Title: Effect of tool pin profile on performance of friction stir welding of brass-copper-based butt welded joint

Authors: Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon; Harmesh Kumar; Shankar Sehgal

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, UIET, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India ' Mechanical Engineering Department, UIET, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India ' Mechanical Engineering Department, UIET, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India

Abstract: In the present research work, industrial grade pure copper and brass have been joined using friction stir welding. Effect of tool pin profile along with stirrer rotation speed and welding speed on the friction stir welding performance in terms of breaking load and percentage elongation has been investigated. Three tool pin profiles were designed viz., cylindrical, tapered threaded and square. These were used to fabricate the joints at three different rotation speeds (1,000, 1,100, 1,200 rpm) and welding speeds (25, 35, 40 mm/min.). The experiments were designed according to Taguchi-based L-9 orthogonal array. Variance analysis has been carried out to obtain the influence and percentage contribution of process parameters on welding performance. Optimisation results reveal that most significant factor is the pin profile. Square pin profile at 1,200 rpm along with 35 mm/min welding speed produces mechanically sound and metallurgically defect-free weld joints.

Keywords: friction stir welding; FSW; Taguchi technique; analysis of variance; breaking load; percentage elongation; optimisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2016.084627

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2016 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.236 - 252

Received: 16 Aug 2016
Accepted: 26 Nov 2016

Published online: 19 Jun 2017 *

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