Original Article

Proc IMechE Part B:

J Engineering Manufacture
226(12) 2013–2022
Friction stir welding parameters Ó IMechE 2012
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optimization of heterogeneous tailored sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0954405412461864

welded blank sheets of aluminium pib.sagepub.com

alloys 6061 and 5083 using response

surface methodology

Morteza Ghaffarpour1, Bijan Mollaei Dariani1,

Amir Hossein Kokabi2 and Nabi Allah Razani3

Abstract
Today, tailored welded blank sheets have found various applications in automotive, aeronautic and many other industrial
fields. One of the most efficient methods for production of tailored welded blank sheets is application of the friction stir
welding process. In the present article, the effect of friction stir welding parameters on the microstructure and mechani-
cal properties of heterogeneous tailored welded blank sheets made from aluminium alloys of types 5083-H12 and 6061-
T6 with the similar thickness of 1.5 mm is studied. The considered parameters are rotational speed of the tool, linear
speed of the tool, pin diameter and shoulder diameter. In order to come by a tailored welded blank sheet with optimal
mechanical properties, response surface methodology, which is considered as a strong tool in design of experiments, has
been employed to design the experiment matrix, and the corresponding experiments have been conducted under
laboratory conditions. Tensile strength of tailored welded blank sheets are determined as the relation in the mathemati-
cal model. The optimal condition and objective effects of parameters are determined via this relation. Data variance anal-
ysis showed that rotational speed and diameter tool have the most and the least effect on tensile strength, respectively.
Rotational and linear speed are more effective than pin and shoulder diameter in input heat, which is produced by
friction.

Keywords
Friction stir welding, heterogeneous tailored welded blank sheets of aluminium alloys, response surface methodology
method.

Date received: 12 January 2012; accepted: 27 July 2012

Introduction leads to displacement of materials and stirring of them

into each other. The result of this stirring is the joining
The friction stir welding (FSW) process was first intro- of the materials in the solid state.
duced by The Welding Institute (TWI) in 1991, as a Owing to the low weight and high strength of alumi-
solid-state welding method.1 This process, whose sche- nium alloys and their advanced application in
matic has been illustrated in Figure 1, incorporates a
rotating tool plunged into two plates positioned and
1
fixed in a fixture in the butt position. The tool traverses Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amirkabir University of
Technology, Tehran, Iran
the desired path on the joint with constant linear and 2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of
rotational speeds (of course in some cases of FSW, the Technology, Tehran, Iran
tool is linearly stationary and the plates are moved with 3
Department of Engineering and High Tech, Iran University of Industries
constant linear speed). During this process, the local and Mines, Tehran, Iran
heat is generated through the friction between the tool
Corresponding author:
and the work piece. Finally, the generated heat softens Morteza Ghaffarpour, Mechanical Engineering Department, Amirkabir
the material in the vicinity of the pin and the combina- University of Technology, 424 Hafez Avenue, Tehran, Iran.
tion of rotational and translational motions of the tool Email: Ghaffarpour.Morteza@gmail.com

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2014
Figure 1. Schematic of FSW.2
aerospace and automobile industries, joining of this
metal has always been under focus. In fact, other weld-
ing processes cannot surmount the major problems
associated with fusion welding of aluminium alloys. On
the other hand, possibility of material waste reduction,
alleviation of ecological concerns and avoidance of
harmful gases used in fusion welding justify and guar-
antee application of FSW on aluminium alloys.3,4 Most
of the experimental and numerical studies performed
on the FSW process have dealt with the effects of dif-
ferent parameters on the final weld quality.5,6 The
effects of rotational speed of the tool,7 linear speed of
the tool8,9 and both of the aforementioned speeds10–13
on mechanical properties and infrastructure of the
resulted welded joint of the aluminium alloy of the
6000 class have been investigated by researchers. Some
researches on the microstructure and mechanical prop-
erties of the aluminium group 6000 have been done
recently.14,15 Some researchers16 with some studies on
rotational and linear speed and axial force via artificial
neural network (ANN) and response surface methodol-
ogy (RSM) methods and comparing these two methods
have surveyed the ultimate tensile strength. Another
group17 performed the experimental tests by design of
experiment (DOE) method and in order to predict the
tensile strength used the multiple linear regressions.
Despite the fact that many works have been reported in
the field of FSW,18 these reports can not solely provide
optimal parameters for FSW of the aluminium alloys
of type 5083-H12 and 6061-T6. In this welding process,
the input parameters, such as welding factors, geometry
of the tool and the type of materials to be welded play
a significant role in the quality of the joint.
The main objective of the present study is optimiza-
tion of the FSW parameters in order to attain the high-
est tensile strength of tailored welded blank (TWB)
sheets produced through FSW. This research has tries
to deliver a new output in the optimization field by
applying DOE method in this process. After elementary
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Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 226(12)
experimental tests to recognize the effective parameters
on the mechanical attributes of TWB sheets, rotational
and linear speed and pin and shoulder diameter are
selected in order to survey them. Then with performing
the experimental tests, which is dictated according to
Box–Benken layout design, the effect of selected para-
meters on output tensile strength was considered.
Finally, after determining the optimal condition that
leads to maximum tensile strength, experimental verifi-
cation is done.
RSM and experiments
DOE and RSM
DOE is a method of collecting the information associ-
ated with experiments so as to enable adjustment of
controllable variables in an experiment in the best
form.19 RSM, as an auxiliary tool in DOE, has recently
found much interest in optimization of engineering
problems. This method incorporates a combination of
statistical and mathematical techniques for numerical
solution of optimization problems.20 RSM is a method
for estimation of the objective function in an optimiza-
tion problem and finding its optimal solution. This
method, in fact, attempts to find a function, which best
represents the relation between control and output
variables of the experiment, through statistical algo-
rithms, and then, tries to optimize it. In this research,
based upon RSM’s Box–Benken design, 29 experiments
have been performed, and the results have been utilized
in implementation of the RSM and extraction of the
mathematical relation between the experimental out-
puts and inputs. The control variables and their defined
intervals are presented in Table 1.
As displayed in Table 1, there are four controllable
design variables in this problem, which were considered
as effective parameters after initial experiments. Thus,
with regard to their adjustment levels and the layout
proposed by Box–Benken design, the experiments were
performed, whose results are provided in Table 2.
Materials
Owing to the welding applicability and formability
characteristics associated with aluminium alloys of class
5000 and 6000, welding of these plates has attracted
great attention in different industries. Welding of these
two classes of alloys, in production of heterogeneous
TWB sheets applied in the manufacture of skin sheets
Table 1. Control variables and their defined intervals.
Parameters Low level High level
Rotation speed 700 2500
Pin diameter 2 4
Linear speed 25 400
Shoulder diameter 10 14
Ghaffarpour et al. 2015

Table 2. The experiments performed according to Box–Benken.

Run number. Parameters Tensile strength (MPa)

Rotation speed Pin diameter Linear speed Shoulder diameter
(mm)

1 1600.00 3.00 212.50 12.00 174

2 1600.00 4.00 212.50 14.00 179
3 1600.00 3.00 400.00 10.00 140
4 2500.00 3.00 212.50 10.00 161
5 700.00 2.00 212.50 12.00 90
6 1600.00 3.00 212.50 12.00 176
7 2500.00 3.00 25.00 12.00 214
8 2500.00 2.00 212.50 12.00 159
9 700.00 4.00 212.50 12.00 82
10 1600.00 3.00 212.50 12.00 171
11 1600.00 2.00 25.00 12.00 211
12 2500.00 3.00 212.50 14.00 153
13 1600.00 2.00 212.50 14.00 181
14 700.00 3.00 212.50 10.00 84
15 1600.00 4.00 25.00 12.00 201
16 1600.00 2.00 400.00 12.00 144
17 700.00 3.00 212.50 14.00 103
18 1600.00 3.00 25.00 14.00 194
19 1600.00 3.00 212.50 12.00 174
20 1600.00 4.00 400.00 12.00 141
21 1600.00 3.00 25.00 10.00 214
22 1600.00 2.00 212.50 10.00 170
23 1600.00 3.00 212.50 12.00 177
24 1600.00 4.00 212.50 10.00 172
25 700.00 3.00 25.00 12.00 118
26 2500.00 4.00 212.50 12.00 157
27 2500.00 3.00 400.00 12.00 122
28 1600.00 3.00 400.00 14.00 147
29 700.00 3.00 400.00 12.00 71

Table 3. Chemical composition of the aluminium alloys.

Alloy Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Cr Zn Ti

5083-H12 0.02 0.26 0.06 0.74 4.50 0.08 0.01 0.01

6061-T6 0.58 0.54 0.19 0.09 0.83 0.04 0.15 0.17

of automobiles, is of much interest in particular. Table 4. Axial tensile test results, associated with base
Regarding the industrial significance of these alloy materials.
classes, this research has focused on the aluminium
Sample Yield Ultimate Elongation
alloys of types 5083-H12 and 6061-T6. Chemical com- stress strength (%)
position of these alloy classes has been provided in (Mpa) (Mpa)
Table 3.
Before performing welding on the samples, in order 5083-H12 411.42 438.19 6.72
to make sure about the tensile strength of the consid- 6061-T6 275.90 301.20 10.12
ered alloys and compare them with those of welded
sheets, axial tensile tests were conducted on the speci-
mens. Tensile test specimens were provided according advancing side (A.S.). In the R.S., the linear velocity
to ASTM-E8 standard, of the sub size type with the vector and the vector tangent to the rotational velocity
gauge dimensions of 6 mm in width and 25 mm in of the tool are opposite in direction; while in the A.S.,
length. The results of the tensile tests are presented in the vector of linear velocity and that tangent to the
Table 4. For each alloy, six specimens were tested, rotational velocity of the tool lie in the same direction.21
whose average is recorded in Table 4. Therefore, the materials located in the A.S. experience
In this kind of welding process, the two sides of the longer contact under the shoulder. This contact causes
welding line will have different mechanical attributes. deformed and undeformed material to get larger, so the
These two sides are called retreating side (R.S.) and metallic bond will get higher. Finally these matters will

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2016
result in higher strength. In fact owing to the lower
strength and hardness resulted in the R.S., the thicker
or stronger sheet is preferred to be positioned on the
R.S. On the basis of the aforementioned facts, the 5083
aluminium alloy sheet is located on the R.S. in this
research, owing to the higher strength in comparison
with its counterpart.
Experiments
In this work, two sheets made from 5083-H12 and
6061-T6 aluminium alloys with the similar thickness of
1.5 mm were friction stir welded in the direction normal
to the rolling direction of the plates, taking advantage
of a traditional milling machine. In the welding proce-
dure, the varying parameters were rotational speed
(700, 1600 and 2500 r/min), linear speed (25, 212 and
400 mm/min), the tool’s shoulder diameter (10, 12 and
14 mm) and pin diameter (2, 3 and 4 mm). The pin
length is another effective parameter that must be set
slightly smaller than the thickness of the plates being
welded. In this work, the pin length was considered
1.3 mm. H13 steel was selected as the tool material.
This tool was first kept at 1000 °C for 13 minutes in a
furnace, and then cooled to the room temperature using
compressed air. The final temper was performed at
530 °C for one hour in the furnace, followed by cooling
in the open air to room temperature and finally the oxi-
des were removed from its surface.22 The welding tool
was tilted at an angle of 2° from the normal direction
of the work sheets towards the trailing side of the tool.
The penetration depth of the tool shoulder into the
plates was considered to be around 0.1 mm. The cone
angle of the shoulder’s head (shoulder cavity) is another
important tool parameter that was constantly selected
as 4° for all the tests in this research. The shoulder cav-
ity, in combination with the tool’s tilt angle, paves the
way for compression of annular rings of plasticized
materials around the tool, which pushes the material
flow toward the pin.23
After welding of the sheets, incorporating the para-
meters considered according to Table 2, the appearance
of the weld was visually inspected in the first step, fol-
lowed by inspection of the root and the crown.
Afterwards, the surplus of the stirred materials standing
out of the weld line was removed. As before, tensile test
specimens were prepared according to ASTM-E8
(Figure 2). In machined specimens of TWB sheets, the
Table 5. Statistical summary attributed to analysis of the existing models.
Source Std. Dev. R2
Linear 27.21 0.6040
2FI 30.62 0.6240
Quadratic 5.36 0.9910
Std. Dev.: standard deviation; R2: coefficient of determination; Adj. R2: adjusted R2; Pred. R2: predicted R2; PRESS: predicted residual error sum of
squares; 2FI: first-order and double interaction.
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Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 226(12)
Figure 2. The tensile test specimen prepared according to the
requirements of ASTM-E8.
weld line was located in the middle of the gauge length,
and the tension axis was considered in a direction nor-
mal to the weld line and parallel to the rolling direction
of the plates. The tensile test specimens were machined
carefully, and coolants were incorporated to avoid
overheating during the machining process. The tensile
tests were performed at room temperature with the
loading rate of 2 mm/min. In this study, three specimens
of each case were tested. However, the ultimate strength
provided in Table 2 for each case represents the average
value of the aforementioned three specimens.
Analysis of variance and mathematical
model of the objective function
After performing the experiments and before estima-
tion of the mathematical function, it is required to
study the level to which the effects of control variables
on the output are significant. Analysis of variance
(ANOVA) is applied during studying the effects of the
parameters on the objective function. Table 5 displays
a statistical summary of the data analysis. In this table,
which focuses on regression coefficients (adjusted R2
and predicted R2) and predicted residual error sum of
squares (PRESS), the three Linear, 2FI and quadratic
models are compared. Owing to having a high level of
regression coefficients and the least level of PRESS, the
ANOVA proposes the quadratic model for estimation
of the parameter effects on the objective function.24
Table 6 illustrates the results of ANOVA of the
model and the effectiveness associated with each vari-
able on the output variable (tensile strength). It is note-
worthy that if the error occurrence probability
(P-value) is less than the acceptable error level (0.05 in
this problem), then the effect of the corresponding
Adj. R2 Pred. R2 PRESS
0.5380 0.4016 26852.71
0.4151 0.1478 51507.12
0.9821 0.9504 2225.28 Suggested
Ghaffarpour et al. 2017

Table 6. Effectiveness of each variable on the output variable according to the ANOVA.

Source Sum of squares DF Mean square F value P-value Prob . F

Model 44,473.46 14 3176.68 110.69 \ 0.0001 Significant

A-rotation speed(r/min) 14,560.33 1 14,560.33 507.35 \ 0.0001
B-pin diameter(mm) 44.08 1 44.08 1.54 0.2356
C-linear speed(mm/min) 12,480.75 1 12,480.75 434.89 \ 0.0001
D-shoulder diameter(mm) 21.33 1 21.33 0.74 0. 4031
AB 9.00 1 9.00 0.31 0.5843
AC 506.25 1 506.25 17.64 0.0009
AD 182.25 1 182.25 6.35 0.0245
BC 12.25 1 12.25 0.43 0.5241
BD 4.00 1 4.00 0.14 0.7145
CD 182.25 1 182.25 6.35 0.0245
A2 15,121.82 1 15,121.82 526.91 \ 0.0001
B2 17.84 1 17.84 0.62 0.4436
C2 28.38 1 28.38 0.99 0.3369
D2 0.52 1 0.52 0.018 0.8948
Residual 401.78 14 28.70
Lack of fit 380.58 10 38.06 7.18 0.0362 Significant
Pure error 21.20 4 5.30
Cor total 44875.24 28

DF: degrees of freedom.

Table 7. The estimated terms of tensile strength. Table 8. Most important indices in assessment and accuracy of
the model.
Term Estimated value Model
Std. Dev 5.36 R2 0.9910
Intercept 281.08014 First order Mean 154.48 Adj. R2 0.9821
(linear) C.V. % 3.47 Pred. R2 0.9504
Rotational speed (r/min) + 0.28362 PRESS 2225.28 Adeq. precision 36.726
Pin diameter (mm) + 9.38333
Linear speed (mm/min) 20.33462 Std. Dev.: standard deviation; CV: coefficient of variation; PRESS:
Shoulder diameter (mm) + 6.04167 predicted residual error sum of squares; R2: coefficient of
Rotational speed (r/min) + 1.66667E-003 Interaction determination; Adj. R2: adjusted R2; Pred. R2: predicted R2;
* pin diameter (mm) Adeq.Precision: adequate precision.
Rotational speed (r/min) 26.66667E-005
* linear speed (mm/min)
Rotational speed (r/min) 23.75000E-003
* shoulder diameter (mm) Analysis of the mathematical model
Pin diameter (mm) + 9.33333E-003
* linear speed (mm/min)
The coefficient of variation (CV) represents the amount
Pin diameter (mm) 20.50000 of deviation from the average value of a unit of output.
* shoulder diameter (mm) The small value of this quantity in this problem unveils
Linear speed (mm/min) + 0.018000 the accuracy of the model. The first two indices are
* shoulder diameter (mm) attributed to R2, and represent the fit of the test data
Rotational speed (r/min)2 25.96091E-005 Second order
(Quadratic) on the estimated model, which are more desirable when
Pin diameter (mm)2 21.65833 approaching unity. The adequacy index of the model,
Linear speed (mm/min)2 + 5.94963E-005 Adeq.Precision, indicates the accuracy level in applica-
Shoulder diameter (mm)2 20.070833 tion of test data in building a model, and the more it
exceeds four, it is more desirable. The last index reveals
the adequacy precision of the model, which shows
whether the model is capable of making predictions on
parameter will be considered as significant. As other values out of the test limit. Pred. R2 is the correla-
observed, the value of the error occurrence probability tion coefficient in prediction, which is more desirable
attributed to the model is 0.0001, which is smaller than when approaching unity. Therefore, the fitted quadratic
0.05, and indicates that the model being studied is model is reliable, and can be employed in optimization
significant. of the test output. After estimation of this model, its
According to Table 6, the effects of the terms A, C, accuracy level can be accessed through various indices.
AC, AD, CD and A2 on the objective function (tensile Table 8 provides some of the most important indices
strength) are significant. Now, as Table 7 shows, the for assessment of a statistical model. The significance
mathematical relation between the inputs and outputs of the results and the reliability of the expanded mathe-
can be estimated taking advantage of RSM method. matical model can be determined through several

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2018 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 226(12)

attitudes. As observed, the adjusted R2 and the pre-

dicted R2 coefficients of the model are 0.9821 and
0.9504, respectively, which are very close to unity, and
indicate the adequacy of the model. On the other hand,
provided that the Adeq.Precision of the model exceeds
four, the reliability of the model is signified. Regarding
Table 8, this value equals to 36.726.

Discussion and the optimal condition

First of all, according to the mathematical model, a
schema of relation between inputs and outputs is shown
graphically in this section, and then making use of
RSM, the optimal strength is calculated and presented.
Regarding the fact that there are four independent vari-
ables and one dependent variable, five dimensions are
to be considered for presentation. For simplicity, the
diagram of this function is displayed in a three- Figure 3. The effects of pin diameter and rotational speed on
dimensional space, in which two of the design variables tensile strength at the constant linear speed of 212.5 mm/min
are kept constant on the mean value of their defined and the shoulder diameter of 12 mm.
interval, and the variation of the output variable is pre-
sented as a function of the two remaining variables.
According to the differences of slopes of surfaces
toward each parameter, it should be pointed to this gen-
eral note that effects of rotational speed, linear speed,
shoulder diameter and pin diameter parameters are the
most effective parameters on the tensile strength, respec-
tively. This general fact must be mentioned that with the
increase in rotational speed, shoulder diameter, pin dia-
meter and reduction of linear speed, the friction, and
consequently the input welding heat, increases. Figure 3
illustrates the effects of varying rotational speed and pin
diameter, while linear speed and shoulder diameter are
kept constant. As presented, the rise in pin diameter and
rotational speed leads to higher weld strength. This fact
can be attributed to the higher fraction and consequently
heat value during welding. Of course, the discussed rise
in the strength bears a maximum value, and with
increase in the friction over an allowable limit, the weld
strength declines. Figure 4 shows the two significant Figure 4. The effects of linear speed and rotational speed on
parameters; rotational and linear speed. With increasing tensile strength at the pin diameter of 3 mm and the shoulder
rotational speed and decreasing linear speed, the friction diameter of 12 mm.
rises and the produced weldment has a suitable tensile
strength. Increasing the tensile strength via increasing tensile strength increase up to a limited scale, and then it
the rotational speed and decreasing linear speed has a gets less. Getting soft in the two base metals and better
limit. It means that if the rotational speed gets too high stir of the two aluminium alloy together is the reason for
and linear speed gets less, the friction will be more than a better weldment joint and in the end a high tensile
the optimal limit; hence the tensile strength will decrease. strength. Figures 6, 7 and 8 show the effects of para-
Solution of the precipitates, such as Mg2si of the alumi- meters (linear speed and pin diameter, shoulder diameter
nium of class 6000 in the welding line and consequently and pin diameter, and shoulder diameter and linear
a decrease in tensile strength of the aluminium of class speed) on the tensile strength respectively. The effect of
6000, is the reason of this matter. On the other hand, applying the parameters optimally and producing input
extra input heat leads to the coarse grained desolated heat by friction and finally achieving an optimal tensile
precipitates. In Figure 5, the effect of rotational speed strength are observable in these figures.
and shoulder diameter on tensile strength is showed. In According to the obtained results, the FSW para-
this figure, the more effectiveness of rotational speed in meters for welding of the two aluminium sheets dis-
comparison to shoulder diameter is well showed. It can cussed must be considered optimally. Table 9 displays
be seen that in this figure also, the produced friction, the optimal parameter amounts for welding of these

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Ghaffarpour et al. 2019

Figure 5. The effects of shoulder diameter and rotational Figure 7. The effects of shoulder diameter and pin diameter
speed on tensile strength at the linear speed of 212.5 mm/min on tensile strength at the constant rotational speed of
and the pin diameter of 3 mm. 1600 r/min and the speed rate of 212.5 mm/min.

Figure 8. The effects of shoulder diameter and linear speed on

tensile strength at the constant rotational speed of 1600 r/min
Figure 6. The effects of linear speed and pin diameter on
and the pin diameter of 3 mm.
tensile strength at the constant rotational speed of 1600 r/min
and the shoulder diameter of 12 mm.

two alloy sheets in such a way that the resulted TWB Table 9. Theoretical parameters output of the RSM method
and the replaced experimental parameters.
bears the highest strength. It should be note that,
because of the workshop limitations and having deci- Predicted Experimental
mal numbers in RSM outputs, putting the outputs of Param. Param.
the RSM method in action was not possible in experi-
mental tests, hence it is tried to select the present experi- Parameters Rotational speed 1792.35 1800
(r/min)
mental parameters, which are very close to theoretical Pin diameter (mm) 2.39 2.4
parameters. Table 9 shows these theoretical parameters Linear speed 30.97 30
and the replaced experimental parameters. (mm/min)
Comparison between the predicted strength and the Shoulder diameter 10.22 10.3
value obtained through experiment unveils negligible (mm)
Results Tensile strength 221.005 218.17
error and equal 1.285%, which signifies the reliability (MPa)
of the assessed model.

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2020
To ensure that the weld section produced by optimal
parameters is healthy, the macro etching test is per-
formed on the two samples of optimal weldment. The
etching process on the weldment sections is done by
helping of the etching solution 15 ml HNO3, 45 ml HCl,
15 ml HF, 25 ml H2O and 15X macrograph. According
to Figure 9, superficial and internal defects, such as
smashing of the welding, rimming of the welding root,
deformed softness phase and crack, is not observable.
For better comparison of the created joints, micro-
graphy sections with magnification of 5003 has been
delivered in Figure 10. For better contrast creation
micro-graphy samples have been etched with 2 ml HF,
2 ml HCL, 5 ml HNO3, 190 ml H2O micro-etch solu-
tion. As Figure 10(a) shows, because low heat by fric-
tion weld metal does not have good stir, although this
joint has no defection in its appearance. Figure 10(b)
Figure 9. Macro etching sections of the optimal weldment. (a)
with magnification of 15X, (b) with magnification of 303.
Figure 10. Micro structures of the weldmetal with magnification of 5003. (a) Unsuitable stirring and cavity defection in weldmetal;
(b) and (c) good created stirring in weldmetal by optimal parameters.
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Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 226(12)
and (c), shows the suitable stirring in the created joints
by optimized parameters.
In order to make sure of mechanical properties of
the created joints. a root bending test has been con-
ducted on the two joint samples, Figure 11. The created
joint with the optimal parameters is under the root
bending test and is fully U-form and free of any rup-
ture from the welding root, Figure 11(a). This result
shows that with using optimal parameters a perfect
joint that has suitable mechanical properties can be
produced. One of the produced samples by the para-
meters that has not created the friction for stirring is
shown in Figure 11(b). The created rupture of the weld-
ing root shows a joint with root defection and unsuita-
ble mechanical properties.
Conclusion
According to the theoretical and experimental studies
performed in the present work, the following conclu-
sions can be drawn.
1) Studying the effects of each variable on the output
variable reveals that rotational speed is the most
effective parameter on the tensile strength of the
TWB sheets, manufactured through FSW.
2) Increase in the input heat in the FSW process leads
to more plasticization of the materials and better
blending condition, and consequently, stronger
Ghaffarpour et al.
Figure 11. Root bending test samples. (a) Created joint with good stirring in the weldmetal; (b) created joint with unsuitable
stirring in the weldmetal.
joint in the heterogeneous TWB sheets of the alu-
minium alloys of types6061 and 5083.
3) An input frictional heat higher than the optimal
limit reduces the tensile strength associated with the
heterogeneous TWB sheets of the aluminium alloys
of types 6061 and 5083. This fact is owing to disso-
lution of the precipitates present in the aluminium
alloy of the 6000 class and creation of coarse grains
of the precipitates insoluble in this alloy class.
4) Rotational speed and linear speed of the tool are
more effective than the tool’s pin and shoulder dia-
meters in creation of friction, and consequently
input heat, in the weld line.
5) Conformability of the predicted results and experi-
mental outputs shows the sufficiency of the present
model and this matter implies the high appliance of
RSM technique in optimizing the FSW process.
6) The optimal produced weldment macro etching
shows the healthiness of the welding that is pro-
duced by optimal parameters.
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