Influence of tool traverse speed on the characteristics of dissimilar friction stir welded aluminium alloy, AA5052 and HSLA steel joints

In the present work 3 mm thick aluminium alloy AA5052 and HSLA steel were successfully butt joined using friction stir welding (FSW) technique. The FSW trials were carried out by varying the tool traverse speed while keeping the other parameters constant. The joint characteristics such as ultimate tensile strength (UTS), microhardness, microstructure at the joint interface and fracture surface of fractured tensile specimens were investigated. SEM and EDS analysis suggest that in all cases intermetallic compound (IMC) layer is formed at the joint interface and its thickness is critical in the tensile strength of the joint. For a given tool rotational speed, axial load and tool tilt angle, the tool traverse speed has significant influence on the thickness of IMC layer formed and hence on the joint strength. The highest joint strength of about 91% of UTS of the base aluminium alloy is obtained at tool traverse speed of 45 mm/min and the UTS follow approximately a centre peak type variation against tool traverse speed.