Experimental Investigation of Tensile Strength and Deflection Characteristics of Friction Stir Welded Aluminum AA 6351 Alloy Joint

Aluminum alloys are used in many applications in which the combination of high strength and low weight is attractive; ship building, air frame, transportation industry etc. are some areas in which the low weight can be significant value. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a new welding technique particularly well suited to aluminum alloys though this technique is also used for other materials. Friction stir welding promises joints with low porosity, fine microstructures, minimum phase transformation and low oxidation compared to conventional welding techniques. It is capable of joining combinations of alloys not amenable to conventional welding.Experiments for tensile and deflection tests were carried out and reported in this research paper. The base material used for friction stir welding was AA 6351–T4 Aluminum alloy. Tensile strength and breaking loads were increased with increase of rotational speed of the tool but it drops after attaining marginal speed. Deflections of friction stir welded specimens and base materials were compared and they exhibited almost similar trends at different load conditions and deflections of all the specimens were increased with increment of load.