Impact of Process Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded Joints on Polypropylene Sheets

The FSW provides a number of benefits over standard welding processes, including better mechanical qualities, joint integrity, and environmental effects. This process is widely used in automobile and aircraft industries for various applications. Thorough investigation and evaluation regarding the welding process parameters, tool, and material pair are crucial in this process. The main objective of the current study is to check the weldability of polypropylene using friction stir welding tool material. In this study, H13 Tool steel with a cylindrical, tapered type of probe is used to examine the impact of process parameters on eight-mm-thick polypropylene sheets. Three levels of Rotational speed, Transverse Feed and Tilt angle are used as input process parameters and yield strength and hardness are used as response parameters. Experiments are conducted using L9 orthogonal array design of experiments at 710, 900, and 1100 rpm rotational speed, 40, 60, and 80 mm/min feed and 0, 0.5 and 1 degree tilt angle. In this work, an attempt is made to optimise these parameters. The optimal yield strength of 13.08 N/mm2 was achieved at 1100 r.p.m., 60 mm/min feed rate, and 0° tilt angle. An optimum hardness of 50.6 SHORE D is achieved at 900 r.p.m., 40 mm/min feed rate, and a 0.5 degree tilt angle.