Friction Stir Welding of Al 2024 with Al 7075 Alloys and evaluate its structural and mechanical properties

Abstract

The overarching goal of this research was to use the FSW method to join the Al 2024 and Al 7075 alloys, examine the structural and mechanical properties of the joint, and eventually find the optimum welding parameters. The welding operation was carried out using a milling machine and a device with cylindrical pins. The transverse cross-section of the weld was used for optical as well as electron microscopy observations. The evaluation of mechanical properties at room temperature i.e., tensile strength and hardness were done. The size of the grains measured using an optical microscope varied between approximately 2.6 and 11 µm. The results of the welding process revealed that the specimen with a traverse speed of 30 mm/min, a rotation speed of 600 rpm, and the highest ultimate tensile strength (195 MPa), and the specimen with a traverse speed of 70 mm/min, a rotation speed of 1200 rpm, and an ultimate tensile strength of 193 MPa were selected as the optimum specimens due to their off-fusion-zone failure, their high strength in the tensile strength test, and their adequate input heat. Moreover, in the specimen with the traverse speed of 100 mm/min and the rotation speed of 600 rpm, the highest percentage of elongation (3.80%) was observed in the tensile strength test. The results from the tensile test indicated that with a decrease in the traverse speed, the tensile strength of the specimens increased, the elongation percent decreased, and the stirring improved.