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Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356 www.materialstoday.com/proceedings

5th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization (ICMPC 2016)

Study on temperature distribution during Friction Stir Welding of

6082 aluminum alloy
S Vermaa, Meenua, J P Misraa*
a
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra 136119, India

Abstract

In friction stir welding (FSW) heat is one of the key elements which is generated owing to friction between tool and workpiece.
And hence, the study of heat flux characteristic during the process is essential for producing good quality weld. Moreover, life
and capability of the tool depend on the heat dissipation throughout the process. The aim of present study is to experimentally
explore the distribution of temperature during the friction stirred butt joint of aluminum 6082 plates. Eight L shaped
thermocouples are placed at equally distance from the center line to measure the resulting temperature; four thermocouples on
advance side (AS) and four on retreating side (RS). The experiment is conducted at constant rotational speed and feed rate and
with varying tool tilt angle and dwell time. It is observed that the temperature on advancing side is on higher side as compared to
retreating side.

©2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Conference Committee Members of 5th International Conference of Materials
Processing and Characterization (ICMPC 2016).

Keywords:Aluminium alloys; friction stir welding; temperature distribution

1. Introduction

The demand of aluminium alloys in aerospace industry is rapidly growing owing to their unique characteristics:
high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, good formability, etc. However, joining of these alloys by fusion
welding techniques is found difficult owing to low melting point of these alloys. In addition, defects like porosity,
distortion, oxidation, shrinkage, etc. are observed during fusion welding of these alloys [1,2,3]. To overcome these
difficulties FSW is evolved out as an alternative of fusion welding techniques [4,5,6]. It is a solid state joining
process in which fraying surfaces are joined by stirring action of tool results in thermomechanical deformation of
workpieces as the resulting temperature exceeds the solidus temperature of workpieces. The fundamental concept of
the process is illustrated in Figure 1. It shows that the process consists of a non-consumable rotating tool with pin
and shoulder in which pin plunges between faying surfaces of the plates; tool shoulder generates the heat owing to
frictional heating between shoulder surface and workpiece and also restricts the metal flow upto a level of frontal
face of solder during process.

*Corresponding author.
E-mail address:joyprakash.misra@gmail.com

2214-7853©2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Conference Committee Members of 5th International Conference of Materials Processing and
Characterization (ICMPC 2016).
 S Verma et.al / Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356 1351

This heat softens the materials around the pin and owing to translational and rotationaltool movement material
movement takes place and produces solid state weld [7,8,9].FSW process parameters are generally classified in three
groups namely (a) tool related parameters: tool pin and shoulder geometry i.e., pin diameter, shoulder diameter, pin
length, pin and shoulder material, etc.; (b) machine related parameters: welding speed, rotational speed, tool tilt
angle, etc. and (c) other parameters: anvil material, anvil size, workpiece size, workpiece properties, etc. [10]. The
inter-relation of influencing parameters and process performance is demonstrated in Fig. 2 using a cause-effect
diagram.

Fig.1 Principle of FSW

Tool i ng Rel ated Machi ne Rel ated
Parameters Parameters

Shoulder Welding
Material Pin Speed Plunge
Diameter Force
Pin Spindle
Length Thread Speed Tool Tilt
Pitch Angle
Feature
Geometry Shoulder
Diameter
Wel d Qual i ty

Workpiece
Anvil Size Properties

Workpiece
Anvil Size
Material

Other Parameters

Fig. 2 Cause and effect diagram of FSW process parameters

To the best knowledge of authors FSW technique was invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in 1991. After that a
number of researchers have been carried out experimental investigation to study mechanical and metallurgical
behaviour of friction stir welded joints. In recent work, Verma and Misra (2015) carried out an exhaustive literature
review of FSW technique [9]. It is obvious from available literatures that most of the research work is focused on
FSW of aluminium alloys specially AA6061, AA6063, AA7075, and AA2024 employed in aerospace industry
[2,5,10,11].However, presently AA6061 and AA6063 is replaced by AA6082 forhigher strength and better corrosion
resistance owing to presence of higher amount of manganese controlling the grain structure. In addition, most of
available literatures contain study of mechanical strength and microstructural features of FSW joints lacking
temperature distribution during the process. In this study an attempt has been made to discuss the temperature
distribution phenomenon in detail during FSW of AA6082. A brief detail of the research works deal with thermal
modelling and temperature distribution is presented in Table 1.
1352 S Verma et.al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356

Table 1. Brief detail of research works on thermal modelling and temperature distribution during FSW process[1,3, 4,5,6,7,8,12,13,14,15].
Researchers Workpiece Tool Conclusion
Song et al. (2003) AA6061 Die steel  Developed 3D model with moving coordinate system for describing the heat
transfer during the process.
 This model is found helpful in determining the temperature distribution near the
tool.
 Concluded that preheating is advantageous for FSW.
Chao et al. (2003) AA2195 HSS  Observed that maximum heat is dissipated through workpiece (95%) and
remaining through tool.
 Heat efficiency is found very high as compared to fusion welding process.
Maeda et al. (2005) AA7075 Die steel  Observed asymmetrical temperature distribution between advancing side and
AA5083 retreating sidefor similar metal alloys.
AA6061  Temperature distribution is found changing according to change in side of
materials for dissimilar metal alloys.
Hamilton et al. (2008) AA60601  Developed FEM model on the basis of slip factorfor predicting maximum
AA6082 process temperature.
AA7050  Maximum welding temperature is predicted on the basis of thermal diffusivity,
tool geometry and welding parameters.
Hwang et al. (2008) AA6061 HSS  Three different types thermocouple arrangement are used for predicting
temperature.
 Regression analysis is carried out for predicting temperature at centre line.
 Temperature on advancing side is found higher than retreating side.
Rajamanickam et al. (2009) AA2014 Die steel  Explainedeffect of process parameters: rotational speed, welding speed and tool
geometry on temperature distribution.
 Reported that temperature distribution is more influenced by rotational speed.
Biswas and Mandal (2011) AA1100 SS310  Employed FE tool and observed that tool with concave shoulder and conical pin
generated more heat than cylindrical with threaded pin geometry.
Aval et al. (2011) AA5086  Developed a 3D model for predicting heat input during FSW of 5086.
 Temperature on advancing side is found higher thanretreating side.
Rui-dong et al. (2011) AA7050 Die steel  Employed submerged FSW of AA7050 at three different conditions: hot water,
cold water and air.
 Temperature on retreating side is found higher than advancing side.
Padmanaban et al. (2014) AA2024 HSS  Employed CFD for determining temperature distribution and material flow
AA7075 during FSW.
 Temperature increases with increase in rotational speed and shoulder diameter
and decreases with increasing feed rate.
Ghetiya et al. (2015) AA8011 HSS  Conducted FSW in air and immersed conditions.
 Strength in case of immersed is found superior.

2. Experiment Details

In present study a vertical milling machine has been modified to develop machine setup for FSW by fabricating
suitable tooling and fixture. The developed tooling and fixture are illustrated in Fig.3. The tool made of die steel
with threaded pin is picked to carry out experimental investigation. The FSW tool is fixed in the quill of vertical
milling machine and rotated along its longitudinal axis. AA6082 plate of dimension 75mm X 100mm X 6.35mm is
selected asworkpiece material. Two plates are placed on the rigid base plate and fixed on it with the help of clamps
in order to prevent the shifting of workpieces during the process.Eight L shaped k-type thermocouples of 3mm
diameter are placed at equally distance from the center line to measure the resulting temperature; four
thermocouples on advance side (AS) and four on retreating side (RS). An instrument named UNILOG with 8
channels is employed for measuring the temperature during the process. It consists of two units: universal process
data recorder which record the data in excel sheet and channel interface module which provides the data from
thermocouples to data recorder. Holes with 3mm diameter and 5mm depth are drilled on both AS and RS side in
order to fix the thermocouples. First thermocouples on both sides are placed at 14.5 mm from the centre line which
is 3mm from the shoulder diameter end in order to prevent the damage of thermocouples during the process. Fig. 3
depicts the position of the thermocouples inside the workpiece, process interface and channel interface module.
 S Verma et.al / Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356 1353

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
Fig. 3 Detail of FSW tooling and fixture: (a) FSW tool; (b) FSW fixture; (c) and (d) position of the thermocouples inside the workpiece; (e)
process interface and (f) channel interface module.
1354 S Verma et.al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356

For the present research work experimentation has been carried outat constant rotational speed and feed rate and
with varying tool tilt angle and dwell time. The detail of experimental runs is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Detail of experimental runs.

Experimental Rotational Feed Rate Tilt Angle Dwell Time Maximum Temperature (0C)
No. Speed (rpm) (mm/s) (degree) (second) Retreating Side Advancing Side
01 1 10 240.6 259
02 1 20 244.0 248.1
03 500 20 1 30 251.1 255.1
04 2 30 256.8 284.9
05 3 30 251.7 261.8

3. Study of Thermal History

Temperature distribution during the process is a function of heat input from tool, heat loss through the quill and
backing plate, initial time of tool for preheating the workpiece before starting the movement of tool. The maximum
temperature can be obtained at the center line of the joint. The quality of weld is mostly influenced by the heat
dissipation during the process. If the temperature generated owing to frictional heat around centre line is low, it will
make hindrance for tool’s transverse movement; results in breakage of tool pin. Higher frictional heat or resulting
temperature can improve the metal flow during the process and make the tool’s transverse movement easier.
However,too high temperature may result in sticking of material to the pin and shoulder and larger grain-size
microstructure. In this study, the experimental outcome in terms of maximum temperature recorded for different tilt
angle and dwell time is presented in Table 2. It is obvious from Table 2 that the temperature recorded by
thermocouples varies with varying dwell time and tilt angle and maximum temperature i.e., 256.80C for retreating
side and 284.90Cfor advancing side is obtained for experimental no. 4 (rotational speed: 500 rpm; feed rate: 20
mm/s; tilt angle: 20 and dwell time: 30sec). It is observed that there is an increment in maximum temperature
recorded with change in dwell time from 10 sec to 30 sec.At the starting of FSW process both the FSW tool and
workpiece plates are at room temperature. At very initial stage as the rotating FSW tool is gradually inserted into the
workpiece, the material is too cold to flow results in rubbing action which creates chip formation same as
machiningprocess; however, this phenomenon starts to increase the temperature of tool and workpiece plates and
thus softening of workpiece is started. The rate of rise of temperature depends on the rate of insertion. The process
of tool insertion continues until the tool shoulder is inintimate contact with the workpiece surface. At this stage, the
entire tool shoulderand pin surface contribute to the frictional heating and the force starts to drop as
themetallicworkpiece reaches critical temperature for plastic flow. This time span is known as dwell time. Higher
value of dwell time means higher value of contribution of frictional heat by tool shoulder and pin surface; and thus,
higher value of maximum temperature recorded.
The trend of maximum temperature recorded withchange in tilt angle from 10 to 30 is quite different from the
previous one. It is evident that the maximum temperature recorded is higher in case of 20 tilt angle. This
phenomenon can be explained as follows: As tilt angle increase the value of axial plunge force increases which
pushes the material downward and prevent it from spreading out. It results in increasing compressive force and thus
heat generation during the process. However, at higher tilt angle, due to inclination of FSW tool the contact of tool
with workpiece plate reduces; results in lower value of heat generation.
Fig. 4 illustrates the change in temperatures with respect to time for both advancing and retreating side.Thermal
history changes according to the change in dwell time and tilt angle. TC1, TC2, TC3 and TC4 are placed on RS side
and TC5, TC6, TC7 and TC8 are placed on AS side. The highest temperature is obtained in thermocouples placed
near the weld bead on both sides and then gradually decreases. The maximum values of temperatureobservedon
retreating side are 240.6, 244.0, 251.1, 256.8, and 251.70Cand on advancing side are 259, 248.1, 255.1, 284.9and
261.80C respectively.
.
 S Verma et.al / Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356 1355

Fig. 4 (a) Tilt angle: 10, Dwell time: 10 second Fig. 4 (b) Tilt angle: 10, Dwell time: 20 second

Fig. 4 (c) Tilt angle: 10, Dwell time: 30 second Fig. 4 (d) Tilt angle: 20, Dwell time: 30 second

Fig. 4 (e) Tilt angle: 30, Dwell time: 30 second

Fig. 4: Temperature history for different tilt angle and dwell time.
1356 S Verma et.al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 4 (2017) 1350–1356

4. Conclusion and future scope

In this paper, the temperatures distribution is captured using k-type thermocouples during FSW of AA6082 for
varying tilt angle and dwell time. It is observed that the temperatures on advance side are more as compared to
retreating side for all working conditions. The maximum temperature is obtained on AS with 2o tilt angle, 30sec
dwell time,500 rpm and 20mm/s feed rate. It can be concluded that the maximum temperature recorded increases
with increasing dwell time results in easier transverse movement of FSW tool. Further study could consider the
mapping of temperatures at different locations of workpiece plate and thermal modelling to predict the temperature
at centre line. The effect of maximum temperature recorded on weld quality and microstructural characteristics of
weld zone can also be included as future research work.

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