Investigation on friction stir welding of AA 6061 MG AZ31B joints for automotive applications

Abstract

The increasing demand for lightweight materials in the aerospace newlineand automotive industries has led to the widespread use of magnesium and newlinealuminium alloys, for their desirable mechanical properties and weight ratios. newlineHowever, joining dissimilar lightweight metals using conventional welding newlinemethods poses significant challenges due to their low melting points. Friction newlineStir Welding (FSW) has emerged as a promising solution to address these newlinechallenges. newlineThe present work offers a comprehensive investigation into the FSW newlineof dissimilar Aluminium (Al) and Magnesium (Mg) alloys with an aim to newlineenhance the understanding and optimization of FSW parameters for achieving newlinehigh-quality welds in these alloys. The recent advancements and the newlinesignificance of FSW process parameters in joining Al and Mg alloys, newlinespecifically AA6061 and Mg AZ31B were studied through the extensive array newlineof literatures. A detailed study was done on the FSW of Al and Mg alloys, newlineexploring various techniques, the effects of preheating and energy-assisted newlinemethods, the development of FSW experimental setups and in addition to the newlinedifferent analytical and numerical modelling procedures for the effective newlinerepresentation of the dissimilar FSW process. newlineThe experimental investigation involves the modification of a newlinemilling machine for FSW, enabling the joining of dissimilar alloys. A fully newlinefunctional FSW fixture along with an FSW tool was developed. The fixture newlinecomponents were meticulously designed and constructed using mid-steel newlinematerial, offering a cost-effective solution for fulfilling work-holding newlinerequirements. newline