| Pub. Date | : Feb, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJME30221 |
| Author Name | : Pratik T Kikani |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Engineering |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 13 |
The study pertains to the improvement of mechanical properties of aluminum alloy welds through pulsed Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding process. The study aims at selecting optimum parameters on Pulsed TIG welding aluminum alloy 6061 butt joint. Input process parameters (peak current, base current and frequency) are varied, and tensile strength and hardness are determined. Full factorial method is employed to optimize the pulsed TIG welding process parameters of aluminum alloy welds for increasing the mechanical properties. Optimization of selected parameters is done by response optimizer. After optimization, the results are validated.
The increased application of aluminum alloy in the past decades in automotive industries has led the researchers to study its behavior in different conditions and applications. Pulsed Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding in aluminum alloy is one of the widely used weldings to manufacture automobile parts ( Kikani and Thakkar, 2017; and Lakshminarayanan et al., 2009). TIG is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area and electrode are protected from oxidation or other atmospheric contamination by an inert shielding gas (argon or helium) (Kumar and Sundarrajan, 2009). The modified version of TIG welding process is pulsed TIG welding process, in which pulse current alternates between low level and peak level. Heating and fusion take place during peak current period and weld pool cooling. Solidification takes place during pulses as the heat is dissipated during the low level current period. This current pulsing leads to intermittent melting along the joint seam giving a series of discrete melt spots, which overlap each other. Current pulse regulator is also adjusted for the number of pulses
Pulsed TIG welding, Aluminum Alloy 6061, Tensile strength, Hardness