The Joint Ratio of Friction Stir Welding Affecting the Mechanical Properties and Microstructures on SSM 6063 Aluminum Alloy
Author(s):
Chaiyoot Meengam and Kittima Sillapasa*
Affiliation(s):
Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ubon Ratchathani University, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This research investigated the joint ratio among five different types of butt-joint welding that affected the joint strength and the formation of defects of the friction stir welding in the SSM 6063 aluminum alloys. The results showed that the lowest joint ratio at 1.00 from a simple butt joint provides a good effect on adhesion and can prevent the occurrence of defects. From a double butt lap joint, the higher joint ratio at 2.66 tends to make the samples difficult to adhere to and induce the formation of multiple defects. In addition, the maximum average joint strength of 123.60 MPa was from the joint ratio at 1.00 with no defects and the minimum average joint strength of 90.79 MPa was from the joint ratio at 2.66 caused microvoids, incomplete joint penetration, joint line remnant, wormhole, and kissing bond defects. In all types of butt joints configuration, the Vickers hardness in the friction zone was higher than other areas with average hardness in the friction zone at 51.5 HV0.1 due to new recrystallization of the microstructure and heat input during welding.