Selection of FSW Tool Parameters for Joining Al-Mg4.2 Alloy: An Experimental Approach

摘要

The present article deals with the experimental results showing the influence of pin profile and shoulder diameter of the welding tool on the mechanical and microstructural properties of friction-stir-welded Al-Mg4.2 alloy joints. One-factor-at-a-time approach was used to perform the experiments, in which a particular factor is varied at different levels keeping all other factors fixed. In the present work, a total of 12 joints were fabricated varying the shoulder diameter and pin profile of the tool, each at six different levels with a purpose of finding the best suitable pin profile and shoulder diameter for friction stir welding of Al-Mg4.2 alloy. The mechanical and microstructural properties of the fabricated joints were examined to analyze the quality of the joints. The results clearly indicate that shoulder diameter and pin profile of the tool have significant influence on the quality characteristics of the friction-stir-welded Al-Mg4.2 alloy joints. The joints produced using 15 mm shoulder diameter tool and with square pin profiled tool exhibit superior mechanical properties than their counterparts.