Welding copper and its alloys is usually difficult to achieve by conventional fusion welding processes because of high thermal diffusivity of the copper, which is at least 10 times higher than most steel alloys, in addition to this, there are the well-known disadvantages of conventional fusion welding represented by necessity of using alloying elements, a shielding gas and a clean surface. To overcome these inconveniences, Friction Stir Welding (FSW), a solid state joining process that relies on frictional heating and plastic deformation, is being explored as a feasible welding process. In order to achieve an increased welding speed and a reduction in tool wear, this process is assisted by another one (TIG) which generates and adds heat to the process. The research includes two experiments for the FSW process and one experiment for tungsten inert gas assisted FSW process. The process parameters that varied were the rotational speed of the tool [rpm] and the welding speed [mm/min] while the compressive force remained constant. The purpose of this paper is to correlate the evolution of temperature, tensile strength, elongation and microscopic aspect with the linear position on the joint (local process parameters) for each experimental case and then make comparisons between them, and to identify and present the set of process parameters that has the best mechanical properties for this material.
Joining of dissimilar materials by friction stir welding
