Experimentally Validated Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer Behavior of Dissimilar AA5052-AA6061 Plates in Fiction STIR Welding

Fiction Stir Welding is a unique type of metal joining process in solid state, where the heat generation takes place due to the friction between the rotating tool and work piece. It is generally used to join all series of Aluminum alloys with good strength and also some metallic alloys that finds difficult in welding through regular fusion welding techniques. The metal joining takes place in the solid state as the metal to be welded reaches about 80% to 90% of its melting temperature. The joining of metals in friction stir welding does not require any filler metals all classes of Aluminium alloys can be joined and in some desirable cases dissimilar metal compositions and Aluminium metals composites can be joined satisfactorily. Joining of dissimilar metals has become a trend in the industries like aerospace, automotive chemical etc. as it eliminates the materials which are costlier where ever not required. In the present study an experimental investigations are made to study the heat transfer behavior by determining the temperature distribution in AA5052-AA6061 plates during the Friction Stir welding. A three dimensional transient analysis is made by using ANSYS finite element analysis software. Thermocouples are placed at the suitable locations and the same point the temperature readings were taken from the simulation results. The experimental data is compared with the numerically simulated results. The numerical simulations results obtained agree the experimental data obtained.