Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Internal defect and process parameter analysis during friction stir welding of Al 6061 sheets

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Welding parameters like welding speed, rotation speed, plunge depth, shoulder diameter etc., influence the weld zone properties, microstructure of friction stir welds, and forming behavior of welded sheets in a synergistic fashion. The main aims of the present work are to (1) analyze the effect of welding speed, rotation speed, plunge depth, and shoulder diameter on the formation of internal defects during friction stir welding (FSW), (2) study the effect on axial force and torque during welding, (c) optimize the welding parameters for producing internal defect-free welds, and (d) propose and validate a simple criterion to identify defect-free weld formation. The base material used for FSW throughout the work is Al 6061T6 having a thickness value of 2.1 mm. Only butt welding of sheets is aimed in the present work. It is observed from the present analysis that higher welding speed, higher rotation speed, and higher plunge depth are preferred for producing a weld without internal defects. All the shoulder diameters used for FSW in the present work produced defect-free welds. The axial force and torque are not constant and a large variation is seen with respect to FSW parameters that produced defective welds. In the case of defect-free weld formation, the axial force and torque are relatively constant. A simple criterion, (∂τ/∂p)defective > (∂τ/∂p)defect free and (∂F/∂p)defective > (∂F/∂p)defect free, is proposed with this observation for identifying the onset of defect-free weld formation. Here F is axial force, τ is torque, and p is welding speed or tool rotation speed or plunge depth. The same criterion is validated with respect to Al 5xxx base material. Even in this case, the axial force and torque remained constant while producing defect-free welds.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mathers G (2002) The welding of aluminium and its alloys. Woodhead, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhi-hong F, Di-qiu H, Hong W (2004) Friction stir welding of aluminum alloys. J Wuhan Univ Technol, Mater Sci Ed 19:61–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mishra RS, Ma ZY (2005) Friction stir welding and processing. Mater Sci Eng R 50:1–78

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Ma ZY (2008) Friction stir processing technology: a review. Metall and Mat Trans A 39A:642–658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ghosh M, Kumar K, Kailas SV, Ray AK (2010) Optimization of friction stir welding parameters for dissimilar aluminum alloys. Mater Des 31:3033–3037

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Scialpi A, De Filippis LAC, Cavaliere P (2007) Influence of shoulder geometry on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction stir welded 6082 aluminium alloy. Mater Des 28:1124–1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Elangovan K, Balasubramanian V (2008) Influences of tool pin profile and tool shoulder diameter on the formation of friction stir processing zone in AA6061 aluminium alloy. Mater Des 29:362–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kumar K, Kailas SV (2008) The role of friction stir welding tool on material flow and weld formation. Mater Sci Eng, A 485:367–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Fujii H, Cui L, Maeda M, Nogi K (2006) Effect of tool shape on mechanical properties and microstructure of friction stir welded aluminum alloys. Mater Sci Eng, A 419:25–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Elangovan K, Balasubramanian V, Valliappan M (2008) Influences of tool pin profile and axial force on the formation of friction stir processing zone in AA6061 aluminium alloy. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 38:285–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Zhang Z, Liu YL, Chen JT (2009) Effect of shoulder size on the temperature rise and the material deformation in friction stir welding. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 45:889–895

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. De Giorgi M, Scialpi A, Panella FW, De Filippis LAC (2009) Effect of shoulder geometry on residual stress and fatigue properties of AA6082 friction stir welded joints. J Mech Sci Technol 23:26–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. D’Urso G, Giardini C (2010) The influence of process parameters and tool geometry on mechanical properties of friction stir welded aluminum lap joints. Int J Mater Form 3(1):1011–1014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Arora A, De A, DebRoy T (2011) Toward optimum friction stir welding tool shoulder diameter. Scr Mater 64:9–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ren SR, Ma ZY, Chen LQ (2007) Effect of welding parameters on tensile properties and fracture behavior of friction stir welded Al–Mg–Si alloy. Scr Mater 56:69–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Rodrigues DM, Loureiro A, Leitao C, Leal RM, Chaparro BM, Vilaça P (2009) Influence of friction stir welding parameters on the microstructural and mechanical properties of AA 6016-T4 thin welds. Mater Des 30:1913–1921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Cavaliere P, Campanile G, Panella F, Squillace A (2006) Effect of welding parameters on mechanical and microstructural properties of AA6056 joints produced by friction stir welding. J Mater Process Technol 180:263–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Liu FC, Ma ZY (2008) Influence of tool dimension and welding parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction-stir-welded 6061-T651 aluminum alloy. Metall Mater Trans A 39A:2378–2388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. D'Urso G, Ceretti E, Giardini C, Maccarini G (2009) The effect of process parameters and tool geometry on mechanical properties of friction stir welded aluminum butt joints. Int J Mater Form 2(1):303–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Zimmer S, Langlois L, Laye J, Goussain JC, Martin P, Bigot R (2009) Influence of processing parameters on the tool and workpiece mechanical interaction during friction stir welding. Int J Mater Form 2(1):299–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Sakthivel T, Sengar GS, Mukhopadhyay J (2009) Effect of welding speed on microstructure and mechanical properties of friction-stir-welded aluminum. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 43:468–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Rajamanickam N, Balusamy V, Madhusudhanna Reddy G, Natarajan K (2009) Effect of process parameters on thermal history and mechanical properties of friction stir welds. Mater Des 30:2726–2731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rhodes CG, Mahoney MW, Bingel WH, Spurling RA, Bampton CC (1997) Effects of friction stir welding on microstructure of 7075 aluminum. Scr Mater 36:69–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Ulysse P (2002) Three-dimensional modeling of the friction stir-welding process. Int J Mach Tool Manuf 42:1549–1557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Peel MJ, Steuwer A, Withers PJ, Dicker Son T, Shi Q, Sher Cliff H (2006) Dissimilar friction stir welds in AA5083-AA6082. Part I: process parameter effects on thermal history and weld properties. Metall and Mat Trans A 37A:2183–2193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Cavaliere P, Squillace A, Panella F (2008) Effect of welding parameters on mechanical and microstructural properties of AA6082 joints produced by friction stir welding. J Mater Process Technol 200:364–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Cui S, Chen ZW, Robson JD (2010) A model relating tool torque and its associated power and specific energy to rotation and forward speeds during friction stir welding/processing. Int J Mach Tool Manuf 50:1023–1030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Upadhyay P, Reynolds AP (2010) Effects of thermal boundary conditions in friction stir welded AA7050-T7 sheets. Mater Sci Eng, A 527:1537–1543

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, 781039, India

    P. Janaki Ramulu & R. Ganesh Narayanan

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore, 560012, India

    Satish V. Kailas & Jayachandra Reddy

Authors
  1. P. Janaki Ramulu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Ganesh Narayanan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Satish V. Kailas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jayachandra Reddy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Ganesh Narayanan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ramulu, P.J., Narayanan, R.G., Kailas, S.V. et al. Internal defect and process parameter analysis during friction stir welding of Al 6061 sheets. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 65, 1515–1528 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-012-4276-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-012-4276-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation