optimization of process parameters using Taguchi technique

Friction stir welding is a novel joining process extensively used for welding of aluminum alloys. It is widely known that the process parameters involved in friction stir welding play a pivotal role in determining the final characteristics and microstructure of the joint. However, it is still unclear that what combination of process parameter values will lead to the optimum joint characteristics. Taguchi technique is a handy and efficient method that has been widely used for performing optimization in manufacturing engineering. In this paper, lap joint friction stir welding was performed on AA1100 and the process parameters were optimized using Taguchi L16 orthogonal design of experiments. Unlike previous studies on optimization of friction stir welding process in aluminum alloys, a more comprehensive approach has been taken towards the number of input and output parameters of the process. Process parameters considered in this study were tool rotational speed, tool traverse speed, tool tilt angle, and tool pin shape. The optimum design was obtained with reference to output parameters including hardness and grain size in the weld center zone, maximum working temperature, joint tensile strength, and elongation as well as the vertical and horizontal forces on the tool during the process. Analysis of variance was additionally performed to evaluate the significance of each design parameter on output parameters. Results gained from analysis of variance indicated that rotational speed and traverse speed were the most critical parameters in determining the weld mechanical properties as well as quality of the weld microstructure. Finally, to validate predicted optimum values based on Taguchi technique, confirmation tests were conducted, where an excellent agreement was observed between the predicted and experimental values, showing accuracy of the employed method and obtained results.

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Multi-objective optimization of friction stir welding process parameters for joining of dissimilar AA5083/AA6063 aluminum alloys using hybrid approach

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part L Journal of Materials Design and Applications ◽

10.1177/1464420715627294 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 232 (4) ◽

pp. 343-353 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Saurabh Kumar Gupta ◽

KN Pandey ◽

Rajneesh Kumar

Keyword(s):

Friction Stir Welding ◽

Aluminum Alloys ◽

Process Parameters ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Weld Nugget ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Nugget Zone ◽

Friction Stir ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys

Joining of dissimilar aluminum alloys are widely used in automobile, aerospace and shipbuilding industries. The defect-free joining of aluminum alloys using conventional technique is a challenging task for a welding engineer. Friction stir welding has been established as one of the most promising processes for defects-free joining of aluminum alloys. In this study, a hybrid approach of grey relational analysis with principal component analysis, is applied for multi-objective optimization of process parameters for friction stir welding of dissimilar AA5083/AA6063 aluminum alloys. Three responses namely tensile strength, average hardness at weld nugget zone and average grain size at weld nugget zone, and four process parameters with three levels have been selected for the study. Taguchi method based L27 orthogonal array design matrix is used for experiments. The optimal set of process parameters using hybrid approach was found as 900 r/min of tool rotational speed, 60 mm/min of welding speed, 18 mm of shoulder diameter and 5 mm of pin diameter. Improved performance of each response was obtained from the confirmation tests at optimum level of parameters.

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