Estudo do desempenho mecânico de juntas soldadas pelo processo de soldagem a ponto por fricção e mistura mecânica (FSSW) da liga AA6060-T5

Abstract

The Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is a welding technology to produce overlap spot joints in the solid state. The absence of bulk melting leads to enhanced mechanical properties in comparison to conventional welding. Other advatages are little thermal distortion, no need of surface preparation and no fumes (clean technology), all contributing to the attractiveness of this process in the industry, specialy the automotive. This work aimed the study of the mechanical performance of FSSW joints produced with the AA6060-T5. Mechanical and metallurgical properties of FSSW produced in sheets 3,2mm thick were investigated, in terms of hardness, shear tensile strength, macrostructure and welded area. Design of Experiments (DOE) was applied by means of the Taguchi Method to determine the welding parameters to be tested and to understand the results. The welding parameters tested were rotational speed, dwell time and plunge rate, three levels each which led to a L9 orthogonal matrix (9 welding configurations). With results of the Taguchi Method, the two welding parameters more significant (dwell time and rotational speed) were selected for a complete factorial 2³ assessment. For each welding configuration five samples were produced, one for macrostructural and hardness assessment and four for mechanical tests. The results showed that sound welds are possible with the selected alloy and welding equipment. Shear strength higher than 2,4kN, was observed, associated to long welding time. The dwell time and rotational speed are the parameters most effective on the joint shear strength. Too long welding times lead to poor joint strength due to the hook. There is a limit to the rotational speed associated to the transition phenomenon known as slick/slip. Empirical equations for predicting joint strength in terms of welding parameters were sucsessfuly obtained by quadratic interpolation.