Material Characterization of Friction Stir Processed 6082-T6 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

This paper reports the material characterization of Friction Stir Processed 6082-T6 Aluminium alloy. The plates were processed by varying the process parameters to achieve the optimised settings. The rotational speed was varied between 1500 and 3500 rpm while the feed rate was varied between 50 and 250 mm/min. The processed plates were characterised through microstructural evaluation, tensile testing, microhardness and electrical resistivity measurements. Microstructural characterisation of the processed regions showed that the grains were recrystallized. 67% of the processed samples had acceptable joint efficiency of above 70%. Slightly lower Vickers microhardness values were measured in the processed zone compared to the parent material due to a softening experienced by the material being a heat treatable grade of aluminium. The electrical resistivity increases as the feed rate decreases as a result of high heat input. The optimised setting with respect to the Ultimate Tensile Strength was found to be 1500 rpm and 50 mm/min.

Keywords: Friction stir processing, aluminium alloy, microstructural characterisation, electrical resistivity.