Investigating the Welding Parameters in Friction Stir Welding of Yellow Brass 405-20

Abstract

This research presents the numerical and empirical efforts to investigate the effect of friction stir welding (FSW) parameters on the weld temperature, weld strength, and weld hardness for novel brass known as yellow brass 405-20. The numerical approaches used to measure the weld temperature and weld strength were studied for the first time for yellow brass 405-20 and their validations via empirical studies. Two numerical models were simulated including transient thermal analysis and static structural analysis. Thermal distribution leading to maximum weld temperature during FSW of yellow brass was investigated via both simulations and experiments. Moreover, the ultimate tensile strength, namely the weld strength, was measured numerically and validated from its empirical counterpart. Finally, weld hardness was measured empirically to explore the joint health. A maximum temperature of 598 °C was recorded, which was much below the melting point of brass. Joint strength of 228 MPa was observed, which is 83% of the base brass strength. Microscopic examination of the weldment revealed the underlying mechanisms of less weld strength as compared to the parent brass material strength.

Keywords: friction stir welding brass; simulations hardness ultimate tensile strength thermal distribution