Abstract

Friction stir welding is widely employed for joining of non-ferrous materials. The process uses a non-consumable electrode that plastically deforms the material over the joint region and completes the weld. In this study, mechanical properties of friction stir welded Al 5086 was investigated. The process parameters used in this study are tool force, tool rotation speed, tool traverse speed. Single pass welds were made by varying the tool rotation speed keeping the traverse speed and the force applied on the tool constant. Three welds were made at tool rotation speeds of 600, 750 and 850 rpm and the corresponding tensile strength, yield strength and ductility were measured. It was observed that the tensile strength decreases with increase in tool rotation speed. Specimen welded at 600 rpm recorded the highest tensile strength of 0.199 KN /mm2 and the specimen welded at 850 rpm experienced the lowest tensile strength of 0.078 KN/mm2. The yield strength of the material had also decreased considerably with increase in tool rotation speed. The specimen welded at 600 rpm obtained the highest percentage of elongation as compared to other two specimens. There was no variation in micro hardness values at the stir zone of the specimens.

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