Experimental Investigations on Friction Welding of AL 6061 and SS 304

The friction welding of dissimilar materials is more complicated than welding similar materials due to differences in the physical, thermal, chemical and mechanical properties of base materials. The welding of Al 6061 and SS 304 is susceptible to intermetallic layer formation. The interface properties are degraded due to formation of intermetallic layer at the weld interface. The formation of intermetallic compounds strongly depends on local temperature attained during the welding process. These intermetallic compounds are responsible for brittle failure of the components. In the present study experimental investigations are done on influence of joint geometry on the interface properties of Al 6061 and SS 304 friction welded parts. A new joint geometry is designed for friction welding to enhance the quality of weld joint. The shape of new joint geometry removes the oxides and other unwanted impurities from the joint interface due to formation of burrs during friction phase of welding process.

The advantages of the new joint geometry, when compared to regular joint geometry, are many, which include a) reduction in material consumption, b) reduction is energy consumption, c) use of machine with lower capacity, d) reduction in the formation of intermetallics, e) reduction in the size of the heat affected zone (HAZ) and f) improved mechanical strength.