STUDIES ON FRICTION STIR WELDING OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS 6061- TO- 6061 SIMILAR

The joining of similar 6061 ?to- 6061 aluminium plates of 4mm thickness was carried out by friction stir welding (FSW) technique. FSW process, a so-called welding-head pin rotating at speeds usually in excess of a few hundred rpm, travels down the length of contacting metal plates, creating a highly plastically deformed zone through the associated force and frictional heating. FSW of Aluminium to Aluminium has captured important attention from manufacturing industries, such as Shipbuilding, Automotive, Railway and Aircraft production. Variable Process Parameters have been employed to analyse the influence of Microstructural and Tensile Properties. Effect of welding speed on microstructures, hardness distribution and tensile properties of the welded joints were investigated. By varying the process parameters, defect free and high efficiency welded joints were produced.