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S. Rajakumar*
Center for Materials Joining & Research (CEMAJOR),
Department of Manufacturing Engineering,
Annamalai University,
Annamalainagar 608 002,
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
E-mail: srkcemajor@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author
C. Muralidharan
Department of Manufacturing Engineering,
Annamalai University,
Annamalainagar 608 002,
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
V. Balasubramanian
Center for Materials Joining & Research (CEMAJOR),
Department of Manufacturing Engineering,
Annamalai University,
Annamalainagar 608 002,
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
1 Introduction
parameters become much more important than manual welding processes (Enomoto,
1998).
To obtain high-quality welds in automated welding processes, selection of optimum
parameters should be performed according to engineering facts. Generally, welding
parameters are determined by trial and error, based on handbook values, and
manufacturers’ recommendations. However, this selection may not yield optimal or in
the vicinity of optimal welding performance. It may also cause additional energy and
material consumption and may also result in low-quality welding. Therefore, it is
important to study stability of welding parameters to achieve high-quality welding.
Predicting the effects of small changes in design parameters provide very important
information in engineering design. Therefore, by a mathematically modelled prediction
system, effect of any changes in the parameters on the overall design objective can be
determined. This kind of analysis is known as Design Sensitivity Analysis (DSA).
Basically, Sensitivity Analysis (SA) yields information about the increment and
decrement tendency of design objective function with respect to design parameters
(Lua and Secgin, 2007). There are very few studies (Kim et al., 2003; Gunaraj and
Murugan, 2000) in which SA is performed using mathematical model for different fusion
welding methods. The effect of FSW process parameters on tensile strength of aluminium
alloys are well documented in literature. Similarly, the influence of FSW tool parameters
on tensile properties of aluminium alloys are well reported in literature. However, there is
no literature available on the optimisation of FSW process and tool parameters on tensile
strength of aluminium alloys; hence, the present investigation was carried out and the
details are presented below.
2 Scheme of investigation
To achieve the desired objectives, the present investigation was planned as depicted in
the flow chart (Figure 1).
defects. Either below or above the range of parameters, the joints contained defects.
Table 2 displays the macrographs to provide the evidence for fixing the feasible working
range of welding parameters. The chosen level of important process parameters and tool
parameters with their units and notations are presented in Table 3.
Element Mg Mn Fe Si Cu Al
Base metal (6061-T6) 1.1 0.12 0.35 0.58 0.22 Bal
Table 2 Macrostructure observations of the AA6061 aluminium alloy (see online version
for colours)
Table 2 Macrostructure observations of the AA6061 aluminium alloy (see online version
for colours) (continued)
Table 3 Important FSW process parameters and their levels for AA6061 aluminium alloy
Factor levels
Factors Units Notation –2.378 –1 0 +1 +2.378
Tool rotational speed rpm N 862 1000 1100 1200 1337
Welding speed mm/min S 32.43 60 80 100 127.5
Axial force kN F 5.62 6 7 8 10.37
Tool shoulder diameter mm D 7.8 12 15 18 21
Pin diameter mm d 2.6 4 5 6 7.3
Tool hardness HRc H 33 40 45 50 56
of the intermediate levels constitute the star points. Thus, the 52 experimental runs
allowed the estimation of the linear, quadratic and two-way interactive effects of the
variables on the tensile strength of welded joints. The method of designing such matrix is
dealt elsewhere (Cochran and Cox, 1957; Johnson and Leona, 1964; Montgomery, 2007;
Box et al., 1978). For the convenience of recording and processing experimental data,
upper and lower levels of the factors have been coded as +2.378 and –2.378, respectively.
The coded values of any intermediate values can be calculated using the following
expression:
X i = 2[2 X − ( X max + X min )]/(X max – X min ) (1)
where
Xi: Required coded value of a variable X
X: Any value of the variable from Xmin to Xmax
Xmin: Lower level of the variable
Xmax: Highest level of the variable.
Output
Input parameter response
Tool Tool Tensile
rotational Welding Axial shoulder Pin Tool strength of Occurrence
Exp. speed speed force diameter diameter hardness welded joints of defect
No. (rpm) (mm/min) (kN) (mm) (mm) (HRc) (MPa) region
1 –1 –1 –1 –1 –1 –1 165 WN
2 1 –1 –1 –1 –1 1 179 WN
3 –1 1 –1 –1 –1 1 182 RS (TMAZ)
4 1 1 –1 –1 –1 –1 178 WN
5 –1 –1 1 –1 –1 1 191 AS (TMAZ)
6 1 –1 1 –1 –1 –1 195 AS (TMAZ)
7 –1 1 1 –1 –1 –1 191 AS (TMAZ)
8 1 1 1 –1 –1 1 202 AS (TMAZ)
9 –1 –1 –1 1 –1 1 184 RS (TMAZ)
10 1 –1 –1 1 –1 –1 190 AS (TMAZ)
11 –1 1 –1 1 –1 –1 180 WN
12 1 1 –1 1 –1 1 195 AS (TMAZ)
13 –1 –1 1 1 –1 –1 185 RS (TMAZ)
14 1 –1 1 1 –1 1 192 AS (TMAZ)
15 –1 1 1 1 –1 1 191 AS (TMAZ)
16 1 1 1 1 –1 –1 202 AS (TMAZ)
17 –1 –1 –1 –1 1 1 182 RS (TMAZ)
18 1 –1 –1 –1 1 –1 188 AS (TMAZ)
19 –1 1 –1 –1 1 –1 178 WN
222 S. Rajakumar et al.
Output
Input parameter response
Tool Tool Tensile
rotational Welding Axial shoulder Pin Tool strength of Occurrence
Exp. speed speed force diameter diameter hardness welded joints of defect
No. (rpm) (mm/min) (kN) (mm) (mm) (HRc) (MPa) region
20 1 1 –1 –1 1 1 193 AS (TMAZ)
21 –1 –1 1 –1 1 –1 184 RS (TMAZ)
22 1 –1 1 –1 1 1 191 AS (TMAZ)
23 –1 1 1 –1 1 1 194 AS (TMAZ)
24 1 1 1 –1 1 –1 202 AS (TMAZ)
25 –1 –1 –1 1 1 –1 191 AS (TMAZ)
26 1 –1 –1 1 1 1 202 AS (TMAZ)
27 –1 1 –1 1 1 1 198 AS (TMAZ)
28 1 1 –1 1 1 –1 206 AS (TMAZ)
29 –1 –1 1 1 1 1 172 WN
30 1 –1 1 1 1 –1 200 AS (TMAZ)
31 –1 1 1 1 1 –1 188 AS (TMAZ)
32 1 1 1 1 1 1 200 AS (TMAZ)
33 –2.378 0 0 0 0 0 187 AS (TMAZ)
34 2.378 0 0 0 0 0 207 AS (TMAZ)
35 0 –2.378 0 0 0 0 186 RS (TMAZ)
36 0 2.378 0 0 0 0 196 AS (TMAZ)
37 0 0 –2.378 0 0 0 188 AS (TMAZ)
38 0 0 2.378 0 0 0 201 AS (TMAZ)
39 0 0 0 –2.378 0 0 184 RS (TMAZ)
40 0 0 0 2.378 0 0 198 AS (TMAZ)
41 0 0 0 0 –2.378 0 188 AS (TMAZ)
42 0 0 0 0 2.378 0 198 AS (TMAZ)
43 0 0 0 0 0 –2.378 186 RS (TMAZ)
44 0 0 0 0 0 2.378 191 AS (TMAZ)
45 0 0 0 0 0 0 222 HAZ
46 0 0 0 0 0 0 226 HAZ
47 0 0 0 0 0 0 225 HAZ
48 0 0 0 0 0 0 221 HAZ
49 0 0 0 0 0 0 220 HAZ
50 0 0 0 0 0 0 223 HAZ
51 0 0 0 0 0 0 226 HAZ
52 0 0 0 0 0 0 222 HAZ
AS: Advancing side; RS: Retreating side; WN: Weld Nugget; TMAZ: Thermo
mechanical affected zone; HAZ: Heat Affected Zone.
Response surfaces and sensitivity analysis 223
Figure 2 Experimental details: (a) joint dimensions (in ‘mm’); (b) nomenclature of FSW tool;
(c) FSW machine; (d) close-up view; (e) fabricated joints and (f) dimensions of flat
tensile specimens (in ‘mm’) (see online version for colours)
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
224 S. Rajakumar et al.
Figure 2 Experimental details: (a) joint dimensions (in ‘mm’); (b) nomenclature of FSW tool;
(c) FSW machine; (d) close-up view; (e) fabricated joints and (f) dimensions of flat
tensile specimens (in ‘mm’) (see online version for colours) (continued)
(e) (f)
Representing tensile strength of the FSW joint by TS, the response is a function
of rotational speed (N), welding speed (S), axial force (F), shoulder diameter (D), pin
diameter (d) and tool hardness (H) and it can be expressed as
TS = f (rotational speed, welding speed, axial force, shoulder diameter,
pin diameter, tool hardness)
TS = f (N, S, F, D, d, H)
The second-order polynomial (regression) equation used to represent the response surface
‘Y’ is given by (Rajakumar et al., 2010):
Y = b0 + ¦ bi xi + ¦ bii xi2 + ¦ bij xi x j + er (2)
where b0 is the average of responses and b1, b2, …, b66 are the coefficients that depend on
respective main and interaction effects of the parameters. The value of the coefficients
was calculated using the following expressions:
bi = 0.023087¦ ( X iy ) (5)
where i2 varies from 1 to n, in which Xi is the corresponding coded value of a factor and
Y is the corresponding response output value (tensile strength) obtained from the
experiment and ‘n’ is the total number of combinations considered (in this case n = 52).
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) method was applied to find out the significance of main
factors and interactions factors. The higher order interactions (three factor interactions
and four factor interactions) are practically insignificant and hence not considered
(Johnson and Leona, 1964; Montgomery, 2007; Box et al., 1978). From the ANOVA test
results (Table 5), it is evident that all the main factors (N, S, F, D, d, H) and a few
interaction factors are considered to be significant factors. After determining the
significant coefficients (at 95% confidence level), the final relationship was developed
incorporating only these coefficients and it is given below.
Tensile strength
(TS ) = {223.18 + 4.77( N ) + 2.60( S ) + 2.77( F ) + 2.64( D) + 2.10( d ) + 0.85( H )
+ 1.16( ND) + 0.97( Nd ) − 1.22( NH ) + 0.97( SF ) + 1.09( SH ) − 3.78( FD)
− 3.22( Fd ) − 1.66( FH ) − 1.28( DH ) − 1.09( dH ) − 4.74( N 2 ) − 5.80( S 2 )
− 5.19( F 2 ) − 5.80( D 2 ) − 5.45( d 2 ) − 6.25( H 2 )}MPa. (8)
The adequacy of the developed model was tested using the ANOVA technique and
the results of second-order response surface model fitting in the form of ANOVA are
given in Table 5. The determination coefficient (R2) indicates the goodness of fit for the
model. In this case, the value of the determination coefficient (R2 = 0.9906) indicates
that that 99.06% of the total variability is explained by the model after considering the
significant factors. The model is not overfitted as indicated by the comparison of R2 and
R2 adj values. Only less than 1% of the total variations are not explained by the model.
The value of adjusted determination coefficient (adjusted R2 = 0.9800) is also high, which
indicates a high significance of the model. Predicted (R2 = 0.9542) is in good agreement
with the adjusted R2 and shows that the model would be expected to explain 95.42% of
the variability in new data. Adequate precision was found to be 37.16, which indicates
that the model will give reasonable performance in prediction. A ratio >4 is desirable.
At the same time, a relatively lower value of the coefficient of variation (CV = 1.04)
indicated a high degree of precision and a good deal of reliability of the conducted
experiments (experimental values). ‘PRESS’ is a measure of how well the model of the
experiment is likely to predict the responses in a new experiment. Small values of PRESS
are desirable. The model F-value of 93.90 implied that the model was significant, and
there is only a 0.01% chance that a ‘model F-value’ this large would occur due to noise.
P-value less than 0.05 indicated the significant model terms. Value of probability > F in
Table 6 for model is less than 0.05, which indicates that the model is significant.
Lack of fit is insignificant thereby indicates that the model fits well with the experimental
data. The high p-value for the lack of fit test also indicates that the model does adequately
fit with the response surface for tensile strength. The normal probability plot of the
residuals for tensile strength shown in Figure 3 reveals that the residuals are falling
on the straight line, which means the errors are distributed normally (Kumar et al., 2007).
All the above considerations indicate an excellent adequacy of the regression model.
Each observed value is compared with the predicted value calculated from the model
in Figure 4.
226 S. Rajakumar et al.
Sum of p-value
Source squares df Mean square F-value Prob. >F
Model 10671.98 27 395.2586 93.90546 <0.0001 Significant
N-Rotational speed* 985.149 1 985.149 234.0515 <0.0001
S-Welding speed* 293.6775 1 293.6775 69.77185 <0.0001
F-Axial force* 332.0117 1 332.0117 78.87929 <0.0001
D-Shoulder diameter* 301.6132 1 301.6132 71.65721 <0.0001
d-Pin diameter* 190.2806 1 190.2806 45.20684 <0.0001
H-Tool hardness* 31.4225 1 31.4225 7.465351 0.0116
NS 1.53125 1 1.53125 0.363794 0.5521
NF 9.03125 1 9.03125 2.145643 0.1560
ND* 42.78125 1 42.78125 10.16396 0.0040
Nd* 30.03125 1 30.03125 7.134819 0.0134
NH* 47.53125 1 47.53125 11.29247 0.0026
SF* 30.03125 1 30.03125 7.134819 0.0134
SD 0.03125 1 0.03125 0.007424 0.9321
Sd 2.53125 1 2.53125 0.601374 0.4456
SH* 38.28125 1 38.28125 9.094852 0.0060
FD* 457.5313 1 457.5313 108.7002 <0.0001
Fd* 331.5313 1 331.5313 78.76513 <0.0001
FH* 87.78125 1 87.78125 20.85505 0.0001
Dd 2.53125 1 2.53125 0.601374 0.4456
DH* 52.53125 1 52.53125 12.48036 0.0017
DH* 38.28125 1 38.28125 9.094852 0.0060
2
N* 1305.193 1 1305.193 310.0874 <0.0001
S2* 1954.188 1 1954.188 464.2757 <0.0001
F2* 1559.744 1 1559.744 370.5637 <0.0001
D2* 1954.188 1 1954.188 464.2757 <0.0001
2
d* 1723.353 1 1723.353 409.4339 <0.0001
H2* 2263.128 1 2263.128 537.6736 <0.0001
Residual 101.0187 24 4.209112
Lack of fit 64.14368 17 3.773158 0.71626 0.7304 Not significant
Pure error 36.875 7 5.267857
Cor total 10773 51
Std. Dev. 2.051612 R-squared 0.990623
Mean 195.5 Adj R-squared 0.980074
CV% 1.049418 Pred R-squared 0.954263
PRESS 492.7209 Adeq precision 37.31652
*Significant factor.
Response surfaces and sensitivity analysis 227
Table 6 Tensile strength sensitivities of (process and tool) parameters (S = 134.4 mm/min)
Tool
Axial rotational Shoulder Pin Tool Tensile
force Sensitivity
speed diameter diameter hardness strength
(kN) (rpm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (MPa) TS/N TS/S TS/F TS/D TS/d TS/H
862 7.8 2.6 243 24 20.4 –24.7 41.7 33.0 30.5 38.5
1000 12 4 450 123 11.8 –23.6 33.6 21.5 19.8 22.4
2.2 1100 15 5 600 175 3.2 –22.5 25.4 10.1 9.1 6.3
1200 18 6 750 180 –5.3 –21.4 17.3 –1.3 –1.6 –9.7
1337 21 7.3 956 139 –13.8 –20.3 9.2 –12.7 –12.3 –25.8
862 7.8 2.6 243 60 20.9 –23.8 31.3 29.2 27.3 36.8
1000 12 4 450 151 12.3 –22.6 23.2 17.7 16.6 20.7
5 1100 15 5 600 195 3.8 –21.5 15.1 6.3 5.8 4.6
1200 18 6 750 193 –4.7 –20.4 6.9 –5.0 –4.8 –11.4
1337 21 7.3 956 143 –13.3 –19.3 –1.1 –16.5 –15.6 –27.4
862 7.8 2.6 243 86 21.4 –22.8 20.9 25.4 24.1 35.2
1000 12 4 450 169 12.9 –21.7 12.8 14.0 13.4 19.1
7 1100 15 5 600 205 4.33 –20.6 4.7 2.5 2.6 3.03
1200 18 6 750 194 –4.2 –19.4 –3.4 –8.8 –8.1 –13.1
1337 21 7.3 956 137 –12.8 –18.3 –11.5 –20.3 –18.8 –29.1
862 7.8 2.6 243 102 22 –21.8 10.5 21.6 20.9 33.5
1000 12 4 450 177 13.4 –20.7 2.4 10.2 10.1 17.4
9 1100 15 5 600 205 4.8 –19.6 –5.6 –1.2 –0.5 1.3
1200 18 6 750 186 –3.7 –18.5 –13.8 –12.6 –11.3 –14.7
1337 21 7.3 956 120 –12.2 –17.3 –21.9 –24.1 –22.1 –30.8
862 7.8 2.6 243 107 22.5 –20.8 0.21 17.8 17.7 31.8
1000 12 4 450 174 13.9 –19.7 –7.9 6.4 6.9 15.8
11.7 1100 15 5 600 194 5.3 –18.6 –16.1 –4.9 –3.7 –0.2
1200 18 6 750 167 –3.1 –17.5 –24.1 –16.4 –14.5 –16.3
1337 21 7.3 956 93 –11.7 –16.4 –32.3 –27.8 –25.2 –32.4
Figure 3 Normal probability plot of residuals for tensile strength (see online version for colours)
228 S. Rajakumar et al.
Figure 4 Normal probability plot of actual vs. predicted (see online version for colours)
5.2 mm and tool hardness of 45 HRc. The above values were also validated using
statistical software Minitab. The corresponding optimisation plot is depicted in Figure 7.
Three joints were fabricated using the optimum values of process parameters, and
average tensile strength of friction stir welded AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy was found
to be 226 MPa, which shows the excellent agreement with the predicted values.
Micrographs of Figure 8(b) shows the traverse section of FSW joint fabricated using
optimum parameters reveals that there is no defect due to sufficient heat generation and
contains finer grains in weld zone. However, base metal contains coarse and elongated
grains (Figure 8(a)). The average grain diameter was measured in stir zone and it was
found to be smaller (15 µm), compare to base metal (55 µm). The fracture surfaces of the
tensile tested specimens were characterised using SEM to understand the failure patterns.
All the fracture surfaces invariably consist of dimples, which is an indication that the
failure is the result of ductile fracture. The fracture surface of the base metal (Figure 9(a))
shows larger dimples than the stir zone (Figure 9(b)).
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
230 S. Rajakumar et al.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
In summary, the tensile properties and fracture locations of 6061-T6 aluminium alloy
joints are significantly affected by the FSW parameters (Liu et al., 2003). The optimum
Response surfaces and sensitivity analysis 231
rotational speed of 1150 r/min, corresponding to a welding speed of 84.3 mm/min, axial
force of 7.16 kN, shoulder diameter of 15.6 mm, pin diameter of 5.2 mm and a tool
hardness of 45 HRc and the maximum ultimate strength of the joint, is equivalent to 80%
of that of the base material. When the rotational speed deviates from the optimum value,
a pin hole–like defect or serious softening is produced in the joints; thus, the tensile
strength of the joints degrade. When the joints are free of defects, they fracture in the
HAZ on the retreating side. Otherwise, when a pin hole–like defect exists in the joints,
the fracture occurs in the weld nugget. During the tensile test, from the macro graphic
inspection we found that all the failures that occur are in advancing side of Thermo
Mechanical Affected Zone (TMAZ). It is mainly due to stirring action of rotating tool pin
that the precipitates (Mg2Si) are worn out and it will deposit over the advancing side.
More precipitates reduce the strength. So, most of the failure is in advancing side.
Figure 8 Optical micrographs of FSW Zones of AA6061-T6 joints: (a) base metal and
(b) stir zone
(a) (b)
Figure 9 SEM fractographs of the top surface of tensile specimens: (a) base metal and
(b) stir zone
(a) (b)
5 Sensitivity Analysis
Sensitivity Analysis, a method to identify critical parameters and rank them by their order
of importance, is paramount in model validation where attempts are made to compare the
calculated output to the measured data. This type of analysis can be used to study which
parameters must be most accurately measured, thus determining the input parameters
232 S. Rajakumar et al.
exerting the most influence upon model response (Sarigu and Secgin, 2004). Therefore,
SA plays an important role in determining which parameter of the process should be
modified to get the improved response characteristics. Mathematically, sensitivity of an
objective function with respect to a design variable is the partial derivative of that
function with respect to its variables (Jayaraman et al., 2008).
This paper is aimed to predict the tendency of tensile strength due to a small change
in process parameters for FSW process, and the sensitivity equations are obtained by
differentiating the developed empirical relation with respect to the factors of interest such
as rotational speed, welding speed, axial force, shoulder diameter, pin diameter and tool
hardness that are explored here. The sensitivity equations (9)–(14) represent the
sensitivity of tensile strength for rotational speed, welding speed, axial force, shoulder
diameter, pin diameter and tool hardness, respectively.
∂TS /∂N = 4.77 − 0.022 S + 0.53F + 1.16 D + 0.97 d − 1.22 H − 9.48 N (9)
∂TS /∂S = 2.60 − 0.22 N + 0.97 F − 0.031D + 0.28d + 1.09 H − 11.6 S (10)
∂TS /∂F = 2.77 + 0.53N + 0.97 S − 3.78D − 3.22d − 1.28H − 10.38F (11)
∂TS /∂D = 2.68 + 1.16 N − 0.031S − 3.78 F + 0.28d − 1.28 H − 11.6 D (12)
∂TS /∂d = 2.10 + 0.97 N + 0.28S − 3.22 F + 0.28D − 1.09 H − 10.9d (13)
∂TS /∂H = 0.85 − 1.22 N − 1.09S − 1.66 F − 1.28 D − 1.09d − 12.5 H . (14)
Figure 10 Sensitivity Analysis results for AA6061 aluminium alloy: (a) rotational speed (rpm);
(b) welding speed (mm/min); (c) axial force (kN); (d) shoulder diameter (mm); (e) pin
diameter (mm) and (f) tool hardness (HRc) (see online version for colours)
Response surfaces and sensitivity analysis 233
Figure 10 Sensitivity Analysis results: (a) rotational speed (rpm); (b) welding speed (mm/min);
(c) axial force (kN); (d) shoulder diameter (mm); (e) pin diameter (mm) and (f) tool
hardness (HRc) (see online version for colours) (continued)
6 Conclusions
Acknowledgements
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