Prediction and optimization of wear resistance of friction stir welded dissimilar aluminum alloy

Aluminum alloys generally present low weldability by traditional fusion welding process. Development of Frietion Stir Welding (FSW) has provided an alternative improved way of producing aluminum joints, in a faster and reliable manner. The quality of a weld joint is stalwartly influenced by process parameters used during welding. In this paper an attempt has been made to develop an empirical relationship between FSW process parameters to predict wear resistance of friction stir welded dissimilar aluminum alloys. Four factors, five levels central composite rotatable design has been used to minimize the number of experiments. The FSW parameter considered for experiments are tool pin profile, tool rotational speed, welding speed and axial force. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique has been used to check the adequacy of the developed model. The effect of these FSW parameters on wear resistance of the welded joints has been analyzed and the predicted trends are discussed. The FSW process parameters are optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to maximize the wear resistance. The optimum FSW welding parameters have been identified to maximize the wear resistance.