Influence of friction stir welding parameters on the tribological behavior of dissimilar aluminum alloy joint

• Published in: Industrial lubrication and tribology Vol. 75; no. 2; pp. 197 - 203
• Main Authors: Sivaselvan, S, Natarajan, M, Devadasan SR, Sivaram, N M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 15.02.2023; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Alloys; Aluminum alloys; Aluminum base alloys; Butt joints; Dissimilar material joining; Dissimilar materials; Friction stir welding; Grain size; Investigations; Mechanical properties; Physical properties; Sliding; Tribology; Velocity; Wear rate; Welding parameters; Tribological behavior; Dissimilar material; Friction stir welding; Wear; Aluminum alloy
• ISSN: 0036-8792; 1758-5775; 0036-8792
• DOI: 10.1108/ILT-08-2022-0240

Purpose Aluminum alloys are applicable in marine and aero fields. Alloys AA5083 and AA6061 are aluminum alloys with different chemical and physical properties. Combination of two dissimilar materials could result in enhanced strength. Generally, dissimilar aluminum alloy joint is made by friction stir welding (FSW) to achieve improved physical properties compared with the parent alloys. The purpose of this research is to develop a new FSW dissimilar material with enhanced properties using AA5083 and AA6061 alloys. Design/methodology/approach In this research, FSW joint was made for butt joint configuration using AA5083 and AA6061 aluminum alloys. Cylindrical pin with threaded profile was used to perform the joint. The tool tilting angle was maintained as constant, and the tool rotational speed and the welding speed were varied. Wear performance and mechanical strength of the joint were analyzed. Findings The results revealed that the increase of tool rotational speed led to poor wear performance, whereas increase of welding speed showed a better wear performance. Further, the prepared joint was analyzed for different wear parameters such as sliding velocity and applied load. The results displayed that the increase of sliding velocity exhibited low wear rate and the increase of load showed high wear rate. Originality/value This work is original and deals with the wear performance of AA5083–AA6061 joint at different tool rotational and welding speeds.