Characterization Of Friction-Stir Welded Joints Of Aa1100 By Factorial Design Based Hierarchical Regression Model

The present study investigates the effect of process parameters of friction stir welding (FSW) process on the resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joints of AA1100 aluminium rolled plates. Experiments are conducted as per the scheme of full factorial design. The effect of tool rotation speed (TRS), welding speed (WS) and plunge depth (PD), which are the process parameters responsible to affect microstructure and mechanical properties of the joint, are investigated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been conducted and the results indicate that the rotational speed of the tool is the most significant parameter with a p-value of 0.05. The effect of processing parameters on tensile strength has been studied by developing a mathematical equation by using hierarchical regression analysis (HRA). The HRA results indicate that there exists a correlation among the process parameters. The TRS being the most significant parameter is not the only factor responsible for attaining superior mechanical properties of the joint. The WS and PD are also important for the quality of welding that point to a strong interaction among the process parameters. The researchers and industrialists can be highly benefited by this welding technique as numerous enhanced properties can be achieved with minimum input.