Parametric Optimization on Friction Stir Welded Joints of AA5052-H32 Aluminum Alloys using Taguchi Technique

Abstract

Friction stir welding (FSW) process, a solid state joining technique known for long due to its clean and economic efficiency that has wide range of applications in marine, aerospace and automobile industries. However, the literature suggests that there still exist issues in attaining the weld quality and performance. The present paper addresses the one such issue through optimizing the process parameters includes travel speed (TS), rotational speed (RS), and tool pin height (TPH) and its significance on mechanical properties such as tensile testing and micro hardness. A Taguchi based approach was implemented to carry out the FSW butt joint experiments on 4 mm thick AA5052-H32 aluminum alloy sheet. A three level and three factor experiments was designed along with Taguchi L27 array to define the most significant variable and its percentage of participation of the variable, and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. The results indicate that the rotational speed is most significant parameter influencing the tensile strength, temperature and hardness of the joint. In addition, the effect of FSW process parameters on the macrostructure and mechanical properties has been discussed.