Prediction of Microhardness Profil of Friction Stir Welded Joints of AA3003 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

Friction stir welding is a recommended green process that can replace other assembly techniques.FSW process reveals good mechanical properties, good corrosion resistance and good economic value. For thepurpose to evaluate combinations of operating parameters and estimating the welded joint quality, mathematicalrelationships were carried out using a design of experiment on three levels of rotational speed, feed rate and tooltilt angle. The models allow micro-hardness prediction in the different FSW joint zones of AA3003 aluminumalloy. The interaction of the factors shows that a decrease in rotational speed, angle of inclination and anincrease in feed rate leads to a decrease in temperature and good microhardness. A ‘W’ shape profile ofmicrohardness was shown cross the section, indicating an efficiency equal to 88% and 79% in the nugget andthe heat-affected zone successively, compared to the base metal. Contrary any deviation of welding intervalmay cause various defect such as tunnel voids, ‘kissing-bond’ defects and crack-like root flaws.