Examining the Mechanical and Metallurgical Properties of Single Pass Friction Stir Welded Dissimilar Aluminium Alloys Tee Joints



These experimental works aim to investigate the influence of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process parameters on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the dissimilar aluminium alloys Tee joint configuration. A 3.5 mm thick aluminium alloy 5052 and 6 mm thick aluminium alloy 6061 is taken for Tee joint configurations, where the AA 5052 act as the skin and AA 6061 act as the stinger. An FSW too with a hexagonal pin profile and flat shoulder profile was adopted for this work. The welding parameters adopted are three variable spindle speed, one welding speed, one plunge depth and three-tool tilt angles. The microstructure analysis shows that a fine grain structure was developed in the joint's welded Tee region. The lower parameter values prevent the metals from stirring well and causing the formation of defects and results in low joining strength. While increasing the parameter values, the joint strength was initially increased, and then it got decreased due to the drag of metal in the weld region, and it causes the formation of tunnel defect. A defect-free joint was fabricated using spindle speed 1100 rpm, welding speed 50 mm/min, plunge depth 0.5 mm and tool tilt angle 1°.

                        Keywords: Friction Stir Welding, aluminium alloy, Tee Joint, Microstructure

Citation: Dhanesh G Mohan, S Gopi and A Sasikumar. “Examining the Mechanical and Metallurgical Properties of Single Pass Friction Stir Welded Dissimilar Aluminium Alloys Tee Joints”. SVOA Materials Science &Technology, 2021, 3(1) Pages: 06-12.