Friction Welding of Stainless Steel - Aluminium Alloy and Optimization of Different Parameters Using Taguchi-L8 Array Method

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to obtain a solid state joint of dissimilar material AA6063 aluminum alloy and AISI 304 stainless steel, which can be used in number of industrial applications realized in Nuclear, electrical, aerospace, automobile, defense, and other industries. The joints were obtained by friction welding process;an experimental set up was developed in a lathe machine which utilizes the heat generated from friction between two surfaces and plastic deformation. Hardness test and impact Charpy test were conducted to demonstrate a good performance of joint. The results were analyzed through Taguchi-L8 analysis method. Minitab software was used to plot the response chart. According to the Taguchi analysis, the minitab plots show that the parameter which contributed most was the pressure applied during welding. During welding the parameter least affecting is the rpm which affects the impact energy and the least is the time which affects the hardness of the weld zone. The Friction welding proves to be a great method for obtaining joints between dissimilar materials, which is not possible by fusion welding processes.