Optimization of Process Parameters of Friction Stirs Welding of Aluminum Alloys (6061) Using Taguchi Method

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is considered to be the most significant development in metal joining technologies to join high strength aerospace aluminum alloys. In order to improve the reliability and quality of the products manufactured by FSW process input process parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed and axial force are to be optimized. This study deals with the optimization of process parameters for the FSW by employing the Taguchi Design of Experiment (DOE) methodology to experimentally evaluate optimum weld strength and hardness on aluminum alloy. L-9 and L-27 orthogonal arrays of Taguchi was used to analyze and determine the optimal condition, the results were put to S/N analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to find the significant welding parameters affecting the weld quality. Using ANOVA the significant factors were determined for each welding performance criteria, such as the Tensile strength. Statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify the significant parameters. It is observed that Maximum Tensile strength is exhibited by FSW joints with the optimal parameters as Tool Rotational speed (A) of 1200 rpm, Welding speed (B) of 40 mm/min and Axial force of 4 KN.