An experimental study on mechanical properties of friction stir welded ABS sheets

By the increasing development in applications of engineering plastics, demand for rapid and reliable welding methods has been increased. One of these joining methods of engineering thermoplastics is friction stir welding (FSW) which is based on frictional heat generated through contact between a rotating tool and the workpiece. In this paper, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) sheets were joined using a fixed heated shoe called “hot shoe” while a rotating pin through this shoe stirs melted material. Rotational speed of the pin, traveling speed and shoe temperature at the beginning of the welding procedure were considered as varying parameters. In order to study their effects on the mechanical properties of welded parts, a 33 full factorial design of experiment was used. Welds tensile strength was considered as the mechanical property of welded samples. Obtained results show a significant relationship between considered properties and processing parameters through an analysis of variance (ANOVA) study and the response surface method (RSM).

► In this paper friction stir welding process is used to weld ABS sheets.
► A fixed temperature controllable shoe is used in welding process.
► High level of rotational speed and shoe temperature increases the weld quality.
► Low level of tool travel speed increases the weld quality and tensile strength.
► Lack of material on the retreating side of the weld leads to a brittle failure.