Experimental study of friction stir welding of dissimilar az31b aa8011 and aa7475 aa8011 alloys

Abstract

The Friction Stir Welding (FSW) procedure is an eco-friendly and energy-efficient method of welding. Its benefits, relating to the process of joining materials that are similar or dissimilar, are well known. The FSW process parameters play a significant role in quality weld as well as performance. The FSW of dissimilar aluminium alloys has drawn considerable scientific and technological interest due to a potential requirement in its manufacturing process. The FSW welding technique was used in this study to join the dissimilar aluminium alloys AA8011-AA7475 and AA8011 aluminum- AZ31B. L16 orthogonal array was used for carrying out the study. Process parameters like tool type, rotational speed, and welding speed were identified for obtaining high quality welding, and their ranges were selected for the conduct of the experiments according to the L16 array. The effect of process parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties such as microhardness and tensile strength was investigated. The microstructure of dissimilar AA8011-AA7475 aluminium alloys was investigated through welding. There were no voids found in the stirred zone for the taper cylindrical tool. The highest microhardness was attained for the taper hexagonal tool, and the maximum tensile strength was achieved at the taper cylindrical tool. The parameter conditions were different for each response, hence the optimization technique was essential for improving the performance of the weld. As a result, a hybrid technique called Artificial Neural Network-Genetic Algorithm (ANN-GA) was used for the optimization of FSW process parameters to increase weld quality. newline