Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

Vol. 73, June 2014, pp. 369-374

Process parameters optimization for friction stir welding of Polypropylene

material using Taguchi’s approach
K Lenin*1, H Abdul Shabeer2, K Suresh kumar 3 and K Panneerselvam4
*1,3
Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Jayaram College of Engineering and Technology, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Department of Electronic and Communication, AVS Engineering College, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
4
Department of Production Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

This paper deals with the successful application of friction stir welding (FSW) in joining a polypropylene material.
Welding parameters such as tool pin profile, feed rate and tool rotational speed were selected with the objective of
producing a good weld joint with maximum strength and minimum defects. The maximum strength was considered for the
selection of process parameters. Taguchi method was used to analyze the effect of each welding process parameters and then
to determine the optimal process parameters. From this experiment, it was found that the effects of welding parameters on
the maximum strength were in the order of tool pin profile, feed rate, and tool rotational speed. The optimal combination of
FSW parameters was the threaded pin profile, feed rate of 60 mm/min and tool rotational speed of 1500 rpm. A confirmation
test was carried out and results were closer to the optimized results.

Keywords: Polypropylene, friction stir welding, Taguchi approach, analysis of variance

Introduction of penetration11. This method was successfully

Friction stir welding has become a technology of
widespread interest because of its numerous
advantages, most important of which is its ability to
weld otherwise unweldable alloys1. It was invented
and experimentally proven at The Welding Institute
(TWI) UK in December 19912. FSW is an emerging
solid state joining process3 will not encounter
problems like porosity, alloy segregation and hot
cracking, and welds are produced with good surface
finish4. The effects of some important parameters
such as rotational speed, feed rate, and tool pin
profile on weld properties are the major topics for
researchers5, 6 & 24. Polypropylene (PP), also known as
Polypropene (Thermoplastic Polymer), is a polymer
of the polypropene monomer. It is semi-crystalline
polyamides. Polypropylene is reasonably economical
and widely used in automotive, aerospace, marine,
industrial packing and labeling, textiles, ropes7, 8 & 23.
The Taguchi method is a systematic application of
design and analysis of experiments for the purpose
of designing and improving product quality9 and
at low cost10. Taguchi’s method is employed to
relate the laser welding input parameters (beam
power, travel speed and focal position) to the three
responses i.e., tensile strength, bead width, and depth
——————
*Author for correspondence
Email: leninnaga@yahoo.com
applied to optimize the Nd: YAG laser welding onto
magnesium alloy12.
Though research works applying Taguchi methods
on fusion welding processes and casting method
have been reported in literatures13-15, it appears that
the optimization of FSW process parameters of
Polypropylene material using Taguchi method has
not been analyzed yet. Based on the above facts,
Taguchi L’16 orthogonal array method was adopted to
analyze the effect of each processing parameters
(Tool pin profile, Feed rate, and Tool rotational
speed) for optimization of friction stir welded joints
of polypropylene material.
Taguchi method
Taguchi method is a powerful problem solving
tool which can improve the performance of
the process, product, design and system with
a minimum time and cost 16. The number of
experiments increases with the increase of process
parameters. To solve this complexity, Taguchi
method uses a special design of orthogonal array
to study the entire process parameter space with only
a small number of experiments 17. Furthermore,
Taguchi parameter design can reduce the fluctuation
of system performance and quality of the source of
variation18. The basic steps for this method are
summarized below19:
370 J SCI IND RES VOL 73 JUNE 2014

1) Identification of the quality characteristics and D785-10 (Standard test method for Rockwell
selection of process parameters to be evaluated. hardness of plastics). Scanning electron microscopy
2) Selection of the appropriate orthogonal array was used to take the SEM images. Characterizations
and assigning these parameters to the orthogonal of the different welded polypropylene plate were
array. analyzed on the basis of the SEM images.
3) Conducting the experiments based on the
arrangement of the orthogonal array. Experimental design
In this section, the use of Taguchi method to
4) Analyzing the experimental results using the
determine the process parameters in FSW of
signal to noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance
polypropylene is reported step-by-step.
(ANOVA).
5) Making decisions regarding optimum setting Selection of process parameters
of the control parameters and predicting the In the present investigation, four level process
results of each of the parameters at their new parameters, i.e., Tool pin profile, Feed rate and Tool
optimum levels. rotational speed were considered. The values of the
welding process parameter at the different levels are
FSW process presented in Table 1.
FSW was performed on a CNC vertical machining Selection of Orthogonal Array
centre (FANUC) made in Hartford, Taiwan with a The experimental results for the friction stir
specially designed fixture. The polypropylene plate welding process using L’16 orthogonal array are
of 220 x 100 x 10 mm plate with tensile strength shown in Table 2.
25.5 MPa, Rockwell hardness 76, Shore – D hardness
Calculation of S/N ratio
65, Izod strength 190 kN/m, and melting temperature
In the Taguchi’s method, the signal-to-noise ratio
130 to 175 degree centigrade. The non-consumable
is used to measure the quality characteristics and
rotating tools used in this study had four different
also to evaluate the influence of each selected factor
tool pin profiles namely Square (SQ), taper (TC),
on the responses. Usually, there are three categories
triangular (TR) and threaded (TH) pin with a
of performance characteristics for the analysis of
cylindrical shank. The fixed pin type tool made of
the S/N ratio, i.e., the smaller the better, the larger
mild steel with a nominal pin diameter of 6 mm
the better, and the nominal the best. To obtain optimal
and shoulder diameter of 24 mm and also pin length
parameters, the maximum responses are desired.
of 9.8 mm was used in the present investigation.
Therefore, the larger the better characteristics form
The quality of the welds is dependent on the
was selected for this study.
selection of the welding process parameters. In the
The S/N ratio of the larger the better performance
present study, FSW experiments were carried out by
characteristics can be expressed as:
varying the feed rate in the range of 30 – 60 mm/min,
1
the tool rotational speed in the range of 1500 – 2250
rpm and pin profile of taper, triangular, square
 j  10 log
n
 Yijk2 …(1)
and threaded. To evaluate the quality of FSW of Where n is the number of tests and Yijk is the
polypropylene, the different responses such as experimental value of the ith quality characteristics in
tensile strength, hardness (Shore-D, Rockwell), the jth experiment at the kth test.
impact strength (Izod, Charpy) and nugget area were
considered. These responses were measured based Table 1—Process parameters with their range and values
at four levels
on the ASTM standards. The ASTM standards were
utilized for different testing namely D638-10 Level Factors
(Standard test method for tensile properties of Tool pin profile Feed rate (B) Tool rotational
Plastics), D6110-10 (Standard test methods for (A) mm/min speed (C) rpm
determining the Charpy impact resistance of plastics), Range - 30-60 1500-2250
D4812-11 (Standard test methods for determining the Level 1 Taper 30 1500
Izod impact resistance of plastics), D2240-05(2010) Level 2 Triangular 40 1750
(Standard test methods for determining the shore - D Level 3 Square 50 2000
(Durometer) hardness testing of plastics), and Level 4 Threaded 60 2250
 LENIN et al.: Process parameters optimization for friction stir welding of Polypropylene 371

Table 2—Experimental results for polypropylene materials in the percentage (%)

Experimental level Tested values of welded samples in percentages (%)
Tensile strength Shore-D hardness Rockwell hardness Izod strength Charpy strength Nugget area
1(A1,B1,C2) 59.32 93.85 72.37 31.58 48.28 76.25
2(A1,B2,C1) 18.25 84.62 72.37 31.58 48.28 63.76
3(A1,B3,C4) 60.69 96.92 75.00 42.11 55.17 83.99
4(A1,B4,C3) 50.20 96.92 78.95 52.63 62.07 109.54
5(A2,B1,C4) 42.90 92.31 85.53 42.11 48.28 127.93
6(A2,B2,C3) 41.07 87.69 86.84 42.11 48.28 134.36
7(A2,B3,C2) 41.07 96.92 86.84 52.63 55.17 134.89
8(A2,B4,C1) 63.89 83.08 88.16 73.68 62.07 142.92
9(A3,B1,C1) 48.37 96.92 88.16 52.63 48.28 100.50
10(A3,B2,C2) 54.76 89.23 89.47 47.37 48.28 110.95
11(A3,B3,C3) 56.59 92.31 89.47 63.16 51.72 106.55
12(A3,B4,C4) 73.91 93.85 90.79 73.68 58.62 135.61
13(A4,B1,C3) 39.24 92.31 90.79 31.58 41.38 139.35
14(A4,B2,C4) 82.14 95.38 92.11 73.68 65.52 162.60
15(A4,B3,C1) 82.14 96.92 92.11 78.95 68.97 133.39
16(A4,B4,C2) 79.40 96.92 90.79 73.68 62.07 133.13

Table 3—ANOVA for average of S/N ratio

Parameters DOF Sum of Square Mean Square Fcal FTab Contribution (%)
Tool pin profile (A) 3 12.358 4.119 14.974 4.757 50.076
Feed rate (B) 3 6.212 2.071 7.527 4.757 25.172
Rotation Speed (C) 3 4.458 1.419 5.159 4.757 18.063
Error 6 1.650 0.275 6.688
Total 15 24.679
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) S/N ratio analysis and characterization of experimental runs
ANOVA is a statistical decision making tool used Taguchi recommends analyzing the S/N ratio using
for detecting any differences in average the conceptual approach that involves graphing the
performances of tested parameters. The purpose of effects and visually identifying the factors that appear
the ANOVA test is to investigate the significance of to be significant20. In this investigation, the different
the process parameters which affects the different responses were analyzed to determine the effect of
responses of FSW joints. It employs sum of squares FSW process parameters. The experimental results
and F statistics to find out relative importance of the were then converted into signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio.
analyzed processing parameters, measurement errors The S/N ratio was calculated for every response
and uncontrolled parameters. ANOVA is used to and then average S/N ratio is graphically presented in
check the adequacy of the model for the responses in Fig. 1. The maximum value occurred in the fourteenth
the experimentation and it is used to calculate the F- experimental run and the minimum value occurred in
ratio, which is the ratio between the regression mean the second experimental run. It is clear that a larger
square and the mean square error. If the calculated
value of F-ratio is higher than the tabulated value of
F-ratio, then the model is adequate at desired
significance level to represent the relationship
between response and the parameters.
Results and discussion
Table 3 shows the S/N ratio of each level for the
tool pin profile, feed rate and tool rotational speed.
The percentage of individual responses such as tensile
strength, shore-D hardness, Rockwell hardness, Izod
strength, Charpy strength and nugget area were Fig. 1—Average of S/N Ratio of all responses with respect to
converted into S/N ratio by using equation 1. Experimental runs
372 J SCI IND RES VOL 73 JUNE 2014
Fig. 2—(A) - SEM images for Experimental run 14 (Threaded pin, 40 mm/min, and 2250 rpm), (B) - SEM images for Experimental run 2
(Taper pin, 40 mm/min, and 1500 rpm)
S/N ratio corresponds to better quality characteristics.
Based on the average of S/N ratio, the optimum
value was obtained in the fourteenth experimental run
(threaded tool pin profile, feed rate of 40 mm/min and
tool rotational speed of 2250 rpm).
The average of the S/N ratio of all the responses
was analyzed based on the maximum values. The
highest values appeared in the fourteenth
experimental run (threaded pin profile, feed rate of
40 mm/min, tool rotational speed of 2250 rpm) and
moved on to the next step in the fifteenth (threaded pin
profile, feed rate of 50 mm/min, tool rotational speed
of 1500 rpm) experimental run and gradually got
reduced in the sixteenth experimental run (threaded pin
profile, feed rate of 60 mm/min, tool rotational speed
of 1750 rpm) and then further decreased step by step in
random order of experimental runs. Before that final
condition, it reached low value as worst condition in
first experimental run (taper pin profile, feed rate of 30
mm/min, tool rotational speed of 1750 rpm) and finally
it reached very low value as very worst condition in
second experimental run (taper pin profile, feed rate of
40 mm/min, tool rotational speed of 1500 rpm).
Based on the all responses, the maximum strength
had developed in the fourteenth experimental run.
The SEM images of this experimental run are
explained in Fig. 2.A. The overall defects occurred
in this run was very minimum compared with the
other experimental runs. First two tests were
conducted by low magnification scales which had
only small cracks formed as segments and cavities.
Those cracks were enlarged in the remaining four
SEM images. Apart from these crack and cavity, all
remaining area had good surface morphology.
Fig. 3—Response graph for average of S/N ratio
In the second experimental run, the very worst case
of welded region had occurred. The SEM images
clearly explained these conditions as shown in Fig.
2.B. Lot of cavities, porous, burrs and blow holes
appeared in this condition for all magnification levels.
The material storage was uneven in the nugget area as
well as joint interface line. The welded region
appeared with projected materials as burrs for all
magnification levels. Molded material was stored in
the joint interface line as wave form with lot of blow
holes. When this experimental run was compared with
other experimental run, it had very worst condition as
well as very poor responses.
The main effects of each control factor on S/N ratio
of average of all S/N ratios of responses are given in
Fig. 3 and that shows the response graph for the
designed process parameters. The response graph was
obtained from the average value of S/N ratio of all S/N
ratios for each level of the process parameter to select
the composition of optimal factors. The optimal
 LENIN et al.: Process parameters optimization for friction stir welding of Polypropylene 373

processing parameter setting selects the level with higher

value of average of S/N ratio for each operating factors.
Table 4—Comparison of the optimal results and confirmation experiment results in percentage
S.No Input parameters Output parameters in percentage (%)
X1 X2 X3 Tensile strength Shore-D Rockwell Izod strength Charpy strength Nugget area
MN/m2 hardness hardness MN/m MN/m mm2
A1 4 40 2250 20.863 62 70 140 234.56 97.562
A2 4 60 1500 21.987 62 70 170 244.33 86.121
Error % 5.112 00 00 17.647 4.002 13.28
Note: X1- Pin profile, X2- Feed rate mm/min, X3- Spindle speed, A1- Optimized results, and A2- Confirmation test

Fig. 4—SEM images for confirmation tests

Analysis of variance
The purpose of the analysis of the variance is to
investigate which friction stir welding process
parameters significantly affects the quality
characteristic and separates the total variability into
contributes21. In addition, the F test named Fisher22
can also be used to determine which welding process
parameters have a significant effect on the quality
characteristic.
Results of ANOVA (Table 3) indicate that tool pin
profile, feed rate, and tool rotational speed are
significant FSW process parameters affecting the
multiple quality characteristics. The percentage
contributions due to these process parameters
are shown in Table 4. Based on the above discussion,
the FSW process parameters with the optimal
weld geometry are tool pin profile at level 4
(Threaded tool pin profile), feed rate at level 4
(60 mm/min), tool rotational speed at level 1 (1500 rpm).
Confirmation experiment
The optimized results are tabulated in Table 4.
The confirmation test was carried out to validate
the optimized results and their values are presented
in Table 4 and Fig. 4. The error percentage of
Izod strength and the nugget area changed around
15 %. The nugget area was finalized based on the
heat distribution in the joint interface line. Even
though the nugget area had high value, it did not
produce good strength. From Fig. 4, it can be seen
that the SEM images have few defects such as blow
holes, cavities and cracks in the welded region.
Conclusion
In this paper, the selection of optimum process
parameters for friction stir welding of polypropylene
material has been carried out using average of S/N
ratio and ANOVA. The major results are summarized
below:
1) Characteristics of the nugget area and average
of S/N ratio can be used for optimizing FSW
process parameters and to find the corresponding
optimum process parameters.
2) Based on the characteristics of the nugget
area and average of S/N ratio, threaded pin profile
at 4 mm/min feed rate and 2250 rpm tool rotational
speed produced better effects in FSW of
polypropylene material.
3) The process parameters such as tool pin profile,
374 J SCI IND RES VOL 73 JUNE 2014
feed rate and tool rotational speed are the most
significant process parameters. The percentage
of contribution of FSW process parameters was
evaluated. It is found that the tool pin profile has
50% contribution, feed rate has 25% contribution
and tool rotational speed has 18% contribution to
average of S/N ratio.
4) The optimum value of process parameters
such as tool pin profile, feed rate and tool
rotational speed are found to be threaded pin
profile, 60 mm/min, 1500 rpm respectively for
maximizing the obtained results among the sixteen
experiments.
5) Confirmation test was carried out and the test
results were very close to the optimized results.
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