The optimization of the groove depth height in friction stir welding of AA 6061-T6 with Al2O3 powder particle reinforcement

The present work optimizes the groove size in the friction stir welding (FSW) of 6061-T6 aluminium alloy (AA) with Al2O3 powder particle reinforcement. Here the four cases are considered for the groove depth of 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm, and the groove width is 1 mm (for all cases) on each AA6061-T6 workpiece material. The COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to model the temperature rise during friction stir welding. In the experimental analysis, the optical micrograph (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of the weld samples revealed that the powder particle agglomerate near the stir zone region and the Al2O3 powder are not homogeneously mixed with the aluminium matrix when the depth is too large. The maximum tensile strength and hardness were recorded on the weld samples when the groove depth was 2 mm.