EVALUATION OF JOINT PROPERTIES OF FRICTION STIR WELDED AL/CU BIMETALLIC LAP JOINTS

Joining of similar metals with friction stir welding is done recently, but joining of dissimilar metals is difficult and joints produced will be brittle in conventional welding methods. Joining of Al and Cu as Cu has wide spread applications in electrical and electronic industries Ex. bus bars, earth strips, panel boards. Bimetallic lap joint of Al and Cu were fabricated by friction stir welding process with threaded tool. To replace Cu with Al as the copper is costlier and denser compared to Al in the electrical lines by using friction stir welding. Eight joints with different values of process parameters Tool Rotational speed (N), Tool Traversing speed (V) and Tool Plunging speed (P) were selected. To optimize process parameters of the FSW a statistical model with Yates method was used. Finally the tensile shear strength, percentage of contribution of each process parameter was estimated. The micro hardness values of welded specimens at different locations of welded material were also found.