Optimization of friction stir welding parameters for improved corrosion resistance of AA2219 aluminum alloy joints

The aluminium alloy AA2219 (Al–Cu–Mg alloy) is widely used in the fabrication of lightweight structures with high strength-to-weight ratio and good corrosion resistance. Welding is main fabrication method of AA2219 alloy for manufacturing various engineering components. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a recently developed solid state welding process to overcome the problems encountered in fusion welding. This process uses a non-consumable tool to generate frictional heat on the abutting surfaces. The welding parameters, such as tool pin profile, rotational speed, welding speed and axial force, play major role in determining the microstructure and corrosion resistance of welded joint. The main objective of this work is to develop a mathematical model to predict the corrosion resistance of friction stir welded AA2219 aluminium alloy by incorporating FSW process parameters. In this work a central composite design with four factors and five levels has been used to minimize the experimental conditions. Dynamic polarization testing was carried out to determine critical pitting potential in millivolt, which is a criteria for measuring corrosion resistance and the data was used in model. Further the response surface method (RSM) was used to develop the model. The developed mathematical model was optimized using the simulated annealing algorithm optimizing technique to maximize the corrosion resistance of the friction stir welded AA2219 aluminium alloy joints.