Comparative investigation of friction stir welding and arc welding process for AA 6063 T6 aluminium alloy

Abstract

The current research focuses on evaluating the impact of various process parameters on the quality of butt joints made from AA6063 aluminum alloy using both friction stir welding (FSW) and arc welding. The key factors you've considered are tool rotational speed, feed rate, and plunging depth, using a straight cylindrical tool pin profile. The welded joints have been analyzed in terms of their microstructure, hardness, and mechanical properties. This approach should provide comprehensive insights into how these parameters influence the welding outcomes and the overall performance of the welded joints. It would be interesting to see how the results compare between FSW and arc welding, especially in terms of microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties. Through the microstructure evaluation, the nugget zone shows the fine grain structure due to excessive plastic deformation while the TIG and MIG shows some dendritic grain structure with slightly bigger grain size. The FSW shows the highest value of hardness for weld i.e. 59HV1 and MIG shows the higher value for HAZ i.e. 69HV1. Due to high heat input, TIG shows the hardness lowest in all. At 1200rpm of rotational speed and 40mm/min of feed rate, FSW shows 196MPa of tensile strength while TIG and MIG shows 119MPa and 109Mpa respectively, which shows that the high rotational speed would essential for better joint strength. The result shows the FSW would improves mechanical properties better than other arc welding for aluminium alloys. © 2025 Author(s).